Time to see the Country
I decided last fall to take another trip out to Sturgis South Dakota for the 2009 Motorcycle Rally. The last time I went was in August 2005; sixteen of us made the journey, some rode and some trailered. I was one of the ones that trailered. Since I moved to South Florida that year, I decided to trailer my bike for two reasons; One, it is 2300 miles from South Florida to Sturgis and second, I needed a place to stay when I got there. So, I put the bike in the RV, hitched it up to my truck and headed west.

This year is a little different. When the topic of going to Sturgis in 2009 came up, I wanted to do more than just go there and come right back home. I decided to make it an adventure and ride my bike this time, extending the trip a little; well really, extending it a lot. Since I was going to be two-thirds across the country anyway, why hurry back. One of my friends from PA is bringing his RV so I’ll have a place to stay in Sturgis. This year our group size is about 25; 24 from PA and 1 (me) from FL. For the remainder of my trip I’ll be on my own since my brother Bob is bailing on me.  It is not too late Bob, and you know this will be the last chance that we’ll have the opportunity to take a ride like this.

The decision now is where to head once I leave Sturgis. My plan is to head west from South Dakota to Wyoming, spending a day or two in Yellowstone National Park. From Wyoming I’ll continue west through Idaho and Oregon ending up at the northern tip of California. The reason I want to head as north as possible is to ride through the giant redwoods. Once in California, the plan is to head south, riding down the Pacific Coast Highway to Santa Monica. From Santa Monica, its northeast to Las Vegas, with stops at Hoover Dam, Lake Mead and the Grand Canyon. Once I leave the Grand Canyon, I’ll head south, picking up the old route 66. I’ll head east on Route 66 through Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma before turning south towards Louisiana and finally home to Florida. The length of the trip is 7450 miles and an estimated 25 days on the road. This is going to be a great ride and it will accomplish everything I want to do; visit Yellowstone National Park, ride down the Pacific Coast Highway on my FAT BOY; Ride on Route 66; and see this beautiful country we live in. I’m writing this on May 25^th, 2009, Memorial Day, and I can’t help but to reflect on what so many gave up for our freedom and this country. I just hope our current President doesn’t screw it all up.

The big question is; can my butt handle a ride like this? If you plot my course on a map you will see it is a giant loop around the United States. Okay, now let’s put this in a little prospective:

South Florida to Sturgis SD: 2175 miles
Sturgis to Yellowstone: 457 miles
Yellowstone to Crescent City, CA: 979 miles
Crescent City, CA to Camarillo CA: 810 miles
Camarillo, CA to Las Vegas: 344 miles
Las Vegas to Grand Canyon: 300 miles
Grand Canyon to Geary OK (last part of my trip on Route 66): 832 Miles
Geary to New Orleans: 1120 miles
New Orleans to South Florida: 833 miles

I also planned an abbreviated route in case my butt can’t handle the long version. The abbreviated ride will knock about 1200 miles off the trip. The alternate route is South Florida to Sturgis SD; no getting around that part. Sturgis to Yellowstone National Park; Yellowstone to Las Vegas; Las Vegas to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Grand Canyon; Grand Canyon back to South Florida. The total miles on this route are 6250 miles.

Only God knows at this point what direction and destination I’ll travel. The one thing for sure is I am leaving Pompano Beach, FL on Tuesday July 28^th at 6:00 AM.

Once I hit the road you can check my Twitter and Facebook account for daily updates.