19 Days, 8500 Miles or So: Ride Overview - Part 1

How do you summarize so many miles and such a rich experience in one post? I'm not sure it can be done. I'll get started and see how it works out. The exercise - due to work and travel schedules - is overdue. Overdue but necessary, because I want to review… reflect… savor an experience in such a way that I can call it all to mind again in the days ahead.

We made memories, after all, that are to be celebrated and cherished. In our family, in experiences both good and bad, we often say, "Well… we're making a memory." L.M. Montgomery, in The Story Girl, wrote, "nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it." "The worst memories," wrote Rachel Vincent, "stick with us, while the nice ones always seem to slip through our fingers." I begin this exercise because we made memories, and I want to insure these best-of-times days don't slip through our fingers.

REMEMBERING THE OBJECTIVE
We set out to ride to the Pacific Northwest. I had ridden in 31 states over the course of the past two summers, and 17 remained in the challenge to ride all 48 (plus D.C.) in three summers. The route took us through more than 17 states, of course, but the 17 we had not visited in '12 and '13 were the target.

DAY 0
Beginning location: Winter Garden, FL
Day 1 destination: Port Allen, LA
States visited: (1) Florida, (2) Alabama, (3) Mississippi,  (4) Louisiana
Daily mileage: 691.1
Cumulative mileage: 691

Four other adventurers signed on for the 2014 Northwest Challenge. All four live in south Louisiana - so Day 0 (so the other guys could start counting at Day 1) was a solo ride for me. I said goodbye to Annette and set my sights on Port Allen, LA. Highlights of the day:

• At my first gas stop, I was carrying on conversation with some guys who were admiring my bike and asking about the trip, trying to pay attention to their questions and comments while searching through my wallet for my debit card - all to no avail. Using another card, I came to the realization that I had left home without my trusty MasterCard check card. The card was marooned at an establishment I had visited a couple of days earlier - and I was left to use my AMEX. Not the best of starts…
• Traveling alone, I made fast and efficient gas and lunch stops, and was able to arrive in Baton Rouge (east of my final destination for the day) just in time to experience rush hour traffic.
• I also encountered the only significant rain I would hit the entire trip on the last 40 miles or so of Day 0.
• Arriving at my hotel, I discovered that I had made my reservation for the night incorrectly. So I was a no-show for the day of my incorrect reservation. Fortunately, rooms were available, so I negotiated a discounted rate and paid for yet another night at Comfort Inn and Suites in Port Allen, LA.
• Tired and wet, I decided to order pizza for delivery, cleaned up the bike, ate a bite, and called it a night.

I had an idea I might try to take a picture of the welcome sign in each state we visited.
This lasted exactly two states. I missed the Louisiana sign and gave up on this plan.

A screen shot of the weather app on my phone
as I approached Baton Rouge. Yes, I got wet.

A screen shot of my Garmin Zumo 665 after reaching my hotel in Port Allen.

DAY 1

Beginning location: Port Allen, LA
Day 1 destination: Childress, TX
States visited: (5) Texas, (6) Oklahoma
Daily mileage: 698.1
Cumulative mileage: 1,389

After a good night of rest in Port Allen, I started the day looking forward to a time of reunion with the New Orleans crew. I had not seen some of these guys since the end of the 2013 Northeast Adventure. They left New Orleans at 6 AM, allowing me to sleep in a bit. We met at a McDonald's near my hotel for a good All-American breakfast, and then started out on our journey.

Our goal for the day was Childress, TX. Some thoughts about the trip-planning process - and the plan for this ride in particular - might provide some insight for readers. In each of the previous trips (Southwestern US in 2012 and Northeastern US in 2013), we tried to build the trips around a 17-day time frame and a total ride distance of 5,000 miles. Seventeen days allowed us to capture 2 full weeks plus a third weekend. 5,000 miles just seemed to be about the most we thought we could ride and still enjoy the adventure.

When we began planning the 2014 adventure, I suggested we ship the bikes to San Francisco, fly to the west coast, and begin the ride there. This plan would allow us to keep the 5,000 parameter in place. This was the plan for a while, until the New Orleans gang decided they would rather ride the whole way. "If you're riding it, I'm riding it," I said. So… ride it we did. Sticking to the 17-day plan meant we had to get to the west coast in a hurry. The requirement: average some 725 miles a day until we reached San Francisco, where we were to meet the ladies.

So I looked for a destination that would have the New Orleans guys riding somewhere around 725 miles on Day 1. They had a 90-mile ride from New Orleans to Port Allen, so my day would be 90 miles easier than their. (Remember, this madness was their idea!)

Each day, I plan a target destination, but we seldom make hotel reservations. We try to reach our goal location each day, but are willing to pull up short if weather or mechanical challenges slow us down… or if we choose to enjoy sights along the way that take longer than anticipated… or if we simply get tired. Childress, TX was the target - and we made it safely there. Highlights of Day 1:

• Not many!
• The forecast called for rain for our ride through central Louisiana. We left Port Allen in a bit of mist and saw rain on the radar for much of the morning, but managed to stay dry through the day.
• Unlike most days, when we look for scenic or curvy roads, our route on these early days was primarily interstate, as we were just pushing west. We rode I-49 to Shreveport, then turned east on I-20 for a while before leaving the interstate to make our way north to Dallas.
• I thought I routed us far enough north of the Dallas / Fort Worth area to miss traffic. It wasn't far enough north, so we lost considerable time dealing with city congestion.
• Randall and I rode through Oklahoma in 2012, but the BMW riders weren't with us on then, so we left Texas for a while, heading north into Oklahoma and then back into Texas to end our day.

We saw a lot of this on our way west - long, straight, flat four-lane highway.

Bored with the scenery, I took a selfie.

A late-night visit to Pizza Hut after arriving in Childress - because Pizza Hut was the only place that was open.

Another GPS shot showing mileage after two days of riding. Disregard the
max speed. Must have been a malfunction. We don't exceed the speed limit.

DAY 2

Beginning location: Childress, TX
Day 2 destination: Williams, AZ
States visited: Texas, (7) New Mexico, (8) Arizona
Daily mileage: 752
Cumulative mileage: 2,141

Day 2 was really another "just get to the west coast" day. We were still spending much of our time on the interstate. All along in our planning, we recognized that the real fun would begin with our crossing of The Golden Gate Bridge - but this day offered some early adventure. Soon after leaving Childress, we ventured onto The Mother Road, historic Route 66, to see Cadillac Ranch. I'll add that this was the first time I really started to take pictures - so the image count will go up considerably from this point in the ride review.

After leaving Cadillac Ranch, we continued west and had the first of several adventures with almost running out of gas. The Harley Davidsons have 6-gallon gas tanks. While we usually get 40-something miles-per-gallon, we found our fuel economy was affected by climbs to elevation, headwinds, and a tendency to ride at a speed that might not be the most economical. All of these factors were in play crossing Arizona - and we cut one of our gas stops WAY too close.

The desert is really beautiful, and we were able to begin to appreciate the rich hues of the rock formations, and the flat landscape of Texas and Oklahoma gave way to terrain that offered hints of the mountains to come.

We ended this day still on schedule, reaching our goal destination of Williams, AZ. This is a great place to stop if going to The Grand Canyon. But we visited there on the 2012 adventure - and we found Williams to be loaded with tourists. Finding a hotel was not so easy, and the place we ended up was not the greatest. But we got a hot shower and a good night of sleep, ready for Day 3. Which would prove to be quite the adventure...

Cadillac Ranch. Much rain in previous days made for a mess - but we enjoyed our visit to this iconic landmark.

Meet the other riders: from left, Steve Kinchen, Randall McIlwain, Matt McWilliams, Trent Schelin

This guy has been a friend for a long, long time - and is the only other
rider who was a part of the entire 48-state challenge.

My ride: 2013 Harley Davidson Road Glide Ultra

I missed the signs in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arizona - but I got this one.

Lunch. If it's Tex-Mex in Texas, is it Mex-Mex in New Mexico? Whatever you call it - it was good!

This was the first of two unfortunate accidents we encountered on our trip.
I don't think this ended well for the driver of the overturned truck. 

A hint of things to come.

DAY 3

Beginning location: Williams, AZ
Day 3 destination: Oakland, CA
States visited: Arizona, (9) Nevada, (10) California
Daily mileage: 859
Cumulative mileage: 3,000

Day 3 was a "must-finish" day: my wife, Annette, and Randall's wife, Elizabeth, had flown into San Francisco and were waiting for us in Oakland. The "real" ride was to begin on Sunday (day 4) - so we really needed to reach our target destination.

Leaving Williams, we continued west on I-40 to Kingman, AZ. Here, we left the interstate to ride Highway 68 to Laughlin, NV. This little detour allowed the guys who weren't with us in 2012 to add Nevada to their states-ridden list. Heading south from Laughlin, we jumped back on I-40 and continued west along the southern edge of the Mojave National Preserve, where temperatures registered well over 100 degrees. It was HOT!

Prior to departure, each of the riders had a ride itinerary. Here is an excerpt that described some Day-3 routing options: This is a hard day - and we have an easy remedy if we're tired, have encountered weather, etc. I have added an optional ride through Yosemite National Park on Tioga Pass Road that would end the interstate monotony and begin the scenic part of the trip. In yet another ambitious routing choice, I have added a ride on the Yosemite Valley Loop. The description at allyosemite.com states "Yosemite Valley Loop is the premier way to soak in Yosemite's best and most stunning landmarks. From El Capitan to Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall, this is the area that Yosemite is famous for."

We all agreed we wanted to visit Yosemite. At the point we had to decide whether we wanted to ride the Yosemite Valley Loop, it was getting late in the day. Much discussion ensued. We voted. Four to one to ride The Loop. Together, these choices resulted in the longest day any of us had ever spent on a motorcycle.

The ride through Yosemite was stunning. I'm so glad we made the choices we did. The ride OUT of Yosemite toward Oakland, however, proved more challenging than expected. The route would have been great fun in daylight. At night, with no light anywhere except our own headlights and driving lights… let's just say we proceeded with caution. A day that began at 7 AM finally ended at our hotel in Oakland well after 2 AM. 859 miles and 19 hours in the saddle… I'm not sure I ever want to do that again. We made a memory, for sure!

CA 395 North - on the way to Yosemite National Park

A quick stop as we made the turn west on Tioga Pass Road