DAY #18, 19 & 20 - I made it to the 4th and Final Corner

The fourth and final corner is Blaine, Washington. This is a seaside community on the Puget Sound and the Canadian Border. I completed the trip in twenty days having covered 11,572 miles. I made 65 stops for fuel, consumed $968.28 and 328.4 gallons of premium gas. This resulted in 36.1 miles per gallon.

Saturday, August 26th, 2017

Today, I started out around 9:00 AM. As I was headed to the highway, I noticed that there were rain clouds in the direction I was headed. I put on the jacket for the rain suit. The storm was heavier that planned so I pulled over under an overpass and put on the pants portion. I cleared the storm about 20 minutes later. I got out of of the suit when I stopped for gas when I got the the first rest area in Wyoming.

There is not much to say about the scenery in Western Nebraska. I hit a ridge of small mountains between Cheyenne and Laramie that was a fun ride. I stopped at one of the rest areas and stretched out and took a short nap. The temperatures were in the 90's so it was a challenge to stay cool.

I stopped for dinner while the sun was setting. The temperatures dropped quickly once I left and I had to stop and put on warmer clothing. So the story for today was: (1) too wet, (2) too hot, and (3) too cold. The weather is always the critical factor.

Having started out in North Platte, Nebraska and I ended the day near Ogden, Utah. I covered 663 miles in about 12 hours.

Sunday, August 27th, 2017

I spent the night in a nice hotel. I noticed as soon as I walked into the hotel lobby this morning that part of the cover I put on the bike last night had blown loose. Fortunately, it didn't tear and blow away which was good. Because of the high winds, I wasn't able to fold it nicely, so I just crammed into the saddlebag before getting the rest of the bike ready to go.

I went back into the lobby to get something to eat before leaving. I chatted with a nice couple from Tennessee who were originally from this area. They stated the the winds pick up every morning because we are at the end of the canyon. So once I got going the winds dropped quickly. I had to make several stops to remove gear as the temperatures were climbing. By mid-afternoon, it was over 100 in most places. I took a long lunch in Boise, Idaho to cool off.

I passed through a portion of Oregon before crossing the Columbia River into Washington State at sunset. I got to the hotel in Yakima around 9:30 PM. I drove past the hotel to see if there was some place to eat. However, there were several Pot Stores, lots of homeless people and seemed kind of creepy. I parked the bike by the front door of the hotel and while I was putting on the cover I was approached by an individual. She left when I lied to her and told her I was a cop (which was a lie). I ended up ordering a pizza and had it delivered to the room. I covered 694 miles today in roughly 12 hours.

Monday, August 28th, 2017

Today was planned as a later start than normal to miss traffic in the Seattle area. This was also the shortest day of about 300 miles. I left around 10:00 AM and passed through the Cascade Mountains with some construction. I made it to the final corner with only one stop for gas and no breaks.

I reached the final corner checkpoint at 1:45 PM. I had lunch at a Thai restaurant with a nice view of the bay. I was able to cool down and get ready for the remainder of the ride. I got the final gas receipt to make the documentation complete.

I crossed the border into Canada and headed to the Harley-Davidson dealer in Langley, British Columbia. Unfortunately, they are not able to service my motorcycle because of the backlog of work already in the shop. I will need to find another dealer in Vancouver or Seattle.

I checked into the hotel around 6:00 PM after fighting some traffic getting out of the Vancouver area to Abbotsford. This is where the next portion of my trip begins on Friday. I planned to have several days of downtime at this point in the trip to get the bike serviced and have an extra day in the event of problems.

I had a very nice dinner at the restaurant that is connected to the hotel. One of the gentlemen at the bar came over to my table and asked if I had the motorcycle from Nevada. It turns out that he is from Carson City and we are both there for the "Three Flags Classic" run that starts from here on Friday morning. He is travelling with his son who will be entering the US Marine Officer Candidate School after this trip.

Tuesday, August 29th, 2017

It has been the first day to relax in 10 days. I slept in this morning and got the computer powered up and stayed been busy until 10:00 AM. I went and had a quiet breakfast and came back to the room and went back to bed. After a few hours and numerous work related emails, I finally got back to writing this blog. I was able to get the bike scheduled for service in Vancouver tomorrow.

WHAT IS NEXT:

On Thursday evening there will be an opening reception for all of the participants on the Annual Three Flags Classic. This is a four-day ride starting in Abbotsford and ending in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. This is the first time in several years that the ride will actually enter Mexico. Friends have told me that they vacation in this resort area yearly and that the area is safe. We will arrive there on Labor Day and there will be an Awards Banquet on Tuesday evening. I will return home on Wednesday.

DAY #15, 16 & 17 - Final Visit to Lebanon

Because of 3 long days, 2084 miles, and very short nights, I am finally catching up on the trip's progress.

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2017

My intentions was to start out around 5:00 AM but got a late start 90 minutes beyond the plan. I got on the Florida Turnpike and after 10 miles and 45 minutes, I decided to turn around and return to the hotel. I ended up leaving around 11:00 AM.

As I walked out of the room it was pouring rain again. I got out to the bike and got the rain suit out and put on. I then had to quickly uncover the bike and stash the cover into the right saddlebag. After 50 miles, I stopped for gas and got out of the rain gear. The remainder of the day it was battling the heat, high humidity, and blazing sun. When I was leaving the Orlando area, I pulled off the road and put on the rain jacket since I was heading into a major thunderstorm, Even though my pant legs got wet, they dried out once the weather cleared.

This was a long day with a late start. I left Homestead (which is south of Miami) and headed to Stockbridge, Georgia.(just south of Atlanta). I got to the hotel at 11:30 PM but found out that I was at the wrong Quality Inn. I had to backtrack about 5 miles to get to the proper one. It was after midnight when I got to the room.

Thursday, August 24th, 2017

I got through Atlanta traffic using the bypass with only a few backups. I cleared the area by 6:30 AM. I had a longer than normal breakfast break so I would hit Chattanooga a little later in order to avoid their rush hour. Today was a day of fighting fatigue. I stopped for a break in Murfreesboro, TN and decided to have lunch. I failed to realize that I had crossed into the Central time zone. The manager saw me and let me in even though they were not going to open for another 45 minutes. I had a big lunch and left the restaurant just as they were opening. It didn't matter that it took longer to eat than normal. I was just glad to be out of the hot weather.

Much of the fatigue was from lack of sleep from the night before. I stopped at a couple of rest areas to stretch out and catch a few winks. I got the hotel in O'Fallon around 6:30 PM. I did two loads of laundry, restocked my pills for the week and caught up on two days of paperwork. I got to sleep around midnight after repacking everything so that I could be ready early in the morning.

Friday, August 25th, 2017

I was able to clear the traffic in St. Louis in record time. I also fought fatigue all day as well. I was able to stop and change to lighter gear in order to stay cooler. This is also a day where I have over 200 miles of two-lane roads to cover. One thing about Kansas is that they have great roads and 65 MPH speed limits, However, gas stations are few and far between. I hit one station in a tiny town of Tallmage. I am 2-3 miles past empty when I pull into gas station. The sign on the door says it is closed. It turns out that you have to put you credit card into separate machine to get the pump to work. I was down to one spare gallon of gas and 30 miles to the next station. I was glad that there was someone nearby to explain how the system worked. I got the gas and headed back onto the road.

I reached Lebanon for the third and final time. I got the required picture of the bike in front of the Post Office. There was a couple in a car that pulled up next to me and asked directions to the Monument for the "Center of the Continental US" and then to Sturgis. I gave them the directions to the park and mentioned that they might be able to get the directions at the gas station. Since I had to stop at the gas station to get the final piece of documentation for this checkpoint, I ran into them there. I have not run into anyone for a long time that didn't have a GPS, or maps to go such a long distance.

This gas station is quite interesting. It seems that there is always a couple of guys sitting in the station just shooting the breeze. I mentioned that I was on the 4-Corners TRUE-X Run. They mentioned that several other riders had been through in the past few days. I would guess that they are finishing up their trips to get to Abbottsford, British Columbia for the "Tree Flags Run" just like I am.

I stopped for dinner in Kearney, Nebraska at the Whiskey Creek Steakhouse. My wife and I have stopped here before and have always had a great meal. This time was no different. I headed back onto the highway for the last 100 miles to North Platte and a soft bed.

What's Next:

This next stretch will be all Interstate highway covering 650 miles. I will be passing through Wyoming and into Utah. I decided to get a later start so that I can catch up on the blog and paperwork to document the trip. So I will start around 11:00 AM and hopefully minimize the fatigue factor.

DAY #14 - Made it to the Third Corner - KEY WEST

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2017

Today was the most brutal day yet. I expected some rain, but not when I got it. Things got warm by late morning and by midday it was near 100 degrees with very high humidity. I normally use "cool towels" the you soak in water and the evaporation while you ride keeps you cool. Unfortunately, in very high humid weather, they don't. In fact they make it slightly worse. I got to Florida City, which is the gateway to the Keys around 2 PM and left for to Keys around 2:30 PM. Of course the clouds did not cooperate. Not one break from he sun the entire trip.

After a great deal of traffic on Highway US-1, I finally arrived at the monument pictured below. The place was a mob scene. There was a line off-camera to the left for people waiting to have their picture taken by the monument, In addition to that, I was in a no parking zone so I had to get the pictures quickly. This is the second time that I have been here with this motorcycle. After getting gas and documenting the event for the Ride I looked for a place to take a long break.


I stopped and had dinner before leaving town. I had to drink two glasses of ice water before I even had the energy to order dinner. I drank another full glass after dinner. I waited till closer to sunset to leave hoping that the lack of sun would make the ride more comfortable. In addition, the traffic was much lighter as well. Just before hitting Marathon, which is around 50 miles from Key West, I ran into the heaviest rainstorm ever. Traffic slowed to 15-20 MPH because of the lack of visibility. I was grateful for this since the bike can be unstable in this type of weather. You cannot stop and pull over since you most likely will be hit by an oncoming vehicle. I was immediately soaked and in the dark to the point where my boots started to fill with rainwater. After about 5 minutes the store ended and we were past it. I tuned on the handle grip warmers to keep my hands warm. I thought that I would be totally chilled to the bone because of the wet clothes, but just like the cool rags earlier in the day I didn't get chilled because of the warm temperatures and high humidity. Once I discovered that I would be fine, I continued on without changing gear or putting on the rain suit since it was not uncomfortable. It was a comfort to know that I had dry clothes with me just in case.


I really felt the chill when I got to the hotel and stepped into the air conditioned lobby to check in. They upgraded my room so that I could park the motorcycle outside the door. This is a very nice motel and I hauled it my computer and other gear in. It was just starting to sprinkle. In less than one minute, it had turned into a total downpour. I just covered the bike and by the time I got back into the room, I was totally soaked again. If I thought I was wet before, I was surely mistaken.


I got up at 4 AM this morning and my clothes are still damp. I will be doing laundry a day earlier than planned. Fortunately, I had dry clothes and another pair of jeans in the bike so I got those this morning. I intend to travel to Stonebridge, Georgia today. I will keep you posted.

DAY #13 - The Marathon Run BEGINS!!!

Monday, August 21st, 2017

Today started early as I left the St Louis area hotel at 5:30 AM. I had a small problem interpreting the GPS so I missed the turnoff to cross the Mississippi River. I ended up on surface streets by Busch Stadium before getting back onto I-55 to cross the river.

On Sunday, I passed through a number of towns that were preparing for the Solar Eclipse that happens today. Since I had covered 722.2 miles on Sunday and 881.8 on Monday, I didn't really care about it. In Southern Illinois, I stopped at McDonald's for breakfast but there must have been 40 people in line, so I left right away. This is a big deal for these communities that were in the path. The highway signs that normally warn you about construction, texting/driving, fatalities year-to-date; were all stating that you could not park on the shoulder of the highway or the ramps for the eclipse.

On my first gas stop for the day, my GPS directed me to the nearest gas station ahead which was two miles beyond the indicated miles on my odometer said I had left. It turns out that it turns out to be relatively accurate. The engine coughed as I was pulling into the gas station, but I made it without having to break out the spare gas I was carrying.

Most of the path that I covered was in the direct path of the eclipse. I got into Georgia shortly after 2:00 PM. I was beat, the temperature was over 90 and the humidity was oppressive. I stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center and found a shady spot under a tree and took a nap for 20 minutes or so. When I got up, it was kind of creepy out and people were looking at the sky. As I was getting loaded up to get back on the road, I got chatting with the man and women in the car parked next to me. They were there when I pulled in. The woman offered to let me use her special glasses and I was able to see just a sliver of light. I told them about the trek that I was on. The gentleman indicated that he worked at the Welcome Center as part of the staff. This is the picture of the two of us.

II stopped in Valdesto for dinner and get gas. This gave time for the sun to set before I headed the last 100 miles to my hotel. I arrived at the hotel in Lake City, Florida after covering 882 miles in 15 hours. I must have forgotten to program the GPS to bypass downtown Atlanta. I ended up there at 4:00 PM and it was rush hour. I also had to stop for gas just south of town. As bad a traffic was, I got through town without any complete stops. Once I cleared the outer bypass just beyond the Atlanta Airport it was clear sailing.

I was lucky today to hit a couple of very short bursts of rain. It looks like I will hit some weather beyond Port Saint Lucia to Miami. There is a tropical depression just off the coast which is kicking up some storms. Well, I am ready to pack the bike and head out for Key West and my third corner before heading to my final stop for tonight in Homestead.

DAY #12 - On the Road Again!!!

Sunday, August 20th, 2017

I finally left the hotel in Omaha at 6:30 AM. It had rained and was still lightning so I suited up in the rain gear. It took much longer to get loaded up that I had planned. I encountered  moderate rain for first 40-50 miles and the weather cleared up and it was sunny and cool.

Lebanon Checkpoint #2

I got to Lebanon, Kansas around 10:30 AM and gathered the required documentation. I also took off the rain suit since the temperatures had climbed up into the 80's. It was 200 miles of non-interstate highway which bypassed most of Kansas City. The highway followed the Pony Express route.

I arrived at hotel around 8:30 PM and covered 750 miles today. Had dinner at the Cracker Barrel that fortunately next door to the hotel.

Heading out early in the morning since it will be a longer trip that today.

DAY #11 - Back on the Road Tomorrow

DAY #11 - Another Day of Rest and Re-planning the Trip

It was nice to sleep in today. I think I was still up by 7:00 AM, so it was not too late. As I mentioned in yesterday's posting, I had to have a part in the drive train replaced. The Service Team at Holstein's Harley-Davidson did a great job getting the bike put back together. They also provided shuttle service to and from the hotel. I picked the bike up around 2:00 PM. They replaced the broken part, the front brakes, the rear tire, and changed the oil, etc.

I spent a good portion of the day re-planning the trip to Key West. I restructured it from a 4-day run to save a day and make it a 3-day trip. It will be a true endurance test, since I will be covering 2,250 miles in a 72-hour period. I am planning to cover 720 miles on Sunday, 860 miles on Monday, and 530 miles on Tuesday. I bought a cushion for the seat, so it won't be perfect, but it will be better that the seat on the bike.I am checking on the criteria for an "Iron Butt Award" which is for covering 1,000 miles in a 24-hour period. 

I have made my hotel reservations for the next two nights. I had difficulty finding a room on Sunday night in the St. Louis area. Most of the hotels in Omaha, Kansas City and St. Louis are booked because of the Solar Eclipse. It looks like I will be driving through a good portion of the peak eclipse path.

It looks like I might get a break in the weather since Hurricane Harvey has been downgraded to to Tropical Depression and it looks like it will make landfall in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

That gets me back on schedule by the time I get to Key West. Well the day starts early tomorrow, so it it is a quiet dinner, watch some TV and set the alarm for 5:00 AM and be on the road at 6:00 AM.

Tomorrow, I should hit the Lebanon, Kansas checkpoint by 10:00 AM, Kansas City around 2:30 PM and arrive at the hotel in St. Louis around 7:00 PM.

A Day of Rest - Followed by a One Day Delay

First off, I would like to wish my wife a Happy Anniversary. It is hard to believe that 27 years have passed since we got married at the Third Street Pier on the Milwaukee River followed by a dinner cruise and reception. One sign of the passage of time is that our granddaughter was just a baby and too small to attend the wedding. She now has two beautiful children herself. Here is the cutest picture of them that brings tears to my eyes. God has been good to us over these years together.

DAY #9 – Made it to a Day of Rest in Omaha (or at least I thought)

I left Northwest Indiana shortly after 5:00 AM. That meant that I could get through the construction between the hotel and the state line before the rush hour began. Shortly after entering Illinois, I hit light rain. It continued for around 30 minutes  the front of my lower pantleg was damp, so I stopped and put on the rain suit. Of course, once I did that the rain stopped. It was cool enough that I kept the suit on until I broke for lunch. Immediately after lunch, the sun came out and the temperature jumped into the mid-80’s. The remainder of the ride was pleasant in the bright sun with just a long-sleeved shirt.

I checked into the hotel around 2:00 PM and transferred my gear to the room. It is a nice hotel. The room is small but comfortable. It is part of a Convention Center and Water park, so the facility is quite spread out and somewhat complicated to find things. There is a large convention going on so that hotel is quite busy.

I headed to my client’s offices for what I thought was a quick visit. They were just beginning to discuss a major issue that had just been discovered. Since, I was having a quiet day on Friday, I ended volunteering to come into the office on Friday morning. I then proceeded to drive the motorcycle to local Harley-Davidson dealer for the 55K Maintenance. They then drove me back to the hotel where I ended up having dinner at their restaurant.

DAY #10 – Working and Waiting

One of my co-workers picked me up at the hotel and we went into the office. It was nice to do something other than sit on the bike all day. I figured out a solution and generated the scripts that the client needs to run sometime this weekend. My co-worker dropped me off at the Dealer so that I could wait for the bike to be ready. It looks like it will be a three hour wait. They are waiting for a part for the “Primary”. This gear had become worn and was beginning to fail, so they found the part locally and will get it installed while I am waiting. Fortunately, this is covered by the extended warranty so I only need pay the deductible. This could have caused a serious problem while on the road if it had failed.

I am also having both tires replaced since they didn’t look like they would make another 6K miles which is the next time for scheduled maintenance. Since I might hit serious weather in Florida, I didn’t want to be riding on bald tires. So, I am just sitting out at the dealer’s waiting room and catching up on this blog. I will probably doze off a few times as well.

REALLY BAD NEWS:

Well the shop manager came a spoke with me. They got the part and it needs to be coated with some material which takes 24 hours to cure. Therefore, I will not get the bike back until early Saturday Evening. I extended my hotel for one more night.You can see the chips and burn marks on the gear in these pictures.

Not only have I lost a day because of the broken part, but the Weather Channel gave me more bad news. It appears that Hurricane warnings for later next week are foretasted for Florida.

DAY #7 and #8 - Starting the Long Trip to Key West

Over the past two days, I have covered 1,209 miles. spent 22 hours riding, and stopped for gas six times. I have overcome the fatigue factor that plagued me the first few days so I have been able to ride from one gas stop to the next. Here is the recap of events.

Tuesday, August 15th

I decided to sleep in and get a later start. I was just tired for just needed to miss rush hour in the Montreal area. As I was leaving a nice gentleman asked me about my motorcycle so we got into a discussion. I eventually hit the road later than I wanted. The ride to Kingston, Ontario was the same as yesterday but reversed.

The first segment of the trip was to get from San Ysidro (SW Corner) to Madawaska (NE Corner) via Lebanon, Kansas. This starts the second segment which is from here to Key West (SE corner) via Lebanon again. This will take six days of travel. The red arrows indicated where I will be stopping at. The exception is that this Friday I will have my first and only down day on the trip in order to have the bike get its regularly scheduled maintenance and have the tires checked out. The Harley dealers are very good at giving bikers who are on the road priority so hopefully things will go well.

PHASE 2

I did hit some traffic coming into the Montreal area. Since I was travelling via the bypass, I only hit traffic in a 5-10 mile stretch. I was able to make it through without too much difficulty. When I got to the Ontario border it was looking like there was rain ahead. I grabbed something to eat and check out the weather on the free Wi-Fi. When I came out to the bike you could tell it had rained. It took 15 minutes to get the rain gear on and repackage everything for riding in wet weather. About ten miles down the road, the sun came out and of course, there was no more rain. The storms had passed so I just missed them. However, the temperatures dropped so it was a comfortable ride the remainder of the way back to Kingston.

I had dinner at the same restaurant as I ate at on Sunday evening. The food was good and the best part is that it is adjacent to the hotel.

Wednesday, August 16th

I left Kingston at 9:30 AM. I decided that this would put me into the Toronto area between 10:30 to 11:00 and miss most of the traffic. I hit some construction just before the bypass cut over. I only lost about 5 minutes and the rest was clear sailing. I want to thank the couple that helped me with my bike on Sunday for the tip about the bypass.

The first thing I did this morning was to throw away the Gel Cushion that has served me well the past four years. However, the ride on Tuesday became excruciatingly painful as the day progressed. When I get to Omaha, I will have to see if I can get a new one. Although the ride was more comfortable, it should be better.

I got to the U.S. Border crossing and spent 30 minutes getting through customs. The wait was sunny and hot. I got to the first rest area and turned my cell phone back on regular service after four days of airplane mode. I stopped for dinner in Kalamazoo and waited a while to take a break from the bike. The weather went from mostly sunny to cloudy. This made the remainder of the ride more comfortable and I made it to the hotel around 8:30 PM. The total travel time for today was 12 hours so it was a long day.

WHAT'S NEXT:

I plan on leaving around 4:00 AM so that I can get the bike into the Omaha Harley-Davidson dealer for maintenance before they close for the day. Needless to say, I am having trouble sleeping because of the ringing in my ears. I will try again.

DAY #6 - I have crossed the US Diagonally (SW to NE)

Journey to Madawaska, Maine

Since I left San Ysidro, California six days ago, I have covered 3,852 miles, consumed 106 gallons of premium fuel and averaged nearly 12 hours a day on the motorcycle.

Today was the smoothest day of the trip thus far. It was an endurance run that truly tested how much seat time I could spend. I left the hotel in Kingston, Ontario at 7:30 AM and drove about 90 minutes before I had to stop for gas. I then drove 235 miles which was nearly 4 hours before I had to stop again. I had lunch near Quebec City before the final segment to Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada. This is a moderate sized town that is separated from the US and Madawaska by the St. Johns River. It turns out that weather is really the major factor when riding. Today was cloudy and cool all day so it was comfortable with the leather jacket and no gloves.

I always thought that Canada was bilingual everywhere. What I didn't know that that is not true in Quebec. There is nothing that is in English, everything is in French. When I stopped for lunch, even McDonald's menu was in French and very busy.

I got a little concerned just before I stopped for lunch when I hit a patch of road where it had just rained. It looked pretty ominous ahead. I contemplated putting on the rain suit after eating. I decided to not suit up since the sky was clearing and it looked like the storms had passed on the NOAA application I have on my phone.

It has been weird not having cell phone coverage and having to be totally dependent on WiFi at hotels and restaurants.

The Second of Four Corners

I checked into the hotel before proceeding to cross the border back into the US. I cleared customs quickly as there were no vehicles in line so I was through in just a few minutes. The agent asked me what I was going to do and gave me directions to the Four Corners Park and the gas station that you need to check into. What I didn't expect was to not get any AT&T cell phone coverage while I was back in the US.

A number of years ago at the urging of one of the residents the city built a park that is dedicated to Four Corners Run. They are building a new restroom facility but the park has several covered picnic tables, a fountain, and a memorial. To raise funds people from the community as well as bikers from all over the country have purchased bricks for the walkways with the names inscribed on them. It appeared that they were adding a new section of bricks behind the water fountain.

The park is very pretty and has several signs documenting the fact that this is the very northern tip of Maine. I have included several of the pictures of the facility.

WHAT IS NEXT:

I got back to the hotel and decided to do laundry a day early. I also decided since all my riding clothes were in the wash, I would have some Chinese delivered. I finished eating by the time the dryer was finished. So I now have seven days of clean clothes and my prescription medication all sorted out for the next week. 

I will be returning to Lebanon, Kansas using the same route I came in on so I redid the plan for the return trip to Lebanon. Some of the hotels that I had originally planned on using were not available or the best value anymore.

Looks like there is rain in the Montreal area that I will hit early this afternoon. That should slow up my return today.

DAY #5 - Crossing the Border into Canada

Today was Sunday, August 13th and it was a beautiful sunny day. I covered 558 miles in about 11 hours. So far I have ridden 3,303 miles and tomorrow I should hit the Second Corner in Madawaska, Maine.

SOUTHERN MICHIGAN

I left the hotel a bit later than I had originally planned because it was a short night. It was in the upper fifties so I started out with the leather jacket and some light protection for my neck. This served me well as I was comfortable. When I would get tired, I would open the vents in the jacket and that would keep me from overheating and reinvigorate me. Much of the area I covered in Southern Michigan was a familiar route for me. In the early 70's, I covered much of it when I traveled between Wurtsmith AFB in Oscoda to visit our family back in NW Indiana when I got a long weekend off. The trips back then were straight thru with one stop in Lansing to grab a bite to eat and I could make it home in 7 hours. It started taking 8 hours when my daughter Angela got old enough and required us to stop more.

As I was driving today, I also recalled spending a week or two each summer at our "adopted" Aunt Mary's in Ceresco which is just west of Battle Creek. My grandfather, John McCallum, was a Baptist minister and was assigned there. Mary and my mother became very close when they were growing up together. We were never allowed as kids to call adults by their first name so it was always Mister or Missus or  called Uncle or Aunt. While she still had the farm, we would camp out in the back 40-acres in a wooded area that was on the Kalamzoo River. We would get up early and watch the hired hands milk the cows and then play in the fields in the afternoon. Later in life, Aunt Mary sold the farm and built a home on the northwestern corner of the property. The town had a small dam which my mom would cross over when going to school. I looked at Google Maps while I was planning this trip and discovered that the dam is no longer there. I thought about stopping when I was planning this trip but decided against that since this trip is all about keeping a tight schedule.

CROSSING THE BORDER INTO CANADA

Stolen from the Internet

I crossed the border around 11:30 AM and there were only 5-6 cars ahead of me. I got through in around 10 minutes or so. While I was waiting in line, I switched my GPS over to the metric system. It has a small section on the lower-left screen that shows the speed that I am travelling. This eliminated a laminated card that I had originally planned to help convert their speed limits to MPH. I learned that their 100 KM/H limit is more a "suggestion rather than a rule". Most traffic is going somewhere in the 120-125 range which is our normal rate of 75-80 MPH. I stopped at noon and got gas and had lunch at one of the Tim Horton restaurants. I had forgotten that this is the Canadian version of Starbucks, which also exists.

I started to get drowsy as the afternoon and decided to get off the highway and find a place to rest. There was a small park with some shade and when I pulled the bike in, I had the front wheel turned and hit the front brake too hard and when the bike stopped it dropped to the side and threw me off. The only thing hurt was my pride. The bike weighs in at about 1,000 pounds, so it is more that I can lift by myself. A nice couple on a motorcycle stopped and helped me get the bike upright and positioned on more level ground. We chatted for a few minutes and I gave them one of the cards I had made so that they could visit this blog. I realized later that I should have gotten a picture with them but failed to do so. They told me of a way to bypass traffic on the 401 in Toronto by using the 407 Toll Road because of the stop-and-go nature going through the city. I had to redirect the GPS to avoid a planning point I had put on the 401 in the downtown area. After doing that, it calculated a new route that got me to my destination efficiently. I owe this couple a lot, not just for helping me get the bike upright but the tip to avoid the traffic in Toronto. This saved me nearly an hour of painful traffic and made the day enjoyable.

The Canadian "400" highways are equivalent to our Interstate highways. Like I mentioned before, no one drives the speed limit here. They have these "En Route" plazas on the highway where you can get gas or visit the food court which always includes a Tim Horton'a as well as a Starbucks. They are very busy places. At one, I picked up some gum and candies that I could grab when I got tired.

KINGSTON, ONTARIO

Kingston is a Canadian city on Lake Ontario, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. I arrived at the hotel at 6:30 PM and got checked into the hotel. Fortunately, there was a sports bar next door so I had dinner there and watched the end of the Cub's game and NFL highlights. I realized that I did not take any pictures of the trip, so here is one of the rib dinner that was delicious. I was starved and it was good food. I will be staying at this same hotel on Tuesday when I return.

I got to bed around 10:30 PM and woke up before the alarm so that I could finish this posting and get ready for Day #6.

WHAT'S NEXT

I will spend most of the day following the St. Lawrence Seaway and bypassing the Montreal city area. I plan on checking into the hotel in Edmundston, New Brunswick and dropping off my stuff before heading across the border to Madawaska to complete this leg of the trip.

DAY #4 - Having Dinner with my Family

Nebraska to Michigan

Today I covered 607 miles in roughly 12 hours leaving the hotel sometime before 7:00 AM. The weather was great for riding. It was dry and not too hot. Fatigue was the greatest enemy today.

I stopped after 45 minutes in Shelby, Iowa to have breakfast and then rode to the eastern side of Des Moines before stopping for gas the first time. I then had lunch in Iowa City. I have driven this stretch of I-70 so many times that I almost know it by heart.

Alexa and Bennett

I have been working in Omaha for a client for roughly 2-1/2 years and will continue to do so through years-end. Our daughter Kristie and her family live in Southern Wisconsin. So we had just covered this stretch of highway just 4-weeks ago. Sometime during the day, my phone sent me a reminder that I was around 2-hours away. But alas, I will have to wait for a later date to see the best great-grandchildren a man could ever ask for. They just turned 18 months old at the end of last month. Several times a year I make a trek from Omaha to Wisconsin to visit family and to work.

I crossed the Mississippi River at roughly 2:00 PM. So far road construction has been minimal with only a few miles of single lane interstate. I stopped in Moline for gas as the day got warmer. I adjusted my riding gear as the sun was warm but the air temperatures were still cool enough to wear a sweatshirt and riding gloves. After covering two-thirds of the state, fatigue was kicking my butt pretty bad. So I stopped in Morris, Illinois for a quick break. So I texted to let my brothers to let them know that I was on schedule. When I got on the bike, disaster struck. My GPS unit died on me. I was devastated because this was not a cheap unit and I have become dependent on it when I am travelling. I especially needed it for my journey through Canada which starts tomorrow.

I told my two brothers that I would meet them at 4:30 PM, and was scheduled to be there a few minutes early. However, my gas situation forced me to stop just before entering Indiana. I had scheduled the time to meet my two brothers and sister-in-law several months in advance. I revved the engine and was able to get their attention as I pulled in and they were entering the restaurant. So we had a few extra minutes to visit while I dismounted the bike. We had a nice meal together and I left after one hour to resume my trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan today's destination. Fortunately, the hotel was visible at the exit, so the lack of GPS wasn't to painful.

I managed to catch completely up on the paperwork, emails, bills, etc. It took three hours to do so. I initially planned an early start but because of the late hour, I Google'd my GPS problem and found a solution that didn't work but the second one did. I needed to to a soft-reboot and the unit would power up again. I decided to push my departure time to 8:00 AM. I am writing this in the morning, so I will wrap this up so that I can get ready for the next segment of this trip.

TODAY'S GOAL:

One of the things that I discovered just prior to leaving home was that when I ordered an electronic tire monitor unit that interfaces with the GPS unit only came with a single RFI unit in the box. So I had to order a second unit and have it delivered to my brother Dave. Fortunately, it came early enough that he was able to get it to me when we met for dinner. I will try to install it this on Sunday Evening.

I will cross into Canada at Port Huron/Sarnia which is at the southern most tip of Lake Huron before heading towards Toronto. I hope that I don't run into traffic there since the Blue Jays are playing at home today. The late start may get me into this time frame. My hotel reservation is in Kingston, Ontario which is on the far end of Lake Ontario. I calculate that this is about 530 miles and will take 11 hours or so.

Days 2 & 3 - From Cedar City, Utah to Omaha, Nebraska

Segment 1 - Planned Route and Stops

DAY #2 – Heading to Denver

Today I covered 613 miles in 14-hours.

I left Cedar City, Utah around 9:00 AM in the morning. It was sunny and in the low 70’s. I wore a hooded sweatshirt for most of the morning. I went over some mountain passes in Utah and It got cool at 7,000 feet. The stretch of I-70 in Utah is quite beautiful. There are a lot of mesas and buttes in different shades of color. It is also a lonely highway with a 106-mile gap in services followed by another 85 miles. There are several canyons with lots of twists and turns. When I hit the far end of the desert the temperatures had jumped into the 90’s. I stopped in Fruita, CO for a rest break and to cool down.

The ride earlier in the morning got me ready for the Colorado portion of the trip where the views were even more spectacular. The Glenwood Canyon is about 15-miles of the most unique interstate highway. The weather was cloudy and I hit a couple of patches of rain. I didn’t get very wet, but I did get chilled so I changed into warmer gear.

When I got closer to Vail, I put on the leather jacket because I knew it would be cold going over the Vail and Loveland Passes. I should have broken out the winter gloves as well to keep my hands warmer. I know that I spend time talking about the weather but this is the major factor on a motorcycle that you will never experience in a car with computer controlled climate control. It was cloudy and foggy, so I did not take any pictures because of time.

I arrived at the wrong hotel and overheard the clerk tell the person ahead of me that all guests had to be registered in advance, the hotel was non-smoking and marijuana-free. There were a group of young kids just off premises that were partying. I was grateful that this was not where I was going to stay.

The correct hotel was 5-miles back so it wasn’t too inconvenient. I chatted with two gentlemen from Orland Park, Illinois while I was checking in and they were bikers as well. I gave them one of my business cards for the trip. The hotel was “just okay” but when I found out that there was no Wi-Fi, I knew that I had hit rock-bottom. Since I was tired, ready for bed, and no one answered the phone when I called the front desk, I can guarantee that they will not be getting a good review.

One of the important things to do at this stop was to determine whether to head to Maine or Florida next. I spent some time looking at the weather and decided to head to Maine next. I had to use my phone to book my hotel for Friday evening.

DAY #3 – The Geographic Center of the Continental US

Today I reached the second checkpoint on the trip. I covered 595 miles in 11-hours. There were 236 miles of two-lane highway that were traveled.

I left the motel around 5:30 AM after about 30 minutes getting the bike packed and ready to go. I still had gas in the tank, so I decided to see how far I could get. Since my last gas stop was high in the Rocky Mountains, I got 222-miles on a tank of fuel which is nearly 40 miles further than normal. I stopped for gas a second time after a 3-hour non-stop run in Goodland, Kansas. I got chatting with two bikers that were headed to Steamboat Springs.

I had some initial problems with the GPS which turned out to be “operator error”. I selected the wrong waypoint and it was trying to take me back to San Diego. Because the unit was designed for motorcycle use, I could re-select my destination without taking off my gloves while I was riding.

I reached Lebanon and got gas around 12:45 PM and the manager asked me if I was one of those “Crisscrossed Bikers”. I told him I would see him in eight days if everything remained on schedule. I then drove two miles further north to the small park that has the monument to the Geographic Center of the Continental United States. There were several couples/families that stopped while I was there. I obtained the necessary documentation for the SCMA sanctioning body and left after 15 minutes.

I stopped for lunch in Hastings, Nebraska and chatted with a truck driver about our families and life in general. I then proceeded to my “home away from home” at the Courtyard-La Vista. This is where I stay while I am in Omaha for work. I had dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant before heading back to the hotel to catch up on email, bills and starting on this posting.

Today was a good travel day. I am starting to get into the grove of this process. It just takes some time to adjust to a different pattern.

TOMORROW:

I head to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the night. I am meeting my two younger brothers for dinner when I go through Northwest Indiana.

DAY #1 - First Corner at San Ysidro, CA

First Corner at San Ysidro, CA

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

I am counting this day as DAY #0 since this is the day where I get into position to begin the timed portion of the trip. The timing for the trip starts with a gas receipt’s time stamp that is adjacent to the checkpoint.

I left home at 10:30 AM which was about 2 hours later than I originally scheduled. The temperatures crossing the Mojave Desert were unbelievably hot with the sun beating down. I remember the hot temperatures from the trip three years ago, but this was more difficult than I recall. I wore a wet cloth around my head and neck and that helped a great deal. I took two breaks to get out of the sun and cool off. At the second stop, I put some ice into a cloth and held it to my head and neck which helped me regulate my body temperature downward.

I made it to the first checkpoint which is the Post Office in San Ysidro, California around 5:30 PM. I initially drove past the post office and ended up near the Mexican border. I turned around and proceeded to the destination. I obtained the required picture of the motorcycle with the official towel in front of the Post Office’s sign.

I then checked into the hotel and walked to a restaurant next door before calling it a night. I didn’t follow my process of doing the paperwork since I thought I would get it done in the morning.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 – DAY #1

The alarm went off at 3:30AM so that I could get an early start on the day. A good deal of planning for this trip was to avoid the problems that I encountered on the previous trip in 2014. The rush hour traffic that I encountered made the days even more difficult. My intent this morning was to be out of the Los Angeles traffic before it built up. I had to stop to put on warmer clothes when I hit some fog north of San Diego. I encountered a short patch of heavy traffic while coming into Riverside, CA but navigated past it without losing much time. I stopped for breakfast at 6:30 AM near the El Cajon Pass north of San Bernardino.

I ran into a group of about 20 bikers who were heading to Sturgis for Bike Week. When I got over the pass, I had to stop and put some painters tape on my helmet’s visor to help block the sun. The temperatures continued to climb so by the time I got to Baker, CA the “World’s Largest thermometer” read 98⁰. Because the trip took me back through Las Vegas, I chose to stop by the house and take a rest and pack the bike for the entire trip. I decided to leave shortly after 6:00 PM because the sun would be setting and even though the temperatures were above 100⁰ at least I wouldn’t have to battle the brutal sun.

I made it to Cedar City, Utah around 10:30 PM. I lost an hour because of the time change. I stopped twice to (1) remove my sun glasses and (2) get gas and buy something to eat when I got to the hotel. I entered the northwestern corner of Arizona and drove thru the Virgin River Canyon. This is an incredible stretch of road that winds through a narrow canyon for about 25 miles. I drove it in the dark, but it was still the best part of the trip so far.

The plans for DAY #2 are to post this entry, pay bills, do emails and get started around 8:00 AM and head to the Denver area. More details in my next post.