With last week’s TDY almost overlapping the D@DG5 I had an opportunity to load the bike in the truck and drive to the training so as to surprise the biker peeps. However, when my best friend deployed to Creech AFB outside Las Vegas, I decided to just fly to the Atlanta gig and then ride to Vegas over the Columbus Day weekend. I didn’t take any pictures on the way up, but did manage to shoot a couple while I was there, and then some on the way home today.
When I went last time, I stayed on the famous ‘Vegas Strip’ along Las Vegas Blvd, and didn’t make it up to the ‘original’ strip up on Fremont Street. They’ve done some serious upgrading since the days when casino owners pulled guns on each other, so it’s not ‘original’ anymore, but the names are still the same. The Golden Nugget, 4 Queens, etc, etc, there are a number of pretty nice casinos, and they tend to have lower-stakes games than the ones down on the Strip. Most have a $2 Blackjack table somewhere, and it’s usually packed. The street is no longer accessible to cars, and they have put in a roof over 4 blocks of the street… which doubles as the world’s largest screen. Every hour, they turn off all the casino lights, and fire up the screen, which displays images running over the length of a couple of football fields. Queen, Kiss, Don Mclean, George Thorogood.. they’ve got a huge sound system that even manages to overpower the bells and chimes of the slots until you’re deep inside the casinos. Quite the show:
I’ve added a couple things to the traveling rig, all of which did wonders to make the 450-odd miles bearable. Here’s the current layout:
– RAM Mount and carrier for my Garmin E-trex: I still had the printout of my Google Maps for the section of Phoenix where I thought it would be a good idea to take Grand Ave all the way across town ‘because it is straighter’… oops. Added the mapping function (can find addresses, points of interest, etc), and the little handheld I bought for my deployment has been a great backup. It was especially helpful since the ‘hawk is notorious for poor fuel mileage and a less than appropriately sized tank.
-Frame sliders: Added mostly because w/o the fairings there isn’t anything shielding the radiators from the ground should that Murphy bastard show up. However, they have a dual purpose, in that I can lay my legs up on top of them similar to highway pegs on a cruiser, and stretch my legs and back. Definitely less sore after this trip than I was following my 500 mile day between DC and Dayton.
-Axio Hard-top Tailbag: I already had the Tour Master tank-bag, but for extended distance I really didn’t want to ride with the thing expanded up to it’s full size, as it kinda gets in the way. No issues when it’s mounted on the V-star, but the positioning on the Superhawk makes slow-speed maneuvering a bit tricky. The velcro straps on the Axio bag work great, and with the included stretch netting, I was able to pack my rainsuit out on top just in case the aforementioned Murphy dude was messing with the weather. The tailbag doesn’t hold a lot, but it does hold enough, which is the important thing. I think I might be able to delete the camelbak/backpack from local spirited rides since I can keep all my assorted pocket garbage in there, along with some water bottles. I zip-tied the velcro ends, just in case, but after riding some 900+ miles, I’m pretty sure that’s complete overkill.
-Things I should probably look in to: A cramp-buster, or similar throttle holding device to ease the wrist stress. Different clipons might be another solution, or possibly the popular dirtbike-bar upgrade, if I can only figure out how to mount a set of risers to the 954 trees and also clear the steering damper. We’ll see…
-Things I learned:
–Straight Gatorade is way too much for camelbak duty. Better to cut it 1:1 with water, or even better still, use G2 (half the sugar). Still get the electrolytes, but it’s not so harsh that you can’t sip on it. Straight Gatorade is best post-workout or sports, but not so good for sipping on the road.
–Snack selection was improved this go-around, but I should probably add something more salty to help maintain hydration. It’s a lot cheaper to buy the 8-pack of cracker packs at the grocery store than it is to buy them individually at fuel stops. Salted nuts were okay, but not salty enough. You can drink all the water you want, but if you’re low on sodium, it’ll just pass straight through instead of being absorbed.
–Layers, layers, layers. I left the house here and it was 53*, so I had my fleece liner zipped into the jacket, along with a long-sleeve shirt over my normal riding shirt. This allowed for multiple configurations from all layers w/ vents closed, to liner still in w/vents open, down to riding shirt only w/ vents open to deal with varying temperatures between fuel stops. One thing to note is that if you’re starting out at a lower altitude than you know you’ll end up over the course of the ride, you’re better off layering a little bit over-warm for the low-lying areas so you won’t have to stop when it starts to get chilly some 2000′ (or more) higher up. (rule of thumb: figure 3-5 degrees temperature drop per 1000’ gained in altitude)
Of course going the most direct route means crossing the Hoover Dam. That route will be very, very well served once they finish the large 4-lane bridge across the gorge just downstream from the Dam itself, as the rubberneckers had my expletive engine on full tilt. There are some dozen or so parking lots, plenty to allow folks to stop, shoot pictures, look around, etc… instead of doing those things from their car on the main roadway. Thus, I left Vegas early this morning in an attempt to avoid the holiday traffic. Worked perfectly. I managed to stop, shoot some pictures, and get remounted in less time than it took to traverse the top of the Dam on the way up:
The ride itself was pretty cool, and Hwy-93 through northwestern AZ is really beautiful. The section labeled “The Joshua Tree Highway” is particularly breathtaking. I could have stopped at 5 or 6 locations along that stretch and shot pictures, but would have taken quite a bit longer to get home. This spot caught my eye on the way up, so I made sure to stop on the way back:
Eventually, I’d like to try and work out an Iron-butt route, and the section up to US 40 via Hwy 93 is definitely in the running.
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