23-SEP-2006
The call of open roads...
It's that time of the year that we need to temporarily leave everything behind for a few days, pack up and ride into the sunrise and sunset, whatever that fancies us.
Time to shake off the baggages of life. Time to get on a long road trip on our motorcycles. Time to answer to the call of open roads. Ride to where ever that calls us. Just friends, bikes and the roads...
02-OCT-2007
Motivational poster
I made this motivational poster to email to the other guys to incite their excitement so the trip won't be dropped...
This picture was taken on Sept 2006 on highway 58, California, between freeway 101 and 5.
Sierra plan
Originally, the plan was to ride to Mammoth Lakes, California, then go on to Yosemite and surroundings. Little Dragon, Mono Lake, Bodie ghost town, hot springs etc...
Plan moved from Sept to late Oct and the snow already started in Mammoth Lakes. This plan was dropped...
Tri-state: California - Nevada - Arizona
Due to snow and rain up North, we changed plan in last minute and decided to find places that are dry and not too cold: we are heading into the desert and see places that we haven't seen before.
Isn't this what motorcycling is all about? Free to roam. Answer the call of open roads and smell the roses (or cactuses)...
Here are the markers on this map:
1) Monrovia, mile 0
3) Laughlin, mile 267
6) Meteor Crater, mile 490
10) Phoenix, mile 726
11) Sonoran Desert Monument, mile 784
15) Lake Havasu, mile 1019
18) Monrovia, mile 1335
Oct 11, 2007: Who's going?
Originally, 3 of us committed: Vu, myself and Eugene. Then Kevin joined us. Today, Eugene said he's going to bail (chicken out?) and Kevin is not feeling well. It looks like we are back to the original '2 amigos': Vu and myself.
We are going and the trip is on! 7 days to departure!
Oct 13, 2007 - 6 days to departure...
Kevin just emailed that he's definitely in for the ride so it'll be 3 of us.
The route is still in planning and here is the new route, about 1600 miles total. We'll see...
Oct 14, 2007 - 5 days to departure
I checked my Honda CBR-1100XX over and over. Chain/sprockets replaced. Tires are good. Brake pads are in excellent shape. All nuts and bolts are tight...
Things are pretty much packed: first aid kit, shop manual, tools, rain gear, hot and cold weather clothing, heated vest, waterproof leather gloves... Glad that I have a set of 3 Givi hard cases.
17-OCT-2007
Oct 18, 2007 - 1 day to departure!
It's always exciting to go on a long motorcycle trip. Explore new roads and see new places, from the seat of a motorcycle. Free to roam, without any obstruction to the view.
My 1997 Honda CBR-1100XX's odometer has 39416 miles. Let's see how many miles I'll put on it after the trip...
18-OCT-2007
Hack before the trip...
I need to power my GPS with a cigarette lighter outlet but there is no easy mounting place on a motorcycle.
I wired a cigarette lighter outlet directly to the battery through a fuse then ran it out from under the seat and taped it to the left side of gas tank. My Navman iCN 510 GPS resides on my tank bag and powered from this lighter outlet. Not the best position but it works.
The power connection for the Widder heated vest also came out of the battery, under the seat then to the right side of the gas tank.
While wiring the cigarette lighter outlet, I found that 1 of the wires to power my Widder vest was half-broken after 7 years. I cut off the ring, resoldered a new ring on it and it's as good as new.
19-OCT-2007
Oct 19 - Departure
It's exciting! See the unknowns, new places, new roads and new sceneries...
We are filling up from the gas station at Monrovia before heading out to freeway 210 East.
Day 1 - Monrovia, California to Laughlin, Nevada - 280 miles
This was the actual route map of day 1. We rode to Barstow via freeway 15, then take the fame route 66 to the city of Needles, and from there heading North to Laughlin...
19-OCT-2007
Barstow, California
First stop: Barstow, California. 100 miles from Monrovia, our departure point.
We met 2 couples on 2 big Harleys here, wearing leather jackets and vests. They came over and talked to us and we found out that they are British and came over from London, England, rented 2 Harleys and tour Route 66.
Then a gentleman riding a Harley walked over and chat. He is a solo rider riding from San Diego to Kingman, Arizona to visit his brother, riding route 66.
Cars can never connect people like a motorcycle does...
19-OCT-2007
Bicycle!
In front of the store by the gas station in Barstow, we noticed this bicycle with a sign that said "I love Route 66", with luggages strapped on the sides of the front and rear wheels, with maps on the handle bar, it seems that it has seen some serious long distance...
19-OCT-2007
The German bicyclist...
Then I saw this gentleman walking out of the store. I went over and talked to him. He's German, coming from Germany 4 months ago, bringing his bicycle here to tour route 66 and he's due to fly back home in a week from LAX! He's trying to reach the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica.
It's just impressive and made me, riding a motorcycle on long trip, look like a wussy... :-)
19-OCT-2007
The German bicyclist and his bicycle
We were so impressed and we told ourselves, we wishes we could still ride a motorcycle when we are his age, let alone a bicycle...
19-OCT-2007
British riders
At the gas station, 2 couples pulled in on 2 big Harleys. After they refilled, they came over to say hello and chat. They are British coming from London, England. Flew to Vegas, rented 2 motorcycles and tour Route 66 and USA. Look at those smiles. Riding motorcycle always makes us happy and that's why we ride.
19-OCT-2007
US Rider
Then at the same place, we met John (I'm bad at remembering names), a solo rider from San Diego who was on his way to visit his brother in Kingman on a beautiful Harley, taking route 66. He's a very funny guy and we chatted and made jokes around before we went our separate way.
19-OCT-2007
Route 66 - The Mother Road
Vu on the left and Kevin on the right, celebrating of entering Route 66!
This section of route 66 from Barstow to Needles was deserted. We didn't see much traffic for almost 100 miles.
Route 66, also known as The Main Street Of America and The Mother Road, was established in 1926 running from Chicago to Los Angeles, connecting East to West. However, it wasn' t completely paved until 1938 and became the first highway in America that was completely paved.
Businesses and economy were stimulated by the Route 66 as travelers moving on this 2-lane highway can pull over anytime and anywhere, unlike today's superhighways that provided access only through ramps at intersections, making traveling/driving/riding as impersonal as it can be.
Little by little, modern Interstate superhighways replaced Route 66, providing shorter and faster of getting from point A to point B. Route 66 started to decline in the 1960s.
Today, one still can ride or drive or walk the total length of Route 66, which is 2450 miles, from Santa Monica, California, the West end of Route 66, all the way to Chicago, Illinois, the East end of Route 66.
19-OCT-2007
Me and Kevin
We were excited on entering the fame deserted Mother Road...
19-OCT-2007
Route 66 - rough section...
This section was pretty rough. I guess nobody maintained this section anymore as it was parallel to highway 40, right next to each other, and all cars/trucks take hw 40.
19-OCT-2007
Route 66 at Ludlow
We took a break under the freeway 40 overpass then continued on Route 66...
This is the town of Ludlow, the last gas service before Needles at almost 100 miles away...
19-OCT-2007
Amboy And Roy's Cafe Motel
Then we stopped at Amboy, a small town that was established in 1858. Roy's Motel & Cafe, has been serving Route 66 travelers since 1926. Now the gas station is no longer in service. The Cafe and Motel are being remodeled to be reopened soon.
19-OCT-2007
Amboy And Roy's Motel Cafe history
This is the plaque mounted on the wall.
19-OCT-2007
Gas station at Roy's
The gas pumps are no longer working...
19-OCT-2007
Amboy Post Office
Does it look like an outpost?
20-OCT-2007
Laughlin's Harrah Hotel Casino
We chained our 3 bikes together in a single parking spot for the night.
20-OCT-2007
Laughlin, Nevada - street scene
Laughlin is much much nicer than Las Vegas. There is no bumper-to-bumper traffic and no big crowd. People here are nice. They talk to you and they smile. Unlike Vegas that's becoming a city of automatons and a city of artificial fakes.
Beside the people, Laughlin is closer to nature. The Colorado river runs through the center of Laughlin and lots of hotels are on the water front, with quiet beaches and fishes swimming around.
20-OCT-2007
Laughlin, Nevada - Street Scene
This is downtown Laughlin at around 9:30am on a Saturday morning. Nice, huh?
In Vegas, you would be bumping people all over the place...
Day 2 - Laughlin, Nevada to Prescott, Arizona - 290 miles
This was the actual route we took. Again, from Kingman, we took Route 66 to Ash Fork before we got back to highway 40 heading to Flagstaff.
From Flagstaff, we took highway 89 through Sedona, Jerome, redrock canyon then to Prescott where we stayed the night.
On the way to Sedona, the road was surrounded by red rock formation and the view at sunset was just incredible.
The low temperature here was cold at around 40s at nights and in the mornings.
20-OCT-2007
Arizona here we come!
The first thing I noticed after crossing the Arizona border was that the Arizona drivers seemed to be a lot better than the California drivers. They are more courteous and they don't drive 2 feet from your rear fender. When we rode at the speed limit, they either kept a good distance or passed us on the other lane when possible. I was impressed.
In California, anybody rides at speed limit will get run over by cars for sure...
20-OCT-2007
Route 66 at Kingman, Arizona
Vu was giving a thumbs up :-)
20-OCT-2007
Sandstorm! should we turn around...?
As soon as we crossed over to Arizona, one thing we noticed immediately was the wind! Wind was strong and didn't seem to let go.
20-OCT-2007
Valentine, Arizona?
I couldn't even find the name on my AAA map...
This is a place where they keep the lions, tigers, cougars in their natural habitats. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to walk through the preserve...
20-OCT-2007
Keepers Of The Wild
This is a non-profit organization working to keep wild animals in their natural habitats.
20-OCT-2007
Hualapai Indian Reservation, Arizona
Then we crossed through Hualapai Indian Reservation on Route 66. A name sounded familiar before I realized that I saw the Hualapai rally track in Richard Burns Rally simulation that I played on my home computer. This is also the place where the annual USA Rally takes place.
20-OCT-2007
An abandon Route 66 Gas Station and Garage
It was like going back in time, seeing structures from the early 1920s'
20-OCT-2007
Route 66 Gas Station
I guessed back then they filled up right on the sidewalk?
20-OCT-2007
Seligman, Arizona
We stopped by here to fill up and it was nice to start seeing people driving around with scoped rifles hanging on gun racks on the back windows of their pick-up trucks and SUVs. This is my kind of town. An armed society is a polite society.
They also walked around with 8" dagger strapped on their hips, looked like they were on their way to hunting.
I should bring my own rifle and a scabbard and strap them to the side of my bike. It'll be fun, to be free.
20-OCT-2007
The Three Amigos at Seligman, Arizona
20-OCT-2007
Highway 89 South - From Flagstaff to Sedona
The road was just awesome. With pine trees lined up both sides of the road and temperature was dropping every minute.
I was always able to find inner peace when I rode on a long lone highway.
20-OCT-2007
Changing face shield...
We all need to change our helmet face shield from dark smoke to a clear shield as the sun was almost completely down. We also put on our jacket liners and cold weather gloves as the temperature was dropping quickly.
Here is Vu and his BMW R1200R.
20-OCT-2007
Sedona, Arizona at Night
Here is Sedona, Arizona. A small and nice little town but it was too touristy for me. Lots of people and the traffic jam can easily beat Los Angeles.
Day 3 - Prescott, Arizona to Lake Havasu, Arizona - 200 miles
21-OCT-2007
Highway 89 South of Prescott
The roads were just awesome! Here was me and my Honda CBR-1100XX. Didn't miss a beat!
21-OCT-2007
Curve and more curves...
In a car, what we see is through a 'window'. From a motorcycle, we have a full view and we are in the environment and that makes riding a motorcycle exciting.
21-OCT-2007
Father Of Arizona Highways
and looking at the bullet holes, I guess someone didn't agree...
21-OCT-2007
Highway 89
Here highway 89 became single road.
21-OCT-2007
...and Vu said...
...forget it, I'm taking a nap and soaking in the views...
21-OCT-2007
Vu and his satisfying smile...
Soaking in the view by himself...
21-OCT-2007
Quiet moment...
Took a few moment to soak in the view...
21-OCT-2007
Wickenburg, Arizona
This is where the Wickenburg massacre happened in 1871...
21-OCT-2007
The Old Town Of Wickenburg
21-OCT-2007
Vu the train driver...
He didn't realize that the engine was on the other end... :-)
21-OCT-2007
Another attempt at cover shot
21-OCT-2007
Junction of highway 60 and 72...
11-NOV-2007
Road to Lake Havasu
It was a beautiful sunset on the way to Lake Havasu
23-OCT-2007
London Bridge, Lake Havasu, Arizona
In 1962, the city of London, England, put their 130-year old bridge for auction. The founder of Lake Havasu, Arizona, Robert McCullock won the bid for US$2,460,000 in 1968. Then he spent another US$7,000,000 to disassemble the bridge, piece by piece, then moved the pieces to Lake Havasu, Arizona. Then the bridge was reconstructed in Lake Havasu, where it is today.
While I appreciate the effort but I think it was a big waste of tax payers' money.
According to measuringworth.com, 10 million dollars in 1968 is about 100 million in 2006 using the normal GDP per capita calculation.
22-OCT-2007
Coffee Shop by the bridge...
Day 4 - Lake Havasu, Arizona to West Covina, California - 290 miles
22-OCT-2007
Outside of Lake Havasu on highway 95 South
22-OCT-2007
Me and my Honda CBR-1100XX
22-OCT-2007
Odometer
The final odometer was 40466 miles. My odometer reads less than the actual mileage because I installed a 18-tooth front sprocket instead of 17. So the total mileage was: (40466 - 39416) * (18/17) = 1111.7 actual miles.
It was a great ride. I wish I'm still on the road...
09-OCT-2009
Arizona Revisited - Oct 9, 2009
We took another 3-day motorcycling trip to revisit Arizona in Oct 2009. It has been 2 years since our last trip.
10-OCT-2009
Current position on the Garmin C550 GPS
13-OCT-2009
Home for the night...
I could see the moon and millions of sparkling stars while going to sleep...
11-OCT-2009
...and woke up to a beautiful sunrise...
11-OCT-2009
Acted as we own the place...
11-OCT-2009
Breakfast...not too bad...