Day Eleven- The Final Push Home

The final day of my adventure was blessed with thick cloud cover this morning which kept temperatures down for my ride from Liberal to just before reaching the Hutchinson area. I celebrated crossing the 5,000-mile mark with lunch and a slice of homemade banana cream pie at the Carriage Crossing Amish restaurant in Yoder, KS. (definitely worth the drive), just south of Hutchinson. I guess it was a good thing I was on my motorcycle or I would have been tempted to load up some of their giant cinnamon rolls and a couple of pies.

After spending most of the previous days riding on winding mountain roads it almost seemed strange to ride in straight lines for mile upon mile.  I did break up the straight roads by routing through Alta Vista to Alma on the Skyline Mill scenic byway, which is the old K-10 Highway.  That stretch of roadway is always a great ride along the valleys and rolling hills. A pleasant reminder that taking the road less traveled can be rewarding. I made it safely home just after 4:00 PM and officially logged 5,213 miles through 11 states for the 2020 challenge. 

It is said the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Leaving home last Wednesday morning was exciting, but also rewarding was the feeling of rolling back into the driveway today to complete the challenge. I saw the handiwork of God first hand in the beautiful scenery and had a great adventure- all for a good cause. 

Now that the challenge ride is over, there is still time to pledge toward the Starfish fund, just note "2020 Challenge Ride" on the memo section of your check payable to Wanamaker Woods Church.

Thank you to everyone for the donations in support of the Starfish fund and for the many thoughts and prayers for a safe journey.  Farewell, until the next great adventure in 2021.   

 

Day Ten

Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas

After the previous day of riding through what felt at times like a blast furnace, today’s temperatures in the 90's felt almost like a cold front   

The roads into the southern Rocky Mountains in New Mexico and into southwestern Kansas had relatively light traffic .The ride through Santa Fe and the Cimarron Valley on Highway 64 was beautiful. I even stopped for a rest along the brook that flowed down the Cimarron valley.

The thunderstorms around be created some welcoming shade as I kissed the corner of Texas and into Oklahoma on Highway 56.  I only encountered one brief rainstorm for about three miles, which was just enough to wash the few bug splats off my windshield. I made it safely to my hotel and secured dinner before the thunderstorms rolled through Liberal.

Tomorrow looks like an easy ride home.  Still deciding if the homemade lemon pie at the Carriage Crossing restaurant in Yoder is enough to divert me from a straight shot home.   

Mileage through today is 4813.

Day Nine

Arizona and New Mexico

Day nine started out very pleasant with a pre-sunrise departure to take advantage of the cooler temperatures, knowing today was going to be the hottest day of my journey. 

I rode through the red sandstone cliffs of Sedona, under the many hot air balloons floating above the majestic castle-like rock formations and then I made my way up the narrow mountain roads through Jerome and Prescott before dropping down to the floor of the desert to experience the brutal heat plaguing the Phoenix area. 

By the time I got to Phoenix, the radiating heat from the asphalt pegged the thermometer on my motorcycle. The photo, taken in the shade, registered 110!  I know you are thinking, it’s a dry heat, but then again so is a convection oven. Actually, in the shade, it was not bad. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ride in the shade until I got into the mountains of western New Mexico where scattered thunderstorms created shade and a brief sprinkle to wash off some of the bugs and dust accumulated over the last few days.

Enduring the heat in Phoenix was worth it to visit and have lunch with good CMA friends, Jeanne and Frank Hidalgo, and meet their staff at Azteca Glass. Pictures with Jeanne and Frank is Gilbert, a 15+ year employee. 

The predominately red sandstone of Arizona gave way to more tan-colored rocks and the black lava flow rocks just East of Grants, NM. 

Mileage through today is 4,326

Day Eight

Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona 

Day eight started out brisk with temperatures dipping into the lower 40s as I rode the winding roads and summits in the San Juan mountains, through the red cliff canyons past Telluride into the farming and ranch meadows, through Cortez on my way to Four Corners Monument. 

The numbness of my fingers from the Colorado mountains quickly faded as the temperatures elevated well into the upper 90s as I made my way into Utah and Monument Valley for the famous road to eternity photo.

No deer or elk sightings today however, I did see several wild mustang horses and a few wild burros.  I was also briefly blockaded by suspected BLM protesters (Bovine Lives Matter)--- a herd of cows in the open range.

It took eight days, but Covid-19 shut me down with two of my planned stops closed off.  Four Corners Monument was closed and the highway 64 route into the Grand Canyon National Park was also gated. Guess you will have to wait for a future adventure to see a photo of me standing in four states at one time, as well as photos to see if the Grand Canyon has changed since my last visit five years ago (something tells me probably not).  Just to cover my bases with Wally Fisher, I did take pictures to prove I was indeed at those spots.

With mileage today at 3,680, thanks to backtracking for gas, (new rule: don’t assume your Garmin is correct), I am well on track to surpass my 5,000 mile target.

Tomorrow's ride will include scenic mountain roads in Arizona and lunch with CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) friends in Phoenix before making my way to Albuquerque. Needless to say, I won’t have to worry about cold fingers on the rest of this trip!

Day Seven

 Colorado

After spending Monday night with my good friends, Mike and Cathy Campbell, Cathy and her mom made sure I wasn’t starting the day hungry. After a hearty breakfast, I headed out to traverse canyons, valleys, and mountain passes throughout central Colorado. 

Just like riding through Yellowstone on Monday, the sun glistening off the water made the rivers appear to be liquid gold. The charred stumps from previous forest fires stood at attention like black bears sitting up on their haunches as I rode past. The scenery and weather were both perfect again today. A little haze from distant forest fires but still beautiful scenery.

The roads were a little more crowded than in central Wyoming, where I saw more antelope than vehicles on many of the roads. I had only a few delays around Aspen, where I think the entire state of Colorado is vacationing. It was interesting to see all the “plane-ports” at the Aspen airport for all the private jets.

Tomorrow will include the San Juan mountain range then into the desert plains of Utah and Arizona. I will catch four corners and the southern edge of the Grand Canyon before ending up in Flagstaff for the night. 

Mileage through today is 3134

Day Six

Bear Tooth Pass & Yellowstone National Park

Due to my route change, I had a 12-hour ride scheduled for today.  The Wyoming road construction crews decided to add about two more hours to that schedule, but I made it safely to Denver just before 7:00 PM mountain time.   

If I took the average temperature today, the riding temperature was perfect.  Actual temperatures, not so much.  The temperature at the top of Bear Tooth Highway Pass dipped to 34 degrees and the plains of Wyoming topped out in the upper 90s. 

Due to the road closures down the east side of Yellowstone, I had to loop farther west into the park but it gave me a chance to see more geysers and the Yellowstone Falls, lots of deer, antelope, and buffalo. The wind river valley was beautiful as well. 

More adventures in Colorado planned for tomorrow.

Mileage today at 2639   

Day Five

 Billings, Montana

Day five was a day of rest and celebration with Rebecca’s sister, Roberta on her 80th Birthday and spent time with my mother-in-law. Also got a chance to play with another Nephew’s new cocker spaniel, Charlie.

I will hit the road early tomorrow with ride across Bear Tooth Pass and part of Yellowstone on my way to Denver.