Ralph Weickel’s Blog

June 6, 2009, Day 15 was the last day of the great ride west and back.  We left Kansas City mid-morning knowing it would be a long day and it would end in Lexington.  The day began with sprinkles and by the time we reached the HD dealer in Columbia, MO it was time to ditch the rain jacket.  Sun was with us the rest of the ride to Lexington and it made for an enjoyable final day.  We stayed on I-70 east and I-64 east most of the time; detouring only slightly to catch the state markers on a less traveled road than the interstate.

We made the decision early in the day to limit our picture stops on the interstate to only the essential picture opportunities.  We ended the trip with 48 points and will need to plan several shorter trips to accumulate more points.  The end of the alphabet for counties and cities is proving to be a challenge.  After stopping for dinner in Louisville, we rolled into Lexington at 1:30 am totally exhilarated by the experience and ready for the next one.

Some thoughts as this ride ends - we traveled 6800 miles in 15 days and the following made it an awesome experience:

• By pacing the time during the day we did not feel exhausted;
• Chris was the ideal riding partner and made the ride a joy - we rode alike, took things in stride and enjoyed being on the road;
• The weather was a challenge at times and with proper clothing it never slowed us down;
• We made the schedule as we went which allowed for maximum flexibility;
• The people we encountered along the way were wonderful and we got to see most people’s best when engaging the

This ride has only served to wet my appetite for future rides - if you have suggestions send them to me and thank you for being part of our ride!

Have a peaceful day!

Day 14, June 5, 2009, had us starting out on Route 50 east from Garden City to Fort Dodge and heading toward Kansas City.  The day started with bright sunshine and it proved to be the first day we did not have to put on any rain gear as sunshine was with us all day.

In Fort Dodge we made a brief stop at Boot Hill and the HD Dealership - both were interesting and at he HD dealership we met some folks from KY.  At the outskirts of Ft. Dodge before getting on Route 400 east we stopped for gas and met a fellow Harley rider who invited us for a fall trip to Cooper Canyon in Mexico.  We would be joining him and 12 of his friends for a ride into and through the canyon.

Route 400 east was picturesque and flat - we stopped at a cattle farm and I now know were our beef comes from or at least a large portion.  We did notice the road side gas marts were focal points and very busy - serving gas, food and ATM services.  At one we were advised about upcoming speed traps - wonderful what you find out from folks.

We noticed on the ride that there are less counties and cities at the low end of the alphabet and we will be looking for cities and counties at the bottom of the alphabet today.  The day’s ride ended on the east side of KC and we got in before 10 pm, having covered about 450 miles during the day.

Have a super day!

June 4, 2009 or Day 13 or the journey found us heading east from Durango with the goal of Kansas by night fall.  Leaving Durango on Route 160 east we stopped at the Durango HD and then settled in for a long ride.  On Route 160 east we would cross Wolf Creek Pass at 10,850 feet and La Veta Pass at 9,413 feet - both were a great ride.  Wolf Creek provided the nicer views and was filled with avalanche areas while the top had a great place to pull over and it felt like taking a rest on top of the world.  The Wolf Creek Pass gets an average of 38 feet of snow annually.

Once out of the mountains at Walsenburg, CO we headed east on Route 10 and encountered a severe storm - common sense would have said to wait and we rode on encountering sizable hail - it hurts when it hits you especially in the face - and this was our third hail storm this trip and the worst.  We made it through the storm and rode off into sunshine.  The trip across Colorado proved to be longer than anticipated and it reminded me of how big a state Colorado is.  This part of Colorado was flat with plenty of cows especially at the Wiley livestock compound.

As evening fell we stopped for dinner in Lamar - had a good Mexican meal - and headed for the Kansas border.  We traveled Route 50/400 east toward the Kansas border and entered Kansas about 8:oo pm MST.  We lost an hour shortly as the time changed and rolled into our stop for the evening - Garden City at 10:30 pm CST.  The ride to Garden City provided a nice wake-up call when deer ran across the road and we barely had time to stop for them - deer and motorcycles do not mix well.  We also passed a major Tyson chicken plant in Humboldt, KS.

You may have noticed in many of the pictures I am holding a HOG Magazine at the various State and County markers - the reason is that Harley has an annual contest which awards points for states, counties, parks, etc. visited; with one point awarded for each letter of the alphabet.  It requires a picture of the rider, their bike, latest HOG magazine and the location marker.  We have collected 45 points on this trip to date.

Today we will look for additional counties and cities that have obscure names with the goal to end in Kansas City by nightfall.

Have a fun Friday!

Monday, June 1, 2009, found us starting early even though the tour bus staying at the hotel beat us out of the parking lot.  We left for Yosemite at 8:30 am heading west on Rte 108 and then 49 South to Rte 120 east and into Yosemite Park.  it was a wonderful ride to the beginning of the park with a climb of 2,000 feet and a great ride with multiple switchbacks and vistas - the only drawback was limited stops for photo opportunities.  With no guard rails paying attention to the ride was important.

We got to the park entrance and within 2 miles pulled over to view a bear cub grazing in the grass.  It was not bothered by the multiple viewers.  The ride through the park was incredible - the sheer beauty and scenery was breath-taking at times.  The ride was only 58 miles and took over 90 minutes due to the multiple photo opportunities.  We climber through the park ending at Toiga Pass and 9900 plus feet.  It was cold and there was plenty of snow on the ground leading to the pass.  The road at times was covered with water from the melting rain.  The ride was filled with sweeping turns and tight turns along with photo opportunities.  There was a series on 10 mph switch backs which tested one’s riding skills.

Leaving Toiga pass we dropped 3,000 feet to Lee Vining and a great meal.  At the Mobile station at the end of Rte 120 was a Mobile station with a world class restaurant and a entertaining staff.  The food was truly wonderful and a welcome surprise at the end of the ride.  From lee Vining we headed north on Rte 395 to Carson City, NV.  We rode along Mono Lake and climbed to the Neveda border.

About 10 miles short of the border we were greeted by our old friend hail and he kept us copy for the next 10 miles as we climbed to and across the Neveda border.  We made it to Carson City and visited the HD dealer to warm up and decide our plans.  While at lunch at the Mobile station we met some fellow riders who gave us a new route across the Kingsbury (Grade) Pass on Rte 207.  We decided that despite the nasty looking sky we would make a run for the pass.  As we head toward the Kingsbury pass and Rte 207 the sky opened up and we were greeted by our first thunder storm including lightening - we pressed on.  Climbing 4,000 feet to 6,500 feet in a thunderstorm was a new adventure - an experience to add to the bucket list and then cross off.  We traveled seven miles to the top of the pass which had numerous tight turns and we average about 40 mph.  The ride down was much easier as we had out run the storm or the pass acted as a barrier.  As we dropped into Lake Tahoe the weather cleared and we began to thaw and dry out.  The ride around Lake Tahoe was picturesque and despite a wet road enjoyable.

We rode Rte 89 north around Lake Tahoe and it dumped us onto I-80 east which we rode into Reno.  Reno greeted us with some more rain and we quickly found a hotel.  Sespite the weather the day was incredible and today we head east on Rte 50 or the Loneliest Road in America.

Have a terrific day!

The day, May 31, 2009, found us enjoy the comforts of Half Moon Bay and we got a late start.  We rode north on the Pacific Coast Highway into San Francisco coming in on I-280 and then merging unto 19th Street.  19th Street took us to the Golden Gate Bridge and we navigated more traffic than anticipated for a Sunday morning.

The Golden Gate Bridge came into view and the day being overcast the tops of the Bridge were in the clouds.  We crossed the bridge going north, missing the toll, and enjoyed the view.  A stray garbage can on the Bridge forced a near accident as i was forced to brake quickly, due to cars in front of me swerved and hit their brakes.  Surviving the near collision, we stopped at the look out and saw the Bridge from an angle along with San Fransisco.  From the Bridge we continued north.

We took I-580 east off Route 1 and made the decision to head to Madesto as the entry point into Yosemite, which we decided to add to the itinerary.  The drive on I-580 was pretty cool as we crossed the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, again missing the toll.  We stayed on the 580 until it became the 5 and promptly missed our exit for Modesto.

Thanks to the wonders of GPS we programed the desired location Modesto HD dealer once we got off the interstate - we realized we missed a turn somewhere and had a nice ride through the California fruit growers.  A stop at a roadside stand netted bananas, apricots and peaches for less than $2.00.  We found the Modesto HD dealer shortly and received great guidance on how to plan for the ride through Yosemite.  The ride will require more time than we had allowed and we made the decison to ride to Sonora and start from there early in the morning.

Sonora provided us with a fine BBQ meal at Outlaw BBQ and Steak and an early night in.  Tomorrow the plan is to ride from Sonora through Yosemite and end in Reno.

Here’s to flexibility and best laid plans -  and have a marvelous day!