Two wheels is enough.
Two good days for riding and I got out during both of them. I explored an area between Auburntown and Woodbury. Woody, hilly, rural. Pretty sweet. I had to stay away from gravel because those roads still had a lot of ice on them. The chipseal roads still had some ice in spots, but I stayed clear of trouble.
It was great to be on the road some; the Strom is running great. Fresh oil in, need to replace the front tire. The Battlewing has been a great tire, so I'll get another.
Faye and I have tried to see the fall colors this year since we expected great things, the leaves still being on the trees and all.
OK, I know I haven't finished the prior entry. Just takes time. This will be quick.
We did a little loop down to Columbia and back up the Natchez Trace Parkway. The colors were nice, but nothing spectacular. Before another excursion I just had to replace the chain, front sprocket, and rear tire. They were all done in by the West 09 trip.
So this week we decided to try a loop to Fall Creek Falls. The leaves were pretty nice, but maybe our expectations wer too high.
Still, it was a great ride, great roads, leaves all over. Honey bees apparantly make honey out of more stuff than flowers because they were all over us, the picnic table, and the garbage cans as we tried to eat lunch at the falls.
8178.1 miles
ridetime 145:47
average speed 56.60
max speed 99.1
I've used the word Awesome so much in regard to the trip that its become trite.
A quick and insufficient summary:
Beartooth Pass, Chief Joseph Highway, Yellowstone, Lolo Pass, Hells Canyon, Crater Lake, Highway 1 from Oregon to near SLO, Avenue of The Giants, Golden Gate Bridge, Bixby Bridge, Big Sur, Yosemite, Death Valley, Grand Canyon (north and south rims), Zion, Bryce, North Canyonlands, Arches, and finish up on the Million Dollar Highway.
It's easier to post pictures to Facebook, so you can go there and search andy derryberry. At some point I will probably do some kind of write-up.
Phil's Write-up
Dave's Write-up
Day 1: Nashville to Topeka
Honestly, I don't remember much about Missouri except that we got around St. Louis without a lot of trouble. To do that, take I57 to I64 to I255 to I270. Busy roads but nothing like any other route.
Kansas City has an interesting look to it, but we just barreled through, so I don't know any more than that.
Topeka seems to be a nice moderate size city. Still, it was chosen because it was about the distance needed. 650 miles is just business anyway; it was there and we covered it without any hitches, so all good.
Day 2: Topeka to Denver
Having never been in Kansas before, all this road was new to me. Surprisingly, it is not table flat until you get within 100 miles or so of Colorado. The Flint Hills area has a nice roll to it and, after a cold, foggy, start we made good time. Just 550 miles, so kind of a break. You have a mild sense that you are climbing all the way across Kansas, but you're still surprised that Denver looks flat, is flat, as you roll into it on I70 from the east, and yes the altitude is a mile. Dave arrived from Scotland on time and we ate supper at the little diner just across the parking lot from the hotel. Now it really begins.
Day 3: Denver to Cody
A lot of this day was interstate and all if it pretty straight and moderately flat (high plains though 5-6000'). Still, it was new territory to me and very interesting. One thing that comes through clearly is how vast some areas in this country are and how few people live in these areas. Once off the interstate we passed very few vehicles. I'd dare say we saw as many wild animals as we did people from Casper to Cody. We ran some very good roads approaching Cody through the Wild River Area. A very fast and curvy descent with fantastic views.
Day 4: Cody to Chief Joseph Highway, Beartooth Mountain, Yellowstone Park
We take off from Cody at daybreak. With fog, daybreak, and the possibility of large animals in the road, we start off a bit slow. But soon the fog lifts, the sun shines and we roll down the Chief Joseph highway at a good clip. Like most roads in the west the surface is good, the climbs are steep and the curves made for speed. I use all the Wee has on some of the climbs. I could have shifted down into 5th a few times, but the bike held it's own in 6th with the throttle pinned. This is a great road.
I had googled Beartooth some and I knew there had been some work and road closings during the summer. But, the road was open and across we went. There was construction at the top for several miles. We had sections of hard pack gravel, single lane. The construction did force us to stop at the top and we got some pictures we couldn't have gotten otherwise. Again, great road. We rode across and then returned to head to Yellowstone.
Hwy 12 is really nice all the way to the park. At the park we sorted out that Dave and I could buy one annual pass to cover us both. We just had to both sign it. This guy knew the rules whereas the guy at Big Bend didn't.
Yellowstone needs to be seen. You can look at Phil and Dave's pictures and get an idea, but pictures are a poor substitute for the experience of being there.
Day 5: More Yellowstone
The day started out with Phil's bike being tipped over (the center stand had sunk in the hard pack parking lot and the bike fell on it's right side breaking the turn signal/mirror pod. You get tickets in CA for not having turn signals, so the challenge was to reassemble the many parts and get the turn signal back in place (the mirror was shattered). Dave mentioned something that a friend of his had experimented with for cheap fixes on the road: Super Glue topped/mixed with baking soda. I don't understand the chemistry, but the pod went back together and made the rest of the trip solid as a rock through cold, rain, heat and gusting winds.
I can't recommend Yellowstone highly enough. Every American should go to fully appreciate the awesome magnitude of the gifts we have. Old Faithful was right on time though a bit on the weak side. Still, there is no other place in the States to see such a thing. All the thermal features are fascinating. The earth's hot interior in not far below the surface.
Old Faithful Lodge is a wonderful building. I can remember several years ago it was threatened by fire; I didn't realize, then, what a loss that would have been. Google it for pictures and history. Wonderful.
Wildlife was everywhere. It got to be old hat for buffalo to be in the road. Elk lounged on the lawn at Mammoth Hot Springs. We didn't see bear, but bear sign was everywhere along long stretches of road: tree bark torn from trees. I wouldn't care to be out at night.
The massive waterfall on Yellowstone River is the most amazing that I have ever seen. The pictures are really good, but the real thing is even better.
We encountered some rain and lightning at Mammoth Hot Springs but had no problems. The day went quite well.
Day 6: Lolo Pass
Right off I must say this is the most fun motorcycle road I have ever ridden. Something like 120 mi of fast, smooth, continuous curves through a beautiful landscape. I ran about 90% of my ability. The Strom maybe 80%. I do know I made the rear tire look like a posting from a guy who had run his at a track. The rear tire had a bit of a melted look pretty much to the edge of the tire. It worked great, though. The Bridgestone radials are very good on the Strom. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but what was there we flew by.The only fly in the ointment was a failing fuel pump on Phil's bike and road work on the west end. Toward the end it was hot and we were pushing Phil and his ST to a pull off. We finally made it to the hotel. Overall a fine day of riding.
Day 7: Crater Lake and getting to the coast.
A great day of riding AND a beautiful place to visit. The water in Crater Lake is blue blue blue. You've never seen blue before. The pictures are close, but still not like the real thing.
From Crater Lake to the coast is very nice. There is a large temperature difference. 90's on the east side of the coastal mountains and 50's on the west side. We got to Banden with a little of daylight and got our first look at the Pacific. Sweet.
Day 8: Pacific Coast Hiway and Avenue of the Giants
Every turn on the PCH is a photo op. The only variable to it is the coastal fog. The road is challenging in spots and the views are distracting. The two things together make it a difficult ride. You just have to relax, take care of business and know that you can't photograph everything (I did take 1200 pictures on the trip, though). It's called the Oregon Coastal Highway where we started in Bandon. That's 101. Later it's called Redwood Highway.
Just south of Rio Dell CA we came to the Avenue of the Giants. Just 2% of the coastal giant redwoods are left. It is hard to describe the spiritual feel being among living things that have lived so long and reach to the heavens.
Shortly we came to Hwy1, the coastal highway, or PCH. From 101 to the coast on hwy 1 is my second most fun ride. It is not as long or as fast as Lolo and there is more traffic, but this is a fantastic road.
What a great day of riding this was.
Day 9: More PCH, the Golden Gate and SF
Well, there just aren't words to convey the coast highway. Look at some of the pics. Otherwise, you need to go see it yourself. This was a great day of riding the PCH.
In San Francisco I bought the only cash only gas on the whole trip. Go figure. The Golden Gate Bridge was socked in with fog. It seemed relentless, so we took it on faith that the bridge was actually there and crossed. I guess it was a bridge; we got to the other side.
Driving through SF wasn't too bad. We were opposite of most of the traffic. It looks to be a nice city. We stayed about 20 mi north with friends; considerably up in the hills. We rode a rough, narrow road on the way up. This was a bit of fun specially delivered by Phil.
We arrived in good order at a beautiful, peaceful home in the mountains.
Day 10: Bixby bridge, Big Sur an make the turn towards home.
We start out early with several local riding friends. Out of the mountains to the coast we ride a fantastic road and hit the coast somewhere around Pescadero. More PCH and photos. At Bixby Bridge (which Bronson crossed starting the series Then Came Bronson) we back tracked a little and headed east. A symbolic halfway point.
Then we headed across wonderful California desert toward Yosmite. We stayed with more friends. They live close to the park. A really great place to live. They treated us wonderfully providing a nice place to stay, great food, and a place for Phil to chance fuel pumps (also provided the part) and a place for me to change oil. How great is that?
Day 11: Yosmite and Death Valley
Great roads are everywhere. Fires in Yosmite changed travel plans some. A road we were going to use was damaged by fires and closed. It became impossible to go into the valley... a time and distance thing. So, we travelled north across Tioga pass through Yosmite. This is an astonishing road to travel. The vistas are remarkable, the road great fun. We dropped out of the mountains at Mono Lake and headed toward Death Valley.
The deserts of California are vast and beautiful. We were blasting down 195 when 20 miles of road construction brought the whole deal to a stop. It being California, motorcycle filtering is legal and Phil and Dave have done a bunch of it in Europe. I, on the other hand, was the widest and had never done any filtering.
Finally, when the cooling fan on the Strom came on (first time ever) I decided filter I must. It actually worked pretty well, even when a few people tried to cut me off. They could never stop me. We finally came to a point where lanes were very tight. There was a good shoulder, but I wasn't sure about the law. I waited a few minutes and a Harley guy came toodling down the shoulder and pulled out right behind him. We went miles on the shoulder passing dead stopped traffic. Finally we hit the construction zone and got through quickly and I caught up with Phil and Dave.
Death Valley is beautiful and fiercely hot. At Bad Water, way below sea level, the temperature must have been 120. Being delayed actually had it up side as we got some shadows and thus relief on our way to Shoshone, where we spent the night.
Day 12: Grand Canyon South
Today was mostly a bustin miles day getting to the south rim. Everything went well and we had enough time to sight see at the Canyon. You have to see it to comprehend it.
Day 13: Grand Canyon North and Bryce Canyon
The North Rim is different but just as spectacular. The 200 mile ride there was beautiful as well. Well worth the effort to get there. Bryce Canyon is awesome; hard to describe. Looking at the pictures helps, but you gotta be there.
Day 14: Monument Valley, Arches, North Canyonlands
You think you've peaked on scenery, but these three places are uniquely awesome just as the grand canyon is. Just more Wow. This was the longest and hardest day since we left Denver. We left before sunup, ran through rain and hail, and put in lots of miles: definitely a full day of riding.
Day 15: Back to Colorado
The riding is really good and the scenery slowly changes from desert to mountains. We stopped in Cortez for gas and a break. There was some weird stuff going on at that place. Something, probably illegal, was going on with the restrooms; I got panhandled by kids who were amateurs at it; I made a point of watching our gear closely. I was glad to get out of there. This is the only place during the whole trip that I did not feel at ease.
Back on the road everything went back to normal. We got to hwy 550 (the million dollar highway), and fantastic riding commenced. The surface ranged from beautiful pave to loose chip seal, so we had to pay attention. No problems, though. There was one spot where the road ran just below a very high bluff. The sun was shining on me there, but there was a rain storm on the bluff and a few raindrops and small hailstones floated down. Weird indeed. We stayed at a very nice place in Montrose.
Day 16: On to Denver
It was actually hard to believe that we were so close to the end of the trip. It was a relatively short and very pleasant ride to Denver. There was a little bit of contentious traffic once we hit the city, but Phil navigated us flawlessly back to the hotel where we had started.
Day 17: None of us wanted it to end, but Dave had flights to catch and we were on a schedule for Nashville. We ate breakfast together and then Phil and I blasted out of the Mile High City. There was pretty heavy fog at first which switched to cloudy and hard side winds. These winds were constant all the way from Denver to Topeka. These were just miles to grind out and we struggled through the wind and boredom. Phil's rear tire was badly worn, so we let up on the speed...a little. We stayed at the same place in the same room as we did on the way west. Now it is all east.
Day 18: The last and the longest day. This was just going to be work. We started before sunrise so as to get through Kansas City before rush hour. This being mostly Missouri we weren't really going to miss any scenery. We did get a very nice sunrise as we rode straight toward the rising sun. We got around St. Louis with no trouble and then I began to feel it, that coming home feeling. I was tired, but felt good and knew it wouldn't be long.
When we crossed the Ohio River into Paducah I was feeling great. The Strom was singing along, the road was rolling by, life was great. We stopped in Clarksville for gas. Phil topped off and headed out right away so we said goodbyes on a great trip. I needed to take a little break and visit the facility, but in about 10 minutes I was on the road zeroing in on Nashville and home.
Thanks are inadequate to Phil for planning and managing this trip. It is the gold standard for motorcycle trips that I may never approach again. And it was great meeting and riding with Dave, who is great fun and a real deal motorcycle rider.
And then, I was home, happy and grateful.
Faye wanted to do a trip before I took off on the BIG trip and two nice days popped up as available. I Google Mapped around; they days were going to be warm, so I looked north and east. I'm also in enhanced cheap mode since I'm unemployed but not quite yet broke.
I found a nice local motel in Jamestown TN. The plan was to explore the area around Jamestown. Some hi-lites:
It really was a great trip. We took hwy 85 most of the way going. The roads were all great fun and the scenery was wonderful. It was a little hot, but not bad at all for August in Tennessee.
Pics:
Many years ago, before he was Uncle Phil ('cause he's always got what you need but forgot to bring), my friend Phil made stuff happen or work. He had a sweet Honda Super90 and I had nothing but a bicycle. So, he managed to borrow another friend's Super90 so we could ride to Columbia and back. I don't recall there being any particular reason except for the ride.
We went at night, there was no traffic and everything went great except my throttle side grip was loose from, I think, the application of the semi-ape hanger handle bars. So, the throttle fell apart. Phil rode that bike home by pulling on the throttle cable to give it gas.
The first part of the trip also ran over the hill where Phil coasted his bicycle up to speeds of 50+mph. There is a sharp curve at the point of highest velocity which enhances the likelihood of death.
So, I thought I'd re-run the route as much as I could. The old road only exists in spots now. I did find the closed bridge that was the death knell of the old road. I also found horse trails and Duck River access points on the property that once was part of the Columbia Dam project.
We went to see Bledsoe State Park and it was closed for paving. Well, the area is nice.
A few days later:
If I don't plan then I don't know exactly what I'm doing. Anyway, yesterday, after goofing off in the morning and Faye and Tracy going to a movie, I decide at 1 pm to ride some.
The weather was beautiful so I decided to run all of hwy 85. Time was going to be tight, so I burned I40 to Monterey. I took 164 north to 85, ran 85 out to127 and then 85 all the way west. 164 was OK, but not a destination road. Not a bad way to get to 85 though.
The east end of 85 has suffered some slide damage, so it can be rough and narrow in spots. There was some flooding out that way and there's a good bit of debris also.
I took a bit of a side ride on Big Sandy road at Wilder. Moderate quality blacktop. There are lots of roads that run up into the mountains that I will probably check out later.
For the most part, even on a Saturday, 85 was more or less empty. A few Harley's and locals. I'm not telling anybody about this road.
Approaching Gainesboro I was pretty sure I wouldn't get lost. I didn't, but then I went a route I haven't gone before. If you follow the signs for 85 approaching Gainesboro you will end up on Old State Route 85. This adds quite a few high quality miles to the ride. You do miss the nice climb out of Gainesboro.
Hot summer. Something of a lull, but there is riding nevertheless.
Edgan Evans and Rock Island State Parks
For misc non interstate riding, the Strom is getting very near 60 mpg. Take that Middle East.
Cedars of Lebanon State Park/Forest
The gravel roads and trails are not generally marked, so its hard to know if you're following the rules. I did get off on one of the trails. The pics don't show the deep ruts and holes. I decided I'd not go that rough today.
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