And
so, The Trip Began
(The
Trip Journal)
If
you reading this, I have finally begun the trip. (or I'm just
about to).
As
stated on the home page,
most of my overnight, or otherwise extended stops will be in motels
and/or campsites, but certainly, if I'm going to be anywhere reasonably
close to anyone who might know me, (and still wouldn't mind
my company) I'd be happy to swing by, grab a bite, swill a
beer, or three, and borrow a cot, couch, spare section of floor,
etc., etc.
I've
broken the trip down into five phases, each of which should cover
approximately between 5 days, to a weeks worth of travel time.
(that's assuming 8 to 10 hours of riding per day)
The
5 Phases are:
- San
Diego, CA, to Sturgis, SD (With a detour though Oregon &
Washington)
- Sturgis,
SD to Dalton, MA
(Through Ontario Province)
- Dalton,
MA to Key West, FL (With a few stops along the way)
- Key
West, FL, to Harker Heights, TX (Note: I ended up skipping
Harker Heights for Seymour, TX)
- Harker
Heights, TX to San Diego, CA (With a stop in Vegas)
Additional
& Important Note:
None of these maps shown here on this website seem to show as
very accurate, but if you click on the "Click
Here to View Larger (& Much More Accurate) Map,"
links below each of the maps, you may see better representations
of the trip!
Pre-Trip
Updates
Date:
07/28/2012
Pre-packing
today to be sure everything fits & final packing tomorrow.
(See
pics on photo/video
page)
Everything
I think I'll need to take along on my adventure, is either
getting packed in the luggage, stuffed into the saddle bags,
or otherwise strapped on the bike somewhere. I'm also double
checking the fluid levels, brakes, tire pressures, etc.,
and taking a test ride with her fully loaded, to see how
well (or poorly) old Jezebel handles
the extra load.
This
Monday will be an early start. Hopefully on the road by
6:30 am.
|
The
maps below provide a more accurate detail of the actual routes
I plan on taking during each of the five phases of the trip.
Phase
1 Updates
Date:
07/31/2012 (morning)
Started
out at 6:30 am Monday morning, 7/30/12. Ran I-15 to I-215,
then picked
up 138 East, off the Tejon Pass and ran it most of the
way into Gorman, CA.
It
was a great run between I-5 @ Frasier Park & Maricopa.
Then again from McKittrick to Paso Robles on 58. Temps
went from the low 70's in San Diego, to up in the 100's
most of the afternoon, then low 60's, maybe even upper
50's, around Salinas as the sun got low and the marine
layer creeps in.
Stayed
at the Best Western in Hollister. (Note to self: Pick
a different motel next time.)
Four
hours sleep last night & 13 hours riding today.
I've
just about given up on the GoPro camera. It just can't
handle the Harley Shake. Pics and videos are distorted.
Might grab my other camera and try it for a while.
A
bit of disheartening news I'm afraid. Old Jezebel seems
to have developed a low whine in the motor. I'm heading
out to take a walk with Nala, then grab some breakfast,
before I look for a shop to see if I can determine what
it might be. Hoping it's something minor.
Date:
07/31/2012 (evening)
Hung
around Hollister for most of the morning today. Brought
Jezebel to Thunder Road Motorcycles (www.thunderroadmotorcycles.com)
after breakfast at Johnny's Bar and Grill (www.johnysbarandgrill.com)
but after Benito, the owner, checked it out, and took
it for a ride, he couldn't find anything unusual, or any
strange noises, and gave old Jezebel a clean bill of
health, so I rode back over to Johnny's for a couple beers
before I headed north again.
Right
now, I'm in Red Bluff, CA, at the Best Western. I ended
up meeting a guy at Johnny's who works for Best Western
and after I explained how crappy my room was at the BW
in Hollister, he recommended that I call customer service.
I decided to do that and they added 4000 points on my
rewards account. I wasn't going to, but I guess I'll give
them another shot.
After
13 hours, and almost 580 miles of riding yesterday, today
was an easy day. I left Hollister at 12:30 PM, and ran
for just over 200 miles. Calling it an early night, then
I'm going to try to get back on the road early in the
morning tomorrow.
Nala
doesn't like all the heat we've been riding through, but
we stop pretty regularly for drinks and a bit of rest,
so she handling it like a trooper. It's been the norm
to hit the 100's in mid afternoon on the road for these
last two days. Hoping for a little cooler temps as we
travel north.
'Till
tomorrow
08/01/2012
We
got on the road at 6:30 sharp this morning. I was very
satisfied with the Best Western in Red Bluff, and stopped
at another BW here in Madras, OR, tonight.
The
ride today was much more comfortable, with temps in the
mid 60's to upper 70's. Nala was definitely happier riding
in today's cooler temps.
We
rode a good 11-1/2 hours today, and covered about 400
miles. The Crater Lake photos simply cannot do justice
to such an amazing vista. With the exception of all the
meatball tourists, it was awesome. (Yea, Yea, Yea, I know.
I'm a tourist too)
The
plan is to head out tomorrow around 7:00 am. Weather looks
good, as it has been so far on the trip. I know the rain's
going to get us sometime, but the longer that takes the
better.
G'nite
All!
Date:
08/2/2012
Great
riding today!
I'm
guessing conservatively when I say, I'll bet that 70%
of the ride so far I have been riding alone. Love that!
Once
again, the weather was awesome, and the roads were great.
AND, I finally got those last two states under my belt.
It feels good knowing I now have ridden the bike in all
of the lower 48.
Short
update tonight.
L8R!
Date:
08/03/2012
Today
was a 400+ day. Temps were on the cool side in the morning,
but warmed up somewhat latter in the day. Still, I only
road for about 2 hours without the sweatshirt.
The
section of Rte.
12 (the Lewis and Clark Trail) between Kamiah, ID and
Missoula, MT was absolutely fantastic. 99 miles of
winding road, as the sign says, was all I'd hoped for.
I highly recommend it for any rider. You won't be disappointed.
The
only issues I had to deal with today were, Leaving Nala's
water dish at one of our stops, and having the GoPro Hero
2 camera fall off the bike at 40+ mph. The bowl's gone
for good, but the camera survived. Can't use it much because
the enclosure it fits in broke, so there's no way to mount
it until I replace that. It's now exclusively a hand held
device.
It
looks like I'll need to bundle up even more tomorrow than
I did today, as the temps here in Livingston, MT are suppose
to be in the high 40's, and you can bet that when I get
to Beartooth
Pass, at almost 11,000 feet, that temp will probably
be the high for the day.
That's
about it for tonight.
Adios
Amigos.
Date:
08/04/2012
Yellowstone!
Need I say more?
OK,
maybe one more thing
Beartooth
Pass!!!
Another
day of perfect riding, in perfect weather. (Well, chilly
at times, but no rain, and the views more than made up
for that.)
It turned out to be an 8 hour day, which is about what
I planned. Tomorrow I'll be in Sturgis, probably around
noon.
Can't
think of anything else to comment on right now so
G'night!
Date:
08/12/2012
I
had no Internet in Sturgis, other than tethering to my
iPhone cell service, so I apologize for not giving you
more updates while I was there.
We
had great weather, great fun, and really unhealthy food!
In other words, I loved it!
I
did a lot of drinking & partying, & very little
riding. I did get to take a run with my new friend, Willi,
from Germany. Willi is he touring the U.S. on his Harley,
which he had shipped over from his home. He had already
toured the southern US before he got to Sturgis. He's
a very cool guy and I enjoyed his company while I was
there.
In
fact, all the people I met in Sturgis were awesome! They
came from the US, Germany, Canada, and even Australia.
Thanks to all of these people for helping make my Sturgis
experience awesome!!
Now,
on to Phase 2
|
Map
of Phase Two
Sturgis, SD to Dalton, MA
Click
Here to View Larger (& Much More Accurate) Map
Back to Top
Phase
2 Updates
Date:
08/12/2012
We
left Sturgis this morning at around 10 am, and did a little
zigzagging east and north, ending up in Fargo, ND for
the night. The ride was uneventful, with lots of relatively
straight, flat roads.
I
did catch a little rain, but not enough to get wet. It
was the trailing edge of a storm passing by the I-94/Rte.
83 intersection. I had one cell on my left and one on
my right. Somehow, I managed to slip in between them relatively
unscathed.
I
arrived in Fargo, and got a room, at about 9pm. In for
the night, and trying to catch up on the website. I'll
try to get some photos up in the morning. Need sleep!
Stay
tuned
Date:
08/13/2012
Pleasant
and uneventful ride today. Nice cool weather. No rain.
Lots of newly paved roads.
Rode
about 9 hours. Stopped for the night in Ironwood, MI.
After
I get some things here on the website updated, I'll be
hitting the sack and trying to get off early tomorrow.
Night
All!
Date:
08/15 (AM)
Good
morning everybody!
Yesterday's
morning run was a carbon copy of the day before. Good
roads & weather. Things got a little dicey later in
the day, as I approached the Mackinac Bridge in the Michigan
Upper Peninsula. As I go closer to the bridge the thunder
storms started popping up around, and in front of me.
I pulled over just 10 miles from the bridge to put the
rain suit on, and sure enough, the rain came. Fortunately,
it never got too intense, nor did it last too long.
When
I got to the bridge, I pulled in to the Bridge View Park.
The weather cleared and I removed my rain gear for the
remainder of the day.
I
stopped for the night in Traverse City, MI and was happy
to finally meet the man that introduced to the AMSOIL
business, Dave Mann, and pick his mind a bit. I found
him to be a good guy, and thoroughly enjoyed our brief
time together. I only wish I had more time to check out
the area. It's a beautiful area.
My
room at the Best Western had a hot tub, which was heaven
for my last night. I slept like a baby after that.
Well,
back to loading the bike for today's run.
Headed
to Canada today, eh?
'Til
the next time
Date:
08/15/2012 (PM)
Started
out in fog & drizzle in Traverse City this morning,
but it cleared up and turned nice for the remainder of
the days ride. Otherwise, it was a pretty boring ride.
The only difference between riding in the US, and riding
in Canada, is the invisible line separating the two countries.
I'm
staying the night just outside of Buffalo, NY. I should
be back in Mass. tomorrow.
I'll
decide tomorrow which route to take back to Dalton. Considering
a couple different ones.
That's
it for tonight. Bed time!
G'nite
Date:
08/20/2012
Sorry
I haven't been very diligent on the updates of late. Little
time and spotty Internet are my only excuses.
Everything
is going well. I've been able to meet up with several
friends from here in the Berkshires. Eating too much good
food, but otherwise just enjoying my time and riding some
of my favorite roads in the area.
I
still have a few friends I'm trying to get together with
but since I'm not planning on leaving until this coming
Friday or Saturday, I'm still hoping that will come to
pass.
Well,
I've got a few things planned for today so I guess I'll
sign off for a while.
Thanks
to everyone checking out this website, for traveling along
with me, and for all your patience with my failure to
keep you all as updated as I'd like. (I will get more
photos up. Honest!)
Ciao
for now!
Date:
08/24/2012
Once
again I've been derelict in my duties. I've been so busy
having fun here in my hometown of Dalton that I've failed
to post timely updates.
Since
arriving back here I've been having a great time with
so many friends I'm hard pressed to give a detailed account
of everything I've been doing. I've definitely done much
more riding here than I did in Sturgis. (And quite a bit
of partying too)
Had
a good long ride with my buddies Steve & George Sunday,
Kevin, Debbie & Jessica Thursday, and several other
shorter runs in between. The best ride however, was today,
with my step son Matt. We had not spoken more than a handful
of words with each other in several years before this.
It was definitely a highlight of the trip so far.
Right
now I'm pre-packing for an early start tomorrow. Hope
to make Virginia by evening.
Onward
and Upward!
Phase
three, here I come...
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Phase
3 Updates
Date:
08/29/2012
I
guess it's time to update Phase 3 on the website, huh?
OK, here ya go
After
leaving Berkshire County and heading south, I made good
time to Joe & Katie Cahills home in Lovettesville
VA. I couldn't have asked for better hosts. Joe and Katie
really made me feel at home. Katie even had dinner waiting
when I got there. Then, the next day we went to the Air
& Space museum where the Space Shuttle Discovery,
the Enola Gay, and tons of other cool aircraft are on
display. Even the rain showers couldn't spoil that awesome
day. To top things off I was invited to Sunday dinner
at Katie's parents' house.
Good
Food & Good Folks!
Sadly,
I left there Monday morning and continued south, for a
run along Skyline Dr. in the Shenandoah National Forest,
then onto the Blue Ridge Pkwy. As I expected, it was awesome
riding, and my no-rain (while riding) streak continued
for the days ride.
After
an overnighter in Reidsville, NC, I continued on to Myrtle
Beach, SC to my friend & former neighbor, Maureen
Viners' house on Tuesday, where I was once again welcomed
in to her home, made to feel like family, and, even though
my no-rain (while riding) streak ended, got to visit,
and avoid some rather nasty storms on Wednesday.
Thank
you Maureen, for an excellent Italian dinner at Scatori's,
with your family too!
As
I write this, my plan is to continue the trip south tomorrow
morning. Hoping to be in Key West by the weekend.
There
you have it. (Added a few new photos
too)
Tah,
Tah for now
Date:
09/01/2012
The
trip from Myrtle Beach, SC to Daytona, FL was a rainy
one. I did however; manage to get the rain suit on before
I was completely drenched this time around.
Other
than the above mentioned wet weather, the trip was rather
uneventful, with no real excitement, or calamities.
The
only thing I was truly concerned about was the fact that
Jezebel had, somewhere between San Diego & here, developed
a small oil leak, and a slight "clacking" noise
when restarted after being shut down for any amount of
time. I thought the oil leak was mostly from when I stripped
out the primary drain plug, but that wasn't the case.
I
decided to bring old Jezebel in to Bruce Rossmeyers H-D,
in Ormand Beach to have these things checked out. They
discovered that there were a couple of bad seals on the
shifter shaft causing one oil leak. The stater was also
leaking and replaced.
With
regards to the clacking noise, they also noticed that
the compensating sprocket assembly was a little loose,
so they replaced the belt sprocket spacer and tightened
everything up. Thanks to Ralph Suriner for suggesting
this as a possible cause.
So,
$850 later, I think they fixed all my concerns. Since
I was originally quoted $1000, I was pleasantly surprised
that it came in under what they expected. And, I will
be heading south once again tomorrow morning with a little
more peace of mind.
I'm
about to take a test ride to see how everything feels.
The
adventure continues
Date:
09/04/2012
Let's
see, where was I? Oh yeah, in the Florida Keys
The
trip from Daytona area was nice and sunny most of the
way to Palm Beach Gardens, where I stopped for the night
at Ray Watson & Jane St. Palley's house. Once again,
my Datonian friends were the epitome of graciousness.
We enjoyed a lot of social time, and several beers, then
Jane made up a Key Lime shrimp & rice dish for dinner
that was to die for. I also got some laundry done between
beers. Wooo Hooo!!!
My
deepest thank you to Ray & Jane. I really enjoyed
my visit. (And, so did Nala, once she stopped being such
a bitch to Max)
On
the other hand, the run from PBG to the Keys, was wrought
with sun & rain, not quite in equal measure. I sat
in a service plaza near Miami, for about a half hour,
waiting for a nasty looking thunder storm to pass, but
even though it looked like blue shy was beginning to peak
through, I barely got to the end of the on ramp, and into
traffic, when the deluge hit. (I don't need no stinking
rain suit!!!) And, it hit hard, for about 15 minutes.
It soaked me down pretty good. Had a few other rain events
before I got to the Keys, but nothing near what that one
storm was like.
I
got to Marathon Key and started looking for a room that
was pet friendly. I prefer using one of the hotel chains
that I get rewards points for, but none in the area were
pet friendly. I ended up stopping at a Burger King for
lunch, and asked the manager, who gave me some suggestions.
Ended up at the Coconut Cay resort. Very pet friendly
place and they basically waved the pet fee for me.
Then
Bridget Brown contacted me to let me know that her sister
Erin was living in Key West. We called each other and
ended up hanging out for the evening in downtown Key West,
where we ran into another of the Brown Clan, Molly. We
had a drink together at the GREEN Parrot, the Erin &
I went to eat. The food was awesome, and then Erin gave
me the $5 tour. We had a blast!
As
it was getting late, and we'd had more than just a couple
drinks, Erin invited me to stay at her house rather than
drive the 45+ minutes back to Marathon. I gratefully accepted.
Now,
I'm back at Coconut Cay, relaxin', writin', & snoozin'
a bit, before having dinner with Erin again tonight, here
in Marathon.
Time
for the snoozing' part
L8R
Folks!!
|
Phase
4 Updates
Date:
09/08/2012
Well,
after getting stood up on a dinner date, by my Key West
hostess, (Just kidding, Erin.) I decided to get my ass
back on the road before I started apartment hunting in
the Keys.
Honestly,
I totally understand why Erin wasn't up for dinner after
working hard all day with a hangover, courtesy of our
night on the town. Then, after a 2 hour drive to pick
up the plants needed for her landscaping business, working
in the fields all day in the hot muggy weather, and then
another 2 hours back to Key West, it's no wonder the last
think she would want was to rush around getting ready
for dinner. My bad for not suggesting that you bring a
change of clothes, stop in at the motel on the way home
and clean up at my place. As stated above, I had a great
time hanging with both Erin & Molly Brown, while I
was in Key West.
Thank
you gals!!!
The
early part of my run north was dotted with the occasional
rain shower, but nothing too heavy. I did stop at Harley
Davidson of Naples to get a new rear tire. Basically,
there was no tread left in the center by the time it was
swapped out in Naples, but with slightly over 8100 miles
on it, I'm happy to report that it lasted about 2000 miles
longer than I expected it to last. Good news because now
I'm pretty sure I won't need to change either the rear,
or the front tire, for the rest of the trip.
After
leaving Naples HD, the weather still looked good until
I go near the Florida/Georgia state line, then the sky
got dark and I knew I was in for a good down pour. Luckily
I came up on an overpass just as it hit. After waiting
about a half an hour for the worst of the storm to pass,
I decided to make it a short day. I stopped and got a
room in Valdosta, GA, which was the next exit.
Once
I was settled in, I walked over to the local IHOP and
had a little breakfast for dinner. Not surprisingly, my
waitress looked like a crack addict, with no upper teeth.
And, for some additional entertainment, the local and
State cops were detaining a gentleman, next door at the
Waffle House. Gotta love it!
Continuing
on the next day, I had some awesome weather. I started
out early, before it got hot again, and only hit a few
hours of real hot stuff before getting into the mountains.
The temps were much more pleasant once I was in the mountains.
Now,
I'm in Blue Ridge, GA and since the weather forecast calls
for thunder showers today, I'm going to stay here one
more night.
Tomorrow,
Sunday, 9/9/12, I will be running the Tail of the Dragon!!!
So, I've ridden almost 9000 miles, just to ride in a section
of road 11 miles in length, with 318 curves. How crazy
is that?
That's
all Folks
09/09/2012
I
rode I-40 & Rt. 70 for the majority of the run across
Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Nice riding, good weather
and decent scenery, albeit a little boring at times.
I
decided to skip Harker Heights as I thought it was a little
more out of the way than I wanted to go at this point
in my trip. Because of this, I didn't get to see my cousin
Mark, but I'll put him on the list for the next trip.
My
stay in Seymour, TX was, as it always is, awesome. My
niece Carrie, nephew Chip, and the kids, Chad, Lucinda
and Claire are always a joy to spend time with. Temps
were in the upper 90's when I got there, but during my
stay it dropped into the 70's with much needed rain showers.
I got to see my great nephew Chad play football, and to
watch both my great nieces cheerleading. It was just a
great visit, and it's always difficult making the decision
to leave.
But
leave I did.
More
to follow in Phase 5.
|
Phase
5 Updates
09/15/2012
I
ended up following Rt. 114 out of Seymour, TX toward Lubbock,
then dropped down to 380. In Socorro, NM, I picked up
rt. 60, then 260, through New Mexico into Arizona, stopping
in Camp Verde for the night. Both of these are nice roads,
but rt. 260 was under construction, being widened, It
was a very different road than the last time I was on
it. At that time it was a very narrow and winding two
lane road. I was a little disappointed that this huge
construction project had all but completely eliminated
the road I remembered. I was looking forward to running
it.
From
Camp Verde I rode over to Sedona, AZ, running north on
89A. This was yet another absolutely awesome road. Do
it if you ever get the chance. The plan was to stop over
in Flagstaff at a friends house, but he had to go out
of town for a few days, so that fell through.
The
rest of the days run was partly on I-40, but I did get
to run part of Historic Old Route 66 for about 100 miles
or so. In Kingman, AZ I picked up rt. 93 into Vegas, stopping
for several days at my friends, Paula & Gary's house.
We had a blast partying in Sin City before I made the
last 350+ mile run back home.
So,
here I am, back in Sunny San Diego trying to get you all
updated. I hope those of you who kept tabs on my whereabouts
during the trip got some entertainment value out of my
musings along the way.
Thanks
for following.
Joe
Tatro
|
I will be using this page, along with my
Facebook Page, (facebook.com/DieHardBiker)
to post my location, and activities, at various points, and times,
during the journey, along with lots of photos, video updates.
I
hope you will follow my travels and interact with me, by posting,
texting, emailing, or calling, with your own thoughts, comments
or moral support.
Thank
you for checking out the webpage. I hope to see, and/or hear from
you, when/if I'm on the road.
With L &
R,
Joe Tatro
My Independent AMSOIL Dealer Website
(BeyondConventional.com)
Member & Former Website Admin.: ABATE of CA, Local 6
(www.abatelocal6.org)
Past Berkshire County Rep. & Website Admin.:, Mass. Motorcycle
Assn.
(www.MassMotorcycle.org)
Member: Motorcycle Riders Foundation
(www.MRF.org)
Member: American Motorcyclist Association
(www.americanmotorcyclist.com)
...
& Self Proclaimed "Die Hard Biker."
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