Vegas Baby!!

Not very long ago, my wife and I discovered the music of Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine. He and his band take popular songs, such as Baby Got Back and Gin & Juice, and turn them into lounge music. Since he was playing in Vegas on 12/29 and 12/31, we decided that warranted a trip to Nevada over the holidays.

The plan was to fly out Christmas morning, and then return on the 30th. The biggest issue I had was what to do with the rest of my time while we were there. I've never gone to Vegas before because I don't gamble and, since I won't even waste money on a strip club, the other popular past time in Vegas was never really an option either. Fortunately, my wife found out that the BMW motorcycle dealership in Vegas (BMW Motorcycles of Las Vegas) rents some of their bikes out. After a couple of emails with the owner, and a quick post on www.i-bmw.com for some tips on good roads to check out, I had a plan.

My initial plan was to rent a model that I was thinking of buying in a few years. Unfortunately, that only narrowed me down to the R1200RT, the R1200GS, and the K1200GT. Which of those I buy depends a lot on what type of riding I find myself wanting to do at that point, as well as on whether or not my wife spends any significant time on the back of the bike on trips. For the purposes of this weekend, however, the K1200GT quickly became the object of my desires. The primary reasons being that: a) I've never spent any significant time on a 4 cylinder bike and b) I wasn't going to going off-road anyway (or so I thought). So there I was, as the doors opened on the 27th, waiting anxiously to pick up the bike and get the heck out of Vegas.

Day 1 - 12/27 (approx 180 miles. temp: 45F-50F)

The plan for the first day was fairly simple. Since my wife was going to be coming along that day, it was going to be limited to a 4 hour trek along Lake Mead, with a detour to Hoover Dam. The first thing that we learned is that there is no such thing as a quick detour to Hoover Dam. We were barely out of Boulder City when the traffic came to a stand still. Since police in Virginia frown on riding the shoulder, or lane splitting, I spent a few minutes sitting in the traffic until a couple of Harleys with Nevada plates cruised on past me. Taking my cue, I shot up along the shoulder behind them.

Having seen Hoover Dam now, I'd have to say that, if you aren't planning to stay for the tour, it's not worth the hassle. Based on the traffic, it's also possibly the worst way imaginable to get to Arizona from Nevada. My wife and I hit the gift shop, took some pictures, and high tailed it out of there to find someplace a little less crowded. The rest of the ride was pretty nice. NV-166 and 167 along Lake Mead are a lot of fun, though I wasn't expecting the small toll to enter. We did have to take a pit stop for food, and to give my wife time to thaw her hands a little (it was 45F that day after all). NV-169/Valley of Fire Hwy, however, was a bit of a disappointment. The rock formations were beautiful. But there were just too many people pulling onto the road around every blind corner that we couldn't really enjoy it much.

Day 2 - 12/28 (350 miles. temperature: 26F - 55F. Altitude: 8668ft to -250ft)

Today was the ride I had been looking forward to since we planned this trip. After gorging ourselves at the Mandalay Bay breakfast buffet, I split off from my wife and our friend who came along for the Dick Cheese show to start my ride. The first destination was Mt. Charleston and NV-158. Anything that looked that twisty on Google Maps couldn't be a bad time, and my assumption was correct. In no time at all, I found myself more than 8000 ft above sea level, and the temperature had dropped to 26F. The view was absolutely beautiful, the roads were fun, and I hated finding myself heading back downhill on NV-156 so quickly. But Death Valley was waiting for me, and sundown comes quickly this time of year.

Next stop was bustling Beatty, Nevada for gas and food. I had hoped to find some real food there in Beatty, instead of settling for a small sub from the gas station there. But when you live your entire life on the east coast, you grow to expect people, as well as gas stations and restaurants, to be everywhere. From there, it was off to Death Valley.

The first thing I that really hit me when I got to Death Valley was how little there was there, and how far away I could see while still not really seeing anything. "Vacant" seems like an understatement, especially once I passed Furnace Creek Ranch and started riding down Badwater Rd. The other thing that caught me off guard was the salt pack in the middle of the valley. My first thought was "How in the hell is there snow out there when it's 55F?". Even when I got a closer look at it, it didn't really sink in that it was salt. It wasn't until I got home and looked around the internet that I learned what it really was.

After the winding, though somewhat bumpy, trek down Badwater Rd, the ride started straighting out quite a bit on the way back to Vegas. Not being one to pass up an opportunity like straight roads in the desert, I decided it was time to see just how fast I could get a K1200GT to go. It took three attempts before I got my comfort level up enough to really peak things out, and it turns out that 156mph is the fastest I could manage without a gravity assist. After that, all that was left was to fill up again in Pahrump, NV and then head back to the hotel.

Day 3 (244 miles. temperature: 45F - 55F)

Since I had to have the bike back to the dealer before they closed, this was another shorter day. If I had it to do over, I'd have just spent it back up at Mt. Charleston, but not for the reasons you might suspect. I had planned to take I-15 to I-215 and then head down to Searchlight. But, having completely missed the sign for 215, I decided to just go ahead and ride back and forth on NV-164 rather than double back. There's really not much to say about the first part of the ride. Aside from seeing so many joshua trees in one place, there wasn't much to see on the ride. There were a few things I would have liked to photograph. But, being the ADD wonder that I am, the battery for my camera was still in the charger back at the hotel.

I was surprised to see even less at the "towns" along this ride than I saw in Beatty, especially when I hit Nipton, and then Cima, with a low tank. By the time I hit the truck stop at I-15, after putzing at 45mph to conserve gas all the way from Cima, the estimated range on the bike had been flashing "0" at me for about 3 miles. When you live where I do, you sort of expect the find gas anywhere that rates being listed as a town on the map. Obviously, I have some things to unlearn if I plan to spend as much time riding around the continent as I do.

After I hit the interstate again, I was off to Jean, Nevada and Sandy Valley Road. I learned a couple more valuable lessons here. First lesson: Sandy Valley Road ROCKS! I could spend an entire day on here and not get bored. Second lesson: when I set up the route for the day, Google Maps was determed to make me double back through Vegas to get from point "E" on the route to point "F". If I had looked at the estimated travel time once I forced it through Sandy Valley, I might have guessed why. Since I didn't pay attention to that, I ended up learning how to take a K1200GT offroad for about 16 miles. I started out going pretty slowly because I thought the rock/gravel road would turn back to pavement after a few miles. Once I realized that I was wrong, I only had 10 miles left, so I just kept picking up the pace. By this point, I might as well have been on a GS. I was doing 35-40mph, standing on the pegs nearly the entire way, and the K1200GT just ate it up. I couldn't even find a mark on the fairing once I finally reached NV-160.

After this, I headed over to Red Rock Canyon to check out the scenery on my way back to the dealership. Despite the dust, and going over on mileage, they didn't charge me anything extra there. I think the only thing I could possibly think to complain about with them was that they didn't have any dealership t-shirts in stock at the time.

Home for the Holidays, and the 10K mark

While my wife and I are effectively boycotting the holidays by heading to Vegas on Christmas morning, I felt like I should at least visit my parents for an evening before we left. Being a bit sick in the head, I took the motorcycle out there and back. I knew going into this that it would be 40-45 degrees on my ride there, and 50-55 with torrential rain and 25mph winds on the way back. But, since days off for bad weather won't be much of an option during my trip to Nova Scotia, I headed out anyway.

The trip out was pretty uneventful. I hit the road at 4pm, so most of the ride was in the dark. The first thing to start feeling a little numb was actually my head. Since I didn't have much luck keeping my first anti-fogging visor insert attached, and haven't taken the time to try again with the replacement I bought, I have to keep the visor cracked when it's damp out if I don't want a layer of fog in front of my eyes. As a result, I have to suffer through wind swirling around the top of my head. Fortunately, as evidenced by the fact that I left the house in this weather for a 4 hour ride, I'm not the brightest bulb. So there probably isn't actually enough blood flow to my head to worry too much about heat loss.

The next thing to start feeling the cold was my legs and my feet. This was the point where "I wonder if Widder makes heated pants to go with my vest?" started popping into my head. Thankfully, less than an hour later, I had reached my parent's farm, and it was time for a hot meal and gift swapping.

On Sunday, things got more interesting. The sky had already opened up, so I was thankful that I was able to pack my hard luggage inside, and then just walk it out to the bike. In addition to my Rev'it Cayenne jacket and Dakar pants, which actually did quite well at keeping me dry through light sprinkles on the trip up, I was wearing my BMW Rainlock Weather Suit. I was also wearing my Rev'it Fahrenheit Gloves (last years gauntlet model, not the current ones) and my Rev'it Atlas H2O waterproof balaclava.

The ride home started with a couple spin-outs in the mud and grass before I finally made my way to the gravel driveway. A little later, I laid the bike down at an intersection in Pamplin City. I foolishly assumed that a truck with it's right blinker on was getting ready to turn onto the road I was leaving, instead of into the gas station to my right. I started moving, and stopped about a foot later. But that one foot traveled was enough to leave me with nowhere to put my right foot. Fortunately, I know the correct way to pick up a bike. So, despite the fact that my bike was loaded up, and the slope was working against me, I had it up in a moment and was right back on the road.

The bulk of my trip was spent leaning about 10 degrees to the right just to maintain a straight line. I managed to get ahead of the heavy rain once I crossed back over I-95, but the wind never really let up the entire time. The final notable event on my ride was when I hit the 10,000 mile mark on my odometer right as I was leaving Suffolk (the "C" location on the google map).

I am happy to say that, aside from a little perspiration, I was dry as a bone once I got home. I already knew my BMW rain gear did a good job. But I was happy to finally own a pair of gloves that fared as well. The Rev'it Hydratex lining definitely did a better job than the Held Ice Breakers I had used on my trip to New Hampshire. As an added plus, the Rev'its were more comfortable and I could actually work the buttons on my gps with them. I think I'm almost done getting myself geared for cold weather riding. Once I find some way to keep my legs as warm as my torso, there shouldn't be anything left.

9000 Miles

On November 4th, I went out riding to Farmville, VA for brunch with Roger Somero and a bunch of guys he knows from the Kawasaki Concours Owners Group. It was an enjoyable ride along nothing but smaller roads, but dealing with a crowd of 9 riders was a bit much for my taste. So, when we finished eating, I split off on my own under the pretext of going to see my Mom down in Phenix while I was out there, even though I hadn't been able to get them on the phone at all.

On the ride back, I hit the 9000 mile mark as I was entering Blackstone, VA. I also discovered that taking Route 40 instead of Rt. 460 is a much more enjoyable ride back home, in large part because it bypasses I-85 and I-95.

New Hampshire and the 8k mile mark.

Friday, 10/19, was the start of my first real trip since I bought my BMW. A friend I used to game with was throwing an Octoberfest party at his place up in New Hampshire, and I thought it would be appropriate for my first big trip to be one to visit friends from my last obsession.

At 6:25am, I pulled out of my garage for what was supposed to be a single day, 680 mile trek to Center Sandwich, NH. I had over-packed a bit, but not so much that it made riding unwieldy. I had tried to cut back on what I brought. But, having never taken a trip this long, this close to winter, and having never used a lot of the gear I have on a run this long, it was hard to reduce too much without taking some risks that would make me uncomfortable. With forecasts of rain, as well as the possibility of having to deal with temperatures in the 40s, I'd rather have too much gear than too little.

The first picture was taken around 10am at a gas station in Dover, DE. At that point, the trip was still going quite well. I was making good time, and the predicted scattered showers hadn't materialized yet. Sadly, when the rain did show up around 11:30, it was a bit more than scattered showers.

New Jersey was when the fun started in full force. First the downpours came. Then I discovered that the "waterproof liner" in my pricey Rev'it brand gear wasn't all it was cracked up to be. By the time I had reached a rest area, and was able to put on some proper rain gear over top of my Rev'it stuff, it was too late. I was already wet enough to make the rest of the trip less than pleasant. My next joyful experience was hitting the G.W. Bridge into NYC around 2pm.

From there, it pretty much consistently went downhill. Apparently, traffic is always bad around there, despite was a co-worker who grew up there tried to claim a week prior to this. But the torrential rain that was sweeping the northeast that day had created almost total gridlock.The true suffering hit when I crossed over into Connecticut. I-95 basically stopped at that point. Over an hour, I covered about 14 miles. I thought that getting away from the coast might help, but Rt 15 and I-84 both ended up being just as gridlocked as I-95.

By 5pm, I had spent nearly 3 hours barely moving, and I was stuck in horrible downpours for most of it. I even got ankle deep at one point on Rt. 7 (that's ankle deep while riding...not standing), while heading towards I-84. I was damp, miserable, and cold.....and then I saw a Chili's. An hour, and two bowls of hot chili later, I was good to go again. Danbury to Hartford was another 2 hours of 25-30 mph on average. Fortunately, things started to pick up at that point. The roads had cleared and, despite the continuing rain and the darkness, I started making good time. Unfortunately, the damage was already done. My Garmin indicated that I wouldn't reach Jeff's place until around midnight, if I didn't stop anymore, which was unlikely. In addition, I had already hydroplaned twice and my legs had started getting cold. It was time for a hotel, and Andover had plenty of them.

Day 2
Saturday morning was everything I had hoped the previous day would be: pleasant temperatures and clear, sunny skies. The fall leaves were peaking in that region, and I got to enjoy every second of it. After about an hour on the interstate, and another hour of winding, tree covered roads, I was at Jeff's place. Seeing the 400 foot gravel/rock ascent that is his driveway made me very happy that I had gotten there in the day time.

Once I got there, it wasn't long until I had changed, and the eating and drinking commenced.


Day 3
I had intended to take a few hours riding some more of the beautiful New Hampshire and end up hanging out in Boston with a friend at the end of the day, with Monday being the real ride back. So I left Jeff's at noon, and spent 3 hours exploring some of the twisties in the area. At 3pm, I was at the Mass state line, and got the voicemail from my friend letting me know he had spaced and went golfing for the day. Given the choice between trying to find a way to kill time for three or more hours, only to have to sack out two hours later, or just seeing how far I could get before I was too tired, I chose the latter.

Long story short, I hit the 8k mark near the I-93/I-495 interchange, and I pulled into my garage at around 3:30am. With sunset being so early, but still having moderate traffic, I was able to do 15-20 mph over the speed limit all the way to Wilmington without any real fear of a speed trap. Once I hit Rt.13, I had to do the speed limit again. But I was almost home at that point.

Outer Banks and 7k miles

October 13th was the day of the Adventure BMW open house, which I followed with a ride down to the Outer Banks with David, one of the guys I met from the local BMW club. The plan was to head to Duck to figure out where Baldy's is located, a burger dive where my step-nephew works. Then we headed south to a little shy of Jockey's Ridge before doubling back for home. I'd have liked to have made it farther south, but my wife had made dinner plans with another couple for that evening.

The one notable thing from the trip is that I hit the 7000 mile mark within about 100 feet of the stop light in front of my old neighborhood in Moyock, NC.

Catching up

The last week or so has been pretty busy, so I've fallen pretty far behind on my bike trip logs. The first weekend of the month was the local BMW rally out near Knotts Island. Sadly, I didn't take many photos. I was too busy taking in everything while I was there to think to snap some pics in the process. The best thing about BMW rallies is the fact that so many of the riders there enjoy doing really long trips. I learned a lot of good tips to keep in mind as I get more and more off the beaten path on trips of my own. I may have also found a few riding partners for my longer hauls.

I also managed to break one of my new system cases while I was there. The owner of Adventure BMW had warned me when I bought them that I'd probably break the tab that keeps them locked. It's even bright orange to make sure you can see it if it's not out of the way. Unfortunately, that bright orange color isn't as noticeable when you're messing with your luggage at 9pm, in a dark campground, with a flashlight squeezed between your head and shoulder. I've definitely learned that I need to keep some hands-free lighting available on my bike and a spare key around to make it easier to keep both bags open at once when needed.

The other fun event that weekend was a long ride on Monday. I met a guy at work with a Suzuki V-Strom 650 (a.k.a. The Wee-strom) who is in a Kawasaki Concours owners group. It turns out that they head out about once a month for a weekend motorcycle camping trip. They also try to head out for day long rides when they can get time away from their wife and kids. So, I spent Columbus Day tailing along behind them as we rode around SE Virginia.

This is the route we took.

And this is a picture of all of our bikes.

Why Nova Scotia?

I've had more than one person ask me why I chose to head to Nova Scotia next June. Normally, I just tell them that I heard that it had the prettiest roads in all of North America (i.e. The Cabot Trail). In a sense, that's true, because that's what first got me looking up that way. In fact, Alexander Graham Bell is quoted as saying "I have seen the Canadian and the American Rockies, the Andes and the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland; but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all." But as I've learned more about Nova Scotia, it's started to run a little deeper than that.

I still don't know that much about the path my family took to get into this country back in the 19th century. All I really know is that the Abbotts were once the MacNabbs. I also know that they came to the US from Scotland via Canada. Until I started learning more about Canada, I hadn't really given it much more thought than that. Now that I know that the majority of the Scottish emigrants from Great Britain came through Nova Scotia, I'd really like to experience as much of that country as I can. For all I know, I may end up passing right through a town where one of my great-great-grandparents lived before they decided to venture down to Michigan.

6000 Miles

Well, I was a little lax. I was very diligent about noting where I was when I hit the 4000 and 5000 mile marks on my bike. All I know about the 6000 mile mark is that it happened on my trip to Morton's BMW in Fredericksburg, VA. Based on the number of miles on my odometer right now, I was probably along I95 North between Richmond and Fredericksburg, most likely right around Kings Dominion.

I know I'll hit the 7000 mile mark during my trip to New Hampshire, so I hope I'll remember to hit the Waypoint button on my Garmin when it happens.

Another decision on a whim.

While I'm done with online gaming, I do still miss spending time with the old core group of guys I had played with for so long. One of the reasons it was finally so easy for me to quit playing was that we had all gotten scattered to the winds as a result of a twisted love triangle involving a few of the younger people in the group. For any WoW widows or Everquest widows out there, your spouses don't play because the games are that phenomenally interesting. They play because they're part of a network of people that respect them and want them around.

For people who grew up without much of a social network, or for those of us that were the embarrassing black sheep of the family, finding yourself with a group of people that size that wants you around is a hard thing to let go of. Based on that, there are really only a few ways that they'll stop playing the game that gives that emotional reward: the group collapses, their real life falls apart so much that gaming becomes impossible, or they find something else in the real world that gives them a feeling of accomplishment. For me, it was a combination of the first, followed by stumbling across an ad for a BMW R1150R.

Now I've decided to use my newly revisited real world hobby to go visit the people from my old one. Chesapeake, VA to Center Sandwich, NH in one day (on 10/19), followed by two days partying with all of the old people I spent so much time "with" on ventrilo, and then back again in one day. The last time I owned a motorcycle, I had been riding for almost a year before I tried something like this (though that was still almost 100 miles shorter). This time, I'm doing it about 12 weeks after I purchased my new baby. I guess the fact that I regularly go head out for 6 hours or more a day every weekend already makes the 12 hour trip seem a little less intimidating......having a real bike helps too.

The trip planning begins.

Since this blog exists primarily as a place to keep track of my motorcycle and kayak trips, I figure this is as good a place as any to plan out my trips as well. If I'm lucky, I may even be able to get a few people that have been to some of these places suggest some detours to either see interesting places, or avoid traffic nightmares.

The first trip on the list is Nova Scotia in June next year. I'm hoping to leave on a Wednesday after work, and then get back 10 days later around Saturday afternoon. I still haven't made up my mind about what places are necessities while I'm up there, and which are optional. Sadly, I don't think I can really get in everything without about 3 weeks to kill. I also haven't made up my mind about whether I'll stick to hotels, or mix in some camping.

Day 1/2 route (Wed 6/18/2008, Thu)
Day 3 route (Friday 6/20/2008)
Day 4 route

Day 5 route (Sunday)
Day 6 route
Day 7 route

Day 8 route [Cape Breton to Halifax] (Wednesday)

Day 9 route [Halifax to Yarmouth/Portland]

Day 10 /11 route [Portland to Home]

The only thing that is really fixed is that I would need to be at Yarmouth, NS by around 3pm on Thursday to catch the Cat Ferry to Portland. I also need a full day with the Cabot Trail up in Cape Breton, and I'd like a few hours along some various parts of the Fundy Bay. Beyond that, it's not easy to narrow things down. I could just do a casual loop of the Cabot Trail in one day, or I could do half one day, make my way to Meat Cove to camp overnight, and back the other side of the Trail the next day. In theory, the Skyline Trail sounds like it would be a nice hike as well. But I suspect I'd spend most of the time on there just jonesing to be back on my bike. So the hike may just wait until I can go back to Nova Scotia with my wife.

Update: I have decided to scrap camping. If I stick to hotels, I don't have to pack nearly as much stuff. In addition, if I just make Baddeck my central point for several days, I can leave a lot of my luggage in my room, making for a much lighter ride for a little bit.

I love my bike, but...

Much like with my first motorcycle, gearing up my BMW has been an educational experience. The first thing I've learned is that there must not be that many people that take an R1150R for long trips, because almost no one makes decent luggage for it. Fortunately, since my bike is 3 years old, there's a great forum where other people have spent several years figuring out who makes luggage that fits, and which works the best.

As it stands now, I'm just ecstatic that I finally found a Hepco-Becker rack for their top cases that will actually work with my factory luggage racks. I just wish I could get as lucky with finding some used BMW system cases. Every time I find some on Ebay, someone who has never bought anything starts driving the price up at the last minute. While I'm more than willing to pay $400-$500 for plastic saddle bags if they're in good condition, I'm not keen on people that look like they're probably just shill bidders.

Fortunately, since my first real trip isn't until June, when I head to Nova Scotia, I can probably hold out until March before I finally have to suck it up and pay retail for a new set.

Damn bikers!

Yesterday was another 400 miles under my belt, and I keep learning a little more about what I need to change if I want to pull off a trip to Nova Scotia next June. This trip was a quick hop to my Mom's place for a couple of hours, and then right back the same afternoon. What's really ironic is that my only moment of aggravation was caused by some other motorcycle riders.

While traveling down Rt 460, I caught up to 3 guys on Harleys doing about 5-10 miles below the speed limit, and one of them refused to get out of the left lane. I guess he was too busy hunching over top of his fuel tank like an idiot to actually move over. I finally got sick enough of them that I split between the 3 of them to pick up speed again. It just struck me as funny that my first time splitting between vehicles on the road was because of some twit wanna-be bad asses on Harley-Davidsons.

Milestones

When I bought my motorcycle in the end of July, it had about 3400 miles on it. Since then, I decided that I'd try to keep track of where I was every time I hit an even thousand on the odometer. I'd really like to manage some photos each time I do that. But I've had to accept that doing that probably won't usually be very feasible.

I hit the 4000 mile mark just outside of Little Plymouth, Virginia while cruising along route 14. Having been down it now, I'm not surprised that it's on the list of scenic roads in Virginia. Interestingly enough, I hit the 5000 mile mark at my driveway. Granted, I cheated a little by doing an extra lap around the neighborhood to pull that off....but I'm cheesy that way, so I'm counting it.

And the conditioning begins

Well, I've finally managed to make time to go riding for something more than just a spin around the rural stretches of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake. Initially, I had hoped to jet out to Richmond for lunch with Donia. But, since I never got hold of him, I decided to spend the better part of the day seeing parts of Virginia that I haven't seen in about a decade or so.

The early part of the ride was pretty uneventful. I started up Rt 17 to Gloucester, then took Rt 3 until it hit US 360 in Warsaw. From there, I just kept following 360 until I found a small road to jump over to Rt 14. I've learned a couple valuable things here. First, any "600" road in VA is miserable to ride. They're all paved, but just barely. On the other hand, Rt 14 is FUN. It's beautiful, it's twisty, and there's almost no traffic (besides the occasional motorcycle traveling the other direction).

Unfortunately, I learned something else this trip: people weren't exaggerating about how painful it is to spend long periods of time on the stock R1150R seat. It definitely looks like a custom Sargent seat is the next item on my shopping list.

Well, if any of you guys are curious about the actual route I took, just click here and you'll see the bulk of it.

Wonders never cease

Well, tonight was "ride a motorcycle for the first time" night for my wife. We didn't head out until dusk, so she didn't get much scenery, and the bug splatter increases by a factor of about 100 once it's dark out. But she gave it a shot and had a lot of fun.

It is pretty clear that I'll need to replace the stock seat on my Beemer if I want to get her to come along on anything longer. Maybe a custom seat from Sargent with a stealth backrest. I'm sure my wife would enjoy having something more than open air behind her but while we're cruising around. If I can get the seat before Labor Day, I might be able to convince her to cruise down to Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands for a weekend after the tourists start to clear out.