Warm Weather Finally!

This weekend turned hot - seems like summer came to Delaware like turning on a switch. Temps reached into the 90's both days. We spent both days in the saddle riding just about 500 miles total - 300 miles on Saturday. Both bikes are scheduled for their 'checkups' this coming week. Good thing because Don and I both are beginning to hear all kinds of noises and want to make sure we have everything covered before heading out. While several in our group have trailers, I think all have decided not to pull them on this trip. All agree a trailer is nice if you are going some place to stay for several days so you can park it but can be a pain to pull every day. So we do laundry every 4 days. Of course, Don and I are on two bikes with one being a trike so we have a little more space to pack. Everyone else will be riding two up so available packing space is limited. Glenn knows of a good motel near the Avenue of the Giants and we plan to spend two nights in that area so we'll probably check it out. 44 days and counting.

Here is the picture of me and Abigail on the Ocean City Boardwalk. Can't wait to get one on the other coast.

Our Group Has Grown to 8

Here is a picture of our traveling group which has grown to 8 people on 5 bikes. The excitement is building, at least for me. This weekend we all gathered at Ocean City Maryland where route 50 begins in the East. After getting this picture, four of us headed west on route 50 traveling as far as the 50/301 junction at Queenstown. This part of 50 is traveled pretty routinely by our group so in an effort to save miles for the rest of the trip and get back within a reasonable amount of time (got to return to work you know) we did this part now. And we wanted time to get some pictures of the group; the sign over the route 50 bridge stating Sacramento 3073 miles and I wanted a picture of my bike on the boardwalk, so of course I rode right on up! I could hear Don saying “she is going to get a ticket” but I can guarantee you it would not have been the first but I figured if I explained what we were doing and just how important it was any cop with a heart would let me go. A bicycle cop did ride by but he didn’t even stop. Don and I also picked up a few more items we think we will want to carry with us such as a small container of laundry detergent (only packing enough clothes for 7 days), body wash (hotels never have large enough bars of soap) and more batteries for the CB and cameras. I have reworked the map and our daily goals to add Pike’s Peak to our list of things to see. Route 50 is within 69 miles of Pike’s Peak so it would be a shame to be so close and not take in this marvelous site. 51 days and counting.

Another wet and cold weekend!

So I spent a lot of time on the computer preparing for the trip. I have mapped the whole trip on Microsoft’s Streets and Trips; a great program. The program has indicated the end of each day; cost for gas; total number of miles and the number of days it will take to make the trip. Of course, reaching the indicated night stopping point depends on riding 400 miles each day which isn’t going to happen. I also gathered state maps (paper) and highlighted our route. I’ll carry these in my tank bag.

My next task was to figure out approximately where we will be each night and copy possible hotels from the Mom and Pop Motels website (the link is to the right). I’m concerned if we don’t have a daily goal to reach we may not ride the number of miles required and the last thing we want is to run out of time. We are going to have to put in some long miles a few days in order to spend 2 days at the Canyonlands, 2 days at the Redwoods, and some time sightseeing in the other National Parks. I have tourism books from every state and I have printed tons of material from the Internet which is all stashed in a canvas bag; interesting sights or places to stop.

Next I made a list of intersections as GPS navigation points to get us through or around the large cities that route 50 goes through. I’ve been told the route is well marked but just in case a sign has been lost I will know quickly an intersection to plug into Gabby (my GPS) to get us back on track.

I keep a trip list in the computer of items needed for any trip so I updated the list this weekend; indicating the number of jeans, shirts, socks, etc. to pack and making sure things like insect spray, suntan location, batteries, rain gear, cameras, all the electric connectors required for things like our cell phones, camera chargers, Palm Pilot, water & snacks, stamps to mail postcards home, basic medicines such as aspirins, allergy pills, toothpaste; things that we normally just walk in the bathroom or kitchen and get we need to make sure we take with us for three weeks. So even though we could not get outside to ride, it was a productive weekend.

Wow! Need to ride every weekend

Normally we can ride all winter in Delaware but this past winter has been unusually cold, wet and windy so needless to say we have some work to do before the trip. We plan to travel 300 to 400 miles per day and while that might not sound like much too some folks it is a significant number of miles and hours in the saddle per day for our group especially when you consider we plan to do it for 26 days.

Today Don and I headed north to PA to get some riding in and brush up our skills on back roads, hills (can’t call them mountains in lower PA), curves and city traffic. I was amazed at how tired I felt when we returned home and we had only traveled about 200 miles; 4 hours riding with one stop for lunch! Well – we agreed we are going to have to ride every weekend between now and June 10 to toughen up.

We have been working on a list of things to do before our departure day. Get the bikes completely checked; check the tires - will they make the trip; get a list of service locations on the route; find a Honda shop about 3500 miles out for an oil change - Don might do the oil change himself in a motel parking lot; get oil to carry with us; call the credit cards that I will use and let them know we will be traveling so they are aware of the various types of charges so they don't put a hold on the card; go through the emergency bag in the bike to make sure we have everything and everything works; check the first aid kit; get water and snacks; and I’m sure there will be more as time gets closer. 65 days and counting.

Plans are being made - California or Bust

Now for the big trip – cross country on route 50 and back by way of route 66! Since I live on the east coast, this trip will be 7000 miles adding a few sightseeing spurs like the Canyonlands National Park, the Redwoods in California, Death Valley, etc. This trip has been in the planning stage for over 2 years and it is finally going to happen in 67 days.

I have mapped the route a dozen times, there is a stack of maps on my desk and pages of information printed from the Internet. I watch gas prices and have checked on motel prices along the way so I can budget our costs. But still there is much to get done. The bikes must go in the shop. My husband rides a Gold Wing trike and this requires two different shops. Picked up the trike today from shop number 1. We need to make sure the tires will make it. Packing has been a question for some time but we have decided if we carry enough clothes for a week we can always do laundry at a motel. Bernie and Shirley will be our riding buddies again.

The beginning - that desire to roam

Between getting my motorcycle license in 1998 and June 2006 we traveled close to home, maybe 400 to 600 miles. Around 2004 I had set a goal of some day riding in all 48 states and began coloring in the states on a map as we traveled in them.

In June 2006 we took a trip to the New England states on the motorcycles. In January I began looking at AAA books, maps, and the Internet and map programs on the computer. I mapped out our route with a few sightseeing spots marked. June 18 was our target date to leave heading north to Conn., RI, and Mass, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and then back home. We traveled some interstate roads and a lot of secondary roads. We went to Plymouth Rock, Bar Harbor, whale watching, and up Mt. Washington. In all we did 2230 miles in 9 days. Our riding buddies for this trip were Bernie and Shirley Folker and we were still friends after all this time on the road together!

January 2007 I began planning our next big trip. I wanted to ride south to New Orleans, east through the panhandle of Florida then up the east coast back home. I began looking at maps and plotting routes on the computer. I talked to Ron Billings, Bernie and Shirley. Ron suggested we take the Natchez Trace Parkway from Nashville to Natchez Mississippi then go to New Orleans. We would take route 90, the old route to Jacksonville Florida. From Jacksonville we would take 17 North to Norfolk then 13 through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to home. We left at noon on May 31, 2007. A stop in Tupelo Mississippi, we found the Elvis Presley Birthplace Museum and spent half a day touring. In all we traveled 3000 miles in 13 days (12 in the saddle). So at this point I had ridden the motorcycle in 23 states.