Cross Country by Motorcycle (Warning Picture Heavy!)

[dba]

Recently returned from a motorcycle trip. It starts with my brother Mark and his hankering for lobster and so off we go. Not sure of where or how long but off we go from our homes near Lake Tahoe. I kept a little note pad in the tank bag so I could jot down gas stops, fuel amounts, mileage and where we landed each night.

Day 1 of ..... not sure. My brother has a hankering for lobster so I do know Maine and Nova Scotia is in our future.
Good day today; home to Twin Falls, ID. 506 miles.


Day 2. A great ride from Twin Falls, ID to Billings, MT. Almost 500 miles. Lunch in West Yellowstone and an amazing ride through the Gallatin Range on US 191. As for the 103 mph top speed ........?
I got no answers. Don't remember when or where it happened.


Day 3. Billings, Montana to Wall, SD. A beautiful 450 mile ride through the Little Big Horn Valley and the Big Horn Mountains through Sturgis and Deadwood. Once out on the prairie however, and the mountains are gone, there's nothing to stop the wind. 35-40 mph cross winds all day really take it out of you. I f#%king hate wind!!!


Day 4. Wall, SD to Albert Lea, MN. Just jamming down the I-90 until we can get into upstate NY and on the scenic roads to Maine. Probably another two more days.

Windy again across the prairie but still some nice scenery. I think this is my eighth time driving across the country. It seems every place has a different type of beauty.

A shot of me and the Missouri River behind me at the SD / MN Line. I do like the higher speed limits on the interstate once you get out of the west. Once again, I can't explain the Max Speed on the GPS. Probably just trying to get out of someone's way.


Day 5; Albert Lea, MN to South Bend, IN. Nothing but Sunday drivers. It was like a combination of LA and Bay Area traffic. And to top it off, because Illinois and Indiana don't have their stuff together; they charge drivers to use the FREEWAY!!!!

Then the state posts a sign thanking all of us for using the TOLLWAYS. Like we have a choice if we want to get anywhere before Christmas. A$$hats!!
The room did have some pretty groovy lighting though.


Day 6 and we landed in Burlington, Ontario Canada after starting in South Bend, IN. Without looking at a map, it's on the shore of Lake Ontario. We crossed into Canada at Port Huron and saw part of two of the Great Lakes. The lower speed limits here keep the average moving speed down.

After seeing Lake Erie after visiting Niagara Falls tomorrow, I'll have seen the shores of all of the Great Lakes from my motorcycle.

Looking forward to Vermont and New Hampshire as we edge ever closer to Maine and Nova Scotia so Mark can get his lobster fix!!


Day 7 was an easy one. Spent the majority of the day getting the bike its 48k mile service. The people at Budds' Motorrad in Oakville, Ontario were amazing to get me in while we are on the road. After the service is done, the service manager tells us the scenic way out of town and we take off for a motel at Niagara Falls.

About Niagara Falls, and this is strictly MY opinion; I have been wrong before . . . . while they are pretty cool; the actual town reminds me of where I was a cop in South Lake Tahoe a little bit. High priced hotel/casinos, lots of rat hole motels and lots of tourists who left their brains at from wherever they came.
The only thing that brings them here, like at the lake, is the water. But, the falls are pretty cool.


Day 8. A fun filled 472 mile day from Niagara Falls, Ontario across a fair portion of NY State and landing in Burlington, Vermont.
Some amazing scenery after getting off the interstate and hitting the local highways and county roads through the Adirondack Scenic Byway.

Although it rained most of the day, having a suit that makes one look like a hi-viz banana really helps; especially when you can still wear your warm clothes underneath. At one point it was a balmy 49 degrees!


Day 9 broke cold and windy with the potential for rain. Mother Nature was good with her promise and within 10 minutes of departure, we were back in the banana suits.

It wasn't a downpour, just that annoying mist that stays on the windshield and won't leave your face shield no matter how many times you put your helmet in clean air. Just across the New Hampshire line, it appeared to break in the northern sky. Still windy, still cold; but dry.

With the states being much smaller, you can spend lots of time on the two lanes and see the stuff you came out here for. An easy 325 miles today, landing in Augusta, ME after the requisite stop at L. L. Bean.


Day 10 and a good day for riding. Weather was a little chilly but no rain. Left Augusta, ME and headed north by east towards Canada again.
Some of Maine is so rural, the little townships don't even have names; just a number.

Crossed into Canada at Calais/St. Stephen and after the third degree from Canada border control, put a toe in three Provinces in one day before crossing the Confederation Bridge and landing in Summerside, PEI.


Day 11 was a hike. From fair Prince Edward Isle, we headed back towards New Brunswick and Nova Scotia with the intent to ride along the Cabot Trail. It's supposed to be one of the most scenic drives in North America.

The road lays at the most eastern part of Nova Scotia in the Cape Breton National Park on Cape Breton Island. We ride, and ride, and finally after not seeing the road that will take us there, we stop and check the map.

Even with GPS on both bikes back up by paper maps, there's no disputing the actual physical size of Canada. It's BIG!!!

With a large storm predicted for that part of NS, we decided the Cabot Trail will wait. We hammered down and finished the day 624 miles later back in Augusta, Maine.


Day 12 was a cinch. Not even 200 miles but we got into Acadia National Park before the rain hit.

It really is a magnificent place. Did the sightseeing, visited Bar Harbor and got into Bangor as it started raining. Had we paid attention to the maps, we could have saved ourselves 150 miles. We zipped past Bangor yesterday on I-95 and continued 75 miles to Augusta and spent the night there. Then this morning rode the 75 miles back to Bangor to get onto US 1 and to Acadia NP.


Day 13 and another uneventful day. Started with the banana suits on as it was raining pretty good. The weather turned dry but still windy, and then gets warm enough to take the liners out of our jackets.
It was good to visit Minuteman National Historic Park and remember about the start of this country's war for independence.

I will say that Massachusetts traffic sucks. The last people to make it across Boston in under 4 hours were riding horses and yelling, "The British are coming!!"

We landed 363 miles later in Groton, CT hoping to visit the US Submarine Museum tomorrow before we get going. Then we find out the museum is closed on Tuesdays. What museum is closed on Tuesdays?!?!


Day 14 and the end of our second week. Easy jaunt up to East Windsor, CT from Groton. Mark needed service on his bike and I needed a headlamp bulb replaced. Sounds like it would be easy and it SHOULD be easy but it's a German bike. It is what it is and I'll leave it at that and say I find it's best to let the professionals do their thing.

Since there is a BMW dealership in Manhattan, and we were going that way, we figured what the heck. Grab a t-shirt and go. What could possibly go wrong? Rush hour or as it's called there, not so rush. Both bikes got very warm with no air moving around the engines. Finally get through the Lincoln Tunnel and onto the NJTP. Eventually we got to our cousin's place on the Jersey shore. It will be nice not to ride for a couple of days.

I left New Jersey as an infant and I've never lived there, but there's something special about being here. I think it's probably being with family. It's probably why I like riding with my brother so much. Without family, ya got nothin'!!


Day 17 and reality sets in. After three fantastic days with my cousins on the Jersey shore, it was back to the road.
Very emotional to leave as we are all getting older and don't know when/if we'll see each other again. More than just a few tears from all of us. Usually Mark and I are somewhat chatty first thing but it was quiet for the first hour or so.

Very humid this morning but not too hot with almost no wind. Nice ride as we skipped across NJ into DE, MD, WV, PA, back into WV and landing in Cambridge, OH for a 500 mile plus day.

The forecast for our planned route through the south is showing lots of storms, heat indexes in the high 100's to 120's so we're thinking a flat out run across I-70 will be the new plan. We'll see.


Day 18 and it was hot and muggy!!!! Mostly in the mid 90s.
Stopped by a dealership that had my name on it. Sent a photo to my wife informing her I bought the place and to pack as we're moving to Columbus, OH. She informed me that I must be O- high-O and perhaps try Virginia or Santa Barbara. No sense of humor, that girl.

We took some secondary roads as there was a big construction back up on the highway. It was amazing to see the backwoods Indiana that Mellencamp sings about.

Riding in the heat and humidity really takes it out of you so about 400 miles is about all we wanted to do; landing in Effingham, IL. I love air conditioning!!!! 30 minutes after we get into a room, you can hang meat in it!


Day 19 and we landed in Junction City, KS. Another hot, sticky drive from Indiana through Missouri and into Kansas. Part of the day the thermometer touched 100 degrees but most of the day it was a cool 97 so that was good. I hope the sarcasm comes through in the post.

Crossing the Mississippi River and the Missouri River twice was cool; but there never seems to be any decent Kodak Picture Spots to stop and take a snap. Too bad as they're pretty magnificent.

Another hot one planned tomorrow but as we get closer to the Rocky Mountains, hopefully it won't be as humid. "But it's a dry heat!" they say! Hot is hot but we shall see.


Day 20 and also the longest day of the year. Kansas broke sunny, hot in the mid/high 90s, and humid as expected.
It seems although most folks think Kansas flat, it has rolling hills and lots of elevation. It gains 3000 or so feet along the I-70 corridor from east to west.

On the horizon as travel, you see these grain silos and elevators that as you get closer, are almost 20 stories tall; it's amazing. Farming is not work I want to do but I'm thankful others do.

It wasn't until 90 minutes or so into Colorado that it began to cool into the 70s. That was nice, right up to the point where Mark's rear tire found a chunk of glass. Thankfully we were only 7 miles from a BMW dealership. Of course they're closed Sunday and Monday.

Towed it there and it's waiting for a new tire in the morning and we can be on our way not too much later than we planned.


Day 21 and got a later than usual start but the flat tire was fixed.
Another hot one today. At one point the thermometer on the bike registered 113 degrees. It is so hard to ride as the heat just zaps you. We only did 345 miles today as it was so hot eventually landing in Green River, UT.

We've seen a lot of nice scenery on this trip in the almost 8000 miles we've traveled. I think that every state I've traveled to in my life has their own unique beauty; but there's something magical while at 10,600 feet at Vail Pass in the Rockies.


Day 22; and home again. The weather cooperated almost perfectly. It was supposed to be hot and thought it’d take two more days to get home. We didn't see 90 degrees until we were 300 miles into the day. After that, what's another 400 miles? After 8533 miles, or about 390 miles a day, it's good to be home.

Thanks again to my brother Mark; I wouldn't do these trips without him, ever. Thanks to my wife who not only supports me going on these trips; she actually encourages these types of shenanigans!!

By the numbers. I stopped 42 times for gas or about every 178 miles and got an average of about 42 mpg for the trip.

For all the riders here, these tires have 9207 miles on them. Still got another grand or so in them. But I think I'll wait a little while before riding again.


Oh, and one more thing. My brother never did get his lobster.

[GerardoG]

Nice trip! Thank you for sharing!!!!

[Slippy Chips]

Awesome! Sounds like an epic trip! The BMW's are the best for that kind of ride.

I'm currently planning on doing the Iron Butt 50cc in October (Jacksonville to San Diego in less than 50 hours). I've got 3 small kids so I'm only allowed a little bit of time to squeeze in big adventures.

[cop414]

Wow, thanks for taking us along! What an amazing and unforgettable trip!

[mmutte]

Amazing! looks like it was a great time...I kept thinking to myself "where are the pics of the lobster??"
But I kept reading and finally read the last line!! Ha

[RW16610]

What an awesome adventure! Thanks for sharing that experience with us, David.

[Danny83]

Wow

[joli160]

Thanks for the great write up, fantastic trip, thanks for sharing David

[subtona]

Beautiful.

I have covered much of North America always on a BMW GS, from Alaska to Guatemala.

Nothing like the smell of the air and road underneath you.

[dba]

Originally Posted by Slippy Chips

Awesome! Sounds like an epic trip! The BMW's are the best for that kind of ride.

I'm currently planning on doing the Iron Butt 50cc in October (Jacksonville to San Diego in less than 50 hours). I've got 3 small kids so I'm only allowed a little bit of time to squeeze in big adventures.

I have a couple of Saddle Sore 1000s and despite some high mileage days on this trip and others, I just don't have it in me at 60 years of age to do that type of riding anymore.

From your point of start, I don't know where you'll be at dusk, but just be so careful about wildlife on the road. Very best of luck to you. Let us know how it goes.

[Tri-Tip]

Wow, looks like it was a great trip!

[Andad]

Great thread.

[themast]

Nice diary of an exciting journey! I guess you'll have to plan another trip get that lobster now...

[colpol]

Brilliant post & trip

[swatty]

Great trip

[SemperFi]

That was one heck of an adventure and I now have a craving for lobster. Thanks for the ride David.

[Ferdelious]

Really cool, thanks for sharing and taking pictures along the way!

[VaRobot]

Very Cool!

[Kingair]

Nice trip !

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

[lucyferius]

Thanks for sharing. I wanna do something like that but I admit my butt started hurting by your 4th paragraph.

[Angrypuppy]

Great trip report. Went ADV Rider to look for it too. Didn't find anything.

[m j b]

Wow, no lobster! I used to ride, having had several BMWs myself, an RT (96) and an LT and an R in there before buying another RT ('04) which was by far my favorite, rode that all over Colorado (towed it there and back) with 5 riding buddies for one of my best vacations, then a K-RS and K-GT before finally (don't we all, eventually?) getting a GS, which as it turns out, was my last bike. I hit bambi on the RT and by the time I had the GS was just too scared to ride with all the critters, those morons with their cell phones, and I developed bad tendonitis in my right arm and just quit.

But that was always a dream of mine, to retire and ride cross-country. Not to say that it couldn't happen (maybe on the new GT) but it's not real likely for me. Thanks for the story.

[Headshrinker]

Thanks for posting, that was the cat's pajamas! Great pictures too.

[Hpozzuoli]

Amazing trip. Thank you for sharing.

[avusblue]

Kudos! Awesome trip -- and an interesting, yet concise, recap that hits the same high points I would have emphasized. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

I just got back from a 1,200 mile weeklong ride with my dad and a few uncles and cousins that obviously was just a fraction of yours, but I experienced many of the same sentiments. There's nothing quite like seeing America by motorcycle, and enjoying true camaraderie along the way. I can assure you that the triple digit was hit a few times on my trip as well! FJR1300 here:



I'm not yet retired, so the 3+ week-long voyages like yours are still a few years off for me! I'm envious.

Again, thanks for sharing.

[East Bay Rider]

Well done. Thanks for posting that.

[eonflux]

Awesome
Thanks for sharing!

[1William]

Wow, what a great journey. I enjoyed your report and pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[joeychitwood]

What a great trip! I love touring by motorcycle. I've ridden 100,000 miles across North America since 2003, but never 8,000+ miles in one trip. There's nothing better in my book than the rhythm of a bike trip.

[Cru Jones]

fantastic report. thanks for sharing!

too bad you have to get back on the bike and head back for the lobster.