First ride of the year and images from Illinois

My dad called me up and wanted to do a ride last Sunday.  So he came over around 10am and we decided to head south towards the boarder town of Nogales.  Then we'd head northeast through Patagonia and Sonoita and then back home through the town of Sahuarita.


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The pre-ride photo op.  My dad recently purchased a Joe Rocket Mesh Jacket, I believe it's the Phoenix 5.0.  He seems to like it.  The only complaint I can observe is that the sleeves have a zipper ,near the wrist, that really needs an additional button snap to keep the zipper from riding up during use.

We stopped for gas near Nogales and then headed northeast to Patagonia.  I visited Patagonia on one of my earlier rides and knew the location of a coffee shop with some pretty good food.  The sun was out but the temperatures were only in the mid-sixties so it was still a bit nippy on the bikes.  Hot coffee sounded really really good.

We ordered a couple of hamburgers and lattes with sides of vegetable soup. 

I felt much better after getting some food in me.  My dad and I headed back to town through Sonoita and Sahuarita.  While it was a great trip overall (~167miles), I didn't have a chance to take many photos.  I've decided I need to hire my own personal photographer to sit on the back of the bike and snap pics as I go down the road.

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Since I didn't take a lot of photos of the ride I thought I'd include some pictures I took in the summer of 2010.  I wanted to share them to cheer up people who are dealing with the winter doldrums.  I often find myself looking at these pictures as I really like the lush farm land of the midwest.  It sounds funny, but living in the Sonoran desert I often get tired of the brown landscape and wish I lived somewhere where it was vibrant green.  These were taken in and around the town of Newman, Ill.  It's a small farming community on the eastern side of the state.  According to Wikipedia Newman had a population of  around 865 people at the time I was there.  Unfortunately the reason for the visit was to attend the funeral of my grandmother.  I imagine she would have liked looking at these photos so I hope you enjoy them as well.

Some of my family stayed at a bed and breakfast outside of town.  I felt like this was the place to go if you wanted to lose yourself and write a novel away from the interruptions of cell phones and internet.  According to their facebook page it appears that the owners sold this property in March of last year.  I don't know if it's still being used as a bed and breakfast.

The road out in front of the house.  Talk about a country lane.

There was a pasture with horses nearby.  I remember the horses being pestered to death with flies.  Their tails were constantly swishing back and forth trying to beat away the onslaught of insects.

My nephew tried to call them over with no luck.

Corn seems to cover every square inch of land in this part of the country.  I had to take the opportunity to replay the scene in "Field of Dreams" of coming out of the corn.  Things to note: 1) I made sure no one was coming down the road.  Farmers take their corn very seriously around here and I didn't want to get arrested, or worse, beat up. 2) Once I got into the corn I thought I saw bugs and started to panic.  Luckily I drew upon my inner man and toughed it out. That, and I realized it wasn't bugs afterall so I could stop my urge to run out of the corn slapping at my hair and screaming like a 12 year old girl.  3) I'd like to point out that I'm about 6' tall and the corn was much taller then I was...amazing. 4) Who would have known that corn leaves are like razor blades and will cut you without a second thought.

No corn was harmed in the taking of these pictures.

My Aunt lives in Newman, and I captured my dad and nephew lighting off some firecrackers on her property later that day.  You'll notice the puff of smoke to the right.  When I was a kid we'd visit Illinois during summer vacation and it was always a treat to get our hands on firecrackers.  Firecrackers used to be illegal in Arizona until recently. 

I borrowed my cousins bicycle and decided to ride around town and snap some photos. 

An old church that seemed to be abandoned.

The Red and White stores used to be small food stores that have been taken over by larger supermarket chains.

The town's water tower.

Neat looking grain silos.

Outside of town I found a road surrounded by corn.  It was very surreal.  I just stood there.  No traffic, no people, just corn.

and looking back towards town.

Well that's all I have.  Hope it felt like it was July for a second and you could forget about any snow, rain or ice you may be experiencing in your neck of the woods.  Until next time!

P.S. Hi to Rita, Ryan and Sam!

Happy 2012!

Made it through the holiday season in one piece.  Hope everyone had a good time and got to spend some quality time with friends and/or family.

I received a text, this afternoon, from a friend in Austin.  He linked a blog site of a gentleman who is currently on a trip, headed south, on a 1999 BMW F650.  Under his "about" section he states this:

"My name is Taylor and I am going South. Into Mexico, past Costa Rica, through Colombia and hopefully much further beyond. Keep checking back often. I’ll be posting daily once my trip begins."

You can find his blog at http://www.headedsouth.net. I wish him the best of luck! and am extremely jealous that I can't be out there as well.  If you have some time, visit his site and post some encouragement his way.

As to my own travels, it's been lacking as of late.  Early December was a rather wet one here in Southern Arizona, and with the activities of the season I didn't get out as much as I wanted.  I did have an old college buddy come out for a visit, who had just taken the Motorcycle Safety Foundation class, and had gotten his license endorsed.  He asked if we'd be able to take a day trip somewhere and I wanted to give him a nice view, so I thought we'd try heading out to Kitt Peak.  I made this same trip back in March of last year for anyone wanting more information on the route.

I was able to talk my dad into loaning out his bike.  I believe his exact words were "Sure, I'm planning on getting a new bike anyway so who cares about the old one.  Now, if your friend had wanted to borrow my new bike guess again."  WooHoo! Bike in hand my buddy came over and we were ready to go.  Meet Matt, my friend, and most of the junk in my garage.

The ride there was pleasant.  We were lucky enough for warm weather on the way out.  We stopped for gas at a place called Three Points, southwest of Tucson.  My dad's bike has a max range of around 90 miles and the day's route was going to be about 120 miles total.  My wife snapped a quick photo at the stop.  You can just make out the mountains to the left side of the photo.  This was our destination for the day.  We still had about 20 miles to go before we reached the turnoff to start heading up.

Kitt Peak tops out at about ~6500 feet.  Halfway up the mountain I look up and notice what looks like snow...but no that can't be, can it?  It was.  As we kept going the temperature probably dropped into the 40's but we were keeping our speed low so it wasn't too unbearable.  Near the top there were two sections along the road that sat in the shade of the mountain all day, and you could tell there was still some frost there.  I was very concerned about losing traction, especially with the wife sitting on the back of the bike.  It did appear that sand had been put down, which probably helped, and we made it to the top without incident.

We quickly made our way into the visitors center to warm up and drink some coffee before venturing back outside.

I'm not going to post a lot of photos on the telescopes, as I covered that topic to death last year.   Needless to say we took our time and wandered around and checked out all the sites.

Ms. Bonnie

Mr. Bonnie

This view never gets old.

 Shot of the day.

 You've always got to be on the lookout for snow rattlers.  Just as you make out their long little sweaters, it's too late.

 I called for help, but was unable to get assistance from this odd looking couple.  I spent the next hour crawling my way out of the half inch snow drift.  It was life and death there for awhile.

 "Take my picture honey! I want to look like a bad motorcycle mama."

 Modern Art or Ancient Image?  We'll never find out.

That's pretty much it.  Sorry not a lot of cycle shots this time.  We headed back down thinking it would warm up.  But some clouds, and a cold front seemed to have moved through and it stayed pretty chilly all the way back home.  Matt seemed to have a good time, and I was glad the wife was able to make it.  I believe this was her longest road trip to date.

Until next time.

Win a chance to ride a Triumph Explorer in Morocco

I know this decreases my chance to win, but screw it.  If someone else wins by reading this post I'd feel good about that too!  I received a Triumph brochure in the mail tonight and they're offering a chance to win a 12 day ride through Spain and Morocco on the newly released Tiger Explorer.  All you have to do is throw your name in the hat by January 27th.  Check it out here: Triumph's Explorer Site

If you do win I expect to be invited over after the trip to see the photos:)

From Triumph's site:

"WIN A RIDE ON THE WILD SIDE
Be one of the first to ride the new Tiger Explorer on an amazing adventure tour from Spain to Morocco
To celebrate the reveal of the new Tiger Explorer, Triumph has launched an exclusive competition, Seeking Explorers, that will see lucky winners from around the world embark on a 12-day trip of a lifetime before the bike even goes on sale.
Organized in collaboration with renowned motorcycle travel company Edelweiss, who run the Triumph Adventure Tours programme, the exclusive tour, worth over €5000, starts in southern Spain on March 9, before crossing the Mediterranean to Morocco for a ride that encompasses everything from the Atlas Mountains in the north to theedges of the Sahara in the south.The winners will have use of the brand new Tiger Explorer for the event and be fully suited out in the latest riding gear from Triumph's clothing range for the all expenses paid trip.
Be the first to take this exciting new model on a real adventure.
The deadline for entries is 27 January 2012, and the competition winners will be drawn on 31 January, 2012.
Itinerary
Spain to morocco Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival day in Malaga
Day 2: Malaga to Chefchaouen
Day 3: Chefchaouen to Ifrane
Day 4: frane to Azourer
Day 5: Arourer to Marrakech
Day 6: Marrackech to Boulmane Dades
Day 7: Boulmane Dades to Erfoud
Day 8: Erfoud Day
Day 9: Erfoud to Fes
Day 10: Fes to Chefchcouen
Day 11: Chefchaouen to Malaga
Day 12: Departure from Malaga
"

California Trip - Part II

Day 3 was the day of the party at my friends house.  I woke up around 8 and showered.  The B&B owners served breakfast around 9 and I got to eat with the parents of Gael, who runs the B&B.  They we're very nice people and I probably spent an hour and a half shooting the breeze with them.  Breakfast was Eggs Benedict with potatoes and fruit.

I had intended to try to get in a ride on the surrounding roads, but I left the B&B late, and as I was filling up the gas tank my friends called and wanted to see if I could run into Santa Cruz for coffee.  This meant I got to ride highway 9 again, woohoo!

I was told to go to Santa Cruz Coffee Company in downtown Santa Cruz.  They place smelled wonderful.  I picked up a bag of fine ground "Steve's Smooth French" blend and was on my way back to my friends.  If you get the chance to buy some of their coffee..try it in a french press...Mmmm Mmmm.

It was nearing noon and people would be arriving soon.  Some of us jumped into a car and hit the local Safeway for provisions.

Beer and soda on ice.  CHECK!

Food. CHECK!

Some people flew in from the East coast.  Many of them lived nearby.  Soon the party was in full swing.  I believe we had 12 or 13 people total.

We spent a lot of time talking and having a blast.  The highlight of the evening was when we broke out Rockband 2 with two guitars, a drumset and a microphone.  At first people were pretty timid about singing.  Towards the end of the evening we were screaming into the microphone.  I had an amazing time!  The party went pretty late.  I debated spending another day in Santa Cruz, but for various reasons I decided to head back home the next morning.  I shook hands and said my goodbyes and shared a taxi back to the B&B.

Day 4

Daylight savings happened to kick in the next morning..so while I slept in a hour later, I was still up by 8:30ish?  I forget the name of the next breakfast but it was _very_ good.  It had eggs, potatoes and sausage baked together along with a side of blueberry coffee cake and a amaretto grapefruit.  The grapefruit had a small amount of amaretto with brown sugar and baked in the oven for 10 min or so.  It was so yummy!

It was dry when I woke up, but as I ate breakfast it started to drizzle outside.  This was my view as I ate.

Luckily the bike was parked inside a garage so I was able to pack it without having to get wet.  I probably left the B&B around 10am?  I made a decision to take PCH1 as far south as San Luis Obispo.  It would add  a lot of time to the trip, but I had to take the opportunity while I was here.  My goal was Mission Viejo, CA.  I have friends who live there who was going to allow me to crash on their spare bed for the night.

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First I promised myself I'd get some pictures of the bike on Highway 9 as I left Ben Lomond.

If you zoom into this next picture you can see another motorcyclist coming the other way.  He waved as he rode past.

I wanted to take some of that coffee home with me so I stopped in Santa Cruz again and picked up some more.  Luckily I was able to find a parking meter with time still on it.  I did see the parking ticket meter lady writing out tickets..on a Sunday morning no less!  Santa Cruz is serious about it's fines.

Then I was off.  South of the town of Carmel, the Pacific Coast Highway hits full swing.  It was so unbelievable amazing!

Me, super happy.  Can you tell?  Ok, well just believe it anyway.

I kept pulling over every mile or so.  I think I had gone 15 miles in the span of an hour.

The sun had come out, but I decided to leave my rain pants on.  They're a pain to take off on the road, and they act as a wind breaker when it's not raining.

There were large periods of time when I'd have the whole road to myself.

The views were truly breath taking.  It's hard to see in this next picture but there is a house on the ridge in the shape of a prism.  Both ends were full windows and you could see right through it.  If anyone knows what/where this house is please post a comment.  I'm sure it must be a famous landmark.

I like this shot a lot.

The winds were coming off the ocean from the Northwest, so it was pretty much at my back as I headed south.  There were a few times it got a big gusty, but otherwise it was easy riding.

Another one of my favorites, with the bridge in the background.  There were quite a few of these bridges.  Some of them had build dates on them from the 1930's.  In addition to the bridges there were quite a few construction sites where they were improving the road.  The road would go to one lane and they had lights on either end letting one side go, and then the other.

 These pictures are farther south on the 1, near San Simeon and Hearst Castle.  Hearst Castle is an imposing structure when seen from the road.  I can only imagine what it looks like up close.  And yes I didn't get a picture of it.  Fail.

 Cows!

Picture from the fence post.

These next pictures were taken at San Simeon Bay.  There were Sea Lions sunning themselves.  If you blow the picture up you can see quite a few on the far end of that beach. 

Luckily there were some others a lot! closer.

They must show up here pretty often, as there was a large parking area setup and quite a few people at the railing.

How come the girls always get to be the inner spoon??  Notice how she's smiling because she's tricked the guy in being the outer spoon?

Can I use you as a pillow??

As I was leaving I spotted this fellow acting cute for some treats.  Too bad he can't read the signs that said don't feed the animals.

From here I stopped for gas in San Luis Obispo and got onto Highway 101.  The sun was starting to set and I still had ~250 miles to go to Mission Viejo.    Needless to say I didn't get time to stop at the "Rock Store".  That will have to wait for another trip.

Lets just say it was quite the _tiring_ ride through Santa Barbara, and L.A. in the dark.  The traffic in L.A. is amazing.  I can't believe how many people live and work there.

I think I rolled into my friends house at 9:30pm?  I had skipped lunch and only grabbed a Snickers bar, for dinner, at my last gas stop.  It felt like the longest leg of my journey, even though it wasn't.  But I couldn't have asked for a better day driving along the coast.

Day 5

My friend had to head into work early the next morning.  So I asked directions to the nearest pancake house, said my goodbyes, and was off once again.  Breakfast was Swedish pancakes with Loganberries.

Today would be the ride home. 476 miles.

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Just before Yuma there is a place called Royla Dunes park.  Some amazing Sand Dunes where people bring there buggies and quads to ride the dunes.  I snapped a few pictures.  I believe they filmed the original Stargate movie here.  The scenes near the pyramid..with the sand.

And that's pretty much it.  I got home around 6pm, the sun had already set.  The wife was waiting for me in the garage.  Overall a very nice trip.  No problems with the bike.  I did find that I had lost one quick release screw that holds the seat on.  It must have gotten loose with vibration.  I'll have to order another one.

I didn't grab a picture of the end mileage...I know _fail_ right?  But it ended up being ~1800 miles round trip.

Until next time!  Thanks to everyone who's been following along.