My Cross Country Ride Last June

[Boxer]

This ride across country back in June was sort of disappointing at the time. Too rushed (self imposed). Too windy at times...very tiring. Hot in the south and cold in northern Cal and Oregon...so I wasn't celebrating the experience the way I had before. Now I've gone back and edited the photos that I took and made this slideshow of the ride. Once I got to St. George Utah I was just ready to head home so I headed down to Roswell, NM and came across Texas, LA, Mississippi and Alabama in the heat. I regret that decision.

But anyway, here's the show. Two things I decided to alter about my bike travel method. 1. I will stay in one "interesting" place longer than 1 night at a time. Minimum 2 days at each stop and rest and take a day to casually ride the roads nearby. Setting up camp is a hassle. 2. Northern routes in June and July. Southern routes in the Spring or Fall.

California Ride Slideshow Link

[sweatmark]

Boxer-

Thanks for posting. Some nice pics of your journey. This one made me both excited for moto-travel, and weary:



You made a long-haul!
Sorry we couldn't join up for a ride while you were out here.

[iowabeakster]

1. In one picture (the one after "avenue of the giants"), there looks to be some kind of white "visor" on your helmet. What is that? What is it for?

2. What was the problem with Utah BBQ? ...maybe I shouldn't ask...

[Boxer]

Kirk, That white visor is a SuperVisor and attaches to the top edge of the face shield. Very handy when riding into the sun. The Aerostich catalog has them but only the black ones it seems. You can get black or white at just about any rally you go to. Somebody will be selling them. Price ranges from $15 to $19 or $20.
http://www.aerostich.com/supervisor.html

The folks at the KOA that made the BBQ were so proud of it. They had the meat almost with no seasoning on it and the sauce available was just not the same as here in the south. The so-called BBQ beans were more like a 5 bean salad with some beans mixed in that are foreign this side of the Mississippi. It was not bad at the time because I was starving, but not anything close to what you find anywhere in the southeast.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well, you made it look like a nice ride...

you stayed in Pietown?

and that's a great album..something similar, but a little more country is Kasey Chambers' Rattlin' Bones; you may like it

[Boxer]

Thanks for the music suggestion. I'll check it out.

you stayed in Pietown?

Actually I stayed (camped) there on the way west and then circled back down and stayed there, at the same little RV park, a second time on my way south toward Roswell. Only had one piece of pie though. The place was closed when I got there the 2nd time and I left too early the next morning. Pietown was the most intriguing place I visited that had just about zilch there. Not even a gas station. Its the home of the "Toaster House" though. I'm happy I stopped just to have some pie and see the Toaster House.

[Buckster]

Phil,
Thanks for sharing your journey. I really liked the slideshow. Kudos to you for doing cross the country ride...and even solo! That is something I have been wanting to do since my first long trip on the bike.

[jb44]

... a second time on my way south toward Roswell.....

Excellent slideshow, Phil.

When you went through Roswell did you meet my friends at the H-D dealer?



jb

[Boxer]

No JB, I didn't see those guys. To tell you the truth, I thought briefly about stopping in Roswell, just for the "alien" allure, but by the time I got there it was so hot, and I didn't need gas right then, so I rode on through. Roswell has to be on the list of the top 10 ugliest towns in the country. It was dusty, hot, busy, and did I say hot? Little did I know my day would only get hotter as I crossed that forsaken desert between Roswell and Post, Texas.

Post, Texas may not be much, but there was a motel room there with AC and it had my name on it.

[Dr. Strangelove]

Well, I did stop in Roswell, for the alien allure, a few years back. Stayed at a Mom n Pop with AC.
I went to the "museum."
I arrived at 445pm and they closed at 5.
I asked the ticket lady if it was too late to enter, a little afraid I wouldn't get to see everything.

"Oh, no! Come on in." and I did.
I did the "museum" in 10 minutes, not hurrying, seeing everything.
If you have seen ANY A&E or SyFy or Discovery Channel story of Roswell, you have seen as much if not more than is at the "museum."

They did have a gift shop.

I was looking for those testicles that you can hang from your rear bumper, you know? But I wanted them in Alien Glow In The Dark Green. They didn't have that so I got a pen or a key chain instead. It looks funny hanging on my rear bumper and it doesn't glow in the dark.

I promised to go back

[GypsyRR]

Phil, Great video! You do a good job with those. Thanks.

I agree with your assessment of how to take a mc trip. But traveling from Houston, I have to go through a lot of traffic and ugly just to get to a place where I can string 200-300 good miles together consistently each day. Trailering past the ugly helps.

Regarding Roswell; the last time I went through Roswell (8/09), I encountered a thunderstorm that deposited snow?, sleet?, or hail along the roads outside of town. When the storm cleared, a full rainbow appeared. It was one of the oddest scenes; desert, snow/sleet/hail, and a rainbow. Cool photo op!

I saw the museum too. Never thought to look for anything glowing to hang from my truck hitch though. In fact I don't think anything about the museum impressed me more than the storm and it's after effects.

[vcarlew]

Thanks for sharing the slide show. It made my day. I am planning a 5000 mile solo trip this June/July that will take me from SF to Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, north towards Mt. Rushmore, West through Yellowstone, North to Glacier and Jasper, then South to Victoria, Crater Lake, Mt Lassen, the California Gold Country and then home to the Bay Area. This will be my first cross country trip and would appreciate your experienced advice.

I would like to hear more about what worked and what you would change. Things like:
Miles per day on route?
Would you recommend a taller windshield?
Problems/maintenance with your bike?
Was finding camp sites ever a problem?
Was your tent too big/too small?
How much did you eat at restaurants vs. preparing your own.

Thanks,

Ray

[Boxer]

Ray,
The less you eat, the better off you are. I REALLY like to eat and that is still my rule of thumb when on a trip like this. Hydration of any form is GOOD though. Cold water, fruit juice, coffee in the morning but limited to one cup early, no sodas enroute. Mostly cool water, lemonade, juice, and those sugary fruity drinks are good too. I ate very little at restaurants and when I did it was at MacDonalds where I could get WiFi and a quick salad. I would stop by the side of the road when I got hungry and make a few peanut butter crackers or munch on those power bars, etc. At night I made a sandwich with what I carried in the cooler or heated beany weanies on my little camp stove. Very simple.

My small 2 man Eureka tent has worked solid for me for the last 7 or 8 years and is just the right size, rolls up very small, and with yearly treatment is virtually waterproof on the stormy nights.

I did about 400+ miles a day on that trip and spent one night at each stop, except at my daughter's place in L.A. Doing it again, I would go fewer miles, and stay at least 2 nights. In a nice place I'd make it 3 or 4 even.

Finding camp sites is not a problem when you travel US and State highways, especially in the neighborhood of national forests or large bodies of water. You might consider joining the Motorcycle Travel Network on the internet. Google it and check it out. Its not for everybody but can provide a nice respite with a bed and hot shower for next to nothing...with a fellow biker...Not the shower...with the biker, but the place to stay.

I had no problems with the bike. I did have to replace a tire before I had wanted to and it proved expensive at BMW of Santa Cruz. If you start out with new tires, you probably won't have to worry about that. A few times I wished I had a big K1600 in the desert, but for the most part I was happy with my ride. The windscreen might only make my bike more vulnerable to buffeting on the slab, but I like the normal wind deflection so I'll keep it.

Hope thios helps. Good luck on your trip and stop along the way to smell the flowers and take pictures. You'll be glad you did.

[GypsyRR]

I don't intend to hijack Boxer's thread, so I'll offer this info to him and others who might be interested in long distance motorcycle/camping info:

If you have a smartphone, there is an app called Campwhere by Big Nerd Ranch. It's been invaluable to me. If I have 3G or edge or wifi, I simply let it locate me and then it shows me campgrounds near me. You choose the distance out you want to see. Or, I can choose an area I plan to be in that afternoon and look ahead for campgrounds. It hasn't failed me yet! And if you don't have wifi/3G/Edge available the site says:

The entire campground database is resident on Campwhere, it does not come from the internet. The maps and directions, however, DO come from the internet. You can see the campgrounds and the basic info (latitude, longitude, phone numbers, etc) and see some of the underlying map depending on what is in the memory of the device. You could possibly phone ahead and use your GPS for directions to get there even without an Internet connection.

Screen shot here

[Dr. Strangelove]

And if you don't have wifi/3G/Edge available the site says:

says what? There is a blank there. Or does it say the paragraph that follows next?

John

[GypsyRR]

Yes. It says that and more

[vcarlew]

Boxer and Kristi,

Thanks for your advice. 400 miles a day is impressive and more than I hope to travel. However, there will be delays along the way which will probably require me to pick up the pace later in the trip.

I am a fan of Eureka tents, but, back in the day, I spent more nights than I care to remember in a small two person North Face. I found a new Eureka three person with decent headroom on sale for $99. I will sacrifice elsewhere in order to pack the slightly larger tent.

Because I REALLY, REALLY enjoy food, it will be a challenge to eat peanut butter crackers along the road. And just one cup of coffee a day? Seriously? I will heed your advice, but this trip is going to test my mettle far more than I imagined.

It gives me some comfort to hear that you made your trip with a shorter windshield. I tried a touring sized Parabellum a few months back, but the buffeting was so bad I returned it and went back to the stock sport windshield.


Kristi, I checked out the Campwhere application and it is impressive. It appears the app is only available for the iphone and ipad. I am planning to travel with my Blackberry, but who knows, maybe I will buy an Ipad now that Apple has added cameras to the latest upgrade. I know that having Campwhere would reduce a lot of anxiety as my afternoons fade into evening and I am still on the road.

Thanks again for all your help.

Ray

[want2b]

thanks for the pictures of your great journey
enjoyed it very much
can you give me the name of the musical group that
was playing in the background?

Richard

[Dr. Strangelove]

From the Mark Knopfler/Emmylou Harris album "All the Roadrunning."

The name of that cut is Rollin' On. Great album in it's entirity, imo.

John

[Boxer]

Thanks John for answering this for me. I had forgotten about this request for the song. I used another song from that same album for the Georgia Mountain Rally slideshow a few years ago.

http://www.bmwmoga.info/slideshows/2008gmr/index.php