Day 6

 We woke up this morning to a light off and on rain. Andy loaded the routes for our ride back West across America on my GPS.  Finally it let up enough that most every one took off on their motorcycles to parts unknown. Steve and I along with 2 others road to a resort by a river for lunch. We got rained on for a few miles but finished getting to the resort and back here under dry skies. I forgot to turn on my tracking program today but it was a short loop on roads we did earlier in the week,  o thing new.

Tonight there will be a 50/50 raffle and some other short programs typical of a gathering of this type. I'll have to count the bikes tomorrow morning to see how many showed up. It seems to be less than past years.

I gave the Australians Damian and Brendan shirts that Shannon made as souvenirs for their cross country trip.

Day 5

Evening meal with a few of the guys

 Another beautiful ride day. Sunshine twisty roads and BBQ for lunch.

Here are some pictures of the back lot of the lodge where there is tent camping, wagon camping and a bunkhouse with 4 beds where we are staying. A nice creek runs through the property and they have an outside gathering place with a fire pit. I'll post more pictures of the lodge later.

Day 4

 Today is a nice blue sky sunny day. We got out and road for 4 hours on several great roads. One was the famous Tail of the Dragon. 11 miles and 318 curves. Had lunch at a well known bakery and made it back to the lodge. The 2 Australians are here now as is a lot of old acquaintances.

Day 3

 We made it to the lodge Tuesday with just a few sprinkles. Several early birds were already here including Andy, who you’ll hear more about next week on our trip across America with the Australians. 

Today, Wednesday and tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and then rain this weekend so we’ll definitely do our local riding now.  

Day 2

 Tom and I arrived at the motel in Jackson, TN after 650 miles and were met by Steve. We had a relatively dry ride today with light rain the last 10 miles. After the normal greetings we called Uber and went to a Grill and Brew for supper. Back at the motel more talking about tomorrow’s route with variations based on rain or not. Tomorrow is a short 400 miles so a later start in the morning is in line.

Day 1

 Tom and I rode over 850 miles today in 13 1/2 hours. It was 27 degrees going through Flagstaff then it warmed up to 50 for most of the day. We wore our heated liners and gloves all day. It did get up into the low 70s the last 2 hours. There was a major train wreck near the Arizona/ New Mexico border that made for a 50 mile detour. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s report as rain is predicted. 😒

Aussies Across America

On April 30th, 2024 I'll be at the Iron Horse Motorcycle Lodge attending the annual TTD (Tame the Dragon) BMW event again. This year we are hosting a couple of guys from Australia. They purchased K1600 bikes last winter in Virginia and will collect them and join us for this event.

Afterwards I and Andy Morley will guide them across America via KY, AR, MO, KS, CO, UT and Arizona arriving at my house in Arizona on May 17th. John Parry will meet them here and over the following week guide them around Central California. They will store their bikes in LA ready for the next trip back here.

Follow along using the Spotwalla map I will have going starting on May 5th through May 17th.

https://new.spotwalla.com/trip/21d7-106583c5-e759/view

Day 15

 Turn out the lights the party is over.

We all arrived home safe and sound, except Steve he came to my house for a day or so and then will ride back to KC.
Not much to take pictures of today except a parting shot of the 4 of us after breakfast this morning.

Thanks to everyone who followed along and posted likes. We do these trips for ourselves and for those that can’t get away. 

Until next time “Happy Trails”

Day 14

 Well we got hit with extreme temperatures today. In the morning it was in the 60s with a low of 61.7F then in the late afternoon we saw 115.7F so a 54F swing.

The first 3 hours we were on roads that were in the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Great roads and fantastic scenery with snow capped mountains on our right and several lakes on our left.

In the afternoon we turned off of highway 395 onto highway 168 that took us over the Bristlecone National Forest and down into the Nevada desert. Then highways 95 & 160 into Pahrump for the night.

We’re headed for the barn in the morning.

Day 13

 The weather cooperated again today with temperatures in the 70s and 80s. Our route took us through Lassen Volcanic National Park. There was enough elevation to still have snow in a lot of places.

With no Dairy Queens to be had we found an independent ice cream stand for our afternoon fix.

John Parry joined us last night and rode with us today and again tomorrow.

Then it was a congested ride part way around Lake Tahoe and on into Carson City, NV for the night.

Day 12

 Cool to almost cold start this morning. Found a Dennys for breakfast. Rode through the Redwoods Forest in California. Lots of BIG trees. 101 took us along the shoreline too. Made a few stops for photos along the way and a pit stop or 2 (see the picture of Jerry playing Californian). It got up to 100 before we stopped for the night in Redding, CA. Highway 299 getting here was enjoyable.