Ride across the USA

Thanks for the link to your complete photo collection and sharing our country with us. I am enjoying the ride!
Be safe in the heat. It takes a toll on tires but also on you.
 
Frulk_imp said:
We meet in Escalante Friday PM. Plan was to ride bikes to Hanksville Saturday and pic up tires in my truck and have them put on. If you think your tires won’t last the 130 miles I’ll haul them on my bike to Escalante and see if this guy can put them on.

The Motorcycle Desert Doctor of Escalante
Probably worth dragging the tires out there just to meet the guy!
 
Looks like Django has a fair way to go to get to Escalante on tyres he says are already toast. This added tension is contributing greatly to the story. Not.
 
Brings a sense of Deja Vu. About 10 years ago I miscalculated how many miles I had left on a rear tire on a road trip in Southern Utah. Spent a whole day riding from small town to small town looking for a tire without success. Ended up at a shop just outside of Salt Lake City that could fix me up.

I swore I'd never overestimate a tire's capability again, but managed to pull a similar trick just before the '17 West Coast Rally. Tires have a way of wearing much more quickly as they reach the end of their lives.
 
Me too! Rode from San Diego to Denver via Escalante and Hanksville in August one year. My rear Dunlop, which seemed fine before I left home, was worn down to the cords by the time I reached UT 12. Had to ride to Durango, Colorado, before I could find a replacement. High speeds, a fully-loaded bike, and intense desert heat will do it.
 
Last time I rode Oatman to Williams I got over heated and bailed on 66 at Kingman and rode to Williams to cool off and hydrate like crazy. And that was in May!
 
Well, our intrepid traveler Django had the unfortunate mispleasure of stopping in Baker, CA, today, home to the "world's tallest thermometer." I've seen 118F on that thing. It ain't pretty.
 
Thread starter
LongRanger_imp said:
Well, our intrepid traveler Django had the unfortunate mispleasure of stopping in Baker, CA, today, home to the "world's tallest thermometer." I've seen 118F on that thing. It ain't pretty.
Well, it was only 90 °F this morning....at 8 am.

Baker is an ugly place, not worth to stop, other you need some internet access and a coffee. Even that failed in the first restaurant, but the found internet access at that Crazy Greek.

Needles was extremely hot, though have no exact values. Then in Oatman it was okay. However I felt all time comfortable, my heat strategy (got from iron butt forum) works well: close vents of jacket in front, open back vent of jacket, wear long functional underwear and poor water down the neck and chest under the jacket. The evaporation produces a very pleasant cooling. Watering the cushion in the helmet helps a lot with the head.

I wasted some time in Kingman to find an internet hot spot, failed on that. But the payoff was, that I had a very pleasant ride in the evening hours along 66 from Kingman to William. Nice temperatures, a kindly breeze and NO traffic at all. And this evening I found a very fair motel room in the middle of Williams. Needed a room to have some reliable internet access for my communication and to load up the battery of all my devices. Despite I use a power pack very successfully, after a couple of days I run low of energy. The power pack I do upload during the ride under the seat. But for planning on the notebook and my cell phone, I end up to use more energy than I reload.

@Frulk: if we ride gently, I guess those 130 miles won't hurt any more. However, this Motorcycle Desert Doctor looks really cool!

At least we have the tires already and only need some help, to mount them on the rim, which I can't do myself.

Btw. even Formula One teams do miscalculation on the tire stratey. :cool:
 
Good that everything is going OK for you. I’m almost all set at my end. Just a couple of odds and ends I’m picking up. Looks like the camping is working out for you. Your tent looks like a palace inside.
 
Great report, Django. I'm remembering the place names from my own US tour - your're jogging some enjoyable memories. :)

I did exactly the same as you regarding the rear tyre on my BMW. I miscalculated on my tour and needed a rear tyre urgently. The nearest town was Sturgis ("Harleytown" to us Brits!! Or Home of the Harley rider!) and I was amazed that they had a BMW dealer there, who had the right tyre and in the right size. I was so pleased I bought a "Sturgis BMW" cap!!
 
My wife works for Game & Fish here in Arizona and I always get the sermon when in the north country - watch out for deer and Elk crossing the road. You're in prime country to be run over by an elk. They are not small creatures.

She collects the data on collars and plots this on maps so she has a good feel where these critters like to roam. Be careful!

You should be OK once you get north of Flagstaff and start hitting the open country again. You might see some pronghorn, they are pretty cool. Watch out for reservation dogs once you get into the indian reservations. They are world class beggers (I'm still tempted to drive back up the Hon-Dah Casino near Pinetop and pick up a cute tan puppy hanging out in the parking lot. sigh.
 
Baker... oh boy. Yes, you will not find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

I used to do a lot of trade shows in Las Vegas, and drove a rig between there and LA. I would hit the Baker Shell station, as it has large truck diesel pumps, a rig lot, and bad food.
Always thought that it was ironic that after you fueled and parked a diesel powered truck, you had to walk past a Tesla supercharging station to get to the bathroom and fried foods.

Everywhere else you're going is 100% more attractive. Ride safe!
 
Prepped trailer tonight.

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Plan to leave tomorrow after Salt Lake City Rush hour and head south to rendezvous with Django on Friday. Flynrider was good enough to let me know that part of the route I had planned isn't available due to high water on Lake Powell. So I'm in the process of regrouping tonight and making adjustments. Bonus to all this is there's a good chance Flynrider will be able to meet and camp with us at Natural Bridges Monument. One international member and two from different states in my book counts as a CB Forum Rally. Maybe this is the unofficial pre Western Rally.

Roper: We're staying at the Gonzo Inn in Moab on Monday night if you're in town and want to link up for dinner. Otherwise I guess the plan is to hand off Django to you Tuesday AM and I head west on the CB and pick up my truck around Hanksville and head back north
 
Frulk_imp said:
Prepped trailer tonight.

59e6b101c39c0025ce5656d96f9f184c.jpg


a22105f37abf4f99393a39ac28ed0daa.jpg


5efee596464f37dfff1215aad8af6fe5.jpg


Plan to leave tomorrow after Salt Lake City Rush hour and head south to rendezvous with Django on Friday. Flynrider was good enough to let me know that part of the route I had planned isn't available due to high water on Lake Powell. So I'm in the process of regrouping tonight and making adjustments. Bonus to all this is there's a good chance Flynrider will be able to meet and camp with us at Natural Bridges Monument. One international member and two from different states in my book counts as a CB Forum Rally. Maybe this is the unofficial pre Western Rally.

Roper: We're staying at the Gonzo Inn in Moab on Monday night if you're in town and want to link up for dinner. Otherwise I guess the plan is to hand off Django to you Tuesday AM and I head west on the CB and pick up my truck around Hanksville and head back north
How exciting! Hope you two / three? have a wonderful time.
:biker: :biker: ........ :biker:
 
I agree with pdedse. What a great moment.
 
Just an awesome international act of good will
 
Frulk_imp said:
Prepped trailer tonight.

59e6b101c39c0025ce5656d96f9f184c.jpg


a22105f37abf4f99393a39ac28ed0daa.jpg


5efee596464f37dfff1215aad8af6fe5.jpg


Plan to leave tomorrow after Salt Lake City Rush hour and head south to rendezvous with Django on Friday. Flynrider was good enough to let me know that part of the route I had planned isn't available due to high water on Lake Powell. So I'm in the process of regrouping tonight and making adjustments. Bonus to all this is there's a good chance Flynrider will be able to meet and camp with us at Natural Bridges Monument. One international member and two from different states in my book counts as a CB Forum Rally. Maybe this is the unofficial pre Western Rally.

Roper: We're staying at the Gonzo Inn in Moab on Monday night if you're in town and want to link up for dinner. Otherwise I guess the plan is to hand off Django to you Tuesday AM and I head west on the CB and pick up my truck around Hanksville and head back north
It sucks that it messes with your route but it's nice to hear there's high water on Lake Powell. From what I understand the water level has really dropped there in recent years.

Hope you guys have a great "rally".
 
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