Back from the furnace

Well it's been a while since I've added anything. Our plans had to change drastically due to record setting heat. When we got to Arches it was over 102 and we'd already been riding in heat for hours before we got there.

We gave up on any real hiking and headed for the A/C comfort of the visitor center. We asked the ranger when it might cool down a bit and were told an hour after sunset. Since deer don't have headlights or reflectors we pushed on to the A/C comfort of our motel. That motel was still a couple of hours down the road an just getting there was a job against the heat.

The forecast for the next 5 days was even worse and when they started talking about 117+ temps....I said time to head East and UP! We pulled out the next morning for Colorado. We got high and got there early. When we were below 7000 ft it got hot but above that was about10-15 degrees cooler.

We did the Durango to Montrose route and hit Mesa Verde, Black Canyon of the Gunnison too along the way. We decided to go through Rocky Mountain Nat'l on our way to my Nephew's home in the Northern Denver suburbs. Riding by snow and then getting dumped on by rain didn't even bother us, at least it was cool.

My Vance & Hines exhaust pipe almost snapped in half going up to the Loveland Tunnel. The highways in Colorado REALLY NEED WORK. Now I'm waiting on parts to get that fixed.

We did get home a day early after spending a night at my brother Gary's and his wife Linda's house. We had the "all you can eat" Walleye dinner which was OUTSTANDING as usual. I'll be posting some photos here shortly of the trip.

All in all we traveled only 3400 miles on this one. But with gas being about 3.50 per gallon for most of the trip....that was enough.

t-minus 19 hours and counting

Well I didn't get much done to the bike yesterday other than the new front tire and some new style lowers installed. I wanted to get her washed and cleaned up but it was a cold windy day yesterday and we had our neighbor coming over to get the cat briefing. Now Ann can rest assured that her Siamese will be well cared for and this should allow her to concentrate on the trip. I also got some of the routing plotted for uploading to the GPS.

Weather reports are Outstanding! We should be leaving in the mid 50's and riding into the 90's. No rain in the entire 10 day forecast along the route. It's going to be HOT though and as usual...the air conditioning on the bike isn't working.

Now all I have left to do is, pack clothes, clean up bike, check fluids, tire pressure, air shock pressure, upload routing info to the GPS, make sure motel reservation info is packed, and paper maps. Hopefully I'll get the bike loaded tonight so all we need do is fire it up and leave tomorrow morning.

Estimated milage for this trip will be around 4,250 or so. Sure hope gas doesn't get much higher than it is already.

Not sure if I'll get to post anything while were gone but if anyone reads this....stay tuned.

Back from the MN Patriot Guard Rally

We're back from the Minnesota Patriot Guard Rally and it was a moving experience. It was a beautiful day and all went smooth. When we stopped at the turn-a-round spot, there was a State policeman (of the motorcycle variety) there and letting use take a good close look at his bike. That baby had everything short of Direct TV! That trooper sure loved showing it off too.

On the way up to Pine City there were solders standing along the route holding signs with names of the fallen and saluting our flags as we passed. My wife and I were moved to tears as we passed them and I noticed a name from our area, Sgt. Rystad. It really helped remind us of who we ride for and added a air of reverence to the ride.

The only downside to the entire trip was that we had to debate some relatives of mine that we were staying with on the subject of politics, which also reminded us of why we ride for the Patriot Guard. Photos will follow....next trip scheduled for this next weekend... Utah!

Preparing for the 2nd Annual Minnesota Patriot Guard Rally

The day before we depart for the rally I start the mental checks for the evenings preps. Fluids, air pressure both suspension and tires, GPS maps and routes loaded, rain gear, and last but not least weather. Lots of weather checks for departure city, cities along the way and finally, the destination. Tonight it will be to start the process of actually packing and cleaning the bike followed by more weather checks. We've only got a short 300 mile trip tomorrow but it will be the longest trek for my wife this year and I want everything to go smooth. A week from now will be our first big venture out in a couple years and that will be to Southern Utah! Stay tuned!

http://www.mnpatriotguard.org/