Day 13, Part 1

Amarillo, TX to Joplin, MO

Today was the first of four long days in a row to get home. 500 miles today, and the Atomic Shovel was being little miss cranky pants. Pretty good out of the gate, but started the bucking and stalling not long into the day. She went for long intervals where she was happy and then she’d buck a few times. Once she flat out stalled under power, and I couldn’t pop the clutch to get going again, so I had to pull off and take the screwdriver to the solenoid.
All in all the weather was fabulous again. (I seriously feel as though I am living on borrowed time, however…) There were two storm fronts I rode through, but they held tight and did not rain on me! They did throw some high winds my way, and the second front was the worst, but short lived.
At my last gas stop in Oklahoma, I really missed the perfect photo op. A guy rolled in driving this ’90s sedan with all these antennas on it, and a graphic on the side saying ‘Storm Chasers.’ He was tall and thin, wore a lot of plaid and brown. Had a frizzy, curly mop of hair and thick plastic glasses frames straight out of the ’70s. Reminded me of Ghostbusters! 🤣
I should have asked to take his pic with that car, but I didn’t even think about it till I was miles down the road.

Dang it! With all the storms I have chased, or have chased me this trip, that would have been the perfect photo!
My luggage broke on the way to Utah as I was navigating the rough NM roads, and today it is even worse. I wondered why my bike felt wonky when I was in curves. At my last gas stop, I checked my pack and it had sunk some more, so it was loose on the luggage rack. I changed how I had it strapped and it was much better after that. Probably time for a new pack…

Day 13, Part 2

I forgot about the snake!! So I was on the way out of the Texas panhandle, when I saw this damn snake slithering across the road. I did a double take – is that a… Snake?! YES THAT IS A DAMN SNAKE IN THE ROAD! I hate snakes.
The timing was such that mister slitherbutt was going to intersect with my tires in a matter of seconds. Now, my bike steers like a crate, so it isn’t easy to do a quick switch to avoid something in the road. In fact, I have never successfully done such a thing….
Until… the snake…
I did a quick switch swerve like a damn BOSS and avoided squishing the nasty thing under my bike. The last thing I wanted to deal with was blood and guts or (in my overactive imagination) a flailing, decapitated snake body! Aaaaaaaaaaaggghhh!
I had shivers and chills just thinking about it. Ugh.
Then, the skeerdycat in me suggested that maybe he had hopped a ride and was gonna bite me. Seriously. That is where my brain went. Did I mention that I really, really do not like snakes?
Not long after, I stopped for gas, and you KNOW I checked my bike for that stupid snake. I sure did.
And now you know the big, super scary snake story… I passed a snake in the road. The end.

Day 12

Albuquerque, NM to Amarillo, TX

Today was… Magical. Glorious. Stupendous. And every other superlative I can think of. I got 10 hours of deep sleep, so I felt much better this morning. The Atomic Shovel was in a particularly good mood today. She only stalled once this morning when she was still tired. After that, she ran like a champ.
It was an easy day. Only 6 hours. Sunshine and relatively cool air the entire day. I caught myself daydreaming a couple times and had to pull U-turns both times, but I could actually do them because I was rested. When I get tired, my riding skills go to shit and my turns get very wide. But this morning, I was on it.
So the ride to Amarillo was effortless. Almost too easy…. But who’s complaining?!
I went back down the dirt/paved road, and this time, there were cows grazing right beside the pavement! I had to stop and take a pic. How is it that cows always look completely non-plussed?!

While I was stopped, I screen-captured the road a well because I wanted to remember it.

I had a goal for this day if the weather held, which it did. I wanted to get a photo of the Atomic Shovel in front of Cadillac Ranch. It would have been super cool to ride right up to it, but alas, there were gates. So I rolled up in front of it on the road, and a gentleman was nice enough to snap my pic. Mission accomplished!
I knew I was going to get some great photos on this trip, but THIS photo was the one I wanted more than any other. 74 FLH in front of a 1974 art installation that I have been singing about most of my life.

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Day 11

Kanab, UT to Albuquerque, NM

If I do not sleep tonight, I think I will lose my mind! Last night was another night of insomnia. Got about 4 hours of sleep, but I had to leave today regardless. I was apprehensive about how the day would go, but I just got on the bike and went. Surprisingly, once I got going, I felt fine.
The Atomic Shovel, however, was a cranky pants. She stalled about 5 times before I even got on the road. Stalled at the traffic light leaving Kanab. She finally started behaving, but not before stalling under power several times. I was able to pop the clutch and get going again so I didn’t have to park on the side of the road to get her started.
But eventually, we got ourselves together and set out on a beautiful ride. The morning air was clear and cool – carbs love cool air. A couple hours in, it was in the 90s. At first the air was still nice and then it wasn’t. Felt like riding into a blast furnace! The fleeting thought that a cool rain shower would have felt nice in that heat went through my mind…. Why did I even?? The weather gods hate me.
The last 150 miles, I had stiff crosswinds – probably 20-30 mph gusts – and there was a huge storm front hovering to my left. For a while it appeared I was going to skirt the edge of it, until the winds ratcheted up, maybe 40 mph gusts, and then the rain….
The last 100 miles were like riding through a car wash over and over. I would get doused with rain, ride out of it, get blasted with wind that would dry my clothes, then doused, dried, over and over. Thankfully, I landed at the end on “dried.”
It was crazy, but I was glad because the road I was on was pretty desolate. It was a nice wide 4-lane, but gas stations were few, and civilization non-existent. There was no shelter to pull over under and put my rain gear on, so I just decided to tough it out, and it worked out well. Douse, dry, douse, dry….
But I made it to Albuquerque, and I am going to be asleep soon. I hope.

Day 10

I was supposed to leave Kanab today. Said my goodbyes last night, packed stuff up, and then insomnia hit. It felt like I had been injected with caffeine. I have not slept at all, so I am going to stay put today and leave tomorrow. Not what I planned, but the best decision.

The glamorous life of a road dog. I have avoided laundromats for 35 years and the only thing that has changed is the price of a load!
But this will occupy my afternoon and I can start home with clean clothes. Of course a white sock hid itself and ended up in the dark load.

My friend Tara Lynch and I each received cool-ass trophies for longest distance traveled on a bike to the road run. I did a little over 2200 miles, and Tara did 1600 miles on her ’60 panhead. Mad respect for this woman. Thank you Jerry Kane for a fabulous road run! Well put together, great food, beautiful rides, cool swag bag, all with a big smile! 💙💙💙
And thank you John Smallwood for snapping these pics!
I am sad to leave tomorrow, but the road home calls. Albuquerque tomorrow evening….

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Day 9

Bryce Canyon

While the rest of the people went to the Grand Canyon, I decided to catch Bryce today. I have been to the Grand Canyon, so I opted for a solo ride (as if I don’t get enough alone time…) to Bryce. Totally worth it. The scenery all the way there was spectacular.
At one point a small river meandered through green fields beside the road to my right while on my left towered huge rock formations that supported minimal plant life. This dichotomy is everywhere here.
Before Bryce, I passed through Red Rocks Canyon – an unexpected and beautiful little side show. Two stone arches spanned the road and lazy curves took me up to an even higher altitude. Anywhere else, Red Rocks would be a main attraction, but here in Utah, where the landscape is both Jurassic and majestic, it is but an opening act.
I could have taken a million photos, and they would all have been beautiful and different, but none can convey the scale that is Bryce. While Zion was a massive collection of rock formations that you can ride in and among, Bryce is this beautiful, deep gash in the earth that you view from various vantage points.

Speaking of side shows, a couple random shots in Kanab reveal the stunning mountains gracing the most mundane environs…

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First… Photos and videos from the morning parking lot, and tonight’s sunset…. So. Many. Cool ass. Bikes!

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Day 8

Zion National Park

Now to the day’s ride… Glorious scenery today. The bike ran great today. A guy here checked it out yesterday and all he did was change the position of the carb overflow. It was pointed up, and he pointed it down. Not sure it actually fixed it – neither is he – but I am gonna say it did it this point. Zero issues.
So I was able to enjoy Zion without bike issues. I cannot even communicate the bigness of it. Photos don’t do it. Words don’t do it. A lot of the pull off spots were full, so I kept rolling through till I found a spot that was pretty empty. That’s where the photos and video are from.
After Zion, I headed back to Kanab, went to the hardware store and fixed my other missing fender bolt.

I bought the bolt, and I had to borrow a drill and bit because this side of the fender still had the receiving nut welded inside. To repair it such that I don’t have to do it again, I needed to feed the bolt through from the inside of the fender, which meant I had to drill the threads out of that nut.

I was able to get a drill, a bit and a scrap of wood to protect my sidewall from the drill bit as it punched through. I got that job done, then went to Napa, which had a service bay next door, and changed my oil. Excellent day.

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Day 7

Albuquerque, NM to Kanab, UT

I have stayed on east coast time, and it’s a good thing… Getting up and out early pays off. This morning I was out a little after 6 a.m. Mountain time. The bike didn’t want to start that early, but she finally relented, and then I hit Home Desperate for a fender bolt. Got that repair done and hit the road. It was cold but no rain.
The ride today was glorious. New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Every curve and hill revealed a new landscape. The rock formations and colors were incredible. I have no words. I was trying to think of the right words to describe what I was seeing, but there really aren’t any. It was so amazing to relax and just ride.
Of course, we all know that whole notion has a expiration time on it… The bike was running good, I was making great time. 40 miles out of Kanab, the bike stalled. It was doing this weird thing that I can’t really describe, but it would lurch forward like I had downshifted without slowing the bike down first. It has been doing it for a while, getting incrementally more frequent. Until it did it a bunch of times in a row and the bike stalled. On route 89. Narrow shoulder, thankfully it was at least flat, and I could get my kickstand down.
I thought maybe the bike was just hot. It WAS 95 degrees… So I sat by the side of the road for an hour, letting it cool down. I have to say, the spot my bike decided to stall was gorgeous, so it wasn’t horrible! After an hour, I tried starting it, and it fired right up, so off I went… My LAST 40 miles!!! About 15 miles down the road, it did it again. This time I knew it wasn’t hot because the temp had dropped and the air had cooled maybe 10 degrees. So I started it back up and rode on in.
I was relaying this fun tale to a fellow AMCA member and his wife, and he offered to take the bike for a ride and see if he could duplicate the problem. He did, and it did, and he said he thinks it is the fuel delivery. Very possible. The bike was tuned in NY and I am now in Utah. It started acting up as I rode in higher elevations, so it will be interesting to see if the issue clears up a I ride back east.
Regardless….
I. Am. Here!! 2238 miles… I missed the Bryce Canyon ride today, dammit. But tomorrow is Zion, and I may do Bryce Thursday while everyone else is doing the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

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Day 6, Part 1

Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM

Waiting for the sun (as it is) to rise, and for the fog to lift. Meanwhile, I checked the bike, started it, popped it into gear and it went right in. I guess riding the clutch a bit before I parked it for the night worked to clean the discs off and keep them from sticking.
330 miles today in front of me. Looks like heavy wind and some rain all the way. I am waiting for visibility to improve, and then I will set out. Probably longer rest stops today.

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Day 6, Part 2

Amarillo, TX to Albuquerque, NM

Thankfully the weather was not a bad as the forecast made it appear. It was cold and rainy leaving Amarillo, but the wind wasn’t too bad, so I was grateful.
I rode in and out of the storm front, but the landscape was amazing. I remember coming through OK yesterday – I rode around a curve and there it was: Big Sky Country. The massive sky, the wide open vistas. More of the same beauty today, even if the weather was less than ideal.
Much of the way through Texas, I was riding alongside railroad tracks. The flat, open landscape made the trains look so much longer because you could see the whole thing at once. And the colors of the soft green sage against the red dirt – gorgeous. Nature is such a talented artist.
I took route 60 most of the way. There was a 20-mile stretch of it that narrowed down from 4 lanes to 2, with very little shoulder, which I hit just after going through a huge downpour. The rain stopped, but there was the biggest, blackest storm front still hanging over me. I could see the end of it in front of me – miles and miles away. Big sky…
But at this very moment, it was peaceful. There were no cars in either direction. Just me, my bike, and the road. Those 20 miles made up for all the rain and cold.
Further along, I am following my GPS, which indicates that I need to turn left, but I don’t really see a road… I slow down, slow some more… Doublechecked my GPS. Yep. This is my turn, but it’s a farm road. A dirt and gravel farm road. What?? But I went ahead and made the turn. Into God’s country. The road was 11 miles long, and the first 5 were unpaved. I was still able to run about 40 because it was well packed. At one point there was a sign that said Free Range Cows. I slowed because indeed, there were cows grazing right beside the road.
After the cows, I eventually ended up on another segment of Route 66 coming into Albuquerque. Beautiful scenery again, still, more… Finally got into Albuquerque – the nicest paved roads I have seen in days… Found my hotel, and very literally two minutes after I parked the bike, all hell broke loose. Rail, hail, thunder and lightning.

Instead of making longer rest stops today, I didn’t even shut the bike off. Gas and go. If I had not done that, I would have been riding in that hail storm.

I did notice I lost the last bolt out of my fender on the left side. Probably all the rough roads. I don’t know if I have a replacement. If not, I will try a zip tie until I can find something that will work.
Tomorrow…. Kanab, UT. Finally!

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Day 5

Joplin, MO to Amarillo, TX

…for realz this time….
Holy cats! I made it… Went to sleep sooooo early last night after an exhausting day doing nothing but resting and watching bad TV. Got up early this morning and was on the road by 7 a.m. The bike still lurched a bit going into 1st this morning, but I rode the shit out of the clutch up the street, and after that, it was fine.
Bike was good today. It was cool out – 50 when I left – so I wore my heated jacket, but I didn’t mind the cool air. I had a 500-mile day, and a carbureted bike, so cool air means a happy motor.
To everyone who sent the universe a no-rain prayer for me… THANK YOU!! I managed to avoid rain the entire day. I did choose a southern route through Tulsa (thought of you Greg Lew !) because the other, slightly quicker route (by 15 minutes) went through Kansas, and when I checked the weather there for today, it said RAIN. I was ok riding an extra 15 minutes to avoid yet another day of rain.
All in all, it was a beautiful ride. Oklahoma has more hardwoods and green stuff than I expected – sad how stereotypes of regions make an East Coast girl think that basically the entire southwest is dust and iguanas! On balance, most people think the entire state of NY is paved. So there’s that.
Regardless, beautiful ride thru OK, and the Texas panhandle was also beautiful. The first part was hilly and colorful. The speed limit on the 2 lane road was 75 tho, so I had to keep an eye behind me to make sure no one was going to flatten me! I was doing 60-65 at most. The Atomic Shovel is not a hurry up bike.
About 100 miles from Amarillo, I ran into high winds as expected. Again, checking the weather last night, it showed high winds, and thunderstorms in the area. Thankfully, I did not get both. I wasn’t in the mood for another power washing! But the winds were brutal. It started as a head wind, which screwed with my ability to accelerate.
Then it became a cross wind from my left. I was wearing ear plugs, but my left ear was getting buffeted so hard that my eardrum hurt. I ended up pulling over and putting a different earplug in that ear. That helped a lot. My ears are ringing now though. But I have landed for the evening… Albuquerque tomorrow!