Return Trip and Afterword of the California Trip 2023.

I've had a couple of days to sit and sort out all of my thoughts and adventures from my 2023 California trip.  I completed  a total of 2,875.4 miles on this journey, and it was all so worth it.  

There's so much I experienced while visiting my niece Liz and her family in California.  I arrived the evening of April 4 and departed April 15.  My whole tenish day visit was nothing short of rejuvenating and enlightening.  Liz introduced me to a lot of new food, music, and film, and we got to catch up on tons of personal stuff from the last decade, which is how long it had been since we'd had a chance to spend any time together.  Her man Jonathan also taught me how to solder copper while I was there, which will definitely come in handy in the future I'm sure.  I also got to visit a lot of spots I wanted to see on my own, and that was all very fun and energizing as well.  I'll leave it at that because so much of it was so personal, but suffice it to say that I'm glad for the time I spent there, more so than I can really express here. 

The Saturday I began my return was kind of silly.  I had ordered a center stand for my Tiger 800 XC upon my arrival because it was going to be much easier to get the bike off the rear wheel for chain lubing and adjusting, which one should really do every few hundred miles.  SW Motech chose to use the Easter holiday as an excuse for taking four days to ship my order.  It mysteriously arrived the morning I was supposed to leave after having shown that it had arrived on Friday via UPS tracking, and after I had started a claim with UPS and written SW Motech.  

So...I opened the center stand package and realized how silly I had been thinking I'd be able to install it without at least a paddock stand.  I used an old 1x4 as a "field stand" to lift the rear wheel off the ground with the help of the regular kick stand, but there was absolutely no way to install the center stand without either the paddock stand or having Liz hold the bike up for however long it would take to install the center stand, but the morning hours were flying by, and I had 370 miles to ride, so I claimed stupidity and asked Liz and Jon to ship it to me.    

I then lubed and adjusted my chain using the 1x4 as my swing arm stand, stuck it in my pannier, and headed for Phoenix via the "Mighty I-10" as my dad used to say.  It took me almost two hours just to get out of the LA area, hilariously, despite lane-splitting as much as humanly possible. It's a lot of people in a pretty large area, almost 13 million living in 33,954 square miles, like ants crawling all over each other and the land.  I have to say though, as soon as you get out of the metro area, the land is incredibly beautiful, and I explored as much as I could while I was there, but I'd love to explore it even more, especially moving up into Northern California and the PNW. 

The ride to Phoenix was pretty uneventful.  The wind wasn't nearly as strong as it had been on my way to California, so it was pretty easy going, fast and flowy as soon as I was out of the metro area. I stayed in Chandler, which is a little south of Phoenix after taking 220 as I bypass around downtown.  It's a timesaver, and nothing else really.  If you want to experience city life during your stay, continue on I-10 by all means, but I was literally just passing by. 

The second day's ride was amazing.  I left Chandler and headed East on AZ-60, so basically my day 2 trip heading to LA, but in reverse. I really enjoyed the beautiful climb into the Pinal Mountains, and there are a lot of incredibly beautiful, far-reaching vistas on the way up.  I then joined Route 70 as I was descending, which runs along the Gila River, oddly kind of like a green scar on the otherwise red and brown desert.  My one regret on this day is that I didn't take the time to actually go down one of the county roads to get to the river and sit around for a bit, but one must pay a price to crush hundreds of miles in a day.  I should've done it anyways and arrived a little later.  

I stopped for lunch at the Denny's attached to the Flying J Travel Stop in Lordsburg, NM because I was starving by that point and planned the rest of my route.  This is the day I was on I-10 the least, and I really enjoyed it.  I was only on I-10 for about 30 more miles when I took 146 south towards the border, just east of Separ, NM.  I then hooked up with Route 9 going East and ran along the border for almost 100 miles.  The border wall-fence thingy is monstrous and hideous, but that's a rant for another day.  It was an obvious geographic intruder in the area, a tall blackened fence in the brown and red desert, and really the only other human beings I saw on this part of the route were Border Patrol and maybe a couple of lonely contractors.  The land down here is a little different than what you'd see on I-10 and amazingly more desolate because of the lack of any real humanity down there.  I kind of feel like the US has made the area a militarized zone, but again, I digress.  Much of the area is flat with large hills peppered throughout the landscape, some with spectacular geology showing from one side or the other. It really was a lovely and calm ride into El Paso. 

The border route from Lordsburg to El Paso

My stay in El Paso was nice.  I stayed at the same hotel, went to the same restaurant, and spoke to the same lovely employees there.  I highly recommend Famous Dave's BBQ if you're in El Paso and looking for a good hearty meal.  

My third day's ride from El Paso to San Antonio was the longest leg of my trip, 570 miles, and it exhausted me.  The wind was really blowing, about 20-30 mph sustained, with gusts of likely 40 mph, some of which really were a little shocking.  Of the 570 miles, I probably spent 200 miles in full tuck, just for a lil peace from the wind noise (and yes I always always wear ear plugs). I blasted down I-10 the whole way, again flying at DeLorean Time Machine speeds. I feel like you start to see cedars and mesquites getting taller at about mile 180 on I-10, but I'm going to continue to try to see that transition every time I pass that way.  It's probably changing more quickly than it really should anyways.  I also think it would be really cool to hike the miles between Sonora and Kerrville, but that's another idea for another time. 

It's actually pretty hard to distill the myriad thoughts I contemplated while riding all these miles alone on this trip.  I'd listen to the news on NPR in the mornings for an hour or so, music for a few hours on and off, and just the wind for many more each day.  I guess one big takeaway I really have embraced is that every single one of us is stuck in our own heads constantly.  We have all these relationships around us that are necessary or not, beneficial or not, but in the end, how we think about everything is what allows us to be productive or destructive, and I'd much rather be productive, as I've always tried to be.  

The last several months have been extremely bittersweet for me, some of the darkest and brightest times of my life honestly, and this trip was an absolute necessity, not just to see family I hadn't seen in a decade, which had been far too long and could be the topic of a whole other essay, but because this trip and the trip I took back in October to the Hill Country are like gateways for me, spiritually, mentally, and physically.  I've lived for others and their pursuits for most of my adult life, albeit along with my own as much as possible (especially musically), and most of it quite willingly, too, but I do now vehemently refuse to wait on anyone else ever again, which is something I've said more than once in the last several months, precisely because it's poignant.

There's a lot to be said for mindset, which is why it's talked about so much in sport and business.  Get your head clear.  Get focused on your goals.  Make shit happen.  Don't fight with anyone about anything unless you absolutely have to do it, and even then, some arguments will never be won or lost.  Is it even worth it to you?  Just do what you need to do to maintain your sanity in this lovely sociology experiment we call life. 

Just before I headed out from Texas.

Leaving Texas Behind for a While

First Climb into the Pinal Mountains, Heading West

Somewhere North of Joshua Tree NP, heading West

Dust Storms Near Joshua Tree NP

Morning on the First Leisurely Riding Day in CA.

Where I lived in San Dimas, CA as a kid from 1986-1990.

The view from where I lived in San Dimas in 1991.

The place I lived in San Dimas in 1991.

Angeles Crest Highway/Angeles National Forest

Angeles National Forest

Angeles National Forest

Angeles National Forest

Heading Home, Somewhere in Eastern California

Night in Chandler, AZ

Heading East towards home, about to climb into the Pinal Mountains again.

West Texas on the way home.

Looking West at the curvature of the Earth in West Texas

Total Milage.

    

Day 3 of the California Trip 2023

 4/5/2023    

It was very cold (to me) when I woke in Phoenix, AZ.  I had a mediocre breakfast of poached eggs and sausage at the La Quinta where I stayed, paced back and forth in my room for over an hour letting the sun rise a lil more, and got dressed for a quick trip to Target.  

Even though I always wear a gaiter, my face was still pretty red from the day 2 ride, so I ran to Target and got some Blue Lizard sunscreen and the floss picks I'd forgotten to bring, all before loading up the bike and checking out of the hotel.  I figured it wouldn't be any good to leave my duffle with my valuables unlocked in a Target parking lot in Phoenix. 

I tightened up a few screws for the plastics on my bike that I realized were a lil loose as I was riding around Phoenix without my earplugs, then loaded my duffle and road out into the chilly morning. 

I stopped in Blythe and bought myself an extra long sleeve T-shirt because my dumb ass forgot my super awesome fleece sweater.  Ooooops.  From there I turned north on an alternate route that would take me away from I-10 and into the desert quite a ways, where I then turned West on 62 towards Twentynine Palms. 

The wind was most brutal on this day, and I saw many dust storms and dust devils that really looked like small tornadoes to me.  As cars passed me by in the other direction, I also noticed the sand blowing off the road, and I would get into full tuck when large trucks passed me by.

The descent from Morongo Valley to I-10 was steep and awe-inspiring, a lush valley with amazing rock formations on either side.  These lil scenic routes I chose on days 2 & 3 actually lowered my total mileage and simultaneously increased my time on the road since you have to slow down and/or stop in all the little towns on the way.  However, I'm totally cool with that. 

All in all I did 1,340 miles, which is 160 less than I had originally planned, but still a hell of a lot of miles in three days, alone on a motorcycle.  I had planned a few different routes that were all dependent on the weather and time, and while I'd initially planned on riding from Lordsburg, NM all the way up to Camp Verde, AZ, I just wasn't willing to head straight into 60+ mph winds in a mountain pass, but I really am content with the routes I developed on the fly, and I'm excited to see which route I decide to take home.  

For now, I'm at my niece Liz's house, on a working vacation, working remotely and enjoying the change of scenery and the visit I haven't had in far too long.  Life is beautiful, if you only make it so as much as you possibly can. Live a little. 

Day 2 of the 2023 California Trip

 4/3/2023

The winds were relentless today, sustained winds an average of 30mph and gusts of 40-50 for sure throughout the day today between El Paso and Phoenix. I took an alternate route up into about 3,000 ft of elevation which basically followed the Gila River. The pink line was my route. 

The climb along the Gila River to Globe is super cool, and it's definitely interesting to see how thick the foliage can get in that little valley, but it's really only in pockets. There are really large Desert Willows, what looks to me like Sycamore...maybe, and for sure a few odd Pines, but I am no expert in this area's flora, that's  also for sure. I filmed a snippet of that part of the ride.  

Unfortunately I didn't film the descent from Globe to Phoenix, which is amazing, truly truly amazing, and that's just because I'm dumb and didn't make sure the camera was recording.  Oops.  I've taken the route on I-10 and I-8 from San Antonio to California a few times in the last decade, and I've never seen some of the rock formations I did today up close and personal.  It was a beautiful, twisty canyon descent, and I was overjoyed and a little nerve-wracked with all the wind gusts blowing at me while leaning into corners.  The enjoyment far, far outweighed any nerves. 

However, I did wait in a long line of cars for about twenty minutes without moving at all, on the western edge of the Tonto National Forest as the descent was finally tapering out into the flatlands again.  I took the opportunity to strip off the thermal undershirt I had put on for the cool El Paso morning and the highish altitude of the climb into Globe.  When we finally started moving again, slowly I realized that unfortunately someone had flipped their car off the side, poor souls. The car looked like a crushed aluminum can.  Pretty rowdy. 

The rest of the trip into Phoenix was just a straight line through the desert, but man the desert is in full bloom, and I mean it.  There are wildflowers all over the place, even up on some of the higher hillsides, little gold flowers that look like Dahlberg Daises and some kind of red flowers that remind me of Firecracker Ferns, but again, I'm no expert on the flora of this area.  It was really surprising and pleasant to look at.  Even the medians were loaded with all this natural color.

I had an uneventful dinner, did some serious yoga, and now it's finally time to wind down.  I've got one more day of travel, and I'm going to try to make it as exciting as possible, and with any luck the winds will slow just a lil bit for me. 

Day 1 of the 2023 California Trip

4/2/2023

I slept right though my alarm this morning because I couldn't fall asleep last night.  I was probably up until 1am.  However, I got out of bed at 7am, made coffee and breakfast, finished the lil last minute packing stuff, and was on the road by 9am and arrived in El Paso at 5pm MDT. 

The drive down I-10 might be boring in a car, but man it's intense on a motorcycle in constant heavy winds.  I believe for most of the ride I had 25 mph sustained winds and gusts of 40-50 mph.  I probably spent about 1/3 of the ride fully tucked, which is to say my chest against my gas tank and my head as low to the windscreen as possible, just for a semblance of quiet, despite my earplugs.  

The craziest thing to happen today was just west of Junction (where I should've stopped for gas and didn't).  I started feeling like I was in a Dyna death wobble, which is crazy if you watch a video of it.  Poor Harley bros.  So I pulled over because I thought one of my brand new tires was going flat, but no.  I guess several people have driven that section of I-10 on bare rims with flat tires, ooooorrrrr the state or county grooved the asphalt unevenly for some strange reason, and it really is. unpleasant on a motorcycle. 

The transition from Texas Hill Country to Texas desert is somewhat subtle, and even here in El Paso it looks like the Hill Country without the trees.  Oaks and large Cedars gradually give way to small Mesquite and Cedars, and it really starts to flatten out once you get West of Ozona, with lil hills and Texas style buttes.  

Honestly there's really not a whole lot to report for today.  I mean, the craziest winds were on the long stretch between Balmorhea and Van Horn, and the one thing I really noticed today (because I really hadn't done a long highway stretch like this on a decent bike) was how much the geology really does affect the wind currents on a bike.  The wind was coming out of the NNW for a lot of the day, which is why it was so loud to me, but when I'd go between pass walls (where they'd blasted out sections of hills long ago to pave I-10) I could feel the wind coming off the opposite or South wall, opposite the direction from which it had been coming.  There were also a lot of interesting gusts coming between, around, and over all kinds of other lil hills, near and far. 

All in all I'm happy with my progress for today, and the rest of my evening will be spent eating, doing some yoga, checking several forecasts around NM, AZ, and CA, and reading. I can honestly say that I feel I could do an Iron Butt Challenge (1000 miles in 24 hours), but I probably wouldn't try that without a homey on the road next to me.