theroadworrier

I'm doing my blogging here rather than on my Blogger.com site since my wife doesn't want to advertise the fact that she's home alone - albeit with dogs and heavily armed - during my absence. I met with BMW friend Charlie Parsons yesterday afternoon to firm up some plans and we settled on a departure time of 9 a.m. Wednesday from the Murphy Oil Co. station on Stadium Avenue in Jonesboro. Charlie's friend Tom is joining us on his 1993 BMW K75S. Tom has limited experience with long haul touring and camping, so we'll be mentoring him to the extent that he needs/wants mentoring. Charlie needs to be home by next Tuesday evening, so he was loathe to agree to a departure Thursday or Friday when the temperature will be as much as 20 degrees warmer ... read more

I was up and in the shower by 5:15 a.m., packed and availed myself of the free breakfast buffet. I hit the road at 7:20 a.m., gassing at a Conoco convenience store on the way out of town. Although the weather radar showed rain from Garden City to Dodge City and there was a red sky at dawn, I encountered only a few drops of rain and was glad to have the cloud deck to keep the rising sun out of my eyes. I was in road zombie mode all day, stopping only to gas and use a restroom. I gassed at Kingman, Kans., Neodesho, Kans. and finally in Springfield, Mo. before I checked into the nearby HomeStay Inn. It was called the Eagles Lodge when I stayed here two years ago on the Wednesday after ... read more

ALMA, Colo. - I am thoroughly pissed off this evening. I was all set to make a run up to Frisco for a battery and some Zatarain's jambalaya mix to prepare for dinner this evening when I found my starter button has crapped out again. I had it replaced in July, 2010, for nearly $500. The new right combination switch went wonky on me as I rode home from Las Vegas. The starter button refused to work for about 10 pushes in Steve's garage on a Monday morning, then fired and fired on the first push for the rest of the trip. The turn signal cancelling button stopped working about 4 hours from home a couple of days later. I took the bike up to Grass Roots BMW Motorcycles in Cape Girardeau, Mo., a few weeks ... read more

ALMA, Colo. - Today was a day for resting and acclimating. I got up about 7 a.m. and showered. Tim and I went down to the South Park Saloon for breakfast, then came back and dozed on the couch in front of the TV. We finally got motivated to go out for a drive, hitting a few yard sales, including one where I bought a cheesy leather motorcycle/aviator's helmet for 50 cents. We finished off with coffee drinks at Ice Creams and Coffee Beans in Fairplay before cruising back to Chateau Balough. Webb and Cindy came by shortly after Linda returned from Denver with groceries. We continued our exclusive patronage of the South Park Saloon for dinner. Zero bike miles today.... read more

CHILLICOTHE, Mo. - I left Jim and Lauri's place at 8:15 a.m. - the same time Lauri left for class. I dropped the rent check into the mail at the Crawfordsville post office and headed out of town on I-74, stopping for gas at a Pilot station near Covington. I arrived at the Urbana BMW shop just before 9 a.m. (CDT) and spent the next three hours hanging out and looking at bikes. The shop has a cat, who has his own room with a cat door. I got back on the road a little before noon, catching I-57 south to I-72 southwest, stopping on the southwest edge of Springfield about 2:30 p.m. for a McDonald's lunch and a tank of gas from a Huck's station. I used the McWifi to reserve a room at the ... read more