Life As Art - Bike Road Trip

Hi All,

Well - as usual this was another week gone by at the speed of light.  I hope you're all doing well and having a great week.

This past weekend I took my motorcycle on it's first longer distance road ride.  I took it down to Tucson on Saturday.  I've had the bike for a couple years and took it around the Valley many times, but wanted a really good road test...and I wanted to see some friends in Tucson, too.

The bike and pack, ready to go.

So I did a quick check of the vitals on Saturday morning, (oil, air pressure, quick walk around), packed a few clothes and hit the road.

Rest area about 50 miles from my house...my butt was a little numb by
the time I got here.

The bike's a 99 Yamaha Roadstar.  It's got a 1600cc engine and only about 6K miles.  It ran real well except for one glitch...the speedometer was messed up.

Me, Josh, and Mike

Some friends out at Mike's

For most of the trip I think the speedometer was off about 5 mph.  However - by the end of the 110 mile trip - it was off about 20mph.

Saturday afternoon and evening was a great time.  We had a party and bbq in the afternoon and had a great time visiting with friends.  Evening, we went downtown to "The Hut," to see the Sundowners, a local band.  They were excellent - kind of a cross between Chris Isaac and Quentin Tarantino Movie soundtrack.  We shot pool and we all shared some drinks that reminded me of "Ammo Bowls," from when I spent time in S. Korea during my time in the Air Force.

Sunday Morning coming down...north of Tucson about 35 miles

Sunday morning I headed back.  I tried to get an early start because it's starting to really get hot -- and I got a little sun baked on Saturday.  I took my time, stayed on the frontage road and some side roads for a good part.  I ran over a pretty good size snake on the I-10 frontage road.  That freaked me out a bit.

Red Rock train water tower.

The Bike

The Rider....Me.

All in all it was a good ride and a good little trip....and the bike passed the test!  It was really good to get out on the road again.  I've had several bikes over the years, going back to when I was a kid and have always enjoyed riding.  Now I'm ready for more rides...maybe across country.

Have a good Good Friday and a blessed and Happy Easter.

Peace to you and yours,

Tom