Riding my Steamer NY to CA and back April and May 2021

[ssevy]

Days 11 – 16, 4/27/21 to 5/2/21 Los Angeles CA

Last night's wind was such that I honestly don't know how my tent seams are still together. Do you remember the tornado scene from the Wizard of Oz? I was living that scene minus the dog and in full color last night. Another camper told me that the wind had been mostly non-stop the 3 previous days he was camped here, and it didn't let up as I was packing up. When I was down to removing the last tent stake, the tent itself looked like a sail over my head. At least I didn't have to worry about shaking the dust out of it.
Packed up and rolling, I gingerly made my way from one expressway to another, although around greater LA, it didn't seem to make much difference in the volume of traffic. The worst part of the ride was that my bladder went from the smiley face at the left end of the chart to the tear-filled frowny face at the other end. I finally saw a cluster of bushes ahead near the right shoulder, and forgetting about my rear brake, badly misjudged my stopping distance, trickling to a halt about a hundred feet down the shoulder. As I hurriedly trotted back to the bushes, still fully geared-up and occasionally touching myself, there could be no doubt in anyone's mind where I was going or what I was about to do. A few smart asses even tooted their horns as they went by, but let's face it, a full bladder has no shame.

After a long morning of very stressful navigating, I finally pulled into my daughter's driveway, and I'm being honest when I say I was happily anticipating several days of no more riding by that point.

We picked up my wife at the airport the next day, and then enjoyed the rest of the week together doing outdoor walks and stuff that kept us away from others. It was great to see her again (my daughter, but also my wife), and our days together passed much too quickly.

I did manage to get the rear caliper apart, where the seals had gotten so hot that they had melted into the grooves of the cylinders. The disc was a beautiful multi-hued blend of colors created by high heat and burning brake fluid, and the master cylinder was probably affected as well, since the heat may have been conducted back through the fluid.

I chased down the necessary seals from a Honda dealer (Nissin calipers were used on so many brands besides Triumph), but had to get the cylinder rebuild stuff and new brake pads from Triumph San Diego. My daughter borrowed a tool box from a friend, and this, together with some additional stuff from Harbor Freight, allowed me to rebuild the rear master cylinder and caliper. Unfortunately, I could not source a new disc, so I cleaned it as best I could. When I finally got it together, I had a frustrating time trying to get fluid back into the empty system, but I finally got it filled and bled. While the rear brake wasn't what I would call savagely aggressive, you could actually feel some resistance at the pedal, so I crossed my fingers and reattached my luggage. Even if the stopping power wasn't great, I was counting on the Placebo effect to give me more confidence in my braking abilities.

The numbers:  134 today, 3068 cumulative

[ssevy]

Day 17 – 5/3/21 LA to Flagstaff KOA AZ

Dense fog early, then sunny, beautiful

My wife and I were up at 4:30 am, getting repacked for our departure this morning. She and my daughter left at 5:40 am, and I was just behind them at 6:00 am myself. At this hour, the roads were not crowded, and since it was a Monday, most of the traffic was coming in to LA and not going out. Also, many of the expressways in LA have HOV lanes, which I used to get around any clusters of vehicles that were slowing things down. The only difficulty was a bank of thick fog that I encountered just as I got out of the city, but after several miles and a gain in elevation, I rode out of it and into bright blue skies and sunlight. The volume of traffic gradually increased as the hour progressed, and I grabbed a photo of the highway when I stopped for my morning Egg McMuffin with no cheese and large sweet tea.

I booked a reservation for the KOA in Needles CA, but had made such good time getting out of LA that I was already there by early afternoon. The air temperature was over 100 degrees at 12:40 pm, so I stopped at the KOA and cancelled my reservation, opting instead to continue back to the Flagstaff KOA. My intention was to use this as the jumping off point heading north into Monument Valley.
 
Leaving the Needles KOA, I headed north and then east on backroads, eventually finding myself on RT10, aka the Oatman Highway. This turned out to be a great choice, as it took me through the old historic town of Oatman and across some mountainous terrain on a very narrow and not very busy paved road. The only issue was a lack of gas stations, and by the time I finally coasted into Kingman, I was on fumes again.

Oatman was pretty wild, as even with COVID it was packed with tightly clustered unmasked tourists and donkeys, the latter apparently set free after the old mines closed? I had to stop and wait several times as I made my way up the main street, as the donkeys were obviously used to being treated as rock stars, standing patiently as people snapped selfies with them and fed them carrots. After several minutes of this stop and go progress, I finally got to the far side of town and could continue on my ride.

After leaving all the asses behind in Oatman, I continued up into the mountains, and stopped to take in the views and dehydrate/rehydrate as needed. This was a stunning road with some very tight turns, and I did not envy the trucks towing the long 5th wheel campers that I met going the other way. The funniest experience I had was my encounter with a male donkey that was standing in the middle of the road just after a blind curve. I slowed to a stop, and he eyed me carefully for a few moments, finally deciding to slowly walk over to beg for a handout. I had nothing to give him but encouragement, so I carefully wove around him and proceeded onward.

My backroad adventure dropped me back into Kingman, where I hopped onto my old friend I40 to head east to Flagstaff. While there were some windy sections, they seemed like mere puffs after enduring the headwinds in NM a couple of weeks ago.

The numbers:  498 today, 3566 cumulative

[ssevy]

Day 18 – 5/4/21 Flagstaff KOA AZ to Cortez/Mesa Verde KOA CO

Sunny, beautiful

I got a late start this morning, as a nearby camper wanted to talk motorcycles, and I am always game to talk about motorcycles! In any case, I rolled out into a spectacular day, very excited to be seeing Monument Valley for the first time, even though the Navajo portions were closed. My route would take me north on 89, then 160 and finally into the valley itself on 163.

Beginning today, I am monitoring my fuel more closely, and filling at the first possible station once I hit 100 miles on the dial. Worrying about possibly running out of gas in these vast and empty spaces really takes the pleasure out of the ride, so more frequent fueling is my solution. This will also let me hydrate more often, as in this dry air you lose so much moisture without ever feeling sweaty. My body is starting to get a bit weary at times, so more time off the bike to stretch and get the blood flowing won't be a bad thing either.

The first part of today's ride is more ponderosa pine, and then as you lose elevation, the dry red ground begins to take over. Old fence lines lean from the wind, and the views in all directions reveal nothing but more of the same. Finally, as one approaches Monument Valley itself, random rock formations appear on the horizon, and you notice a change in the land.

Monument Valley itself is just amazing, and so different than anywhere else I have ever traveled. There is almost no traffic at all, so I can ride at a nice leisurely pace and really enjoy the views. Thankfully, the wind is quiet, as there is fine dust everywhere, and no water in sight. I can't understand how people ever navigated through these vast dry sections of the country and survived? The rock formations are truly stunning, but I can't imagine seeing them on foot or from the back of a horse with all of my water and belongings slung over the back. These must have been very tough individuals indeed.

I grabbed several pictures as I traveled through the valley, and met an older couple on motorcycles at the last stop as I was heading north. They were retired and had relocated from CT 11 years earlier, and we had an interesting conversation about the differences between the east coast and the west. They said it took them a few years to adjust to the climate, but they did not miss the snow. I myself found these grand and arid spaces a very fascinating place to visit, but I did miss the green foliage and plentiful lakes and streams of my own Adirondack Mountain region.

Continuing north and east, I ended my day in Cortez CO, feeling like I had traveled many more miles than my odometer indicated. Checking the weather forecast, there are rain/snow and thunderstorms north and east of me, expected to continue moving easterly for a few days, so I may head in that direction myself, doing my best to stay in the dry pocket between storms as I go. My routes to Gunnison Canyon and the Million Dollar Highway and all of the other cool CO stuff in the north will just have to wait for another day.

The numbers:  296 today, 3862 cumulative















This reminded me of Mordor


View in back of my cabin at Cortez KOA

[Sin_Tiger]

Excellent  some stunning scenery 

[ssevy]

Day 19 – 5/5/21 Cortez/Mesa Verde KOA CO to Goodland KOA KS

Sunny, beautiful

I got an early start this morning, adding an extra layer of wool under my riding jacket, but without needing my heated liners. This combination suited me well for the entire day, even with the elevation changes. The weather was again sunny and perfect for riding, and my plan to stay between storm fronts was looking like a real possibility.

I was on RT160 for most of the day, and although there are much more dramatic roads in Colorado, I was really impressed with the amount of variety on just this road as I crossed the southern part of the state. I planned on about 300 miles for the day, but later when I tried to cancel a reservation for the night and discovered that I would still be charged, I opted to ride the additional 200 miles and keep it.

Wolf Creek Pass was beautiful, and at one lookout I stopped to get a picture of the view with my bike in the frame. While I was doing this, an older woman marched over to me and insisted that I give her my camera, as I needed to be in the picture. After seeing all of the photos of my solitary bike in this ride report, I must admit that I am grateful that she was so insistent.

The snow along the sides of the pass was fresh, and I can only imagine how difficult it must be to keep these roads passable in the winter months. At one spot, there was a big Oshkosh all-wheel drive snow blower parked, and I assumed it was kept in that location to keep the nearby pass clear? I love big machines of any type, so I spent a few minutes examining the truck and the snow blower unit, which was unlike anything I had seen back east.

Continuing east, the road loses thousands of feet in elevation, and I was surprised that at no time did I feel like my carbureted engine was struggling because of mixture issues. Once I cleared the last set of easternmost mountains, the ground leveled out, and I turned onto my preferred backroads to finish the day's ride. Once again, wind turbines were scattered across the landscape, their swishing sounds audible when I stopped for a manual dehydration break.

Once I entered Kansas, the terrain featured lots of grain elevators and older abandoned buildings. The comparison with the snow covered mountains I had seen during the morning portion of my ride was quite a contrast.

During one full hour of the afternoon, I was staying just behind a rain storm that was heading east in front of me, and with the sun behind me in the western sky I was literally riding into a rainbow tunnel that stretched across the horizon in front of me. It was a very cool experience.

The numbers:  518 today, 4380 cumulative

[ssevy]

Day 20 – 5/6/21 Goodland KOA KS to Grand Island KOA NE

Sunny, beautiful

The day began with a clear and cool morning to ride, followed by a warmer afternoon, but still very comfortable riding temperatures. My plan to stay in a dry pocket between fronts is working great so far, and I have seen no rain since leaving LA for home.

I continued to choose quiet secondary roads for my route today, and the only traffic I encountered were cattle and feed trucks, and the occasional car or pickup. While I am certain that people living here are used to driving long distances for everything, I was still struck by how much denser communities are in the eastern states.

Since the corn crop is not up yet, the view is unhampered just now, and you can see only grain elevators in the distance, as the trees tend to be evergreens planted densely around any buildings, I suppose to keep out the snow drifts? It was interesting that once I crossed the border into NE, the route was along a bottom land, and there were actually wild trees growing, some quite large. This is where I saw my first whitetails, although they looked pretty ragged with half their winter coats still attached.

In one pretty small town, the community maintains a rest area for travelers along the highway, and it was much appreciated. Unfortunately, with the abundance of fast food and fuel/convenience stores, communities no longer see the need to provide rest areas, and even along some major highways you will find locating a bathroom to be a challenge. As I get older and my pucker string gets more frayed, I am finding this game of restroom hide and seek to be especially frustrating.

I had passed some huge beef feedlots on my westward portion of the trip, but had failed to get a picture, so when I saw a feedlot in the distance this afternoon, I grabbed a shot. There had to be thousands of beef cows in the assorted yards in various stages of fattening up before their last field trip to the slaughterhouse. I saw a cattle trailer today with a sign on the back which said "one way only", which must be an example of a cattleman's dark humor?

When I got to the campground, I spent some time checking the weather forecast, and it appears that I need to cover some ground tomorrow and the next day to stay ahead of a major storm which is behind me heading in my direction. If I have a little luck, I may be able to arrive at the campsite before it starts to rain, and hole up for the next day until it passes before I finish my ride home. I'll have to see how that works out.

The numbers:  275 today, 4655 cumulative



the feedlot

[ssevy]

Day 21 – 5/7/21 Grand Island KOA NE to Rock Island KOA IL

Sunny, beautiful

The weather continues to hold, but the forecast says that is going to change shortly. I have a bunch of miles to cover today, but I do intend to stop at Baxter's Cycle in Iowa, as I have always wanted to see this shop.

Iowa backroads and farms are very well kept, reminding me of Ohio in many ways. I am dealing with almost no traffic on these backroads, but still making decent time, as there aren't many towns to slow me down on the routes I have built.

Baxter's has a cool room full of vintage bikes in the back, so I spend a few minutes looking them over, then hit the road again. I am noticing that my hips and knees are not as happy with these long days, and it has become a quick routine of hot shower and hit the sack once I get to my campground each night.

I also find it helpful to focus on just the road ahead of me, and not think too much about how many total miles are left to ride home. Fortunately, my weather has been perfect for so many days that it makes even long miles a pleasure. Had it been raining continuously, I think I would be feeling a whole lot differently about things right now, but so far I feel physically tired at the end of each day, but not mentally tired. That's a good thing, too,  because today and tomorrow are both long days of riding.

The numbers:  473 today, 5108 cumulative

[ssevy]

Day 22 – 5/8/21 Rock Island KOA IL to Salem KOA OH

Cold

I had to wear my heated gear this morning, as it was very cold when I pulled out of the campground. I have over 500 miles to cover today, so I began on I80, then turned onto RT30 through IN and OH.

By the end of the day, I had ridden 12 ½ hours and I was feeling pretty beat when I finally got off the bike. Luckily, I had arrived before the front, so the rain wouldn't start for a few more hours. The reservation was for two nights so I could wait out the storm, and it seemed my timing and luck were holding out just fine.

I unpacked the bike and stacked my gear inside, then covered the bike with the waterproof cover, battening down the hatches in anticipation of the oncoming storm.

The cabin I had booked came with a kitchen, so I spent the day Sunday finishing off whatever freeze dried foods I had left, between long naps on the bed listening to the rain on the roof. As much as I wanted to be on my way home, this rest for my hips and knees was a good thing, and I was better prepared for the long miles I would be riding again tomorrow, my last day on the road.

The numbers:  551 today, 5659 cumulative

[ssevy]

Day 24 – 5/10/21 Salem KOA OH to home

Foggy and cold early, warmer afternoon

I was awake and packing the bike by 5:00 am, rolling out at 6:00 am. It was about 35 degrees and foggy, so I was wearing my heated gear cranked up to about 75%. I didn't take it off until I hit the NY state line, and then had to put it on again later in the day as it stayed cold.

The bike ran beautifully, and except for rest stops and refueling, I kept it at 75 mph all the way home.

I pulled into my garage at 4:15 pm, where I was very happy to be getting off the bike. The unpacking could wait for tomorrow.

The numbers:  517 today, 6176 total for the entire trip

[ssevy]

Epilogue

It felt great to have checked such a big item off of my bucket list. It is strange, but when you are in the midst of a trip like this, it is almost surreal, like being in your own bubble. I have done long trips with friends and now solo, and I can appreciate both types of experiences.

The thing that I missed most on this trip was stopping in small town diners for meals and having conversations with the locals. In the past, these conversations have been some of the most memorable experiences of my trips, and between the COVID and my riding solo, there wasn't much conversation to be had. Hopefully as more people become vaccinated, the cases will continue to decline, and these more intimate experiences will once again be available to all of us.

As for the Tiger, it ran beautifully, and had I not inflicted the damage to the rear brake, it would have been flawless. I enjoy riding such a rare and capable bike, and the fact that I do all of my own maintenance gives me a sense of confidence that I can deal with whatever comes up. I just removed the rear disc, and it is badly warped, which explains why the rear brake was only so-so after my rebuild job. The tires I mounted wore beautifully, especially considering the long hours of high speed interstate riding that they endured, and I would definitely choose them again for a long trip. For my daily riding, however, I will go back to my Shinko 705's, as they are just as satisfactory, but not as long-lived as the Michelin's.

Finally, for anyone contemplating a trip like this, I say plan carefully and then do it! There will be many surprises along the way, but only on a bike can your senses take in all of the sights, sounds and smells of a trip like this. I really felt like I appreciated the vast scale of this country better as compared to similar trips I have done in a car, and being out in the elements makes it real in a way that an enclosed automobile can never achieve.

Ride safe everyone, and thank you for coming along with me. I hope you enjoyed the trip!

[ssevy]

Excellent  some stunning scenery 

Thanks Sin!

[Sin_Tiger]

If you were aiming for epic, I think that box is well and truly ticked 

[ghulst]

EPIC journey!

Did someone say that this was an EPIC journey already?



Anyway, that was quite a ride and quite a read. Well done! Though I had expected a pic of the bike in LA near the ocean for some reason.

Now, what is the next one going to be?

[Nick Calne]

I have watched this trip unfold with great interest.  It is really nice to see America via your trip. Thank you for taking the time to post about it. 

[HockleyBoy]

Great pics and report. Looks like an excellent trip!