johnnyquest
11-01-2005, 10:38 AM
On October 16 I left for Weatherford Tx to see my grandparents. I went to high school there as well and I consider it my home town. I had been trying for weeks to decide whether or not to drive or ride, pros and cons to each, but when it was go time I decided to take my bike.
I bought my K75s last October with 19k miles on the clock. I put over 10k miles on it before this trip, riding once to Vegas and back and to the Heber rally in northern Arizona. I was kinda hesitant about taking such a long trip on the bike by myself. Although I've done most of the work on it and I know it's in great shape, the fact is I'm a newbie and not experienced at roadside repairs. With 10k miles under my belt I was sure I would be ok with the distance, and I know from my studies that the interstate is statistically one of the safest places to ride, but still I decided I would only try to ride 425 to 450 miles each day. I made my hotel reservations and left on Sunday morning.
The first day of riding changed my plans. I was riding into a 15 to 20 mph head wind. Although the bike had plenty of power and I wasn't loaded to heavy, my fuel economy suffered. My first tank I got only 37 mpg. I had a list of places I was going to stop for fuel, but it was evident I would have to stop earlier and more often. When I got into the Permian basin near the
I-10/I-20 jct I hit some rain. I took my first gear waterproof gloves, my military-issue gortex pants, and my joe rocket rain liner to wear under my savanna II jacket. I stopped under an overpass and put my raingear on and remained pretty dry. I only rode in the rain for an hour or so before stopping for the night in Pecos, TX. While unloading my bike at the Best Western I saw a rider come in on a K1200LT. Ran into the guy at dinner, very nice gentleman. Told me he was on his way back to Phoenix from Dallas. We talked bikes a while and then I turned in.
The next day I was shocked. I didn't take into account the time change and the sun didn't come up until almost 8am. When it did, the entire permian basin was fogged in. The Weather Channel said visibility was .2 miles but didn't say when it would lift. I had breakfast and thought about waiting for it to burn off, but it could be another 4 or 5 hours for all I knew....so I put my rain gear back on and hit the road at about 8:30. With two tenths of a mile visibility I ran only 60 to 65 mph, both hands on the grips ready for anything. I had to ride 110 miles before I finally got out of the fog. I made it into Weatherford about 3pm Monday.
Thursday of that week I got back on the bike to come home. Wouldn't you know it, another head wind....but not quite as bad. I was getting @ 42 mpg and making good time. I stopped for the night in Van Horn and when I woke up the next morning it was just 52 degrees. I was glad my wife made me take a fleece to wear under my jacket, I remember thinking she was crazy at the time but if it weren't for that I wouldn't have been able to leave at sun-up without getting hypothermia. I got home safe and sound Friday afternoon. Almost 1800 miles round trip. My lower back was a little sore but all in all I was in pretty good shape. My bike ran flawlessly, no problems at all. Lessons learned:
1. My firstgear waterproof gloves were awesome....wore them more than my joe rocket phoenix gloves.
2. Riding with earplugs makes a tremendous difference on a long trip, especially in windy conditions.
3. Plan extra time for talking to people. Every time I stopped someone wanted to ask me about my bike, what kinda fuel milage I was getting, where I was from, where I was going. I think talking with so many people really made this trip interesting.
4. Take something warm. I had a fleece, but had I thought about it I could have taken my long underwear and wore it under my rain gear and would have been fine. The long underwear would have packed smaller.
5. Be flexible. Don't assume that because you get 45 mpg at home that you'll get 45 mpg on the freeway running 90 mph.
6. My Kbike loves to run 90 mph :D
7. My bike loves 93 octane gas :D
Oh, I took a few pictures....
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/fog1.jpg
Foggy west texas rest stop.....
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/fog2.jpg
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/cat1.jpg
My grandparent's cat guarding my K75......
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/squirel.jpg
We don't have to many squirrels here in the desert, but at my grandparent's house they like to come down out of the trees and hang out.....
JQ
I bought my K75s last October with 19k miles on the clock. I put over 10k miles on it before this trip, riding once to Vegas and back and to the Heber rally in northern Arizona. I was kinda hesitant about taking such a long trip on the bike by myself. Although I've done most of the work on it and I know it's in great shape, the fact is I'm a newbie and not experienced at roadside repairs. With 10k miles under my belt I was sure I would be ok with the distance, and I know from my studies that the interstate is statistically one of the safest places to ride, but still I decided I would only try to ride 425 to 450 miles each day. I made my hotel reservations and left on Sunday morning.
The first day of riding changed my plans. I was riding into a 15 to 20 mph head wind. Although the bike had plenty of power and I wasn't loaded to heavy, my fuel economy suffered. My first tank I got only 37 mpg. I had a list of places I was going to stop for fuel, but it was evident I would have to stop earlier and more often. When I got into the Permian basin near the
I-10/I-20 jct I hit some rain. I took my first gear waterproof gloves, my military-issue gortex pants, and my joe rocket rain liner to wear under my savanna II jacket. I stopped under an overpass and put my raingear on and remained pretty dry. I only rode in the rain for an hour or so before stopping for the night in Pecos, TX. While unloading my bike at the Best Western I saw a rider come in on a K1200LT. Ran into the guy at dinner, very nice gentleman. Told me he was on his way back to Phoenix from Dallas. We talked bikes a while and then I turned in.
The next day I was shocked. I didn't take into account the time change and the sun didn't come up until almost 8am. When it did, the entire permian basin was fogged in. The Weather Channel said visibility was .2 miles but didn't say when it would lift. I had breakfast and thought about waiting for it to burn off, but it could be another 4 or 5 hours for all I knew....so I put my rain gear back on and hit the road at about 8:30. With two tenths of a mile visibility I ran only 60 to 65 mph, both hands on the grips ready for anything. I had to ride 110 miles before I finally got out of the fog. I made it into Weatherford about 3pm Monday.
Thursday of that week I got back on the bike to come home. Wouldn't you know it, another head wind....but not quite as bad. I was getting @ 42 mpg and making good time. I stopped for the night in Van Horn and when I woke up the next morning it was just 52 degrees. I was glad my wife made me take a fleece to wear under my jacket, I remember thinking she was crazy at the time but if it weren't for that I wouldn't have been able to leave at sun-up without getting hypothermia. I got home safe and sound Friday afternoon. Almost 1800 miles round trip. My lower back was a little sore but all in all I was in pretty good shape. My bike ran flawlessly, no problems at all. Lessons learned:
1. My firstgear waterproof gloves were awesome....wore them more than my joe rocket phoenix gloves.
2. Riding with earplugs makes a tremendous difference on a long trip, especially in windy conditions.
3. Plan extra time for talking to people. Every time I stopped someone wanted to ask me about my bike, what kinda fuel milage I was getting, where I was from, where I was going. I think talking with so many people really made this trip interesting.
4. Take something warm. I had a fleece, but had I thought about it I could have taken my long underwear and wore it under my rain gear and would have been fine. The long underwear would have packed smaller.
5. Be flexible. Don't assume that because you get 45 mpg at home that you'll get 45 mpg on the freeway running 90 mph.
6. My Kbike loves to run 90 mph :D
7. My bike loves 93 octane gas :D
Oh, I took a few pictures....
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/fog1.jpg
Foggy west texas rest stop.....
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/fog2.jpg
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/cat1.jpg
My grandparent's cat guarding my K75......
http://members.cox.net/johnnyquest71/squirel.jpg
We don't have to many squirrels here in the desert, but at my grandparent's house they like to come down out of the trees and hang out.....
JQ