Yuma

We left Sacramento and drove only about 170 miles to Merced where we drove all over the old town looking for a decent hotel. We finally stayed in an old place in a bad part of town. The room was clean but it was New Years Eve and we could hear a guy barfing in a nearby room and heard a woman’s voice coming and going in the wee hours. Probably a hooker. Not the best place we have ever stayed for New Years. We had thought we might spend two nights there to be able to watch the bowl games on New Years day but changed our minds and drove to Bakersfield, another 180 mile day. We stayed at the La Quinta Inn, the same chain we stayed in Sacramento. We recommend them.

From Bakers field we did almost 300 miles to Needles where we stayed at a Holiday Inn Best Western. From there we headed south on Hwy 95 along the Colorado River in the California side. That was the first non-freeway driving other than the bit of Hwy 99 north of Sacramento I have done on the trike. By now, 800 miles later, I am feeling much more comfortable with three wheels and had fun with the more curvaceous road to Blythe. We headed east to Quartzsite and stopped to eat lunch and get gas. This was the second fuel stop for the Jetta since Reedsport. Gotta love that 45+ miles per gallon. The trike is getting only 30 mpg which is a bit of a disappointment mostly because it only gives a 150 mile range on a 5.5 gallon tank.

I am getting the feel of the trike now. It is still weird. The thing is that when cornering on two wheels you are leaned into the curve and centrifugal force pushes you into the seat. On three wheels without the lean the centrifugal force tends to slide you off the seat. By leaning my body into the turn even thought the trike remains upright and by gripping the tank between my legs I am feeling more secure. I few more miles should do it to feel less weird about it all. In all this keeps the thrill of cornering into triking.

Another very noticeable difference is the feel of the road. Ruts, poorly graded roads and the normal grade for rain runoff have a big affect on the trike. Not really a big deal but certainly something that changes where in the road to ride.

On the plus side is how nice it is in town and getting in and out of driveways. Sometimes with two up and a full load it was a real bitch sometimes to turn into an upward sloped driveway. Now it is a piece of cake as are U-turns.

Anyway, I was going to call my brother in Phoenix from Quartzsite to see if he was still there so we could drop off his Christmas present. I turned on the phone to find a voice mail from him that they were about to head back to Illinois so we decided to head to south to Yuma instead of east for Phoenix.

That road is Hwy 95 and is a better road than the more northern portion from from Needles to Blythe but is very straight. Still better than the freeway.

I didn’t know this but Yuma was considered a port city in its early days. Shallow draft river boats would come up the Colorado River from the Gulf of California. The prime geographic consideration for the foundation of the city is that it is the narrowest spot on the Colorado River in its length and Yuma was the only crossing point to get to California. It is also the sunniest place on earth with sun shine 90% of daylight hours.

We are staying in another Holiday Inn Best Western here. It is an old Motor Hotel originally built in 1938 and purchased by Holiday Inn Best Western in 1948. It is the oldest of all Holiday Inn properties. Very well maintained and a cool exterior. I’ll try to get some photos before we hit the road today. Which is not going to be a good ride. 15 mile per hour winds with cloudy skies on a monotonous freeway ride across the desert. Oh well.

Speaking again of weather, we didn’t see any sun at all after the drive from Redding to Sacramento. Just low clouds and chilly all the way until about 40 miles east of Bakersfield when we finally climbed out of the valley. At least it wasn’t foggy. I have been unable to find the electronic controller for my electric heated vest and gloves so I haven’t been able to use them but by layering up I have not been too uncomfortable with the exception of the drive from Sacramento to Bakersfield. That was just a long enough time in the saddle to chill me to the bone.

Greg.