Day 40...a sprint to the finish line

Day 40...Saturday, July 19th

I suppose you could say I was ready to be done.  I awoke this morning at 3:45MST and as James Taylor wrote:

   Dark and silent late last night,
I think I might have heard the highway calling ...
Geese in flight and dogs that bite
And signs that might be omens say I'm going, I'm going
I'm gone to Carolina in my mind.

I wasn't going to Carolina though...I had Colorado on my mind.  I got up, got dressed, turned my trusty motorcycle north on US-87, and at 4:30AM set out for home, the wife, and perhaps the next great adventure.  The theme music today is provided by the late Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole.  My favorite version of two happy times songs...Over the Rainbow...It's a Beautiful World

Leaving at such an ungodly hour is not my normal methodology for going somewhere.  But something drove me to do it.  Maybe I'm just a sentimental dummy.  At any rate, it was in the mid 60s with a high overcast, and REALLY dark.  It was the only time on the trip I couldn't wear sunglasses.  It seemed weird.

The sun never really came up... the overcast to the east precluded any dramatic rays of light hitting me from the side as I rode.  The sky just got lighter and lighter.  The temperature rose to 66 degrees and stayed there for hours.  It was actually a little chilly.

it's a little blurry because of the low shutter speed necessary in the dark, but the instruments say at 5:49 it was 66 degrees and I'd already driven 90.4 miles doing 80mph @4K RPM

I stopped for the first time in Amarillo at a great donut shop.  Don't judge me.  After all the adverse feedback regarding my love of cinnamon rolls and Dr Pepper I had shied away from such breakfasts in the name of health and maybe dropping a couple of pounds.  But this morning I was chilled and a little dopey from getting up so early and I NEEDED the calories.  And it was good.

I stopped every 100 miles for 10 minutes to stretch my legs.  At the 300 mile point (halfway) I stopped for an hour to get over the aches and pains of sitting on a bike for 5 hours.  I set the cruise control on 75mph and just rode.  I listened to every tune on my iPhone.  I ate a snack at a wildlife management area in Colorado.  But I never stopped.

what would normally be sunrise... not so much this morning

I suppose they call it the Great Plains for a reason.

You get to see the world in a different way when you are on a motorcycle.  Mostly it's because the world doesn't care one way or the other if you live or die, so it's up to you to see everything all the time.  I see blowing tumbleweeds as potential threats.  I fear the coyote running across the road in front of me less I hit him, or a raccoon, or any other critter and lose control of the bike.  But you also get to see some neat stuff. Like mounted cowboys on a ranch in Oklahoma.

And then there are the cattle... and cattle poop.  Once again I must bemoan the fact that you can't smell what I smelled today.  The wind was perfect and carried a cone of  "eau de bovine" for a long way down the road.  Personally, I'm not offended by the overwhelming odor of fresh cow plop... but there are those who find it offensive.  And most would agree that silage is no bed of roses either.  A freshly opened silage pit will let you know your nose is working.  But I digress.  Suffice it to say that on at least two occasions I had to laugh at the expressions on the face of out of state motorists as they became one with the feedlot smell. 

 

 

 

 

It was the longest day's ride of the trip.  I rode 600 miles in 11 hours.  Not my brightest moment and I don't recommend it.  But I suppose it was all part of the adventure.

 

Before I wrap up this blog and try to synopsize all the things I saw and learned on this trip I gotta ask:  What's with all the shredded truck tires on the highway?  Seriously, do truckers not 'preflight' their tires?  Do they buy crappy tires?  I found myself noticing all the shreds, clumps, strings, and wads of old tire rubber along the road.  They come in all sizes and shapes and the large ones can be an obstacle to motorcyclists.  I didn't count them... or photograph them... but I am in awe of the amount of shredded, belted, tires that line our nation's highways.  Rant over.

 

It is late now and I want to wrap up this, my final day on the road of Buddy's Bike Trip ... the great adventure.  So I shall write tomorrow on the meaning of life and the lessons I learned from this trip.