Motorcycle Adventure To California

[RogerT]

I'm new to the group .. and I've been following this thread.

I'm going to head off from Nebraska to Miami on my Ultra next month. Should
be fun. Wish I had more time .. but only have the week vacation. So 3
days down .. 3 days back .. with a ride to KW when I get down there. I'm
figuring on about 500 to 600 miles per day .. hopefully my 61 y/o body will
hold up. Haha. Last summer I rode up to the Black Hills and Sturgis for a 3 day trip .. 1 up .. rode around a day .. 1 back. It wasn't bad at all so I'm thinking
this one should be doable.

I'll be watching Pru's trip.

RT

 

[Gas Gauge]

I'm new to the group .. and I've been following this thread.

I'm going to head off from Nebraska to Miami on my Ultra next month. Should
be fun. Wish I had more time .. but only have the week vacation. So 3
days down .. 3 days back .. with a ride to KW when I get down there. I'm
figuring on about 500 to 600 miles per day .. hopefully my 61 y/o body will
hold up. Haha. Last summer I rode up to the Black Hills and Sturgis for a 3 day trip .. 1 up .. rode around a day .. 1 back. It wasn't bad at all so I'm thinking
this one should be doable.

I'll be watching Pru's trip.

RT

RT, make sure to start a new thread before or after and include pic's so we can participate.

If you look at the beginning of this thread you will see a spreadsheet that you can download, then PM some members along your route and let them know when you will be passing through their area and they will assist you if you need help....you may even hook up and shake hands, then post it in the new thread Members Meeting Members - Harley Davidson Community

 

[RetiredJake]

Met up with PRU this morning. Missed him last night, by the time I got his message, I was too many glasses into my wine to take a ride to meet him somewhere. We had breakfast this morning, then I rode with him 75 or 80 miles down to the Natchez Trace. We stopped, had a soda, took some pictures, and met another biker that was doing a cross country run to raise money for charity. All in all, a good morning. I just hope he didn't get caught in the rain that went through here around 1400. Big nasty lighting storm with a lot of heavy rain.

 

[pru7536]

Motorcycle Adventure, Day 4

It was another great day and a couple of items checked off the bucket list. I met Retired Jake for breakfast in Clarksville, TN and he escorted me to the Natchez Trace without having go back through Nashville. It was a distinct pleasure to meet such a fine man and motorcyclist after so many computer messages back and forth. The Natchez Trace was one of the nicest roads I have ridden on. The pavement was without a blemish, the grass was cut and there was not a single piece of litter anywhere. If you like high speed, twisty roads, this ain’t for you. If you like to cruise at 50 mph through beautiful countryside with gentle curves and rolling hills, this is the road! My original plan, if you can call it that, was to ride the Trace to Natchez, MS then head for Leakey, TX to see an old Marine Corps buddy that I haven’t seen since 1977. I found out this morning, from my buddy’s daughter, that he was leaving Leaky and headed to her house in Mountain City, TN. He didn’t know I was coming and I can’t get there before he leaves. Hopefully I will see him again before we die of old age. As I only did 271 miles today I am not very far west, on the grand scheme of things. Although I didn’t want to be in a rush, I want to get closer to the things I wanted to see. I finished the day west of Tupelo, MS and got holed up in a dump motel, but it should sustain me for the night……..I got interrupted while doing this write up as there was a domestic dispute going on a few doors down and the police showed up and sent some of the heathens on their way. I’ll consult the map shortly, but I think I may have to hit the super slab if the weather cooperates and make some progress westward in the morning. The weather channel is squawking about severe weather in this area. The geezer glide is covered up and as snug as I can make it while on the road. We’ll see what transpires tomorrow.

Me and Retired Jake at the Natchez Trace.

Scenic Pictures from the Trace.

My five star accommodations.

 

[JPHOG]

Thanks for the pics.and report pru,they were great!

 

[ekw13Fatboy]

Nice chatting with ya this evening, hope the trip continues to go well.

 

[flipper]

I am really enjoying this trip Pru! My husband and I hope to pull off one of these some day. We followed jaceddie on his cross country trip and now we've got yours going. There's a lot to learn from y'all's posts. Thank you for sharing! We will keep you in our prayers.................
I want to re-emphasize about the dehydration, and this is for everyone. You can lose a lot of fluid and not even realize that you're getting dehydrated, so make yourself drink water even if you don't feel thirsty. I'm speaking from experience. Almost a bad one.

 

[Jim B.]

Good to hear that you are still rolling along. Ride safely out there. Hope to see you when you hit the California coast.

 

[pru7536]

Motorcycle Adventure, Day 5
.
Woke up at 0400 ready to go. First thing I did was check on the bike; all is well, no bad weather came through last night, but I don’t know how much longer I will dodge the weather bullet. The town was New Albany. I repacked the bike ( I’m getting pretty good at it) and headed out at 0600. Although I have more time for this trip than most get the opportunity to take, I am getting concerned that I am not getting west quick enough. I decided to make a run for Memphis before the vacationers woke up and take the super slab, I-40, to Little Rock, AR. I then turned southwest on I-30 headed for Texas as I ain’t been there for over 30 years. Soon after entering Texas I got on 82 which looks to run a good distance at the northern end of the state. The interstates were terrible with tractor trailers and rice burners. I was cruising along in the right lane at about 72 mph and noticed a single headlight approaching pretty fast. I was in the left track and the next thing I know, this rice burner passed me on the right doing about 90. I must give him credit, he turned around in the saddle and gave me the peace sign. Thirty seconds later he was out of sight, weaving in and out of traffic, never letting up. Another two rice burners passed me in the left lane, I didn’t even see them coming. They had to be doing way over 100 mph. I finally found a place to stay in Paris, TX. A Best Western! It is clean and everything works as advertised, not like the dump I stayed in last night. I guess you really do get what you pay for. I made 466 miles of westward progress today and I checked Google Maps and the distance from Los Angeles to Paris is 1475 miles. I have ridden 1567 thus far, so I think I’m in pretty good shape. Paris, is a little less than 500 miles from New Mexico, but I’m not sure I’m up for another long day tomorrow. I am sorry to report that there are no photos today. There wasn’t much to see on the interstate as you well know and I didn’t want to go sightseeing in Arkansas. Thanks for following the post and I’ll keep y’all updated.

 

[RetiredJake]

Pru,

Glad to hear you dodged the weather bullet again. It opened up in Clarksville about an hour after I got home. Poured for about 3 hours, and lighting enough to make even me glad I was inside.

I enjoyed our visit, as short as it was. I was proud to give you the tour down to the Trace, and the door is always open if you get back this way.

Fair winds and following seas.

Jake