The Long Way Home

[kirbykajin_Sr]

Okay, so here is me getting ready to leave for work this morning. Granted, not the most handsome fellow, but it is what God gave me and I do the best I can.

Here is my commuting partner, definitely much better looking.

We live in Forney and I work in Irving, and drop the wife off near Baylor on my way in, so I generally have about a 45 mile ride oneway each day. Can be a lot of fun. So, to make things interesting, I am taking the long way home and will meet my wife at the ranch in Oklahoma today. By my calculations this round about way home should be about a 3000 mile journey, not counting side trips, which means I probably won't get home until next Sunday.

Oh well, sometimes you just have to take that long way home. Here is the planned route, which could change but should be close enough. Just depends on what we are in the mood for.

I will try to post along the way to keep folks updated. See ya in 9 days.

Lawson & Sherry

 

[RedPill]

You need to be careful. The pic of you didn't show up, so it looks as if you are calling your wife "not the most handsome fellow". Bad form in most marriages . . .

 

[kirbykajin_Sr]

You need to be careful. The pic of you didn't show up, so it looks as if you are calling your wife "not the most handsome fellow". Bad form in most marriages . . .

Oops. Just fixed that. Don't need to start this out with her getting mad at me. Makes for a very long commute. doh:

 

[The Bruce]

Have a great trip.

 

[NitroRoo]

Looks like a very fun ride home!

 

[lobo10s]

You guys have fun and ride safe.. she is ..by far the looks in that realationship hehehe

 

[kirbykajin]

You guys have fun and ride safe.. she is ..by far the looks in that realationship hehehe

I definitely got the good looks from my mother (riding skill from my dad)

 

[achesley]

Looks like a great trip in the making. I have to do summaries like that for my wife when leaving home. I always tell her I'll be within 100 or so miles of the projected path.
Be looking forward to the report as you progress

 

[Tabasco]

Ya'll have a great time and be carefull. Look foreward to the report.

 

[RogerDe]

Ride On... Be Safe....Have A great time....

 

[Gilk51]

I like the matching jackets!

 

[kirbykajin_Sr]

Okay, well, we finally got some pics of our little ride home. So far, the trip has been fabulous. Weather couldn't be much better.

First evening on the road

Packing to leave Springfield MO

The Bad Lands of South Dakota,

Needles Highway.

Lake in Custer State Park SD.

 

[kirbykajin_Sr]

Here are a couple more pics along the road.

Great view of the Bad Lands SD

Wooden overpass.

Two Great Men! LOL Okay, one great guy, and one motorcycle nut.

Needles Highway, Custer State Park SD

Wyoming, and a whole lot of nothing! But it was beautiful!

 

[kirbykajin]

Wish I could have made it. But then we would have noone willing to watch these wild dogs!!

 

[achesley]

WoW! Your route suggests some very fine riding and views. Have fun. I need to go north as there are a few states I've not visited by bike but, pictures of the West always make me wanna go back that direction. ;0). Guess that's why I ended up playing in the Colorado to Arkansas area last month. l-(
Thanks for sharing and looking forward for next report.

 

[kirbykajin_Sr]

Well, here is the final report of our long ride home. The trip totalled 3,195 miles. Nine of those miles ended up on a nice twisty switch back up to 11500 ft. that was gravel and dirt. Who said a Goldwing wasn't a dual sport.

The highest point of the trip was Mount Evans in Colorado, 12,995 feet above sea level. Well worth the trip. Thank goodness for electronic fuel injection. The wing never waivered at the high altitudes. We averaged about 38 mpg for the trip and that was loaded to about 1300 lbs. Yes, we did overpack some. Only needed the heated gear one day, and then that came off after the close encounter with a mule deer, real adrenalin pump there.

All in all the weather was perfect except for the last 7 hours back in Texas. We picked the best time to go right after Labor Day, because most everyone had already gone back home. I must say my favorite part of the trip was South Dakota. The Black Hills are astounding.

Here are some final pics along the route.
Dual sport time up the mountain;

Yes, It is a long way down. Fun times on the wing.

Okay, now we are at 11,000 ft. 8 miles up on the gravel road, and we come across this 60 year old guy biking it up the mountain. I'm impressed.

One of the nice twisties down the mountain. Gotta love em.

Mount Evans, just passing thru 12,000 ft. No shoulders.

 

[kirbykajin_Sr]

Heading back down Mount Evans. This is most of the scenery we had while in the Rockies. Gotta say it is probably the perfect time of year for a ride in this area.

Wife wanted a picture a of stream, so here is one of them that we stopped at. Nice and refreshing.

The final 7 hours of the trip we hit the rains from the low pressure system that laid in over texas. Glad I opted to put new rubber on the wing before we left. Here is the final shot back in the garage. Just a quick change of clothes and wipe her down, and we can start the next journey.

I was really surprised by the number of folks that actually trailer their bikes to these areas and then ride around for a couple of days. Someone once said it is the journey not the destination that defines the trip. But, I guess at least they did get out and ride some. It never fails at every stop, there is always someone wanting to come up and talk about your ride. This hardly ever happens in a cage. We encountered so many wonderful people along the road and can't wait till we can get back out on the next journey.

Don't forget to wave on the straight stretch and just keep a wide grin at the apex of the twisties! Ride safe, and we hope to see you on the road somewhere.
Lawson and Sherry Kirby

 

[Bear on a bicycle]

Looks like a great time & way to show the dirt bikes how to do it!

 

[lobo10s]

Looks like a great journey.. Nice pictures. i love your smiles.. makes me wanna buy a wing.. well not really but you get the idea.. Glad you all had a safe and sound trip.

 

[Bob Dahringer]

Great report on a great ride.

 

[Hemibee]

Enjoyed the report, thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[Did_Have_Cars]

Lawson,

(This is James Peck)
Hijacking your thread to say hi & congrats on the trip - Looks like you two had a blast! ...didn't know you posted here & was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled across this thread, as I have been an occasional lurker around these parts for quite some time

Beautiful `wing you have there, one of the best colors IMHO! Hope all is as good as it appears to be in your world!!!

-James