Day 1, June 6, 2009 Santa Clarita, Ca to Carson City, Nv

Our 2009 motorcycle odyssey to Canada began at 6:00 AM Saturday morning when our eight intrepid adventurers met at Dennys Restaurant in Canyon Country. When John pulled into the parking lot, and while most of our travelers were enjoying an early breakfast, John immediately broke out his tool kit and had the front fairing off of his Harley. The problem? No headlight and no passing lamps, and no clue as to what was wrong. Not deal breaker; the team set off for the first stop, Mojave. "We'll diagnose the problem later," said John.

The weather was partly cloudy with the ever-present crosswinds en route to Mojave. The winds subsided out of Mojave and we made for our second gas stop, Lone Pine. The weather from Lone Pine to Bishop was clear and warm, with temperatures approaching 80 degrees; however, the forecast for our route predicted rain showers and temperatures in the low 50's. We donned our rain gear and pressed on. The weatherman was correct. Rain began to fall and the temperature plumeted north of Mammoth Lakes. We pressed on to our next stop, Lee Vining. We stopped for lunch and gas there and opted for BBQ at Brodie Mike's BBQ. Ironically, none of the four people at our table ordered BBQ--go figure!

During the 100 plus miles from Lee Vining to Carson City the rain was unrelenting. We pulled into Carson City at 4:00 PM, checked into our hotel and made dinner plans at Red's Hwy. 395 Grill. John & Jack Diagnosed John's Lighting problem and restored lighting to John's bike. The GPS connection had shorted out knocking out the lights. We were not disappointed in our dinner choice, excellent food & spirits, and an interesting yet eclectic collection of antiques, farm equipment, horse drawn wagons, license plates and best of all, 100 brands of beer on tap. After supper we retired to the parking lot of the hotel where we cleaned the afternoon's mud off the bikes while enjoying some of Mr. jack Daniels' Gentlemen Jack and a few fine cigars, the end of a relatively easy 415 mile riding day.

Last year, four of us rode to Alaska and back. We dubbed ourselves The Highway Princess and the Three Amigos, a reference to Sylvia, our lone female rider, and the three guys. This year, our numbers have doubled to eight, Sylvia and seven guys. So, we are now officially known as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Tomorrow our merry band is off to Klamath Falls. One day down and thirteen to go. More to follow. Please stay tuned,

"The Horck"