My Scooter Life & A Little More

Friday, October 21, 2011

Day 2 Road Trip 2011

Not much on day two, the goal was to reach Wall, SD before end of day, well that didn't happen. We stopped short that day, 10 miles short of South Dakota because we weren't sure how far the next town was that would have motels.

Made it to Nebraska Pretty soon on day 2

Some Town in Nebraska

Made it to Dunning, NE

Pretty Boring Day 2, trip really starts Day 3

Day 1 Road Trip 2011

Had to stop in at White Castle

Starting Mileage of trip 4603


Stop in the N.C. Welcome Center

My Day started at 3am, after all I had over 1000 miles to reach Kansas City. I left out around 4:10am from the house and was heading to the gas station.   I needed a good receipt with a time stamp to start my official bid for the iron butt 1000 miles in less than 24 hr ride. Receipt? Check.... Log Entry? Check.... Let's Roll

As I rolled north on I-26 towards the upstate, I was cautious of Bambi and the construction zones, which I guess at night they don't much care about the dirt and mud their trucks drag on the Hwy, let alone those blinding lights they have facing into on coming traffic. Anyway, I could hardly wait for the sun to rise as then I knew it was gonna be hammer down. I pulled into the N.C. Welcome center and just sorta waited as I knew sun rise wasn't far ahead. I only waited about 15mins before starting to climb the NC mountains still waiting for the sun to rise.   I forget where I was, but i can assure you, I was a happy camper when it did. I-26 to I-40 to Knoxville then North to Lexington, KY.. I was expecting to start seeing the White Castle signs about half way into K.Y. and I did. But I wasn't ready to stop yet, I was finally making good time, Running out full tanks of fuel which takes several hours, This ST has a 7.7 gal fuel cell getting around 38 to 42 MPG.

Anyway, I believe somewhere in Frankfort, KY I was ready for a stop for fuel and food. Yum

Heading in the Louisville, I was gonna stop by the Louisville Slugger Bat Center, as they have a giant Bat leaning against their building, and it was right off the interstate by a block or two. Yea, that didn't work out as traffic for that exit was backed up into the interstate, so I kept pushing, pushing right into a 1 hour traffic jam. So I start reflecting on how this will affect my Iron Butt Time, I was barely going to make it before dark anyway, now I'm gonna be an hour into dark before my arrival in Kansas City.

Delay two: I knew a year prior I didn't want to go thru St. Louis on my route, been there once before I thought the traffic sux'd. But there is no good way around it. So I pushed forward towards St. Louis.   Yea, mistake and time killer number two. About this time is was really heating up in the day, Stuck in traffic, it's hot and this is killing my time. Two hours later, I'm rolling west with a good head of steam. Somewhere on the other side of St. Louis night falls and I'm still 3 hrs away from Kansas City. After a much needed break and a call to George who is there waiting, I push forward, and arrive in Lenexa, KS at 10:15 pm local time wow! what a day... well over 1000 miles and I am beat.

Before the trip I show George a map, I say, pull into this culda sac and which ever motel has parking at the doors, get that motel.   It was either a red Roof or something else. George txt me once he arrived that he was at Days Inn room # 206 or something. Not thinking much about it, I head for the exit once I arrive in town, I see sign pointing right for days inn, I turn right and start looking. Can't find it.   I drive up the street, and back. Finally park to call and my phone is dead. I wait for a few mins for it to charge in hopes to make a call. This is where my patients get the best of me. I go to turn my phone on, and it doesn't have enough charge to turn on all the way. shucks, I wait longer, try again, same thing. Getting frustrated and thinking, it might be quicker to ride around some more and find this days inn.. I punch in Days Inn on my GPS, hmmm 4 miles away and back on the interstate.. surely I would have been made aware if the exit changed as well as the motel....well, after a few more trips up and down this road, I finally am so tired, I just want to lay down and sleep. I make a B line for the days Inn in my GPS. I arrive at the Days Inn and ask if George has checked in, WHo? yea thought so... so she gives me a 3rd floor room, shucks, I pull around back, Unload all my junk and walk up 3 flights of stairs, the damn key doesnt work. So with all my gear in hand, I walk back down 3 flights of stairs to the front office, she gives me news keys, I walk back to the stairs, up the 3 flights tired as hell carrying all my crap, lay it at the door, put the key in the door, damn...IT doesnt work either....My blood is boiling now, SOB, Dumb___ chic and so forth.... how hard could it be to get this damn key cards to work? I grab all my crap again, walk down the 3 freakin flights of stairs again and march with meaning to the front office, walk in throw my junk down, and throw the key card on the counter and watch it slide across the counter, the lady says "I will give you a first floor room right over here" well damn, Why didn't i get this room to begin with damnit........

Now in my room with a working door key, I walk in throw my junk on the bed, plug my cell phone up and lay down, I musta went out quick cos I don't remember jack until I woke up knowing I needed to check my messages. Apparently Misty had been worried as well as george. Made some calls, tried to explain myself although I don't think George could quite grasp the day I just had and what I went thru just to get checked into a motel.. Either way, it was what it was.... So George pulls into my motel and explains, Yea, the Days Inn used to be a Red Roof....and I then knew exactly where the motel was, but I swear, it still said Red Roof on the outside of the building. Forward we go........

Start of Road Trip 2011

For this road trip has been in the making for well over one year, and yet almost for 25 years, Let me explain. Soon after I started driving, or should I say legally driving when I was 16, I began to imagine jumping in the car one day and heading for the west coast. Well, as many things in life, time, money, work, and other obligations, I simply never found the time, or made the time to make such a trip.

Fast forward about 20 years when I started riding and suddenly travel to distant places is the norm. For a few years taking smaller trips, under 4k miles week trips was just sorta setting the stage for what would now become "the Trip of 2011"

Planning: Talk to the vacation lady at work, ask for approval for two weeks vacation. Simple, she was excited for me to be able to take my trip. Cool.... Next, find locations around the lower 48 that were interesting enough to ride too, take a picture, (read that as, take a picture and a break) and see something you've only heard about, seen on T.V. or just lucked up and found while search other locations.

Reading Ride reports on ADV of course gives you plenty of ideas of what you can see in this country, you see others riding around Moab, UT or some other place and you just make mental notes that you'd like to see that someday.

Route Planning: Google maps is my friend. Search for what your looking for, click directions here via this road and voila. Sorta that simple, but I had more than one or two locations. The objective of my two week vacation and heading towards the west coast was see mostly things that you need the two weeks for to see. In other words, there would be no stops or sightseeing for the 1st two days, or the last two days. These days would be used for munching miles on the interstate. Key Sites that were on the list from the beginning.

Badlands National Park
Mt Rushmore
Crazy Horse
Yellowstone National Park
Pacific Coast Hwy
Las Vegas
Grand Canyon National Park

Short List huh? well, I am not one to rush from these sights alone, so my search began for other interesting locations between these, or slightly off route that still gave me time to see the others.
I won't bore you with all the details of finding spots, but google image is a good tool. searching "top things to see in X state" works well too. Once you find your spots, of course that is just the beginning, I was interested in hours of operation, any fees, and was it fair. Also, the more spots you find, you are forced to decide which ones are on the "DO LIST" and weed out the "not worth it" list. Of course over time I would change my list a countless amount and would work on the list, and the route until two days before leaving for this trip on October 1st 2011.

The Who: Well there is a lot to this part, I originally planned this trip as a solo ride, as I would have done if no others were so inclined to come with, and the who did change a few times, for various hot headed and stubborn reasons, But in the end George, who I have ridden more miles with than anyone called to inquire about this trip, so with a little movement in the planned dates it was now set for Oct. 1st (oh, this could be cold, and snow could be an issue)

The List as set out on 10-1-11

Be in Kansas City Day One. 1034 miles via Louisville, Ky
Dunning, NE
Badlands
Wall Drug
Iron Mountain Rd.
Mt Rushmore
Crazy Horse
DeadWood, SD
Sturgis, SD
Hells Angels Clubhouse
Wild Bill Grave site
Yellowstone NP
Grand Teton NP
Bonneville Salt Flats
Loneliest Hwy in America Route 50 across Nevada
Reno, NV
Tioga Hwy
Yosemite NP
Folsom Prison
Redwood Forest
Pacific Coast hwy
Golden Gate Bridge
Alcatraz Prison
Twin Peaks in SF
Wyatt Earp Grave
James Dean Memorial
James Dean Crash Site
Karate Kid Apartment
Karate Kid movie Ali's house
Karate Kid Cobra Kai Dojo
Hollywood Sign
Griffith Observatory (Rebel without a cause Movie filmed here) also overlooks LA
Ronald Regan Library
Death Valley NP
Las Vegas Welcome Sign
Hoover Dam
Grand Canyon NP South Rim
Grand Canyon NP North Rim
Glen Canyon Dam/bridge
Forest Gump spot on Utah from the movie where he stopped running
Hole 'n the Rock
Moab, Utah
Arches NP
Royal Gorge Bridge
Pikes Peak

I may have missed something, but that was the general list we sat out with in the beginning. As you follow along, You'll notice if anything was missed or not.

Packing: Packing for a car trip is so much simpler, a bike trip, you need to be able to carry only what you need, and not anything you can live without. You have to prep your bike, install new tires, oil changes check everything over, pack a tool kit, rain suit, in this case, warm weather gear, mild weather gear, hot weather gear, clothes, camera, computer, batteries, chargers, hydration pack and the list goes on. It seems the weeks before the trip I was ordering or buying new things constantly. But this was my first trip on this motorcycle and a learning curve was in place.

Finally Packed and Ready to Roll..............

Monday, October 17, 2011

update

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Capone & Mae Mae

Chillin in the pool

Monday, July 18, 2011

Elizabeth's Pizza

Rode a round trip of over 460 miles to eat the best pizza on the planet...... Greensboro, NC Randleman road.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Panoramic shot

Of riding today

Riding the dirt/sand today

Took the klR out today, just for kix. Looks like dirt, but mostly dirt/sand, with some deep spots of sand. The klr was up for it, and my sand riding skills improved 100 percent today.