12 Day Cali to Deals Gap Coming To A Close
#1
07-21-2011, 08:44 PM
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: So Cal
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
12 Day Cali to Deals Gap Coming To A Close
Sitting here in Kingman Az one day from home. Left July 6 on a solo cross country to Clarksville TN. Hooked up with my brother and we left TN the 15th for Deals Gap and the Dragon.
After riding the Cherakola Hwy and then the dragon we changed our route to a avoid weather. Went through the Smokies to Cherokee NC then went back to Knoxville and went North to Lexington. Went on through St. Louis at dawn after rolling out of Mt Vernon Illinois. Stayed a night on the road in Hays KS. Brother had to cancel rest of ride and headed back to TN. Got off the 70 in Oakley and took the 2 laners to Colorado Springs. Hwy 94 is a desolate stretch with no services for 77 miles. Saw only 4 cars. Very hot day!
I rolled on into Colorado Springs Tuesday night. Was going to ride Independence Pass but T-Storms were lurking. Decided to divert south on I-35 to HWY 160 West to Durango. Went through Wolf Pass and it was awesome. Layed over in Farmington NM on my way to Kingman AZ. Rode hwy 160 through monument valley at sunrise. It was biblical.
Have uploaded pics to album here.
http://s1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb354/One78Shovel/
-178S
After riding the Cherakola Hwy and then the dragon we changed our route to a avoid weather. Went through the Smokies to Cherokee NC then went back to Knoxville and went North to Lexington. Went on through St. Louis at dawn after rolling out of Mt Vernon Illinois. Stayed a night on the road in Hays KS. Brother had to cancel rest of ride and headed back to TN. Got off the 70 in Oakley and took the 2 laners to Colorado Springs. Hwy 94 is a desolate stretch with no services for 77 miles. Saw only 4 cars. Very hot day!
I rolled on into Colorado Springs Tuesday night. Was going to ride Independence Pass but T-Storms were lurking. Decided to divert south on I-35 to HWY 160 West to Durango. Went through Wolf Pass and it was awesome. Layed over in Farmington NM on my way to Kingman AZ. Rode hwy 160 through monument valley at sunrise. It was biblical.
Have uploaded pics to album here.
http://s1201.photobucket.com/albums/bb354/One78Shovel/
-178S
Last edited by one78shovel; 07-21-2011 at 09:39 PM.
#3
07-22-2011, 05:45 AM
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: So Cal
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks slhanks4
I have been keeping a journal and will post an overview of my trip in the coming days. Below is an entry on my 4th night after a detour through the 'Cross Roads to The Ozarks'.
1000' of miles solo is good for my mental well being.
It's 0400 here in Russellville Ar and I'm just killing time. Will head down in a bit and start tying all my crap on. I don't mind making early starts in the dark out West to beat the heat and eat up the road. Just need to be on my toes for all that tread trucks throw. But here and eastward, I wait for the trucks to wipe all the deer off the road. lol.
Ever notice how fresh everything smells early in the morning? Especially if there were storms in the area previous night.
The early morning sun bouncing off those red bluffs of New Mexico was awesome. Tough to stay focused on the road while your sneaking peeks and grining ear to ear. The various Indian Trade Shops add to the senses.
I was hitting quite a few picnic stops and rest areas going into Amarillo. The things are like campgrounds for god sake. Sitting at my table with an occasional cold one in between pints of water just watching the masses on their journey down I-40. One spot in particular I was kicking it and an Ultra goes blazing by. Dude takes a look over and waves. As I leave and start to ramp through my 5 speed I see him on the shoulder just standing there. I pull over as I never pass up a biker on the side of the road. All was good as he was just a good old Texan who wanted to talk about the road and stuff. He was waiting for his partner who was held back somewhere. We talked a bit and off I went.
Good people good times.
-178S
I have been keeping a journal and will post an overview of my trip in the coming days. Below is an entry on my 4th night after a detour through the 'Cross Roads to The Ozarks'.
1000' of miles solo is good for my mental well being.
It's 0400 here in Russellville Ar and I'm just killing time. Will head down in a bit and start tying all my crap on. I don't mind making early starts in the dark out West to beat the heat and eat up the road. Just need to be on my toes for all that tread trucks throw. But here and eastward, I wait for the trucks to wipe all the deer off the road. lol.
Ever notice how fresh everything smells early in the morning? Especially if there were storms in the area previous night.
The early morning sun bouncing off those red bluffs of New Mexico was awesome. Tough to stay focused on the road while your sneaking peeks and grining ear to ear. The various Indian Trade Shops add to the senses.
I was hitting quite a few picnic stops and rest areas going into Amarillo. The things are like campgrounds for god sake. Sitting at my table with an occasional cold one in between pints of water just watching the masses on their journey down I-40. One spot in particular I was kicking it and an Ultra goes blazing by. Dude takes a look over and waves. As I leave and start to ramp through my 5 speed I see him on the shoulder just standing there. I pull over as I never pass up a biker on the side of the road. All was good as he was just a good old Texan who wanted to talk about the road and stuff. He was waiting for his partner who was held back somewhere. We talked a bit and off I went.
Good people good times.
-178S
Last edited by one78shovel; 07-22-2011 at 05:51 AM.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
