01/07/2023
A memory from a year ago today.
Kickstands on the Alcan
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Motorcycling adventures .
03/07/2022
Pops made it another 150 miles to his house, even with the redneck engineering. Another great ride in the books. Thanks to all who followed along, so long til next time.
03/07/2022
Day #8, 746 miles 13 hours, Hot Springs AR - Cincinnati OH.
After one of the best hotel breakfasts' I have ever had, we pulled out of Hot Springs at about 645 AM CDT. We got on SR 9 and stayed there all morning. It was cool and a little cloudy as we sped through the Ozarks. Pine forests punctuated by cattle spreads and horse farms. The further north you go on 9 the better the road gets. It reminds me of riding in the Smokey Mountains, but with more expansive views, especially up around Mountain View. We finally had to leave my beloved AR-9 and utilize some more heavily traveled US routes to get into Ash Flat AR. We made a tour of honor stop at a veterans memorial which had a neat K9 monument. I don't remember which town exactly (possibly Batesville AR) but I remember the sign with the slogan "Gateway to the Ozarks" The beautiful forested hills quickly gave way to the flat artificially irrigated agricultural fields so prevalent in Illinois and Indiana. We took this sign as a green light to hit the highway. I would normally rather push my bike on a backroad than ride it on the interstates, but it was after 12 and we still had 550 miles to cover.
Other than the monument stop, we had 5 Splash N Go fuel stops, most times we did not get off the motorcycle. We crammed down a sandwich at a Casey's in Kentucky. Then hit a bunch of rain between Paducah and Elizabethtown. We got soaked to the bone and visibility was only about 30 feet. Things were pretty clear by the time we got to Louisville and everything was smooth sailing into the queen city. Pops shift linkage came apart about three miles from the house, but he managed to limp it on in. Jenny and the girls were waiting in the driveway, best view of the trip. Had a great time, but sure glad to be home. 8 days, 3,125 miles.
02/07/2022
Day #7, 227 miles (29 mi around town) 198 mi from Shreveport to Hot springs AR 4 hours.
Left the harley shop at about 450 PM and headed north into Arkansas. Stuck to the backroads and had some real nice two lane travel. Avoided the gravel, but even got into some twisty's. Up SR-29 to Blevins. US 371 to Nashville. SR 27 thru Murfreesboro, past the US only Diamond mine (Crater of Diamonds S.P.) worked our way up to US-70 then into the town of Royal where, at dusk, we visited the quiet and remote grave of US Navy Seal, Adam Brown. Brown is the subject of one of the most inspiring books I have ever read "Fearless" by Eric Blehm tells the tale of Brown beating severe addiction and physical challenges to become a US Navy seal.
We rode the US-70 bridge across lake Hamilton where Brown had jumped from a moving vehicle into the lake, 40ish feet below.
We then flipped around and beat feet for downtown Hot Springs. We were fortunate to get one of the last hotel rooms in the town on a holiday weekend. Checked in just as it was getting dark almost exactly 4 hours after leaving the Harley Shop.
01/07/2022
Just passed the best sign I've seen in days.
"anaisiuoL ot emocleW"
01/07/2022
Stands up, ears back, and hammer down, we're headed for home. The Shreveport Shanghai is finally over. After completing our 48 hour sentence Pop's bike is back on the road sporting a shiny new stator. State Route 3 looks like the quickest way out of Louisiana, and I'm anxious to leave it in my mirror.
01/07/2022
Boredom buster ride #2 results in tool kit extraction. Rode downtown Shreveport to see the 43rd annual Goldwing riders convention. Then while touring around town the rear shifted fell off. I retireved it and found a shady spot to work on the repair. Unfortunately I was missing the proper allen wrench, so I had to improvise.
01/07/2022
Day #6. 69 miles. Still in Shreveport, getting nowhere fast. Spent a fitful night in a really rough Super 8. Hiked thru the woods to the Enterprise Rent A Car. No cars available. So lyft back to the Awful 8 motel. I rode over to Harley. They're now saying Pops bike needs a stator. It has been ordered and its coming from Dallas, hopefully be here tomorrow afternoon. We upgraded to a much nicer hotel closer to HD. Hampton Inn, very nice checked us in about 12. Walked next door for a good Mexican feed then put in some pool time. I got a little stir crazy and got out to log a few miles in the Louisiana countryside. Rode southeast a ways to Lake Bastineu. Enjoyed a spin thru country past some big cattle spreads and back to the hotel.
Marooned and miserable, 😁suffering and snacking by the pool til we get back on the road.🤣
30/06/2022
Day #5. Waco TX - Shreveport LA 279 miles, many many hours. Our day began a little late since the nearby bike shop did not open until 8. Spent the morning at Jim's Cycle shop (picture Teller-Morrow from S.O.A.)getting a new set of tires. They did fine work, at what I consider a reasonable price. The owner has been in business for 40 years and inquired what brought us out to his slice of America. When I admitted we were coming to gawk at the Branch Davidian compound, he chatted at length about what had gone wrong out there, (and in the US as a whole) It was neat to get the stories and perspectives of a few locals before we made our pilgrimage. Jim was kind enough to draw us a map to the "murder site" as he called it and I was foolish enough to ignore my GPS and follow it. The drawing on the back of my bill led us to a 2 mile stretch of loose/deep gravel and terrible washboard. We got back on blacktop for a few 100 yards before arriving at the church and memorial site. I don't know if the proprietor hadn't been to the location in a while, or if he had sniffed out our Law Enforcement affiliation. All I know is we followed his directions in on gravel, and followed my GPS out on blacktop.
The Mt. Caramel site was very sad. The world has plenty of experts on David Koresh and his run in with the ATF. I am certainly not one of them, I just know it's a real sad and depressing story that occurred in a sad depressing place.
The rest of our travels took place on non-descript four lanes through unexciting towns. We visited a really nice memorial in Corsicana TX and a 911 memorial at the Bossier Police Department just outside of Shreveport. The washboard and highways had taken a toll on the bikes. My horn had rattled loose and was dangling by the wires. Pops voltage meter was down, the engine and battery lights were on, and it wasn't charging right. We got it to '3 states Harley-Davidson' The experts determined that the rotor was probably stripped out. The bike stayed at the shop and we found our way to a nearby hotel. I'd be lying if I said this was the most fun day of the trip; however, these are still great adventures and this will be the day we remember the longest.
Sweet Jenny Lynn tried to help us make the best of it by ordering us to go downtown and eat at a cool looking Cajun joint. "The Blind Tiger" had rave reviews and the pictures looked great. We saddled up on my bike like Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. We had a few laughs, but the suspension didn't smile at all. The restaurant was packed and closing within the hour so they wouldn't seat us. Pretty much everything was either closed or closing so we settled for Burger King. Befitting of the day, even the icee machine was down. Got back to the motel without any more crisis and spent the evening waiting on the laundry machines. Good day overall, both still alive and out on the road. You gotta take the good with the bad and keep on truckin...or in this case, keep hoping the parts come in.
29/06/2022
They're probably 8 years old, so I'd say they served me well. I can't say I won't be glad to see them go however.
29/06/2022
Looks like we're gonna start the day getting some new kicks. Jim's Cycle shop in Axtell is high rated by other over-the-road riders who really needed some rubber on the run.
29/06/2022
Pops says I need a tire....I say I can make it home 😱
29/06/2022
Day #4. San Antonio TX - Waco TX 483 miles, 12 hours.
Cool and cloudy this AM when we pulled out at 645. Eastbound on the 410 loop before striking north on RT 16. We shed the city traffic like an old winter coat. Soon we were knees in the breeze and eyes on the sky heading to Medina. Grabbed an Americano at the Core coffee shop advertising Espresso, Pizza and Prayer. Rode the three twisted sisters (337, 335, 336) through Vanderpool, Leaky, and Campwood. Hard to describe the roads. Some pretty tight turns, but the real hazard was the breathtaking views which were a distraction from the ever-changing road.
After the sisters we headed northeast on 39. Past the big game preserves, million dollar ranches and into the old money resort area along the Guadalupe River. The summer homes and camps near Hunt and Kerrville reek of old money and generational wealth. We stopped at the Stonehenge recreation in Ingram TX and a local lady told me that most the properties belonged to rich families from Houston. We lounged for lunch by the river then hauled up 16 thru Llano to Cherokee, where we split off on farm roads thru the towns of Bend, Lometa, Izoro, and Pearl. We got fuel in Gatesville and stopped at a little park to look up food and lodging in Waco. Tried a Jamaican joint and then got into the hotel a few minutes before 7.
28/06/2022
7am departure. Hit the the 3 twisted sisters out near Leakey TX. Went up 83 and across 39.
Lunch stop in Ingram.
27/06/2022
The Alamo IMAX experience was an excellent entertainment choice made by Pops. Followed by another lyft over to the gitchaselfshot side of town for an authentic dining experience.
27/06/2022
After walking around the river walk, we missed our motorcycles so much that we rented scooters to see the rest of the downtown sites.
La Vallita, San Fernando Cathedral (where the remains of Travis, Crockett, and Bowie are entombed)
El Mercado. Took a Lyft back down to Crockett Hotel and got an iced coffee, just for Jenny Lynn
27/06/2022
Some shots from inside. Thought the s***f can from Santa Anna to Sam Houston was really cool
27/06/2022
Strolling around The Alamo
27/06/2022
First we visited the Menger, a haunted hotel where Teddy Roosevelt recruited his roughriders.
27/06/2022
Pops enjoying his first LYFT.
First time I've seen him relax in 3 days.
27/06/2022
Breakfast was a little more continental today. The coffee was good, but waffles were a bit misshapen. Anyone ever run into this before?
27/06/2022
Day #2 585 miles 10.5 hours. Benton AR to San Antonio TX.
Started out thru the piny woods of SW AR. Weaving our way down to Faulk where we got a pic with another military monument. We stuck to backroads and I felt a little guilty as we irreverently ripped by 100's of sleepy little churches nestled in the pines. The small parking lots were cushioned with a thick bed of spruce needles and packed with parishioners. The pine forests soon gave way to the sparse vegetation of sprawling East Texas ranches. We broiled in the sun as we passed thru little towns like Linden, Gilmer, Tyler, Palestine, and several others, each one hotter than the last. We ran mostly backroads today, but the interstates between Austin and San Antonio were
pretty wild for two beleaguered bikers baking in the broiling sun. Pretty happy with the accommodations tonight and a restaurant we could walk to and pool we can play in.
26/06/2022
Getting some good two lane time today. A few gravel roads too..... just to make ya feel alive
26/06/2022
Enjoying a lakeside lunch stop.
On Lake of the Pines near Warlock TX.
30 minutes of interstate so far.
26/06/2022
0700 departure. Eastbound I 30, enjoying the relative cool of the pine lined highway
26/06/2022
Our free continental breakfast was wedged under the bulletproof glass.
26/06/2022
Day #1 6/25/22 Cincinnati Oh - Benton AR. 722 miles 14 hours. We pulled out of the garage at 6:25AM and pulled into the lovely Benton Days Inn at 7:19 central (8:19 PM EST) certainly not the route pictured. That just gives you an idea. We got a nice mix of two lane and freeway on this cloudless 100 degree day. It was a little bit hot, even for me.
26/06/2022
I went for Mexican and dined alone. Then I door dashed for Pops. He didn't want to vacate the luxurious suite or miss his appointment in the spa.
26/06/2022
Checked in to the Wyndham Resort and Dayspa...complete with bullet 'resistant' concierge service.
26/06/2022
More monuments and memorials
Tennessee State Cemetery at Parker crossroads.
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