Day 1

Wednesday, 09/22/2010
29 Palms, CA to Kingman, AZ
186 Miles

Because of the remnants of a tropical storm coming from Mexico up through Arizona and New Mexico today I decided to penetrate no farther into Arizona than Kingman which is 50 freeway miles on I-40 from the California border and at the western edge of the Arizona high country. After taking a morning nap, loading the Ural and shutting down the house I got on the road at 1:30 PM.

The first stop was at Amboy on Historic Route 66, about 50 miles from 29 Palms. After many years the gas station and mini-mart are open again which is a boon for bikers with small tanks who are trying to make it from 29 Palms to Needles. Since I have a full two-gallon can on board I did not take on gasoline but elected to hold out for Needles, some 60 miles away even though that would be close to the limit of the Ural’s fuel supply.

I was too cheap to buy a Coke at Amboy and I did not want to stand in front of their store and drink my own so I went up 66 about 10 miles to Cadiz where I stopped and had one (I am carrying a small ice chest which holds 3 Cokes, a bottle of diluted and frozen Gatorade, and 2 sandwiches).

After the break, I motored on up to I-40 and got on. The traffic was light. It was a beautiful warm but not too hot day and I had had a tailwind much of the way, which is a pleasure on a bike. I was wearing my almost new evaporative cooling vest, which is one of the better investments in motorcycle gear I have made in a long time.

After soaking it for a few minutes and wringing it out the vest keeps one delightfully cool under a heavy jacket even on 100+ degree-days. Because I ride in a full touring suit most of the time (I have relaxed my rules a bit around town because of the stability and increased visibility of the Ural) this thing is a real find. I learned of it from a biker I was chatting with at a pass in Northern California on a hot day this past August. Between it and my electric vest I feel I have most (reasonable) climate conditions pretty well covered. If it is too hot or too cold to be handled by one of these vests I better stay home or park somewhere.

Even though I have had the Ural only 2 ½ weeks I am very fond of it already. It has some indefinable quality about it that no motorcycle I have owned before has had. It has a definite character and personality unlike the cookie cutter nearly perfect Japanese bikes I have always had in the past. It feels like a part of my life and not just some inanimate object I ride around on.

Yes, this is getting a bit “airy fairy”, a touch demented, but I suspect other Ural owners know what I am talking about.

Cheers