Well, I headed out of Vegas on Wednesday morning about 5:00 AM just as it was getting light out. I wanted to be well on my way before it got super hot out. The week prior to my leaving, it was not uncommon at all for the temps to be reaching 115 to 120 degrees daily.
I did chalk up another win or two before I left town and ended up the Vegas portion of the trip financially ahead.... but not by much. I certainly would not call the trip a success from that standpoint. The trip was probably unlike any I've ever had, in that I had some very large wins and some very large losses. I just had a real problem stringing any of those large wins together. It seemed like if I would have 2 good days in a row, then I'd have a real big loss the next day that would wipe out the profits from those days...and that's kind of how the entire 2-1/2 weeks in Vegas went.
I really enjoyed the motorcycling both to & from Las Vegas and will probably do it again next year if it works. If all goes well, it will be on a little newer motorcycle though.... :)
I made really good time that Wednesday that I left, averaging over 125 miles between stops for most of the day. My first bout with a headache was in Green River Utah. It was starting to get pretty warm out and it was also extremely windy, so riding the bike was somewhat of a chore by that time. I ended up going into a gas station/Arby's, ordering a sandwich, and finding a booth where I could stretch out a bit. I believe I was there for about an hour before I felt good enough to get back on the bike. I then rode to Grand Junction, CO and stopped for gas and had a root beer float which really hit the spot.
Got back on the bike and started working my way through the Rocky Mountains. It was a gorgeous ride and could be any motorcyclists dream. If you can imagine some of the best riding out in the Black Hills with the roads that go up and down and around hills/mountains and then multiply it by about 10. Riding through the mountains was basically a good 300+ miles of winding roads with spectacular scenery.
I got quite a ways through the mountains and started getting another headache. This one turned out to be a pretty bad one. I stopped at a rest area, drank a couple of waters, and....laid myself out on a slab of cement under a nearby tree and fought my way through the headache. I believe I was laying there for about an hour and a half. When I get a bad one, I will lose track of time. Sometimes, I can faintly remember talking to someone... (If that happens) but rarely can remember what that person told me...or what we talked about.
A typical bad headache will leave me completely and utterly exhausted and once the headache gets to a bearable point, I will usually fall asleep. That's what happened at this rest area.
Upon waking up, I was tired, but had my sights on getting through the mountains and making it to the Denver area.
It was still very warm out, but I did go ahead and put my leather jacket on, because I was getting pretty high in the mountains and I knew it could cool off fast. Well, it did.... Not long into the ride, it started to rain. I was glad I had put my jacket on. It wasn't a super hard rain or anything, but it was a cold rain, and my jeans were soon soaking wet....and I was cold... but I was kind of stubborn too...
I knew I was near the summit and once on the other side, the weather could easily be much more bearable....so I kept going.
It didn't take long and I'll be darned if it didn't start to snow! It was snowing enough that there was a little bit of slush on the road, but as long one was careful, there shouldn't be a problem. I rode through snow for about an hour or so...before it pretty much stopped. I pulled over...and I was super cold...
My jeans were wet and my teeth were chattering.... I pulled out my chaps after I was somewhat warmed up and dressed for the remaining 50 miles or so that I thought I needed to go to get to Denver.
I finally did make it to Denver and stopped at a restaurant and had a french dip sandwich....
They had wi-fi, so I took my computer in and checked emails, etc...
Also, at this time I gave a poker friend of mine a call. He's from Fort Collins, CO and we made a breakfast appointment in Fort Collins. So, I decided to get back on the road for another hour or so and go to Fort Collins.
Before I left Denver, I was behind a vehicle and noticed that my head light wasn't working. So, I had to stop and tear that apart....and did get the light working again.
I think I pulled into Fort Collins around midnight or so and was very fortunate to get a room. I had called a motel from Denver and they had told me they were full, but when I went by the place, there wasn't a "no vacancy" sign out, so I stopped. The kid in charge told me that he had 1 room left...
It ended up to be a room that someone had been in for 2 days...and had paid for 3 days....
They had left early and the room was clean.
However, he couldn't get the computer to accept another guest, because according to the computer the room wasn't available.
It took a little time, but I wasn't about to give up so easily... I ended up giving this kid $25.00 cash and told him I didn't care what he did with it....as long as he gave me a key to the room. I assured him, I was just there to sleep and guaranteed that I wouldn't do any damage/steal anything, etc....
He took me up on the deal and I had a place to sleep.
I had gone nearly 850 miles that first day, had survived 2 headaches, had ridden through extreme weather conditions, (heat, wind, snow, & cold) and was very happy to shower & crawl into a warm bed.
The next day would prove to be just as challenging....the major difference being that I would go less than 200 miles...and find myself on a motorcycle that wouldn't move.... :)
I'll blog about that within the next few days....and let you all know what I've been up to since I've been home....
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