Arizona

Cool Springs, AZ. It was only 7:00AM so they were closed, but this is one of our normal stops during the Laughlin River Run every year. Just before this we came across two wild donkeys walking around in the middle of the desert.

Take It Easy - The Eagles. This is the place where that song began. Technically, it the corner to the right (where the one way sign is pointing), but this is the monument made to memorialize the song and artist. Pretty cool.

Anybody want to stay in the "Cozy Cone Motel"? The Wigwam Motel is still operating today. It was pretty cool.

Today we rode through a good chunk of Arizona. As flat as it is there are quite a few things to see in this section of the ride.

The last time I had been to the petrified forest I was a little kid. I only have very faint memories of it, so seeing it again was pretty neat. I'm no scientist, so I have no idea how wood turns into rock, but it does. A lot of the pieces even have coloration similar to the wood, so it's pretty trippy to look at. We rode through the forest, stopped at all the lookouts and got a few little pieces for the boys back home.

I bought the largest bike I could find and I still manage to make it look small. Sometimes I wish I were a bit smaller.

So this used to be a log that fell over a stream of some sort. Magic came into the picture and now it's a petrified wood bridge. I don't get it, but it's picture worthy for sure.

Helmets Back on the Heads

Well, today we crossed the river leaving Arizona and lost the freedom of riding without our helmets. Most people (my wife and friends included) think we're stupid for taking the helmets off, but there is something about the feeling of riding a bike with the wind running through your hair. My brother Todd has a perfect patch on his vest..."If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand." I won't try to add to that.

Unfortunately we had an accident today. The group's photographer, Tony Estes, took a spill on his bike. I'm not really sure what happened, but he went down and got beat up pretty good. Big cut on his head (no helmet, for all you nay sayers) and a broken wrist. He's a very experienced rider who's been through a lot, so it just goes to show that you always have to be alert and never let your guard down. It sounds like he's going to be alright, so that is good. There was another accident earlier in the trip too. A man named Gary crashed pretty bad while we were in Oklahoma. Unfortunately he lost his leg from the injury...totally tragic. It's so sad to see stuff like that happen. We all wish Tony and Gary the best and hope they're able to recover quickly.

After leaving Arizona we rode through Needles and out to Amboy. Flat, boring, hot. Extremely hot. Soak your shirt in water, ride for five minutes and it's dry, hot. No pictures. I was afraid the battery in the camera would explode.

We also found an old section of road that was so rough it would have been better left unpaved. Todd was leading and he was determined to make good time, so we were pushing 80 the whole time. When we finally stopped at the Baghdad Cafe one of my dad's lights was hanging from just the wires. Being the Kroepels that we are, we had duct tape so we got it fixed up good as new. And the tape blends in nicely with the chrome, so he's good to go.

Greg Wilcox (one of the 95 percenters - the explorers) had a set of directions to find a piece of the old road that he hadn't ridden before. Todd and I volunteered to go with Greg and his son, Chris. Most of the directions took us on a frontage road until it ended and we turned onto the dirt. We followed that for a few hundred yards and just as we crested the hill, we could see that the road ended with a giant cliff. Actually, we were on top of the mountain just south of the 15 at the very peak of the Cajon Pass. We turned around and made our way back to the freeway and B-lined it to the hotel. It had been a long day and we wanted the pool and some dinner.

The next morning we headed into Santa Monica to have the fairwell breakfast. George had some awards to give away, said some nice words, we took a picture with everybody on the pier and said our good-byes. It was amazing to me to see how close you can become to somebody in just eight days. We were on motorcycles most of the time, so we didn't do much talking, but somehow a bond had formed. I don't know how to explain it, but the bond was there. Maybe it has something to do with the knowledge we all have of the inherent risk and vulnerability associated with riding bikes. I am not really sure.

The trip was a great experience and a chance to meet people from all parts of the country. I never imagined I could get so tired from riding a motorcycle. I think that means I need to do more of it so I can keep myself in motorcycle shape.

Leaving kingman arizona...no pictures today...hopefully tonight...

New Mexico

Well, the last three nights of our ride were cursed with poor internet connectivity. If I don't finish publishing these photos I know I'll never hear the end of it from my dad, so I figure later is better than never.


The view from Sandia Crest. It was unbelievable. The height of the view gave me a bit of vertigo.

This is a restaurant that was used for a lot of the filming in the movie "Wild Hogs" I've never seen it but I guess all the lodge scenes are filmed in here.

Me and the do-rag. I've never been a fan of them, and now look at me!! A step in the right direction? hmmmmm.

New Mexico was pretty cool...with the exception of Albuquerque.

We started the day with a nice 70 mile ride on an old route for the 66. It wasn't the original road, but it followed the same path. We passed through some beautiful hills until we came to Santa Fe. Todd told me Santa Fe is home to the oldest church in the entire country. I don't know when it was built, but it was a beautiful looking building. Our group got broken up in the town because I didn't follow "Seeker Protocol" (another thing I'll be hearing about for a while I'm sure) and it took a little while to get all back together. The town is very unique in that there doesn't seem to be any plan to the way it's laid out. Once back in our group we parked the bikes and strolled around for a bit. Really neat city...and there seems to be a lot of money there. I saw Bentleys, a Ferrari, and Range Rovers all over the place. Lots of money in Turquoise I guess.

After Santa Fe we headed through the mountains toward Sandia Crest. We went through a bit of rain, but it was nothing to cry about. Sandia Crest is a mountain with a winding road all the way to the top. At the very peak there is a little lookout point facing Albuqueque. The views from up there are absolutely amazing. It feels like you're on top of the world, and the mountain slope is so steep you feel like if you fall off, you'll land smack in the middle of Main Street. The ride up was fun...lots of tight turns and lots of dragging of the foot pegs.

We went through Albuquerque, got lost, wasted two hours, had a McDonald's hamburger and left. Can't wait to go back.

After Albuquerque we headed for Gallup. The 15 miles east of Gallup were one of the most memorable desert landscapes of the trip. As we rode through this section the sun was just beginning to set. The Interstate runs through the desert floor and to the north are gigantic sandstone bluffs jutting out from the hill behind them. It reminded me a lot of the scene in "Cars" where the bluffs are the hoods of old Cadillacs...I wouldn't be surprised if that scene was designed after this spot. It was beautiful. Reminded me a lot of Lake Powell at sunrise.

The video doesn't even come close to doing this justice. The colors coming off the rocks were intense. Good stuff.

We're over the hump.

We've made it over the hump and we're on the way home!! After this picture we rode another 127 miles and now we're in New Mexico.

Big Lar in his finest form. He looks great cruisin' down the Old Route 66

Old gas station that has been restored. These things are in the middle of nowhere...I can't imagine being the guy working here...tiny building, nothing to do, and probably making $.25 per hour. Wow.

This is the group we're tagging along with. We spend little time on the interstate, and it's great.

Some gas station from back in the day.

Today was the best day yet. We rode on a pretty long section of original road that was all overgrown with weeds. There were trees hanging over the road, at one point I had to get off the bike and hold up the branches while everybody rode under. It was AWESOME!!!

We also went on a stretch of road that is all dirt. I don't know if it was paved or concrete at one point, but today it's 20 miles of dirt. The suspension on our bikes is not exactly designed for dirt riding, and it's pretty rough in some spots. My bike is filthy right now...but it is what it is.

Erick, OK is home to Harley and Anabell. These are two of the coolest "rednecks" in the world. Harley put on a music show for us and it was absolutely incredible. He's a pretty funny guy, and has a few great songs about life as a "redneck". He was the inspiration for the character known as Mater in Cars. Yesterday we saw the truck Mater was designed after, and today we met the man. I have a video of the show...it's a bit too large to upload, but this guy is classic.

The people we're meeting on this ride are great. There are people from just about every part of the country...we even have a couple from New Zealand, one from Ireland, and one from France. Super cool, down to earth people...

Here's a video from a little section of the road...I love the old deserted stuff...incredible!!

We're not in Kansas anymore...

I think this artwork was inspired by LSD or extreme boredom...

This was on the door to the Rock Cafe in Oklahoma...they were expecting us and closed down to all locals...BIKERS ONLY!!!

The Mother Road as it exists today.

This is the whole road...not just one lane. How was this even possible? Can you imagine two big rigs meeting each other on this road during a rain storm?

It used to go on, but nature has taken its course.

Today was a great day. We broke away from the main group and tagged along with a group known as the "explorers" of the group. Legend has it that they have ridden 95% of the Route 66 that is still in existence. Quite a bit of that includes dirt roads, old concrete with plants growing up through the cracks, trees hanging over the road...all sorts of cool stuff. They're a lot of fun and it was nice to see the other side of the road. The main group stays on the well known sections of the Route 66, and the freeway/highway. That was good for two days and now we're trying to explore a bit more. It takes a bit longer, but we see a lot of stuff that you don't see on the beaten path.

I've got to get to sleep. More tomorrow.

Here's a video that I think is pretty cool...

Video of the Chain of Rocks Bridge

Stuff

This was a little farm just off the 66...we stopped there for a few minutes...beautiful!

An original bridge crossing some creek on the Route 66...

This is the bridge...it felt high when we were up there, but doesn't look very high.

Hunter, this IS Mater!! He says Hi.



This is the original brick used on some sections of the Route 66. Everybody thought this picture was gay...you be the judge.

I'm tired, hungry, and I need to get food. This will have to be quick.

We saw the actual inspiration for Mater in Cars today. Learned a ton about the creation of Cars and the characters. It was really neat.

Rode over some cool bridges. The Route 66 is pretty unbelievable if you're into history. We went to Mickey Mantle's childhood house and saw the barn where he learned to play baseball...there are still dents in the metal siding...it was pretty cool to me, and to Todd it was a bit more...words can't describe what he went through, but I think it was a good thing. He really likes baseball.

Greg Zito is the character of the day. He's a retired Chicago Police Officer...a detective of some kind. He's got lots of stories and is a perfect example of a patriotic American who loves his country and served it with pride. Chicago police are good people. There's a few of them here and they are incredibly fun to talk to. They have great stories about the times when the Police weren't assumed to be the bad guys. Too bad those times are pretty much a thing of the past.

Finally we have a pool at our hotel. It was nice.

So, like I mentioned, I'm tired and I've already exceeded my limit for typing.

G'nite!!

we're at mickey mantle's childhood house in commerce, oklahoma...pretty cool stuff.

we're crossing the mississippi river on the old chain of rocks bridge...

Departure!!

Getting ready to leave from willowbrook, il...going to be a great day...the rain, however, might be less than great...

Tired in Chicago

Our tired mugs...not much to look at.

Well, we're here in the hotel room. A long day of traveling, and we're all tired. Tomorrow we're heading into downtown Chicago to go on the architectural tour and learn about the history of the city. In the afternoon we're going to see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field. We're also going to try to squeeze in a ride at some point, but that may be a bit tight.

Met some great people at the pub tonight. The featured character of the evening is a man named Jerry. Jerry started coming on this ride in 2000. On his first ride the group was approaching a city and saw what looked like a nasty storm blowing in. One of the riders suggested that they get off the road and wait for the storm to pass, but Jerry insited, "Those are just wind clouds! Let's keep riding!" On they road, and no more than 15 minutes later they were soaked with rain and riding through puddles up to their exhaust pipes. As they pulled into the destination the Rally Master smirked, "Wind clouds, huh Jerry?" To this day Jerry is known as WindCloud, and I think the name will stick. A few years ago Jerry missed the ride due to losing his leg in a motorcycle accident, but that was the only time he missed it. He's here this year, full of life, walking (with no detectable limp) and riding with a prosthetic leg...he's 79 years old and I already have great respect for this guy. A real quality character...

Watchin the laker game at the irish pub...meeting a lot of the other riders...looks like it will be a great week...yep...i'm a biker now.

Leaving Tomorrow for the Big Ride

Tomorrow morning we're taking off early in the morning to fly to Chicago and prepare for the big ride. We won't be leaving Chicago until Saturday morning, so we're going to take a little time to tour the windy city and take in some sites.

Ten days has never seemed like a long time in the past, but this time it seems like an eternity. Gonna miss the family a ton...