Family Adventure – Day 1

Ok, this is the first posting, live from on the trip. I didn’t have wifi until yesterday morning so this is my first time making the attempt. With the iPad as well. I will simply type and proofread after to catch the ipad’s interesting ways of spelling vs what I typed 🙂

There will be no pictures until I get back, however I will be posting iPhone pics over on facebook if you want quick glimpses.

Wednesday morning I got the last couple of things on the bike, kissed Rita goodbye and headed out. I’d planned to head out towards Greeley but changed my mind. Looking east I could see rain clouds and rain and didn’t want to break out the rain gear just yet so headed south on 25. I figured traffic wouldn’t be horrible although there would be some delays. I hit the 104th street backup and slowly moved down to 270. That was slow as well until around the airport exit when it picked back up.

In heading to Limon, it looked as if I would be riding into the storm anyway but as the road turned, the clouds moved east and I missed the rain. In Limon, I made my first gas stop and tuned the load up a bit, just making sure things were stable and tightening straps. I could see more rain ahead. The nice thing about the cloud cover though was that the temps stayed somewhat cool at around 90.

Next up, Kit Carson. The ride itself was basically uneventful. Getting settled in on the bike, getting the body used to riding. It was a bit achy in the left leg initially but it got used to it. I pulled over at Kit Carson to snap a quick bike shot. Apparently Kit is back in our family somewhere. We stopped at a great aunt’s house back in the 70’s and she showed us a picture.

From there I continued on down to Lamar which was the next corner. The rain stayed to the east providing protection from the heat until a bit north of Lamar. The temps hovered at around 99.9 per the bike sensor.

I headed east towards Kansas, tonight’s stop Dodge City. As I got close to the central time zone, the temps continued to rise hitting 110 as I crossed over the time zone. It fluctuated up and down and then started rising again.

On the west side of Garden City the temps headed up again. The bank sign said 104 but the bike sensor which is positioned on the front right fork said 117. At that point, I was about 45 minutes from Dodge City, there was a zoo in town and I figured it’d be less tourist trappy so I stopped and snagged a room. I could unpack and then take the bike out for a ride a little later to see the sights.

During the ride, I felt the trunk was a little heavy and decided to move things around to change the weight. The bike felt a little right heavy which was a little tiring. So I moved my personal stuff into the duffle on the rear of the seat and put the sleeping bag and rain gear into the trunk. This also made it easier to get to the rain gear should it be necessary.

One of the new things for the bike is a Throttlemeister. I’ll post more details in an equipment post, but essentially it’s a friction based throttle control. I tighten it up and can maintain a single speed (more or less). A couple of years ago I started using an o-ring which was ok but there wasn’t quite enough friction. This year I bit the bullet and bought the right tool. It certainly made a difference in comfort for the ride. I don’t have the sore shoulder after the ride.

After cleaning and lubing the chain, then checking the oil and the rest of the bike, I hung out in the room for a bit. I went down earlier to grab a couple of sodas and it was like a blast furnace with all the room air conditioners blowing hot air outside.

After relaxing, I decided to take a walk to find a place to eat. I stopped in to snag a walking soda and began to walk.

I stopped in at the Nissan dealer to check out the (why is it that when I type “the” the “th” seems to disappear?) 370z convertibles. They had one on the floor in black cherry, not the roadster though.

After I continued on down to main street which was quite a ways without seeing any food places. Not even fast food. Just car dealers, gas stations, several boarded up restaurants, and buildings. Even on main street there were a few kitzy places and a coffee shop, but no food. A cold front had moved in which is what cooled it down enough to go walking and at main, it started really blowing. The temp had dropped down from 104 on the bank sign to 91. I did a quick look for the zoo but figired it was a bit far so headed back to my room, about 90 minutes away. I stopped at a gas station/convenience store for some chicken nuggets and a soda then stopped in at baskin robbins for an ice cream, which promptly started melting and running down my arm 🙂

Back at the room I was checking out the situation with wifi (unavailable because his netgear had bailed) when I heard the thunder. Heat thunder crashing. I looked out the window (it’s like I’m typing too fast for the touch screen and it’s losing the “th”) and could see the black clouds rolling by. As I watched, it really opened up and started pouring. (I seem to have random finger drop too which adds extra letters and causes the spell checker to be imaginative in suggested words.)

So much for further riding. I alternated between reading, watching outside and watching tv. When the rain slowed a bit, I could see a rainbow. Going outside and I could see it was a full rainbow and then that it was a double rainbow. I got some pics, puttered around and hit the sack.