Steve & Jacque trip to Montrose, Colorado Rally (our 2 week vacation)
by Jacque Foster
May 21, 2005-June 4, 2005
We left San Ramon on Sunday May 21 st about 9:30 am. Of course we crossed the Altamont, down Hwy 5 to 132 east to Hwy 99 south. At Delano (south of Tulare) we took Hwy 155 east. Our first picture stop was at a Historical marker as shown –Woody-then a lunch stop at the Crazy Horse Café where the only other people were some Harley riders out for the day. We had hoped to stop around Ridgecrest but Steve was ready to keep riding. Well because we are not veterans at this, we found that there is NOTHING on 395 all the way to Barstow; so our first day was 440 miles about 9 hours. Still a good first day.
Day 2--Leaving Barstow about 8:30 am, we took a detour to Calico and got there just as they opened. We were greeted by a large family of ground squirrels (10-12) at the entry just getting their breakfast. The day was going to be very warm so earlier was definitely better. There is one building there made of cola bottles, which was amazing. From there of course we stopped at Peggy Sue’s in Yermo. If I had done better homework, we would have driven the 20 minutes to Yermo to spend the night and had dinner at Peggy Sue’s instead of settling for Barstow. Ok 2 stops in less than 1 hour of starting the day! On to Laughlin via parts of old Rte 66. We were traveling the road pretty much to ourselves and passed the Bagdad Café and decided to make a Q turn and stop for a break and pictures. Never did get the break because he backed the bike up in front on the café using reverse and turned it off. A busload of German tourists stopped for their break so we decided to leave but no neutral gear and no light and no starty!!! It was about 103 degrees with our jackets and helmets when he has to start going thru the list in his head of the items to check. Finally a light goes on in his head, push the bike fast enough to pop the clutch to get it going! Guess who had to push?? Helmet and jacket off on the ground---success! The whole busload of people watching from inside must have had quite a show. Jacque hurriedly put on gear and down the bumpy road. We made it to Needles and the temp was about 106. The neutral light was back so then on to Laughlin via Needles Hwy. When we finally hit the city limits, the temp was 108 and Jacque was not doing too well. We spent about 45 minutes cooling off in a mini-mart before getting back on the bike to locate a motel for the night. We ended up at the Ramada Express for $28. This second day was only 197 miles but 7 hrs 15 min!!! What a day!
Day 3 -- Starting about 8 am at 83 degrees already, the bike started normal but did not even make it from the 4 th floor of the parking garage to the 1 st floor before choking and bucking. Steve went thru the mental list again and said “let’s ride”. We barely made it out of town onto Hwy 68 towards Kingman but chugged our way about 35 miles an hour. We only made it 1/3 of the way before giving up when looking at the next big hill and knowing it would not make it. We pulled over at an RV village and called Honda Riders for a tow. The temp seemed like 105. We were told it would take about an hour; at least we had a safe place off the road and some shade. The correct type of truck arrived right as stated but he had only towed one other bike ( harley) and just in the past several days. He only had 3 tie down straps and his idea turned out not to be the correct way to transport the bike. We had to stop after a few miles and reposition it before it went over!! Thanks John B for the lesson on how to correctly tow a Goldwing. He took us to the Honda dealer in Kingman. They took great care of us. The shop is a multi line mostly Harleys but the Parts Mgr rides a GL. It was determined that Steve had gotten a defective fuel filter and the plugs were at their max according to Honda data. After we paid the very reasonable bill of only $143 and 1 ¾ hrs of work and parts, we were on our way again. We had hoped to go to the Grand Canyon that day, but had to cancel that idea; we headed toward Tuba City, Az for the nite. Day 3 only 297 miles in 6 hrs travel time but a 10 hr day. We got about the last room in the only motel in Tuba City. This is the place where Extreme Makeover TV show built the Veterans Bldg and Indian Hopi cleansing spiritual house in honor of the mom who lost her life in Iraq (they built her family a new home in Flagstaff)
Day 4--From Tuba City our destination was Durango via 4 Corners. It was a very hot and dry windy ride. We were ready for the break at 4 Corners. The walk from one end of the Indian vendors to the other was very welcome. Nothing caught our eye that we had to have, especially since we were packed very full. It was a good thing we had the cooler bag in the PackItRack with water. Steve started the bike, put it in reverse and backed up then this look on his face with the comment—no neutral lite, get on, its running, lets go! Next stop Durango. We made it to Durango on fumes because the fuel lite came on outside of town and he would not stop for gas. We found a motel with a glassed in swim pool that we thought sounded real good but did not get to use it. He started taking the bike apart with the trouble-shooting list in the book but not enough to help. I got out the phone book in the room and called. We have a GL tech with 30 yrs experience and he can look at it right now, come on over. We did the push/pop clutch again in the parking lot with only inches to spare of the main street of town. We made it to the Honda shop and the tech got out the trusty shop manual and proceeded with the checklist. There were bike parts all over the bike lift in the next stall. The local Honda service rep happened to be there that day too and he mentioned something about a small switch behind the reverse gear handle but that was the last item on the checklist and that was the problem with the neutral light/starting problem. Of course they did not have the part so for the rest of the trip we did NOT use reverse. Steve has found some new places to clean because of this experience. After a total of 2 hrs and only $90, we stopped at a gas station on the way back to the motel with a stop at a local BBQ place, which is just okay. Day 4 --239 miles travel time 5 hrs plus down time
Day 5— Durango to Montrose, a beautiful motorcycle ride through the mountains. We spend the morning checking out historic downtown Durango and took the little shuttle for a ride. About noon we left and headed for Montrose. Twistys and snow on the ground, drop offs. Corners that say 10 mph and mean it. Then there are the S curves after S curves 15 mph. The Colorado River was running so fast, the snow was still melting and you could even hear the water along side the road. The road comes thru Silverton, which is a little historic town. We stopped and had homemade pie. The pie selection was very extensive for such a small town. We walked the whole town in about an hour. The train happened to arrive while we were there. The day was a short one; only 110 miles but travel time 4 hrs.
Day 6- 8 At the rally, we signed up for ERC 2-up. This fulfilled Steve’s requirement to level 4. It was a hot afternoon too. We spent some time with Jim Smith who did a butt killer to get there. We ran into Gail/Bob Johnson too. Gail won a trophy in the Talent show for being Julia child, narrating how to make a peanut butter/jelly sandwich which was acted out by other members of their chapter. Unfortunately we missed all but the last 10 minutes of the Talent show. The activities were spread out around the town. We went to the fun activities seminar, which I now need to remember. The GPS seminar was not quite what we had imagined but we learned that GPS is like buying a car—once you buy it new, it is obsolete the next day and that we are have a lot to learn. The pie ride would have been fun it the organizers had planned the actual rides better. We did see the outskirts of the town but what was it? The pie/ice cream at the end was very good. There was enough for two rallies. We did attend our first Masters BBQ and Steve had to be acknowledged that he is a brand new level 4 (once all the paperwork is done). One restaurant in town offered to have brunch on Fri/Sat morning for $7.50 per person from 7am- 9:30 for the rally attendees. The owner Chuck was not aware of the phrase, Goldwingers ride to eat. We went there twice for dinner and once for breakfast and it was very busy. The town/GL group had come up with a program for a raffle and Montrose mama bucks which could be used at stores in town.
Day 9— We left Montrose on Sun morn because we decided to take a side trip to Telluride. The weather said chance of showers and the sky was overcast but we took the chance anyway. We got sprinkles several times but otherwise the ride was beautiful. Mountains on the horizon with snow. Our walk around the town was nice and it would be nice to have more time. We went in a jewelry shop and the mannequin butler is for sale, only $5910. There are several tiny parks and the wild flowers were so pretty. Hwy 145 was very picturesque into Dolores. Then we took Co 184 and this is where the cattle herding found us. There were at least 150 cattle being rounded by 8 adults and one young boy for several miles of this road. At one point the cattle were within 2 feet of the bike. Co 184 took us back to Co 160 and Durango where we headed south to stay in Farmington, NM. This was Sunday night of the Memorial Day weekend. I had made a reservation and of course we ended up at the motel with soccer players/baseball players in tournaments. The swimming pool was monopolized with kids. The desk clerk looked about 16 and didn’t know of any restaurants. We found the main street and one called Johnny Caruso’s country Italian. This was one of the best we had so far on the trip. Day 9 –242 miles in just over 6 hrs travel time.
Day 10—From Farmington to Shiprock on Hwy 64 is easy. From Shiprock south on 666(491) to Gallup NM, I don’t care to ever ride again. It was so windy and hot and desolate. One gas station we had to stop had a sign in their window, sorry no ice today (the ice truck was just arriving as we pulled in). From Gallup to Flagstaff, we stayed on Hwy 40 with a drive thru Winslow. “ The corner” in Winslow is still fenced off due to a fire that left the wall behind the bronze statues very precarious. From Flagstaff we took 89A towards Sedona with a stop at Oak Creek Vista. The ride from Oak Creek Vista was awesome. More twistys and panoramic views. Day 10 –351.5 miles, 8 ½ hrs travel time
Day 11 -- We spent the morning checking out Sedona. The first stop was the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Parking our fully loaded bike in that lot on the hill was scary. The Pack It Rack had enough weight that when put on the center stand, the front wheel was off the ground. The view was awesome from the top. A new “home” (castle) was being built nearby. I never thought about an airport being built at the top of a hill; but the view from there is unreal. We headed south thru the mountains again with our ending destination being Blythe, Ca. We sure could tell when we crossed the border. Gas station advertising prices jumped up 40cents a gal and the speed limit dropped 10 mph. Day 11—only 238 miles but 9 hrs travel time
Day 12-14— We left Blythe headed to Palm Desert and 2 days with friends in Sun City. We went swimming, played Bocce, gin rummy, saw a movie at the dollar theater, practiced putting on the green, had a picnic and great free concert in the Park ( Chistopher Compton). 106 miles 3hrs
Day 15— We left Palm Desert @ 1:30 pm not sure how far we would get. We decided to take Hwy 99 again and stopped in Tulare because I had a “coupon” for $49. Tulare is opening a new outlet shopping center behind the motel. The local country radio station was hosting a free concert that evening and we walked back there for a look see. We were discussing this and a lady overheard us. She had moved there from Fremont 2 yrs ago. We listened to the rest of the concert from our room overlooking the parking lot. Day 15—302 miles, 5 ½ hrs
Day 16— Tulare to San Ramon, we arrived home @ 1:30 pm after a GREAT trip. Our next trip needs to be 3 weeks. We took heavy jackets but never needed them. When we got home, there was a message on the answering machine that Steve had won one of the 3 sets of tires for those people who had participated in Rider Ed. The Dunlop tires just arrived 6/15/05.Last day 201 miles, 4 ½ hrs
Total trip---2723 miles or so