LA Trip Travel Blog

[effgjamis]

Booooo Hoooooo.. I am going to cry...

My plans for leaving was 4:00 PM this day, and then Mother nature Storms, and I mean storms started at approx 1:00 PM going south almost the width of Fl.

I am Packed, Ready to go, have witness on stand by for signing my Iron butt start papers, BUT !!!
I will wait until 5 PM to see if it clears enough for the start. Its not the rain, but the high winds and hail.

I guess if I start an hour or so later... I will have to drive faster, like 100-120 to make up the time.. Now if you believe that.. Shame on you..

Durning rain and shortly after we do have a problem with black ice, and crazy caged drivers, really don't know which is worse.

See you all soon..

Forrest

[effgjamis]

On with the frogg toggs and out the door I go...
One stop at gas station and they KaBooooom off to AR.
See ya soon Repops, and of course on the 22nd the rest of the travel gang in OK.

[docdoru]

Good luck, rYde safe and have fun! See you in Cali!

[captainryder]

To both of you the best wishes for a safe ride. I think that 3 hard days like you are planning deserves something more than the "Iron Butt" award.

Brian does the same thing I do, placing my legs up on the side panels, however, when I do the ride seems rougher ??? (Must be the spring in my legs that buffers vibration to my upper body, that is lost when resting legs as such)

Sorry I can't make the Missouri Express.... But they are a great group of guys you'll meet with.

And I'm glad to see that you all will ride together from OK.... Not only will 7+ Spyders travelling along get attention, it probably is enough to get noticed from a spy satellite

Here's the story I've been telling when asked what's the gas mileage on these....

"Well you see those scoops up front, the take nitrogen out of the air and convert it to nitrous oxide... increases performance. This is an expiremental NASA vehicle, going to be used for a mars roadster, if we ever get there sometime next 20 years. Now it works best in states that have alot of agriculture, 'cause when they fertilize those crops, the nitrogen from the sun beating down on that fertile soil releases more nitrogen into the air. So states like Illinois and Iowa now with the corn growing, I get 60 mpg, but going into AZ well it will be sort of 32 mpg....." And they are choking on this one, or perhaps it's the "methane" also in the air.


BE SAFE YOU ALL

[Mo Lee]

CaptainRyder I still love that story! I finally figured out what 5 or 7 Spyders look like together. Kinda reminds a bunch of warriors in a futuristic movie dodging in and out of traffic on the interstate.

[dltang]

I finished the map of our route for the first day, Monday the 22nd. It has the fuel stops and the addresses of those stops along the way. One minor change, we will not be fueling in Miami, OK. We will stop in Joplin, MO instead that way and MO riders that are with us don't have to get on the toll road in OK for that last stop coming out of Missouri. Also, that fuel stop should get us all the way to Checotah, OK. We will stop there and fill up just before we hit the campground, that way we are ready to go Tuesday morning. Here is the link
Monday June 22nd fuel stop en route to Checotah OK

[dltang]

I am at work until 0700 in the morning. But today, I got the laundry done, my house picked up (still have some vacuuming and mopping tomorrow), went to the bank and got our money for the trip and got most of my stuff packed. I am just about ready to roll. I have to work again tomorrow night so I am trying to have everything ready and I can truly rest on Sunday before our trip. Can't wait to get rolling, I am getting very antsy now.

[effgjamis]

Guess where I am ????

I M AT rEPOPS ADOBE IN AR.. Arrived at 3PM this day after a long 1,100+ miles. Left Kissimmee at 6:30PM on the 18th,
Later Iwillprovide the details of the ride.

See you in OK on Monday

[Lamonster]

Guess where I am ????

I M AT rEPOPS ADOBE IN AR.. Arrived at 3PM this day after a long 1,100+ miles. Left Kissimmee at 6:30PM on the 18th,
Later Iwillprovide the details of the ride.

See you in OK on Monday

[captainryder]

I finally got the idea last night for the award you 7 or for that matter anybody that can ride 3 hard days and cross the country for this event.

The
Trans - Am - Formers
Iron Butt Club

To qualify you must ride across at least 3 time zones in North America in 48 hours !!!! First time... Certificate of Official Membership
If you do it a second, third, fourth time etc.... you get a "little butt cheeks" sticker to add to your certificate. (And 50% off on stiz bath supplies)

Wear them proudly.

Are you listening BRP I expect you to recognize anyone who can make this trip at the gathering.......

[dltang]

Guess where I am ????

I M AT rEPOPS ADOBE IN AR.. Arrived at 3PM this day after a long 1,100+ miles. Left Kissimmee at 6:30PM on the 18th,
Later Iwillprovide the details of the ride.

See you in OK on Monday

Glad you made it safe and sound Forrest. See you Monday.

[dltang]

I am at work and kind of bored, so I started doing some 7 day weather forecast checking into our trip. It looks like the whole way from MI to OK on Monday is anywhere from partly cloudy to sunny and hot and humid with temps getting up in the 90's starting as soon as IL.

Tuesday, we have high 80's leaving OK and into TX, possible rain and storms across NM and temps in the 80's and AZ in the 70's to high 80's. You know as long as we don't hit major storms and lightening, this may be a small blessing, we won't get so awful hot crossing the desert. I am looking forward to a nice trip, regardless of the weather though. I plan on enjoying the scenery, the camaraderie and the ride.

[Lamonster]

Well I'm already in the can't sleep mode.

[Mo Lee]

Supposed to be in the 90s in Missouri Monday however in this state if it is 90 due to humidity the heat index is probably over 100.

[Don in E Texas]

Hope that everyone has their Guardian Bell secured to their Spyders….

Guardian Bell

Legend has it that Evil Spirits have been latching themselves on to motorcycles for as long as there have been bikes on the road. These Evil Road Spirits are responsible for mechanical problems and bad luck along a journey.

Legend goes on to say that by attaching a small bell onto your bike, the Evil Road Spirits will become trapped inside the bell where the constant ringing drives them insane, making them lose their grip until they fall to the ground. (Ever wonder where pot-holes come from?)

Ride safe, gang..

don

[ataDude]

.
Deb, Brian and Lamont... regretfully, I will not be able to meet you guys in Oklahoma. Have fun and be safe!
.

[bjt]

.
Deb, Brian and Lamont... regretfully, I will not be able to meet you guys in Oklahoma. Have fun and be safe!
.

Drats, that was the only reason I was going to LA.... but I will regret not getting to meet you and see your dual exhaust in person.

[spyder3rdr]

I wish ALL you SpyderLovers making the trip to LA , a safe and enjoyable ryde west ... I'll be checking the "blog" for your progress

[Tom in NM]

. . . . You guys may want to be a little more flexible on the gas stops here in NM. Consider that you will be going uphill into New Mexico and you will be a 5 to 6 thousand feet when you reach Albuquerque. And then you go higher as you approach the continental divide. Your mileage will be affected by the altitude.

You will too, since you are doing all that in a day - expect to feel tired, so please be careful.

If I knew when you were going through Albuquerque, I would link up with you.

Tom

[dltang]

. . . . You guys may want to be a little more flexible on the gas stops here in NM. Consider that you will be going uphill into New Mexico and you will be a 5 to 6 thousand feet when you reach Albuquerque. And then you go higher as you approach the continental divide. Your mileage will be affected by the altitude.

You will too, since you are doing all that in a day - expect to feel tired, so please be careful.

If I knew when you were going through Albuquerque, I would link up with you.

Tom

Tom,
Thanks for the notice, I will doing some checking on additional fuel stop options along the way. Also, PM your contact number, we can always call at the stop before Albuquerque and let you know where we are. You are the only NM SpyderLover I know of, it would be nice to meet you.

[The_Spyderwoman]

Tom,
Thanks for the notice, I will doing some checking on additional fuel stop options along the way. Also, PM your contact number, we can always call at the stop before Albuquerque and let you know where we are. You are the only NM SpyderLover I know of, it would be nice to meet you.

One thing that helped me getting across NM, AZ, etc. was having a camelback full of gatorade!! Don't forget to fill up on those electrolytes!!

[dltang]

One thing that helped me getting across NM, AZ, etc. was having a camelback full of gatorade!! Don't forget to fill up on those electrolytes!!

Both Brian and I have those as well. Thanks, not a big Gatorade fan but will probably breakdown and drink some for safety.

[dltang]

Okay, I just got up a little bit ago, after getting home from work this morning. Thought I would update some getting ready to go photos and also post a link to my photobucket Album for anyone that wants to see all photos together rather than scrolling through the blog.
Album link is http://photobucket.com/dltangLASpyderblog

Here are some photos from this morning. These are boring but as this is my blog, I am posting them anyway as a way of documenting "stuff"

photo 1 Brian's bags waiting to be packed


Photo2 The trailer is packed with camping gear, my bag, the community bag and the first aid stuff as well as our small took and spyder first aid kit.


Photo3 This Dry bag will ride on top of the trailer for easy and quick access to things we need in a hurry, i.e. raingear, jacket liners, extra bottles of water, etc.


Photo4 Hope we never get into this cooler, spare gas and oil.


Now off to Rocky's (local motorcycle store) I just have to check out those helmets, just in case.

[dltang]

I am sitting at work oh so very antsy. Two hours and 15 minutes to go and I am officially on vacation. I have to figure out how to get some sleep tonight and tomorrow so that I am well rested for the long haul. I am just so excited and also so worried about forgetting something. I have almost everything I need packed and I will go over my list again after church tomorrow.

I also have to clean up my poor machine. We have had some horrible weather and my spyder is really dirty right now. I would at least like to start the trip with a clean spyder and trailer.

[Remmos]

all you guys be safe!!!