Jim B.
Junior Member
I grew up in the southern California (L.A. and Orange counties) and I would avoid anything south of Santa Barbara. And, the San Diego area now has traffic almost as bad as L.A.
Motorcycle Adventure To California
- Thread starter pru7536
- Start date
I grew up in the southern California (L.A. and Orange counties) and I would avoid anything south of Santa Barbara. And, the San Diego area now has traffic almost as bad as L.A.
Motorcycle Adventure, Day 7
Greetings from Lubbock, Texas! It was a beautiful morning in Paris, TX. For the first time on this trip I woke up after the sky had started to lighten, 0530. I have made a miraculous recovery from 24 hours ago when I was completely crippled and in excruciating pain. I’m loading the bike as I begin the rough draft of this post at 0620. It is great to be able to walk without severe pain. I’ll grab some breakfast in the lobby and head west again. I will take a picture of something, even if it is a gas station. Well guess what? When I went around the corner of the building toward the lobby the sky was black and ominous. The clerk laughed when he saw me, he remembered me from yesterday, hobbling in like an old cripple. We compared notes, as he is a gout sufferer too. He said there was a severe storm heading between Paris and Sherman, which is exactly where I needed to go. He said it should blow through in about an hour. I’m already a day behind and getting antsy, but it would be madness to knowingly head into a major storm with thunder and lightning. I finished a light breakfast and the sky was getting darker by the minute. The wind was blowing from the north west, which was the opposite side of the building from where the bike was. I rode it up onto the walkway under the second floor stairway just as the rain started pouring down. The motel clerk did a better job of guessing the weather than the professional weather guessers. At 0915 it appeared the worst of the storm had passed and the thunder and lightening had moved on. I fueled up and headed west. About ten miles later the sky was still dark and a few sprinkles started to fall. They then became big sprinkles, but I was cruising along at 60 mph and only got wet from above my knees to the top of my boots. After riding in the rain for about 30 minutes, the sky was a lot brighter ahead. Photos to follow. Once I hit the clearing, the weather couldn’t have been better; clear sky, sunny and as the day progressed downright hot. The cooling vest was pressed into action about noon when the radio said it was 95. I will never go out in hot weather without that vest again, it has been a lifesaver. I finished the riding day at 1740, after 419 miles. I now feel like I’m out west. As I am within easy striking distance on New Mexico in the morning the pace will slacken and the adventure will really begin in earnest. I think I’ll enter New Mexico at Lovington, after that I have no clue, but I’m sure something will spark my interest. Here’s some pictures of West Texas, it’s like a whole nother country!
Well, I spent an hour and a half posting pictures with captions and when I hit preview post, it all vanished. I had the narrative in a document that I could cut and past, but the good stuff is gone, maybe there is a time limit. I'll post this, then do the pictures seperately.
Greetings from Lubbock, Texas! It was a beautiful morning in Paris, TX. For the first time on this trip I woke up after the sky had started to lighten, 0530. I have made a miraculous recovery from 24 hours ago when I was completely crippled and in excruciating pain. I’m loading the bike as I begin the rough draft of this post at 0620. It is great to be able to walk without severe pain. I’ll grab some breakfast in the lobby and head west again. I will take a picture of something, even if it is a gas station. Well guess what? When I went around the corner of the building toward the lobby the sky was black and ominous. The clerk laughed when he saw me, he remembered me from yesterday, hobbling in like an old cripple. We compared notes, as he is a gout sufferer too. He said there was a severe storm heading between Paris and Sherman, which is exactly where I needed to go. He said it should blow through in about an hour. I’m already a day behind and getting antsy, but it would be madness to knowingly head into a major storm with thunder and lightning. I finished a light breakfast and the sky was getting darker by the minute. The wind was blowing from the north west, which was the opposite side of the building from where the bike was. I rode it up onto the walkway under the second floor stairway just as the rain started pouring down. The motel clerk did a better job of guessing the weather than the professional weather guessers. At 0915 it appeared the worst of the storm had passed and the thunder and lightening had moved on. I fueled up and headed west. About ten miles later the sky was still dark and a few sprinkles started to fall. They then became big sprinkles, but I was cruising along at 60 mph and only got wet from above my knees to the top of my boots. After riding in the rain for about 30 minutes, the sky was a lot brighter ahead. Photos to follow. Once I hit the clearing, the weather couldn’t have been better; clear sky, sunny and as the day progressed downright hot. The cooling vest was pressed into action about noon when the radio said it was 95. I will never go out in hot weather without that vest again, it has been a lifesaver. I finished the riding day at 1740, after 419 miles. I now feel like I’m out west. As I am within easy striking distance on New Mexico in the morning the pace will slacken and the adventure will really begin in earnest. I think I’ll enter New Mexico at Lovington, after that I have no clue, but I’m sure something will spark my interest. Here’s some pictures of West Texas, it’s like a whole nother country!
Well, I spent an hour and a half posting pictures with captions and when I hit preview post, it all vanished. I had the narrative in a document that I could cut and past, but the good stuff is gone, maybe there is a time limit. I'll post this, then do the pictures seperately.
I can imagine, been there myself :25:
