they got some crazy little ladies and i'm gonna get me one.

[ZombieRob]

Hittin the road solo to kansas city in about five minutes. Lucy is loaded up with as much as i feel comfortable carrying and what the movers left. taking u.s. 30 to cedar rapids. stoppin there for the night and then to mason city to pick up bags from lee_dutcher then on to k.c. this is my first solo ride and i really hope all goes well.

[Korr]

Have a safe and fun trip!

[ZombieRob]

So far so good. day one held no problems whatsoever. beautiful weather, light traffic, no mechanical issues, perfect. made it across nw indiana, illinois, and into cedar rapids by about five p.m.. if ever thinking about taking highway 30 through illinois and indiana, avoid the chicago region, i hit every stop light through the entire southern burbs part and that is alot of stop lights. however i did find a nice little ice cream shop in shabbona, il. and i forgot just how beautiful and powerful the mississippi river really is.

Day two: Even more beautiful day on the road. weather was impeccable on the entire ride out to mason city. I did however make a wrong turn on the way and went about half hour out of my way. made up for it by finding highway 14 and realizing no cops, no traffic, lots of straights = good time, about 97 mph i chickened out and brought it back down to 60. great ride though. made it to lee_dutchers place about 2:00 p.m. and spent the next four hours trying to get his bags from a 79 special onto my 79 standard. Lucy only bit me once and we did get the bags on. although they don't match the paint scheme i'm happy to not have nearly as much on my back as before. made it back to cedar rapids half hour after dark, I then went directly to bed and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Day three: working on the long leg of the trip. got up early. eating breakfast a perkins and getting ready to head out. I will update on the next meal stop or when i reach my destination.


that's Lucy loaded up right before i left on saturday.



and that is her at perkins with her brand new saddlebags and lookin much better. Not to mention feeling very patriotic this memorial day.

more pics to follow later.

[ZombieRob]

good news and bad news good news is, I'm having a blast on this trip just ridin all day for the past three days has put a smile on my face i can't wipe off, bad news is, i just encountered rain....and a lot of it I also don't have any rain gear. I will be purchasing rain gear as soon as the rain lets up enough to let me go get some. meanwhile i'm sitting in a completely empty resteraunt and writing to you all. anyway i hope that the rest of the trip is smooth as the first half has been.

[XJOK2PLAY]

Hey ZR...

Great to hear from you, and thanks for keeping us posted!
Glad to hear the 'ole girls' runnin' good for ya. Bike's lookin' good with the new bags, too! Storage space is a great thing, ain't it? LOL
Good luck w/ the rain gear, and ride safe... Please keep us posted!
Regards,
Bob

[ZombieRob]

a long day

yeah, extra storage is one of the nicest available options right now because the movers missed a bunch of stuff. i ran into a few problems today that slowed me down considerably though.
1: I get a little nervous riding in the rain
2: speedometer died
3: i dropped her in a parking lot.
4: after being dropped she didn't want to go past 3500 rpm's in fifth gear (a little concerned by that one)

after all the trouble i've had today one very positive note is that while in a gas station parking lot trying to figure out what might be causing that fifth gear issue, a local harley guy offered to let me use his garage and tools and some of his knowledge. Unfortunately his knowledge was about fuel injected v-twins and not yamaha four cylinders.
the strange part is that when i decided that i probably couldn't get it fixed there given my knowledge(or lack thereof), experience(or lack thereof), and affordable time(or lack thereof), so i figured that i'd hobble over to a relative of mine's house about twenty five miles away. once i get her warmed up. NO PROBLEMS so i made it as far as bevier, mo today not nearly as far as i had hoped but, I'm safe and sound sleeping in a house and not a hotel. all in all this has been the most frustrating day yet.

[DGXSER]

1: I get a little nervous riding in the rain

If you don't get a little more cautious your a Moh-Ron in my opinion.

2: speedometer died

To aviod problems with the law, just go with the slow lane traffic. If you have the stock FD, about 3800 RPM is about 55 on a standard I think and about 45-4800 is about 70. That 17" rear wheel changes the revs from my Specials 16" wheel.

3: i dropped her in a parking lot.

We've all been there and done that before. Hopefully nothing hurt but your pride.

4: after being dropped she didn't want to go past 3500 rpm's in fifth gear (a little concerned by that one)

Sounds like you got that worked out. Hopefully for at least the duration of this trip!

I'm safe and sound

Definition of life is good in my book! Everything else is icing on the cake.

sleeping in a house and not a hotel.

Mucho icing on the cake!!!

all in all this has been the most frustrating day yet.

Just means that when things go well tomorrow they will seem THAT much sweeter!! Good luck and enjoy the ride. Fun is in the adventure of going.

[ZombieRob]

getting ready to go out in the rain again if it gets too bad then i will definitly stop for a while to let it lighten up. wish me luck, forecast is not good. none the less still really enjoying the trip. and i'm very glad i have tried to avoid interstate and stick to state and u.s. highways. will update next longer stop. thanks for all the words of encouragement so far. the whole solo trip thing is definitely an adventure.

[Wildkat]

All the not so great stuff that happens on these trips makes for great story telling later on... and lots of people who will sympathize and empathize with you...
Don't know what route you're taking... but if you get close to Dallas... feel free to drop on in... Wait... maybe drop was a bad choice of wording?



Enjoy your ride!

[ZombieRob]

I have made it as far as Moberly Missouri so far and stopped for breakfast/lunch not far from the starting point today but rain definitely makes for slow going. Kat, i really appreciate the offer, that would be wonderful if i was headed that far south. unfortunately not this trip, but possibly this summer maybe as far as jonesboro ark. For the story telling part of the trip i can now tell my kids that i went 180 miles in the rain uphill the whole way to come see them. ok well, maybe not the uphill part but it works. I've definitely gotten alot more cautious with my stopping. And again thanks for the encouragement it really means alot on my first big solo trip. until next time.

[ZombieRob]

BTW if any one is on highway 24 between moberly and blue springs gimme a shout and I'll see if i can stop in.

[ZombieRob]

Gotta go while there's a break in the rain. wish me luck.

[Wildkat]

Best o' luck!
Of course... by the time you read this... you'll be through it (I hope)

How's the bike running now?

[CatatonicBug]

I assume you got a rain suit? What kind did you get, and how do you like it? The fairing I just got had a clear rainsuit wadded inside the locked compartment, and I don't think I want to try to rely on that thing if I ever take on a trek like yours.

[Russ79]

Hey man, hope your trip is going well! If you make it to the Kansas side of KC, like 435 and Johnson Drive area, stop in and visit a while. I have a speedo for you, and a pretty neat XS 11 garage where you should feel at home! I can always accommodate a fellow xsessive. Here's my number 913 422 0676. There are a few of us here in the Kansas City area, and we are always looking for a ride\party. Hope to see you soon!

Russ