Tuesday March 20, 2018.
As I begin to write this part of my journal, it is the first day of Spring, 2018.
The winter season of 2017/2018 we are just at the tail end of, reminds me so much of the first winter I endured when I moved here to north east Ohio back in 2013.
Long and cold, with wet heavy snow that is just lying around making for a seemingly never ending break to this cold and dreary winter season.
My touring hiatus of 2017 has left me in a serious state of riding depravation!
I keep looking at the extended weather forecast and with each short break of a few hours of sunny periods amidst the long string of cold freezing weather, it makes me realize that I have not yet “rounded the curve” towards warm weather for my riding season this year.
Nighttime temperatures are still below freezing. Our daytime temperatures are now above freezing and make for beautiful picture-perfect days. The visual impact to my brain sees no obstacle to riding. After all, it’s sunny, dry and clear! Oh but the north-wind is cold!
True I have sufficient riding gear that allows me to bundle up and brave such weather, but the threat of “black-ice” on the roadways after dark - which is when I get off work each day, coupled with the drivers in their vehicles who are not accustomed to seeing bikers out on the roads at this time of year, is way more than enough reason to keep me off the roads till riding season - as dictated by good adequate weather.
This far north, “black ice” is a biker’s worst nightmare.
It forms when moisture settles on the road surface and rapidly freezes with the accompanying wind, which creates very low wind-chill temperatures. When ice forms at such cold temperatures and so rapidly, it makes crystal clear ice. I don’t have to tell you what the danger could be as you can almost not distinguish it till you are right upon it, as it takes on the color of the road surface.
So obviously for safety’s sake I tend to stay out of such conditions till the temperatures are consistently above freezing.
Looking at the weather forecast now, it does not seem this will be till mid-May into very early June.
Argggghhhh!
I seem to have done pretty well this year in dealing with this long cold winter season. I think I have come to understand that there is nothing else to expect from the weather when you live this far north.
Making things even more dreary is the fact that Cleveland, Ohio is right at the edge of the permafrost. So that means the ground is always cold - relatively speaking.
In previous years by this time, I would be “cranky”, moody and in not so good a mood. State of mind being purely RIDING DEPRIVATION!
Stay away from me when I’m like this folks. You will not like me in this state of being. Just give me good weather, my bike and the open road and I guarantee that I can be the best friend you can ever have!
So I have learned to embrace this dreary weather. The good thing about it is that I look forward with great anticipation, to the time when I can get out and ride my bike.
As I have learned to do, I dream of where I wish to go and begin making plans and preparations. The countless hours spent indoors are spent re-viewing my tour videos and writing my riding journals which transcend me into that world out there. That world that I have come to truly appreciate as a blessing.
So what’s next?
In 2017, the desire was to go west.
Whoa, let me back up a bit here!
As I rifle through my trove of notes, I’ve just uncovered some notes dating back to January 2013, before my move to Ohio, where I was already putting pen to paper for a trip out west. (Wow, seems like just yesterday!)
I have always wanted to visit and see the Grand Canyon in Arizona and The Big Five (a.k.a. The 5 Natural Parks) found in the state of Utah - Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Arches National Parks. Monument Valley is very high on my list of “Must-see” places.
Of course the natural attraction is from my strong affinity for the Western genre of movies that I grew up watching and continue to do so in present times. I just cannot seem to get enough of them. Movie producers have been so ingenious at being able to tell the same stories of legends over and over in such a way and in and from such places that make me want to visit to be able to breathe the same air, walk on the same dirt and experience the places that have carved out and formed a lot of the core of American life and legend.
I continue to read up on all such places, calculate the distances involved and try to work out my logistics to see if I can appropriate adequate time to experience these places. I live so far east now. Why didn’t I do this when I lived in Texas?
I have pretty much attained the limits to get to all places west of here that my time off work will allow for, before having to turn around and make it back in time to report back to work. So for the last year or so, I’ve been trying to figure out how I can make a trip such as this come together.
In 2017 I had to re-arrange my priorities. A journey to Ghana, West Africa became priority. My mother celebrated her 92nd birthday in November. So it took all my resources and time for my wife and I to go visit and celebrate with her.
So there was no motorcycle tour for that year.
A forced hiatus - and for good reason.
We are blessed to still have her with us and for her to be in good health - body, mind and soul. That is very important to me and I am truly grateful.
Just seeing the joy in her to have us there, was well worth every bit of sacrifice we made to be there.
So since my return in December of 2017, I have spent a lot of time trying to put a trip together for 2018 to these places I so am desperate to visit and experience.
The bike is ready to go. I have already serviced it.
Fresh oil. Flushed and replaced brake and clutch fluids. All filters cleaned (fuel and air). Polished/waxed. All she needs now is a set of new tires specifically for the trip, and a set of disc brake pads.
2 weeks before any tour, she always gets a new set of tires, regardless. I choose never to leave home for a tour on used tires.
My Honda ST1300 is an amazingly reliable machine - by design. She has never asked for anything except the basic requirements for normal use.
So where trip planning is concerned at this time, I have quite a challenge ahead of me.
When this passion of riding my very own motorcycle across this country started in earnest, my wish was to visit all the lower 48 states by the time I turned 60.
60 because I feel I had a very late start.
Late only because I put motorcycling-for-fun aside and devoted myself to raising my family.
Motorcycling during those years was a necessary part of that process. It was purely cheap, affordable transportation for my daily commute to and from work and for my basic running around.
Long distance riding began when our youngest daughter turned 18.
So I decided to try to achieve this by 60. I was not getting any younger and hoped that I could do it by then if blessed with continued good health.
Well, this year I turn 60. It’s a race against time.
Or is it?
I would love to.
I still feel in good physical condition and have no doubt that with continued good health, I can face the challenge without too much effort.
So in this 3rd week of March 2018 as I write this particular section of my journals, I have ridden/visited all but 9 of the lower 48 states of our country as I have indicated by the colored states in the following image.
If I can make this trip happen and visit the remaining 9 in one way, shape or form, I will have made my personal dream come true for this first phase of my motorcycle-touring life.
So looking at this image you might probably have noticed there is no “link” between the state of California and the rest of the states I have indicated in color …… and you will likely want to (and rightly so) take me to task on that.
Well, if you’ve read through earlier journals and care to remember, it is where I purchased my first Sport-touring machine - a ’95 ST1100.
So yes, having ridden it in California I have qualified that state on my list, technically, of “HAVING RIDDEN MY BIKE” in that state.
Wouldn’t you agree?
PLAN THE RIDE AND RIDE THE PLAN.
The miles are many - the last suggested route I came up with, tallied up to just shy of 9000 miles. Time I have available is 2 weeks off work.
Previous routes I have contemplated dialed in at around 6800 miles - that as a result of sacrificing specific destination visits locations along the way to take in the sights.
I am still so undecided.
One part of me says : “sacrifice” visiting some of the locations and “get” and complete all states.
Another part of me says : Why rush? Take time and smell the roses!
What’s the harm of not completing this year?
I am torn between these.
My struggle to come to a firm decision and conclusion of this part of the process continues.
Keep reading to find out what I hope to and will eventually decide and come along with me for the ride through reading this journal-to-be.
For now, I can only continue my thought process in determining what route I choose, but rest assured that one way or another The Good Lord will have the final say!
As temperatures plummeted daily and the winter season took hold, I found myself consumed with dreams of making my next logical trip out to the west coast, if I was to continue my quest of visiting all the 48 contiguous states of the country.
So at this time, having already reached the limits of distance from home base in all directions that my time away from work could possibly and comfortably allow, my sights were firmly set on the west coast.
During my early years half way across the world, as we heard of and learned of the distant shores of America, the stories of the birth of, and life in America, was inextricably linked and intertwined with Route 66 - a.k.a. “The Mother Road”.
The creation of route 66 finally made it possible for one to be able to go by road from coast to coast across the country, linking to an existing road that ran from the east coast to the beef processing centers in Chicago.
The legend of this road has become one of great fascination.
It is the road that gave birth to the life and character of American life as we know it today.
I will even venture to say with a high degree of certainty, that even my tours across this country on my motorcycle are a passion shared by so many others in so many other spheres of life, were born from the advent/inception of Rt. 66. - the necessities of life, travel, merchandising and grand ideas.
Route 66 began/begins in Chicago and ends in Santa Monica, CA (traveling from east to west) and linked all the small towns along the way together, making for a long and time-consuming drive, requiring a lot of stops, amenities and services.
Each town therefore had to come up with ways to entice travelers to spend more time in their locales in order to attract income to the area.
Advertising therefore became a major development and townsfolk and businesses had to get very creative with the means by which they got the attention of travelers.
With so many of these attractions popping up all over the place the easiest way to get customers to your business away from your neighbors’, was to advertise bigger, brighter, more colorful and in a more unorthodox manner to make you stand apart from them.
As a result, the concept of bigger, larger, brighter, louder, more colorful etc. in today’s world of advertising was born and bred.
Travelers, needed gas. For those who did not want to stop or linger too long in each town along the way, gas was made available “alongside” the roadway.
This gave rise to roadside gas stations as we have come to know them today.
Repair work on motor vehicles was also in high demand/need and the gas service stations began to incorporate service and repair work into their services.
Those traveling at a very leisurely pace needed to overnight somewhere and land owners would make their land available for use as campsites and safe areas off the roadways.
There then was a need for amenities. Places to safely park vehicles, a need to “freshen up”, meals readily available etc etc.
So as the travel experience evolved, businesses sprang up to fill the needs.
The “Motel” was born - “Motor Hotel” - allowing one to rent a room for the night and the ability to park your vehicle right up at the door. It began to provide all the basic needs and comforts one would want for the night - a shower/bath, a comfortable bed to sleep in and all the other creature comforts that would and were to follow. Air-conditioning for the hot, muggy summer nights and heating for the cold dry winter nights.
A place to get a quick meal, something to drink and some some entertainment to go with all that, gave rise to Diners, fast food joints, cafes, movie theaters (both indoor and outdoor) etc etc.
…… and not to forget to mention, souvenirs, as mementos of the time spent visiting the area in the hopes of enticing you to come back again!
The advent of the modern day Interstate Highway System brought about the demise of Rt. 66.
When it was commissioned and opened, it provided super-fast and more direct route across the country, bypassing all the little towns.
Like someone turning off a light switch, business establishments had no choice but to close their doors due to the loss of clientele, who now had a much more direct and quicker way of getting to their destinations along this route, without having the need to meander through the congestion and trappings of each and every little town along the way.
Some struggled as best as they could to keep their doors open, but the end of that era came almost instantaneously.
Today, only a very very few have survived by reinventing themselves due to the nostalgia and reemergence of the history and what it all means/meant to the generations that have lived, experienced and remember that era for what it was and its place in the history and development of this country.
The interstate provided a direct route right across the country, from Chicago, IL all the way to Santa Monica, CA on the west coast where the road ended, literally on the Santa Monica Pier at the beach on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
I could write a long dissertation about this road, but as I have continually expressed I am no expert on the matter.
Additionally, so much has been written in the past by waaaaay more prolific writers than I, waaaaaaay more authoritative and knowledgeable writers than I, and waaaaaaaay more experienced travelers than I on and about this road.
Information abounds by the bucket load and is readily available on so many platforms as we have available to us in the world of today.
All I can do, all I want to do here, is to share my personal experience with you through my story.
In more recent times, there has been a resurgence of interest in Rt. 66 by a segment of the population that grew up and remember the times, journeys and trips with their parents and with their children.
Communities along the way that literally “died” when the route was bypassed by the Interstate system of highways are trying to revive and preserve the experience of the era by incentivizing prospective business owners to take over and maintain businesses that once thrived along this very popular road and the hope of keeping its spirit alive.
The sections of this once historic road that are slowly coming back to life as a result, are today collectively identified in and along the areas as Historic Route 66.
The spirit of what was - The Birthplace of America.
……… So as my dreams and thoughts consumed me, I decided that this was to be the trip to make for my 2018 tour.
I began to set myself up for a small experience along route 66, The Mother Road of America!
I would have to be very selective about places to spend time at and visit, as well as specific roads to ride and experience.
Time was a premium.
2 working-weeks off work would in no way be enough to see the whole character of the route and all the attractions and iconic places along the way. There’s just too much to see and experience (this has made for a very rich and extensive history).
So it was to be quite a monumental task of planning and living out this part of my lifelong dream.
Whichever places and parts of Rt. 66 I determined to “leave out” of my trip, I promised myself to come through again one day to visit and experience, because I truly want to experience as much of it as I can.
It was to be a long trip.
2 weeks on the road and I still was not sure if that would be enough to even make it out to the western terminus of the road at a comfortable pace!
I would have to make quick and firm decisions in a very timely manner and at my earliest convenience as I would need a considerable amount of time to try and save up what I could in the time I had between now and when I would like to make the trip.
At this very point in time, as I put this pen to paper on this day/evening, I decided this would be it!
Decision made.
I wrapped it up for the day and my planning mind was now in “over-drive”.
I began to “psych” myself up!
My heart rate went up and I began to tremble with excitement!
The butterflies in my stomach came to life!
I dug into my “archives” of material that I have been gathering over the years for trip planning purposes and noticed that my most recent dream and planning about and for Rt.66 was early in 2013.
So, fair to say, this trip had already been 5 years in the making.
My notes and brochures and books on the subject now became a source of interest again.
Seems like I had done quite a bit of research and some preparation already, so it was only that much less to do.
Pretty much all I really needed to do at this stage was to determine specific places to see and specific roads to ride!
…………. Eastern Terminus in Chicago.
St. Louis Arch - Gateway to the West - Museum of Westward Expansion,
Original section of Rt. 66 in Oklahoma,
Oklahoma Panhandle, Texas Panhandle - Midway Point of Rt. 66.
Cadillac Ranch, Purple Heart Trail, Mountains of New Mexico, Four Corners (The only place in America where 4 states meet each other), The National parks in Utah, Monument Valley, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, NV, the wild Burros in Oatman, AZ, Kingman, AZ, Barstow, CA Santa Monica Pier (The End Point of Rt. 66) in California my list went on and on and whatever else I could cram in along the way.
Oh gosh. I wanted to see it all!
Now the chore of linking them all up together and be able to travel to and through in my available time was the next challenge.
So I set about trying to make this happen.
I chose the month of August for this trip.
I specifically wanted to be traveling out west when all other vacationers would be heading back home already in time for their kids to return to school, as a way of not having to deal with snarling congestion and crowds in these high tourist destinations I would be visiting.
I then proceeded to settle down and begin serious preparations for what was to be my longest time on the road for any single tour.
I pawned off the responsibility of keeping “the crew” informed of the details of the trip, safety reminders and seating arrangements to my riding crew chief, Scrappy.
3rd August, 2018
With just shy of a month to go it was time for me to get some service work down on the bike, major work of which was to perform a much-needed fuel system service.
In 6 years of ownership, this was the 2nd time I would do this. Not that she needed it, but I felt that I had to do it anyway. (I’m generally a believer of “if it a’int broke, don’t fix it”) - and my Honda has been so good about not being “broke”!
So anyway, after removing the fuel pump module, I replaced the fuel filter, cleaned the throttle bore, MAP Sensor and vacuum ports, serviced the idle control cable and re-adjusted idle control - which incidentally were all still as they were supposed to be.
2 weeks earlier I had drained the engine coolant and replaced it with fresh/new and had ordered (online) a pair of new tires.
At such a time, my garage undergoes a complete metamorphosis.
The bike takes over all the space.
All the attention goes on her. She rules the garage for the next several hours.
So with tires mounted and balanced, wheels back on the bike and all final mechanical checks and re-checks performed, She was ready for the long trek across the country.
So was I.
Over the last 2 months, I had maintained a steady exercise routine to maintain good overall body strength and stamina levels.
The next 2 weeks before departure would give me adequate time to make sure that the bike was ready with all being well for the trip.
………….. and so it proved to be.