Day 25- Sacramento to Los Angeles.

390 miles.

End of the road.

Today was our last day. We left the Motel 6 early, there were beer cans strewn about from last nights parties. We loaded up and Rudi noticed that someone had stolen his left sidecover, the broken one, with the shitty Cartoon Network sticker. What dicks.
We took the 99 all the way back because the 5 is awful and we didn't have enough time to do Highway 49. It was pretty uneventful and kind of solemn, our epic journey was coming to an end. We grabbed lunch in Traver and split off shortly after, I cried a little bit and wished we could do this forever.
The rest of the ride was lonely and hot. I stopped for an iced beverage at the always packed Starbucks at the bottom of the Grapevine and continued my last leg.
I hit reserve coming down the Grapevine, but I didn't want to stop for gas. I have a 2 gallon reserve and wasn't worried, I had 80 miles to go. As I got into LA I could feel the cooler air, I also felt my bike dying. I ran out of gas! Luckily I was near the Hollywood Bowl, so I coasted into its driveway and used my spare 2 liters of fuel that I had carried on my entire trip. 5 more miles and I was home.

End of the road.

No photos today.

Day 6- Mesa Verde to Angel of Shavano Falls

287 miles.

We packed up our gear and Lazer's and brought her into Cortez. She has to wait a few more days before her clutch cable comes. Brian also headed on his own way.
Reaching Durango was a big deal for us. It's the start of going north finally. We took Highway 550 from Durango to Silverton. It is bike heaven there, twisties that make you think you're going in a circle. I loved every minute of it. Rudi is getting way better at riding these roads, I guess now is a good time to let everyone know his experience level. He bought his first bike in April, he's ridden mopeds with me years ago, but that's it. It's so awesome that he decided to do this trip with me after only riding for a couple months.
We hit a few more little passes and then finally hit the monster pass, Monarch Pass. It's the first part on our trip where we cross the Continental Divide and it's at 11,312'. The old Beemers did well and charged it.
We found a Forest Service road near Salinda, CO and decided to look for a place to camp. We scored huge, after passing the $15 campground and following the dirt road we found a perfect clearing next to a waterfall. A local driving by told us it's called Angel of Shavano Falls. Rudi made a ripping dinner and we crashed hard.

Bug Report.
9/10
Finally!!! Today was awesome, I'm covered in bugs. Big ones, little ones, juicy ones, butterflies, you name it.



Splat!!!!




Brian and his beast.



Me as a mule with Lazer and Rudi.



Butterfly.



The Rockies.



Road porn.



Monarch Pass.



A strip mine.



Angel of Shavano Falls.



Rudi at the falls.



Chef Rudi.



Blurry, but delicious.



Home for the night.

Gallup to Los Angeles.

Day 9 (last day)
675 miles

Last day.  It's finally coming to an end.  It's kinda crazy to think that two and a half months have gone by.  I felt excited and sad for this trip to come to an end.
I woke up early and got on the road.  The sun was just barely up and it was about 40 degrees out.  After riding for half an hour I couldn't feel my finger tips, I pressed on and finally stopped for breakfast after 100 miles.  There was snow on the mountains near Flagstaff, but by the time I got there the sun had been up for a few hours and it was a comfortable temperature.
I got down into the desert and I was close to 90 degrees.  I had to shed all the layers off quickly.  I found an old, abandoned truck stop and stopped and took some photos.  I was in haul ass mode and got back onto to my bike.
I made it to Victorville by 4:00pm and was gonna meet some friends that were racing mopeds out there.  They were packing up and driving out as I was coming it.  I surprised them and then got back on the the Interstate.  100 miles to go.  We stopped at Mike's house in Rancho Cucamonga and jumped in the pool, it felt great to get out of the hot leathers.
I rode into LA as the sun was coming down.  It was an unusually warm evening with one of the most awesome sunsets I've seen in a long time.  It felt like the day I left in August.
It feels good to be home.

Bug Report:
5- Today was really weak. I'm guessing the cold in the morning and then the desert kept most of the bugs away.  Kind of a bummer way to end.

Budget Inn. Gallup, NM.

Arizona.

Facilities. 

Inside Ted's Truck Stop.

Outside Ted's Truck Stop.

Ted's Garage.

No Trespassing.

Ted's lightswitch.

Truck.

Colorado River.

California. Two thumbs up!

Mojave Desert.

Home.

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Big Sur and SF.

I got to take a trip up north to Big Sur and SF a few weeks back.  It was the first time I've been to Big Sur since I was a kid and I think we just drove through. 

This time around I spent a few more days there. Ann and I camped at Fernwood and explored the coast and forest.  After that we drove up to San Francisco to meet up with some of my awesome friends. I love California.

No kooks.

Texas.

I went to Texas for Christmas to visit my older brother and his wife. I drove out there from LA with my twin brother, Rudi. It was great, I love my family and this trip was just what I needed. Just the open road, the Southwest, big trucks, my camera, and my family.