Cliff's 48 state ride

48 States - Recap

2010-06-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday May 22 thru Wednesday June 16, 2010

Start Location: Flagstaff, AZ

End Location: Flagstaff, AZ

End Trip Miles: 10,049.7

States: 48 contiguous states plus the District of Columbia

Comments:

My goal was to avoid big cities, Interstates, freeways, toll roads, etc. as much as possible in order to see what the local areas were like. I was able to do this better than I anticipated. Probably only 3-400 miles of interstate type roads and no big cities. Nowhere did I encounter traffic congestion other than along the coast of the panhandle of Florida and in upper New Jersey. I did not find any unsafe situations due to road conditions, traffic in general or rude or unsafe drivers. I tried to take a picture of a “Welcome to …….” Sign for each state and of a post office with the city and state name. I think I got a Welcome sign for every state but Maryland and a post office for every state but Nebraska and Wyoming.

Before starting out I was a little concerned about going this time of year because of the possibility of rainy spring weather and the start of summer tourist traffic. In general, the weather was very good to me. Had a few rain storms but only a couple of drenchings but did have more very windy conditions than I would have liked. Tourist traffic, motel availability, crowded stops were never a problem. Maybe still early in the season or the economy.

It would be a hard call to name the best thing of the trip. All of the areas were green with new spring growth so lots of natural beauty everywhere. I really was impressed with West Point. I really enjoyed riding in the whole Appalachian Mountain zone from northern Georgia up into New England. Very beautiful scenery and very good roads for motorcycling. Almost everywhere in New Mexico and Montana are wonderful. And certainly being able to see my granddaughter Arielle and sister Ruth were high points.

What would I do different if there was to be a next time? I was well prepared as far as what to carry, route planning, etc. I tried to save space by using regional maps which were ok a lot of the time, but frequently did not provide the detail I wanted. It would have been worth the trouble to have state level maps. As always, I wish I had stopped to take more pictures and do a bit more on-foot exploring.

A great trip!!!

What's the deal on the pics? The valley view is representative of much of the eastern mountain vistas I had for quit a few miles. Is that the travelocity gnome or what?

48 States - Day 26

2010-06-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

Date: Wednesday June 16,2010

Start Location: Ely, NV

Start Time: 06:50am PDT

Start Trip Miles: 9,534.2

End Location: Flagstaff, AZ (Home)

End Time: 04:20pm MST

End Trip Miles: 10,049.7

Day Miles: 515.5

States: Nevada, Utah, Arizona

Comments: The theme for the day is Home Sweet Home!! Fought the strongest wind of the trip all day today. Significantly worse than the first few days that I complained about. I was focused on the wind and getting home so the pic of the day isn’t much. By the way, it was taken at Colorado City.

In the next day or two I’ll add a recap but that’s it for now.

Very glad I did it but also glad to be home.

48 States - Day 25

2010-06-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday June 15, 2010

Start Location: Lakeview, OR

Start Time: 06:30am PDT

Start Trip Miles: 9,006.9

End Location: Ely, NV

End Time: 04:20pm PDT

End Trip Miles: 9,534.2

Day Miles: 527.3

States: Oregon, California, Nevada

Comments: The theme for the day is US Hwy 50 – the loneliest highway in America. It very well might be as there was very little traffic on the 260 miles from Fallon to Ely, NV. The road is completely within the basin/range geology that extends throughout basically all of Nevada. If I remember Geology 101 correctly these mountains are unusual as they were not formed by being thrust up but rather by having the “basin” fall on either side of them as the earth’s crust stretched and cracked. There were about 5 or six sets of basins and ranges in the 260 miles so each was about 40 miles from range to range. Many of the basins were dried up lake beds. See the pic, which is not a very good picture of one of the basins with the ranges in the background. The formations generally are north/south oriented.

One more day.

48 States - Day 24

2010-06-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Date: Monday June 14, 2010

Start Location: Enterprise, OR

Start Time: 07:40am PDT

Start Trip Miles: 8,583.4

End Location: Lakeview, OR

End Time: 05:15pm PDT

End Trip Miles: 9,006.9

Day Miles: 423.5

States: Oregon

Comments: The theme for today is “all Oregon, all the time”. Spent all day in Oregon. I was talking to another rider at the motel in the morning and he asked if I had been to Joseph. Said I never heard of it. He said it was just 6 or 7 miles up the road, not in the direction I was heading, and that the streets were lined with sculptures. Sounded like I should give it a visit so I did. Had a great huge pecan roll and coffee for breakfast and indeed there are bronze sculptures on every corner and a few in between. They are of a western theme or wildlife. Apparently a sculpture started a bronze foundary back 30 or 40 years ago and it attracted other sculptors and foundries so it is quite well known for this work. See pics.

I found other good guys in Oregon at AC Power Sports, a Suzuki dealer in Island City, OR. I stopped by to see if I could get an oil change and they took it right in. Out in less than and hour. Great service.

I was expecting eastern Oregon to be mostly high desert. Turns out the northern part is quit mountainous and very nice but slower riding than I expected. South of Burns, OR is does turn flatter and mostly sagebrush so picked up some time there.

Four more states to go – including Arizona.

48 States - Day 23

2010-06-13T19:48:00.000-07:00

Date: Sunday June 13,2010

Start Location: White Sulphur Springs, MT

Start Time: 07:10am MDT

Start Trip Miles: 8,073.3

End Location: Enterprise, OR

End Time: 05:00pm PDT

End Trip Miles: 8,583.6

Day Miles: 510.3

States: Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon

Comments: The theme for today is Ramble 6. Started the day looking at the bank sign across the street which said the temp was 37F. The real deal was that the sun was shining and not a cloud in the sky. The first sunshine since Wednesday. I sucked it up and started out. I had decided to take a more direct route, staying on US Hwy 12 rather than going a loop south which I have not seen for a long time. Cut about 3 hours riding time. I’ll have to go back and do it some other time. The net effect was the most spectacular riding day of the trip. The weather was great, stayed sunny, and the scenery was wonderful even with having to do about 70 miles on I90 which for an Interstate is a very nice ride. Rode over Lolo Pass which yesterday I thought might be very cold and nasty. As it turned out it was great. The road down from the top of the pass follows the Clearwater River for about 170 miles, and I mean right along the bank, until it joins the Snake River in Lewiston, ID. The river is very popular for rafting, kayaking and fishing.

From Clarkston, WA, think Lewis & Clark, which is across the Snake River from Lewiston I took WA 129 south to connect with OR 3. This is a very interesting road as it switchbacks up from the Snake River, then to a pass of 3,900+ ft and then switchbacks down to the Grande Rhonde River and then switchbacks up to what seemed to be as high as the other pass.

Pics are of a valley from McDonald Pass just outside of Helena, MT and the Clearwater River in Idaho.

48 States - Day 22

2010-06-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday, June 12, 2010

Start Location: Belle Fourche, SD

Start Time: 06:30am MDT

Start Trip Miles: 7,611.8

End Location: White Sulphur Springs, MT

End Time: 04:00pm MDT

End Trip Miles: 8,073.3

Day Miles: 461.5

States: South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana

Comments: The theme for today is cold. Not bitter cold just uncomfortably cold. When I went through Roundup, MT there was a swimming meet going on. All of the motels had signs saying “Welcome Swimmers” so I’m guessing it was a high school regional meet of some kind. There were a lot of people gathered around the outdoor community pool. The bank sign said 53F. Not my cup of tea. See pic of low clouds and new snow on the Crazy Mountains between Roundup and White Sulphur Springs.

See another pic of the Stockman’s Bar in White Sulphur Springs. Ivan Doig writes about his father running this bar/restaurant, I think, in the 1940s in his auto biography of his childhood, “This House of Sky”, a book I liked very much.

Hoping for warmer weather tomorrow but not likely as I will be going over Lolo Pass into Idaho. With luck it won’t be snowing.

My spell checker throw up on spelling sulfur with a PH rather than an F but that is how the town spells it.

48 States - Day 21

2010-06-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Date: Friday June 11,2010

Start Location: Milbank, SD

Start Time: 07:15am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 7,117.2

End Location: Belle Fourche, SD

End Time: 04:35pm MDT

End Trip Miles: 7,611.8

Day Miles: 494.6

States: South Dakota, North Dakota, South Dakota again

Comments: The theme of the day is US Hwy 12. I saw a sign that said that US 12 was the first coast to coast highway. Wikipedia says it now goes from the coast of Washington state to Detroit. Don’t know where on the east coast it once touched. At any rate I got on it at Ortonville, MN and will stay on it through South and North Dakota and most of Montana. I do have to dip down to catch a corner of Wyoming and then will go back up north and re-connect with it in Miles City, MT.

Today was a weird weather day. Last night a series of thunder storms went through Miland, SD and it rained in the night. In the morning it was wet but not raining and the clouds were very low. When I went up on a hill or ridge, it was in the clouds and visibility was well less than 100 yds. After about 20 miles it cleared and was warm and sunny. Just as I was reaching the Missouri River, I could see that something was going on and the wind came up from the north and was cold. Actually turned on my heated jacket in the afternoon.

Pics of the day are a Hwy 12 sign and the bridge over the Missouri River near Mobridge, SD.

48 States - Day 20

2010-06-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Date: Thursday June 10,2010

Start Location: Ames, IA

Start Time: 07:40am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 6,680.3

End Location: Milbank, SD

End Time: 05:50pm CDT

End Trip Miles: 7,117.2

Day Miles: 436.9

States: Iowa, Nebraska, Iowa again, Minnesota, South Dakota

Comments: The theme of the day is famous cities, well towns or villages. At the top of the list is Le Mars, IA the ice cream capital of the world. But just up the road is Madison, MN the Lutefisk capital of the US. It’s almost overwhelming.

Started the day riding west into a storm front. After about an hour it started raining and rained for the next two or two and a half hours until just before the Nebraska border, sometimes pretty hard. The afternoon was dry so all is well.

48 States - Day 19

2010-06-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Date: Wednesday June 9, 2010

Start Location: Ames, IA

Start Time:

Start Trip Miles:

End Location: Ames, IA

End Time:

End Trip Miles:

Day Miles:

States: Iowa

Comments: The theme for today is Ames, Iowa. Spent the day here relaxing at the home of my sister Ruth. I met a cousin, Gary Aitcheson – not a first cousin. his father Clarence was my father’s cousin – for the first time who lives in Ames and went over some family history. Then went with my sister to visit a living sculpture made from willow branches. Very large and very unique. Then visited a garden on the grounds of Iowa State university. Everything was very green and/or in bloom. In the evening I went with my brother-in-law Jim who is a professor of Chemical Engineering at ISU and an advisor to an organization of multi-discipline engineering students. This group has built a solar car and entered it in a race with other university teams for a number of years. The group was burning the mid-night oil to prepare this year’s entry to leave tomorrow for a race from Tulsa OK to Chicago Il. See pics. Looks like they have a lot left to do but Jim says they always get in done in time.

Enjoyed the relaxing break from the ride but will be back on it tomorrow.

48 States - Day 18

2010-06-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday June 8, 2010

Start Location: Dubuque, IA

Start Time: 07:55am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 6,385.8

End Location: Ames, IA

End Time: 04:00pm CDT

End Trip Miles: 6,680.3

Day Miles: 294.5

States: Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa again

Comments: The theme for today is Ramble 4, or is it 5. The day started in the rain. Went across the Mississippi River for the third and fourth time as I crossed into Wisconsin, rode for about 10 miles to find a post office to photograph and back the same way. After about an hour I stopped and called the Suzuki dealer in Des Moines about a tire. I was getting a bit panicked since the first three dealers I had talked to didn’t have a tire in stock. Struthers Brothers in Des Moines had a tire and would mount it this afternoon so I changed my route to get me there as quickly as possible. The rain continued for about another hour or so and then stopped for the rest of the day. Good service again at Struthers Brothers so I am now riding on good rubber again. BTW bikers – they had a huge selection of Triumph bikes. The first time I’ve seen Triumphs in a multiple Japanese brand dealer.

No pic of the day today. Maybe tomorrow some local Ames, IA sights.

48 States - Day 17

2010-06-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

Date: Monday June 7, 2010

Start Location: Monticello, IN

Start Time: 07:35EDT

Start Trip Miles: 5,887.2

End Location: Dubuque, IA

End Time: 06:00CDT

End Trip Miles: 6,385.8

Day Miles: 498.6

States: Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Iowa again

Comments: I guess the theme for today will be Ramble 4. I was wondering why I was feeling tired tonight and then realized I had done more miles than usual, rode later in the afternoon and gained an hour. The pic of the day is of the Spoon River, west of Peoria, Il. I didn’t realize there was a Spoon River as I believe the town of Spoon River made famous by the book of poems The Spoon River Anthology was fictional. If I recall correctly, the book was the one and only work of a professional person, attorney, I think. The poems are stories about people in the graveyard. Again, as I recall.

Tomorrow I will be going to Ames to visit my sister Ruth and brother-in-law Jim. I’ll stay in Ames on Wednesday and pick up the trip on Thursday – providing I can get my rear tire replaced. Otherwise I will have to wait ‘til I do as it is getting pretty worn.

48 States - Day 16

2010-06-06T18:15:00.000-07:00

Date: Sunday June 6, 2010

Start Location: Cuyahoga Falls, OH

Start Time: 06:10EDT

Start Trip Miles: 5,468.2

End Location: Monticello, IN

End Time: 04:20EDT

End Trip Miles: 5,887.2

Day Miles: 419.0

States: Ohio, Michigan, Ohio again, Indiana

Comments: The theme for today is Indiana. As I crossed the border from Ohio into Indiana, I thought of a TV personality from the early 60s or maybe radio from even earlier. I didn’t watch much TV then and I can’t remember his name. I do recall he always made a big deal of being from Indiana and the Wabash river. He may have been a host of a variety show of some kind. I looked on the internet for Indiana celebrities and didn’t see him there. I did see two writers I like a lot – Edward Abbey and Kurt Vonneagut, Jr. Maybe I’m dreaming but if anyone else remembers that far back and the guy’s name, let me know.

Pic of the day is the Wabash river looking muddy and running high from the recent rains.

Home free for the day on the rain. Hope for a repeat tomorrow.

48 States - Day 15

2010-06-05T16:19:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday June 5, 2010

Start Location: Wysox, PA

Start Time: 07:20am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 5,120.0

End Location: Cuyahoga Falls, OH

End Time: 04:15pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 5,468.2

Day Miles: 348.2

States: Pennsylvania, Ohio

Comments: The theme for the day is trees. Other than some natural gas drilling and exploration around Towanda, all there seems to be in northern Pennsylvania is trees. I wanted to take a picture but there were always trees in the way. With all of the trees I didn’t see much sign of logging, lumber mills, paper mills, etc. I couldn’t figure out how people here make a living. I finally found a spot with no trees – see pic.

There were predictions of heavy rains toward the east. I was going west and all morning it was heavy overcast and threatening, but no rain so I thought maybe I skirted around it. No go – it started raining about 12:30 and pretty much kept it up through the afternoon, sometimes pretty heavy so when I saw a hotel conveniently located with a Red Lobster on one side and a, wait for it, Dunkin Doughnuts on the other, I had to stop. Just as I started to my room, it really started coming down so I was glad I had stopped, not just for the food.

48 States - Day 14

2010-06-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

Date: Friday June 4, 2010

Start Location: Nashua, NH

Start Time: 07:45am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 4,756.9

End Location: Wysox, PA

End Time: 05:45pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 5,120.0

Day Miles: 363.1

States: New Hampshire, Vermont, New York – again, Pennsylvania

Comments: The theme of the day is more good guys. This time in Bennington, VT at Ronnie’s Cycle. I had looked up several Suzuki dealers along the route for the day. Ronnie’s was the first one on the list so I stopped there about 11:00. I asked the service manager, Dave, if he could fit me into his schedule for a periodic maintenance. To my surprise, he said sure, we can do it right now. Long story short, I was on the road by 1:00, set for another 3,500 miles. Thanks Dave.

Here is some more Dunkin Doughnuts stuff. I predictably stopped for breakfast and ordered coffee and two doughnuts. The clerk said I get one doughnut free. I thought maybe today was old guy Friday or something. Later Patty texted me saying today was National Doughnut Day. WoW!! As I was eating, I looked at the sales receipt and saw that a doughnut cost $0.92. This puts a new twist on the saying “I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts that …….” Indicating long odds. With today’s prices that makes it almost even money.

Pic of the day is of Ronnie’s Cycle.

48 States - Day 13

2010-06-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Date: Thursday June 3, 2010

Start Location: Berlin, CT

Start Time: 07:30am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 4,453.0

End Location: Nashua, NH

End Time: 04:25pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 4,756.9

Day Miles: 303.9

States: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Hampshire again

Comments: Lots of states today. Several choices for a theme so I’m going for Ramble 3. My favorite breakfast treat is a Dunkin Doughnut, old fashioned cake with no icing. There is no DD within 100 miles of Flagstaff and you really have to know where to look to find one in Phoenix. This morning I counted 3 within 5 miles of the hotel. They seem to be everywhere. It looks like CT, MA and NH are hotbeds of DD activity.

Made it to the Atlantic Ocean in NH and in Maine. See pics. The sandy beach is Salisbury Beach in NH. The boats are in Maine, just over the state line and just minutes before a heavy rain started. Had showers off and on most of the afternoon.

Today I have touched over half of the states and gone as far east as I will go. I haven’t done half the miles yet so I’m not sure if I have half of the days. Probably not quit. Tomorrow I am going to try to get the bike serviced again. Had good luck in Paris, TX so maybe I’ll be lucky again.

48 States - Day 12

2010-06-02T18:03:00.000-07:00

Date: Wednesday June 2, 2010

Start Location: Rockaway, NJ

Start Time: 07:20am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 4,229.3

End Location: Berlin, CT

End Time: 04:50pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 4,453.0

Day Miles: 223.7

States: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut

Comments: The theme for today is the United States Military Academy at West Point. I was kind of curious about it so I stopped, expecting to spend a few minutes at the visitor center and ended up staying almost 3 hours. Since 9/11 regular people have to go on a tour. I think before that you could wonder around on your own. The cadets were not there. They were all out in the field training and the new class doesn’t show up ‘til later in June. At any rate West Point has got to be a contender for the most beautiful campus anywhere. I suppose that being spring has a lot to do with it.

Pic of the day is the Hudson River from West Point.

After my complaining about yesterday’s traffic, today was great and all of the scenery was spectacular. The GPS did it to me again in western Connecticut - this time the paving did run out for a few miles. Not many miles today given the visit to West Point and taking all back roads. A really enjoyable day but I’ll never get home if I don’t pick up the pace.

48 States - Day 11

2010-06-01T18:30:00.001-07:00

Date: Tuesday June 1, 2010

Start Location: Culpeper, VA

Start Time: 08:45am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 3,876.0

End Location: Rockaway, NJ

End Time: 6:00pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 4,229.3

Day Miles: 353.3

States: Virginia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Deleware, New Jersey

Comments: The theme of the day is the nation’s capital. Culpeper is about 70 miles from Washington so I waited to leave in order to miss morning rush hour. Actually I did laundry. The ride to DC went pretty much as expected or maybe even better. The GPS maps turned out to be somewhat out of date so it was asking for turns onto streets that no longer exist around the Capital area. I parked the bike in an illegal parking space along the mall and took the pics.

The ride from DC to Maryland and Delaware was pretty nice. Once I got on the New Jersey turnpike it was fast riding almost to Newark. That’s where the frustration began. I expected and was happy to pay the turnpike toll and the Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay bridge tolls. The Garden State Parkway which requires exact change in coins is another thing. At one toll booth, I just threw all the change I had in the hopper and went on through. I presume there is no extradition agreement between NJ and AZ for such things. Traffic on the Garden State and I280 and I80 was really bad. Stop and go with top speeds of about 20. Hope this is the end of the bad traffic until the Boston area.

Happy to stop for the night.

48 States - Day 10

2010-05-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Date: Monday May 31, 2010

Start Location: Culpeper, VA

Start Time: 08:30am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 3,689.5

End Location: Culpeper, VA

End Time: 05:00pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 3,876.0

Day Miles: 186.5

States: Virginia

Comments: I either have to have two themes for today or Ramble 2. I guess I’ll go with Ramble 2. I started the day by meeting my granddaughter Arielle (see pic) and her husband Elliot in Mechanicsburg, VA, about half way between Culpeper and Norfolk where Elliott is stationed with the Navy and Arielle is attending Old Dominion University. We met for breakfast. Fortunately the service was very slow so we got a lot of time to catch up. Elliott is expecting to be deployed (no idea what or where) in the fall so they are making the most of their time until then. It was great seeing them.

I had promised myself that I would visit a Civil War battlefield on this trip. I am embarrassingly not knowledgeable about the Civil War – only what I can remember from grade school history. I stopped at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. The Union Army was defeated at both battle sites about six months apart in a couple of the deadliest days of the war. Chancellorsville was where Stonewall Jackson was wounded by "friendly" fire and died a few days later. The other pic is from the Chancellorsville battlefield.

48 States - Day 9

2010-05-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Date: Sunday May 30, 2010

Start Location: Bluefield, WV

Start Time: 08:00am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 3,290.4

End Location: Culpeper, VA

End Time: 04:50pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 3,689.5

Day Miles: 399.1

States: West Virginia, Virginia again, again

Comments: The theme for today is “West Virginia, mountain mamma” which I believe is a phrase from John Denver’s song Country Roads. I can’t remember how mountain mamma fits in but I’m sure it made sense in the 70’s. I remember a guy in college from WV who said that if WV was flattened out it would be as big as Texas. I’m sure that’s not true, but as far as I can tell it is all mountains and valleys. At any rate I had a lot of WV time today and it was very scenic and good riding.

I have put in two pics for today. The bridge spans New River Gorge. Until recently it was the highest span bridge in the world, now just the western hemisphere. It is also the third longest single span bridge in the world. WV likes it so much they put it on their quarter. The other pic is of Seneca Rocks – an interesting formation and a national recreation area.

48 States - Day 8

2010-05-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday May 29, 2010

Start Location: Knoxville, TN

Start Time: 09:05am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 2,990.0

End Location: Bluefield, WV

End Time: 04:40pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 3,290.4

Day Miles: 300.4

States: Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia again, West Virginia

Comments: The theme for today is maps. Yesterday I took a longer and more arduous detour than I had to because I didn’t have a map with enough detail. Today, I followed the GPS route but because my map didn’t have enough detail, I had no idea where I was in the big picture for much of the afternoon. I have been using the AAA regional maps. It seemed like a good idea because most of the time I can ride the full day with the map folded to fit the tank bag. (has a clear plastic top so I can see the map while riding). When I looked at maps of the west, it seemed fine as there are only a few paved roads and the map shows all of them at that level of detail. What I found is that in the east, where there are many paved roads, the regional map only shows a few of the state and local roads. A lesson learned.

I was pretty tired after yesterday’s 12 hour ride so I allowed myself to sleep in and then start the day on the Interstate to cut some of today’s riding time. Not many trucks probably because of the long weekend so the 120 miles or so of I40/I81 were not too bad.

The pic of the day is from a scenic view off of Hwy 23 in far western Virginia. Very beautiful country and a bit more open, at least in spots, so it is not like riding down the green tunnel like in the flat heavily wooded land of LA and southern MS and AL.

Made arrangements to meet up with granddaughter Arielle and her husband Elliott on Monday for breakfast. I am really looking forward to that.

48 States - Day 7

2010-05-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

Date: Friday May 28, 2010

Start Location: Byron, GA

Start Time: 7:36am EDT

Start Trip Miles: 2,481.2

End Location: Knoxville, TN

End Time: 08:00pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 2,990.0

Day Miles: 508.8

States: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee

Comments: The theme of the day is don’t repeat mistakes. As in the shake down ride, I didn’t check for road closures. This time Hwy 129 was closed causing about a 150 mile detour. To compound matters, I didn’t find out ‘til late afternoon, it was raining, and my map didn’t have good detail of the area so I wondered around lost for a while. I did survive though. It brings up the question of “make hotel reservations or not”. Do you make reservations and then not worry about arriving late and not being able to find a hotel or not make a reservation and be able to stop where and when you please. I had made reservations because of the Memorial Day weekend so I pressed on when I otherwise would have probably stopped sooner.

In yesterday’s ramble I forgot to mention that I rode through Plains, GA – home of Jimmy Carter. There was a sign pointing the way to his childhood farm home as well as a visitor center in the town.

The pic of the day is some flowering bush beside the road. It seems like I should know what it is but it does not come to mind.

48 States - Day 6

2010-05-27T18:08:00.000-07:00

Date: Thursday May 27, 2010

Start Location: Foley, AL

Start Time: 08:20am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 2,082.5

End Location: Byron, GA

End Time: 06:10pm EDT

End Trip Miles: 2,481.2

Day Miles: 398.7

States: Alabama, Florida, back to Alabama, Georgia

Comments: Gosh, I can’t come up with a theme of the day so I’ll call it Rambling – actually I’ll call it Rambling 1 as I’m sure there will be more. The day started between a rock and a hard place. I knew that riding down the coastal road would be slow and frustrating and also knew that if I took the interstate I would hate it and wish I had taken the coast road. Ended up taking the coast road and it was slow and frustrating. Once I got off of it, everything was good again.

Had an interesting GPS experience. It took me off of a good highway onto a very narrow road. I thought the pavement might end but it stayed paved. Went right into the middle of the south Georgia woods. I came upon a very nice lake (the pic of the day). Thought it might be Golden Pond but instead of loons calling I am sure I heard Dueling Banjos in the background.

Saw a fox crossing the road in front of me while in the woods and also passed the Bluebird Bus company. They make school busses and from the storage yard – also prisoner transports.

Well that’s the ramble for the day. Oh, almost forgot I got caught in a brief but fairly hard shower. Got wet but dried off quickly.

48 States - Day 5

2010-05-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

Date: Wednesday May 26,2010

Start Location: Winnfield, LA

Start Time: 07:35am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 1,698.0

End Location: Foley, AL

End Time: 05:15pm CDT

End Trip Miles: 2,082.5

Day Miles: 384.5

States: Louisana, Mississippi, Alabama

Comments: The theme for today is environment. Started the day by seeing a pretty large turtle walking down the middle of the road. It was in the morning so maybe it was trying to get warm. Hope it made it through the day. Shortly thereafter I saw a Great Horned Owl perched at the top of a high snag just off of the road. Later I was taking a picture of a post office (to record the trip) and saw a pair of Red Headed Woodpeckers. (these are eastern birds which we don’t see in Arizona) All that is pretty cool – but –

There are a lot of BP gas stations in the area. The amazing thing is that almost each one I passed had someone buying gas there. This is in Louisiana and near the gulf coasts of Mississippi and Alabama. Don’t these people read the paper or watch the news?

The pic of the day Is of twin bridges over the Mississippi looking west from the Mississippi side. Highway US98 in Natchez.

A good day riding.

48 States - Day 4

2010-05-26T08:08:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday May 25, 2010

Start Location: Ada, OK

Start Time: 07:20am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 1,283.7

End Location: Winnfield, LA

End Time: 05:10pm CDT

End Trip Miles: 1,698.0

Day Miles: 414.3

States: Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana

Comments: The theme for the day is Texas Good Guys. Since I needed an oil change, I had looked for Suzuki dealers along the ride for today hoping that I could find one that could slip me into their work schedule. The nearest one was Paris Suzuki – Kawasaki in Paris, TX. I arrived about 9:45 and told them that I was passing through and asked if they could fit me in. It turned out that the fellow I talked to was the owner. Darn I didn’t get his name. He went back to the service area and came back and took the bike around. I was in and out in less than an hour. While waiting we talked about my trip and other riders that had come through his shop on long rides. A very interesting guy. I also talked to a couple of other customers, one who was considering buying a VStrom. What I thought would be a hassle and an unpleasant wait turned out to be a very good experience. Thanks Paris Suzuki – Kawasaki for great service and an enjoyable hour.

I’m a little hard up for the pic of the day. The “blue highways” that I was riding were almost totally through dense woodlands of mixed conifer and deciduous trees, pretty but much like driving down a tunnel after a while. The pic is a plaque in Junction City, AR/LA with the state line running through town.

Now for the obligatory weather observations. NO WIND today. It makes for a much more relaxed ride. Sunny with some cumulous clouds that didn’t bunch up into a thunder storm. Saw on the news that the area of Kansas that I was in on Sunday was having tornados touching down. Glad I missed them. Altogether a great day!!! (The internet isn’t working at the motel tonight so I’ll post Day 4 tomorrow night – actually from McDonalds at breakfast)

48 States - Day 3

2010-05-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

Date: Monday May 24, 2010

Start Location: Ulysses, KS

Start Time: 07:40am CDT

Start Trip Miles: 846.6

End Location: Ada, OK

End Time: 03:55pm CDT

End Trip Miles: 1,283.7

Day Miles: 437.3

States: Kansas, Oklahoma

Comments: The theme for the day is Oklahoma is OK. Woke up to overcast and wind in Kansas. (This wind topic is really getting boring.) The Weather Channel was giving wind advisories and severe storm warnings. Started off anyway by looking for a doughnut shop which seemed to no longer exist. The wind was strong and very bothersome until about noon when it let up “some”. I have never been to Oklahoma except for one time at Lake Texoma in the ‘60s. I got a ticket for sailing without a life jacket. Must have been beer involved as it is a well known fact that I can’t swim. Anyhow, south of I40 Oklahoma is very beautiful, rolling hills with a lot of trees and green grass. The day ended with much nicer weather so I’m a happy guy. Ended up in Ada, Ok - a city dear to to the heart if crossword puzzle fans.

The pic of the day seems to be a Caddo-Wichita-Deleware tribal symbol made from a couple of wrecked cars with the left side horn fallen off. I could be wrong about that.

48 States - Day 2

2010-05-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Date: Sunday May 23, 2010

Start Location: Chama, NM

Start Time: 07:40am MDT

Start Trip Miles: 430.6

End Location: Ulysses, KS

End Time: 05:20pm CDT

End Trip Miles: 846.4

Day Miles: 415.8

States: New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas

Comments: The theme for today is Montana Memories. The ride from Chama, NM east to western Kansas was much like a ride from western Montana east to the Great Falls area. Starting with lush high mountains and rushing rivers down to high valleys and then down to sage brush and grass lands, ending in wheat farms and grain elevators. It brought back many memories, especially many days, yet not near enough, fishing with my good friend Bob and his sons.

The pic of the day is of the Brazos Cliffs about 50 miles from Chama taken from a 10,000ft+ pass.

The morning weather was wonderful. Sunny and calm. By early afternoon I was out of the mountains at Ratan, NM. That’s where the wind began with gusto. Probably stronger than yesterday. I was going almost straight east and the wind was out of the south so much leaning to the right to stay between the ditches. Every once in a while the road would turn north and I’d catch a break. The Weather Channel is broadcasting a tornado warning and the forecast for tomorrow is for more wind and chance of thunder storms. Oh well, at least it’s warm.

48 States - Day 1

2010-05-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

Date: Saturday May 22, 2010

Start Location: Flagstaff, AZ - Home

Start Time: 07:20am MST

Start Trip Miles: 0

End Location: Chama, NM

End Time: 04:55 MDT

End Trip Miles: 430.6

Day Miles: 430.6

States: Arizona, New Mexico

Comments: The theme for today was WIND. Per the weather service, winds from 28-35mph with gusts to 46. I can attest that it was very strong all day. There were a few places where blowing dust visibility was down to 100 yards or so but only for very short periods. See the pic of the day for an idea of how it was in some spots, but only a few. The good news was that the wind was from the WSW and I was going ENE so the wind was always partially at my back all day. Good gas mileage.

The route from Flagstaff to New Mexico I took was BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) 15 east to BIA 12 north and then NM 134 to US 491. Maybe a cow, sheep or goat or two but no semi trucks. Couple this with old Route 66 and this is a great way to cross northern Arizona. In spite of the wind, this was a very beautiful ride and a great way to start the trip.

Shake Down Ride

2010-04-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

I went to the AMA Yosemite Adventure Tour in order to test gear, packing and readyness for the 48 states. Left on 4/29 for the event which was 5/1 & 2. I planned to go to Tonopah NV and then on Hwy 120 to Yosemite and Buck Meadows. When I got to Tonopah I found that 120 was not yet open for the season so I ended up adding a couple of hundred miles by going up to Carson City and Lake Tahoe to get across the mountains. The event had both a dirt route and an all paved route. I took the paved route as I don't want to risk a mishap which might jeopardize the long trip and the paved route was more like what I want to do on the trip - stop and see the sights and take some pictures along the way. I rode some very scenic roads in the Yosemite NP area that I would never have found on my own. I had planned to return through Death Valley but the Hwy 120 closure did not allow that either. Returned through Bakersfield on mostly freeways and Interstates. Shorter and faster but not much fun. At any rate the ride proved that I am ready for the 48 States.

Here's the bike.

2010-03-14T14:50:00.001-07:00

2009 Susuki VStrom 650 (WeeStrom) with ABS

Picture taken near Flagstaff Mar. 14

Here's the plan (always subject to change)

2010-03-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

I plan to leave Flagstaff AZ in late May, 2010 and ride around the country in an anti-clockwise direction, zigging and zagging as required to at least set foot (tire) in each of the 48 lower mainland states plus Washington D.C. My objective is to avoid Interstate highways as much as is practical.

I have a route layed out which totals just under 10,000 miles. I will follow the route generally but definitely will deviate from it from time to time as things of interest pop up, weather, traffic and road conditions change, etc. I think the trip will take approximately 30 days. There is nothing significant about the magenta colored route, just the way MapSource and GoogleEarth interface.