Ok gang here is the breakdown of the trip...
15 States 1 Province
4980 Round trip Miles
125 Gallons of gas (38.8MPG)
What I got to see...
· Niagara Falls: Both NY and the Ontario sides
· The 5(6) Great Lakes
· Mackinaw City
· The Mackinac Bridge – Crossed it
· The Michigan Upper Peninsula
· The Painted Lands in North Dakota
· Home on the range—lol
· The entire Bear Tooth Pass
· All of Yellowstone National Park!
o Bison are big and scary when you’re on a motorcycle
o Prairie dogs are very fast
o The cabins and family oriented areas are spectacular
· Old Faithful—truly amazing!
· Cody Wyoming –The Rodeo Capital of the World (or so the sign says)
· Devils Tower –Wyoming (A child hood dream thanks to Close Encounters)
· Mount Rushmore—One place that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
· Sturgis Motorcycle Rally…What a blast!
· Home—A smiling 4yo at the curb is by far the best site of all!
Some observations:
· I rode one of the most comfortable motorcycles I have ever been on: The 2008 Anniversary Edition Harley Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Classic (FLHTCU).
o The comfort and ease of the controls made it a pleasure to handle.
· Nolan N-Com series helmet
o The Bluetooth module and the “Harley Cord” kept me in communication with my family and truckers on the highway.
o XM Satellite radio—Prime country on channel 17 was fantastic.
§ Now I know what you’re thinking, all this technology isn’t really being a biker—while that might be true—I still rode mine to Sturgis!
· Skype and a net book was helpful for both Diehnee and Jack(and me too)
· Cruiser works boots—the absolutely the best boots I have ever owned. It was like a hand in a glove by the second day. The boots were warm and dry in the worst weather.
· Leathers – A good leather jacket and chaps are worth their weight in gold!
o The denim jacket and polar fleece Henley were perfect for upper 50s lower 60s
A Special Note:
I had a blast both riding and sharing the blog with all of you. I enjoyed my time on the bike, and the most incredible scenery that this amazing country of ours afforded me. To Jeff G., Joe G., Dave P., Dave D. Dave G.,and Eric W. I cannot begin to tell you how much you were missed. The rides we have done in the past are some of my fondest memories. All I can say is this…KEY WEST in 2010!
Thanks to each one of my followers: I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed riding. Thanks again. See you in 2010 for the eastern seaboard trip!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Thursday, August 6, 2009
The Ride Home
Hi guys,
Sorry I didn't write until now but it was quite a few busy days.
I made it home! 1713 miles from Sturgis to Home.
Day 1, Sturgis to DesMoines Iowa.. 10 hours 650 miles.
Lots of miles on some beautiful roads and the weather held out.
Day 2, DesMoines Iowa to Youngstown Ohio.. 11 hours(12 cause we changed time zones) 718 miles (personal Best by 19 miles)
Day 3, Youngstown Ohio to Home 6 hours 393 Miles
It was truly an amazing ride, So many thoughts and stuff to tell you all. Stay tuned for the final wrap up and pictures...
Sorry I didn't write until now but it was quite a few busy days.
I made it home! 1713 miles from Sturgis to Home.
Day 1, Sturgis to DesMoines Iowa.. 10 hours 650 miles.
Lots of miles on some beautiful roads and the weather held out.
Day 2, DesMoines Iowa to Youngstown Ohio.. 11 hours(12 cause we changed time zones) 718 miles (personal Best by 19 miles)
Day 3, Youngstown Ohio to Home 6 hours 393 Miles
It was truly an amazing ride, So many thoughts and stuff to tell you all. Stay tuned for the final wrap up and pictures...
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Devil's Tower to Sturgis
Walking out to the bikes and it's already 72 degrees at 8:30 I'm guessing it's gonna be hot.
Coming over the crest of the hill I can see it, from my childhood days watching Close Encounters I have wanted to see this monument. Movie Screen and TV doesn't do this monument justice. The visitor center is chock full of amazing info on this beautiful site.
Almost 2 hours later we are at yet another amazing monument...Mount Rushmore.
The grounds are incredible, the monument is simply breathtaking. You cant begin to imagine the sheer depth of the work put forth on this memorial until you see it up close.
Leaving the monument heading west on 90 you are completely surrounded by bikes. loud, thunderous amazing bikes.
Coming off the ramp, everywhere you turn is a sign welcoming bikers! Tent cities on peoples front lawns, food vendors as far as the eye can see. Then there is parking, on the main street are bikes nosed in, backed in...thousands of them, not to mention the people. All shapes, sizes, ages and colors. what an awesome site!
I rode mine to Sturgis in 2009!
Coming over the crest of the hill I can see it, from my childhood days watching Close Encounters I have wanted to see this monument. Movie Screen and TV doesn't do this monument justice. The visitor center is chock full of amazing info on this beautiful site.
Almost 2 hours later we are at yet another amazing monument...Mount Rushmore.
The grounds are incredible, the monument is simply breathtaking. You cant begin to imagine the sheer depth of the work put forth on this memorial until you see it up close.
Leaving the monument heading west on 90 you are completely surrounded by bikes. loud, thunderous amazing bikes.
Coming off the ramp, everywhere you turn is a sign welcoming bikers! Tent cities on peoples front lawns, food vendors as far as the eye can see. Then there is parking, on the main street are bikes nosed in, backed in...thousands of them, not to mention the people. All shapes, sizes, ages and colors. what an awesome site!
I rode mine to Sturgis in 2009!
Yellowstone
As I pulled into the North Entrance and was greeted by some friendly rangers, I opted out of my leathers in lieu of the 70+ temps. Ranger Rick says as I am pulling away, "be careful of the bison, they are all over the park and have a mind of thier own. Heeding the warning, I decide that the 45mph was good enough for me.
5 miles into the park, a traffic jam...hmmm wonder what's going on...oh look buffalo! Holy Hamburger Batman....Bison...and they are huge! The are less than 20 feet from my bike as I try to move past slowly, using cars for some cover cause hey ya never know...whew made it, that wasn't so bad.
6pm, after about 3 hours of some spectacular, slow riding I stop and get gas. I look at the map and realize it's another 2 hours just to get to Old Faithful. and another 2 hours out of the park, in the dark with bison and other animals about...hmmm lets see if they have room at the inn.
I arrive at the visitor center to find every kind of shop imaginable, grocery, camping, hunting, fishing, ice cream, gifts, folk lore...you name it they had it. It was perfect. They have room! Yea I'm gonna spend they night in Jellystone with Yogi and BooBoo!
The cabins the park service erected in the 1940's and renovated in the 70's to include electricity and H/C running water. Now some would have been upset, no internet, no TV, voice and text only(thanks verizon wireless) and twin beds. To me, I thought it was the best spot in the whole world. Had a great meal, read my book and called it an early night.
The next morning I got an eraly start and rode down to Old Faithful, it was truly incredible. Everything anyone has ever said it true!
The ride out of the park via the East entrance was another sweeping curve infested road. Now while the Blue Ridge Parkway (which I have also ridden) is gorgeous, Yellowstone I would have to say road wise is better.
The rest of the day was long, hot highway miles that put us about 8 miles from Devil's Tower.
5 miles into the park, a traffic jam...hmmm wonder what's going on...oh look buffalo! Holy Hamburger Batman....Bison...and they are huge! The are less than 20 feet from my bike as I try to move past slowly, using cars for some cover cause hey ya never know...whew made it, that wasn't so bad.
6pm, after about 3 hours of some spectacular, slow riding I stop and get gas. I look at the map and realize it's another 2 hours just to get to Old Faithful. and another 2 hours out of the park, in the dark with bison and other animals about...hmmm lets see if they have room at the inn.
I arrive at the visitor center to find every kind of shop imaginable, grocery, camping, hunting, fishing, ice cream, gifts, folk lore...you name it they had it. It was perfect. They have room! Yea I'm gonna spend they night in Jellystone with Yogi and BooBoo!
The cabins the park service erected in the 1940's and renovated in the 70's to include electricity and H/C running water. Now some would have been upset, no internet, no TV, voice and text only(thanks verizon wireless) and twin beds. To me, I thought it was the best spot in the whole world. Had a great meal, read my book and called it an early night.
The next morning I got an eraly start and rode down to Old Faithful, it was truly incredible. Everything anyone has ever said it true!
The ride out of the park via the East entrance was another sweeping curve infested road. Now while the Blue Ridge Parkway (which I have also ridden) is gorgeous, Yellowstone I would have to say road wise is better.
The rest of the day was long, hot highway miles that put us about 8 miles from Devil's Tower.
Billings to Yellowstone
Hi all,
Back in Billings, you remember Billings, internet, beer, laundry....well I decided to modify the route a bit...well I am soooo glad I did. Highway 212 from Billings to Yellowstone is called Beartooth Pass http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/RockyMtn/MT/MT_2.shtml
I call it the ride to heaven and back. We started out in 50 degree temps (a bit chilly for July) I took no chances and wore full leathers and gloves. With a 2800 foot elevation we didn't think it was gonna get much colder. The road started out with some slow sweeping curves, not a lot of elevation but plenty of beautiful sites.
In a matter of minutes the altimeter on my GPS started to climb, 4500, 5500, 8000...and the air was not only thin but very cold. 9000 feet is a rest area (pics to follow) breathataking scenery of the valley we just rode.
10,900 feet in the air, 34 degrees and the mist in the air wasn't rain it was the condensation from the cloud we were in. I had climbed to the top of a mountain and all I could see was some of the most heavenly sites I have ever witnessed. the sheer silence at the summit was amazing.
The ride down was just as incredible.
I truly felt like I got to touch heaven....
Back in Billings, you remember Billings, internet, beer, laundry....well I decided to modify the route a bit...well I am soooo glad I did. Highway 212 from Billings to Yellowstone is called Beartooth Pass http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/RockyMtn/MT/MT_2.shtml
I call it the ride to heaven and back. We started out in 50 degree temps (a bit chilly for July) I took no chances and wore full leathers and gloves. With a 2800 foot elevation we didn't think it was gonna get much colder. The road started out with some slow sweeping curves, not a lot of elevation but plenty of beautiful sites.
In a matter of minutes the altimeter on my GPS started to climb, 4500, 5500, 8000...and the air was not only thin but very cold. 9000 feet is a rest area (pics to follow) breathataking scenery of the valley we just rode.
10,900 feet in the air, 34 degrees and the mist in the air wasn't rain it was the condensation from the cloud we were in. I had climbed to the top of a mountain and all I could see was some of the most heavenly sites I have ever witnessed. the sheer silence at the summit was amazing.
The ride down was just as incredible.
I truly felt like I got to touch heaven....
Saturday, August 1, 2009
spotty internet
Hi all! So much to tell we are alive and well near devils tower Wyoming. Internet service is spotty when I get into Sturgis I will update the blog with the ride to heaven
Thanks for following!
Thanks for following!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Day 5
Ok not to bad mouth or discourage anyone from visiting North Dakota but the hours upon hours and mile upon mile I don't have that many positive things to say. Lower 40's, wind and rain the first day, dark threatening clouds, lower 50's and the wind....not nice at all. Now in all fairness it may have been a storm system...NOT!
Now I will admit The Painted Lands 2900ft above sea level was breathtaking but that's about all the good I saw in ND
Welcome to Montana...
75 and Sunny. Next to no wind and clear skies made big sky country a pleasure to ride through.
Some amazing rock formations and green pastures...are just incredible.
Originally we were going to head Northwest and ride through Glacier Lake on the Idaho line but with the storms we encountered it pushed us back by almost 3 hours. While I can make up the time I decided to regroup and take a slower ride through all of Yellowstone National Park...yup you guessed it another photo op!
I have managed to get the Kodak software working hopefully by tomorrow night I will have some pics ready to be uploaded.
Thanks for following...cya tomorrow (with pics I hope)
Now I will admit The Painted Lands 2900ft above sea level was breathtaking but that's about all the good I saw in ND
Welcome to Montana...
75 and Sunny. Next to no wind and clear skies made big sky country a pleasure to ride through.
Some amazing rock formations and green pastures...are just incredible.
Originally we were going to head Northwest and ride through Glacier Lake on the Idaho line but with the storms we encountered it pushed us back by almost 3 hours. While I can make up the time I decided to regroup and take a slower ride through all of Yellowstone National Park...yup you guessed it another photo op!
I have managed to get the Kodak software working hopefully by tomorrow night I will have some pics ready to be uploaded.
Thanks for following...cya tomorrow (with pics I hope)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Duluth to Bismark
Hi all,
Thanks to Best Buy in Duluth for having the new netbook that works so I can see Jack at night and type when I can...
So from what I hear the storms in NJ are pretty bad. I also hear that is in 90+ and 94% humidity. Please don't hate but out here in Duluth Minnesota it was a brisk 61 degrees with no humidity and a breeze of about 10mph. Needless to say a day of Chaps and Leather jackets were in order.(Yes I had other clothes on under the chaps sorry to disappoint)
One has to question the design of Duluth, It's built on the side of a mountain facing Lake Superior...um...cold, lake effect snow people?
The secondary roads are absolutely incredible...2 lane blacktop with an average speed of 65 and next to no cars for 60+ miles...a small town and back to 60+mph.
The rest of Minnesota was just spectacular...welcome to America!
And then there is North Dakota....Welcome and poof construction...
Fargo gave us dark clouds and no temp changes to note(mid 50's)
About 10 miles into ND we hit our first of 4 really bad storms. Radical temp drops(mid 40's) and lots of wind and rain for over 20+miles.
Then the sun comes out dries the roads and the riders, and then another storm.
The last one was fun...30 miles outside of Bismark, we hit a wall of water...the sky got black...not dark, BLACK, the temp dropped into the 40's and a wall of wind and water like I havn't seen in a long time. lighting on the horizon while amazing was scary for a rider with no overpasses for shelter.
about 3 miles outside of Bismark the sky opened, sun shined and the horizon went from praries and ta-tonkas to a city..an honset to goodness city.
Thanks to the Best Western for hooking us up with the rate and during check-in )looking like 2 drowned rats) giving us drink tickets good for 2 Sam Adams 22oz drafts!
Gonna look at the route in the am...we are about 120miles off schedule...decision time.
Thanks to Best Buy in Duluth for having the new netbook that works so I can see Jack at night and type when I can...
So from what I hear the storms in NJ are pretty bad. I also hear that is in 90+ and 94% humidity. Please don't hate but out here in Duluth Minnesota it was a brisk 61 degrees with no humidity and a breeze of about 10mph. Needless to say a day of Chaps and Leather jackets were in order.(Yes I had other clothes on under the chaps sorry to disappoint)
One has to question the design of Duluth, It's built on the side of a mountain facing Lake Superior...um...cold, lake effect snow people?
The secondary roads are absolutely incredible...2 lane blacktop with an average speed of 65 and next to no cars for 60+ miles...a small town and back to 60+mph.
The rest of Minnesota was just spectacular...welcome to America!
And then there is North Dakota....Welcome and poof construction...
Fargo gave us dark clouds and no temp changes to note(mid 50's)
About 10 miles into ND we hit our first of 4 really bad storms. Radical temp drops(mid 40's) and lots of wind and rain for over 20+miles.
Then the sun comes out dries the roads and the riders, and then another storm.
The last one was fun...30 miles outside of Bismark, we hit a wall of water...the sky got black...not dark, BLACK, the temp dropped into the 40's and a wall of wind and water like I havn't seen in a long time. lighting on the horizon while amazing was scary for a rider with no overpasses for shelter.
about 3 miles outside of Bismark the sky opened, sun shined and the horizon went from praries and ta-tonkas to a city..an honset to goodness city.
Thanks to the Best Western for hooking us up with the rate and during check-in )looking like 2 drowned rats) giving us drink tickets good for 2 Sam Adams 22oz drafts!
Gonna look at the route in the am...we are about 120miles off schedule...decision time.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Day 3
So far so good...We have made it to all our end points so far.
Mackinaw City was truly amazing, everything I hoped it would be. I only wish Jeff was there to toast Mr. Seger for dragging us this far north...
The Macinac Bridge was well..interesting...open grates and wind make for quite an interesting ride. but obviously we make it across.
The Great Lakes
I have seen what I thought was all five but I was informed that there are actually 6 (Lake St. Clair ) Thanks... to Gene O'Neill for pointing that out...After looking it up on the website I can say I drove by it so therefore I have seen all 6!
Michigan was incredible...Some of the most amazing (very long) secondary roads...Friendly people and beaituful scenery made it a very great day of riding in America.
Gonna do some milage watching tomorrow, I'm pretty sure my Odometer/Speedo is not working well at all. Not to mention the gas mileage is poor at best...we shall see
Thanks to Mike for the use of his netbook mine is still broke.
Deluth tonight and North Dakota tomorrow
Thanks for Watching See ya tomorrow.
Mackinaw City was truly amazing, everything I hoped it would be. I only wish Jeff was there to toast Mr. Seger for dragging us this far north...
The Macinac Bridge was well..interesting...open grates and wind make for quite an interesting ride. but obviously we make it across.
The Great Lakes
I have seen what I thought was all five but I was informed that there are actually 6 (Lake St. Clair ) Thanks... to Gene O'Neill for pointing that out...After looking it up on the website I can say I drove by it so therefore I have seen all 6!
Michigan was incredible...Some of the most amazing (very long) secondary roads...Friendly people and beaituful scenery made it a very great day of riding in America.
Gonna do some milage watching tomorrow, I'm pretty sure my Odometer/Speedo is not working well at all. Not to mention the gas mileage is poor at best...we shall see
Thanks to Mike for the use of his netbook mine is still broke.
Deluth tonight and North Dakota tomorrow
Thanks for Watching See ya tomorrow.
What a truly amazing day of riding yesterday...540 miles and some of the most amazing scenery. Started out in Niagara Falls..spectacular! Great views and great roads...changed the plan a bit and rode through Ontario. The skyway across Lake Ontario was incredible (no shoulders - no pictures) Got back in the US in Port Huron Michigan. The customs guys were cool...
160 miles on Rt 75 and 69 :) didn't see one trooper. We pulled into Mackinaw City around 9:30. First order of business to have a brew. Thanks to Bob Seger for that!
Thanks to all our followers!
160 miles on Rt 75 and 69 :) didn't see one trooper. We pulled into Mackinaw City around 9:30. First order of business to have a brew. Thanks to Bob Seger for that!
Thanks to all our followers!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Day 1
We made it to buffalo/Niagara Falls but not without some pretty good rain...spent some time under a bridge with some other wayward travelers. I finally gave up and just left the raingear on the last 120 miles. Found a nice motel for the night. Went to the park next to the Peace bridge to Canada it crosses the mouth of the Niagara River Basin which feeds Lake Erie...awesome pic of the sunset...:Had a minor setback..turns out the little netbook I bought crashed so no pics for now...will keep ya posted...Thanks to all the followers out there!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The Route is set!
Here are the stop points for our route(let's see and hope how close we are during the journey)
Day 1--Niagara Falls NY --Lakes Erie and Ontario
Day 2--Mackinaw City Mi --Mackinac Bridge and Lakes Michigan and Huron
Day 3--Duluth Mn. Lake Superior
Day 4--Belfield ND
Day 5--Great Falls MT
Day 6--Missoula Mt--Glacier Lake National park http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/RockyMtn/MT/MT_1.shtml
http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/RockyMtn/MT/MT_7.shtml
Day 7--Cody Wyoming --Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithfu)
Day 8--STURGIS!!! -Devils Tower and the badlands
Day 9--STURGIS!!! -Mt Rushmore Deadwood and Crazy Horse Statue
Day 10--Bigelow Ia, -Is this heaven --no its the ride home
Day 11--Milwaukee -Harley Museum
Day 12 --Ohio/PA Line or HOME!!!!
Day 1--Niagara Falls NY --Lakes Erie and Ontario
Day 2--Mackinaw City Mi --Mackinac Bridge and Lakes Michigan and Huron
Day 3--Duluth Mn. Lake Superior
Day 4--Belfield ND
Day 5--Great Falls MT
Day 6--Missoula Mt--Glacier Lake National park http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/RockyMtn/MT/MT_1.shtml
http://www.motorcycleroads.com/routes/RockyMtn/MT/MT_7.shtml
Day 7--Cody Wyoming --Yellowstone National Park (Old Faithfu)
Day 8--STURGIS!!! -Devils Tower and the badlands
Day 9--STURGIS!!! -Mt Rushmore Deadwood and Crazy Horse Statue
Day 10--Bigelow Ia, -Is this heaven --no its the ride home
Day 11--Milwaukee -Harley Museum
Day 12 --Ohio/PA Line or HOME!!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Bike Service
I took the bike (I call her Anni-short for Anniversary..ok so it's bad but I like it) for her service at Tramontin.
I told them about the rough idle and bad 32mpg and they looked it over and said it was all fine. The computer says everything is running great...so why don't I believe the computer? Guess I'll.try some dry gas and pray the long day 1 ride gets me more than 32!
I told them about the rough idle and bad 32mpg and they looked it over and said it was all fine. The computer says everything is running great...so why don't I believe the computer? Guess I'll.try some dry gas and pray the long day 1 ride gets me more than 32!
The big change
After much debate I've decided to modify the route. I have agonized over and over and just couldn't make it work. The new route takes me through some beautiful Montana scenery. Motorcycleroads.com was the inspiration for this decision, the pictures of the curves in the road and the snow on the mountains in the middle of July were enough to sell me.I had said all along I wanted to go from NJ to Washington State..does Spokane count?
Monday, July 20, 2009
The Countdown begins...6 to go
With only 6 days to go, I am finalizing the route, reservations and securing last minute items. This still seems so surreal. While I am excited, I am nervous that I might have missed something..this is supposed to be fun...isn't it?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Hello and welcome to my blog. I’m kind of new to all of this, so please bear with me.
About me: I am 42 years old, married with 4 kids. 3 steps and 1 amazing son named Jack. (Hence the name Jaxdad)
I am about to embark on a 2 week motorcycle trip to the west coast and back. My wife and best friend Diehnee has been supportive, she told me to go for it.
So with less than 8 days before my departure I am getting all ready to go. I’m not new to touring on a motorcycle; in fact I have traveled quite far over the years.
Most of my trips have been with some close friends. While I understand that they are unable to make the journey, that doesn’t dismiss the fact that I am going to miss not having them by my side. I guess it’s that comfort factor of being with friends you know, love and trust. This time, I am riding with someone new and I will admit I am a bit nervous about it. His name is Mike, a fellow paramedic and partner from work.
I have had a dream of doing this ride for a few years now, I have stressed over what I wanted to see, roads to ride, pictures to take and what stops to make.
I have been gathering equipment based on experiences from both my trips and friend’s trips. I just hope that I am prepared for the journey. Some of the locations I want to see:
Niagara falls, The Great Lakes, Mackinaw City(for my friend Jeff…you know why), Vancouver BC, Seattle space needle, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, STURGIS, the Harley Davidson Museum and home…sounds pretty aggressive huh…we shall see. So welcome to my blog, I hope you will follow me on this journey….
About me: I am 42 years old, married with 4 kids. 3 steps and 1 amazing son named Jack. (Hence the name Jaxdad)
I am about to embark on a 2 week motorcycle trip to the west coast and back. My wife and best friend Diehnee has been supportive, she told me to go for it.
So with less than 8 days before my departure I am getting all ready to go. I’m not new to touring on a motorcycle; in fact I have traveled quite far over the years.
Most of my trips have been with some close friends. While I understand that they are unable to make the journey, that doesn’t dismiss the fact that I am going to miss not having them by my side. I guess it’s that comfort factor of being with friends you know, love and trust. This time, I am riding with someone new and I will admit I am a bit nervous about it. His name is Mike, a fellow paramedic and partner from work.
I have had a dream of doing this ride for a few years now, I have stressed over what I wanted to see, roads to ride, pictures to take and what stops to make.
I have been gathering equipment based on experiences from both my trips and friend’s trips. I just hope that I am prepared for the journey. Some of the locations I want to see:
Niagara falls, The Great Lakes, Mackinaw City(for my friend Jeff…you know why), Vancouver BC, Seattle space needle, Devil’s Tower, Mt. Rushmore, STURGIS, the Harley Davidson Museum and home…sounds pretty aggressive huh…we shall see. So welcome to my blog, I hope you will follow me on this journey….
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