The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Supplemental Report 1

Supplemental Report:

Just a quick note to inform the reader that we're en-route to the Grand Canyon.  I'm posting simply because there is no cell service and only (very) limited wi-fi at the Grand Canyon. The Park Service having apparently been overtaken by a bunch of savages, this of course means that I'll be unable to post until we return to civilization.  Right now, it looks like that will be the evening of the 29th.

Until then, I'll leave you with this...

Internet bonus points to the reader who can predict what picture will show up when I post after leaving the Grand Canyon.

Until next time...

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Day 3

Albequerque, NM to Petrified Forest National Park, AZ:  243 miles

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.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Day 2

Liberal, KS to Albuquerque, NM:  380 miles.

Ride Report: None - Travel Day

It was a four bagger today: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and finally, New Mexico.  We were wheels up at about 0700 this morning and arrived at the RV park in Albuquerque by 1430.  It was at this point that I learned the first reason not to live here - ya hafta learn how to spell it.  For a guy who spells "have to" as "hafta" this is a big deal.  There are other reasons - this will come later...

As far as the first 6 1/2 hours of the trip are concerned, it went pretty well.  There was that one rain squall in Oklahoma that Susan had to drive thru, but she didn't bat an eye.  To a Teamster squalls are as mist to mere mortals.  In fact, I would go so far as to classify the day as pleasant.  We had a tail wind and it was just generally a good travel day.  Until...

Oklahoma.  I may have made passing reference to Oklahoma's roads in a Texas Test Flight blog.  Suffice it to say that my initial suspicions were confirmed.  I'm pretty sure that the battleship Oklahoma could have floated in some of the potholes encountered during the rain squall.  And Oklahoma makes no pretenses about it.  We were in Kansas and the roads were fine.  And then we were in Oklahoma and they weren't.  I'll just leave it at that.

Ah yes, back to the other reason not to live in A-town.  (I've tired of looking up how to spell it.)  Let me be succinct: WIND.  Holy Cow Batman!  The last hour of the trip today was probably the windiest day on which I've ever had the misfortune to drive a car.  As an added bonus, I wasn't driving a car, I was driving The Rig.  So - Susan and I had planned to split the last hour of driving with her going first.  She didn't want to drive into A-town.  No problem, we'd each have thirty miles on either side of Moriaty, NM.  But when the wind shifted it did so with a vengeance.  Steady winds in the mid to upper 20s with gusts to 50.  Teamsters refer to this as a "mild breeze", but I was edgy.  Neither are Teamsters troubled by the sound of rumble strips passing beneath their tires.  She was cool as a cucumber.  I like cucumbers...  Then I took over for the last 30 miles.

Now I was cool as a cucumber.  However, teamsters apparently have to be in actual physical control of the vehicle to remain cool?  This is a mystery to me.  Actually, I exaggerate just a tad.  Susan gave me no grief during my time behind the wheel - which is good - cause the wind gave me plenty.  I'll just describe the experience as unpleasant and move on.  But we made it to A-town on time and in one piece, if you don't count the lost gas cap.  I don't know what happened.  It was there the last time I looked.  Prolly the wind.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  My only other alternative is to blame the Teamsters and I don't wanna end up like Jimmy Hoffa.

Now on to today's pics...

This little church was in the middle of nowhere Texas.  There's a lot of that in Texas, but then its a big state which may mitigate Texas' culpability in the matter.

There is also a lotta nowhere in New Mexico.  Neither Susan or I had ever been to the state before.  There is some pretty scenery and a lot of sage brush, which falls into a different category than pretty.

New Mexico does, however, have some unique (if not pretty) rock formations.  In fact, New Mexico has an abundance of rock.  I dunno what the cows eat out there, but I saw several moseying along with their heads down just like cows in Kansas do when they eat grass.  From this I was left conclude that New Mexico cattlemen have developed a breed of cows that eat sand.

Repeat...  Hey - I had nothing better to do.

This is how New Mexico lays claim to pretty rocks.  If the reader disagrees I recommend placement in the "visually stimulating" category.

Home for the night.  the KOA near I-40 in A-town.

And let me close with this.  Tomorrow may turn out to be interesting.  Should that prove to be the case you can read all about it...tomorrow.  If not, the reader will never know.

Till next time.

The Thin Blue Ride - Part 1 - Day 1

Manhattan, KS to Liberal, KS:  304 miles

Ride Report: None - Travel Day

Today is the day that all the planning, the hopes and dreams, the work to recover from Spot's inadvertent encounter with the mini-van, repair work on The Rig, Susan signing on with the plan (Though there wasn't one at the time - God bless her), all of that stuff.  Today was the day it all came together.  After closing down the house we stopped in the yard for a quick pic, a short prayer and...

WE WERE OFF!

We pulled out of Manhattan at about 1045 on the way West.

Somewhere after Ellsworth and while Susan was driving, I started giggling and slapping my leg.  I know, I know - normally Susan slaps me.  (I'm not saying her doing so is unwarranted, just that its unusual for her to have me do it myself.)  But I digress - it finally struck me - we were on the way!

So, this is how things set up.  I’ll be chronicling The Thin Blue Ride in three parts.  First, the trip from Manhattan, KS to Astoria, OR via the RV - known colloquially as “The Rig”.  I personally find this a bit over the top, but Susan insists.  Second, the trip from Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA via bike (me) and RV (Susan).  Third, the trip from Yorktown, VA to Manhattan, KS via The Rig.  I proffer this information as a means of informing the reader concerning what to expect by simply checking out the title of each blog.  So - there ya go - you’re all organized now.

Part 1 should be interesting.  We’ve some great stuff planned, a couple of national parks being high on the list.  Higher still, our 40th anniversary.  (An aside - where did the years go?  I may post a wedding day pic in honor of the big occasion.  Good Lord, I look like I was 12.  Susan looks like she was 14.  From this the reader may draw his/her own conclusions.)  I shall say nothing more or I might be in trouble...

Part 2 is pretty straightforward.  Ride.  Ride again.  Ride some more.  Repeat.  Rest day.  How tough can it be?  That said, the first half of the country will be more structured.  We're on a time line.  Our son Keith and his wife Kerrie are flying out to join us for a week in Yellowstone and the Tetons.  Then Kelsy and her husband Parker are gonna do a few days with us starting at Breckenridge.  I know, I know.  Hoosier Pass.  I told em.  Training has been a bit tough for them tho, what with the 13 INCHES of snow they got a couple of days ago.  Ready made excuse?  Time will tell.  However, we have no such constraints for the second (Eastern) half of the country.  We've already decided that our approach may change for the second half or it may stay the same.  We shall see.

Part 3 may get a bit messy as we’ve agreed to avoid planning the post bike ride part of the trip and just let whimsy take us where it may.  (People who know me say my middle name is Whimsy, just ask around.)  Susan has a friend on the East coast we'd like to see.  A former employee and friend from RCPD has taken up residence in Maine and invited us to spend a couple of days.  We may get distracted on the way back if the fall colors are changing as we pass thru.  We'll just make it up as we go along.

So, to get things started...

Theses are cups my sister, Deanna, made for each of us in honor of the trip.  Mine has the ride logo and Susan’s has the Powercat.  They’re really cool.  Somehow she figured out a way to paint them and then coat them in clear epoxy.  They started out as silver Yeti type cups.  Amazing.

We decided we needed one more pic in front of KSU stadium.  This time with The Rig - note the new striping.  Can’t recall if the reader has seen it yet or not,  When we got back from the Texas Test Flight, we had to have a couple of things re-done - to include the logo on the front.  It’s all as envisioned now.

I don't know if you've noticed, but its been raining biblical amounts lately.  From our perspective on the way to Liberal, this is true of pretty much the entire state.  This shot is from around Salina, KS.  But it didn't matter where we were.  There was standing water and full creeks all the way to Liberal. Now understand that Liberal is the province of yucca and sage brush - more commonly seen in dry environments.  Liberal is close to that step on the rainfall chart where cactus and gila monsters exist.  (Google it)  This, no doubt, has engendered many complaints from the local fauna - farmacus complainus alotus.  Farmers feel the same way about rain that cyclists feel about wind.  They've never met one they liked.  (Of the rain...) It fell all at once, it fell so slow that I had to delay my field work,  there was too much, there isn't enough, it was too wet - you get the picture.  OK - I made that last one up.  But I'll issue internet bonus points to any reader with a verified sighting of an actual farmacus complainus alotus saying this.  I'll need video...

There was just a whole lotta this today...

For the uninitiated these are wind powered turbine electrical generators.  Windmills.

These things are HUGE!  I've been on bike rides and had components pass me on the highway.  I don't know how long the blades are, but I'm gonna guess around 150 feet.  That's about half a standard city block.  I wonder what the power company is gonna do with them in 20 years when they start looking worn and rusty.  Be a great set for some post apocalyptic movie.  I can just picture Mel Gibson (If you're under 30 Google him.  If you're under 19 never mind, just imagine a video game.) crashing around in some beat up pickup with horns on the front and a grill made of old railroad rails.

So there you have it.  My ramblings for the day.  Tomorrow is the longest day of our trip.  We plan to make Albuquerque.  Yowza.

Till next time.