Touring the USA on a Mot Guzzi Breva 750
Rather than have to do it all over (this is last year´s trip) - please check out http://motoguzzimomma.vox.com/
In return, I promise to post here this year. Thanks for looking
Here are a few images and a couple of journal entries from the 2009 trip
1. Route 66 Museum, Clinton, OK
Now we had to negotiate the outskirts of Oklahoma City and that didn't go too badly. I did see a car without any bonnet (hood) whatsoever. The young guy driving looked like a relation of Michael Jackson - you think he'd fork out for a bit of repair work on his nephews junker!
Then we got lost - well, as mgman would have it, 'took an interesting detour ´of about 80 miles.
The temperature was around 96 F (sorry, Europe and Oz) and humidity was at 90%, so it was with relief that we came into Clinton, where, directly opposite the Route 66 Museum, is the 'Tradewinds Motel'.
It is a big one too! I expected a room to be around $100, but no, it was only $50 for a very nice room - massive bed, fridge, microwave, even (for those of a fussy disposition - not guilty) an IRON and IRONING board. And breakfast is included. And, even more impressive, ELVIS stayed here FOUR times. You can stay in his suite for only $100 a night.
2. A Ride In Arizona
3. The Guzzi In Monument Valley
4. Monument Valley
5. Big Smokey Valley, Nevada
6. Near Rachel, Nevada - on the Extraterrestrial Highway
7. The start of the ET Highway
8. How I expected the ET Highway to look.....
I know we had a rest in Kanab, but, we are very, very tired again. Maybe it's the heat, or the altitude - 6,000 to 10,000 feet. Maybe it's the diet - donuts on the fly. Maybe we are just getting older. Perhaps it's the changing time zones on a, nearly, daily basis. Whatever. The bottom line is we are feeling exhausted yet again.
Yesterday, we last filled up in a tiny town in Nevada - Panaca. The next town, Caliente - no gas. Next town, Crystal Springs; no gas (no town). As we turned into Highway 375 - the 'Extraterrestrial Highway, we had 58 miles on the clock. A sign warned, 'No Gas For Next 150 Miles'.
Gulp. We did, however, have a container with 1 US Gal of fuel and we had worked out we should be ok.
It was still worrying. We made it to Rachel (40+ miles along the ET Highway) by 6pm our time - but 5pm Nevada time. Had an 'Alien Burger' (Rachel is right next to Area 51 and a sort of UFO capital).
Booked into a room (trailer-in-the-desert) and filled the bike up with the can of gas.
It was an incredible night-sky; only mid-ocean do you see such a sky. Saturn and Mars clearly visible. And the silence - except for us; the bike had been very hot in the desert and the night was very cold. The contracting metal somehow kept setting the alarm off. Hence, little sleep for us and possibly, Rachel and all their aliens.
Anyhow, today (up at 5am) we continued on HW 375. I have to say, this was the loneliest road we have ever experienced. We were on pins for the whole ride - would the fuel last? We had 110 miles to ride (with 90-odd miles gone from the tank already)
We made it into Tonopah (110 miles north of Rachel) with the low fuel light on. Filled up + extra in canister. Then breakfast.
Highway 376 the 'Great Smoky Valley' had roads just as unending, just as straight, just as dusty; but occasionally, we saw another vehicle.
Then we turned east on HW 50. ' The Loneliest Road In America'.
Yes, it was quiet. It wasn't anywhere near, no-how as lonely as the ET Highway. And the distances between towns were shorter.
Oh yes; we took a tumble. Pulling in to a Historic Marker, the gravel was a lot deeper than it looked. Mgman burnt a hole in the leg of his trousers and I twisted my ankle and shoulder a bit. But all fine.
9. Ahead of a building storm on HW 196, toward Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado
10.
11. Tucumcari, New Mexico
12. Riding at speed in Utah - close to Bonneville Salt Flats. We were doing about 85mph here
13. The Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas
Before I forget, there were two things I forgot to tell you yesterday. First, we missed Amarillo. Hard to believe, but, surrounded by 18 wheelers, we missed the exit. Does this mean we can join Tony Christie's fan club? -
'Is this the way to Amarillo'
Incidentally, I had been singing that for the preceding 50 miles! I am ashamed to admit that I know all the words :oops:
I do remember the awful stink of blood as we passed an abattoir and the overpowering pong of poo as we rode past thousands of Black Aberdeen Angus. Very tempting to return to being a vegetarian.
That's the thing about the USA, there seems to be a song for wherever you are and you can't get it out of you head for miles. Today, I've been singing, 'Deep In The Heart of Texas' - even though we were in the upper left had corner. I just know I'll be singing the Eagle's song, 'Take It Easy' as we head towards Winsow, AZ.
OK, the 2nd thing; I forgot to say we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, just after the conspicuous-by-it's-absence, Amarillo. Some nutty millionaire planted these Cadillacs here - all at an exact angle - some years ago.
14. Niagara Falls, Canada
The rain had eased off by the time we checked in and unloaded, so we set off for the falls. It was about 6 miles to the Falls and we were halfway there when the worst downpour yet started. Hell, did it rain. I had two plastic bags on my Nikon DSLR, which was around my neck and also tucked into my outer rain gear.
It was precarious riding. The spray, the near-no visibility, nowhere to pull in, traffic and deep puddles that almost caused us to hydroplane. Close to the falls, the traffic came to a crawl. Horse-drawn carriages the cause.
Despite the tempting glimpses of the spray feet above the falls, we were in deep concentration with the road situation, and I was praying the camera was OK. Finally we turned into the car park. $20 for a car, $9 for motorcycles. It took a while to get to the damp money – you know what it's like – it is tucked well in, but with soaking wet hands and dripping wet clothing, it is difficult to get money out.
Once parked, I jogged off to find some shelter to check the camera. I found a few tissues and dried the body as much as I could. Took the battery out and checked that. Turned the camera on. Error message. OH *****. I clicked the shutter but nothing happened. The ladies toilets!!! I held the camera under the hand dryer, blowing hot air all over the body and into every crevice and compartment. Back outside, the rain had stopped and some spots of blue sky were peeking out. I tried the camera again but still it showed the error message. Switching to Auto was the only way to change the screen – it said auto, rather than error. Click; it worked. I think. The playback screen remained blank and the menu remained blank.
So, finally, I headed to the falls themselves, hoping for the best.
Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the the last ice-age, and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America and is an important producer of hydroelectricity.
I crossed my fingers and took a load of photos. Thankfully, they all came out, but I didn't know that at the time, so we bought a lot of postcards, just in case.
In return, I promise to post here this year. Thanks for looking
Here are a few images and a couple of journal entries from the 2009 trip
1. Route 66 Museum, Clinton, OK
Now we had to negotiate the outskirts of Oklahoma City and that didn't go too badly. I did see a car without any bonnet (hood) whatsoever. The young guy driving looked like a relation of Michael Jackson - you think he'd fork out for a bit of repair work on his nephews junker!
Then we got lost - well, as mgman would have it, 'took an interesting detour ´of about 80 miles.
The temperature was around 96 F (sorry, Europe and Oz) and humidity was at 90%, so it was with relief that we came into Clinton, where, directly opposite the Route 66 Museum, is the 'Tradewinds Motel'.
It is a big one too! I expected a room to be around $100, but no, it was only $50 for a very nice room - massive bed, fridge, microwave, even (for those of a fussy disposition - not guilty) an IRON and IRONING board. And breakfast is included. And, even more impressive, ELVIS stayed here FOUR times. You can stay in his suite for only $100 a night.
2. A Ride In Arizona
3. The Guzzi In Monument Valley
4. Monument Valley
5. Big Smokey Valley, Nevada
6. Near Rachel, Nevada - on the Extraterrestrial Highway
7. The start of the ET Highway
8. How I expected the ET Highway to look.....
I know we had a rest in Kanab, but, we are very, very tired again. Maybe it's the heat, or the altitude - 6,000 to 10,000 feet. Maybe it's the diet - donuts on the fly. Maybe we are just getting older. Perhaps it's the changing time zones on a, nearly, daily basis. Whatever. The bottom line is we are feeling exhausted yet again.
Yesterday, we last filled up in a tiny town in Nevada - Panaca. The next town, Caliente - no gas. Next town, Crystal Springs; no gas (no town). As we turned into Highway 375 - the 'Extraterrestrial Highway, we had 58 miles on the clock. A sign warned, 'No Gas For Next 150 Miles'.
Gulp. We did, however, have a container with 1 US Gal of fuel and we had worked out we should be ok.
It was still worrying. We made it to Rachel (40+ miles along the ET Highway) by 6pm our time - but 5pm Nevada time. Had an 'Alien Burger' (Rachel is right next to Area 51 and a sort of UFO capital).
Booked into a room (trailer-in-the-desert) and filled the bike up with the can of gas.
It was an incredible night-sky; only mid-ocean do you see such a sky. Saturn and Mars clearly visible. And the silence - except for us; the bike had been very hot in the desert and the night was very cold. The contracting metal somehow kept setting the alarm off. Hence, little sleep for us and possibly, Rachel and all their aliens.
Anyhow, today (up at 5am) we continued on HW 375. I have to say, this was the loneliest road we have ever experienced. We were on pins for the whole ride - would the fuel last? We had 110 miles to ride (with 90-odd miles gone from the tank already)
We made it into Tonopah (110 miles north of Rachel) with the low fuel light on. Filled up + extra in canister. Then breakfast.
Highway 376 the 'Great Smoky Valley' had roads just as unending, just as straight, just as dusty; but occasionally, we saw another vehicle.
Then we turned east on HW 50. ' The Loneliest Road In America'.
Yes, it was quiet. It wasn't anywhere near, no-how as lonely as the ET Highway. And the distances between towns were shorter.
Oh yes; we took a tumble. Pulling in to a Historic Marker, the gravel was a lot deeper than it looked. Mgman burnt a hole in the leg of his trousers and I twisted my ankle and shoulder a bit. But all fine.
9. Ahead of a building storm on HW 196, toward Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado
10.
11. Tucumcari, New Mexico
12. Riding at speed in Utah - close to Bonneville Salt Flats. We were doing about 85mph here
13. The Cadillac Ranch near Amarillo, Texas
Before I forget, there were two things I forgot to tell you yesterday. First, we missed Amarillo. Hard to believe, but, surrounded by 18 wheelers, we missed the exit. Does this mean we can join Tony Christie's fan club? -
'Is this the way to Amarillo'
Incidentally, I had been singing that for the preceding 50 miles! I am ashamed to admit that I know all the words :oops:
I do remember the awful stink of blood as we passed an abattoir and the overpowering pong of poo as we rode past thousands of Black Aberdeen Angus. Very tempting to return to being a vegetarian.
That's the thing about the USA, there seems to be a song for wherever you are and you can't get it out of you head for miles. Today, I've been singing, 'Deep In The Heart of Texas' - even though we were in the upper left had corner. I just know I'll be singing the Eagle's song, 'Take It Easy' as we head towards Winsow, AZ.
OK, the 2nd thing; I forgot to say we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, just after the conspicuous-by-it's-absence, Amarillo. Some nutty millionaire planted these Cadillacs here - all at an exact angle - some years ago.
14. Niagara Falls, Canada
The rain had eased off by the time we checked in and unloaded, so we set off for the falls. It was about 6 miles to the Falls and we were halfway there when the worst downpour yet started. Hell, did it rain. I had two plastic bags on my Nikon DSLR, which was around my neck and also tucked into my outer rain gear.
It was precarious riding. The spray, the near-no visibility, nowhere to pull in, traffic and deep puddles that almost caused us to hydroplane. Close to the falls, the traffic came to a crawl. Horse-drawn carriages the cause.
Despite the tempting glimpses of the spray feet above the falls, we were in deep concentration with the road situation, and I was praying the camera was OK. Finally we turned into the car park. $20 for a car, $9 for motorcycles. It took a while to get to the damp money – you know what it's like – it is tucked well in, but with soaking wet hands and dripping wet clothing, it is difficult to get money out.
Once parked, I jogged off to find some shelter to check the camera. I found a few tissues and dried the body as much as I could. Took the battery out and checked that. Turned the camera on. Error message. OH *****. I clicked the shutter but nothing happened. The ladies toilets!!! I held the camera under the hand dryer, blowing hot air all over the body and into every crevice and compartment. Back outside, the rain had stopped and some spots of blue sky were peeking out. I tried the camera again but still it showed the error message. Switching to Auto was the only way to change the screen – it said auto, rather than error. Click; it worked. I think. The playback screen remained blank and the menu remained blank.
So, finally, I headed to the falls themselves, hoping for the best.
Niagara Falls were formed when glaciers receded at the end of the the last ice-age, and water from the newly-formed Great Lakes carved a path through the Niagara Escarpment en route to the Atlantic Ocean. While not exceptionally high, the Niagara Falls are very wide. More than six million cubic feet (168,000 m³) of water falls over the crest line every minute in high flow, and almost 4 million cubic feet (110,000m³) on average. It is the most powerful waterfall in North America and is an important producer of hydroelectricity.
I crossed my fingers and took a load of photos. Thankfully, they all came out, but I didn't know that at the time, so we bought a lot of postcards, just in case.
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Comments
Be cool if you posted a couple of teaser shots to get people to look (if they don't, they're missing out on a great trip!).
Thanks for looking Ian. Good idea re the photos - duh, why didn´t I think of it. Will sort that out later.
Btw - in 2008, we were in Death Valley and the temp was 98 degrees by 9am! Way too hot. I just love the southwestern deserts too.
Hi Art. Yeah it was a shame to miss the salt museum but it was early evening and it was probably closed anyhow; plus we were tired and desperate to find a motel. We did pass the Cosmosphere, but again it may have been closed.
This year we will make a point of stopping and taking a look as we will probably return from Utah the same way. So thanks for the heads up on that
Work hard, play harder. bloggy
Thank you for taking a look
New Zealand - North and South Islands - is top of our `hope we can get there one day´ list.
Correct - but the only emoticon i could find and it was before I added any pics; I´ll remove it now!
Thanks for looking Tee Why
No we hadn´t heard anything about the ride on HW120 but i just checked it out here
http://www.pashnit.com/roads/cal/Hwy120east.htm
and it looks like our kinda road so we are going to try and make it this year. It´s always great to have rides suggested when you are a stranger to a a place. So - many thanks.
We did ride HW49 and that was some twisty, steep road!
I didn´t keep a journal of our 2008 trip; we had a lot of trouble finding internet access for some reason. Although I made a DVD of that year´ride. It was our longest ride so far, just under 10,000 miles; Toronto-Cali-Seattle-Toronto. We did get to see Mono Lake (beautiful and so other-worldly).
The previous year, 2007, I made a website once we got home; although it´s a bit cocka-namey (a few of the photos have disappeared) it covers some nice places and rides and also gives info on shipping a motorcycle to the USA/Canada:
http://www.freewebs.com/motoguzzimomma/
Here´s an excerpt:
Grand Staircase Escalante, National Monument, Utah
GSE National Monument is big at 1.9 million acres; it is crossed by only one road HW12 that is designated an All American Road. It is rugged, and physically very varied. The names on a map of GSE resonate with adventure and danger: Death Hollow, Trap Canyon, Hell’s Backbone, Coyote Gulch, No Man’s Mesa, Carcass Wash, Death Ridge, Last Chance Gulch, Harvey’s Fear.
Scenic Highway 12 through Grand Staircase, is a fabulous road to ride. The roads twist, rise and fall and the scenery changes drastically. For many miles you may be riding a road cut between towering giant slabs of red rock, next you are looking down on folded golden ripples. At other times the road curves through the rich pine forests of Dixie National Forest and the ground is covered with carpets of purple and yellow flowers.
BIKE BURPS - Yes, even with a brand new bike, things can go wrong....
It was about six miles from the town of Torrey to the entrance of Capitol Reef NP. We were just inside the park when, all of a sudden, the bike started going slower and slower. We made a smart stop and a rapid dismount when I noticed smoke coming from the back wheel. It was a shock to see the rear brake disc glowing red. On trying to push the bike onto the verge, we found we couldn´t; the back wheel was locked solid. The two of us were struggling to move the bike when a guy in a pick-up stopped to see if he could help. The driver was a really big guy, but even with three of us, it was a bit of a struggle to part lift, part push the bike into a conveniently close lay-by. Jan and the guy tried to see what the problem was. Our good Samaritan thought maybe we had some gravel in the brake pads and offered to put the bike in the back of his pick-up and take us back to town. We said thanks, but we didn´t want to spoil his day. However, did he have a mobile phone? We would call up the `Desert Doctor´ who, the day before, had been handing out his business card to bikers around the town. But, as is often the case in these remote areas, there was no signal. We thanked him again and said we would cope.
Once the disc cooled down, the wheel moved freely again so we turned around and took it slowly back into town and pulled in at the gas station. Jan called the number on `Desert Doctor´s´ card. The guy asked us to ride the bike to his workshop back up in the town of Escalante - a hundred miles away on that same switch-back road we had rode down yesterday. WHAT? WITH BRAKE PROBLEMS? Man, ARE YOU NUTS?
My suggested route is to come all the way through Yosemite. This is the Tioga Pass Road. It T's into Hwy 395. At that intersection is a Mobil gas station. You want to eat lunch there...trust me on this. The place is called the Whoa Nelli Deli. Can't miss it.
Once you're satiated, turn South on 395 and look for the left turn that continues 120 to Benton. If you're looking for stuff to see, I can also recommend the White Mountains. Home of the Ancient Bristle Cone Pine Forest.
Hot springs sound great - gotta go there. Also the White Mountains.
We don´t want to head to the Californian coast this time - FOG, FIRES, FREEZING!
I´m going Google-earthing now to take a look :ivar
Thanks again for the recommendations - we´re always grateful for local knowledge