mv577 Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Day 1– 611.5 miles Day 1 is done… It wasn’t pretty but I am on the move!!! Today was all highway meant to simply get me west of the northeast and quick! It did just that…. But as I sit here in my Redverz Motorcycling tent for the first night I’ll admit I’m psyched and ready for tomorrow!!! Which is more highway… ugh… So here’s the bike all loaded up ready to go. All of the gear including cases weighed in at about 105lbs… I balanced the side cases within a pound of each other so the bike doesn’t pull. I did notice a little buffering around 70 mph today but nothing bad. You can see I added a touring screen on the bike last minute and it worked great today keeping the wind off my chest and even saving me from some bug carnage! The Send Off VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL This morning everyone got up and saw me off… I was almost on time with a goal of 7:00am I pulled out at 7:10… I’ll take it… Today ended up being a 12 hour day arriving at the Streetsboro / Cleveland KOA at 7:00pm and after a butt numbing 611.5 miles in the saddle. No sights today other then the open road and some gas stations… oh and a Pizza Joint for lunch…. I did watch a Blimp doing dive-bombing maneuvers over Route 80 in Pennsylvania… Not sure what that was about but it looked cool!!! My stops today… WOOHOO!! I know Day 1 Camp VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL I’ll end with a few shots of my camp for the night… and an acknowledgement that it still hasn’t sunk in completely that I’m actually on this trip!!! Till tomorrow. Day 2–644.5 miles Day 2 came to the party with lots of things… good and bad… I’ll walk you through it… The day started off ok… I woke up at 5:30am to my alarm, which by the way was singing good morning to me and freaked me out… I slept pretty good and am happy to say my gear is working great. I knew from looking at the radar that I might get wet so I packed up quick. The tent was wet I believe from condensation but what are you going to do. I took off at 7:00am, you can see the clouds in the above pictures taken right outside of my camp ground. So I headed out… It was about 57 degrees but actually felt good! I only made it maybe 70 miles before I knew it was time to suit up in the rain gear… the first picture is where I stopped to do so… The remaining pictures were at a service center about 1 hour into the storm… My rain gear held up well… except once when somehow it felt like someone did the ice bucket challenge in my pants… haven’t figured out where it came from but it was cold… and dried quickly later on… While at the service center I met a guy on a Harley who had left Rhode Island around the same time I did…. He logged 741 miles on his first day and was headed to Montana… He actually knew what the Dragons on my bike meant so I overlooked the Harley thing. It took about another hour or so to be in the clear… just in time for my first stop! I made it to Notre Dame! and of course the Stadium was undergoing major renovation and looked like crap lol… Oh well… I got to check it out while packing away my rain gear in the parking lot… I toured the campus, even took some video that I’ll post someday… I then ate at Legends and had the “McGraw” no cheese with sweet potato fries… It was goooood…. I managed to be there while the construction guys and gals were on lunch so the place got crowded and entertaining… The bartender was great and she even filled up my hydration pack for me! After Notre Dame things didn’t go great for a while… I never thought there would be an issue going through Chicago on the interstate on a Sunday… boy was I wrong… almost 2 hours in traffic… Well I got rain and traffic jam out of the way!!! After that I finally got off the interstate and saw some scenery! Middle of nowhere Illinois on Route 20… Where’s Flynns!? Just farmland for days The flat land finally gave way to some sweeping elevations and I got my first real riding in… I was in heaven!!! I even found someone to take my picture!!!! See I am here!!! There were some great little towns thrown in between long stretches of almost nothing… I got to see President Grants home in Galena, IL… even if it was only in passing I was on the road for 13 hours today…. thank god for time changes so I made it to the Waterloo KOA at 7:00pm local time… Check out the bug carnage on my helmet…. ewwwww… Anyway… I didn’t realize this place was so new and had no trees…. or shade…. and its like 90 and humid… Life on the road!!!! Got the tent set up and cleaned up my gear and the bike a bit from the days adventures… Then it was time for some dinner! I’ll admit I was like a kid with a new toy… My GSI Pinnacle Soloist cookset and micro stove worked great… Boiled up 2 cups of water in a few minutes… 9 minutes later… Chicken and Rice Which was actually pretty good!!! I was almost roughing it with this one!!! So that’s it for today… No highway (I think) tomorrow but 500+ miles to travel… Possible rain overnight which will make the morning interesting so I’m off to bed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mv577 Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Day 3 – 591.1 Miles Another long day on the road… a day that followed a hot and humid night that yielded little sleep… Don’t mistake this for complaining as I realize I signed up for it all… Just the facts… I got to the point last night that I was so hot I was cold… Needless to say I woke before my alarm could serenade me at about 5:10am and got started packing up. Now when I opened the tent up on the night of Day 2 I found that the condensation from the outside of the tent when packed had seeped into the sleeping area. It didn’t take long to dry but it was still annoying. I attempted to dry the tent before packing it as best I could with my Sea To Summit Pocket towel, which by the way is awesome, I highly recommend! Anyway…. I was breaking down the tent when I looked behind me and saw the blackest clouds rolling in. It hadn’t rained over night so I thought oh great it’s going to come now when I have all my gear out in the open, lovely. I rushed to get the tent packed only to suddenly realize the clouds were on the other side of me and it never rained a drop. I don’t think I’m use to how far you can see when everything is so flat, I really messes with me! So I finished packing then did a maintenance check on the bike, well deserved after two long days, rain and 90 degree temps. Oil was good, everything was tight, tire pressure good… the only thing needed was for the chain to be lubed… Done and done. I headed up to the main office and topped off the tank to start Day 3. It was still humid and the temp was rising. I left at my usual time, 7:00am, and it was already in the 70’s. As I get back on Route 20 I noticed those clouds taunting me so I stopped and grabbed a picture… why not. The next 200 miles or so of Iowa were nothing spectacular but great to see nonetheless. Americas Heartland with farm after farm after farm after farm after farm…. oh and farms. Of course with these farms comes crap and all its lovely scents. That got old, quick. Anyway, I decided to ride out the first tank of gas since my body was as fresh as it would be all day and I wanted to make some ground on the day. I almost got to use my emergency fuel when I realized my gas gauge was blinking and I was seemingly in the middle of nowhere…. As luck would have it though a little gas station symbol popped up on the Garmin and sure enough I stopped at Caseys General Store in the grand little town of Correctionville, Iowa. I was saved! Inside Caseys I got talking to Julianna who when she was 19 years old was a Nanny in the Boston area. Julianna had planned to stay in Boston but got married and moved home. She does hope to move back though and has a sister in New York which she said was the “same thing”… I corrected her on that one While I was stopped I also played around with a handlebar mount for my ReplayXD camera with Ram Mount parts I have. I took some video throughout the day that came out ok although a bit bumpy. I ended up holding the camera when I wanted to video which so far seems to work best. I didn’t want to leave it on my helmet and have it get covered in bugs. Just a few shots showing what 95% of my trip through Iowa looked like. Those silos were everywhere! I got into Plainview, Iowa and was hungry so I started looking for a hole in the wall to eat at. In case you didn’t know…. Subway has a hold on these region of the country. You cannot go one town without running into was of those damn Sandwich Artists… They’re like Dunkins in New England… Amazing… Anyway… So I was on Route 20 in Plainview and looked down a side street to my left and saw what looked like an old “Main Street”. I went down there only to find it deserted more or less. I saw remnants of an old Café I would have loved to try, closed stores and not a person in sight. At one end though there was an open auto shop and then a deserted gas station with a nice Mustang in front… Ya got me… So off I went… and to be truthful…. I had Subway…. I know I know…. but no salt, pepper, OIL! thank you…. (Some will get that, some won’t) I finally reached to end of Route 20 for me and headed north on Route 83 into South Dakota. I quickly started noticing a change in the landscape… There were actually hills!!!! and trees!!!! From there I banged a left onto Route 44 West which is where these pictures were taken. They don’t do the area justice trust me…. As I crested the hill behind my bike I was in awe of the road ahead of me. I was energized knowing that this trip had only just begun and the best roads were yet to come!!! I was in the home stretch to the Badlands KOA… so off I went… aaaaand I made it…. only an 11 hour day today!!! and thanks to my friend the time zone it was only a bit after 5:00pm local time… I’d actually get to enjoy the night a bit… go figure!!! Before doing anything though I got my accommodations set up although I didn’t unpack because I knew I’d be heading out for dinner. This KOA has a “Tent City” where each site has its own fenced in yard, sink and patio (which I’m sitting on now as I write this) It was different but I like it! I don’t like the complete lack of cell coverage and even worse WiFi then I had last night… But we are in the middle of nowhere after all… Oh! and who thought buying white riding shoes was a good idea… Little more bug carnage for you all… feel my pain! The heat wore on me today so I opted for a quick dip in the KOA pool… I ended up buying a towel from them because my Sea To Summit towel takes some time to dry and I wanted it for my shower later on… $6 bucks… ugh… Oh well… So I was told there wasn’t much around and that the Cedar Pass restaurant and shop MAY be open… no one knew… So I took a shot and sure enough it was. Cedar Pass is located just inside of the Badlands National Park so I got a nice preview of the beginning of my ride for tomorrow… I can’t wait… oh and I had steak, asparagus and sweet potato fries…. you know you were wondering…. That’s Day 3… tomorrow will be a busy one… Day 4 – 306.3 Miles Today was the day some of you were waiting for…. I slowed down and saw some stuff!!! Cool stuff to boot… With a mix of good and bad along the way… Overall though it was nice to be out of the saddle a bit and see some landmarks of America…. and it ended with a bang… Here we go! First things first I had a great nights sleep. The temperature was perfect and I’m getting use to my accommodations. I slept with the rain fly open and was able to see the South Dakota sky and stars, corny yes, but it was beautiful. I woke about 5:20am or so well rested and began my morning ritual of breaking down and packing up. While breaking down the tent I met Derek, a hose pulling from Iowa who was camping with his family in the Village site next to mine. Derek was a motorcyclist and was cool to talk to about this trip. I met his wife briefly when she came over to nag him about something which prompted him to say he envied me being alone lol… After that I geared up and headed out towards the Badlands National Park which I had previewed during dinner the night before. The road picture above is looking towards the Badlands from the entrance of the KOA. I went to gas up in Interior, SD which advertised a population of 67 people and therefore 1 gas station… Good ole Cowboy Corner! No credit card machine here… the pump just said to pump and bring in the money. When I went inside there were three older guys sitting around a table with cowboy hats on… I heard the record screech as I walked in lol… but they all said hello! From there it was a quick ride to the park. I had read online that at any National Park you could buy a pass that gets you into them all at a discount so that was my first thing to do. $80.00 later I’m good to go for the rest of my trip. I decide to go counter clockwise around the Badlands loop which meant hoping on the interstate for a few to get from one end to the other. This worked out well as it allowed me to see some cold war relics, more on that in a minute. The Badlands was awesome! The roads were great and the views were amazing. I took great video on the action camera which I can’t wait to watch. At one point while videoing traffic came to a stop and there were people all over the place. It took me a minute to realize why until I saw the Mountain Goats walking on a ledge along side the road. No picture but I did get them on video! Otherwise the trip through was uneventful, unforgettable! but uneventful Between loops of the Badlands I pulled off the interstate first at the Minuteman Missile Historic Site. This is where the guys sat in a bunker with their hands on a key and a button ready to start WWIII if told to… then go get coffee. I was hoping for a tour but they were booked until the afternoon so I head out to the Missile site itself… lets face it they weren’t going to let me push the button anyway A few exits up the highway was the Delta-9 Minuteman Missile Silo. I got there a few minutes before it opened at 9:00am but a Ranger was prompt and opened it up then gave about a 10 minute talk on the site. Push a button and that blast door is pushed away with an explosive charge and away the missile went. I thought it was interesting that each missile had a preprogrammed target that the guys in the bunker never knew. They were just told which to launch and that’s it. Cool stuff After the Missile Silo and the Badlands I stopped back at the Cedar Pass Café and store and grabbed a snack and stole some WiFi. I then headed out towards Mount Rushmore and the Blackhills National Forest. On the Way I went through the aptly named Buffalo Gap National Grassland which you can see was a lot of grass lol. There was this random old car sitting along the side of the road like someone just parked it one day and walked away. I’m not sure what it is but I’m sure my Dad had one and I thought it looked cool sitting there Moving on with this day of adventure I made it the Blackhills National Forest which reminded me of New Hampshire lol. The picture of the small tunnel looked awesome as I pulled up so I stopped to take that picture. I then started videoing and was surprised to find a tourist trap town on the other side… I think I even said out loud that I didn’t expect that! So the area around Rushmore is well built for the tourist. Think Laconia with more blinking lights. I was all set there so I just kept on going. The roads got nice again and I reached Mount Rushmore. $11.00 to park, good all year , and I saw some heads on a hill! It was a site to see and I’m glad I did. From Rushmore I head out toward Sturgis. A bike destination of sorts and even though nothing was going on there it was close and I figured why not. I planned to try and see the Motorcycle Museum but that soon changed. I had read online about some non route numbered back roads that were motorcycle heaven that would get you to Sturgis. I had mapped them out before hand and was looking forward to the twists and turns. I found the first road and started the video. The roads were a little bumpy but otherwise great until I noticed some pretty dark clouds ahead of me. When the first drop fell I quickly pulled over and started getting out the rain gear. I heard a sport bike coming from the area of the rain. The rider stopped and was soaked. He told me it was bad but there wasn’t much I could do so I suited up and headed out. Ya, it was bad. Gusting wind, downpours and HAIL! That was a first for me lol. The second picture is just before Sturgis when I had finally got out of the storm looking back at it. I went into Sturgis and hit a gas station to fill up and check the radar. The storm was head towards me so I opted to skip the Museum and headed out towards Devils Tower on interstate 90. It was a while before I was clear of the weather, for now, and was able to take off the rain gear for the final stretch. After the hail storm I was definitely ready to get to camp for the night. The last bit of the ride was thankfully great and I was able to enjoy the scenery. I made it to Devils Tower KOA around 6:30 and set up for the night. At the advice of the KOA employee I was “downgraded” to a site closer to the showers and that had more tree coverage with the option to stay where I was originally booked however I liked the site they picked and hey it saved me $12.00! I hit the KOA café for dinner just in time for the showing of Close Encounters! Classic! lol… I then hit the store and grabbed some detergent to do my first load of laundry for the trip. After starting the wash there was a pretty cool lightning show going on. The last picture is actually the tower backlit with lightning! I had seen on the radar a good storm headed my way so I decided for the first time to stake out the guidelines on the tent to secure it better. Boy was that the right move! I was just able to get my wash in the dryer when the storm hit and all “heck” broke out… It was crazy! I literally laid in my tent waiting for it to come down with the wind. The side of the tent at times flexed to the point it was touching me lying on my sleeping pad. I took some video on my phone which I doubt will capture the extent of the storm but oh my… lol… Needless to say though after a while the storm let up a bit, the tent was still standing, the bike and I were bone dry and I fell asleep… That Redverz tent earned every penny it cost me!!!! Day 4 in the books… see you tomorrow! Day 5–352.3 Miles Day 4 was full of sites… Day 5 was mapped out to be one for the “Wild Hogs”, those of you, like me, that “Just wanna ride” you know “Riiiide Sally Ride” You know who you are and you understand that the ride is the adventure and seeing anything from the saddle beats in a cage any day… On to the day… After an eventful end to Day 4 I woke about the usual time, a little earlier actually, happy to see that my bike, myself and my stuff survived… I headed over to get my laundry which was left in the dryer all night, well actually someone took it out of the dryer and put it on a washer… Which I don’t get since it was drying during the storm and it was now about 5:15am…. when were you drying clothes!!! Anyway it was all there so I squared it away and repacked my bag. I then went about packing up and breaking down as usual. I couldn’t believe it when I started pulling stakes from the side of the tent the wind was coming from to find a few of them BENT!!! That was some wind!!! I hammered them straight and finished packing up… The next shots are outside of the KOA as I was leaving to make an actually ride up to the tower… I didn’t spend a lot of time at the tower… checked it out a bit. There is a 1.3 mile trail around it but I wasn’t up for a hike so I pushed on with the day. Like I said today was meant to be a ride. No sites other then the scenery. I headed from Devils Tower to the town of Moorcroft where I gassed up at a gas station / deli / grocery store. While there a car pulled up and I got talking to a guy who was traveling to Minnesota for a family reunion. I could tell he wasn’t local because he was sarcastic like me lol… turns out he’s from as he put it “a little town called San Francisco” lol he was funny and I had a good time chatting with him. I went in the grocery store to use the facilities which turned out to be in the back storage room… they sure are trusting around here! lol I headed out and hit some amazing roads… peaceful, quiet and just picturesque… I feel like I’m in a postcard sometimes lol… The picture of my bike along the road was somewhere in Wyoming when I just felt the urge to stop and sit for a while… Tried to soak it in… I continued on and ended up stopping for gas at a little mom and pop that had an old timer dog roaming around outside lol… he didn’t take much interest in me… just the puddle. There were clouds all around and I knew there was a chance for rain again so I decided to throw on the rain gear while I was stopped. I realized that my left rain glove cover had a ripped seem, guess that’s why my hand was wet yesterday… First gear issue… I’ll be happy if that’s my only one. The rest of the pictures are just times when I wanted to stop and capture the journey… On my way to Bighorn. There was a point in my ride to Bighorn that I was trying to decide if I should hop on the interstate and beat feet to Red Lodge, MT or take the ride through the mountains. The issue was another red blob on the radar that I would run right through if I went to the mountain. After a few minutes I decided I would regret it later if I skipped Bighorn and headed that way…. oh boy. I got to Bighorn and had an amazing first half of a ride up the mountain. I knew it was the right choice not to skip it. The view, the road, everything was perfect. Until. I hit the top of the mountain and there was the red blob waiting. I hadn’t thought of the fact that I was… on a friggin mountain! The storm started with rain, then heavy rain and gusting winds that I had to lean into to ride straight. Funny thing though… a guy on a BMW riding 2 up passed me during this lol… I guess he showed me! The temperature started dropping… fast… Visibility started fading away…. fast… and the rain… it changed to SNOW!!!!!! 39 degrees, snowing and I couldn’t see more then a few feet in front of me… I honestly was using my GPS to know where the road was turning. I couldn’t see out of my visor so during all of this I had to keep it up. I have never ridden in conditions like that and I hope to never have to again. However, I feel I have greatly increased my hardcore riding level with that one!!!! Eventually and without dying I made it out of the storm. I took a few pictures as I was exiting the storm… sorry I didn’t hit the scenic outlook during it lol. The temperature started coming back up… and then sun returned. I went to stop at a turn out once I was in the clear and my rear end kicked while braking over a metal storm grate that was crossing the road… I didn’t go down but laughed at the thought of making it through a blind snow storm and then crashed on a metal grate lol. I grabbed a few shots looking back at the storm, the split in the sky and the road ahead. By the time I hit the next major town it was 75 and dry… off with the rain gear… for now. I continued on into Montana on some fast sweeping roads. Everything around here is a 65 – 70 mph speed limit and 80 mph on the interstate. Not far outside of Red Lodge, MT I came across an abandoned Mine, the Smith Mine Disaster, as the sign would tell me. They decaying buildings are left there as a memorial to the workers who died. It was eerie. I was in the home stretch to camp. About 10 miles out the skies were bad again so I stopped and suited up the rain gear, again. I crested the hill I was stopped on the see Red Lodge down in the valley below. It looked dry so I thought I had geared up in vein. I turned onto the main drag and about a half mile up it started to sprinkle, then rain, then friggin HAIL again lol… I pulled into an old gas station and waited it out under the overhang. There is a bike rally here starting tomorrow so there are already a lot of bikes around… I’m sure they were all pleased. I made it up to the KOA and set up as usual. It sprinkled a little but has since cleared up. It’s cold though so I think I’ll be in layers tonight oh and I had freeze dried beef stew for dinner Day 6! Day 6 – 224.7 miles So you might notice that my Day 6 map looks a little different… and you’d be right. First, I never updated the map from when I was going to be staying at a different camp ground… and second I changed my route after talking to some folks in Red Lodge. I had mapped a southern route out of Red Lodge back towards Cody and I believe this was so I could loop the southern end of Yellowstone where Ole Faithful is etc…. But everyone I talked to said no you HAVE to go out 212 through Beartooth Pass, so that’s what I did. I then made a change of plans once in Yellowstone but I’ll get to that. Day 6 was originally mapped at just over 300 miles but came in at 224.7 but with a lot of great riding. Here it is… The morning started at the usual time although it took the singing alarm to wake me and I wasn’t looking to get out of bed real quick as it stayed pretty cool all night. I am happy to report that my Teton Sport Trailhead 20 sleeping bag was more then enough to keep me warm. Another good gear choice there. After the “harsh” weather on Day 5 I knew I needed to give me chain a good cleaning and lube. I bought some WD40 to clean the chain since all I had with me was chain lube. I confiscated a section of sidewalk to place the bike on the center stand as there wasn’t another cement surface to be found. One that was done I headed into Red Lodge to find some breakfast. The last two shots were right outside of the Red Lodge KOA. With the hail storm I was dodging on my way into town the night before I never got a good look a the town. It’s actually really pretty cool… nestled in a valley with all local business. I had mentioned there was a bike rally starting in Red Lodge and I heard many locals talking about how much the rally helps the town so they go all out for the visiting bikers. This morning I definitely noticed an increase in chrome in the area but luckily they were all friendly to my kind While snapping some photos of the main drag I saw the Red Lodge Café and figured what better place to have my first real breakfast of the trip. The place was nice, service was good and the food was good as well. It was family run with one of the daughters being my server. Sounds familiar…. hmmmm Interestingly enough there was an adult themed casino off of the café… hey whatever makes money I guess!!!! lol After woofing down my food and walked back to my bike which was parked across the street where I met “CJ”. She was a typical lab puppy chasing anything that moved around her. Amazingly enough though she never left her area at he door of the nail salon. Her mom was inside and she knew not to run off… but she wasn’t shy to jump on you when you came to say hello I left the café and ended south out of Red Lodge on 212 towards Beartooth Pass. The first pic of my bike stopped is where I soon realized I needed to bundle up. I through on my fleece and my rain gear to block the wind and changed to my warmer gloves. The temp hit 42 degrees towards the summit of Beartooth but it was sunny, dry and beautiful so I didn’t mind. The pictures above are just a sampling of what I took. This was definitely the way to go and I took my time making sure to stop every time I had my breath taken away, which was often. There was even snow on the ground in spots! I also got a lot of great video which I can’t wait to watch and share. About midway between Red Lodge and the Northeast Entrance to Yellowstone I came across a store and lodge called “The Top of the World” I was due for a snack so I stopped and checked it out. I sat out on the deck and kicked back for a while enjoying the moment. I noticed a huge plow truck parked across the street so I went to check it out. During the winter Beartooth is often closed due to snow… this machine I’m sure gets a workout and looked like it had been in service for some time. I finally headed out and began my decent off of Beartooth. I met two riders from Minnesota, Brian and Marty. Marty was a fellow Honda guy and has a 1983 VF750F Interceptor as well as a 2003 VFR800 Interceptor. My bike is a 2002 VFR800 Interceptor and I once had the same 1983. They were great and we swapped bike stories for a while until it was time we all moved on… but not before Brian kindly snapped a photo of me . About 3 miles from the entrance to Yellowstone I came into anther great little town, Cooks City, MT. I was hungry for some lunch and wanted to top off the gas in the bike so I stopped and checked it out. After filling up the bike I parked in front of the Beartooth Café and grabbed an outside table for lunch. The view was great and I got chatting with a group next to me who were very intrigued with my adventure. I’ve quickly found that I am quite the conversation starter lol… People are always walking up to me asking where I’m headed… where I’m from… it’s a great way to break the ice. Anyway, I had a burger, chatted for a while and headed out to Yellowstone. Of course before doing so I realized I had parked my bike in a dip in the side of the road and was struggling to back it out while sitting on the bike…. A very nice, and strong, woman who was getting off her husbands bike next to me gave me a push lol… she said she has had a lot of practice with her husband… I made it to Yellowstone!!! Now my plan was to still do the grand loop down past Ole Faithful and then out on route 89 towards Livingston where I was staying tonight. When I was talking at lunch I was told that not only is the traffic in the park bad but the long stretch of 89 I would be on is torn up and down to one lane. There is upwards of a 3 minute wait to pass and it’s all dirt. I went in optimistic however quickly realized that I to try and make the 130 + mile loop around would take way too long. So instead of stressing myself out over time I decided to stick to the Northern part of the park and be able to take my time and enjoy what I could see… I can always come back . Like the rest of my day I was surrounded by beautiful landscapes that simply look like paintings. I saw some Buffalo up close which was amazing. Although one was snorting at me and I wasn’t sure if he was about to take me out so I passed some stopped cars and got the heck out of there lol. I headed far enough south in the Park to check out Tower Falls before turning around to continue out the North Entrance. I mean I hadn’t seen a waterfall yet so I had to go check it out! The area was packed, the roads were packed and admittedly I was getting frustrated and looking to get out. Shortly before reaching the North Entrance I came into what looked like a town although it’s still in the park so I don’t know. Anyway, there were dozens of Elk just grazing an walking around with the people and the cars… it was just crazy enough to get me to stop one more time and check it out lol… There were Park Rangers walking around directing people safely away from the animals. I asked one if it was his job to stop the Elk from killing everyone and he said “ya basically” Good luck Buddy! I finally headed out of the park and started my trek to Livingstone. Up to now the weather had been perfect all day although I once again caught some clouds in the direction I was headed. Sure enough about 30 miles from Livingstone I had to again stop and throw on the rain gear and got wet…. Comparatively it was nothing compared to storms I had been in but it was annoying nonetheless. I made it to the Livingstone KOA around 6:30 and setup camp as usual. (Sorry no picture ) I then headed into Livingstone for dinner although I wanted something quick as it was getting late. I checked out the town then stopped at good ole “Marks In & Out” for a grilled chicken sandwich… Which actually wasn’t bad at all…. Day 7 coming up!!!! Can’t believe it will be a week already! Day 7–322 Miles Today was a point A to point B kind of day by design to get me to Missoula, MT for tomorrows ride. Another “Wild Hogs” day where it was just about the ride. It also was a much shorter day then the last 6 which means earlier to bed tonight… something I sorely need. So this will be a shorter read then the last few… but here’s day 7… First… the camp picture which I didn’t add to the Day 6 write up . Ok… So I didn’t get to bed until about midnight so when my phone started singing at 5:30am I wasn’t having it. I played dangerously and just shut it off not to awake until 6:15. I would have kept sleeping but knew the day awaited so with some moaning and groaning I got up and started my morning pack and go routine. After the bike was loaded I decided to take advantage of the KOA breakfast and headed over to the Pavilion. Eggs, bacon, hash browns… a classic breakfast and it was actually pretty good. I got talking to the man taking the orders and found out that he was 24 years Navy retired in 1998. He and his wife, the cook, now were full time RV’ers and followed the good weather around the country working at KOA’s to help pay their way. Sounds like a great retirement plan to me!!!! During breakfast I decide to throw some gorilla tape onto my right riding glove which had developed a tear on one of the seems. Who knows if it will hold but it made me feel better not to look at the hole. I then headed out for my day on the road. The last shot was just outside of the campground. The first 113 miles of my trip were on Interstate 90 which actually didn’t bother me. It was nice to make some ground and I knew I wouldn’t be on it for long. After that I head South on Interstate 15 for 18 miles to Route 43 west which I was on for a while. The above shots show the majority of my rides backdrop all day. No historical landmark but it was a great ride. I stopped at one point to take a picture and it happen to be in front of a ranch entrance where a bunch of cows were hanging out. A bunch of them actually stood up and started staring at me… it was odd… I guess they’ve never seen a guy on a bright red bike before! Look close you’ll see some of them looking right at me lol… So I told them if they were going to stare I was putting them on the internet… so there they are Mid day I came into a small nowhere town in Montana called Wisdom. The first picture shows pretty much the entire town lol. I stopped at “the store” and grabbed a snack and made some calls since Wisdom actually had cell service! Then headed out… The store owner in Wisdom had told me we were close to the Idaho boarder. I reached the intersection of 43 and Route 93 to start heading north to Missoula I looked to my left and there was a Welcome to Montana sign, to my right a Welcome to Idaho sign…. Sooooo where was I sitting in the middle???? hmmmm Moving on… One thing I quickly learned on this trip is when you’re in the middle of nowhere…. don’t pass up a gas station!!! So when one came along in the middle of nowhere I made sure to stop and top off the tank. I knew now I could make it to Missoula for the night without an issue. Aaaaand now I’m at the Missoula KOA… which is basically in a city and doesn’t have the appeal some of the back country sites I’ve been in… But it’s clean and will do just fine. I met a guy in the site behind me named Jeff… Jeff has me beat on the epic trip thing… He has been on the road for 20 days, 500 miles, on foot! He’s headed to Ole Faithful for a total of 750 miles for a world peace charity event. Wow… Anyway, I headed out to 93 to grab a bite at Perkins Family Restaurant after waiting a bit to see if the rain was coming. I thought for a moment that I would actually have an entire day without rain so I went to dinner in my riding jeans, no rain gear. Well just as I was leaving dinner it started to rain… not hard… but enough…. Just enough for the rain gods to echo the words of the famous Harry Hog to the late Buddy Brothertons son Buck…. “I don’t want you spoiled”… lol Good night… see you on Day 8 Day 8–440 Miles Today was a definite up and down day and ended a little short of my mapped target. I rode some amazing roads, saw amazing scenery and met some great people and it didn’t rain!!! But that ended up being the least of my worries today. Ok lets go… I am happy to say that I was able to get to bed earlier then usual last night and logged a restful 7ish hours of sleep that were well needed. I got going a little late today waking around 6:00am and leaving just befoe 8:00am. After gassing up I headed out of MIssoula and got onto Route 12, the Lolo Trail, towards Idaho. The temperature when I left Missoula was only about 51 degrees and it dropped to around 48 as I started climbing in elevation. I had started the ride with my wind liner in my pants and my fleece on but had to stop and add a layer on top. After that I was good to go… Not long after passing into Idaho on Route 12, now the Lewis and Clark Trail I believe, I finally saw the rider famous sign “Winding Road Next 99 Miles”. I of course had to stop and take a picture!!! The road was definitely winding however for a while anyway it was bumpy with ruts in all the wrong places making the turns a bit tricky. While cruising along in seemingly the middle of nowhere, again , I came across the “Lochsa Lodge in Lolo, MT. It was down off the roadway a little but said it had gas and well you know my rule about not passing up a gas station in the middle of nowhere!!!! so I pulled down. I was surprised to see a modern Sinclair single pump setup next to a little country store in the middle of a bunch of cabins and a lodge. This place was great!!! It seemed completely self contained and was beautiful! I filled up then pulled up to the store to grab a drink. I spoke briefly to one of the business owners who told me they all live there as well as work which made sense since it would be one heck of a commute! When I exited the store there were 3, then 4, guys walking buy and I heard them talking about my bike. When they saw me one asked what model it was and well apparently I have an accent so when I answered another quickly asked if I was from the Northeast lol. I got talking with these guys for a while and it seems seeing someone from Massachusetts in Lolo, MT is a big deal because one guy actually took my picture with the bike… Yup, I’m kinda a big deal… So I headed out and road on. A while later I stopped for a rest by what appeared to be a big fishing spot because as I was there about 4 car loads of people showed up and headed to the river. I went down as well and checked out the scenery while having my snack before moving on . I stopped a while later in Kooskia, ID for another fill up. Route 12 seemed to follow this river for a while and it was a nice change of pass scenery wise. I stopped here to shed the remainder of my cold weather layering as it was now about 80 degrees. I continued on towards Lewiston, ID on the Washington boarder. After crossing over into Washington I made my way out of the city and began the trek to Hells Canyon. I think there might be a water shortage in these pars as evident by the lack of color other then burnt! I found myself on the rider famous road “Rattlesnake” which was just one tight turn after another. I have been purposely taking it easy on all of these roads being so far from home but it gets hard sometimes! When I stopped to take those first three pictures I could here a bike coming through the bends. Soon after a Kawasaki Concours 14 went carving buy riding two up. The rider was so smooth and his girl just gave me a wave as she was in basically a 45 degree angle going through the turn. It was awesome and I could only laugh as I putted on… Coming out of Rattlesnake is another rider famous landmark “Boggan’s Oasis” so of course I stopped. To my delight that Concours was there and the rider and his girl were just getting off of the bike. I walked over and got chatting with them. Cody was the rider and was a club racer in this area until a few years ago. He is a Lewiston Fire Fighter and Paramedic and was a blast to talk to! Cody was so excited that I was there riding these roads for the first time he was giving me a lot of tips of where to go. We talked for a while then headed out… Cody of course was ahead of me but at a straight I saw him stopped waiting for me. We exchanged numbers and I ended up riding with him a bit until we got into Enterprise, OR. There we fueled up, I got a few more road tips and parted ways… Cody was a good sh*t… I hope to meet up with him again! After leaving Enterprise I made my way through some winding, twisting and turning roads that led to more winding, twisting and turning roads that led to… you get the idea… Which FINALLY led me to Hells Canyon Overlook! The view of views!!!! And as luck would have it there a few nice folks there willing to take my picture!!! Now this is where the day goes south…. I head out from Hells Canyon Overlook to head towards Baker City then onto my camp for the night. I get a few miles from the Overlook and find that that winding, twisting and turning road down the mountain is turn up and is all LOOSE GRAVEL!!!!!! If I had a dirt bike this wouldn’t be an issue… But sport touring tires do not fair well here and I was left to do MAYBE 10mph. Lets not forget the ruts I had to try and avoid as to not shake my luggage right off the bike… Oh and the Dukes in there 80’s Bronco without the roof on going flying by me in a cloud of dust. Over 2 hours to get maybe 20 miles. I was more then spent at that point. It was another 50 miles to Baker City and another 30 if I went on to camp…. I had had it and opted to stop in Baker City for the night. The thought of putting up the tent and going through the ritual of packing it all up in the morning was unbearable at that hour. I called around and most places were booked however I found a room at the lovely “Knights Inn”! lol… I found out that the reason everything was booked was because of the “Miners Jubilee” going on in town. There was Bull Riding going on! But of course when I got to it they were just finishing up… Oh well… When walking down Main Street I had noticed “Barley Brown’s Brew Pub” so decided to head back there for dinner. I sat at the bar and had a nice steak and my first beer of the trip with Spencer and Matty from Portland, OR. They have been slowly traveling back home from Santa Fe, NM. It was a good way to unwind from a stressful end to what otherwise was a great day. Day 9 is a new day! I’m ready! Day 9–444 Miles This is what Day 10 was supposed to look like…. But after a mentally exhausting end to Day 8 and the fact that I wanted time to visit two close friends in the Portland / Vancouver area I decided to hit the slab and take 84 from Baker City. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would… for a highway anyway So I’ll admit it was nice to have a day off of camping. Getting up was much easier as was loading the bike without having the tent to deal with. That being said it was still 7:30am before I got on the road after a quick “Continental Breakfast” courtesy of The Knights Inn. Route 84 isn’t a bad highway actually, it has twists and turns and gorges and dams. All of which were at least something to look at. I stopped at a view point once I hit where 84 runs along the river between Oregon and Washington. Again, not bad for a highway. This was a much needed break from technical riding and I enjoyed just listening to music and zoning out for a while. My first stop was in Oregon City to visit with my friend Julie who I’ve known since Junior High. As we know from the title of this adventure that was some time ago! It was great catching up and meeting her family finally. From there I jumped over the bridge into Vancouver, through a traffic jam in 97 degree heat , and met up with my friend Arron who I’ve known even longer! Again, it was great to see him, for the first time in 13 years actually, and see / meet his family. This was the most time during the day I have been off the bike the whole trip… my backside appreciated it lol. After a couple of hours in Vancouver I set off from Astoria where I’d be setting up camp for the night. After crossing the Columbia River I stopped at this turn out and took a few nice shots of the area before getting on my way. The ride to Astoria took a turn when the temperature dropped into the low 50’s and it started to drizzle, a lot. By the time I got near town I was tired, freezing, wet and miserable. Admittedly I had my first real scare of the trip when a descending apex turn caught me off guard in the middle of my misery. I realized I was crossing the line and staring at the front of a F150 but luckily was going slow enough to hit the binders, look into the turn, flip the bike and correct it. That surely woke me up… Setting up was more misery as it continued to be cold and damp. The first site they booked me in was another Tent City however there was a board used as edging that I couldn’t get my bike over. I asked to be moved and was placed into a camper site. Problem there was I couldn’t stake into the gravel. When I moved it to the side I found there were patched of almost beach sand that the bike kept sinking it. When I did finally get setup and the bike in the tent the ground was too high for the bike. I ended up holding the bike with one hand and digging with the other until it was safe…. So no pictures of my arrival needless to say… they’ll come in the morning… Good night… see you on Day 10! Day 10–373.3 Miles I’m finally on the west coast! My goal to travel across the country is complete… but now I want to head south and actually see the west coast… and that’s where we begin. So like I said in my last post the weather was miserable upon my arrival to Astoria last night. This morning was a little better with a little sun trying to poke through and no constant drizzle. It was however still cold so I would be wearing my cold weather gear for most of the day. I was up about 6:00am and on the road a little after 8:00am. The tent was soaked so it took some time drying it before packing it up. Above, the mandatory shot of the camp and a Memorial in Astoria I liked My first stop for the day was actually back the way I had come from the night before. GOONIES!!!! Any 80’s kid knows this movie and wanted to find the rich stuff with the Goonies… The house wasn’t hard to find and once in the neighborhood you can tell from the signs that they are use to the traffic. There were signs directing you where to park as well as where you were allowed to walk. I imagine as the home owner it must get old however like it or not the house brings people to the town soooooo… Anyway, it was major dejavu standing in the driveway looking at that house and down to the road. I could picture Mikey riding is bike down the driveway, Bran taking the little girls bike lol… Anyway it was cool. But after a few minutes I headed out. When I got there I was alone but when I was leaving two minivans with families had shown up and were walking their kids to the house. After leaving the Goonies I made my way to the 101 where I would stay for the rest of the day into California. I was finally at the Pacific!!! You can see how the farther south I got and the later in the day it became the clearer it was. The Oregon coast was beautiful and I managed to ride the entire state and then some. I made it to the Crescent City / Redwood KOA a little after 6:00pm. It was an uneventful day on the road but with plenty of sites. I was surprised to find that my site was actually IN the redwood forest. It’s really dark in there when you first enter and it was kind of freaking me out! Next to my tent were a couple both riding custom Choppers. They were headed from the LA area up to Canada and then down to Sturgis for the rally. My tent became a big hit as a guy named Deets came around asking about it, brought his son to look at it etc… It’s actually been quite the conversation piece this whole trip… I guess not too many people have garage tents for their bike! Another day done… another to come… see you tomorrow. Day 11–241.1 Miles My 11th day of riding… by far the longest I have ever done. Signs of that are my right wrist started to ache within an hour or so in the saddle as well as the underside of my legs where they sit against the edge of the seat. All is manageable and I can honestly say I am enjoying this trip, both the fun and the challenging. I also can say I was looking forward to what looked like a shorter day on the bike, getting to camp early… I may have miscalculated there… The morning started off cool, around 57 degrees, and foggy. I was bundled from the get go in my cold weather and rain gear. I headed out a little late leaving camp around 8:20am. I wasn’t rushing on account of all the time I felt I had with the shorter day. The last shot above was just to show how foggy the coast was in the morning. I’m told it is like this most mornings… so much for sunny California!!! So for those of you reading this blog like a NASCAR race, just waiting for something to happen, you may have got it… Although not all that dramatic it is thoroughly disappointing and stupid on my part. Not 10 miles from leaving camp I pulled down into a small parking lot off a beach to get better pictures of the murky morning on the coast. Now you recall I said I had on all of my rain and cold weather gear. Well, these were stored in the left side bag, the side the kickstand is on. When I packed the bags they weighed even, when loaded. Not thinking about this I now had the right side bag much heavier. So I pull into the parking lot and throw out the kickstand. I felt that the ground was ok to get off the bike however a minute later I was watching as the bike toppled over onto it’s right side. I believe that the heavier bag helped pull it over when otherwise it may have been ok. Either way it was stupid of me to not make sure it was set and to not realize that I was causing the issue with the weight distribution. A gentleman nearby helped me right the bike an I began surveying the damage. Luckily nothing mechanical was broken and I could still ride the bike. The right side bag took the brunt of the fall and probably saved the bike itself from more damage. Needless to say I was no pleased and had some choice words… But I’ll just fix it like new when I get home…. Oh and I still took the stupid pictures so there they are! I headed out after pissing and moaning about the bike for a few and rode to Eureka, CA. I had looked up Honda dealerships in the area and found Pacific Motorsports right on the 101. I wanted to get the oil changed on the bike and was hoping they could squeeze me in. Sure enough the service guys hooked me up and took the bike right in. I headed over to the Golden Harvest Café for some lunch after it was recommended to me by someone at the shop. About an hour later the oil was changed, I was full with a great club on rye and I was on my way to the Lost Coast. Now when I was planning this trip I had read other blogs and ride reports saying that the road to the lost coast was “a little rough” but worth it so I planned it in. Well, perception is an amazing thing because what one feels is a little rough I say was god awful! The roads were patched together and rough while also being winding and at times gravel. Not to mention that I didn’t think to fuel up before heading in and was trying to calculate how far I could go with what I had plus my reserve bottles. I actually at one point just shut the bike off since I was mainly going downhill and coasted. I couldn’t go faster anyway… the only thing that was bad was I couldn’t use the engine to slow me down so I had to ride the brakes. Suddenly I popped out into this TINY town called Honey Dew, CA. The last picture was taking as I was leaving but that was THE store in town, THE gas station, THE restaurant and THE post office. There were a group of local guys that looked rather annoyed with my presence… No friendly hellos in Honey Dew!!! I gassed up and beat feet…. I will say that the girl in the store was nice and gave me a good idea of how long I had to go…. and yes… that’s my finger in a picture. Oh and coincidentally I passed a group of three riders on VFR800’s shortly after I started my trek in… small world! After roughly two hours to get there I made it to the lost coast. I will say it was beautiful and the fact that there wasn’t anything built up around it made it feel mystical almost… Oh and there were cows… I don’t know how they got there, but they were there. I hung out for a few then headed out… It was a 4 hour trip when all said and done to travel roughly 60 miles… But I did it!!!! The road from the lost coast drops you out into the town of Ferndale, CA. This was a picturesque older Victorian town with colorful shops and 100+ year old homes. I pulled to the side of the road to take a break and a guy named Jason pulled up on a KTM motard bike. He had seen the three other VFR riders earlier in the day and thought I was one of them. We talked for a bit about how the ride was not meant for a bike like mine and how he grew up in the town of about 2,000 people. I wanted to look around a bit but was exhausted and headed out instead. I ended the night with a nice pork chop dinner from Adel’s in Eureka. When I came back to camp from dinner I stopped and talked to three riders who had pulled in when I was leaving. Turned out one grew up in Worcester but now lives in Portland, OR…. small world again… I then put the bike away and hunkered down for the night… I was beat… Day 12 awaits!!! See you then. Day 12–289.2 Miles Today I continued south through the Avenue of the Giants and finally getting to California’s famed Coastal Route 1. There were a lot of slow, tight, winding turns nestled in those 289 miles but the sun was out and the motorhomes were scarce! It was a good day First things first I spent some extra time this morning looking over the bike. I found that the rack holding the right side bag on the bike was pushed in a bit from the fall. There doesn’t seem to be any risk of it coming loose and isn’t interfering with anything on the bike, you actually can’t even tell, so I’ve decided to leave it be until the bike is home. The chain was in need of a cleaning and lube again as well as a little tightening so I tool care of that as well. I checked the tire pressure and corrected as needed then headed about 9:00am. A little late but I knew I had a shorter day ahead of me so I wasn’t worried. At the end of Day 11 I was dumped out from the Lost Coast in a small town called Ferndale. I decided this morning to head back there and hopefully get some breakfast and take a better look around. Unfortunately the restaurant didn’t open until 11:30 and it was only a little before 10:00 so there went that idea. I did walk around a bit and took some better pictures of the downtown area. The town really has a nice feel to it. I hopped on the 101 to the north entrance to the Avenue of the Giants. The road winds alongside the freeway through sections of deep Redwood Forest. It was a site for sure and I enjoyed it although I’ll admit after a while they just started looking like trees. Once I finally hit Route 1 it was miles and miles of wooded motorcycle nirvana to get out to the coast. I actually only have the one picture I took when I stopped to put my camera on my helmet. I videoed a lot of the ride to the coast and was having too much fun to stop. The roads were smooth and the corners plentiful!!! After a while I reached the coast and stopped a few times to capture the breathtaking shoreline. I will see a lot of similar views in the days to come but the first time is always the best! I made my way into Fort Bragg, CA and was starving so I parked the bike and looked for a hole in the wall to eat. Well there isn’t a better definition to that like Eggheads Restaurant! I don’t know the connection, and forgot to ask, but there was a Wizard of OZ theme going on, in the restaurant as well as on the menu. When I asked about a bathroom I was handed a key attached to a big serving spoon and told to follow the yellow brick road through the kitchen and out the back door to the Emerald City. I thought they were joking, but they were not… The burger was good and the people friendly, if not quirky lol. After lunch I made my final push down Route 1 to the Petaluma KOA. The weather turned and the clouds rolled back in along with the colder temperatures. It never rained so I was happy, although with the drought they are in up here I’m sure a little rain would be welcomed. While setting up my camp I got talking to a family in the cabin next to me. Father, Tim, and his 6yo son, Theo. Theo was amazed at my motorcycle and tent and wanted so bad to help me. He finally asked if I like Cheezits and when I said yes he ran off to get me some in case I ran out of food on my trip lol… Although I never did get them… To the end the day I was able to get together with my buddy Dan Mitchel for dinner. Dan lives in Massachusetts but was out this way for business and made the hour drive to my camp. Funny thing is we’ve been trying to get together back home but it took us both being across the country to make it happen! Good times… The end is getting closer… see you on lucky day 13! Day 13–187.1 Miles Today was the shortest of the trip and allowed me to slow down a bit which was nice. I had thought I would spend some time in San Francisco but it was cold and cloudy and congested when I got there. Those three factors took the umph out of my desire to site see…. Regardless, the weather cleared up farther south and the day turned out to be a good one. Knowing I had so few miles to travel today I let myself sleep in until 7:00am. When I came out of my tent my buddy Theo was standing there waiting for me lol… He wanted to tell me about the ice cream he had the night before… got to hear ALL about it lol… I made sure to say goodbye when I headed about a little before 9:00am. About an hour later I came into the Surf town of Stinson Beach, CA and decided to stop for breakfast. The Stinson Beach Breakers Café caught my eye so I stopped. I caught quick attention from some locals and got chatting with an older gentleman who quickly knew I was from New England lol… I guess I do have an accent! As I climbed out of Stinson Beach I decided to stop and snap a few shots overlooking the town and beach. It was really a neat little town… I’ve seen a lot of those in the last couple of weeks. From there I pushed on to San Francisco. I was stuck in traffic in Santa Rosa when a young hippy looking kid pulled along side me and was trying to tell me something. I couldn’t hear him so when able I pulled up to him… He reminded me that it’s legal to lane split in California… Now my only experience with this was when I was in LA when I was 19 and a bike went flying by me in traffic, I was in a car, and it scared the crap out of me… BUT! It was really hot so I gave it a shot… definitely takes some getting use to and I apparently wasn’t very good at it as another bike passed me lane splitting lol… Oh well… Moving on… I was able to ride over the Golden Gate Bridge which was cool. I took video of it but no pictures as you can’t stop. I did stop at a couple of beaches along the Great Highway to look around but as you can see it was cloudy… and cold… So I headed out. A bit south of San Francisco the clouds finally broke and the sun came out as you can see. I stopped at the Whale City Bakery, Bar and Grill for lunch. Service was ok, the sandwich was good and the view was decent as well. I mostly just enjoyed the sun. It was an easy 60 miles or so into Monterey and my accommodations for the night. Nothing fancy but it’s clean and actually very updated… not to mention it fit the budget! The clerk tells me he upgraded me to a bigger room… with a hot tub… but then asks I don’t use the hot tub because it leaks… I ask… So you upgrade me to a room with a hot tub just to tell me not to use the hot tub??? He didn’t see the humor in that but explained that the room itself was bigger as well… Ok Bud… lol My mom had told me about the Monterey 17 mile drive so after unloading the bike I set off to check it out. First thing I noticed was how light the bike felt!!! This was the first time I have ridden it completely unloaded on the trip… what a difference! Anyway, it turns out that they don’t allow motorcycles on the 17 mile drive… after telling them that was un-American I was on my way to find something else to do. I roamed around a bit and found myself at Cannery Row. I walked around a bit, window shopped and checked out the sites. It was a neat place, a little touristy, but nice. After walking around a bit I decided to grab dinner at Sly McFly’s on the water. It wasn’t very busy as it was only about 5:30pm which was good. The service and food were great and the view was pretty nice as well. After dinner I headed back to the Inn for an early night… I’m beat. Day 14 coming up…. Day 14–388.7 Miles Today I finish up the Pacific Coast Highway before heading inland to make my loop back to Sacramento where I ship the bike and fly home. My stay at the Monterey Surf Inn was restful, so much so I fought with my alarm for a bit. I wanted to be on the road at 7:00am but missed it by a few minutes leaving at 7:20am… not too bad. It got down to a brisk 48 degrees on my way out… I would see 97 later in the day… talk about a swing! About 20 minute into my day came the first landmark. The famed Bixby Bridge… It was actually very impressive in person and at that hour there weren’t many cars around making it rather peaceful. I’ve ridden enough coast now that even I’ll admit the pictures are starting to look alike… But about 10 minutes from the Bixby Bridge I spotted this lighthouse… it was different so I took a picture of it. The next place I was looking to see was Big Sur… Heading into the area I came across an Inn, some shops and a general store nestled in the middle of nowhere. I stopped to grab a light breakfast as I knew I wouldn’t have time to sit down somewhere. The ride through Big Sur lived up to the hype. It was gorgeous… there were so many places to turn off and take pictures that I could have spent the entire day doing just that. I picked a few spots and grabbed some pictures, took video of the rest and just enjoyed the ride. My next California bucket list item was to stop at Neptune’s Net in Ventura on the Malibu line… Neptune’s has been used in a few movies but for me I know it from the original Fast and The Furious. Brian (Paul Walker) and Dom (Vin Diesel) have lunch there during the movie taking about “Race Wars” after Brian races a Ferrari down Route 1 in his 2JZ Supra… Yes… I like the movie… and unlike Monterey, Neptune’s welcomes bikes and had motorcycle only parking! My bike parked right about where Brian parked the Supra Where they had lunch… After leaving Neptune’s the plan was to head to Santa Monica Pier…. a few miles in traffic I started thinking that going that far south into LA may not be the best idea getting close to rush hour on a Friday. I opted to head straight to my KOA for the night. I hit traffic anyway and got the opportunity to perfect my lane splitting skills… in 97 degree heat… fun… I got to the Acton / Los Angeles North KOA and was a bit frustrated with the ride in only to find that there was barely any cell service and nonfunctioning wifi. I checked in and opted for a shaded site with no power as apposed to one in the sun as the camp was basically in the desert. Now the girls at the counter were very nice and told me I could park my bike on the site in my tent, they even radioed the staff letting them know. As I was sitting with my bike at my site, honestly looking for other options for the night with the help of Libby in Massachusetts, a guy in a Fiat comes up and starts talking to me like I was an idiot having my bike on the grass… “Out here is where you park, that’s where people lie down!” When I told him I was told I could park it there he just took off after I told him if I couldn’t I’d be leaving… Well I didn’t like the camp to begin with and that guy was an ass… so I booked a motel 6 nearby, got a refund… and headed out…. This guy was apparently the park manager… there were much better ways he could have managed that issue… Anyway… The motel is small but clean and I ended up grabbing a good dinner at Lucky Roxy’s which shares the parking lot with the motel… Simple good service and food… Day 15 is coming… with a twist!!! Day 15–159.7 Miles So this is what Day 15 was SUPPOSED to be… but after many people warning me about how unbelievably hot it would be in “Death Valley” and the fact that the Crossfit Games were going on an hour away… I decided to scrap the mapped ride and head to the Stub Hub Center in Carson, CA. to watch the games for the day. I also decided to spend a second night at the Motel 6 I was currently at in Palmdale. This allowed me to leave all of my gear at the motel and not worry about it while at the games. So I took the boring freeway ride back and forth totaling up just under 160 miles for the day. I arrived at the Games just after 8:00am and grabbed my ticket from WillCall. The above are some random shots from the mornings competition as well as some of the Vendor Area. Dr. Chad Messina found me walking around and was cool enough to let me tag along with him for the rest of the day It was nice to have some company and see a familiar face!!! Chad was at the games to treat Crossfit New Englands competing team. Had a blast cheering them on and watching the rest of the athletes leave it all on the field. I took off about 4:30pm and headed back to the Motel. It was a nice change of pace and I’m glad I took advantage of being near the games… Good times Day 16–349.8 Miles So with the change in Day 15 I ended up taking a direct shot up to the Yosemite Pines Campground. I was going to go through Yosemite today but I knew after 320+ miles I wouldn’t have time to enjoy it so I decided to push it off to Day 17. The day started slow but ended with some decent roads and donkeys… sooooo….. The first part of the day was pretty boring on CA-99. That wind farm was the most exciting thing I saw all morning. Once I got off the highway I made started getting into some smaller towns and a few decent views. I found myself in Snelling, CA taking a break and got talking to a father and son on bikes who were hoping to take a long distance trip in the near future. I also got a few tips on the rest of my day to Groveland, CA where the camp was located. From Snelling I turned off onto back roads and then found myself cutting through the “Red Hills Area of Critical Environmental Concern”. Now I have no idea what that means… but here’s a few pictures of wat it looked like… there was even a small school in the middle of it, and a house on a hill. But I still have no idea what it was all about… The last stretch of road into Groveland was a nice set of sweeping turns up a mountain… Good way to end an otherwise blah riding day. I made it to camp early, about 2:00pm, checked in and setup for the night. There was a petting zoo down the road from me with Lama’s(?) and Donkeys sticking their noses where they shouldn’t be . After setting up and making fun of the Donkeys I decided to head back into town and grab something to eat. I stopped at PJ’s Café then checked out the rest of the main street before heading back for the night. Overall it was a good day… I had no cell service and nonfunctioning wifi at the camp, which is getting old, so I was in bed nice and early… Which wasn’t a bad thing. Yosemite and Lake Tahoe tomorrow for Day 17… Day 17–249.2 Miles My last day of real the real trip was today. I will ride a little over 100 miles tomorrow to get to Sacramento but that’s all business. So that makes Day 17 my final day of sight seeing and it was a good one, minus some traffic and way too many people in one place that is … I headed out from camp a little before 8:00am and started towards Yosemite which was about 20 miles away. Already I was coming across some scenery worth a picture! I then made a quick gas and breakfast stop at a local country store before making it to the park. I made it to the park just before 9:00am, got through the gate and was stopped in traffic… ugh… BUT after a few minutes I started moving and was soon stopping on purpose. The park was already living up to the hype and I had only just begun. I headed to Yosemite Valley, along with the majority of the quickly growing number of visitors in the park. These are a few pictures headed into the valley. I had wanted to see Yosemite Falls which were down here somewhere. Once in the Valley I parked the bike and got onto their shuttle system. My first stop was in the Village where there was a Visitor Center, store, deli, café, post office and actually some residential areas. I had another snack and drink at the deli before moving on to the falls. After another shuttle and more walking then I had anticipated I made it to the lower falls. I hadn’t realized the distance to get to the falls and left all of my gear on which was quickly getting warm. I decided that the lower falls were good enough and hung out there for a while. I then made the walk back to the Visitor center and caught the express bus back to my parking area. The trip east out of the park was riddled with traffic but still yielded great views. I took CA-120 to the junction of 395 where there was a gas station / restaurant. I gassed up and grabbed a sandwich before my final rn to Lake Tahoe. Mono Lake was at the junction and was pretty impressive looking coming down the mountain to the area. There is such a lack of color in the area that the blue of the lake really stands out. When I turned off of 395 I was on CA-89 which was motorcycle heaven… a final perfect stretch of riding for my final full day. The road was new, smooth, twisting and turning with no traffic and perfect weather. I had a great time and only thought to stop once and grab some scenery shots. I found myself in yet another small town in the middle of nowhere so I stopped at the local General Store for a drink and to take it all in, once again. I made it to my motel about 5:00pm and got unloaded for the night. After talking to the family I headed out for dinner and finally caught a sunset on the trip! I headed down CA-50 towards the Nevada line and ended up a McP’s. The restaurant was still in California but literally on the state line. Years back I was in this area for a work conference and was staring at the hotel / casino we stayed at that was actually in Nevada. Nice area, although a bit crowded, the food was good and plentiful. I sat outside and watched the world go by as I ate then headed back to the motel to call it a night. Final day tomorrow… the trip is already a blur! It’s been a great journey but I will say I’m about ready to head home… Day 18–114.1 Miles My last day on the bike and plenty of logistics to get through to make it, and I, get home… I woke about 6:30am and packed the bike for the last time on this trip. While I was getting ready to leave I realized I messed up a rather big aspect of my “plan” for the day. Last night after dinner, out of habit, I stopped and filled the gas tank for the next day. I had come accustomed to doing this so there would be one less thing to do in the morning while trying to get out for the day. Well, the problem was the bike needed to be as close to empty as possible to be shipped and I only had about 100 miles to ride to get to Sacramento. My plan was to throw in my reserve bottles and head out, using as much as I could and filling up a little if needed. Thinking about it I would have had about the perfect amount of fuel to get me to Sacramento and be close to empty. But… I now had about 3.5 gallons of extra fuel and no idea how I was going to get rid of it. I headed out regardless around 7:30am thinking first things first lets get there then figure the rest out. The drive was actually pretty nice, most of it anyway. CA-50 out of Tahoe headed West is a great road although it was only about 45 degrees out when I left. I geared up for the cold only an hour or so later to be taking it off when it was 80 degrees away from the lake. I arrived at the Hampton Inn at about 9:45 am and thankfully was allowed to check-in even though check-in time wasn’t until 3:00pm. Big props to the hotel for manually checking rooms to find one ready for me! Having the room allowed me to unload the bike and formulate a plan in comfort. Once unloaded I headed out to the local Autozone to see what they had for siphon tubes and gas tanks as one thought was to just remove the fuel and try and find someone to take it. Of course another option was to simply ride for a few hours to burn it off but honestly it was really hot and I was afraid I’d get caught in a traffic jam somewhere so that was my last resort. I left the Autozone knowing my options and headed back towards my hotel. I passed a auto garage that was attached to a Napa Auto Parts and had the thought to go ask the guys at the shop if they wanted some free gas. Figured gear heads wouldn’t think I’m completely crazy so it was worth a shot. I “pulled a Uey” and headed up to the garage where I caught the eye of one of the mechanics. Long story short I met Mike who was completely cool with helping me siphon out the gas which he planned to throw in his car. I ran to NAPA and grabbed a $4.63 siphon tube and Mike cleaned out a 5 gallon bucket and got to work. Here’s the bike in the garage after I was done removing the fuel… and there is the roughly 3+ gallons of free gas Mike got to throw in his car. Hey gas isn’t cheap in California!!! I also let him keep the siphon hose for helping me out. So problem solved and I met yet another really nice perfect stranger on this journey of mine! From the garage I headed over to the WalMart near my hotel to buy a suitcase. This was always part of my master plan as a way to check my gear onto the plane. I ended up buying a nice hard sided carbon fiber suitcase. Fancy I know! I figured if I was buying another suitcase I’d get a different style then I already had… and liked the idea of the hard sides to help protect my helmet. I strapped the suitcase on the bike and made the short .5 mile ride back to the hotel. I touched base with the shipping company as well which was located in the short distance between WalMart and the hotel. This was by design of course as I knew I’d be walking back to the hotel after dropping the bike off. I got back to the hotel and proceeded to figure out what was getting packed where. I left my riding jacket, pants, rain gear, shoes, bike lock and tools in the cases locked on the bike. The tent will be checked as is, my soft side bag with my clothes and laptop along with my backpack tail bag will be carried on the plane and everything else would go into the suitcase. Done and done. After figuring out the packing situation I headed to the shipping company. The bike was blinking empty which was perfect and I had no issue locating the shipper. I checked in with the office then pulled the bike around into the loading dock area. While looking around I saw a group of bikes that just came in and most were of much high value then mine… all looked to be ok so I felt much better about the whole process. I proceeded to go through the bike with two guys from the shipper. I took photographs while they marked every scratch and piece of dirt on the bike onto a piece of paper. The bike was the dirtiest it’s ever been so this took a while. I can’t wait to get it home and be able to go through it top to bottom and make it shine again!!! Yes, OCD people, deal with it. So the bike was dropped off, I was packed, I had early bird check-in for my flight and my taxi was booked for 4:45am the next morning… I officially had nothing else I had to do and it was roughly about 1:00pm lol… It was also about 100 degrees so I just headed back to my hotel, cranked the AC and except for running across the street to grab lunch I just relaxed and watched movies. And that’s all she wrote for Day 18… Tomorrow is up early and long day of flying home… I’ll be seeing the family soon! Lets hope the dog remembers me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer RollinAgain Posted August 1, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2015 Great write up and pics, Thanks for taking the time to document the whole trip! Many of us can't make epic trips like this and reading your posts and viewing your pics makes us feel as if we were right there with you!! Glad you had a safe trip. Rollin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer TomP Posted August 1, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2015 What a great write-up of an awesome trip! I glanced at it, thinking it was a long read I'd come back to, but I just couldn't stop. It made my morning -- thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Lorne Posted August 1, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted August 1, 2015 That was a pretty ambitious ride. Covering that much ground you surely saw a huge variety of terrain. I've ridden much of your route from Day 6 onwards - including the stretch from Enterprise to Oxbow in Oregon just a few days after you. Thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer SamW Posted August 2, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted August 2, 2015 Awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superfunkomatic Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Great report. The good thing about going this far in such a short period of time is that now you can come back and spend time in each of those areas. You mentioned Stinson Beach and we must have just missed each other. I did see the other three red fifth generation VFRs traveling together a bit further up the coast in California. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer hotshoerob Posted August 22, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted August 22, 2015 According to an excellent source, the gravel stretch you encountered near the Hell's Canyon overlook hwy.39 between Joseph to Oxbow in Oregon is now freshly paved smooth as glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mv577 Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 According to an excellent source, the gravel stretch you encountered near the Hell's Canyon overlook hwy.39 between Joseph to Oxbow in Oregon is now freshly paved smooth as glass. Of course it is!!!! lol... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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