Starting my fourth attempt at the FOUR CORNERS
Background:
I started this adventure back in 2011 when I was chatting with a client in the Seattle area and he mentioned that he had just completed a run to the Four Corners of the Continental United States. It took a couple of years to obtain a bigger motorcycle to make the trip possible. After reviewing a number of You Tube videos about what type of gear I should take I started planning the trip using Google Maps and Excel spreadsheets.
In 2013, I sold my 2008 Sportster 1200 Custom to a friend and purchased a 2010 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. This bike is designed for long-distance riding and weighs in at nearly 1,000 pounds empty. My first attempt at the Four Corners occurred in 2014 which the entire trip was scheduled around my 45th High School class reunion in Hobart, Indiana.
The Four Corners run consists of riding to each of the corners of the US (San Ysidro, California; Blaine, Washington; Madawaska, Maine; and Key West, Florida) in any order and take a picture of the bike at a specific landmark along with a gas receipt showing the date and time. The trip must be completed in 21 days or less inclusive. I have to plan in two maintenance breaks to have the bike serviced by the time I return home.
I took a break for a couple of years because of work and my second attempt was in 2017 and I did the "True X" version where between every corner you had to check-in at Lebanon, Kansas which is the geographic center of the US. Doing this in August was made more difficult because of the oppressive heat. I completed this trip in 20 days and learned a number of lessons dealing with heat exhaustion and dehydration. I ended up in Blaine as my final checkpoint and headed to Abbotsford, British Columbia and took of on the "Three Flags Run" a few days later. This is a four day ride to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Unfortunately, on Labor Day at 3:30 AM I hit a deer about 40 miles from nowhere. Fortunately, some other bikers shared the same idea that I had for getting an early start across the Arizona desert. They came by about 15 minutes after the accident and helped be get the motorcycle upright and off of the road. They got my GPS coordinates and drove to the next town (60 miles further on) and called the State Police. I walked away with a scraped knee, some bruises, $8,000 damage to the bike and a $700 towing bill. I was able to get home later that afternoon.
My third attempt was in 2018. After completing the Three Flags Run which started in Puerto Peñasco and ended in Calgary. I then headed to Blaine, Washington and started my third attempt.was aborted when Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Carolina's. Since I was going to be heading into the path of the storm's aftermath and areas where refugees were relocating to. I decided to head for home. The bright spot in the trip was having the opportunity to visit our son's new home in Cincinnati and spend time with my granddaughters.Two years and two unsuccessful trips was pretty discouraging.
The Four Corners run consists of riding to each of the corners of the US (San Ysidro, California; Blaine, Washington; Madawaska, Maine; and Key West, Florida) in any order and take a picture of the bike at a specific landmark along with a gas receipt showing the date and time. The trip must be completed in 21 days or less inclusive. I have to plan in two maintenance breaks to have the bike serviced by the time I return home.
I took a break for a couple of years because of work and my second attempt was in 2017 and I did the "True X" version where between every corner you had to check-in at Lebanon, Kansas which is the geographic center of the US. Doing this in August was made more difficult because of the oppressive heat. I completed this trip in 20 days and learned a number of lessons dealing with heat exhaustion and dehydration. I ended up in Blaine as my final checkpoint and headed to Abbotsford, British Columbia and took of on the "Three Flags Run" a few days later. This is a four day ride to Puerto Peñasco, Mexico. Unfortunately, on Labor Day at 3:30 AM I hit a deer about 40 miles from nowhere. Fortunately, some other bikers shared the same idea that I had for getting an early start across the Arizona desert. They came by about 15 minutes after the accident and helped be get the motorcycle upright and off of the road. They got my GPS coordinates and drove to the next town (60 miles further on) and called the State Police. I walked away with a scraped knee, some bruises, $8,000 damage to the bike and a $700 towing bill. I was able to get home later that afternoon.
My third attempt was in 2018. After completing the Three Flags Run which started in Puerto Peñasco and ended in Calgary. I then headed to Blaine, Washington and started my third attempt.was aborted when Hurricane Florence made landfall in the Carolina's. Since I was going to be heading into the path of the storm's aftermath and areas where refugees were relocating to. I decided to head for home. The bright spot in the trip was having the opportunity to visit our son's new home in Cincinnati and spend time with my granddaughters.Two years and two unsuccessful trips was pretty discouraging.
THIS YEARS PLANS:
I retired from Teradata last October and decided to take on a epic motorcycle trip this year. I started planning in January. I intend to complete the following runs:
- California Spanish Missions Tour - visit the 21 Spanish Missions between San Diego and Sonora.
- California National Parks Tour - visit 24 National Parks, Monuments, Memorials, and Recreation Areas
- California Scenic Highways Tour - travel on 15 scenic highways with 5 rides in each of the Southern, Central and Northern regions.
- Three Flags Classic - a annual event starting this year in San Luis Río Colorado, Mexico and ending at Vernon, British Columbia. This run occurs every Labor Day weekend.
- Four Corners Run - I have this planned for 17 days not including the travel to/from the starting and ending points.
I merged the three California trips into three separate segments trying to accomplish them in the best optimal routes. I completed the first segment with some level of difficulty. A problem with my GPS forced me to abort the trip on the second day to return home and repair the problem. What was planned as a 5-day trip turned into 7 days and an extra 1,000 miles. This segment covered the Central California area from Pasadena to Sonoma where I visited 18 missions, 14 parks and 5 highways.
My second segment was planned to be the front-end of this Four Corners trip intended to cover the southern portion of the trip. The majority of the trip will be in the Mojave Desert. After dealing with the heat on the first segment forced me to rethink doing this in early August. I will cover this sometime in October where it makes better sense. The third segment will be completed during my return from the Three Flags Tour and hit all of the Northern California areas,
First Day - August 3rd
Today was needed to get into position to start the Four Corners Run on Sunday. I left the house at 4:00 AM. I wanted to get together with some friends in Poway, California for breakfast and it let be cross the desert before the sun came up. The highest temperature I encountered was 93 in Baker.
I had a great time visiting with some friends that I have known for nearly 20 years from working at our company facility located in the area. I then headed for the hotel and checked in at 11:30 AM. I got the mandatory checkpoint picture of the San Ysidro Post Office.
After I got settled into the room and took a short nap, I headed out to the local Harley-Davidson dealer to get a new pair of gloves and a new helmet headset. I dropped my helmet earlier in the day and broke it. I need it to hear the instructions from the GPS so it need to be replaced. I installed it and had an early dinner before calling it a early night.
Second Day - August 4th
On of the major planning decisions is "how to avoid traffic jams at all costs". Since this first day will take me directly through Los Angeles it is necessary to get an early start. I left the hotel at 4:00 AM. I got gas at the station next to the hotel. This is the required documentation for the checkpoint and stipulates the official start time for the trip.
When I got to Anaheim, the I-5 Interstate was closed so I had to detour around it. This was the only problem I encountered as I left the LA area around 7:00 AM without any traffic. I had breakfast in Arvin to take a break after 4 hours of travel/
I took a short side trip to visit the Cesar Chavez National Monument. On my prior trip, I arrived at the visitor center after it closed so I needed to get a passport stamp to make it official. I arrived about a half-hour early, so I found a nice shady spot and rested.
The weather was nice getting trough LA (mostly 70's) but jumped into the 90's when I got over the mountains. I spent the rest of the day fighting the heat and checked into the hotel just south of Sacramento around 4 PM. I ate dinner around 7 and called it a day after catching up with paperwork. I covered 417 miles in around 12 hours.
Third Day - August 5th
I want to wish my youngest brother a happy 65th birthday.
I left the hotel at 4 AM to try and beat the heat. When I started out the temperature was 63, so I wore my leather jacket. When I got into the Mt. Shasta area it got colder so I stopped and put on a sweater underneath the jacket. I was comfortable for the next 30 minutes when I hit flat land and I encountered warm weather, in the 80's.
I crossed into Oregon around 9 AM and stopped for breakfast in Medford and removed my gear, The morning drive was pleasant and warmed up in the afternoon. I hit heavy traffic in the Portland area where I chose to take the bypass around town. It was a lot of stop and go interrupted by a mad dash to the slow down.
I arrived at the hotel around 5 PM covering 673 miles in 13 hours. Tomorrow, I get to start a little later to avoid rush hour in the Seattle area as I head to my second corner in Blane.
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