The first leg of my trip was Harpers Ferry WV (easternmost point of WV) to Bend, Oregon. The second leg was from Bend to Salida CO. These were posted on the forum earlier. This is the third and final leg, from Salida CO back to Harpers Ferry WV.
I left my friend's house in Salida before 8 am on Wednesday, August 10, and took Rt 50 where it scenically runs beside the Arkansas River to a little town where I turned south to get to Rt 69 and then 165 to Bishop Castle - a huge accretion of stone, cement and welded wrought iron. Has to be seen to be believed. Still under construction, going on for many years now.
Back up to Rt 69 to Pueblo. Thought it was a dead deer on the side of the road, but turned out to be a large bear cub. He was running towards me in my lane and I figured he couldn't change direction fast (like a deer) so moved over and sped up. Both of us bug-eyed. Took Rt 50 east to my B&B location Garden City KS, holding my nose past the mile-long feed lot (reason for not camping!). 360 miles for the day.
Next day bailed from Rt. 50 at Kinsley, taking 56 to the ugly city of Great Bend and on to Ellsworth (city fathers at least trying for charm) on 156 and then Rt 140 (Old Rt 40), which was a great road, although the signs for it were terrible. Unlike the freeway I-70 to the north it still had hills and curves.
Had to get on I-70 at Chapman and took Rt 18 into Manhattan to get maps at AAA. I'd decided to not do Oklahoma and Arkansas - too hot - so had to mark my route on the new maps. Then took Rt 24 east to the smelly town of Rossville where I bailed onto the pretty local roads - 62nd Street for the most part, that eventually took me, after a half mile of gravel, to Rt 4 and then 59 northerly to Atchison. Pretty ride. Then Rt 7, also nice, to Rt 36 where I crossed the Missouri River at one of the few places left to cross, into St Joseph (St. Joe to the locals). 433 miles for the day. Stayed at the really cool Whiskey Mansion B&B two nights to avoid the rain. A biking couple from Georgia on their matching Honda trikes showed up on the second day.
On August 13th, I left St Joe on Rt 6 to Kirksville, riding through pretty rolling hills, where I took 63 south to 156 east, angled down Rt 15 and J (J??) to 168 to Rt 61, all nice roads. Had a raccoon change course somewhere along here and dive under my front wheel. Big one, so big thumps, but was going fast enough to keep the bike rolling straight. Crossed the river at Hannibal and took Rt 106 east and 96 south to 54. Had wanted to take the more direct Rt 13 marked as paved on my AAA map, but it was gravel and at 10 miles was WAY too long, so went further south on 96 to 54, which I took east to the N-S road of 67. Had to turn there because the sign across the road said "Closed". No detour signs. Sigh. Took 67 north to I-72 to the west side of Springfield and had some beer (really needed that after this day of crappy AAA map errors) and nachos in the only chain restaurant for the entire trip.
Hour later was back on the bike and decided to take the bigger roads: Rt 55 freeway to Rt 104 to Shelbyville, then north on 128. Dark by this time and fog rising from the road that had been rained on earlier. The least fun riding of the entire trip. Got to the Eagle Creek State Park near Findlay IL at 9 pm. Set up the tent in record time with the help of a lantern from another camper. 442 miles for the day.
Next morning the ranger, making his rounds, told me I didn't need to pay since I had been there such a short time. Nice guy! Took Rt 32 south to Effingham (funny name….) where a Harley guy at a signal recommended a breakfast place. They should know. Then Rt 33 to Rt 1 north to Hudsonville. Land looking like Kansas again: flat and a lot of corn. Crossed the Wabash River into Indiana and lost a precious hour.
Continued east on Rt 154/54/45 to Bloomington where a Starbucks appeared like magic when the drops started falling. Stayed there while it rained then continued east on AAA marked scenic route 46 to Columbus. Not sure how roads gets marked scenic. It was fine, but not much better than others not so marked.
Should have stopped in Columbus, a cool looking town from the views I got passing by. Took Rt 7 to North Vernon, then back to Rt 50 to Versailles State Park where I was charged more than enough to make up for the free night in Illinois. 264 miles for the day.
Started getting 'horse to barn' fever the next morning, but the weather was looking very iffy. Got lost on the freeways of Cincinnati, the only big city of the entire trip. Pulled off and used the iPhone map app to get reoriented. Got back on the freeway system and got lost again. Took an exit by chance and really lucked out: Indian Hill Road. Great motorcycle road on the east side of the city that took me up and down curvy roads through a thoroughly upscale neighborhood. No one mows their own grass here! And the road ended up back at Rt 50 in the cutesy town of Milford where I had the meal of the day at 20 Brix restaurant. (Meal of the day because I typically only ate one meal a day in a restaurant and had nuts and berries at other times if hunger called. Lost 5 pounds on this trip!)
Lovely ride through the countryside of Ohio on Rt 50 to the Ohio River. Clouds looking very nasty. Stopped to check My Radar on the iPhone and saw that I'd be able to squeeze around the huge cells rolling through and avoid the rain, at least for a bit. Ran out of luck east of Pennsboro, but needed gas, so pulled off Rt 50 and took my time getting gas and using the facilities while it poured cats and dogs.
Wet pavement pretty much the rest of the way to the Maryland state line. Had to wave cars around me on the straight stretches so they wouldn't be bunched up behind me negotiating the wet curves - of which there are a lot east of Clarksburg WV. Pulled off near Redhouse and used the iPhone to find a B&B in the area. One room left in Oakland, a few miles to the north on Rt. 219. Bought a bottle of wine on the way, to celebrate turning over 8,000 miles on the trip (so far). 401 miles for the day.
Next morning the sun rose and burned off the mountain fog as I ate a leisurely breakfast at the Haley Farm B&B. Took Rt 135 east out of Oakland to Rt 46 and 220 to Rt 50. Very scenic and curvy road and DRY. Hard to beat for fine riding on the last day. In Winchester VA took Rt 37 and 11 to Old Charles Town Road (very scenic), to Rt 340, to Harpers Ferry WV. HOME!!! 133 miles for the day.
I'm planning the trip for next summer. Had TOO MUCH FUN not to do this again.
Trip stats: 8,140 miles in 4 weeks of riding (gone 6 weeks and 1 day, of which 1 week spent in San Francisco Bay Area and the other week at a jazz camp in Pollock Pines CA - which is why I was carrying a soprano sax). 20 nights camping out, the rest under a hard roof.
Kawasaki running rough at low rpm for almost entire way back from the California coast, which I blamed first on the bad gas purchased in Fort Ross CA (Rt 1), then on the ethanol, then on the altitude, then on more bad gas. Tried adding Stabil to combat the ethanol and bought some Sea Foam after I got back to try out - had several people recommend it.
Other product reviews:
Loved the HJC Symax II helmet with the slide down sun shade. I replaced the stock gray sun shade with a bronze one and added a band of Limo stick-on shade film to the outer clear visor to block the early morning sun when riding east. Worked great.
iPhone with My Radar and map apps proved indispensable. With the exception of one location that had Verizon, I got AT&T pretty much everywhere I needed it, even out in the middle of nowhere along Rt 50 and Rt 2 in Montana.
Loved the Joe Rocket (pink!) mesh jacket and the mesh pants. The Gortex boots from Cabela's kept my feet dry (helped by the low fairing on the Connie). The REI 2 man tent worked great. Not a drop of water entered it with the doors closed. The REI self inflating mat could have worked better, but REI tells me they'll give me a new one that doesn't want to self inflate ALL the time if I bring that one in.
I left my friend's house in Salida before 8 am on Wednesday, August 10, and took Rt 50 where it scenically runs beside the Arkansas River to a little town where I turned south to get to Rt 69 and then 165 to Bishop Castle - a huge accretion of stone, cement and welded wrought iron. Has to be seen to be believed. Still under construction, going on for many years now.
Back up to Rt 69 to Pueblo. Thought it was a dead deer on the side of the road, but turned out to be a large bear cub. He was running towards me in my lane and I figured he couldn't change direction fast (like a deer) so moved over and sped up. Both of us bug-eyed. Took Rt 50 east to my B&B location Garden City KS, holding my nose past the mile-long feed lot (reason for not camping!). 360 miles for the day.
Next day bailed from Rt. 50 at Kinsley, taking 56 to the ugly city of Great Bend and on to Ellsworth (city fathers at least trying for charm) on 156 and then Rt 140 (Old Rt 40), which was a great road, although the signs for it were terrible. Unlike the freeway I-70 to the north it still had hills and curves.
Had to get on I-70 at Chapman and took Rt 18 into Manhattan to get maps at AAA. I'd decided to not do Oklahoma and Arkansas - too hot - so had to mark my route on the new maps. Then took Rt 24 east to the smelly town of Rossville where I bailed onto the pretty local roads - 62nd Street for the most part, that eventually took me, after a half mile of gravel, to Rt 4 and then 59 northerly to Atchison. Pretty ride. Then Rt 7, also nice, to Rt 36 where I crossed the Missouri River at one of the few places left to cross, into St Joseph (St. Joe to the locals). 433 miles for the day. Stayed at the really cool Whiskey Mansion B&B two nights to avoid the rain. A biking couple from Georgia on their matching Honda trikes showed up on the second day.
On August 13th, I left St Joe on Rt 6 to Kirksville, riding through pretty rolling hills, where I took 63 south to 156 east, angled down Rt 15 and J (J??) to 168 to Rt 61, all nice roads. Had a raccoon change course somewhere along here and dive under my front wheel. Big one, so big thumps, but was going fast enough to keep the bike rolling straight. Crossed the river at Hannibal and took Rt 106 east and 96 south to 54. Had wanted to take the more direct Rt 13 marked as paved on my AAA map, but it was gravel and at 10 miles was WAY too long, so went further south on 96 to 54, which I took east to the N-S road of 67. Had to turn there because the sign across the road said "Closed". No detour signs. Sigh. Took 67 north to I-72 to the west side of Springfield and had some beer (really needed that after this day of crappy AAA map errors) and nachos in the only chain restaurant for the entire trip.
Hour later was back on the bike and decided to take the bigger roads: Rt 55 freeway to Rt 104 to Shelbyville, then north on 128. Dark by this time and fog rising from the road that had been rained on earlier. The least fun riding of the entire trip. Got to the Eagle Creek State Park near Findlay IL at 9 pm. Set up the tent in record time with the help of a lantern from another camper. 442 miles for the day.
Next morning the ranger, making his rounds, told me I didn't need to pay since I had been there such a short time. Nice guy! Took Rt 32 south to Effingham (funny name….) where a Harley guy at a signal recommended a breakfast place. They should know. Then Rt 33 to Rt 1 north to Hudsonville. Land looking like Kansas again: flat and a lot of corn. Crossed the Wabash River into Indiana and lost a precious hour.
Continued east on Rt 154/54/45 to Bloomington where a Starbucks appeared like magic when the drops started falling. Stayed there while it rained then continued east on AAA marked scenic route 46 to Columbus. Not sure how roads gets marked scenic. It was fine, but not much better than others not so marked.
Should have stopped in Columbus, a cool looking town from the views I got passing by. Took Rt 7 to North Vernon, then back to Rt 50 to Versailles State Park where I was charged more than enough to make up for the free night in Illinois. 264 miles for the day.
Started getting 'horse to barn' fever the next morning, but the weather was looking very iffy. Got lost on the freeways of Cincinnati, the only big city of the entire trip. Pulled off and used the iPhone map app to get reoriented. Got back on the freeway system and got lost again. Took an exit by chance and really lucked out: Indian Hill Road. Great motorcycle road on the east side of the city that took me up and down curvy roads through a thoroughly upscale neighborhood. No one mows their own grass here! And the road ended up back at Rt 50 in the cutesy town of Milford where I had the meal of the day at 20 Brix restaurant. (Meal of the day because I typically only ate one meal a day in a restaurant and had nuts and berries at other times if hunger called. Lost 5 pounds on this trip!)
Lovely ride through the countryside of Ohio on Rt 50 to the Ohio River. Clouds looking very nasty. Stopped to check My Radar on the iPhone and saw that I'd be able to squeeze around the huge cells rolling through and avoid the rain, at least for a bit. Ran out of luck east of Pennsboro, but needed gas, so pulled off Rt 50 and took my time getting gas and using the facilities while it poured cats and dogs.
Wet pavement pretty much the rest of the way to the Maryland state line. Had to wave cars around me on the straight stretches so they wouldn't be bunched up behind me negotiating the wet curves - of which there are a lot east of Clarksburg WV. Pulled off near Redhouse and used the iPhone to find a B&B in the area. One room left in Oakland, a few miles to the north on Rt. 219. Bought a bottle of wine on the way, to celebrate turning over 8,000 miles on the trip (so far). 401 miles for the day.
Next morning the sun rose and burned off the mountain fog as I ate a leisurely breakfast at the Haley Farm B&B. Took Rt 135 east out of Oakland to Rt 46 and 220 to Rt 50. Very scenic and curvy road and DRY. Hard to beat for fine riding on the last day. In Winchester VA took Rt 37 and 11 to Old Charles Town Road (very scenic), to Rt 340, to Harpers Ferry WV. HOME!!! 133 miles for the day.
I'm planning the trip for next summer. Had TOO MUCH FUN not to do this again.
Trip stats: 8,140 miles in 4 weeks of riding (gone 6 weeks and 1 day, of which 1 week spent in San Francisco Bay Area and the other week at a jazz camp in Pollock Pines CA - which is why I was carrying a soprano sax). 20 nights camping out, the rest under a hard roof.
Kawasaki running rough at low rpm for almost entire way back from the California coast, which I blamed first on the bad gas purchased in Fort Ross CA (Rt 1), then on the ethanol, then on the altitude, then on more bad gas. Tried adding Stabil to combat the ethanol and bought some Sea Foam after I got back to try out - had several people recommend it.
Other product reviews:
Loved the HJC Symax II helmet with the slide down sun shade. I replaced the stock gray sun shade with a bronze one and added a band of Limo stick-on shade film to the outer clear visor to block the early morning sun when riding east. Worked great.
iPhone with My Radar and map apps proved indispensable. With the exception of one location that had Verizon, I got AT&T pretty much everywhere I needed it, even out in the middle of nowhere along Rt 50 and Rt 2 in Montana.
Loved the Joe Rocket (pink!) mesh jacket and the mesh pants. The Gortex boots from Cabela's kept my feet dry (helped by the low fairing on the Connie). The REI 2 man tent worked great. Not a drop of water entered it with the doors closed. The REI self inflating mat could have worked better, but REI tells me they'll give me a new one that doesn't want to self inflate ALL the time if I bring that one in.
