I woke up, and was looking forward to todays riding. This was my old stomping grounds, and I’ve never hit it where the riding wasn’t good.
We’d gassed up the night before, so it was blow and go down interstate 15 till we hit the first section of Route 66.
We headed south from Ludlow, down old Route 66. Until 1972, this was the main road, and to be honest I’ve never not gone this way if I was in the area.
I have a soft spot for Amboy. I first came here in 1989, with my wife to be and met the original Owner, Buster Burris. My wife and I were on our first long bike trip. We ate at his cafe, and he took the time to talk to us. He told us about what it was like back in the day. He had 7 tow trucks, going 24 hours a day. He was slinging hash and filling rooms. His garage didn’t have an empty bay. He said you could barely cross the road, it was so busy back then. Buster was an old man. His face was weathered, but had a light in his eye, and I could tell he was telling me about his ass-kicking years. He told me about Goffs, and how it was an older version of route 66. When the freeway was opened in 1972, it was like someone just turned off the traffic. He’d been here since the 1930’s, and now things had changed for him. He was now in survival mode. He even bulldozed most of the town he owned, so he didn’t have to pay taxes on it. Buster was a character, and my wife and I will always remember that conversation.
Believe it or not, Amboy is a lot busier than it was in 1989. Buster’s widow sold the town, and since then Amboy and route 66 has made a comeback. When I’m coming through this way, I always try and buy something to support the business. I like Amboy. It’s the closest thing to travelling back in time that I know of. Cool place.
Bob, one of the EagleRider owners did a cool thing at this point. He spaced us out and let us ride a few miles apart. I appreciated that. I could see it coming a few days before when we were heading into furnace creek. You can tell Bob is a biker at heart; Alone time, on a bike in the desert is a beautiful thing. Its how I normally ride, and it was a nice change, I think for Everyone. The Eagles were the song of the day, and I distinctly remember this song coming out of the Street Glide. There’s something about the Eagles and the Desert that just fits.
Twist the throttle, open her up and feel yourself breathe. I’ll always remember that stretch of road that day.
We stopped for gas on our way up through Goffs, and then onto interstate 40. We missed Needles, and straight through to the Park Moabi exit. Shawn had a surprise. It was a short day, and we were staying at Pirates Cove. Pirates Cove beats the living hell out of anything in Needles. Good Call.
It was early in the afternoon, so we headed down, had a few drinks and ate lunch. At 3, EagleRider told us to meet them at the dock for a cruise up the river.
The ride up the Colorado was great. It was nice to talk a bit, and get to know everyone. We came in before sundown, and went to the bar for dinner and a few drinks.
I need to say a little something about Graham here. Graham is from the UK, and we became pretty good friends on this ride. He knows Easy Rider like I do, and the man has mojo. We teased him pretty hard, about words like “Aluminum” and “Route”, and at the end of the day he pulled out the King’s English card. A fun guy to ride with. He found a waitress he fancied, and asked her to ride with us tomorrow. This story will come into play in the next blog post. A really nice gal.
We drank, got a little stupid and had a whole lot of fun. I was really starting to enjoy this ride, and the people that came on it. We hung out till they closed the place, and ended up on someones patio. shooting the bull, and having a good time.
We all shared 2 room suites. I was with Daniel, otherwise known as Big D. Big D is from Switzerland, and speaks German, and very little english. All I know is that dude can drink, likes heavy metal music, and is the only guy who rode the whole trip without a windshield. The man is hardcore. I think he had more fun than all of us combined.
This one is for you, Big D.
Great day.
Day Three: 171 Miles