Memorial Day

So, I'm home already... having finished the trip at just over 5,500 miles. It came a little too soon though. I had just become accustomed to living on the road.

I rode the last few days through the New England states. I guerrilla camped a state forest in Rhode Island because I was sick of paying $20 just to pitch a tent. My first stealthy attempt was somewhat lazy, I only hid the bike and tent behind a large boulder. Either way it worked, no one saw or bothered me. I realized I never posted anything about the camping aspect of my trip so I included a couple extra photos from early on. I traveled with a two-person backpacking tent, a cheapo sleeping bag, foam mat, my old boyscout mess kit, and a little multi-fuel stove running on unleaded gasoline.

Do you see my campsite! I didn't think so. Success!

Picture from the other side... yeah it's hard to hide a sky blue tent. Epic failure.

Continued riding along the coast through Maine. Ate a crab meat roll for lunch while having a discussion with a local antiques collector about great places in Maine. I couldn't wait to try some fresh lobster but never got around to it, perhaps because the crab ended up in a large ziploc bag along with the rest of my stomach later that night. Also, most of Maine was covered in a smokey haze from the Canadian wildfires, the breathing of which only added to my sickness. I recovered enough to take a day trip up to Acadia though. Tiny park but awe inspiring views. In the winter, atop Cadillac Mountain, you can be the first to catch sunrise in the US.


I was pulled over just before the New Hampshire border for doing 48 in a 25 mph zone. I don't know if the American flag affixed to the back of my bike helped during those last few hours of Memorial Day but I got away with a warning and avoided a $215 fine.

I ran out of cash and only paid half the campsite fee at the national forest in New Hampshire. The next morning the camp host came out and implied I was thief, which seemed a little harsh considering the triviality of the situation. So I told her I'd stop at the atm and come back with the rest (as originally planned) but after our discussion I felt more inclined to follow her "advice", I had rode west toward Vermont instead. Before I left the state I was excited to stop at the "Old Man on the Mountain" site, as seen on the NH state quarter. It was a great morning too, the smokey haze cleared, the air smelled clean and fresh and the forests were shining their deep, intense greens that only a recent rain can bring out. And there was no tourist in sight; I had the place to myself. Turns out the Old Man wasn't even there. He passed away in 2003... apparently the rock "face" fell off the side of the mountain.


I never made to the national forest in Vermont. After eating at a roadside grill I asked the owners if I could just pitch a tent behind their restaurant since it was getting late, and their stories about moose wandering into the roadway at night were making me apprehensive about finishing the ride. They were an interesting old couple who also owned the farm across the road. They told me proud stories about celebrities who came through here including Jesse James and Sandra Bullock, who were also riding through on motorcycles back when they were together.

I had no urge to stop at Niagara Falls and there was nothing of particular interest in Ohio so I rode for Chicago. I raced home on the interstate through a constant rain with REO Speedwagon's Riding the Storm Out playing in my head. I made it to my friend's house in Whiting, IN just in time to prepare for the Zombie Walk through Chicago. Seeing as a I started the trip with a metal show at Reggie's rock club, I found it a fitting end to ride the last few miles home, looking undead... but feeling very much alive.

Zombies get sentimental too, ya know.

The City That Never Sleeps

Staten Island, Verrazano Narrows Bridge

I rolled into New York City, after fighting traffic through the Lincoln Tunnel, during Fleet Week. Apparently several Navy and Coast Guard ships were docked in town for the week, partly to let their crews visit New York and partly as a recruitment tool. Seeing as my tour turned into everything and anything American I spent most of my days checking out the ships and aircraft.

You think it's bad in Chicago's winter? In NYC: double parking is "allowed" the entire block during alternate side parking hours.

I stayed at the cheapest, most luxurious hostel yet right next to Central Park in Manhattan. Rode the subway to go eat hot dogs and pizza, rode my bike around to Staten Island and through the Bronx as well. The traffic in New York, no matter what any else says about their city is theee worst I have been through. I can't stand sitting in traffic which is why I ride a bicycle in Chicago and why I lane skipped for the first time with my motorcycle in New York. Fun times.

I'm at a public library, and it won't let me upload videos. Screen shots will have to suffice for now!

I also had a wonderful roommate. We went to a jazz club on Broadway one night and the next I gave her a ride on the motorcycle around town and over the Manhattan bridge. The late evening is when New York City is at its best. The traffic dies down and the city is ablaze with lights. She was awesome company and one of the reasons I loved my stay in New York.

Broadway?!

You can easily walk from one side of Manhattan to the other in no time. So many people are crammed into that one little island and I've met several great people because of it. I was worried about parking my bike on the street at first but never had a problem. Next to a bicycle, a motorcycle was a great way to navigate city traffic, just gotta watch out for cabs.

I wish I had taken more photos at night... I was just too caught up in the city life and living in the moment to care.

Philadelphia

yeah, I played the part of a tourist too...

Turns out it wasn't a transmission problem. The day after I got into Philly, my friend Tony and I rode to the shop and had them check it out. As soon as the shop tech rode the bike 10 feet I can see the chain flopping around. They replaced it, along with the worn front brake pads, on the spot. I feel renewed.... my bike is renewed. I feel like I can do another 3000 miles. Then reality settles in, and I remember my job, my loans, and missing home.

Congress Hall, back when Philadelphia was the capitol

Tony kept me busy in Philadelphia. Worked on both our bikes, drank with coworkers at happy hour, saw a movie, joined a local biker meet up, gave two girls a ride to the gun club range. It was awesome to spend time with an old friend, and even better that he had a motorcycle too. Got some cool videos of us cruising on downtown philly streets at night (which I'll upload when I get back to Chicago). Philly has a lot of gritty character, the one city on the trip that reminded me most of Chicago minus the street car lines. New York City was next. That city is amazing and horrible and every other adjective in between. When I find time and a better connection I'll post about it.

that's right, the gun club took our picture for their website.

The Capitol of Tourism

The sounds coming from my engine have grown progressively worse. I kept thinking it was a clutch problem because it only occurred in first or second gear but eventually I heard it at higher speeds. I thought about ditching most of my camping gear in DC (thinking it would lighten the load on the transmission), but decided to wait to Philly to have it looked at. In the meantime I stayed off it much as I could. That meant no riding through DC or pictures in front of the Washington Monument with my bike and American flag unfurled. While not worrying about my bike I spent the rest of the time finding a place to stay. I thought I'd just roll into town, pick the closest hostel and call it a night, turns out every one is booked for the next several months. I eventually found an expensive one north of the mall. Over the course of the next three nights I stayed at three different places in the DC area including a campground in Maryland.

Schoolhouse Rock anyone? No! No bills allowed on these steps, post 9-11

Washington DC is free. I spent a lot of time at the Air and Space museums and also checked out the visitor center/museum of the US Capitol building, walking through over 200 years of American history set to dramatic music. Every major museum is free, perfect for traveling on a budget. Arlington National Cemetery even has a bus-train tour... DC is the mecca of tourist groups. It's quite insane at times.

SpaceShipOne, the first in private space flight.

USS Enterprise, first NASA test shuttle

Luckily it rained one night and the national mall was relatively clear for one hour. There are several, lesser known places to visit to escape the crowds, like the Renwick gallery suggested by my brother, or the Air and Space Museum hangar in Chantilly, Virginia.

This would be considered creepy at anyone else's house.

What a mess...

Without my bike I relied on walking, taking the DC metro, and even hitching a ride from a Smithsonian curator. I couldn't help but think of the similarities between my predicament and Che Guevara's much more profound trip across South America as detailed in his book: Motorcycle Diaries. Che's bike broke down repeatedly and it seemed 2/3's of the his and Alberto Granado's adventure was without their motorcycle. Of course, my trip pales in significance and I doubt it will lead me to start killing people.


On the way to Philly.

Strip Clubs and Discount Beach Shops

May 16-May 19

Cruising up the Atlantic Seaboard. Camped at Francis Marion National Forest located in South Carolina, the first new state on the trip.





View East US Tour in a larger map

While camping I met a guy walking across the US for something called the Patriot Walk Across America, (check out his blog at http://patriotwalkusa.org/ his adventure and goal is impressive). He mentioned Francis Marion was the guy the Patriot movie was based on. He would hide out in the swamps and ambush British troops. We camped near the Atlantic Intracoastal waterway, a massive feat of engineering providing a 3,000 mile protected inland waterway. In the morning I saw a pack of three dolphins swimming upstream, pretty amazing considering the Intracoastal is more like an inland river.

Visited the Hampton Plantation, a stop on George Washington's trip to collect talent for the fledging new country. He recruited the plantation owner Thomas Pinckney as a diplomat to England.



Back on the road... as soon as I reached Myrtle beach, my bike starting having trouble in low gear... sounds like a clutch problem. Every 100ft there was a discount beach shop. The whole place was like the Dells but longer and more repetitive. I couldn't wait to leave. I've passed several thousand strip clubs and discount beach shops between Cocoa Beach, Florida and Virginia Beach. The heavily commercialized east coast epitomized by Myrtle Beach is a sharp contrast to the rural roads of Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

Took a ferry to the outer banks in North Carolina for a brief respite from the developed mainland. Met a BMW rider formally from Chicago and rode along Cape Hatteras with him for a bit. Visited the famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, the first English Settlement at Fort Raleigh and the Kitty Hawk National Monument, site of the first powered flight.

Got to Virginia Beach by sun down, had drinks with an old friend from Chicago and was offered a free place to stay by her coworker! It was nice to have a bed and hot shower after several days on the road. Off to Washington DC tomorrow.

Heading North

Finally reached the Atlantic on Friday, south of the Jax beaches.


While in Jacksonville I stayed with a couple good friends. Saw the hilarious and very vulgar Aisha Tyler. Saturday we drove down to Titusville and Cocoa Beach to watch the 32nd and final flight of the space shuttle Atlantis.


Mission STS-132 is the last planned launch of the Atlantis. We had tried for tickets to the causeway, the closest spot at 6-7 miles out but they sold out within two minutes. So we did the next best thing, found a nice, grassy front lawn to watch it from across the water in Titusville. Spectacular launch! The whole thing was over in a couple minutes but the experience of it all, of leading up to it was amazing. I hope to come back for one of the other two final shuttle launches.



You can see the official video here: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=13894434
"...And if you don't mind, we'll take her out of the barn and make a few more laps around the planet." - Ken Hamm, STS-132 commander.

Traveled a little further south and ate at a restaurant along the water in Cocoa Beach. With the addition of a flat tire on Chris' car it was an awesome and eventful day. The next day I started taking it slow. I decided to hold the Keys for another time and rode the short 150 miles to Savannah through plantations-turned-social clubs and white beaches that stretch for miles. South Carolina is next!

I planned to leave by May 5 but didn't get out of Chicago till the 8th. I ended up over tightening and breaking a bolt that connects the handlebar assembly to the front fork an hour before I was suppose to leave. Luckily the replacement came in within two days and I was off. That repair was in addition to replacing two thermostatic switches on the cooling system, changing the oil/filter, air filter, coolant and front tire. Above is a photo of my stripped down bike before the trip


Skipped most of Indiana but stayed at Versailles State park before I left the state passing through Aurora, IN:

my route:
View East US Tour in a larger map

Coincidentally my route through Kentucky took me down the same road to Harlan, some of you may remember this city with the flood walls similar to Harlan:

I don't have a map of the state until I'm well within it in so my route isn't the quickest or most direct but it got me to Florida just the same. It's been slow going though. I didn't account for small motorcycle trouble every single day like a tipped bike in Kentucky, or a drained battery in Tennessee. Luckily people helped me in both occasions and with the battery issue a harley rider called a buddy up who brought a trickle charger. They waited an hour until my bat was charged. Tennessee you're alright.

Started the trip with 8745 miles on the bike... reached 10001 somewhere in Georgia. I'm currently resting in Jacksonville. I'll post videos soon.