Got Me a Box of Crayons . . . .

[Ken Phenix]

My daughter in Manassas VA had minor surgery in March. The wife and I couldn't both leave the shop or grandma at the same time so she grabbed a flight to be with her for the procedure and recovery and old dad would ride up in a month. BTW: The girl is fine - pathology came back all good.

I had a theory that the BB1500 might be a bit easier than the SS1000 if I split the ride into 2 parts with a 4hr nap in the middle. The plan is cast. The Tigress is ready - packed days in advance. We heard a crash early Saturday morning. A dead tree fell across the road. No worries, I fired up the big v-twin turf cruiser and moved the debris out of the roadway to be burned when I return.

April 23: Bullet dodged, I hit the road at dawn. Conditions are perfect, clear and sunny with temps in the 50's and 60's with a slight breeze over my left shoulder.

Not much to report this day as the ride goes by the numbers.

Fuel stop multi-task: I pumped gas with one hand while slamming a burger with the other.

I was surprised to see Interstate 10 rolling and scenic through the Florida panhandle and seemed to stretch on forever. In order to make the 1500 mile requirement, I had to divert through Jacksonville - even take the south loop around to ensure against coming up short. I crossed the Georgia border on I-95 at midnight and found a cheap room.

4/24: Back on the road at 4:30am eastern time, surprisingly refreshed. So far so good.

I hadn't planned to qualify for a concurrent SS1000 but I stopped and generated a gas receipt in time. Then I spotted a sign that caused a slight diversion.

I made it to Manassas with a couple of hours to spare and secured my ticket. . .

. . . and then on to see my girl.

More to come . . . .

 

[Ken Phenix]

4/27: After an enjoyable two day visit with daughter and son-in-law, it's time to hit the road again. I was headed to an annual meetup of the yearroundriders.com in Huntingdon PA. Of course I could ride the meager 162 miles straight there and even stick a toe into WV in the process but NOOOO! In my infinite wisdom I decided to color in the great state of Delaware (which meant traversing the DC beltway BEFORE 6am) and head to Huntingdon via Philly instead. Turned an easy little jaunt into a pavement pounding 430 miles, I did. I was hoping to take the Independence Hall / Liberty Bell tour and also visit the world famous Revzilla showroom to peruse the gear. My winter gloves are the oldest component (2006) in my ATGATT ensemble - still waterproof however, much of their warmth has gone away. On the road at 5am. There's traffic but everybody's cruising at 70mph. No delays - then a tool booth, and another, and another. GEEZ ALREADY! I'M GOIN BROKE HERE!

I arrived at the Revzilla warehouse front, uh, ehem headquarters showroom at 9:30. They open at 10 so I made a few bakery related calls. Bobby spotted the bike and then me and invited me in early for coffee and a little bench racing. The showroom was a veritable candy store of high end riding gear. I tried on pants, you know, just for future reference - and jackets to compare them to my new one. I was impressed with the quality of brands I'd never seen before: Klim & Dainase in particular.
Here's where Anthony cuts all those product videos.

On to the gloves. Most of the heavy duty winter stuff had been taken to the back but Bobby was happy to oblige. Held Freezer, Dianase Jerico and others - all excellent. ReV'it Alaska - that's the one. By the time I reached the bike I had a thank you email in my inbox.

Next stop, Independence Hall. The sat-nav took me through parts of Philly I was not supposed to see. Then the line was 3 blocks long. Oh well, I snapped a few pictures and I was outta there.

Traffic was flowing smoothly enough but that I-76 turnpike was a grind. By the time I reached my exit, I had shelled out close to $40 in tolls for the day. OUCH! OH BUT THE STEEP GRADES AND NUMEROUS SWITCHBACKS OF PA HWY 641 CHANGED MY WHOLE OUTLOOK.

Here's the gratuitous hwy 641 bridge pic:

I arrived in time for dinner and story telling.

 

[Keith]

Great story! Great pictures!

 

[Ken Phenix]

4/29: Huntingdon PA was the 2,000 mile mark - half way. The next leg of the journey would be 2 days camping in mountainous northern PA in utter seclusion. Kettle Creek State Park. No phone, no internet - not a single luxury . . . . . well not exactly. The new heated bath house at the campground was first rate.

Well, you get the idea - beautiful seclusion. I hadn't seen daughter and son-in-law in over 2 years. It was good to have the chance to catch up.

5/1: I got an early start. It would take a while to get out of these hills.

Trip adjustments. I had hoped to see the Atlantic and have lobster on the coast of Maine. I also wanted to see Niagara Falls and ride a ways in Canada. There wasn't time to get a passport which is now a rigid requirement. I rode north into New York.

The closer I got to Lake Erie, the thicker the fog and drizzle. They call it rain but in Texas terms, it was only drizzle. Nonetheless, visibility would be too poor to see the falls so I veered west to Erie PA and slabbed it down to Columbus OH to meet my old Bandit brother Russell. He runs the 600 Bandit yahoo group and he and I had identical bikes. We had engaged in an impromptu mileage contest. Mine was close when I sold it and his now has over 100k on the clock. We had a great visit and enjoyed motorcycle talk and single malt into the wee hours of the morning.

5/2: Russell lives in proximity to Iron Pony so we made a quick trip. Amazing! If you can imagine a "big box" store chocked full of all manner of motorcycle gear and accessories - that's it. I left my wallet on the bike.

The rest of the day was a slab ride through Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana & Illinois in hopes of making it to Arkansas by sundown. Dusk came and went. I was glad I had taken the time to install those 6" PIAA HID lazer cannons. The bugs were so thick they were affecting my gas mileage. I got a cheap room in Anna, IL just east of Cape Girardeau MO.

 

[gixxerjasen]

I was surprised to see Interstate 10 rolling and scenic through the Florida panhandle and seemed to stretch on forever.

Ugh. I can think of few things I'd rather endure than I10 through the Florida panhandle. I hardly call it scenic, and yes, it does stretch on FOREVER! The fact that I have family in Tampa and live in Dallas means I drive this fairly often...at least every other year. I dread it. Maybe that's why I don't have the fondness for it you do.

I was impressed with the quality of brands I'd never seen before: Klim & Dainase in particular.

Wow, where the heck have you been? I mean, I understand Klim, but Dainese? They sell their stuff at Cycle Gear! I can point you to a sweet motorcycle shop in Gunnison Co that sells Klim stuff. I have a pair of their off road pants and they are fantastic quality. I also have a set of leathers and a jacket from Dainese. The jacket is 12 years old and has been ridden in for much of that as for a while it was my only jacket and off and on I've taken to commuting daily when it suits me. Jacket is well weathered but still working well.

The bugs were so thick they were affecting my gas mileage.

LOL, I gotta remember that one! I've ridden places like that.

 

[Ken Phenix]

5/3: After a good night's rest I took a short side step into Missouri and headed south on I-55. I wasn't sure if I'd have time or could make time but my mother has a cousin or two still living in East Prairie MO. Mom is 90 now and was unable to give me any phone numbers . . . .

. . . . 'cause she was driving to pick up the girls to go play bridge. I did a little recon and made a call and sure enough mom's cousin Alberta answered. It was like she was expecting me. She had a sandwich waiting for me when I arrived. We were having a wonderful visit and then her husband Jim invited me out back.

And there was his beautiful Gold Wing. I had heard he used to ride but had no idea, at age 77 mind you, he still does. We rejoined the ladies and told motorcycle stories and filled in the more recent branches of the family tree. This intended quick hello turned into a three and a half hour visit. When I geared up to go, Jim stopped me saying, "Hang on a minute." I had a feeling and sure enough he brought the Wing around front with helmet and gloves on. He then escorted me the 8 or 10 miles back to I-55. The experience was absolutely priceless.

I took Jim's advice and rode Hwy 62 into Arkansas and stopped in Pocahontas for a bite. WOW! Shrimp galore!

I located the nearest state park, Old Davidsonville, and got my tent up just before dark. I chose a site across from a couple of hackers, Mike & Pat from Columbus OH who were on their first leg of a 4 month trek to Alaska on their R80/Dauntless rig.

5/4: My new friends and I exchanged email addresses as we broke camp. Ya just meet the nicest folks when ya travel on a motorcycle.

I continued west on Hwy 62 toward Mountain Home and what do you know! I found Snow after all!

I needed to make time and try to get as close to Texas as possible but there were these little things they call Ozarks in the way. I passed up several of the roads I had enjoyed on previous trips and settled for AR 7 south. Here's a scenic overlook.

It had taken all afternoon to get only as far south as Russellville. Just check the map and you'll see why. There was no way I'd make my goal of reaching I-30, let alone Texas by nightfall. I headed to Petit Jean SP for the night. The cafe at the lodge has great food but was closed. The ranger directed me to the grill inside the Rockefeller Institute, a posh golfing establishment nearby. Since no one there really understood or appreciated my attire, I placed an order to go. I was running out of daylight anyway. I popped the tent and sat down to a flashlight dinner.

mmmmmmmmm tangy BBQ pork w/coleslaw sandwich. Now THAT'S camp food!

 

[Ken Phenix]

5/5: With gear packed and chain lubed I headed out early. I had to be home tonight. Here's the river of the same name just west of the park and those sweet switchbacks.

I caught Hwy 27 and paused in Mt. Ida for a late breakfast.

The Hooters in Texarkana was sponsoring a bike wash but I resisted even though the old 919 really needed a bath. I pulled in around 6:30pm. 4,062 glorious sMiles, 19 states - 11 of them new and a bazillion bugs.

Here's this page in my coloring book:

Before

After

Oh, and that little job awaiting my return . . . .

 

[Gravel Guy]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing your ride!!

 

[Tourmeister]

Looks like a lot of fun! Great report

 

[ekms377]

Thx for sharing. Great pics!

 

[wanabeguru]

Thanks for taking us along! Wonnerful pictures.

 

[RedPill]

Great report! Thanks.

 

[Ken Phenix]

Thanks guys. Oh I forgot to mention the whole Smithsonian air & space / DC thing.

 

[Hacksaw]

Great ride story, thanks for sharing. Got your bike set up nice too.

 

[MaxxTraxx]

That's awesome. I'm anxious to have some great MC adventures like this.

 

[cdc]

Best part of the story is your daughter is fine congratulations.
The ride... icing in the cake, nice report.

 

[buck000]

 

[thencamedonson]

Great ride report! Well done!

 

[SwampFox]

Great ride Ken. Thanks for taking us along. It's good to visit family & friends along the way -- kinda like icing on a cake. I wonder if the sidecar folks are posting re: their journey?

 

[Ken Phenix]

Great ride Ken. Thanks for taking us along. It's good to visit family & friends along the way -- kinda like icing on a cake. I wonder if the sidecar folks are posting re: their journey?

Me too. I'm waiting for them to send me a link but I get the impression they're not in a hurry - about anything. Just lovin' life. Nice folks. I'll post it up when it comes.

Yes, I try to meet and ride with one of my motorcycle forum friends every time I take a trip. The experiences are priceless.

I couldn't help but wonder as I rode the commuter train into DC if all the empty faces I saw there had a clue what they're missing. It was like being in The Matrix.

You might enjoy reading the musings of my good friend Dom Chang from Denver who writes about riding his sidecar rig in The Rockies - year round.

http://redlegsrides.blogspot.com/

http://www.examiner.com/motorcycle-travel-in-denver/domingo-chang

 

[Ken Phenix]

GOT ME A PACKAGE IN THE MAIL TODAY.

 

[Texas T]

Congrats on the cert. I need to find my paperwork and get it submitted.

 

[4jranch]

Very nice.

 

[wanabeguru]

Nice! I could have done something similar a few decades ago, but alas, even with the great Corbin seat to rest my weary buns on, it is not to be[place sad face here]
PS: to mods, hope language is OK, but feel free to change if need be.

 

[gixxerjasen]

Yup, need to send in my paperwork too!