ldmikemctouring

Headin' Home

2006-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

Drayton, ND to Brookfield, WI

I set the Screamin' Meanie for 0430 and went to bed. Got up relatively easily and 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 practiically 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 -dark two-lane road in deer country - 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 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.

The Northwest Angle as it is called is US property, but to get there you have to enter Manitoba,Canada, then recross back into the US. When you return you have to do the same thinkg, so to get to and from the Northwest Angle, I crossed the border 4 times. The US/Canadian customs at Warroad is a 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.

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 again. 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 the 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!!

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 aftenoon 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 andran the remainng 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 backroads to pick up Hwy 53 at Ray, MN and headed for Duluth, a town I have visited many times (home to Aerostitch/Rider Wearhouse) and knew my way from there 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 because this was Friday afternoon/evening and people were headed to their "cabin up north" My highbeams 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, about 2130 after a 900 mile day and the end of an 11,200 mile journey, glad to be home safe and sound.

I hope you enjoyed reading about this incredible odyssey as much as I enjoyed riding and writing about it. I'll publish a recap and a what worked/what didn't work section sometime in the next several days.

Later,

Mike

Crossing North Dakota

2006-06-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

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 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 me another biker on a Harley, 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 Americal 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 Captain won and we went my way. I wanted to get as far up the course 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

Big Sky Country

2006-06-08T03:44:00.000-07:00

Libby MT to Glasgow, MT

Got up a little earlier tha 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, wheatfields, trains, and this endless ribbon of highway stretching from horizon to horizon - believe me, you can see both ends.

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 stop at 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 ther rest of the trip. I have been having some ear problems for the past few days (maybe something to do with having earplugs jammed into your ears 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 wer 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

Bellingham to Libby, MT

2006-06-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

Bellingham, WA to LIbby, MT

After yesterday, today was a kind of anticlimax. 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 later I stopped 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 - 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,

Mike

Cape Flattery, Washington

2006-06-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

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 pulloffs where people stop and have lunch, etc. This is actually the Juan de Fuca strait along this stretch of highway and Juan se Fuca Island is clearly visible across ther strait. Reminds me of the Straits of Mackinac.

Before you reach Neah Bay, you enter the Makah Indian Resevation 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 structure 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 Tibal 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 bacause 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 furtune, 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.

I unzipped the 'stitch about 1/2 way down the trail and started thinkng 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 next to the Cape. 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.

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, 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 'stitch 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 'stitch back up the hill (or the fleece for that matter), so I got myself ready for the walk uphill 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 onto TIgress. After another "rest stop", I got my gear back on, mounted the steed and prepared to take off. Tigress startted as usual with the touch of a button. Third extreme corner covered.

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 an 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 satisifed 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 passengers 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 Whidbey Island and It's pretty good size - 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 a 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 the 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. I took the Polaroid and gave him my digital camera. 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!!!

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,

Mike

Blaine, WA

2006-06-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Okay, folks,

At about 1800 PDT, I dropped the finak paperwork into the mailbox in Blaine, WA

4 Corners Tour is MINE!!!

More later,

Mike

Yuma, AZ to Buellton, CA

2006-06-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

This report fills in a gap in my reports - the leg from Yuma to Buellton.

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 the San Ysidro in good order 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 prices 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 regulalrly - they're geat 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

Redwoods Highway

2006-06-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

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 ther 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 how in the world someone actually decided to bulid a road, decide on the construction details and then actually build 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 building 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 todays 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.

Entered Oregon at 1407 local time. My first impressions are not kind. The first five people I saw all were overweight, had rough, scraggly beards, multiple shades of plaid overlaid on each other, long unkempt hair -dirty, agin hippies, IMHO. On top of that, I saw a shooting range advertising "Shoot a REAL Thompson submachine gun!!!" Made me feel really creepy...

All in all, though, 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 road in the country.

Called it quits at Springfield, OR, just outside of Eugene

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.

Daily stats:
odo: 49125
GPS miles: 470.1
Driving average: 56.4 mph
Overall Average: 44.0
Driving time: 8:20
Stopped time: 2:20
Total time: 10:40
Cumulative miles: 8043

Later,

Mike

Pacific Coast Highway

2006-06-02T22:21:00.000-07:00

Buellton to Ukiah, CA

This is a little out of order and I will have to go back and fill in the leg from Yuma to SD to Brea to Buellton later.

At any rate, I ended up stopping Thursday evening at Buellton, a small town a little bit north of Santa Barbara. There was a very nice Days Inn with a downstairs room, outside access and poolside as well. I had intermittant 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 ridng.

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 Mobil 1 5W-50. It's frustrating to get ripped off like that, but it's also 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 monutains 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 doing 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 the bike.

Stopped for an early dinner at Tres Amigos in Half Moon Bay, on 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 also discovered that Rte 1 was closed going north because of a rock slide some 8 miles up the road and 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 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 Frday afternoon at the peak of rush hour. I should severely discipline the navigator for such acts of stupidity...

One thing you notice very quickly is that the temps swing wildly from the coastline to the other side of the mountain range. On the coast, it's cool because of the ocean and 5 miles inland, on the "other" side of the mountains, it's 20* warmer. This is where the 'stich really shines- on the "cold" side, simply zip up the arms and you're good to go; conversely, over the mountain, reverse the procedure and it's comfortable with the wind blowing thru the jacket.

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 and 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 can, so can I.

From Santa Rosa and north the scenery is simply beautiful - more hills, covered with trees and grassland or immaculate vinyards. The 4-lane divied 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 amoust 3/4 of the way around the country!!!

Later,

Mike

Recipe for toasting an LD Rider

2006-06-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

From El Paso to Yuma, AZ, I got pretty well toasted - 106* for about 4 hours. To amuse myself in this self imposed turture, for some reason I decided upon a recipe for toasting an LD Rider and spent most of the time going across this blistering hot stretch of land thinking of variations on this theme. See below for recipe.

At one stretch of this road in the middle of nowhere I come across this scene which makes me laugh even now. Here we are in the middle of absolutely nothing, 30 miles west of Gila Bend and 60 miles from anything in front of us. A car is in the right lane doing let's say 75. There are two cars in the left lane passing him; the front car in the left lane is doing all of 76 mph, passing the car on the right, but barely. There is another car behind him, on his bumper, waiting to pass as well. I'm approaching this entourage at 85+ and saying WTF????, thinking "There's not a cop or a town or a city or ANYTHING for 30 miles around - Pass!!!" After a mile of this song and dance, car #1 in the left lane finally makes a "Correct" pass and moves over to the right and shortly thereafter, care #2 in the left lane passes car # 1 and moves into the right lane. I've been cooling my heels for about 3 miles now and blast by both of them, giving them the finger as I pass. Back up to 85+ and finally somewhat cool again, both in body temperature and anger level

Anyway, please read the attachment belowbecause that is what I wrote instead of a ride report last night. I'll follow up with a more complete report later, but right now, I'm toast.

Later,

Mike

Recipe for Toasted LD Rider

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 geniune 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 detials 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 and darker, even more crispy crust, have the specimen wear a black jacket and black hemet. Even though these seem to be trivial details, there is a difference and it will be seen n 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 resuls, 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 fliud.

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

Enjoy!

Tyler , Tx to El Paso

2006-06-01T18:38:00.000-07:00

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, abot 100 miles east of Dallas. I fugured 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.

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, youll 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) (PS: For some reason I can't find the screen shot I took of the GPS - Imagine it!)

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 had an excellent Mexican omelet in Abilene and got back n 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 field. 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 soom. 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 comng 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 (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 - this is a pretty good pace for overall average
Drive time: 9:36
Stopped time: 1:49
Total time: 11:25
Cumulative miles: 6048 miles

Later,

Mike

Memorial Day

2006-05-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-28T17:04:00.000-07:00

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

Iron Buttin' it to Key West

2006-05-26T12:02:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-22T19:53:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

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

2006-05-21T19:10:00.000-07:00

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

Update

2006-05-17T19:57:00.000-07:00

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

The Route, Leg 1

2006-05-10T06:42:00.000-07:00

Missed Leg 1... sorry!

The Route

2006-05-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

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

Tigress is ready!

2006-05-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

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

Planning Part II

2006-04-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

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 everthing 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 tuneup 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 coulb probably get more stamps - Apostle Islands NL, a raft of them in Calumet, MI and maybe even Ft. Wilkins at the top of the Keewenaw Peninsula. And, ssince 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, 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 the a GPS Utility program, save it as a GSX file, then over to Garmin Mapsource, then the 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

Great Day!

2006-04-24T21:40:00.000-07:00

I returned from a visit to my dad in Michigan to find:

- formal documentation for the 4 Corners Tour - I've been waiting for that for 3 months...

- my Passport! Although it's not an absolute necessity, having a passport does make border crossings easier between Canada and the US.

- a notice from the guy who is building a backplate for me that it is ready and will be available on Sunday. This backplate fits behind the passenger seat and allows me to better mount and hold my travel bag. It's my design and I can't wait to see it.

Next things to do are to change oil, filter and rear end grease, make an appointment for tuneup, brakes and new tires at Action PowerSports and Tigress should be ready to roll.

Great Day!!!

Planning for the 4 Corners...

2006-04-15T16:43:00.000-07:00

Lists, lists, lists...

Who would have thought that a simple 21-day trip around the country would take so much planning? List for the bike, list for clothing,list for computer and electronics,list for documents to take, etc. etc. I think the lists are getting together and creating new lists.

Even though it is now 5 weeks from a planned start on 20 May, I'm still getting a little on edge about the whole thing.. Can I really put this all together and pull it off?

The idea started with the 4 Corners Tour, sponsored by the So. Cal. M/C Assn (SCMA). You ride and document your ride from any of the four corners of the continental US: Madawaska, ME, Key West, FL, San Ysidro, CA and Blaine, WA. It doesn't matter what order or what route you take, just visit those four cities and prove that you were there with a photo, a phone number from a specific telephone in that city and a receipt with date, time, etc. By my calculations, the minimum distance I have to ride is about 6700 miles. BUT, I had to get to the starting line in Madawaska (add 1300 miles) and get back from Blaine, WA (add 2700 miles)

One night I started thinking about the extreme corners of the United States... Where were they and how hard were they to reach? North, East and South points were pretty easy: North is Angle Inlet in Minnesota; East is West Quoddy Head in Maine, South is Key West, FL. There is considerable question, however about the westernmost point of the continental US. Is it Cape Flattery or Cape Alava in Washington state? Or, as some have suggested, is it Cape Mendocino, CA? No doubt that C. Mendocino is the westernmost point in California, but is it further west than either of the capes in Washington?

In additon to the 4 Corners and the extreme points of the country, I'm also doing a National Parks Tour - visit 50 National Parks, Historic sites, Landmarks, etc. in 25 states within one year. There aren't too many National sites around Milwaukee, so I'll have to make a long weekend ride to pick up states outside of the more easily accesible neighboring states. Ideally, I'd like to have some 25 stamps and 10 statesin the bag before I leave to ease the pressure of finding NPT sites. If I do that, the NPT sites will come as the states roll by.

So,,,,,,, the lists continue to grow.

Later,,,

Mike