Five Days Crossing the United States

Key West Florida to Henderson Nevada

Overview:

Once I reached the fourth corner on Sunday, August 18th, the clock stopped, and I completed the objective in 15 days. There is a time limit of 21-days, but this is not a race. This is the third time that I completed this journey (2014, 2017 and 2019). The remainder of the trip is the long trek back home.

Monday, August 19th - Key West to Lake City Florida

One of the things that requires attention while on a long motorcycle trip, is having the bike serviced. There is a constant vibration and pounding that the bike takes, so it is good practice to have service performed every 5,000 miles. Most Harley-Davidson dealers have a section of the shop open for biker's who are travelling through. Mostly for oil and/or tire changes that are unscheduled. Normally, I call several days ahead to schedule an appointment but since so many factors can move that date with little or no notice. What I have found is that if I can be there when they open the shop doors, I can usually get in.

I looked to see when the shop opens and plan to arrive 15-30 minutes prior to that so that I can be the first one in line. I left Key West around 5:30 AM and headed to Peterson's H-D in Homestead which was about 3-hours away. I was able to get in and have a full-service completed which was more that I could hope for. They found that I have a broken exhaust bracket which will require special ordering the part at some later date. The battery was showing problems, so we replaced it. I was back on the road around noon.

Shortly after departure I hit some moderate rainstorms. There was nowhere to pull over on the Turnpike, so I just kept riding. Because the weather was in the upper 80's with high humidity, I have found that you can just press on since the likelihood of getting chilled is minimal. I hit an additional three small rain bursts the remainder of the day.

I stopped for gas about an hour north of Fort Lauderdale and noticed that my exhaust noise was returning. I looked for the flange nut I had replaced back in Spokane. I didn't have the proper tool to tighten it. A while later, the noise became louder and the bike ran rough which sounded like I was running straight pipes. I continued despite the noise.

I realized that if I ever do this again, I will want to get a "Florida Pass" so I don't have to stop and pay cash tolls. When you encounter this, you must stop the bike, shut off the engine and remove your gloves to pay the toll and stash any change. You then need to put the gear back on and restart the engine. Meanwhile, the cars behind you are honking their horns impatiently.

Lake City is where I-75 and I-10 meet in Northern Florida. I had dinner at the Cracker Barrel before checking into the hotel that evening.

I covered 540 miles. I was on the road for 16 hours today, so I was tired when my head hit the pillow.

Tuesday, August 20th, Lake City to Alexandria Louisiana

I knew this was going to be a long day and planned my starting time around reaching the next H-D dealer to get the exhaust fixed. I left at 5:30 AM and headed to Capital City Harley-Davidson in Tallahassee Florida. I was able to pull into the shop when I arrived. The exhaust problem was more serious than I had hoped for. It turns out that the exhaust gasket had blown out, so they needed to drop the pipes and replace that. The service took three hours and I was able to get rolling again around noon. The good news is I gain an hour due to the time change. I wish that it made the trip an hour shorter.

As I was passing through the Western Florida Panhandle near Panama City, I started to notice that the Interstate Highway signs were mangled. They are designed to breakaway when a vehicle hits them. That was my initial thought until I started to notice that entire groups of trees were snapped in half or knocked over. I then realized that Hurricane Michael had destroyed this area last October. When I stopped for gas, I noticed that roofs were still covered with blue tarps to minimize any further damage. I recall last year's attempt at the 4-corners that I aborted because of Hurricane Florence hitting North Carolina. This brought back memories from a mission trip I took to New Orleans in the aftermath of Katrina to help some families begin the long road to recovery.

I bypassed New Orleans since I was in a hurry to return home. As I was passing through Slidell Louisiana, the visor on my helmet broke loose. I had one side attached and the other flapping in the breeze. Five years before, on my first trip, the visor on that helmet broke on the exact same stretch of highway. Since I was heading into a sunset, I decided to pull off and try to fix the helmet, get something to eat, and wait for the sun to set. I tried taping the visor back on but that didn't last. I decided to discard it when it finally broke loose again.

I reached the hotel around 9:30 PM after covering 675 miles.

Wednesday, August 21st, Alexandria to El Reno Oklahoma

I left a little later that I originally planned so that I could get a couple of extra hours of sleep. I still left an hour before sunrise and proceeded to Barksdale where I spent some time at while I was in the Air Force back in the early 70's. I then headed towards Dallas but stopped at a rest area to take a short nap since I was still tired from two long days and two short nights.

I entered Dallas traffic around 11:00 AM and made my way around town without much traffic at all. I stopped for lunch to cool down and drink lots of water. This afternoon was going to be a struggle to deal with the heat. I utilized the cool vest as well as a cool rag for my head. That helped me manage in the 100-degree sunbaked route.

I arrived at the hotel around 2:00 PM. I immediately got into the shower to cool down and get cleaned up before heading to bed. I slept for about 3-hours before getting up and catching up on two days of paperwork. I decided as I started heading for home to start very early in the morning and arrive at my hotels around midday. This means that I am riding in cooler weather longer, as well as avoid driving into sunsets.

Around 10:00 PM, I walked next door to the convenience store to grab something to eat.

I covered 535 miles today.

Thursday, August 22nd, El Reno to Grants New Mexico

I left the hotel an hour or so before sunrise. Around Groom Texas, I put on the rain pants and my leather jacket since I was headed into a driving rainstorm. Here the temperatures were in the high 60's so getting chilled was very likely. I continued and stopped for gas and breakfast. I took some extra time eating since I was heading into Amarillo morning rush hour. They are doing major road construction to widen the highway. I was still able to pass without any difficulties.

At this point in the trip, I have no idea what the date is, nor what day of the week it is. I finally realize that I will return home on Friday a day earlier than I thought!

I reached Albuquerque New Mexico around 11:30 and passed through without any slowdowns. I arrived in Grants around two hours later. I stopped and filled my gas tank, had lunch next door, stopped at the drug store for somethings and checked into the motel.

I did some paperwork and got cleaned up before heading to bed around 3:30 PM. I woke up at 9:30 PM and called to have something delivered for dinner to the room. After spending all day on a motorcycle, having it delivered is so much easier.

I took a short nap and departed the motel at Midnight. Today was 535 miles and I was able to manage the heat and my hydration well.

Friday, August 23rd, Grants to Henderson (HOME)

I left wearing my leather jacket and winter gloves since I would be encountering various temperatures as I traveled through the night. This segment of the trip concerned me the most since crossing Arizona in August is usually in the 100-110 range. So, I decided to travel at night. I had planned this earlier in the week, so I was gradually getting into this schedule. My departure time was determined so that I arrive in Henderson before 7:00 AM and consider the time change.

I had to stop and put on warmer gear because the temperatures had dropped into the 50's. Unfortunately, an hour later it was back in the upper 70's and I was too warm. As I have mentioned in my other posts, the problem I encounter when I get too warm is that I get drowsy. I had to fight the fatigue and changed in and out of the cold weather gear several times.

Changing gear is a time-consuming process and since I was on a time schedule it was frustrating. Fighting bone-chilling weather is no fun and neither is being afraid to close your eyes for fear of falling asleep. In a car, you have the entire structure wrapped around you and are wearing a seat belt protection. On a motorcycle, you have none of that. I might survive a crash in my SUV but the consequences on a motorcycle are fatal. 

I finally took off the gloves and opened the vents on my jacket. I had bought a Payday candy bar earlier, so I finished eating it, drank plenty of water, and chewed gum to stay awake. I struggled and finally reached Kingman Arizona. I stopped for gas and a short break and packed away the leather jacket for the final time this trip. The temperatures were in the low 80's which means it is shirt sleeve weather. 

Friday Morning Breakfast Club

After travelling 500 miles, I arrived at my destination at 6:45 AM. This was exactly the time I had planned to arrive. Every Friday morning for the last ten years a group of 4-6 of us meet for breakfast at the "Original Sunrise Cafe" for breakfast at 7:00 AM. I always joked that the original group all had doctorate degrees and I knew a lot of doctors, just like Howard from Big Bang Theory. I missed the past three weeks, so when I figured out that I could make it this morning, I did everything that I could to be there.

We had a nice visit and since three of us had ridden our motorcycles to breakfast. This is unusual since I am too lazy on most Friday's to get out the bike. It is so much easier to just pre-start the car, walk out, and drive off. One of the guys is heading out next week to go to Promontory Point for the celebration of driving the Golden Spike to signify the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad. I was able to show them some of my gear and swap some more stories.

I stopped on the way home and filled up my gas tank for the last time. I walked in the door around 9:00 AM and got out of my sweaty clothes and took a shower. I took a three-hour nap and has some lunch and spoke with my wife for a few minutes before she had to take her mother to a doctor's appointment.

I rested the remainder of the day. Around 7 PM, we headed out for dinner and then saw the new movie "Overcomer". This movie resonated with me in so many ways. First, one of the major songs entitled "Who You Say I Am" was something that I was singing to myself throughout this entire trip. The second reason, which is even more significant, is that the story features a broken relationship between a father and daughter. Since I have not spoken to my daughter since 1993, this ripped at my very soul.

What a fitting ending for this story.

What is next?

I am unpacking, doing laundry and getting ready to repack and head out next Thursday morning for another 12-day trip. I will be heading to San Luis RIo Colorado, Mexico and riding the "Three Flags Classic" from there across the United States and ending up in Vernon British Columbia in Canada.

On my return trip I will resume the pursuit of a California Triple Crown event. I will describe that much later.