The Ramblings of a Uralogist- A cross country ADVenture on three wheels

[madeouttaglass]

Clean and showered in a nice motel room in Henryetta OK, so it's time to update.
Last night I actually checked into two motels in Amarillo. I should have known better when I checked into the first one. It was on the main drag and next to a bunch of others but it was $42. There was a huge Fleetwood motorhome that was painted black and stickered up sitting in front with ghetto music playing. (Yes, I can be thick at times.) The little guy from the RV who was checking in was almost like a cartoon characature (SP?) of a guy from the hood. Baggy shorts with his ass covered only by his wife beater Tshirt, crooked baseball hat with an extra big brim, tatooed neck, really my kinda guy.
When I got to the desk I just asked that i be put on the other side of the complex. That didn't help. Lots of seedy guys outside on that side when I got there. The room stunk so I finally got my act together and rode back up front and asked for a refund. The desk guy wasn't surprised and even suggested that I go back west a mile to a better place. $6 more got me a nice, clean place. I'm learning.
This morning I got up and checked things over. Two tires were down a few pounds. Damn Ural POS.
The guys at a tire place swarmed the bike when I pulled in. They all loved it. More sales for Ural? I hope so.
I then went another couples miles west to get to the infamous Cadillac Ranch.









What's this? A bumper sticker?



Nice. It's been to Sky Lodge! I wonder when that car was there?

[madeouttaglass]

From there I headed back east on I-40 and Rt.66.

This was at a visitor's information center.







Again, some abandoned buildings, but things about 66 were really about to look up.





Meet Dorris of Shamrock, Texas. This nice lady really made my day. She was so pleasant and informative. I wish she were my neighbor. After we talked for a while I bought the T shirt and some post cards. She then gave me a copy of an Irish blessing that really fit the day.

May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm on your face, the rains fall soft upon your fields and, until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.



I think that many of us will recognize the place where she works or volunteers. Ramone's from the movie Cars!



If you look closely you can see that they even have the neon restored. Simply beautiful. I think it might make a great Ural dealership. The Desert Rat looks right at home.



I hope I don't screw up the story when I say that the town or county got a government grant to fix the place up. This is one of those things where I don't mind my tax money going. This country needs to save a few old buildings. We'll never have 1000 year old buildings like europe if we keep letting every 90 year old one fall down.









Doris's little blessing did work. The day was as nice as you could ask for and I had a good 45+ MPH wind at my back. The bike ran happily at 65 and even 70 today.

[madeouttaglass]

Onward ho! On 66 I stopped by one of the museums dedicated to The Mother Road. I was just going to peek in but the very nice lady inside told me to take my time on my ride. She was too sweet to say no to. I'm glad I did. She then even talked me into sitting in their theater and watching the Rt. 66 movie that was 15 minutes long. A great stop.

[madeouttaglass]

My original plans had me following Rt.66 up to Tulsa before heading east on minor roads. Around 3 PM I stopped at a McD for wifi and checked the forecast for tomorrow. There were red watchboxes just north of Tulsa, almost touching it. No go. The forecast for straight east out of Oklahoma City was fine. On Rt. 40 I go.
I pulled off in Henryetta because it was about to get dark. It was almost perfect timing for my 7500 KM oil changes so I went into an O'Reiley's auto parts minutes before they closed. The two really nice guys there said they would stick around so I could dispose of my oil at their store. I quickly went through my stuff to get my extra oil filter and tools and got draining. I'm happy to say that the engine, tranny, and diff oils all looked good.
As I was wrenching a younger guy pulled up on a CBR to see just what the hell was being worked on in the parking lot. We talked briefly and he left. A few minutes later he returned with a friend to show him my bike. I'm sorry to say that I didn't get their names. The older of these three is Larry and Donna's son. More on them next.




The crowd grew. A pick up pulled in to see if there was something he could help with. Larry and Donna have been married longer than me (32 years I think?) and have been riding all that time. As I wrenched we all talked. I said that I was going to the east side of their little town for a room. Larry said that I was going to his friend's motel instead. By this time I knew that I'd be a fool to not take his good advice. They led me with his truck to the Green Country Inn that I had rode past a while earlier. Boy, am I glad I listened. Great place and rates.



When I got into the room it was well past dark and I figured that Julie needed me to check in soon. While I was talking to her on the phone I heard a bunch of guys out the door talking about my bike. I came out and met Jeff, Jeremy, and Jacob, a father and two sons heading home to Kentucky after picking up one of the sons from California. Yet again, three nice people that I would have never met if it were not for this bike and trip.

[ArmyMedic]

Just found this report and have spent the last hour cruising through it. Looks like a good time and certainly jealous of such a nice trip. Love those Urals, esp the desert rat camo. Have a safe trip home.

[rkop0787]

[QUOTE=madeouttaglass;18561747]Onward ho! On 66 I stopped by one of the museums dedicated to The Mother Road. I was just going to peek in but the very nice lady inside told me to take my time on my ride. She was too sweet to say no to. I'm glad I did. She then even talked me into sitting in their theater and watching the Rt. 66 movie that was 15 minutes long. A great stop. /QUOTE]

Glad you're still taking time to enjoy the ride. Don't miss out on the rest of the ride just 'cause the best traveling buddy you could ask for is home. She's home and happy!

[roninwva]

Just found this morning and since it's pouring down the rain outside I caught up with the report. A couple of questions that I didn't see as I went throught the report. What kind of fuel mileage are you gettting, two up and single, and what speeds are you cruising at? I enjoyed the west coast pics as I was out there a few years ago and most of where you've been I traveled through and it brings back a lot of good memories. Ride safe and I'll look forward to the rest of your adventure.

[madeouttaglass]

Hi Ron,
I'm stopped for lunch and checking maps. I honestly haven't been checking mileage although I would put a very rough guess at 25-32. I'm powering through Oklahoma and Arkansas today. I've been in warm sun but there has been dark clouds to the west and north all morning. Doing an easy 62-65 with a slight wind at my back.

[Pesqueeb]

Originally Posted by Patrick46

Ufffff!!!! That can't smell too good!!!

Any Rancher/Dairy man will tell you that's the smell of money.

[madeouttaglass]

Lots of miles today. 742 KMs or 461 miles. No problems and not sore a bit.
The scenery was better than I expected. Left Oklahoma went through Arkansas. I stopped to check weather online a few times and it kept me on a southerly route.

I saw this neat old square log cabin on Rt64 in Arkansas.



I'm amazed by the amount of irrigation that I've seen throughout the country. There is not nearly the same amount where I'm from.



When I saw that I'd be within 10 miles of this place, I just had to stop for this picture. I was hoping that there would be Elvis impersonators around, but no such luck. I would have paid to have one sit on the Ural.



I just got off the phone. Looks like I won't be riding the last leg alone.

Tomorrow I'll be getting some pictures that should really please the gearheads. Stay tuned.

[J-Dub]

Really enjoying this RR, Tom. Thanks for taking us along on the ride!

[madeouttaglass]

Glad to have you along J-Dub. Not too many days left of this ride.
Thanks to a suggestion from my little brother, today I went to the Barber Motorsports museum in Birmingham. I started the day in Tupelo Mississippi and rode in for the noon opening. Words cannot describe this collection. I talked to an older gentleman that has worked there for nine years. He said he is still finding something new to look at everyday. I believe he said there were 1300 bikes on display and that was only 1/3 of the collection, and they are still acquiring bikes. I took over 200 pictures and think I need to learn how to put up a link to a slideshow. Just name it and it was there. Old, new, original, custom, unrestored classics,.... My head is still spinning. Every rider that I talked to had the same impression as I did. Add to that the active race track that was out the one wall that was entirely glass for all of the five stories of bikes. With all the originals and sole survivors that were on display I cannot imagine any other place on this earth that can compare with what they have put together in Alabama. Motorcyclist heaven found.
After that I rode to Athens, TN. My older brother Knecht, I mean Panzir, rode his RoadGlide down from the shores of Lake Ontario to Front Royale today. Tomorrow I will ride the Tail of the Dragon, then work my way to the Blue Ridge. At some point we will meet o the parkway and ride back to the Finger Lakes together. That will be the end of this story.
Thanks to anyone who's hung on this long.

[madeouttaglass]

Small photodump of Barber.







































Look close and you'll see that guy walking to his bike that just slid out into the sand.

[Kiwi Paddler]

I'm so glad you made it to the museum. It looks friggin incredible!!
Beyond words really.

I love that they have John Britten's bike there. He was a true Kiwi legend, just like ol' Burt Munro.

[madeouttaglass]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Paddler

I'm so glad you made it to the museum. It looks friggin incredible!!
Beyond words really.

I love that they have John Britten's bike there. He was a true Kiwi legend, just like ol' Burt Munro.

Thank you for suggesting the museum. I would have never thought of it. They have Britten's bike displayed very prominently. That man was so far ahead of his time. The only bike that I saw that is close is Eric Buell's current bike.