AZ Day 2- If Oklahoma Blows Then Do I Suck?

The next time I hear someone sing that show tune from the musical Oklahoma I'm gonna kick 'em in the nuts!

Rode from Little Rock, AR, to Amarillo, TX, today and I'm tired. Over 1,200 miles in two days isn't a big accomplishment in the world of touring but I'm tired nonetheless! But it could be worse.

Around 3pm local time I met up with a buddy who had left Chicago at 2 a.m. this morning. He was making his first attempt at an Iron Butt Association Saddlesore 1000; a ride of 1,000 miles completed within 24 hours. Our meeting point, Oklahoma City, was 800 miles into his trip and he was feeling strong, if not a little tired.

All day he and I had battle crosswinds on separate roads but now we were going to fight them together for the last 250 miles of his trip. It sucked. True, a sucky day on the bike beats, well, pretty much any day NOT on a bike. But still, I can think of no less than 1,793 other roads in America I would rather be riding today...and none of them are in Oklahoma.

During the day I had at least three occasions when I was nearly blown off the road. The winds started soon after entering Oklahoma and at times required a near 45 degree lean just to maintain a straight course. I'd never pass a vehicle without being in the far upwind lane position due to the likelihood of being blown towards the vehicle I was over taking. Indeed, combined with the wind blast from semi's it wasn't unusual to be blown back and forth throughout my lane during a pass.

Running ahead of schedule I stopped for lunch at Curtis Watson's Restaurant in McLoud Oklahoma. Damn good eats!

As often happens on long road trips I had time to ponder what sort of person lives in the places I'm riding through. In the case of Oklahoma I've reached the conclusion that the only people who live in Oklahoma are people who have never been anywhere else. I pity the children but hold out a lingering hope that some wandering minstrel will abduct the entire underage population of Oklahoma and deposit them someplace safe. Well, it's a hope anyways.

Fortunate for us, after a rough 150 miles from Oklahoma to Shamrock, TX, leaned over as if on our sidestands, we reentered the interstate after fueling only to find the winds were gone. Completely gone! We chased the setting sun into Amarillo, a city known for The Big Texan Restaurant and not much else. However, it offers us a clean motel and a short ride to Albuquerque, NM, tomorrow's destination.

Not much in the way of pictures yet as I'm still in travel mode. However, here's an update for those of you following my SPOT tracker test.

Despite another morning of user error issues, the unit worked well. I stopped maybe an hour after leaving Little Rock and found the unit was not tracking, or at least the two lights that were suppose to be illuminated weren't on. I tried resetting it while riding but only managed to send a couple of "ok" messages. I stopped just west of Fort Smith, OK, and got it sorted out again. In reviewing the track log it hadn't sent a signal for nearly 30 minutes BUT I notice the same thing happened just out of Little Rock this morning yet it worked fine afterwards. I can only guess that I jumped the gun and didn't wait long enough. At any rate, I think I'm going to be happier with a mount that places the unit in front of me so I can keep an eye on it during the trip. When I return home I'll figure out a Ram Mount set up for it.

Today I kept the unit attached to a strap on my Cortech bag that sits on the pillion. A couple of industrial rubber bands kept the waist mount from falling off the strap and I'm quite confident in a secure connection.

That's it for today. I'm beat and it just turned midnight local time. One last pick, though. After settling into our rooms we found the only restaurant in Amarillo that serves Guinness beer. No, it wasn't on tap but it was in one of those silly bottle with the little thing (highly technical term) that's suppose to simulate a real draught Guinness. At any rate, since by riding buddy is from Great Britain or Malaysia or someplace where they like to drink Guinness we had to celebrate his big ride. The meal was grand!

Today a SaddleSore 1,000--Tomorrow Albuquerque!

AZ Day 1 - A Foul-Mouthed, Ill-tempered, Middle-Aged Man

Time for a road trip!

Next on the agenda is a twelve day trip to Arizona to meet some friends for a ride across the Coronado Trail followed by a wandering path back home to Georgia.

Over the last week and a half I ripped half the bike apart and installed fog and driving lights along with a lighted spoiler and luggage rack. I can't yet say the spoiler and rack were worth the trouble but lights are always good.



I don't have any good overall shots yet but I'll try to take a vanity pic of the bike over the next week. For the time being, here's a couple pics of the trunk and new lighting.

This trip I'm testing out a new satellite tracking service called a SPOT tracker. After a couple of tests around the house I decided to put the unit in the top of my soft luggage atop the rear rack.



Based on today's test the unit works well and has a good view of the sky from it's current position. However, As there's nothing to secure it in place I'm concerned about it shifting to the side as the bike leans. So, tomorrow I'll try mounting it on a strap attached to a bag on my passenger seat. Hopefully it will work just as well yet allow me to keep an eye on it's position until a more permanent mount can be arranged.

You can see the latest SPOT path from my bike on my SPOT page. The page will only show the last 24 hours worth of tracks but it'll give you an idea of how the system works.

If you're viewing this within twenty four hours of my departure you'll see the tracks end in Canton and start again in Chattanooga. That's a result of a certain "technical difficulty" I had early on. Let's just say I learned the unit doesn't "track" until you tell it to "track" and leave it at that. Heh.

Another new tech-toy along for this trip is brand spankin' new Blackberry cell/pda. Were it not for my ability to stay in touch with the office via email and txt messaging I wouldn't be able to leave for two weeks. I've only had it for a week but I'm already a Crackberry addict!

This first leg of today's ride started a bit off kilter. Beyond a marathon late night packing session which only permitted 3 hours of sleep and a couple of technical hiccups I'm somewhat surprised I made it this far. However the miles melted after I (eventually) left town.

My first hitch kept me from even leaving the starting gate. I stopped by a local shop for breakfast and then ran to my office to send out a couple of emails. When I returned to the bike a delivery truck had blocked me into my parking place. Oh well. At least that gave me plenty of time to get everything set. Or not.

At my first stop, Chattanooga, TN, I realized that while I had turned the SPOT unit "on" I had failed to put it into tracking mode. Oh well. A couple of emails at my next stop ensured the unit was working the day went well.

I did notice a few things I'll need to get sorted out over the next couple of days. My drink holder has a mount issue but I've got enough tools and supplies on board to jury rig a fix.


Part of the new wiring harness is slipping out of the port fairing and will need to be addressed as well.

Over all I'm happy to have made it this far as I really thought I'd gotten too late of a start. Before I can hit the sack I need to pace my route for tomorrow and gauage just how long I can sleep in before I have to hit the road.

Tomorrow's first goal is a meet up with a buddy from Chicago. We'll be meeting in Oklahoma City between 4 and 6 p.m. so there's no sense in me leaving earlier than necessary. My last job tonight is to figure out what time I have to leave. I'll post more pictures as the trip melds into more of a scenic cruise than the current bullet train.

Oh, and I almost forgot to explain the title of this post, "A Foul-Mouthed, Ill-tempered Middle-Aged Man." I sent a few friends and family members a heads up about this trip and the new satellite tracking feature and mentioned I was going to take them with me via the tracker. In that message I alluded to the fact they would have to settle for an electronic traveling companion as I would tire of them after ten minutes and dump them on the side of the road. Well, one person wrote me back stating "It'll be like we're there with you, only without the foul-mouthed, ill-tempered middle-aged man, of course!." I hereby and forthwith claim the title of "foul-mouthed, ill-tempered, middle-aged man." I know my mother is proud.

My best from the road to all!