I got up early in Green River to hit the road & try to get going before the storm moved in, & headed east. I made it about 20 miles before the rain hit, and it was a
cold rain. Snow may have been better! It rained for about 100 miles, until I passed thru Grand Junction, and I could see the end of the storm & sunlight ahead.
It was still cold, but dry. And very windy, as I was ahead of the storm front now. Luckily the wind was from the west, so I didnt have to fight the side gusts
anymore.
I stopped in Montrose, as I have a friend there named Damon who I lost touch with several years ago, and I was hoping to find him. He rode a panhead also, & I
knew he'd like to see mine. I stopped by the local HD shop to get some oil, & asked if the guy knew him. I was told he was rearended by some woman in a SUV &
killed a couple years ago. That put a sad touch on the day, as I was really hoping to see him, he was a nice guy. Of course the bitch that killed him was never
charged, even tho he was sitting at a redlight when it happened. Our justice system at work.
The guy at the shop told me Monarch Pass was getting snow & may be closed, but he looked at the pass-cam on the internet, & it showed the pass to still be
clear, & suggested I haul ass, or I'll have to go far south to take another pass to go east. So I hauled ass.
The road passed a huge lake, that was a valley, and it got narrow at the east end & went into a small canyon. The wind there was intense. Finally as I got thru the
canyon it got a bit milder, & I started heading up the pass.
and up
and up
and up
By the time I got to 9000 feet, the bike was starting to feel it. When I got close to the top, I was in 2nd gear, & the bike wasnt having much fun.
I think I can
I think I can
finally, the top. 11,000 feet! Cold, Windy, & spitting snow. theres a store at the top, so I stopped for coffee & give the old bitch a break. When I got ready to leave,
she didnt want to start. still a bit winded I guess. Finally got going & headed down the eastern slope.
The wind died down, & by the time I hit the bottom, it wasnt as cold. I stopped by Royal Gorge to see it again, I was going to go out on the worlds highest bridge
(they claim) & get a pic, but they wanted 14.00, and I was too cheap to pay it. It was starting to get dark, anyhow. I met a few guys on KLR's who were exploring
colorado, & talked to them for a bit, then headed to Canyon City to find a room. I saw a sign on the American Motoel for 33.00, so I stopped. Of course it was run
by an old Polish woman, but I was just glad it wasnt run by Achbar or Hadjii. I sorta freaked her out when I found out her hometown & told her I had been there.
Most Americans couldnt find Poland on a map
The wind started to catch up to me, & during the nite it got REAL bad. The next morning, the bike cover had taken off during the night (luckily the bike was still
there) I was hoping to find it stuck to a fence pole somewhere in Kansas, but never saw it again.
I saw on the news that the pass I had crossed was closed due to snow, also the pass to the north was closed, & western Colorado was getting hammered, &
heading my way.
Time to hit the road! I dont know if it was the cold or the pan is just getting tired, but it gets harder & harder to start in the mornings. It finally gave in tho, & off we
went!
I headed east all day with a tailwind. No bad weather, but it was cold. Crossing Kansas was as exciting as always. I did stop in Dodge City, to see the old west
part of town, but it has gotten so touristy I didnt stay. I spent the night near Wichita, I'm tired of being cold! I should have had my friend Chris send my electric
jacket out to Seattle, but I wasnt expecting it to get so cold so fast. The next day was more of the same. cold & windy, but dry, & I got to St Louis.
I left early the next morning (after getting the bike to start) & headed to my friends wedding in IL, they still didnt know I was coming. My friend Mike met up with
me on his Kawasaki police bike (with a nice cozy windshield... what a wimp. I was jealous)
We got to my friend Jon's house in Marshall, then we all headed over to the wedding. It was held outside, & the weather was pretty good, at least no rain.
Bob & Darlene were very surprised, in fact Darlene was so shocked, when she saw me, she came running across the yard screaming. She is a little bigger than I
am, & I was thinking maybe I should run before she tackled me! hahaha
Of course as her family had no idea who I was, they were all staring & wondering what was up. It was a bit funny.
The wedding was nice, & of course they had a party afterwards. I didnt stay real late, as I still had a long ride the next day. my last day on the road.
I have been looking forward to & dreading this day the whole trip. Unless you have been gone from home for months, you probably wouldnt understand. I missed
being at home, but I love travelling.
but it IS getting pretty damn cold out!
The next morning, I got ready to leave, but I guess the bike wasnt. It didnt want to start. I kicked for 10 minutes. cussed it in a dozen languages. nothing. not even
a fart. points, plugs, ok. was getting gas, just didnt wanna start. This bitch better not lay down this close to home! it was dripping gas out of the manifold, & Mike
said the o-ring seals probably needed replaced, but I figured it was running yesterday, it should run today.
I told it I was ashamed of it, as the Indian didnt lay down like this, & I guess harleys are just inferior bikes.
that did it
it started.
I hit the road heading south. 400 miles from home. one cylinder started cutting out. It would run good for a few miles, then would cut out again. I finally got tired
of it, and pulled into a walmart parking lot to replace the o-rings, as Mike had jinxed it by talking about it. If he had never said anything, it would have been fine.
I pulled the manifold, and both orings were hard, bbq'd, and broken in half. hmmmmm I guess these should have been replaced sooner?
I put a new set on, & hit the road again. the bike wouldnt idle now, as I had it idled down so low, as it had been sucking air, and now it wasnt. but ran ok when I
left. for about 5 miles, then started cutting out again. son of a bitch!
I pulled over & looked at everything. One of the plug wires had been rubbing against a fin on the head, & had rubbed thru the insulation.
OK! easy fix! reroute the wire, & off again. 10 miles later, it starts cutting out again. dammit!
Come to find out, that at speed, the distributor is so worn out, that it sorta lifts up & moves around, cutting off one cylinder. So I tie it down with a bungee cord &
try that. Fixed! no more problems!I got about 1/2 way thru Kentucky when it started to rain. Cold rain. I was about 270 miles from home. I thought about getting a
room, & put off getting home for a day, but figured I'd get thru it. I was wrong. It rained the rest of the way home. I was miserable, but determined. My friend Paul
had come up for the wedding, & he followed behind me in a pickup, so I felt a little safer in nashville traffic, as I couldnt see very good.
I finally got to huntsville an hour after dark. I stopped at my local bar to say hi, and I was told later that I looked like hell. Wet, dirty, covered in wet road grime,
dripping water all over the floor, but I had made it! After a couple cups of coffee, I felt almost human, even tho I barely looked it. I wish I had a pic of me then.
Finally, I got home. the cat was bitching at me, wondering where the hell I had been. I peeled off the wet clothes, & crawled into bed.
With a map of course, as I have to start thinking of where to go next.......
