I had a bunch of old for sale stuff and junk that needed to be cleared, I think it will handle the traffic fine once its back up.
Ok the last day, I contemplated going to L.A. first, just "because" but I realized my bike was in need of some major attention. I had put some paper down under the bike as to not to dump oil all over the hosts floor during the night. I packed up, opened the door and headed west.
Night, morning.
This photo is hilarious to me because, coincidentally, about 20 feet down the road on the other side is a spot where a cop car likes to hide. I did not notice him when I pulled over to take this picture, only when I left. I wonder what he was thinking?
More open vacant scorched land, my favorite type of terrain. I pulled over after I was a good distance from anything to let the bike cool down and noticed some tents or something off in the distance. For a second I was excited thinking of a cliche 70's hippy colony. After checking it out in on my camera it was just some tents and a pickup truck, I wondered what the hell they were doing. I almost wanted to ride over and ask them.
Nothing worth mentioning really. On for a while then another stop for oil. I pulled over next to this two ancient machines that seemed to be fending for themselves. They were maybe 20 feet off the road, I bet they had a colorful history when they were not sitting in the middle of nowhere for 40 years. There was also an unexplainable rectangle of gravel that must have been been poured and then shaped by someone. Talk about a strange place for landscaping. I wonder if they knew that there creation would be almost perfectly preserved in the desert climate. The square plot of gravel that had been sitting there for who knows how long, was absurd enough to make me laugh at it. A bit after that I crossed back into Arizona, I was a relative stones throw away from home.
Just before Safford my tire ate my fender again. So out with the duct tape and zip ties. I always wondered what my bike would be look like without a rear fender. I lost my book here probably 10 mins after the picture. A while after I had got home I put a craigslist ad up for one free copy of Les Miserables in a plastic bag, but they had to find it. I really wonder what its fate was, it was protected from the elements in the bag. It ALMOST made it back from New York, I wish the new owners knew the complicated tale of how it go there. If I ever go back there I am going to try and look for it. I know EXACTLY where I left it. It still might be there if anyone wants it, north side of the road directly across from the street on the other side. AKA here:
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=32.816876,-109.661273&spn=0.003323,0.004828&t=h&z=18
Thats a lot of grime, from a lot of places.
The worked fine for a while but it ate it again and I mean it really ate it. A couple on a big Harley from the east coast stopped, which was good because it took the both of us to pull the fender out. Somehow my 13 mm socket had migrated from the top of my backpack to my swing arm and had been there since my last stop. I made a better system by hanging the fender with zip ties and I was once again back on my way.
I was getting close to Phoenix. Only a few hours away, which used to be "a long time" but now it seemed like nothing. Soon I passed the mining town of Globe, I was less than an hour away and almost home. My cargo shifted and slumped over the right side of my bike. No big deal as I just pulled over, as I came to a stop and went to put my foot down it just hung in the air pointing down. The side of the road was much much steeper than I thought and over I went. Needless to say I was a bit agitated. Getting the bike back up was going to be challenging since it was down on a steeper bank, funny how quick the bike went back up when I got angry. Reloaded and secured, took the very last picture "while on the road" and made it into familiar Phoenix.
A mile away from my house my luggage slumped over the side again, only being held up by my left hand. I managed to get across the road though traffic while holding it and adjusted it for the last time. A few minutes later I pulled in front of my house, alive and surprised that I had actually made it home after trying to do, what really was a bad idea. The bike still ran and idled perfectly as it sat outside my house, by the way.
