Epic Route 66 Ride (Part 1)

[jmlusa1]

Hey Ya'll Here are some pics from my first ever "Epic Ride"
My Brother Bob and I grew up on bikes and when I joined the Navy he was still in HighSchool. I left home for boot camp and really, never looked back.
Of course I would come home on leave when I could, but I was out of my little town and Gone Baby! Loving life on my own and servin my Country as Prouldly as anyone ever had! I was so patriotic I always said if ever cut open I'd bleed Red White and Blue!
side note: Our Grandpa Loftin said if cut open especially our head, a whole bunch of little p... well somthin else would fall out! Not Brains..!!!He was funny.
Anyway fast forward 22 years... I retired from the Navy in 06 and moved here to Texas to be with my Dad and Stepmom and around my brother Bob. Now at this time I'm proud to say Bob was Texas' #1 Game Fence Builder and He had been well blessed in his business and family so when my dad passed away I moved to Valley, Mills and then Gatesville, to live between Bob and his family and Ft Hood where I was blessed with the Job I have enjoyed now for over three years. What's all that have to do with Rt 66? My Bro and I have been apart all that time and have always wanted to ride out accrss America together. So We did.
The Mother Road was our first thought. We decided to split the trip in half riding from Central Texas to Chicago the the eastern start point of Rt 66. Ride to the Mid Point and then back home. Next year same time we'll go to the Midpoint and ride the Historic Rt66 all the way to Cali and then back accross the south west. These picture as I post the best of them are from the first half of our Epic Rt66 Ride. Enjoy!

Pic Narration: Ok As You see here I do Not have a Touring Bike(yet) But I knew I'd need some wind protection. I got this rockin Roadster Fairing from Rifle colormatched BlackCherryPearl to keep the cool factor on the NightTrain...It Looked HOT if I do say so myself. ...but Not enough protection.
I then added a Laminar Lip...-20 cool pionts... not too bad.
but Not enough protection.
then designed and built these funky looking upper Fairing winglets... -40 more cool points...
Paint them My Wife suggested... nope! no time... besides they are experimental anyway.

 

[jhansen]

 

[jmlusa1]

still not enough wind protection... but getting there.
Some of you may ask...Why didn't you just buy one?
Where's the fun in that I say!
So... the night before our ride toward Chi-Town, I designed and built the lower spoilers...working deep into the morning hrs, I finally got all packed and left to my brothers house in Valley Mills. Yes I slept... a little.

 

[jmlusa1]

More Later... speeking of sleep.

 

[The Bruce]

 

[jmlusa1]

As we pulled into down town Chicago, I was reminded of the many, many "Big Cities" I visited all over the world. The all look the same from one perspective navigatin traffic. ... but at the same time I've learned that each and every one of then has it's own charm and if I looked for the Bigger Picture I really enjoyed then for thier differences. When I've heard people talk about Chigago, I never invisioned this kind of beauty. This Park was right by the water and the city as a back drop was a real contrast to what I thought we would experience in the windy city. Heck! It's wasn't even windy either!

 

[jmlusa1]

As in most cities, the one way streets were every where and we had to act like somthing was wrong with the bikes so we could pull into a no parking zone to get our bearings.

 

[jmlusa1]

These "Historic Route 66" were so encouraging as we zigged and zagged trying to ride as much of the actual "Old Road" as we could. This grafitti and Mural was more what I'd thought we would see more of... Surprizingly, not so much.
Bob's wife asked if we ate some Chicago style Pizza for lunch, Nope!, "Mexican", we said! She couldn't beleive it! That thought didn't even occur to me tho. I thought about why. Interestingly enough I recalled that In All of my travels I've found myself looking for that places version of my Favorite food... yep you guessed it.