Another Rerun

I have to be over in The Big(ger) City™ for an eye-followup in a few and I did that thing I always do, of late: slept too well and too long.  So... there's no time right this moment to make the rounds and dream up some sorta drivel to check the blogging box.

Bob Reese, in comments to yesterday's post about my impending separation from the lovely Miss Zukiko, took issue with my statement that Miss Z and I hadn't really done any traveling together... sayin' "what about that US 550 trip?"  Well, that was on Miss Z's great aunt... the late and not-so-lamented 'Zuki.  The 'Zuki was a much better bike on the open road than Miss Z but she had this unfortunate tendency to fall right over at the most inopportune times... like when people were looking.  But we digress.

Here's what we wrote on the conclusion of that road trip Bob was on about:

Be It Ever So Humble...

…there’s no place like home. I’m there, and it’s an understatement to say I’m pleased. My own bed. My own PC. My own stuff. Getting away is nice, visiting with friends and family is nicer still, but getting back home? Priceless.

I ended as I began, which is to say I covered a whole lotta ground in one sitting. The first day of the trip saw me riding 577.6 miles in 11 hours flat; yesterday I did 591 miles in ten hours and 21 minutes. The difference? Better weather…much better weather. I dodged a bullet, though…a half hour after I got home the frickin’ bottom dropped out and we were inundated with rain. I held my breath, figuratively speaking, for the last 100 miles of the ride. There were HUGE thunderstorms to the east and the south of me as I closed in on P-Town, and it looked like I was gonna be in for it. The gods smiled on me, though, and although I got a smattering or two of rain, it was nothing serious. Fortune, for once, was on MY side.

Oh. Total mileage for the trip: 2267.7 miles. And not even one close call. That last statement just may be the most amazing thing of all.

I only did three things last evening after I got home: returned SN2’s phone call (he rang while I was on the road), took a long hot shower, and fell into bed. And I slept the sleep of the truly exhausted. This morning I feel fine, well-rested, and refreshed. Now I have to get on with life…unpack, pay the bills, and do other assorted things that have gone undone for the past 17 days. Normal blogging, such as it is, will resume tomorrow. In the meantime…

Today’s Pic: The first of perhaps six or eight pics from Arches National Park. I like this particular photo because it shows the scale of the monoliths, which are absolutely HUGE. Note the road winding into the distance and the small dots that are the cars on said road. Riding among, through and between these formations is an awe-inspiring experience.

Saturday, June 2, 2007.

And here's a couple o' shots of my partners in crime... of the flesh and blood and steel varieties:

The first pic is SN1 and SN3, the second pic is YrHmblScrb and SN3.  Both pics were taken in Fort Collins, CO... just prior to our departure for a jaunt out into the Colorado countryside.  That trip wasn't all fun and games, though.  Part of it was Pure Hell (on wheels).