RIDE DAY 7 SUNDAY 18TH MAY.
NORTH RIM LODGE GRAND CANYON TO MIRAGE HOTEL LAS VEGAS
TOTAL TRIP MILEAGE 1695 MILES
Rob and Scott had afternoon flights back to Canada so we gave them our bags at 08:00 and they set off in advance to Las Vegas and the La Quinta hotel where Bill, Mark and Vickie were staying on Sunday night. The rest of us had a leisurely breakfast and enjoyed the ambience of the Grand Canyon. At 09:30 four bikes left in Convoy for Las Vegas. Moe and Christine leading, Mark and Vickie behind them followed by Bill with Brenda and I following. It was warm without being overpowering and we started off with jackets and sweatshirts on. as we worked our way down to Jacobs Lake it got warmer, when we got to Fredonia to buy gas it was hot and we were down to tee shirts and sun cream. It got hotter, and then as we got closer to Interstate 15 we were roasting. We stopped to buy gas for the last time in Hurricane, took on some cold drinks and joined the Freeway. The traffic was quite heavy and we found ourselves cruising at between 80 and 90 MPH. after an hour we pulled in to a service stop and for the sake of speed we stopped at a 'Jack in The Box' for a quick lunch. We were now 90 miles from Las Vegas and had to return our bikes to Eaglerider by 16:30. it was 14:30 and it was agreed we would go for it. The temperature was now a record breaking 105 degrees which is 25 degrees higher than is normal for this time of year. I have often used the phrase 'Running in a Sauna' to describe this kind of desert riding, believe me its no fun. We maintained a high running speed and kept in close formation to present a bigger obstacle to dump freeway drivers. We managed to stay together most of the time only being separated a couple of times by 16 wheelers and Sunday drivers. 50 miles into this leg of the journey my left eye began stinging and then my sun glasses began steaming up, We didn't have bike to bike comms so I had to hang on, it turned out that the liberal amount of Sun cream I had applied to my forehead had seeped into my eye, I managed to continue with one eye shut most of the time. This is an experience I do not wish to repeat, As we got closer in to Vegas I slowed, partly because of heavy traffic but mainly because I was in agony and couldn't see where I was going, thank goodness my eye began to clear up and by the time Bill slowed up to signal if I was Ok I pretty much was. The Tropicana exit seemed to take forever to come up and it was with great relief that we turned off in one piece. 2 miles later we were back at Eaglerider on Arville street. I was never so happy to get of f a motorcycle intact. We quickly unpacked the bike and headed for the AC in reception. Vickie had been having trouble with the heat on the back of Mark's bike and was totally exhausted when she arived.
We shared a cab to the La Quinta hotel, said our goodbyes, picked up our luggage and headed for the Mirage. We arrived with all our biking gear in a black garbage bag which Eaglerider gave us, our 2 big bags and my computer case. We must have looked an odd site at the registration desk with our clothes soaked with perspiration and our odd looking luggage. We must have looked very strange but no one paid us any notice.
We ended our trip by seeing the Cirque du Soleil show 'Love' with which we have had some involvement. I took Henry to see it when we passed through Vegas on our road trip in 2006 and now it was Brenda's turn. She loved it, which is just as well as it was our wedding anniversary treat,
Brenda and I would like to thank everyone involved for organising the ride and to all the people and companies who donated money to the charities on our behalf.
Will we do it again next year? at the moment it looks like a yes to Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia and the Carolinas in 2009.
THE DAY IN PICTURES.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
GREG'S HARLEY LRLR 1 |
LEAVING THE LODGE | GAS STATION FILLS ALL YOUR NEEDS. | WE DIDN'T NEED THE AMMO JUST GAS. |
OUR LAST NIGHT AT THE MIRAGE. |