2009 April 15th: This was one of the worst motorcycle riding experiences of my life. I’ve been riding motorcycles since 1978. The weather was predicting high winds, but I had no idea it would be this bad. At one point I stopped to take a picture because I could not see the highway from dust being blown across it.
When I got to Gallup, NM I took a break and got prepared mentally for the 100 or so miles on I-40 with a speed limit of 75 mph. The little Ninja was having trouble going 55 mph.
The freeway traffic was slower that I expected but it was still faster than me. Every time a truck passed me it would blast me towards the shoulder. There were three different times where I ended up way into the shoulder and one time all the way into the gravel. Luckily for me when I hit gravel I was actually going slowly enough that I was able to stop and catch my breath.
I had to stop for gas at the Petrified Forest National Park. I took a few minutes to walk inside the visitor’s center and stamp my Parks Passport. With only about 20 miles left of the freeway section, I got back to it and made it to my turn off.
This made things a lot easier, as the winds were directly head on instead of to the side. I was also on a highway with a lower speed limit. It wasn’t long after my turn that the elevation started to climb and the road moved into some trees. The trees helped a whole lot by blocking some of the wind. The further I went though, the higher I got and it was starting to get very cold. I had on all of my gear so I was staying warm, except for my hands. Within about 5 miles of the summit, it started to snow. The snow was really coming down at one point and I was starting to get very worried. The wind was keeping the snow off of the highway, but I knew that could change at any minute.
I kept plugging along, past the summit and down the other side where the snow stopped and the temperature started to climb the lower I got. I stopped in Payson, AZ to take a break and to warm up my hands on the exhaust pipe. I decided to get gas because I was close enough now that I could ride straight to my friends without any more stops.
The rest of the ride was a lot better. I was able to keep up with the traffic, being downhill and all. The further down I went the more power the little bike had too. When I got into the Phoenix area it was rush hour traffic and I made a wrong turn according to my GPS. The GPS re-routed me a better way, as it turned out, and I pulled up at my friend’s house just after he had pulled in himself.
We parked the bike in the garage and then he gave me a beer. It was nice to have that experience over with.The rest of the evening was spent catching up and unpacking.
The freeway traffic was slower that I expected but it was still faster than me. Every time a truck passed me it would blast me towards the shoulder. There were three different times where I ended up way into the shoulder and one time all the way into the gravel. Luckily for me when I hit gravel I was actually going slowly enough that I was able to stop and catch my breath.
I had to stop for gas at the Petrified Forest National Park. I took a few minutes to walk inside the visitor’s center and stamp my Parks Passport. With only about 20 miles left of the freeway section, I got back to it and made it to my turn off.
This made things a lot easier, as the winds were directly head on instead of to the side. I was also on a highway with a lower speed limit. It wasn’t long after my turn that the elevation started to climb and the road moved into some trees. The trees helped a whole lot by blocking some of the wind. The further I went though, the higher I got and it was starting to get very cold. I had on all of my gear so I was staying warm, except for my hands. Within about 5 miles of the summit, it started to snow. The snow was really coming down at one point and I was starting to get very worried. The wind was keeping the snow off of the highway, but I knew that could change at any minute.
I kept plugging along, past the summit and down the other side where the snow stopped and the temperature started to climb the lower I got. I stopped in Payson, AZ to take a break and to warm up my hands on the exhaust pipe. I decided to get gas because I was close enough now that I could ride straight to my friends without any more stops.
The rest of the ride was a lot better. I was able to keep up with the traffic, being downhill and all. The further down I went the more power the little bike had too. When I got into the Phoenix area it was rush hour traffic and I made a wrong turn according to my GPS. The GPS re-routed me a better way, as it turned out, and I pulled up at my friend’s house just after he had pulled in himself.
We parked the bike in the garage and then he gave me a beer. It was nice to have that experience over with.The rest of the evening was spent catching up and unpacking.
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