Rock My Ride
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July 8th I turn 70. To celebrate, I'll ride a murdercycle across country -- a farewell tour. I want to visit all my sisters, grand-children, and great-grandchildren.
En route, I'm looking to beat July heat. So I've divided each day into three legs and a siesta. Leg one, I hit the road at the very asscrack of dawn & drain a tank. Then stop for a quick breakfast. Leg two, drain another tank. By now, it will be getting brutal. So I'll hole up for siesta in some cool spot offering cold beverages. Leg three, a dusk ride while the heat sizzles down, arriving at my lodging. Idea is, every blistering afternoon, I intend to hide under a rock, like any well educated jackrabbit would do. Common sense.
That's where you come in. I'm looking for a few good rocks.
Each afternoon I'd admire to herf up with an internet brother & a good cigar underneath the right rock. Look at this itinerary I've sketched out below, and tell me if you know a relaxing spot roughly two-thirds along any such leg where you and I could burn a gar, drink lemonaid, & chill.
For example, say you live in Kansas City, and you like Isaac Char Cigar Lounge in Topeka... so you PM me and say "let's herf up at Ike's place on your leg from St Louis to Hays, Monday 2nd ... here's my digits." That simple.
Of course, I'm also not averse to "I live in Twin Falls. There's no cigar lounge here. But we can burn stix in my basement. It's cool down there." Cool is key, see. I'll be toting tons of home rolled sticks, so I can supply the uppowoc, you supply the chair. That method saves bucks, and bucks are important too. Extra points if you have a pool.
Nor, for that matter, am I averse to saving a buck on lodging, if someone wants to put up with me, which is no mean feat. I'm shacking with Sketch in Grand Junction, for instance. I warn you I'll be fifty miles up the road by the time you wake up next morning. I'll have tent and bag with me... But my main focus right now is how to beat the heaking freat. I'm old. I don't need to get all exhausted & stroke out into the ditch.
Here follows the rough itinerary. Keep in mind that the last four JIC days are there for a purpose ... Just In Case days. So if it sets to thunderbumbling unreal in St Louis or if I get a flat in Sonora I might blow a JIC day, & that means every day thereafter gets pushed back. Nothing set in stone.
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Sat 30th Newark to Columbus OH 444m 7 1/2h
Sun 1st Columbus to St Louis 420m 6 1/4h
Mon 2nd St Louis to Hays KS 513m 7 1/2h
Tue 3rd Hays KS to Grand Junction CO 580m 8 1/2h
Wed 4th Grand Junction to Ogden UT 350m 7h
Thu 5th w/ Wade
Fri 6th w/ Wade
Sat 7th Ogden to Boise ID 300m 4 1/2h
Sun 8th Boise to Bend OR 320m 5 1/2h
Mon 9th Bend to Susanville CA 400m 8h
Tue 10th Susanville to S Lake Tahoe 200m 5h
Wed 11th S Lake Tahoe to Loope CA 180m 4h
Thu 12th Loope to Sonora Junction 200m 5h
Fri 13th Sonora Junction to Riverside CA 375m 6h
Sat 14th w/ Andrea
Sun 15th w/ Andrea
Mon 16th Riverside to Henderson NV 230m 4h
Tue 17th w/ Patty
Wed 18th Henderson to San Rafael NM 480m 7h
Thu 19th San Rafael to Elk City OK 510m 7 1/2h
Fri 20th Elk City to Clarksville AR 350m 5h
Sat 21st Ozarks Piglet ride 180m 5h
Sun 22nd Clarksville to Bucksnort TN 380m 6h
Mon 23rd Bucksnort to Cruso NC 380m 7h
Tue 24th Cruso to Willsville 230m 7h
Wed 25th Willsville to Waynesboro VA 180m 5h
Thu 26th Skyline to Front Royal VA 100m 4h
Fri 27th home 220m 4h
Sat 28th JIC
Sun 29th JIC
Mon 30th JIC
Wed 31st JIC
“It has been a source of great pain to me to have met with so many among [my] opponents who had not the liberality to distinguish between political and social opposition; who transferred at once to the person, the hatred they bore to his political opinions.” —Thomas Jefferson (1808)
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Comments
I was in High Point last week. Took the train down, bought a 2016 Kawi Versys 650LT, & rode it back. That's the one I intend to ride cross-country.
Safe travels Davis
Schmidt happens like that fairly often. There's always detours.
How the hell do I pass up a place called Bucksnort? If there's a Bucksnort T-shirt anywhere in town, I want one.
At any given time the urge to sing "In The Jungle" is just a whim away... A whim away... A whim away...
Now, about Bucksnort. There's no town remaining. Just an exit called Bucksnort. http://offbeattenn.com/bucksnort-exit-sign-town-longer/
But there's a convenience store and a motel by the interstate and I'm sure the store has a tshirt for sale. Heck, If they have can coozies, bumper stickers, shot glasses and coffee mugs, surely they got a tshirt for sale too. (Found this photo on their facebook page)
just checked and they don't even have a post office. But there's this in Idaho:
https://www.bucksnortsodas.com/ and they do have tee shirts....
I'm just 60 miles north of Jackson.
Also, I have a watershed on my property, a 60' x 120' shop with concrete floor, I smoke in the house, have a spare bedroom, and no one gets up earlier than me unless they just don't go to bed.
Also, anytime I go east on I-40, I go right through Bucksnort. I've done it 6 times in the last 6 weeks either going to Nashville and back, or Centerville and back.
Also, I can tell you of some great riding that you would have to miss if you go through Bucksnort. Come to think of it, some great riding between here and Bucksnort that a person would ordinarily miss.
@Bob_Luken makes some great points.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
@Bob_Luken
@jd50ae
@TNBigfoot68
If this happens, give some thought to coming out.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
Let's eat, GrandMa. / Let's eat GrandMa. -- Punctuation saves lives
It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
I warn you, however, that by this late in the schedule a day or two delay is to be expected. In fact, I would be astonished if a rain day didn't get burnt by then.
Just now came in from the garage. Wrenching on the Versys. Had removed the windshield ten miles into my return from NC. Just now removed the brackets. Installed some doodads to lower the pegs, some bar risers. some highway peg brackets. Have a USB port on the way. Just about ready to go. If my time were my own, I'd have left yesterday.
Davis, I was just in NW Arkansas last week on the bike, not sure what the "piglet" is, but I took route 9 from Salem down to Mountainview, then back up 9 to 14 up through Yellville and beyond, then back down to Eureka Springs. GREAT roads!
"If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed. If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." -- Mark Twain
Ya he stayed a night and split early the next am heading for Idaho.
What you can't forgive......you will become.