Route 66 on a shoestring!: Laundry, small-world, trains and lonely roads.

Mark rose early the next morning. This is an affliction I do not suffer from and have no problem lying-in for as long as necessary! He took off to do our laundry and found a little laundromat perfect for the task!

For those of you old enough to remember, you will undoubtedly enjoy this little gem he found on the wall!

$5.25 later and the washing was finished! Of course, it took an hour and 15 minutes to dry!

Mark returned and we began loading the bikes up. We had been told the night before we could check out later than the 10am usual time however, we were NOT informed our room card-keys would quit working at PRECISELY 10am!! We came back in for another load and we were locked-out!! Crap! So, we went to reception and no one was there! So, we began looking for the cleaning crew or anyone who could help us. Mark found an Indian gentleman cleaning the rooms and he had a passkey to let us into our room! Turns out he was from Leicester which is where Mark hails from! They chatted a bit about home and the old days and then we returned to loading our bikes.

We left the motel and I introduced Mark to his very first Denny’s! Now, I am a Waffle House man but, I do enjoy Denny’s! Mark was a bit overwhelmed at the choices at first but, finally decided on Blueberry French Toast with fresh strawberries, bananas, vanilla icing and maple syrup plus eggs and bacon! Hell of a start!

The Tiger had a Throttlemeister throttle-lock installed and it had been mostly useless for most of the trip. It would hold briefly but, then it would start drifting off and letting the throttle return to idle. A nice break but, not ideal. So, I bought some tools in the truck stop the Denny’s was located in and set to work adjusting it. I’m going to go on record right now and say the Throttlemeister is a horrible design! How the heck are you supposed to turn the piece at the end of the bar in the opposite direction of what you need while holding the throttle where you need it to be locked! It’s ridiculous! Sure, you can reach over and hold the throttle with your left hand while you lock it with your right but, that’s just unsafe and unstable! If you are looking for a throttle-lock then let me go ahead and HIGHLY recommend either the Vista-cruise or Universal Vista-cruise or any of the copycat versions such as N.E.P. They absolutely just plain work! When you need a rest, simply use your thumb to press the locking-lever down and you’re good to go! When you need to return to normal operation, just flick it back up and it’s off! Simple, effective!

Where was I? Ah! I got the crapmeister adjusted so it held the throttle and made life easier on Mark (not as easy as a Vista-cruise though!) and we gassed-up and hit the road!

Originally, we had intended on going all the way to California then working our way up through Utah and into Colorado but, all the delays at the beginning altered that plan! We had also planned on camping a lot but, since we ended up motelling (I hereby proclaim it an official word!) the whole way, our finances weren’t up to making it all the way anyway. So, we took a turn northward! (Quite dissapointing for me actually as I really wanted to see where that left turn at Albuquerque would take us! (if you’re old enough, you’ll understand).

I know a lot of riders comment how much they hate the slab/interstate. I understand this and concur to a degree. Too much traffic and endless droning boredom. However, the road we were on was something different.

It was an arrow-straight two-lane road that went on for days! This truly was Big-Sky Country! There is just something about the endlessness and emptiness that brings about a peace and calm that is so tranquil and happy! I love the curves and regularly rip it up with the sportbike crowd but, this was sublime…

HEY! A curve! Mountains!