Day 6 - Crossing South Dakota

Tuesday July 29th was originally planned to be a idle day so that I could ride around the Badlands and Sturgis areas. It has some of the best roads for riding with lots of twists, turns and scenery. When I looked at the plan I realized that the trek to Madison, Wisconsin would be nearly 800 miles which was the longest ride of the trip. I decided to skip some of the optional riding and try and get halfway to my destination. I am sure I will come back to the area sometime in the future.

I caught up on paperwork and planning for the trip spending nearly six hours which included catching up on my blog. I finally left the hotel around 1PM, got gas, and headed to the Black Hills Harley Davidson store a few miles away. This is a huge event where the service department turns into an assembly line to change oil or tires. They also have nearly every major vendor that sell motorcycle accessories and performance equipment. I went to the Kuryakyn tent and bought a set of highway foot pegs for my bike. They have a test directly across from their sales tent where they install the parts. Because it was a slow day they had the bike ready to go in thirty minutes. This was enough time to check out most of the displays and have a quick bite to eat. These foot pegs give me another position to stretch my legs while riding. I finally hit the road around 4:00PM.

After seeing nearly 1,000 roadside signs in a hundred mile stretch of I-90, I decided to stop at Wall Drugs in the town of Wall for a butterscotch sundae. I rode almost all of the way across the state of South Dakota and spend the night in Sioux Falls just shy of the Minnesota border.

I plan on riding to Austin, Minnesota and check out the Hormel plant there and then head south to cut through Northeast Iowa. This detour means that I will have rode through 12 states by the end of the day. I am looking forward to getting my bike into the shop to take care of some normal maintenance and to get every bug every created in the States of Montana and South Dakota removed from the front of my bike. One of my major tasks is cleaning the windshield and helmet visor before starting out.

The best part of today is spending the next two nights with our daughter to enjoy some family time and being able to sleep in tomorrow morning.

Day 5 - Butte, MT to Sturgis Baby!!!

Today's trip - 825 miles - 14 hours

This was the longest day on the trip. I took a detour up through North Dakota into the Southwest corner so that I could add another state to the list for the trip. I also took a 25 diversion when I got back to I-90 to travel into Wyoming to check off another one. I was in four states today ending up in South Dakota.

The head winds were fairly stiff today and reduced my gas mileage from 37-39 down to 27-29. It seemed like I was always stopping for gas every 125 miles or so. Obviously, that made the day even longer. When traveling by car you can get in and out in 5-10 minutes. On a motorcycle it seems to be a minimum of 15 minutes because you have to take off some of your gear, pump 5 gallons of gas, clean your glasses, drink/refill the water bottle, and then secure everything before putting your gear back on.

Most of the day was open interstate highways running on cruise control. I spent most of the day following the Yellowstone River valley so the road was not straight and boring. At the end it was a battle against the sun as I took a little side trip into Wyoming.

I arrived in Sturgis shortly after sunset. The major event "Bike Week" is actually next week but a fairly large number of people are starting to come into town. All of the tents where vendors peddle their goods were closed for the evening and the streets were pretty clear. My wife and drove here last year and were four days later and it was pretty jammed.

I went to the Full Throttle Saloon which is about 3 miles east of downtown. I was able to park by the front door. Only the front portion of the place was opened and the main areas were fenced off. They were doing some renovations and expanding some of the areas so there was the smell of sawdust in the air. They claim to be the biggest Biker Bar in the world and they do all of their business for the year starting this weekend running for a total of 8-10 days. The place was pretty quiet with just the front bar being open.

I decided to have dinner in town because I was hungry for a good steak. A couple I met at the Full Throttle recommended the place. I was the last customer to leave the restaurant just before 10PM. I rode another 40 miles to Rapid City to spend the night. On Tuesday, I plan on catch up on some paperwork and go shopping. For those of you how know me, I absolutely HATE shopping, but get me around Harley gear and accessories and it is a different story. I got to buy a tee shirt to show that I was here.

Day 4 - Blaine, WA to Butte, MT

I was originally planning to get only to Missoula, Montana on this leg. I was pessimistic because I expected traffic in the Seattle area. I forgot that it was early on a Sunday morning so I was able to zip through the Bellevue without having to slow down. As a result of picking up an hour I had planned for a delay and an early 7:00AM start, I decided to press onto my original planned stop for the evening in Butte.

The drive was long but uneventful. Riding through the Cascade Mountains was a trip taking hard curves at higher speeds. You really had to lean into the turn. Eastern Washington is fairly flat so I was able to make good time since there was not a lot of traffic to slow me down. As I mentioned in my previous post, I did not take US-2 through the Cascades since a portion of it was closed because of the forest fires they have been having the past week or so. I stopped to take a panoramic picture of where I-90 crosses the Columbia River.

180 Degree panoramic view of Columbia River

The ride through the panhandle of Idaho was beautiful. If I thought the turns earlier in the day were great, these were even better. The area around Coeur d'Alene is some of the prettiest countryside I have seen.

I stayed at one of those "Classic Downtown Hotel" which had a very ornate two-story lobby and was very well preserved. The room was tiny (by my standards) and the bathroom was even smaller. I have seen handicapped stalls that are bigger. The room was clean and the fixtures were modern. The price was in the low $90's.

There was a neat restaurant a block and a half away so I decided to walk. My legs did not want to cooperate so it seemed like a very long walk. I just had an appetizer and a piece of Key Lime pie since I was not really hungry. By the time I got back to the room and took a shower, I realized that I didn't bring in the laptop from the bike so this posting is a day late.

My longest trip in the first three days was 575 miles but today was 725 and tomorrow's will be over 800.

Day Three - The Canadian Border

The Drive

Today's trip started at the southern border of Oregon and ended at the Canadian Border. It was pretty much clear sailing except for Portland, Oregon, Olympia and Seattle, Washington which all had some traffic. It was a long drive (578 miles) and it was all Interstate. Southern Oregon is mountainous so it was fun to drive. However, the rest of the drive was flat and boring.

I arrived in Blaine around 7:30 PM and I am staying at a place called the Northwoods Motel which is around 1,000 feet from the border. The decor in the room is definitely rustic. The bed frame is made out of logs. The chairs, tables and lamps are also logs. The decorating definitely matches the name of the hotel. The place is quiet, clean and cheap.

The Second Corner

Before heading to dinner, I headed to the Post Office which is the Northwest Corner for the trip. I tool the required pictures to prove that I was there and purchased gas nearby to prove the time. I went to dinner at a Mexican Restaurant (what is wrong with this picture). The food was good and the restaurant over looks the bay which is part of the Puget Sound. So I definitely in the corner.

Tomorrow's Trip

I had originally planned to take the Cascade Highway (US-2) through the mountains. Unfortunately 10-20 miles of the road are closed because of the forest fires. I will have to go back into the Seattle (area in order to pick up I-90 and start heading east. The first couple of hours should be interesting as I drive through the Cascades. I hope to get to Missoula, Montana but we will see. It is roughly 600 miles. We have friends that live there but they are on a trip to Africa. If I still feel good, I will shoot for Butte.

I am pretty sore tonight, so I took two Aleve tablets. It seems that they are working well for me. Going to get an early start but I am going to hit traffic is Seattle but I want to stay on schedule if I can. Well the alarm to wake up just went off, so it is time to get ready to roll.

Day Two is Oregon

The start of day

I wrapped up some work in the morning, reviewed emails (big mistake) and finally got started around 10AM from Campbell, CA which is a suburb of San Jose. The packing in the morning is becoming a routine so it takes only a few minutes to load up the bike. It still takes a few minutes to clean my glasses (3 pairs) and windshield. I then took I-280 up to San Francisco.

"Crossing the Bridge When I Come to It"

The I-280 Interstate abruptly ends into busy streets. It was a one hour ordeal of stop-and-go traffic through town to get to the bridge. The temperatures were cool but pleasant. I got to the vista on the northern side of the bridge and struggled with finding a place to park. I parked my bike next to a couple of others in a "hashed lined" no-parking zone. The security guy said it was okay. It was hazy so the pictures of the city and Alcatraz did not really turn out.

Muir Woods - A no go (bummer)

I had hoped to travel to see this magnificent display of Mother Nature. It took fifteen minutes to just get off of the highway. I had spent enough time in LA traffic on the first day to decide I didn't have the time nor patience to deal with this. I immediately got back on the Interstate ran to the next exit and turned around. I had clear sailing for a while I hit 10 miles construction which was more stop-and-go. I finally stopped after nearly 3 hours of travel and less than 100 miles covered and had lunch. I exchanged texts with our daughter before starting out again. I continued up US-101 without any events.

The Redwood Forests

Even though US-101 is mostly Interstate type of highway, it switches to 4-lane limited access and to 2 lane roads. When you head into these trees on the highway it is similar to entering a tunnel. You get an occasional glimpse of the sun but with sunglasses it is dark. There are these massive trees on both sides of the road. The road has many twists and turns. As cool as the Golden Gate Bridge was, this was awesome. The better part of a hundred miles or so was these forests. I got an enormous amount of experience driving smoothly in turns (a skill I would need later).

From Eureka to Crescent City

When I hit Eureka you could tell we were close to the ocean because the temperature dropped significantly (from around 100 down to 80). I stopped and had dinner there at one of the Denny's as I attempted to rehydrate. The drive to Crescent City is half coastal and the other half Redwoods with lots of twists and turns. As any biker will tell you, this is the type of road that we live for.

Before starting this segment of the drive I applied a "red-neck" sun visor to my helmet which consists of a 1.5 inch wide piece of Painter's Blue Tape. This is the second time on this trip I used it and it works very well. I have to thank my good friend "JD" for the tip. When the sun sets you can just tear it off and put it in a pocket. I still have a problem getting the tape unstuck from my glove as I try to dispose of it.

When I left Eureka, I suited up in my winter gear since the temperature was going to drop to 60 which is cold on a motorcycle going 75 MPH.

Crescent City to Grants Pass, Oregon

The sunset over the Pacific Ocean near Crescent City, CA

Needless to say I hit Crescent City just after sunset. I stopped to clean my glasses, helmet and windshield to that I could see the road during the nighttime portion of the ride. I left the coast and entered into the woods again and it got very dark in a hurry. If I though the trip through the Redwoods earlier today had twisted roads I was in for a surprise. The turns in the dark were initially scary but the California section of the road has reflectors on the center line and shoulder so they were a God-send. Within a few dozen turns, I had become an expert and put my entire focus on the roads. I had 40 miles of no traffic ahead of me. I could occasionally get a glimpse of the canyon and river on my right side so I know that this would be a fantastic ride in the daytime.

Although I was disappointed not to see the scenery I found that it was just me, the road and my iTunes. I don't mean to brag, but it is some of the best riding I have ever done from a skills level.

I finally got to my hotel in Medford, Oregon and settled into bed around midnight. On Saturday, I will drive up through Oregon and all of Washington state. I will spend the night in Blaine which is on the Canadian Border which will be my second corner of the trip. Stay tuned for more details.

Believe it or not, this is my first selfie!!!

Day One is Completed - Not without challenges though...

Late Start

Because of some last minute meetings and trying to get a project for work completed, I did not start loading the bike until 10:15. I repositioned a number of items so that my jacket was no longer strapped to the top of my backpack. The touring pack (truck) was restructured but still needs a bit of organization. I stopped and had a quick bite to eat before I started the official trip. I finally arrived at my first corner having driven 456.8 miles so far.

The First Corner

The purpose of this trip is to complete the Southern California Motorcycle Association's (SC-MA.org) Four Corners Motorcycle Tour. You need to drive your bike to each of the corners of the Continental United States. I chose the one in San Diego since it is the closest to where I live. One of the requirements of the trip is proof that you visited each corner and at what time you completed that. To prove that you have actually driven, you must also record your odometer reading as well as purchase gas at a nearby station and show the receipt.

Check, check and double check, the list is complete and my starting mileage at the 29,197 at 11:38AM. The clock is now running and I have to reach the other three points on or before August 13th. The towel is also a requirement and shows that I am the 101st person to register for this event this year.

The Trip through Los Angeles

My original plan was to leave the first corner around 10AM, however, I am nearly two hours behind schedule. My original route was to drive on the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) from Lompoc to Monterrey past the Hearst Castle. I hit several delays in Irvine and Long Beach and nearly missed the turnoff for the Ventura Freeway. That is when I hit traffic. It was ten miles or so of stop and go in very hot weather. The thermometer was reading over 100 so it was uncomfortable but I tried to stay hydrated. We finally got past the accident that had shut down several lanes of traffic and it was clear sailing from there. I stopped for gas in Oxnard and I used one of the blue towels that you dampen in water and placed it around my neck and shoulders. It worked very well in keeping me cool but a few miles down the road I reached the coast and the temperatures dropped into the 80's then I was a little too cool (I am starting to sound like my wife Trish when it comes to temperature). Needless to say, the traffic cost me an additional hour of time.

North to San Jose

My plan was to get to San Jose at a reasonable hour and really couldn't change my plans since I was past cancellation time. Since I was three hours behind schedule already, I decided to skip the trip up the coast highway and stay on the main highway (US-101). I got to Santa Margarita when the warning light for low fuel came on. I thought I would go to the next town and get gas. Big mistake since the next town turns out is 40-50 miles away. In all my rush to get the trip on schedule I skipped a critical step of filling the two small gas cans the I bought to deal with an out of gas situation. I put in a service call with AAA through my iPhone App. I waited for 90 minutes or so. I had the opportunity to meet a family that had a broken front suspension and were waiting for a tow. When there tow truck came and I found out the it was not AAA I called them. It turns out that motorcycles aren't covered but the App doesn't tell you that it won't schedule the service. It would have left me 15 miles from anywhere. Fortunately, the tow truck driver had gas and sold me a gallon and I didn't mind the price. I got back to town by backtracking the 15 miles and filled up my tank and the two spares.

The final 150 miles

It is now dark and the temperature is dropping so the jacket goes on but I need to stop to put on a hoodie to be comfortable. I actually turned on the handle grip warmers to keep my hands warm. That leather jacket in the backpack now looks like a good idea. (Note to self: don't ship it back). I finally arrived at the hotel at 12:30 AM. My shoulders were stiff, my butt has permanent indentations from the seams in my clothes and then there were my hands. The fingers were a bit stiff but my thumbs are very painfull. It hurt to use the turn signals. This morning they fill much better but they are still a little sore. I will have to be careful today with them.

Nightime driving is not as much fun. I had to slow down because I didn't want to outdrive my headlights and it was also warmer that way.

The next leg (Point B to Point C)

I plan on leaving the hotel around 9AM so that I can miss some of the traffic in San Francisco. I plan on crossing the Golden Gate and then running up the coast on the PCH. My destination this evening is Medford, Oregon which is 525 miles and 9-10 hours driving time. It looks like I am getting close to 200 miles per tank which is 39-40 MPG. I am going to take a couple of Aleve pills before departing to get rid of the stiffness.

The Trip Begins Early

I had a meeting with my client and decided it would be best if I could travel to Chula Vista so that I could complete my project work face-to-face. Since this is 15 minutes from the starting point of the four-corners trip it worked into the plan. I left yesterday morning from the house shortly after 7:30 AM. This was after a rush 3-hour packing job to cover a 3-1/2 week trip. I had to throw in some work clothes so that I would be presentable in front of the client.

I couldn't decide on the type of weather I would encountered so I packed my leather jacket and chaps. This may be a mistake since it takes up 25% of the space in my backpack. So I might ship that home with my dress clothes prior to departure. This meant that my remaining clothes are jammed into the bag. The storage compartments on the bike are full of other things as well. The nice thing about the backpack is that I can lean my shoulders against it and it is comfortable.

The ride to San Diego was uneventful. I stopped in Baker, CA to secure my jacket since the wind was catching it and I didn't want to loose it. I then stopped in Victorville, CA for gas and a 5 minute break to stretch my legs. I got 34 MPG on that first leg and the remainder of the trip might have been better. I pulled into the hotel at 12:30 and took a shower and changed into my Business Casual attire.

I discovered that I failed to pack deodorant so I had to find a drug store immediately. I also discovered that the wind is hazardous to reading glasses in a shirt pocket, so another visit to the drug store to by more. I now have two spares since they came in a pack of three.

I plan on leaving from the first corner around 9-10AM tomorrow morning and get somewhere up in the Big Sur or Monterey area by evening.

The NEW Bike

After riding the Sportster for nearly three years and over 5,500 miles, it was time to look for a bigger motorcycle. I had my eye on several bagger bikes at my local Harley-Davidson dealership. These were bikes that had just come out of the rental pool and were for sale.



Pioneer Saloon and General Store
Goodsprings, Nevada

I started riding with a group from the community I live in called the “Sun City Anthem Riders” on several day trips to locations. After riding with the group for a couple of years, we took a short trip to the PioneerSaloon in Goodsprings, Nevada. This is a small mining town and place is 100 years old and is famous and been featured on several TV shows and Movies. It has a museum honoring Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. The General Store next door is neat and you can get something to eat or drink there. My favorite is the “Cowboy Burger” with chips and a soda.



Kuryakyn Exhaust and Direct Intake

 

On that ride, I spoke of the desire for a new ride and the group’s leader told me of one for sale by another member. I was intrigued by the description and followed up with the owner on it. It turns out that I had been doing business with this man and we knew each other by sight and had spoken to each other about bikes a few times. So on March 22, 2013, Eddie and I came to terms and I became the proud owner of a 2010 Ultra-Classic Limited.




The custom paint job can be blue or purple depending on the lighting.

Custom rear lighting package

 

The middle pair are the Ultra Classic (new) and the Sportster (old).
Notice the size difference!!!

This motorcycle is considerably bigger than the Sportster (about 300 pounds heavier). It has a number of features that Eddie and his son did to improve the looks and performance of the bike. It has loud pipes and the engine has been tuned for performance. With cruise control and anti-lock brakes it is a dream to ride. I finally put a taller windshield to reduce the buffeting at high speed. I have put over 6,000 miles in the first year as I worked on determining if a long marathon ride was possible. I needed to determine the range and capabilities of the motorcycle as well as my endurance.



 

A' Le' Inn Restaurant
Rachel, Nevadad

The longest ride so far was a trip around the Nevada Test Site (Area 51). I stopped and had lunch at the Little A'Le'Inn restaurant in Rachel, Nevada. It is located on the Extraterrestrial Highway. The Test Site includes the area where nuclear weapons were exploded. In the 50’s the tests were above ground and the mushroom clouds were visible from downtown Las Vegas. It is also adjacent to the Groom Lake site where top secret military aircraft are developed and tested there. The Air Force also has a bombing range there as well. I then cut across to Pahrump, Nevada, Baker and Needles California, Kingman Arizona and then finally home. This trip was over 700 miles which I completed in 14 hours. This was the test that showed me that I could do the Four Corners trip.

The Extraterrestrial Highway Sign
Nevada Highway 375 near Rachel

In my next posting, I will describe the final preparation tasks that I need to accomplish before leaving on July 24^th, 2014.

 

The Journey Continues...

Shortly after purchasing the Sportster, I was working at a client in the Seattle area. We were conducting a training session for a process that my team had developed. One of the customers came into the meeting with his riding leathers on because it was a typical rainy day in the Northwest US. We got chatting and he mentioned that he had just completed something called the "Four Corners Motorcycle Tour".

This simple conversation put an idea into the back of my mind and I didn't give it a great deal of thought. My initial thoughts were that this was a very daunting task.

I continued to ride my Sportster and gained experience by riding with friends. My bike is in the lower left corner (barely visible) and this was a group of friends from where I go to my church. This was one of my first group rides and we had a great time. We have ridden as a group several time since to have fun and a time to talk "all things - motorcycles".

I also joined a riding group in the Sun City Anthem area of Henderson, NV. I have also taken several rides with them to various locations in the Southern Nevada and California region. One of the things I discovered on these longer rides was that with a flat seat and lack of a windshield it meant that I had the tendency to hang on for dear life. After a long ride my arms would be sore from gripping the handlebars tightly since you had the sense of being blown off of the bike.

After three years and over 5,500 miles, I started thinking about getting a bike that was designed for riding on the open road. As much as I loved riding the Sportster I was looking for more creature comforts in my next bike.

I will cover the transition in my next post. Please stay tuned.

The Journey Begins

My journey started in 2011 when my wife Trish and I were at a friends party celebrating their daughter's high school graduation. We were talking to another couple who rode to the party together on their Harley. I mentioned the fact that I used to have a motorcycle back when I was in the Air Force in the early 70's. My friend Gary mentioned that a common friend of ours had a "2009 Harley Sportster 1200cc Custom" that was for sale since he was transferring to New York.

My wife thought it was a good idea and encouraged me to pursue it. After some prodding, I went and test drove the bike, fell in love with it and bought it a few days later. When I took possession of  it the odometer read 17 miles. The journey began and my love of motorcycling was renewed.

I rode the bike home and parked it until I took the Rider's Edge course at my local Harley-Davidson dealer. I realized how much I did not know about riding and on my first long ride the training kicked in and I was able to avoid a serious accident which would have ended my riding just as I was getting started. The cost of the class was the best money that I could have spent on the class.

Here are some pictures of the bike when I got it home for the first time.