Coast-to-Coast '07

The Route      Progress      Photos      Food      Equipment

Riding Back in Time 

           Who was t

hat goofy guy?!?  ==>              

Whoever I was, I am now at: bikerbill@windermere.com 

Five years ago I took a motorcycle trip back to Farrell, PA for my 35-year high school reunion.  It was really more of an excuse to be on the road than a desire to visit with some folks I hadn't seen in a very long time.  But somehow, the news of my ride got spread around, and my arrival was greeted with far more interest than I ever remember receiving as a geeky kid in the mid-60's. 

With this coming reunion, a big focus is still on the ride.  But there is something to be said for the anticipated camaraderie and a sense of going home again. 

The Route… I know where I’m goin’, I just don’t know where I’ll be.   

Here’s a skeleton outline of where I might be spending my nights.  The trip now looks like it will be over 13,000 miles, most of it along state highways and scenic routes.  The in-between connections are pretty much laid out, but all the mileage (and kilometer) calculations are still underway.  As my trip continues, I'll add an update of towns. 

 "Life is like riding a bicycle.  In order to keep your balanced, you need to keep moving."  ~  Albert Einstein

PLANNED	REALITY
Winnemucca, NV	Eureka, CA
	Ferndale, NV
CedarCity, UT	CedarCity, UT
Cortez, CO	Blanding, UT
Burlington, CO	Denver, CO
Bellevue, NE	Bellevue, NE
Conway, AR	Nevada, MO
Pigeon Forge, TN	Whiteville, TN
Philippi, WV	Lewisburg, WV
Rocky River, OH	Rocky River, OH
Farrell, PA	Farrell, PA
Boonville, NY	Tully, NY
Fryeburg, ME	White River Jct., VT
Cheticamp, NS	Belfast, ME
Paspebiac, QC	Coldbrook, NS
Riviere-du-Loup,QC	Cheticamp, NS
Mont-Tremblant, QC	Bathurst, NB
At this point I’m over 3 days behind schedule, the weather is bad and looking worse, finances are thinning under Canada’s oppressive taxation, and my ass is getting sore. So, I decide to modify the trip & draw the shortest distance line between me & home.
Kapuskasing, ON	Berthierville, QC
Ignace, MB	Belleville, MI
Dauphin, MB	Des Moines, IA
Prince Albert, SK	Cheyenne, WY
Edson, AB	Twin Falls, ID
Kamloops, B.C.	Roseburg, OR
Discovery Bay, WA
Roseburg, OR

So, I'm home now & will begin to backfill some of the details of the trip & photos.  But first, some useless statistics:  Total miles traveled- 11,601; days on the road-27 (3 of which without travel); total fuel cost- $1,079.70; total fuel use- 299 gallons; average cost- $3.61/gal.; average MPG- 38.8 (best single tankful- 50 MPG); longest day ride- 731 miles (Berthierville, Quebec to Belleville, Michigan).

Progress

This section is about the day-to-day highlights of my trip to Farrell, PA for a 40-year high school reunion, and then back.  Info showing up here is pretty much hinged on my ability to find internet access along the road, in order to upload.

6/16/07- anticipated departure, assuming my chores are done  

6/19/07 - This is what being on the road is about

6/20/07 – Some scenes in Colorado ~ Telluride

6/21/07 – A Biker Babe I gave a ride to:

 and her father, Ken 

6/22/07 – A house in Burlington, CO where I used to live:

And another one that I built south of Denver, nearly 30 years ago... 

6/23/07 – I visited with my daughter Sarah & we caught a George Thorogood concert

her husband, Josef:

and my navigator… 

6/26/07 – a scene somewhere in North Carolina or Virginia

6/28/07 – my brother Bob trying to imaging what it would be like to bust out…

the home were I grew up

Farrell, PA

Where I went to school:  

Ken’s mother, “Yoy, I’m gonna give you such a smack!”

Instead, she gave me a beer.

6/30/07-This is what the trip has really been about... 

more nameless faces in the crowd... 

more to come...

7/5/07- a couple photos of the Atlantic Ocean at my farthest point East on Cape Breton Island, Canada

Here are some other comments: 

Food

Aside from the opportunity to ride and see new scenery, this trip also offers me a chance to eat.  For me, food is not a means to an end… it is the end.

One of the most eagerly anticipated food stops was going to be the Stratton, CO VFW All-you-can-eat Rocky Mountain Oyster fry.  Five years ago I happened through town on one of the few nights per year that they stage this community event.  This year, my timing will not be so lucky.  So I’ve already begun the Google search for these tasty testes in various other restaurants across the country.  I’ve found several.  I’ll report the results.

Equipment

Here are a few items that I found or built to make traveling (hopefully) a bit more comfortable. 

First was a pair of lowers… smaller plastic wind screens that keep the wind, and in turn the bugs and rain, off my legs.  The need for these became apparent on a ride back from Carson City, NV last October.  The bike was fairly new; I’d gone through the 1,000 mile “drive slow” break-in period; and it was time for a ride.  On the way back, rain started in Ashland and didn’t stop until I got home… 100 miles later.  The main windscreen usually channels the wind (and rain) to the sides or over the top of my head.  This new bike screen channeled it down to the bottom edge and directly into my knees, which in turn ran down my legs and filled up my boots.  Unacceptable!  Since the bike was a “New Edition”, no factory lowers were immediately available until recently.  But when I installed them, the plastic lowers didn’t come anywhere near the upper screen to help redirect the rain.  I ended up chopping down an old windscreen I had and built these over-sized lowers. 

They’re still untested in the rain.  I’ll be the first to complain if they don’t work.  

Next came some security items.  Traveling with my laptop has always taken up a full saddle bag, because of the lopsided fit.  I found a website for Pelican cases, that offered an attractive alternative.