Ride Report: CA to OKC in 48hrs on a BMW

[Nanotech9]

I'll try to cut out the first 4 pages of just boring prelude to the ride...

The idea behind this trip was that I found the bike i wanted in Palm Springs California, with the features i wanted at the price i wanted and had a week to get ready, fly out, and ride it back.

A few weeks back I decided the rental process with my old house was going OK and other things were falling into place nicely and my desire for an honest street ride (instead of a supermoto) was nagging incessantly at me, so I decided to start a search for a new bike...

A buddy had purchased a BMW 1200GS a year back and i really took a liking to it... So i call him up and he jumped right on the task of sending a half-dozen classifieds my way and providing me with as much info about the bikes as he could, including letting me test ride his, which even further accelerated my desire to buy one. Within about a week I came across one located in Palm Springs CA. Although many others were closer, and some even priced lower, I couldn’t get over the problem of getting it home, and spending money on shipping it or driving / flying out to inspect it first, and if I was going to go to all that trouble, it might as well be far enough out to make a decent ride home!

So, the bike in Palm Springs was the winner. I believe I had worked out most of the details within a day of its listing, and simply had to plan the rest of the trip.

A measly 1200 miles home. Not a daunting task. After all, I had lived through a n Iron Butt SaddleSore ride in about the 20hr mark on my ZX10. 200 miles more couldn’t be that bad right? A quick look at the map told me it was mostly the same drive I had made 6 years ago to the R1-Forum Convention in Las Vegas. Long, Straight, Boooooring, hot, and not at all what I wanted to do on a bike. Time to re-route the trip.

After several conversations with friends and looking at Google’s Satellite and Terrain maps, I decided to extend the trip up into Southern Utah and Colorado, and back into Northern New Mexico, and finally down into Texas and on home to Oklahoma.

With less than a week left I had to plan the trip, gather up all the essentials and figure out what I could and couldn’t take on the plane, pack the bags and narrow down to what I thought I could fit on the bike, and program a borrowed GPS, and come up with a way to quickly attach it.

Thanks to all my buddies for coming to the rescue. By Thursday night before the trip I had 3 different GPS’s, 1200GS electronics tray, a BMW rain suit, a Vario soft bag, power splitter, extra camel back bladder, and of course, tons of advice! A quick run to a local vendor had a Bluetooth speaker system installed in less than 24hours in my helmet, and my buddy helped me use his Garmin software to program his GPS in just a few hours with the entire route and waypoints.

The final frontier was figuring how to get my trusty and super compact Keltec .380 out to Commiefornia with me. Since they don't recognize other states Concealed Carry Weapons Licenses, I realized I would have to research their laws and find out how to get the gun there, and make it to Arizona legally where I could then resume carrying legally. Some extended research thanks to you guys here on OSA!!! told me that about the only way was to check the firearms in the baggage and lock the ammo and gun in separate hard-sided cases, which would technically allow me to walk out of the airport in Palm springs with both ammo and gun, legally, and not “carrying a concealed loaded firearm”. Also, the separate locked cases could then be placed in two different panniers for transportation on the bike itself. All legal, and I was happy.

So, all set Saturday morning, run the the list one more time. All is good. Big wad of cash in my pocket, lovely and understanding girlfriend to drop me off at the airport, and three plane tickets. Off I go. Checked my baggage at the United desk where the United employee was extremely professional when checking the firearm and ammo. It didn't even phase him one bit and he simply asked us to stick around for 10min while the baggage went downstairs in case TSA agents required to inspect it. About 10min later he told us everything was OK and we were good to go. THANKS UNITED for handling this part super well, and making me feel at ease letting my firearm out of my sight!

Waiting to board OKC to Denver
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On to the plane flight thing… I still can’t get over the stupidity of taking off your shoes to go through security, but whatever. Everyone was super nice. A hop skip and a jump later we dropped down into Denver. Wow. What an airport. Its like the airport autobahn there. Conveyor belts 4 lanes wide to get you where you need to go. I could have rode those things in circles for hours, but alas, another plane to catch….

4 Lanes wide in Denver
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Finally the view started getting better from the air. San Fran was pretty spectacular and we landed right over the water. On approach we got to see a dozen wind surfers cutting through the waves what seemed to be about a mile out to sea. Really amazing that they would get out that far, and the speeds they were moving was incredible! I’m putting this on the list of things to try next.

Half way between Denver and San Fran
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The Bay on approach
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Food Court at San Fran
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View from the San Fran airport
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Leaving San Fran
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White spec on right is another plane on approach. You literally skim the water on landing. The wind surfers were a half mile or more out in the bay in this general area.
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[Nanotech9]

The Layover in San Fran was about 3 hours. Plenty of time to get some food, wander around the airport, sit down next to an outlet and charge the iphone, etc. Ran into a fella and his wife and two sons eating near me. The dad was wearing a Hound and Hare scramble shirt, and the sons were wearing straw cowboy hats and Troy-lee designs shirts. I knew these were fellow riders and took a little time to strike up a conversation. Turns out Rob (I believe that was his name?) and his boys all ride and race several types of bikes and quads and were really cool. Felt good to chat with fellow riders in the middle of a strange place.

The last flight down to Palm Springs was interesting to say the least. The overhead luggage compartments were so small that my helmet would not fit, and since I had seat 1A against the forward bulkhead with no under-seat storage, I had to reluctantly check my helmet bag. At least this time I had a window seat and got to take a few pictures.

The bay just after takeoff - sun is just setting.
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San Mateo Bridge
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Really interesting channels and agriculture
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No idea what the white areas are....?
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Dumbarton Bridge
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Palm Springs on approach... not much to see, but it looked cool from the air.
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When I landed in Palm Springs, we exited the plane onto the tarmac, and waited 2min or so for someone to roll all the last-chance checked on baggage around to us. I grabbed my helmet and began the long walk outdoors to the luggage claim area. Not a ton of fun at 90+ degrees, but much better than 90 in Oklahoma. The walkway was covered and landscaped really nicely with palm trees and whatnot all over the area. Even being a smaller airport it was definitely the most nicely decorated…

The bike’s owner and his lovely wife met me at baggage claim and we were off to their house to see the bike. I was excited.

No disappointments with the bike at all. I was pleased everything was in great order, as described in the pictures, and even a few extras. She was in really clean shape and all extra add-ons and wiring looked as if they were factory installed. The owner gave me a full walk-around the bike explaining all the upgrades, and other little things. We got the electronics tray mounted in no time and handled the paperwork and got all my stuff packed up with just a little room to spare.

The owners were supper helpful, very accommodating, and even provided water and Gatorade to fill my camel back, and a full tank of gas. Honestly I believe I can say that they were about the nicest couple of people I had ever met in my life, and I’ve met a lot of nice people, but these folks take the cake. I couldn’t have felt more at home or been treated better. They even went out of their way to guide me through their neighborhood (the entrance to which was a spectacular 6-lanes wide with individual gates on each lane!) and a few miles down the road to get on the highway in the right direction.

 

[Nanotech9]

So I’m off! Its 11pm and I’ve been awake for about 16 hours at this point, although I hadn’t done the math on that yet and had not realized I had been up that long.

I had made the choice to start this run back through the dessert in the middle of the night given the day temperatures were in the 110 range, and the night only dropped down to about 90deg. It was the right choice. Hundreds of miles of sand, sand, and more sand. Every half mile or so the road would rise a little, dip down abruptly, and rise back up to the same level. After a few dozen of these I came to realize that this must be a water pathway to help during flash-floods or something along those lines. Had I been on a sportbike or supermoto I would surely have taken this opportunity to ride countless wheelies over the tops of these all through the night, but this was no time for playing games. I was 1500 miles from home, in the middle of nowhere, hadn’t seen another car in 30min or more, and on an un-familiar bike worth more than my truck. I decided to behave.

One of the oddest things about the dessert was the smell. I never could quite put my finger on it, but it smelled like a cross between marijuana and an electrical fire. It had a very acute smell to it, and not something I could find myself getting used to very quickly. This smell lasted well into the second set of mountains.

After stopping for gas a few times, I made it into the Havasu Lake area on the CA / AZ border about 2:30am. This has to be the biggest gathering of motor homes and 5th wheels I’ve EVER seen. Had to be MILLIONS. Row after row for miles stacked several hundred deep. The lake was beautiful at night, and the road around it was really nice and curvy. Luckily the bike was equipped with an HID lamp on the left that threw plenty of light down the road which helped me shut down the bike just in time to avoid a rather large Donkey standing in the middle of the road, with a few of his buddies on either side. No idea if they were wild or tame, but either way it looked to be as though there were plans for a few more in the future given the two humping just off the side of the road…. Good for them I guess. On to parker Dam!

Crusing across the dessert at night... just a little bumpy, but its neat in its own way.
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One of the Ninja Donkey's That magically appeared to attack me.
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Damn Dam. Closed from 11pm to 5am! No way around the gates, so I turned around and rode back to the Sherriff’s station just a little ways down the road. A quick knock on the door to ask for directions and I realized that nobody was home, and the main entrance was caulked closed! Strange. I couldn’t waste 2 or 3 hours waiting on 5am to roll around so a quick check of the paper map (included with the bike!) and a little luck with signal on the i-Phone, and I found a crossing about 15 miles back down the road… Off I go.

Parker Damn. Closed between 11pm and 5am. Picture taken about 2:30 AM.... dammit.
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Front door sealed shut. If there was someone there, they didn't want to show their face. Used the light to read the paper map. Sometimes those are faster than GPS.
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Welcome to Arizona! Thank you. It feels good to be in Arizona. I got some gas and then immediately (and literally just a few hundred yards over the border) unpacked my firearm, loaded it up, holstered and pocketed it. Much happier now, and ready for any more herds of wild donkeys stampeding my way (or just standing there). I hear they’re as dangerous as wild bears while running in packs. Yes, I feel better already.

Finally I’m back in business and make it up to I40 towards Kingman. Its empty out here, wide, the HID is throwing good light and I crank the bike up to a good cruising speed and hold it there till Kingman hoping to make up a little time lost chasing Donkeys and turning around at Parker Dam.

Its down in the 50’s now through the mountains so I throw on a long sleeve shirt and some long johns and crank on the heated grips. That’s better. I stay on I40 for the rest of the way over to Williams. I had wanted to detour into the mountains, but I was focused on making up time lost. Happy the bike has no problem holding good speeds with all the bags on it. Very impressed.

Just a few hundred feet into Arizona. I love credit card gas pumps that run all night.
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Kingman. I can almost see a little daylight peaking over the horizon...
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Ahh, yes, there it is... Sunrise over Arizona at about 6000ft.
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My little splattered bug friend stayed with me all day long...
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I pulled off on an overpass to take some more shots and put on a long sleeve shirt.
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The right bag starts becoming a handy place to toss the helmet when i'm stopped...
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Back on the highway... The fog is cool looking. You can see it across the road on the far right.
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The lighting looked cool on this guardrail.
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Finally, some real trees and the dessert smell is finally leaving my nostrils, none too soon.
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[Nanotech9]

Stop for gas in Williams and head on up towards Tusayan and the Grand Canyon. Wanted to make it here by Sun-rise, but by Tusayan the sun had already been up for an hour or two. On the way in I stopped by the Air museum, but I believe they were closed. Noticed an airport on the south side of Tusayan and was impressed by the half dozen helicopters waiting to take people for scenic tours. I decided to get a couple of presents at the gift shop and some breakfast. I notice that almost all the workers in the area are Hispanic. No problem. I order breakfast in Spanish which is about a million times easier than ordering in English. The waitress is a short lady in her 40’s and super nice when she finds out I’m fluent and she doesn’t have to strain to take my order in English. Asks me where I’m from and wishes me well when I go on my way.

I change socks in the parking lot - new socks always feel so much better. I brought 3-pair along for the trip. Should have brought 4 or 5 pair.

Getting warmer. Long johns and long shirt come off. Hard luggage has been very handy to store clothes in. I set the bikes alarm off for the 3rd or 4th time already while packing my clothes away. Still not used to turning off an alarm on a bike.

Entrance to the Grand Canyon is $12 per person. Park employee at the gate chats with me for a bit about the bike. Says he wishes he could buy one and ride all over. I told him to check advrider.com and assured him he could find something in his price range if he looked long enough. I hope he gets himself one one day.

I see several other 1200GS riders in the area but don’t manage to catch up to them before they disappear.

I ride around the canyon for a while and finally stop to take pictures. Much deeper than I anticipated. My imagination didn’t go that far down. The canyon is impressive and you could stare at it for hours, but alas, I need to keep going. Trying to make it to Raton for the night.

The road leading away from the Canyon was very nice. Very tall trees lining either side with frequent glimpses of the canyon from the road.

Air Museum on the way to Tusayan.
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Grand Canyon... Deeper that it looks in photos.
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I believe thats the Colorado River down there somewhere...
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I pushed the bike up on the main walking patch, snapped a few pics, and rolled it back down. A stunt like this in Oklahoma would surely have guaranteed me a ticket.
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Another point to view the Canyon from. Someone kindly offers to take my picture for me. I look better with the helmet on than off I promise.
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The road heading east away from the canyon is gorgeous!
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I’ve been up for about 28 hours at this point, and on the road for about 12hrs. I’m getting tired. The road leading east of the canyon is beautiful. I stop a few more times for pictures of the bike in front of the canyon from various angles.

Heading down Hwy 64 I notice these vendor stands every few miles. Seems to be native Indian vendors peddling their goods. I wonder if its made locally, of they import it from china now like the other souvenirs I bought earlier….? I don’t stop and ask. Just click a few pictures on the way by.


Trees? what trees... I only see rocks...
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Theres the last tell-tail sign of vegetation behind me...
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Indian vendor stands... every few miles. Many of them empty.
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Gas at the intersection of 64 and 89. Talk to a nice Mexican family traveling through. They live in Colorado somewhere and speak little or no English. Not a problem. The dad is impressed with the trip I’m making and asks me where I’ve just been. I tell him the Grand Canyon is les than an hour up the road. Hes never been and had no idea it was that close.

A group of Harley riders are at the gas station. I do the usual nod, and say hi and ask them where they’re headed. Grand Canyon. Good choice. I notice they don’t speak much English and have what I believe to be a German accent…. Not quite. They’re from the Czech Republic. WOW. And I thought my trip was long.

All the way from the Czech Republic to see the Grand Canyon. Notice Gas is a little higher out here, but not the highest on the trip.
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I think this was my first Full Throttle of the trip.... many more to come. Tried to down some water along with all the other bad drinks.
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I continue on through Tuba City and on over to Kayenta. At this point I’m getting fatigued and my mind is still set on making it to Raton for the night. I know I’m lying to myself and know I wont make it, but refuse to give up this early in the game. The number of miles I’ve put on the bike so far is rather disappointing. I decide in the sake of making time, I’m going to stay on Hwy 160 through Kayenta instead of heading north on 163. The entire time I’m riding on over to Cortez I’m on long straight boring superslab and can see the mountains that 163 runs through. I’m disappointed I gave up so easily on such great scenery and traded it for this flat dessert. I’m also disappointed that I’m going to miss entering the 7th state on my trip as the road I’ve now chosen keeps me from entering Utah. Oh well, no turning back.

Gas in Kayenta. Not much else here other than the McDonalds.
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Cool Rock formations
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I stay on Hwy 160 at Teec Nos Pos and I keep seeing signs about the four corners… And it dawns on me that the 7th state quest is not completely lost. Still cruising at an accelerated pace, I literally blow by the sign for the Four Corners monument, and for a split second almost keep going, but decide I can take 5 or 10min to check it out. Anyway, I’ve been looking for a good reason to give the brakes a good squeeze and see what they’ll really do. Turns out they work great. (no worries, I checked the rear view first – not like I had seen a car behind me in miles anyway, but I checked).

I whip a ***** on the highway (still amazed how well this bike maneuvers at slow speeds) and head back up the hill to the monument entrance. I decide the $3 to get in is worth the pictures, pay my dues and head on in. I’m getting at least 3 pictures though to make the cost per picture reasonable. (Yes, I had to rationalize this in my mind before entering). When I roll up, I must say the monument was a bit disappointing. Its FLAT. WHO builds a FLAT monument?!?!?!? In fact, I was so disappointed that I rode around it once, parked my bike, snagged the camera and took a picture. Another rider there with his wife offered to take my picture with the bike and I agreed. They took three pics, for a total of 4. We’re averaged down to $0.75 a picture and I made it to Utah, BARELY. I’m happy. (yes, I know, utterly ridiculous, but this is what was going through my head) At least the flags were blowing nicely. I never removed my gear, and never actually walked up on the monument. In a hurry, gotta go.


The bike in front of the 4 corners and all the flags. No idea why they're at half-mast.
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Me and the bike. This is the second of 2 pictures that were taken of me and the bike on the entire trip (other than self portraits while riding lol.)
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I know theres mountains, but otherwise, its FLAT. Flatter than i've ever seen in Oklahoma.
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The clouds are cool.
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I think this plateau is horny....?
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On the "oil" (as referred to in someones TAT report) Cool Shadows.
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[Nanotech9]

Gas up in Cortez. Ugh. I think I’m on my 3rd Full Throttle and sipping down my 2nd 6hr energy drink. On into Durango. At least the scenery is getting better. Its cooled down quite a bit finally. I stop in Durango – its pretty. I see a harley being brought in on a Flatbed truck to the Harley Dealership. Its one I passed a while back on the side of the road. Didn’t look like it had a problem and the rider and passenger showed now signs of worry so I had kept going. When I get off the bike I’m tingling and shaking. Not good. I lay down in a parking lot for a bit and rest. Down some beef jerky, part of a power bar and some other random food items in the tank bag. After a bit I’ve finally stopped shaking but can really feel fatigue setting in hard. I can’t even think straight enough to do the math on how long I’ve been awake at this point. Raton seems SO CLOSE yet so far away. I do a few exercises, jog around for a bit and drink the rest of a Green Tea (with ginseng! Yay. Whatever that is.) and get back on my beast. Time to go.

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I didn't check the elevation on the GPS, but the clouds in the distance seem about 1000 feet below my current altitude.
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This is a dark picture, but it really shows the clouds.
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The short run over to Pagosa Springs seems like it takes an eternity. Dark has set in and although the HID light is working nicely, there is so much traffic I have to constantly flip it off over and over. This section of road would be more fun if I weren’t so tired. I get to Pagosa and it takes me a while to figure out how to get into the gas station. The only entrances to the shopping arear where the gas stations and hotels are located are at every stop light, approximately a half mile apart. I have to ride past and then come half way back to the gas station. Weird. I lay on the ground again for a bit. Shaking. The gas station attendant is friendly, but reminds me of backwoods Arkansas. No matter. Shes super helpful and whips out a yellow pages and helps me find a Super 8 to stay at after calling several places.

I get into the motel about 9:30pm local time. From what I can figure I’ve been awake for 37 hours, and on the road for over 21 hours. Hotel manager says I can park the bike right under my window. Between that and the ear-piercing alarm, I’m happy. Feels good to sit down and get out of those clothes and take a long shower. My plan is to get up and be on the road at 6:30.

6am rolls around and I hit snooze on the alarm a few times. Head is pounding, need more sleep. Finally wake up about 9am with a mostly clear head. Sit down for breakfast and load up on cereal, milk, O.J., a bagel, etc. I spy a few bananas in a basket and remember that my buddy Tr0g always eats bananas before and during the supermoto races. Something about potassium helping with your energy or, well, I have no idea, but he harps on the bananas every time we race together…. So, I down a banana. Can’t hurt at least.

By 9:30 I’m loaded up and rolling out. Its rained all night and the roads are still damp. I’ve got long johns and long sleeves on under my clothes but pass on the rain suit for now. I ride for a bit and about halfway between Pagosa Springs and Chama I stop to take pictures and put on my borrowed rain suit (THANKS KbikeLarry!). I’m there for about 10min and not one car has passed me either way, which makes it even prettier. I’m glad I stopped for the night in Pagosa as I would have missed all this scenery. Its amazing!


Tucked away up against th;e hotel window. Bike was SOAKED.
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Stopped to take pictures and throw on the rain suit. I love this picture.
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Same stop. very green valley makes for a nice background to the bike.
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I take 84 south out of Chama and jump on 64 East at Tierra Amarilla. The morning mist is pretty heavy and the roads are still damp. I start gaining altitude at the rate of about 10ft / second. Right around 9,000ft I start getting into a thick foggy mist and visibility is about 60’. I slow to 20mph with all lights and hazards running. I get within 40ft of being 2 miles high. Bike is still running remarkably well despite the altitude. Just over the top I pull into a senic turn-off which isn’t exactly senic at the moment (given the fog) and stop to talk to a group of about 12 bikes heading the other way. Nice folk – I wonder if they’re from advrider given the bikes and gear they’re wearing….? Back down the mountain I go.


I turned around to take a picture down the mountain... I'm right over 10k ft here, and just about to get into the really thick fog on up the road.
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Halfway down the mountain I keep seeing signs all over for entrances to park roads or forest roads, etc… My curiosity is piqued and the idea of taking the bike a short distance off road sounds like fun… as long as I don’t crash. I pass a beautiful lake on my right and shortly after see the small entrance sign to it. About 100’ and the road turns to dirt. Perfect. It’s a nice hard packed lightly damp road and I’ve got no worries about riding on it.

Hopewell Lake and Dam is really pretty and makes for some nice pictures. I spy a walking path across the dam blocked by some posts in the ground to keep vehicles out, and decide the GS is just skinny enough to fit through. The valley on the far side of the damn is really lush and theres a small wood cabin right in the middle.


Hopewell Lake
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Parked on the damn
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Look closely and you'll see the little cabin towards the right
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Another shot that shows the bike parked in the middle of the dam. Bluetooth still working in the helmet from here.
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Backside of the Dam and silhouette of the bike.
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Heading back out on the dirt road.
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Birch? Poplar? You guys tell me. Very tall and interesting.
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Lets get out of here... Great traction on the Distanzias
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Gives a new meaning to trailering your ride somewhere... saddled up and tank is topped off... lol.
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[Nanotech9]

I get into Tres Piedras and shortly on the other side I decide that everyone in New Mexico owns over 100 junk cars and lives in a funny looking house. Apparently theres a few dozen junk yards in the area. I look at the GPS and realize that I’m still traveling at 7000’ and higher…. Dessert at 7k. WOW. The roads are so straight for so long that a 10deg change in direction requires about a half dozen warning signs about “turn ahead” etc etc. In the middle of what seems like “nowhere” I come across an odd gathering of people and a randomly placed bridge. Apparently I’ve come across the mighty Rio Grande. Had no idea I would be crossing it. Its depth is staggering. Not even close to the Grand Canyon, but still mighty impressive. From a quick look at the topo maps its about 600’ deep. That’s farther than I want to fall.

I see lots of tourists but no traffic so I ride to the middle of the bridge to take some pictures, carefully securing the cameras wrist strap to my wrist as it would be a shame to loose all my pictures. I snap a few and realize that the bridge is trembling horribly. While I’m not deathly afraid of heights and have no general fear of bridges, the bridge was shaking enough to give me the heebie-jeebies. A quick look to the east and the cause became clear. A large dump-truck type vehicle was about 1/3 of the way across and the shaking was getting worse. I decided that the bikes suspension would absorb most of this so I hopped back on and got her rolling again. Much better.


One of the many junkyards... this one's specialty seemed to be busses.
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Straight... Bike is on "autopoilot" and i'm bored so i take pictures.
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Yep, still straight... about 20 miles up theres a turn.
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600ft deep... Rio Grand!
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Wish i had a picture of the bridge from the side. It was really cool looking but shook like a wet dog on a cold day.
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More high-altitude dessert. Lots of boring nothing. Can see for miles, no brush to hide large animals, no cars. I decide to fight boredom and sleep by taking pictures on my i-Phone and post them on Facebook, while moving. Not the smartest or safest idea in the world, but its got to be better than texting in the middle of rush-hour traffic on I-35, and safer than falling asleep while on the bike (I’ve done this before on the way back from Denver once – kept dozing off slumped over the tank). It keeps me awake and my mind active. The hole in the index finger of my dirtbike gloves I’m wearing works perfectly to run the touch screen on the phone which is Velcro’ed to the tank....


Finally, I’m at Taos! Yay. (anything is YAY after high-altitude dessert). The GPS wigs out for a bit and looses signal for some reason. I’m “lost”. Holy Hippie-Ville! Only in Taos do all 500 residents start walking the streets right at noon, as well as they all get in their cars and intentionally cause a traffic jam. Yes, bumper to bumper “rush-hour” traffic in the giant city of Taos, for what seems like 3 miles. Un-fricken-believable. No worries. I realize I’ve still got great signal on the i-phone so I take the time to punch in a “route” to Raton on the map module. At least the adobe-like houses and businesses are cool to look at.




I keep rolling through Taos and head on over to Agua Fria through the Carson National Forrest.

The only explanation for this section of road is…. Ggiggidy!

I was more busy riding than taking pictures, sorry. This was the “hardest” 20 miles I’ve ridden the entire trip, and even took a few opportunities to pretend I was back on a sportbike and hang my butt off the sides of the seat, at some points switching from one side to the other while still exiting the first corner. Many corners transitioned immediately into the next corner w/o any straight-of-way.

This overview from Google maps should explain it all.

Make sure you let traffic get a good ways ahead.
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[Nanotech9]

Carson National Forrest spills out into the Eagle Nest Lake area. As I’m rolling through town I spy another 1200GS and a 650X Challenge parked on the side of the street in front of a sign that reads (if I remember right) “Good Food” in large letters, but no easily visible establishment name. About 2 second after I pass by I decide I’m actually starving, and that two BMW’s outside a place that says “GOOD FOOD” on the sign might be an indication that they actually have food, and that its good. What a novel idea. So, as is customary with me, I flip a ***** again and park next to the other GS. A quick look over both bikes and I notice they’re well farkled, and one of the tags is from Texas. I figure that’s pretty close to home for me and that the riders are most likely from out of state just like me.

I walk inside and theres a couple of fellas at a table right inside the door that are already making a spot for me to sit… how’s that for a warm welcome? Turns out they’re both here on ADVRider and the 650X-challenge was just recently purchased from the classifieds (I remember seeing it up for sale actually). A few min. into conversation and they’re rattling off local routes in the area so fast I can’t keep up… even while pages back and forth on the well marked map in front of me. As it turns out, the burger I ordered is the best burger I’ve EVER had, hands down, and at only about 600 miles from OKC, its well worth the day-trip back out there for another burger…. Sometime. It was definitely good to see a friendly couple of faces on the trip, and although I had never met them before, the connection through ADVRider and being fellow BMW owners somehow made it feel like I had run into old friends. Good people, and I hope to run into them some day in the future on another ride. Thanks to their advice and general overview of the roads I would be hitting up after Eagle Nest Lake. As they mentioned, it was some really great riding.

Eagle Nest Lake
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Ziptie and Sailwing2003 (ADVRiders) leaving the burger joint.
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I headed out on Hwy 64 and rode through Cimarron Canyon State Park. This has got to be one of the prettiest areas of the country. The road followed a small stream down through the narrow canyon, and basically jumped over the stream about a dozen times all the way down…. At many times the water was within inches of being level with the road. Absolutely cool. I really don’t know how to describe it, but if you’re ever in the area, don’t miss your chance to ride through Cimarron Canyon State Park.

Just entering Cimarron Canyon State Park
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The widest part of the canyon
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Also the widest part of the stream / river.
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Unfortunately after the small town of Cimarron, the road flattened out again. I headed on towards Raton. It had finally warmed up and was time to get rid of the long johns and long t-shirt again. Here’s where I was wishing I had that 4th pair of socks. A short break in Raton, and a chat with a couple that had taken a month off and were riding back from Sturgis (I believe that’s what they said) and I was headed out on the last 500 miles of my trip, and incidentally, the most boring miles of the entire trip.

From here on out so much of the terrain is so similar that its all a bit blurred together in my mind. At one point there was a bunch of Safety Corridor and High-wind zones, with signs marking “lights on for safety” etc et. The random thunder showers in the distance were neat to watch and many times I thought I was about to run into one until the road changed direction just in time. Finally I ended up riding through one. As I approached It, I decided to keep riding instead of stop and dress up in the rainsuit again, but I had a plan. I had a south wind hitting the right side of the bike at maybe 30-40mph (in a high wind zone) and was running with the bike tilted over at a good angle to the right. I had already been sitting half of the left side of the seat and decided that I could simple kick my right leg over to the left side and put my foot on the passenger peg, crouch down on the left side of the bike, and basically ride out storm on the “dry side” of the bike. With the throttle locked in at about 70, my plan worked. I even tucked my right arm on the left of the tank bag, and the only part of me to get damp was the far left side of my left pant leg. I love when a good plan comes together and works… lol.


Rainstorm
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Pointy!
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More Rain
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Just rode through it.
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To fight boredom riding along I couldn’t help but to find ways to entertain myself, so playing along with some “air” instruments to the songs in my helmet seemed to fill the bill. Air guitar, air drums… well, that was about it really. I don’t have much of an imagination I guess, and have no idea how to play drums, but I was rocking out. Basically, anything to keep my blood flowing, arms moving, and fight fatigue and sleepiness w/o downing any energy drinks.

I’m sure the random people driving near me thought I was crazy, especially the one car that was behind me for over 100 miles, but its OK as I stayed awake.

Somewhere near Clayton I snapped a few pics of a really long train. Not like I don’t see trains on a daily basis in OKC, but it looked massive out there all alone.

Wooo Woooo!
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yeah, its a fricken train.
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Finally, Texas, and a state line sign. Not sure how I missed all the rest, but I was determined to get a picture of at least one state line, so Texas it was.
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Again with the rail road tracks… every couple of miles a little dirt road would take off from the highway into a field and across the tracks. Made for a nice couple of pictures. The gravel is looser than it looks and when I went to turn the bike around I almost got stuck. The tire was just kicking the gravel out instead of moving the bike forward. Nothing a little rocking back and forth couldn’t fix though.

Westbound on the tracks. Given the bike is the exact width of a set of tracks, i would recommend NOT trying to bounce over a set on a non-crossing area. Would seem like an easy way to get your bike stuck.
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closer
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Looking eastbound... rolling a little way back down the hill is what got me stuck in the gravel. Oops.
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The book of Face.... Wait, who's driving this thing?
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[Nanotech9]

So basically, from here on in to OKC the winds sucked, the temperatures were in the high 90’s till night-fall, and the ride was un-eventful.

In Dumas I ran into their version of Jay and Silent Bob… except silent bob talked a lot, and their monkey was really a dog…. They had been sitting outside this gas station for 3 or 4 hours already, and apparently were playing a guessing game. I tried to listen in a bit and it went something like this:

“Awe man… Stevie Nicks!”

“Yeah, man that’s right man!”

“You almost got me man!”

“Yeah man and I’m not even into the T’s yet man!”

a little more back and forth banter about guessing songs and bands and singers from lyrics etc and they noticed an old white muscle car leaving the gas station… they got up and got the driver to rev it up a bit and started yelling “yeah man old school – that’s right man… lets hear it… yeah… old school right there man…” and so forth. Gave me the opportune moment to snap a pic just after the car took off. I hope they find the question to their answers in life on whatever journey they’re on.


Jay and talking Bob...
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"give it hell man!" (car is out of picture to the right)
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Texas... flatter than Oklahoma?
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Peek-a-boo!.... its like... a myspace self-portrait!
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Wind Generator farm
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A quick bite to eat at Arbys in Amarillo, through the infamous continual construction on I40 in Oklahoma, and I rolled into the driveway at 1am local time right behind my G/F (she works 2nd shift) for a grand total of 48hours from when I first threw a leg over the bike and headed out of Palm Springs.


Many thanks to everyone who chatted with me along the way on the phone or in txts or on facebook and kept my mind busy, to everyone who loaned me gear and electronics and gave advice, and to anyone else I missed.

It was a great spur of the moment adventure and I hope to have many more like it, and anyone that wants is encouraged to ride with me.


For all 250+ pictures i took, just click here and browse through them. the best ones are in this thread though.

El Clicko!

Tucked away safe at home
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[1shott]

Great pics.

In the first set of CA the white areas you said you did not know what they were, those are salt farms, sea water is pumped in and let to evaporate and the salt that remains is mined.

 

[RidgeHunter]

That's awesome man, thanks for posting it here!

I laughed out loud at Jay and Talking Bob, reminds me of a few dudes that have yelled stuff at me when I was driving my old Chevy all the time.
The no loitering sign behind them is classic!