Motorcycling XCountry

Sept.6 Wed

Denver CO - Moab UT = 360 miles - 5.5 hrs.

From Denver, I decided to go towards Utah by going through the Rockies.

The weather that day was in the high 80’s, but as soon as I reached the summit, the weather completely turned on me. 

Out of no where, it started to pour, and I couldn’t see 5 feet in front of me. 

It was the coldest riding I have ever been on, so far. 

It felt like it was in the low 30’s. 

As soon as I was able, I pulled into the nearest town, which was Vail.

I rode around the town looking for a gas station but I couldn’t find one. 

So I decided to ask a police officer that was sitting inside his car on the opposite side of the road.

For about 5 min of continuous honking, reving my engine, and even yelling to get his attention, the guy didn’t budge.

I thought to myself, that’s fucked up.

So I decided to go up to him and confront him.

It turned out he was a dummy.

I guess everyone in town knows about him except for tourists like me.

I was able to find a gas station. 

Rode through the Rockies, and

stopped at a gas station and met BUD, The Ol’ Prospector.

Riding through these mountains made me realize that there’s a lot out there that I haven’t seen yet.

Sept.4-5 Mon-Tues

Springfield MO - Hays KS = 440 miles - 7 hrs.

After leaving Springfield, I had no idea of where I was going. 

All I knew it was West. 

So I decided to ride to Denver and ride through the Rockies.

On my way there I had to pass through Kansas. 

And let me not be the first person to tell you this, THERE’S NOTHING OUT THERE, really.

At some points I started to thing that I might run out of gas due to the gas stations being either deserted or many miles apart.

Currently I can go about 130miles on a full tank on the highway before my fuel light comes on.  Compared to a car, that’s about about less than half.

I ended up spending a night in Hays Kansas. 

Stayed at the Econo Lodge for about $43 a night. 

Which is over my budget, but I had no choice, since it was the cheapest place in town.

One thing that I realized was that most places might not have all the necessities that you might want,  but one thing is for sure, they all got WIFI.(so far at least)

During my ride I ran into a mechanical problem. 

The motorcycle kept bogging back and forth at around 90 mph. 

It always happened occasionally, but nothing that I couldn’t deal. 

Still, it was a major concern of mine.

Hays KS - Denver CO = 340 miles - 5 hrs.

Called the Yamaha dealer in Denver and scheduled a service appointment. 

They told me that I would have to get there before closing so that they could have enough time to work on the bike.

For some reason, the highways here have a speed limit of 75mph. 

Something that I have never seen back at home. 

And most people drive at least 90. 

I started to do the same.  At some point, I was cruising at around 110mph for at least an hour non-stop. 

One thing that was always in the back of my mind is the image of a state trooper in a silver hooked up dodge charger that I had seen leaving from Hays.

I got to the dealer with plenty of time for them to their recall work, plus the full service that I had requested. 

Since the problem that I was experiencing was a recall, all I had to pay was for the full service.  Which set me back $125. 

At first it felt like it was a lot money, but thinking about how much traveling I’m going to do, it’s the smartest decision.

Took them about 3.5 hours to complete.

During This time, went next door and had 20 wings with a pitcher of Coors light to the head.

By the time the bike came out I was sober and had gone to the bathroom more than I can count.

Denver is a lot more populated than thought, it actually has traffic!!

I stayed at a Hostel to cut costs and make my trip last longer

At $23 a night I couldn’t ask for more

The owner let me park my bike inside a gated area.

I guess it was because when I asked him if this area was safe, he had no response.

I’m too tired to do anything tonight.

Not sure exactly where I’ll be or what I’ll be doing tomorrow.

Aug.31-Sept.4

Columbus OH - St. Louis MO = 420 miles - 7 hrs.

After leaving Ben’s in Columbus, I went to St.Louis MO on Aug.31.

Met up with Lin, John and Steve at the Hilton. Which was right in front of Bush Stadium.

For dinner, we went out to SteakN Shake. 

I ended up having a BBQ Ranch Sirloin Steak sandwich.  It was good but mad sloppy, so I didn’t finsih it.

After dinner we stopped by Monarch for a few drinks.

http://www.monarchrestaurant.com

Chris the manager there was cool.  He showed us around the restaurant and bought us a drink made by Ted Kilgore.  One of the illest bartenders in MO, or mixologist.

St. Louis MO - Springfield MO = 220 miles - 3.5 hrs.

The next morning we had Sonic for breakfast, and then went to Springfield.

We met up with Cho, Tod and Clarence.  Turns out that Cho was whipping a Porsche Turbo

That shit was too hot.  To the point that I was scared to even ask him for a test drive in the fear that I might crash it.

Later that night we had dinner with him, Jenny and all of their friends and family at his restaurant.

http://www.theargentinasteakhouse.com/home.htm

Afterwords, we went to Haruno and got rocked. 

http://www.harunosushi.com/

Cho got plastered, and it was the night before his wedding, good times….

The next day was Cho’s wedding

It was a surreal moment to see my man Cho getting married.

Congrats Brotha!!

At the reception we all got rocked, and took the party back to the teli.

The next day we just took it easy and went fishing.

But we forgot the bait and hooks, so there was no fish caught.

And not to mention that the Simpsons Power Plant was right in front, so I’m pretty sure that didn’t help.

Later that night we had some beers & wings, and took it easy for the night.

The next day we all left Springfield. 

But for me, my journey had just begun.

Aug.30 Wed

Tenafly NJ - Columbus OH = 559.23 miles - 11 hrs.

I left New Jersey on Aug. 30th. 

The weather was real shitty that day, but nothing I couldn’t handle.  Just drizzles here and there.  The bulk of the storm was that morning.

Since I set a schedule to keep up with, I wasn’t able to take any scenic routes. 

I just took the shortest way from NJ to Columbus.

It took me around 11hrs 559.23 miles,

1 stop for food,

4 stops for gas.

When I got to Ben’s in Ohio, Ben, Rich and his girl, we went to a local bar and took it easy for the night.

We had to call it a night early cause I had to wake up the next day for St. Louis.

During my trip over to Columbus, I noticed that the jacket I was wearing was way too big for me, an XXL.

It flapped in the air like a sail creating crazy wind resistance. Making me tired, and messing up with my fuel consumption.

When I told Ben this, he said he had a jacket that he didn’t use anymore and that it would fit me perfectly. 

Out of nowhere, he brought out an XL Alpinestars Jacket. 

And black to say the least.  This jacket is the shit!

I barely feel any wind resistance now and my average fuel consumption went up to 15 miles to the full tank on a highway!!

Thanks for helping a brotha out Ben!!

There are a few things that is making this trip possible for me.

First and foremost the support from my family.

Tomtom Rider Bluetooth GPS navigation(thanks Ju)

Blue tooth helmet connection

Saddle and Tank Bags

Ipod Nano w/remote, and Sony In-earbuds to kill background noise

Fairly New Michellin Pilot Powers Front

And Pilot Powers Back

Without any one of these essentials, my trip would not be possible.

So, I finally decided to go cross country on my bike.

It’s been something that I always thought about doing but never got a chance until now.

I’ll be leaving NJ on Aug. 30 for Columbus OH.

I’m going to stay at Ben’s for the night, and the following day I’ll make my way towards St. Louis MO.

Lin, John, and Steve will be there, so I’ll crash in their hotel room for that night and leave the next day to Springfield to see Mike.

After Cho’s wedding I’ll probably head towards Miami, Canada, or Mexico.  Not sure yet.

I’ll take a lot of pictures and keep you all updated.