My day started off eventful as usual. I was working on 4 hrs sleep. Of course I was excited about the trip FINALLY getting here that my mind kept thinking of any last minute details.
The plan was to meet Jett, Kaye, Biby, Colleen and Becky at 6:10am at the Outback at Plaza Bonita then head over to McDonald's on Aero Drive before heading over to the KUSI studios. Colleen called the night before and said that her and Becky would just meet up at McD's. Biby calls me and says that she'll just meet us at McD's as well.
I'm up at 5am, in the shower then don on the biker apparel. The bike has already been packed and all I need to do is put on my helmet, gloves, goggles and my iPod!
I head out and go to the gas station to fill the bike up and the 2 fuel bottles before meeting up at the Outback. I get to the Outback and NO ONE is there. I got off my bike and was going to get something out of my saddlebags. I recently installed bag locks and was looking for my keys when I realized, "OH SHIT! MY KEYS! WHERE THE EFF ARE THEY??!!!!!" I searched my jacket, vest, pockets and nothing. High-tailed it back to the gas station, looked around and didn't find them. I ripped my bag opened. So much for the $200 "secure" bag locks. Only did I realize later, that I had the spare bag lock key attached to my chaps...which I was wearing. DOH!!!
I then traced my route from the gas station to the Outback and not too far from the gas station, there were my keys laying on the ground. I said to myself that, "this is just the beginning!"
Get to Outback and still don't see anyone there, then Jett comes around the corner and motions me to turn around. I did a U-turn and then I didn't see her. I said, "see...it's already happening!" I headed towards the freeway and decide to pull off to the side of the road and wait, hoping *breaking out into song* "she'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes, when she comes." After about 8 minutes, I see her headlights. We head over to McD's and she told me that Kaye would meet us there.
Lilia's there passing out the Girlz to Graceland shirts (1 black & 1 white), John & Jessie are getting the camera set up, and the girlz are gathering and getting excited about our pending venture out on the open road.
Everyone has showed up along with some well-wishers. We head on over to the KUSI studios to be interviewed by Dave Stall again but this time with our filmmaker, John Grimshaw. Even more bikers show up to send us off. It was really cool to see our supporters and some of the club members.
The interview lasts a few minutes. I'm in the back just hanging out and making sure everything is secure on my bike and then they said, "that's a rap!"
We're all mounted on our bikes with the biggest smiles you've ever seen! Butterflies in our bellies and gas in our tanks...WE'RE OFF TO GRACELAND BABY!!!!
The day was already starting out warm but the more we headed East, the hotter it got and I mean HOT!!!
We're on the road and I'm checking my thermometer...100, 105, 115, 120 DEGREES!!! Oh but wait, it got to 122 degrees while we were RIDING!!!! That means it was hotter at idle.
We get to Dateland, AZ (www.dateland.com) and decide to cool off and eat at the Dateland cafe. Charna, who works at the cafe, offered to soak the girlz cool vest and Jett had purchased 2 sets of coolie neckties per rider. I ordered a large chocolate malted and fish & chips. I was basically just laying down in my booth trying to catch a snooze because the heat was so intense and I only had 4 hrs sleep the night before.
While there, we meet an elderly couple. They're both bikers. I don't know the woman's name but she used to ride motorcycles. She had a motorcycloe accident last November, where she lost a third of her brain. You would not have known, talking to her. The girlz started telling them about our journey to Graceland and the man said that he used to hang out with Elvis as a young musician. Next thing you know, he pulls out his checkbook and writes a check for $100 to Presely Place. That was so effing cool.
We came to that infamous border checkpoint and when you're in all black, it ain't effing pretty!!! We poured so much water on ourselves that within 20 mins, we were bone dry.
We finally get to Gila Bend and try to find relief from a shaded parking area at a McDonald's. HA!!! That was 120 degrees. Got a call from the chase car to say that one of the girlz had heat exhaustion and could no longer ride. She jumped in the chase car and left her bike on the side of the road. One of the others girlz got a ride to the abandoned bike and rode it back. I decided to lay in the curb after dousing myself with more water and just take a nap. The heat will suck you dry and exhaust you to where you don't want to do anything but sleep.
I finally head into McDonalds, where the rest of the girlz are gathered at a couple of tables eating and I get myself a drink and small fries. Ended up giving the fries to one of the girlz and just drank my gatorade and chomped on the ice.
We must have been there for about 1.5 hrs when we finally decided to get back on the road. We were planning to meet the WITW Chapter of Phoenix (Desert Diamonds) between 3-5 pm but there was no way we were going to make it by that time. We finally meet up with the Desert Diamonds chapter at a car wash. We're chatting, soaking our cooling vest (I don't have one as soaking my clothes was good enough), dousing ourselves with more water, looking like we wet our pants. We did not care!!!
There are no helmet laws in Arizona and some of the girlz took the opportunity to seize the moment and enjoy the wind in their hairs...literally! I chose not to.
We were following the DD girlz and actually made a couple of U-turns. I got up to Jett and said, "I think she's got you beat!" LOL Jett is known for her U-turns, that's why she's called Wrong Way Jett! hee hee
As the hours pass and it starts getting later in the evening, the heat is winding down BUT not that much. We start going through the mountains towards Globe, AZ, our first stopover.
We get to our hotel and all of us including the DD girlz check in. We then hop in a couple of the girlz trucks and head over to a restaurant for a very late dinner. Well, Tyra is our waitress and she's a little spitfire. She kept us laughing but there was only 1 cook and it took FOREVER to get our dinner. I think we came in just as they were cleaning up.
I had 3 mini cheeseburgers and fries but barely ate the 1 burger.
We were wiped out. Finally went to sleep, woke up and drank some OJ and coffee then thanked the DD girlz for their hospitality and off we went to our next stopover in Roswell, NM. Sorry for lagging so much but there is so much to write that I don't want to miss any details. Please be patient. :)
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