Arctic To Atlantic... A Trans USA Ride...

[Racey]

Susie got home safe and sound. Ultimately, it turned out we could have booked her on the 7:30pm Virgin flight home from New York instead of the 9:30pm one – but it was better to have that extra margin…

Interestingly she saw the earlier flight depart while she sipped a soda – it was called “Mustang Sally” !! Apposite !!

I was up bright and early and ready to roll at 7:15am. I decided to hurry on as I was horrified watching some fellow hotel guests trying to work the waffle machine. By heavens !! If that’s how they work such simple machinery what were they going to be like behind the wheel of a car ?? I got going pronto !! I didn’t want to wait and see !!

It was an exceptionally pleasant morning to ride. The sun was still low and the light was still warm. The temperature was very agreeable and the roads were relatively empty. The 90 miles to the turnoff to Wichita passed quickly.

It was interesting to see "advertising banners" in farmers fields along the highway. However, unlike in other parts of the USA where these blots on the landscape advertise soda or fast food, these boards were telling me I was doomed if I didn’t follow a certain religious or moral code !!

I know everyone has the right to an opinion, but I believe one should primarily keep it to ones’ self… And should certainly not criticise others if they have a different stance… It felt slightly at odds with this “middle America has good values” belief that every few miles I was being told that if I didn’t agree with a certain farmer’s moral code I was a “bad man” !! What about tolerance ??

The signs that made me smile, however, were those advertising the fact that “such and such a town” was the childhood home to some well known politician or American icon !! Don’t they realise what they are really saying is “So and so left Kansas to go onto bigger and better things” !! Anyway – someone hold my soap box while I clamber down..! Oh, hang on !! I haven’t finished…

I do think someone should start a campaign to re educate America about cruise control..! What is it about some people that lets them think it is right to sit with the cruise control on as they overtake a vehicle doing 2 to 3 mph less than them ????

I get so frustrated by idiots attempting to pass a car at such a low speed differential. If you want to get by and can see others are behind – GET ON AND GET BY - DON’T TAKE 4 MINUTES TO PASS A SINGLE VEHICLE !!

For mile after mile I sat behind them watching them inching past !!! I understand some don’t want to go faster or break speed limits – fine – sit behind the other car. Aaaghh !!

Rant over !!

Wichita came and went and so did the interstate. On the way into Joplin I found 7th Street. So what I hear you all cry…

Well, part of 7th Street Joplin was Historic Route 66… So The Warrior has got his kicks in the right place…

On checking into the hotel I got to work on the internet. Not just blogging !! But planning the next couple of days. Firstly, I worked out that just across the state line there were more bits of Route 66 to explore in Kansas and Oklahoma – so the plan became to go and explore them.

I also got a big surprise and thrill… Doug, another rider I met in Alaska suggested he wannted to ride "Big Bird" up from his home in Florida to meet me near the Great Smokies !!

I found 3 places for us to stay so we can explore The Cherohala Skyway, The Dragon and The Blue Ridge Parkway together !! Fantastic…

More to come... With pictures of original bits of the Historic Route 66 I found... And pictures that show why Doug's ride is called "Big Bird"...

 

[Titch]

I have just read this from the start and it has been awesome!!!

You have travelled my dream. I only wish I could make my dream reality.

Well done you and thanks for the dream.

Titch

 

[Racey]

I have just read this from the start and it has been awesome!!!

You have travelled my dream. I only wish I could make my dream reality.

Well done you and thanks for the dream.

Titch

Never give up on the dream Titch...

 

[Racey]

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Despite torrential rain I decided to stick with the plan I'd come up with to back track Westwards a bit to find some of the few remaining bits of Historic Route 66 in Oklahoma, Kansas and the Joplin Missouri area.

The first portion I found of the old route was in Miami, Oklahoma. A rather sad town inside the Peoria Indian Reservation. It wouldn’t have been picturesque even in sunshine ! So we kept going as there wasn’t much to see except a rather tatty main street.

Shortly after that I crossed into Kansas and headed through Baxter Springs. A reasonably pleasant area. But the real highlight was that I found an original stretch of the old Route 66 tarmac in what was now a side road to an industrial estate. Fantastic…

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The remainder of the journey back to Joplin saw me on Route 66, but it was a modern incarnation – not the real thing…

I followed the route as far as I could, but then had to get on with the journey across Missouri. The unfortunate thing is that so many people want to ride Route 66 and, for some, it becomes a "once in a life time treat"... Sadly in doing so thay miss so much of the truly magical parts of America. Route 66 once was a greatt road - but now, compared to some of the routes I rode it is not as grand - as the road was ignored the communities it served "died" and many parts of it travel through un-scenic and decaying areas... By all means do bits of it - but I was told by many bikers I met - it was a good job my holiday didn't revolve round doing any more than a "morning's worth"...

As I set off to cross Missouri it was still raining. No… Let me rephrase that… It was pouring like the end of the world was looming…

And as I pulled onto the interstate things got worse. Why ? Because of the appalling surface that is used on the interstates and that drainage is so poor.

There was literally standing water an inch or so deep across both lanes and the resulting spray combined with the rain made visibility virtually zero. Yet everyone was still speeding along – most with no lights !! Absolute madness…

I gritted my teeth, switched on all the HID lights including spots and hunkered down for a rough ride.

Without exaggeration I have never ridden in such atrocious conditions, with such incompetent drivers around me for so long… And the irony was that it need not have been so. At one point the rain eased – but the concrete surface ensured the standing water blighted us with spray until the rain started again !!

Across Missouri I laughed to myself… On previous days, in Kansas, all roadside signs had been extolling a pure, devout and morally right path through life as I said – or I would be doomed… Now, in Missouri, I was being tempted every 10 miles or so by “Adult Emporia” or “Men’s Spas and Video Establishments” !! From the sublime to the ridiculous… Or is it the other way round..?

I had started my journey at 7:20am. The rain didn’t stop until 11:00am. It started again at 11:15am !!

I stopped twice to have to re treat my visor with water repellent and fill up. I was drenched – in some areas – right through…

I stopped for a pizza slice when the rain eased near Poplar Bluff – but didn’t strip my jacket off as there is nothing worse than putting wet clothes back on !! As I pulled back onto Highway 60 it started to pour again !!

I rolled into Sikeston in dry conditions and got into my room early afternoon.

A pleasant place and I was lucky enough to get allocated a room with a sitting room. I chilled out reading the paper on line and instant messengering Susie…

I couldn’t be bothered to kit up and go out – so I rustled up a camping meal in my room while watching Superman !!

 

[Racey]

After an early night I was awake at 5:30am and wanted to get going so I was at Mammoth Cave in good time for my first Cave Tour early in the afternoon. I shuffled to the window hoping the weather was going to be better than previous days...

Nope..! I couldn’t see the cars in the car park – 50 yards away ! Oh joy !!

Notwithstanding this I kitted up and got ready to head off. As I loaded The Warrior up the mist was coming in waves as a little light breeze blew through. Perhaps this was the first sign of it trying to dissipate as I was rewarded for my early start by a wonderful light through the clouds.

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As we headed out the mist kept lightening and thickening. At the worst parts I could only see 10 to 15 yards ahead – at best, maybe, 100 yards. But the madness of some drivers surprised me yet again – NO LIGHTS in conditions like this ! My gracious…

Deliberately, I had picked the scenic route !! Which allowed me to get onto really quiet roads and away from those cage drivers with death wishes ! But of course discerning where the curves and bends were was a bit of an adrenaline rush !!

The solution was to zoom the GPS to its most detailed setting and to drive through predicting from the screen when a bend would appear and searching for it in the gloom… It worked !

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Before too long the conditions improved and I was able to romp along towards the mighty Mississippi and Ohio River crossings.

In the morning light the river was an amazing sight. Firstly one crosses The Mississippi and ends up on a portion of land between the rivers, just before the confluence – apparently this is in Illinois !! Another State !!

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On this small area is a small state park – Fort Defiance – so I headed down as I had plenty of time – to take in the views. Big mistake…

I suppose the rivers must flood reasonably regularly. As, on turning a small curve towards the point of the island where the rivers converge, the road turned to dirt. No problem for a team like us !! Or so I thought !!

It must have been residual sediment from numerous floodings – and as I rode on very slowly I realised this stuff was as slippery as slippery gets and it was getting deeper. So I attempted to stop. Thank heavens for ABS…

Eventually at a halt I considered my options. Going further was out of the question as it was real deep. Turning round was the only option, but it was so slick I didn’t trust my footing or his tyres to maintain enough grip if I tried it astride him.

So I dismounted and ended up looking like Bambi in the scene where the lake was frozen !! It was like being on a skating rink !! Somehow we got turned around – but to be fair I don’t know who held who up as we manouvered !

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A diplomatic retreat was made and the next miles were taken cautiously until the tyres and boot soles were clean !! If he’d gone down there would have been no way of getting him upright again on such a slick surface !

The crossing of The Ohio saw me arrive in Kentucky. Each small town along the way was amazing. Firstly the buildings were a mixture of sizes and many were not as smart or grand ass their neighbours. But there were two features similar to all… The most immaculately tended lawns in their front gardens and columns !!

Seems you’d be a real social outcast if the front of your house doesn’t have columns !! Best to have big ones too !! Right to the roof level… And round ones are better than square ones !

The ride onwards through Hopkinsville and Kentucky Lakes was extremely pleasant and reasonably picturesque. The roads were exceptionally quiet at this hour (I’d got going at 6:30am on a Sunday) – even the church goers weren’t out and about yet…

I pushed on as far as Russellville in one hit. 230 miles. And found a Waffle House for a late breakfast. I got “breakfast in a sandwich” !! The only thing missing was the cereals in there !! Just what a biker needs…

I arrived at Mammoth Cave at just before Noon. In good time for my 2:00pm tour registration.

Beneath the sandstone and shale ridges of Mammoth Cave National Park lies the most extensive cave system discovered on the planet. After 4,000 years of exploration over 365 miles of passage ways have been discovered within a 7 mile square area.

Mammoth was authorised as a National Park in 1926 and fully established in 1941. It became a World Heritage Site in 1981 and then a Biosphere Reserve in 1990. It really is that special…

My two tours were fascinating. The first was a short exploration from the New Entrance to see Frozen Niagara – a massive stalagmite and stalagtite structure. One of the only areas in Mammoth with such features as the cave is primarily a “dry cave”. This tour was fascinating from a geological perspective.

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The second tour at 6:30pm was equally fascinating – but more evocative – as we entered the Historic Entrance by lantern light.

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Recreating the way the guides of the 1800s led their guests was most interesting and the tour showed aspects of its history. The Salt-Petre works, the failedTuberculosis Hospital and Ralhp Waldo Emerson’s “Star Chamber” & where early visitors had been allowed to "smoke" their names onto the cavern roof by using their oil lamp flames… Fascinating…

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The following day I trundled out of Mammoth and headed South East on a mixture of quiet Highways. While all were through pleasant countryside they all were markedly different. Some were rather straight and ordinary… Others twisted and turned sinuously, making bike and rider sit up and pay attention !!

In all it was a day of only 200 or so miles – but the average speeds were necessarily lower.

I had a couple of large towns to deal with as well which brought out the usual slower, ponderous traffic…

From start to finish in Tellico Plains I had it warm and sticky – temperatures were into the 30s C and 90s F – but the humidity was incredible. It made riding more uncomfortable than Death Valley for me...

I arrived in Tellico Plains early afternoon. I had apparently experienced another time change to Eastern Time – but never once have I seen a sign except for the crossing from Alaska to Yukon… Most confusing…

On arrival, I finally intercepted my gift from Robert Harvey - my acquaintance who had died earlier during my trip... He had specially commissioned his "Harley Davidson Flag Suppliers" to make a Union Jack for me !! He'd wanted his "Brit friend" to fly the flag throughout his trip... With a moment's silence the Flag was hoisted...

I spent the afternoon relaxing on the terrace of that night’s cabin waiting for Doug. I was excited and touched… I am still amazed he is prepared to ride almost 600 miles each way (plus whatever we do in this area) just to ensure I leave the USA !!

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Soon enough “Big Bird” rode into sight and we were soon putting the world to rights…

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He really has the bike set up for long distance cruising... Check out the cup for iced sodas en route !!

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A pleasant and short ride into what was advertised as Tellico’s “Town Square” saw us take a nosebag for supper. We returned to continue the chatting over sodas !! I had booked us into a dry county !!

 

[Racey]

Our first ride together was the Cherohala Skyway. A thoroughly enjoyable, snaking road that climbed to about 5,300 ft. It had some wonderful long fast sweepers and the road was virtually empty. It turned out to be the highlight... If only we'd known that we might have done it again !!

We had thought The Dragon (Deal's Gap) would be the highlight... Not a bit of it !! Hopelessly over rated - but more later...

We stopped a couple of times to take in the views across the Cherokee Forest on The Skyway and it was that point we saw two couples in the view point on bikes. One husband and wife were riding matching Harleys and the other pair was riding matching Shadows…

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We left before them and continued to ride onwards.

It wasn’t a technical ride – but nonetheless at the relaxed pace we were going it was pleasant. Sadly, just before the summit, we hit thick fog.

We pulled over in a turn out to plan and check we were both OK pressing on. While sat there the 4 bikers from earlier passed us on their way up the hill…

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The descent was uneventful and enjoyable – but sadly we got stuck behind a 4x4. But it didn’t really hinder us as we were being so relaxed…

Unfortunately as we approached our turn towards The Dragon we passed the second of the couples we had seen earlier. Well… I say the couple – but he could be seen at the side of the road !! She was obviously down a ditch having run out of road on a left hand curve that was somewhat sharper than others !!

A pick up and her husband were in attendance so we carried on. We passed the Ambulance headed to the scene shortly afterwards… A reminder…

The Dragon is a stretch of Highway 129 that has 318 curves within its 11 mile length and there has been a clever piece of “hype” executed by local companies seeking to attract bikers to ride the road and spend money with their local businesses…

We pulled over to chatter with a few bikers and to buy a few souvenirs. Thereafter we set off to see what all the fuss was about…

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It was a rather narrow woodland ride that was without doubt exceptionally twisty. Ridden sensibly it wasn’t that technical and a fully laden GSA handled it with ease…

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The problem for me was the possibility of the fools coming the other way (both bikers and car drivers) causing problems. Many ride / drive beyond their means and Doug and I saw many that cut corners across the centre line – most dangerous…

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On the second half of the road I caught up with some Harley Riders who were struggling to ride their machines properly. Firstly it looked like these riders didn't know how to ride twisting roads where the bike has to be flipped from side to side quickly - they kept missing turns and crossing the centre line. And secondly the machines with their daft foot boards and low slung accessories are not set up for handling such roads. Each time they "touched down" they seemed to instinctively stand the bike up...

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Sadly, about 20 curves from the end, we came across one that disregarded all common sense rules of riding. On a pretty innocuous left hander he had gone straight on – off the side of the road and down about 150 ft of a steep, tree filled slope !!

The ambulance and Sheriff’s team were there and we were obliged to wait for him to be brought up. A badly broken leg and multiple fractures to his arm…

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Just goes to show that because we had ridden well within our limits we felt The Dragon was somewhat domesticated – he, on the other hand, had felt its full anger…

After concluding the ride the two of us elected not to re ride it as we had planned. There were too many fools on the road and it wasn’t as good as had been made out – but at least we had found out for ourselves.

There are far better roads in Colorado.

We lunched and headed to Pigeon Forge about 3:30pm. As we approached the Holiday Inn the GPS asked me to turn right – I could see a car pulling out of the hotel and assumed that was the exit and the road before it was the entrance. It was… To the town cemetery !!

A quick U Turn for Doug and a bump across the grass for me saw us arrive. But we didn't visit Dollywood !!

 

[Racey]

Resisting the urge to go to Dollywood, we headed off from Pigeon Forge at a civilised hour towards Smokey Mountains National Park. It meant retracing the last 15 miles of our route back towards Townsend – but that really wasn’t a hardship.

The scenic loop road within the park was closed until 10:00am. But in away that did us a favour. It transpires the loop is an 11 mile single lane road that is renowned for traffic chaos.

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The ride up to that portion of the forest had been delightful and so it continued as we headed back to pick up the road that headed through the park from North to South. It was a pretty road that climbed dramatically with a sequence of wonderful curves and turns. As people pulled off to take in views we found ourselves gradually moving to the front of the traffic queue.

Once there, we carried on… While the temptation to stop and take in the views was great we made do with snatched glimpses from the saddle as we passed – having a clear road ahead was too good an incentive to keep going !

As we completed the crossing of the park we picked up The Blue Ridge Parkway from its southern end. Again we were very lucky with traffic and we cruised on at a wonderfully leisurely pace…

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With Hendersonville as our destination we dropped off the Parkway after approximately 60 miles. Passing through Brevard we found a great diner – no sooner had we got seated than the heavens opened outside – as I've said before, it seems God is a biker and was on our side !!

Arrival at Hendersonville caused a few smiles – firstly the hotel had no water. Then a massive storm hit and we had no light and no power !! Doug came up with Plan B while I located an eatery with power…

By the time we returned all services had been restored and we turned in – able to freshen up finally.

That night we both planned our rides for the following day as, after Hendersonville we both had to go our separate ways. With about the same distance to cover - 750 odd miles... Me to New York and Doug to Florida.

I discussed my options with Susie and Doug and came up with an excellent (in my eyes) plan. Continuing on the Parkway would be beautiful but slow. With only the one hour lunch stop on the Parkway with Doug we covered 175 miles in 7 hours !!

With another 400 miles of Parkway – that could drive me bonkers !! And having had such a great time with Doug I thought I should “retire on a high”…

So, the plan I devised was to ride to New York in the next two days as the BMW Dealer in Manhattan agreed to give the bike secure storage for the weekend (including Monday while they are closed). Suited me perfectly – next stages were to ride to Waynesboro Virginia and then to North Brunswick the following day – that’s 40 miles from New York (and the hotel has parking there unlike in Manhattan).

From there Central Park is only a short hop on Saturday morning to get the obligatory end of trip photos.

 

[Racey]

As you can imagine, the section up to Waynesboro wasn't the most picturesque - but to keep the continuity going I'll fill you in on the stage so the report is complete...

After a leisurely breakfast with Doug it was time to make tracks. He was headed South – back home over a two day period and I was headed North East…

As I said in the previous post, I had originally planned on riding The Blue Ridge Parkway in its entirety when I had pulled the trip together. But you can have too much of a good thing sometimes ! Particularly given it is 469 miles in length !!

I had realised that our average speed during the previous day was 25mph on the twisty mountain road ! That was fine for one day – but to complete the remainder would take 3 days of pottering – and given the weekend was looming I felt I could get frustrated and a little bored by the lack of progress… It was stunning - but 2 to 3 days of the same, after what I had already seen on this trip, didn't excite me...

So I planned a detour. By taking faster roads I would be able to reach the Northern end of The Parkway at Waynesboro Virginia in one day. So that became today’s goal…

I had also enjoyed exploring with Doug greatly – and felt trying to replicate the good time I had with him would be foolish. Far better to retire on a high…

So I found as pretty an Interstate as I could and got on with getting some miles under my belt. We made good time and had a relatively un eventful journey.

However, during this stage I started to see New York license plates on cars on the roads and they drive like complete nutters !! I resolved to keep my wits about me and stay twice as alert...

I trundled into Waynesboro mid afternoon and found my Bunkhouse for the night.

A beer and a steak concluded my day…

On returning to the hotel I heard Doug had safely arrived at his "port" for the night in Georgia. He'd had a good day and had covered about the same distance as me... It put into context the lengths he had gone to so we could meet up and ride together again as he still had about 250 miles to do until he reached home in Florida...

It really was great to see him and I was so touched by the effort he made.

I'll stop here just for a moment as the following day was quite a special one and deserves its own entry !!

 

[Racey]

This penultimate section eveoked such strong emotions I wonder whether, again, it is better just to quote from my journal ? It describes how I felt at the time and I don't think editing it now would convey, as accurately, how I felt...

"So – it finally dawned. The day I really didn’t want to arrive… The last day of proper riding and exploring of America.

You might have thought the last day was the one I wouldn’t want to arrive – well I suppose that’s true… But tomorrow will be a short hop into The Big Apple from 50 miles outside… On a route I know reasonably well – and I guess tomorrow will evoke a mixture of emotions. Pride and achievement as well…

But today just evoked what I thought it would… Sadness… That my great adventure is coming to a close and that I will have to return to face the issues of my everyday life again.

The Warrior was loaded before sunrise on a cold clear morning. The moon was still illuminating things as I clambered aboard at 6:45am and fired him up…

I wanted to get a stretch of The Shenandoah Skyline Drive under our belt before it got busy and having not slept well, gave an added bonus that we’d see sunrise from the ridge…

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We entered the Park by 7:15am and claimed our final park sticker. A ceremony performed after dawn in peace and tranquillity… He looks resplendent and proud in his regalia… It is quite a collection – and by no means all the parks or sights visited could be accommodated. But, nonetheless, it is a pretty good collection for a trip that started 2 months 3 days ago…

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I remember well the ceremonial placing of the first sticker back on 5th June, after we had been through Denali…

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I’ll do a full summary and conclusion in due course… I’m rambling - I know. I’m not as focused as I should be…

Back to the day…

I took in the marvellous view for a while. Mist hung over fields and rivers below us. It was magical, peaceful and emotional...

Thereafter, I managed a good fast run through the Park on the Skyline Drive’s Southern section. Screw the 35mph speed limit when the roads are clear and as good as they were !! There were no Rangers about and we saw only 2 other cars. The only things that could tell tales and get us into trouble were 4 deer and 2 wild turkeys !!

On exiting the Park I picked up some picturesque highways before ending up on the inevitable interstate. It was good to have had some pretty twisting and scenic roads today…

The interstate was headed towards Washington – but my intended route was to bypass it. As I was making such good time and the ETA was 1:00pm I elected to divert right through the centre to take in a few of the sights.

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We were slowed by some traffic but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Our first sight was the crossing of The Potomac with the planes taking off over it from Reagan International Airport.

We looped around The Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Monument, The Federal Reserve and a few other places…

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Then we hightailed out of the centre to try and miss the Friday traffic around Baltimore and in New Jersey.

The fears I had expressed yesterday about New York and New Jersey drivers was borne out. They must leave their brains at home… They refuse to wait behind a car as it passes another – instead making kamikaze swoops to the inside and back out to the lane they were in…

Very often such moves achieve nothing except endangering others… they drive at ridiculous speeds and I had to be on my guard with eyes in the back and side of my head as well.

It was shocking and I was glad I wasn’t going all the way into the centre tonight…

By 3:00pm I had arrived and was ensconced. Very glum…

It had been an ok day. It had been nice to start it in such a spectacular way and it was good to have ridden a little of the open spaces of Washington. But I didn't want to be holed up here – just 50 miles from the end of our journey…

The plan has worked well as he now needs his service and back tyre and I can drop him off after we get into Manhattan. That will guarantee safe and secure storage for him until Wednesday – which is great as off street parking is a real headache…

I’m going to conclude now… I’ll sum a lot more up tomorrow. But this evening I am so sad that I’m holed up just waiting for this all to end…

It has been so good and so special – and I have enjoyed leaving my cares behind and swapping them for the issues that arise on such a trip – that I really have an issue with it all being over…

I wish I was on the eve of setting off again instead of ending…

I ordered a delivery Chinese meal - but only managed to push it around my plate..."

The final stretch and thoughts to come...

 

[Racey]

I hope no one thinks I'm cheating by lifting from my journal again..? I just think it conveys pretty accurately, as I said in the previous post, how I felt at the time...

I will conclude this with a few retrospective thoughts in another post - but for the time being, here's how that ride into New York panned out...

"After 12,086 miles an adventure ends - and only a few people may understand the feeling today evoked... But I'm sure those that have had a dream, worked out how to turn it to reality and have finally lived the dream will understand...

This is going to be a factual account of today… The philosophical and emotional stuff will follow soon…

All I will say is that after my magical penultimate day – a day that allowed glorious riding and vistas as well as time to think, today was a little bit of an anti climax… It was magical to see an objective achieved – that is always satisfying. But it didn’t have the “wow” or emotional power the previous day had delivered…

Perhaps because I had to concentrate to stay alive in New York traffic ? Perhaps because I was feeling “flat” about the end… Nevertheless, it was as pleasant a ride as a ride into a busy major city gets !!

It started with a few tears shed as I read some of the wonderful emails I'd received after I posted yesterday's blog entry. Dave and Lee – you really know how to tug the heart strings and make a bloke choke up !!

Thank you for the comments – I share the sentiments – cherish the candour of the writing – and will treasure them for always…

I had picked a route that would not only see the objective of me getting into the city. But which would see me conclude my Arctic to Atlantic odyssey as well.

Sadly, Saturday traffic headed to the beaches on a fine morning stopped me following the entire route – but I did get down to a point where I could get the sight of the Atlantic and sniff the salty air.

To that point we had stayed away from the major roads into the city – wishing to prolong our ride we had travelled the smaller roads through suburbs. We crossed the Verazano Narrows Bridge and found a small parking area off the Shore Parkway to allow our sentimental pictures to be taken.

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/IGusC0Z3WQ9z_4mh53SygA?authkey=Gv1sRgCJGgl6b45O6fpQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_tyu_mgErIOA/S405GxXU7gI/AAAAAAAADjI/hNnXixd2dWg/s800/P1030118%20edit.JPG" /></a>

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Thereafter, we sat in nose to tail traffic most of the way back to The Brooklyn Bridge. Apparently my master plan of coming into the city on a weekend had a fatal flaw !! Instead of being quieter many roads were closed for weekend parades – so it was just as jammed !!

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I made my way to the bottom of 6th Avenue – very fittingly known as The Avenue of the Americas…

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We rode proudly towards Central Park – our Union Jack flying from the top box… Past The Empire State and Macy’s… Past our bunkhouse for the night…

Obligingly the lights changed to red halting us at the top of 6th Avenue at the front of the traffic. We were allowed to drink in the moment…

<a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MYDMFbQ9cTUVkV_D5hhN_A?authkey=Gv1sRgCJGgl6b45O6fpQE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_tyu_mgErIOA/S405TUg6i6I/AAAAAAAADjY/yO7vVlZbmlc/s800/PICT1062%20edit.JPG" /></a>

And to notice that Central Park was also closed to traffic !!! Aaaghh !!

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To my complete astonishment, as I sat at the lights at the top of 6th Avenue I saw a crazy woman on the opposite curb madly waving a Union Jack !!! Susie !!!

I had spoken to her yesterday afternoon at home... I'd told her that my plans were to finish by coming up 6th Avenue to Central Park and had said I'd call her when I got into my hotel. Unknown to me she'd caught the last Virgin flight from Heathrow and had arrived at Newark and got into the hotel at 2:00am this morning...

She'd spent the last 2 hours watching out for me and fighting off vagrants for 2 hours who wanted her off their park bench !!

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After jettisoning some gear at The Warwick it was off to the BMW dealer on 57th street to deposit The Warrior for a well deserved service and tyre change !!

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First priority was a cold Guinness.

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Then it was off for a very long, indulgent and leisurely lunch which was rounded off with a toast, not only to a job well done, but to the next adventure… East Coast Russia here I come... Overland..!! Cheers"

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I'll leave it there for today and will summarise the homeward leg and overall thoughts tomorrow...

 

[wully]

Great trip!

Thanks for talking the time and putting in the effort to write it up

 

[Stewart H]

Great trip!

Thanks for talking the time and putting in the effort to write it up

I agree, thanks for taking us along

Stewart

 

[casperfelix]

Brilliant. Really enjoyed it. Made me think about doing a long solo trip even more ....... but I doubt I'd ever be as brave or resourceful as you. However, you showed it can be done.

 

[NA1959]

Simply super!!!

 

[Sgt Bilco]

Brilliant. Really enjoyed it. Made me think about doing a long solo trip even more ....... but I doubt I'd ever be as brave or resourceful as you. However, you showed it can be done.

Solo travel is fantastic and is a different dynamic than travelling in a group. Get out and do it.....

Brilliant report Simon, I've sorted the Moki out for little swoiree in June and and it's what this site is all about

 

[roadrider]

Simon,

Many many thanks for allowing us to hitch a ride with you.
thoroughly enjoyed every mile of it.

 

[Timolgra]

Superb and I'll bet that pint of Guiness went down well

 

[sword]

re your trip

Well That was a brilliant travel log.If I saw this in book form with any of the photo's on the cover I probably would have bought it.Thank you for taking the time to share it with us and I hope you and your wife have many more adventures together.I don't know what you see in that Guinness stuff, though it's a nasty brew.Thanks again Gordon

 

[Racey]

Great trip!

Thanks for talking the time and putting in the effort to write it up

I agree, thanks for taking us along

Stewart

Brilliant. Really enjoyed it. Made me think about doing a long solo trip even more ....... but I doubt I'd ever be as brave or resourceful as you. However, you showed it can be done.

Simply super!!!

Solo travel is fantastic and is a different dynamic than travelling in a group. Get out and do it.....

Brilliant report Simon, I've sorted the Moki out for little swoiree in June and and it's what this site is all about

Simon,

Many many thanks for allowing us to hitch a ride with you.
thoroughly enjoyed every mile of it.

Well That was a brilliant travel log.If I saw this in book form with any of the photo's on the cover I probably would have bought it.Thank you for taking the time to share it with us and I hope you and your wife have many more adventures together.I don't know what you see in that Guinness stuff, though it's a nasty brew.Thanks again Gordon

Guys... Thank you to each of you... I am pleased you found it entertaining and interesting. That's the most important part for me. I got my inspiration from various places - ride reports included - I hope mine makes you more than dream - I hope it encourages you to follow those dreams...

Tim... A comment like that from you of all people makes me feel very humble and proud - Thank you...

There's a few bits to come to round off... More soon...

Simon

 

[mr_magicfingers]

what a fabulous report and how wonderful it must have been to see Suzie waving at the end of it to welcome you.

Thanks for taking the time and effort to put it all together so that we could share in the journey.