Ride Report: Flagstaff AZ to Lafayette LA

Hello All,
Here's a trip report for everyone. I've been home for about a week and
my back and arse are still sore.
Here's how it all started: Kyle (An old Army Buddy) called and said his
wife was FORCING him to get rid of some of his bikes. (He had 12) I
responded that it may be time to get rid of the wife. LoL. He somewhat
laughingly agreed.
I hopped the next mornings flight from Baton Rouge LA to Phoenix AZ.
I inspected the bikes my friend 'needed' to part with. I chose pair of
Kawasaki Mean Streak 1500s (a '02 and a '03 - Both Purt near stock and
Factory Fresh, Black and completely debadged).
After MUCH drinking and reminiscing, we agreed that my purchase price
would be that he and I would perform a serious Iron Butt ride back to LA on
the bikes and I would put him up for Mardi Gras and eventually fly him back
home. I honestly couldn't believe my ears. I was all TOO happy to agree. Two
bikes for some of my time, beer, parades and a $500.00 airline ticket.

Come one guys say it with me: HELL YEAH!

Kyle called his buddy at Northland Motorsports off of Highway 66 in
Flagstaff. He came out and checked out both bikes top to bottom. Changed the
oil, air filters, plugs, etc on both bikes. We had to delay our leaving
because we found a semi-deep nick in the front tire of the '03. The
dealership changed the tire the next morning and we were on our way.

Folks, if you've never had the chance to ride through the open desert on the
back of a low heavy fast bike... you just haven't lived. I'm having a
very hard time putting it into words. The ride from Flagstaff to Albuquerque
was utterly breathtaking... long empty roads, no cops to be seen, amazing
scenery with the desert and mountains. @350 miles of pure bliss. The wind
had a slight chill all day. I could not have asked for a more pleasant
experience. At times I thought that maybe I had drank too much Jack-n-Coke,
died, and gone to Biker Heaven. However the vibration from the road and wind
told me that I was very much stall alive.

We stopped at a Flying J truckstop around 11:30PM. By this time I basically
could not feel my right hand or most of my ass and lower back. LoL. After a
quick shower in the Trucker Shower booth, a cup of coffee, and a pack of
Tylenol I felt MUCH more 'alive'. We fueled up, and rode on. We stopped for
the night at a random Mom-N-Pop hotel just over the Texas border. My room
was the size of a semi-large closet. I did NOT care by that time.

New Mexico was a beautiful state to ride through. Texas on the other hand...
LoL. Let me just say that the people we encountered in Amarillo and Dallas
seemed to have absolutely NO regard for people on Bikes. Dallas was the
worst part of the trip. The traffic was horrendous. (But then again, after
the wide open spaces of New Mexico, I guess my opinion of traffic was a Tad
Bit skewed)

We stopped for food and sleep in Tyler. I felt like the walking dead by
this point. Legs, feet, hands, what are those? LoL. We got up the next
morning, had breakfast at Waffle House and decided to attempt the rest of
the ride the in one day. ( I realize that his may be easy for some more
experienced riders; however, the longest either of us had ridden before that
was 4 to 5 hours there and back)

We made it to Alexandria and stopped for food and Gas. Man, we had the BEST
BBQ at this small Mom-N-Pop restaurant. Afterwards I didn't want to move...
much less get back on my bike. We mounted up and got a move on. We made it
to Lafayette a few hours. The sight of my driveway made my heart sing with
Joy. It sounds silly, but DAMN I was happy to be home. Not to mention it was
the Monday before Mardi Gras. Lots to do to get ready for the next day. We
had an amazing time over the next few days. Got my buddy plenty drunk and
flashed by countless Lafayette College Girls. We spent some time with two
umm 'dancers' from one of Lafayette's best strip clubs. They were both from
Arizona and pretty much made the day.

Wednesday Afternoon I dropped off Kyle at the airport and I've never seen a
happier guy. Of course when his wife unpacks his bag he'll have some
explaining to do about the sequin covered G-String and Polaroid photos I
snuck into his bag. LoL. (Don't worry guys, his wife is a tolerant an
wonderful ex-dancer herself)

It was a fun and highly enjoyable ride. I don't plan on doing anything
similar in a LONG time. Unless Kyle wants to give me his pair of FXRs.

Stay Safe Friends,
W.L. Knight

 

Excellent post, Dub.. You hit that nail square on the head.. It takes us old
guys a little longer to get our breath back and a little longer to rest up,
but we still got the guts to go for the glory..

Yessir.. you sure lucked out on the purchase price for the two motorcycles,
alright.. Way to go.. You may have to keep a sharp lookout for repercussions
from your buddy's wife, for a while.. lol.. Regards..

Bill Walker
Irving

 

I have a '02 Mean Streak I'm interested in selling cheap. Let me know if
you're interested. It now has @5500 miles.

 

Morgan,
No, this bike is not one of the two I just got. I've had it for about 4
months. I'll probably be asking 4k.

Thanks,
Wayne

 

It's awesome to take that first long trip, isn't it? You get a sense
of accomplishment, heightened esteem and self-confidence. Congrats and
thanks.