Hi Gang,

  This is the beginning of a descriptive narrative for the summer trip back east on my brand new 2010 GL1800. Check in when you can to see where and what I am up to.

  Hi all... well the trip to Wing Ding 32 is over and what a trip. The stats for the ride are listed at the bottom.

Day 1, Saturday, June 19.
Today started out great. We met at Shari's in Silverdale for breakfast and Debbie rode her bike down to join us. Everyone was there by the appointed time, and we were ready to go just when we wanted to. Debbie headed out for her own local ride, then back home, while Tom, Diana and I headed south. The clouds were getting thicker, and actually began to rain as we go close to Shelton. After a brief pause at the local Wal Mart, we donned our rain gear and headed out... in the rain. It rained off and on all the way to Centralia and on to White Pass. Going over White Pass wasn't any better... rather it got worse. It rained so hard... well all I can say is that I'm glad that my new 'Wing included swim fins and a snorkel. When we got to Yakima, we turned north, and into more rain. There is something about riding in the rain. It's gray, depressing, and generally doesn't feel real good getting wet. Even good rain gear have some leaks, and I found mine. But to add to that, the gray went on, and on, and on... In an attempt to get out of the rain, we turned east on I-90. After a couple more rain clouds, we finally broke into the sun. Just in time to call it a day, so we checked into a hotel in Moses Lake. Forecast for tomorrow is more rain. We are hoping that it's not as heavy as it was today.

check out today's route. (opens a new window)

Day 2, Sunday, June 20.
Today started out overcase but dry, yet the forecast was for more rain... as a large rain cell moved through Spokane. As we neared Spokane, the rain had passed, but the roads were still wet. In Coeur D'Alene, we turned north to Sandpoint. Most of the road was wet, or it was raining lightly. Not heavy, but constant. When we arrived in Libby, the sun was out and it was very warm. We all pulled off most of our extra clothing and headed out for the last leg to Eureka. No sooner did we leave Libby that we ran into some pretty strong wind, with plenty of debris on the road. Then the rain return. The road curved and followed the shoreline of Lake Koocanusa. Normally, the tar strips/road snakes don't bother me, and I don't have any problems riding over or around them, but this time... with the rain, and the road snakes went straight down the road, they quickly became a primary focal point. I hit one and the front tire slipped a little, not much but enough to feel and to catch my full attention. I'm sure that this road would be lots of fun when it's dry. Anyway, just as we pulled into Eureka, we spotted several lightening strikes, and not too far away. Tom had an idea where his friend, Nancy, lived, so he lead the way. When we stopped to call for final directions, amazingly, we stopped right in front of her driveway. With the rain, and now lightening, getting heavier, we pulled down her driveway and parked in her open and empty garage... what a relief. After unloaded some stuff, and brief reminiscencing, we headed out to the local golf course cafe for dinner. Tom took some pictures of me enjoying alot of tasty ribs... I'll try to attach some here later. Well, not only is Nancy a great friend of Tom's, plus a past co-worker, but she rides... and still does, and is a past member of Chapter B... now isn't it a small world. She remembers Steve and Beanie, and grew up with Mark Dalton. It was fun talking to her, and listening to the stories... but, alias, we had to get some sleep.

check out today's route. (opens a new window)

Day 3, Monday, June 21.
Nancy woke us up bright and early, again to the sound of rain. We got loaded up and went over to the local cafe for breakfast. I watched the rain come and go, and then it got pretty heavy. Today's ride started off wet. We headed down to Glacier National Park, went in and stopped at the visitors center. After looking around some, we decided that we couldn't really see anything, and the rain wasn't going to let up any time soon, so we decided to just head out. The rain wasn't as heavy as when we started, but was continuous. We hunkered down and headed into the wet. At one of our stops, Tom's trike wouldn't start, sounded like a dead battery. I gave him a push to get started, and he turned off all of his electrics, then headed down the wet road. After awhile, he figured out that when he turned on his heated hand grips, the voltage dropped really low. So he left them off, and the battery got charged back up. At another stop, a young gal backed into his trike. It didn't do any damage, but it's frustrating that someone couldn't see a large trike, with a trailer. Finally, the rain was letting up quite a bit, but some wind began to whip up. We're heading east, and the wind was coming out of the south. Over the next hill, the wind shifted to coming out of the north. We didn't change direction, but the wind did. Weird. Well, we found a place for the night, and Tom borrowed an extension cord from the hotel and plugged in his battery tender. Hopefully it'll be better overnight. Forecast is definately better for tomorrow, but we'll wait and see.

check out today's route. (opens a new window)

Day 4, Tuesday, June 22.
We woke up this morning to something different... a sunrise. After nearly 3 solid days of rain, this was a very nice change. Packing up, gearing up, and getting on the road was a bit more upbeat, looking forward to a nice and DRY day on the road. We headed in a zig-zag pattern across Montana, with a town near Billings as the target. I've been across Montana several times, but always on I-90, so these side roads was a very nice detour. We saw several absolutely gorgeous valleys, rolling hills, mountains, etc... the list goes on. Montana is truely a fantastic state, and I'm glad that we took the time to see some of it. We did run into a couple of road construction areas, loose gravel, fresh tar, chewed up roadbed, just to name a few. But they were pretty short and we were again cruising along. We came down from a mountain pass and Tom radioed that they were in need of a break. The next town on the map was Melville, so as we neared where it was suppose to be, all I saw was a flag on a tiny building with a Post Office sign on it. It was a turn-out, so I pulled in. Turns out that it was a tiny Corner Cafe/store/post office. We went in, got a cup of coffee, (tea for Diana), and talked to the locals for a few minutes. Very interesting spot, and filled with antiques, that they are still using... like an old cash register. But it was fun to look around and stretch a bit. After that, it was a short run down I-90 to our hotel. Since today was sunny, with one small exception that included some hail, todays ride was fun, easy, and quite enjoyable. Again, hoping for more of this sunshine for tomorrow's ride.

check out today's route. (opens a new window)

Day 5, Wednesday, June 23.
This morning started out with a beautiful sunrise... I'm really liking these mornings. We started out on hwy 78, going south out of Columbus. This was a great road, very much like a roller coaster. It weaved it's way up over hills, through valleys, around many corners... lots of fun. Then we started up the Beartooth Pass Highway. It wasn't long before we ran into construction, except this time the roads were wet dirt... read that as mud, slick mud. We finally slipped out way through that mess and headed up the pass. And what a pass it is. Those who have gone over it know what I mean, and if you haven't then I highly recommend it... by 2 or 4 wheels. It's breathtakingly beautiful, no other way to describe it. We did stop at several places and took some pictures. ( I'll try to get them on the website soon. ) Plus stopped at the little store on the "top of the world". Plenty of other bikes there, all having a good time. From there, we entered the Yellowstone park. On the way to Old Faithful, we saw lots of wildlife, buffalo, antelope, deer, elk, fox, coyote, and many others. We finally arrived at the Yellowstone Lodge, and lucked out to get a room for the night. After checking in, and packing our stuff in, we walked over to Old Faithful and waited for it to erupt. It finally did, just before sunset, and I think I got some good setting sun highlighted pictures of the event. After that, we checked out the totally awesome lodge and did some shopping. With thoughts of what I saw today, the pass, the road, the corners, the beauty, the ... it was a little hard to relax enough to get some sleep.

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Day 6, Thursday, June 24.
We woke to frost on our bike covers. Not a cloud, but quite chilly. We bundled up, checked out, then headed towards the Yellowstone Lake. After going around that, we headed out the East enterance. Once we left, I told Diana that it was going to get a bit boring... flat, few trees, just riding. And it wasn't long before she realized what I meant. Soon enought, we got back into some hills and a few mountain passes to add to my count of switchbacks. ( I counted over 40 in the past few days. ) As we neared I-90 again, we stopped in Ranchester.

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Day 7, Friday, June 25.
We got up and on the road at our usual time. On I-90, travel was pretty fast as we headed towards Devils Tower. In short notice, we were at the turnoff and headed to the park. When we got there, we parked and walked around a bit. Listened to a ranger story about the tower and, of course, took some pictures. Next stop, was the Black Hills area. Since it was a weekend, and pretty busy, I made reservations at a hotel in Spearfish. It wasn't very far from Devils Tower, so we arrived in the early afternoon. Tom and I enjoyed the hot tub and pool, while Diana took a nap. Around 6, we got geared up and headed out for Mt. Rushmore. An awesome ride, arriving just before 8. We got a bite to eat then headed out to the stage for the evening lighting ceremonies of the mountain. A very moving event, very patriotic. After the show, we did some more shopping and then on the road back to the hotel. This ended up being a very long, late date, finally getting to bed at 12:30.

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Day 8, Saturday, June 26.
The breakfast opened up an hour later than usual, which was good... some extra sleep. After packing and getting geared up, we headed out down I-90. We exited to go through Sturgis, but didn't stop. Most of the stores were still closed and there was hardly anyone there. Back on I-90, with Wall the next planned stop. It was getting pretty warm so the break at Wall Drug was welcome. We walked around for a few hours and did some more shopping. Then headed out to do the Badlands tour loop. The roads were a lot better than the last time I was there, in '96, and was just as awesome as I remembered. As we were touring around, I was searching the FM radio for a station to listen to, then came upon a weather alert... "Severe thunderstorms in the area, with 1 inch hail stones." Looking around, I could see the black cloud building behind us, so I got Toms attention and he was all for getting out of Dodge. We got back on I-90 and ran away from the storm. To make sure we didn't get caught in it, we checked into a hotel in Kadoka. The forecast for tonight is scattered thunder storms, and clearing tomorrow. Well, I hope so.

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Day 9, Sunday, June 27.
We started out a little different today. Instead of enjoying the free breakfast at the hotel, we got on the highway and stopped at a little cafe down the road. Breakfast was great, price was great, and the waitress was about 6'2" tall. After that, we got on a side road that zig-zagged across South Dakota and Nebraska, heading towards Omaha and I-80, which leads to Des Moines. Not a lot to talk about, pretty flat, not a lot of trees. But, the weather was really nice. Although the sun was out, there was a nice breeze and it wasn't humid, making it feel much more comfortable than the days before. There were signs of flooding caused by the recent heavy rains, and some ponds of standing water. But the roads were dry, clear, and in moderately good shape. Speed limit was pretty good, and with no place to visit, we just rode... made pretty good time and covered quite a bit. Weather forecast for the next week looks really good... I'm hoping that they are right.

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Day 10, Monday, June 28.
We're not far from Des Moines, but not scheduled to get to the hotel until tomorrow. With, yet, another route change, we headed out to my relatives that live north-east of Des Moines. Some of the roads were pretty rough with tar snakes, and there was a pretty good side wind. Diana had to hold onto the top of her helmet to keep from getting blown around. Another day of sunshine and warm temperatures made the ride better... except for the wind. We arrived just before 1:00 pm to warm greetings and a snack lunch. We chatted, laughted, got comfortable and chatted some more. Dinner was roasted chicken, cheesy baked potatoes and green beans... simply wonderful. When it got dark enough, we all went outside to display my lights. Lots of oooh's and aaah's. It was later than our usual bed time, but since tomorrow was really short, we decided to stay up awhile and sleep in tomorrow.

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Day 11, Tuesday, June 29.
We got to sleep in a bit, slowly got ready, and had a home cooked breakfast. Mid-morning, we were on the way towards Wing Ding. As we entered Des Moines, the reader boards had "Welcome Wing Dingers" displayed... it's nice to be expected. We passed through town to our hotel, checked in and unloaded. After a short rest, we headed over to the Vet's Center for pre-registration check-in. We got our packages and then returned to the hotel. When we checked in, we got a coupon for the bar-b-q place next door, so we went over for dinner. Well, they like to "spice" things up a bit... nearly everything had jalapeno peppers in it... spicy and rather hot. For bar-b-q?? Even the corn bread had the spice added. It wasn't bad, but not on my top 5 list. After dinner, I took out my cleaning gear and started polishing my bike to enter into the bike show on Thursday.

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Day 12, Wednesday, June 30.
Today was the first official day of Wing Ding. We were up early, had a quick breakfast, and off we went. Yesterday, we checked out a parking lot that was closer to the main doors, so that's were we went. There were plenty of bikes already parked there but it was easy to find a spot. After parking, we headed in, and down the long walk to the opening cermonies, arriving in plenty of time. When they announced that Wing Ding was officially open, we headed out to the vendors. This year, the venders area was about twice the size of Tulsa, and spread out quite a bit more. We found plenty of things to buy, and pretty soon we both had big bags full of goodies... and still haven't seen the whole area yet. With my bike in the bike show tomorrow, I'll have plenty of time to continue shopping.

No riding today, so no route...

Day 13, Thursday, July 1.
Today began a little more relaxed that previous days. The classification for the bike show began at 9:00, so we had a chance to sleep in. We had breakfast, then headed over, arriving at about 8:45. We walked in and I checked out how to enter the bike show. Tom and Diana had a few things to check out, so I got my bike and rode it into the show. After going through the safety check, tire tread, horns, lights, first aid kit, fire extinguisher, etc, I was moved over to be classified. The guy checked me out and said, "Stock...". "Nope... it's not black." I said. He looked it over again and realized it was green. "OK, custom, class 14." After that I moved over for aditional information, where the inspectors really ooooo'ed and ahhhh'ed over the color. Then instructed to return at 1:00. I rode out and over to the first available parking space, then broke out the cleaning package I brought and begain to give it a good wax and polish... it only took 2 hours. After getting a bite for lunch, I rode my bike over to the bike show. When the judging was over, I found that my bike was changed from Custom to Show. OK... well, anyway, I took 2nd place in the bike show. After that, we all got a bite for dinner and then left Diana off at the hotel. About 7:00'ish, Tom and I left to the staging area for the light parade. Promptly at 9:30, we headed out on the route. I set my lights to fade in and out fast between all colors, and had some good road songs playing from my MP3 player. The crowd was loving all the bikes, and it was great to hear them cheer and clap as I went by. There were 3 classes in the parade/show, and I was in class 3 for the fading lights. We ended up in a downtown area of a nearby town, and most of the town was there to check us out. Lots of looks, ooo's and ahhh's, and tons of questions about the lights... especially the owl eyes. It was nearly midnight before the winners were announced, and out of about 25 bikes in class 3, I took 3rd place!!! WOOO HOOO!! 2nd place in the bike show to be followed by 3rd place in a stiff competition light show.... AWESOME!!! Tomorrow is the Top Gun competition, but I won't be in it. The course changed and I didn't get a chanced to practice it... the bike was in the bike show. So, we'll take it easy for most of the day, and then get staged for the grand parade.

No riding today, so no route...

Day 13, Friday, July 2.
This was the day to begin getting ready to leave. We did some laundry, packed some stuff to be sent home, and made almost the final purchases from the vendors... there is always something else. Mid-afternoon, they started to stage the bikes that were going in the grand parade, and grand it was. Before we left on the route, there were 5 blocks of bikes, 6 rows of about 50 bikes per row on each block. Amazing, so many bikes. We could have set a record, if anyone counted. The ride through town was pretty good, not fast but steady... and slow enough to get the bikes really hot. When we arrived at the high school, we enjoyed watching 3 different drill teams ride... very impressive. Tom did a good job of recording the whole thing. We'll have to check it out later.
On another note... the guys that I bought my parade lights from are here. I talked to them over the past few days and had a chance to show them my bike. Then, winning the 3rd place in the Light Show really got them excited. Tonight, I was requested to return to the vendors so that one of the vendors, who is doing pictures, could take some of my bike. FastLights wants to use my bike on their ads and on their website... my bike is famous!! Now we need to see how the pictures turned out after they do their thing to them. I think it's cool...

No riding today, so no route...

Day 14, Saturday, July 3.
Well, today was the last day of Wing Ding 32. We shipped home some packages, did some final shopping, last minute looking around, then headed off for the closing ceremonies. There were some great prizes given away, like a trailer, actually 2, several helmets with headsets installed, lots of chrome, and many other things. Plus, there was the 50/20/15/10/5, and the $10,000 giveaway. Nope, we didn't win any of them... darn. We had missed the statistics awards this morning and they called the winners again. And, I won Long Distance Rider. WOOO HOOO!! That makes 3 plaques!!!
We are pretty ready for tomorrow. Tom is mostly packed already, I'm getting organized and pre-packing what I can. I'll finish tomorrow morning when I take the stuff to the bike. The weather forecast for tomorrow is scattered thunder showers, with flash flood watch in effect... not good. We're hoping that we can get going before the rain starts. We'll be going down the main highway, so we might be able to out run the storm... or at least we hope to.

No riding today, so no route...

Day 15, Sunday, July 4.
Since it was Sunday, the free breakfast opened at 9:00, alot later than normal and too late for us, so we planned on getting breakfast on the road. Tom and I went outside to finalize the packing and get prepped to leave. About 15 minutes before we left, it went from a light mist to a medium rain... if only it could have waited for another half hour, then we'd be gone. It did bring back memories of the first three days of this trip. So we donned our rain gear, checked out and headed east out of Des Moines. Within 30 minutes, we were on dry ground and under clearing skys. After another 30 minutes, we pulled over for breakfast. The skys were moderatly clear, and it was warm, almost 75 degrees... I was thinking it was safe to stop without getting rained on. But that thought turned out to be a false hope. Before we finished breakfast, it was pouring outside. So, once again, we started out in the rain. I've been having Tom lead because it's easier for me to keep up with him than it was for him to keep up with me. So Tom got on the interstate and took off, setting his cruise control and we just zipped right along. It wasn't long before we had outrun the rain... again, and were under mostly clear skys and rising temperatures. At one rest stop, we pulled under some trees, in the shade, and peeled off several layers. Tom was also trying his GPS. He had programmed in the address of his relatives house, and was trying the route on his own... using me and my planned route as a backup. But his power connection wasn't working properly and his GPS's battery ran out. I plugged his GPS into my aux power port and we headed down the road. After a couple of stops for gas and a bite to eat, I gave his GPS back to Tom... with the battery charged up. He mounted it and he led the way. When we entered the housing complex, his great-newphew ran out to meet us. We had a wonderful welcome, relaxed in the cool shade, and enjoyed a fantastic dinner of corn, salad and bar-b-q ribs. It was a long ride today, about 450 miles, but was worth it. It was getting dark, and time to move the bikes into their garage, and gave me a chance to show them my lights... lots more ooohs and ahhhhs. Tom's relatives were on vacation, so they weren't planning on getting up before 8, or 9. Since I was planning on leaving early the next day, I was informed that I was on my own. I said my good-nites, thanked them for their hospitality, and hit the sack.

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Day 16, Monday, July 5.
Up with the alarm, I tried to be as quiet as possible. I got ready and hit the road by 6. The route was to go over to Detroit, and across Canada for a short way so I headed east. I found a nice place for breakfast, and soon enough, I was on the road again. As I neared the border crossing, the temperature was still rising but there was a breeze as I waited my turn at the gates. It was quick and I was soon on my way. The part of Canada that I went through was very nice. Flat, but nice fields and pretty good roads. As I neared Niagara Falls, the roadside reader boards said that it was a 1 to 2 hour wait at all of the border crossings. With the temperatures nearly 100 degrees, waiting in line for a couple of hours was not in the plans. I finally did make it to the gates and was back on the road... I just wanted to get out of town. I rode for another hour or so before stopping for the night. A pretty nice day and plenty of miles, to be topped off by sweltering in the heat while waiting to cross the border.
It felt kind of odd, leaving Tom and Diana behind. I've traveled with them for the past 15 days, guiding them via my GPS, watching them to ensure that they are riding OK, giving him a push once, and checking his anti-freeze daily. And now, they are on their own. Feels kind of like a parent bird getting the chicks to fly on their own for the first time. But, after 15 days, I'm pretty sure that they can make it on their own, and they have a lot of friends and relatives that can help out.

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Day 17, Tuesday, July 6.
Up bright and early, I got a quick breakfast at the hotel, and was on the road. Today was a quick trip down the road, heading to Debbie's cousin's house in Delaware. I zig-zagged across New York and Pennsylvania, finally down Delaware. Most of the roads were pretty nice, some rough spots but no tolls. Some places were just awesome, very pretty rolling hills, rivers and valley towns. When I got to the big cities and the major highways, the heat really came on. Riding down hwy 1, the temperature read 104 on my bike. After a couple of hours riding in over 100 degrees, I finally arrived at the house. Debbie's cousin had plans to go over a friends house and soaking in their pool, then going out for dinner. The pool was great, warm but a lot cooler than the air. After that, we walked over to a deli/seafood place, where the speciality was a crab cake... quite tasty. Then we drove over to the next town, walked down the boardwalk for some custom mixed ice cream cones. Alot like the cold stone creamery in Silverdale. Back to the house, and finished the day taking a shower in their 'out-door' shower. It's got walls, but was outside. That really felt good, especially with it being so hot and humid.

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Day 18, Wednesday, July 7.
Up early, showered outside, and got packed up for the ride to Debbie and her daughter's house in Virginia. Her cousin got up and we went to breakfast, a deli breakfast sandwich and an espresso... that got me charged up. Her cousin wanted to escort me down the coast road, then towards Virginia, but then he had to return home. We said our goodbye's and I headed out towards the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. The toll on the bridge was $12, but the cooler temperatures from the ocean was worth it... from 101 to 88 degrees. Going through Norfolk was hot, and a lot of traffic. I decided to take a little detour from the route to go by a Honda dealership. My nav system has all of the Honda dealers highlighted, so it was really easy to find. I bought a gallon of oil and will change it after tomorrows ride. From there, it was back onto the highway, heading for Richmond. I arrived at Debbie's daughter's house and was greeted by Debbie and her new grandson. We all went out to dinner, and then returned to the air conditioned house, where I have some time to get caught up on the blog.
(I forgot to start the Spot when I started off this morning, so a part is missing...)

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Day 19, Thursday, July 8.
Up early, again, showered, and tried to stay quite as not to wake the baby. Debbie got up with me and watched as I loaded up the 'Wing. All too soon, I was saying 'bye' and was on the road. It was already hot, nearly 90 at 7:00, so I just rode to get out of the city. Today, I'm heading south, to South Carolina, to Debbie's brother's place. Not a lot to see, and not that long of a ride, I pulled in at about 12:30. After greeting them, and their excited dogs, I got comfortable for the hot afternoon. Later, when things cool off, I'll be changing the oil in the bike, and do some basic cleaning... like get the bugs off the windshield and front cowling. Today will be the last 'relaxing' day, tomorrow will start the long and rapid trip across the country.

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Day 20, Friday, July 9.
We stayed up kind of late to watch a movie, and this morning's alarm came way too early. But, I've got to get going if I'm going to cover as much as I plan. With many thanks to Debbie's brother and his wife, I set out just before dawn. Heading north-west out of town, I found a nice place for breakfast and watch the blazing orange sunrise. From there, I headed more north and picked up the Blue Ridge Parkway near mile marker 300... of the parkway. This is one road that is lots of fun to ride, plenty of corners and a comfortable speed limit. Being so early, there was very little traffic... to start. As the miles rolled by, more and more traffic started to show up. About 50-50 for cars vs. motorcycles. I started out this morning with the temperature at 79 degrees, but going down the parkway, the temperature was a very comfy 63 degrees. Now I understand why there are so many people up here, getting out of the heat. I stopped at a little store where Debbie and I stopped a couple of years ago and tried to buy a Blue Ridge Parkway pin. Unfortunately, they were sold out. The worker said that he sold about 150 in the past week... it figures. From there, I exited the parkway near the end, at mile marker 430 something, so I really rode a good piece of the whole parkway. It connected to one of the roads that leads to the Tail of the Dragon. I had heard that there was a rock slide at the west end of the tail, but they had up reader boards saying that the west end was open during the day. After another hour, I arrived at Deals Gap, the motorcycle resort at the dragon. I got a bite to eat and went into the gift store to... what else... shop. As I was paying for my items, it began to rain... and pretty hard. I knew it was coming, I only hoped to get through the dragon before it got here. Most of the other riders headed for cover, I just got on the bike and took off. The rain allowed me a good gap between anyone in front or behind me, so I was hoping for some good pictures from ZeePhoto and KillBoy. The road was really wet, so I putted along easy and safely. As I neared the end of the tail, it cleared up and the road was drying out. It gave me a chance to step up my pace a bit, but still moderate... there were cops on the hunt. I had originally planned on going back and forth through the dragon, but with it so wet, and more rain was coming, I decided to just take off for the west. I got on I-40 and went in and out of rain until I finally decided to call it a day. The forecast is more rain, but starting later and being further south of here. Unfortunately, I'm heading right into some of it tomorrow. I can only hope that it's more scattered than they say.
The Blue Ridge Parkway is heavly forested, so the Spot wasn't able to send data during the route. It appears as just a straight like. Oh, and when I got on I-40, it was quiting traffic and fast... very fast. I was just going with the traffic.

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Day 21, Saturday, July 10.
The hotel let me park my bike right next to the front door, out of the rain and wind. This morning was nice because it had cleared up, and the bike was dry. After loading up, I headed out on I-40. I remember going down I-40 back in 1996, when I rode my GL1000 to Virginia... it's first cross-country trip. Anyway, the highway was really busy with truck traffic then, and it still is. There is a truck for about every 3 cars. At one point, I passed about 15 trucks and no cars. And everyone is going at a good clip. It sure makes the miles add up quick. Since I had some rain the day before, I decided to put my full-face piece on my helmet. The forecast was rain, and going that fast with the wind and buffeting from the trucks, a full-face helmet makes it much more comfortable. It was a bit hot, but worth it because I did run into some rain bursts. Going 70 mph+, into 40 mph+ winds plus the big rain drops... that 100 mph+ rain pellets. Ouch... Fortunately, each rain burst was just that, and only lasted a mile or so. Then it was back into the hot sun and dry roads. I arrived at my friends house by 4'ish that afternoon. It was great to see him again, his parents, and his new wife. Later, she cooked up a wonderful dinner where we chatted about old times a bit. After walking around his property, and seeing his parents garden, it was time to hit the sack.

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Day 22, Sunday, July 11.
Up early, my friend's mother had fixed us breakfast, and then I was on the road. The plan was to zig-zag my way up through Arkansas, into Missouri, over to Oklahoma and then into Kansas. It was foggy and overcast for the first few hours, then the sun burned through and it started to get hot. There were some roads that I went on that were just a blast!! Like a roller coaster, up and over hills, around lots of corners... sure was a nice break from the high speed interstate. And it gave me the chance to round off my tires from the flat, straight interstate running. I was watching the clouds as I went, and when I figured I had run out from under the rain clouds, I pulled over and switched my helmet from the full-face to 3/4 face. After a short break, I headed out across Kansas, staying to side roads because I want to pick up Hwy 50 in Dodge City, and take it all the way to California. It was a long day, hot and lots of sun, but I finally arrived in Dodge City, my appointed stopping point for today. Tomorrow, I'll gas up and... (you know what's coming...) I'll "Get out of Dodge..."
Ooops... forgot... WOOO HOOO !!! I rolled over the 10,000 mile mark!!!

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Day 23, Monday, July 12.
Wow... did you hear?? Kansas City, Missouri got hammered yesterday. According to the weather channel, there was severe rain, wind and flooding. And I went through Kansas City yesterday. I didn't get rained on, but there were several clouds building south-west of me as I was leaving the area. Guess it just missed me. When I... got out of Dodge... this morning, there were scattered showers all over. My route sort of threaded the needle between rain clouds. If there was a rain cloud to the right, the road turned left, if there was a rain cloud to the left, the road turned to the right. I had very few rain drops hit me, but missed the big ones. Pretty soon, I was under totally clear skys and about 70 degrees... perfect riding weather. It didn't get hot until I reached Pueblo, where I stopped for a bite and to cool off a bit. From there, I went over one of my favorite passes, to Westcliff/Silvercliff. Before I reached the top, the temperature dropped by 20 degrees, a comfy 68. On to the Arkansas River canyon and back on highway 50 west... and back into the heat. Heading west, then north, I took the road to go over Independence Pass, where the temperature really dropped... it was 45 at the top. Down the other side, and on I-70 west... very fast and hot. I made pretty good time, arriving at Green River, Utah before 7:00. This was one of the longest days. The next 2 are going to be pretty long as well, but today may have been the longest. Tomorrow is going through the desert on hwy 50, so I'm going to get up really early and hit the road, hopefully to avoid some of the main heat.

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Day 24, Tuesday, July 13.
I wanted to beat the heat today, so I got up an hour earlier. It was still dark and from past experiences from a couple of years ago, it was also going to be chilly in the valleys, so I donned my fleese shirt under my jacket, and hit the road. It's really weird going down I-70 before dawn, there was hardly anyone else on the road. This was one time that I really liked the high-beams of the 1800, very bright and really reached out there. It really didn't seem to take long to get to the hwy 50 turnoff, but it was about 80 miles... things look different in the dark, I guess. At the turnoff was a Denny's, so I stopped for breakfast. By the time I was done, the sun was up but it was still pretty cool... the desert cool. Heading west on hwy 50 was really nice. I'm really getting to like this road. Not only is it a nice view of many valleys, but it's got a lot less traffic, so less wind buffeting. Plus the speed limit is almost the same as the interstate, the roads are pretty good with lots of twisties, and it's really easy to stop for gas or whatever without the hassle of on-off ramps. Well, after zipping my way through Utah, and then through Nevada, I finally arrived at my selected stop for the day, Susanville in California. And I made pretty good time... it helped crossing a time zone where I gained an hour. Tomorrow is the final leg home. Pretty simple, zig-zag my way through the mountains to I-5, then point the bike north till I get home.

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Day 25, Wednesday, July 14.
Waking up to a cool, refreshing morning was quite a change from the hot and humid mornings back east. I was up and on the road by 5:30, sort of eager to get home. Leaving Susanville was quite a morning treat, the road weaved it's way up a pass to a high meadow, then further up the mountains and into bigger and taller trees. Plus, the temperature dipped down to 45 degrees. I hadn't expected that, so I had to pull over and put my rain cover on, and change to my leather gloves. If it was going to get any cooler, I was planning on pulling out my gerbings. But, it finally warmed up as the road headed into Oregon. Some more zig-zagging on mountain roads, the finally on I-5. When I got into Salem, I needed to stop and as luck would have it, the off-ramp that I selected to take had the on-ramp under construction... it was closed. After taking a break, I worked my TomTom for a route to the nearest on-ramp to get back onto the highway. Finally, after going through most of Salem, I was finally back on the road. Like most interstates, it was pretty uneventful. One neat thing was when I came up on a group of classic cars, about 15 or 20 of them. Looked really cool, and I appreciate those who restore a classic and "use" it. All of the cars were zipping down the road without any problem... nice. It didn't seem to take very long before I was in familure territory... Gorst. Shortly after that, I was home. And now... I had to get things ready for the region rally. A quick unpack/repack, load up the trailer and cooler, and a bath for the 1800... wow, were there a lot of bugs!! Finally, I was ready to join the group tomorrow for breakfast, then the ride to Port Townsend.

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Stats for the ride
Starting mileage on my new 1800: 3456 miles
Ending mileage from the trip: 12641 miles
Total miles traveled: 9185 miles
Best gas mileage: 50.23 mpg
Worst gas mileage: 32.03 mpg
Average gas mileage: 42.66 mpg

Take care..
  Ted, Chapter Photographer