Route 66 Trip Summary
May 13 to June 24th, 2006



You know you have been away a long time when:
- you can't remember what colour your toothbrush is
- you forget what number your favourite TV channels are
- you find spider webs in your living room
- your flower bed has more weeds than the flowers you planted before you left
- your credit card statement envelope is thicker than your wallet
- the neighbourhood looks like a new community you are just visiting
- the battery is dead in the living room digital clock

Things we enjoyed the best:
- Hoover Dam
- the Grand Canyon, although, after seeing 1 lookout view, the rest looked similar
- riding the bridges around San Francisco Bay
- spectacular winding roads from Flagstaff to Oatman and up the west coast
- the light show on the canopy over Freemont St. in Las Vegas
- the canyon rides in the Malibu area
- coupon books for cheaper motel rates and internet access to use our laptop

Things we we disliked the most:
- the powerful wind gusts across the desert
- gas stations in California that wanted a Zip code at the pump for credit cards
- RAIN!! on the west coast because it was cold as well!!
- Chicago because of the extensive construction

Trip problems:
- the gas can cover blew off a few days out
- the gas can fell off on the way home
- my GPS quit on the way home so it was back to the maps

Bike problems: (all were minor and fixed easily)
- my air horn compressor quit, probably from too much rain
- the front fender tip broke at the left mounting bracket
- an oil leak developed when a bolt came loose on the timing chain tensioner
- one light bar bolt came loose
- the rear tire wore out at 10,000 kms, probably from the trailer tongue being too heavy

Trailer problems:
I didn't weigh the trailer before we left or test drive it, but I knew the tongue was heavy. Being too heavy, it pushed and jerked bad when turning if going slow in 1st gear. This happened mostly when slowing down so I had to be ready to pull in the clutch to keep the bike from getting out of control.

After we got home I weighed the trailer with only what was in it when we left. As I suspected, it was pretty heavy. The tongue was 38 lbs without the gas can or anything in the cooler, left side was 155 lbs and right side was 197 lbs, for a total of 390 lbs. Once we were out of 1st gear, the trailer didn't bother me. Except for the lack of power on the hills, I didn't feel the trailer at highway speed or on the hills and curves.

Comments
- we had more rain that I had anticipated
- it was cooler than I thought it would be in California
- we were on an 8 lane highway in CA (6 regular lanes and 2 for getting on and off) but it was rush hour so I had my feet down half of the time
- our leathers were faded by the strong sun in the west
- we didn't really need the gas can but it was a comfort knowing we had it to rely on
- we took way too many clothes
- I'll take the cooler off the tongue and use a smaller one inside the trailer next trip
- the most expensive gas we saw was in Gorda, CA on the Coastal Highway at $4.80 US

Thanks
Many thanks go out to:
- Lisle and Doris for putting us up our 1st night out
- Verda Rae and Graham for a great meal and stay in Dumas, TX
- Lynda for putting us up and feeding us in the Delta, BC
- Kim and Peter, Jennifer and Will and Christina and John for the great BBQ's
- Catherine and Drew for a nice visit
- Laurie and Brendan for our visit and tour around Port Alice, BC
- my good friend, Bev Green for his hospitality in Nanaimo, BC
- Pat, for all the planning you put into this trip and for putting up with my poor sense of direction, even with a GPS!