Cyclerides.com Weekly Update
7/2/08

Greetings Riders,

Happy Independence Day! I would like to take this time to honor all of our current Military and Veterans for their service. Thank You! I made a short video from the Hearts To Heroes event this year. It consists of a few short words from Ryan Kenner and Tommy O'Neil and then the live singing of God Bless The USA with the soldiers on the stage. I hope you enjoy. Click Here To View.
If you did not see last week's letter about dehydration, Click Here to View.

For all of you that are spending your first summer in Phoenix, Welcome to the desert! Bet you didn't think it could get this hot and things could still live did you? I can still remember our first summer in Arizona 27 years ago. It was one of those record setting times of something like 15 days in a row over 110 degrees. But the really bad news was we were driving an old TR-6 brought from Kansas with no air conditioning! But we survived and are still here. Still beats 6 months of frozen feet and shoveling snow in the Midwest. 

With all of this heat it is a good time to head to the higher country or to the coast which is what we did a couple of weeks ago for our long trip of the year. This year it ended up being 8 full days of riding with just a short 240 mile ride in on the morning of day 9 for a total of 2776 miles.

It is kind of interesting the thought process I go through the days leading up to a ride and particularly the night before. Usually I have every day all planned out, routes in the GPS, research done on what I want to see and do, etc. For some reason, this year we decided to totally wing it and see what is was like for once to just invite what the next day would bring us and see what it was like to not put expectations on ourselves like we have to contend with every day in the real world. Maybe get a quick peak at what retirement would look like. I have always said that one of these days I just want to take off for a couple of months on the bike and make a big loop around and through the United States and not have a schedule. Well, this trip was as close as we have had to something like that. In fact, we exercised that privilege right out of the gate. I will get to that later.

Usually I am ready to go a couple of days prior to our departure, but I must have carried our relaxed attitude right into the getting the bike ready stage as at 9pm the night before we were leaving I was cleaning out the saddlebags and getting all of our travel items arranged like the tire repair kit, air pump, gas siphon, bungees, etc. while Mrs. C. was putting my minimalist stack of clothes along with hers into the T-Bag. For those of you that are new to this packing thing for trips let me just give you a quick tip. Less is more. 

Once you realize that you are on a week long motorcycle trip, and not a weekend in Vegas, your packing will become easier. Understanding that you are not trying to make a fashion statement everywhere you go, but just enjoying the road, the elements and the outdoors, will get your thought process back on track and shed a few pounds from the bag. You don't need 2 changes of clothes per day. In fact, it is the opposite. Instead of 2 changes a day, it is a change every 2 days. As long as you are going to cooler climates, you can easily wear things more than once. In addition to what I was wearing, my part of the T-Bag looked like this: 2 pair of jeans, 4 long sleeved shirts, 1 short sleeve shirt, 3 pair of socks and 8 pair of underwear (some things you just need to change every day) and a swim suit. I was good to go for the week. It can be hard to get out of our normal packing routine for a typical vacation, but when you see how much space you don't have, it becomes necessary and it works. (One packing tip that works well. Tightly roll all of your clothes and put a rubber band around them.)

Continuing with our "No Plan Ride 2008" we knew that we were heading to California and our first stop was going to be the Reagan Library at 40 Presidential Dr. in Simi Valley, CA. To keep from becoming a human Road Glide Shish-Ke-Bob, we left home at 5:40am Sunday morning to try and miss the intense heat through Palm Springs. We had made it our first 264 miles through the wind energy windmills and the West side of Palm Springs in 4 hours including a breakfast stop and only saw 102 degrees for a high. Not bad considering what it would be later in the day. From there on it was smooth sailing as our next destination was to be the Reagan library in beautiful Simi Valley, CA. We hoofed it on in and was at Reagan's doorstep at High Noon. A total of 418 miles door to door in 5 1/2 hours of riding time. 6 1/2 hours total. (GPS Stats) We decided to just take I-10 straight across to get through the heat. It was a good idea and a good ride.

Ronald Reagan was easily my favorite President of all time. And compared to what we have had since him, he is looking smarter every day. And when I heard that they had his Air Force One plane on permanent display with tours, this stop quickly went to the top of my list of things to do. The Reagan Presidential Library and Museum is Perched on a mountaintop with sweeping views of mountains, valleys, and the Pacific Ocean, this 100-acre site, 45 minutes from downtown Los Angeles, offers memorable experiences for people of all ages. You enter Presidential Dr. and take a winding road to the top of the hill while viewing banners of all of the former Presidents on the light poles as you wind your way up. At the top you are greeted with the library and a 270 degree view of the Simi Valley. A beautiful setting for the library and final resting place of Ronald Reagan.

The library is full of artifacts from Reagan's life and presidency. Artifacts from President Reagan’s childhood and professional career provide physical evidence of his extraordinary life. Step through a model of the Dixon Arch in Illinois to experience Reagan’s youth, while his Eureka College letter sweater recalls his student years. A recreated studio booth highlights his early radio broadcasting career, which led to an acting contract with Warner Bros. Film clips.  Original costumes and movie posters trace his days in the movies, the Screen Actors Guild, and on television, as host of GE Theater and Death Valley Days.  Glimpse into Ronald and Nancy Reagan’s devoted marriage, a love story straight out of a Hollywood script.  Learn about Reagan’s growing involvement in politics.  Witness his presidency, from reviving the economy, reducing the size of the federal government, and ending the threat of nuclear war. See a piece of the Berlin Wall, immerse yourself in Camp David and Rancho del Cielo.

As of October 2005 and the completion of the Air Force One Pavilion you can now walk onboard and tour Air Force One, tail number 27000 that Reagan used and put more miles on than any other president. He always wanted the public to be able to see what is widely known as the "Flying White House". So when Air Force One 27000 was replaced with the 747 that is now used for Air Force One, the Reagan Foundation built the Air Force One Pavilion that will permanently house this plane forever for the public to view. You get to walk through the entire plane, every cabin and even see the communications center and the famed briefcase that holds the nuclear bomb codes. The plane is set on 3 pillars hoisted several feet in the air at a 2 degree pitch as if it could take off through 2 story window facing out to the Simi Valley. It really is a site to see for anyone. Also displayed in the Pavilion are the Marine One helicopter, his Presidential Limo and secret service detail, many photos of historic places that he flew and other memorabilia. A definite must see.

Right now there is a huge display devoted to Nancy Reagan, her service to our country and her marriage to Ronald. One piece of trivia that I didn't know is that Reagan was one of only four U.S. Presidents that kept a hand written daily diary. You are able to read some of those diary entries in his own handwriting at the library. If you are creative with a camera, you can even get of shot of yourself shaking hands with Ronnie or posing for a picture. Ahhh, the shameless things tourist will do. Ronald Reagan is also buried on the property. You can visit his gravesite on the back side of the complex.
 
We ended up spending a little over 4 hours at the Reagan Library, but you could easily spend much more if you were to consume everything there was to do there. We still had to make another 70 miles to Santa Barbara by way of Ojai Rd. A really nice ride if you are going to Santa Barbara. A good twisty road through some low level mountains, small towns and drops you off on Hwy. 101. I would recommend this route if you are heading that way.
 
I have always had the utmost respect and admiration for Ronald Reagan and what he did for our country the 8 years he was President.  It was an honor and a privilege to visit his Library and Museum to pay homage to his contributions to this nation. I would make the Ronald Reagan Library and Air Force One Pavilion a "Must See" on your next trip to California. It is an easy ride there at only 413 miles from the NW Valley. You could even make a big loop out of it and come back by way of San Diego. We made it extremely simple and fast by taking I-10 to Hwy. 57 to I-210 to 118 to Simi Valley.

Until Next Week,
Blessings and Safe Riding To All, 

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