DAY #1 - First Corner at San Ysidro, CA

First Corner at San Ysidro, CA

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

I am counting this day as DAY #0 since this is the day where I get into position to begin the timed portion of the trip. The timing for the trip starts with a gas receipt’s time stamp that is adjacent to the checkpoint.

I left home at 10:30 AM which was about 2 hours later than I originally scheduled. The temperatures crossing the Mojave Desert were unbelievably hot with the sun beating down. I remember the hot temperatures from the trip three years ago, but this was more difficult than I recall. I wore a wet cloth around my head and neck and that helped a great deal. I took two breaks to get out of the sun and cool off. At the second stop, I put some ice into a cloth and held it to my head and neck which helped me regulate my body temperature downward.

I made it to the first checkpoint which is the Post Office in San Ysidro, California around 5:30 PM. I initially drove past the post office and ended up near the Mexican border. I turned around and proceeded to the destination. I obtained the required picture of the motorcycle with the official towel in front of the Post Office’s sign.

I then checked into the hotel and walked to a restaurant next door before calling it a night. I didn’t follow my process of doing the paperwork since I thought I would get it done in the morning.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 – DAY #1

The alarm went off at 3:30AM so that I could get an early start on the day. A good deal of planning for this trip was to avoid the problems that I encountered on the previous trip in 2014. The rush hour traffic that I encountered made the days even more difficult. My intent this morning was to be out of the Los Angeles traffic before it built up. I had to stop to put on warmer clothes when I hit some fog north of San Diego. I encountered a short patch of heavy traffic while coming into Riverside, CA but navigated past it without losing much time. I stopped for breakfast at 6:30 AM near the El Cajon Pass north of San Bernardino.

I ran into a group of about 20 bikers who were heading to Sturgis for Bike Week. When I got over the pass, I had to stop and put some painters tape on my helmet’s visor to help block the sun. The temperatures continued to climb so by the time I got to Baker, CA the “World’s Largest thermometer” read 98⁰. Because the trip took me back through Las Vegas, I chose to stop by the house and take a rest and pack the bike for the entire trip. I decided to leave shortly after 6:00 PM because the sun would be setting and even though the temperatures were above 100⁰ at least I wouldn’t have to battle the brutal sun.

I made it to Cedar City, Utah around 10:30 PM. I lost an hour because of the time change. I stopped twice to (1) remove my sun glasses and (2) get gas and buy something to eat when I got to the hotel. I entered the northwestern corner of Arizona and drove thru the Virgin River Canyon. This is an incredible stretch of road that winds through a narrow canyon for about 25 miles. I drove it in the dark, but it was still the best part of the trip so far.

The plans for DAY #2 are to post this entry, pay bills, do emails and get started around 8:00 AM and head to the Denver area. More details in my next post.