Home again, home again...
Actually I've been home for almost a week, the trip to Louisville to get the S was great. But a few days of the ride had some definite challenges. Kentucky weather was fine the Sunday I picked up the bike, but the weather got sort of severe enroute to Iowa later that day. Was quite literally blown off the road by wind, rain, and snow in Champain, Illinois. After holing up in a cozy motel overnight I once again endeavored to make it to my brother's place in Eagle Grove, Iowa. Little less rain, but temps were really cool and had nasty headwinds all the time with the bike only getting about 30 mpg. Couldn't quite make my goal, so yes, I found another cozy hotel and enjoyed a lllooonnnggg hot shower. Finally made it to my brother's house on Tuesday....a full day behind "schedule".
After an abbreviated, but excellent, family visit I struck out for home on Wednesday morning. Original planned route was to be thru Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho back to Washington. But the weather gods continued to frown upon my plans one more time, so I elected to head south to Kansas. Once again the wind was NOT at my back, but mostly across my path or directly against me. Pulled into Emporia, Kansas thinking the worst was behind me. There I go again, thinking! Next days ride to Santa Rosa, NM was mostly through even stronger winds generated by that low pressure system that blasted the Rockies and which caused all those tornadoes in Oklahoma that same night. Several hours this day were "blessed" with 40-50 mph crosswinds. I passed through Greensberg, KS mid-day and was extremely amazed at the tornado devastation still evident in that unfortunate town almost a full year after it was hit my a tornado. Very moving experience to see all that destruction and I had to stop to make a donation to the relief effort.
After Santa Rosa the weather finally started to lighten up a bit, though not overly warm, at least the wind wasn't blowin' a hundred!!! Progress was slowed a bit this particular day by my decision to replace the back tire at Sandia BMW in Albuquerque. Though I thought there was a chance I could make it home on the available rubber I knew there was a LOT of wide open space to cover, not a lot of bike shops along the way, and if I did need a tire further up the road it would have been Sunday or Monday. So relaxed at the dealer (fine bunch of folks there and glad they could fit me in on what appearred to be a quite busy day in the service department) for a couple of hours before proceeding that afternoon to Holbrook Jct., AZ.
Rest of the trip with a detour to see family in St. George, Utah and Fallon, NV was pretty much uneventful. Weather was pretty good, painted desert of Arizona was fantastic, Glen Canyon dam was pretty interesting, and the wide open highways of central Nevada was a good place to try out the high speed cruise mode of the S! Final night on the road was in Susanville, CA. I intended to ride 300 or so miles that day, but once this old horse sensed his stable he was sort of hard to stop. A somewhat marathon day ensued covering 624 miles in 12 hours with a lot of breaks for hot coffee / coffee disposal. (edit: mileage while riding at...uh..."high"...speed thru Nevada was 47mpg, much better than 30mpg headwinds in Illinois. Hmm, desert air, or...?)
All in all, it was a great ride and probably just a little bit more memorable because of the adverse conditions. And the bike? Fits me perfectly and it's definitely the right choice. Seems to be designed to fit my size and riding style, excellent balance and performance. Definitely not as comfy as an R, but comfortable enough. And did I mention balance? Yeah, I did, but it's one of the attributes that really stood out on this long (3793 miles) ride home. I've been riding for 44 years, and never felt as comfortable as quickly with a new machine.
So, yeah, I'd do it again...
Ciao! BJ
PS. And for more thoughts on comparisons RR vs S...the S is the right bike for me, but frankly after this experience it's also taught me that the RR is TRULY an excellent bike. S has advantages in higher speed riding, more tactile feel to suspension/steering, more confident cornering, and better stability in heavy crosswinds. RR has advantage in more supple ride, more mid-range thrust, and a more comfortable riding position (and Seat!) for long days...if I could afford to have both in my stable...I would!
Pictures to follow....