April 24-28, 2008

The Arizona border by 8 am and Globe by noon. That's what I call efficiency. I had the opportunity to check out the scenic route between Phoenix and Albuquerque which made it a very nice ride. I just love NM 78. If you ever get a chance, you should check it out. I hated the last section, from Albuquerque to Tucumcari. I was tired, it was dark and I was on I-40. What else do I need to say? Oh, yeah, I rode over 1,000 miles that day.
Thursday's Route

I got a bright and early start to see probably the most boring part of Texas, the Panhandle. For miles and miles, there was nothing in front of me, nothing behind me, nothing to the left and nothing to the right. I even looked up and there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. A nice stiff breeze out of the north and cooler temps made it even more "fun". By the time I rolled through Oklahoma City, I was ready to get off. I took I-44 northeast towards Tulsa and found the OK Turnpike system. Finally, after Tulsa, I was able to get off and have a nice ride through the country thanks to US 412. Even part of that was Turnpike, but I managed to depart from that for a while on the "scenic alternative". What a difference a week makes. Exactly a week after I roll through Northwest Arkansas on US 412, they have a tornado storm with 10 tornados. This occurred along the road I was on. Eerie (and lucky). I rolled into Branson during the daylight hours and got my Bun Burner witness form signed off by none other than Voni Glaves.
Friday's Route
I get out of town early (possibly too early). I manage to get my second Bun Burner witness form signed off by none other than the 1.4 million man himself, Dave Swisher. I don't stop until Tulsa and then it's just for a gas and go. I decided to take US 412 westbound and avoid I-40 for as long as I can. The problem with that route is that places to stop and eat are few and far between. I don't stop again until Boise City in the Oklahoma Panhandle. Now I just need to ride the Florida Panhandle to achieve the Panhandle Trifecta. No, there's no such thing, but it sounds good, doesn't it? Even though it's a 900 mile day, I still reach Santa Fe during daylight hours. So far, I've only had one "two face shield change" day. That's the definition of a leisurely ride, isn't it?

Saturday is a relaxation day. There are about 100 or so at the event. Everyone seems nice and are very friendly. The group is mixed. You can tell that there are some Long Distance folks there but then there are also the more casual riders. Everyone having a good time, celebrating the beginning of the riding season. The hotel, The Branson Towers, is very nice and a great value. Great job, Voni and Paul!
Sunday's Route
I must have slept well because I don't get up as early as I would like. As it turns out, I'm out early enough to catch 19oF in Grants, NM. It turns out to be a record low for that day in Grants. I pull up to the gas pump and, as I'm filling up my bike, I say to the motorist on the other side of the pump who has been giving me this weird look the whole time I've been there, "It's a little nippy out this morning, isn't it?" He says, "Yeah, it's 17oF!" (He doesn't realize weather.com has it at 19oF). I say, "Well, I guess I shouldn't feel so much like a sissy, should I?" He says "Heck no!". Now I know why he was looking at me weird. He thought I was nuts! I find the local Denny's and drink coffee inside for far too long. I get off I-40 a little ways past Gallup and ride towards Show Low, AZ. The weather is perfect in Show Low and I really enjoy my ride all the way through Payson.

After Payson, for the first time in two days, I think about my time and distance progress with respect to my Bun Burner ride. I soon realize that I've only got two hours to ride 160 miles. Yikes! The whole trip I've been riding rather sedately. In fact, I've seldom had my radar detector on. One highway patrolman actually passed me at one point and I didn't even realize he was behind me. I was really upset with myself for not paying more attention to my time and distance position. I thought it would be impossible to make 160 miles in two hours considering I had one gas stop and the City of Phoenix to deal with in between. Regardless, I crank it up a little bit. One problem with AZ 87 going from Payson to Phoenix is that there is a lot of construction on this road. There are several places where I have to slow down to 45, get through the construction zone and still watch for LEOs (which are plentiful). I make the turn on the 202 Loop towards Phoenix. Fortunately, I reach Phoenix before the traffic jams up with the evening traffic and I'm moving pretty smoothly through town. I'm not moving at 80, but I'm moving pretty good. I'm banking on the 75 mph zone on the other side of town, if I can just make it there.

I reach my gas stop in Avondale. I am going to have to get a gas receipt before and after my 1,500 miles so that the IBA can interpolate where I was in time when I reached the 1,500 mile mark. I'm glad I got this issue clarified with Michael Kneebone before my trip. My gas stop was less than perfect. First of all, as soon as I roll in, so does a highway patrolman. Since he's also on an RT, I wave. He nods. I dismount and slide my card through the reader. Declined! Crap. I must have used it too many times today. The pump is frozen because the display is politely asking me to go inside and show my card to the clerk. Instead, I move my bike to another pump and use another card. After filling up, I get another polite message on the display which tells me I must go inside and get a receipt. Crap! O.K., I get my receipt, and I'm back on the road. Soon, I reach the one hour mark. I'm doing all kinds of math in my head and fortunately have been keeping track of my mileage on my GPS. At the one hour mark, I still have quite a way to go to reach my goal.

I reach Goodyear three miles too soon which means I have a long ways to go before my next gas stop in Ehrenberg. I reach the 36 hour mark and I believe I have enough miles, so I back off the throttle a little bit realizing I'm still averaging for the purposes of the interpolation. It is this leg where I reach my maximum speed as shown below on my GPS. It nearly knocked me off the bike.

I reach Ehrenberg without incident, gas up, get my receipt and go inside for a sandwich. It doesn't matter now whether I made it or not, time is up. So, I might as well have a "sit down" meal for a change. While having my sandwich, I can't help but do the math. First, I calculate my odometer error by comparing the odometer reading with the GPS data. It's off 3.2% by the way. I then interpolate the miles between the last two gas stops to find out the odometer reading at the 36 hour mark. I subtract this mileage from the mileage I had when I gassed up in Branson the day before and apply the correction to that mileage. My final tally: 1,507 miles. The past two hours all I have been thinking about is that I could have found fifteen or twenty minutes somewhere that would have completely eliminated the anxiety I went through. But it was over now and all I have to do is make it home. I still make it home without a face shield change, but I should have changed it. It was completely dark by the time I got home at 8 pm (or so). I rode the last half hour with my face shield up.
Monday's Route
Total for the trip: 3,632 miles.