Rides | MrZip66

Day 11: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Austin Texas to Lake Charles Louisiana

2 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 20, 2013

I was up by 6 AM, and pretty much ready to go. It had been donning on me all day yesterday that we only had 3 days more of riding to go. That was pretty real to me. I packed up my suitcase, and headed down to the parking garage. My bike was ready earlier than usual on this time. I had the feeling this was coming to an end rapidly, and I didn’t want to miss get all of this in, as much as I could. I walked around the Austin a bit to try to get a better feel for Austin.

Bruno and Pete, Shooting the bull. We’d roll out soon. Austin Texas.

After a few, we were ready to ride. In the parking garage, Steve announced that yesterday was my birthday. I’m not sure, but I think it was Brandon who sold me out. I got sang the happy birthday song, and I’m pretty sure I turned beet red. Embarrassing, but pretty cool. I very much appreciated the thought. Little did I know….

Another Texas town down in the Books. Austin was a cool place, and seemed to be a lot of people’s favorite Texas place so far.

Then we hit the road. We were well out of the Texas panhandle, and deep in the heart. Small towns and good roads. We rolled Texas for over an hour, taking in what we could see. The riding was easy, and the road was solid. About 90 miles in, we took a break, in Brenham Texas.

This is where Steve’s penchant for circling the block was confirmed. At first, I thought it was because he was showing us old town America. No, Steve needs pastry. Hell, any pastry. He’s like a blood hound for that stuff, and can sniff out the good spots. He was 2 for 2 at this point. Thats pretty good. I’m pretty sure we rounded the town square twice till he zoned in.

The Happy Birthday Song. With a flaming cupcake! I blame Graham.

Paul from Manchester, and a Texas Cop. Right across from a doughnut shop? Coincidence?

Texas kind of mixes together when you travel it. I’m not sure if this happened the day before, or today. Even so, its a funny memory for me:

I was enjoying this bike. The stereo felt louder than bikes I’d had in the past. It took me awhile to realize that my bike back home is a whole helluva lot louder, thus the sound difference. In the open road, I turned it as loud as it would go. At intersections, I’d turn it down. I’m not that guy who thinks you need to hear my songs at the expense of yours. I was near the back. Phil and Tim were behind me. I had me some Bohemian Rhapsody on the stereo, full blast, and it was rocking the hell out of me.

When you’re tail end Charlie, you don’t have to glance back a whole lot. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Phil and Tim with their arms in the air, singing Galileo! Galileo! It was Perfect. Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, and Phil and Tim. Good Moment.

More Texas. I wish I had more pictures of it. Guess I need to go back.

I will say this: Every Texas town we went through in Texas, you get a whiff or two of Barbecue somewhere. Not that smell from grilling, or charcoal briquets to make a 20 minute steak; but real BBQ. Low and slow. Outside of Brenham, I saw a 40 foot smoker on the back of a semi trailer. I BBQ a lot. Briskets, Ribs, Pulled Pork, Chickens and a turkey every thanksgiving. I really wanted to try some good BBQ in this part of the country.

We pulled into Tromball Texas. Steve and Brando had obviously been searching for a good restaurant, and they found a good one. The sign outside on the marquis said “voted best bbq in Houston”. I was geeked to see what they had to offer.

The Original Rib Tickler. I had the ribs and Brisket. Sauce on the side, but they didn’t need it. 5 stars.

You can tell good BBQ a few ways. First, if the ribs make a bite mark. Too long on the smoker, and they fall off the bone. Too little, they have a pull off the bone. These were dead on perfect. Its a matter of minutes between the two, and its hard to do. Especially in a restaurant.

We still had a 160 miles to go. We headed out and made that time towards Lake Charles. The scenery started changing. Less texas, and More Louisiana. In this part of the south, there is some difference it seems. At least terrain wise.

I could feel some Clash comin’ on. I listened to this as we headed East.

Got Gas and a rest stop at the Texas Border.

We crossed the border. Beautiful scene. I had no idea what Louisiana had in store for us riding wise. I was excited to find out. We still had 2 more days to go.

lake charles — Crossing Indian Bay, into Lake Charles

We headed into the Hotel, cleaned up and took a shuttle to a restaurant. I can’t quite remember the name. Our bus boy was funny, and I remember eating some Louisiana food and Belgium beating the US on the soccer game on the TV. Graham taught me the finer points of Soccer.

We went back to the room, Brando broke out some rum and had a toast to a good day. I went to bed not long afterward. Tomorrow we’d hit up some Easy Rider spots. This was a great day.

P.S. My oldest daughter Megan Graduated High School this day. Mrs Zip sent me the videos of her getting her diploma. Meg is my bud, a great kid and a great student. I was pretty proud of her.

Day 11 – Easy Rider Tour – 295 Miles

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Day 10: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Abilene Texas to Austin Texas.

1 Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 19, 2013

Met at the bikes, sunscreened up, swapped stories and headed out of Abilene.

I’d slept good the night before, and was ready to head out. On to Austin. We were out of the Pan Handle, and Texas got even more interesting. We hit Comanche Texas, about 80 miles away. About 10 o’ Clock it seems, our tour guide Steve starts needing a doughnut. I’d imagine if I was up front, I’d have seen the rubber necking at 9:30 ish. He found a place. We had an 80 mile Harley-Davidson ass, so the break was welcome.

My mom used to make these things that she called “pigs in a blanket”. They’re basically hot dogs, wrapped in Pillsbury something-or-other dough, and baked. I don’t eat breakfast much, so I just hung out in the parking lot until I found out they were selling these little numbers. We ate at all kinds of places on this trip. I ate at Gene Simmons restaurant in L.A. I ate gut bombs, at the local Chevron gas station. I ate real Texas BBQ on this trip. I ate at a 100 dollar a plate restaurant in the french quarter of new Orleans that opened up in the year 1830 on this trip. Those little pigs in a blanket at that little place, in Comanche Texas were right up there on the top of the list.

We saddled up, and we headed south to Lano Texas. We still had some miles to go.

Another Texas surprise. Beautiful. Check out that color.

Cranked up the Who, twisted the throttle and just tried to take it all in. I think I like Texas.

Fields and wide open space. Texas is like Nevada, only they water it.

Steve found a cool little twisty road, on the way to Austin:

slab road texas — A county road, crossing the river. Wished I’d have stopped and taken some pictures.

Into Marble falls. We ate at theRiver City Grill. Great view.

The view was awesome. On the Texas Version of the Colorado river. Seems like a pretty good version to me.

The road out of Marble falls was beautiful. Newly paved, and up and down, twists and turns. Made for a motorcycle. We rolled into the freeway, and headed north to Round Rock. We needed souvenirs. I needed a long sleeve shirt. 10 days of sun will kill a man.

Central Texas Harley – Davidson, Round Rock Texas

IMAG1186 — Loving the color. Oh yes, you will be mine.

We headed the last 20 miles into Austin, down the freeway. Stop and go traffic at quitting time. We maneuvered our way off the freeway, and into our place at the Comfort inn parking garage.

I shut my bike off, and locked her up. We only had 2 more days to ride. I turned 46 years old today. Riding all day on your birthday is exactly what i’d have asked for.

I headed up to the hotel room, and cleaned the road up off of me. Then Went down to the bar around the corner, made a few friends and watched some hockey playoffs.

IMAG1187 — Chicken Breasts, with Jalapenos and bacon, dipped in hot sauce. Killer.

Had a long talk to Missus Dunn and my kids. Great day. I was exhausted.

Today was a cool day. A riding day. Took me about 2 hours to put that map together at the bottom of this post. I’d tried to keep track of the highway numbers that day, but in the end I had to message Steve for some help. Thanks Steve!

Day 10: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – 282 Miles

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Day 9: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Amarillo to Abilene

2 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 18, 2013

We woke up and had breakfast. Eaglerider says that the Ambassador Hotel is one of their favorite hotels, and I can see why. Very nice place. I’ll admit it, I was a tad hung over from the night before. A little wind therapy would fix that.

Eagle Rider Amarillo Texas — The morning ritual. We were used to it by now. Getting ready to head out.

Peter fonda had said in 1969, the stories of hippies getting shaved with rusty razor blades in the south was all too real for them. They didn’t film anything in Texas, and the bikes never came out of the Van.

This was the first tour, and for shooting from the hip, Steve kept us off the Interstate and we road good roads. Farm fields, silos and tractors. Wide open spaces where you couldn’t see the edge of anything. This road was all new to me. All I’ve ever heard from people who ride the Texas panhandle is how brutally flat it is, so I was expecting that. Texas had a few surprises. I gotta admit, I really like this state. I could live here. Texans are proud to live in Texas.

I settled in, and rode in the back of the pack most of the time. A little space to enjoy the scenery, and take a new road in.

Led Zeppelin seemed to hit the spot today.

83 miles in, we hit Silverton Texas and took a break.

IMAG1176 — Silverton Texas, Briscoe County. First taste of a small Texas Town.

Silverton Texas Briscoe County Jail — John, Myself and our impromptu tour guide. He had lots of stories.

IMAG1177 — Graham – Testing out the bars.

Thats one of the things I like most about riding. Pulling into a town you’ve never been, and figuring out the town. In this case, learning a thing. If we’d have had more time, I’d have liked to explore every little small town in Texas we hit up. There’s always a story somewhere, or a ghost to chase from the past.

We continued down the 207, to Post Texas and had lunch at George’s Restaurant. Very Groovy, George.

George’s Restaurant, Post, Texas. Truckers Welcome.

We fueled up across the street, and made miles. Through Snyder and Sweetwater, and into Abilene. We cracked a beer in the parking lot and as always, toasted to the day. I called the wife and kids, and went back to my room to do some work.

I was glad to be out riding. It was nice to see a different part of the country, and run through small towns I’d never seen.

Day 9 – Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – 298 Miles

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Day 8 part 2: Amarillo gets it’s own post.

1 Comment / Easy Rider, Rides, Route 66 / mrzip66 / June 17, 2013

We rolled down from Las Vegas, and hit interstate 40. This is route 66 generally, and if you glance side to side now and again you’ll see old alignments of the mother road. Route 66, from days gone by. We hit up a truck stop to hydrate, and they had a bitchen little museum inside.

Before this place, I saw some bitchin old bridges on the south of 1-40, with frontage roads leading into them. Old route 66. I always wonder what it was like, back in the day.

We rolled into Amarillo. Cadillac ranch, to be specific. We’d ridden pretty hard today, and everyone was feeling pretty light hearted and a bit silly by now. Time to have some fun. I had no idea who sweet Marie was, or what this song was up to this point. I’d come to know.

No one located on the western Hemisphere of this tour knew this song either. Brazil, New Jersey, Utah. We had no idea. And Yet it came.

I knew tonight was going to be a fun one. We rolled the 10 miles into Amarillo. Got our room keys, cleaned up and the Limo took us all to the Big Texan Steak Ranch. This place is another route 66 classic, and its been here for years.

Getting primed at the Big Texan Steak Ranch

IMAG1169 — To good people, and more fun ahead!

IMAG1170 — Phil and Tim don’t mess around. This is Texas, after all. They ordered one of the smaller beers. Brando got the variety pack. I had the Pecan Porter. John and Graham were drinking BL’s.

Live music at the tables. These guys were a lot of fun. The fiddler was hooked up to oxygen, but he played that thing like he was 18 years old. We got a few requests in.

They didn’t know any Tony Christie Either. We had that covered though.

This old cowboy put on a good show, and could carry a tune. We were fired up.

It was memorial day weekend, and I wouldn’t be able to put flowers on the old man’s grave this year, so did the next best thing and Asked if he knew any Ernest Tubb. The did, by heart. My father used to torture me with this song, and now its just music to my ears.

This guy is trying to eat 4 pounds of steak with all the trimmings in an hour. I bet on this horse, and lost. He kind of staggered away from the table when he was done.

Rattle Snake Eggs — Pete got Paul from the UK pretty good, with the Rattlesnake eggs trick.

We ate and drank, got loud like everyone else there, and I personally had a blast.

John and I, taking the bull by the horns. Big Texan Steak Ranch, 2013

A long but killer day. We all headed back to the hotel, and crashed for the night. Tomorrow we’d spend another day crossing Texas.

Oh, by the way…

Jack Nicholson holding a pork chop in the movie Easy Rider — Yeah, I lost that bet.

We headed back to the Hotel bar. A Chili’s restaurant, I think and shot the bull. I remember shots of Jack and toasts to the day we just wound down.

A great time. A whole day I’ll never forget.

Day 8 part 2: Amarillo gets it’s own post. Read More »

Day 8: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Taos New Mexico to Amarillo Texas

2 Comments / Easy Rider, Rides, Route 66 / mrzip66 / June 16, 2013

I’d fallen asleep early, and woke up early. Rather than sit with my thumb up my ass, I jumped on the bike. It had been a while since I’d been here, and never like this. I ran up to where Easy Rider began.

La Contenta Bar Easy Rider Taos New Mexico — From Easy Rider, 1969, La Contenta Bar, Opening Scene.

For the movie, Peter fonda wanted to buy junk, in a junkyard. This place was sold like it was in Mexico, but it was really in Taos. In the original story of the movie, Billy and Wyatt were carnival stunt men on motorcycles. Thats why they showed up on dirt bikes for this scene. It wasn’t until you got to Ballarat in the movie, that they rode Harleys. In the movie, when they got jailed for parading without a permit (we’d see this location today too) where Billy shouts through the jail cell:

“Parading without a permit? Do you know who this is, man? This is Captain America. l’m Billy. We’re headliners, baby. We played every fair in this part of the country. For top dollar too! Weirdo hicks, man. A bunch of weirdo hicks. “

Quote from the Movie, Easy Rider (1969)

Most of that part of the story got cut on the editing floor. I headed back to the Hotel, had some coffee at the restaurant with the crew, and took some pictures. This was a 100 year old place, just celebrating its anniversary. Taos is pretty cool.

IMAG1135 — waking up, drinking coffee, getting my morning bearings and taking some pictures. Historic Taos Inn. Its been here for 100 years now.

We had a lot to see today. Lots of Easy Rider. To the first stop for today: IMG_0469 Translation: “Pura Vida Hermano!” means “Pure Life, my Friend” in English. The guy in that scene was a local musician in Taos, back in the day. I bet that dude could belt out a good Mariachi song. I’d pay good money to see it.

EagleRider Inaugural Easy Rider Tour Crew, La Contenta Bar from Easy Rider

I told what I knew:

There is lots of Easy Rider in Taos. This was the first stop, the opening scene. We’d ride to more. We rode down to the Taos Pueblo, but we didn’t go in. . I’d like to do it again. There is lots of history there. The scene I wanted to show was this, right by the river. I’ve been here before, but got the feeling we didn’t have time. Looking back, I’d have pushed for more time here.

Taos Pueblo - 1969 from Easy Rider — Taos Pueblo – 1969

Taos Pueblo, Easy Rider Location Tour 2013

Next, was Dennis Hoppers House, where he lived for 15 years after Easy Rider. DH Lawrence lived here too, and now its called the Mable Dodge Luhan House. It was one of Dennis Hoppers first purchases after the Easy Rider checks starting coming in.

Easy Rider swim Scene — The swim Scenes from Easy Rider were in Taos as well, at Manby Hot Springs, 15 miles north. (screenshot from Easy Rider, 1969)

Taos has always been interesting to me, and it’s always been connected to Dennis Hopper in my mind. It’s an artists community, like no other I’ve been to. I gotta think about why. Maybe another ride, and another blog post for another day. If I can throw this one out:

Double Standard Dennis Hopper — “Double Standard” – Dennis Hopper photograph from 1961 (click on photo to enlarge)

Dennis Hopper took this photograph in 1961. To me, it tells volumes about the guy. First, he was an artist at heart. A random, but brilliant thinker. A contemporary, till the day he died, and I think his work showed that. He was also raised a Kansas farm boy. “double standard” , I have to think was his mindset at the time. It certainly was years later. He directed Easy Rider, was equal parts insane and brilliant, and had an eye to move people. Dennis Hopper was a hard guy to sum up. But, whatever. Something to chew on when you’re out on a bike and your mojo is rolling and there is 100 miles ahead of you. Maybe at least for me. It was memorial Day Weekend, and that’s appropriate to honor the dead. We rolled up to Dennis Hopper’s grave. The last time I was in Taos, he was still alive. This was a first for me.

Easy Rider Tour - Dennis Hopper — Dennis Hoppers grave, Taos New Mexico

The whole city of Taos, smells of Dennis Hopper and Easy Rider. We were on our way, to Las Vegas New Mexico. We headed out of Taos, on New Mexico 518. The weather was awesome, and I couldn’t help but feeling we’d lucked out this trip, weather wise. It was starting to cloud up, but nothing threatening, at least this day. 75 miles more, and then more Easy Rider.

We hit Las Vegas New Mexico, where in Easy Rider they paraded without a permit.

Easy Rider Parade Scene Las Vegas New Mexico 1 — Parading without a permit – Easy Rider in 1969

Easy Rider Parade Scene Las Vegas New Mexico 2 — Wyatt and Captain America, Las Vegas New Mexico 1969

Easy Rider Parade Scene Las Vegas New Mexic — The Historic Plaza Hotel, 1969

Parading without a permit in 2013 from the movie location Easy Rider — Historic Plaza Hotel in 2013

In the movie, the paraded without a license and got thrown in Jail. In the tour, we walked down to the corner and saw another scene from the movie. Watch this. It’s classic Easy Rider.

Easy Rider Las Vegas Nevada - Jack Nicholson Drinking Scene — Aaaaaand, here it is.

Easy Rider Locations - Drinking scene Easy Rider — Graham, Myself and Dr Phil. Nic Nic Nic!

and some of the story behind it: After this, Easy Rider became pretty funny. On to Madame Tinkertoys House of Blue Lights, Corner of Burbon and Tolouse. In Real Life, Jack Nicholson was ready to quit acting. After this, all that would change. We still had 230 miles to go. From here, we headed into Amarillo. Day 8, Easy Rider Movie Location tour – 314 Miles View Larger Map

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Day 7: Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – Farmington to Taos New Mexico

1 Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 15, 2013

After breakfast we headed north east to Durango Colorado.

When they made the movie, they just bolted to Taos, with a piece of toast in their mouth while they drove, probably. Who cares. Peter and Dennis were hanging out in an RV, and the bikes were were in a panel Van, making miles. We took the scenic route, up to Durango.

Durango Colorado - Easy Rider Location Tour — Cool little town. We took some time and walked round

We spent our time, then headed east. Found us a cool waterfall.

Up wolf creek pass - Easy Rider inaugural tour — Beautiful.

IMAG1132 — Group shot of the Easy Rider Inaugural Tour Crew

Up through Wolf Creek Pass

Tunnel at Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado — Wolf Creek Pass. 10, 890 feet. My bike was sucking air, but she wanted to see all this bad as I did. A great ride on a Harley-Davidson methinks.

I couldn’t help but have this song in my head. Like, the whole time. My gift to humanity is useless trivia, and random thought. I present CW McCall, Wolf Creek pass. white person trucker rap, from 1975. Give you an Idea of the road, anyway:

We rolled down from Wolf Creek Pass, and had lunch in a place I’m not sure the name of. We turned south, somewhere. We were hungry, and ate a gourmet meal at a greasy roadside shop. I think I had a buffalo burger with jalapeno’s on the side. And fries.

On our way into Taos, we stopped at a bridge crossing the Rio Grande river. The weather was hot, and some of us had some Ice coffee at a hippy truck while it held out. The rest of us had some some ice water and cokes. My ass was sore, and needed a break. Vendors and lots of bikes is all I remember. This was memorial day weekend, and everyone was taking advantage of it.

Aussie John gave me a lot of pictures for this blog. About 100 miles back, he also reminded me of good touring music. I listened to this, as we rolled into Taos. The desert was wide, the weather was good, and we were rolling 8 miles a minute, most of the time. I knew that somewhere, I had deadlines and commitments. I just didn’t have them now. It was on the hotter side, but still…. a perfect day of riding.

We pulled into Taos, and I saw 2 spots from the movie on the way in, that we’d see tomorrow. I felt thrashed, but happier than hell. What else would I rather be doing? It was a hot day, and a long day and I fell asleep about as fast as I sat down. This was the first of a string of 300 mile days.

Day 7 – Easy Rider Movie Location Tour – 280 Miles

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Day 6: Easy Rider Tour – Monument Valley to Farmington NM

1 Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 14, 2013

After breakfast in Kayenta, we loaded up and headed out. Today would be a short day, but not short on scenery. Monument Valley was a few miles away. The wind had died down, the feral dogs were behind us, and we rode on in. I never get sick of this place.

Easy Rider Monument Valley — In 1969, they rode it at dusk. We rode it at dawn.

Monument Valley 1969 — Easy Rider Screenshot from 1969. In 45 years, the scenery hasn’t changed much.

Captain America bike riding through Monument Valley — Dr. Phil, Riding Captain America through Monument Valley. Riding this bike just makes you feel cool all over.

EagleRider had another plan for us. A tour through the valley floor. Another reason why they’re the best at what they do. This wasn’t just a motorcycle tour, everything is about the experience. Its just their mindset.

Little guy (me) didn’t go the bathroom before we left, so I had to get that handled. I was holding everyone up, and they took the opportunity to give me a ration of shit coming back to the tour trucks. lol, perfect. Felt like I was home. All in good fun.

Our tour guide was Navajo, and shared his stories. We weaved around the valley floor while he told us of Navajo life, history, a little bit of the language, and locations. A great little tour.

Monument Valley Easy Rider — Two Mittens, Monument Valley

2 mittens Easy Rider monument valley — 2 Mittens, screenshot from Easy Rider in 1969

Monument Valley Truck Tour — Mr and Mrs Tczap, and me (Mr Zip). Enjoying a tour of valley floor.

IMAG1118 — The draw of this place is that you can’t really take it all in. A picture is worthless, you just need to see it.

IMAG1121 — John Ford Point, Monument Valley. For 2 bucks here, you can sit on a Gelding and pretend you’re master of all you survey. I like this beast, makes me look taller.

Joh Ford, John Ford Point — They Call it John Ford Point for a reason…

IMAG1122 — The biggest difference between me and Ana, is she makes this look good.

A fun couple of hours, and another nice break. Some good conversation, and a good amount of laughs. Everyone had a good time I think. We headed back to our bikes and down the road again.

IMAG1123 — I ran ahead, so Bruno could get some pictures. The hill from Forrest Gump.

This is my State. Pretty proud to live here.

We ran the 24 miles to Mexican Hat. I first ran through here in 2009, with my 12 year old daughter on a daddy daughter weekend. It was dusk when we hit Kayenta. No room, at any inn. It was dark when we ran through Monument Valley, and headed past Mexican Hat on the bike on the way to Bluff Utah, where we finally found a place to stay. I remember passing the Mexican Hat lodge Inn in the middle of the night. Cool little place, lots of neon and out in the middle of nowhere. Kept thinking how this would be a good place for an old school biker retreat, like they used to do it back in the day. One year later, I got together with some good friends in B.A.C.A. , of which I’m a member of, and it ended up happening. My buddy Drifter knew the guy that owns the land directly below Mexican Hat, and now that retreat happens every year. Kinda cool.

From there we headed to Bluff, Utah for lunch. Twin Rocks Cafe.

Twin Rocks Cafe, Bluff Utah — ehh, I’d have named it something different.

Cannon 113 — Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico. The only place in the US you can be in 4 states at once.

Pete and Linda took their turn, heading into Farmington.

The Captain America bike turns heads. A lot of thumbs up, from people in the know. Bruno was riding with me still, and about 30 miles outside of farmington in Ship Rock New Mexico, I sped up and so Bruno could take this shot. Seems like most of my adult riding life I’ve been rubbernecking for old roads. He sent this to me today. I quite love this shot.

Captain America - Farmington New Mexico — The Tczaps, crossing the San Juan River. I dig this picture.

We headed into Farmington. We checked into the Hotel there, and I had the chance to finally take the Captain bike out. I took it. Stopping at red lights, rolling her down the main drag for a few miles…. It was pretty cool. You know people are looking, and you just can’t but help feeling completely bad-ass. After all, this is the most famous bike in the world.

And yet, and the end of this day I went down and did my laundry at the Hampton Inn. It was time. I called Mrs Zip, found out what was going on at work, and slept like a baby. Good day.

Day Six – Easy Rider Tour – 175 Miles

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Day 5: Easy Rider Tour – Flagstaff to Kayenta

Leave a Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 13, 2013

We left Flagstaff, Fueled up and headed north on highway 89, toward The Sacred Mountain Gas Station from Easy Rider. This was the first Movie Location from Easy Rider I’d ever found, and I’d ridden by this a dozen times. I was on my way home, on a Sunday, and blew off the next 2 days chasing down Easy Easy Rider in Arizona. Riding is fun enough. Chasing down a mystery makes it even more fun.

Easy Rider Route Tour Sacred Mountain Gas Station — Sacred Mountain Gas Station in 1969

sacred mountain from Easy Rider — Sacred Mountain Gas Station from Easy Rider Today

We pulled in, took some pictures and doubled back. Not far up the road.

Sunset Crater to Wupatki is one of my favorite roads on the planet. This trip, it became maybe my favorite. We were pulling in to pay the park fees, and Steve had asked me to go ahead to the turn off and wait for everyone. Bruno, an Italian Photographer and all around good guy was my passenger for the day.

No lie, right as I started out, I wasn’t born to Follow by the Byrds came up on my Ipod. Another good omen.

It was perfect. The morning still had shadows and the sun was coming through the trees. I was wanting to stop to get a picture where they picked the hippy up in the Movie, but I got pretty lost in the moment . Sunset crater road and scenery haven’t changed since Easy Rider was filmed. For a couple of minutes, I was in 1969. For me, that was the best moment of riding the whole trip. If you go down there to see this, I highly suggest taking that song with you. Beautiful. I also had plans to have a buddy of mine meet us there, dressed up like a hippy, so we could pick him up for for the full effect. It ended up not working out. Next time. Some cool visuals from the movie, on that stretch of road (by the way, click on any image to enlarge):

We rode all of it. I rode up the 30 miles up to Waputki, and Bruno and I waited at the turn off. Bruno is an interesting guy. For living in Italy, he’s seen more of America than I have. He has the artists eye, and was good company. Wupatki is where they stopped for the night after they picked up the Hippy.

Wupatki Easy Rider Camping Scene in 1969

Wupatki, Camp Out Scene Easy Rider — We were there. You could be a trifle, polite.

Waputki - Easy Rider — A small thing to ask. They’re buried right under ya.

Waputki, doing my shpiel — Talking about Easy Rider, Hippies, and Camping on Government Grounds.

We headed out of Waputki. Only a few miles to the main road again, and back to making miles. This is where the best song of Easy Rider was filmed. When they were filming, Dennis pushed for them to film in monument Valley at dusk. When you look at the cinematography, he wasn’t wrong. Its a big part of why this movie sticks with those who ride. At this point, we were well into our trip. I’ll be honest, I was starting to forget what day of the week it even was. On vacation, thats a good thing. I’d seen all these places, but never consecutively and not like this. It was always bolt to a spot, figure it out, and bolt home. Seeing it as one long ride was pretty special to me. My bike was purring, the weather was great, and the road wasn’t ending anytime soon. Found a new scene on the way there. We left highway 89, and headed toward Kayenta. I’ve ridden this before, but when I did I was always heading the other way.

The Weight, Easy Rider — “Hey Mister can you tell me…

Easy Rider, the Band - the weight — Where a man might find a bed”.

The road into Kayenta was windy. The road into Kayenta is always windy. No complaints, we Knuckled down, and enjoyed the ride. We got into Kayenta early. I think it was like 3 PM or so. The plan was to ride into Monument valley, do a tour and eat Navajo Tacos. Looking at Monument Valley when we came in, it was a dust bowl. Steve postponed the original plan, and we’d do it tomorrow. A few guys went in, but the rest of us took a nap and hung out and relaxed for a while. I forgot to pack a swim suit, and some pool time would have been nice methinks, but a nap was almost nicer. After a couple of hours, Graham got restless, and we decided it was time to watch Easy Rider. We set out.

Kayenta Arizona, Easy Rider Monument Valley — Kayenta Arizona Accommodations.

We found a Motel nearby, that in exchange for bringing in hungry people to eat, they’d furnish a television and a VCR. Graham talked them into it. We watched Easy Rider.

watching easy rider — Watching Easy Rider, and Having dinner.

It was pretty cool to see on video the places we’d rode on the previous days. We headed back, and slept for a night. A good meal, and a nice break. Another good day was going to happen tomorrow. Day Five – 184 Miles View Larger Map

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Day 4: Easy Rider Tour – Needles to Flagstaff

Leave a Comment / Easy Rider, Rides, Route 66 / mrzip66 / June 12, 2013

I woke up early, got some coffee and decided to jump on the bike and scout the perimeter. In a couple more hours, we’d head out. I crossed the Colorado, took some pictures and enjoyed the morning sun. Made me think of one of the times i’d been here, in 1991, with Missus Zip.

Route 66 California Side — Route 66, California. This sign has been here forever.

Colorado River - Easy Rider — Colorado River morning. Behind me is the bridge from the Grapes of Wrath.

Random thought about bridges. As I sat there that morning and drank my coffee, I realized that 2 bridges connected 2 Fondas, crossing the same river. Peter, from Easy Rider, and his father, Henry from the Grapes of Wrath. They were both about the same age, and their respective movies made both of them famous. Both bridges are a stones throw from each other. I don’t know that any of this means anything, but to me it was interesting.

Grapes of Wrath Movie (1940) — Grapes of Wrath Bridge, Route 66, circa 1940

Time to head back. Finished my coffee, and back to the fold. Kickstands up in 20 minutes.

We headed out. On to Oatman, one of my favorite places.

Park Moabi — We rode this, on our way out.

Easy Rider Tour colorado river — And this. One of my favorite bridges. Exactly like the movie. The Red Rock bridge (to the left) was torn down in 1977.

Easy Rider Colorado RIver — I can almost hear the Chorus…..

Then through Topock, and on our way to Oatman Arizona. The road started bending more, and the ride was good. I don’t know how many times I’ve ridden this road, but its always good. The first time I found it, this road was gravel almost all the way to Oatman. Then route 66 hit a revival, and it got paved. We rolled into Oatman and bummed around for about 45 minutes.

We headed out of Oatman before noon.

Short break in Cool Springs, Arizona. Behind us, Arizona’s nipple.

Out of Oatman, to Kingman, where we had lunch at some 50’s diner. We headed on toward Flagstaff, wound through Seligman, Williams, and on to Bellemont. More Easy Rider there. We pulled in, late in the day just like in Easy Rider. It felt pretty cool to show these places in person to other people.

Easy Rider Pine Breeze Inn — The owner wasn’t there, so he wasn’t able to deny us a room. Wouldn’t have mattered, we had reservations in Flagstaff. Either way, you have to ride off and shout “you asshole!” Just like in the movie. I’m sure the owner would understand.

IMAG1105 — Our Crew, long day. Good Picture.

IMAG1107 — One last goodbye. Keeping it Real.

we headed the 10 miles into Flagstaff, fairly spent.

I had some work to do that night, so I had a couple of drinks at the bar, back to the room to get them done. A great day. We had a lot more ahead of us. Tomorrow we’d hit a few locations for the movie, and head into Monument Valley. Day 4: 205 Miles. View Larger Map

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Day 3: Easy Rider Tour – Barstow to Needles

Leave a Comment / Easy Rider, Rides / mrzip66 / June 11, 2013

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.

Roys. A landmark on route 66 — Roys. This place is a landmark on Route 66

EagleRider Crew - Easy Rider tour on route 66 — The EagleRider Crew in Amboy.

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.

Pete and Linda. 2 of my favorite people this ride.

Our Crew. Living Large, and heading up the River.

The Easy Rider Bridge, we’d cross that tomorrow

Bob and Shawn, having a beer and a Broment. (uh, bro’s having a moment…)

9 miles up the Colorado River, 9 miles back. A perfect day.

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

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