10:00 to Yuma

I've been wanting to get out and do a "long" ride on the Sportster. I set the goal of crossing the state line, figuring that would require a reasonable number of miles. After watching the movie "3:10 to Yuma" with Russell Crowe I decided I'd make the ride out to Yuma myself and take a look at the fabled Territorial Prison.

I left Sunday at 10am, a bit later than planned but early enough to make it out and back before dark. I dressed warn (for SoCal) with thermal shirt, short sleeve shirt, and a sweat shirt under my leather jacket. For pants I went with my standard riding trousers, the Arbor pants from Aerostitch. In past, the cold air on my face has created quite a chill so I covered up with a bandana. I probably looked like a bank robber but my face was warm. I also thought the look appropriate for the ride.

The Sportster motored along the San Diego freeways very smooth. The ride is significantly more comfortable than that of the Suzuki SV I previously owned, and even the BMW F650 GS Dakar I had. I stopped and topped off the tank in Alpine and then headed East on the 8.

The Harley is a great ride, I particularly like the forward controls as they allow the legs to extend. The Harley-Davidson windscreen is great for keeping the rider on the seat but it does create some serious turbulence around the head. With the ear flaps, riding goggles, and bandana I was pretty comfortable.

The temperature at 4,140 feet was pretty chilly, even with the multiple layers. I knew I definitely wanted to get through the mountain pass on my return trip before nightfall. Once out of the mountains the desert floor was warm, probably high 60s and that made for a nice ride. We went right on through El Centro, and the gas light came on about 30 miles outside of Yuma.

I crossed the Colorado into Arizona and then went for gas. I knew I could rely on at least 35 mpg but didn't want to push my luck, we had ridden about 35 miles since the light came on. I filled up and then headed for the Historic Territorial Prison. I had to take a couple of pictures of the Sportster in front of the sign and then took a quick walk around to check out the site. The prison itself looks to be mostly gone, there are some touristy type areas and large grounds for walking, biking, etc.

I did take a walk down to the cemetery where 104 souls are buried, the graves are obvious but there aren't any markers telling who is buried in which spot. There is a central marker listing the names of all those buried, I did not see "Ben Wade" from the movie, so I guess he escaped as promised.

The ride back from Yuma was pretty quick with a stop in El Centro to fuel my tank and top off the Sportster. We made it back to San Diego well before dark and had only a brief delay in the College are due to an accident. The entire trip was just over 394 miles, run in under 7 hours 15 minutes. I averaged about 39 mpg for the trip, which doesn't seem at all bad, though I was hoping for closer to 50. I'm thinking that a set of Screamin Eagle slip-ons may be just what it takes to get a few extra miles out of a tank of fuel.

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