50CC and the Dragon's Tail

My 50CC and ride report.

I started in Rio Ranch, NM on June 14, 2007 at 03:00 arriving in Ocean Beach, CA at 16:00 for the beginning of my 50CC staying at the Premier Inn.

Before I tool off I packed the motorcycle around 21:00, as I was packing I went to pick up one of the bags off the floor and pulled a muscle in my back. I could hardly stand up. I finished packing and went to bed trying to sleep it off. When I got up 01:45, I was felling sore and a little tight but ready to go (it’s amazing what 800ml IBP can do.

So I locked up the house and I took off at 03:00 the temp was high 40’s by the time I reached Gallup, NM it was 34 degrees, so I decided to stop for breakfast and let it warm up before heading for Phoenix, AZ. The bad part was I knew it would be cold through that stretch of road but because of limited cargo space I decided not to carry extra gear so I had to tough it out. The ride went well to Phoenix with no incident. I reached Phoenix around noon and the temperature was 100 degrees. Once I stopped for gas I peeled off gear, then as I reached the turn for San Diego on Interstate 8 it was 104 degrees and that was the lowest temperature I saw until I cleared the mountains dropping into San Diego. With the high being Yuma 112 degrees. So for 300 miles the temperature was between 104-112 degrees. You talk about the roughest stretch of road I have traveled. I’m talking hot but not just hot but damn hot. I was stopping every 75 miles for water, Gatorade and to put on more sun screen. At each stop I was drinking about 32 ounces of water and 20 ounces of Gatorade.

Once I reached Ocean Beach just outside San Diego, I set up my hotel room and found the nearest lounge and sat and drank until happy hour was over (I was trying to replenish my liquid levels).

The next day June 15th I met up with Leslie and Jamie an awesome couple that met me at the ocean beach pier and we had lunch and relax talking about our LD rides and the BMW forum Leslie is the administrator of. After lunch they signed my paperwork and took some pictures for me. We then parted ways and I headed for the hotel to rest up for my mid-night departure.

I took off June 16, 2007 at 00:00 to try and get to Dallas, TX as my break for the ride. I was a little concerned about my back it was still a little sore, so I popped another 800 ml IBP got on the bike and headed for my first fuel stop for my start receipt. Wouldn’t you know it the pump didn’t have paper and I had to go inside to get a duplicate. I went to the door but it was locked so I asked the attendant for a receipt through the bullet proof glass (something told me I should not linger). I was hoping to miss the heat through El Paso and the thunderstorms that were happening in Texas. All was going well, temps were low and no rain and I was on schedule as I passed El Paso. I hit mid point in New Mexico on I-10 and feeling pretty good and as I turned onto I-20 I could see my luck was not going to hold. I hit rain around Pecos, TX, so about the first 750 miles went almost perfect. I pulled over just before Pecos and put on my rain gear and rode the next 520 miles in the rain. I didn’t make Dallas weather was bad enough that I ended up staying in Abilene, TX. I was hoping to do 1500 miles the first day but had to settle for 1270. I got into my hotel room around 9:30 dumped my bags into my room walked across the street for a beer at a really interesting place. The bar looked like an old metal warehouse building that they hung Christmas tree lights in with a concrete floor and a bar that was three ice chests and two 2x12 10 feet long sitting on five cinder blocks at each end. The bar wasn’t much to look at but the people real friendly. I drank my beer and headed back to my room for a shower (not sure the people at the bar were saying good bye being nice or because I stunk so badly). I showered, checked in with home, looked at my map for a couple of minutes then hit the sack for a three hour power nap. I woke to sound of the neighbors parting at 02:00 and decided it was time to go so I was out of there by 03:00 heading for Dallas. When I hit Dallas I stopped to fuel, after getting my receipt the skies opened up and all heck let loose. I started to put my rain gear on when the lighting started at that point I decided this would be a great time to get breakfast and wait the storm out. I was sitting in the restaurant and the waitress was telling me to expect the rain and lighting to last most of the morning. I was getting nervous because I was debating if I would have to call it quits, I really did not want to run through a lighting storm. After breakfast I asked the waitress where I could find a TV so I could watch the weather channel. She directed me to the truck driver’s lounge to see what the news was saying. I sat with a couple of drivers and talked about the weather, the reporter was saying rain and lighting all day. I was sinking pretty low when another driver said he just came from the East side of Dallas and the sun was shinning. I struck up a conversation with him and he said 15 miles east was blue skies. I thanked him for the weather report, and decided to get out of Dallas. I geared back up and jumped on the bike went 15 miles in a torrential storm then pop blue skies. I lost about 2 hours but man I love those truckers.

After leaving Dallas in the rain, I headed for Savannah to meet Bob. I met Bob like Leslie and Jamie on the IBA site looking for witnesses; all three were great helps with local information and support. I rode 740 miles and through several states with clear skies until I hit rain in Georgia. It rained on and off just enough for me to stop and put on my rain gear, then I would ride 20 minutes and it would stop and then the sun would bake me enough that I would stop and strip off the gear long enough for the rain to come again. This happen three times before I said the heck with the gear. I called Bob when I hit Atlanta and let him know I would be getting into Savannah around 23:30. He told me to call him from Macon and he would meet me at exit 172 on I-16. I met Bob for the first time at a restaurant outside of Savannah about 23:45. We talked for a little bit then headed to Tybee Island. Bob directed me through Savannah to Tybee Island weaving through town so quickly I can’t even recall seeing one street sign. When we did make Tybee Island, the first order of business was to get a gas receipt to complete the ride. We tried two gas stations but both were closed and the pumps were shutoff so he took me to the police station to get witness signatures. We arrived at the police station about 01:00 and you could tell they don’t see many people around that time. The sergeant on duty gave me the once over but once we explained what I was doing he was more than happy to help me. He and Bob signed my paperwork. Bob then guided me to the next available gas station that was open and I was able to get me receipt. Done check in the box what a relief. By this time it was 02:01 and Bob guided me to the hotel La Quinta Inn midtown, it was 02:20 when we pulled into the parking lot

I started at 00:00 on the 14th PDT and completed the gas stop at 02:01 on the 17th EDT that means I complete the ride in 46 hours and one minute with a four hour time difference. I rode about 2480 miles in just over 46 hours.

The next day after I woke up and did the laundry (trust me I needed too). I called Bob asking if he could do lunch but we could not hook up together so I rode to Tybee Island again to take pictures and get water from the ocean. I found a nice couple willing to take some pictures for me, after thanking them I headed to the bar on the beach. I kicked back and watched the people and had a beer, afterwards I went back to my room to get out of the heat and set up my trip to meet my brother Dan at Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge. I set up my route and decided it was time for an adult beverage so I walked over to the closest bar and grill. Met a group at a convention for Snap-On tools, they were trying to drink the bar dry and from the way they were conversing I would have to say they were doing a fine job of it.

The next day I left Savannah and headed for NC stopping in Woodstock, GA at a Comfort Inn. Right after I set up my room I ran to get some food and as soon as I covered the bike the skies opened up and it poured for 3 hours. So I kicked back and at 10:00 pm I got on line and had a meeting with my boss using net-meeting (during the 2 hour meeting he kept asking what was that (beer bottles opening)). The next day I grabbed breakfast at the hotel and started the last 180 miles to the Ironhorse Motorcycle Lodge getting in around noon. I sat around for about 30 minutes then decided to head for lunch. After I got done with lunch Dan called me asked to meet him at the Dragon’s Tail. I headed to Deals Gap waiting for him but he never showed, I sat there 2.5 hours talking to a guy that runs the Dragon all the time. While we where sitting there talking, I saw Dan ride by. I started to get up but decided to sit back down and finish my conversation. After about 5 minutes, I told everyone good-bye and chased him down. I caught up with him about 12 miles down the road. I pulled up behind him and honked and realized he hadn’t seen the new bike so I pulled up beside him to give him shit for not stopping. After giving him grief for a couple of second I pulled in front and he followed me into Robbinsville, NC. We stopped to get adult beverages, that’s when we found out we were in a dry county. We decided to go to the Lodge and drop off his clothes and make a run for drinks and diner. We ended up going about 15 miles to a little resort for dinner and a couple of drinks, then on the way back we stopped and picked up some mixer for him and beer for me. When we got back to the lodge we were kicking back when a couple of guys showed up from New York talking about how long they had been on the road I smiled to myself and went out side. The smile was gone when I noticed both bike didn’t have windshield. I shook my head went back in and gave them a beer (they desired it 800 miles with no windshield).

The next day we had breakfast at the Lodge, set up our route then head out to Deals Gap where we hung out for a few minutes getting gifts before running the Dragon Tail. I told Dan to go first and pick a pace he was comfortable with and off we went. We had one close call when Dan slowed down so much in a corner I almost rear ended him. I slid to the side and just missed his tailpipe. Afterwards we stopped at the top for the Dragon hanging out then headed for Gatlinburg, TN. We rode along the edge of the Smoky Mountain’s on the way to Gatlinburg. Once in Gatlinburg we did lunch and chatted with locals. We then headed back stopping at several places along the way. We got back to the Lodge around 17:00 and kicked back at the lodge watching a movie and drank adult beverages with everyone else. While at the lodge we also decided our ride back to Indiana stopping in Knoxville, TN for breakfast with an overnight stop in Cincinnati, OH. When we made Cincinnati we headed over to a local pub next door where we sat drank and played a board game with several locals.
The next morning we took off early and got to the parents house around 12:30. We skirted a storm front the whole way getting hit with occasional rain drops. The ride was great 4500 miles no real incidents and saw a lot of pretty country. It was a lot of fun riding with Dan, I hadn’t seen him since our brothers funeral.