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LEFT: First photo stop - We have mountains in Tennessee too! Those guys sitting so nonchalantly on the platform are looking off a 1000 foot drop. RIGHT: A nice little park in Arkansas where I took a cool break |
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For most of my life I've wanted to ride a motorcycle across this great country of ours but, until now, have never had the time or resources to actually do it. Between July 7th and Aug 6th, 2000 I was able to explore a large part of the U.S. aboard my Honda ST1100. The trip totaled almost 11,000 miles and took me through 20 states and one Canadian province. There were no major incidents and it can only be described as a great (maybe a once in a lifetime) experience.
Even after several years, this page is still a work in progress. It is a compilation of the photos I shot along the way and the emails I sent back to friends and family. As I have time, I'll enhance the story with impressions and observations I made during my wanderings.
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LEFT: First photo stop - We have mountains in Tennessee too! Those guys sitting so nonchalantly on the platform are looking off a 1000 foot drop. RIGHT: A nice little park in Arkansas where I took a cool break |
Date: 7/8/00
Subject: Days 1 and 2
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LEFT: Chuck at our campsite beside a state fishing lake in eastern Kansas RIGHT: Getting my flat fixed at a small independent MC shop just east of Dodge City, KS. These folks could have required me to remove the wheel outside in the heat but instead they really bent their insurance restrictions by allowing me to use their air conditioned shop and tools. Great people. |
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LEFT: High plains drifter? RIGHT: Our first view of the Rockies after two very hot days in Kansas and eastern Colorado. We were really glad to finally see those mountains in the distance! |
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Our first high altitude campsite on Lake Deweiss close to Silvercliff, CO |
Observation: While we enjoyed our BIG breakfast in Silvercliff, three apparently "real" westerners strolled in for coffee. Based on their familiarity with the restaurant staff we guessed that they lived there. They were wearing western garb (jeans, hats, western but not "fancy" boots) and notably sidearms (.38 or .357 revolvers - no 9mm semis these guys!) but no badges. Although we weren't familiar with Colorado's handgun laws, we gathered that these three were plain, ordinary citizens who chose to carry. The guns might have shocked more "civilized" folk but Chuck and I are both rednecks at heart and we found the casualness of it all very refreshing. Also, our waitress, a young women of 18 or so, told us that she was planning to ride her horse competitively in a local rodeo (barrel racing) for the first time on the coming weekend - she was obviously very excited about her new endeavor. Are we in the west or what?
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Monarch Pass (~11.5K feet) |
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LEFT: We just picked this road off the map CO 92 - didn't expect such a spectacular view RIGHT: Our campsite close to Loveland Pass (>9K feet) - this was our first night in bear country. Chuck is re-assembling the front end of his Honda Pacific Coast after emergency fork seal repairs (we hope!) |
Date: 7/12/00
Subject: Day 5
Later,
Jim & Chuck
Observation: On the way here we came through Aspen. I've been to Aspen before but it's been a very long time and the last time (about 20 years ago) I recall the experience being relatively pleasant although in retrospect even then we received a snooty comment from a waiter along the lines of, "this restaurant serves only fine French cuisine, we don't have french fries". What a contrast now from the more normal laid-back Colorado culture. Aspen appears to be overrun with affluent, elitist, yuppie types. Ironically the middle-aged (but pierced, blond and pony-tailed) clerk at the convenience store where I bought gas ($2.14/gal - by far the most I paid anywhere) didn't seem to want lower himself to deal with the kind of people who buy things in convenience stores. Oh well, they can have it; I don't plan to go back. There were motorcycles in Aspen - mostly "posers" on expensive new Harleys and interestingly Chuck and I were the only motorcyclists I saw wearing helmets but EVERY bicyclist was wearing one. It would appear that style is much more important than function here. It's not stylish to wear a motorcycle helmet (guess doesn't fit the bad-boy image) but it is stylish to have the best and most expensive bicycle gear. People are funny, huh?
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LEFT: Independence Pass (~12K feet) before breakfast. Fortunately the sun was shining - it was about 40 degs RIGHT: Chuck at the Alpine Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park. Yes, that's snow and no, it didn't feel like July. |
Observation: The evening just above Aspen was my first night camping in bear country. By the end of the trip the thought of large mammals capable of eating me roaming around my tent at night was much less disturbing but it certainly gave me cause for concern the first time. There were no bear incidents that night but we did take the advice of the campground custodian and kept no food or sweet-smelling personal products in our tents. Although I had bought gas the evening before in Aspen (when I made the trip in for beer), Chuck had not filled up. His tank holds 4.2 gallons according to the owner's manual and that's usually good for about 200 miles. By the time we finally came to a place to buy gas in Twin Lakes, Chuck had 220 miles on his trip gauge and it took 4.3 gallons to top off his tank. I don't think he could have gone much further. We had breakfast at an old inn there that had been a tavern and bordello during the glory days of gold and silver mining in the area. The hallways were adorned with a number of framed profiles describing the "ladies" of the establishment. It was quite entertaining and a good breakfast besides.
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LEFT: My campsite the first night on my own along side the Poudre River in northern Colorado CENTER: Had a little visitor during the night - notice the paw print, a raccoon I think. RIGHT: So many canyons! |
Date: 7/13/00
Subject: Day 6
Later, Jim
Observation: Today, I took the advice of a friend who is a National Park "veteran" and bought a National Park Pass at Rocky Mountain NP. The cost for the pass was $50 for the vehicle (doesn't matter how many passengers) and it is, of course, usable at all the National Parks. Since I visited several more during this trip, it more than paid for itself. Plus, the park personnel are extremely nice to you when you flash your National Park pass. If you ever get a chance to do something like this, do invest in a National Park Pass.
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Riding friend Ed who proved to be a great guide for Wyoming and Yellowstone
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The Grand Tetons just north of Jackson, Wyoming
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LEFT: A beautiful calm, reflecting lake just inside Yellowstone RIGHT: What trip to Yellowstone would be complete without a picture of Old Faithful? |
Date: 7/15/00
Subject: Thurs/Fri
Observation: Yellowstone is gigantic. It would be easy to spend a lot of time there and not experience the whole thing. Our "short tour" consisted of riding around about 1/2 the perimeter; with more time I would have explored the geothermal stuff more thoroughly. The geysers, sulfur wells and steam pots are fascinating - the geology of this place must be something else. Today in Yellowstone I experienced the only real "mishap" of the trip; fortunately it wasn't serious. I "dropped" the ST while stopped on an steeply inclined gravel shoulder. I should have known the shoulder was too steep and the footing too loose for a 700lb, heavily loaded, motorcycle but all those years of dirt-biking overcame logic I suppose. No serious damage but it did take three of us (Ed, a motorcycling stranger on another ST1100 and me) to get the beaST upright again because of the poor footing and the fact that it was laying downhill. I had to replace the damaged mirror (in San Francisco) and will need to get good buddy Chuck to paint the scratches on my right saddle bag. Since this was the worst thing that happened on the entire 11,000 mile journey I feel quite fortunate.
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1: Glacier National Park 2: An avalanche chute - wouldn't want to be standing here at the wrong time! 3&4: One of the things that makes Glacier so stunning is that it is "up close and personal" |
Date: 7/16/00
Subject: Sat
Observation: I ate dinner on Saturday night at neat little restaurant just outside of Glacier on the eastern side. The interesting thing to me about this restaurant was that it was being successfully managed and operated by a group of relatively young people. The oldest person in the place was probably 25 but they did a great job of serving an excellent fare to their large group of customers. Two of the wait people were only there for the summer and actually go to school the other 9 months of the year in Tennessee (University of the South at Sewanee). It's great to see young people with initiative and brains experiencing success.
While in the Glacier campground two riders rode in to camp for the night on eye-catching "rigs". The two were riding Gold Wings, one new, one old, and the interesting thing about them was that they had packed/loaded their bikes with no apparent plan whatsoever. It looked as though they had tied, strapped or bungeed everything they could possibly think of on the two bikes. It reminded me of the opening scene from the old TV series, "The Beverly Hillbillies" with all that junk tied on the Clappett's truck. Their passenger seats were stacked with "stuff" as high as the tops of their heads and they even had an "extension" behind the normal Gold Wing top box which carried a full sized Coleman cooler. There were coffee cups dangling by strings from the bottom of the coolers on both bikes. If I could have done so without embarrassment, I'd have made a picture. The dynamics of riding those bikes must have been something with all that weight high and behind the rear axle. These riders were from western NC and were on their way to Alaska. I guess they'd already made it about half way and their "system" apparently worked for them so who am I to criticize? |
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LEFT: Sunrise in Glacier
RIGHT: Another good reason to wear a helmet
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LEFT: This where I ate lunch (an ice cream cone) in Canada (Yahk, British Columbia) RIGHT: This beautiful lake was on the top of an 8K foot pass on the Canadian side of the border. Shortly before this I had to come to a complete stop to allow a moose to cross the road. |
Date: 7/17/00
Subject: Sunday
Observation: "My" moose was a cow. She stood about 6 feet tall at the shoulders and I spotted her standing in a field about 50 feet off the road on the right. At first I thought she was a mule but when she started to move her gait gave her away as something else. She just stood and waited for the longest time then started to trot towards the highway. I had plenty of time to stop but she never looked right or left; she just trotted head down with her awkward gait across the road and into the woods on the other side.
The little pass up into Canada was entertaining in that the road reminded me a lot of some of our mountain roads in eastern Tennessee. Both the terrain and the highway was more like "home" than the typical US Rocky mountain highway and there were lots of motorcyclists enjoying the nice day and twisty road. The only thing I purchased in Canada was an ice cream cone and the clerk allowed me to pay in US currency so I didn't have to convert any money to Canadian. Going into Canada, the border station attendant was interested in the reason for my visit and if I had firearms in my possession. Returning to the US, the attendant was interested in how long I had been in Canada, and if I was bringing in fresh fruit/vegetables, alcohol or tobacco products purchased on the Canadian side. Although I had my passport with me, the US Customs agent did not ask for an ID or proof of citizenship but did have me open my topbox and saddlebags for a cursory inspection. |
The typical absolute nothingness of our Indian reservations - this one is close to Grand Coulee Dam |
Observation: With rare exceptions one of the things that repeatedly struck me during this trip was the barrenness of the western land we "gave" our Native Americans when they were rounded up and placed on reservations during the late 19th century. Most reservation land is arid, empty and even desert with little agricultural value unless extensively (and expensively) irrigated. Some of this land has proved to have significant value for its mineral rights (oil, gas, precious metals) but I rather doubt that the Indians who live there have been able to realize the full potential of the wealth resulting from these finds. Of course, with the help of the big Casinos, in many places the Indians have "played their ace" (pun intended) by taking advantage of their exception to state anti-gambling statutes to realize significant economic gain. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion of course; but, of all the ethnic groups who have been "shafted" by the white man, I believe our Native Americans have the most cause for complaint.
The town of Grand Coulee was quite interesting because it was such a stark contrast to the surrounding area. It is lush and verdant with tree-lined streets and homes with shrubbery and gardens. Irrigation is everywhere and on the day I passed through essentially every home was running their sprinkler systems. Most of the city lies below the reservoir water level and I'd guess that the life-giving water is supplied at low or no-cost from gravity fed lines. However it's done, the community looks nothing like the surrounding barren desert (which is Indian reservation).
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TOP LEFT: The Columbia River gorge below Grand Coulee TOP CENTER: This is the "amber waves of grain" part. TOP RIGHT:Purple mountains majesty - Mount Rainier - a living volcano BOTTOM LEFT: Another spectacular view close to Mt Rainier BOTTOM RIGHT: My campsite at Mt Hood - I was absolutely alone here; couldn't see or hear anyone - just me and the critters |
Date: 7/19/00
Subject: Mon/Tues
Until next time, Jim
Observation: Washington is a beautiful state this time of year. As my email notes the variety of terrain across the state is astounding. I understand that the central part is pretty dry compared to the rainy coast and in most places where there is agriculture there is also extensive irrigation (from the Columbia I assume). It's also a very friendly area and every time I stopped someone would come up and strike up a conversation. This is pretty common when you travel by motorcycle but it was more prevalent than normal in central Washington. I didn't realize until today that the area of the Columbia River around Hood, Oregon is such a mecca for wind surfers. Apparently the strong wind blowing up the river is a fairly constant thing and it draws serious wind surfers from all over the world. Today the wind was blowing steadily at 25 - 35 miles per hour and there were hundreds (if not thousands) of wind surfers traversing the river. They reach AMAZING speeds across the 1/2 mile wide river and apparently there are people who just hang here during the season to ride their boards (wind surfer "bums"?). There's a steel grate toll bridge across the Columbia at Hood. Motorcyclists will appreciate the combination of steel grate surface and strong side wind. It was a hairy ride across the wide, 200 foot high bridge. If the surface were also wet, it would be all but impassible to motorcycles.
I've stayed in a number of campgrounds now and in most I've had neighbors - sometimes very close neighbors. Last night at Mt Hood, I was essentially alone. I went out for an evening exploratory hike and eventually encountered other campers but there were none I could see or hear from my site. This isn't bear country so I wasn't particularly concerned but I was definitely alone.
Whoops, ran out of continent somewhere around the middle of the Oregon coast. Which way now?
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The black sand beach at my campsite close to Port Orford, Oregon. And yes, there were big rocks offshore And yes, the sunset was breathtaking. |
Date: 7/20/00
Subject: Wed
On to California! Jim
Observation: The central Oregon coast has some incredibly beautiful vistas. Almost everyone has seen photos of the huge rocks which project up through the surf all along the coastline. These are impressive indeed and one can't help but wonder what geological forces caused them to stand so majestically and be weathered to such a smooth and rounded shape. Unfortunately along with the striking beauty comes what I consider to be very uncomfortable weather. The almost constant damp wind blowing off the cold Pacific would be untenable to Southerner like me. Just a couple of miles inland and it's summer again but out there at the edge it was pretty bitter even in late July. I suppose the saving grace is that the ocean wind has the same tempering affect year round and unlike the east coast, the winters on the coast here aren't all that much colder than summer.
I had some difficulty finding a decent places to eat along the central Oregon coastline. Although there were restaurants, it seemed that many of them had closed down. The economy here seems very dependent on the logging industry and doesn't display the prosperity so evident in many other parts of the country. |
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LEFT: Morning on the Oregon coastline - I would soon be riding in that cold fog RIGHT: This picture is a requirement for anyone visiting Oregon - ever seen this on a calendar? |
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A "small" redwood in northern California and shot "inside" the Avenue of the Giants. The photos don't do either justice, the redwood trees are MOST impressive.
Date: 7/21/00
Subject: Thur/Fri
Jim
Observation: I can't say enough about the Redwoods. Having spent my entire life "back east", I had never seen anything quite like these majestic stands of giants. They're just, well, incredible. If you've never seen them first hand you owe yourself this experience on any trip to the Pacific northwest.
The wine country was interesting. I would like to spend more time there some day. Because I was on the bike, I didn't attempt to visit any of the wineries (I don't drink when riding a motorcycle - there are enough risks already without adding that!) but I can see how a leisurely day or two exploring the wineries by car could be very entertaining. I had really wanted to arrive is San Francisco via the Golden Gate bridge but because I was so far inland that would have taken a significant "jag" to the west. Instead I came in from the east with the full intention of visiting the landmark bridge with Jamie on Saturday. After picking up Jamie at SFO around midnight, we rode back to the hotel in incredibly gusty winds. The short hop up the freeway found us blowing all over the lane - we were glad to finally get off the elevated freeway onto the more sheltered surface streets. We got back to the hotel around 2:30am and I was pretty uneasy about leaving my bike in the dark parking lot. The Hampton Inn here near the airport is a high rise in a built up area and I was more than a little worried that I'd get up Saturday morning to find it was MIA. Maybe my uneasiness was unjustified but after days of relative isolation in quiet campgrounds and state parks, I found urban San Francisco to be more than a little intimidating. Fortunately the ST was right where I left it but it was cold and windy on Saturday like the day before. Jamie and I went downtown to see some of the tourist sites but because it was so windy we elected not to go to the Golden Gate. By the time we walked and rode around a bit, visited the SF Museum of Modern Art and had lunch it was time for us to start down the coast to our campground at Big Sur. |
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LEFT: Mark Twain wrote something to the effect, "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." Welcome to sunny California Jamie - We thought we would freeze! CENTER: The "rotunda" at the SF Museum of Modern Art. Some of it was interesting; some of it was crap - What is art anyway? RIGHT: Yep, that's Jim alright in downtown SF |
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Some Pacific Coast Hiway shots
Observation: It should be no surprise that the ride down the Pacific Coast Hiway out of San Francisco was beautiful. This was Jamie's first glimpse of the Pacific and needless to say she was impressed. However, the hilite of our day (and maybe even the entire trip) was just before sundown as we were approaching Big Sur. Combining the orange and red beauty of the sun setting into the Pacific on our right, the striking, rugged beauty of the green California coastline and Big Sur ahead of us and the full sensual impact provided by experiencing it all on the motorcycle, we were struck literally speechless. We'd been conversing fairly regularly on the helmet intercoms all afternoon but we both fell silent as we absorbed the experience. Later in the campground we both commented on how neither of us wanted to speak during those few minutes just before sunset - it seemed as if talking would somehow detract from the moment. It is a moment that sticks in my memory with such vividness, it's almost like being there again each time I recall it.
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LEFT: Our campsite at Big Sur - yes, those are redwoods all around RIGHT: The motorcycle was really loaded - there wasn't much room for anything else |
Observation: The campsite at Big Sur was packed with campers but even so a beautiful place. Nestled in a redwood grove, our tent was surrounded by a canopy of 200 foot trees in a 25 - 30 foot circle and the ground was covered with dropped redwood "needles". In the next campsite was a group of young adults (4 or 5 couples with lots of beer) who had come to party and party they did. I can still hear someone named Beth singing "Won't You Marry Me Bill?" until the wee hours of the morning. Actually, we both went to sleep without any problem but I did wake up a couple of times during the night to the slightly off key rift of that old Fifth Dimension song. Needless to say our neighbors were a little slow to arise the next morning. We were long gone before there was any sign of life at their campsite.
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LEFT & CENTER: Close to San Simeon on the PCH
RIGHT: Breaking camp at Shaver Lake
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Bridalveil Falls (Yosemite)
Date: 7/25/00
Subject: Sat thru Mon
Jim and Jamie
Observation: We had an enjoyable campfire at our campsite in Big Sur - had to buy a bundle of wood of course but it was worth it. The wood was some kind of cedar. It smelled great and all the popping and cracking was nice. Jamie and I shared a couple of beers before turning in for the night. We were both pretty tired. When we set out the next morning the weather was typically cool Pacific coast fare but wasn't long before the day began to heat up. Enroute to our second campsite at Shaver Lake in the Sierra National Forest we had to cross the farming country of the San Joaquin valley. It's miles and miles of low altitude irrigated crop land of course and not only was it hot, there was very little wind and the humidity was oppressive. Sometime during the early afternoon we came upon a MacDonald's restaurant. It was AIR CONDITIONED and we hung around like vagrants for at least an hour just absorbing the AC. By the time we left the "heat of the day" as my dad would have called it had passed. We started the climb up to Shaver lake after dinner, probably around 6 or 7pm, and as the altitude increased the temperature dropped precipitously. At one point we pulled off at an observation point to stretch and donned more clothing. By the time we got to our campsite around dusk, we looked like we were dressed for winter riding. At Shaver lake we scavenged for firewood in the forest and enjoyed another evening campfire. This Jamie's first night in bear country so we had to leave our toothpaste, hair stuff and so forth in the "bear box" provided by the campground. Once again we slept like the dead. I kinda like this outdoor stuff.
Yosemite was interesting. It was a little more crowded than I prefer but still fun. The trip down the Merced by raft was beautiful and we passed waders (homo sapien variety), deer, elk and all manner of small critters on the river banks. The water in the Merced snow/glacier melt and as such is pretty brisk. Jamie actually went in at one point but didn't stay very long. It was too cold for me. After our raft trip we stopped at bathhouse/laundromat to wash ourselves and our clothes. By the time we grabbed a bite to eat and left for our campsite it was getting dark and by the time we got there it was pitch dark. Along the way we saw a lot of yellow eyes in the woods - not sure what those were but I'm glad they stayed put.
Date: 7/25/00Jim
Observation: About the same time we came across the windmill "farm" at Livermore, I spotted another rider in my rear view. When I first saw him he was probably 1/2 mile back and was noticeable because he was lane-splitting. It didn't take long for him to catch us and he turned out to be a "chippie" running down the center line at about 90mph. The other drivers seemed to accept this "dangerous" behavior as normal. Back east he would have gotten lots of attention splitting the lanes with only a foot or two on either side at that speed.
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The Pacific coastline around Big Sur
Date: 7/26/00
Subject: Wed
Date: 7/28/00
Subject: Thurs
Today was recovery and maintenance day. Slept late, washed the bike (first real wash since I left), changed the oil (last done in a motel parking lot in Butte, Montana.
Afterwards Carl and I took the bikes (he rides an Harley Davidson ElectraGlide) down the coast. Joe and Jamie would have loved Huntington and Newport beaches with the thousands of young people sunning, surfing, skating and biking. There was a large skate park at Huntington I've seen on MTV (well yeah, sometimes I watch MTV when no one is looking). On the return trip I got to be a real CA biker lane-splitting on the nearly stopped 405 Expressway. Actually, that's real tense - I'm kind of glad it's not legal back home and I'm real glad I left the saddlebags off the ST this morning.
Since tomorrow will be hot I plan to leave at 6am and ride to Las Vegas. Probably get there before noon but even so it'll probably be over 100degs - guess I'll try to stay wet!
Jim
 | Sunset at my campsite near St George, Utah |
Date: 7/28/00
Subject: Yes, but it's a dry heat
Jim
Observation: You know it's HOT when you're cooler with your helmet visor closed than open. The air was so hot today in the desert (one thermometer indicated 114 degrees!) that riding with my visor opened or even cracked was unbearable. It felt as is someone was pointing a hair dryer at my face. Even though I was sweating with the visor closed, at least it didn't feel like a convection oven. I totally saturated my clothing with water several times but would be almost completely dry within about 10 or 15 minutes.
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Zion National Park
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Grand Canyon views from Bright Angel Point
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UPPER: Grand Canyon views looking east towards Indian Country
LOWER: Paradise Point
Date: 7/31/00
Subject: Saturday, July 29
Had a really nice day today in Zion and Grand Canyon Parks. I left St George a little later than planned so it was a bit warm in Zion but the higher altitude of the Colorado plateau (it's about 9K feet where I'm camping tonight) made the afternoon very nice. Zion is pretty but the Grand Canyon is, well, GRAND. It would be impossible to describe this in words. I listened raptly to about an hour of Park Ranger explanation about how the canyon was and continues to be formed - very interesting, also very beautiful. There seem to be lots of Europeans here. I guess it must be holiday in many of the European countries. Camped next to me (I'm just outside the park) is a group from The Netherlands. One of them is touring by motorcycle - he came over with 75 others who have scattered to the four winds. He's here because he met his girlfriend at this place (she and the rest of the group are traveling by car). There are two couples who plan to be married in Las Vegas tomorrow - won't that be an interesting story to tell their kids!
Tomorrow I'll probably ride the rest of the way into Durango. You may recall that one of the few fixed points on my itinerary was WESTOC 2000 on 7/31 - 8/3. WESTOC stands for Western ST1100 Owners Club. I belong to STOC which entitles me to attend this rally. When I last checked the STOC internet site there where almost 100 ST owners registered for this event. Some riding actually occurs at these things but it's also a time for a large group of people with similar interest to gather and shoot the bull. Should be fun.
Jim
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LEFT: 280 foot high Glen Canyon Dam (Colorado River) - those tiny little dots are cars and trucks on the span over the top RIGHT: At Glen Canyon Dam, a sign warned about abrupt drop offs - I'd say so since there's nothing past the edge you see here except air. That white speck waaaayyyyy down below is a ski boat |
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Color country - Mounument Valley
Date: 7/31/00
Subject: Sunday
Jim
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Riding friends, John, Richard and Barry in Ourey, CO |
Date: 7/31/00
Subject: WESTOC Day 1
Later, Jim
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1: Fishing lake between Durango and Silverton 2: Silverton, CO - I really liked this place! Silverton was snowed in during the winter of '32. "Essentials" were air-dropped from small planes flown out of Denver. 3: CO 550 between Silverton and Ourey 4: Sort of gives new meaning the term "Low Shoulder", huh? |
Date: 8/2/00
Subject: WESTOC Day 2
Later, Jim
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LEFT: WESTOC roommate, Tommy CENTER: I really liked the antique narrow gauge locomotives which run between Silverton and Durango. These engines are nearly 100 years old but work every day. They're all covered with coal soot and constantly belch smoke, steam, water and oil. Cool! RIGHT: A gathering of Honda ST1100s at the Iron Horse Inn. This may be the largest single group of this relatively rare species ever assembled. There were 130 participants on 98 ST1100s |
Date: 8/03/2000
Subject: Wed / Thurs
I rolled out of the parking lot in Durango this morning at 5:30. The temperature was a brisk 43 degs. Tonight I'm in Pampa, TX (in the "scenic" panhandle - nothing but oil wells and dirt!) where the temperature was around 102 a little earlier this afternoon. I'm about 60 miles from the OK border but the next town of consequence will be on I-40 and I figured a room (can you say "air-conditioning"?) would less expensive here. I hope to get into west TN tomorrow if the weather holds.
Later, Jim | Sunrise in the Texas panhandle - needless to say I had this all to myself |
Conclusion - Since I had to be back at work on Monday morning, at this point I made a bee line for home - mostly Interstate 40 (gag!) - not much to photograph.
My rear tire was nearly new when I left home and given my previous experience with Bridgestone Excedras on this bike, I expected 12K - 14K miles from it. I think the road surface in many of the western states (gravel in tar) is more abrasive than the smoother asphalt I usually ride and simply ate the tire faster than I expected. I probably could have made it home on the worn tire but when I got to Oklahoma City the weather forecast was for some rain between there and home. Plus, I knew I'd be truckin' along at an 80+mph pace on the interstate so I felt the prudent thing to do was to replace the tire while and where I could. I ended up calling the local Honda dealer who had a Dunlop D103 in stock that would fit. This particular Dunlop is not my favorite tire but since it was the only choice he had in my size, beggars can't be choosers. They were willing to "work me in" and although I had to pay list price for the tire ($170 mounted and balanced) they were very nice folks and they got me back on the road again in a couple of hours.
As I mentioned earlier, it was very hot (~114 degrees) in Nevada but I think the low humidity there made the high temperature at least tolerable. I was hoping to get past Memphis before stopping on Friday but on Friday afternoon in eastern Arkansas (maybe 60 miles west of Memphis), I simply couldn't take it anymore. I was having to stop about every hour and clean the thick coating of little black flies off my windshield and visor and although the temperature was "only" in the high nineties, the humidity must have been very close to 100%. It was unbearable so I opted for an air conditioned room with the intent of getting an early start on Friday and making the final 600 miles or so home before sundown.
I was up by 6am and rolling by 7 and got home before dark. The last three 600 mile interstate days were the least entertaining of the whole trip and it was the only time during the entire 30 days that my butt got sore! I stand by my opinion that the only time one should ride Interstate on a motorcycle is when there just isn't time to get there some other way.
What is there left to say? It's not possible to summarize the trip adequately. I can only state that the adventure met ALL my expectations and that I'm ready to do it again at the first opportunity. If you've spent the time to read this story, you probably already know that traveling by motorcycle is completely different than traveling by car. The experience on a bike is much more involved and much richer and that's probably why, like me, you like it. If you EVER get a chance to do this, go! You'll remember the experience for the rest of your life.
Planning - This a largely personal thing. Some people like to have a lot of structure about their trips others are more comfortable "playing it by ear". By design I did not want this trip to be highly structured. With the exception of couple of fixed events and dates, I wanted the ability to vary route, daily distance, nightly accommodations, etc as whim or necessity dictated. So for me, planning involved mostly evaluating prospective routes for interest and "do-able" distances. In the end, the plan consisted of a few maps with an tentative route that would allow me to be at Chuck's house that first Sunday, in San Francisco to meet Jamie's flight and see her off again, a reserved campsite at Big Sur and one in Yosemite (since these are normally not available on drive-up basis) and accommodations in Durango for WestSTOC. Other than that, there was no plan.
Equipment - Obviously the most important piece of equipment is the motorcycle itself. My Honda ST1100 performed absolutely flawlessly. Of course, I would expect nothing less of a Honda. They build AMAZING machines. The ST was designed for this kind of duty and it meets the requirements extremely well. I can't recommend the machine highly enough for this kind of trip. I do think it is important to make sure your machine is top-notch condition and perform all periodic maintenance (valve adjustments, etc) before the trip to minimize having to do this or have it done on the road. Also, although I didn't need it and don't actually know how well it would have worked, I subscribed to AMA's MOTOW service just in case. Probably more importantly, I packed my Honda Sport Touring Association membership book which lists members in every city willing to help other members with emergencies.
When I started planning the trip I thought I would be riding without a passenger the whole time and did not have the GIVI top box you see in the pictures. However, when my daughter decided to join me in California, I anticipated a storage problem. Thankfully I bought and installed the GIVI before setting out. Although large and IMO, not particularly attractive, I don't think we could have possibly packed all our personal, riding and camping gear without it. I don't leave it or the bracket mounted on the bike except when needed but I have to say it provides incredibly practical, handy, DRY storage. Had, it just been me, I think the stock ST1100 hard bags would have been adequate.
My camping gear is not particularly sophisticated. But since I was not overly concerned about a few pounds of extra weight, I didn't opt for the pricey extreme backpacking gear. In retrospect, had it been rainy I would probably have wished for a better tent. As it turned out I never had to camp in the rain so it wasn't an issue. I did appreciate a warm sleeping bag since even in the summer, it can be quite chilly at night in the Rockies
Maintenance - I had to change the oil twice on the road (4K mile interval). Once in a motel in Montana where I just went to the local AutoZone and bought the oil and found an empty 5-quart oil bottle in their dumpster. I cut a hole in the side of the empty oil bottle and drained into it. Then when I had put the new oil in the bike I poured the used oil into that container. I labeled it as used oil and left it by the motel dumpster (don't know if they recycle there or not). The second oil change was at the home of my relatives in Long Beach - no problem there as they had everything needed to do the job correctly. Also, as noted above I did have to replace a tire in Oklahoma City at considerably more expense than it would have cost at home. I look at this like fuel - it's one of the unavoidable costs for the trip and you have to pay local market price. You'll need to anticipate the need for tires and just plan on it. If possible, make arrangements ahead of time with a local vendor. Most cities have independent motorcycle shops that sell at more competitive prices than dealerships. If you can identify these sources (another use for the HSTA membership book), you can probably save yourself some money.