My age and the Oklahoma heat did me in.
Oklahoma was three days of slow, sandy riding in 104F/40C heat with more of the same for Utah. Colorado was a cool relief in between that made the upcoming desert even less appealing than if I hadn't ridden in those snow-covered mountains.
I rented a cargo van in Ouray, loaded the bike and headed home.
Some readers may recall that I lost my antenna in New Mexico (left it in a hotel). After that, the KX2/etc seemed like dead weight that I was hauling for nothing. I never came up with another antenna solution, therefore no activations after New Mexico.
My favorite states to ride through - for very different reasons - were Arkansas and New Mexico. I met so many fun and interesting people along the way, both motorcyclists and regular folk. The KX2 performed well, as I knew it would. Heat, humidity, engine vibration - it shrugged them all off and continues to perform as new.
Ditto with the bike. Flawless in every regard. Me, on the other hand...
The little lady and I have some upcoming travel plans that are more "age appropriate". The first will be a cross country trip (POTA rove) to Washington state next month.
73 for now!
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Good morning John, I did enjoy reading the posts of your adventure but yes very wise of you to see that it was time to head back home. I guess we all at some point realize that we are not as young as we used to be. Enjoy your family vacation time.
ReplyDelete73,
Mike
VE9KK
Hi Mike, Yep - on to other things!
Delete73,
John
John, you made it further than I would have! Good job. Will look for you on the West Coast Pota Rove. Ken N0HRL
ReplyDeleteThanks Ken. I'll be using an FT-891 for the trip, mostly CW, maybe a some phone here and there.
Delete73,
John
John -- Nice job adapting to reality instead of holding on to plans that weren't working. It has been HOT out there. I made my own trip last week, though all paved roads: https://www.klrforum.com/threads/blue-ridge-parkway-2026.86252 Make sure you get HI while you're in WA!
ReplyDelete73 de Todd W2TEF
Looks like a great area to ride in, Todd - and great that your son was able to join you for part of the ride. Stay cool!
Delete73,
John
Any chance you’ll be cruising through north Idaho? We have some pretty incredible huckleberry ice cream up here…
ReplyDeleteI've heard about that ice cream from an RVer we follow on YT and definitely plan on giving it a try! We'll be passing through ID on I90.
Delete73,
John
You up for a joint POTA activation when you are passing through? We have a number of entities pretty near I-90 that are simple to access.
DeleteSounds good - I'll email you later.
Delete