Everything was going pretty good in the first stretch. Then the road started climbing and it looked like rain up ahead. Hmm, climbing in altitude and something falling from the sky...wonder what that could be. Well, it ended up turning into snow. I wiped my face shield and looked at the squeegee..sure enough, that was slushy snow. I was half expecting to see my windshield start getting coated.
Once at the top, the road was pretty straight and no snow was sticking to the road at all and up ahead I could see blue sky and the sun. Good times! Broke out of it and rolled into Pinedale for a quick fill up. Sky looked pretty good up ahead and road most of the way in sun all the way to state route 28.
My buddy the wind paid a visit about 20 miles out from 28. I had a nice little lean going on for a bit. Finally turned north and well, the sky didn't look so great. More precip falling from the clouds up ahead. I grabbed the throttle and rolled it on. No sense in taking my time getting there, let's go for it full steam ahead!
I saw a good sign as I got closer to the weather. Two motorcycles going the opposite way. I didn't see any wave-offs from them so I figured if they made it through whatever was up ahead, I could too. There was only one stretch I had to push through and it was a bit weird and I wasn't sure what I was getting into. The wind came HARD from the west and so did the snow pellets. I wasn't sure I was going to make it through, but I pushed on and there was no snow or slush on the road. Once I broke through that piece, there was nothing else to speak of weather wise. I made it over the pass and dropped into Lander, WY for a bite to eat and the last fill up of the day.
Seems my gas gauge has decided to give up the ghost. It doesn't go to the full mark any more (past two days) and it doesn't seem to come down at all either. Looks like I'll be running off the tripometer from here on out. Oh well.
After lunch I headed out of Lander and set my sights on Casper for the evening. I called ahead and it was probably a good thing I did since there weren't a lot of rooms left over this way. With no worries now about lodging, it was just a matter of enjoying the ride. And it was enjoyable!
Throughout this stretch of highway, there were large rain clouds looming all around. Unbelievably, I only hit one small section of rain the entire time.
It was fun watching these huge systems cover the land and drop their rain on different parts of the desert. I didn't even care if I got caught up in one. I was rolling again!
One note about the wind. Normally when you're driving and you get a good crosswind you feel the car get pushed about sideways. On a motorcycle it's a little different. It feels like someone it trying to kick the wheels out from under you. The sensation is from the wheels and not a lateral sideways push. Kinda weird when you first experience it.
So I rolled in here to Casper and it felt good to be traveling again. I'm expecting after tomorrow to retire the electric liner. I have a feeling I'll be rolling into the warmer and hotter temps of the east. In some ways I look forward to that..and in others, not at all. Oh well, it could be worse I guess.
Today's pics (Not many).
No comments:
Post a Comment