It’s been a busy few days. Unfortunately, the hotel I was staying in charged $18 per day for internet access, so I spent most days without my netbook. Not a big deal since I was pretty busy with the bikefest.
Probably the most exciting thing about my few days in Vegas was having the chance to meet some of my Twitter friends. There were a number of us that gathered together for the bike event. A bunch were connected to Hellcat Customs. Not only do they make amazing motorcycles, they are down to earth, fun loving people. I wont get into details about each of the people I hung out with, just cause I don’t want to leave anyone out. Needless to say, it was cool to see how easily we all hit it off, even though some of us hadn’t met in person before the weekend began.
Now, on to the trip.
Originally, I was going to ride through Phoenix and possible stop in Tucson for the night. However, I decided to jump in I-40 and head as far East as possible. The reason? On Friday night I received a call from Heather. She and Christina were in a car accident and both had to be taken to the hospital for precautionary measures. While they are both fine (Heather is a little more sore than Christina), it can be pretty emotional to go through something like that. So, after talking with Heather this morning, I felt it was important to try and get back as quick as possible.
However, anyone who does a ride like this one knows that sometimes things don’t work out the way you expect they will.
I told the group from Phoenix that I wasn’t going to ride home with them, because I hoped to be much further along the road than I could riding with a large group. My plan was to be up fairly early and on the road, pushing 500 plus miles today.
Instead, I managed only 248 miles (560 kms). I decided to take the 93 south from Vegas to the I-40. What I didn’t realize until I got close, was that I would be going over the Hoover Dam. The same Hoover Dam that I saw on Friday as part of the Poker Run I wen on. The same Hoover Dam that is under construction. The same Hoover Dam that takes close to an hour to move four miles, because of the traffic and security check.
Oh, I also slept in. Then talked to Heather for a bit. Then struggled to get moving. Instead of being on the road around 8 am, it was close to 11:30 before I pulled out of Vegas.
So, it was mid-afternoon by the time I crossed Hoover Dam. And then, the wind hit. Wow, that was hard wind today. On a few occasions, my bike was pushed right across the lane, and I had to lean way over to keep it from going into oncoming traffic. The wind didn’t let up until I gave up.
It also got cold. Real cold. I had my sweatshirt and jacket on and yet couldn’t stop shaking. Then I got tired. Twice I found myself riding with my eyes closed. I tried everything, smacking myself, yelling, singing, moving around on the bike. Nothing helped.
So, I pulled over in Williams, AZ. The town I stayed in two weeks ago. I knew there was a Starbucks and free WiFi. I went online and booked a hotel here in Flagstaff, and gave up for the day.
My goal was to get much further down the road, but sometimes you have to simply be smart. Don’t fight heavy wind, cold, and fatigue. It’s a recipe for something bad to happen.
I’m still debating my route for tomorrow. Whether I stay on I-40 and hope the weather stays nice, or I drop down to the I-10 to the I-20 and hope the rain holds out. I’ll make that decision in the morning.
For now, it’s time for some sleep. I’ll be doing some hard riding this week.
