Getting ready to head Out West!

Getting everything ready to head Out West on Saturday, July 30. Got new tires put on the 07 Ultra this week along with a 10,000 mile maintenance. Seems to be running great. I may take it out on the road for a few miles today since it is forecast to be 104 degrees here in Richmond. I am sure I will hit that or more on my trip. Put Dunlop Elite 3 tires on. (Bought them from Jake Wilson in Utah (http://www.jakewilson.com/), great prices and free shipping.) The first time I have tried those. Good reviews on both ride and mileage, so looking forward to trying them out. I am also getting "myself" ready by "leaning out" some. I am down to 194 pounds this morning. Should make me feel better riding for long periods, get better gas mileage and give me a little more "leeway" on eating some good road food along the way!! hehe!! Also, in the interest of trying to stay a little cooler and get less sun on the old arms, I plan to wear a light T shirt with a Columbia long sleeve "fishing shirt" while I am on the motorcycle. The sun is very powerful especially in the higher elevations of Colorado so I am hopeful this will be both comfortable and better for my skin. Will let you know how that works.

Still planning the trip route (regardless of my planning I always take some last minute roads for the variety or a needed detour). Looks like I will ride at least 6,000 miles. Heading out through West Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah and Arizona. Will visit some friends and relatives along the way too in Spencer, WV, Nixa, MO and Colorado Springs, CO. Plan to start heading back once I reach the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Plan to come back through New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee & North Carolina! Will be the first time I have ridden my motorcycle in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, so I can "check those off my list"!! May ride the Natchez Trace Parkway back. Looks like a fun road, similar to the Blue Ridge Parkway. It runs for over 440 miles from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee with no commercial traffic and a speed limit of 50 mph. I have some places and roads to ride in Colorado that I have missed on past trips. (Grand Mesa, Colorado National Monument, Telluride, Naturita).


Also, I want to ride in Utah from Blanding to Hanksville, to Torrey, to Escalante, to Tropic, to Kanab. Did most of this Utah route in 2007 and it was great. (One of the pics from 2007 on the left.)






Well that's it for now. More preparations over the next week!!

Notice the second page tab above. Clicking on that should bring up a Google map that will show my current (within 10-20 minutes) location as I am heading down the road. This is working with my Spot GPS satellite communicator that I bought for my Alaska trip last year. You should be able to "keep track of me" with the map!!