VA to CA September '08 Ride Report

I was just sitting here procrastinating my indoor house chores because its too cold to do the outside ones like clean the garage, stare at the bikes, and tinker. It donned on me that I never did a ride report on my first ever adventure on a motorcycle. So here goes...

Back in the fall of '07 my best friend, Mark, (who didn't own a bike but loved to ride mine) suggested we get a couple of sport touring bikes and go to some cool places in this fine country. Me being a closed minded sport/cruiser rider at the time thought he was crazy. How could we leave for a long time with enough stuff to go to places like the Black Hills thousands of miles from home? I kinda brushed it off, but because his dad had done it several times on a '72 Guzzi (now in my garage awaiting restoration with 72k miles) it had been his lifelong dream. We were both 26 at the time and roommates. We have been friends since serving in the Marine Corps together back in '01. Although our personalities can be polar opposites we often revert to acting like 12 year old school friends when we are together, dreaming up crazy ideas and trying to figure out how to do them. I thought his idea of riding cross country was ludacris and way out of reach, especially financially.

Well he kept talking about this epic adventure and the places he wanted to go. I entertained his brainstorming and we talked about the expenses, what bikes we would get (getting a new bike is my weakness), and the route. The crazy idea was starting to become a crazy plan.

Come springtime I was strapped for cash with a $25k Victory sitting in the garage collecting dust while I spent most of my time out flogging my amazing Superhawk all over. 500 mile rides to the mountains was an easy Sunday ride. So I decided to try and sell the Victory again and look for a much cheaper sport tourer to replace it. I finally found a buyer and was looking at VFR's. The day after I sold the Victory I picked up a like new '05 VFR with only 800 miles for a very nice price. Completely stock and not a scratch on her, what a beaut. With a bank account burning a hole in my pockets I began shopping for the basics I would need to go on a long trip. I was gonna give it a shot.

Got the VFR, got bags, and amazing Laser exhaust and was thoroughly enjoying every mile on this comfy machine. But Mark still didn't have a bike. He is away for work a lot so the ball was in my hands as far as the logistics of this epic adventure. He was able to come home and try out the VFR and liked it so he started shopping around for one as well. It didn't take long to find a '03 with factory bags and an almost new Triumph Sprint with bags in the same area so we took a ride to scope them out. Well the VFR pretty much sold him on the spot. Well taken care of with the right mods already done plus low miles, we stopped to look at the Triumph only because we promised we would be there after looking at the VFR. He got a loan and it was his (or mine actually to get it ready).

We started talking time frame and when we would both be finincially capable plus have enough time off work and decided on the rapidly approaching September. We were going to take a month off, head northwest to Rushmore, the Badlands, to Washington, down through California, and back home across the south where he would probably split off and return to work on the oil rigs in Louisiana while I continued home. He busted his ass all summer at work much to the dismay of his first serious girlfriend ever and I tried to catch every bit of OT at work while spending countless hours researching long trips, routes, necessary equipment, and essentials.

A week out from our projected departure date of Friday, September 5th the hurricanes finally showed up after a quiet end of summer season. This meant that work was going to need him and if he didn't show he wouldn't have a job. A whole year of planning and getting everything lined up was shot. So he went to work on his bike after one hurricane heavily damaged the Gulf on the day we planned to leave. I had no idea what to do. Do I still go? Take a short camping trip to WV? Or cancel my leave and go back to work? I decided to ride for a few days to WV or Kentucky and return home a week or two later and set out on Sunday afternoon, September 7th. Mark had arrived at work but was not able to go out to the rig due to another hurricane approaching the Gulf and had a week or so of time to kill. We discussed meeting somewhere in the middle of the country and hanging out for a couple days and I could ride with him back to work in LA then return home.

Day 1 (no pictures, I never was a big camera guy unfortunately)
I stopped to see my grandparents on the way out and was met by my friend Patrick on his Superhawk who was going to ride a hundred miles with me and then return home. Well he met me along the way but by the time I was done visiting he had to head back home. I set my sails to the west and ended up outside of Charleston, WV looking for a campground 400 miles later. A refreshing afternoon of riding and seeing new sites although all from the interstate got me thinking. After talking to a couple I met on a ST1300 at a rest stop returning home from a long weekend ride really had me wondering how far I could go by myself. Found a KOA to bed down for the night for $29 (a far cry from the estimated $10 a night camping fees we had planned for) and got a decent sleep in my tent next to the busy interstate. I woke up at sunrise and continued west.

Day 2
This brought me across Kentucky (a state I had never been) and into Illinois (another state I had never been). Mark and I had talked some more and we decided to meet in Colorado to possibly stay with my Mom's best friend. He was heading to Texas to see some friends, then to New Mexico to visit some places he had been to as a kid, and by that time I would be approaching Denver where we would meet. I had a destination, our ride was still happening. At first I was nervous and unhappy not having anyone to ride with or talk to, this was afterall his idea. But we were still doing it, just not the way we had planned. I made it to St. Louis around 5pm and pulled off I-64 to check out the arch. Finally took the first pictures of the ride.

I headed out of St. Louis now on I-70 and the clouds ahead said rain and thunderstorms. When the temperature dropped 30 degrees 20 miles later I stopped to add some more layers and my Frogg Toggs. Continued on I-70 and while the menacing clouds were in every direction I never felt a drop other than the drop in temperature. The area was fairly populated with frequent hotels and restaurants so I pressed on into the darkness. It was going to be a couple long days to make it to Colorado in time to meet Mark. I finally stopped outside of Kansas City, MO around 9pm at a People's Choice Motel (not ideal but cheap enough) for the night. Hot shower and good sleep I was up at 8am ready to go.

Day 3 Kansas
Stepped out of my hotel and brrrrr. It was in the upper 30's. My inexperience had overlooked the possibility of having to ride in frigid temps but to make my destination I didn't have a choice but to ride. Thankfully I had brought UnderArmor and a few extra layers along just in case. Rode through rush hour which was nothing like DC and stopped for some much needed coffee and breakfast in the KCK. The sun finally warmed up to the 60's and I set out to do some hard miles. Mark was heading north from Carlsbad, NM. He got the rain I managed to dodge, plus he was only camping and told me he pitched his tent only to wake up an hour later in a mud river that soaked everything he had with him. But he was still coming. Ahh, Kansas. The land of the Wizard of Oz. The novelty of this entertained for a hundred miles or so until I realized that everything I saw was the same and the wind only blew harder the further I went. Very straight road with only a 70mph limit and I saw a lot of troopers. No one was passing me and I was only doing 5 over. That's strange. I later found out that Kansas is a zero tolerance state for speeding so 5 over was pushing the limit. The crosswind was very annoying and never let up. I finally stopped for a quick break to take some pics of the huge wind farms. While stopped the farmer who owned the land pulled up as well and we talked for about 45minutes about the wind power generators, the history of the UP railroad, and his family. It was actually a very enlightening conversation and I was intrigued by his knowledge of so many things. He was the kinda guy someone could talk to all day, very friendly. Unfortunately I had to keep moving. Here's some of the newly erected windmills on his farm.

The deeper I got in Kansas the harder the wind blew and clouds began obstructing the sun. Temps were still in the 50's but the wind was cutting right through me making for a chilly ride. My stops were getting more and more frequent and getting back on was harder every time. 20 miles from the Colorado state line the sun returned, the wind died down, and it was 70 degrees. Mark and I were going to meet that evening. I stopped in Limon and finally got Mark on the phone after playing phone tag all afternoon (its hard to reach someone when both of you are trying to cover a lot of ground on motorcycles). He was just below Pueblo. We decided to meet in Colorado Springs and should arrive close to the same time. Finally a chance to get off the interstate. What a beautiful state, green grass, rolling hills, and ranches. The sun setting on the Rockies was gorgeous. I arrived in Colorado Springs and stopped at a gas station, not quite sure where I was but it was close to the interstate where Mark would be coming through. Had dinner at the Popeyes attached to the gas station and waited. And waited. Couldn't get in touch with Mark, he was riding hard. But I needed to tell him where I was. He finally called when he was about 20 minutes out and I told him where to go. Hearing his V4 revving a block away was very exciting. It was strange being alone, just me and the bike for the last 3 days so I was very happy to see him. It was his idea that got me into this mess of riding to all these strange places. We hung out for a bit and headed up to Denver to stay with my Mom's friend. I think it was about 10pm when we finally met up. Got settled in after a quick late visit with the family friends and finally slept in.

Day 4 Colorado
Mark and I, not quite two peas in a pod, more like two pinballs in a pinball machine. We ventured back down to Colorado Springs to check out the Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, and a ride up in the mountains. We had missed some amazing sites in the previous night's darkness.

We explored our way up to Pike's Peak. That was an amazing ride, very cold at the top, 27 degrees I think. The VFR's wouldn't idle with the thinness of the air and it was breathtaking just walking around.

Around 2pm we were heading towards the mountains to hopefully find some canyons to play in and be back to the house by dark. It's funny how Pike's Peak is above rain storms. We got to the bottom and saw rain ahead but there was sunlight around too so we stopped briefly during a downpour to wait it out. Thinking the rain was almost done we headed out only to run into more heavy rain while neglecting to don our rain gear. It was wet, but warm so not a big deal. The sun would dry us off soon. While travelling on a 4 lane road in this downpour a car passed us on the right and sent a tidal wave of rain wash crashing into my lap. That's when I started to feel miserable but we weren't cold so we laughed it off. We continued to climb into the mountains and the temp continued to drop although the sun was out. Still wet and getting colder. We kept riding into the beautiful plateaus but needed to stop somewhere to dry off and eat. We stopped but there was no food available so I put on some drier layers and we finally found some food in Fairplay. Fat and happy we mounted up and rode with the sun to our backs and sinking. Never found those curvey canyon roads I was hoping for, but once the sun was down I only wanted heat. I was finally dry but we were cold. As we descended back into Denver the temperature went up and I felt completely refreshed. A couple from Mark's hometown in New Jersey live in downtown Denver so we met them out for a beer. It was a good day all said and done.

Day 5
By this time I was used to travelling by myself and eager to discover more. Mark had to head back to work so he headed back to Louisiana. I stayed in Denver and left the following day, still heading west. He had to be back to work in a day and a half....I didn't. Before he left we went to the local BMW dealer to try and find some better gloves for him to no avail. I don't really remember what I did the rest of the day, the weather was crappy so I think I went back to the house and relaxed. I called an old friend in CA and told him I may come by to visit.

Day 6
Woke up to cold rain. Checked the weather and there was snow and ice in the Rockies so I took my time leaving until the temperature was high enough for it not to be an issue. Constant rain, not sprinkling, not hard, just rain, rain, rain. I was looking forward to magnificent views of the mountains as I went through but all I saw was rain, my foggy visor, and clouds. Finally in Silverthorne I saw some blue sky ahead with clouds to the left and right. Perfect, I was going to get a break! NOT! The interstate through the mountains is not straight and it turned along with my smile back into the clouds. The temperature dropped. Then the rain started bouncing off my helmet...wait, that's not rain! It's sleet! Ooh fun. Between the ice build up on the outside of my visor and the fog inside I had to pull off to the shoulder hoping it would clear up. An elk hunter popped out of the woods not far from my stranded refuge and I walked over to chat. He had had enough sitting in the cold unable to see very far and was calling it quits for the day. He informed me of a rest area a mile further down the road so I braved the snow and sleet for what was actually 3 miles to the rest area. I waited for thirty minutes and the sun came out, more breathtaking scenery of snow covered mountains around Vail. As I descended through the Continental Divide and into the canyons along a river the temperature rose up into the 60's. I stopped somewhere to eat and shuck off the rain gear and warm layers. At the restaurant I talked to a skinny guy with a long grey beard eating who was wearing Victory jacket. He didn't have a Victory but he had a VTX and a Busa. We talked about my ride and some of the places he and his son who also rides had been. I asked if there were any fun roads around and he told me to take the De Beque exit off I-70, go to the stop sign, turn right, and that road would meet back up with I-70. He said it was twisty but he still hadn't found that 15mph curve a sign warned of. I thanked him for the info and proceeded to De Beque. An '08 'Blade passed me doing about 90 and not letting up. I hung with him for a mile or so but didn't want to maintain his pace for fear of performance awards in unknown territory. I got off at Rifle, checked the GPS, and headed through the free range of tight twisties. What an amazing detour, the first good roads I had been on the whole trip. Just as he said the road brought me back to the interstate and I continued into Utah. The temperature had risen into the 70's, a 40 degree difference. I stopped at a gas station and the clerk told me about another good detour that would take me close to Moab without being too far off course. So I took it, and it was in the middle of nowhere. The scenery quickly improved and I was cruising along a river bordered by red mesas, stunning.

This was a slightly longer detour than I expected but who cares, I wanted to make it to CA in 2 days but really didn't want to miss everything along the way. Next time I will visit Arches National Park instead of riding around it. Finally returned to I-70 and put the cruise control at 80 as I rode into the sunset. No traffic other than the occasional truck, I had no idea what was around me, but I kept going over big hills and seeing Ranch Exits, nothing else. I stopped at a Motel 6 in Richfield when the little white lines had been blurry for too long.

Day 7
Woke up and got on the road around 8am, the air was crisp and chilly but the sun was brilliant as it lit up the brown mountains surrounding the interstate. Got to "the 15" as they say on the West Coast and kept gettin' it to Vegas baby! Somehow I ended up in Arizona, then Nevada. I didn't know I would pass through the corner of Arizona that day. There were several groups of bikes out on their Sunday ride, at first I wished I was riding with them to the mountains to dice it up in the canyons, but smiled to myself as I remembered that just me and my bike had made it to this far off land on the other side. A small city popped up out of the desert which I realized was Vegas. I rode by seeing the Bellagio and Trump Tower. Not much of a gambling man I stopped outside the city by the airport and had some Jack-In-The-Box for lunch. Then continued on across the desert toward Mojave. There were a lot of people haulin' ass, very tempting but traffic was thick so I kept a decent pace while watching the speeders get popped by the CHP. I stopped at a gas station more for water because of the heat than gas and a Sportster pulled in a few minutes after. All gassed up, I was getting back on when the rider walked out. I stopped at his bike to say hello and we began talking for a few minutes. Turns out he was the guitarist for Rick James' band back in the day. Fast Freddie was his name. He was heading back to LA so I suggested we ride together. Well the Sportster's small tank doesn't have near the range of a VFR and he dropped back. I slowed too but no matter how much I did he was getting further away. So I continued on for a few more minutes and stopped to get more water and top off. I guess he saw me at the gas station and jumped off the freeway to meet up again. We chatted for a few more minutes and he gave me his guitar pick with Fast Freddie inscribed on it. We parted ways shortly after as I headed to the 215 South to San Bernardino where my friend lives. Arrived safe and sound at his house, I hadn't seen him in a few years. He had an extra room so I decided to stay for a couple days. He ended up only having to work one day that week so a couple days turned into a week. While he worked I went exploring and found Angeles National Forest. Wow! I knew the roads would be good when I saw a pair of riders in race suits on the side of the road hanging out. I had a blast with his one year old kid and we spent a couple days building block pillars for a gate in his backyard, I had to earn my room and board after all. He also has a boat so his family and I went out to Long Beach to cruise around the harbor. I was very reluctant to leave the following Sunday morning. We had also been friends in the Marine Corps together and during that time were the only single guys of our 15 man crew. His wife is cool so she didn't get mad when we went out a few times, ALMOST like old times...hehe. Him and I had also gone on what was supposed to be a 2 week vacation several years ago to visit his family in Spain. But a last minute decision put us in Italy with a weeks worth of train tickets to find our way back to Spain. He ended up catching up to me on the freeway on his way to work that morning.

So this would be Day...umm...15...yeah
I had been this far without seeing any of the spectacular national parks so I decided to go to the Grand Canyon. All day and 500 miles later I was there. I ventured off on to Route 66 at some point and ended up riding on the smooth sand of the shoulder than the asphalt which was weathered into something similar to lavarock. Back in Arizona I saw a motorcycle in the distance and closed the gap, happy to see another bike. As I approached I determined it was a HD with a passenger, neither wearing helmets. Disappointed in my fellow riders I passed by but noticed the design on the rider's vest...a Hell's Angel. Cool, I've never ridden with one of them. Once I passed them they kept pace with me and we rode staggered for many miles, occasionally passing eachother back. Seemed like nice people. I pulled off for gas. At the gas station an older guy (50's) began talking to me. I told him about my HA encounter and he said they are everywhere out there. He was in fact a friend of one of the local chapters of Mongols president. Hmmm, interesting people out here with their motorcycle gangs and desert. I made it to the Grand Canyon and checked into a motel about 20 minutes away from it. Once I settled in I went to the only restaurant for some dinner and sat down at a table. A couple of older gentlemen (60's) invited me to sit with them, they too were on a motorcycle adventure. Ken and Terry were there names IIRC. One on a Goldwing with trailer and the other on a Deuce. The Goldwing was hauling all their stuff- that's right, a Honda had to haul the Hardley's stuff. We talked for a long time, Ken had ridden and raced many motorcycles and dirtbikes since he was kid. Some hunters pulled up in a pickup with a fresh elk in the back. The elk was cut in half so it would fit in the full sized bed! The rack stuck up above the cab. First time I had seen one of them. Had another good night sleep in a motel.

Day 16 Grand Canyon
I got up at the crack of dawn, 6amish, and walked out to another crisp morning as the sun rose. The restaurant hadn't opened so I headed north to the big ditch. Stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. A guy on a very dirty VTX1300 parked next to me. He had been riding all over as well, but only camping. We chatted for a while then I went on into the park. That is one big hole! Ken and Terry rode by me while I was taking some pictures so I caught up to them. We all rode through the canyon stopping every now and then for photo ops. Unfortunately my on the move pics didn't focus well at all. There was a BMW in one of the parking lots with out of country tags, F650GS I believe. Very dirty, stickers on the metal boxes from around the world. My epic adventure suddenly felt inferior and boring compared to the places this man had been. I kept the VFR far away from this rugged machine, no need to get her all jealous and worked up.
We exited the park together and stopped to look at some of the Native American shops full of junk that would not fit on my bike. They apparently had a lot of shopping to do and wanted to sit and eat, I didn't really have anywhere to be, but I knew there was much more to see so I settled for a sandwich from a gas station. I picked a route that appeared to go through the Painted Desert and some possibly curvey roads. Yeah, the painted desert was about a mile long, followed by somewhat twisty roads through Hopi Reservations. Better than interstate though. I came out on I-40 and headed to New Mexico. I rode well into the night that day and stopped about 20 miles outside Albuquerque.

Day 17 Grasshoppers
I decided this morning to detour south towards Roswell. Mark had told me about some good roads between Carlsbad and Albuquerque and I wanted to find them. I didn't quite find the roads he spoke of, but I did take 246 from Capitan to Roswell which was nice 2 lane flowing curves through the prairies. Something kept hitting my feet and I couldn't figure out what it was. I slowed to check it out and then noticed the pavement was littered with grasshoppers who suicidally jumped as soon as the bike was on top of them. The lower half of the bike and my boots were covered in goo. Finally arrived in Roswell and stopped for another gas station lunch. Didn't see any aliens or unkown aircraft unfortunately. I shot across the prairies into Texas and as the sun went down the top half of my bike was covered in goo by Texas bugs. Another late ride but I made it to Abilene by 10pm where I was hoping to find a place to 2 Step. The girl at the Motel 6 told me where the bars were so I dropped most of my stuff and headed out in search of some sawdust covered floors. All the bars were closed, it was Tuesday night. The only thing open was a strip club 5 miles back on the interstate. At this point I was frustrated and just wanted to have a beer and go to sleep. So I headed to the strip club, arrived at 11:56pm, $20 cover, and no alcohol served after midnight. Not worth it so I went to a nearby gas station to hopefully get a beer for my hotel room. Well the gas station I picked didn't even sell beer at all, and in Texas like Virginia alcohol can't be sold after midnight. Missed the curfew and headed back thirsty.

Day 18 Texas
Got on the road around mid morning. I have a friend who lives north of Dallas so I was going to stay with him that night. Abilene to his house is less than 200 miles so the plan was to find a rear tire in Fort Worth and then wait somewhere for him to get off work that evening. So I stopped at Starbucks and had my friend Patrick recon some dealership numbers for me so I could locate a sport touring tire. Called the Honda shop in Fort Worth, the guy said he would check and call me back. In the meantime I called BMW, of course they had them. Waited, Honda never called back so off to Fort Worth BMW it was. Got there, got a good deal on a Z6 ($150) and told them I would be right back with my wheel. Took all the crap off the bike, opened tool pouch, and what do you know, no lug wrench for my convenient single sided swingarm wheel. Knowing this was a regular lug nut I went back inside to the friendly and knowledgeable employee and asked if I could borrow a wrench. "I asked the mechanics and they can't loan out tools". Ok, well does anyone here have a lug wrench or a tool box (this is Texas where everyone drives a truck). We checked a few people's cars (no trucks) and couldn't find a lug wrench that fit. I had already explained my situation to the BMW guy, cross country trip, need a tire to get home, blah blah blah. So I suggested that I just wheel back into the shop and they can do it all on the bike. "Well the mechanics won't work on your bike". HUH? Yeah, they can only work on BMW's. Ok, well I just bought this tire from you, so what do I do with it? The still helpful employee called next door to the Yamaha/Suzuki place which was in the same parking lot, same ownership and they agreed to do it. So I loaded my crap back on and rode to their service bay. Pulled it in, got the paperwork done, and a guy soon came out for my wheel. I walked around a bit while waiting and when I came back he was tightening the last nut. Excellent! Then I looked at the tire...it was on backwards of course. He took the wheel off again without cursing too much and came back a few minutes later. Luckily they had a tire change special so it was only $20 or $30 for on the bike changes versus the normal ~$50. As I backed out of the service bay, slightly frustrated, I noticed a guy checking out my bike. I think he was on a GSXR or something. So I got on it a little leaving the parking lot and fishtailed the SH!T out of my loaded down bike. Almost dumped her right there...thank goodness for years of dirtbiking.

Time to take a sleep break. I didn't think I would remember so many details, it's like everything happened yesterday. More to come.

 

Dang, Hotbrakes. Super write up for what sounds like a great trip. You are inspiring me even more to hit the road.

 

Yes Nice write up, good timing too, for the most of us are grounded. and stories like this help hold us over..

 

This is one of the best road trip threads I've ever read, You definitely made my night reading through your epic adventure, can't hardly wait for part two :clap2:

 

Good work, awaiting your next installment

I've done three of these cross countries, and I can still remember almost everything from the trips, even though its been a long time since.

I guess that its just such a unique thing that it sticks with you

Funny thing is, even though the sights have stuck with me, it was the people that were even more interesting

Go figure

 

Thanks for sharing, That is an awesome adventure. Even though taking for while to pull the plug At least you two did it and write about it. You made my day now I have to find a partner would do the same.

 

Sounds like an awesome trip! Can't wait for the closure to the write-up. Been thinking of taking a trip myself, this only makes me want to go all the more - sux there is an Ice storm hitting where I live right now!

 

Some additional photos of the previous days...

Mark and I as he departed for Louisiana to go to work


Fresh snow in the Rockies


Sunset in Long Beach


Pacific Ocean




Beverly Hills


Grand Canyon


Detour through New Mexico


Chapter 2...

Day 18 Continued
Got the tire done mid afternoon. I asked some of the guys working there if there were any good roads to ride or places to visit while in the DFW area. They suggested a good BBQ in downtown Fort Worth so I headed that direction for a bite to eat. It was good and more food than I could eat in one sitting. Still had several hours to kill and the waitress suggested a biker bar a block away. Can't recall the name of the bar but I spent several hours there with some "interesting" people. Not one to drink and ride, I exercised great caution and walked out at dusk.

Made it to my friend's house in the middle of nowhere Texas north of Dallas. Spent a late evening with him and his wife sitting on the front porch relaxing.

Day 19 The South
Got a late morning start just in time for the heat and humidity. I love starting out sweaty. Rode across Louisiana on I-20 and ate at my favorite restaurant, Krystal, in Jackson, Mississippi.

Rode a couple more hours to Meridian and stopped for the night. Lucky for me a new bar had opened up next to the Motel 6 where I was staying so I rode over. Some older ladies (50's-60's) invited me to sit at their table and got me out on the dance floor too. There was a live band and I was able to coax some George Strait out of them so I could finally 2 Step. That was a late night and a lot of fun. Very nice people.

Day 20 Birmingham
My next stop was the huge Barber Motorsports Museum in Birmingham. I arrived after a short ride and spent a couple hours gazing at the many floors of bikes. There are some exotic race bikes there. I even managed to sneak down to the bottom floor which is off limits when the janitor called the elevator down as soon as I got on it. There was an Alice Desmo RR there and I was able to get some pics of that before being approached by an employee who questioned how I got there. I later found him talking to the janitor, and it wasn't a short conversation. I felt bad.



As I was leaving a tall gentleman approached me and started asking about the VFR and trip. I had been seeing some trucks pulling trailers with racebikes on them and it was a Friday afternoon. We chatted for a while and he informed me of the NESBA Trackday at Barber that weekend. He was one of the coaches. One of the top guys for NESBA, DJ, also arrived and joined our conversation. They invited me to come to the trackday the following day and do the 2 free session Try the Track program. I weighed the risks and my destination goals (Deal's Gap) and finally gave in. They would hook me up with some leathers at a decent rental fee and make sure I had a great time.

While we were talking a couple was beginning to don their gear and get on a V Strom next to me. I talked to them for at least a half hour. The husband (older fellow in his 50's) owns a bike shop in Virginia, has a motorcycle tour company in Costa Rica, and races Baja every year. Very interesting people with a life built around every aspect of motorcycling. More nice people.

I approached 3 guys getting on cruisers as I was leaving to ask about one of their bikes. They were going to an all motorcycle campground for the night and since I needed a place to stay unless I camped at the track, decided to tag along. The place is called 29 Dreams. The road to get there was very twisty and fun, even behind these cruisers. 29 Dreams was an amazing place, more like a resort with cabins, fall off the bone ribs, cheap beer, and more friendly people. There was live music and about 10 other people there with us. We had a blast. Two of the guys were brothers and the other worked with one of them. They were from Pensacola, Fla. Unfortunately I wasn't able to party with them as I had a very special day coming and elected to return to Barber and camp at the track (the second time camping the whole trip).

I returned to the track and parked amongst many other people camping out as well. The guy next to me was friendly, his wife was already sleeping the truck and his son was sleeping on an air mattress in his open trailer. I told him about the trip and he offered me his extra suit to wear that happened to fit, lucky me. I set up camp and proceeded to have a miserable night's sleep, instead of breaking out the whole tent, I just stretched the fly screen out from the bike to the ground to keep the dew off and rolled out my sleeping bag. Little did I know there was an ant highway beneath me and I integrated myself into it. All night there were ants crawling on my face and arms, I got bit a few times and was more than ready to get up at first light.


Day 21 Barber
Ahh...sunrise at the race track. One of my favorite places, I have fond memories of being a kid going to MX races with my Dad and being at the tracks surrounded by bikes as the sun comes up. Very peaceful.

I took all the touring crap off the bike, folded the mirrors in and proceeded to tech inspection. The coach I met the previous day let me borrow a pair of gauntlet race gloves. A completely free trackday!
This would be my 3rd trackday and I was very excited. I lined up with the first timers and started out on a slow pace which is always good to learn the bumps and turns. A few laps later and I was ready to open 'er up! The VFR was amazing other than substantial front end dive under hard braking. The rear was plenty stiff and that fresh tire was good and sticky. The first session ended and the grin would not go away in the pits. I met some more people, one guy came down from Virginia with a brand new Super Duke R. I lined up for the second session and was one of the first bikes out. A whole lap of just me, no one to pass, no one passing me, no traffic backups, just me. Then we got black flagged when two riders went down in their first lap. Lost about 5 minutes of the 20 minute session and restarted. Before I knew it I was grinding the pristine pucks on my borrowed suit. What a beautiful track, groomed landscaping, perfect asphalt. The session ended too soon. The track photographer got some great pictures and I broke down and bought them.



I had no idea this unplanned journey would include a trackday. That is a rare oppurtunity.

Loaded everything back up, said goodbye although I wanted to stay. But with Deal's Gap as my destination it was going to be a long ride. I had met so many amazing people in the last few days and now back to me, the bike, and the open road. Oh yeah, can't leave out good ole humidity. The kind thick enough to make the sky foggy.

I hammered out the miles, stopping for gas every hundred miles or so. This was during the gas shortage that affected the south. Luckily I only found one gas station completely out of gas. At one point I stopped for gas in a busy area and smiled in my helmet as I watched a couple guys on Harley's complaining about not having any 93 for their brand new machines. One of the women riding with them had a bottle of octane boost and was running back and forth dumping it in their tanks. Suckers...I happily filled up with 87 and got back on it.

As I got to the mountains of North Carolina the sun went down and I was searching for a place to stay. A guy hanging out at a gas station (drunk out on a bench) called someone who has rooms but they were full. They connected me to the Microtel in Robbinsville who was also full but the receptionist gave me the number for a couple who rents a few rooms of their home to vacationers and had a vacancy. The couple had a home with some additions which were studio like in design and they rented them during the warm months. During the winter they live in Florida. Both were in their 80's and very hospitable. My room had 4 beds, old but elegant furniture, and a full bath. Off to bed after a very long and exciting day.

Day 22 Deal's Gap
I headed out to the famed Dragon's Tail and enjoyed a sunfilled morning sky. I rode through and back to the store all the bikes hang out at. I saw another VFR and found the rider close by. Mike from Poland was on a '94 VFR750 and had ridden it down from New Jersey for the weekend. We rode the Dragon again and I tested out my textile gear when my knee touched in one of the turns. Textile shreds upon contact with pavement. So I kept the knee up and dragged the headers instead. Lots of enforcement up there, but you don't have to go fast to have fun in those turns. I never went more than 10 over the 30mph limit. One of the THP officers had his Harley parked in a scenic overlook amongst other bikes. While the riders were aiming their cameras, he was aiming his laser gun. Everyone was being good though. We rode up to Cherohala Skyway and blasted that deserted road for a while. It seemed neverending. Long sweepers, no one else but us, it was pure bliss up there. Not knowing where the end was and the sun beginning to set we headed back to the store. All but a few bikes remained at dusk. That's when the locals came out. Riding rough looking sportbikes that appeared to have more track miles than street miles, most of them were outfitted with aftermarket lights attached to the mirrors aimed diagonally across the front to light up the turns. This was an interesting group and I hung out listening to their stories and banter for a while. Mike and I were going to meet again in the morning for a final run and some souvenirs.





Day 23 South Carolina
Mike failed to appear at the proposed meeting time and lack of cell reception prevented either of us from contacting the other. I rode the Dragon once more and he showed up while I was taking some pictures at an overlook. We got our souvenirs and departed. I was off to see my parents in Charleston, SC and visit the Atlantic Ocean.

An uneventful interstate ride to the coast and I was suddenly only a day's ride from home. Hard to believe this seemingly endless journey or excitement was almost over. I stayed with my parents for a couple of days which was the perfect ending to the ride.



Conclusion

I returned home on Thursday October 2. 26 days total on the road, 7500 miles covered. Total cost was about $2500. If you can't tell by the details in this report it feels like it was yesterday when I rode through the red mesas of Utah. An unbelievable experience that I never in my life considered. Thanks to my best friend Mark, it happened although most of it without him. Looking back at myself before embarking on this journey I am disgusted with my shallow mindedness. This was easy. I am also disgusted with the gas prices now which would have knocked off about $400 from the $700 I spent in fuel. Now I can't wait to do it again and already have a Spring '10 trip in mind. I hope this helps everyone maintain their sanity through the dead of winter and inspires one of you to set out on an adventure with no destination, enough time to go anywhere, and the perfect motorcycle to get you there and back should you choose to return. Only word can sum it up...AMAZING. Enjoy!

 

Just awesome..........well done and thank you

 

Hotbrakes,
This has been an awesome travel log. I hope someone hires you for one of the travel or cycling magazines. You have convinced me that my reticence to set out alone is ill-founded. I hope we get to meet one of these days. Maybe at T-Mac. Well done dude!!!

wrestler

 

P.S.
Awesome father/son pic by the way
What a viffer commercial!!!

 

Great!

It can make you a little self-conscious to post on the web, but it was very enjoyable to read and your message about "just do it" is really spot-on.
Did a ride from Illinois to Connecticut and back, more or less on my own. 17-22 dollar campgrounds, and stayed with friends.
Its cheaper than you think, people! And don't wait for other people to make up their minds, or get time off work, or wait for little-league to finish....
Just ride.
Thanks for the great post, and thanks for your service to your country.
More people dig it than you will ever really know.

 

Very cool...Thanks for the fix.