US-89 Day-1 "Heading Out Into the Heat"

I left the house in Orange County for Northern Illinois at 6:30 AM on Saturday morning, July 2nd 2016. The preparation time took many months. As soon as I finished one thing on my list there were always 10 more things to do. It was just never ending. 

My plan for the trip was very simple. I was to head towards Flagstaff, AZ and then pickup route 89 and then continue on 89, or switch to other great roads close by. I would then go north to Glacier National park. After arriving at Glacier Park, I would head east toward my ultimate destination in Northern Illinois. Along Route 89 are six national parks. There is the Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, Grand Tetons, Yellow Stone and Glacier. I would go into, or through each National Park.  That was the plan. 

I started taking test camping trips on the motorcycle back in April. The first trip was to Cuyamaca in San Diego County. The weekend ended up being cold and rainy.  The only time it stopped raining was on Saturday morning for about 2 hours. A great experience on how to survive a motorcycle camping trip in the rain.  My second test trip was to the High Sierras. As I went over the San Bernadino mountains it started snowing. Luckily, the snow did not impair my journey.  I learned that I could ride in the snow on the second practice trip. 

Today I went up and over the Ortega highway, which was to be the first mountain I crossed.  I left in the fog and over cast and then broke into the bright sunlight about half way up the mountain. I took the back road to Palm Springs and came down in Palm Desert.  The change in temperature was immediate and shocking. I went from 70 degrees in the mountain to 103 in Palm Desert.  I took forever to get out of the Palm Springs area. I got some food, gassed up and finally an hour later I was on I-10.  The temperatures were between 100 and 105, along with significant head winds for the next 6 hours. The ride at this part was not much fun. I later realized that I dehydrated, even after making a good effort to drink as much as possible. 

I stopped in Blythe for lunch and drank a giant size ice tea to combat the dehydration. While leaving the restaurant a guy stopped me where I was going. I find that when I am riding alone, people often stop me, ask questions and make small talk. If I had walked in with blue jeans on and a tee shirt, I doubt any one would give me a second look. I told him I was going to Illinois to see mom. He then said it was really hot out, but not as hot as the time he rode his own bike when it was 127 degrees. He said “It was just not any fun to ride when it is 127 degrees”.  

I went about 30 miles past Quartzsite Arizona, and then took a small exit where I was greeted by a gravel road.  I zigzagged over to Eagle Eye road, which was listed in the BBR (BestBikingRoads.com) as a good road, which means it is really fun to ride. 

Luckily, the gravel was not too bad and I passed through the gravel in about 5 miles without incident.

Eagle Eye road turned out to be extremely good. I only saw 2 vehicles in the 40 minutes I was on the road. The scenery was good and the vegetation was interesting. I then headed toward Prescott. Along the road I accidentally pulled out my communications headset battery and broke the wires. I wanted to get a solder kit in Prescott so I could fix the unit. In Prescott I found a Radio Shack and got the parts. Unfortunately, when I later attempted to cut back some plastic covering, I nicked the battery which caused the battery to start on fire. There will be no more battery powered headset for the rest of the trip. Good thing I can still run a power cable to the helmet and make it work. Just a little inconvenient being tethered by a wire, especially when you try to stand up on the bike at 50 miles per hour. The cable just jerks you right back down to your seat. 

After Prescott I headed over to Cottonwood, AZ where I spent the night at the Best Western. I had a great Mexican meal on premise. I arrived at 6:00 PM, which put the day at 11.5 hours of ride time.