Day 1 (Monday)

Day one off to an early start. I didn't sleep much, it seemed, and was waking up every so often to see how long until launch time.

Okay, I cheated a bit on the heat, and departed at 5:45am, rather than wait for dawn. Perhaps a little risky, with the wild critter factor, but there was a fair amount of traffic along 90, so I was hoping it would scare off any jay-walking wildlife.

Temperature drifted from 55 to 50, and back a few times on the way to Tucson. I haven't bored you with the limited gear I packed, but I'll probably mention it as I go, more for my future reference, than your enjoyment. (Sorry.) I only took one jacket, a 3/4 length "Firstgear" jacket my better half won during one of the SEAT Christmas raffles. It's quite warm with the liner in, (though I'm not sure about water proof.) I hope I won't need to bore you in coming days with the words "frogg-toggs" with any luck. This morning, I jacket stuffed the liner in the luggage, and zipped all of the copious vents shut. I also wore the more vented of two pairs of gloves I brought. I'll admit it was a bit chilly when it hit 50 at times, and I had to resort to using the electric grips on the way to Tucson.

I hit Tucson at around 7, and hit a tad bit of traffic, but nothing that slowed the show down. I was planning to stop for gas in Marana, but through a combination of being distracted by construction, a cop passing on the left, and it not being "my normal stop" I missed it. Actually, on our jaunts to San Diego, the Eloy exit is our typical gas stop (both types, as it has a McD's as well.) I exchanged pleasantries with a fellow motorcyclist, who was communting on his sport bike from Tucson to Phoenix. He claimed it's 50 mpg was a *lot* better than the 7 mpg his jacked up 4WD truck with monster tires, which got 7 mpg. He was complaining about the comfort, and seeing him take off down the highway tucked low over his gas tank, I could imagine why. I had thought about extolling the virtues of an FJR, with its relative comfort (or so I hope!!), but had decided to keep the stop short.

There was considerable shoulder construction all the way up 10, to the turn off for I-8, slowing things down to 55 or 65 for much of the way. After getting on I-8, the speed picked up a bit, and the temperature also rose into the low 80's. The ride to Gila Bend seemed to go quickly, and it was easy enough to pick up Old Hwy 80 (okay, I was cheating, and using the GPS.) I can see why this road comes highly recommended. There was hardly any traffic, and if I were less concerned with speed limites, it would be easy to travel at 70-80 plus along this road, as one of the few cars that passed me did. (Rather than the posted 55.) There was quite a bit of agriculture being conducted along this stretch of road. I passed more than a couple large rigs spewing a cloud of unidentified grassy material in their wake, as they passed going the other way. I stopped for gas at Tonopah, and managed to get a picture (I think) of myself before the batteries went dead. Discovered that the NiMH batteries I had brought were showing low, too. I hope their not shot. I could have sworn I charged them a few days ago. We'll see if they hold the charge they'll get this evening.

I picked up the road to Vicksburg Junction, and then headed northwest on Salome Rd. I had gotten into the long haul of this road and my mind started to wander, fantisizing about breaking the speed limit by more than my usual zero to 3 mph (okay, 5 when I'm really pushing the envelope). Just about this time I was jolted out of my daydream as I passed a cop, parked on the far side, lying in wait. Okay, so much for the fantasy.

A little after noon, I was starting to get a bit ravenous, and very thirsty. The temperature was getting to the 90 degree point. I spotted a McDonald's while passing through Parker. I managed to snag the one parking space with some shade and ran in for a bite one of the grilled chicken sandwich meals, hold the mayo. Lucky for me it was serve-yourself drinks, and I made good on my investment with three cups of soda. Lemondade hasn't tasted so good in quite a while. How do they do that with "0 % juice" ?? Totally unrelated to my voyage, but there was an older gentleman sitting outside with a minature longhaired dachsund, very much like the one we had while growing up.

Got into Lake Havasu City about 1:30pm. Ok, for the obligatory math: 390 miles in 7.75hours gives an average 50 mph. Hmm. Suspiciously close to the number Deryle gave me. (Probably for the off-highway rule of thumb).

Checked in, turned on the AC, and absorbed this for a few minutes before checking in with Kari. Changed into something "more comfortable" and did the Woolite thing on the UnderArmor heat gear shirt and compression pants I had worn. I think they helped with the temperature, although perhaps it's more psychological. We'll see how fast they drip dry. Feels good to be sitting here after taking a shower to get the road grime off!

Breakfast tomorrow is at 6AM, and dawn is supposed to be about 6:45ish, so that should work well. I'll eat and go, hoping to beat the heat between Needles to Barstow, and beyond.

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