Top of Yosemite National Park in Nevada

This video was taken at the top of Yosemite National Park in California, while we were enroute to Nevada.

After crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California we crossed into the Nevida high desert.

At home finally !

We love our family and close friends....and, they had a huge party the day we returned. We were so happy to get home. We plan to post some of our videos taken during the trip but have to figure out how to do so; hence, you might not see these for another week or so.
For those of you who are bikers and have been reading this blog, if you have any questions about some of the roads or areas we visited or if you want us to email more detailed information to you on where we went, you can contact us via email:
hondaharley@gmail.com

The Best Roads of this Trip

And what would we say were the best or most spectacular roads on this trip?
-Northwest Michigan along the east coast of Lake Michigan (eg., routes 31 and 22)
-South eastern Minnesota along the Mississippi River (eg., route 16)
-Around the Black Hills/Rapid City part of South Dakota, particularly the Needles Hwy.
-Route 14 across the Big Horn National Forest in South Dakota
-Route 14/16 from Cody, Wyoming, over Sylvan Pass in Yellowstone
-"Going to the Sun" Hwy across Glacier National Park in Montana (although we did this road in 2005, not this trip due to heavy construction)
-Route 40 through Kananaskis country between Longview and Canmore, Alberta
-The Icefields Parkway between Banff and Jasper, Alberta (this we believe is the MOST beautiful road in all of North America due to spectacular snowpacked peaks, mirrored on aquamarine lakes)
-Hwy 99 in British Columbia from Cache Creek through Lillooet, Whistler, Squamish and down to Vancouver
-Route 101 along the Pacific Coast in Southern Oregon
-Hwy. 1 in California along the Pacific Coast
-California Route 120 across Yosemite National Park which goes down into the desert through Inyo National Forest
-Utah Route 12 from Escalante to Bolder (Utah)
-The road through Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado
-Hwy 550 from Durango through Silverton to Ouray in Colorado
-Hwy 50 across Monarch Pass in Colorado
-Route 62 through the Ozarks in Northern Arkansas and Route 66/14 through Mountainview
-The "Nachez Trace" Byway from Nachez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee
-The "Blue Ridge Parkway" which travels though Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia (although this parkway we rode in 2006 when there was NO rain and lots of sunshine)
-Hwy. 28 through Bancroft, the "Monck Road" and Route 507 in Ontario.

And what areas would we like to re-visit at some point in the future, areas that we'd like to have spent more time enjoying?
-The Black Hills of South Dakota
-The Cody/Yellowstone area of Wyoming
-The National Parks of Southern Utah
-The Ozarks in Arkansas
-The Smoky Mountains in Tennessee (when not raining)
-Pennsylvannia's interior (again, when it's not raining!)

Statistics

And what are the final statistics for such an adventure?

75 nights on the road, 76 days away from home (11 weeks)
20,000 km or 12,500 miles
maximum cruising speed 130 km/hour on the straight empty interstates of South Dakota
minimum cruising speed 80 km/hour on the hard rain covered highways
most technically challenging section of road = the switchbacks on California Hwy #1 between Leggett and the Pacific Ocean (no counter steering or leaning possible when doing only 10 mph up an 18% grade)
26 American States and 3 Canadian Provinces covered

Total Cost = $16,021.38 or approx. $210/day
which included the following breakdown for those interested:
gas for 2 bikes = $2049.28 (76 days)
camping with tent/kabin = $1017.57 (36 nights = 48% of time = avg. $28.27/night)
hotel/motels = $2452.53 (30 nights = 40% of the time = $81.75/night)
staying with family/friends (9 nights = 12% of the time)
food (snacks, eating at camp, etc.) = $1292.71
restaurant meals (breakfast, lunch or dinner) = $2603.53
tourism items (museums, bus tours, national park passes, ferries, tolls, etc.) = $1922.92
personal items (laundry, toiletries, gifts, etc.) = $1124.42
motorcycle maintenance on Dave's bike = $1571.13 (included two services, two new tires)
motorcycle maintenance on Bev's bike = $1987.29 (included three services, one new tire)

Packed Bikes

People have asked how we packed up the bikes for such a long trip, especially since we were also carrying camping gear (tent, fly, poles, sleeping bags, sleeping mats, etc.) Here is a picture of both bikes ready to leave Gettysburg.

On Bev's, you can see five places on the bike for packing "stuff": the lower/left side saddlebag (on road side if stopped) has items not necessarily used on a daily basis such as bike washing fluids/cloths, exercise bands, rain boot covers, extra clothing for cold weather, bike locks for night, ferry tie-downs, running shoes, etc.; the higher/right side saddlebag has daily items that would be used while travelling such as maps, windshield wash, sunblock, food, peak, various chargers, etc. as it is easier to access on that side when stopped on the road; the three on the top behind her include the bike night cover (great as a lumbar support), a rubberized baha bag with all clothing, and a fishing tackle box on the back with toiletries, makeup, pills, etc. etc. Under bungies on top is rain gear for instant access.

On Dave's, you can see five places as well: the big blue rubberized bag on the passenger seat contains 2 self-inflating air mattresses, 2 sleeping bags and the tent/fly; the smaller black bag on top of the blue bag contains miscellaneous camping equipment such as utensils, plates, bearspray, trustly duct tape, etc.; the big box on the back contains the laptop, shoes, extra warm clothing; the lower/left saddlebag has diabetic supplies and clothing; the higher/right saddlebag has more clothing and toiletries and a small pack for day trips.

We also included a photo of a "kamping kabin" at a KOA where we stayed towards the end of trip when it was too cold to camp out in a tent. In future years we think we will loose the tent and just use motels and such "kabins" as the beds are a whole lot easier to get out of then sleeping mats on the ground.

Also, you can see on the back of Bev's bike...."when in Rome, do as the Romans"....Americans are a heck of lot more patriotic than are we!! AND, it meant that the cars and trucks gave Bev lots of space....she was thinking they were saying "aw, look it's a female on a bike...a Canadian too !"

Fall in Ontario

After all the great American roads, we thought we should check out some fall colours on some of Ontario's better motorcycle roads. From Burritts Rapids, we headed west through Smith Falls and Perth to Kaladar on Hwy. 7. From there we headed north on Hwy. 41 and spent the night in Denbigh at the intersection of hwys. 41 and 28. Note the photo of our last evening meal on the road at the Swiss Inn Restaurant....to match our first evening meal back on July 21st in Tobermory. The next morning it was COLD....note the frost on Dave's bike in the picture....you can see his fingernail markings on the back pack of his bike...we put on every sweater, long undies, and took off towards Bancroft (temperature warmed up to 5 degrees by the time we had packed up). The leaves up there have really begun to turn so it was a colourful drive.

We stopped for gas somewhere east of Bancroft on 28 where we noted two major differences from American gas stations: (1) in the US we have to park the bikes in front of the gas pump, went in to give a gas deposit for the gas we wanted to use, then pumped the gas into the 2 bikes and went back in to get the change. In northern Ontario, we pump the gas, go in to pay, then they ask "how much did you use?" and then we tell them and that's what we pay....they never look at the pump, they just take your word for it; and, (2) the rest room plumbing in the States was a heck of lot more modern then what Bev had to use (see photo).

New York and Ontario

From Gettysburg we headed back to Interstate 81 and headed north in Pennsylvannia's Fall rain, and New York's fall rain to Syracuse for the night. Still raining in the morning, we headed out in full raingear to Ontario. We crossed near Gananoque, and once across the border, though cold, the sun was shining. YES and YEAH, then we popped onto the 401 eastbound.

We visited Dave's aunt Cathy in Burritts Rapids, just south of Ottawa. Oh my gawwd, can you see how long Dave's locks & beard are getting???