The trip down from Michigan

I left Michigan the morning of Dec. 4th.  The weather was so bad and the roads so icy that I had to rent a trailer and ask my friend Carol to drive me south, pulling the trailer with my KLR onboard, about an hours drive until the roads looked safe for two-wheel travel.   I gassed up and continued south on two-lane towards Indianapolis with the temps in the 20’s.  The KLR ran way too cold.  I was way too cold, too.

First day was a disaster;  I barely made 200 miles.  I stopped for the night in Anderson, IN, and managed to drop the bike in the road when trying to maneuver to get to a motel.  I was tired and just too cold and stiff.  I had help getting the bike up again, and the only damage was a broken mirror isolator.  Friday morning, it was so cold that the KLR did NOT want to start.  Had to use ether.  The bike ran cold and got bad mileage.  I got off of I-65 onto the Kentucky parkway system to go south-west.  Very glad I did.  Good road and little traffic.  Finally got so cold I had to stop at Benton, Kentucky.  Another very low-mileage day. On day three, Saturday, I woke to ‘mild’ temps – a whole 35° F.  Bike started like it should.  An easy morning’s ride to Memphis.  Got confused and lost time in the construction mess after crossing the bridge into Arkansas, but burned across the state to Texarkana, AR.  I was beat and cold, and dropped the bike again!  Again volunteers came to help lift the mule;  this time I shattered the left hand-guard.  I found a sleazy sleep-cheap and crashed.

After an early stop at the local wal-mart for duct tape to temp-up the hand-guard, it was off into Texas.  Weather improved, and so did my spirits.  I shed the Toggs and balaclava, and felt MUCH better.  Through the Dallas-FW mess, and on from I-30 to I-20.  Finally warm enough to ride late,  and I got past Abilene before stopping.  Oil country.  Monday, day 5, got an early start.  A quick ‘screw-you’ to George and Laura as I blew past the ugliness of Midland/Odessa, then lunch in the nearly-ghost town of Monahans.  Lucky timing in getting to gas and shelter in Van Horn before a huge wind-rain storm blew through. Then 200 miles of fighting 45 MPH head winds to reach El Paso by 4:30.  The ride on I-10 through the Rio Bravo valley was impressive.  An easy (but cold) ride got me to Silver City, NM by 7:30.

So, after 5 difficult days, I arrived at our rendezvous point.  Here I have been holed-up and waiting for Levi to arrive.  I have been staying with my good friends Joseph and Deborah Kelly, who have been so very gracious in allowing me to stay and complete the work on the bike here.

first morning in Silver City