We’d already agreed to keep the mileage no higher than 200 per day and to take as many stops as she needed along the way that meant if it took us 10 hours to ride 200 miles then it did. I still think it's too much too soon.

We ended up leaving Davis around 1:30pm and arrived in Reno after a brief stop for Lisa by Donner Pass. She needed to stop and stretch.

We’re in a Motel 6 and we’ll be heading off to Elko in the morning.

I’ll tell you, you meet the best and funniest people at Gas stations, truck stops and loo breaks…

Luckily Lisa wasn’t feeling any ill effects from yesterdays ride. She was tired but the lower abdominal ‘pull’ she was feeling last night had gone.

Yeah, yeah, we’d planned on an early start but for one reason or another we finally managed to pull out of the motel parking area at around 10:00am. The short ‘on-ramp’ saw us gas the bikes and pull quickly through the gears as we merged with the other nutters already bombing down the I-80.

The bumpy pot holed concrete section of the 80 that had made Lisa wince with discomfort yesterday was behind us and we were both the better for the smooth black asphalt.

Out of Reno and the traffic was already calming down. The brown and yellow hills both sides of the highway framed the view as the 80 disappears into the distant horizon. ‘We’ll be there soon enough”, I thought as I slotted behind Lisa, who had found a happy pace at around 70mph.

A hidden smile was creeping across my face hidden from the world by a dark visored helmet. ‘things’…felt right. We are once again heading down the road to…somewhere. It doesn’t really matter where exactly. What matters is that the bikes are feeling good and Lisa’s in front of me, her heavy handed exhaust barking waves of thunder that reverberate through my chest over and over until common sense gets the better of me and I pull back. Lisa opens the bike up, shifts her weight to the left and accelerates past one of the vast trucks. I follow suit. The smile still growing.

The signs for Winnemucca started to appear, it’ll be a good stop for Lisa to rest and a chance to fill up the bikes. Funny it feels like only yesterday that I was here on my own en-route to Salt Lake City. Chevron’s gas stations are feeling more and more like places of comfort. You know like the local bar you visit after a bad day at work. You find your usual seat, get comfy and relax, everyone knows your name. The place that doesn’t require any effort. OK, no one knows your name but that same feeling of comfort and familiarity is starting to happen for us with Chevrons. Funny?

Shaun came over intrigued by the bikes and we were soon laughing over daft bikes stories. His soft English accent dulled a little after living in the USA for so many years. A frequent visitor of ADV.rider.com he’d recognized the bikes and wanted to know more.

With the tank bags moved aside we were ready to fill up and busy pulling a mixture of $5’s and $1 bills out of a variety of pockets. “Do you take Donations”, Shaun asked? His hand already pushing into one of his pockets. A little surprised we blurted a ‘YES’ in stereo and to our surprise Shaun handed us a $20. I think he was more surprised by the flying hug Lisa threw around him than we’d been by his generosity. With a few more laughs and stories swapped, we thanked Shawn again for his generosity and enthusiasm and hit the road. The tight right hand turn that threw us 180 degrees onto the on ramp for the 80 felt great A motorbike slingshot.

The pitch black rain clouds to our left were moving fast and coming right for us. We upped our speed to 80mph and edged past the down pour as it hit our backs.

We were about to get dirty. The signs had warned us for the last 2 miles that road works were ahead. What they didn’t warn us about were the bloody massive water trucks tanking along on the outside lane that had now been blocked off and was for road work vehicles only. These guys were dumping thousands of gallons of water onto the dust and dirt laden lane and we were about to ride into all of it. We’d done our best to get as far right as possible. It wasn’t going to help. We hit the unrelenting spray from the huge truck tyres full force. A deluge of water and desert dust and dirt thrown into the air. We were completely covered in road shit! Our clean riding gear that Lisa had stripped and washed only yesterday was once again filthy. Our bikes slimy and grey. I’d even had to pull up the visor just to see and been rewarded with a face full of road slime.

Our Autocoms were working sporadically and I could hear Lisa swearing like a seasoned sailor.

We needed another stop. 20 miles past the town of ‘Battle Mountain’ we pulled into one of the rest stops. With our helmets off we tried to see the funny side.
“So come on, I need all the details guys! What’s the ride”? Phillip was bounding towards us, his hands in the air and asking his question aloud.

A few minutes in and we were doing our best to explain our journey. His enthusiasm was infectious and within minutes we’d forgotten our dirty gear and muddy faces. Phillip was one of the truck drivers we’d overtaken earlier and had even bought a gift. Philip’s a rider and a member of the ‘Infinite Rydaz Motorcycle Club’ out of L.A. The light brown T-shirt he proudly held open displayed their club logo. He’d run back to this truck and was gifting it to Lisa. How cool’s that. We stop for a rest in a pull off and leave with a new wardrobe. Thanks Phillip, good to talk with you and say hi to L.A for us. Ride safe and buy that lady of yours a nice bike.

Lisa was obviously getting tired and I was getting worried. I’d already asked her if she wanted to stop. She was adamant that she would be fine until Elko, and so by 6:00pm we found exit 303 and were following the signs for another Motel 6. Lisa had wanted to camp but that wasn’t going to be an option. For the record I’m already concerned about her riding this early after her Op’ there’s no way she getting in a tent after a long days ride. Screw the cost, for now she needs a warm shower and a soft bed. Shawn thanks so much the $20 earlier today, it went towards getting Lisa comfy for the night.

Out of Elko at a reasonable time and we’d hit the highway easily as it ran directly past the motel. In spite of a good nights rest we both felt tired and heavy limbed. The I-80 seems endless and as minutes turned into hours everything began to blur. Our lives, for what seem like an age, have become a chaotic blur of billboard signs, farmed land, interstate accidents and truck stops. Today was going to be more of the same.

By afternoon we’d taken a wrong turn, made an impromptu tour of Salt Lake City’s airport and finally found BMW of Salt Lake City just before the heavens opened and soaked us.

Keith was inside and met us enthusiastically and in short turn introduced Lisa to the staff whom I’d met a week earlier.

We’d milled about for a few hours. Keith had called in Jason to run his shift, which would allow Keith to take an early afternoon and ride back to his house with us. My attention was elsewhere, I’d just overheard that Doug Higham was in the building and was now in fact upstairs talking with staff. Doug is one of the regional managers working for BMW NA direct. He seemed like a nice guy and we’d even spoken a few times over the phone but had never managed to meet up. This seemed fortuitous! We’ve being trying to get hold of anyone at BMW NA for a year now and even sent Laurence Kirkendale a 17 page proposal, at his request. 11 months later and we’ve not received a call or even an email of acknowledgement. Nothing!

Doug was on his way out as Keith made the face to face introduction. I was doing my best to contain myself and from saving Doug from 11 months worth of saved up info, enthusiasm and frustration. Some 20 minutes later and Doug had confirmed that he’d heard very positive things regarding our presentation and that, personally he thought partnering BMW NA with 2 Ride The World would be a positive move. That was encouraging to hear. “So what do you need” asked Doug? I explained that we didn’t need new kit or new bikes or for that matter new engines. All we we’re looking for is for BMW NA to work on our existing bikes and bring them back to a ‘as new condition’. Of course we’re primarily talking about the engines. Doug was looking confused. “So you don’t need new bikes or engines”, came the question, again? “No’, I answered off hand. There was a visible shift in Doug’s body language…it eased. Doug shrugged his shoulders and then said…”OK, I can just ‘good-will’ that. We’ll just get a dealer to give us the run down of what needs doing and get you sorted”. I was in shock. We’d got further in 20 minutes with Doug than we had in almost a year of trying talk with BMW NA!

We thanked Doug for his time and candor and promised to be in touch.

Keith was at last ready to make a move and so with goodbyes said we donned our wet gear, yep it was raining again, and headed off towards the highway.

The slick, wet, greasy concrete highway was demanding our concentration. The speeding 4x4’s and SUV’s, all oblivious to the slippery highway, were making our entrance onto the highway testing.

Keith was in front, Lisa was in the middle and I was picking up the rear. Things were about to get interesting. Lisa’s speed has suddenly slowed dramatically and she was frantically waving her left arm. We were in the outside fast lane, this wasn’t good. Lisa yelled something over the Autocom, I couldn’t make it out. I was fumbling for my hazard warning lights, forgetting that the switch had broken over a year ago. We were now parked up on the hard shoulder to the left of the ‘fast lane’ and feeling somewhat…vulnerable. Keith had seen us pull off and had done a u-turn on the hard shoulder and was heading back our way. The rain was getting heavier and confused car drivers were getting worryingly close as they buzzed us to get a closer look.

With a quick check of Lisa’s bike done, we diagnosed the problem, she’d simply run out of fuel!! Her low fuel light hadn’t ben working for a few weeks and the last fill up we’d made hadn’t filled her main tank completely and we’d simply forgotten. Lisa was furious with herself. “Shit, this is only the second time in the whole trip I’ve run out of gas” she yelled in frustration. Keith and I just chuckled amongst ourselves. I took a strategic step back realizing I was still in ‘striking distance’ ?

Keith volunteered to go and get some gas and some 20 minutes later he returned with a two gallon container strapped to the passenger seat. With the gas thrown into Lisa’s F650 we kicked into first gear and dove back into the highway madness. We figure the 20 minutes we waited had reduced our life expectancy by about 5-years just due to the knuckleheads that had flown past us so close, just to get a better look. Pricks!

Back at Keith’s and at last dry, we introduced Lisa to Mychelle and set about another good evening with our new friends.

The rain was coming down hard as we backed our bikes out of Keith’s garage. We’d already layered up and heated jackets, Gore-Tex and rain gear and were now feeling clumsy and sweaty. We’d thanked Mychelle and Keith for their hospitality and it was great for them to meet Lisa. I bragged so much about her when I was through last for the presentation.

Oh this is shit! We’d found the highway easily enough and pushed through the gears and ‘forced’ our way into the madness of the commuting traffic. The highway was slick and treacherous and needed a deft touch. The drivers around us were oblivious to how slippery the tar really was cocooned in their cozy 4-wheeled tins.

People were being silly and pushing in to spaces that didn’t exist and crossing 4 lanes in one move. We needed eyes in the back of our head. This isn’t fun and I’m just worrying about Lisa.

Out of the city and things were calming down…at last. The weather had’t improved but at least we could now relax a little and just ride our ride.

Our new POV.1 video cameras were going to be tested the max. We’ve mounted them to the front of the bikes, both the main unit with the viewable screen and the lens hooked up to a moveable ram mount. Within 30 minutes they were rain and dirt soaked. They held up perfectly.

Wow what a rough a day, the wind’s been relentless and has taken a lot out of us but it still had a few surprises left for us.

We cruised the main motel strip in Rawlins and checked out the prices. Astronomical!!! The cheapest room we could find was $120 for the same little room that we’d been paying $39.99 for elsewhere. I’d dared to ask one of the girls behind the reception why the price was so high. She’s sighed and with her eyebrows raised almost as high as her curled lip and simply stated. “Rawlins is a boom town and right now we’re booming…do ya want the room”? Um no!

We’d passed the Days Inn Hotel earlier and seen a collection Harleys parked outside. The guy walking around his shiny new Yamaha FJR had caught my attention. I may as well ask him if he knows what there rates are, it’ll save me getting off the bike again.

I’d simply asked Andrea how much the room rate was. “This may just be your lucky day he smiled”, well that wasn;t what I was expecting. $50 and it’s yours he continued”. OK now I’m confused. Andrea was heading down to Texas and had booked the room for the night, but had only wanted it for 2-hours to change into his winter gear and warm up. He was now loading up the bike and getting ready to hit the road.

Admittedly it’s better to ride in the sun than the rain but just like yesterday the side wind was punishing. The worse moments were passing the trucks which act as a wind block as you pass on the left. Without the wind holding you back you speed up only to get hammered as you round the front of these huge metal road trains and get hit full force by the wind plus the turbulence from the truck as it pushes through the air. There were more than a few ass clinchers!

By mid afternoon we’d said adios to the highway and the familiar mountains around Boulder had come into sight. It won’t be long now we thought. We were both excited about seeing Chris and Erin again, friends we last saw almost a year ago and who had been in touch with us since the start of our journey.

Pulling up into their garage seemed so familiar. It felt like only weeks ago when we saw them last. Wow time flies….it was actually last July!

“Oh Chris you Bastard”! So naturally we we’re excited about seeing Chris and Erin and of course the drinks started flowing, well not so much flowing as turning into a small tidal wave. Conversation was in full flow we all had so much to catch up on. Lisa and Erin were sipping white wine and Chris and I were slugging back the Jack Daniels and coke. After a while things for me, went a bit…blurry. Needless to say this morning I feel I have a small Colombian drug lord in my head, he’s playing the maracas badly and and getting high on his own product. It’s all bad. I really didn’t think we’d drunk that much.

I mentioned this to Chris who just grinned. He’s got a scary grin! That’s not a good sign I thought to myself. “So how much did we drink” I asked. We’d finished off the first half a litre bottle pretty quickly and then Chris had bought out the big gun, a 2 litre bottle and there was only a little under a litre left. Shit no wonder I feel like crap, we polished off 1 ½ litre of Jack Daniels and who knows how much coke cola.

The afternoon flew by as we headed into Boulder to run a few errands prior to the presentation.

Well the few errands had taken longer than we’d thought and after some last minute changes to the digital presentation we were already late. Chris and Erin would make their own way in the car whilst Lisa and I rode the bikes up to the dealership. It was 42 miles to Loveland and BMW of Northern Colorado. We underestimated the amount of traffic and the seemingly endless number of traffic lights. Lisa was getting more uptight with each passing minute…she hates being late!

After missing the off ramp for the dealer…twice, we finally managed to slide our bikes into the car park around 6:40pm. You’ve never seen two people throw themselves in at the deep end so fast. We made our apologies and set about bringing in Tinkerbell and Tarzan and hooking up the laptop to the projector and P.A system that Tyler (General Manager) had already set up.

Bikes and guests were already turning up and before long the evening was in full swing.

We had a good night with around 90 or so guests.

Thanks Tyler for all your hard work. We had a great night although the audience was a little hard to read as they didn’t give much back… Never mind we’re all different and we’re pretty sure everyone had a good time.