Friday, September 3, 2010
Greetings Faithful Followers to the End of the Journey,
Last day on the road, we departed the cool pine of Williams, AZ, at 7:00 AM headed for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant on Stockton-Hill Road some 115 miles away in Kingman, AZ. The temperatures steadily increased from about 65 degrees in Williams to 85 degrees as we descended the mountainous terrain and approached Kingman, AZ. We spent about 45 minutes in Kingman and using great restraint we entered westbound I-40 avoiding Kingman Harley-Davidson only minutes off our path. Passing Seligman, AZ, (home of the Snow Cap Drive-In, if you haven't been, you really need to go) we resisted the temptation to get off I-40 and ride one of the few remaining sections of old Route 66, "The Mother Road," in Arizona, to Kingman, AZ.
Leaving Kingman, one could almost see the temperature gauge on the dash of the Electra Glide slowly winding up toward the 90 degree mark, and then inching toward the 100 degree mark and beyond within the hour. We stopped for gas and more hydration at the Arizona/California border and prepared to enter the oven that is the Needles, CA, valley and the Colorado River basin. I always thought they spelled Needles incorrectly. It should have one more "S" on the end thereby proclaiming itself "Needless," which it truly is in my opinion.
With the 109 degree heat beating down on us we opted for a fuel and hydration stop in a wide spot in the Southern California desert known as Ludlow, CA. The Union 76 station/Dairy Queen was packed with travelers seeking relief from the noonday inferno. The next leg of the journey took us to Victorville, CA, for a brief stop at Victorville Harley-Davidson where I consumed two of their complimentary water bottles and we said adios to Bill, who would depart solo for Ontario, Ca, while Steve, Lane and I trekked the final leg to Santa Clarita, CA, and home.
We arrived home to the same sweltering heat we had been subjected to all afternoon about 3:30 PM, glad to be home safe and sound, but lamenting the end of a wonderful journey.
In all, we traveled some 9,400 miles, through two countries in 28 days, which gave me cause to briefly think about changing the name of our ride from the 2010 New England Ride to the Twenty Eight Day Menstrual-Cycle Ride, because guys get moody too.
I have have one post-incident to report that I thought I'd save until we returned as not to worry anyone needlessly. On Day Twenty Five, August 31, 2010, while seeking out the "World's Largest Rocking Chair," in Cuba, MO, Steve was following Lane down a section of Route 66 when all of a sudden it appeared on the right shoulder. Lane slowed to turn into the parking lot and Steve braked hard to avoid hitting Lane's bike. In doing so, Steve locked up his brakes and the rear tire decided that it wanted to be in front for a change, and attempted to swap ends, unceremoniously depositing Steve onto the pavement as the two slid together the last 25 feet to the driveway. In the course of the accident, Steve deposited several layers of skin on the roadway from his arm and hip and rendered his long sleeve T shirt and blue jeans totally unserviceable for any further Horck Adventures.
Although helmets are not required in Missouri, Steve was wearing his when his head bounced off the pavement once leaving proof of the strike on the helmet. The bike suffered a bent engine guard and one ground down freeway foot peg. His right saddle bag and two nylon luggage bags suffered the same fate as Steve's arm and hip. Fortunately, Steve's worst injury was to his pride. It could have been much worse. Many thanks to the good folks at the Route 66 Outpost in front of which the accident occurred. They supplied Steve with immediate first aid, something to drink, and a place to rest while we tended to the motorcycle. At the next Harley dealer we were able to secure the necessary replacement parts and repaired it in their parking lot the same day.
As always, I feel compelled to tell a story on myself before we end this adventure. Late one afternoon, we pulled into a gas station and before I could even remove my helmet a lady using the opposite side of the gas pump began to question me as to where we were from, where we were going, how long we had been on the road, etc., all the while I was trying to insert my credit card and select a grade of gas. I grabbed the fuel nozzle and shoved it into my gas tank as I continued to answer a barrage of questions from the inquisitive lady and noticed that I wasn't getting any gas. The stupid machine just kept beeping at me and telling me to select a grade of gasoline. I kept responding to the lady and punching the premium button while answering twenty questions. The pump just kept beeping at me. Did I mention it was late in the afternoon and we had already ridden nearly 400 miles? Finally, the driver of a dump truck behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said," I don't think you really want to put diesel fuel in your motorcycle," pointing to the green diesel fuel nozzle I had shoved into my gas tank. For just a second I contemplated telling him that this was Harley's new experimental diesel motor, but thought better of it and sheepishly thanked him for his help. After each gas stop I was reminded by my "friends" to avoid the green nozzle. I did mention that I was tired and easily distracted, didn't I?
Here are some brief statistics for the ride:
Six Riders
Six Harley-Davidson motorcycles, 4 Ultras, 2 Street Glides and 1 Heritage Deluxe
9,400 Miles
28 Days
Two Countries, USA & Canada
Apx. 84 Meals Out, and One Home-Cooked Meal (Thanks Candy & Glenn)
27 Stays in Hotels
Apx. 1,300 Gallons of Gas @ $2.95 per Gal. Avg. X 6 Riders = Apx. $3,850
One Oil Change Each in Boston, MA, and One Rear Tire (John)
In Excess of 200 Cups of Coffee and a "few" Maple Donuts
At least 10 Parfaits (Lane)
In conclusion, I hope you blog fans enjoyed our ride and our little antics and that you will tune in for the next Horck Adventure!
And, to my riding companions, thank you all for you camaraderie, companionship, guidance, friendship, participation, and especially for watching out for one another.
Sincerely,
John "The Horck" Vander Horck
www. jevander@sbcglobal.net
Greetings Faithful Followers to the End of the Journey,
Last day on the road, we departed the cool pine of Williams, AZ, at 7:00 AM headed for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel restaurant on Stockton-Hill Road some 115 miles away in Kingman, AZ. The temperatures steadily increased from about 65 degrees in Williams to 85 degrees as we descended the mountainous terrain and approached Kingman, AZ. We spent about 45 minutes in Kingman and using great restraint we entered westbound I-40 avoiding Kingman Harley-Davidson only minutes off our path. Passing Seligman, AZ, (home of the Snow Cap Drive-In, if you haven't been, you really need to go) we resisted the temptation to get off I-40 and ride one of the few remaining sections of old Route 66, "The Mother Road," in Arizona, to Kingman, AZ.
Leaving Kingman, one could almost see the temperature gauge on the dash of the Electra Glide slowly winding up toward the 90 degree mark, and then inching toward the 100 degree mark and beyond within the hour. We stopped for gas and more hydration at the Arizona/California border and prepared to enter the oven that is the Needles, CA, valley and the Colorado River basin. I always thought they spelled Needles incorrectly. It should have one more "S" on the end thereby proclaiming itself "Needless," which it truly is in my opinion.
With the 109 degree heat beating down on us we opted for a fuel and hydration stop in a wide spot in the Southern California desert known as Ludlow, CA. The Union 76 station/Dairy Queen was packed with travelers seeking relief from the noonday inferno. The next leg of the journey took us to Victorville, CA, for a brief stop at Victorville Harley-Davidson where I consumed two of their complimentary water bottles and we said adios to Bill, who would depart solo for Ontario, Ca, while Steve, Lane and I trekked the final leg to Santa Clarita, CA, and home.
We arrived home to the same sweltering heat we had been subjected to all afternoon about 3:30 PM, glad to be home safe and sound, but lamenting the end of a wonderful journey.
In all, we traveled some 9,400 miles, through two countries in 28 days, which gave me cause to briefly think about changing the name of our ride from the 2010 New England Ride to the Twenty Eight Day Menstrual-Cycle Ride, because guys get moody too.
I have have one post-incident to report that I thought I'd save until we returned as not to worry anyone needlessly. On Day Twenty Five, August 31, 2010, while seeking out the "World's Largest Rocking Chair," in Cuba, MO, Steve was following Lane down a section of Route 66 when all of a sudden it appeared on the right shoulder. Lane slowed to turn into the parking lot and Steve braked hard to avoid hitting Lane's bike. In doing so, Steve locked up his brakes and the rear tire decided that it wanted to be in front for a change, and attempted to swap ends, unceremoniously depositing Steve onto the pavement as the two slid together the last 25 feet to the driveway. In the course of the accident, Steve deposited several layers of skin on the roadway from his arm and hip and rendered his long sleeve T shirt and blue jeans totally unserviceable for any further Horck Adventures.
Although helmets are not required in Missouri, Steve was wearing his when his head bounced off the pavement once leaving proof of the strike on the helmet. The bike suffered a bent engine guard and one ground down freeway foot peg. His right saddle bag and two nylon luggage bags suffered the same fate as Steve's arm and hip. Fortunately, Steve's worst injury was to his pride. It could have been much worse. Many thanks to the good folks at the Route 66 Outpost in front of which the accident occurred. They supplied Steve with immediate first aid, something to drink, and a place to rest while we tended to the motorcycle. At the next Harley dealer we were able to secure the necessary replacement parts and repaired it in their parking lot the same day.
As always, I feel compelled to tell a story on myself before we end this adventure. Late one afternoon, we pulled into a gas station and before I could even remove my helmet a lady using the opposite side of the gas pump began to question me as to where we were from, where we were going, how long we had been on the road, etc., all the while I was trying to insert my credit card and select a grade of gas. I grabbed the fuel nozzle and shoved it into my gas tank as I continued to answer a barrage of questions from the inquisitive lady and noticed that I wasn't getting any gas. The stupid machine just kept beeping at me and telling me to select a grade of gasoline. I kept responding to the lady and punching the premium button while answering twenty questions. The pump just kept beeping at me. Did I mention it was late in the afternoon and we had already ridden nearly 400 miles? Finally, the driver of a dump truck behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said," I don't think you really want to put diesel fuel in your motorcycle," pointing to the green diesel fuel nozzle I had shoved into my gas tank. For just a second I contemplated telling him that this was Harley's new experimental diesel motor, but thought better of it and sheepishly thanked him for his help. After each gas stop I was reminded by my "friends" to avoid the green nozzle. I did mention that I was tired and easily distracted, didn't I?
Here are some brief statistics for the ride:
Six Riders
Six Harley-Davidson motorcycles, 4 Ultras, 2 Street Glides and 1 Heritage Deluxe
9,400 Miles
28 Days
Two Countries, USA & Canada
Apx. 84 Meals Out, and One Home-Cooked Meal (Thanks Candy & Glenn)
27 Stays in Hotels
Apx. 1,300 Gallons of Gas @ $2.95 per Gal. Avg. X 6 Riders = Apx. $3,850
One Oil Change Each in Boston, MA, and One Rear Tire (John)
In Excess of 200 Cups of Coffee and a "few" Maple Donuts
At least 10 Parfaits (Lane)
In conclusion, I hope you blog fans enjoyed our ride and our little antics and that you will tune in for the next Horck Adventure!
And, to my riding companions, thank you all for you camaraderie, companionship, guidance, friendship, participation, and especially for watching out for one another.
Sincerely,
John "The Horck" Vander Horck
www. jevander@sbcglobal.net
2 comments:
Thank you John for the wonderful stories and pictures. Tim and I enjoyed being there with you all through the blog. Now let's plan for our next trip!
Highway Princess/Snow White and Tim
Hey Horck, thanks for the adventure, the only way I can "ride" is via your travels. This working for a living is over-rated! I look forward to the next adventure.
Your friend and vet,
Old Doc Sandy
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