Well we left on an ambitious plan to ride from NY to Florida, across to california, up to washington, and then back to NY.
. Lets see if the weather cooperates and allows us to complete this.
5/18 we left Miller Place, NY at 630am. destination today is Gastonia NC to visit Tony's daughter Shannon and family. Well we hit abit of traffic heading for the Veranzano Bridge. but then it was clear sailing. Jersey turnpike to Baltimore was fine. Went throught the tunnel, headed for Washington DC. the traffic around the west side of the loop was terrible. slow going till south of DC and started heading southwest... well we made it to shannon's about 7pm. Met tham at a local restaurant and had some dinner and maybe a drink or two. after dinner we went back to Shannon's and exchanged jokes. the best one was the interupting cow. ill use that one in my routine.
5/19 Sunday morning we got up, had some breakfast and were on the road by 11. Back to their house...i forgot my wallet there. we headed to Atlanta to my son David's house. he is planning to ride to florida with us. we arrived there at 3pm. Stayed at his house sunday night. He made a grat dinner for us. we have ridden about 1000 miles so far.
5/20 Monday morning we were up by 630am and let about 745 am. Said goodbye to the kids and the three of us were on the road heading south through Atlanta the traffic was heavy but moving. destination florida.
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| riding to Atlanta |
we decided to take back roads down there as this is David's first ride. So we took route 19 which starts just south of Atlanta. It was a nice road most of the time, passing peach farms and small towns with statues of civil war southern heroes. we eventually made it to Florida about 400 miles later. headed for tallahassee. after there we headed for Panama Beach. while stop at a light in traffic, Tony asked thisguy in a car next to us where a good place to eat on the beach was. So he siad follow me, im not working today. we followed him about 10 minutes and ended at the Schooner. they had parking in the front of the place maked "for harley parking only."
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| Easy Rider |
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| riding into the sunset in Mobile |
Tony and David ate a dozen oysters each. i ate none. they were big fat slimy looking things. I had a voodoo shrimp po boy. it was very tasty.
5/21 up early. had breakfast and prepared the bikes. said goodbye to David as he heads back to atlanta. he did a very good job riding. My brother said David was the second best rider on the trip.
so i said to him "why do you think you were the third best rider." he didnt laugh..
David made it safely home. we continued to Meridian Alabama to the Chunky River Harley Davidson store. Tony bought a backrest for his bike to help his aching back. we headed for Shrevesport Louisiana. on the way to Chunky River HD we road great back roads. no traffic. no traffic lights. and the temps were in the 70's and low 80's.
After installing the backrest on his bike we left chunky river HD heading for Shrevesport LA. temp rose steadily to 91/92. Tony started complaining about the heat, so i told him a cold front with rain and lightning was approaching Shrevesport from the west. well with only about 10 miles to go, we passed throught the front. temps dropped from 91 to 66 in a matter of minutes. we encountered a brief shower for about 5 minutes. by that time, we arrived in shrevesport. got a hotel and then dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
we finished today with 2000 miles already.
watching the weather reports but hope to get to arkansas, and oklahoma tomorrow. hopefully texas too.
stay tuned.
5/22 left Shrevesport at 7:45 am today. Cool temps - low 70's. Headed up to Texarkana Arkansas about 75 miles away. Nice, Lonely back roads with 65/70 mph speed limits.
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| lonely road |
Traveled route 30 into Texas, and then headed north to Paris Texas. Visited the Harley dealership in Paris. Left there and continued north on the Indian Nation Turnpike. Interesting this road had 3 tolls in 105 miles. we had no other tolls for the rest of the day.
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| thousands of wind millsin OK and TX |
left Oklahoma city and headed west. we thought we could make the texas panhandle. we did reach texas but kept going . ended the day in Amarillo Texas. got a hotel room and went out to eat dinner. went to the texas Big steak place - their claim to fame is if you can eat a 72 oz steak its free.
well we went to the bar and the service was absolutely the worst ever. after waiting about 10 minutes i waved the dim witted bartender down. i asked her if she was ignoring us. she said she didnt see us, despite taking care of a guy next to us. waited another 10 minutes for a menu. then 10 minutes to take order. when tony questioned why its taking so long she said she had other customers!
well there were about 7 people at the bar. and 3 bartenders. so thats understandable - NOT.
after waiting about half hour we decided to leave before the food came. terrible service. they were more interested in emptying and counting the tips in the tip jars on the bar than taking care of customers that would feed the tip jar.
back to the hotel. cover the bikes, forecast is for rain here in the morning with cool temps in the 60's/
we traveled about 650 miles today. so far we have covered 2700 miles.
tomorrow we should make it past texas, through new mexico, and into arizona.
5/23 we left Amarillo texas this morning at 730am. it was cool about 65 degrees. put on heated jacket. it was cloudy/overcast. we expected potentioal rain before reaching new mexico. it didnt rain, however after reaching new mexico and heading toward alburquerque we stopped to don rain
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| it was cold |
the temperature started dropping. we saw a low of 44 deg. then it started raining, and hailing. lasted only a brief time.
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| billboards in new mexico |
after reaching alburquerque we continued on to flagstaff. we crossed the continental divide at 7700 feet altitude.
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| continental divide |
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| new mexico |
all in all a very challenging day with cold temps, high winds, a bit of rain and hail riding 700 miles from amarillo texas through new mexico into arizona. we have covered over 3400 miles so far.
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| entering arizona |
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| arizona |
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| arizona landscape |
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| snow on mountains in flagstaff |
5/24 we woke up in Flagstaff , AZ this morning. It was 28
degrees out. By the time we left it was 33. we donned our heated jackets and gloves and headed out. they did a great job of keeping you warm. Although it was sunny, there was frost on the bike seats. the mountains near flagstaff were snow covered. Temperatures slowly rose to the 60's. when we reached Kingman, AZ we turned and headed to Las Vegas.
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| Stop for a drink |
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| nice ride toward Las Vegas |
degrees out. By the time we left it was 33. we donned our heated jackets and gloves and headed out. they did a great job of keeping you warm. Although it was sunny, there was frost on the bike seats. the mountains near flagstaff were snow covered. Temperatures slowly rose to the 60's. when we reached Kingman, AZ we turned and headed to Las Vegas.
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Finally we were approaching the Lake Mead watershed and looking for the bridge near the hOover dam. When we got there we saw a tremendous line of cars waiting to go toward the bridge and dam so we just continued on to Las Vegas.
the highway we were on bypassed the strip on the east side.
we kept going. next stop was Reno. Temps were in the 60's. the road to Reno had great scenery. But many turns and many routes.
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| passing las vegas |
All in all we exceeded 4000 miles, after covering 700 today. tomorrow we expect to be in Washington.
5/25 As i was preparing the photos i was falling asleep. i cant write tonig.......zzzzzzzzzz.
5/26 well we had a good day today, but first let me write about yeaterday.
yesterday we woke up in reno. while we were loading the bikes it started raining. it rained for about 5 minutes and stopped. so we got on route 395 headed for california. shortly after starting , we encountered rain again. temps were in the 40's as we headed north. soon we crossed the border into California. at the border there is an inspection station, so we pulled in. they were inspecting cars and trucks. they waved us through. i guess they were looking for illegals to instruct them what to do and maybe give them money to get to san francisco. we continued north on the eastern side of california toward oregon. In and out of rainmost of the day.
when we crossed the border into oregon. the southeastern part of oregon looks more like arizona, desert like, rock formations, sand. temps rose to the 60's and sunny.
We rode along the eastern side of Lake Abert, a large picturesque lake. Had to stop to take a few photos.
soon we were headed for the mountains. as the elevation increased, the temps dropped back to the 40's and we started seeing snow on the sides of the road. as we got near the summit we encountered snow on the road.
further north route 395 enters the Malheur National Forest. we now climbed to the summit as this mountain road weaved around turns. then down the other side, with turns and switchbacks for miles and miles. this was undoubtedly the best riding road on the trip so far.
Headed for Pendleton we again were in and out of rain as we rode the mountain roads. the last 10 miles we hit rain but managed to get to Pendleton and into a motel. Surprisingly only our pants from mid calf to the knee were wet thanks to the design of the bike.
After settling in to the room we headed to Roosters for dinner. you know the rest of the story. i couldnt keep my eyes open long enough to write.
.
5/26 we were on the road today by 730am after a good night's sleep. headed for Spokane Washington. Soon we crossed the Columbia river into Washington. we were in spokane about noon time. Gassed up and headed for Idaho. Passing through Couer D'alene, Idaho we continued on to Sandpoint where we stopped for lunch.Temps rose into the 60's. After lunch we rode route 2 north to Bonners ferry, at which point route 2 heads east.
Route 2 is a 2 lane road which heads east just below the canadian border. We were entering Kootenai National Forest when Tony pulled over. it was a parking lot for sightseeing the kootenai falls and a swinging bridge. so I happily jumped off the bike and went to take photos of the falls.
as i entered the trail i asked a guy how far a walk to the falls. He said "not far". so i said "less than half a mile?" and he said "oh yeah a couple of hundred yards. well....about half a mile walk, down a slippery path, climbing 4 flights of stairs to a walkway over the train tracks and then more walking i arrived at the falls. took a few shots and headed back. overall about 45 minutes for the trip. he was ready to send the search party. he said he made the walk when he was here last in 2003.
Back onthe road again heading to Kalispel Montana. we'd like to get there before dark so we dont have to ride in the night due to wildlife on the roads. Had a little on and off rain again , but nothing big. Finally entered Kalispel, got a hotel, went for dinner. a little gambling in the casino, and now blog time.
we passed 5000 miles about 20 miles from Kalispel. thats 5000 miles in 9 days of riding.
5/27 Got up in Kalispel Montana this morning and on the road at 830am. Heading for Glacier National Park. the weather was acceptable - no rain - high 40's. gradually climbed to 60's today.
we made it to the national park. Showed our senior citizens pass and entered the park. Fabulous place. stopped a few times to take photos of mountains and river. The road in the park enters from the west and exits in the east. however - not today. after traveling about 20 miles we were greeted by park rangers. the rest of the road was closed due to snow. so we had to turn around and head all the way back to where we entered the park. Damn - we missed the best part of the park, but i did get some nice photos.
so back on route 2 we traveled on. eventually we came to a construction zone. we had no idea how long the dirt road would be so we ventured on. for the next 10 miles we had to ride on dirt and gravel. very treacherous road. Dusty, gravely, dirty, and bumpy. road was filled with thousands of small potholes the whole way. it was so bad we expected to get a flat tire along the way. it was a real effort to keep the bike up and on the road. but we made it finally to the end, with no flats. and my computer made it too. i really expected the computer to not work after all those bumps.
we continued riding - saw some deer, and pronghorn antelopes. one ran across the road in front of us to catch up to the herd that had already crossed. they run very fast.
Made it to a town called Glasgow in the northeastern corner of Montana. Got a hotel, had dinner, and turned in for the night. Covered about 500 miles today. Tomorrow we expect to be through North Dakota.
5/28 we left Glasgow Montana early in 48 deg clear weather. the ride was fairly flat with no exciting terrain. we hit a couple of road construction areas which are difficult riding through. when we left montana and arrived in Williston North Dakota we stopped at the Black Magic Harley dealership. we had the oil changed. two hours after arriving we were on our way again.
after taking a few photos while riding i realized that the camera was not recording the shots. when i looked closer i found that the memory card was missing. apparently last night after working on the photos i didnt put the card back from the computer to the camera . when we stopped for gas i checked the computer and found nothing. the card is gone. fortunately i had transferred all the photos from the card to the computer so i didnt lose anything. we stopped at a target store in Minot ND to buy a new card. north western North Dakota has alot of oil wells pumping oil. Didnt see any in the eastern half of ND.
we made it to Grand Forks on the border of ND and Minnesota. about 550 miles today and 6000 for the trip. Along the route we passed the geographical center of North America. Exciting.
5/29 we left Grand forks ND and traveled through minnesota and wisonsin 550 miles to end in Escanoba Michigan.
we have been riding back roads since we left california. while they are more scenic with less traffic they take longer due to lower speed limits and riding through towns along the way.
5/30 we left escanoba headed for Mackinac bridge. we finally made the bridge. it crosses between the great lakes Superior and michigan. it is also very high. it was very windy as we crossed.
we were headed toward detroit and expected rain before detroit. radar showed it ending after detroit. we were lucky we avoided rain. after detroit the sky was blue. made it to ohio and expected to hit rain after toledo. well the storm was heading east and we caught up to it. so we decided to end the days ride after about 600 miles.
we expect to be home tomorrow with about 500 miles to go.
5/31 we got up in Amherst Ohio. had breakfast. left about 9am because we didnt want to get to NYC in rush hour. well the ride through ohio, pennsylvania, and new jersey was uneventful. we avoided rain. actually the only time we had rain where our pants got wet was back in reno nevada. other than that the radar app helped us plan the trip to avoid the rain.
we stopped for lunch in pennsylvania to kill more time. unfortunately we arrived near George washington bridge about 6pm. traffic was terrible. came to a standstill about 10 miles from the bridge. essentially walking the bikes now. and it was hot. bikes getting hot. so after a while we decided to ride the shoulder. made it to about 1/2 mile from toll booth when we ran out of shoulder. finally walked past the toll to wall to wall traffic on the bridge, followed by bumper to bumper on the dreaded cross bronx depressway. that was followed by bumper to bumper approaching the throgs neck bridge, and then crawling on the cross island.
what a miserable hour and a half. finally opened up on the long island expressway HOV lane.
worst roads, and worst traffic on the whole trip.
made it home.
we traveled nearly 7700 miles in 14 days. we completed the journey riding in the last 11 states that i needed to ride in all 50 states. My brother has already riden in 49. he hasnt been to hawaii.
we rode on 2 lane back roads for much of the trip, like route 2 along the northern border with canada from washington to michigan. they are a little slower and longer, but much more scenic, and better motorcycle roads. it was interesting to see a lot of small towns displaying american flags on street posts through the town. and many of the roads were dedicated to veterans of various wars. far different perspectives than the coasts.
lets start planning the next trip.
5/26 well we had a good day today, but first let me write about yeaterday.
yesterday we woke up in reno. while we were loading the bikes it started raining. it rained for about 5 minutes and stopped. so we got on route 395 headed for california. shortly after starting , we encountered rain again. temps were in the 40's as we headed north. soon we crossed the border into California. at the border there is an inspection station, so we pulled in. they were inspecting cars and trucks. they waved us through. i guess they were looking for illegals to instruct them what to do and maybe give them money to get to san francisco. we continued north on the eastern side of california toward oregon. In and out of rainmost of the day. 
We rode along the eastern side of Lake Abert, a large picturesque lake. Had to stop to take a few photos.
soon we were headed for the mountains. as the elevation increased, the temps dropped back to the 40's and we started seeing snow on the sides of the road. as we got near the summit we encountered snow on the road.
further north route 395 enters the Malheur National Forest. we now climbed to the summit as this mountain road weaved around turns. then down the other side, with turns and switchbacks for miles and miles. this was undoubtedly the best riding road on the trip so far.Headed for Pendleton we again were in and out of rain as we rode the mountain roads. the last 10 miles we hit rain but managed to get to Pendleton and into a motel. Surprisingly only our pants from mid calf to the knee were wet thanks to the design of the bike.
After settling in to the room we headed to Roosters for dinner. you know the rest of the story. i couldnt keep my eyes open long enough to write.
.
5/26 we were on the road today by 730am after a good night's sleep. headed for Spokane Washington. Soon we crossed the Columbia river into Washington. we were in spokane about noon time. Gassed up and headed for Idaho. Passing through Couer D'alene, Idaho we continued on to Sandpoint where we stopped for lunch.Temps rose into the 60's. After lunch we rode route 2 north to Bonners ferry, at which point route 2 heads east.
Route 2 is a 2 lane road which heads east just below the canadian border. We were entering Kootenai National Forest when Tony pulled over. it was a parking lot for sightseeing the kootenai falls and a swinging bridge. so I happily jumped off the bike and went to take photos of the falls.
as i entered the trail i asked a guy how far a walk to the falls. He said "not far". so i said "less than half a mile?" and he said "oh yeah a couple of hundred yards. well....about half a mile walk, down a slippery path, climbing 4 flights of stairs to a walkway over the train tracks and then more walking i arrived at the falls. took a few shots and headed back. overall about 45 minutes for the trip. he was ready to send the search party. he said he made the walk when he was here last in 2003.Back onthe road again heading to Kalispel Montana. we'd like to get there before dark so we dont have to ride in the night due to wildlife on the roads. Had a little on and off rain again , but nothing big. Finally entered Kalispel, got a hotel, went for dinner. a little gambling in the casino, and now blog time.
we passed 5000 miles about 20 miles from Kalispel. thats 5000 miles in 9 days of riding.
5/27 Got up in Kalispel Montana this morning and on the road at 830am. Heading for Glacier National Park. the weather was acceptable - no rain - high 40's. gradually climbed to 60's today.
we made it to the national park. Showed our senior citizens pass and entered the park. Fabulous place. stopped a few times to take photos of mountains and river. The road in the park enters from the west and exits in the east. however - not today. after traveling about 20 miles we were greeted by park rangers. the rest of the road was closed due to snow. so we had to turn around and head all the way back to where we entered the park. Damn - we missed the best part of the park, but i did get some nice photos.
so back on route 2 we traveled on. eventually we came to a construction zone. we had no idea how long the dirt road would be so we ventured on. for the next 10 miles we had to ride on dirt and gravel. very treacherous road. Dusty, gravely, dirty, and bumpy. road was filled with thousands of small potholes the whole way. it was so bad we expected to get a flat tire along the way. it was a real effort to keep the bike up and on the road. but we made it finally to the end, with no flats. and my computer made it too. i really expected the computer to not work after all those bumps.
we continued riding - saw some deer, and pronghorn antelopes. one ran across the road in front of us to catch up to the herd that had already crossed. they run very fast.
Made it to a town called Glasgow in the northeastern corner of Montana. Got a hotel, had dinner, and turned in for the night. Covered about 500 miles today. Tomorrow we expect to be through North Dakota.
5/28 we left Glasgow Montana early in 48 deg clear weather. the ride was fairly flat with no exciting terrain. we hit a couple of road construction areas which are difficult riding through. when we left montana and arrived in Williston North Dakota we stopped at the Black Magic Harley dealership. we had the oil changed. two hours after arriving we were on our way again.
after taking a few photos while riding i realized that the camera was not recording the shots. when i looked closer i found that the memory card was missing. apparently last night after working on the photos i didnt put the card back from the computer to the camera . when we stopped for gas i checked the computer and found nothing. the card is gone. fortunately i had transferred all the photos from the card to the computer so i didnt lose anything. we stopped at a target store in Minot ND to buy a new card. north western North Dakota has alot of oil wells pumping oil. Didnt see any in the eastern half of ND.
we made it to Grand Forks on the border of ND and Minnesota. about 550 miles today and 6000 for the trip. Along the route we passed the geographical center of North America. Exciting.
5/29 we left Grand forks ND and traveled through minnesota and wisonsin 550 miles to end in Escanoba Michigan.
we have been riding back roads since we left california. while they are more scenic with less traffic they take longer due to lower speed limits and riding through towns along the way.
5/30 we left escanoba headed for Mackinac bridge. we finally made the bridge. it crosses between the great lakes Superior and michigan. it is also very high. it was very windy as we crossed.
we were headed toward detroit and expected rain before detroit. radar showed it ending after detroit. we were lucky we avoided rain. after detroit the sky was blue. made it to ohio and expected to hit rain after toledo. well the storm was heading east and we caught up to it. so we decided to end the days ride after about 600 miles.
we expect to be home tomorrow with about 500 miles to go.
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| passed caravan with windmill blades. they are HUGE. |
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| lonely rural road in minnesota |
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| most small towns display US flags |
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| entering MIchigan |
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| stop to wash the bike |
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| Lake michigan lighthouse |
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| following 2 chaps from Saskatchewan |
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| crossing the Mackinac bridge |
we stopped for lunch in pennsylvania to kill more time. unfortunately we arrived near George washington bridge about 6pm. traffic was terrible. came to a standstill about 10 miles from the bridge. essentially walking the bikes now. and it was hot. bikes getting hot. so after a while we decided to ride the shoulder. made it to about 1/2 mile from toll booth when we ran out of shoulder. finally walked past the toll to wall to wall traffic on the bridge, followed by bumper to bumper on the dreaded cross bronx depressway. that was followed by bumper to bumper approaching the throgs neck bridge, and then crawling on the cross island.
what a miserable hour and a half. finally opened up on the long island expressway HOV lane.
worst roads, and worst traffic on the whole trip.
made it home.
we traveled nearly 7700 miles in 14 days. we completed the journey riding in the last 11 states that i needed to ride in all 50 states. My brother has already riden in 49. he hasnt been to hawaii.
we rode on 2 lane back roads for much of the trip, like route 2 along the northern border with canada from washington to michigan. they are a little slower and longer, but much more scenic, and better motorcycle roads. it was interesting to see a lot of small towns displaying american flags on street posts through the town. and many of the roads were dedicated to veterans of various wars. far different perspectives than the coasts.
lets start planning the next trip.
