Motorcycling XCountry

Sept.24-28 Sun-Thur

Sept.24 Sun. 

Albuquerque NM - El Paso TX = 270 miles - 4 hrs.

After NM, I went to El Paso TX.  On my way there, I noticed that the bike was acting funny. 

Upon a closer inspection, the tires were shot, the chain was about to go, and the oil was running low.

I was able to get to the Gardner Hostel in El Paso TX without any incident.

Sept.25 Mon. For some reason, motorcycle shops are closed on Mondays, but Rio Yamaha in Las Cruses was open.

When I got there, the service manager told me that they were short staffed, and the head mechanic wasn’t in.

The service manager assured me that they would be able to get the job done without a problem.

Pretty much I spent the whole day there.  From 11am - 5pm.

When they brought the bike out from service, I couldn’t wait to get the hell out of there.

As soon as I got to the hostel, I noticed that the rear rim was bent and also scratched.

Not sure if it happened along my travels or if it was the shop that did it.

Either way, it pissed me off.

That night, while I was out for dinner, I took a right turn going about 5-10mph.

And BAMM!  The bike slipped from under me and I fell. 

It was like someone had just pulled out a seat out from under me.

I guess there was gravel, sand, or something on the road that I wasn’t able to see.  So when I went over it turning, on new tires, it just didn’t stick.

There was only minor damages to the bike and I scrapped up my right knee a little bit.

To top the night off, while I was asleep, I kept scratching myself all over the place.

At first I thought I had some sort of allergic reaction to what I ate.

But when I got up to use the bathroom, I turned on the light, and the whole room was infested with mosquitos.

From that moment on, I wasn’t able to get any sleep.

It was probably the worse day on this trip so far.

Here’s how my knee looks like now.

Sept.26 Tues. 

El Paso TX - Austin TX = 580 miles - 9 hrs.

The next day I called Rio Yamaha to complain about the damage done to my rim, and of course, they didn’t want to claim responsibility for it.

I think this road sign pretty much describes how I’m feeling about this whole incident.

My original plan was to go to Dallas. 

But in one of my stops for food and gas, I met an older couple from Dallas.

They told me that I should go visit Austin instead.

I’m glad I did.

Out of all the cities that I’ve been to, Austin TX is one of my favorite places.

The night life out there was popping on a Tuesday night.

I had no clue why, but the next day, I found out that the University of Texas in Austin is the biggest non private university in the US.  Making it probably the biggest in the world.

I ended up staying at the hostel in Austin for two nights.

Austin is a place that I’ll definitely come back to some day.

Sept.28 Thur. 

Austin TX - Gavelston TX = 220 miles - 3.75 hrs.

After Austin, I decided to go to Galveston TX.

On my way there, I got pulled over, and had no clue why.

The cop’s excuse for pulling me over was that my license plate was not visible because it was dirty.

Which was BS, cause all he did was give me a warning and chat about bikes.

The hostel that I stayed at was located right on the beach.

As soon as I got to my room, I went to take a shower and noticed that the bathroom door would not close.

It’s the dumbest shit that I’ve ever seen.

Whoever built the bathroom, put the toilet too close to the door.

For dinner, I was craving for some seafood, so I went to a local spot called Bennos and had a crawfish meal while overlooking the ocean. 

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