Two Years Living On Two Wheels...And Counting

[Judoka]

It had been more than 9 years since I had been on a motorcycle. It would be just like riding a bicycle. Right?

NOPE!

I almost dumped it the first turn I made riding it around the parking lot! I thought immediately that I had made a mistake. The only problem here was that I had no choice. I had painted myself into this corner and I was going to have to suck it up and handle this big bike! 300 plus pounds heavier than the bikes I had been used to it felt like a pig!
To make matters worse, it had now started to rain and I had to travel more than 100 miles back to where I had my stuff stored in a friend's garage!

 

[Judoka]

All the way back it just drizzled on me. The design of the bike did a pretty good job keeping me dry as long as I was moving at a decent speed. I had ridden on wet roads and a little here and there in the rain, but this ride back in the rain that day was going to serve as "preparation" for what was to come.



When I returned to my friend's house I began the task of figuring out what to take and what I could fit on this motorcycle. I had trimmed down my life from a farm...to a small house...to a GMC Suburban, and now onto a bike!

 

[Judoka]

Then came the hardest decision yet. That little face looking up at me asking, "Where do I ride?".
It was absolutely heart-breaking! She had been my little partner through some very tough times. She used to just snuggle up against me when I would writhe in pain after my first surgery. Moreover, she was my recently deceased dad's dog. She had already suffered being abandoned in a way.

 

[Judoka]

Life was teaching me some hard lessons!

I may have overlooked one important detain in this story so far. I had a damaged left hand and had to work a clutch! Since I could contract my fingers, but not really extend them I adapted a "Monkey Grip" which would allow me to create a hook fist basically and use my shoulder to pull the clutch. YES! This was sketchy $h*t!!!! Now add wet roads and a big bike and you have...."an adventure" ???

 

[Judoka]

Donning my old riding gear from many years ago I climbed upon my steed and realized that even my suit no longer fit. Yet another reminder of how long ago I had ridden. My 1st day on the road was an interesting mix of emotions. I was excited to be moving on to what was hopefully going to be a better life. I had lost a lot and was ready to just "stop the bleeding" if you will. I was filled with fear of what life might mean now and if I was just going to keep sinking further or if I would find a way back out of this hole when I got to the desert. Either way, at least there would be sunshine as soon as I got out of this rain!

 

[Judoka]

One storm after another soaked me over and over with some light drizzle in between. On this first day alone I way exceeded all of the miles I have ever ridden in rain combined! I was seriously questioning my decision. I was wondering if I was even going to make it to the desert! About 20 miles outside of Joplin Missouri on a dark highway, soaked to the bone, I ran into the worst storm I had ever been stuck in on a bike, by far! I had no choice but to creep along in the driving rain and crazy winds until I found a gas station. I waited it out inside but this is Missouri. The 'Show Me State" and this woman made me questioning my manhood!

 

[Judoka]

After a day of riding like this I was completely spent! Unfortunately, I did not have lodging, and I could not just afford a random motel. I had to wait it out right there in that gas station sleeping bent over a small table. I was very thankful to those people who let me spend the night there!

 

[Judoka]

IN the morning I gathered. up my helmet and headed back on the road. Drizzling on and off mile after mile it was impossible to dry out. I rolled on hoping to get past the Dry Line and into sunshine of the West.

 

[Judoka]

One thing about riding this particular bike is that it is quite comfortable and the has a couple of "sweet Spots" where there is hardly any vibration and you almost feel like you are floating. So much so that it felt unnerving. Almost like I wondered if I was in control; like I had lost touch with the road. At 65 mph it was too fast for highways but too slow for the interstate so when I did finally get on the I-44 the bike really shined. The second sweet spot I would discover the next day as I rode through the long stretches of Texas where 102-103 mph was like riding on a cloud. When it wasn't raining and the roads were dying that speed allowed me to knock down Texas in short form.
I saw no reason to just stick to the interstate however. if I was riding the distance anyway I wanted to see some sites.

 

[Judoka]

Getting my Kicks On Rt 66

 

[Judoka]

Hopping on and off of The Mother Road to see some sites was great but the Interstate was faster and better road.

 

[Judoka]

The land was getting drier and the scenery was getting better with every mile! I was starting to feel comfortable on the bike and it felt like I was finally getting away from the oppression I had lived with for many years. I just felt like a piece of my soul was reawakening as I ride those high plains and rolled on to the New Mexico border!

 

[Judoka]

A jaunt South at Santa Rosa NM. into Vaughn on to Mountainair NM. and dropping out of the mountains down the pass onto I-25, then hopping off a Socorro NM put me on course for The Plains Of San Augustin. The roads are good and the scenery is even better! Sadly there would bo no beer at the brewery in Socorro on this trip. I was here to burn down miles and see as many of my most loved places as I ran for the desert while the money lasted...and it was running out fast!

 

[Judoka]

Have you ever watched the movie Contact? Those giant Satellite dish looking things are actually radio telescopes. The Very Large Array National Radio Astronomy Observatory is an amazing place in one of the most beautiful places in the United States! I had ridden here probably a dozen times and this is still my favorite route into Arizona.

 

[Judoka]

Those white dots out there in the distance are the Radio Telescoped and they are HUGE! I did not stop this time to visit the Observatory so I cannot show them to scale.

One thing that had changed since I had been here was the stickers! An ungodly amount of stickers (mostly self promoting social media wannabe influencers) were placed everywhere there was a flat-ish surface! I certainly detracted from the charm.