24 June 2018 – Oh that’s
a Son of a Gun to get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. I had all my clothes laid out the night before so all I had to do was step into them. I drank 20 oz’s / 591 ml’s of water quickly as I needed to be hydrated today. I grabbed my bags, and out to the motorcycle I go. I get everything bungee corded on and I’m ready to go. I go inside and I do a walk thru the house. I check my bedroom, kitchen, living room and garage for anything I might have forgotten. I check that I have my wallet, cell phone and passport. I’m good. I grab my coat and walk out to my motorcycle. I start it, climb on and drive out of the back yard on to the driveway. I said my final goodbyes, last hugs and took some pictures. I put on my helmet, gloves and started the bike. I turned it around, drove it out the driveway on to the street, waved goodbye and beeped my horn as I drove out of sight. I was getting out of dodge.
I’m now back on relying
on Blanche, my GPS. My goal is to ride North and East toward Las
Vegas, Nevada on Interstate 15. It was a smart move to leave early as
the traffic was very light. I didn’t miss any exits or turns to any
of the highways I drove until I got Interstate 15. As I rode on, the
temperature thru the desert rose. I initially was driving 65/ 70 mph
/ 104 /113 kph. As the desert temperature rose so did the heat gauge
on my motorcycle. I was working the old girl pretty hard in those
high temperatures. You know, I purchased a thermometer from Rider
Warehouse / Aerostich in Duluth, Minnesota. It’s called MotoFizz
Thermo / Clock. The digital clock worked fine, the thermometer gave
reasonably accurate temperature readings rain or shine. I was happy
with it. I could see the temperature had risen to 95 F / 35 C degrees
and it was getting smoking hot. 
I slowed my riding down to
55 / 60 Mph / 88 / 100 Km and kept on plugging along. I stopped once
for a drink and a potty break. I reached Las Vegas, Nevada about 2:00
p.m. When found a convenient gas station, I pulled in for gas. My
thermometer was showing 105 F / 41 C degrees. I filled up with gas
and then went into the gas station and purchased a 32 oz. / 947 ml.
Gatorade, a banana, and sandwiches. I was stoking my furnace for the
rest of the afternoon. I also texted Tanya that I was ok because she
was worried I might run in to problems with the high temperatures. I
also refilled any water containers that were empty.
I continued to push on
thru the day until I arrived at Mesquite, Nevada. I stopped for the
night in some hotel. I unloaded my bags off my motorcycle. I came out
and looked over the motorcycle. I wanted to see if it developed any
leaks, if the chain needed to be oiled, and if my radiator coolant
went down. Everything appeared in good shape. I put the cover on my
motorcycle and disappeared into my room. I will get on my computer
and check my route out for tomorrow. I will text Mary and let her
know where I am. Tomorrow I will continue up Interstate 15 until I
reach Interstate 70 East. I will travel on that until I reach Grand
Junction. There I will pick up Hwy. 50 to Montrose. After that it
depends on the time of the day. It was a good day and the Quackaski
performed flawlessly.
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