NomadGal's ride into awareness

[Jettn Jim]

I believe she was just at WestFest (Lake George CO) with Parepin and Ian...  Now heading to Kansas me thinks.

[NomadGal]

Well, I guess I'm not getting to the write part of the report again, but here are some more pics.
Laurie and I went for a "tame" ride while the guys did the hard stuff, and we had a blast.
Found a really cool trail.


Little did we know that while we were having fun, Marty had broken his leg (in 2 places!)


Taking backward pic while riding, Laurie and Jeannie

I totally spaced taking other westfest pics, but I was happy to hit the road again.
Here I decided to take the part dirt and part pavement road from Grant to George Town over Guanella pass. I have to say, that if you can only ride one road in Colorado, this is the one!
Absolutely mind-blowingly gorgeous.
I could not really take any pictures cause it was raining.




Snuck in a couple though.

As I was nearing George Town I saw this picturesque little Victorian town nestled in the Canyon. Wow! I could live there!!
Stopped at a gas station to get a cup of hot chocolate.


Amazing what they had to add to your drink!
Had to add an immune shot, (Echinacia) and an Alert shot

Kept riding in the rain cause there was no way I wanted to pitch a tent in the rain, so riding was preferable.
Ended up taking a dirt road past Fraser called cottonwood trail road, and after riding on a very bumpy and washed out road I finally called it quits and camped in between the cow turds. It had gotten dark, but he rain had stopped and the moon was out.
Sometimes when you park in the night without seeing where exactly you are, waking up in the morning can be a surprise.
Well...... not so much this time! Could not see a thing!



But after the sun showed its face a bit more was visible



Vision is a strange thing!! I rode this trail in near darkness, but truthfully, had I seen what it looked like, I might not have.
Knowing that I had already done it gave me the confidence to get out over the bumpy grasslands where I had parked and down the dirt to the main road.



Then I rode to Rocky Mountain National Park, which was really beautiful, but not nearly as gorgeous as Guanella Pass









In Estes now, and the sky looks pitch-black again!
Oh well, heading to Kansas now.
Being Dorothy for a little while :)

[NomadGal]

Somehow my post never made it, must have forgotten to click post after viewing first. Good thing I post on ADV as well, so I just copied it.

Anyway I am in Lincoln Nebraska now, visiting Jeff whom I met at WestFest.
I will post my pics and Stormy adventure story in a bit

[NomadGal]

It is Wednesday morning August first! Wow, how time flies when you are having fun! I am sitting comfortable in a soft couch in Jeff's and Leslie's house. Jeff is an ADV rider I met at Westfest and he invited me to stay at his place.
After I left Estes (where I parked in a fee parking lot, oops, did not see that!) I headed toward Nebraska. The hills slowly got lower and lower and all of a sudden there is nothing but flatlands. Amazing how it can change so fast.
I rode through Loveland and Greeley, toward Fort Morgan. The sky behind me looked black and I was hoping to outride it. Well, so much for that idea cause once I got to Fort Morgan it caught up with me. Out of nowhere the wind showed up and buffeted me across the road. I had to fight to stay somewhere between the lines. A few times the wind hit so hard I felt the bike swoop from under me and had to counter lean to stay up. Scary as hell! The rain came down so hard it was hard to see. I made it to a small town called BRush where I saw a sign Empire Motel. Phew! I made it. Decided to splurge for a night cause there was no way I wanted to continue riding in this. It was $50 for a night which was worth it.


Couldn't help but take a picture of the art in my motel room. For once a nice picture! Most of the time the stuff on the wall is just awful!

I relaxed for the evening and laid all my stuff out to dry, including my tent cover that never dried that morning.
Right next door was a supermarket where I bought some nibbles for the night, and rented Underworld Awakening. (Have the first 3 DVDs on my laptop). I must say that this sequel left much to be desired. I guess the next one will have to make up for it.
I slept great even though occasionally I'd wake up when a train thundered by, and was up and about early. Left Brush at 9 and decided to make it to Lincoln that day.
Talk about a sore butt!! I did it though!


Entering Nebraska! Yay, another state, now I need to find another cool sticker for on my Pelicans
Took a couple of breaks along the way and had something to eat.


Yep........... picture says it all!


Missed the perfect shot where you can see that both FedEx and UPS take the same train! I wonder why one is more expensive in shipping then the other?



As it got later the moon rose, almost full! Ahoooooooooo!!!


Took this picture aiming the camera backward, pretty good I think!

I got to Jeff's house at 9:30 a bit later than I had planned, but that's cause I got lost just a tad. 

Jeff and Leslie live in a gorgeous part of Lincoln and they have this amazing house!
Leslie made me a salad with some of her homegrown veggies, Yum!



Slept like a baby!
Tonight is bike night, so we'll see what that is like 

 

[ryancowboy87]

Welcome to Lincoln, and the FLATlands.  I've never been to the Euro bike night, but I hear it's fun...if I wasn't working, I'd go and meet you there.  I'd love to see the bike in person, since I followed the recreating of the bike and it looked great. sorry I'll miss you there, but have a great time. 

[NomadGal]

Welcome to Lincoln, and the FLATlands.  I've never been to the Euro bike night, but I hear it's fun...if I wasn't working, I'd go and meet you there.  I'd love to see the bike in person, since I followed the recreating of the bike and it looked great. sorry I'll miss you there, but have a great time. 

Ahhh, too bad! Well maybe you'll get mysteriously ill! 

[NomadGal]

Well I realized soon that I couldn't camp out at a remote location for more than 2 days due to a shortage of water.
So I got 2 one liter bottles and made bottle holders and mounted them on the back of the Pelicans



Now I got to find some reflective tape and tape it over the metal strips for extra hold and durability. Yay! One more day of relaxing in the middle of nowhere, and maybe get to waste some water and do some painting.

[CB160]

Hey NG,
Spirit and your pics are looking great!
Keep it goin' - grumpy, jealous old farts are followin' along   

[NomadGal]

Hey NG,
Spirit and your pics are looking great!
Keep it goin' - grumpy, jealous old farts are followin' along   

You call 59 old? Oy!

[CB160]

Pushin' the '60' in a couple of weeks....I don't see a B/D on your profile ;
And I wish I was ridin' with you!!  Have a great trip!!
 

[NomadGal]

Lincoln is quite a town! I actually managed not to get lost there, the road numbers are sequential, that helps 
I found a sporting goods store and bought two 1 liter Nalgrene bottles and also four a mosquito net! Yay, now I can sleep in my hammock and those pesky little buggers won't ruin my beauty sleep! I also stopped at Home Depot to get PVC caps and some weird plastic piping and bracket wiring.
When I got back to Jeff's house I worked on getting the water bottle holders on the back of my Pelican cases.

A turkey came to visit in Jeff's yard, it did not want to strike a pose though


Euro bike night in Lincoln was fun. There were a lot of BMWs but also Ducati's Triumphs, Vespa's (scooters) and one very old BSA. Of course a few off-roaders too. I met a couple of Jeff's friends, David and.....? Oy! I am terrible with names. 
We had dinner together at a restaurant on the bike street and hung out for a while.
Jeff and I swung by a health food store to purchase some ready-made food for on the road (Tasty Bite Indian food) Absolutely delicious, just put one push in muffler side pannier, and when you get to where you are camping dinner is ready 

I left late the next morning, Leslie wasn't feeling very well, and I took my time packing and re-arranging.

At around noon I left for Kansas to visit my friend Mike in Hutchinson near Wichita.
It was a hot ride and the Kansas scenery was very similar to Nebraska



I think I must have blinked, because I missed the Welcome to Kansas sign.
Spirit unfortunately did not like the fast pace and hot temperature and she stalled a few times, vapor lock I hear it's called.
I also messed up by not checking her oil, she was very low  I feel terrible!
Made it to Hutchinson by 5:30, just in time to ride to a thumper meeting with Mike, and give a talk about my trip.
Then Jack passed the hat around, and everyone put in a few buck for gas for me! How sweet! I was very thankful but it felt weird just having people I didn't know give me gas money for my trip. I got $83! Wow!!
Thanks all you guys! (never got everyone's name)
Today I will put something between petcock and engine, and figure out a way to lift my saddle bags so the air can flow through the vents.
I will be in hot climates from now on I think, so got to keep her cool somehow.

[LimitedSlip]

Then Jack passed the hat around, and everyone put in a few buck for gas for me! How sweet! I was very thankful but it felt weird just having people I didn't know give me gas money for my trip. I got $83! Wow!!
Thanks all you guys! (never got everyone's name)

Got a PayPal account?  You might be surprised at the generosity of iStrangers :)

I for one have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip and would toss a few bucks your way to keep you on the road.

Ken

[NomadGal]

Then Jack passed the hat around, and everyone put in a few buck for gas for me! How sweet! I was very thankful but it felt weird just having people I didn't know give me gas money for my trip. I got $83! Wow!!
Thanks all you guys! (never got everyone's name)

Got a PayPal account?  You might be surprised at the generosity of iStrangers :)

I for one have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip and would toss a few bucks your way to keep you on the road.

Ken

Uhm, uhm, uhm, uhm.........speechless!!!!  I think that idea kinda freaks me out! Thank you, but that would be too weird! 

[LimitedSlip]

Then Jack passed the hat around, and everyone put in a few buck for gas for me! How sweet! I was very thankful but it felt weird just having people I didn't know give me gas money for my trip. I got $83! Wow!!
Thanks all you guys! (never got everyone's name)

Got a PayPal account?  You might be surprised at the generosity of iStrangers :)

I for one have thoroughly enjoyed reading about your trip and would toss a few bucks your way to keep you on the road.

Ken

Uhm, uhm, uhm, uhm.........speechless!!!!  I think that idea kinda freaks me out! Thank you, but that would be too weird! 

Yeah, I figured that would be your response but I really enjoy your posts. Keep them coming and I promise not to freak you out any more.

Ken

[CB160]

+1 on the PayPal account:
Just consider this as a 'semi-professional' venture...and you now get paid (maybe) to write and photograph.....Just remember that uncle sam may be watchin' so keep track and pay your dues (when you can-ha!) I'll bet you'll be very surprised at the results.....

[Cabrito]

I've really been enjoying your trip report so I figured I'd chime in and say thanks for taking the time to post all the nice pictures and taking us along with you.

[NomadGal]

Well, I had quite a few responses regarding the Paypal account, including my mom who told me why not? Haha, Somehow I always feel that if I have been given something I should give something beck as well, to keep the karma even. Hehe!
Somehow getting money for posting my trip and living my dream doesn't quite make it even, so...............
I have heard from GoalZero the solar travel kit company, and will have an online open house intro etc. on the 7th (Spanky, I assume you have internet?) After that I will find out if I get hired. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
I'm almost in Oklahoma, and Spirit is just hating the heat! I insulated petcock to eliminate vapor-lock, but it does't seem to work too well! Maybe a little, but she still stutters. Think heat resistant foam might work better than the reflective heat war, so I'll see if I can find some.
I coated the underside of my tank with rubber, so the gas wouldn't boil, I think it works a tad, but not too well either. Even moving my tank bags up so the engine has more air going through the vents seems not to make an iota's worth of difference. It's just boiling here in Kansas. I take it that I am just supposed to go North and stay there until it cools down 
Heading to Iowa after Oklahoma over the Ozark mountains.
Might swing by Jeff's again to be there during Pie-Fest day on the 18th.

[NomadGal]

Well............
Where to start??? 
Was in Oklahoma near a place called Nash, when an officer told me to take a detour on a dirt road due to an accident. He said, it's just a little bit of loose gravel.
So I'm thinking I ca handle that no problem! 
Well, he must not have been from the neighborhood, because ofter a tad of gravel I hit a dirt road with 6-10 worth of deep loose sand. Very dusty. I kinda freaked but then talked myself through it. Stood up, gripped the bike with my knees, very loosely haled the handlebars and let spirit do her thing. All went del for about 1/4 mile when the ruts started getting deeper and deeper. Then I made the mistake of trying to get to the left side of the road where it wasn't so deep. The middle part was about a foot deep and before I know it front wheel flipped sideways and I found myself airborne! Over the handlebars (maybe might have gone too fast???) and into the dirt. I had a soft landing so I didn't really think anything was wrong. My side felt a bit sore but that was it. There were a few trucks behind me and the guys in it helped me pull Spirit up. The third truck had a gal who was also a biker. She said just ride over the field, it was cut down wheat. I did and it was easier, then unto dirt again, but this time solid. Got back on the road and started riding when I noticed my rib popping and creaking. Not sure what was going on....
Rode to Enid and called my doctor friend in East Hampton. He said to just wait and see if the pain would get worse. He said there is nothing to be done about a broken rib anyway. It doesn't hurt to bad and I can breath normally, just not deeply.
It feels awfully weird though very loose and crackely! Oh well, On my way to Sparky's in near Muskogee 

[SPANKY]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune and hope you are not too uncomfortable. Sunday a cold front comes in and the high is supposed to be 97ish...then the heat is back Monday...104 or so. Cooler than it has been...we marked a 114 at the school on Friday! I am just east of there and should be in around 5 pm or so on Sunday. Ping me for the key location if you beat me there!   Don't have internet at home but there is internet at the library in town if you need to! Taking Monday off..show you some sights if you're up to it!

[trialsguy]

Bummer!                  

Take care and heal quickly....

Yeah! on the PP account, consider yourself a professional writer and photographer.  Providing great stuff to other people.  And to be non-commercial, there are a lot of friends out here that want to participate in your adventure.  

Do it.

Bob C.
NM
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

[Guido]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune and hope you are not too uncomfortable. Sunday a cold front comes in and the high is supposed to be 97ish...then the heat is back Monday...104 or so. Cooler than it has been...we marked a 114 at the school on Friday! I am just east of there and should be in around 5 pm or so on Sunday. Ping me for the key location if you beat me there!   Don't have internet at home but there is internet at the library in town if you need to! Taking Monday off..show you some sights if you're up to it!

I guess the flat track lessons are out, huh?

Edit: Cold front? 97?

And of course, heal up sister. You'll do fine.

[NomadGal]

Feeling a tad better! filled up the bathtub at motel, and floated for a while. Felt a sharp pop, so I think maybe I just dislocated rib, and it popped back in? No idea! Going to sleep now, and hopefully do some major healing in the process 

[HotShot]

Heal quickley NG.   

[NomadGal]

Spent the night at a motel in Perry OK. Did not sleep too well unfortunately, but I was glad to have slept at least some.
Really sore and stiff this morning and my rib is not feeling too good.
The good thing is I can still move, albeit slowly, and I can sit, so I can ride 
Got some pics from yesterday. Too bad I didn't think of taking a picture of my bike in the sand. I was worried about the people behind me and didn't want to hold up traffic. I don't think they would have minded, I think I was a bit of a treat. Single gall on a packed bike crashed in the sand. Something to talk about at home I suppose LOL 


Almost in Oklahoma


The factory in the background really does not add much to the welcome sign


It has been really dry here as well!

After visiting with Spanky I will head North again, just too friggin hot down here!!
Neither Spirit nor I seem to care fort much. Missing the pine trees and mountains.
Wonder what the Ozarks look like.

[SPANKY]

The area I live in is called "Green Country!" Could be renamed..."Brown Country!" The Ozarks are a bit better...higher in altitude by a bit...and just about as brown!