April 13, 2009 Day 1

Day 1

Finally, the day is here. I couldn't sleep last night and didn't get to sleep until 3:30 AM with the alarm set to go off at 6:00 AM. I got up and packed my stuff in and on the motor, said my good-bye to Laura (Jennifer and Connor were still asleep and Lori was gone to work) and left to meet the guys. The set up point was 35 Ave. and Happy Valley Road, just south of the Circle K. Upon my arrival, Chuck, C.E., and Bruce were already there. Chuck's daughters, Genna and Ally, were there also. They all greeted me with wide grins and hugs. We were all excited for today. Ken arrived and he was also excited with a little nervousness mixed in. This was his first time with us. Genna and Ally took pictures of the group and we said our good-byes. We left at 8:23 AM and headed for Chino Valley to meet with Jan.

Chuck was leading the group, as is the tradition. It was Chuck's initial idea to do the rides so he gets to lead the first leg. At 9:47 AM and after riding 90 miles, we arrived at the meeting spot about 30 seconds after Jan arrived. We started off with a pit stop and greeted Jan. We took a group picture, gassed up the motors and headed northbound. We left at 10:08 AM with me in the lead. We were headed for Seligman, AZ for breakfast/lunch.

We arrived in Seligman, AZ at 11:06 AM after riding for 65 miles. It was cloudy and 63 degrees. It was wonderful riding weather. We stopped at the Road Kill Cafe, however, it was closed for repairs. We went across the street to the Westside Lilo's Cafe and had a good meal. After catching up on the latest with everyone, we packed up and headed westbound. It was still my turn to lead and we followed "Old Route 66" and stopped in Hackberry. We had ridden for 61 miles and stopped at 1:15 PM. It was time for a pit stop! It's always good to make a pit stop at the restrooms at Hackberry. You have to see the restroom to understand! It was getting warmer as it was now 75 degrees.

We continued westbound on Old Route 66 and at 2:20 PM, we stopped in Kingman for a pit stop and to get gas. It was 77 degrees...getting warmer. We left st 2:37 PM with Bruce leading.

Bruce took us north on 93 and we hit a snag about 2 miles from Hoover Dam. Traffic was bumper to bumper and travelling at a snails pace. This was traffic that was going over the Dam. The three Harleys got very hot. We were travelling very slowly for just under 30 minutes until we passed the Dam. The three Hondas did well, because of the water-cooled engines and radiator fans working. We finally got past the Dam and got up to speed again. C.E. and I had our navigation systems working on our Hondas so the group had no worries at to where we need to go or where we need to turn. We rode into Henderson, NV with Bruce in the lead, Jan following and Chuck behind Jan. I was behind Chuck, Ken behind me and C.E. bringing up the rear. I was talking with Chuck on the CB giving him directions on where to turn. There was a mixup in communications between Chuck and Bruce and we missed a turn off. We missed the turnoff, however, C.E. made to proper turn off of the freeway. The group seperated with C.E.! We continued and I directed Chuck to turn off at a certain exit. We did and then pulled over in Las Vegas at 4:51 PM after riding 95 miles. It was really warm now at 84 degrees. We stopped at a gas station and while we were there, we made a pit stop, took a break and discussed our situation. We knew that C.E., with his navigation system on his Honda, he would be ok and we would see him later.

At 5:09 PM we left the gas station with me in the lead. I have the navigation system so I led us to the roadway that we sould be on. Bruce took over the lead, now that we were ok. Believe it or not, C.E. was at the side of the road waiting for us and soon joined us again. It worked our great! We continued on SR 160 until we arrived in Pahrump, NV. We had ridden for 69 miles and arrived at 6:23 PM and it was starting to get dark and cooler. It was 77 degrees.

We arrived at the Best Western Pahrump Station, checked in, parked our motors next to our rooms and tucked them in for the night. We got our bags and took them to the rooms and soonafter, walked to the on-site restaurant, "Wulfy's" and had dinner. It has been a long day and we travelled 410.1 miles today. A short time in the hot tub was welcomed and then off to bed. It's good to be back on the road, on the motors and with good friends! As the saying goes, "Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul." More tomorrow...