This article was originally posted by Jason M. Denham on the VFR List, and he has graciously allowed me to post it here. Since so many of us enjoy road trips, I thought others might enjoy his story. Jason rode 4,500 miles in 5 days and 6 hours through 11 states during June 1999.
As Jason was saying ...The Beginning
On June 18, after graduating from the UW and SPU, road-tripping , hiking, kayaking through British Columbia and Washington, I headed out on my '86 VFR700 at 5:15 a.m. from Burlington, Washington (1 hour north of Seattle) and didn't stop for the night for 19 hours until I reached Evanston, Wyoming. I took I-5 south to Seattle, picked up a buddy and his '99 R1 (drool), hit I-90 and cruised over the Cascade Mts.
Oregon and Idaho
From Ellensburg, we headed south-east on I-82 to the Tri-Cities where my buddy and I parted company and I continued on through Eastern Oregon and Central Idaho on I-84. Just a quick note here, it seemed everybody in the Boise Idaho area likes to travel at literally 100 mph. I almost got ran over by some lady in a Saturn who obviously wasn't paying attention when cars ahead of me were braking - I had just passed her by moving in the fast lane and scooted past. She then moved into my lane behind me when cars ahead began braking. All I saw in my mirrors was a swerving Saturn too close for comfort and a freaked out lady - hope she learned a lesson she won't forget.
Utah and Wyoming
A beautiful sunset caught me out on a high plateau in North Central Utah just north of Ogden (where many US citizens send their IRS taxes). From there I headed east and caught I-80 which took me into Western Wyoming. This day added up to about 1040 miles with my 'off route' trips to get food and such. So finally an iron butt was in my possession. The last couple of hours were chilly but most of the day was blazingly hot - signs in Boise read mid to upper 90's. Felt like I was getting blasted in a heat furnace.
Often at gas stations I'd use water from my water bottles I carried to drench the inside of my helmet and my shirt before starting off which lasted a good 20 minutes. I finally found a place to set up my tent and hit the sack around 1:00 am.
Nebraska, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas
In the morning I was up at 7:00 am and on the road in about 20 minutes headed East on I-80. Spent the day flying through Wyoming and on into Nebraska which is a long state. I dipped down into Colorado for about 3 miles just to 'bag' that state too. That night I was in Omaha NB, where I spent a couple of days with one of my roommates from my last year at Seattle Pacific University. In my friend's cage (admittedly, a nice change from my bike), we went down to Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas to get some great barbeque, listen to some Jazz and checked out the stadiums where the Kansas City Royals and the Chiefs play. I also discovered 'lightening bugs' in Omaha for the first time. I tell you, places that don't have these flashing insects are missing out. I'd like to import some to Washington.
Iowa and Minnesota
Before leaving Nebraska for Iowa, I cleaned my chain with WD-40 (first time) and discovered I was missing the clip off of my masterlink (gulp). Had no idea how long it was off. My buddy gave me some wire and I wired it on not wanting to wait 2-3 hours for the local bike shops to open. I then cruised up to Cedar Falls, Iowa (250 miles) going nice and slow = speed limit, checking my 'safety wire' every 60 miles or so but it showed no problems. I spent 2 days with a couple of buddies of mine from high school and church and we had a blast. We went and visited the Field of Dreams where they made the movie and hit some balls around. Had a rivet-type master link put on my chain at the Waterloo, Iowa Honda Shop.
South Dakota, Montana and Home
I took 3 days coming back via I-90 after heading north to Minnesota. Stopped in South Dakota to tour the Badlands and the Black Hills where I saw Mt. Rushmore. The Black Hills is a very beautiful area and I camped there my first night. And finally after miles of straight flat stuff there were some twisties! I had to re-learn how to turn and brake!
Up the next morning, packed away the tent and gear and headed out for Missoula, Montana. Ran into some NASTY wind and rain combinations in the Livingston, Montana area for about 30-40 miles. I was literally blown nearly off the road due to the winds, and the rain severely limited my visibility at times. Heck, I had to slow down to a crawling 55 mph for a while! With the weather came a drop of about 20 degrees in the air temperature so it was numb fingers chilly.
Spent the night with my sister in law's father in Missoula then headed home via I-90 and I-5 the next day (June 26). This was a 'short' day at only about 500 miles and 8 hours of riding.
Trip done. Game over. Two days later I started work.
My Thoughts
The '86 VFR700 (stock) ran like a champ, absolutely flawless. Power, speed, smoothness all there. I never bothered checking the oil even once on this entire trip. I figure that the oil level has never dropped before so... The stock seat SUCKS!! Same for the windscreen. Beside my butt hurting, my neck received an amazing 4500 mile work - out having to hold my helmet up against the steady 85 - 95 mph winds and even worse with headwinds which I had a lot of. Future rides will be limited to about 400 miles a day max.
On O-ring chains and WD-40...well boys and girls, here it is. During this entire trip, I cleaned the chain with WD-40 twice and NEVER had to adjust it. Not bad for a 1 year old chain with already 4-5,000 miles and lots of wheelies on it. But to you non WD-40 types, I'm sure I'm just a (glaring) exception.
This country is big. It has a lot of wide open spaces. It has a lot of beautiful places. All the same, I'll take my Skagit Valley farmland, Cascade Mountains and rivers, and San Juan Islands, thanks. I hardly saw any bikes except for South Dakota which had quite a few Harleys and G-Wings. Saw a VFR800 but it was on a trailer...pathetic.
Thank the Good Lord for my guardian angel who had to work overtime at least 3 different instances. Remember this, even on a straight, flat Iowa farmland road, PAY ATTENTION (shudder)!
Gear
Jason M. Denham
- 2-piece Aerostich Roadcrafter (toasty, but being naked wouldn't have helped much)
- Arai Quantum-e Doohan Helmet (loud, but good ventilation)
- AGV Corsa 2 gloves (get cold easy)
- Asolo 520 GTX boots (flawless)
- Chase Harper Eurosport Tank bag (a tad bulky, but nice on longer trips because of storage space)
- Chase Harper 3475 Saddlebags (not real pretty, but practical with a capital P, easy to attach tent and sleeping pad, little attached pouches nice for easy access to toiletries)
- Sierra Designs Omega CD
- Tent (perfect)
- North Face sleeping bag (perfect)
- Oakley M-Frames (perfect-fit nicely inside my helmet)
- Tires: Front ME-33 lazer-looks essentially new (now with 12,000 miles on it)
- Rear Dunlop K591 extremely squared off due to extended periods of high-speed droning on hot roads-essentially bald now after 12k
