Ride Report: 26 miles, 26 total miles, 15.1 mph avg, 2017 calories, 1,112 ft. climbing.
A busy, and unusual, day - so let us get straight to the matter at hand.
It began as a normal travel day: 243 miles...
Gotta say that the scenery was better today. While I still won't call rock formations "pretty" I've concluded that they can be visually stimulating.
How this one ends up in the middle of a flat(ish) plain I've no idea.
We made our 5th state today. Arizona, as the astute reader will note. Gotta hand it to Arizona, they know where to draw a state line that gives the sign some pop. Check out that backdrop. Coincidence? Me thinks not.
Interestingly we crossed the continental divide today. It was a rather mundane affair. The people who decided where to place the continental divide should consult with the people who decided where to draw the state line for Arizona.
Susan saw this sign and got all excited. Apparently this casino has space to park the "big rigs". I was driving. We didn't stop.
So, at the conclusion of the drive we found ourselves at the entrance to the Petrified Forest. I believe there may be one in California, where locals are still debating who should be held responsible for felling these old growth trees...
Interestingly, our presence at the entrance presented me with the rare opportunity to ride thru a 270 million year old petrified forest. We decided that I'd get out and go by bike while Susan drove The Rig and would leap frog me thru the park. We paid our money and in we went. There are a number of interesting things in the park and the pics below will recount them in no particular order.
This Studebaker (I believe it was a 32 - but don't hold me to this) was located where the original Route 66 passed thru the park. Another intrepid tourist took this pic for me. I think I look kinda like Clyde Barrow. (Think Bonnie and Clyde) That would make Susan Bonnie...
This is the, "that hill is gonna suck" face. While it may be difficult for the reader to make out, the road climbs to the top of the bluff behind me.
Delta got out to stretch his legs today and found this photo op too good to miss.
Then he cajoled me into posing with him for this one. It was taken by a very nice Chinese tourist. I later saw him snapping a pic of me at another viewpoint. I think he was enamored of the spandex pants. Note the fetching red bands around the bottom of the legs. They're all the rage in communist China.
At the conclusion of the ride and at the south end of the park there are a number of fallen, petrified logs around which the Park Service suffers tourists to meander. We traded taking pics with some other folks. These things were scattered over all the hillsides in the area.
And finally, at the south end of the park there are two tourist trap restaurant/souvenir shops - one of which allows people to set up in their parking lot. Hey - its free.
Finally, the reader may wonder what this pic is doing here...
This is my Dad and me in the fall of 1979 in front of the apartment building in Manhattan, KS where Susan and I lived right after we got married. It was a great day. He rode down with my sister Deanna. (We all later learned that he let Deanna drive - she was maybe 16 then?) Deanna stayed with Susan while Dad and I toured Ft. Riley where I was assigned as an MP at the time. The story here is that I had always thought I'd like to own Dad's Moto Guzzi some day and refurbish it. Many years later I inquired of Dad concerning the bike only to learn that he had sold it. He never sold anything! But for some reason he sold the bike. I tracked it thru two additional owners, it had been stolen once. But I lost the scent when the second owner told me he sold it to a guy in Australia. Seriously. He even sent me pics of the bike being loaded for transport to Australia - of all places. But the pics did help me confirm it was a 1972 Moto Guzzi El-Dorado. So much for finding that specific bike. I began looking for the same make/model...
The two pics below are of a 1972 Moto Guzzi El-Dorado - just like the one Dad sits astride in the pic.
I bought it this morning from a nice gentleman in Albuquerque who was forced to sell it for health reasons after having spent 3 1/2 years rebuilding it. He put 120 miles on it since the rebuild. That's him in the background of the second pic. I was forced to buy it for sentimental reasons. One does what one can to keep memories alive. And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Susan, who supported me finding one and making the purchase. (My theory is that all men marry up. I certainly did.) It still sits in the former owner's garage in Albuquerque - we'll be back to pick it up when we make it back to Manhattan after The Thin Blue Ride concludes.
Till next time.
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