June 30 -- I've been on the mountain!

Dick suggested a route through Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and by Grand Lake/Lake Granby. It was a beautiful trip. Plenty of people were out looking. The elk were up high in the tundra and a sheep was where it wanted to be.

I had dinner at the Cheese Cake Factory with several friends with NC ties. The meal was great and the company was better. I watched Matt play his murdercycle racing and transformer games while we waited to be served. After dinner we let Matt get in some riding practice.

June 28 -- "Breaking up is hard to do!"

Dick and Paul headed to somewhere while I headed to Denver. The ride was good with many obstacles in the road especially around and between Johnson Village, Antero Junction, Fairplay and Shawnee on into Denver.

The scenery was beautiful. I took pictures but the electricity was insufficient. Guess who forgot to recharge the camera. Imagine long valleys with mountains and roads through passes that lead to the next valley. Amazing!

June 27 --The Beach!

Did I mention that yesterday was hot! We decided to leave a little earlier to press through the heat and get to the mountains. It worked! Our high was only in the mid 80's.

The things you see on the road. We saw much agri-torture. We saw crops growing, cows being raised, and windmills spring up our of the ground around Vega, TX.

While you are in Vega you can see the Vega Sky Scraper and the historic Magnolia Station on Route 66. You will never want to leave Vega.

Paul need a rest so we stopped at the Capulin Volcano in New Mexico about 30 miles from Raton. There were also some cool flowers and cows at the stop.



We made it to the Great Sand Dune in Colorado. Paul did not want to camp on this trip but when we checked there was no room at the inn! We did get the last cabin that had two sets of bunk beds, a light, a receptacle and a space heater. It got cool that night and we could see thunderstorms in the distance. It was a good night.

Day 2 -- Recovery is often hard

We were excited last night after we arrived late. Still we were around the bed at midnight or so. We were pumped and were going to do another 460 miles. I hopped out of bet at 6:30 AM and made noise. We all stired and began doing things. At 9:30 we left. Where did the time go?

We spent about an hour trying to get photocopies of our paperwork. Henryetta is a small town and we did not find many options for photocopies. We met some nice people but no copies. About 10:30 we were off.

Noon came and we were at Oklahoma City. Paul needed to stop. After an hour we were off again on a secondary road that paralled I-40. It got really hot (102 F). The wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour from the south and it felt like a sona, especially where the fields were plowed and the bare clay was baking like a brick. We made it to another small town and we all need to stop for a while. From there we head back to the interstate to make up some time.

When we arrived at the interstate and recalculated our route we discovered we were still 260 miles from our destination. We decided to press on in the heat the 150 miles to Amorillo where we found food and rest. It looks like about 600 miles tomorrow into the Rocky Mountains.

The Day has Arrived -- Broken Saddle 1,026 -- June 25

The day of departure has arrived. We woke at 3:30 so we could get on the road by 4:00 AM. And we were off -- to the fueling station for our first adventure. Dick chose the petrol station down the street with 24 hour pumps. His receipt did not print and he needed the receipt to document the trip. After he filled his tank, Dick decided to use another pump where he pumped in 0.1 gals and got a receipt.

The day began very dark. The sunrise around Hickory was beautiful. Towards Asheville it was cold. Dick turned on his grips. I wished I had put on my grip wraps and Paul, well, he just got cold hands and went on. We bundled and continued through the mountains.

Tennessee proved to be about 400 miles. There was plenty of beauty along the way. The entire state was very green this time. It was warm and humid but green and sunny. I noticed fewer livestock and more houses then in the past. (That is progress for you on a major corridor.) Then came Memphis (over half way there) and the Mighty Mississippi River. This is always a "Wow!"

Shortly after we entered Arkansas and just prior to intersecting I-55 we were passed by a GoldWing and then a traffic jam. The man on the Wing waved us to follow and we did. When we reached the stop sign at the end of the exit he asked if we were taking 55 or 40. Dick replied, "40!" and the man said to continue to follow him. He lead us around a street or two back to the frontage road and we were will ahead of the traffic and the construction.

Arkansas was hot and we reached Little Rock at evening rush hour. There were some folk ready to get home with little regard for sightseers. All were safe enough with no incident.

Did I mention that Arkansas and Oklahoma were hot? Both were in the very upper 90's with

extremely humidity. The air was thick enough to see. It looked like the Smokey Mountains except without the profound mountains.

We were hot and tired by the time we made it to Mulberry, AR. Dick and Paul changed their dark shields for clear. We took a 40 minute break and then we were back on the bikes for the last leg.

We made it Henryetta and were hungry and happy. We filled up and got our final receipt and then we were looking for a signature and food. We found both at Brums. Jim, the manager, signed our papers and the chicken was the best I had all day.

The Last Supper - June 24

Paul and I rode to Dick's were we made final preparations for the trip. We discussed the conditions of the murdercycles, our packing lists, and our tools and decided we were as ready as we could be for the trip.

The boy scout director who lives across the street suggested we take a gun because, "You are going to the wild west! You never know what you might run in to!"

Dick, Paul and I discussed this because it seemed like a real concern. Since none of us own a hand gun much less a concealed carry permit we decided to look around Dick's house for things we could take as personal protection. We found hatchets.

The last supper was great. We had good conversation as we projected upon the upcoming events. The food was great as Dick prepared salad and roasted chicken. The chicken was a secrete recipe of which my daughter would not approve of unless she had two broken arms.

Preparations today

Today I spoke with a nephew about hooking up when we pass through CO. It looks like it will work out. I am excited because he is a fine young man and I would like to see him in his work environment or at least close. He lives in Mississippi and works in Colorado.

I also made a packing list today and sent it to Paul. He does not need my list but it may help him to over pack. It may be fun to ask him, "Why did you bring that?"

Dick communicated with Paul and I and the "Last Supper" will be at Dick's house on the 24th. We leave at 4:00 AM on the 25th, ready or not.

Anticipation of next week!

Father's day is almost here and I am feeling the itch to ride a murdercycle. Next week this time Paul, Dick and I should be full of pizza and beer after slabbing 1025 miles from Winston-Salem, NC to Henryetta, OK. This will be Dick's and Paul's first Saddle Sore 1000. We are planning to document the ride and send in the money.

A little history -- In late June, 2002 my Dick, Paul and I planned and executed a cross country trip from NC to CA. Actually Dick planned most of the trip with a little input from me and Paul rode along on his necked Kawasaki ZXR 1200. Dick rode his trusty 1979 Honda 750 F while I rode my brand new 2002 Honda ACE Shadow 750. We had a ball.

The following May, 2003 Dick and Paul road to Nova Scotia. They said it was cold and wet.

During the summer of 2006, Dick, Jeff, Olivia and I rode from NC to Prudoe Bay, AK and back. We took our time and one month. Jeff actually returned to NC via Key West, FL. Paul had just returned form some small land mass below Cuba so he did not think he was in shape to ride.

Dick loading 2005 Suzuki V-Strom 650 as we prepare for a 750 mile day.

Last summer Dick and Paul had scheduling problems, go figure! Dick was retired and Paul was just retiring. I had to run away from work so I could get some work done so I rode to CA and saw my cousin (Anne) before I rode to Washington. It was a great trip. I saw the Grand Ditch, the Navaho Nation desert (we did those people wrong), the Big Trees in Northern CA, Crater Lake again, Hwy 12 through Idaho, the Bears Tooth, Chief Josephs Hwy, and the Bad Lands. During the trip I rode some big days. I did 1500 miles in the first 36 hours and later I did right at 1100 miles through SD to Indiana in 24 hours. Both seemed like good ideas at the time. I met some really nice people along the way.

Anne is holding up a piece of driftwood that was left on the beach.

The plan for the trip this summer is to dress up like old men and ride our murdercycles to Washington state and back by July 13, 2009. We are scheduled to ride some of the same roads I rode last summer but also more of the best murdercycle roads in the lower 48. This should be fun, old people doing cool things.