Weather Forecast & Resources

The early weather forecast looks good, but cold. I'll definitely face a few nights in the 20's when traveling through New Mexico and Arizona. I'm about as prepared as I can be, hopefully my gear will take care of my sissy ass. I don't trust weather forecasters, but I can handle a little cold but would like to avoid heavy rain and/or snow. It is what it is, and I'll make the journey one way or another.

I wanted to include some of the great resources that I've used to put my little trip together.


Historic Route 66 - Forum has been great.
http://forum.historic66.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5894
They have a lot of frequent 66 travelers and the forum is very active.

Road Trip USA also has some great stuff.
http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/route66/route66.html
Between the two sites, I was able to pull the majority of my information about places to visit, historic motels to spend the night, etc. There was also a lot of information about the many variations of Route 66 as it had grown, changed routes, then essentially replaced by the US Interstate system.

I'm looking forward to my trip west on The Mother Road and hope to be able to add to the great resources that are already available.

Cherry is home!!!

That's a little crazy, but two posts in one day.

As promised, photos with the new bars!

They are way better than reaching forward and low. Great job by Matt over at Frisco Custom Cycles, formerly Collin County Choppers.

I hope they will be as comfortable as I need them to be, for about 3,000 miles over a weeks time.

Still in the shop.....

Sadly Cherry is still in the shop after two weeks. We're hoping she'll be out and raring to go today. I stopped by yesterday, the bars are on but she was still in a thousand pieces. I need to get a few days of ride time to adjust everything for the new set up.

I promised photos for this update, but it will now be the next update.

Preliminary weather forecast looks good, but cold. I hope I have everything I need to handle the cold weather. I have been pretty much a fair weather rider, so this is going to be pretty new for me.

Hotel reservations are made, 3 of my outgoing stops are classic Route 66 hotels.

The Blue Swallow in Tucumcari, NM. http://blueswallowmotel.com/

The El Rancho Hotel in Gallup, NM. http://route66hotels.org/

El Trovatore in Kingman, AZ. http://eltrovatoremotel.com/

For my other westbound nights, I will be using points (thanks IHG rewards!). Then when I'm slabbing back on the southern eastbound route, I'll use points again. No history, just making quick time.

Hopefully, photos tonight or tomorrow.

Cherry Upgrades

Well, Cherry is at the Indie shop getting a few upgrades. One of my required items prior to the trip was a handlebar change. I have struggled with the limited pull back and the extremely low setting for the factory bars. I picked up a Wild 1 - 10" ape and hope I can make it resolve those ongoing shoulder issues from long rides.

I have already added soft lowers and cruise pegs; all picked up used or on sale. New mirrors will go on once the bike is back from the shop. I typically ride 1 up and have a seat specific for that, but do have the passenger Hammock H-D seat when riding 2 up. I picked up a relatively inexpensive rack to go behind the passenger backrest, to give a little extra bag capacity. This will be my configuration when on the road next month.

I'll post photos on the next update.

Getting Gear Together

I've been working the past week to get some of my mechanical ducks in a row.

I needed a luggage rack and absolutely, positively have to replace the handlebars. The stock handlebar is too far forward and causes a severe shoulder pain on long trips. I've ordered the Wild1 10" Ape Hanger and it will be here this week. I will get it installed the following week. They will look something like this.


I also ordered new heated grips, though I won't use them much in Texas, on my trip in November they will be needed. I found some used cruise pegs on eBay, trying to save a few bucks on my gear expense.

I am shopping for a good budget priced rain suit this week. That will be my next purchase.