Another year has finally passed and it’s time to hit the road once again. And as always, a ton of prep work has to be done before riding out. This includes getting a full service done on the bike, and for Laurelin, that means a 45 minute ride down to the dealership in Round Rock. Our local dealership doesn’t accept the service plan I have on her but I will gladly make the trip instead of paying a $1500 service bill. This time around, Laurelin needs new tires and new brake pads. These are not covered under the service plan and are quite pricey. A service trip also includes waiting around in the dealership for most of the day, not a lot of fun after the first hour.
This year’s prep also included getting new tires for the wife’s car and of course an oil change. I spent my entire Saturday before this trip waiting for vehicles and spending a lot of money. But, peace of mind is very important when I’m out on the road.
About a month before each trip I start researching camping gear. What new stuff is out there? What might be better than what I am using now? It involves a lot of YouTube videos and Amazon searches. Once any new purchases arrive I begin getting all my gear together, checking everything to make sure it’s still functioning like it should. If anything needs replacing I need to know before it’s too late. Everything must be ready to go by Friday night.
It only takes a couple of hours to get all my gear laid out on the garage floor and loaded onto the bike. This year though, I had to get that oil change done before I could get the bike moved into the wife’s side of the garage. Oil changes don’t take long but it does delay me getting started. Not a big deal. With the oil change done and my peace of mind satisfied, I can now move Laurelin in and begin loading her up. I starts by laying every piece of my kit out on the garage floor, checking them off my list as I go. Once my list is fully checked off, everything starts to get loaded onto the bike. Over the years I’ve refined my loading process. Certain items go into specific places for different reasons. The camera for instance gets loaded into the right side saddle bag as it’s easy to access when parked on the side of the road, same goes for my rain gear. The process, as I said, usually takes a couple of hours, a couple of beers and part of at least one football game. With the bike finally loaded up I can start getting ready for bed. This year took longer than I would have liked. I kept remembering something else that needed doing before racking out for the night. I did not get as much sleep last night as I would have liked and I felt it today.
I was up a little after 7:00am. I showered and shaved and was out in the garage to get the last minute stuff done. Everything is already on the bike so it isn’t much. By this time everyone else is up and in the kitchen. With hugs and kisses done I jump on Laurelin and rollout. A quick stop to fill up and grab a water and I am officially on the road.
It’s clear, sunny day and the temperature is right at 75 degrees, which is really nice for riding. There’s nothing special about this first day as it’s just a travel day. Technically they’re all travel days but the only plan for today is to get from home to Memphis, Tennessee. The real trip starts on Monday, but we’ll get to that later. The route takes me up I-35 and for the last few years I’ve made a point of stopping at the Czech Stop in West to get a kolache for breakfast. This time, I decided to go across the highway to Slovachek’s and try out theirs. This was not a good idea. Slovachek’s is a decent place, think Buc-ee’s but smaller and more cramped, but the line for food was easily fifty people long. Ain’t nobody got time for that. At least not me. So, I decided to just head back over to the Czech Stop. They too are busy but I am in and out in a matter of minutes, eat my parking lot breakfast and am back on the road in no time.
It’s the same cities, towns, pastures and prairies getting up to the Dallas area. In Rockwall I stop off to fill up, hit the restroom and grab a fresh bottle of water. By now the temperature has risen significantly. What little water I do have left is hot. I’m not a big fan of Buc-ee’s myself (don’t crucify me, please). To me it’s just a gas station. They do have some cool merchandise but I’m not crazy about their food (now you can crucify me). They do always have clean restrooms, though I’m fine with a hole in the ground or even just a tree.
It’s getting to the lunch hour now. I’m still about 60 miles from Texarkana so decide to push on. Texarkana is a sizeable city so I know I’ll find a good place to eat there. I arrive in town around 1:00 and find Hopkins Icehouse. It’s just over the state line, or on it, I don’t know. I very well could have parked Laurelin in Texas and eaten lunch in Arkansas. Lunch was their Cuban sandwich. A decent one but really kind of bland, couldn’t really even taste the mustard. The joint itself was nice. They only had one TV on each wall, I felt for a place like this it could use at least a couple on each one. The service was friendly but lacking, at least in certain aspects. It took a good five minutes to be acknowledged after being noticed. Closing out was the same, received the check and waited ten minutes to finally cash out. I did not, however, let those minor grievances reflect the tip.
Eastern Texas is full of forests and beautiful runs through the trees. But the trees don’t come this far north. It’s a few miles into Arkansas before the trees start showing up. The prairies and grasslands fade away, the gap between the east and westbound roadways widens and soon our two lanes are surrounded by tall trees that closely line the roadway. The scent of pine fills my nostrils every few miles. I’ve taken this route before but it feels new.
I-30 is the road we’re on until we reach Little Rock and jump onto I-40. Just before this turnoff I come upon a pick up towing a car on a trailer. As I begin to pass him I realize it’s an old 1920’s model, maybe 1930’s, I won’t even try to guess what I was. I hit the brakes as I have got to get a better look, I love classic and antique autos. He’s moving slow, and I fast, so my braking puts right up to the driver side window, I don’t look over but he knows what I’m doing. I spend a minute gawking at this car, safely of course. She’s dusty but I can easily imagine some early gangster driving around Chicago in this thing. With my gawking done, I speed back up. He waves, acknowledging my admiration, and I wave back.
I just saw a really cool car on the road. That’s nice. I also just watched my exit fly by. That’s nice. It’s only two and a half miles to the next exit to turn around and another two and half miles back to get onto I-40. But really, I was worth it. What’s five miles after all the miles put in today? Back where I need to be and I am finally on I-40, the final stretch of interstate for today. I’m about 100 miles outside of Memphis when the trees begin to give way to farmland. It starts small at first, a field pokes through the trees every couple of miles. By the time I’m just a few miles out, the trees are gone and crop fields are all to be seen. Most of them have already been harvested, the rest are clearly close to harvest.
Just a few miles from Memphis I cut north towards Marion, Arkansas. There’s a KOA campground here that I’ve made a reservation for. I’ve learned that the first couple of nights need to have set destinations and reserved spots or rooms. Labor Day weekend can lead to Glamping (read past posts) or no availability. Getting a room is really still easy. I’m at the Memphis KOA which I’ve stayed at a couple of times. It’s nice, as KOA’s usually are but it is just off the highway, as in I can almost read license plates. Not going to be an issue for me tonight. They do have a kitchen as well so I can catch breakfast before heading out in the morning.
Dinner tonight is Colton’s Steakhouse. I’ve been here before as well. There’s only five chairs at the bar so I may or may not have sat in the same seat, I don’t know. Dinner is a 6oz sirloin with potatoes and a salad. I don’t need more than that right now as I’ve road weary and only ate half my sandwich at lunch. Don’t worry, I know the weariness will pass, it was a long ride today. The steak was, well, steak. But it had no flavor. I love steak sauce on a steak but if a steak NEEDS steak sauce, it’s not a good steak. Texture was great but just no flavor. Nice place though, and the bartender, Brittany, was an absolute gem that really looked after her patrons.
It’s a quiet night here, save for the highway noise. Unfortunately there’s a burn ban here so no fire for tonight. I was, am, actually kind of bummed about that. I’ve got three other bikers staying in a cabin right next to my campsite. We talked for a few moments after they rolled in. I was still setting up camp when they did. They are old friends who all live a few hours away from each other now. Every Labor Day they get together to ride for a few days. It’s a great thing to hear from other riders, and a strong reminder of what Dad and I had. Though these trips are reminder enough.
Now, I’ll leave you with this year’s ride plan. 2026 is the 100th anniversary of the commissioning of Route 66. The plan is to ride up to the Art Institute of Chicago, which is where the start of Route 66 is. Then ride as much of the old route as possible, all the way out to the Santa Monica Pier in California. I have no plans set in stone, no designated stopping places. I am in Marion, Arkansas tonight, I’ll be in Illinois with family tomorrow, then it’s who knows from there. Much of Route 66 is unmarked now. It’s still marked on Google maps but highway signs aren’t always there. I plan to ride as much of the old road as possible. Much of the road is highway or interstate now, the old road sits off to the side, I want to ride that old road. I expect this to be a true adventure. There’s so much history out on that trail, I’ll run into literal dead ends and have to back track several miles. I expect to find frustration and despair. But I also expect to find countless gems. Old rundown and long since closed gas stations and motels. Gift shops full of unique and ultimately useless trinkets. Themed restaurants and diners. I don’t even know what the camping situation will be. There are so many old motels that are still in operation that I’d love to stay at, especially one of the teepee ones.
It’s kind of a plan without a plan. I know what my goal is, but achieving it is going to be nightly planning for the next day. The best part though, is this is an extended trip. I’ll be out on the road for a full 16 days. I’ve got enough time to give my Route 66 days 300 miles, which is a short day. These short days will allow for more stops, more photos and more meetings with friends I’ve yet to meet. For now, it’s time for bed, but come Monday, I’ve going to start getting my kicks….. on Route 66. Cheesy, I know. But how many of you started singing the song in your head?
Good night to you all. It’s been a long day and I need horizontal rest. I did 601 miles today!
