Jim's MY Hero!

[Phil Tarman]

Get ready for a treat! ADK Jim is sleeping in Laramie, WY, tonight (and probably tomorrow night, too). He rode from his home in Florida to the San Francisco Bay area and left there, riding US-50 ("The Loneliest Highway in America") from Tahoe to Ely and then up US-93 to Wendover, across to SLC, and then east on I-80. He had a difficult and at least momentarily terrifying ride which ended at Rawlins last night. Today, he got off 80 about 20 miles east of Rawlins and took US-30 (the Lincoln Highway) through Medicine Bow and Rock River to Laramie. That's where the ride ended until the snow and 40mph winds between Laramie and Cheyenne quit. That's not supposed to happen until maybe Wednesday.

He's let me preview his ride reports and you'll be seeing them soon. He's had a great and heroic ride and you'll enjoy reading them. He's got some really great pictures too! Get ready for some fun times!

 

[Frosty]

"Loneliest Highway in America". I thought so. In early 80's moving from central California to Omaha, my loaded car turned (ate) a manual transmission bearing. We stopped at what I think was Midgate, NV, but maybe further east. We were west of Fallon, NV. Not a very entertaining family stop for sure.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jim finally got out of Laramie this morning at about 9:30-ish. I had thought about riding up to meet him in Cheyenne, but I'm still not feeling up-to-snuff after a stomach bug this weekend and decided it might be smarter to drive. It was cool and cloudy here and wet/foggy/cold over Sherman Summit on I-80 where Jim was riding. He beat me to Little America where we met and had lunch. He said that he's OK with cold and with wet, but he absolutely hates Wyoming's wind. I had to break the news to him that it might be almost as windy in Nebraska. We had a good lunch (thanks, Jim!) and conversation.

I had taken my Russell saddle up so he could see what they're like. He says that he gets really tired on the stock NT saddle. He seemed to be impressed even if my Russell has the heavy duty suspension that he won't need.

We got some passers-by to take some pictures of us together and I'll include some of those here.

 

[RedLdr1]

Seeing that "white stuff" on the ground makes me jealous. We are already hitting 90℉ here with a high ozone warning for the next couple days.

 

[artemedes]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the ride report.

I remember distinctly going from Ely to Tonopah on route 6 in 2013. That was a pretty lonely stretch of highway too. I think I only counted 5 oncoming cars in 200 miles. Google Maps still shows "Warm Springs" in the middle of that route, but there was nothing there when I went past but a boarded up abandoned building. I was on reserve and almost ran out of gas on the DR650, but just made it to Tonopah. I will have to try hwy 50 Next time I am in that area.

 

[Phil Tarman]

Jim got off I-80 at Pine Bluffs, WY, and followed US-30 (The Lincoln Highway) to North Platte, NE. He's planning to follow the Lincoln Highway all the way to where it originally began -- Times Square in downtown New York City.

Frankly, I'd rather ride in Wyoming wind!

 

[mikesim]

Several years ago I rode US50 back to my hometown from CA. It truly is the loneliest road out west. I left a town in NV and saw a sign that said "next fuel 186 miles". I really enjoyed the stark beauty of the desert.

Mike

 

[DirtFlier]

mikesim - are you guys receiving heavy rain & severe weather? I saw where Jeff City got pounded.

 

[Warren]

The weather in O'Fallon, MO is nice today. Many thunderstorms and tornado warnings in the last couple of days. As you stated areas south of us got hammered pretty bad.

 

[mikesim]

Yup the severe weather has abated for today. It was sunny and near 90°. I did about a 500 mile ride down in southern Missouri. The Ozarks are delightful. I think the skoonks and the armadillos must have signed some sort of suicide pact tho. Their carcasses littered the roadsides. Curiously, there were no deceased possums on this trip. I think that either a.) The possums decided to let the armadillos have all the fun, or, b.) The armadillos took Memorial Day and the possums are gonna cover Labor Day.

Mike

 

[junglejim]

I think the skoonks and the armadillos must have signed some sort of suicide pact tho. Their carcasses littered the roadsides. Curiously, there were no deceased possums on this trip.
Mike

Road kills can be interesting. I remember crossing central WY one AM and there was a dead rattlesnake on the road about every 300 - 400 yards and a dead jackrabbit about every mile, and a dead coyote that had been eating lunch about every 100 dead animals. I didn't hit anything but bugs.

 

[mikesim]

Speaking of road kill, I have noticed something interesting with our recent armadillo invasion (build the wall). Armadillos in Missouri are a fairly recent (10-15 years) entry into our wildlife menu. As such, our turkey vultures and other scavengers have yet to figger out how to open 'em up to eat them when they find road kill. On a recent ride to Texas last fall, I saw that the Texan turkey vultures were easily enjoying "possum on the half shell". I suspect that at some point in time in the future a Texan will wander north and show the Missouri birds how it's done..... "Hey y'all, hold my beer... watch this"...

Mike

 

[Phil Tarman]

The armadillo invasion got to East Texas (Longview, 120 miles east of Dallas) while I was in high school. So, it's taken 58 years to reach Missouri.

One summer night in about '69, when we lived on the Gulf Coast in Jones Creek, 10 miles inland from the Gulf, my wife woke me at about 2:30 and said that someone was right outside our bedroom window. In just a few seconds I heard a long drawn-out moan. About 30 seconds went by and it repeated. There was a full moon and I got up on my knees so I could peer outside. Nothing visible. Finally, I unlatched the screen and pushed it out and leaned out.

There, with his head pushed against our foundation, was an armadillo, just trucking along and having no luck moving the house. I hollered at him and he just kept walking. I finally leaned out the window and thumped him on his back. He stopped "walking," backed up, looked surprised, and turned and walked away. It was a couple of years after that that I learned that armadillos are the only animals other than human beings who can transmit leprosy. So far, I'm clean.

 

[Chucksklrst]

I spent 11 years in North West Texas "Wichita Falls" and never saw a live armadillo. Still have not to this day. Lots of road kill though.

 

[FalconAF]

I had taken my Russell saddle up so he could see what they're like. He says that he gets really tired on the stock NT saddle. He seemed to be impressed even if my Russell has the heavy duty suspension that he won't need.

OFF TOPIC (but if it helps Jim out...)

I'm really late to this thread. Just read through it. But here's an offer for Jim if he might be interested.

If he is seriously thinking of buying a new Russell seat for his NT, I still have mine from my accident in 2016. It has the backrest and is in EXCELLENT condition yet. It survived the accident with no damage and I always maintained it with quality leather conditioner, used the rain cover when needed, etc (it's all leather). When it was built for me I weighed about 175 pounds and could ride it all day long with no issues. Looking at the picture of Jim the seat pocket on mine might be the same fit for him too (he looks a lot thinner than my 200 pounds now since my accident). I don't know how big his butt is :giggle: but from his picture I'm guessing my seat pocket and back rest position might fit him fine.

If he would be interested in trying it out I would be willing to ship it to him and let him ride it for a while. If it doesn't work for him, just ship it back to me. If he wants to buy it for a LOT LESS than what a brand new one would cost him, I'll make him a deal he couldn't refuse. It cost me $1078 when I bought it in 2011. I'd take a couple hundred for it if it would benefit an NT owner who wanted one. It's just been sitting in my garage covered for the past 3 years. It's still in great shape. At about $800 off the price of a brand new one. :unsure:

I'm spending $1400 for my new Russell seat for my Spyder in 3 weeks. No use hanging on to my old NT one anymore (I had kept it in case I did decide to buy another NT after recovering from my accident. But I decided on 3 wheels now, so it's time to find my NT seat a new home).

 

[Phil Tarman]

Rick, Jim is a LOT shorter than you are and that might keep your seat from working for him.

 

[seagrass]

Rick I don’t want to “jump into someone’s grave” so to speak but if the seat does not work out for Jim I would be very interested in trying to work something out with you for the seat including shipping to Australia.

I am planning a trip around Australia in 2020 (about the same distance as a US four corners ride) and a Russel Day Long would make the trip so much better.

Seagrass

 

[FalconAF]

Rick, Jim is a LOT shorter than you are and that might keep your seat from working for him.

OK. I'm 6 ft tall. The Russell normally added about 1" of riding height from the stock seat, so if I recall correctly that would raise the seat height to about 32-ish inches (I think the stock seat was 31"). You said he liked your seat, so I figured seat height might not be an issue. I think I remember you saying you had your NT lowered or something, but if you had just carried your seat to Little America, put it on his bike so he could try it, and it "felt good" to him, I thought that meant seat height wouldn't be an issue for him.

The main thing that has to be correct for a Russell to work for someone is the seat pocket dimensions. They are built for each individual's butt size. They also can move the pocket forward or backward. I had them move mine forward 'cos I wanted the "sit up and beg" riding position for long distance touring. But that positions the backrest more forward too so it will fit your riding position. I did a ride-in for them to make it in one day, and they nailed the measurements for my body at the time they made it when I weighed about 175 lbs. With my 200 lb butt now, the pocket on it might not be as comfortable as it originally was for me, and there's a good chance the backrest position might try to push my family jewels crushingly into the gas tank.

There is no way I could guarantee it would "fit" anybody else. A Russell seat is not a "one size fits all" custom seat solution.

When I do my ride-in in a couple weeks for my Spyder seat, they will build it for the size of my 200 lb butt now, and position the backrest accordingly. If I lose 25 lbs after that cos I'm active again, I might have to send it back to them for an adjustment later. But they would know what to "shore up" on it to "fix" it for me then if I did. That's the main reason I'm willing to sell it for just a couple hundred. Even if it doesn't fit the buyer "perfectly" but is "close", the new owner could take the same kind of pictures Russell would want them to take for a non-ride in seat build (to get measurements), then the new owner could mail the seat to Russell and they would do a "rebuild" for a lot less cost than a new seat. Russell does that all the time for someone who buys a seat then a couple years later might need it "adjusted" due to large weight gain, etc.

Two other people have inquired about it since my post, so I'll contact them (in the time stamp order of their forum contacts I received).

 

[Phil Tarman]

I sent you an email with Jim's phone number. He wants you to call him.

 

[seagrass]

Rick just for reference I am 6’ 1” and 185 pounds so if your seat becomes available to me I believe it could be a good fit for me.

At this time I have no expectations just letting you know my situation.

Seagrass