SPOT Tracker

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Wading Thru the Stuff

Hopefully I can get an update here at some point.  I've unloaded my motorcycle but have not even unpacked yet!  First order of business was to get my brake line replaced on the truck, which entailed removing the bed, fabricating and installing the line and getting the bed back on, none of which was straight forward. I also cleaned up and undercoated the frame while the bed was off.

I had to replace an exhaust manifold gasket, fix the rear plate lights and replace the inner and outer tie rod ends on the passenger side.  I would still be at it if it wasn't for Jay, thanks for all the help!  He probably had as many tools dragged out of his garage as I did mine, in order to get it all done.  We got to play with 22 caliber explosives in the process, which made the whole thing very worthwile - who doesn't like blasting stubborn parts apart?  With any luck, I should have a valid inspection sticker before noon tomorrow. If so, it will be for the first time in about 3 years, woohoo!

I also spent about 5 hours cleaning the bike which realistically leaves about 3 hours to finish that job.

Need a little time to get unpacked, do laundry, visit Harry & Mary and pay some bills, but I'll be back soon.

Friday, June 22, 2012

June 22, Friday

Home. Did around 1,100 miles over the past 2 days to get here because it was like a magnet, the closer I got, the more I wanted to get here. That, and I have to fix the brake line on my truck so I can get to work!

Thanks Jay! I should take a vacation more often, the yard looks great!  I appreciate you keeping your eye on things while I was gone. And Harry and Mary, thanks for dinner and a beer - what better way to end a trip?

What a great trip and experience. I wrote this all on the road, on an anemic netbook, whenever I could scrounge up a wifi connection and it does not even begin to scratch the surface. The pictures are okay but they too fall way short of reality - I'm talking way way way short.  I'll try to clean this all up, tie it all together and add some pictures and video, which I have quite a bit of, in the next few days.

For now, thanks for all the support, comments, emails, texts, calls, FB support etc. There were just about 5,000 hits on the map, plus another 1,200 or so hits on the blog, which is way beyond what I thought it would be. Next time (yes, there is a trip in the back of my mind ... Dan?) I will be much more organized, which of course comes with experience.

I'll be back in a bit,

Thursday, June 21, 2012

June 20, Wednesday

Yesterday was a long day. Had to physically fight the wind all day and it was a 500 mile day. And Hot. Everyone was giving me reports of severe thunderstorms coming and 8" of rain up in Minneapolis that was coming this way. I started out in overcast skies but was able to outrun it.  I could actually see the line where the weather front was. If I put my hand in front of my face at arms length, the clear skies were about two fingers high and ran the length of the horizon. It took a couple hours to reach that line, but when I did, the temp went from 68 degrees to 84 degrees within about a mile. It did eventually go up into the high nineties.


I was so tired that I was yelling at the top of my lungs and shaking my head and anything else I could think of to keep alert (and awake). I finally pulled off into a little gas station to get a coffee, but then saw that 18 oz Monster drink that I have never tried. I guzzled the whole thing and was thinking to myself that this isn't working, but then hit the road. I have to tell you that it worked excellent and I was wide awake and ready to go until at least midnight, which was 8 hours later. No rush, no side effects, I will probably be having my second one ever this afternoon.


Took a detour to check out the Wall Drug Store. Very cool place and Wall is a very cool town.


I was woken up this morning by the sound of rain on my tent, bent fortunately is was just a brief shower and I was able to get out of town before it turned into anything. That meant that I hit Chicago at about 8:30 am, not what I wanted to do!  It was okay though, slow going for about an hour, but I'm through and sitting in a McD's in Gary Indiana.


I don't know if Gary is a black town or not, but every person in here (and there are about 30-40) are black. Except me.  It really is awesome to see. There are people here that I know have been here for well over an hour sitting with an empty coffee or juice cup, chatting. There talk about college basketball, get a job, politics, etc.  A guy came over and was talking about my bike and how long I had been riding and where I was from and going to.  I told him about the trip and then he asked what my longest trip was besides this one. I told him it was about 200 miles and he almost dropped his coffee.




While I have been typing this, we've had the police here and there rescue wagon is here with a stretcher about 5 feet away from me. The guy is refusing to go, don't know what happened, but I thought I'd be stealth and sneak a pic with my iphone. Oops, did know the flash was on, so much for stealth.




I've been sitting here for a while, very comfortable, but I better get going.  

Monday, June 18, 2012

June 18, Sunday

A few stats:

trip so far                 19    days
yesterday               223.9 miles
overall                 6424.4 miles
avg speed                55.0 mph
max speed               90.9 mph
distance home   ~2,000  miles


I stayed at the KOA park at the foot of Devil's Tower in Wyoming Saturday night.  I was going to make it a 2 night stay, but I had my tent pitched in a gravel RV spot so I could have electricity, and it was all just a little bit awkward. 


At the 11:00 AM checkout time, I made the decision to take off.  I paid the 5 bucks to take a ride up the 3 mile road to the base of Devil's Tower and then did a 45 minute hike out near the bolder field. Very impressive piece of rock. If you ask a geologist how it was formed, he would tell you from the surrounding sandstone eroding away. If you asked a native Indian, he would tell you it was from a rock and a tree and a buffalo helping a young girl escape from an Indian who had transformed into a bear and killed the rest of the tribe.  I like the second version.

Wyoming was beautiful and the ride thru the red sandstone formations very nice. It was a bit windy, as seems to be the case anywhere west of the Mississippi, at least for me. The South Dakota ride on the other hand, probably can't be beat. The road thru the Black Hills is amazing, and I am sure when I hit the badlands it will not fail to be impressive.

I stopped at the Crazy Horse Monument and at first glance it was a little underwhelming. After sitting through a 20 minute orientation movie, checking out the visitor's center and looking at the monument again, I was very impressed. It is after all, a complete mountain they are carving, and doing a lot of the carving with dynamite.

I then headed to Deadwood but just did a drive through. It was very cool how they preserved the old west feel with the architecture and brick streets. The hills surrounding Deadwood have a medium to light covering of pine trees and they are all dead. I'm not sure if that is how they got the name for the town, but it seemed very fitting.

The temps yesterday hit 100+ degrees and the roads were up and down the hills, with tight and sweeping curves. Very nice to ride, but I was a little concerned with the tires due to the heat, the speed, the weight and the stress of the constant cornering, along with the substantial wear they have now. I had a couple font end wheel wobbles, but I think it was due to the wind, the tires are okay. They are both wearing a flat band around them now, more like a car tire than a bike tire, but I'm pretty sure they are going to be able to get me home.

I had some time to kill so I headed south through Custer City, Pringle, Hot Springs and the Wind Cave national Park scenic wildlife drive but didn't see any wildlife. The terrain and view on the other hand was well worth the trip.

I finally made my way back north to the Mt. Rushmore area and found a KOA about 5 miles from the park. Just sitting at the entrance, I knew this would be my first (elective) two night stay. I'm not sure how big the campground is, but wouldn't believe it is under 100 or more acres. It is a community as much as it is a campground and much larger than a lot of the towns I stopped in up north. There are pools and restaurants, pavilions, off-road vehicle rentals, overnight horse and chuck wagon excursions, golf cart rentals, stores, and on and on. My cabin sits on a little ridge, about 25 feet above and overlooking the front part of the park, very cool place.

When I first pulled in the park, I met Bill, one of the attendants cruising around on golf carts, which are very necessary for them to get around. Its a good thing I met him because he was a great help in helping me find my cabin, or rather the road to it. His fist attempt failed which made me feel a little better for not finding it on my own. Later that evening I was able to hitch a ride with him back to my spot with a bundle of wood and a bag of "supplies". On the ride back he told me that there is a must-see light show at Mt. Rushmore after dark. A bus leaves the campground at 7:30 and brings you back after the show. It would be quicker and more timely if I just took my bike, but I have been trying very hard to stay off the road after dark. I've seen about 20 deer and animal strikes on the road so far, and have had deer run in front of me during the day. I don't want that at night.

I think I may make the stretch run home tomorrow - I'll hit the freeway and take the most direct route. Man, I'm going to miss these roads I've been on ... a lot.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

June 15, 16 Friday and Saturday

I left Jasper, Banf and finally Canada.  It really felt like coming home when I crossed the border into the lower 48 again. The wait at the border was very long and got all the same questions, and again, answered the majority of them correctly.  After the official questioning, the border guard was actually very nice to talk to!

Montana is big. BBS - big beautiful state. If your child ever asks you were wind comes from, just tell them, child, wind comes from Montana.  There were 2 occasions were I was caught completely off guard and a gust of wind blew me from the middle of my lane almost all the way over into the other side of the lane next to me - that will get your attention, but quick!!  I made it into Billings and stayed at the first KOA in america. I thought it was pretty nice until I got to the KOA at the Devils Tower (the mountain in the movie close encounters of the third kind) The KOA is awesome, as well as the view.  Strongly considering staying here for an extra day, just to get some much needed sleep.

hay in Montana

Montana

near Billings Montana

Custer's 'last stand' battlefield

The battle field is littered with grave markers on the spot where soldiers fell and died. It is quite different seeing it in person then it was reading about it in school.  You can feel the despair when you are standing on the battlefield.  One of the natives on the ferry had said to me that when you read the history books, they always call the white mans victory a valiant or brave battle, and call the indian's victory a massacre.  When I walked into the visitor center, there were books all over the place with massacre in the title.

The ridge - last defense

three bikers from Maryland

These guys were going to eventually make it up to Alaska. I asked them how long they had and one guy said, matter-of-factly, until the end of summer!


Devil's Tower from the campground I am staying at

Wyoming
 Once I hit Wyoming, there was a lot of this red, including the roads.

Wyoming

Glenn

I think this was an accidental picture in Banf. 

on the sidewalk in Banf


storm

same storm

still the same storm

This was the storm that I had to call an audible on, so I never made it to Calgary. Took a hard right on exit 22.

road closures

I pulled this off a gas pump in Alaska. 

Montana

Monana

Billings Monana

aorund Billings

gas station in Sheridan Montana down the street from the Custer Battlefield

Banf

Banf

Friday, June 15, 2012

June 14, Thursday - odds and ends

I've taken a lot of video and a ton of pictures but trying to upload video to youtube, with a netbook over wifi, takes hours and hours for a couple minute HD video. So why am I trying it now? 233 minutes remaining my a**!

If you are going to leave your spare camera battery and your only charger plugged in a socket, far away on day 3, don't bother bringing it along in the first place.

Even though a kick-save may sound and look stupid when you do it to an iphone that you drop, the one time you don't do it, the glass on the back will shatter.

There are people who go out of their way to do little things to help travelers, such as seeing them look at a map and give their input, or borrow a battery charger from someone they know and lend it to you for a few hours, or not charge you for that much needed coffee, or see you in a rest stop and pull over to give you a road or weather report for the direction you are going and that they just came from, or give you a few pads for the bottom of your kickstand so it doesn't sink in the mud when you're parked, etc. Note to self: go out of my way to help a traveler because a little simple kindness makes a huge difference.

When there is a speed limit or distance sign in kilometers, it is easily calculated to MPH. Divide by 10 (or just drop the last digit) and multiply by 6.  220 kilometers = 22 x 6 = 120 + 12 = 132 miles. 120 KPH = 72 MPH. Simple.  After that, go pretty much as fast as you need to, just make sure there is someone in front of you running point.

If you are on vacation and cruising down the road and you see menacing black clouds in front of you, call an audible - hit the next exit and go somewhere else. So what if you see this instead of that, you'll never see it all anyways.

There are no cops or speed traps until you say to yourself, "there are no cops or speed traps". Then there are.

If you are going to have a fairing and windscreen on your bike, which is a good idea, make sure you can see over the top of it. Otherwise, you can give yourself the same protection from the rain and save a bunch of money by just putting your helmet on backwards. Same effect and cost effective.

When it is 40 degrees and you are in the mountains and it is 11 pm and raining, do not wish for it to stop raining, because it probably will, and then start sleeting instead.

Gas and hotel room costs are directly proportional to latitude. The further up it goes, the further up it goes.

There are McDonalds everywhere and they all have wifi.

The difference between 89 and 91 octane is the cost.

The absolute best way to learn something is to just do it. Even if you get it wrong, you learn something.

ok, forget the video.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Day 11 - 14, Sunday thru Thursday afternoon

Ronald, one of the last people left on the boat after going home from the Celebration

up in the icefields.

obligatory glacier pic, I think it is the Athabasca
I am McD's in Banf, but forgot my journal .... oh well.  Got off the boat in Prince Rupert and have made my way to Banf.  This has got to be the most awesome little (tourist) town I've ever seen!  Absolutely over the top. I'll post some pics of it in a few days.

Met a guy named Ted at the campground in Smithers - was was there waiting for a couple guys and then they were going to head north. He was telling me about this guy who rides his motorcycle from Florida to Alaska every year, and low and behold, about 2 or 3 hours down the road, I met the guy at a gas station. He  had come by the way of Colorado this year and already had 7,000 miles logged for the trip!

Ted's bike

Tara

In met Tara at a gas station after I left Smithers.  Probably just about the coolest girl on the planet (legal disclaimer: after every other female that I know, am related to, or otherwise)  We had a breakfast of tater wedges, hot chocolate, coffee and a pastry. Yeah ... the pastry was mine, but that was the first junk food I've had in a couple weeks! She was coming from Washington state back to her home in Fairbanks.  I'm usually in a rush to gas up and get out quick, but we must have talked for 45 minutes. We swapped some stories and then I took this picture and told her I'd post it.  I gave her the url, now it's just a matter of how good her memory is. We'll see ....

The further up north you are, the more likely it is you will bump into people you met earlier, because there just aren't that many roads!  I met and spent 3 or 4 days with these guys on the ferry, because they too had been cornered in Haines due to the road washouts. They are from Germany and had been ALL over. The one guy, Allen I think his name is, sitting on the red bike, is going to tour Novia Scotia next and then do the African continent. Man, if only!!

don't know if you can even see it, this is a picture of his phone where they had to do some off-road work to get around a tree that was blocking the road the night before.

I'm in Banf, it's getting late and I have to head out. Not sure which way I'm headed from here, but it will be south and east I suppose. Bye for now.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Day 10, Saturday June 9th



Caught the ferry from Haines to Juneau. I will be getting the ferry from Juneau to Prince Rupert tomorrow, which is Sunday, at 3 PM and will arrive in Prince Rupert on Tuesday, 11 AM.

 I met a couple guys, Bill and Bo when we were in line to board the ferry and we chatted a while. They both live in Juneau and were just returning from a trip they took so Bill could pick up a new bike. They went out of their way to explain the ferry, the process of boarding, tying down the bikes, showing me around the ship, etc.  The ferry was an unexpected option and I did not have any straps to tie the bike down so Bill lent me a set for the trip, and Bo gave me his set for my next leg of the trip as they were getting off in Juneau. What can I say but awesome, and thank you!

We arrived in Juneau around 11:00 PM and a buddy of theirs was at the dock waiting for them and the three of them escorted me to a state campground where I could stay for the night, again, thank you!  I pulled in, drove around and picked a site. After backing the bike in, I went to put the kick stand down and found it jammed in the up position!!! The bike is pretty heavy, and low, and had bottomed out when I drove onto the ramp to get off the boat, but at the time, I didn't know it had jammed. So, I was sitting on the bike, balancing it and was able to reach back and unlock one of my side bags and take out my hatchet to try to beat the kick stand down.  Pitch black, black bike, black gear, I'm holding a hatchet and a middle aged man, his wife and young child came walking by. I called the guy over to give me a hand and he shone his light on me, sitting on the bike with a hatchet!!!  Yeah, that took a few minutes to convince him I was for real.

Nice little campground. The state and municipal campgrounds are anywhere from $8 - $15 and they are on the honor system. You put the money in an envelope and drop it in the box.  I am sure there are plenty of people who forget that part of it!







Another great day, the ferry ride was awesome and the view unbelievable.