Ride, Joe Cool, Ride!

Well, tomorrow I will be taking my second California road trip of the year. I am really looking forward to it because due to this wonderful weather we are having I will be riding the FatBoy and not driving. Granted the drive takes me there in comfort, I listen to music of my choice, get to munch as much as I want, enjoy me a coffee and or soft drink while I drive and sometimes when possible experience the highway at high speeds which my Pony is capable of but on the downside it is also a thirsty steed and it drains my pocket mighty fast.

Yet, I love driving it but I also love riding my bike and unfortunately I don't get to do it as often as I would like, so taking advantage of the wonderful weather I thought riding to Cali was the way to go.

Of course the time to get there is extended by at least an hour an a half. First because I have to gas up three times. I fill up the gas here, then top it off in Tonopah, top it off again at the Arizona/California border and again in Cathedral City. As for the speed, I ride hard so I am not too slow a rider but each stop eats at least 25 to 30 minutes off my time to stretch and rest. Fatigue is a rider's enemy so you have to fight it and beat it.

The reward is that at the end of the line I will see my sweetheart but taking the view, the sights, the noise, the wind, and just plain having all that time to yourself and your thoughts is worth the ride. If you are a rider you know what I am talking about. You can really reflect on many things while riding because your mind is free of distractions.

You get to admire the roads, the stops, the people. It never fails but during my trips I always get a "Mr your bikes is hot" or "I wish I would ride" or "I wish I had one". Last time I rode to Cali I came out of a store to find a guy taking pictures of my bike. Then we talked for nearly 20 minutes and said goodbye. The bike opens up conversations with strangers that would never happen when driving. Of course my 07 and 93 Mustangs also attract many good comments, specially my 93. Yet, it's not the same as the ones drawn by the bike.


These are two popular stops for me. The top one is Chiriaco Summit and the bottom one is Desert Center. Both in California.

The idea is to leave early but knowing me that plan can go out the drain really fast, yet I am shooting for an early departure to beat the sun. It doesn't need to be hot for a rider to get totally sunburned, the wind chill alone does the trick.

My sweetheart tending to my sunburn back in October. I think I learned the lesson.
Then add the photo op factor. I stop anywhere and everywhere taking pictures which as many of you know is one of my passions. For those of you that have not seen my photo blog just CLICK HERE to see some of my captures.

Thanks to today's technology I get to mark my progress mostly on FaceBook for all my peeps to know where I am and to check my progress. However my phone's battery is old and in need of replacement and in the bike I won't be able to recharge it so I am sure it will die withing a few hours of my departure.

So, whish me a good trip and I will post later to let you know how things are going.