Travels With Connie #84 Bringing it Home
Sometimes I know exactly where I am going. In that case it’s easy, pick a route and go.
More often I have an idea where I’d like to end up, and generally speaking a direction to go.
Once in a while I just follow the front wheel and see where it takes me.
Here's where I'm headed, but I'm 250 miles away, I've sloughed off whatever altitude I had and it's hot. Noon temperature in Vernal, Utah is well over 100F (35C) and rising. With every mile I go it gets hotter. I can't fully explain the temperature thing, but trust me, it's like sitting in a convection oven. The pavement takes on heat and will often get a surface temp of 160F (71C) and your legs will melt if you don't have proper protection.
This isn't the highway I was on, but it's the sort of view you get. It doesn't seem to matter how hard you ride you are never going to get to those hills. The road will turn slightly and you will stay in the Valley. Everything shimmers and it can get to looking surreal pretty quick.
You'd better be drinking water or you can die in a matter of hours on a motorcycle. That hot air blowing on your body can pull a stunning amount of moisture out of you. On this particular day I drank 3 liters of water in the last 250 miles. And didn't pee. 3 liters and I didn't even keep up with the loss.
I don't really hallucinate, but my mind wanders. I try to keep this vision of my room in my head. This sort of riding isn't about enjoyment or pleasure. This is survival mode and nothing but.
The last stop before Las Vegas I was actually weak kneed walking into the truck stop to get water. I bought 2 half liter bottles...one to drink and one to wear. I'm less than 30 miles out and anticipate a shower in an air conditioned room. One short lap and I'm in.
Then this. I 15 didn't exactly turn into a parking lot, but it was stop and go for 5 miles. Took over one hour to cover those 5 miles. It was 115F (46C) air temp and I'm sitting on an ever heating motor. I was stuck tight and couldn't do anything but persevere.
At this point, I'm really sorry that I had promised to meet @derangedvisions that night in Vegas. I'm hurtin' for certain and the clock is running.
I made it. Check in was mercifully quick (it isn't always so in Las Vegas) and I got my room in the Circus Circus Manor. That is a 50s motel complex across the street from the main casino but I love it because it's cheap and I can park right in front of my room. It takes a little walking to get around, but I can manage that just fine.
I took a cool, long shower and drank water until I peed for the second time. I mean gallons of water. Then it was time for a nap. A short nap. The clock was still running.
On my way to meet @derangedvisions at the other end of the strip. Of course it took longer than it should have to get there, there was a huge AAU basketball tournament in town and children everywhere. Some of them really LARGE children.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression, but I wish I had a do over with DV. It's hard to explain just how 'strung out from the road' I was and no matter how excited I was to meet him I just couldn't get entirely up to speed.
This is one of the reasons I like to stay at Circus Circus. McDs is right next door. Familiar and fast food and COFFEE 24 hours per day. It's like a touch of home.
So I laid around a day then made the last 250 miles into Yuma relatively uneventfully. I always am happy to be home and sad that another adventure has ended. This one covered about 7000 miles over 6 weeks. A pretty damn good ride.
Thanks for coming along for the ride!
All the words in this post are mine. Sourced photos are properly licensed and used. Unsourced photos are also mine.
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Wow, that is pretty crazy. I had never really thought about the heat when you are not in a car. It was a long time before I had a car with air conditioning, but at least you have the body of the car to protect you. I was really shocked the last time I was in Vegas at the number of kids there were running around. New York New York was like a zoo. They were all over the gaming floor. @mrsbozz and I don't have kids, but if we did, Vegas is definitely not a place we would be going on a family vacation!
The radiant heat from the road is just incredible. I sit in a really good wind pocket on the Connie but in a car you just don't have the wind effect.
Yeah. There were packs running when I was there. Boys and Girls from 10 to 17. I got to see a couple of the elite teams and how they were treated by EVERYBODY around them. I can see how they become 'priveledged'.
The only place we went to where they actually told the adults that the kids couldn't be on the floor was The Cosmopolitan. Of course the guy was incredulous that he wasn't able to have his kid with him on the floor. :P
Keeping Hydrated is always important i had forgot how much water i needed to drink whe I was riding even off road it seems ot drain the water out of you
I pick my clothing carefully. I wear a long sleeved 'wicking product' from Nike for the base and my warm weather jacket is open nylon and the wind blows right through. I've tried all kinds of riding pants and I'm wearing a denim pair with zipper pockets for knee pads and ballistic nylon liner in the butt and knees. It will slide on the road almost as good as leather...
And I have learned the hydration lesson the hard way. before I start I drink lots and stop every 50 miles or less to get more.
That sounds a good setup you have I suffered from Dehydration twice in the field, not a good thing so I am very careful about it these days
That last 5 miles getting into Vegas must have been like setting on top of a BBQ pit. It has been a hell of ride, thanks for allowing me a seat on the back.
It was so disappointing. I really thought I had it done, and that I'd been in my room in half an hour. The heat was just stupid and traffic moved enough that I couldn't shut Connie off much. Then, of course, my clutch hand cramped in the stop and go. I set the clutch up fairly stiff and with a long pull (I have big hands) but backed the tension and pull off in the traffic jam. And I smelled like an old chicken coop by the time I got in...
From where I sitting I didn't even notice the smell so I will take your word for it. I could see how the hand cramping would be an issue though, dehydration will surely cause the cramps and the only way to cure them is water.
That was one long hot ride for sure @bigtom13! Not good getting dehydrated like that, reading your story made me hot and thirsty now, we're in the midst of summer here! Enjoy your adventures while the road is clear:)
I am quite careful with my hydration strategy. Usually it works out pretty good for me.
A few years ago I got the call that my mother was dying and to come right NOW. I did a quick check of the airline connections and decided I'd be as well off to ride the 1500 miles based on time and distance. So I left Yuma at 2:00 pm with the air temperature of 45C. I stopped for an hour in North Las Vegas (where you are safely through the city) and drank water until I peed. Liter and a half. Then jumped back on Connie and headed off into the night. When I hit Wells, Nevada at sun up it was -2C. I rode on to Pendleton, Oregon where my brother told me my mom had recovered some and that I could ease up a little. I slept 12 hours in Pendelton and was in Spokane at my mom's hospital room by noon. 38 hours and 1700 miles.
Not a ride I'd like to repeat very often.
Okay but where’s the DV pics? Hahaa when was this trip? Sounds like fun nevertheless and why does your writing always make me want to ask more questions Hahahahah anyhoo mDs is so bad for you stop just stop ... dehydration and MDCds is a certain salted end. Nice to be along for the ride.
DV has pictures of him self on his site. I respect individuals right to privacy. As it happens, I also met Mrs. DV and just never mentioned it. I'm funny that way.
Different deal at a 'gathering' I think more pictures is a good thing.
I usually stop at Las Vegas when I leave Yuma in the summer. It's about 5 hours from here. I leave early in the morning and avoid as much heat as I can. I do the same the next day and then am out of the brutal heat into ordinary heat...
I hear ya burn DV usually posts his meetings as do most. Nice to see your ‘spect! Yeah I’ve met her in discord and seen her meetup pics too hahaha
Heat Is baaadddd I am
Prone to heat stroke so no Bueno
You are a resilient chappy that's for sure. I could not do the heat. I think I'd be better on a cold exhibition, but I bet that shower or even a dip in a pool will be so welcome! You are such an adventurer.
Actually, I prefer the heat. I have good clothing (in fact, an electric jacket liner that keeps my core toasty warm) but there are always leaks, and your face shield fogs up and...
For the heat you just have to put up with a large quantity of discomfort and drink enough water.
Please be careful and always drink plenty of water, remind yourself more often about that. The road you took looks amazing and gorgeous, too bad you were in a survival mode but I think you enjoyed the view at least a little, admit it, I know you want to :) Thanks for sharing your lovely journey with us 💚
Ahahahaha. Survival mode does not necessarily exclude an appreciation for my surroundings. I love the views I get from the seat of Connie.
I always have a spare liter of water on board 'just in case'. There is nothing refreshing about drinking 45C water, but it's wet and helps keep me hydrated.
Great endurance! I need water regularly so I won't be able to endure like what you did. I also need to visit the toilet very often. Salute!
There is enough moisture loss through my skin that I don't have to go to the restroom often. I will often stop for an hour and drink water until I pee at that stop, then drink one more bottle.
yikes, be careful @bigtom13, dehydration and heat are not good! Do you carry a lot with you on the bike? I guess you never know when traffic will strike ;) Well, time resting and fun with a friend will always help...and Vegas is always interesting. Did you see any good shows or just a quick trip?
Since I am always solo in Vegas I rarely take in a show. Except for the obvious free show involved with people watching :) I love the vibe of the place, the only place I know where people can have a big smile on their face after they lose a couple hundred dollars :)
I do carry extra water onboard. Just in case.
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