Journal of my motography travels… (day trippin' the Sunshine State)

Tucumcari started as a railroad camp in 1901 filled with hired hands, outlaws, and saloons...


old school decor...


these days, Tucumcari capitalizes on it's 5 miles of Route-66 stretch to invite visitors to stay for the night...










Adrian, TX is where the Midpoint Cafe and midway marker to Route-66 is located. While Amarillo is home to the Cadillac Ranch; there is a cart there now that sells spray paint for you to make your mark on the Cadillacs lawn darts. Elk City, OK is home to the largest Route-66 sign and also has a Route-66 Museum. I visited these sites back in 2018 so I skipped them today so I can make up some time.

made it into Lake El Reno Campgrounds where I paid $5.00 in self registration...




The campgrounds at Lake El Reno was a great place if it wasn't for the wind blowing. I had to use the tent stakes and guy lines for the first time during this trip. But once I secured the tent down, it was all good and I took advantage of the showers and restrooms just a short walk away. Afterwards I settled in for the night and organized by gear in the tent and was soon sawing logs... Little did I know that the winds would shift during the night and blow from the opposite direction. The winds were blowing so hard that it woke me up at around 1:22 am and I couldn't get back to sleep until I put my earplugs in... as I fell asleep, I thought "it's gonna be fun striking down camp when I wake up..."

Ha! I feel ya. I had a night like that once in Steamboat. Stayed at the Iron Horse motel only to find out the iron horses ran all night long out the back. Worst 'first night with a girlfriend' ever! She didn't last long thank goodness.

~ 23 Oct 2020

~ POD: OK-3 down to Ada, Colgate, and Atoka; then TX-49 to my final destination of Bossier City, LA...

I set my alarm rather late since the weather forecast called for possible freezing temps overnight. The wind was still howling while I got dressed in the tent; "great" came to mind. I organized as much as I could inside the tent and quickly packed the panniers first. I left the tent for last and I can tell you it was NOT fun trying to take down and pack a tent with that wind. Making matters worse; my fingers were lethargic due to the cold temps... so I'm making more memories... Luckily I had my heated vest with me since I would be facing some serious windchill today...

an hour and a half later I was taking this video at the lake...


on the road again...


I stopped at the town of Coalgate, OK to take a few photos... I was unplugged from the bike for about 10 minutes and I was shivering...




Main Street Coalgate, OK...




the further south I travelled the darker the clouds became, the temps never rose above 59℉...


by the time I got down to Jefferson, TX it was a constant drizzle all the way to Bossier City...


when I hit the campground, I hung out at the clubhouse until there was a lull in the drizzle for me to set-up the tent...


the camp host was nice enough to let me pitch the tent behind the club house in case a downpour happened overnight...


I spent the rest of the day getting some laundry done while sucking down on a couple of cervezas the office sold... I contemplated the rest of my plans as rain was called for my next stop at Montgomery, AL... I'll have to play it by ear as I make my way to Florida.

~ 24 Oct 2020

~ POD: Ride to Montgomery, AL and stay for a couple of days to meet-up with Win (klaviator)...

I started the day early and as expected, everything was wet due to a light mist in the air but not as cold as yesterday. It made packing more difficult since everything was wet and smelled of wet Louisiana mud and grass... I donned all my rain gear fully anticipating rain at some point.

not likin' those clouds up ahead...


I continued east towards Jackson, MS before I pulled a "Chillis" to ride the rest of the 715 miles to Kissimmee, FL... it was rain, rain, and more rain...








By the time it was said and done, I arrived at my parents house by 10:15 pm with 934 miles logged for the day. Hind sight being 20/20, I could have gathered some receipts at the start for a Saddle Sore 1000 challenge. Maybe next time...

Now that I'll be using Kissimmee as my east coast home base, I'll wait to get an assessment of my dad's situation and hopefully get a ride here and there to explore some local roads...

If you had stopped in Montgomery it we wouldn't have met anyway since I was still in Tellico Plains at that time.

Enjoy your time with your parents. I hope all goes well there and you have some time to get out and explore.

Next time Win...

I'm liking the photos & autumn colors in your Tellico Plains RR...

Rudy. that was one wet and cold ride. glad to hear you made it to your parents. wish both of them well.

thanks for the update and interested to see more from your trip.

Thanks Joel...

I've made this trek five times now on the bike and have gotten rained on every single time in the gulf coast states... par for the course...

Glad ya made it with the rubber side down the whole way. Take good care of the folks and enjoy yourself.

Great report , Rudy. How close to the ice storm in OK were you? I have a BIL there, it was bad! cheers

Thanks Colby... it was a team efforts with the Duc; me slowing down and the Duc's lean-angle sensitive ABS and traction control...

Steve, I rolled right through there but missed it by four days. The camp host at Lake El Reno said that the temps would be dropping in the next couple of days and boy was she right!

I'll try to link a video from storm watchers but I have to ask for their permission fist...

Good that you made it past the storm, I have seen vids. of the damage, they blame our Canadian cold for the event. Again, you did a nice job of the RT 66 report and thx for the link to one in 2018.

I missed this incoming ice storm that hit Oklahoma City by three days... the cold front moving in the day I left Lake El Reno campground was a preview of what was coming I guess. I'm just glad I made it out of there in time...

~ 3 Nov 2020

~ POD: Will work for food...

So... I've been in Kissimmee a little over a week. I've been cracking the whip on my dad since he is being difficult with his dementia, plus he's got edema in his feet due to him sitting the majority of the day in front of his computer and watching movies. I've been making him walk with me in the mornings to get his blood flowing and it has made a big difference. I drag him along with me when I run errands for my mom as well...

Also, my mom got an estimate from a contractor to remove the sand between the pavers and lay down polymeric sand so it won't wash away with all the rain Florida gets; $850.00... HELL NO! I did it at cost of five bags of polymeric sand from Lowes; $109.90 minus my 10% discount...

day 1; power wash the old stuff out...


day 2; lay, compact, and set the polymeric sand...


voilà...


after a week of crackin' the whip and mom's home improvement to-do(s); time to ride... even though it's just around the neighborhood to catch the sunset...








I brought a Mavic Mini with me to catch a different perspective...




just a quick ride for today while I do some research on what roads to explore... preferably away from Kissimmee/Orlando area...

Nice! Good to see your update.

Thanks Kelly...

I've got plans to ride after some more home improvement work... the next project is to lay some stepping stones in the back of the house by the lanai...

I'm already lurking in the regional forums for places to ride in central Florida...

Good on you Rudy, a good son!

Sure liked the Mavic perspective!

Look forward to seeing what you find on the FL scouting.

A safe pic of bike and gator?

Thanks Sam...

They have gators here in my mom's community and they move from lake to lake. I have had to stop before (in a cage) while they cross the road and they take their time doing it. Most people that have dogs have metal fencing in their backyard so they can safely let scruffy out without disappearing in the wee hours of the morning...

there's a lot of lakes inside Solivita...

I moved to the Tampa area briefly in 2010 to utilize the hundreds of miles of paved bike path to further my inline speed skating training. Saw many gators along the bike paths in watering holes. Not the securest of feelings.