Peggrinder

I really enjoy Santa Fe. I have been here a number of times and always had a good time, so riding here again helps make the day fun. That’s good because it was about 90 deg for much of the ride. I passed some places that we had seen on the route 66 ride a few years ago. To change things up this time I took hwy 104, which as it turns out has not much to offer except a more direct route to Santa Fe, and it isn’t an interstate. In the 90 min drive on that road I encountered 7 cars and a tractor. More route 66 today…

Started out of Tulsa on the interstate, or actually on the turnpike. Near as I can tell Oklahoma has turned many of their freeways into turnpikes, which means you pay a toll! Great revenue opportunity as long as they spend what they make on roads, but the first time I got onto one, there was no warning that it was a toll road until you were committed!

Jumped off the turnpike in Chandler and onto old route 66! Immediately felt better about the day and followed it until Oklahoma City, where the signs felt like they were taking me down alleys and into people’s yards, so back onto the interstate. Note interstates are federal and have no tolls!

Put my head down and got to Amarillo. Not much to see, and hot straight and blustery, so just about getting there!

Route 66

I had heard about the Ozarks over the years as having good riding and roads and it didn’t disappoint! Got a good start out of Little Rock at least partially because the coffee place I had researched was closed on Sunday?! The first criteria for a good coffee place is that it has to be open. Honourable mention to Starbucks. Much maligned though it is by me included, it is always open and there is often one around and its coffee provides a consistent baseline for others to exceed.

Recommended roads from today include: #7, 21 and 16. Mostly sweepers, not too twisty, pavement quality is good, road camber is predictable and best of all very little traffic. A few signs with speed warnings for curves are missing, so you need to judge the corner yourself not relying too much on the postings. An awesome ride!

Decided to make some westings after fooling around in the hills for most of the day, so powered on to Tulsa!

Hwy 16 in Arkansas

I was ready for it to be warm every day and all the time, but that isn’t the case here. Mornings are fresh and need a little layering, but only for a few hours. It was grey and cool. Crossed the Mississippi at Cairo and it was running high to my eye, although really what do I know. Beautiful country to ride through all the way, getting flatter and plainer as I got to Little Rock.

Rainy start to the trip. We felt no dry pavement all day, which worked well as I got a feel for the GS again. The road surfaces in Kentucky are better than those in California and the scenery is beautiful even in the rain. Horse farms gradually gave way to cattle and other farming and the rolling hills started to flatten out near the border with Missouri.

The only thing I forgot to bring were summer weight gloves. I know duh! I had the heavy gloves I left out here with most of the other riding gear I needed. So first stop was to the Louisville HARLEY – bmw dealer. Clearly Harley and BMW make strange dealership bedfellows. This became obvious when I started looking for gloves. The harley riding apparel gets its own room. I eventually found the BMW gloves after lifting some shirts and getting down on my knees. The selection was limited to 2 types, so I opted for the cooler of the two and embraced my “GSness” with these fine units.

Note the color matching the bike. I’m a bit embarrassed by the “pro” label, but alas they didn’t have any that said rookie.