Cyclerides.com
Weekly Update
7/27/11
Greetings Riders,
Well, it is that time of year for us
to take the long ride that we try do every year. But the trip
planning this year has been a little more interesting. The original plan
was to go ride the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were going to fly into
Nashville, rent a bike for 7 days, ride the area and fly back. That seemed
like a good plan until I started looking at the weather forecast and saw that
they were predicting solid rain for 5 of the 7 days that we were going
to be riding there. I understand that if you are going to do a few thousand
miles over a 7-9 day period, chances are you might find some rain along the way
and I can deal with that. But knowingly flying to a place to ride a motorcycle
where it is supposed to be raining for 5 days in a row didn't seem that
appealing to me. So even though I had already bought the plane
tickets, special maps, books of places to go, etc., We decided to pull the plug
on that trip a couple of days ago. The plane tickets can be used at a later date
and there was no deposit on the bike.
Since Mrs. C. had the time
scheduled off work and my Sister and Husband were already set up to come
out from Kansas to stay at the house while we were gone, we decided to take both bikes and do a 3000 mile round trip to
Sturgis. Even though we will be there the week prior to the official start,
there should still be some vendors set up, we won't have to deal with
the crush of traffic, and doing the rides on Needles Hwy. Custer State Park and
Mt. Rushmore should be great. We were there back in 2006, but
this will be the first time for Mrs. C. to ride her own bike there which she is
looking forward to.
There are many ways to get to Sturgis
from Phoenix, but we wanted to see a few places we haven't seen
before as well as visiting a few favorites for the second time. The first day
will take us through Payson, Eager, Snowflake and up to our first destination of
Canyon De Chelly National Monument. This is one of those out of the way places
kind of like Chiricahua National Monument that you have to want to go to. Not
only that, I'm intrigued because it seems to show up on nightly
news weather reports as having extreme temps. Ok, that is a
stretch, CDC is a place that we haven't been and is just an excuse for
a destination to take a ride.
From Canyon De Chelly we will
continue Northeast through Shiprock on Hwy. 13 and on to Durango. Given the afternoon thunderstorms this time of the year, I would guess
that would be where we will stop for the night. From there we will take the
million dollar highway through Ouray to Delta, Carbondale and Aspen. As you can
see by the map, that is not the most direct way to Sturgis, but the ride from
Aspen southeast over Independence
Pass to Hwy. 24 is exceptional. We did it once going the other
direction a few years ago and have always wanted to do it again. Hwy. 24 will
take us to Leadville to Hwy. 6 to Dillon to I-70. Our next main attraction is
Mount Evans, which boasts the highest paved road in America
climbing 7,000 feet to 14,260 feet in elevation. Evans is located just
South of I-70 and Idaho Springs. Riding up Mount Evans through the clouds
to the top of the mountain is not only a one of a kind experience, the view is incredible in all
directions even picking out Pikes Peak. If you are on I-70 in that area, I would
encourage you to take the 25 mile detour to do the ride.
Don't know where we will be
staying on night 2, but Day 3 we will head North on the Peak to Peak Scenic
Byway to Estes Park, Loveland and Cheyenne, WY where we
will divert to Nebraska to take some back roads up through Ogala National
Grassland into Custer, SD and on in to the Sturgis are to find a place to stay,
hopefully somewhere in the Custer area so we can do the
riding in that area before moving on to Sturgis. We only plan on
spending a couple of days in the Black Hills area to do some riding and
catch some early vendors before heading West to Red Lodge Montana to do the
Beartooth Pass for the second time. From there we will go into the Northeast
entrance to Yellowstone National Park, cut across to the West side and exit
to the South to the Grand Tetons leading to Jackson, WY.
We've been to Jackson a couple of
times but never really explored the backroads. This time I would
like to get up close to the Tetons and hopefully find some wildlife. From
Jackson I really haven't figured what roads we are going to take South, but our
next destination will be to take the All
American Road Hwy. 12 in Utah heading south out of Torrey, UT to
Bryce Canyon. This is an awesome road. Next stop will be back home after 9 days
and probably over 3000 miles riding. I will be adding to the odometer
on the yellow Road Glide and Mrs. C. will be on her '08 VROD. Click Here for Projected
Route.
It will be one of our typical
adventures with no motel reservations, no planned stops and no time restrictions
other than having to be back in 9 days. We will have a
basic route that could be changed at a moments notice, and probably
will. We will ride till we find a place we would like to spend some time or
ready to stop for the day. I'm sure this time of year riding in the mountains we
will see our fair share of afternoon thunderstorms, but that will just add to
the story.
I will try to do daily updates on the
Cyclerides.com Facebook page with photos of the trip. Even if
you don't have a Facebook account you can still go to www.facebook.com/cycleridescom
to see my daily posts. As usual, I will be taking lots of photos to share with
you on our return.
Tidbits and Updates:
**If you missed the newsletter last
week, you can Click Here to
read. Two weeks ago we flew over the Wallow fire area
to see all the damage. See my report of the area as it pertains to
riding. I have included 53 photos taken from the air to let you see
the damage for yourself. While thousands of acres were burned, it did very
little damage next to Hwy. 191 and the area is still great for riding. You can
also see the start of my new 2010 Road Glide project bike
that will be getting the full treatment over the next couple of
months.
**The Patriot Guard Riders are one of
the best troop support groups that I personally have personally witnessed. The work that they do for families of fallen soldiers cannot even be
quantified. I have the utmost respect for this group and feel a sense of pride
and Patriotism whenever I see them. It might be long overdue, but there has been
a documentary made about the Patriot Guard that we should all support. The movie
is being shown for the first time in Arizona this Saturday.
Here are the details:
Patriot Guard Riders
Documentary Movie "Soldier Down, Kickstands Up". The new documentary,
Patriot Guard Riders, will be screened in Tempe at the Pollack Tempe Cinemas,
located at 1825 E. Elliot Rd. in Tempe on Saturday, July 30 at 10:00am. (View Trailer). Patriot Guard Riders traces a motorcycle group that formed to protect
people attending military funerals from the Westboro Baptist Church, a hate
group who claims that American war casualties are divine retribution for the
country's tolerance of homosexuality. Now over 200,000 strong, bereaved
families nationwide invite the group to escort fallen soldiers from the airport
to the burial grounds where they stand in flag lines even when the protesters
don't show up. Chester's Harley Davidson is sponsoring the event.
Tickets can be pre-purchased through Chester's and there will be a ride
Saturday morning leaving Chester's at 9:00am and arriving prior to the
start of the film. Tickets will also be sold at the door. Part of
the proceeds will go to a local Veteran's charity. Then we are back to Chester’s
for our Party on the Patio with 74th Street Band
**I'm sure many of you heard about
the horrible shooting that took place at the Too Broke For Sturgis event last
weekend leaving 3 people dead and one woman in critical condition
with gunshot wounds. If not, click here to read the story and watch
video. Apparently it stemmed from an argument over food that lead one man to
shoot 3 people before turning the gun on himself. What a senseless loss of life
in a situation that could have happened anywhere. Hopefully this won't lead
to a worse reflection on the motorcycle community. Our sincere condolences
go out to the family and friends of those who lost their lives and we wish a
full recovery for the injured.
Memorial information for Edgar
& Trina Ann Atzin.
Memorial Service at
Messinger's Mortuary
8555 E Pinnacle Peak Road Scottsdale Az 85255
Monday
08/01/2011 @ 10:00AM - National Cemetary @1:00PM
Donations are
being taken in lieu of flowers to:
Operation Home Front
6135 N Black
Canyon Highway
Phoenix, Az 85015
602-246-6429
This Week
Saturday, July 30th
Buddy Stubbs Hogs
and Dogs. Ride over to Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson on Saturday,
July 30th, where there will be an indoor summer SALE on some of
your favorite H-D products! Save up to 75% on select boots, helmets, women’s
jeans and leather jackets! Drop by and enjoy these great deals along with live
music, FREE food and drinks, a bikini bike wash and tours of Buddy’s museum!
Summer is heating up so be sure to stop in from 11 a.m. till 2 p.m. and take
advantage of these hot deals before they’re gone! For more information regarding
this event go to www.buddystubbshd.com or call (602) 971-3400.
Buddy Stubbs Arizona Harley-Davidson is located at 13850 N. Cave Creek Road in
Phoenix, AZ.
Saturday, July 30th
Chester's
Harley-Davidson Party on the Patio. This week we have a very special event
and charity with The patriot Guard. Come into Chester’s and get
your $10.00 ticket for “Soldier Down-Kickstands Up” as we ride from Chester’s at
9am to Pollack Tempe Cinemas for this incredible documentary. Then we are back
to Chester’s for our Party on the Patio with 74th Street Band. Proceeds from
each ticket helps Jared Allen Homes for Wounded Warriors thru Captain Katie
Charity Fundation. This is Truly a Saturday not to miss. Food, Fun and much more
and it’s FREE. Chester's Harley-Davidson is located at 922 S. Country Club Dr.
in Mesa, AZ. 480-894-0404.
Saturday, July 30th
Patriot Guard Riders
Documentary Movie "Soldier Down, Kickstands Up". The new documentary,
Patriot Guard Riders, will be screened in Tempe at the Pollack Tempe Cinemas,
located at 1825 E. Elliot Rd. in Tempe on Saturday, July 30 at 10:00am. (View Trailer). Patriot Guard Riders traces a motorcycle group that formed to protect
people attending military funerals from the Westboro Baptist Church, a hate
group who claims that American war casualties are divine retribution for the
country's tolerance of homosexuality. Now over 200,000 strong, bereaved
families nationwide invite the group to escort fallen soldiers from the airport
to the burial grounds where they stand in flag lines even when the protesters
don't show up. Chester's Harley Davidson is sponsoring the event.
Tickets can be pre-purchased through Chester's and there will be a ride
Saturday morning leaving Chester's at 9:00am and arriving prior to the
start of the film. Tickets will also be sold at the door. Part of
the proceeds will go to a local Veteran's charity. Then we are back to Chester’s
for our Party on the Patio with 74th Street
Band.
Extras
Mid Week Updates will be made on the
Cyclerides.com Facebook. New
Easy to remember Facebook address. Go to Cyclerides.com Facebook. Over 3200 FANS! Take a look at all the new photos posted on the
wall. If you are not on Facebook, you can still view the
page, but you will not be able to post.
There will be a link there for you to sign up for Facebook if you are inclined.
Click the LIKE button!
This could go
down as one of the most creative Nascar prayers ever as this Pastor thanks the
Lord for his Smokin' Hot Wife and Goodyear tires. Boogity, Boogity,
Boogity. Click Here to View.
If you saw a bobcat take on a rattlesnake, who do you think
would win? See the results. Click Here to View.
Video of the Week: Need a good laugh? This will do it for you. John
Pinette do his around the world in 80 buffets comedy routine. Has had over 1.4
million views on You Tube. Click Here to View. Click on the Video of the Week graphic on the page.
If you
would like to sign up for the Cyclerides.com Weekly Update Click Here.
Until Next Week,
Blessings and Safe
Riding To All,
Barry Caraway
"The Road Is Yours - Take The
Ride"
www.cyclerides.com
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