SWITCHING BLOGS

I have decided to change the location of my blog.  All new blog entries will now be at ridingwithfred.blog.com

I find the other site is a bit easier to use.  I am still setting things up, so it is a bit disorganized, so be patient, I'll get around to sorting it all out.

Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Fred

SPRING FEVER 2011 - DAY 8 AND 9

SATURDAY - APRIL 30, 2011
The morning started with breakfast at the IHOP located across the street from the motel.  I don't know if anyone was really looking forward to today's ride.  The forecast is for high winds and high temperatures.  I can say right now they were correct.


We headed out of town by going east on US Highway 380.  Nothing really scenic, but it was at least the temperature was cool when we started.  Our plan was to ride to Post, TX and then turn south on US 84 take it to I-20 and then head into Abilene.  The highlight for the day would be dinner at Lytles, my favorite Steakhouse. We made pretty good time, and we stopped for a couple of breaks, but other than that we just scooted along.

We arrived in Abilene around 2:00 PM and checked into the Whitten Inn.  We basically hung out until around 5, when we decided to head to the Steakhouse.  Dinner was great, but what made it even better is Chuck picked up the meal, and Bill bought the drinks.  Heck maybe I need to start doing this for a living.

Tomorrow plans are just to make it home.

SUNDAY - MAY 1, 2011

The final day on the road.  I wish I can say it all went well, but of course I would be telling a fib.

We started loading the bikes around 6 waiting for the sun to come up.  Chuck and Dick who live about 80 north of Houston was going to break away and take the Interstate home.  Bill and I were just going to trug down Highway 36 to home.  I guess our first mistake of the day was watching the Weather Channel.  Now mind you it does not rain in Abilene, TX but a couple times of year.  It just so happens that I go through Abilene a couple of times a year.  Guess when it rains?  Your right, the forecast was for rain, and not just a shower or two, but thunder boomers and the whole nine yards.

It looked like we would be out of it if we could be about 50 to 75 miles south of Abilene.  We tried to get out of town, but only made it to the corner service station where we had to take cover.  Rain, Hail, high winds, you name it, it was happening.  We basically just sat it out for about 45 minutes until the worst passed, and then we headed out.  Chuck and Dick did revise their route because the storms were following the Interstate they planned on taking.

We were not out of the threat of rain until we reached Gatesville.  Bill had decided at this point he was not interested in breakfast, so we told us at an earlier stop he was heading home in hope of not getting wet.  Chuck, Dick and myself decided to stop and get some breakfast biscuits, afterwards Chuck and Dick spit off on their on and headed home.

The rest of my day was just fighting the wind while trying to get home.  The temperature increased as well as the humidity.  When I pulled into my garage it was 96 degrees with 90 percent humidity.  I was glad to be home.

Now for the rest of the story.  If you read about my last trip, I came down with food poisoning.  Well guess what, it happened again.  Everything was fine until about 11:00 PM Sunday night when I suddenly became ill.  It was not as bad as last time, but I sure hope this does not become a trend.  The one good thing about it is at least I was home.

Playing around with some Video

Trying to learn how to edit and post videos.  Using this post to experiment.

FM 390 on a Sunny Day

SPRING FEVER 2011 - DAY 7

FRIDAY - APRIL 29, 2011

It was windy we we started and it was windy when we stopped.  That is the best description to today's ride.  We had breakfast a the cafe again, and like last night it was excellent.  It was a bit on the cool side, but not as bad as yesterday.

We headed east on US 60 into the sun and wind.  We took a short break at the pull out for the VLA.  If you are interested in what this is, you can read about it here  VLA INFO

Riding along US 60 there is a lot of nothing.  Even though the road is extremely straight, it is very scenic.

At Sorocco, NM we turned south on I-25 for a short distance and then took US 380 west towards Carrizozo, NM.  The wind was really hammering us now.  We stopped for gas in Carrizozo, and then continued on towards Roswell.  We did stop and take a break east of Carrizozo and a fairly scenic rest area.  The entire time we were there I was watching my bike because every time the wind blew the bike would move.  Yes, the wind was that strong.

We arrived in Roswell in the early afternoon, and we were all ready to call it a day.  The wind was really blowing now, and the temp. had reached a 100 degrees.  We checked into the Western Inn, a quaint little place at a decent price.

Tomorrow we head to Abilene, where we will have dinner at Lytles Steak House. 

SPRING FEVER 2011 - DAY 6

THURSDAY - APRIL 28, 2011

The day started out cold, the coldest yet.  When we pulled out of Dump #5 the temperature was in the low 30's.  This was the turn around point of the trip we are now slowly heading back to Houston.  Were not in a big hurry, but the next few days will just be transit days.

We stopped for breakfast just west of Flagstaff, from there we continued on to Flagstaff where our plan was to take Lake Mary Rd. to Happy Jack and then on to Payson.  Had a few miss turns trying to find Lake Mary Rd.  It appears you can't exit to it off southbound I-17.  With a little help from one of Flagstaff's finest, we were able to get back on track.

We took Lake Mary Rd. to Highway 87 where we turned south towards Payson.  We took a short break in Clint Wells, AZ before continueing on.

In Payson we turned onto US Highway towards Heber.  It was pretty conjested, and there was some major construction going on.  It all cleared out after Heber, and it was clear sailing in to Show Low.  In Show Low we stopped for lunch at the local Sonic. 

After lunch we turned onto US 60 and headed to Springerville and this is when the wind started picking up again.  We have had a reprieve for the last couple of days, but now we were back into it.  We had a tail wind for a long time, but that changed to a 30 plus mph cross wind with some higher gusts.  Every now and then one of the gust's will hit you sending the bike into the oncoming lane.  That made for some seat pucker moments.

We took a break at a rest area just outside of Springerville.  It was starting to get a bit warm, and it was windy.  We were not far from out destination for the night, and I think we were all tired of wind,and ready to call it a day.

We crossed into NM and headed to Quemado, NM where we were planning on staying the night.  I sort of made reservations at the motel there, but that is another story. 



US HIGHWAY 60 TO QUEMADO, NM

 When we arrived at the Largo Motel in Quemado, we found out you check into the motel at the cafe.  Not my first time doing this.  Turns out this is really a nice motel in the middle of no where.  We had dinner at the cafe, and the food was excellent.



OUR DIGS FOR THE NIGHT



Tomorrow we play to head to Roswell, NM.  The forcast for wind is not good.  They are saying 30 miles per hour sustained, with up to 50 miles per hour gusts.  I guess we will see if they are correct tomorrow.

SPRING FEVER 2011 - DAY 5

WEDNESDAY - APRIL 27, 2011

We got a late start today.  There was no rush since our total mileage would be fairly low.  We had breakfast at the Denny's located next door to the motel.  After breakfast Dick and Bill headed north to the Grand Canyon while Chuck and myself returned to our room to load the bikes.  After loading the bikes we headed west on US 260 to Cottonwood, AZ and then turned south on 89-A to Jerome, AZ.

The weather was perfect.  The wind had finely died down, so it was not an issue as it has been for the last several days.  Highway 89-A is another one of those perfect motorcycling roads, as long as the traffic is light.  We were in luck, we had no real traffic to contend with, so we were able to ride unhendered.  We took a couple of breaks, and the following couple of pictures are from those stops.

South of Prescott we turned west on 96 at Kirkland Junction.  This leads us back to Prescott and like 89-A is very scenic.  Below is a picture taken on Highway 96

When we arrived back in Prescott, we found it was pretty early, so we decided to head to Seligman, AZ to have lunch.  Seligman is famous because it is located on the Old Route 66 and the entire town is based on that theme from 50 to 60 years ago.  We decided to eat lunch at the Roadkill Cafe.  The food was pretty good, but at bit pricey.  A hamburger, fries, and a dinner salad cost $15.00.  Like all the other tourist, we contributed to the cause.

After lunch we headed to Williams, AZ where we check into our dump of a motel.  Dick and Bill were already there from their visit to the Grand Canyon.  We decided to order pizza instead of getting back on the bikes to go eat.


DUMP #5


Tomorrow we plan on headed to Quemado, NM.  Quemado is a spot on Highway 60, with a couple of motels and a cafe.

SPRING FEVER 2011 - DAY 4

TUESDAY - APRIL 26, 2011

What a great day of riding.  With the exception of the wind the weather was perfect.  The day started with breakfast at the Bear Wallow Restaurant.  After breakfast we headed out to do the Devils Highway

In my opinion, the Devil's Highway (US 191) is one of the top 10 motorcycling roads in North America.  This section is about 90 miles long between Alpin and Clifton, AZ.  It is 90 miles of twists, turns, and mountains.  The only down side is you really have to watch out for all the critters.  A mile out of Alpine we run into a heard of Elk.  They are some big critters.

I didn't take a lot of pictures today but below are a few taken along US 191

After reaching Clifton, we headed west to Safford, AZ.  After we arrived there we gassed up and decided to have lunch at a local Chinese Restaurant.  Something important happened at lunch.  For some reason, that we have not determined yet, Dick paid the bill for all of us.  We don't know why he did this, and for those of you that know Dick, I am sure you are as shocked as I was.

While at lunch we decided to head to Camp Verde, AZ for the night.  This will give Dick and Bill a jumping off location for the Grand Canyon tomorrow, while Chuck and I finding something else to do.

On the way we stopped at the Tonto National Landmark where the following two pictures were taken.

We arrived in Camp Verde around 5:00 o'clock local time.  We checked into the local Super 8 Motel.  Dinner was at a combination Dairy Queen / Mexican Restaurant.  Yup, it was both.  Never had seen this before.  Dick and Bill had DQ while Chuck and I had Mexican. 

Tomorrow Dick and Bill will do the Grand Canyon, and you will have to wait to see what Chcuk and I do.