Trusting the Kindness of Strangers; My Epic Fly and Ride From Fresno to Indy

The title tells the story thus far. Here is the link from the Flea Market ad, for as long as it lasts in the Flea Market.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=908081

I flew out this morning from Indy at 6 am, arrived in Fresno at 9:30 am local time, and Matt P picked me up at the airport. Matt P was great to deal with; he let me ship some necessities to his shop and let me install them with his tools. I got the SW Motech rack and Trax panniers mounted in about 45 minutes, and headed North to Yosemite.

I made it to Oakhurst, CA and could tell my reaction time was starting to be affected by lack of sleep. I'm sacked out in a hotel until tomorrow.

I've got my GoPro camera along, and hope to add some photos as time (and SD card readers) allow.

Way to go Chuck ! Ride it like you stole it !
Be careful and watch out for slick roads !
Stay south as far as you can. Keep us posted

Thanks, I wouldn't be here without your help! The new bike only has about 150 miles on it, so I've got to be gentle with it until.... likely tomorrow afternoon. I called an O'Reilly Auto Parts in Bishop, CA and they said I can do an oil change in their parking lot. Thankfully, I brought an oil filter, and O'Reilly has the oil I need.

Looking forward to the report/pics.

I made it through Yosemite on 120 and am in Bishop, CA. I knew it was going to be interesting when my waiter at the Lodge said

"So YOU are going to ride through Tioga pass? Today?"

It was cold (would not have made it without my Aerostich heated vest), and there was a little bit of snow and ice on the road. The trickiest part is that they change the paving from asphault (black) to crushed stone aggregate (looks like frost on the road) about half way through the pass. I stopped a few times to make 100% sure that I wasn't riding on frost / ice.

There was one sketchy part where I came around blind right corner (sheer rock face) only to find ice. Thankfully I was taking it easy, got the bike vertical, and rolled over it without touching the throttle or brakes.

I was feeling like a real badass until I saw 2 guys on cruisers coming from the other direction, and then later there were 2 guys on BICYCLES... Those bicyclists were badasses, I'm the sissy with an electric vest

Glad to hear you made it over the pass. When I saw you were planning to do an oil change in Bishop today I was wondering how you had planned to get there. I doubt that pass will be open for a whole lot longer to be honest, probably get a good storm soon that will close it until May.

Yah, there was a little snow and ice today, but there was always a 2' wide lane you could pilot a bike through. I had a full tank of gas, and told myself I would proceed with caution and turn around if necessary. I chugged along at or below the speed limit, and made it through. It feels good to be out of the cold twisty roads and making some time.

After all the internet searching about heated gear, I am really happy with my Aerostich vest. It is so nice to just plug it in and go (no heat controller, etc). I had it "on" all morning, and opened up my collar slightly if I got too hot.

I made it to Lone Pine, CA and plan to do Death Valley tomorrow morning. I double checked all the weather reports, and am planning on going towards Denver through Utah. It looks like the "fun route" (Utah, Colorado) is within a few degrees of the "safe route" (Arizona, New Mexico).

I'll be watching, but beware, if your trip goes too well, and it looks like you have too much fun, Shesaid and I will just add it to our to-do list. Then we'll have to come visit you. Which would be slightly awkward as we've never met. But enjoy the ride, I like the blend of fun/safe/practical. We strive for much the same type of balance on our rides.

MV

I could sell you my DR650 Supermoto, and you could do the reverse trip

Ok, I couldn't do that to you... I couldn't do the trip without a power outlet and heated gear. If you guys come to Indy, give me a few weeks notice and we'll grab dinner. Any excuse for BBQ is welcome.

Maybe if we did it in May.

I'm not loving this talk of "ice" and "snow."

But BBQ!!! Now THAT's worth a trip to Indy.

Made it to St. George, UT. The ride from Death Valley to Vegas was miserable, but the corner of Arizona I rode through was a little slice of heaven. I'm feeling good, so I'm going to put in a few more hours. The bike feels great!

You're lucky you weren't going through here earlier in the week... Monday was cold and windy- it felt like genuine winter!! Today is downright balmy compared to earlier this week.

I'm still wondering about the wisdom of my decision sitting in my hotel in Richfield, UT. The weather is great from 10 am - 4 pm, but can get downright unforgiving when the sun drops behind the mountains. Thankfully, I grabbed a steak and found a $64 hotel room, and am going to get some sleep. It's going to be really cold overnight, so I'm going to sleep in and try to take off around 9 am. I want to leave later than my 6 am normal departure time to give the sun some time to make sure all the roads are melted off. I don't have the crash bars mounted yet, and I really don't want to drop it.

Update: Green River, UT

Update: Grand Junction, CO. Stopped for barbecue at Famous Dave's.

Update: Survived Denver.

Nice ride. The next three days in Indy are going to be nice. Tomorrow will be 60 F, Sun and Mon 50 F. Tuesday it turns cold with a slight chance of S**W

Best wishes.

You gave me yet another reason to want to get home. I miss my wife, my dog, and my own bed.

I made it to Limon, CO. I wish I could push on a few hours, but I'm tired and the brown tufts of grass along the Colorado interstates all look like deer...

Update: Colby, KS. It is the pheasant hunting opener, so there is a lot of orange in the fields and at the gas stations.

So are we going to get a detailed story with pics and eveything when this is over? Maybe a map of your travels?

MV