Denver to Atlanta

[BillInGA]

Hello GZ'ers, I've been off the forum for a while - super busy at work and home.

But, it's finally that time. I'm leaving tonight for Denver to pick up my Vulcan 500.

I'll be following essentially the same route I took out to Colorado, but with some different stopping points: Pratt, KS; West Plains, MO (same as the outbound trip); and Tupelo, MS. At this point Tupelo is still up in the air. I might want to do a long day and overnight at a friend's house in Leesburg, AL, or do a really long day and go all the way home. I just depends on how I'm feeling. In any case, I have four days planned.

Weather looks like beautiful riding conditions the entire way with high temps in the high 70's / low 80's and no rain forecast. Although, with lows in the low 50's, it may be a little cool in the mornings. I'm bringing some extra layers with me and the big windshield on the Vulcan will help keep the cool wind at bay.

Tomorrow is maintenance and prep day in Colorado. I'll be installing my new backrest and throttle lock (shipped to my parent's house) and I'll be bringing my new Airhawk pneumatic seat cushion. I'm looking forward to using the Airhawk - I've heard great things about it, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet.

With the additions to the bike and the nicer weather, I'm looking forward to an enjoyable ride.

I'll post along the way if I'm able. Otherwise, I'll see you on the other side.

Bill

[dhgeyer]

Good luck Bill! Keep the rubber side down, and enjoy the ride.

[alanmcorcoran]

Tell me more about the airhawk!

[burkbuilds]

Hope you have a great trip Bill. Let us know how it went when you return if you can't post anything along the way.

[blaine]

Enjoy your trip.Ride safe. :rawk: :2tup:

[mole2]

Enjoy your trip Bill and ride safe. We want to see some pics when you get back so be ready to post. :poke2:

[BillInGA]

My bike modifications are complete and I'm looking forward to getting on the road tomorrow.

Back rest, throttle lock and seat pad all went on easily. I took a short ride to Boulder and back and everything is working fine.

I expected to have to put a battery charger on this morning when I got to the hanger. However, even after sitting for two months, the engine fired right up. I was pretty excited about that.

I am missing two pieces of equipment for my return trip: GPS and CamelBak. The GPS was sent back to Garmin for a recall repair last month. It was supposed to be back last week, but no luck. Apparently they are backed up on the repair work. As for the CamelBak, I just forgot to pack it. :whistle:

I do, however, have a new phone. I picked up a Droid X two weeks ago, breaking free of the walled garden of the iPhone. The Droid has GPS and an app that lets friends and family track my position online (it's called Lattitude). Since I'm riding the same route back, I expect to only occasionally need to use the GPS.

Cheers,

Bill

[BillInGA]

First leg is complete: Broomfield, CO to Pratt, KS.

The ride through eastern Colorado / western Kansas was the usual long flat grind, although I did have some pretty strong headwinds in Colorado to spice things up. I also saw two humongous fires in Kansas. I took a picture of one of them, which I'll post tomorrow.

The verdict on my equipment additions is very positive.

The Airhawk seat cushion is AWESOME! I rode all day long with absolutely no discomfort. Highly recommended. I discovered that my seating position with the Airhawk is slightly higher and farther back. This put my helmet in very turbulent air coming off the windshield. After a few hours of getting my head shaken like a martini, I finally adjusted the windshield up about an inch and a half. Problem solved. My final leg today was very comfortable - no sore butt and no scrambled brains.

The throttle lock is a great help (mine is the Vista Cruise). It really cuts down on fatigue and lets me spend more time concentrating on the road rather than chasing my speed. On the rolling hills I can easily adjust the throttle to maintain speed. Most of the time, with no other traffic, I just set it and accepted the slight loss and gain in speed going up and down the hills.

I'm also very happy with my backrest. High quality workmanship and easy to install (on the Vulcan). My duffel bag isn't quite wide enough to let me lean back on it, so I'm going to see if I can find a small pillow to fill the gap. At least I don't have to worry about my bag sliding back off the seat.

All in all it was a good day on the road. 444 miles and 12 hours start to finish (about 8 hours actual driving).

Cheers,

Bill

[burkbuilds]

Hey Bill, sounds like you are having a great trip. Nice recommendations on some of your equipment for the bike, thanks. It is always nice to hear first hand how something worked from someone you trust and not just an add or commercial. Hope you have a great ride the rest of the way home.

[alanmcorcoran]

How old are you Bill? You seem to be able to knock out some serious daily mileage... A 444 mile day and I'd probably want to take the next one off. Pleas epost some pictures of your backrest and airhawk seat thingie. I am interested in fatigue reducing farkles.

I did 275 this morning coming back from DV. That's just about right for a "long" day for me. On "fun" ride days, 120-170 is plenty.