Category: Travel
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California’s Seven Federal Highways
This is a blog post that’s taken 7 years to write. I started taking photos in 2005 for this one. In the United States we have two major sets of federally funded highway systems that connect cities across this land. I remember coming back from Seattle on my first long trip. The day I crossed…
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Closing out Colorado
I left Boulder without my wallet and had to go back to Rocky Mountain National Park the most expedient way which unfortunately had all the traffic. Much like going to Yosemite it was slow going, with tons of cars, and no one willing to turn out. Once I got to the park I was relieved…
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Amazing: The Peak to Peak Highway
The Peak to Peak Highway is an amazing piece of asphalt. It was a part of my journey every day of the trip and other than the draconian speed limit management it’s always a wonderful addition. I’d compare it to Skyline Boulevard in the Santa Cruz mountains. I’m sure it’s a staple of the Denver…
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US40 and the National Park
I wasn’t exactly sure where to go on day two. I had heard from some locals that the ride up to Mount Evans wasn’t actually all that interesting. Mount Evans I believe was the highest paved road in the United States. The few people I talk to just said that the ride wasn’t actually that…
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The Highest Pass
I’d made a career of renting motorcycles in my teenage years. When we go down to the beach for spring break and summer vacation I’d make the 60 mile drive from Destin down to Panama City. Once arriving in town I take the test to get my permit and then take my hard-earned cash and…
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Sleepy Sarasota
Travels brought me down to Sarasota, Florida in the middle of June. This trip I was scheduled to travel during the day but got moved to a red eye when Airtran decided to suspend daytime service between San Francisco and Atlanta. I was unhappy about that. Good news is I got to see a spectacular…
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Nevada Bypass
Both the northern California and the southern California groups made it to Mammoth Friday night. The So Cal guys rolled in at 7pm and the Nor Cal guys made it at 9:30pm. Both groups rolled out 12 hours later. Southern California did three major passes: Tioga, Ebbets, and Carson. Northern California did Nevada. A few…
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Boulder
Boulder is a great town! It has the feel of Lake Tahoe, but the tech community of the Bay Area on a much smaller scale. It was great to be able to spend some time in the Rocky Mountains, explore a little bit, and hang out with some old friends. I didn’t get as much…
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Flying to Colorado
Flying to Colorado this time was an absolute adventure. I definitely had issues both ways. On the way there, my flight was totally changed. I got about six calls from Delta alerting me for a change. The problem with their system though is that they tell you there’s a change four times and then you…
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Bed Bugs: Motorcyclists aren’t exempt
On one of my trips up to the Sierras I had a run in with these little critters that was less than pleasant. I didn’t know it at the time but one of the hotel beds I believe had these little critters inside of it. A week after arriving home I had about 150 bites…
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Wrapping it up
I got to have lunch with a fraternity brother of mine over in Tucker. I’ve missed him on prior visits to Atlanta, so it was nice to see him this time. I am looking forward to seeing Todd over Christmas. After lunch I needed to head across town to drop the bike. On the freeway…
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Costal Plain back to Piedmont: 300 miles
Every story has it’s climax. For this story that has passed. With the drive back west, it’s all “downhill” from here. All that remains now is riding the bike back to Atlanta and then dropping it off for shipping back to California. I started the day off by packing up the beach cabin and heading…
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The Tybee Island Round Trip – 30 miles
As luck would have it the bike does not start. The electrical issues that got me in Atlanta were back. Now the question was could I fix it with a new battery or were there more severe electrical gremlins at work. After making a few calls I found an independent mechanic that thinks he might…
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Piedmont to Coastal Plain: 300 miles
At this point I’ve lost the sense of what “Monday” means with nearing three weeks on the road. It’s strange to have the bike in Georgia, sort of an out of place thing even though I enjoy having my own set of wheels. The bike seems to be running just fine. With the battery issues…
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Another Go at It
Today I had more of the same fun I did yesterday. It was good to be in Georgia on Father’s Day to celebrate with my Dad. The lake was really down this year. Atlanta was in a drought. It took a bit of wrangling with the “tickets” to ensure that everyone believed why I was…
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North Georgia. . . As good as I remember It (100 miles)
It was Father’s Day so I needed to pick up a card & gift for Dad as I didn’t have much room on the bike to carry it. I wound up getting a foam roller from Relax the Back Store in town. I’ve found a foam roller to be really helpful in helping me to…
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Catching up on life..
The first order of business was to get my eye checked. I had an 8:30 appointment so it was up early and off to get checked. The infection was a stye, and a reasonably aggressive one at that. The problem though is that all I could really do is let it run its course. No…
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Murfreesboro, TN to Atlanta, GA – 252 Miles
My eye was not doing well. I have a solid bump on the eyelid that is painful to close. It wasn’t materially worse than it was last night, but not better either. I really wanted to get up to Deal’s Gap in western North Carolina, but not sure how to deal with my eye. If…
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Olive Branch, MS to Murfreesboro, TN – 280 Miles
You’d think I’d sleep well every night as I’m tired from riding. Not so. Actually I’ve slept less well this trip than I do usually. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it’s the anticipation of the riding or being in an unfamiliar place. None the less, I slept great last night. I’m ready to tackle…
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Eureka Springs, AR to Olive Branch, MS (330 Miles)
After a bad case of cabin fever I was ready to get on the road again. Unfortunately that stretch of US62 was as bad as it was on Sunday. I kept hitting slow traffic in one big rural sprawl along the whole highway. Some 60 miles later, things become really rural again. I picked up…
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Stranded – 0.5 Miles (0 net)
Sunday Evening the weather forecast came in that today was going to have bad weather all day. There were severe storms coming our way. If I leave today, I’ll follow in them. Staying a day lets them go by. I decide to stay. It was horrific being stuck in that room all day. The weather…
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Around Eureka Springs – 85 miles (0 net)
The folks from last night invited me to breakfast down at the buffet. They have GRITS! Real grits! I’m the only Japanese bike rider in the whole motel, so needless to say, I stick out. Every few days I have to do a bit of bike work. The last major spot was up in Denver,…
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Salina, KS to Eureka Springs, AR – 400 Miles
Wow… what a difference a day makes. I open up the door from my motel room and wow the heat and humidity is stifling. I need to go jogging as I’ve been idle the past few days so I start with a 2-3 mile run to get the blood moving. There are plenty of dirt…
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Boulder, CO to Salina, KS – 521 miles
Leaving Colorado and the Rocky Mountains behind, the ride is going to be different. I had plans to be out the door by 6:30 but with staying up a bit later than expected, I actually didn’t get rolling until 8:30. I had hoped to beat the heat of the day, but alas, I may get…
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Around Boulder – 0 Miles
The rains were coming and Jeff and Maureen live here so I’m taking two days off the bike to chill and hang out with them. Jeff was able to take Wednesday off, so we got to do a bit of exploring by car which was a nice change. We drove up to Rocky Mountain National…
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Montrose, CO to Boulder, CO – 300 miles
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to take one or two days to get to Boulder. Colorado was going to be some of the most technical but rewarding parts of the trip. Montrose sits at 5500 feet and Monarch Pass is just over 11,000 feet. Given the height of the pass, I decided to take…
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Torrey, UT to Montrose, CO – 345 miles (320 net)
This day was the pinnacle of inefficiency. Despite the fact that I’ve been on the road for a few days, this was the first day of warm weather that I was carrying all my stuff. Stuff would not go in the right places in the saddlebags. I had to take care of some things at…
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Cedar City, UT to Torrey, UT – 210 miles
I was mixed in where to go to next. I knew I could make good mileage if I went 89 to 24. I figured Bryce National Park might be a good stop, but it would cost me in mileage. In the end, I figured take it slow through Utah as there is a lot of…
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Around Cedar City – 145 Miles (0 net miles)
Today was my day off. I wanted to keep the mileage low so that I had sort of a rest day during the first chunk of the trip. Utah has an amazing number of national parks, so I figured I’d use today to see at least one. The morning was spent catching up on email,…
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Austin, NV to Cedar City, UT – 375 Miles
Gustavo and Colin are much earlier risers than I am, but they seemed content to hang around a bit longer for an 8:30am departure. The morning was crisp and clear with no rain in the forecast for the day. US-50 was a nice ride over the Austin Summit down into the next valley. Eureka (I…