Road Trip Planned

Lance Mark

Lance Mark

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I'm heading to Mt Rushmore soon. Been planning it for a while now. The rough plan is about 3200 miles in 8-9 days.

Took a lot of time to get the bike cleaned and sealed. The bike looks great, probably won't stay looking great the whole time, but the work I did was in part to make it look good, but also to protect it. I kind of have an addiction now, so I'll probably bring along some MF cloths and some pre-diluted ECH2O tucked in a bag...ya know...just to get my fix in.

My wife is a great travel companion and the time together on long trips like this is always an adventure and a lot of fun.

Here's the rough plan....but we get lost sometimes...on purpose.

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Looks like a cool trip. I've been to many of the places you are going to traverse and by the looks of your route. I think one of the coolest things you are going to see is the Mackinac Bridge.

I rode across it (N to S) in 2011. You can look through the grates to the water about 200 feet below... It's a strange experience as your bike will wander on the grates. The right lane is paved, the middle lane is steel grates. If you have any queasy feelings the paved lane can be your friend LOL.

As for Mount Rushmore, it used to be cooler than it is today. In the past, the road went right up to the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, that road no longer exists. It has since been re-routed and in its place they have built a Welcome Center and commercialized the area. Regardless, its still a cool destination, just not as virgin as in the past. I don't think you could get the attached shot today... There's a building in the way.

Have Fun!

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2black1s said:
Looks like a cool trip. I've been to many of the places you are going to traverse and by the looks of your route I think one of the coolest things you are going to see is the Mackinac Bridge.

I rode across it (N to S) in 2011. You can look through the grates to the water about 200 feet below... It's a strange experience as your bike will wander on the grates. The right lane is paved, the middle lane is steel grates. If you have any queasy feelings the paved lane can be your friend LOL.

As for Mount Rushmore, it used to be cooler than it is today. In the past, the road went right up to the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, that road no longer exists. It has since been re-routed and in its place they have built a Welcome Center and commercialized the area. Regardless, its still a cool destination, just not as virgin as in the past. I don't think you could get the attached shot today... There's a building in the way.
Click to expand...

Thank you, sir. I've been over the Mighty Mac once on the bike. We did a weekend up from Detroit to the Soo Locks. It was really quite the experience and would recommend it in a car or bike to anyone considering a visit to the area.

I'll try to get the same vantage point and snap a pic when I'm there. We'll compare views. :)
 
Make sure to have a pastie when in the UP.
When in Duluth, get to canal park to see Lake Superior & the lift bridge and go over it to the end of the road.
Aerostitch riding clothes is headquartered in South Duluth.
Fargo has the main store of Scheels sporting goods if you need something.
The Black Hills is all good! Stop at Wall, SD and walk thru Wall Drug.
The Museum of Speed in Lincoln NE, open in the afternoon, is an eye opener.
 
Looks like a fantastic trip.

It appears you will be in Cedar Rapids, IA , which is where I live.

A really great stop for a rider, or anyone for that matter, is the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA. Within 30 minutes north of Cedar Rapids. Hundreds of bikes on display.
 
That is an epic trip you planned! Looking forward to pics and stories!

Safe travels!
 
Thanks for the well wishes. I'll be sure to get some pics.
 
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2black1s said:
Looks like a cool trip. I've been to many of the places you are going to traverse and by the looks of your route. I think one of the coolest things you are going to see is the Mackinac Bridge.

I rode across it (N to S) in 2011. You can look through the grates to the water about 200 feet below... It's a strange experience as your bike will wander on the grates. The right lane is paved, the middle lane is steel grates. If you have any queasy feelings the paved lane can be your friend LOL.

As for Mount Rushmore, it used to be cooler than it is today. In the past, the road went right up to the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, that road no longer exists. It has since been re-routed and in its place they have built a Welcome Center and commercialized the area. Regardless, its still a cool destination, just not as virgin as in the past. I don't think you could get the attached shot today... There's a building in the way.

Have Fun!

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Click to expand...
 
I’ll get some more pics up when I get home... epic slow connection at the motel I’m at.

Been a great trip. We rode about 5 hrs in pretty hard rain today and after a few semis left me in clouds of water and mist I threw in the towel. Looking forward to getting home.
 
Awesome trip. We drove to Mt Rushmore last June from Philadelphia area via Sturgis stay over, what a great time. Stay safe
 
Lance Mark said:
... I'll try to get the same vantage point and snap a pic when I'm there. We'll compare views.
Click to expand...

Before and after the commercialization... You can't get to the point where the first pic was shot from. It was taken from the side of the road in 2003. That road no longer exists.

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I remember that building being there on my second trip to Rushmore. I don't know who was responsible for the location but there had to be better place than where it ended up. The old view, and the road right along the base, was so much better.

I'm leaving next week (Monday or Tuesday) for a ride from Los Angeles to Cleveland. Unlike your trip, mine is going to be by the seat-of-my-pants. No plans whatsoever except that I'm going to end up in Cleveland 3, 4, 5 days later. I haven't even picked my route yet. I just get on the bike each day and wherever I end up is where I end up.
 
2black1s said:
Before and after the commercialization... You can't get to the point where the first pic was shot from. It was taken from the side of the road in 2003. That road no longer exists.

I remember that building being there on my second trip to Rushmore. I don't know who was responsible for the location but there had to be better place than where it ended up. The old view, and the road right along the base, was so much better.

I'm leaving next week (Monday or Tuesday) for a ride from Los Angeles to Cleveland. Unlike your trip, mine is going to be by the seat-of-my-pants. No plans whatsoever except that I'm going to end up in Cleveland 3, 4, 5 days later. I haven't even picked my route yet. I just get on the bike each day and wherever I end up is where I end up.
Click to expand...

We did some wandering. We made really great time and dipped down into Kansas, after that, I made an unplanned stop in St Louis to visit my brother's grave. It was unplanned, but one of the highlights of the trip. Meant a lot to be able to be there and think about him.

Safe travels, sir.

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A pic from closer in.

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There was a lot of fog and there was construction on the bridge, so you had to ride on the grid. It feels worse than it is, but it sure feels like you are floating a bit when you are riding on a metal grid like that.

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This is at a scenic lookout over Lake Michigan. It was a cool shot of the rest area building and us...and a stranger offered to get a pic of us. It was a foggy day, so pics of the water didn't come out well. It's pictures of fog basically.

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One of my favorite presidents.

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Words can't describe, how enormous this is in person.

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Here we are in Northern MI in The Tunnel of Trees. My wife is geared up for rain, I hadn't given in at that point and refused to believe it would be anything other than a light misting. We hit 13 states in all. Saw a lot, rode a lot.

Next year we are heading to Maine.
 
Great trip... I'm sure you guys had a blast. Here's a quick summary of the trip I'm in the midst of...

Made it to Ohio on Thursday, June 3rd. Today is my first computer time since I left CA on Monday, May 31st.

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Monday - Simi Valley, CA to Grants, NM; 747.5 miles in ~13 hours. Slept at a Motel 6. 41 degrees when I left Tuesday morning.

Tuesday - Grants, NM to Joplin, MO; 837 miles in ~ 15 1/2 hours. Slept on a picnic table at a I-44 rest stop. Had a steak dinner for lunch at the Big Texan in Amarillo, TX. This was the only sit-down meal I had on the entire trip. Most places were still under COVID restrictions.

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Wednesday - Joplin, MO to Columbus, OH; 720.4 miles in ~ 14 hours. Visited a cousin and spent the night at her house.

Thursday - Final leg to my mom's house in Cleveland (Richmond Hts.) with a couple local detours on the way; 217.8 miles in ~ 5 hours.

Total one-way trip = 2522.7 miles in ~ 47.5 hours of riding time (includes food and gas stops) over 3 1/2 days.

Thursday Evening/ Friday Morning - Cleaning the bike in my mom's garage. Spent about 5 hours cleaning after riding through off & on rain for the last two days.

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I'll be spending about a week here in Ohio and then returning to CA. I think I'm going to do I-70 through Colorado on the return trip. Colorado is near the top of my list of favorite rides.
 
500 is about as much as I can take from my wife talking about how much she can take.

Wow....you ride!!

As a new detailer, I made a rookie mistake with some detailing supplies I brought. I brought a nice red trimmed MF Cloth and a 1/2 dozen edgeless black MF cloths, nice quality. In another bag, I brought a full spray bottle of ECH2O, diluted. After many miles on the road, I had a room where I could park my bike right outside my window and there was a hose conveniently right on the wall. I slowly used up my MF towels getting the bike cleaned from a good deal of road dust and bugs I could have scrapped off with a putty knife in places.

I was super happy with the result and the bike sparkled. It is way easier to clean a bike with a sealant on it. I stuffed all of the dirty MF cloths into a ziplock bag and stored them for the ride home.

I should have washed them first and then wrung them out and put them in the bag. When I opened the bag up after sitting in a hot Harley hard bag for three days, the rotted bugs hit me like a truck. I immediately sealed them up and reluctantly threw them away. I didn't even want to risk getting that smell in my washing machine.

Next trip, I'll be better prepared.
 
It's always easier to get miles in when you are alone. 500 with a passenger is a pretty good day.

There's pros and cons to riding alone but given the choice I'll usually go that route, with few exceptions. And long distance riding with a group of bikes can become a real fiasco in short order. I learned that on my very first long "group" ride to Sturgis in 2003. There were 5 or 6 bikes in that group and it was a learning experience for me. I've never done it again.

As for packing the wet, dirty rags... Whenever possible I try to let things dry before packing. If that's not possible I'll remove them at my next stop to allow them to dry, and then, repack them.

I've also given up on cleaning the bike (for the most part) until I reach a destination. I've been doing cross-country trips like this nearly every year since 2003. I used to clean the bike every night but I quit doing that 4 or 5 years ago.

Now when I get to my mom's house, which is always one of my destinations along the way, I have one dedicated cabinet in the garage with everything I need to give the bike a good bath when I arrive. I also have a motorcycle jack that is always there. The jack is a near-must for cleaning the wheels.
 
I wrapped up my summer road trip yesterday (Saturday). Here's a summary of the return trip from Cleveland, Ohio to home in Simi Valley, CA...

Wednesday - Cleveland (Richmond Hts.), Ohio to Paxico, KS
927.3 miles in ~ 16.5 hours.
Slept on an air mattress at an I-70 rest area and have about 20-30 insect bites that are itching like crazy to show for it. That's what I get for cheaping out on a hotel room LOL.

Thursday - Paxico, KS to Fruita, CO
783.4 miles in ~ 15.5 hours.
Again, slept at a rest area. Used the rest room sink to take a "sink" shower.

Friday - Fruita, CO to Simi Valley, CA (Home)
799.1 miles in ~15.5 hours.
All but the first few hours and the final hour or two of this day were the most brutally hot that I have ever ridden in. From just passed St. George, UT, through Las Vegas and well into CA, the temperatures exceeded 110 degrees F for a 300+ mile stretch. The extremes were 116.6 in Vegas and 120.2 in Baker, CA as indicated by the ambient temp indicator on my bike.

Total one-way (return) trip = 2509.8 miles in ~ 47.5 hours of riding time (includes food, gas, and rest stops) over 3 days.

In the future, when reminiscing about this trip, the high temperature extremes will certainly be my number one recollection.

Now that the trip is complete, here's what I have to look forward to next week... Three days and 2,500 miles worth of road grime and nature's fine creatures that got in my way.

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