4 Corners Tour, 2006

by

Mike Tomsu

Prologue

This is a journal of my motorcycle trip around the perimeter of the United States in May and June of 2006. Having become addicted to endurance, long distance Iron Butt riding (http://ironbutt.com/about/about.cfm) I decided in 2005 that I wanted to do the 4 Corners Tour, sponsored by the Southern California Motorcycling Association (SCMA)  (http://www.usa4corners.org/main.htm) with a couple of added twists: I wanted to visit the 4 extreme corners of the US (my personal goal) as well as stop at some National Parks, Historical sites, National Monuments, etc., to get stamps for my continuing National Parks Tour (http://ironbutt.com/ridecerts/getdocument.cfm?DocID=11)

That’s a LOT of riding… It’s also a lot of planning and list making.

During the winter of 2005, I spent a considerable amount of time at the computer, mapping out routes, checking out possible places to stay, where to get gas, verifying National Park locations, directions and hours of operation, etc. I did all this planning using several different mapping programs, notably, MS Streets & Trips (S & T), Delorme’s Street Atlas and Garmin’s Mapsource. Each program has its plusses and minuses, but you ultimately have to end up using Mapsource because that is the only program you can use to download the route into the on-board Garmin 2610 GPS mounted on the motorcycle.

In February of 2006 I was caught in a company reorganization and laid off.  I had worked for the same company for almost 20 years. They did give me a generous separation settlement, so I set the date of my departure as May 20, 2006. I set that date for several reasons: it was pre- Memorial Day weekend and I wanted to be off the East Coast of the country on that weekend with the traffic, congestion and vacationers. Secondly, I figured that motel rooms would be more available and finding a room would be less of a problem than after Memorial Day. Third, the days would be getting longer as we approached the summer solstice on June 21. Finally, the weather in the Southeast part of the country wouldn’t be as blisteringly hot as it can get in the later parts of summer.

I wrote about my daily travels almost every evening on my SONY VAIO laptop and downloaded to my blog: http://ldmike-mctouring.blogspot.com. Because I had some difficulty uploading pictures and routes, I have compiled this CD which contains MUCH more information than the blog and considerably more pictures. I also edited the journal for grammar and spelling as well as put the journal in chronological order – the blog has the reports in reverse order.

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did riding and writing about it

Mike

Monday, May 01, 2006

I'm starting to gather things together according to the lists...

- 2 cameras: a Polaroid (didn't think they even made these things anymore...) and my Olympus digital. Polaroid is for the 4 Corners shots to send to the SCMA and Olympus is for everything else.

- iPod, charger and earphones (bagged up in plastic)

- Garmin MAP76 (for extreme corners documentation), PC to Garmin cables and charger (also bagged)

- water sample bottles for the 4 extreme corners, labelled

- cell phone charger - plugs into cigarette lighter on Tigress...

- 5 disc audio book (where's the Walkman?)

- 1Gb jump stick to be used as backup for map files, pictures, etc.

- minimalist case for Sony computer; accessory bag for cables and power brick. I think the computer is going to live on the top of the Moto Fizz bag in the waterproof compartment along with the Kanetsu electric liner.

- Backplate for Moto Fizz will be here next week. When I get that, I'll review how everything packs on the bike and unload/reload it 3-4 times to make certain I know what I need to take and where it is stowed. Kinda like getting ready for a sailboat trip...

- Appointment for bike tune-up and general checkup set for Monday: new tires, brakes, fluid change, coolant change, fuel filter, cable lube, etc., etc.

- Wash and re-waterproofed the ‘stich tonight. The Aerostich Darien jacket and pants combination is a wonderful outfit for this trip: well padded, waterproof, 3/4-season suit with the proper layering and very visible. It is almost impossible to take a picture of a ‘stich without getting some flashback from the reflective panels. While putting the pads back in I noticed some wear spots around the padding, so I call Aerostich (they're in Duluth). They said to bring it in and they will seam tape the wear spots for me. I thought about this for awhile and if I go up there, I could probably get more stamps - Apostle Islands NL, a raft of them in Calumet, MI and maybe even Ft. Wilkins at the top of the Keweenaw Peninsula. And, since the bike will be back from tune-up and new tires, it would give me a chance to break them in...

- NPT stops are almost complete. I've gotten the 25 states lined out, but now I'm short the 50 stamps, so I'll have to review the list again. I'm beginning to see that the limiting factor is the available times for the stamps, not the daily mileage. I'm going to review my route and post an overall route, a leg-by-leg file and a day-to-day file so I know exactly where I'm going from day to day as well as where I'm headed for that particular leg. I'll publish the routes as they are finalized.

- computer - reviewed camera photo capture software, Garmin Mapsource, MS S&T (Streets & Trips) and Delorme map programs. I usually do my route planning in S&T, transfer it to the GPS Utility program, save it as a GPX file, then over to Garmin Mapsource, then to the GPS Receiver. Sounds like a lot of work, but the GPS receiver only reads routes from Garmin software (Mapsource) and Mapsource simply sucks for route planning.

Time marches inevitably onward... 20 days to go.

Mike

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Got Tigress back from Action Powersports and I'm happy.  They did a great job! Apparently someone told the wrenchers that I was going on a long ride and they took extra special care of her, making certain everything was right. Even though they were on overtime, they took the time to power wash the bike and clean it up.

Saw Ron on the way out and he is going to put my blog address on their Website so everyone can see it - kewl!

Bike is running great and it feels good to have new shoes, brakes, coolant and fluids on/in her.  I'm sure that Tigress can make the trip without too much in the way of maintenance - perhaps an oil change midway, but not much else, unless the tires really go tits up because of the heat in the South.

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Took Tigress out for a run to scrub in the new tires - ran some 70 miles and got the chicken strips back to where they should be with normal driving - nothing extreme.  Bike is running super nice and I'm pleased with the work the Action Powersports did on it.

Got the Hyperlites hooked up and I'm pleased with the results as well.  I like the fact that I can flash them for 5 seconds at a stop when I'm the first in line waiting for the light to change.  Hopefully it will make a difference...

I leave tomorrow for Duluth and Aerostich - need to get the ‘stich repaired before the trip and I will (hopefully) get another NPT stamp at Bayfield and Apostle Islands NL - never been there before.  I looked at Calumet, but it appears that I'm a little early in that they don't usually open before July, so that's a trip for later this year - there's a raft of stamps up there.

Supposedly I'll get the back plate from Eric on Tuesday.  He's been long on promises and short on deliveries. I should have had that plate two weeks ago.  As long as I have it before the beginning of my trip and have time to fit it and test it, I guess I'm okay with the late delivery date

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Traveled from Milwaukee to Duluth by way of Bayfield, WI.  I wanted to get another stamp from Apostle Islands NL, but the visitor’s center was closed, much to my dismay - the Web site indicated that it was open 7 days a week.  So....., I guess I'll try for the MN NR in St. Paul rather than go back to Bayfield again.

Tigress is running flawlessly - so smooth!  Feels good to have a lot more brake again, too. She's ready for prime time. The down side is that she is soooo smooooth at 75 that I don't even notice it until I look at the speedo.... oops!

The term "cooler by the lake..." took on new meaning today.  It was 70 in Manitowish, WI about 30 miles inland, but when I got to Ashland, on the shores of Lake Superior, it was almost immediately 20 degrees cooler.  Took off one layer in Manitowish and put it right back on at Ashland - go figure. Will be interesting to see how chilly it is going to be tomorrow morning.

Thursday, May 11, 2006

(This is a picture of the plate and the back of Tigress as she’s packed. The silver bag is a motorcycle cover, the orange strips are the tie-down straps and the Beanie Baby is my mascot, Tigress, of course. The bag (the Moto Fizz) is unzipped along both sides for greater capacity and that becomes a problem because I can’t see behind me very well. Somewhere in the Southwest, I took inventory, repacked and actually sent some clothing home.)

Eric B stopped by yesterday with the travel plate I designed.  It's perfect!  Fits nicely on the bike, doesn't look too bad and the Moto Fizz ties down just like I envisioned it would.

Next thing to do (this weekend) is to get everything washed and cleaned, then do a trial run of packing to see what is going to fit where, etc.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

See Addenda at the end of report to view legs of the route.

So, the grand adventure has begun...

Left Pewaukee at 0630, documented by an ATM withdrawal at the Kiwk Trip. Surprisingly, I wasn't as nervous this time as in trips past and calmly packed the bike and took off.

The drive down Wisconsin and thru Chicago was uneventful.  I knew about the construction on the Dan Ryan x-way south of the Loop and at the last second decided to take Lakeshore Drive instead of fighting the construction.  Traffic wasn't bad and I was back on the Interstate in good time.

Stopped in Michigan City for gas and continued on to Michigan.  Gas up again at Imlay City, just west of Port Huron. There was some construction congestion around Kalamazoo and Flint, but probably nothing like weekdays.

(This is a picture of the Blue Water Bridge connecting the US and Canada.  I grew up about two miles from here and have been over and under this bridge many, many times. The bridge was expanded about 5-7 years ago to two bridges, two lanes going each way to allow for expanded traffic. There are a large number of trucks hauling garbage from Toronto to Detroit every day)

Got to the bridge and into Canada about 1400. The national speed limit in Canada is 100 kph (about 62 mph) and when you're accustomed to driving 75+ in Michigan just to NOT  get run over, 62, seems like a snail's pace.  I held Tigress down, though, until I got to Hwy 401, the Macdonald Cartier Freeway, apparently the equivalent of the US Interstate system. If you run at 100 kph on this road, you WILL get run over just like in Michigan - most people are doing well over 120 kph, so I finally forgot about the speedo and tried to stay with the traffic flow. Even so, I got passed a LOT by Canadians doing 10-20 kph faster than me.

Sarnia, ONT, on the other side of the Blue Water Bridge

It was probably a good thing that I decided to go thru Toronto on a Saturday night. Even though the traffic was fast, I got thru the city pretty easily.

Finally ended up in Belleville, Ont., a bit west of Kingston.

Trip stats:

Total miles: 743

Total Time: 12:46

Drive Time: 11:13

Stopped Time: 1:33

Avg diving speed: 66.2 mph

Overall average speed: 58.2 mph

I pushed it a bit today because I want to be in Maine ASAP and be well rested for the start of the main event. There's also an hour time change that I need to adjust for as well.

Other observations:

       - There are very few - if any - billboards along the highways in Ontario - refreshing not to be bombarded by all that stuff.

       - The young gal at the Comfort Inn check-in was extremely pleasant, knowledgeable about the local community, seemed to enjoy her job and was very courteous.  Quite a contrast to some places in the US where the teenager behind the desk is surly, rude, more interested in studying or talking on the phone with her girl/boy friend and could care less about the fact that you, the customer, pay her salary.

       - Most Canadian drivers understand drive in the right lane, pass in the left lane.  Although there were times when I was being passed by drivers on both sides, most drivers passed on the left and the got back into the right lane - again a refreshing difference from the US.

Time to quit - my wrists are tired.

Mike

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Made it to Madawaska!

Arrived about 1930, later than I really wanted, but that's okay.

The trip today was not about making distance, fer sure.  In trying to be a good neighbor, I tried to hold Tigress a little at bay and kept it closer to the speed limit than yesterday.  As a result, average speed dropped considerably as did total miles.

I left Belleville about 0730 CDT to sunshine and cool temps - high 40s. I had the same T-shirt, fleece, windblocker and Aerostich on today that served me so well yesterday.  Today it wasn't enough.  About 2 hours into the ride it began to rain and temps had risen to a whopping 50 degrees. I decided to tough it out and keep on going but the sky is getting darker and darker in the east and it doesn't look good for warmer temps or more sunshine, either.

So after about 3 hours of this, I'm cold, my fingers are getting numb and I'm kinda miserable.  Enough of this... I stopped someplace for a Burger King. (I swear there are more BK and McDs in Canada than the US) took off the windblocker and put on the Kanetsu, my electric liner. Also switched from wet gloves to winter gloves, so now I'm ready for anything - I've ridden in this outfit down to low 20s, so I know it works!

So I ride along in this getup for an hour or two and the weather starts to clear up, sun is shining, temps are rising and it's beautiful riding along the banks of the St. Lawrence. I stop for gas and change back to the lighter stuff. There's still the low hanging clouds in the east and unfortunately, I'm catching up with them.  As soon as I get under the clouds, the temps drop like a stone, it starts to rain again and I still have some 75 miles to go.  This time - smarter - stop early, change getup again and ride in the colder weather, but warm and dry now.

Lesson learned for today is to check your GPS route carefully before following it blindly.  GPS took me thru downtown Montreal at noontime in the rain.  I don't know what the attraction was, but traffic was jammed up tight in practically all directions.  Had I reviewed the route more closely, I probably could have avoided that mess by taking an alternate route, not thru the center of town.

I decided to differ with the GPS near the end of the ride today because I wanted to go thru Ft. Kent, ME - the ending point of US Route 1, whose other end is in Key West, FL.  Had to take a picture of that!

Stats for the day:

Miles today: 577

Cumulative miles: 1319

Driving Avg: speed: 59.9 mph

Overall Average speed: 49.4 mph

Drive time:9:38

Stop Time: 2:04

Total Time: 11:42

Found a very nice, biker friendly motel in Madawaska - Martin's Motel.  Jean was very accommodating, helped me get settled, told me where to eat at this late hour and gave me a certificate for having arrived in Madawaska - which may just prove to be my documentation for being here, in addition to the other stuff I have to mail in. Nice clean room and inexpensive.

Later,

Mike

Monday, May 22, 2006

Today should be titled The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good:

       1. Started the 4 Corners Tour from Madawaska, ME. I took the required pictures, got the receipts, filled out the paperwork, personally delivered it to one of the postal workers going into work and headed for Key West.

       2. Made it to Quoddy Head Light, the easternmost point in the United States.  Took water/mud sample and documented it with polaroid and digital photos.

       3. Got the NPT stamp at Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, ME. I think this makes 7 states and who knows how many stamps.

       4. Had a wonderful ride down US Rte 1 from Madawaska to Quoddy Head - mostly good road surfaces, no Bambi or Bullwinkle sightings and absolutely NO TRAFFIC going in my direction - no blue hairs, no campers, no farmers. Nice non-technical road, 55 mph speed limit, so 65 was pretty good speed

The Bad:

       1.  The bad is being behind the landscape truck heavily loaded with fertilizer on a two lane road facing a 22 mile construction zone.  We'd get to the flagman and wait while I inhaled diesel fumes for 5 minutes, then slowly climb up to speed, unable to pass, only to meet another flagman and repeat the procedure.

The Ugly:

       1. Take The Good and The Bad, add rain and 50* temps -yeeecch!

All in all it was a pretty good day even with the rain and cool temps.  I got excited about being on the very easternmost point of the US, stopped, took pictures, etc. Water was at low tide and you could see the diggers out there looking for clams.  I even saw a truck out on the flats! Because of the large tidal change, the lighthouse looks like something from MYST sticking out of the water with almost no water around it.

There are a lot of old buildings out here, many in need of some serious attention, many beyond hope, just waiting to fall down.  There are also a lot of places for sale, many on the waterfront, but I can't even imagine the prices they might command.  Who'd want to live out here, though?  Not me - too much of most of everything I dislike: traffic, congestion, expensive, high taxes (almost sounds like Wisconsin...)

I lost a tremendous amount of time getting to Quoddy Head and Acadia - so much so that I didn't make it to New Bedford, MA as planned.  Got as far as Portland, ME and called it quits.  I'll have to make up the difference tomorrow and the plan looked doable - get up early,, get thru Taxachusetts before early morning Boston traffic madness, get my stamps, get thru NYC around noon and get out of Dodge! Fortunately, my original plan was for a short day, so this revision doesn't make it too arduous.

Did I mention how anxious I am to get off the East Coast?

Daily stats:

GPS mileage: 522 miles

Cumulative miles: 1843

Driving average: 53.3 mph

Overall mph: 43.8 mph

Driving time: 9:47

Stopped time: 2:07

Total time: 11:55

Later,

Mike

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Long tiring ride today...

You know you are in New England when you can easily ride thru 9 states in a day: ME, NH, MA, RI, CT, NY, NJ, DE and MD...

Got NPT stamps at New Bedford Whaling Museum and Touro Synagogue in Newport, RI. Traffic was absolutely horrible in Newport and the cobblestone streets in New Bedford were as bad for riding on a 900# motorcycle. I can't imagine walking on those streets in any kind of heels.

 Rode thru Marion, MA to see Tabor, my high school/prep school, but didn't take any pictures because those are private memories - almost didn't recognize the place.

I guess I subconsciously wanted to see a real NYC traffic jam and I got one - 3.5 miles in 1½ hours on the cross town x-way to get to the George Washington Bridge and the NJ Turnpike - left arm is sore from clutching and I was sweating because of the temps (aha! warmer weather!!)

It's "only" 1300+ miles to Key West, so I'm back on schedule..

I stopped in Elkton, MD, just across the MD/NJ line about 2030.

Later,

Mike

Thursday, May 25, 2006

I got up very late (for me) at 0800 CDT, 0900 EDT on Wednesday, so felt I was already behind the 8-ball...Anyway, it felt great to sleep in and my body must have needed it because I almost NEVER sleep 10 hours.

(Although this is a terrible shot, the upper part of the GPS shows 1373 miles and the lower right panel shows 30 hours, 52 minutes…)

30 hours later....

I'm in Key West.  It was a long a grueling trip, but I made it on one piece. 

Took off thinking I would go to Ft. McHenry, then Arlington Nat'l Cemetery, then something further down the line.  Got to Ft. McHenry and got 2 stamps, then tried to get to Arlington only to be tied up in knots with DC's road system - never did get there and spent way too much time NOT getting there.

Finally got back onto I-95S and started thinking about an IB run instead of staying in Savannah that evening.  If I slabbed it all the way, I could be in Key West earlier on Thursday, time to see some things, get my 4 Corners and extreme 4 corners stuff done and still have some time to enjoy Key West.

WRONG, Mush head!!!

The following demonstrates how well-minded logic confronts cold reality... x3!

As I finally got back to I-95 heading out of DC, I ran into a traffic jam - there is a drawbridge open... Who in their right mind puts a drawbridge in the middle of an Interstate???  It has traffic backed up no less than 5 miles in each direction!!  I was one of the lucky ones because I was at least "on the bridge", but others weren't nearly as lucky.  After about 15 minutes waiting, I decided this was enough and nudged Tigress onto the shoulder and went to the front of the line - why? - because I could.  I was a little worried about all the junk on the shoulders of the highway, but I figured it would show up in a very short time if I picked up a nail or something - got lucky.

I did manage to get another stamp in Fredricksburg, VA.

So, I'm rolling down the highway (after my 35' stop) and thinking I'm not making any time whatsoever today and I HAVE to be in Key West by Thursday evening because I have this reservation and if I don't use it, I'll get charged for it and if I don't make it in time, I'll have to get another room and the will cost me double, etc., etc. (Mild panic attack... where did I pack that Valium???) Options: 1.) ride a little further than originally planned, stop and finish on Thursday, or 2.) Iron Butt it all the way - meaning don't stop 'til you git 'er done.

Once you get into the mindset of IB riding, the miles roll by - ride, eat, sleep, repeat.

So, I'm rolling along in the far left lane, passing cars when all of the sudden, something whooshes by me on my right - it's some jackass on a crotch rocket.  Never saw or heard him behind me. Those are the kinds of things that can get both him and me killed.

I stopped in Savannah, GA about 2230 for gas and to call my daughter, Anna, to let her know I was okay and what I was going to do. I even woke her up - unusual for a kid who can easily sleep 12hrs/day and is a night owl to boot. Seems there is a storm system going thru and she has two Velcro dogs (A Velcro dog is one who, when a storm is coming, doesn't want to be more than 3 mm away from you at any given time) with her in a very small bed - must've been crowded.

I was in the "Zone" most of the night.  Some people call it the 1000 mile stare. You get into this place in your mind where you're not really concentrating on the road, but you're completely aware of everything that's going on - the road, what's moving on the periphery, the instruments below you, your speed, how your body feels, etc., etc. When you're in the Zone, it feels like you can ride forever. I've had a similar experience sailing. I remember one particular night when we were racing in the MAC.  We were up in the Manitou Islands, near the top of Lake Michigan and it was night. It was windy and we had a reef in the main with people on the rail. I was at the helm. I had a point of light off the starboard that I was using as a reference point and the boat was feeling good - balanced, moving through the water nicely - I was steering with two fingers. The Zone took over and I was in heaven, feeling the boat beneath me and how she was balanced, checking the instruments, comparing our position to the reference point of light, feeling how she was heeled, checking the wind and making small adjustments. I stayed that way for some two hours when someone else came up to relieve me. It felt like I had just gotten on the helm, but it had been a full two hours - felt like ten minutes.

After riding straight for almost 12 hours, I decided I need to stop and rest for a few hours.  Florida rest areas are now police patrolled to prevent bad behavior, so I figured that was as good a place as any to stop.  Stopped, put the bike on the center stand, put my feet on the handlebars and my head on the Moto Fizz and tried to rest. I didn't rest well, but I must have gotten some sleep because the Screamin' Meanie said I had been "resting" for an hour. Okay, time to roll. Somewhere around Daytona, the sleepies started to kick in and I knew I had to stop. I found a c-store that was just opening and pulled in there for coffee. While I was sipping it, I saw a wonderful little nook in front of the store between the propane cylinder cage and the ice machine - perfect for one person to sit and rest. I crawled in there, set the Meanie for 45' and was asleep almost immediately. This was much better rest than the one I had at the rest area and I woke up much more refreshed and relaxed. Time to roll.

Large sections of I-95 are under construction with lane changes, etc., but there are few backups. I passed the section between Daytona and New Smyrna Beach where there had been forest fires a week ago (the Interstate was actually closed for a time) and saw and smelt the aftermath.  In some cases there was still smoke rolling across the road like fog. Stinks.

Up to this point, navigation has been simple - get on I-95 and aim south.  As I'm approaching Miami, the Garmin keeps wanting to put me on the Toll Road and I'm resisting. Motorcycles and Toll Roads don't mix very well because when you have to stop at a toll booth, here's what has to happen - in order: 1.) stop the bike, usually in the worst possible place - in the middle of the lane where all the grease and oil from other vehicles accumulates, 2.) make certain bike is in neutral. 3.) pull off a glove so you can fumble around for bills or change. 4.) hand money to attendant and get change. 5.) put change away and put glove back on, 6.) shift bike into gear and take off. Meanwhile, you've backed up traffic and can practically feel the wrath of the driver behind you. Do this 5-6 time over a couple hour period and you decide that even though the route may be faster, it simply isn't worth the effort. Hence, no Florida Turnpike for this dude.

I-95 ends at Rte 1, the road I want to take to Key West. Unfortunately, I-95 meets up with Rte1 practically in the middle of Miami.  More stop and go traffic. Did I mention that it was raining??  You'd think that Miamians would be comfortable driving in the rain, but it appeared to me that this was about the first or second time they had seen it - they're terrible drivers in rain.

Finally got thru Miami and Homestead and headed down toward the Keys.  It’s still raining.

I got to Key Largo, the first of the island chain and traffic is pretty heavy.  There are passing lanes, but like most states, people ignore the right lane and stay in the left, thinking they are going to pass the only slow moving vehicle 20 cars ahead of them - stupid!

As I am heading down the chain, I can see that it is going to be raining for while - Skies are grey and dark, the wind is gusting from all directions and sometimes it looks and feels like the rain is coming from sideways. At one point the only thing I could see were the taillights on the SUV ahead of me by 50-75'. I thought about stopping, but where?  There are no gas stations with canopies nearby or any place to take shelter;  it seemed kinda stupid to just stop and stand by the roadside getting wet - so I just kept on going. This was some of the worst weather I've ever gone through on a motorcycle, bar none.

About Islamorada the rain stopped completely and from there to Key West, they had had no rain at all.  By then, however, everything I own and have on board is completely soaked. At one point, it looked like it was going to stop raining, so I took the time to change into dry gloves.  Caught again - now I have TWO pairs of wet leather gloves.

I finally arrived in Key West about 1730, found my B & B and began to try to un-pucker certain parts of my anatomy.

Trip stats:

Total miles this day: 1373

Cumulative miles so far: 3777

Driving average:59.9 mph

Overall average: 44.7 mph

Driving Time: 22.54

Stopped Time: 7:49

Total Time: 30:44

I actually had a documentable SS1000 in here (1000 miles in 24 hours) which is pretty good considering the really lousy start I had the previous morning.

Later,

Friday, May 26, 2006

Key West

How do you describe Key West?  It's a mecca for some, a destination for others, a place to live for even more.  It's an experience. It's also the closest point to Cuba, an "alien" nation; there are aviation, naval and radar installations here and I'm certain that we have enough missile power pointed at Cuba to make that island disappear if we wanted to. Whatever, this is still Margaritaville.

(This is my B & B – the Francis Street Bottle Inn, a wonderful place.  That’s Tigress under the cover on the right – and in exactly the place where some idiot pushed her over on her side…)

I was originally going to get in and out of Key West just to document the corner of my tour, but my friend Charles convinced me to stay another day. He used to call me from KW when I was working, so I thought it only fair to call HIM from KW when HE was working. His logic for staying was that I probably wouldn't be back here again this inexpensively, so why not stay another day?  You've been on a very long ride, give your body time to recover, etc., etc.  The end result was that I did stay an extra day and I'm glad I did - I needed the break.  Thanks, Charles!

I squared away my additional day with my B & B - it was okay, but I would have to move to another room - more on this later.  I was good to go and I took the time to finish the documentation for the 4 Corners Tour and my extreme 4 Corners ride with water sample and photo. Got the requisite photo of the southernmost point in the US, etc.

Traveling around and thru KW on the ST1300 is a bit of a challenge - it's a big bike and there is a lot of traffic, so Tigress is pushing her temp limits and the cooling fan is going constantly.

Scooters and mopeds have replaced bicycles as the dominant form of transportation in KW.  They are everywhere, like fireflies, flitting here and there in random patterns. I think they're dangerous because they can go about 35 mph, 99.99995% of the riders don't wear helmets and quite a few don't have any kind of eye protection, not even sunglasses. So here I am on my ST1300 with full gear on - I look like a freak.

I got all of the documentation for the 4 Corners and my personal extreme 4 Corners tour (water sample and photo) and had the rest of the day to goof off.  Went back to my B & B, finished the previous ride report on the porch and later went out to visit some of the necessary spots in KW.  Had two drinks at the Hog's Breath Saloon (including a $10 parking charge for "allowing" me to keep my bike and gear in sight) and a dozen oysters at Pepe's, another saloon not far away, but highly recommended - they were good!

Some real characters hang out here.  Saw two people with parrots on either their shoulder or their head.  The one with the parrot on his shoulder had a skull and cross bones do-rag on his head and a frilly blouse reminiscent of the 1800s.  I'm sure he would pose for pictures if you asked him and then paid him for the privilege.

I stopped at Mango's for lunch because they had an outdoor section - the first "real" food I've had in 36 hours, and also the very first time I've paid $12 for a hamburger and fries. The only saving grace to all of this was that the bartender had an absolutely gorgeous ass that somewhat made up for getting ripped off for the hamburger.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Key West to Orlando

After my additional day in Key West, I was ready to get back on the road. I walked out of my room to check on Tigress and there she was, LYING ON HER SIDE!!!  WTF??? The cover was still on and it appeared that nothing had been stolen, so I took the cover off, got her back on her feet again and started looking her over carefully for damage - some scratches on the right saddlebag, looks like the PIAA 910 bracket is slightly bent, the mirror cover is detached, but it's supposed to do that.  The biggest damage is broken right mirrors - not only the stock one, but also the Multi-vex that installs over the stocker.  SHIT!

I guess the positive things about this stupid act are that the tipover wings actually do work - without them, there would have been considerably more damage. Secondly, Honda designed some kind of valve which shuts off the fuel if the bike goes over 45 degrees from vertical - there was no oil or gas on the street at all.

So, I get over my anger, get my gear stowed on the bike and I'm off to Orlando to visit some family I haven't seen in years.

Got a Florida stamp for the NPT at Biscayne National Park.  It’s just east of Homestead and right next to the Homestead-Miami Raceway - looks like a beautiful facility.

I used to think that the Illinois Tollway was one of the worst in the world because of the constant stopping to give money just to get around Chicago.  I was wrong.  Florida's Tollway has Illinois beat, hands down.  After I got the Biscayne NP stamp, I decided (against all of my principles) to "try" the Tollway, at least to get around Miami. First toll booth, go thru the routine I described earlier, but I learned a valuable lesson - put your folding money in the ‘stich jacket so you can get at it with your gloves on. 20 miles later, another toll plaza, and yet a third 20 miles after that - this is getting old really fast. Then I saw a sign advertising the "Sun Pass", just like the iPass in Illinois. The ad said something like you'd save $6 with it from Ft Lauderdale to Orlando, so I knew that this toll plaza bs wasn't going to go away. I finally had enough of Florida's Ripoff and decided to go over to I-95 - I needed gas and was getting hungry as well, so I got off the Tollway at Boca Raton and headed east.

Boca Raton must have banned all McDs, BK, Arbys and any other fast food place you can imagine because there wasn't one to be found anywhere. Got gas back on US 1 and headed north, still looking for a BK. I finally found one about 2 miles north of Boca. Service was absolutely terrible and I waited a full 10 minutes for 2 hamburgers and a cheeseburger.

Finally got back on I-95, got dinged for tolls on the Beeline and some nickel and dime stuff around Orlando - Gad I hate tollways!!

Picture this, however: You're cruising north on Route 1 after some relaxing time in Key West, you've got some rock-on tunes playing on the iPod, temps are in the low 80s, skies are overcast, - no scorching sun - but little change of rain You've gotten two corners of the 4 Corners tour in the bag and are headed for #3.

It doesn't get much better than this.  Life is good.

Later,

Mike

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Orlando to Pensacola

Left Orlando early after a delightful evening with relatives. I stayed off the toll roads and headed generally west to get to Hwy 19 which goes up the west coast toward Tallahassee. I was pleased to find that Hwy19 was a 4-lane divided highway with speed limits approaching that of the Interstate, so I was making good time.

When I left Orlando, the temps were in the high 70s; as I approached Tallahassee, temps were in the high 90s.  I've ridden in the 90s before in Iowa and the Dakotas, but here, the combination of temp and humidity makes for reasonably uncomfortable riding.  I had every vent in the ‘stich wide open and still wasn't getting a whole lot of relief.  I usually drain a ½ gallon Igloo jug of water per day when the temps are in the 80s, but today I was on my second jug of water by 1400.

Strangely enough, when I was moving, the effect of the temperature wasn't too bad.  Obviously I was sweating heavily and the fact that the vents were letting in air across the damp clothing had at least a cooling effect on my skin.

I decided to cut the day short at some 480 miles because the heat had taken a lot out of me.  Tomorrow I'll leave at dawn and try to get as many miles behind me as possible before the sun gets too high and it gets too hot - may even take a "siesta" in the early afternoon and make some more miles later in the afternoon and early evening.

It's almost 1400 miles from here in Pensacola to El Paso, Texas, on the western side of the state. Since tomorrow is Memorial Day, I'll need to check some of the sites I'm planning to visit to see if they are open.  That will determine whether I take I-10 thru Houston or I-20 thru Dallas.

Daily stats:

Driving avg:60.4

Overall average: 46.8

Drive time: 7:49

Stopped time:1:36

Total time: 9:23

GPS: 479.5 miles

Mike

Monday, May 29, 2006 , Memorial Day

Pensacola to Tyler, TX

Getting up early wasn't gonna happen today - my body needed the rest, so instead of leaving at o'dark thirty, I left close to 0800 in 72* temps, soon to climb to the mid 80s. I had checked on the NPS Web site and Vicksburg was going to be open.  Couple that fact with forecasts of strong t'stoms in the Houston area and I chose the more northerly route thru DFW.

Entered Alabama at 0815 and took a short side trip to see the USS Alabama, a WWII battleship, now a museum. The grounds also have Korea, Vietnam and Iraq memorials and I'm certain there will be ceremonies today. Thanks to ALL veterans for their service and willingness to sacrifice whatever to preserve our freedom.

After a small pilot error, got back on track and meandered NW thru Alabama, Rte 98 ended up as a 2-lane road, clogged with traffic, but as soon as we entered Mississippi (0940), it opened up to a 4 land divided and was considerably faster. That was a good thing because I was getting tired of looking at the tail end of the Chevy Blazer in front of me with no right rear brake light.  When we got to the 4 lane, I pulled up to the driver's side and motioned for her to roll her window down - she was too engrossed in her probably most important phone conversation to pay attention to me, so I said the hell with it and rolled on.  Let someone else tell her about her busted taillight - maybe the same cop who tickets her for inattentive driving - heh,heh,heh!

Stopped at Vicksburg and got a stamp there.  In the bookstore, I saw a brand new tour book - larger, like a daily planner with a lot more information, bigger maps, etc. Maybe next year. That new edition, however, showed a NM just outside of Epps, LA, slightly north of I-20.  If it was true, it would save me a lot of time instead of heading south to Natchez.  I decided to give it a try, knowing that there was a 50-50 chance of it being true because there was no mention if it being a NM in any other reference I checked.

Along the western horizon I can see storm cells building and I know I'm gonna get wet sometime or another the afternoon.

Crossed the Mississippi River and into Louisiana about 1340, with the rain just starting to come down. I passed a couple of Harley riders holed up underneath an overpass and as the rain started to come down harder, I considered how to get out of this monsoon ASAP.  The exit to Epps, came up and I got off, headed to the canopy over the pumps at a Citgo station. After about 20 minutes, the rain slowed down somewhat and I headed for Epps and Poverty Point ?NM.

36 useless miles later, I got back on the Interstate.  Turns out that it was an historic site, but was a state site, not a national site. No joy!

By this time, I'm starting to get back into rider mode versus cruiser mode. I notched the steam gauge a 75 mph (by the GPS) and boogied. Got into Texas about 1835 and had to decide if I wanted to continue onto the proposed final destination for this leg, or cut it short, rest a little better and recalculate based upon my current position.

I stopped at Tyler, TX about 2015 hours.  This isn't an Iron Butt ride and I have to keep telling myself that. As I look at my average speed and the total time/stopped time I see where the difference between IB rides and my current ride differ: On IB rides, the stopped times would be considerably less and the average speed would be a LOT higher.

Last gas stop in Shreveport was a comedy of errors...

I'm always looking for the cheapest gas and found a Citgo station with gas 3 cents/gallon less than the other stations around, so I pulled in.  First pump - no hose; second pump - no credit card display, so I went to the third pump where I had seen someone get gas earlier, so I know it works.  First thing I notice is a sign saying that I have to go inside for a receipt - that's okay, I need water and ice anyway.  I fill up and go inside for water and ice, buy it and return to the bike to clean windshield and visor.  I remember that I still need a receipt and go back inside.  The gal behind the counter must have been new, because she couldn't make a receipt happen. She calls her boss, he fumbles around for a little while, give me some lame excuse that he can't print a receipt for blah, blah, blah and give me a prepaid receipt for $16, no gallons, etc.  I finally gave up, took the receipt and left.  It wasn't worth saving 3 cents per gallon on a 6 gallon purchase. Ah, me!!

Sooooo, the plan looks like I'm headed for El Paso for tomorrow night.  I won't be able to get a stamp there until 0800, so I'll get that one, then head for White Sands, get a stamp and head west.  Temps here look like they are gonna be brutal, so I may not make it to San Diego until Friday, but for now, I'm aiming for Thursday evening in San Diego and Corner #3 of the 4 Corners Tour. We'll see...

Daily stats:

Tyler ,TX

Odo: 46334

GPS: 602.8

Cumulative miles: 5333

Driving avg: 64.3

Overall avg:50.2

Driving time: 9:22

Stopped time: 2:38

Total time: 12:00

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

No matter how you cut it, Texas is a BIG state...

I had wanted to be west of DFW last night, but just didn't make it and stopped in Tyler, TX, about 100 miles east of Dallas. I figured if I could make it to El Paso by Tuesday evening, I could make it to San Diego by Wednesday night - 2-800 mile days back to back is pretty tough riding, though.

(268 miles in just under 4 hours, stopping for only 8 minutes…)

I started out from Tyler at 0740, determined to make some time across this monstrous expanse, so I got on the x-way, nailed the speedo at 75 mph and let her rip. If you look at the screen shot, you’ll see 268 miles in 3:50 and change - with an overall average of almost 70mph - that's cookin' !! The stopped time was for a stoplight and a gas stop (sub 7 minutes)

Fortunately, the weather almost cooperated.  Weather was overcast and 75* from Tyler to past Ft Worth - very comfortable riding - and then it started to heat up. It was in the mid 80s by Abilene and the clouds had disappeared. I stopped for an excellent Mexican omelet in Abilene and got back in the saddle again. East of Abilene, the terrain is slightly rolling hills and at least some variation from the absolute flatness of the land west of Abilene.

Filled up in Big Spring and started knocking down the various cities in West Texas - Stanton, Midland, Odessa, Monahans, etc. The land here is absolutely flat and featureless, all agricultural and gas fields.  Stopped in Monahans for a break to ward off the sleepies and got back on again. I could see clouds on the western horizon and hoped I would be able to get to them soon.  Temps had risen to 103* and it was like riding in a blast furnace.

Around Pecos, as I was just getting under the clouds, 3 things happened almost simultaneously - the temp dropped 8*, the winds started blowing HARD, gusting and coming from different directions and the speed limit went from 70 to 80mph. I had been flirting with 80mph even at the 70mph limit, but now I could run at 85+ pretty easily. On one wide open section of road, I opened it up and hit the 100 mph mark just to see how it would feel – it’s a blast!! (Kids, don't try this at home...) It's remarkable that once you've been riding in 103* heat, 95* feels practically balmy. As I was passing a pickup truck loaded with what looked like mattresses in boxes, all of the sudden, the entire load lifted up and came off the truck.  Fortunately I was in the left lane about 75' behind him and as the load came off I went even further left to avoid anything that might slide my way.  Had I been directly behind him, I most certainly would have hit one of those mattresses. Don't even want to think about the consequences of that...

As I-20 joins with I-10, there are actually beginnings of hills on the horizon.  I think those were the Guadalupe Mountains and they stayed with me until I called it a night in El Paso.

All in all, it was a pretty good day.  I made some good miles, survived some extreme heat and got somewhat back on track.

Daily stats:

GPS: 715.7 miles

Daily avg: 74.5 mph

Overall avg: 62.7

Drive time: 9:36

Stopped time: 1:49

Total time: 11:25

Cumulative miles: 6048 miles

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

Introduction

       This is a hopeful submission to the selection committee for the next edition of the famous RallyBastards Cookbook - Recipes from the Road.  It was conceived on a recent (like today) ride across one of the more well known convection ovens in the USA - Tucson to Yuma, AZ. There are other well known convection ovens in the Southwest, most notably those used by Chef Steve Chambers in Utah and several specific routes by RallyBastards in Texas.

Please note: this recipe is for use in a "dry heat" convection oven only.  NO claims are made for those other convection ovens in Georgia, Florida, Louisiana or any other states in the Deep South who use a "wet heat" method.  Personally, we feel that there is little difference between Dry and Wet Heat, but since we have not verified this recipe in the "wet heat " convection ovens, it should not be used.

Toasted LD Rider

Ingredients:

       1 average size LD Rider

Marinade:

       Rotella T

       75W-90, your choice of brands

       dollop of brake fluid (DOT only) - optional

Garnish

       good, high quality leather cut into strips

       sprigs of Gore-Tex

Cooking instructions

There are several variations of this recipe for the enterprising chef and we will attempt to explain some of them as we go along.

First, choice of LD rider.  There are two types of LD Rider to choose from.  The first is the "Pseudo" LD Rider, usually riding a metric cruiser or the real "Milwaukee Iron" models. They generally appear underdressed in "Do Rags":, sleeveless T-shirts, jeans and genuine HD boots.  We have found these specimens unacceptable because they tend to become toast too soon, either from their minimalist outfits or the mistaken belief that beer not only quenches your thirst but also hydrates to body - after all, beer IS 80% water, isn't it?

Second - and preferred - specimen choice is the full dressed LD rider. We prefer the IBA brand because they generally present fully dressed from top to bottom - boots, riding suit, helmet and gloves. If you have a choice of IBA brand riders, choose the one with the higher serial number, because they are younger and will be more tender. As of this writing, we would suggest serial numbers above 20,000.

We tested the convection oven from Dallas-Ft Worth to Yuma, AZ and found "hot spots" in the oven.  The section between the junction of I-10 and I-8 to Yuma was definitely that hottest and we based our recipe on that part of the oven. In preparing the specimen, be aware of small details which make a large difference in the crust:  if you like a lighter, crispy crust, have the LD rider wear a light colored jacket and silver or white helmet. If you prefer a darker, even crispier crust, have the specimen wear a black jacket and black helmet.  Even though these seem to be trivial details, there is a difference and it will be seen in the final result

Choose the timing of the toasting for the very hottest time of the year - usually from late May to mid- September for this particular oven.

By the same token, choose the daily time of the toasting carefully as well.  You want the rider in the middle of the oven at the hottest part of the day - generally from 3 PM to 7-8PM works well. In a practical sense, the run from El Paso to Yuma works well because you have plenty of time to adjust the variables for a specimen done to your liking,  The distance is some 540 miles and at BBG speeds, that's about 9 hours in the oven - almost enough to cook any LD Rider to perfection.

Tip #1: Attach a GPS transmitter to the LD Rider - when he goes down, you need to find him fast, or he get over cooked and be worthless.  We found that having a helicopter on hand produced the best results.

Tip #2: Have the LD Rider do some simple exercises in "full kit" (as the Brits say) - 10 jumping jacks at Gila Bend at 1800, for example, produces excellent "self-basting"

If you want a really well done Toasted LD Rider, have him ride around either end of the convection over for about 6-10 hours ,give him some rest to allow the juices to settle and run him thru the convection again the very next day, same conditions.  For even crispier results, limit water to 2 liters per day.

When your Toasted LD Rider is done to your liking, marinade with a 50-50 mixture of Rotella T and 75W-90.  For a bit spicier marinade, add a small amount of brake fluid.

Garnish with strips of leather and sprigs of Gore-Tex.

Enjoy!

LDMike

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Thinking back on the past several days - Tyler, TX and beyond - has been pretty tough on the body.  I didn't realize it at the time, just motored on, but it was pretty hard. Riding for hours in 106* temps is like riding in a blast furnace - you don't even want to lift your face shield because the heated air practically blisters your face on impact. Even now, 48 hours later I can hear that some sand has gotten into the mechanism for raising/lowering my chin bar and shield.

I got to Yuma about 1830 and began looking to motel with Internet access.  The Yuma Cabana promised what I wanted, but didn't really deliver - access was available near the lobby, but not in the room. So, instead of worrying about access, I wrote the piece on toasting the LD Rider, went out to the area where I could get access, sent it and went to bed, practically exhausted

Friday, June 2, 2006

I left Yuma early because I had a lunch date with my Customer Service Rep in Brea later that day; I knew she had a tight schedule and limited time for lunch. If I left about 0530, I could get to San Ysidro, get the 4 Corners thing done and still be in LA in time for lunch.

Temps were pleasant in the desert in the early morning - only 75*- and weren't rising too fast until I got near the mountains when they rose to 91*, moderating in the "mountains", but not much. At Jacumba, I took the worst screwing ever on gas - $4.00/gal for mid-grade - ouch! Can't say I'm fond of California's fuel delivery system either - takes both hands to get the gas into the tank: one to hold the "evaporation recovery system" lock in place and the other to pull the trigger - PITA.

Got to San Diego and San Ysidro in good order and without getting too lost. Found the phone number quickly, then found the Post Office. Now, how to get a picture on my bike in front of the PO sign?? Easy - ride on the sidewalk! Got the photos, what else do I need? Checked the rules - I need a gas receipt, not a receipt for the overpriced coffee I just bought, so back down the street, top off the tank, get the receipt and a duplicate for my records, stuff all into envelope, back to PO, and drop it in the slot. Done! On to Brea.

I used to work for a large company called Beckman Coulter, based in Brea, CA. I worked with 3 ladies who took care of my customers, worked up complicated price quotations and proposals and booked orders when they came in. They were as much responsible for my success as I was and I owed them a lot. Before I was laid off, Nancy, my CSR, knew of my plans for the M/C trip and I had promised to take her to lunch on the way through. I'd been to the Home Office many times before, so I at least knew my way around that part of town.

We met in the lobby and I followed them to a soup and salad place where we had an excellent lunch- not only the food, but also the conversation - good to see all of them again. I miss talking with them regularly - they're great ladies!

Got headed north and west from Brea and again ran into one of the major reasons why I couldn't live in/around/near LA - traffic - there are people EVERYWHERE!!! After 2 hours of high-stress driving in LA traffic, I finally headed north again on US101, a road that was to become my friend for the next several days.

By the time I had passed Santa Barbara, I was pretty well shot and started looking for a place to stop. About that time I came upon the Buellton exit, saw a Days Inn sign and decided that this was as far as I was going today. Fortunately, the Days Inn had a very nice room - park next to the door and walkout to the pool - sweet!

Had an adult beverage or two, ordered pizza delivered, devoured it and hit the sack - long day.

Later,

Mike

Friday, June 02, 2006

Buellton to Ukiah, CA

At any rate, I ended up stopping at Buellton, a, a little bit north of Santa Barbara.  There was a very nice Days Inn with a downstairs room, out side access and poolside as well.  I had intermittent Internet access, but was able to make it work. Slept for 10 hours again as my body must have been worn out from the previous 3 days hard riding.

Got a little bit of a late start because of maintenance things - top off the oil, fix right Highway Wing (it's loose), check and inflate tires to proper pressures, etc. Oil in Buellton was damn expensive - $7.64/qt for Mobil1 5W-50 synthetic.  It's frustrating to get ripped off like that, but it's important that Tigress stay in top form. I also discovered that the low beam on the left side is out, so I'll need to replace that soon, but that's easy - almost any auto parts store has replacement bulbs.  The right side PIAA 1100 is also out - it went out in Maine - but those aren't nearly as easily available and I'll have to wait until home for that repair.

Anyway, I got onto California Route 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, or PCH and it was a ball!!! Several sections in the Los Padres National Forest reminded me of Colorado - 20mph switchbacks, sharp turns with no room for error, tremendous scenery - incredible!!  All along the way, the ocean is on the left and mountains and grasslands are on the right.  At some points, the mountains met the road, much like Colorado and you're riding the ribbon of road between the two.  There are lots of rock slides in this area and the DOT has a continuing job of keeping the road clear.  One thing they are trying is to put wire mesh over the rock face to try to prevent the falling rocks from getting onto the road surface and that seems to be working.  They have rockhounds climb the face and place pitons into the rock, then have a helicopter fly in with the net and drape it in place over the pitons. At one point we stopped for a work crew for about 20'.  When we were allowed to go thru, the tar hadn't even cooled so there are tar stripes along the fenders and bits of bitumen all over Tigress.

Stopped for an early dinner at Tres Amigos in Half Moon Bay, upon my daughter's recommendation and it was worth it - excellent food. Unfortunately, the cloud bank that had been on the horizon for some time came onshore and the sun was gone for the time being.  At Half Moon Bay I discovered that Rte 1 was closed going north because of a rock slide some 8 miles up the road. The only option was to take Rte 92 over to the Interstate.  It was only 6 miles and easy running going my way, but the folks on the other side were having an ugly Friday afternoon commute - it was backed up for the entire 6 miles. I can't imagine tolerating that drive every day just to get to/from work. On top of all that, I'm thinking, here I am, heading into San Francisco on a Friday afternoon at the peak of rush hour.  I should severely discipline the navigator for such acts of stupidity...

As it turned out, getting thru SF went pretty well and there were very few stops.  Got across the Golden Gate Bridge (no tolls going northbound) and started rolling on some speed.

About this time I learned what lane splitting (or lane sharing...) is all about.  Cars in all three lanes are slowed or stopped and you just put your bike in between the lanes - usually riding the white lane markers. There is enough room, a lot of drivers have come to expect it and give you even more room. You don't have to go fast, but if you keep moving, you can pass many, many cars and still keep in motion. I saw a guy doing it on a HD Road King and figured that if he could do it, so could I.

From Santa Rosa and north the scenery is simply beautiful - more hills, covered with trees and grassland or immaculate vineyards. The 4-lane divided highway was well designed for speed with wide sweepers left and right and you could get into a rhythm even at a good rate of speed - great fun! I saw lots of cows grazing and wondered if they were "Happy Cows" as portrayed in the commercial.

No stamps today because I got into SF too late and all the sites were closed. Will get one a Redwoods NP tomorrow for certain.

Daily stats

GPS 431.7 miles

Driving avg: 50.4

Overall avg:40.2

Drive Time: 8:34

Stopped time: 2:10

Total Time:10:44

Cumulative miles: 7589

Hard to believe that I've gone almost 3/4 of the way around the country!!!

Saturday, June 03, 2006

(Northern California – so much different than SoCal that it should be another state…)

Wow, I didn't think it could get much better than yesterday on the PCH, but traveling the Redwood Highway, really did upstage the PCH.  It was fantastic!!!

I started out early from Ukiah and headed north on Hwy 101. At Willets, I entered the Redwood Highway, upon which I would remain for most of the day - what an incredible road!  It takes you through redwood forests that look like they've been there for eons, untouched by man -except for the road.  Sometimes these monster trees are within a foot of the road as if to say: "I've been here longer than you and I'll be here long after you're gone..." This isn't a road for beginners because if you blow a turn, you buy a tree and the tree is gonna win.

In the forests, I lost GPS reception more than a few times because of the canopy, only to regain it again in the open areas. No matter, there weren't too many options as to where to go...

In a lot of cases, the road follows a river, it being the lowest part of the valley, so you are winding down the valleys with these huge granite (?) walls and monstrous trees surrounding you. Makes you feel a bit insignificant, to say the least. These forests have been here forever, but you're only a visitor in time.

As you follow the river on the older sections of road, you begin to wonder why in the world someone actually decided to build a road, decided on the construction details and then actually built the damn thing.  I've thought the same thoughts about railroads and the incredible man-hours that were needed to build these infrastructure pieces that glued this country together.  Because of these thoughts, I'm planning to read a little more into the history of railroad and road building to see how they really did do it. Without a doubt some of the small towns and villages along the way are a result of exhausted road and railroad builders who were simply too tired to continue.

In some areas, you can see where the road has been "improved", upgraded to Interstate quality - I call it being "sanitized" because the really tough corners are gone and a lot of the interesting sections are gone.  The Redwood Highway does still incorporate parts of the original road (as far as I can tell, anyway) because the road again follows the curves of the river (often right next to it) and the curves are tighter and more demanding at today’s speeds - but man-o-man are they fun!!! This is what motorcycle "sport-touring" is all about!!! I generally ignore the speed limit signs and use them only as a guide as to how fast or slow I should be going into a corner.  If the sign says 15mph, it's pretty sharp and I throttle back, looking for a switchback type of turn; if it says 30mph, It's still a slow corner, but I can usually take that one about 40-45mph with a good set up for the corner: lean angle, countersteer, watch the vanishing point and when it starts opening up, roll on the throttle again - great fun!  So far I've not had any oncoming vehicles get into my lane, but I'm always watching for that as well. You simply cannot run out of a corner because if you do, you'll meet a tree up close and personal - not a good thing. Err on the side of conservative.

However much fun riding these roads are, there is no possible way you can "make time" on them.  You can spend hours twisting and turning and be only 50 miles closer to your destination.  But in all truth, who cares?  The journey IS the destination. If you wanna make time, take the Interstate and be bored to tears - your choice.

Got stamps at Redwood NP near Crescent City and at Cave Junction, OR for Oregon Caves.

This day goes into the memory banks forever along with 1.) Ouray to Durango, CO, 2.)Hwy 8 in from Jackson Hole, WY to Salt Lake City and 3.) Hwy 160 in southern MO as one of the very best motorcycling roads in the country.

Some thoughts today about what to do next as this trip starts to wind down...

       - Alaska and the Canadian Rockies are definitely on the short list

       - Another NPT, visiting parks I've not seen this year is possible

       - 48 states/10 days is a maybe

But, there's time to dream about those things this winter.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

Day 16

Can't remember whether I've written about this section or not - it's either a senior moment or I've been on the road too long.  Anyway, I'm gonna talk about the ride from Eugene, OR to Forks, WA.

Oregon creeped me out.  The first five people I met in Oregon had beards, wore plaid on plaid and had rings, studs and piercings in various places. The further I traveled into Oregon, the more I saw.

At any rate, I ended up in Springfield, OR, a suburb of Eugene, OR. The highways here seem to hide the cities and if you don't get off the highway, you don't see the city. Same thing here - I found motel row, saw the Super 8 and called it a night.  Unfortunately, either I pissed off the check in clerk or she was having a bad night because she didn't do me kindly - Room 325, the furthest away from the front desk, the ice machine and coffee in the morning. To add insult to injury, there is no elevator and I had to tote all my stuff up two flights of stairs - that's 3 trips, one of which is carrying a 50# bag.  Good thing the room was nice, but I still didn't like the clerk for this major sin in protocol.

Short walk across a 6-lane highway to Taco Time for okay enchiladas, time to write report of day's activities, surf the 'Net for a bit and on to bed.

Sunday brings rain, fog, grey skies and a generally gloomy day. During my routine safety check, I see that the tires are down a pound or two on pressure, so it's a quick trip to the gas station next door.  Shit! 50 cents for AIR!!!  I hate paying for stuff that was once free, but I'm in a bit of a hurry, so okay.  Front tire inflates easy, but back tire is stubborn - hose doesn't want to fit onto valve stem and I lose more air than I put in.  About this time the 50 cents worth of air runs out and I have to go into the station to get change for another 50 cents worth of air, casually waiting for the man on front of me who need three packs of cigarettes while the clerk only has one....  very slow burn (waiting behind someone buying lottery tickets is even worse...)

Finally get the tires inflated, trudge my stuff back onto the bike and head out for gas.  The ARCO station has the cheapest gas by several cents per gallon and I discover why - you can't pay at the pump - it's "Mini Service", meaning, you have to go to another kiosk to use your credit card before you pump your gas AND they charge you a 45 cent "transaction fee" for the privilege. Recalculating on the way back to the freeway, it would have been cheaper to go to the station across the street - gad I hate getting ripped off like that.  You can bet another ARCO station is NOT in my future.

So, I'm finally on the freeway, heading north.  Temps are okay and I'm comfortable with poly long sleeve shirt and the ‘stich. 30 miles later, temps are down 5* and I'm chilly - time for fleece pullover.  Stop, take off jacket and helmet, put on fleece, jacket and helmet and carry on.  50 miles later, fog is coming in and I'm cold again.  By this time, it's been 100 miles and time for breakfast and another layer of clothing. That done, I'm warm, full and cruising down the road in style.  Weather is still off and on - one minute it's raining and foggy, 5 minutes later, it's stopped raining, the road is dry and I'm cruising.  This goes on all day long.

One of the major stops for the day was Ft Clatsop, OR, the end of Lewis and Clark's trek across the country. I found the Visitor's Center and spent a little time reviewing the exhibits in awe of their journey - makes mine pale in comparison.

After Ft. Clatsop, it was a trip across a very high bridge into Washington State.  The visitor’s center was to the right and I wanted to go left. I took a chance and took a right toward the visitor's center, which fortunately was only a mile down the road.  Got a Washington map and was back down the road.  By this time, I'm starting to watch the gas gauge because I haven't fueled up since Eugene. There are no towns, gas stations, convenience stores, nothing for the next 35 miles. I'm also starting to get tired and know I need a break - soon.  Finally a gas station appears and I stop to fill up.  It's a convenience store, so I get off, wander around the store for a minute and see that they sell fried chicken, so I buy some chicken, eat it in the store and try to recharge my brain.

I've been following my progress on a paper map because the route is basically US 101 as far as you can go, which on the map is Forks, WA, at the top of the map as I have it folded. I finally get to Forks and need to stop for coffee, some food or something, so I pull into a coffee shop, grab the map and go inside.  I'm delaying the necessity of unfolding the map, expecting to see another page of roads to travel before I rest, so I put the map on the booth, order coffee, take a bio-break and return before I open up the map.  To my great surprise, I'm here! - not far from either C. Alava or C. Flattery, within striking distance of Olympia NP and reasonably close to Blaine, WA, the final stop on the 4 Corners Tour.

Another Red Rooster, just south of Humptulips, WA. I gave Dennis a copy of the pic.)

So, Forks, WA is the stop for tonight and a wait for a big push tomorrow...

Daily stats:

GPS 403 miles

Driving avg:51.2

Overall avg:39-9

Driving time: 7:52

Stopped time: 2:15

Total time: 10:07

Monday, June 05, 2006

What a fantastic day!

I left the motel at Forks, WA (Forks Motel, nice place) about 0800 ready to head for Cape Flattery, apparently the westernmost point in the US. I had about 120 miles of gas in the tank, but looking at the map I wasn't certain that was going to be enough, so I stopped in Clallam Bay and filled up - glad I did, because gas stations here are few and far between.

I'm a little tense at this point; not knowing what is coming and expecting that this is going to be a pretty remote area. Little did I know how remote it was actually going to be…

The road from Clallam Bay to Neah Bay runs along the coastline and was FANTASTIC in both directions - twists, turns, ups, downs - a virtual roller coaster and tremendous on the bike. One sign warned of slides and washouts and the road shows it - cracks where the surface can't support the roadway and cliffs overhanging the roadway which will sometime come down. Occasionally the road dips down to the water level and there are pull offs where people stop and have lunch, etc. This is actually the Juan de Fuca strait along this stretch of highway and Juan de Fuca Island is clearly visible across the strait.  Reminds me of the Straits of Mackinac.

Top photo: Hwy 112 from Clallam Bay to Neah Bay; bottom: Cape Flattery topo. Note Tatoosh Island at the top left corner

Before you reach Neah Bay, you enter Makah Indian Reservation and the signs indicate that you need to purchase an annual recreational usage permit from any of the available places in Neah Bay. I ignored these signs as I was only sightseeing, but did stop on the way out to inquire if I needed a permit.

I followed the road and signs thru town. This peninsula is like a volcano in that it has a high central peak and you go around it rather than over it.  From all the maps that I've studied, I would have thought that I was going on the northern route around the peak, but the road led me south and I approached the Cape from that direction.  About 5-6 miles out of town, I came across the Makah Tribal Center surrounded by fencing (why??).  Soon after that, the pavement abruptly ended with absolutely no warning - one minute it's pavement, the next minute it’s hard pack and potholes.

So, my beloved Tigress becomes an 800# dirt bike....

After about 5 miles, the road simply ends.  You can't see the ocean because you're surrounded by trees - large trees - lots of trees - and an outhouse. One medium sized sign points to a trail and simply says "Cape Flattery". Okay, I thought to myself, here we go...The sign at the trailhead says the new trail is "only" 1/2 mile long and will require "moderate" stress climbing stairs and slopes -bullshit!  It was very okay going down, but pretty tough going up.

I gathered up cameras, keys, etc., and headed down the trail in full gear.  I didn’t want to leave my ‘stich on the bike (I really didn't want to leave my bike there either, but didn't have much choice -a trials bike would have had some problems on this trail).  To my good fortune, it was a pretty nice day.  It had rained all day the day before, but today was relatively warm and the sun was peeking thru the clouds on occasion.  Temps were in the high 50s - great for walking.

The trail going toward Cape Flattery – easier going down than up…

I unzipped the ‘stich about 1/2 way down the trail and started thinking that the trip back was gonna be tough. There were one or two short side trails leading to small decks with great photo ops of the coast or the sea caves. I estimated that it was a 200-300' elevation drop from the trail head to the end - and you're still 100' above the sea.

(Top: Tatoosh Island from Cape Flattery; Bottom: my furthest west point)

At the end of the trail is a circular deck with an incredible view of the Pacific Ocean, Tatoosh Island and lighthouse just west of the Cape, the sea caves around the Cape, Juan de Fuca Strait and Island - beautiful!  On top of that, I'm at the westernmost point in the continental US: 124* 43.601". I stripped off the ‘stich jacket and the fleece shirt because I was "perspiring" and just basked in the glow of the moment. It was wonderful to reach a point that you have been dreaming about for a couple of years and it was worth the time to enjoy it.

Took some more pictures of the vista, some document photos and regrettably got ready to leave.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to wear the ‘stich back up the hill (or the fleece for that matter), so I got myself ready for the walk uphill, carrying the ‘stich, fleece tied around my waist and started putting one foot in front of the other. Sometimes I took breaks every 50'; other times I could walk further, but it took me some time to retrace my steps.

It was a real relief to see my bike again as I gratefully threw my gear off and onto Tigress. After another "rest stop", I got my gear back on, mounted the steed and prepared to take off. Tigress started as usual with the touch of a button.

About a mile down the road I looked at the trip logs - they were zeroed out! OMG - I left the PIAA light on the whole time I was walking the trail!!! Then I started shaking - what would I have done if I had been gone longer and the battery was completely dead??? Who knows how many people come up to this remote spot on the planet or how often?? Thank you Lord!!

Got back to Neah Bay and stopped at the c-store for water and some energy bar.  I asked about the usage permit and the gal said "Don't worry about it..." so I didn't (It's $10 per vehicle) and headed down the road, very satisfied with myself at having reached one of the very far points of the US.

I spent the next four hours on some of the finest motorcycling roads in the country - Hwy 112/113 from Neah Bay to Port Angeles. I could go on and on about this road - it was that incredible!

The gods must have been with me because I arrived at Pt Townsend just as the ferry was getting ready to leave.  Paid $4.70 for the passage and went up to the passenger’s cabin.  Promptly fell asleep; the deckhand woke me up to tell me that we had arrived - I was holding up traffic.  Hustled down to Tigress, got on and got out.  Pulled off on land and got everything stowed again.

The other end of the ferry ride is Keystone, Whidbey Island and it’s a pretty good size island - I must have spent an hour getting from the ferry landing to the mainland and I-5 going north.  Looking at the map, I can see Blaine, WA on the same page as Whidbey Is. (a good thing...) and guessed that it was only about 40 miles away.

I got off at the wrong exit in Blaine, but zoomed in on the GPS and got myself reoriented.  I found the correct exit, got gas and the phone number at the Union76 station and headed for the post office. I needed a picture of Tigress in front of a structure with the name on it.  The post office didn't look good, but City Hall sign was great.  As I was lining up the shot (it was my very last Polaroid shot) a gentleman came up and asked if I wanted him to photograph me with my bike.  He did a great job and the photo turned out well. I checked, double checked and triple checked the paperwork, sealed the envelope and dropped into the mail slot about 2000 hours. Yippee!!  I did it!!!

Blaine, WA, the final “corner” of the 4 Corners Tour

Went back down to Bellingham and found a Days Inn, recently converted from a Ramada, but it worked for me.

On to the Cascade and Rocky Mountains next!!

Later,

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Bellingham, WA to Libby, MT

After yesterday, today was kind of anticlimactic. Got up early and took off about 0630 local time.  It was a bit chilly, but I thought it would warm up, so all I had on was my poly shirt.

15 minutes later I stopped to put on the fleece; 15 minutes after that I stopped again to put on the wind jacket...

15 minutes after that I went full bore - like I should have done in the first place - and pulled out the electric liner.  First time I've used that since Maine. I reasoned that since I was headed for the mountains, I was gonna need it anyway, soooooo....

Headed easily up the face of the Cascade Mountains.  The road is not nearly as challenging as the Rockies, but still fun.  By the time I got to Washington Pass (elev. 5477') it was COLD - 41* On top of that, there was a bit of fog in the air making it a damp, chilling cold, not the dry cold - oh, never mind!! There was still snow up at these altitudes, a lot of it in a few places and well as on the mountain peaks. One of the informational posters said that these ranges provide up to 1/3 of all the water for Seattle.

Got to Spokane and stopped to recheck my route on the computer. Spokane looks like a very pretty city with 3 universities, some extensive renovations going on, etc.

At Coeur d'Alene I turned north and went up to Sandpoint, another very pretty town, but a bit too far north for me.  I'm certain they get just buckets of snow in the winter. On the way to Kalispell, I stopped to see the Grand Coulee Dam - very impressive. It's the largest concrete structure in the world.

Got into Montana, lost an hour and stopped at Libby for the evening.

Daily stats:

Odo: 50380

GPS: 529.2

Driving avg: 56.3

Overall avg: 44.5

Driving time: 9:24

Stopped time: 2:30

Total time:11:54

Cumulative miles: 9266

Later,

Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Libby MT to Glasgow, MT

Got up a little earlier than usual, knowing that it was going to be 100 miles to Kalispell, then a few more miles to Glacier NP.  Motored to Kalispell and stopped at McDs for breakfast. Checked the map and confirmed the route to Glacier and took off.  When I got to the West Entrance, I was very dismayed to find that "Going to the Sun" road was CLOSED!  Apparently there is some 20-30' of snow (yes, feet) and the road may not open for another month - DAMN!! I was soooo looking forward to riding that road.  So, I got the stamp at the visitor's center in Apgar and considered my options. I had not thought of the road being closed, so where do I go now, and how do I get around Glacier NP???

Route 2 does indeed go around Glacier, so it's back on Rte 2 again and truckin’ toward the eastern side of the state. Once you leave Glacier, it's like you are transported into the grasslands again - flat, boring, hayfields, wheat fields, trains, and this endless ribbon of highway stretching from horizon to horizon - believe me, you can see both ends.

(Just east of Glacier NP, looking west)

(Same location as above - now looking EAST – what a contrast!)

Have I mentioned that I was bucking a tremendous headwind/crosswind all across the state??

My original goal was Malta, MT, some 250 miles away, but with the change of plans, Malta didn't seem far enough, so I stopped at Havre (who thinks up these names, anyway?) and reconnoitered. I still needed to go to Angle Inlet, but also wanted to be back in Milwaukee by Friday evening if possible.  S&T says it's difficult, but possible-1358 miles

So, instead of stopping at Malta, I went on to Glasgow, MT, some 90 miles further down the road. Since Havre, I decided to take advantage of Montana's generous speed limit - essentially none - and wicked it up to 80 indicated, about 75 actual, and kept it there for most of the rest of the trip. I had been having some ear problems for the past few days (maybe something to do with having earplugs jammed into them for 19 straight days...) and decided NOT to use earplugs today, so the roar in my ears was much stronger than usual

Did I mention the headwinds/crosswinds that were throwing me all across the highway?

The last 15 miles going into Glasgow were simply atrocious - did I mention the crosswinds? - they were literally throwing me and the bike across my lane and there was no way of telling which way they would come from.  One minute it would be from the right, the next minute from the left.  Sometimes I would be riding down the road at a 15* angle just to stay on the road and in my lane.

Got a room at a ma and pa place, walked across the road (five lanes) for cocktails and snack and settled in for the night.

Daily stats:

odo: 50910

GPS: 516.2 miles

Driving avg: 63.3 (Considering that this was 43.3 when I left Glacier, tells you that I was bookin' it across the rest of the state)

Overall avg:46.5

Drive time: 8:09

Stopped time: 2:56

Total time: 11.06

Later,

Mike

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Glasgow, MT to Drayton, ND

After a relaxing evening at La Casa Glasgow, I left fairly early, headed for North Dakota.  I went 2 blocks for gas and immediately ran into a BMW rider from Cleveland who was going to Alaska. He said there was some really bad construction zones east and be prepared for some riding in soft sand/gravel.

The first construction zone was okay - a short detour; second one was okay as well.  #3 and #4 were much worse - I waited about 15 minutes for the escort car to arrive from the other end and he took me across some soft sand, but not really bad stuff. Same thing with #4 - escort car. Finally got out of the construction at Wolf Point and headed for Culbertson, where I turned south to go to Ft Union NHS, just inside the ND border.

Ft Union NHS, Buford, North Dakota)

Ft Union was pretty cool.  It was a reconstruction of the fort as the NPS thought it would have looked like in 1851. There was a man in costume at the first place I stopped and he gave an interesting spiel about the activities in the merchant shop and showed me some of the things that would have been traded between the merchants and the Indians. Apparently this was a very friendly relationship and intermarriage between the two groups was common. The center of the fort held the "bourgeois" house, the living quarters of the fort commander. Quite unlike the man in costume, there was no one at the visitor center, so I found the stamps and left without seeing another soul.

Got to Williston, ND in time for lunch (Pizza Hut buffet - $4.91) and gas. It had started to rain along with the strong winds again, making riding a bit more challenging, to say the least. I fought this combination to Minot where I stopped for a break.  At the truck stop I met another biker, headed back home to Nevada.  He told me that the rain and wind let up about Rugby, 60 miles down the road.  Rugby is well known to LD riders as the geographic center of the North American continent, I stopped for gas at Rugby and saw the monument to that factoid across the street.

By Rugby, the wind had died down considerably and it was almost comfortable riding.  Temps were still low (54*), but tolerable with electric liner and winter gloves.  As I was riding this stretch of road, I wondered what the wind chill factor is at 54* and 100mph (70 mph bike speed + 30 mph wind speed on the nose) Any guesses?? It's not as cold as I would have thought, but certainly cold enough to justify the Kanetsu and the winter gloves (Answer is 43* F, but it felt a hellofa lot colder than that...)

At Devils Lake I decided to disagree with the GPS.  GPS wanted to take me to Grand Forks, which took me away from my destination and I wanted to go north from Devils Lake to Rte 17 - shorter. The driver won and we went my way. I wanted to get as far up the road as possible in as short a time as I could.  I know that tomorrow is going to be a long day.

Finally got to I-29, north of Grand Forks, only to be at one of those exits with "No Services", so I proceeded north, certain that there is going to be a motel up here somewhere.  Got off at Drayton and found the "Motel 66", a dumpy little place, but a room for the short evening ahead.

I'm planning to leave at 0430 to get up to Angle Inlet ASAP, then hot foot it down Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Later,

Mike

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Headin' Home

I set the Screamin' Meanie for 0430 and went to bed. Got up relatively easily, washed my face, etc.  I had done most of my packing the night before and in order to save time, I left the tank bag and GPS on the bike, covered with the Nelson Rigg bike cover.  Since this was a very small town in ND, I wasn't too concerned about theft.  Heck, you could practically throw a stone from one end of the town to the other.

Got going right on time and headed toward Karlstad, the next town. I knew I needed gas, but didn't know what would be open at this hour of the morning. It's in exactly these conditions that the big PIAAs are worth their weight in gold - they light up the road for about 1/2 mile. In fact when I have ALL of the lights going - the PIAA 1100s, the big PIAAs and the bike high beams, there is something like 550W coming out the front end - awesome sight! Finally found a 24/7 station and filled up for the longish ride up Rte 11 to Rosseau where I would turn toward the border. I made the turn at Rosseau only to see a sign saying the border crossing was only open from 8AM to midnight and here it is only 6:00AM.  What to do now - guess I'll have some breakfast... a deluxe omelet and coffee later, it's still only 6:45. I pulled into the Holiday gas station and asked about the border crossing.  Seems that the border crossing at Warroad is open 24/7 and Warroad is only 20 miles away, so down the road I go.

US-Canadian border at the Northwest Angle

The Northwest Angle, as it is called, is US property, but to get there you have to enter Manitoba, Canada, then recross the border back into the US. When you return you have to do the same thing, so to get to and from the Northwest Angle, you have crossed the border 4 times. The US/Canadian customs at Warroad is the usual formal affair with armed officers, an office, etc. The US/Canadian customs office at the Angle is a shack with a videophone and is actually eight miles into US territory. The one I checked into and out of was called Jim's Corner and is clearly labeled as the customs shack.

Customs shack at Jim’s Corner, Northwest Angle, MN

So, I checked in at customs in Warroad, told them I was going to the Angle and would be back thru in a few hours and took off. At Moose Lake the pavement abruptly ends and becomes gravel, so it's back to dirt bike time.  The road is really in pretty good shape, but when another vehicle passes you going the other way (usually a pickup hauling a boat), there is this huge cloud of dust that envelopes you for a few seconds. Multiply this scenario by 4-5-6 times, and you, the bike and all of your gear are covered with dust.

I finally got to Angle Inlet, the small resort town that was my destination and stopped at the T intersection. Looking at the sign with arrows pointing left and right, I saw the smallest Post Office I had even seen - the customs shack at Jim's Corner wasn't too much smaller. I had to have a picture of that!!

Post Office at Angle Inlet, MN.  Not much bigger than the customs shack at Jim’s Corner

I turned left and followed the road a bit to Grumpy's Bar and restaurant with an "OPEN" sign lit up, so I stopped for coffee and chat with the only people in there, who happened to be the owners. Nice place and very clean.  I can imagine this was a busy place in the afternoons and evenings.

I got my water and pebble samples, took the requisite pictures and headed back down the gravel road, checked back into Canada at Jim's Corner and rode the remaining 20 miles of gravel road back to the US. Checked back into customs at Warroad again and was on my way down thru Minnesota. Apparently the gravel road and all of the bouncing fried my one remaining PIAA lamp because it was gone.  Now I have only one low beam headlight and the big PIAAs, so it looks like I'll be running at night with the high beams only - still okay for conspicuity, though.

For some unknown reason, the Garmin GPS has difficulties in northern Minnesota. It rerouted me all over the place and even turning it off and on again didn't help too much. Fortunately, I knew that I was going to be on Hwy 11 for some time, so I just ignored the thing.

I took a small shortcut and some back roads to pick up Hwy 53 at Ray, MN and headed for Duluth, a town I have visited many times before (home to Aerostitch/Rider Wearhouse) and knew my way from there to Milwaukee quite well as it is the route for the Bun Burner 1500 as well as the Great Lakes GOLD rides that I had done last year.

I started getting tired north of Rice Lake and had to stop 2-3 times to clear my head.  These weren't long stops, sometimes only 2 or 3 minutes, but it was enough to shake the cobwebs out and keep me going.

 At Eau Claire it started raining and would continue for the remainder of the ride. Traffic was moderate going south, a lot heavier going north. This was Friday afternoon/evening and people are headed to their "cabin up north" My high beams didn't seem to upset too many people, but I was just waiting for someone to piss me off enough to blast them with the big PIAAs. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and the big PIAAs stayed quiet.

I walked into the Red Rooster, my end of the ride watering hole after a 900 mile day and the end of an 11,200 mile journey, glad to be home safe and sound.

Sunday, July 2, 2006

Epilogueººººº

Okay, it's been a few weeks since I've gotten off Tigress and my ibuprofen intake has been reduced to about normal. I was sore and slept 10 hours/night for a week, but recovered well.  It's been a very long ride and my aging body doesn't respond as well as it did years ago for some reason...

Leg 1 - Madawaska to Key West

My original plan was pretty optimistic at about 700 miles per day. I stopped in Portland, ME for the evening and that was okay, but it made me recalculate the rest of the leg. The only constant I had - in fact, the only constant on the entire trip was a reservation at Key West for Thursday night - and I HAD to make that deadline.  I didn't like having deadlines and didn't have any others for the remainder of the trip. Because of the time constraint, I did the Iron Butt thing from Baltimore to Key West - 1300+ miles - in 30 hours and don't think I missed much by doing that.  All in all, I wanted to get off the East Coast ASAP before the Memorial Day weekend and I did. I hated Miami and especially disliked it in the rain - Miami drivers don't drive well in the rain, even though they should know how....

After the rain stopped, I liked riding down the Keys and liked the ride back UP the Keys even better -  tunes playing, not too hot, no sun, warm weather - couldn't have been better...

Leg 2 - Key West to San Ysidro

I hadn't been in this area of the country at all, so it was new to me.  Still looked like Deep South Country. Texas seemed endless - took me an entire DAY to get across that damn state, most of which consisted of farmland and oil fields - boring.

The heat was onerous and it took a lot out of me - didn't notice it until the end of the day when I stopped in a motel - and realized that I was exhausted  I think I bore the heat okay  at 103* near El Paso pretty well, but the 106*  for 4 hours in Arizona did me in. That was a blast furnace. The landscape was pretty featureless to boot - not much stands out as particularly interesting except perhaps the Saguaro cacti in Tucson.

Leg 3: San Ysidro to Blaine, WA

This was a mixed bag... I knew I wasn't going to like going thru LA with all the smog, congestion and traffic and I was right - it was miserable... BUT, Northern California was like another state and if I lived there, I would probably lobby for it to be another state - completely different from the south part of the state with large, stately trees (lots of them), immaculately kept vineyards, winding roads, golden hills with rocks and trees to break up the monotony of the hills - wonderful!! I also liked riding along the coastline with the ocean on the left and the mountains on the right, twisty roads and far more exciting scenery.

Leg 4: Blaine, WA to Milwaukee, WI

Another mixed bag.  I loved the mountains, hated the plains, hated the wind.  I'd like to come back to the mountains around here again to explore them further.  I still want to ride "Going to the Sun" road in Glacier NP. Winds in Montana and North Dakota were horrific - I expect that these are common, with not much to stop them from blowing from any direction they want.

What worked/what didn't work ...

Caberg Helmet

Although the Caberg doesn't fit my head as well as I'd like it to (fits round heads better than my oval head), I still loved it.  The most outstanding feature of it and the reason I like it so much is the built-in sunshield - absolutely fantastic! No more stopping to change glasses back and forth again; it was great on a partly cloudy days to simply flip the sun shade up or down to fit the conditions.  Several times I stuck my finger up to my face to adjust my glasses only to poke myself in the sun shield because I forgot it was down.  Optically, it was perfect with no distortions and it was a polarized lens to boot.  Just excellent

Aerostitch riding suit

I'm into my 3rd season with my ‘stich and I simply won't ride my motorcycle without it - I would not feel comfortable - 'nuff said. It provides an excellent level of protection if I should happen to have a get-off, yet still has so many utilitarian features to make it the uniform of choice for LD riders.  The underarm and back vents provide a great deal of ventilation in warm or hot weather, but by closing these vents, also provide a nice level of warmth in cooler weather even while wearing only shorts and t-shirt underneath. Case in point: riding along the California coast, it was cooler because of the ocean effect, yet crossing over the mountains, it was considerably warmer.  On the coast, I zipped the arm vents closed and was warm enough; inland, I unzipped the vents and enjoyed the warm breeze cooling me off.

The large pockets allow for getting into a pocket with gloves on - probably one of the very best features of the jacket besides the excellent all around reflectiveness.

On the other hand, there are some things I would change/alter/do differently on the ‘stich. 1.)  I would make the Velcro tabs in sleeves longer to grip better - they slip now and don't hold well at any given position because there is not enough gripping surface.  2.) I would add a snap or another Velcro closure about mid-shin. With the lower leg zippers partially open, the wind would work the zippers up my shin and flap.  This flapping simply beat the snot out of my calves to the point that I had cuts and bruises on them. A stop at mid-shin would prevent that. 3.) Is there any way to invent a method of opening and closing the back vent without stopping and taking the jacket off???

I hand wrote "Emergency Information in Here" on the left breast pocket and kept a laminated card in there with the usual vital information.  I think it would be a great idea for that to be imprinted or sewn into that pocket to provide a standard location for emergency info.

Boots

I took 2 pairs of boots with me - both Oxtar brand - one pair of "shorties", the other pair  "Combat style." The Combat boots were about 3" higher than the shorties and came up almost to my knees.  They were more comfortable in the cooler temps, but the shorties were better for the warmer climes and are easier to walk in. By alternating boots according to temps, I was also able to air out the one pair and still have relatively clean smelling footwear (and feet.)

Moto Fizz bag

I have mixed opinions on this bag.  I love the versatility of it and all the pockets - you can pack almost anything in it. I have the large size and in some respects, it's probably too large.  When you unzip the expanding sides of the bag and put it on the bike, it is difficult to see rearward in the mirrors because the bag blocks the view. In addition, filling the completely unzipped bag with clothing, etc. makes it damn heavy to tote back and forth between bike and motel room. Between Miami and the Upper Keys, it rained heavily and the bag isn't completely waterproof - everything was soaked, making it that much heavier. If I had the choice again, I think I would choose the medium bag instead. Outside of these points, the bag itself is excellent.  I'll try to waterproof it better over the winter with Camp Dry.

Tank bag

I had some issues with the tank bag, most of which are resolvable, but still troublesome on this trip.  I wanted to create a stiffener for the tank bag when it was expanded so it wouldn't collapse in the expanded position. Cardboard didn't work and I didn't have it secured to the interior of the bag.  I'll need something stronger than cardboard, waterproof and able to snap or Velcro it to the inside of the bag for it to be effective.

I also had some problems with the map pocket - it's simply too small and you have to fold a map in multiple directions to get your local area in front of you and you run out of that area pretty quickly. (Aside: I had an atlas that I had planned to rip pages from as I went along. That worked well until it got soaked in the rain in Miami and was useless after that.) One idea that I have is to use a two-sided (i.e. clear on both sides) map pocket and fold the map so that I could simply flip the map over when I went from one area to the next - winter project.

In conjunction with the map pocket, I had problems with the iPod and the iPass transponder.  iPass wouldn't work in the glove box, so I ended up Velcroing it to my left arm where it worked about ½ the time. I originally had the iPod under a rubber strap on the left glove box top, but the vibration was too much for it and caused it to get jumbled. The iPod worked better when it was cushioned by the tank bag and I think I'll fashion another Velcro mount onto the newly designed map pocket.  I can use the iPod with my left hand, but adjusting the volume is still troublesome with gloves on...

Tigress

Tigress was flawless the entire trip - not even a hiccup.  I added ½ quart of oil somewhere in CA (at $7.64 per quart), but other than that, did nothing to her except check oil level and tire pressures regularly. Lost a left lower headlight beam and both PIAA 1100s, but that's not the bike's fault. I did not change the oil for the entire trip and will change it soon.  I'm going to send the oil to a lab for analysis to see how well Shell Rotella T synthetic really stood up after an 11,000 mile beating  - viscosity, breakdown, trace metals, etc., etc.  Should be an interesting analysis

Computer

For all the beating it took, my little SONY VAIO computer did pretty well.  The wireless card did exceptionally well and picked up Wi-Fi signals in motels pretty well -so much nicer than hassling with cables and modems, etc., etc. I would write my reports at night then download them to my blog.  I would review my route and see how far I had or had not gotten during the day, make modifications and upload the revised route to the Garmin - slick!

Garmin 2610

The Garmin worked extremely well, too. It took a bigger beating than most of the other equipment because it was exposed to the elements all of the time. It lost satellite reception under the redwood canopy in California, but that is to be expected. One of the nicest parts of having the Garmin on board is when you know you're starting to get low on fuel or are getting tired and want to stop - punch the "Find" button and Voila! - next gas station, rest stop or motel at your fingertips.

The Garmin also worked extremely well in unfamiliar cities.  For example, I'm in Tucson, looking for Saguaro Cactus NP and have never been to Tucson in my life. I have Saguaro as a waypoint and it guides me - turn-by-turn - to my destination, with distances to the next turn, which direction to turn and distance to my final destination - just incredible! And even more incredibly, it's accurate to within about 15' - about the width of a road lane. Can't say enough about Garmins.

Addenda

Milwaukee, WI to Madawaska, ME – 1306 miles

Leg 1: Madawaska, ME to Key West, FL – 2476 miles

Leg 2: Key West, FL to San Ysidro, CA - 2835 miles

Leg 3: San Ysidro, CA to Blaine, WA – 1710 miles

Leg 4: Blaine WA to Milwaukee, WI  - 2395 miles