Hey, Follow Me

Tomorrow at 7 a.m., I'm off on a great motorcycle adventure to the Grand Canyon.  I will be joining 2 other guys who will be continuing on to California.  Our overnight camping stops will be Palo Duro Canyon, Rio Grande Gorge, and Monument Valley.  On day 4 we will split off in Cameron, AZ.  They will head for the west coast, and I will head to the Grand Canyon and then an overnight stop in Winslow, AZ.  I hear there's a "fine sight" to be seen there. 

The final day will be what is called an Iron Butt ride.  I will attempt 1000 miles in less than 24 hours.  It is a marathon of sorts for bikers, and one that I've been wanting to attempt for the last year or so.  My route is east on I-40 from Winslow to OKC, and then turn south toward Dallas on I-35.  I will be making 6 planned stops that day, and hope to be home by 8 p.m. on September 13th. 

I have activated a GPS tracker on my phone through Google Latitude if you would like to follow my progress.  Hopefully, you can also follow me on the map on this blog, but I've never tried it before and I'm not sure of the accuracy.  If you would like to follow me on Latitude, send a friend request to jonbrentjasper@gmail.com.  I'll also be posting regular updates and photos on Facebook.

Here is the route:

Moms & Motorcycles

Today was destined to be a good day from the start.  I managed to combine 2 of my favorite things, my mom and my motorcycle, to make this a Sunday that would be twice as good as one spent sitting at home.  Julie went to Fort Worth to meet up with her mom for a Mother's Day lunch, so this would be my first 100+ mile solo ride since the fall.


The majority of my morning ride was spent cruising on the highway to get out of the city.  After an hour, I was able to divert the ride from I-20 and onto the backroads near Canton.  The weather and scenery were perfect on this stretch of road.

It was a quick diversion with the longhorns, and I was soon pulling into The Shed in Edom just in time to see my mom and dad pull into the parking lot too.  It's been about 12 years or so since I have been to The Shed and I believe that they have expanded the menu and improved the food quality.  The coconut pie is still perfect, and it is a must if you like coconut.  My Uncle Dean used to start his meal at The Shed with a piece of pie!  The last time we were here was with Uncle Dean and Aunt Linda, so our lunch today was reminiscent of good times.

After a great meal and a nice long visit, I pointed the Road King due west to find some 'new' back roads that would get me most of the way back to Dallas.  I made a quick stop in Goshen at a historical marker (the marker and cemetery are the only things in Goshen) to grab a water out of my saddle bag and have a quick history lesson.  Eerily, Stairway to Heaven was playing on my iPod when I pulled into the gravel parking lot.

Things were heating up.  Since there will be near record highs in Dallas today, I decided to find a highway and the shortest route north to Dallas.  I'll finish up the afternoon with A/C while watching the Mavs beat the Lakers.

Happy Mothers Day, Mama!  I hope that yours was as good as mine.