Day 1 – August 10, 2014.
Kick-Stand-Up at 5:30 AM. Down in Rio Rancho, NM at 4:30PM MDT
A slightly later start then I wanted due my bluetooth headset wasn’t playing my tunes or so I thought. It helped a lot when I put the earbuds into, well, my ears. That’s what happens when I only have one cup of coffee before getting on the bike.
Got here just in time as a storm was moving into the area. As I was checking in my neighbor, when I lived here, called and said it was hailing over at his house which is only 2 or 3 miles from the motel. As we were having dinner all heck broke loose outside. I fully expected to see an ark float down NM528. Had a great visit with Max and Mary. I was disappointed to hear that the cats we use to feed have not been seen in quite a while. Not good news.

474 miles today.

Day 2 – August 11, 2014.
Kick-Stand-Up at 7:30 AM. Down in Canon City, CO at 4:00 PM MDT
This was a flower sniffen’ day. Got off the interstate in Santa Fe and rode US 285 into Colorado. Very enjoyable ride. A little slower and a more round-about way but that’s good. Decided to cut back east to I-25 When I arrived in Salida and the rain clouds were forming over US 285 going into the mountains. So tomorrow morning I’ll pick up I-25 in Pueblo then head north. I did get some videos and am trying to get them up to YouTube but the internet gods are slow here.

336 miles today.

Day 3 – August 12, 2014.
Kick-Stand-Up at 7:55 AM. Down in Cheyenne at 3:20 PM MDT
Everything was going along just fine. Beautiful ride up from Canon City into Cheyenne. Severe blue sky all the way with light traffic on the interstate. Took the 470 tollway east around Denver. Virtually no traffic whatsoever. Makes you wonder if it pays for itself. The tollway uses license plate readers and will send me the bill for the tolls. Stopped someplace for gas and notice my cell phone was completely dead even though I had it plugged into the A/C charger. Went to Walmart then to Battery Plus and got a replacement. The next major town was 190 miles away so I figured I was done for the day. That puts me a day behind my schedule. Oh well, I’m retired. I’m thinking I am going to skip North Dakota this time and pick it up next summer.

274 miles today.

Day 4 – August 13, 2014.
Kick-Stand-Up at 7:35 AM. Down in Sturgis at 6:05 PM MDT
US 50 is known as the loneliest road in the country. If that is true then US 85 in Wyoming is a very close second. Sparse, and I mean sparse, traffic. Pleasant ride up to Devils Tower where the aliens were kind enough to fix my cell phone GPS problem. It seems that when the clerk put in the cell phone battery she turn on “power saving” mode without telling me. This caused the app that I use to track the route to keep waiting on the GPS. I only figured this out when I went to take the first picture and a message displayed that “power saving” was going to be turned off. So see, the aliens fixed it. May have some standard maintenance done on the bike tomorrow. I got in after they closed for the day so I will check with them in the morning. All-in-all a good day. Pictures and videos have been updated.

339 miles today.

Day 5 – August 14, 2014.
The dealer could not work on the bike today as they scheduled out for the next week.
Decided to Ride up to North Dakota and back. There are supposed to be severe storms in this area tonight so I’m here in Spearfish, SD 30 miles west of where I started this morning. Pictures have been updated.

The Cell Phone GPS is still broken. I need to stop at the Verrizon store in Rapid City tomorrow morning and see what they can do.

244 miles today.

Day 6 – August 15, 2014.
Stopped at Verizon this morning. They couldn’t fix the problem so I had to buy a new phone. Problem solved.
Well I am way better at looking though my turns than I was when I got up this morning. Heading into Custer State Park was fascinating with hairpin turns, one lane tunnels and bridges, and did I mention hairpins turns. Zoom in on the map and you will see what I mean. Took some nice videos but unable to upload tonight – slow internet. Lots of Buffalo on the roadway…fun ride.
I did lay the bike down from a standing position and an older gentleman showed me how to pick it up properly. I felt a tad humiliated and rightly so. I need to practice that. Yes, all that is on the video. Heading to the Chief Crazy Horse Monument in the morning and then turning for home.

96 miles today.

Day 7 – August 16, 2014.
Got to the Chief Crazy Horse Memorial early before the tourist. Decided to take the bus tour down to its base for a better view. A remarkable project indeed. Click on the link above for more information. The Visitors Center is well worth a visit. Looks like I won’t make it home until Tuesday. I’m 120 miles NE of Denver now so…

308 miles today.

Day 8 – August 17, 2014.
KSU at 7:05 AM MDT then down at 7:15 PM in Santa Fe, NM.
Beautiful day for riding. Beautiful night for going to bed.

542 miles today.

Day 9 – August 18, 2014.
KSU sometime in the AM then down in Holbrook, AZ around 5PM MST.
Very nice ride down through the “Land of Enchantment”. All was going well until
the storms moved in around the AZ/NM state line. I had already put on the rain jacket at the last gas stop but then the window I thought I had closed and all heck broke loose. With lightening strikes all around and the rain intensifying, the overpass 1/2 mile ahead looked very inviting. Sat there for 30 minutes or so, finished putting of the rest of the rain gear, then rode on as the storm cell moved on. Decided Holbrook would do for the night as even more stuff was moving in. I was really hoping to stand on the corner in Winslow, AZ.  I’ll be home tomorrow.

302 miles today.

Day 10 – August 19, 2014.
KSU up at 6:30 AM and down in Sun CIty West around 1:30 PM
Spent 90 minutes at a McD’s in Flagstaff waiting for the storm to move. It looked like I had a decent window so I started to ride south.
Well the storm decided to stop, just plain old stop. There went my window. Heavy rain all the way down to around Anthem, AZ.

230 miles today.

Total miles for the trip was 3,145.