Did it! Solo CO to NV **BIG PICS**

[demon_668]

Denver to Vegas baby Was a heck of a ride, very brutal heat, but worth every mile. I would definitely do it again, but would invest in the Memphis Alley Cat for a little wind relief, as well as meeting up with different friends in Vegas that wouldn't blow their wads of money the first night and end up being hung over for the next 2 days . Ended up being around 1500 miles round trip, and averaged around 45-50 mpg on the meanie. The bike performed great, but went through about 1/2 quart of oil in the desert heat. I'll be making the Amsoil switch soon I didn't have any saddlebags (multiple issues there...) but one of my co-workers let me borrow his "bikers friend" luggage. I can't recommend it enough. It held 5 days worth of clothes, a laptop, tools, and a gallon of water. If I make a habit of long rides, I'm picking one up for sure.

Rafters on the west side of Colorado...

[demon_668]

The Utah Desert... Very friggin hot, but some of the best scenery I've ridden through...

[Tod]

Great pics. Very cool ride. (figuratively speaking of course)

Thanks for sharing.

[demon_668]

Yes, riding through the desert mid-day is dirty The towel in my hotel room in Beaver UT (voted best tasting water in the US!!)...

More of the desert..

[demon_668]

The little corner of AZ you have to go through... Beautiful desert valley, but no place to pull over and take pics, so these'll have to do...



So that's it! Sorry, no pictures of Vegas itself (what happens in Vegas... well, you know )

[Tod]

This pic is just begging to be made into a desktop theme.

[demon_668]

Yeah, all of these are going into a steady rotation for my PC wallpaper..

[CheriAnn]

WOW!!!! Good for you!!! I'm SO impressed!!!
I'm glad you had a great time and made it home safely. The pictures are absolutely breath taking!!!! Thank you for sharing those with us!!!
Your Meanie is THE BOMB too!!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!

[demon_668]

Oh, and a couple of notes for anyone planning a ride to Vegas...
1. Water, water, water, gatorade. Lather, rinse, repeat
2. I did it in full gear (for me, anyway) of Power Trip jacket, full riding gloves, boots, and half helmet. Now taking trips around town I feel nekked without it all Talking to other riders at pit stops, I could tell if they weren't wearing gear, cause they were complaining about the heat. Gear helps!!
3. The MGM has a great place to park cycles. It's an expensive casino/hotel, but ask the valet where to park. It's on the first level of the parking garage in a well lit corner with no car access (no openings big enough) and a security booth. Made it through the weekend with a disk lock on the front, disk/chain on the back with no issues.
4. Traffic - If you're familiar with any bigger city Interstate traffic (heavy with gridlock) you'll do OK. Don't know if it was the "full gear/out of state plates", but everyone seemed to give me plenty of room on I-15
5. Don't fill up at the AM-PM off of Flamingo road (East of the strip). Their pumps are terrible, and I ended up overfilling the tank on a hot engine
6. When asking the locals for directions, say that you've got a vehicle I don't know how many times I started getting directions that started with "Go across the street to the bus stop... "

[Bake151]

Wow!! Beautiful pics!

[Svetlana]

BEAUTIFUL. That's my kind of terrain and weather! Blue skies, red rock.... ahhhh!

Was the highway fairly deserted? Looks as if no one else was in sight

[cmptrmn.1]

Fantastic pics. Glad you had a good ride and stayed hydrated and safe.

[demon_668]

The interstate was relatively busy, with cars/semis every 5 minutes or so. The pics were taken at "Scenic Overlooks" off of the road. Spaced out just enough to fly down the road at 85, pull over every 40 miles to snap some photos, then hop back on to the Interstate to pass the same cars I did 20 minutes earlier The family in the minivan must have thought I was stalking them , but their kids liked to wave every time I passed them

[LordGT]

Originally Posted by Svetlana

BEAUTIFUL. That's my kind of terrain and weather! Blue skies, red rock.... ahhhh!

Was the highway fairly deserted? Looks as if no one else was in sight

Been there done that Svet. It gets old pretty quick. You just miss the Green...You'd miss the change in seasons.

I lived in Az for 10 years, and I remember the Jumping Cactus, them little buggers HURT!!! You'd believe they actually jump to get ya...

Anyway, I'd bet in just a few short years, you'd be missing good ole WA State, Green Valleys, Cool temps, Beautiful Mountains....boy what a contrast.

You'll be back...

[Svetlana]

Originally Posted by LordGT

Been there done that Svet. It gets old pretty quick. You just miss the Green...You'd miss the change in seasons.

I lived in Az for 10 years, and I remember the Jumping Cactus, them little buggers HURT!!! You'd believe they actually jump to get ya...

Anyway, I'd bet in just a few short years, you'd be missing good ole WA State, Green Valleys, Cool temps, Beautiful Mountains....boy what a contrast.

You'll be back...

What?!?! Me get sick of 300+ days of sunshine and heat?!? NEVER! Blasphemy I say! I'm not a native Washingtonian though, so apart from the short summer months, I've never liked our weather here

[Thunder Lizard]

Amazing. Glad you had a good time. I'm a shutterbug too, hoping to make a long trip, but the lady is resisting following me out to the folk's place (someone has to bring the nephew, and I don't think I'm getting a sidecar soon)....
After seeing this, she's beat. I'm riding.

[LordGT]

Originally Posted by Svetlana

What?!?! Me get sick of 300+ days of sunshine and heat?!? NEVER! Blasphemy I say! I'm not a native Washingtonian though, so apart from the short summer months, I've never liked our weather here

I forgot to mention those pesky little Scorpions. They like to invade your house occasionally...I dun like em and I'm a Scorpio...

Oh and the days that are Sooooo Hot it takes your breath away when you walk outside. Or the 15 mins it takes for your car to cool off so you can get into it and drive. The Monsoon Sand Storms, now that's fun.

But there are those who enjoy the desert life... But Az has lots of Lakes, and your not too far from the Green Mountains. It's not all that bad...it's just people don't always realize what comes along with 300+ days of Sunshine...

[Svetlana]

Originally Posted by LordGT

I forgot to mention those pesky little Scorpions. They like to invade your house occasionally...I dun like em and I'm a Scorpio...

But there are those who enjoy the desert life...

This talk reminds me of a funny t-shirt I once saw. Two skeletons are sitting in the middle of an arid land, drinking cocktails on chaise lounge chairs. One of them says to the other, "But it's a dry heat." Made me laugh so hard. I can imagine you're indoors on the very extreme months... but I've spent a summer in Atlanta with humidity and that was just brutal. No one should go to Atlanta in the summertime

[LordGT]

Originally Posted by Svetlana

This talk reminds me of a funny t-shirt I once saw. Two skeletons are sitting in the middle of an arid land, drinking cocktails on chaise lounge chairs. One of them says to the other, "But it's a dry heat." Made me laugh so hard. I can imagine you're indoors on the very extreme months... but I've spent a summer in Atlanta with humidity and that was just brutal. No one should go to Atlanta in the summertime

Amen! Everyplace has it's pluses and minuses. And it's nice to try them all to find out where ya want to settle when your bones get old and creaky...

There is something to the Dry Heat comment though. A 100 degree day in Dry AZ heat is WAAAAAAAAY easier to take than a 100 degree day in the GA, FL humidity.

[seadood228]

Awesome pics. I might have to try that one myself some day.