"Bring it on home"

Waking up in Salina, Kansas was a bit odd. The weather had definitely turned cooler with the cold front from the north colliding with the remnants of Fey from the south. I got up early that morning and walked outside to check the weather first hand after listening to the Weather Channel in the early morning hours. I ended up starting the day wearing my chaps, a short sleeve and a long sleeve tee shirt, my electric vest and my heavy leather jacket.

My mood for the first time during this journey seemed to be more focused on making tracks and getting home to see the family and in time for my niece’s wedding versus just overcoming the current day’s obstacles. No doubt I would now be gearing up for some long days in the saddle and anxiously looking forward to pulling into my driveway. We have all had the feeling you get when you realize that your vacation is coming to a close.

As I pulled out of Salina that morning I could not help but reflect on the jerk hotel guy from the night before and a really nice guy that I had met at the Harley dealer in Salina the day before. These two guys could not have been more different. Thank goodness on this trip the vast majority of the folks I have met during my journey have been absolutely incredible as was this guy at the Harley dealer. Just nice, concerned common people with a real zest for life.

The weather continued to improve as the days ride went along. I decided that I would see if I could make it all the way to Colorado Springs or maybe even Pueblo, Colorado on that day. Although much of the ride was beautiful, by late afternoon the thunder heads were building, but I knew I was past the worst of the weather from Fey, etc. The Weather Channel that evening said that the temp was going to drop to a low of 45 degrees that night and rain was highly likely early in the AM.

I got cleaned up, got something to eat and hit the rack early because I really wanted to be on the road early due to the forecast for the day. The good news was the farther west I got the weather looked like it was going to be just fine. I woke up the next morning about 5:00AM and did load up Captain America in the dark and had some breakfast and did some work related stuff waiting for it to get light outside. Once daylight arrived, I motored!

Wearing full cold weather and rain gear I roared out of town early that morning. It seemed freezing cold to me and that was a bit of a shock to my entire system. One hour into the ride I was hoping and praying that I would see a place to stop and get a cup or two of warm java. When I saw a place I knew there was a God!!

By the time I got out of Colorado and into New Mexico that morning I knew the good weather was coming my way. At each stop I would take off more of my rain and/or cold weather gear and by Albuquerque I was in my full summer riding uniform…..one tee shirt and just jeans. Oh, did that feel good. I even broke out more sun block than usual. I decided to push onto Gallup, New Mexico before calling it a night. It was a long day, but definitely a good day of riding. I could tell that I was starting to anticipate the end was getting near and I was actually getting excited about that.

That night after studying the anticipated weather patterns for the next several days it became apparent to me that I would not need my rain gear or all the heavy clothing much past 9:00 or 10:00 AM in the morning.

I knew the next day was going to be hot and a long one. I jumped out of bed in Gallup, packed, and hit the road at just about daybreak. The day was pleasant until after I got through Sedona, Arizona… one of my all time favorite places. The elevation there keeps it much cooler than Phoenix and as I headed in that direction I began to drink a great deal more water and Gatorade. I decided to really push myself that day and see if I could make it as far as Yuma, Arizona. During the day I drank ½ gallon of water and a ½ gallon as the daytime temp reached 110 degrees.

There is no question that I pushed myself to hard that day. As I was nearing Yuma I could feel some weird changes taking place in my body and I realized that I was not that far away from suffering significant heat stroke. I thought I had consumed plenty of fluids, but apparently not. By the time I got checked into the hotel I was really dizzy and felt like I could vomit. All that evening I was unable to eat much or drink anything other than glass after glass of water. Also, my conversations that night with people in person and on the phone were not particularly coherent and I had a difficult time processing clear thoughts or articulating what I wanted to say. It was almost like a fog was over me. This is not a good thing under any circumstances, but riding a motorcycle under these conditions makes no sense at all!

The next day I really realized just how bad my heat stroke must have been the night before when I had to ask directions for the way to get back on the highway that I had just ridden in on the night before. Again, very dumb of me and I will try not to make that same mistake again.

Once pointed in the right direction, I jumped on Captain America and headed into the last leg of my adventure. Knowing that the vast majority of the motorcycle accidents occur within 20 miles of your home, I decided to be extra diligent on this the last day of my Cruising for the Cure journey.

The ride to San Diego and then north to Carlsbad could not have been more pleasant in spite of a brief shower that hit me early on that morning. It was amazing to me that there were very few clouds in the sky, but just enough to give me one last soaking from “the black cloud” that has been hanging over me most of the time since late May. Oh well, what else should I expect? The good news is that the rain ended as quickly as it started and my cloths dried out in short order, but I could not help but laugh out loud about this aspect of my trip.

As I headed into California and hit San Diego and then started on the 30 minute drive north to Carlsbad, I could not help but to think about how important it was to stay focused and diligent during the last hours of my journey. I also could not help but to smile about the fact that I was about to accomplished something that few others have ever done before me. I was tired, beat, but still grinning from ear-to-ear.

As I got closer and closer to home I found myself starting to realize that this incredible journey was coming to a close. I was both happy and sad. Happy that I made it and could now see my family and relax. Sad because this once in a lifetime adventure was now really wrapping up. I decided then to wait several days before making my last blog entry regarding the trip. I want do give myself a few days to absorb and reflect about the highs and lows and what I learned from my travels.

I hope you will tune in for my final entry. At that time I will also introduce you to some more of the great people I met along the way.

Hope you enjoy your day,

Dave