Preamble
When I was in high school, my family had a few small motorbikes, called Tote Gotes. We rode them a lot.
During our Round the World Sailing voyage of 1982-1985, in the town of Bundaberg, Australia we bought a used motorcycle and rode a few hundred miles around the area. Link.
Fast forward to 2004, when Jenny and I pedaled a tandem bicycle across the country and back, a trip we called Hello America ride. We met many people riding motorcycles on trips long and short. They were a friendly bunch and seemed to be having a whole lot of fun. And they were seeing much the same pretty scenery that we were. And because of these people, we wrote in our journal that in another 10 years we would like to ride much the same Hello America route by motorcycle.
In 2010 I rode a bicycle across the country along a route called the "TransAmerica Trail" , and again met many friendly people riding motorcycles. They were having so much fun. And then at the Lochsa lodge in Montana I met a guy that changed my thinking entirely. He had such a beautiful bike, and I finally came to realize how much fun I had been missing. So I decided, then and there, that my Next Fun Trip would be on a motorcycle.
Now in 2011 I wanted to make another trip. But this time not as strenuous - yet it had to be challenging; I wanted to learn new skills; and most important, it had to be fun.
So this 2011 trip would follow the same Hello America route, if only generally; and I would be riding a motorcycle. So the spirit of this trip would be much the same. Thus, the "2011 Moto-America" was born.
Preparations
Shown above are some of the things I custom installed, getting ready for my NFT.
The relay powers the phone charger, shown below. It also powers the GPS and heated garment socket.
I wired the relay to my tail-light, as a trigger, so it shuts everything off when I switch the ignition key off. That way, anything left on will not discharge the battery.
The phone charger will also charge my bluetooth headset, and my camera battery. It's the kind that plugs into a cigarette lighter socket, but I tore the back end off and wired it to the relay.
Day 1
April 20, 2011: Arizona City to Las Cruces NM
The back wheel began to feel a little squirrelly, so I stopped to check things out. Soon an old, rather dilapidated pickup pulled up, and the guy leaned out the window and said: "Yeah, them BMW's need fixing every day. Need some help?"
"No, I'm just checking my tire pressure." I replied. He looked like a HD motorcyclist, even though driving the truck, so I asked him "Ride a Harley, eh?"
"Nope, a Beemer." and we both laughed at that.
Back on the road with renewed confidence in my tires, I realized that the particular road surface was making the ride feel a little strange. And that is the purpose on this initial ride across the country, to get to know the bike and how it handles various conditions.
At the last shred of daylight, we met at a campground in the Organ Mountain National Recreation Area, NE of Las Cruces, and found the campground closed. With no other camping options, it was back to Las Cruses for the night.
Day's mileage: 414 mi
Day 2: White Sands National Monument
April 21, 2011: Las Cruces to Carlsbad NM
Day's mileage: 221 mi
Day 3: Carlsbad Caverns
April 22, 2011
The city of Carlsbad is about 27 miles from the cave. At the turnout from the highway is a little town of Whites, named after Jim White, the first Caucasian to discover and also develop the caverns for tourists. From the town the road winds through very pretty desert country. It looks like a National Park even without the caves.
Day's mileage: 55 mi
Day 4: Texas
April 23, 2011: Carlsbad to Ingram TX
Dawn is my favorite time of day, and I don't like to miss it. So this morning I said goodbyes to Jenny (and Camper) and headed off in the dark of a new day. The bike needed gas, so I stopped to fill the tank. Then while setting off again, I tried to turn my bluetooth headset on, and realized the battery part wasn't there. So I sped back to the motel hoping to catch Jenny before she checked out of the room. Come to find out, I had packed that part of my headset in my gear; so all was well. With the headset working, I set off again.
While preparing for this trip, I had made a daily route based loosely on our Hello America route, and loaded it into my GPS. I can't hear the directions spoken on the GPS while riding, due to the wind blast. So I am using a bluetooth headset linked with the GPS. With that system I navigated all the way to the east coast without paper maps.
The morning was very pretty as I sped along in the cold blast. I had to remain especially alert this time of the day, watching out for deer and other animals that might come dashing out of the bush along the road ahead. These animals are much more dangerous to a person riding a motorcycle rather than a car, due to the lack of protection for the rider.
From Fort Stockton I had intended to travel to Sanderson and Del Rio, but the road was closed, so I backtracked to the I-10 and followed that to Sonora then down to Rock Springs.
From this point I am riding solo, and from most of the photos that follow the journey might look like a lonely trip. But this is hardily the case. I am meeting friendly people just about everywhere, and mainly because of them my ride is a rich and wonderful experience.
The rest stop on I-10 for example I met a friendly couple driving a nice car, who somehow became intrigued and started asking questions. Like most of my encounters, this would have never happened if I had been driving a car instead.
My one regret is I missed a lot of photos of interesting people I met, because I'm hesitant to offend them with a camera. Some people don't mind a stranger taking pictures of them, but some do.
While having a bite to eat in a convenience store, I talked with a guy who was out training on his mountain bike, and who had stopped here for something to eat also. He was training for the Great Divide Route (Continental Divide), which he hoped to complete in less than 2 weeks. On a mountain bike that would be hauling! I asked him how far he had come today, and he said 180 miles so far. I wasn't too surprised because he had the body of a real athlete. He was planning to ride the Great Divide Route in mid June, north to south, so I suggested that maybe I would see him there, somewhere along the way, as I would like to ride the same route, south to north on my motorcycle. If we do meet, it would be the proverbial small world, we both agreed.
The first day of the trip my face had become sunburned, even though wearing a helmet throughout the day, and even though the visor on the helmet was dark. So dark that a person couldn't see my face from the outside. I would have thought that dark of a visor would be opaque to UV. But not so. Then today, I thought - no need for sunscreen cream - because the day was very cloudy. My face got sunburned again!
Late afternoon I rode past a motel with a sign "Welcome motorcycles." How could I pass that one up? Turns out the owner/manager was an avid biker himself, and had a very nice machine parked outside his window. He was super friendly, and of course we talked bikes.
Day's mileage: 441 mi
Day 5: Through the Texas Hill Country
April 24, 2011: Ingram to Shepherd TX
My route east avoided the slab (freeway) as much as possible, and instead took the secondary roads with their pretty scenery and less traffic. I enjoyed traveling these roads very much. There was always something interesting to see.
Traveling by motorcycle, I always seem to make friends. Here I stopped to get gas and eat lunch, when Randy and his wife pulled up and parked beside me. We sat down in the shade of a covered picnic table and enjoyed talking for a good 45 minutes.
At the motels I like to take off all the luggage and park close to the widow of my room, then keep the curtain open so I can see my bike. The bike as an alarm, (which I installed) so I could hear it should anyone mess with the bike.
Day's mileage: 315 mi
Day 6: Louisiana
April 25, 2011: Shepherd to Franklinton LA
This was a very good day of riding. To see some of what I saw, click on the larger map, and poke around with the street view.
Day's mileage: 222 mi
Day 7: Florida
April 26, 2011: Franklinton to DeFuniak Springs FL
The mighty Mississippi River is not visible from the road I took, until you're 100 feet from it. As I crested a small hill, there it was in front of me. And to my surprise, the ferry was there, already loaded with cars and about ready to depart. But not quite, so I hurried down the hill to the bank, and drove onto the ferry. And with that, the crew closed the gates and the boat started to rumble away. It was almost like it was waiting for me, but of course luck was simply in my favor this time.
Day's mileage: 452 mi
Day 8: Georgia
April 27, 2011: DeFuniak Springs to Dublin, GA
The bad news is I lost a pannier. It fell off the bike while I was zipping along the road; and I had gone 150 miles before I noticed its disappearance.
The good news is that I had squeaked through Mississippi and Alabama yesterday before the big tornado-bearing storm had hit. The winds were high, when I went through, but the next day (today) I heard that the traffic on I-10 had been stopped by 100 mph winds. And furthermore, I just missed the worst tornado outbreak for decades, just to the north of where I had been.
Today's whether was fine, allowing me to enjoy a scenic ride through a more remote part of Georgia, as guided by the GPS.
I closed the Atlantic coast at Jekyll island state park, but found that the entry fee was $5.00 just for parking. So I backtracked and drove over the Sidney Lanier Bridge - a very striking structure, and a rather daunting one in strong winds - to St. Simons Island, and found a place where I could park by the beach.
I had reached a milestone on the trip, the Atlantic coast. Now I'm headed north to visit a friend in Atlanta.
The tornados were rampant across much of Atlanta that night, and I heard that the damage was severe. But luckily the weather was quiet in my location.
Day's mileage: 469 mi
Day 9: Lake Sidney Lanier
April 28, 2011: Dublin to Lake Sidney Lanier GA
After visiting my friend Rich, we set off on our respective bikes for the nearby lake.
Day's mileage: 156 mi
Day 10: The Dragon, 318 curves in 11 miles
April 29, 2011: Atlanta to Townsend GA
I brought my extra bluetooth headset for Rich to use, and we both were amazed how much more fun riding together was. We could talk with each other as clear as standing face to face, even at speed. And riding the BRP, one has a lot to comment about.
Deals Gap is a motorcycle resort, with a gift shop stuffed with souvenir t-shirts, hats, and so forth. While buying our souvenirs, I asked one fellow where the Dragon starts. His reply: "You'll go around several tight corners, then come to something and wonder 'What was that!' That's the start."
We had fun on the Dragon and were glad for the opportunity to experience it. But agreed that it was the most dangerous road we have ever driven. No wonder there's so many accidents. The problem was the testosterone. Not so much with the bikers - at least the day we were there - but with the sports car drivers who were hell bent on racing the bikes.
Day's mileage: 188 mi
Day 11: Blue Ridge Parkway
April 30, 2011: Townsend to Marion NC
Our route took us over Newfound Gap, and on the way up to the pass we were delayed by roadwork. The road was one lane and controlled by a make-shift stoplight; traffic was backed up for a mile or more, and was moving only slowly, if at all. But because the road was steep, we couldn't relax whenever the traffic stopped, but we had to hold the bikes on the breaks with the clutch in. We couldn't stop our engines and let the bikes sit in gear, because the traffic would start moving again. 45 minutes of this and we reached the stoplight, and from there, on, things were back to normal.
At Newfound Gap we passed by a parking lot where the AT crosses the road. That made four times that I had been to this spot on Journey.
At this point we thought of making a detour to Clingman's Dome, but so many of the cars were headed that way, we continued down Highway 441, instead, toward Cherokee.
However, before reaching Cherokee, we turned left onto the Blue Ridge Parkway. This was the southern end of the Parkway, and I planed to ride the 469 miles to its end at Rockfish Gap.
Rich noticed that his tank was getting low, so we descended a side road to Breveord to get gas. The descent was steep and winding, and fun ride through the beautiful forest.
Day's mileage: 192 mi
Day 12: Blue Ridge Parkway cont.
May 1, 2011: Marion to Troutville VA
I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway. Google's blue line is unable to follow it.
Rich had to return to work. So I'm back to solo today.
On the Blue Ridge Parkway going 45 mph the bike got 81 miles per gallon. That dropped to 70 mpg going 55 mph, which was my usual speed for most of the trip
Day's mileage: 422 mi
Day 13: West Virginia
May 2, 2011: Troutville to Charleston WV
I rode the Blue Ridge Parkway. Google's blue line is unable to follow it.
I pressed on, and finally stopped in the outskirts of Charleston for the night.
Day's mileage: 342 mi
Day 14: Rain!
May 3, 2011: Charleston to Mt Sterling KY
I took the slab through Charleston and continued on it for about an hour until encountering a hard rain. So I opted for a secondary road (the old highway) and followed that in a persistent rain.
Mid-morning in Grayson I stopped to get gas, and leaving the bike under the gas pump covering, went in to get a hot cuppa and snack. I asked the manager if it was OK to leave my bike by the gas pumps while I sat down inside, out of the rain. "Sure," he replied, "We don't make money on the gas; in fact we loose money on it, thanks to the corporate greed. The only money makers for us are what we sell inside the store."
We talked for a while on this subject, then another gentleman came and talked to me. Seems that this guy had a friend who owned a BMW Motorcycle shop near here, and he gave me this person's name in case I needed anything. I asked the name of this person's shop, and he said it's not open to the public; he just has a large personal shop full of (old) BMW bikes that he works on.
We talked for a while, then yet another fellow came in and sat in a booth near me, and I talked with him for a while. He was a truck driver and lived near here. "You might have seen my rig on your way by; it's the one with the gold color." He drives all over the country, and knew the general location of where I live in Arizona. In fact, he said, "I was just through Phoenix last week."
By mid-day I had had enough driving in the soaking rain, so stopped early for the day.
Day's mileage: 145 mi
Day 15: Kentucky
May 4, 2011: Mt. Sterling to Cave City KY
Other than that near-miss, the day was excellent riding through very pretty country.
At Russell Springs, I got onto the Cumberland Parkway and headed west. This was a familiar highway; I had cycled it twice, and in fact had been escorted off it by the police. But today I was legal.
I reached Cave City in the mid-afternoon, and was glad to receive a package send from Jenny containing an extra fob for my bike alarm. I had lost mine a few days back, so could not arm the system. But programming the new fob was a job, even with instructions in hand. Because the first and most important step had been left out. The alarm was de-armed but still active, and nothing I tried would de-activate it. Meaning, everything I tried resulted in the sounding of the arm. I had to push the bike way out back, so it would not bother anybody - as much.
I had experienced this problem before, back home, and I even tried disconnecting the thing and removing it from the bike and taking it out of the house. But to no avail, because it was self powered. It would not shut up!
The missing step eludes me to this day, but I finally figured out a work-around, which was - let it go through about 7 alarm cycles, with the bloody thing ringing at 130 decibels for about 2 minutes each cycle, then it will shut itself off. And only then can you re-program the fob.
Of course while the alarm was sounding, I was able to muffle its loud screeching by covering the unit with the palm of the hand and pressing hard on it.
With that job finished, peace and quiet returned to my little world, and so I rode the bike out to the National Park and signed up for a tour of Mammoth Cave for the next day.
Day's mileage: 184 mi
Day 16: Mammoth Cave
May 5, 2011
Day's mileage: 60 mi
Day 17: Avoiding the floods
May 6, 2011: Cave City to Poplar Bluff MO
The first order for the day, actually the last order for last night, was to devise a route across the flood ravaged Mississippi River. My usual crossing near Cairo IL was deeply underwater and out of the question. In the end I decided on the next bridge south of there, because Google Maps, traffic view, showed the traffic on that road (155) to be moving.
So I set a course SW for the 155.
Approaching the Mississippi River on the 155, I saw that the river had flooded the fields, making them look like a giant lake with trees sticking out of it. And that lake had climbed to about two and a half feet of the road surface.
I crossed the bridge with no problems, and thought the flooding problems were now behind me. Little did I know that there was much flooding ahead, in the lowlands of Missouri.
It took me three hours to find a way west. After much galumphing around, I finally had to ride straight north for Highway 60. Then once on that, I was in the clear.
Day's mileage: 362 mi
Day 18: Kansas
May 7, 2011: Poplar Bluff to Pratt KS
Heading west, I was traveling against the prevailing stormy winds and weather, and managed to finally break through. And for the rest of the day I traveled on dry pavement.
Also, I had switched modes, and now was traveling on the fast roads, and going for the distance. My goal was now to reach the west coast in more or less a straight shot.
Day's mileage: 512 mi
Day 19: Colorado
May 8, 2011: Pratt to South Fork CO
I arrived at South Fork at the end of a fun day of riding, and after securing a room, proceeded to the town's laundromat. I usually wash my riding clothes in the motels' sinks, but this time I decided to go whole hog and wash everything (but my outer riding suit).
Day's mileage: 497 mi
Day 20: Utah
May 9, 2011: S. Fork to Kanab UT
Day's mileage: 437 mi
Day 21: California
May 10, 2011: Kanab to Oceanside CA
I followed the slab through Las Vegas and points south.
After dinner I ambled along the docks, watching a few sea lions cavorting around the marina.
Day's mileage: 540 mi
Day 22: Oceanside CA to Home
May 11, 2011
Day's mileage: 399 mi
Gear
Tires: Dunlop 607. New at the start, worn-out at the finish. I liked these tires very much. Lots of traction, even in the rain. They are a street tire, not meant to use on dirt, despite the 80/20 rating. However, they feather pretty badly as they wear, so I will try something else next time.
The only piece of gear that did not care for was the red and yellow riding suit. It leaks badly in heavy rain, and tends to destroy the clothing worn under it, as well as the fabric parts of the lower helmet, due to the fierce Velcro hooks-tape placed at just the wrong locations. But the suit was so expensive that I will keep on wearing it, rather than buying something else. Eventually I'd like to make one, but for this ride I at least modified the Velcro, with Jenny's help, so it didn't tear up the clothing so badly. But can you imagine an expensive Gore-Text suit that leaks badly? That is commercial gear for you - designed to make money. And by the way, we called the company and they wanted us to pay $100 for their fixing the suit so it doesn't leak so badly. No thanks.
My favorite piece of gear for this trip is of course my motorcycle. I love this bike. Of course, most bike owners and riders love their bikes. Motorcycles are fun to ride and easy on gas. And they elevate a person into a special category of friendly individuals, which means that a person meets lots of interesting people and has friends wherever he or she travels. Riding a Motorcycle solo is not a solitary experience.
I also like the fact that the bike is a "dual sport," meaning it's designed for off road travel as well. It's good for riding in the desert around here. But I won't take it off road in hill country, because I wouldn't like to contribute to the erosion problem.
I had a lot fun on this trip, and am looking forward to my Next Fun Trip (NFT).
- Moto-America
- Map
- Preamble
- Preparations
- Day 1: to Las Cruces NM
- Day 2: to Carlsbad NM
- Day 3: Carlsbad Caverns
- Day 4: to Ingram TX
- Day 5: to Shepherd TX
- Day 6: to Franklinton LA
- Day 7: to DeFuniak Springs FL
- Day 8: to Dublin, GA
- Day 9: to Lake Sidney Lanier GA
- Day 10: to Townsend GA
- Day 11: to Marion NC
- Day 12: to Troutville VA
- Day 13: to Charleston WV
- Day 14: to Mt Sterling KY
- Day 15: to Cave City KY
- Day 16: Mammoth Cave
- Day 17: to Poplar Bluff MO
- Day 18: to Pratt KS
- Day 19: to South Fork CO
- Day 20: to Kanab UT
- Day 21: to Oceanside CA
- Day 22: to Home
- Gear