Route 66

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I'm sure we're not the first to find it surprisingly difficult to leave Vegas. We had thought we'd make an early get away to beat the heat, but accidentally had a big night on the town (those damn lemon drops). Plan B was to spend the day by the pool. After all, it was our honeymoon. So, a relaxing day swimming and recovering was had. However, by late afternoon we could no longer ignore that we had to get back on our bikes and head out of town. By 5pmthe day had cooled from 45c to 43c, and that was about as good as it was going to get. We stocked up on water bottles and took off.

It was like riding through a furnace.

To add to the delightful temperature, there was a strong wind gusting hot and dry straight off the desert, baking us like Thanksgiving turkeys. We stopped every 60kms or so to take in water - in us and over us. Andrew used the colour of my face as a lead indicator. Once I had cooled down from boiled lobster red to salmon pink it was okay to keep going. About an hour in, the town thermometer in Victorville told us it was 117F - 47C. It was hot. Damn hot.

We rode for two and half hours until dark and got to the small town of Barstow, on the edge of the desert. Riding down Main Street of Barstow is the only part of Route 66 we'll get to do on this trip. We checked in at the delightful Route 66 Motel, complete with a round bed. Andrew kept forgetting the bed had no corners and fell off twice just trying to get in. Fortunately we were too exhausted for any hanky panky or there could have been real injuries.

We were on the road by 6.30am the next day to get away from the heat danger zone. Within a short time we were in flat farming country, nice long roads and cooler temps. Andrew asked me to think of a name for the GPS so he could stop calling her silly bitch. I thought Sally was a good fit. Silly Sally sounds almost endearing, but so far he just keeps saying shut up Sally.

We rode a lovely pass through some rolling hills and then hit the coast around lunchtime at the little town of Guadalope. We have an insulated lunch bag we stock with water, fruit and snacks (I've heard it's what all the cool Harley riders carry) and we stopped in a shaded park for lunch. It was right next to the American League Hall, which is like our RSL, and we had a visit from a couple of old soldiers wondering what we were up to. One of them was 99 years old, fit and sprightly, and regaled us with his stories of parachuting into WWII. Two of his brothers had fought in WW1, he and another brother in WW11, a son in Korea, a nephew in Iraq and now a great-granddaughter in Afghanistan. A long and proud family history of serving their country. He toured us around their facilities and gave us some tips on where to go and where to get the cheapest fuel. I can only hope to have the same energy and enthusiasm in years to come.

We headed north up the Californian coast for a couple more hours until we got to the gorgeous town of Morro Bay. We checked into a nice hotel on the water and then went for a spin into town. Andrew had spied a wine bar on our first pass, and we treated ourselves to a relaxing afternoon of wine and cheese. Not too much of course, we still had to ride back to our hotel. So we got takeaways. We'll regret that tomorrow. But not today. Today we got to sit out on the dock of the bay watching time roll away.

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Photos

Route 66 Motel
Complete with round beds

Comments

[Mark Vollmer]

Hot weather and smooth roads
Hey LA and Andrew- All the best for some cooler temps and clear weather. Thanks for the blog updates. It's fun following your adventure.

[Pauline Houghton]

Hahahahaha....You make me laugh.Maybe can join tour journalist and write a book for Aussie tourists!!!!You have a way with words..Still laughing about the round bed...XXXXXX