Day 15 Victorville to Santa Monica

As we left in glorious 80 degree sunshine little did we know, 5 miles down the valley, we would be in thick, cold fog and experience a drop in temp of 20 degrees! we pulled over to the shoulder on the Interstate to try and cover up but it was mad, fast, cold and dangerous as we hit the LA rush hour, not helped by Andy from ER's need for speed, which had one or two of our less experienced people longing to got off the congested Interstate.

We got off at the next exit ramp to change into warmer clothes and grab a coffee before getting back on the Interstate to the Santa Monica exit. This was about a 75 mile ride straight across LA; a sprawling city that looked anything but inviting from this view point.

As we approached Santa Monica, the pier, our final destination came into view. Horns began to blast and bikes were revved hard accompanied by Yahoo's! I was doing both with great enthusiasm when I realised I was beside a CA highway patrol cop...oops! but he smiled and shook his head..ha ha.

As we dismounted we cheered and hugged each other, so pleased to have come through without any major incident; emotions were high and tears of joy and relief spilled out. Terry, PB and I ran to the Pacific Ocean and straight in cheering as we went. The dream had been fulfilled.

Live life, love life & fear not the unknown for we are here for just a blink in time so try to write your own small piece of history.

A British journalist happened to be passing as we rode into the parking area at the pier head. Curious,; he came over and struck up a conversation. Next thing you know he's taking pictures and did an interview for a local Brit paper, http://www.british-weekly.com/. Click on the link and go to local news, "Vultures roar into Santa Monica" is the headline.

Back at E. Riders we returned our filthy bikes, once such shiny clean machines, even Ed's was dirty and that's remarkable! before being ferried to our Hotel. We now have 3 x days to relax in LA before our long journey home.

One lucky person PB (map man) is here for another week. He will be taking US Pacific highway 1 up to Sanfrancisco before he returns home, so good luck and safe riding to him.

Thank you for reading and I would like to thank you all for the comments received.

Ride safe....Big Rog!

Day 14 Laughlin to Victorville CA

To avoid the heat we took early calls (4am) to get up and ready to roll. We left about 6 and by 10 am had covered about 120 miles. It was still cool so we coped well when compared to the oven of yesterday; imagine what it must be like in Summer!

The Mojave dessert is barren and bleak but still offered some wonderful scenery; the roads, however, were terrible; huge pot holes and uneven surfaces made riding difficult and uncomfortable. As noon approached the hot wind returned to make our day a little harder.

We stopped off at Ludlow then Amboy, which is where General Paton did all his troop training for the tank brigade he commanded during the second world war and Newberry Springs, the only natural source of water for miles. All these small towns depend on this natural spring and years ago you can imagine the difficulty in fetching water by horse and cart!

RL told a story of how the west was really tamed and it involved an Englishman called Jon Harvey. He introduced B & B's for railway workers and employed young women who wanted to come out west. It was these women that became the brides for the many raucous men that ran wild in this territory. Saloons and brothels were soon replaced with schools and churches.

The English seemed to have a hand in everything back then!

Whilst riding toward Victoville we were overtaken by the CA Hells Angels, about a dozen of them, so we can say we rode with the CA HA....for all of 20 seconds

At Victoville we had our farewell dinner hosted by Eagle Riders and said our emotional goodbyes to RL who was leaving at 5am to ride the 750 miles home to his wife and family. Tomorrow Andy from ER will take us the last 110 miles into Santa Monica and the finish line.

Day 13 Williams to Laughlin Nevada

100 degrees forecast today? First stop Saligman, a brilliant old town famous for flagstone and a railway line that opened the West still further. We can spend for England and we do, every time we stop at one of these curios old places.

We had lunch in Kingman before heading into the mountains and our first taste of twisty roads. No sweat for us though as we are used to smaller tighter turns back home. One or two of the ladies did have a quick..check my underware moment but we all rode through the mountains safely. The heat; that's the real problem, all drinking lots of water.

Oatman is an old mining town that left all its Mules behind when the Gold ran out, and very healthy they look, with tourists feeding them carrots by the bucket load! We witnessed a gun fight, a murdur and a robbery outside the Wells Fargo office before jumping back on the bikes for the final run into Laughlin, now 110 degrees!

We arrived at our hotel, it's a Casino, in the middle of the dessert with the Colorado River running beside it. It's here because the Americans like to gamble and chill out...no other reason. I think they must be mad. It feels as if you are sitting in front of a fan assisted oven at 400, with the door open, and that's 6pm!

Journeys end is in sight, LA is about 300 miles away. It seems a long time since we left Chicago.

Day 12 Grand Canyon

Oh My God...This certainly is one of the seven wonders of the world. Seeing this piece of nature with ones own eyes is almost a religious experience and I cannot begin to describe it. Just look at the pictures and try to imagine it and promise that one day you will take yourself there; you will be a better person for the experience. We took a helicopter ride ...scared the living Sh.... out of not only me..lol

We took a train journey to the state park of the Gran Canyon, our coach, the club car, looked after my brother and I but our group were spread throughout the train. It had a bar and it had Jack.

Jack was our host and barman for the trip. The most motivated guy you ever met and really good fun, I offered him a job as a salesman if he ever comes to England.

We got bushwhacked by outlaws and robbed of our green backs, but all in a great spirit. We also had musicians playing for us. A fantastic day out. We were all so tired when we got back we had some food and watched the live band play outside our hotel before retiring for well earned sleep. Another early start tomorrow as the real dessert begins and we have been warned by RL that it will be no picnic!

Day 11 Gallop to Williams Arizona

Left the crap hotel (first bad one) and RL took us to visit at the heart of the Indian Nations. We went to "Window Rock" the capital of the Navajo Indian people. We were so privileged as no other tour has ever been taken here. RL worked his magic and the next thing we were given a tour of their government building and met the legislative administrator of their national council. His name was Dr James Davies and he was so inspirational about the cause for Indian progression. I am sure with men like him at the helm their plight will continue to improve. They were also honoured at our interest, so much so that they made us honouree Navajos, gave us all a national flag and took our pictures with their government members. Window Rock has left a lasting impression on us all; a life changing experience.

Then we went onto the Hubble trading post. The oldest in existence, started in 1870 and still active today. It was this trading post that kept the Navajo alive during the 1900's as the area where their reservation is, is remote. A wonderful piece of history with wonderful things for sale...bigger cases needed coming home!!

Jen met a group of bikers staying at our hotel, they called themselves the "Goat Heads" and they were loud and drunk, but not as loud and drunk as Jen and she had them all tamed in under an hour ! They were great guys and all sought out Jen, before they rode off, to give her a cuddle and good wishes.

Then we rode across " The painted dessert" and the scenery was breathtaking. The mountains of red rock bottoming out into vast plains or ranges as they call them. At Flagstaff Richard got another puncture repair underway before we rolled into Williams, a real old cowboy town and the gateway to the Grand Canyon. 280 miles today, now on Pacific time so your all 8 hours ahead of us.

Day 10 Santa Fe to Gallop N. Mexico

Well Sorry for the absence but we've been out in the middle of nowhere, yes that's America, and I have not been able to get to a PC....21st Century or what????

Left Santa Fe in dubious looking weather grey skies and cold! with the promise of thunder storms! Made it to St. Bernadillio without getting wet, hit The Range Cafe for some grub as the weather continued to improve, then onto Albuquerque for a bit of browsing. Lots of Indians selling beautiful jewelry on the streets; all hand made.

Left for Gallop with lightening forking to earth in the distance and the next 65 miles were awful. We got wet at last...soaked actually, but made it to hotel in one piece; speaking of which I found out that RL has been packing a Smith & Wesson 48 caliber pistol under his vest....just in case! As an ex Cop he's entitled to carry a concealed weapon. Mm mm comforting eh? 250 miles and we were all very tired. Tomorrow we head for Williams Arizona.

Day 8 Amerillo Texas to Santa Fe New Mexico

We left the windy prairies of Texas, stopping off at the Midpoint Cafe 1139 miles from Chicago. The lady who ran the place was fun as her business hour notice suggested. The grasslands changed quickly from a vivid green to a dry yellow with red sand and tumbleweed blowing across the highway. We had to ride a lot of Interstate Highway today as we had another long 310 miles to cover. On one stretch of old 66 we hit a flood ; there was no way around so we had to double back 6 miles to bypass it. We were now in New Mexico, "the badlands, outlaw country". During the 1800's this was the most lawless of all the territories and where Billy The Kid was finally shot and buried.

The terrain had changed, now there were hills and ridges and as I looked toward them I could imagine what it must have been like to see a posse of Indians starring down at you. How they got those wagon trains up and down those trails is a tribute to their tenacity. The roads, however, were wide and straight and made for fantastic riding. The bends are just curves, so even our poor riding skills let us cruise around them, as we made our way towards Santa Rosa where we stopped for lunch. Richards bike picked up a slow puncture so we had to swap it for the one on the support trailer, another delay, he hates this one, its a road glide but he hopes to get the puncture fixed in Santa Fe Tomorrow.

We arrived in Santa Fe around 6pm (clocks had gone back one more hour as we entered mountain time so it was really 7 pm to us). Small twisting streets led us to our hotel. The best we have stayed in since leaving Chicago. It looks like a film set from a spaghetti western and the people are predominantly Indian or Mexican, we are the El Gringo's for sure!

The staff provided a welcome reception for us with cheese, salami and biscuits and made us feel very welcome. After we had all freshened up we took a stroll around the town, had a few beers and returned to the hotel where we slept like babies in the biggest and most comfortable beds in the world!