Home!

Jeff and I arrived home late tonight after a 6-hour flight. There's two different motorcycles and a sidecar abandoned in people's yards across the nation, the trip cost honestly and literally thousands of dollars more than we'd planned, and our butts may never recover, but I'd still do it in a heartbeat. There's no better way to see the country and meet great people.

Phonecia to NYC

We departed Ithaca early Saturday morning, leaving a unsightly pile of discarded motorcycle sidecars, motorcycles, unwanted camping equipment, tools and chemicals on Chris' parking strip. We drove to the Catskills, where we secured last-minute camping in the town of Phonecia. I had forgotten that it was a weekend day, and we were lucky to score any camping at all, much less a great spot on a festive, well-tubed river. Nina and Elle, two friends of Chris' from Manhattan, took a train out from the city and joined us. They are both doing their residencies at a hospital in NYC, and even though they had both been on call the night before and hadn't slept at all, they did a great job recreating on the river and around the campfire. Respect. We were further joined by Jan and John, two guys at the neighboring campsite who were out from the city celebrating John's 40th. It was the most social camping of the trip by far.









Once in Manhattan the next day, Chris, Jeff and I rented bikes and tore all over the island, leaving Nina and Elle to digest the news that Chris had planned on having us crash at their small apartment. We did Central Park, Times Square, Greenwich Village, SOHO, Tribeca, Chinatown, the Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, and dinner at a great Peruvian chicken spot back near N&L's place. We went to bed tired.

The next day, Jeff had had it with the dirty heat and biking, but he still stepped up and helped me do some critical bit of shopping on 47th street. All went well.

Even compared to the bad days on the road, continually laying in parking lots wrenching on misbehaving bikes in the hot midwest, I never felt dirtier and more uncomfortable than the two days I spent drenched in sooty, oily sweat while hanging out in Manhattan. Whew! One look at Jeff while we were out and about in the city, and I'm very sure he feels the same.

More Ithaca Visitations

It's pretty cool that Jeff's first time driving a sidecar, the sidecar itself's final and last ride, and my first time riding IN the sidecar all coincided for a trip up through the Cornell campus to the Cornell Dairy Bar for milkshakes. Good times.

Ithaca is Gorges

Thanks to a daring in-flight refueling to get around the pathetic range of the sidecar rig, we were able to make it into Ithaca yesterday with only two legs, arriving about 3PM. I had very different expectations for the Eastern part of our trip, imagining mostly crowded freeway driving and a desperate push for miles. Instead, Cleveland turned out to be my favorite city, and New York state was topped only by Montana for beauty, open roads, and rural charm. We had a great final day on the bikes.










Jeff and I had a lazy evening and next morning recovering while enjoying Ithaca's gorges, waterfalls, coffee shops, and definitely the Cornell campus. I think we're both thrilled that the motorcycle part of the trip is over, but are looking forward to sightseeing in the city and a few more days with new friends and old.

Cleveland Rocks!

We scored another great evening and fine accommodations from Jim and Angela, friends of my friend Joe. They gave us a great tour of the city, and Jim rides a pair of SV650's (one for the track, one for the street), so we had lots of fun talking shop. Thanks guys!

Blue Earth, WI

A fitting name for a town where we had the worst eco-disaster of the trip. I like the Harper's Index style of storytelling, so here goes-

• Quarts of oil added to the Yamaha before realizing the crankcase sight glass was completely full the whole time, not completely empty: 3
• Quarts of oil removed from Yamaha in gas station parking lot: 3
• Quarts successfully contained in used milk jug: 2

Technical Recap

This post just disappeared. Thanks, Blogspot.

One Night in SD, USA

Sioux Falls KOA. Nothing to report.

Sturgis continued

For all its faults, Sturgis does make you feel like a badass, tough biker dude. Word.

Sturgis 2009!

Sturgis! Sweet! If you took the Hot Topic store out of the mall, made it as big as a whole town, and stocked it with Harley-Davidson merch , this is what you'd get!

But I'm glad we saw it. An awesome spectacle indeed.

Welcome to the Midwest

Our luck held out, and we threaded the needle between more huge thunderstorms, then broke into the hot, flat, sunny Midwest. There's nothing to take pictures of out here, so I'll recycle a cute picture from yesterday featuring Jeff and two baby buffalo. I bet Jeff $20 he couldn't punch one in the head while the big mom was looking at him, but he didn't take.



Anyway, the midwest also afforded a lot of boring time to think, so here's my take on the trip, by numbers.



Jim's Index:

• Miles covered: 1221
• Burpees done for the one burpee per mile challenge: 181
• At current rate, projected burpee shortfall at end of trip: 2600
• Cell phones ruined: 1
• Motorcycles ruined: 1
• Number of ratchet straps now an integral part of sidecar frame/suspension: 2
• Comments or interest in sidecar since arriving in Midwest USA/Harley Country: 0
• Number of Suzuki DRZ enduro bikes within 200 miles: 1
• Number of normal-sized women on a Harley within 200 miles: 0
• Average fuel consumption of sidecar rig, in MPG: 33
• Drunk homeless people Jeff tried to start a fight with: 1
• Count of items lost from sidecar: 4
• Dollars spent on lodging/camping so far: 0

Comments now Work, Thanks!

We wrote today off to site-seeing around Yellowstone, with a quick transit from the North to Northeast park enterance, then over the incredible pass on hiway 212 and back up to I-90. There was snow on the ground, and we got hit pretty hard by hail a couple times. But as with every day so far, the weather cleared just in time to let us air our gear and set up a perfect, dry camp before another storm rolled in. I think I actually prefer it exactly this way. Just enough roughness to make a good story, and to make me really appreciate the sun and clear skies we do get. Plus, it's scary and exhilarating to be riding twisty mountain roads as hard as we can with a thunderstorm that looks like it belongs in a Lord of the Rings scene gaining from behind. (And with us and the sidecar, riding as hard as we can on windy roads means 10 below the posted speed limit with a PT-cruiser towing a pop-up trailer riding our ass, signaling to pass.)

We made a good camp just before Billings, and talked the 15-year old kids next door into letting us shoot their BB guns. They were definitely hoping for some of our whiskey in return, but we did the right thing.

First "Bathing" of the Trip

... and presumably the last. 120 degree goodness at Boiling River, WY.

We watched an amazing thunderstorm march up the yellowstone basin last night after our campmates went to bed, with the best fireworks I've seen. I've never lived someplace that had storms like that. Despite the storm that lasted all night, our gear is still dry and we're enjoying a warm sunny day in Yellowstone. Lucky us!

First Guest Post!

OK! So we are here with Jeff & Jim, the funniest motorcyclist of the west! Holy Crap!!!! geeks.
SO we have two very competent intelligent men turn up to Gardiner MT looking for a place to stay, because of the very awesome side car, we invited them into our site. Yamaha 750 3 cylinder bikes rule the world. We've been drinking for a while tonight and the conversation has desolved into mother jokes and who can spell better. (We have to find a rock for the side car so it doesn't tip.) (The bike is on its own. Its on its own track. You fall over and you die. Then the bike comes back to life and eats your brains.)
All in all, eat living peoples.
Blog me long time.

All we want is quantity no quantity!

-Bill and Leoni
Sent on the Now Network? from my Sprint® BlackBerry

First update

Second day: We have settled down in Missoula somewhere on a forest service road. Jim has mellowed a bit. He became a little stressed late yesterday when he "blew a head gasket" ( his engine stopped working and began smoking heavily). We overcame this obstacle through the help of AAA to spokane (60 miles). After some routine maintenance we replaced some parts. The only original equipment that now remains is the sidecar. This is much improved. One 600 dollar bike for another 600 dollar bike. Now for Jim to add...

Super thanks to everyone who made us so welcome at Cheryl's place in Spokane. I don't think we were the greatest houseguests- we were really dirty and smelly, kept asking to borrow cars and large amounts of cash, and made a lot of noise working on and cursing at the bike. But in the end, all turned out well. Like Jeff said, we swapped a couple minor parts into the old Honda, and she runs much better now. We are at most only a couple hundred miles and $600 behind where we planned to be.

On the Road! First Stop

After faking 20 minutes of ignition troubles getting the Honda started this morning so that everyone would think our trip is crazier and more daring, Jeff and I rolled out.

First easy leg to Cle Elem. Great pic showing that Jeff's phone and the Honda's automatic chain-and-sidestand oiler works.

Tomorrow is the Big Day

Tomorrow is the big day. We roll out early and with emphasis from 54's, hoping to be in North Bend by no later than 8PM, and in Coeur d'Alene by night.

We haven't even left yet, but we've already learned so much. So much about ourselves. So much about the world and our place in it.

• How to spell Coeur d'Alene.
• Facebook sucks for blogging and pictures.
  
• How to set up a blogspot blog.
• My motorcycle boots don't fit anymore.
• Buckcherry is playing at Sturgis the night we roll through.

Good luck to us!