Wednesday, June 4, 2008
TO READ
***********To view all the posts start by clicking the archives on the right side. Select the oldest archive date first to start at the beginning. You actually have to find the oldest header and kind of read from the bottom up.... yeah, I'm trying to fix it so it's easier. :)
Mileage
Rain again
No pics for this entry, sorry. The entire day back into Indiana consisted of me outrunning a thunder storm. I was literally racing the clouds to the point that when I was slowed in some towns I would get rained on and then take off to get in front of the clouds again where it wasn't raining. Roads either head N/S or E/W mostly and I needed to go diagonal for the best success. If I would have headed North I would go right into the storm and if I headed East I'd still have to cut North at some point and possibly not stay in front of the storm. I put the GPS on just the map and sliced through backroads from Illinois into Indiana by pulling out the image just enough on the GPS to not head down a dead end or get on the wrong road. It was pretty exciting looking back and seeing the dark clouds coming the whole time while I was pulling 70-80 down the back roads watching out for pot holes or turtles. Yes, I almost hit a huge turtle that was just standing out in my lane looking around. I don't think he knew I was coming until I blew by him at about 80 mph because he jerked his head in his shell like a bomb just went off. The storm was farther across the North than I knew and I couldn't get around the front. I ended up having to end the day in Lafayette, IN about an hour and a half from home. I picked up some white castle and headed to the hotel. I sat at the hotel and watched the weather and listened to the tornado sirens going off. When the rain stopped for a minute I went out with my nice white hotel towel and wiped the bike down. Free bike wash! In the morning I headed home. If I don't get caught up in a job and end up making it out West this year still I'll bump this back up when I leave. Cheers, Rob
Clouds
I woke up and checked the weather again and for once it was the same as they had said the day before. More rain coming. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. I'm getting sick of riding under clouds and taking on and off my rain gear several times some days. Staying in hotels adds up quickly too. There was a thunder storm rolling through last night that I didn't mention and is the reason I ducked into a hotel room again. It luckily cleared up enough for me to head to that theater a couple miles away though.
I decided to head North possibly thinking of toward Colorado and see how I felt after awhile. The national weather showed MORE rain coming across most of the states. The reason that I'd went South into Texas was to get a break from the rain because the storm that were coming through literally extended down into Texas and all the way up to the top of the U.S.
By the time I stopped the second time for gas I had mulled things over and was fed up with having to constantly deal with the wet weather. On the weather radar there was a n opening in the storms coming and I was going to go for it and try and get back home and possibly go back out with better weather. It was really early in the riding season to take off when I did, but I didn't expect it to be almost every day rain. This was a big decision for me and although I didn't mention it I was dealing with the rain and what looked like to be rain coming almost every day it seemed.
I cut East and headed out of Oklahoma. Oklahoma had wide open spaces with rolling hills from what I could mostly see. Lots of Native American references here. There are signs when you enter or leave their land. For example I passed a sign that said I was leaving the "Cherokee Nation" I think it was.
Golden Arches. FYI- I never realized how many overweight people there are everywhere until this trip. The food channel is on as I'm writing this..haha.
Into Missouri
St. Louis (notice the arch in the pic) Don't know what the arch is or are interested in more about it then go here. St. Louis Arch
I stopped at a hotel called the Sooter Inn for $29 a night. Not bad for the money.
I decided to head North possibly thinking of toward Colorado and see how I felt after awhile. The national weather showed MORE rain coming across most of the states. The reason that I'd went South into Texas was to get a break from the rain because the storm that were coming through literally extended down into Texas and all the way up to the top of the U.S.
By the time I stopped the second time for gas I had mulled things over and was fed up with having to constantly deal with the wet weather. On the weather radar there was a n opening in the storms coming and I was going to go for it and try and get back home and possibly go back out with better weather. It was really early in the riding season to take off when I did, but I didn't expect it to be almost every day rain. This was a big decision for me and although I didn't mention it I was dealing with the rain and what looked like to be rain coming almost every day it seemed.
I cut East and headed out of Oklahoma. Oklahoma had wide open spaces with rolling hills from what I could mostly see. Lots of Native American references here. There are signs when you enter or leave their land. For example I passed a sign that said I was leaving the "Cherokee Nation" I think it was.
Golden Arches. FYI- I never realized how many overweight people there are everywhere until this trip. The food channel is on as I'm writing this..haha.
Into Missouri
St. Louis (notice the arch in the pic) Don't know what the arch is or are interested in more about it then go here. St. Louis Arch
I stopped at a hotel called the Sooter Inn for $29 a night. Not bad for the money.
Texarkana
After Hot Springs I headed South to get away from the rain because it was coming again when I awoke. It was raining when I arrived as well btw. Well, I was caught in the rain again so I pulled off the road in the next stop which happened to be a school. It wasn't too long before a kid on a atv/golf cart mixture deal pulled up and wanted to know what size my bike was. He noticed the F800ST on the side before I was able to answer and started telling me about the bikes he used to have. I chatted with him while I was getting my gear on, and politely said "see you later" as soon as I had everything on because it was about 85 degrees and with the rain gear on I'll start to sweat profusely unless I'm moving. I will be looking into some different rain gear that is cooler for the summer months. I'm NOT wearing "frog togs!!"
The sky spit rain on me for the next hour, but never enough to get me soaked. After I was through things cleared up pretty nicely.
I at first decided to head to San Antonio, but then decided to head toward Dallas. I was a bit interested in seeing The Alamo, but when I thought about that it would basically take me two days in and two days out totaling about 4 days to see one thing I decided against it. In this heat I wasn't fairing too well physically. The sun was draining my energy and the seat just wasn't cutting it for this length of riding every day.
Here are some shots heading into Dallas. I always try to get the skyline of cities if I can and one of the pics turned out pretty good and showed exactly what I was experiencing. Insane sun shooting right through my visor on my face, heavier traffic, and you can imagine the heat radiating off the road. None of that bothered me at the time, but now looking back at it I know I definitely was tired.
I rode through Dallas after getting off the bypass and started out in the Industrial section and just headed toward the tall buildings. Dallas was just like every other city down town. I saw homeless people meandering about and taking up space on bus benches. I saw many business people carrying their brief cases and hurriedly crossing the street. I saw people drag racing from one light only to be stopped by the next and then try and do it again to make up that extra 30 seconds to their destination. I wasn't in any hurry really except that I did want to get off the bike for a little while. I headed through the city and I must have gotten to the "nice" side of town. The cars started becoming Mercedes/BMW's/Lexus/etc., the restaurants had fancy names, and there was quite a bit more landscaping in this area. Funny how people pay more to live around patches of green in a cit. And the people.... I'm pretty sure that half the girls I saw jogging were models or could have been. An Asian model type pulled up next to me in a brand new convertible viper with the typical huge bug eye sunglasses, but sorry guys I couldn't get out my camera in time.
I found a hotel just North of Dallas in Denton where I wouldn't be spending over $100 just to sleep somewhere. They almost gave me the handicap room again. Is it the haircut or my yankee accent?
There were a couple bikes parked next to mine. A couple full tourers and one had a trailer. The guy with the bike that had the trailer was filling the cooler on the trailer with ice and I struck up a conversation with him inquiring where he was headed and coming from. He said that rgiht now they were headed to a Hawg rally happening in Wichita, KS and had just back from Illinois. Hmm, if you know about the arrangements of the states here in the U.S. then you are thinking the same thing as me. Why in the world is he driving right past Kansas and then turning back around to go up North. He explained that they were doing another ride for the Ironbutt association. Very cool, I'd actually met someone that was in the Ironbutt association. If you remember, this is what we were going to try and do when we left home. He said that they went to Illinois to get a burger. I guess that is some ride on there where you go to a town a thousand miles away or so just to get a burger. I'll have to look it up later. The guy was cool and told me a couple other stories, one involving getting caught in about 4" of snow in N. Illinois last winter and one of his crew going down and his bike getting ran over by a semi. He said his friend was fine, but the bike was a total loss of course. You really need to have a bike like his to pull off some of those crazy long distance rides. I might be able to pull off that 1,000 miles in 24 hours with my sheepskin seat cover though! Maybe......, but right now my tailbone is hurting and I didn't notice how much until I went to sit down on the bed in the hotel room. Anway, I needed some R&R so I asked some people around the hotel office what there was to do and one mentioned a "Movie Tavern." At these places if you aren't familiar with them, you can order beer and food while you are watching a movie. I'd never been to one so I found it on my GPS, showered and changed, and headed out. I had a couple Fat Tire beers on tap and ordered some BBQ/Hot mix boneless wings while I enjoyed "Ironman." The movie was pretty good and it was after 12 when it ended. For some reason I ended up talking with the manager there about running one of those franchises. He was sent to that town to try and turn the place around. Yeah, there was me and about 6 others in the movie I was in.
The sky spit rain on me for the next hour, but never enough to get me soaked. After I was through things cleared up pretty nicely.
I at first decided to head to San Antonio, but then decided to head toward Dallas. I was a bit interested in seeing The Alamo, but when I thought about that it would basically take me two days in and two days out totaling about 4 days to see one thing I decided against it. In this heat I wasn't fairing too well physically. The sun was draining my energy and the seat just wasn't cutting it for this length of riding every day.
Here are some shots heading into Dallas. I always try to get the skyline of cities if I can and one of the pics turned out pretty good and showed exactly what I was experiencing. Insane sun shooting right through my visor on my face, heavier traffic, and you can imagine the heat radiating off the road. None of that bothered me at the time, but now looking back at it I know I definitely was tired.
I rode through Dallas after getting off the bypass and started out in the Industrial section and just headed toward the tall buildings. Dallas was just like every other city down town. I saw homeless people meandering about and taking up space on bus benches. I saw many business people carrying their brief cases and hurriedly crossing the street. I saw people drag racing from one light only to be stopped by the next and then try and do it again to make up that extra 30 seconds to their destination. I wasn't in any hurry really except that I did want to get off the bike for a little while. I headed through the city and I must have gotten to the "nice" side of town. The cars started becoming Mercedes/BMW's/Lexus/etc., the restaurants had fancy names, and there was quite a bit more landscaping in this area. Funny how people pay more to live around patches of green in a cit. And the people.... I'm pretty sure that half the girls I saw jogging were models or could have been. An Asian model type pulled up next to me in a brand new convertible viper with the typical huge bug eye sunglasses, but sorry guys I couldn't get out my camera in time.
I found a hotel just North of Dallas in Denton where I wouldn't be spending over $100 just to sleep somewhere. They almost gave me the handicap room again. Is it the haircut or my yankee accent?
There were a couple bikes parked next to mine. A couple full tourers and one had a trailer. The guy with the bike that had the trailer was filling the cooler on the trailer with ice and I struck up a conversation with him inquiring where he was headed and coming from. He said that rgiht now they were headed to a Hawg rally happening in Wichita, KS and had just back from Illinois. Hmm, if you know about the arrangements of the states here in the U.S. then you are thinking the same thing as me. Why in the world is he driving right past Kansas and then turning back around to go up North. He explained that they were doing another ride for the Ironbutt association. Very cool, I'd actually met someone that was in the Ironbutt association. If you remember, this is what we were going to try and do when we left home. He said that they went to Illinois to get a burger. I guess that is some ride on there where you go to a town a thousand miles away or so just to get a burger. I'll have to look it up later. The guy was cool and told me a couple other stories, one involving getting caught in about 4" of snow in N. Illinois last winter and one of his crew going down and his bike getting ran over by a semi. He said his friend was fine, but the bike was a total loss of course. You really need to have a bike like his to pull off some of those crazy long distance rides. I might be able to pull off that 1,000 miles in 24 hours with my sheepskin seat cover though! Maybe......, but right now my tailbone is hurting and I didn't notice how much until I went to sit down on the bed in the hotel room. Anway, I needed some R&R so I asked some people around the hotel office what there was to do and one mentioned a "Movie Tavern." At these places if you aren't familiar with them, you can order beer and food while you are watching a movie. I'd never been to one so I found it on my GPS, showered and changed, and headed out. I had a couple Fat Tire beers on tap and ordered some BBQ/Hot mix boneless wings while I enjoyed "Ironman." The movie was pretty good and it was after 12 when it ended. For some reason I ended up talking with the manager there about running one of those franchises. He was sent to that town to try and turn the place around. Yeah, there was me and about 6 others in the movie I was in.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Hot Springs
After visiting with some family in Jonesboro, AR for a few days I was ready to get on the road. Over the previous week I had slowly started accustoming myself to the hardships of camping, trail mix, sweating more, and all this talking to people and staying in air conditioning I was thinking was going to make it hard to get back to the traveling routine again... I was wrong. After I was just outside of Jonesboro on my bike I was already back in the groove. I knew that rain was coming too so I made sure as always to have my rain gear packed in the most accessible place so it was easy to get to. I was about 30 minutes outside of town when I looked up ahead and saw the clouds opening up and pouring down on the road. It is really cool when you can see the actual line of where the rain starts. I immediately pulled off the road to suit up. I thought I was pulling into a driveway of a house, but it turned out to be about the most creepy "maybe" abandoned house I'd ever seen. I pulled up to an overhang from the garage next to it and snapped pictures of what I could see from there. I wasn't too interested in exploring... well I was interested, but I guess I've seen to many movies to go looking around when I'm out in the middle of nowhere. There literally was nothing else around this place for miles and there were some signs that someone might still be around.
Doesn't this make you want to go inside and say hi?
I didn't get a picture of it, but there was a big zip loc bag of water nailed on the wall next to the door..... strange.
Suited up I headed out and hit more rain. I rode through about 45 minutes of rain on the way to Hot Springs. It was only about a 3 hour ride there. Really pretty country though.
I found a campsite and threw up my tent and then headed to town since it was only about 4pm.
I made it downtown and parked the bike to take a stroll down and check out some shops and the area.
Here's a shot of some of the main drag in Hot Springs where all the shops are.
There were quite a few of these things. They were the "Duck Tour" and it was $4 bucks for a ride. I'm not sure where they get in the water at though.
I ended up stopping at a bar called "Capones, Ohio Club." This happens to be the oldest standing bar in Arkansas. I talked with the owner and I think he said it was established in 1905. The gangsters back in the day would come from up north to the nice weather in Hot Springs to vacation and this was one of the spots where they would have a few drinks. The cops had a bit of a unsaid understanding with the gangsters while they were there and didn't harass them if they didn't cause any trouble. I don't think I'd want to mess with Al Capone if I was an Andy Griffith small town cop anyway.
I don't usually drink more than maybe one beer with some food if I'm riding, but I planned on staying here for awhile because it was still very early... and they were serving free pretzels which happen to be one of my favorite snack foods... or for dinner.
I had a Jack and coke and then a Heineken.
I talked with a few other people at the bar besides the owner and ended up meeting Sharon and Joe who just retired to Hot Springs about 3 years ago from Dallas. He ended up buying me a beer and they wished me well on the trip before taking off to entertain their visiting son and his girlfriend. I was told by Sharon that she wasn't the one for him among other things. People just seem to open up to you when they hear you are doing something like I'm doing it seems. Very nice people.
I'm now back at my campsite which costs me $26 for a tent!! But I do get water,electric, and wifi so I guess it's not so bad since I was able to get caught up on my trip here.
When I wake up in the morning I'll decide what to do and where to go then...
Doesn't this make you want to go inside and say hi?
I didn't get a picture of it, but there was a big zip loc bag of water nailed on the wall next to the door..... strange.
Suited up I headed out and hit more rain. I rode through about 45 minutes of rain on the way to Hot Springs. It was only about a 3 hour ride there. Really pretty country though.
I found a campsite and threw up my tent and then headed to town since it was only about 4pm.
I made it downtown and parked the bike to take a stroll down and check out some shops and the area.
Here's a shot of some of the main drag in Hot Springs where all the shops are.
There were quite a few of these things. They were the "Duck Tour" and it was $4 bucks for a ride. I'm not sure where they get in the water at though.
I ended up stopping at a bar called "Capones, Ohio Club." This happens to be the oldest standing bar in Arkansas. I talked with the owner and I think he said it was established in 1905. The gangsters back in the day would come from up north to the nice weather in Hot Springs to vacation and this was one of the spots where they would have a few drinks. The cops had a bit of a unsaid understanding with the gangsters while they were there and didn't harass them if they didn't cause any trouble. I don't think I'd want to mess with Al Capone if I was an Andy Griffith small town cop anyway.
I don't usually drink more than maybe one beer with some food if I'm riding, but I planned on staying here for awhile because it was still very early... and they were serving free pretzels which happen to be one of my favorite snack foods... or for dinner.
I had a Jack and coke and then a Heineken.
I talked with a few other people at the bar besides the owner and ended up meeting Sharon and Joe who just retired to Hot Springs about 3 years ago from Dallas. He ended up buying me a beer and they wished me well on the trip before taking off to entertain their visiting son and his girlfriend. I was told by Sharon that she wasn't the one for him among other things. People just seem to open up to you when they hear you are doing something like I'm doing it seems. Very nice people.
I'm now back at my campsite which costs me $26 for a tent!! But I do get water,electric, and wifi so I guess it's not so bad since I was able to get caught up on my trip here.
When I wake up in the morning I'll decide what to do and where to go then...
Racing The Rain
After Mobile, Alabama I headed to visit some family in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I saw some big thunderheads on the way north and I hadn't tried out my rain gear yet so I figured there's no better time than now. I suited up. Joe Rocket Phoenix 4 with liner, some brand of footies to go over my boots, Tour master rain pants, and an Icon Alliance helmet.
So here goes nothing. I'm doing ok for some slight sprinkling and then the rain starts to come down a little harder.
Problem #1 - My helmet face shield starts to fog some so I start a breathing procedure to exhale through my mouth downward.. fun stuff, but oh well.
Problem #2 - I cracked my face shield because the temp changed so fast causing so much fogging that I couldn't keep it down enough to see clearly. Cracking the face shield eliminated the fogging mostly, BUT it then let water start dripping down the inside of the shield which of course can't then be cleared by your glove or the wind once you close it back up. Lesson learned there... keep that puppy closed and get a better face shield.
Problem #3 - The rain started coming down so hard that even CARS had their hazards on. I knew as soon as I saw other vehicles with their hazards on that I needed to get the hell off the road. Whenever you are in any kind of heavy rain and can't get out of it make sure to have your hazards on. I'd rather have people see me and say to their buddy that I'm an idiot for riding in the rain than hit me and wonder what they ran over. If it's a thunderstorm... pull off and let it pass.
I pulled off at a Sonic finally and got out of the rain. I ordered a Coffee and a corndog and stripped off my rain gear all over around the table I was sitting at.
The Joe Rocket jacket with liner did a good job, but when I took my Tour Master pants off it looked like I had spent all morning drinking coffee and the rest of the day pissing my pants. I'll use my Joe Rocket Alter Ego Pants w/liner in them from now on even though they will be really hot in the summer rains.
I rode through the rain a little ways longer and tried to skirt the the thunderstorms to no avail. They were all around me and I ended giving in and getting a hotel room in Jackson, Mississippi.
It was early and there was nothing to do so I went to the hotel bar "The Hunt Club." Me and about 12 other patrons listened to some horrifically sang southern Karaoke for the next couple hours. When I could take no more I surrendered to my room. Did I mention that they gave me a handicap room? I didn't think anything of it until I went to take a shower and found out that the hand held wand had no place to be mounted so I had to hold it the ENTIRE TIME! I tried to tie it up and wedge it up for a few minutes but just ended up soaking the entire bathroom as it would inevitable come untied and shoot water everywhere haha.
When I left Jackson I headed into Jonesboro to visit family and was there for a few days.
So here goes nothing. I'm doing ok for some slight sprinkling and then the rain starts to come down a little harder.
Problem #1 - My helmet face shield starts to fog some so I start a breathing procedure to exhale through my mouth downward.. fun stuff, but oh well.
Problem #2 - I cracked my face shield because the temp changed so fast causing so much fogging that I couldn't keep it down enough to see clearly. Cracking the face shield eliminated the fogging mostly, BUT it then let water start dripping down the inside of the shield which of course can't then be cleared by your glove or the wind once you close it back up. Lesson learned there... keep that puppy closed and get a better face shield.
Problem #3 - The rain started coming down so hard that even CARS had their hazards on. I knew as soon as I saw other vehicles with their hazards on that I needed to get the hell off the road. Whenever you are in any kind of heavy rain and can't get out of it make sure to have your hazards on. I'd rather have people see me and say to their buddy that I'm an idiot for riding in the rain than hit me and wonder what they ran over. If it's a thunderstorm... pull off and let it pass.
I pulled off at a Sonic finally and got out of the rain. I ordered a Coffee and a corndog and stripped off my rain gear all over around the table I was sitting at.
The Joe Rocket jacket with liner did a good job, but when I took my Tour Master pants off it looked like I had spent all morning drinking coffee and the rest of the day pissing my pants. I'll use my Joe Rocket Alter Ego Pants w/liner in them from now on even though they will be really hot in the summer rains.
I rode through the rain a little ways longer and tried to skirt the the thunderstorms to no avail. They were all around me and I ended giving in and getting a hotel room in Jackson, Mississippi.
It was early and there was nothing to do so I went to the hotel bar "The Hunt Club." Me and about 12 other patrons listened to some horrifically sang southern Karaoke for the next couple hours. When I could take no more I surrendered to my room. Did I mention that they gave me a handicap room? I didn't think anything of it until I went to take a shower and found out that the hand held wand had no place to be mounted so I had to hold it the ENTIRE TIME! I tried to tie it up and wedge it up for a few minutes but just ended up soaking the entire bathroom as it would inevitable come untied and shoot water everywhere haha.
When I left Jackson I headed into Jonesboro to visit family and was there for a few days.
Mobile, Alabama
I left the campground and headed into Mobile, AL.
I decided to take the tunnel to the USS Alabama Memorial site and tour the ship and the USS Drum sub.
Check out the size of a propeller!
Here's the shells those guns shoot.
This is where all the officers on board turn their names to state whether they are on board or not.
The bunks are actually pretty comfy.
The toilets were basically like an outhouse.
Replacement 40mm barrels
From the top of the ship
SR71 Blackbird in the hangar
Here's a tire off of the blackbird after only 3 landings. The Blackbird has the heaviest footprint of any plane ever. They have to take off with about a quarter of tank of gas and then must be fueled in the air within about 10 minutes. It holds 19,500 gallons of fuel, which is equivalent to about 2 1/2 truck tankers of gas.
Torpedo tube on the USS drum
On a submarine you were thought of as a waste of air until you had your dolphins. Silver for enlisted men and gold for officers. To get these you needed to know how to operate EVERYTHING on the sub. If you were a submariner then you were part of the "silent service."
This wheel operates the bow dive angle.
Ever wonder what it was like to look through the periscope of a submarine. In the next picture after this one after a couple minutes I was able to line my camera up to get a shot so now you know.
I decided to take the tunnel to the USS Alabama Memorial site and tour the ship and the USS Drum sub.
Check out the size of a propeller!
Here's the shells those guns shoot.
This is where all the officers on board turn their names to state whether they are on board or not.
The bunks are actually pretty comfy.
The toilets were basically like an outhouse.
Replacement 40mm barrels
From the top of the ship
SR71 Blackbird in the hangar
Here's a tire off of the blackbird after only 3 landings. The Blackbird has the heaviest footprint of any plane ever. They have to take off with about a quarter of tank of gas and then must be fueled in the air within about 10 minutes. It holds 19,500 gallons of fuel, which is equivalent to about 2 1/2 truck tankers of gas.
Torpedo tube on the USS drum
On a submarine you were thought of as a waste of air until you had your dolphins. Silver for enlisted men and gold for officers. To get these you needed to know how to operate EVERYTHING on the sub. If you were a submariner then you were part of the "silent service."
This wheel operates the bow dive angle.
Ever wonder what it was like to look through the periscope of a submarine. In the next picture after this one after a couple minutes I was able to line my camera up to get a shot so now you know.
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