So, how do I start explaining this one?

Sometime before the start of the year, Smed, my father-in-law decided he was going to head up to Alaska in his motor home and spend the summer up there. I told him he should at least take Brett (our 22yr old) with him, after all Smed is 80! Well he didn’t want to take Brett for the entire time, but decided to fly Brett and one of his cousins up there for a couple of weeks in July. My wife kept toying with the idea of her flying up to spend a week with him, but knew better then spending the money to do it. But that didn’t stop her from thinking about how it might be the only chance she had for some one on one with him.

On a different note, several months ago my Mom said something about one of my aunts turning 91 and was going to have my sisters drive out to Ogden Utah for a couple of weeks so they could be there. As the time came closer, I know my wife knew I would like to go up there, but it just wasn’t going to happen and we both knew it.

Well, both happened! Chris talked to me one night about spending a week up there with her dad in Alaska and I had to agree with her, that it would be a once in a life time opportunity for her, and the same for me to join my Mom and sisters going to Utah. So we booked a flight for Chris and she would be leaving the same day Brett was coming back, only their flights were 12 hours apart!

About the same time I was talking to Dave (my brother) to see if he would want to make the trip to Ogden Utah on the bikes! He thought it was a great idea, except his son was having their first child and then his son would be off to Afghanistan with the Army. Well, things have a way to work themselves out. Dave’s grandbaby came early, so Dave went up to Seattle and spent a week and came home several days before we were to meet up in Carson City Nevada.

While all of this was going on, I was getting the bike ready for the thousand miles ride I would be doing to Utah. I had to swap out my tires, even though they still had plenty of tread still on them, but going across the desert on new tires just sounded like a good idea. So Byron came over and we swapped out the tires.

The following weekend, Brett came back from Alaska and after picking him up at Smed’s house, we dropped him off and then I took Chris to LAX to drop her off. So with Chris in Alaska, I had no adult supervision, what to do with myself? I had scored a brand new lock set for my ST on ebay for $80, so I had to swap out the locks. Yeah, now one key fits all the locks, instead of a separate key for the gas cap! I also wanted to change out my fuel filter, so I had ordered the parts and then did that and a few other things before taking off.

Early Thursday morning I got up, finished loading the bike and took off around 6:15am. The JUNEGLOOM that we have been plagued with all summer long was settled deep into the valleys. I didn’t even see any Sun until I was going up I15 on Cajon Pass. The temps were staying around 65F, but dropped for a short time, I think I saw 59F at one point. I was soon slipping around the cages and tractor trailer rigs on US395, trying to not have to sit behind any on the single lane parts of the road. I did pretty good, not getting stuck behind any vehicles until I got about half way through the 15 miles of no passing, except for the short passing lane area, where I had to go to the right to get around a line of cages that were trying to get a round a motor home! People think if they stay in the left lane that they will make it around…ha! By going up the right, I passed 75% of them! Motorcycles are great when traveling!

After almost two hours and 120 miles I made my first scheduled stop in Krammer Junction, where SR58 and US395 meet. I stopped at the Burger King there and had breakfast. But not before moving my bike away from the gal that was getting ready hose down the front of the parking lot! Sometimes timing…grrr….

I was there for probably 45 minutes, taking my time since I had a long ways to go and I wasn’t in THAT big of a hurry! I continued on US395 north through Johannesburg (where my first group adventure with the SABMAG group was at back in October 1999!) and just north of there, where SR14 and US395 meet. There were a few vehicles here and there and I would pass them when I could. I was moving about 5 to 10 over the speed limit of 55mph, but the only cop I saw was when I was going through Johannesburg! I was making good time and made my next scheduled stop in the little town of Lone Pine, CA. As I was approaching Lone Pine, I punched in the GPS, looking for a Chevron station and it found one on the south side of town. So I stopped there, filled the bike up and grabbed a snack.

One problem with these "little" towns is the fact they want you to slow down to 25mph! What a PIA! Once through town, I was able to resume my 65+mph! I continued to fly through the area and had a number of little towns to plow through! So it was on to Bishop and then the mountains, which included the Mammoth area and cooler temps. Although the temps so far weren’t too bad!

My next stop was would be Lee Vining, where SR120 (SR120 comes down from Tioga Pass in Yosemite) & US395 meet. There was a little Gas/Food place (right on 120 just before 395) I wanted to try. The sandwich was pretty big, but I didn’t realize that chips were extra and I hate sandwiches when I don’t have chips or fries to eat with them! And since this was probably THE most expensive place to fill up during my entire road trip from Murrieta to Ogden & back, I wasn’t about to gas up (I didn’t need it anyways, only had about 120 miles on the tank, still had another 160 to go before I needed gas). I didn’t look but I heard gas was about $5 a gallon in Lee Vining!

So with a full belly and not needing gas, I continued on my way up north. My next scheduled stop would be Carson City Nevada, about 120 miles away! As I was about 20 miles from Carson City, I was getting tired, so I stopped in Gardnerville and took a break. I tried to call or text Dave, but didn’t get him right away, but got the message he was in Pioneer. So I figured I had plenty of time to waste there for a break. After sitting for about 10 minutes or so, an other rider came in and we started talking.

We said our hellos and then went in and got our room. While unpacking, Dave asked if I wanted part of a burrito, and I said no, and I figured he was eating his dinner. Later he asked me if I wanted to go out and get something to eat. Since there really wasn’t anything within walking distance, we decided to just eat some other snacks and didn’t worry about it.

The next morning we got up and got ready and went and got our breakfast, which was included in the room price. Not the greatest, but it was food… We packed our bikes and started them so we could get moving when Dave asked what the puddle under my bike was? Hum… it was oil! And yes, it was from my bike! I could see a trail of oil coming down the front cover, but it had stopped and I couldn’t see any more coming out. (Problem #1) So I figured if it was going to be a problem, we’ll see it again, so we took off and started searching for gas. We finally found a Chevron station on US50 to gas up (although we had to make a U-Turn to get to it.

Once finished gassing up, I started my bike and checked to see if more oil came out, there was none, the oil level was fine, so who knows where that oil came from, but it was from my bike. Then Dave went to start his bike and it wouldn’t start! Dead battery! (Problem #2) So I push started him and off we went.

We rode east on US50 heading to Silver Springs where we will head north to I80. There were several small towns to go through and even though the road was pretty wide, it was slow going due to all the locals driving about 5 mph below the speed limit. We continued to get around them as fast as we dared. At one point the road narrowed, but the speed limit went up to 65MPH from 55. So at least we were able to make tracks again and by then the traffic had thinned pretty good.

Silver Springs was not what one would call a "big city", more like a small farming community. We found our exit off US50 and started north. Since it was just about 13 or 14 miles, it didn’t take long to see the interstate. Now getting to it was a bit of a pain! We could either ride 1 mile to the west and catch the onramp, or hang a right and ride through the middle of Fernley. We choose to go to the left. Alright, interstate 80, we could really make some tracks now! NOT! Construction! What the Heck? Yep, it lasted for several miles before we could pick up steam.

One thing I did this trip was to try to have us stop about every 120 miles or so. So the next stop would be in Lovelock, and since we were not in need of gas, the McD’s right off the freeway was perfect, even better, we found a couple of parking stalls with shade! SCORE! Since the temps were starting to climb, we were happy to find the shade! Also, thank goodness for mesh jackets! So after our break (we weren’t in any big hurry!) we jumped back on I80 heading east and sailed down it for awhile, but every now and then coming across what became a big frustration, CONSTRUCTION! And a few times, we were shocked to actually see someone working in the construction area!

Our next destination was Wendover NV. As we were traveling down the freeway, I noticed something flapping around behind me. I figured out it was my Alaskan Butt Pad. I had been sitting on it and had tucked it in, but it came loose. I tucked it in behind me and continue on my way. About 20 minutes later I decided to check on it and when I reached for it, shoosh, it flew out of it’s tucked in area. Since I was doing about 80 mph, I decide it was not worth stopping for and try to retrieve it. Especially with the trucks behind us that were doing a good 75 to 80 themselves! A little later Dave informed me that he too had lost his seat cover!

Well, with all the excitement and the heat, I was about done, long before we got to Wendover, so we stopped about 60 miles shy in the town of Wells NV and took a very long break! We had stopped at a truck stop, and found some snacks and comfortable chairs and just sat there for at least an hour before continuing. While Dave chatted with a trucker (that was also Army at one time) I found the facilities and put them to good use!

We had traveled just under 60 miles when we came upon a rest stop. Since the Sun was setting, I suggested to Dave that we stop and change our face shields to clear. He agreed, so we jumped off and took another long break!

Dave and I spent three days there and didn’t ride the bikes once. Either Aaron or I drove Aaron’s truck so there was no need. Although on Saturday, Aaron took Dave and me down to Salt Lake to pickup a battery for Dave’s bike. Dave replaced his battery with the new one and didn’t have anymore battery problems.

But that didn’t mean we were at the end of our problems though!

Wendover was our next stop and that was about 60 miles from the rest stop. After filling up the bikes, we looked around for some shade to take a break at. We had to ride across a parking lot where some small trees were. To get the bikes in the shade, we had to park them on a weird angle.

As we were sitting talking, we saw a group of bikes come in, fill up and then take off. Probably heading for the SalT Flats as the Bonneville trials were going on that week. There were a couple ST1300s in the group.

When we were getting ready to leave, I helped Dave get his bike off his centerstand so he wouldn’t tip over due to the weird angle of the ground. I had a bit of a problem getting mine off the centerstand too, but neither of us dropped them, so we were good!

The temperature was starting to climb, but it wasn’t as bad as it was coming. I think it made it into the low 90’s in a couple of spots, but it was mostly in the high 80’s for most of the day’s riding.

Again, for the ride back to Carson City would be broken up into about 120 mile intervals, or until we got tired and wanted a break. So our next stop Elko, which was our lunch stop. The only place we could find any shade was under their sign. After eating, we came back out and of course the Sun had moved, so my helmet was sticking out in it. Nothing like a hot helmet!

Back on the road we went and next we stopped in Winnemucca for gas and then took an extra long break. Dave’s throttle lock had come loose, and he had stopped by a Auto Parts Store to pick up some double stick mounting tape and I had him pick up some Sea Foam, which I poured into our tanks before filling them up. I figured since we would be riding for the next 240 miles to Carson City, why not get things cleaned inside! This extra long break was all in the shade, so it made it nice! Then it was back on the road again!

It’s been a very long time since I last drove across I80, in fact I think it was back in November 1973 when I decided to cut short a visit to Utah and Idaho and right after I drove across Donner Pass, they closed it. So needless to say, it wasn’t totally boring riding across, since I couldn’t remember any of it from that trip.

As we were closing in on Fernley, we could see a lot of smoke coming from the southwest. We could tell it was a big fire, but who knows from where. We stopped in Fernley for dinner and tried to find out about the fire, but nobody seemed to know anything. We then headed south out of town towards US50 and our last leg to Carson City. By now it had gotten dark, so we were glad we got Dave’s one headlight working. It didn’t seem to bother him, but he was following me the whole time, so he was able to use my lights too.

As it continued to get darker and since this was mostly a two lane road, I wasn’t in too big of a hurry since I really couldn’t see that much on the sides of the road. The cages coming the other direction didn’t help much either. But we were able to make it all the way to Carson City in one piece each, and we stopped at the same gas station that we did a few days before. While there we picked up a couple of snacks and then headed for the Holiday Inn Express Hotel.

At the hotel, they gave us the same room we had the few days before (hope they at least cleaned it up since then). And Dave took care of the payment since I had paid for the previous stay. Nice place, I have only found one HIE that I didn’t care for and that was in Ogden Utah, the first trip Chris and I took up to go see Aaron and his family a few years back.

It was a long day of riding for these two old & tired guys, so after relaxing and unwinding, we hit the sack and both slept pretty well! But before going to bed we were able to find out that the fire was right near US395, my direction home! The next morning, the first thing was to turn on the news to find out the latest on the fire. They had closed US395 the day before, but it was open at the time, so we got up, got dressed and headed for breakfast (included in the cost of the room).

We loaded up the bikes and got ready to take off again, only to find the radios were not working…again! I told Dave, let’s go, it wasn’t that far down the road where we split up anyway, so that’s what we did! As we approached US88, Dave and I said our good-byes (waved) and we were on our own.

On a trip like this, I like to take my time, but when I’m heading home after a few days of being gone, I have a tendency to push myself to get home. Although I won’t push myself so hard I allow myself to get dehydrated.

As always, it was great to ride with my brother and have the radios working…most of the time. Having a spare radio seems to come in handy to help set the radios up correctly.

Well Bob was certainly correct, It was indeed and interesting ride. here is a very brief report on the ride.

It started off great by leaving the heat of Stockton, CA and going east on Hwy 88. The temps across Carson pass were mild and pleasant with a low of 68 and a high of about 75. Once through the pass and into Carson City, NV the temps rose up into the 90's and were a bit toasty after experiencing the cool temps of the pass.

I pulled into the Holiday Inn Express where Bob and I were to meet up, drove around the parking lot and not seeing his bike there I got on the cell phone to call him and who should pull up?

Pictures