ldmikemctouring

Pensacola to Tyler, TX

Getting up early wasn't gonna happen today - my body needed the rest, so instead of leaving at o'dark thiry, I left close to 0800 in 72* temps, soon to climb to the mid 80s. I had checked on the NPS Website 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 headed NW thru Alabama, Rte 98 ended up as a 2-lane road, clogged with traffic, but as soon as I entered Mississippi (0940), it opened up to a 4 land divided and 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 tried to pull up the the driver's side and motion 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 exited, 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 histtoric 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 at 75 mph (by the GPS) and boogied. Got into Texas about 1835 and had to decide if I wanted to continue on the 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 0800the next day, so I'll get that one, 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 evenng in SD 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

Later,

Mike

Orlando to Pensacola

Left Orlando early after a delightful evening with relatives. I stayed off the tollroads and headed generally west to get to Hwy 19 which goes up the west coast toward Talahassee. 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 Talahassee, 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 'stitch wide open and still wasn't getting a whole lot of relief. I usually drain a 1/2 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

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 was stolen upon first inspection, so I took the cover off, got her back on her feet agan and started looking her overmore 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 Mirrorvex 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. Still P***es me of, though.

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, 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 more money just to get around Chicago. I was wrong. Florida's Tollway has Illinois beat, hands down. Afer 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 'stitch 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 and 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

Sorry for the delay in posting. I refused to pay for Internet access when it's promised for free and wasn't available on Thursday night as you will see.

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.

30 hours later....

I'm in Key West. It was a long a gruelling 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 getng there.

Finally got back onto I-95S and started thinking about a IB run instead of staying in Savannah that eveining. 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 south 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 direstion!! 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 ilttle worried about all the junk on the shoudlers 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 Fredricksberg, 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 rooom 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 whoshes 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 up there and she has two Velcro dogs (AVelcro 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 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 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 to stop as any. 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 section of I-95 are under construction with lane changes, etc., but there are few backups. I passed the section 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 ever 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 land and stay in the left, thnking 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 coming from all directions in gusts and sometimes it looks and feels like the rains is coming from sideways. At one point the only thing I could see was 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 and 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 unpucker 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,

Mike

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 a water and soil sample and documented it with polaroid and digital photos.
3. Got the 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 absolutley 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 flagger, wait and wait while I inhaled diesel fumes for 5 minutes, then slowly climb up to speed only to meet another flagger 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 seroius attention, many beyond hope, just waiting to falldown. 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 lookd doable - get up early,, get thru Taxachusetts before early monring Bostin 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 doen'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

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 calmy packed the bike and took off.

The drive down Wisconsin and thru Chicago was uneventful. I knew about the construction on the Dan Ryan south of the Loop and at the last second decied 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 again at Imlay City, just west of Port Huron. Some construction congestion around Kalamazoo and Flint, but prpbably nothing like weekdays.

Got the the bridge (Sidebar about the Blue Water 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, tho, 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.

It was probably a good thing that I decided to go thru Toronto on an 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 no to be bombarded by all that stuff.
- The young gal at the 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 talkng on the phone with her girl/boy friend and could care less about the fact that you, the customer, pays her salary.
- Most Canadian drivers understand drive in the right land, 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

Made it to Madawaska!
Arrived about 1930, later than I really wanted, but that's okay.
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 resolu, average speed dropped considerably as did total miles.
I left Belleville about 0730 CDT to sunshine and cool temps - high 40s. 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 coulds, the temps drop like a stone, it starts to rain again and I stll 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 wa, 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, which ends in Key West. 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 freindly motel in Madawaska - Martin's Motel. Jean was very accomodating and 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 her, in addition to the other stuff I have to mail in. Nice clean room and inexpensive.
Later,
Mike 

Well, Eric finally arrived last week with the extended plate for the Moto Fizz bag. It fit perfectly on the bike and looks pretty good for an after market product. I'm pleased with the result: the bag doesn't sag on either side and the slots built into the plate allow me to secure this monster easily.

The silver bag is a motorcycle cover and the Beanie Baby is my mascot, Tigress, of course. Orange on both sides are the tie-down straps.



I rode up to Duluth last weekend to have my 'stich repaired. There were some rub spots on the inside of the jacket that I wanted seam taped. Turns out that I had the shoulder pads installed incorrectly which was causing the rubs- Aerostich seam taped the rub spots for no charge and sent me on my way, a happy and again satisfied customer.

I've packed the Moto Fizz bag once and will unload it and repack it again tomorrow night just to review what I think I need and where it is located, I took a short ride last Sunday to see how everything would transport and it did well - no additional wobble or anything unusual at speed.

I'm getting nervous and anxious to get on the road. This happens pretty routinely before a serious ride and it's a good thing because it makes me double check everything again and again. It will get worse tomorrow and Friday evening. I usually don't settle down until 50-70 miles into the ride.

I've been watching the flood reports in New England and may have to alter my planned route - looks like Lowell, MA is flooded, but will have to see for myself as I wamt am NPT stamp there...We'll see

Later,

Mike

Missed Leg 1... sorry!

Leg 1 above, Leg 2 below



Legs 3 and 4 above.

Here's the route I'm taking.

I'll leave Madawaska, ME early on 22 May. Madawaska is the first stop on the 4 Corners Tour and not too far from the eastermost point of the continental US, West Quoddy Head, ME.

I expect to be in Key West (Stop #2 of the 4 Corners Tour and the southernmost point of the US) by Thursday 25 May because I don't want to be anywhere on the East Coast over Memorial Day weekend.

I'll be in San Diego (Stop #3 of the 4 Corners Tour) by Tuesday or Wednesday the following week.

In Oregon, it's a 3 mile hike to Cape Alava, the westernmost point of the US, then a ferry ride to Blaine, WA, the final stop of the 4 Corners Tour.

Finally, on the ride back home, I'll stop at Angle Inlet, MN the northernmost point of the US.

I'll post the daily routes and a summary of the days journey as I do them.

Enjoy!

Mike

I got Tigress back from the Honda shop yesterday and she is ready to roll. I had new tires put on, fluids changes, new brakes, new air and fuel filter installed (damn - fuel filters are expensive!) all fluids changed, etc. My thanks to all the guys at Action PowerSports in Waukesha for their extra efforts. Someone told the wrenchers that I was going on a long trip and they took extra effort to make certain that everything was right. They even worked overtime to get Tigress finished by Thursday evening and power washed her for me. I appreciate it, guys!

Next order of business is to get the 'stich repaired and I leave for Duluth on Sunday to make that happen. There are some wear spots that need to be repaired to make it waterproof again. I will also stop in Bayfield on the way back for anothe NPT stamp and at Calumet, MI if I have time.

Pillion shelf will be here on Tuesday and I'm anxious to see it, try it out and adjust it. I have to tear the read end of the bike apart to install this thing as well as do some electrical work, so there's no reason to tear it apart twice.

At this point, Tigress is complete and I won't do anything else to her before the trip. It's bad karma to try to do anything to your mount without testing it before a long ride.

Now it's the rider's turn...

- Tools list - in progress
- Electrical list - in progress
- Clothing list - in progress
-Mental preparedness - will start with trip to Duluth
- Other:
- GPS routes loaded
- Reservations made in Key West for Thursday evening before Memorial Day weekend
- i-Pass renewed and verified (works on NY and NJ turnpikes)


Countdown continues...

Mike