Two Vics on Route 66

Home in Vermont

2009-10-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I made it safely home to Vermont. We had an amazing time and wish we could have spent more time traveling. We had many memorable experiences, but I think the most memorable for both Lisa and myself happened at the Cadillac Ranch.

I painted "LISA MARRY ME?" on one of the cars, and Lisa painted "YES.".

We are going to wait until 2010 to get married. Who knows where will go go for our honeymoon. Anyone got any suggestions?

Marc

Wednesday - September 30, 2009

2009-10-01T19:29:00.001-07:00

The Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma
Outside Pops in Arcadia, Oklahoma. A cool place to stop for lunch. You can get any type of soda pop ever imagined from all over the world.

Sunset in Sayre, Oklahoma

Main street Sayre, Oklahoma

cattle gates allow for trucks to pass over but the moo cows will not go over.

Gateway Motor Speedway in East St. Louis, Illinois

Marc sitting in our pod that would take us to the top of the Arch

The Mississippi River

The ride is over.

2009-09-29T19:24:00.000-07:00

We made it back to Surdyke's Victory in Festus, MO on Tuesday afternoon. (Incredibly friendly and helpful dealer.)

We rode over 3600 miles in 14 days! And did not experience a single issue with either Victory. These are truly well engineered and well built motorcycles!

We'll be posting a "wrap-up" of the ride in the next couple days.

On Wednesday, we are planning on stopping at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis before heading east. (Hopefully, we'll post a few pictures Wednesday night.) We hope to be home in Vermont sometime Thursday night.

Marc

Saturday - Sept 26, 2009

2009-09-27T07:29:00.001-07:00

Riding motorcycles along Route 66, a vacation of a lifetime, Visiting the Grand Canyon, breath taking. Shipping dirty laundry and trinkets home, PRICELESS! 37 lbs lighter! Worth every penny!

This guy finally won a "nonresident" elk lottery and bagged a big one. He's mailing the antlers home to New York.

Hot Bikes of Flagstaff, AZ. Thanks Tim for a warm welcome and the merchandise.

We enjoyed a nice breakfast in Williams, AZ at Ol' Smokey's, one of the historic eateries along Rt. 66

The view from outside our motel room in Morarity, New Mexico at the Sunset Motel. An original Rt. 66 establishments with the same decor and accommodations.

Friday - Sept. 25, 2009

2009-09-27T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping the rock doesn't move!
Taking Victory Motorcycles to new heights.
Push harder! You can do it!
As you can see, we're getting along just fine!

California Condor flying over the South Rim.
This squirrel looks like he's scared of heights!

Thursday - Sept. 24. 2009

2009-09-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Today Marc and I traveled from Vegas to Williams, AZ. Not many pictures taken. From this point on the need for mileage will out weigh the need for picture taking although I'll have many pictures of The Grand Canyon tomorrow, but for tonight we bid you a goodnight.

2009-09-24T00:57:00.000-07:00

Marc and I visited Las Vegas Motor Speedway and I am glad to say we survived a private tour provided by Julie, a 70 some-odd year old women who drove us at warp speed around the track. I learned quickly the value of a seat belt after being slammed into the side door of our 15 passenger van. None-the-less it was very interesting to see the facility. The 20+ degree slope on turn one and two was very cool to hike up!

Some of the ground crew let us help paint the grass in preparation of the Camping World Truck Series race this weekend.

Marc crossing the finish line.

If you ever get to Vegas a must see is the Freemont Street experience. The ceiling lights up and music is synched to is. VERY cool!

These are handblown glass jellyfish like plates that hang from the lobby ceiling at the Bellargio Hotel. The pictures do it no justice. Thanks to Marc he drove down the "strip" in congested traffic so that I could run in and take pictures. The hotel itself is very grand and the casino is one of the most elaborate.

Tuesday - Sept.22, 2009

2009-09-23T01:25:00.001-07:00

We visited Arlen Ness's Victory dealership this morning. Very nice folks gave us a tour of the dealership.
Some of the varies sights to see at night. The lights are magical!

Next are pictures of The Venetian Hotel

The ceiling is painted to resemble the blue sky and there is a moat to enjoy a gondola ride through.

Margaritaville on the strip. We had dinner there Monday night.
Various pictures of our Hoover Damn tour.
I had to wear a bandana over my face because the wind is so hot and dry it hurt my nose.

Monday - Sept. 21, 2009

2009-09-21T23:49:00.000-07:00

Marc and I traveled from Kingman, AZ to Las Vegas today by way of Oatman, AZ where wild donkeys run around the small town greeting all the tourists. This young donkey has a "NO Carrot" sticker stuck to his nose.

The temps going through the Mohave Valley reached 110 in the shade. The wind gusts were hot hot hot!

This shows a small portion of the pass we rode going into Oatman. Very skinny road with many tight curves and hairpin turns.

The bottom of Mohave Valley.

Sunday - Sept. 20, 2009

2009-09-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

This is in Gallup, NM.
Varies pictures of the painted desert

We arrived in Kingman, AZ around 6:30pm. The temp was 90 degrees and the ride over from Flagstaff was beautiful to say the least.

Saturday - Sept. 19th

2009-09-19T21:07:00.001-07:00

We had a great day of riding. Just missed being stranded along the roadside in a hail storm. We had pulled off to take cover from the rain and another rider pulled in to join the small shelter when it began hailing. It didn't last long but when it was over it looked like it had snowed.

30 miles East of Gallup, New Mexico

Hail anyone?

Cadillac Ranch - 9/18/09

2009-09-19T06:44:00.001-07:00

Friday we enjoyed a quick stop at "The Cadillac Ranch" in Amarillo, Tx. Ten cadillacs have been buried in the soil making an interesting roadside attraction. People are encouraged to spray paint grafitti and from the layers of paint it looks like folks have been doing it for a long time. I painted my kids initials on one of the tires and a big red heart for all my family, friends and co-workers back home.

2009-09-18T20:52:00.000-07:00

Staying in Santa Fe, New Mexico tonight. The wind whipped across the plains today and has made 2 riders very tired. Ran into brief light rain but otherwise dry. On to Albuquerque then Arizona tomorrow. We have plans to visit an old family friend of mine before leaving New Mexico.

2009-09-18T06:56:00.000-07:00

Marc and I traveled I-40 after stopping at the Oklahoma City Memorial. It follows the old road bed of 66. We're finding time to be an issue due to my addiction for picture taking! So... we're incorporating I-40 when possible. We have many maps and have stopped at many a town to take in the local roadside attractions.
It's true everything is BIG in Texas. The billboards are 30-40 feet in the air, the speed limit is 75mph (I like that one) and the sunsets are breath taking. You can see city lights in the distance for miles before you reach the town because the land is so flat. I could take a million pictures and not be done.
Friday we travel into New Mexico.

Wednesday - Sept 16, 2009

2009-09-16T18:36:00.000-07:00

Marc took me to Krispy Kreme for the first time. Little pillows of goodness hot off the conveyor belt. It took all my willpower not to eat a dozen of them! Marc made me don a Krispy Kreme hat in ceremony of my first ever visit.
From there we visited Cruising 66 Victory dealership in Springfield, MO. Wonderful folks! Thanks to all the guys and gals in the shop for taking time to diagnose my phantom "rattle". Thanks to Nan and her husband for a warm welcome .

From there Marc and I traveled along route 66 where ever possible. The road surface is mostly old concrete in different levels of repair. Most towns have seen their better days and it's very obvious that the larger highways have left 66 in the dust. The biggest thing we've had to watch out for has been turtles trying to cross the road.

Tuesday - September 15, 2009

2009-09-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Surdyke's early this morning to drop the truck and trailer off after attaching my saddlebags and rack. We couldn't ask for a better place to leave the truck. Thank you Jeremy for your fine hospitality!

Marc finally gets to post!

2009-09-14T19:29:00.001-07:00

Now I can have a say!

We had a great drive over from Vermont, except for the clamp issue. Replacement clamps are in hand and will be installed before heading east. Could have been a lot worse.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway was really cool. As the pictures will show, Lisa finally crossed the finish line and was allowed to kiss the bricks! Lucky bricks! After the tour, we addressed the media about our upcoming motorcycle ride, and since Lisa crossed the finish line first, it will be an appropriate VICTORY lap!

We took a short ride around the Festus, MO area upon our arrival today. Great riding!

More to come!

September 14th - Indianapolis Speedway

2009-09-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Marc and I stopped at the speedway to enjoy a tour of the complex. Yes, we kissed the bricks! It sure doesn't look that big on TV but it's huge in real life. It was interesting even for a new race fan to see the museum and take in the history of racing. The old motorcycles were very interesting. This posting was done while driving to Festus, MO our next stop and final destination for the truck and trailer. From there we will left to 2 wheels a piece. Thanks to Bill and his wife Janiene from Virginia who we met last night outside the hotel. They're on a motorcycle trip to parts unknown as well.

September 13th - We arrive in Indianapolis

2009-09-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

The bikes look like two lil gray ponies. A clamp on the turbo hose broke at 2:22am. Thanks to Marc aka: McGuiver we were back on the road under full steam with only 2 hours travel time lost.

More pictures to come today.

September 12th - Loading the bikes at Marc's house

2009-09-12T11:46:00.000-07:00

Loading the bikes proved to be a bit tedious but managable. You can never have too many tie downs according to Marc. We'll leave tonight around midnight.

2009-09-10T10:25:00.001-07:00

Stay tuned for pictures and a daily run sheet of our trip across the "Mother Road" Route 66. Marc and I will be updating the blog nightly. Stay tuned.