Sea to Shining Sea (Almost)

[jrobinson]

Here's my report on my trip to Las Vegas then back to Columbus, Oh.

Day 1  - Iron Butt Plus
We started the day at 4:30am with a planned 5am launch. We pulled out of the driveway and headed to Gurley to get the required documentation. After a stop at the Mapco, full tanks and a witness, we headed west. My odometer reads 99444 miles at 5:39am. Our goal was the New Mexico boarder.

We breezed through Huntsville, Madison and Decatur. I waved at Nucor in case Al was working. We stopped to take a quick pic at the Miss. state line. Then our first stop in Corinth, MS. Back on the road and a cloud came over us. Light rain at first, then a little harder. I looked for some place to stop for cover , but there was only trees on both sides of the road. Now it's pour with lightning in the distance. A flash of light in the sky off to the left of the highway,...one thousand 1....one thousand 2...BOOMMMMM! Any country boy knows that strike was about 2000 ft away. Still nowhere to stop. About 10 more minutes of rain and we are on dry streets again.

We soon see a station and make an unscheduled stop to shake some of the water off. Gonna be a long day with wet drawers on. We take off and set our sights on Memphis. We reach Memphis about the time our clothes are dried. In Memphis we miss a turn, get bogged down in traffic getting across the Miss. River and it starts raining again.

Now we are on I-40 and making decent time. Between Ozark, Arkansas and Henryetta, OK, my bike rolled over 100k miles. We hit the 500 mile mark as we leave Arkansas. The first 500 miles seemed like it took 2 days. I'm a little concerned if we will make the 1000 on time. We stop for fuel in Oklahoma City and take a 30 minute break to watch the sunset. With the sun out of our eyes, we head out again. As we near Texas, I see red flashing lights on all the hilltops. Turns out to be hundreds of wind turbines.

We continue across Texas and detour of the interstate in Adrian,TX. The halfway point on Route 66 between Chicago and LA. It also happens to be 999 miles on the trip. The next station to get a receipt is in NM. We go there and fuel up. Odometer 100506 - 1062 miles for the day at 12:41 MT.

34 more miles and we are in Tucumcari, NM. We check 3 hotels and they are all booked. Back on the interstate and the next sign of a hotel is Santa Rosa, NM, 60 more miles. For those keeping count, that's 1160 miles for the day. We check 2 hotels, sold out. The 3rd was a Motel the just had a cancellation. So we got in bed around 3am.  Why didn't I make a reservation ahead of time? I asked myself the same thing. I didn't want to be obligated if we didn't make the full pull.

Day 2 - Burning motofuel and making miles. Stopped in Gallup, NM for the night.

Day 3 - Painted Desert and Petrified Forest National Park
We were burning down the interstate when I saw the signs for the Petrified Forest. I decided that would be a good way to spend half a day. As we pulled into the parking area, I felt a little wobble from the rear of the bike. (More on that later)
I decided to purchase a year pass for national parks for $80. (3 single pass adds up to more) When I pull up to the booth, the ranger as to see ID for the year pass. He informs me that as a 62 and over senior citizen I can get a life time pass for $80. Finally, being old pays off.
The video doesn't do just to the vast views of the desert.

After the desert we headed to Winslow, Arizona. If you don't know why, your teen years sucked.

Day 4 - Grand Canyon and bike issues
After spending the night in Grand Canyon Junction, we headed up to the Grand Canyon.

We left the Grand Canyon and headed to Las Vegas for the convention that allowed these travels. We go through Kingman and hear that the high is expected to be 117 in Vegas. About 20 miles out of Kingman the Harley cuts off then back on. About a mile later same thing. It shuts off and on 4-5 more times, losing power each time. Then it turns off and doesn't restart. I coast to the side of the road into a turnoff for a side road.
With limited tools and no test light, I start trouble shooting. I check fuses. All look good. I check the on/off switch. Everything looks good. Chuck says he has a small "jumpbox". I connect to the battery and the lights come on and the starter clicks. I sure the battery has shorted out. We remove the battery and Chuck heads back to Kingman after I get 2 Gatorades and a water out of the cooler.
While he's gone I put the start switch back together and the fuses back in place.
I guy brings me 2 waters and 7-8 people stop to see if I need help. I tell them I'm OK. It was hot, but not Alabama, high humidity hot. A lady that had stopped earlier stopped and offered to let me sit in her car to cool down. I explained I was OK and didn't want to inconvenience her. She assured me she didn't plan to kidnap me. So I got in her car. About 10 minutes later Chuck showed up with the new battery.



As I was installing the battery, Chuck said the parts store had special ordered the battery for a local farmer, but he called that morning and said it was the wrong size. Thank the good Lord that worked out in my favor.

As we pulled into the hotel in Vegas I felt the rear tire wobble and heard a popping noise. It was 475 miles since I first noticed the problem.  I figured I better have it checked.

Day 5 - Check in hotel and Check out Harley
I checked into the hotel and they put me me on the 54 floor(top floor)

The trip just got a little better


and better....

[TN_twowheeladdict]

Glad you had a great ride!  My longest day was 800 miles on a 2011 Kawasaki Versys 650.  I always did long days in the saddle, but mostly stuck to back roads so even 10 - 12 hours of riding only yielded 400 - 600 miles.

I hate going through Memphis.  If I am not in a crazy hurry to get somewhere I cross at the next bridge south, or north depending on my destination. 

I was heading to NM for work in March of 2016 and the plan was to head out Friday morning and take 3 days of backroads to get there.  My steed was a 2014 Triumph Trophy SE which is probably the best cold weather touring bike you can buy.  (which also means it sucks in Alabama in the summertime).

Anyways, there was a major storm system coming from the west so I decided to head out Thursday after work and stop when I got to the start of the storm system.  Made it just to the west of Little Rock and the hotel let me tuck the bike under an overhang in view of the front desk and away from the storm winds.  Storm passed by while I slept and rode out the next day to perfect sunny 45 degree day. 

I really wish I had bought the Garmin Zumo 665 with weather radar laid over the GPS route.  Would have been very helpful over the years.  Some of my most interesting tours were when I totally changed my route to avoid storm systems.

[Guidedawg]

I look forward to reading what I hope were less rushed and wet portions of the trip

[jrobinson]

Day 5 continued
I called the Las Vegas Harley Davidson, and told the service manager my problem. He asked year and model. 2005 Ultra I told him. Sorry we don't work on anything older than 2006. It's bad enough I'm going to pay someone to work on my bike, they won't work on it because it's 1 year too old. I'm pretty sure it has same wheel, axle and bearings for the last 30 years.
He recommends a couple of independent shops nearby. I call the first one and goes to a voice mail. I leave a message and wait about an hour, nothing. I call the second one and explain my problem. He tells me to bring it in as soon as possible and he'll try to get it done if he has the parts.
I ride the bike to his shop and he's moving a bike outside as I turn on the road. He hears the noise and just stares at the bike. He puts the bike on a lift and comes back in about 30 and says the bearings are shot. He gives me an estimate of 300 bucks. and says it will take a couple hours. I get a Lift back to the hotel and wait on his call. He calls about 4 and says got it fixed and was a little harder to get one of the bearings out due to the damage. Total bill is 350. I get a Lift back to the shop and get the bike.

Main Street Moto cool little old school bike shop that went above and beyond to get my bike back on the road.


Day 6 Conference Stuff

[Nice Goat]

Awesome!  Hopefully y'all carried a stack of stickers with you to share!  Main Street Moto will get some of my business if I ever find myself in Vegas again.

[jrobinson]

Day 7 - Leaving Vegas

I decide I want a shirt from HD Las Vegas. I plug the address in the phone even though I noticed it was just down Las Vegas Blvd. The GPS calls for a turn off the blvd. Then another left and I'm on a dead end street with a sign that says "Security Clearance Required". I'm pretty sure Harley don't have any secrets.

I ignore the GPS and go where I think the store is, BINGO. Harley store at the Welcome To Las Vegas sign.  A couple shirts and a hat, then head north to get out of the heat. Another false hope. I did hit a small rain shower.

Soon I'm in Tonopah, NV and head west toward Cali. I have the cruise set on 65 and my speed starts dropping. I can tel from the exhaust it is pulling hard. I check the head wind, not much brush movement along the side of the road. I don't feel the road is getting steep. I have to downshift to 4 and think the engine is about to go. I then see a sign, Boundary Peak 13,140ft. Well....that explains a lot.







I enter Cali for the 3rd time in my life. Soon I'm in downtown Benton.





Hwy 120 turns right in Benton, but since my cell/GPS was dead, I stayed on 6 and headed toward Bishop.

I had been in 100 degree heat since leaving Vegas and just wanted a room. As soon as I hit Bishop, I see a Best Western. SOLD OUT. Oh No...I've heard this song before. I start down the main road toward another hotel. I see VACANCY out of the corner of my eye and make the hard turn into a parking lot. I'm at Town House Motel with 15 rooms straight out of the 60's.

The sign on front door says, go to window. I go to window and this little man that looks like a scientist from India. I get a room and head to #15. I see another bike in the lot and about 7 more cars. I go in the room and there's 2 old doors that looked like they came out of Grandma's house. I check one and there's the bathroom. OK. I try the other and it's locked from the other side. I see a light through the crack around the door. Hmmmm.

Day 8 - To the Coast
I survived the night and headed out the next morning to the west. I head up Hwy 395 and turn left at Lee Vining on Hwy 120. Where have I seen that before. Oh, that the road out of Benton that would've shaved several miles off the trip.

I turn on Hwy 120 toward Yosemite National Park. Great views.







https://photos.smugmug.com/Sea-To-Shining-Sea/i-99LxJGC/0/cd4367fd/XL/DSC_1942-XL.jpg[/img]

I'm riding along minding my own business and enjoying the ride, Then a sign appears around the next turn, Entry by Reservation Only. There's a line of cars and a 1 hour wait.

I make a U-Turn and back track 11 miles back to Hwy 395.

[jrobinson]

Day 8 Cont. - To the Coast

From 395 I head north looking for the next road heading west. I see 108 and check it to San Fransisco. I can get there from here, so I turn west again. 108 makes the Dragon look like a Florida Road.

One of the straight sections....



Some Views...













Notice road down the mountain....






to be continued......

[jrobinson]

Day 8 - Still heading to the coast

I got out of the mountains and continued to the coast. About 80 miles from San Fransisco, I hit interstate. Even though it was  a Friday afternoon about 3:30pm, it wasn't as busy as I expected. No stand stills or delays.

I'm nearing San Fransisco and there it is, the Golden Gate Bridge. As I ride across, I notice the bridge is gray. I thought the Golden Gate was red. Maybe it's just the way it is shot in pics. I make it across and look for the turnoff for pics. I take the first exit after crossing and I'm in the middle of the city. I find a road along the bay, but no place to stop.

I stop and put Golden Gate in GPS and realize I haven't been there yet. Through town and into a tunnel, then I see a red bridge. Ahhh, The Golden Gate. I cross and find the point to stop and take pics.

















I headed toward Hwy 1 and found this view....



I missed my turn and ended up in a neighborhood. I made it back to the main road, 101. I circled around to the start again and made it to the coast this time. Again, This road made you see your tail lights several times and if you missed a turn, it was 400 ft into the Pacific.

The wind was blowing 15-25 mph, with fog and temp drop. I was chilly with a jacket on. Guessing 55-60 deg.



















Gas stations were few and far between, and I was sweating until I found one before heading east to find a hotel for the night. I found a nice place in Santa Rosa for the night.

[Chuck & Susan]

All of this great Pacific ridding I missed out on... I was still stuck in Las Vegas waiting on trailer tires that was being shipped.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[jrobinson]

You can see it on your Lap Around the US. Pictures don't do it justice, just an idea of what you're in store for.

If anyone needs a wingman, you won't find a better one than the one I had on this trip.

[TFancher]

I did an Iron Butt in '14 from Tucumcari to Tuscaloosa. That's a long day for sure!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chuck A.]

Did I miss something or was this the end of the report?

[jrobinson]

Stand by for more....

Spent the night in Santa Rosa. Next day got a call from Wingman Chuck. He had his new trailer tires and was ready to roll again. He was heading toward Wyoming and so was I. He named a point to meet and I thought I could make it in a day. After looking at the map, I saw it was 700 miles. I told him I would take 2 days to make the trip. I left Santa Rosa and was soon back in Nevada again on I-80. 400 miles across Nevada, but it felt like twice that. I stopped in Elko, NV about 3/4 across Nevada.

There was a restaurant beside the hotel, so I went over to eat. I ordered a steak and got this....plus a salad and bowl of soup....



It looked almost the same way when I left.

I headed out the next morning and was soon in Utah. I stopped for fuel just inside Utah. I pulled back on I-80 and the next exit says, Bonneville Speedway. My mind starts spinning. Is this a regular racetrack or is it the salt flats??? I take the exit and think I can at least get a pic in front of a race track sign. Sign at end of the off ramp says Bonneville Speedway , turn left. I go across the interstate and past a station. About a mile and half, the road makes a 90 degree right turn. still no sign. Another 4 miles and the road ends.

I guess here's my sign... LOL



A few pics from the stop.















I had a group of 20-something offer to take a pic with me on the bike. I declined, so they asked if I'd take a pic of the 4 of them. I said sure and took a few with their phone. They seemed happy with the ones I took. The sun was so bright I couldn't see the screen.

For some reason I was hesitant to leave, but knew Chuck was waiting in Evanston, Wy. I think I'll keep the salt flats on my mind and make the trip to watch speed weeks someday.

Back on I-80 and heading toward Wyoming again.

Scenery along the way.



While going through Salt Lake City, the traffic started slowing. Just off the road is a 5th wheel camper on it's side. A towtruck was hooking to the camper and cleaning up the scene.

Got back up to speed and got within sight of Evenston when the GPS told me to exit. So I exit and as I turn to go under the interstate, there's a line of vehicles behind me. We turn back to the right on to a dirt/gravel road. I think that I'm not riding down this road to save a few miles. I make a uturn and head back to interstate. As I start up the on ramp, I see a parking lot of big trucks on the interstate. I make another uturn and go back down the on ramp. Gravel road here I come. The road runs beside the ROW fence for I-80. Gps says "Welcome to Wyoming", the road becomes paved and on I-80 there's 3 rollback trucks waiting on a pile of twisted sheetmetal in the eastbound lane. I could tell from the pickup truck that it wasn't good.

If you're counting, this is 2 bad wrecks I missed by less than an hour on this day.

I pull into the hotel and Chuck is chilling under the front awning of the hotel.

[jrobinson]

We head out on Monday morning. Our sights are set on Columbus Ohio,1630 miles.  I had a conference there in 7 days. We were traveling I-80, then headed north up to I-90. We went by Devil's Tower.





We head to Crazy Horse by way of Hwy 16 into Custer.

The monument wasn't much to look at, just the face is finished. The Welcome Center was interesting.











We rode on to Mt Rushmore.











We left the parking area and headed down 16A/Iron Mountain Rd. Another winding road. There is 3 place you circle back over the road and 2 one-lane tunnels. As you exit the second tunnel, you see this....



Iron Mountain Road Experience: https://www.ironmountainroad.com/

    17 MILES

    314 CURVES

    14 SWITCHBACKS

    3 PIGTAILS

    3 TUNNELS

    4 PRESIDENTS

    2 SPLITS

We headed east  and stayed the night in Kadoka, SD.  Due to concern about making the reservation I had in Columbus, we missed several good stops.

We made another detour for one more stop in Iowa.

Is this Heaven?....