USA TRIP

2007-10-18T12:55:00.001-07:00

Back home in Spain.

We have now been back home here in Spain for some days, now trying to adjust to the change in time, jet-lag. Boy what a job that has been. Our journey from California was as uneventful as most flights are. Breaking it up in Bristol, staying with Tom and Jenny helped. Like everyone else on this adventure they have been so friendly and always made us feel at home.

Looking back at the journey now it all seems so incredible. It had been something Betty and I had always planned, in fact as far back as the fifties when we had thought of cycling across America. Having now done it we realise what a monstrous task that would have been, but also what a great adventure. Family, jobs and other commitments took over until the idea raised its head again last year. Perhaps what had happened to Betty the previous year had also made us realise that you can not leave things to late to get things done.

It had taken a lot of courage and trust to buy such as expensive item without ever seeing the bike first or knowing the company who was providing it. I need never have worried for both the supplier of the trike, Marvin of Eurowing and the engineer ( trike builder) Wayne and Heidi Cornutt of Atlanta Eurowing have been superb. Our stay with the Cornutts at the beginning of the trip was a perfect start for our adventure and the help all gave us guaranteed a good beginning.

Once we left Atlanta we were on our own with this vast continent ahead of us and we were soon to find out how big it really was. We had intended staying on the east coast and sampling one of the well know bike rides, Blue Ridge Park Way, but having used up three days we decided to miss that part and perhaps return again next year on our way back. We also would like to ride with Wayne and Heidi next year who we hope by that time will have their own machines on the road, get to it folks!

Our impression of this trip across America.

We could have made it across much faster than what we did, in a direct line to California, but our intensions had always been to see as much as we could of the various national parks, mountains and good biking roads. America has a lot of wide and straight roads, believe me! If you are to reach the other side and still see some of the sights you have to use the Interstate Highways at some time. What surprised us was, that not all of them where nice and smooth, as we had first imagined them to be. They just love concrete roads or repairing cracked roads with tar which continually jarred the suspension of the trike. One of the reason was also that this trike had low profile tyres and a more sporty suspension that ours back in Spain. This has meant a vast improvement on the handling but it had sacrificed some of the comfort of the machine. I overcame this to some extent by lowing the tyre pressures. It may sound as though all the roads were like this, it isn’t so, the vast majority were excellent and really enjoyable. If you rode off the I Roads( interstate) and onto just highways then they were usually superb all the time.
I think both of us had been a little apprehensive in the beginning about the lorries we would meet and the quantity of traffic, particularly on the interstate roads. We need not have worried. The driving skills of most drivers was excellent particularly the heavy goods lorries, all gave you a clear berth when passing and none tail-gated us. Quite incredible!

No time during the whole trip did we ever think “Oh god another day travelling” Every day we looked forward to what ever the ride would bring, we had our testing moments; particularly the incredible side winds across Wyoming; those vast and wide open spaces, but even these became an essential part of our adventure. After all, if it had all been smooth none of it would have been so memorable. Coming across the plains of Wyoming towards South Dakota and seeing the hills rising up in the distance, what a sight! We’d taken a number of side roads, just to break the monotony of long straight roads up, but The Black Hills has real biking terrain, and the stay with Randy and Jan Mickel became one of the high lights of our trip. We just couldn’t have landed so lucky and what a beautiful area South Dakota is with Mount Rushmore and Crazy House. Don’t forget Randy and Jan we expect you in Spain sometime!
A diversion to visit The Devils Tower made a good break in the journey and was well worth it. What an incredible sight as it thrust its way up out of the surrounding plains. Betty even getting enthusiastic about returning to climb, you can’t keep a good girl down!

Once we had reached the start of the mountains of Yellowstone Park we really knew we had arrived, the ride over Bear Tooth Pass was an excellent approach to the park, well worth the increased mileage we had to do to reach it. Yellowstone should be on every ones agenda when doing a trip across America. The Grand Tetons where a bit of disappointment as we had thought they would have been much bigger, but they are still beautiful. Perhaps you need to actually get amongst them to really appreciate their grandeur. Our trip across and down through Wyoming, towards Colorado, was far better this time, no wind or at least less wind. One thing you have to remember is that when they say road works ahead they really mean it. 20 miles of ripped up road, both lanes, and you have to either use the 4x4 surface or go back, not the best way to travel on a trike I can tell you. Again the vastness of the open spaces, you have to experience it to believe it. Colorado; again one of the mountain areas we had looked forward to and it didn’t disappoint us either. This was one of those areas we could have quite easily have spent the whole trip exploring, never mind possibly next time!! Twice up to 12,000 plus feet with great days of riding the trike on real motor biking roads. As we went further and further south we had expected it to become a lot warmer, everyone had told us the temperatures were at least 15 degrees (F) lower than it should have been. It did become warmer but nothing like what we had expected it to be. We never became uncomfortable in our riding gear. Next stop Utah.

Canyon Lands, Arches and Monument Valley, names to really get the imagination going and they didn’t disappoint. All were fantastic but perhaps Canyon Lands were the best, due simply because you can get closer in to them. Monument valley should have been even better but the cost of the trip into the actual valley was far too expensive, but we got our pictures anyway, from a distance.
Zion; what a name to conjure up steep canyons and rock walls. We had always wanted to visit this park as it is a well known rock climbing venue. Of all the parks it surprised us the most, its simply incredible and so well preserved, we will be back!
The occasional twisting roads helped to break up the long straight ones towards Grand Canyon, one of the wonders of the world, and it is. We so nearly missed it out, when that terrible storm hit us, but we did see it and so glad we did. You can’t really picture it in your minds eye as a tourist area, but its well done and it must be fantastic to actually get amongst the actual canyon itself, that is if you can arrange the advanced booking. (14 months inadvance). Near tragedy when we discovered the brake pipe fractured at Pages. It was all saved by the superb service of Pages Honda who did a superb job of getting us back on the road in record time. Thanks you save the day

Bryce Canyon. We had been told this was a must and although very beautiful, and was worth visiting, it wasn’t quite a large or as spectacular as we had thought, no doubt due to having visited it after the Grand Canyon. The trip across Death Valley was as incredible as before, we had driven it in reverse about 10 years before when going climbing Red Rock Canyon, Las Vagas.
The incredible straight roads crossing the valley and the great mountain ones leading towards the Sierra Nevada’s, great! Mount Whitney really made me long for my climbing gear. The ride through Tuolumne and down into Yosemite was superb but oh the disappointment of not being able to camp there for the night, everywhere fully booked, never mind we will be back there next year to climb. With great expectations we arrived at Doreen and Bills place. What a welcome after so many years it was like home from home. After a few days rest and hours of talking over old days, Don arrived to take us on a three day motor biking tour to Reno and beyond. What a ride! Three days of twisting zig zaging and curving bends. I had been told that the USA just didn’t have the same motor biking roads that we or Europe have, don’t believe it, they have and more. Once we had reached the east coast it could all have been over regarding the riding but Don actually made the it ‘icing on the cake’. Three days of the most wonderful riding amongst Nevada’s and California’s best mountain terrain. We had one other days ride left over, the ride over Ebbets Pass, before we had to leave our trike with Don until our return next year.

The welcome we received during the whole of this trip has made this journey across America something special. We have made so many friends with many of them welcoming us into their homes. Even before we began our journey, back in Spain, we a great deal of help by having maps sent to us by Don Hubbard and Roscoe A. Dellinger. These maps helped to get some idea of where our journey should take us. Goldwing Owners Club also helped with their tour planning department.
Of course getting the whole thing started we needed to have a trike which would be reliable for over 8000 miles. Thank you Marvin of Eurowing and Wayne of Eurowing of Atlanta. Our stay in Rapid City gave us that extra feeling of friendship thanks to Randy and Jan. The time and effort that Don gave to us and the exciting rides we had together, we have become good friends Thanks Don and Debbie we will see you again next year for sure (you have my trike in your garage so I have to come back). Doreen and Bill made us so welcome it was like arriving home when in fact we where 8000 miles away. We look forward to seeing you in Spain next Spring.
Would we do it again? For sure we would; a holiday of a lifetime.
Thank you all for following our adventure . We do it again next year.

2007-10-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

El Dorado hill and beyond. ( Ebbets Pass).

We have now been in El Dorado Hills for a few days taking in the sights of the area, visiting gold mines and old cowboy towns. We visited the old city of Sutter Creek (population 800). As we walk through one of the small museums there on the walls were the history of the miners who first opened the city, from Cornwall, Pendeen and St Just: what a surprise! There were maps of West Penwith on the walls showing all the different mines in the area.

It’s been good to have a rest from riding every day but yesterday the urges overtook us again and we were off on the trike doing a 350 mile tour of the mountains behind us. There had been a lot of snow put down on the mountains so we were hoping that the passes would be clear. This was the same trip that Doreen and Bill took us some time back. The first part of the ride took us over the mountains by ‘The Mormon Trail’ ( now a side road) to Silver Lake where we had a picnic lunch. The mountain looked lovely with their recent covering of snow. The roads had been completely cleared of snow so we had no difficulty getting to the lake. It had been a fabulous ride with the sun shining and clear blue skies with the mountains showing up clearly. The ride over ‘Ebbets Pass’ continued to add to this great ride. It became even more exciting as the roads had been gravelled when the snow came down. It must have been very difficult for the solo riders following us as we skidded around (controlled may I add) the tight steep bends, great fun.
This was to be our last big ride before we take the trike over to Don, at Clear Lake, for him to garage it for the time we would be away in Spain. We are now getting all our things together to pack the suitcases ready for the journey home.

2007-10-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

Fortuna to Clear Lake
We woke up to a drizzly and cloudy dawn but our spirits were high and looking forward to another days riding. If it turned out like yesterday we wouldn’t be disappointed. After a quick continental breakfast at the Super 8 motel and packing the gear away we were soon on the road to see The Avenue of the Giants, what a name! The drizzle soon cleared away but left a fine mist around the trees which added to the mystery of the place. If we had thought the trees were large yesterday to-day they were twice as large. Being in their presence seemed to make you want to whisper, they were simply quite astonishing and it went on for miles. This forest of red woods we were informed is the largest area of standing red woods in the USA. As we came out of the forest Don, with a slight twinkling in his eye, informed us we would be taking a back road onto the coast of California.
As usual the road we took was miles of switch backs, bends , zig zags, right angle turns and up and downs, never a piece of straight road for miles.
Every time we arrived at these sections Don would put us in front and just say “ follow your noses down the road” allowing us to discover the road ahead. The day had gradually improved and we started to have patches of sunshine breaking through, but as we descended towards the coast the mists returned. When we arrived at the actual coast it was so misty that we had difficulty seeing the sea, and we were on the actual edge of the cliffs above it. Thankfully as we continued down the coast the mist cleared and we were able to appreciate the magnificent views . Just like in the movies in places this road follows the very edge of the cliffs with the sea bounding the cliffs below. As we zoomed around the bends with the ocean pounding the cliffs below you we were only short of some James Bond music in the back ground. For lunch we stopped at one of Dons favourite burger stops which he had told us was one of the best in the area, and it was. After lunch we continued down for a further few miles and then cut across country heading for Clear Lake and Dons home. The good riding really started again. This was his home territory and as he lead into Clear Lake we had a hard time keeping up with him has we twisted and turned though the mountains. We had started off in magnificent forests, descending to the coast of the Pacific, which we had traversed, now we where zooming through the hills of California and its wine country finally ending up at the largest natural lake in the county, what a day. The sun had been beating down since we had left the coast and we were now in our lighter riding gear as we approached Don’s home, and what a home it is, right on the very edge of the lake with its own boat docking area, how lucky could we have got.
We spend the evening having a Chinese meal and a pleasant evening just chatting about bikes, climbing and the future. We just could never have wished for a better guide and companion to have taken us on this three day journey of discovery. To discover the roads we have ridden would have been impossible without his help. When we had reached California we had thought the best bit of riding would be over, in fact the best bit had yet to come. Thanks Don and Debbie for all your help and friendship I only hope that some day we can give you the same hospitality in Spain

2007-10-02T21:13:00.000-07:00

Reno to Fortuna. 2nd October.

Up by 6 am to a very cold dawn with the prospect of good riding ahead. As the dawn lit up the mountain behind Reno we headed out to meet Don and Tim at Red Rock, at a junction on the main interstate going north. Boy were we cold even with all our motor biking gear on. The local traffic had just started to build up for the morning rush hour as we departed Reno, finally arriving at Red Rock and the meeting. An hour down the road and a stop for a ham and eggs breakfast, American style. Tim departed also from us here to make a different run back to his house in Reno, we continued on towards route 39. Just keep that number in mind. This ride gradually built up into one of the best rides that Betty and I have ever done. We had been told that the USA just didn’t have roads that could compete with the ones back home. Don’t believe it! 140 mile of bends we were told from one of the road signs. At first it all seemed a bit tame but we were soon into sweeping right and left handers, zig zags and switchbacks, enough to last us a life time, we where having a ball. Don had simply pointed us down the road and said “ get on with it” and we did. The variety of countryside and mountains we past through greatly added to this wonderful experience. How can you thank someone who so willingly has spent his time giving us such a ride. As we zoomed along we could see Don sweeping through the bends behind us us never up our bums but at a safe distance to make sure we took the right road. Thanks Don. We came down from the mountains to suddenly pass through a magnificent forest of large Red Woods, it was simply gob smacking, so much so it stopped us in our tracks. We must have spent a good half hour just looking up at them, and we are promised even more to-morrow. Suddenly we where out into the open country and our destination Fortuna. Here we are spending the night in a motel (with a good wifi). We have just had a meal of American fish and chips! To-morrow we head off down the coast of California, Hwy 101, real film stuff, cann’t wait.

2007-10-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Sacramento to Reno. 1st October.

This morning was the first day of our tour with Don. It started to rain but within an hour or so we had run out of it as we motored along route 49. This road comes all the way up from Yosemite and ends up nearly in Reno, our destination. Once into the mountain we left most of the traffic behind. A really interesting road which passes through many cowboy style towns, beautiful forests and valleys. We were heading to Reno to visit Leslie (my niece) and her husband. The journey ended at Don’s friend (Tim) from where we had to try and locate Lesley’s house. For the first time we used the GPS and it worked a treat, smack on the nail!

It was so good to see Lesley after nearly 15 years. They are building their house overlooking Reno, what a palace! After going out for a superb Mexican dinner we later slept, for the first time, in an American motor home, quite gob smacking. They are so large with every type of convenience. Don has promised to show us one of the most famous biking roads in California and Nevada so we are really looking forward to that.

2007-09-28T18:47:00.000-07:00

Independence to Yosemite and beyond.
Another gorgeous day for our ride over the mountains towards Yosemite. The views across from Impendence towards Mount Whitney had been astonishing all yesterday as we approached the town. I just knew the views at dawn would be astonishing and I was up early to get a picture of it; it was worth it. After a continental breakfast, which was included in the cost of the accommodation we made our way up the trail head road which leads up to Mount Whitney. Only a short ride but the views up into the actual cwms were superb. You just wanted to get out there and climb. It was another straight and wide road to Mono Lake but with views of the Sierra Nevada on our left all the way made the ride interesting. From Mono Lake we took the mountain road of Tioga Pass which leads into Tuolumne and down into the actual valley of Yosemite. On reaching Tuolumne we where at the base of the recent snow line and chilly again after having two days of warm weather below. I’d always remembered Tuolumne as being larger than we actually found it. Although the domes were magnificent they all seemed smaller than I recall. We saw a couple of climbers on one dome which soon brought the scale into perspective though. A gorgeous ride through the big red woods down into the actual valley was really enjoyable, but the amount of cars and bike on the road should have forewarned us that we were heading for a problem in the valley itself. As usual the entrance into Yosemite was spectacular ,there can’t be a valley with such a wonderful entrance. The ride below El Cap was just as incredible as it always is, but oh the amount of tourist in the park, it was packed! All the camp sites were completely full!
What a disappointment after looking forward to staying here for a day or two. There were spaces outside the park but once we visited them they were much too cold for us to spend another freezing night. Although late we decided to phone Doreen and Bill (my sister and her husband near Sacramento). It was dark by the time we got even half way there so arriving in Sacramento in the dark was an absolute nightmare. We finally manage to find the address after loads of telephone calls and missed turnings
We hope to return to Yosemite if we can arrange an overnight stay after which we will start a tour of the mountain roads around the Sierra Nevada and Reno.

2007-09-25T22:33:00.000-07:00

Zion to Death Valley and beyond.

Another cold night but at least we had some sleep. Woke up to another cloudless day and no wind. After breakfasting on Cornflakes , orange juice. We were off to try and make mileage up towards Reno or Yosemite?
We had set our mind to the fact that this was going to be just a mileage day. It turned out to be the opposite. The vastness of the deserts and the exciting ride into Death Valley made the ride really interesting. I’d forgotten how big Death Valley was and the ride out over the mountain down towards the High Sierras was just what we needed to keep us going. We are now in a really nice motel at the foot of the mountains ready for the long ride again to-morrow.

2007-09-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Zion 24th September

It had been a really pleasant ride toward this park, sunny and little wind. The approach to the actual park is interesting in itself. The actual entrance is through a mile long tunnel cut through one of the mountains and boy when you come out the other side it hits you right between the eyes. It’s absolutely gob smacking! The valley walls create a kaleidoscope of colours zooming up into the clear blue sky; we just couldn’t stop taking pictures. Once into the actual park the main part of the canyon can only be visited on foot or by the free shuttle bus service which runs every few minutes. The ride up this part of the valley was superb as the valley narrowed between the vertical walls zooming up 1500 to 2000 feet. What a place to climb, crack and grooves every where, a rock climbers dream. There are scores of walks to do, many of them going to the rim of the canyon. This would be a superb place to come for a stay (get ready Mark!).
We stayed so long sightseeing and walking that we had to find a campsite to stay in the valley. The actual campground in the parks were full so we stayed in one just outside with views of mountains and walls out of the tent door.
Heaven, until the cold woke me up again around three in the morning?

2007-09-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Bryce Canyon.

We woke to a really frosty morning, the cover over the trike was covered in Frost and ice but bright and sunny. It was a desperately cold ride into Bryce Canyon but it gradually became more tolerable as we entered the actual park. A really spectacular canyon with the most incredible formations. The actual park isn’t that large so it didn’t take long to go the full distance from end to end and we were soon on our way to Zion. We had been told that Zion was one of the best of the parks to visit so we were eagerly looking forward to it. It is also one of the places I have always wanted to visit as a climber.

2007-09-25T22:09:00.000-07:00

Grand Canyon. 23rd September.

The rain finally stopped some time during the early morning leaving behind a day of cold, fresh and broken cloud. We had packed up by o8-00 and were on the way to Grand Canyon. This was a added bonus as yesterday we had thought of missing it out due to the bad weather. About thirty miles down the road we stopped for a bite of breakfast just before we entered the Grand Canyon National Forest area. The riding had been really cold so we put more clothes on under our riding suits before setting off for the actual entrance to the Canyon. It’s quite staggering how popular these places are there were scores of travellers at our breakfast stop, many of them on motor bikes, usually the cruiser type. The road to the entrance was superb, though lovely forested areas and meadows and, wait for it, bags of bends. Not real bends but good enough to make the ride interesting (and fast).
We eventually arrived at the parking area where there were hundreds of cars parked up. There is a large timber hotel and scores of log cabins, all of which are for accommodation, but listen to this! If you want to stay in the hotel you have to book nearly 12 MONTHS in advance, the same for the cabins, and to take a mule ride down into the canyon you have to book 13 months ahead. The walk down into the bottom is 7 miles and about 4000 ft deep and 10 miles across. Walking around the various paths which surround the parking area you get great views of the whole length. It’s far more impressive than we had first imagined. We were so glad that we hadn’t missed it. We are now in a small log cabin motel just before the entrance of Bryce Canyon. It’s still very cold with a strong cold wind blowing so camping is out of the question. We are nicely positioned to visit both Bryce Canyon and the ZION Park. This we mustn’t miss as it is one that Mark said I must inspect for future climbing. We were told to-day that it is very impressive. We have now visited 11 states plus Wyoming twice. This country seems to just get bigger and bigger.

2007-09-22T18:20:00.000-07:00

Pages to Kanab 22nd September

A restless night for me wondering if we would have to spend days here waiting for spares from Eurowing. The braided brake pipes are special to our trike. I need not have worried, the mechanic at Page Honda dealers was superb. He sorted the problem out in no time, although it left us with two of the callipers not functioning. The front brakes are now not as good as they were and I don’t feel as confident about stopping as I did? Leaving Pages late we had to get a move on to reach our destination, the Grand Canyon. Well it pissed down with rain and you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face for fog!!!! Is this Nevada?

It was pointless travelling down to the canyon so we continued a while to Kanab, it’s sort of in between Zion and the Canyon. After lunch, actually breakfast, as we had missed out on it in Pages, an apple had to do, we decided to find a motel and wait out the rain for the day. We can then make out mind up as to go back and visit Grand Canyon or continue onto Zion. For me Zion is more important as it is one of the areas we would like to climb in. I am writing this in the best motel we have stayed in looking out of the window at buckets of rain descending from the sky. It’s now been like this for hours, we hope it goes through for to-morrow but the local forecast doesn’t give us much hope, what a bummer! Sorry no pictures folks, didn’t want to get the camera wet, it’s raining that hard!

2007-09-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Moab to Pages ( via Monument valley) 21st Sept

Leaving Moab this morning was one of those pleasant m/biking experiences.
After having a really good breakfast in Denny’s ( again). We were off bombing down the road towards Monument Valley. We hadn’t intended visiting this as it was slightly out of our way but what the hell. The approach to this park was quite impressive as it builds up on you all the time. Eventually we arrived in the actual park but to take our trike down the dusty trails just wasn’t to wise. We had to far to go to have something to go wrong. The Navajo Indians charge 65 Dollars each for a trip into the actual valley. A one hour trip for £65 quid! We declined but we still got a good view of the towers any way. I didn’t like the large NO CLIMBING notices all over the place anyway! Our next aim was to visit Grand Canyons but we had to find a place to stay before that. Having had so much trouble before in Moab we had decided to camp if we couldn’t get a motel etc. The largest city in the area would be about 25 mls out of our way, Pages, and just as we thought most of the rooms had been taken . It was here that disaster struck!
I pulled the front brake on the the lever went right into the bars; there as a small pool of brake oil on the floor besides the front wheel. It looked as if one of the braided brakes pipes had fractured. Fortunately having two discs on the back didn’t leave us stranded as we could look up a camping site. This is where it gets a little better, the camp site was at the side of the main Honda dealer who was closed for the evening. We spent a lovely night chatting to a family ( English ex pats) from Canada who where m/biking around the USA on 250 Honda’s. They each had one apiece and fully loaded as you could image having to camp all the time. Great family especially as they made us a great cup of Tetleys tea, and it was piping hot. The yanks just don’t know how to make a good cuppa

2007-09-22T18:03:00.000-07:00

Green River to Canyon Lands and Arches. 20th Sept.

Another perfect day for motor biking. Slight clouds in the sky and warm enough to ride just in our shirts. The first Park we visited was Canyon Lands. This started the day of ‘Oh’s and Wows!!! It was all we had expected it to be in fact it was more. The scenery was gob smacking and the amount of likely climbing, in cracks, was astonishing. We just couldn’t stop taking picture, be prepared to be bored stiff when we get back folks.

After lunch we went into the Arches National park. If we thought the Canyon Lands were astonishing then this one is even more so. We spent the whole afternoon visiting the different Arches and walks; by the time we left for Moab we were clapped out. We made a bad move here as we should have booked our accommodation as soon as we had arrived in the town. It was packed full of visitors. We did eventually find a cabin for the night. In many ways even better than the KOA ones we had been staying in. We had our first Denny’s. They serve you as much food as they did in the past (Mark).
I am writing this in the morning just before we start out for Monument Valley. We thought we would have to miss this one out but it is so near we just had to do it.

2007-09-20T05:56:00.000-07:00

Estes Park – Trail Ridge- Moab-Utah.

A big travelling day to reach Utah and Canyon lands etc. There was frost on the ground this morning when we awoke, but a lovely sunny one for all that.
We had decided to repeat the ride over Trail Ridge and down the other side. This would lead us into more side roads before we had to ride on the interstate (anything but that)! It was a superb choice and gave us some of the best motor biking we have had so far. Absolutely gorgeous scenery and bends nearly all morning. The forest are simply lovely at this time of year as the leaves are just turning into their autumn colours. We finally had to go onto the Interstate 70 but this went through a fabulous gorge. Evidently it took years to build into the interstate system. The engineering is incredible. Eventually we reach the plains of Utah and guess what? The blasted cross wind hit us again. We got really blasted by the time we ended the ride. We also nearly ran out of petrol. We were running on thin air by the time we reach a gas station. I’m sure the USA miles are longer than ours? We are now bedded down in a comfy motel; Betty has just had a shower and feeling quite human. She has done so well on the back with all the cross winds and the maps to read. We finally got the un-lock codes for the GPS from Garmin. Evidently the firm who sold me the DVD sold me last years maps?
The code that Tom and Jenny worked so hard to get was for these years’ maps so it wouldn’t open my DVD anyway. I contacted Garmin a number of times but got placed in a queue of 30 min and above. I rang at seven this morning to make sure I got there first, it worked. The problem is that I have now to learn how to work the blasted thing! Whether it is worth it now is debatable as we have been using the maps so well anyway.

We are off to Canyon land and Arches to-morrow so looking forward to that. Real Cowboys and Indian land this. To travel into the interior must take lot of knowledge, and courage.

2007-09-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Colorado Rocky Mountains.
A great day touring the National Park . The ride up the to Trail Ridge
( 12.185 ft) was superb. Very cold but spectacular above the snow line with views across to Long Peak and beyond; perfect weather clear and cloudless. The descent down the other side to the parks exit was equally good. For lunch we had the best, and biggest, burger ( Angus) we have ever had in a small café, and we only had the small one! We continued the full circular ride around the whole mountain chain, about 350 mls of beautiful pine forest and mountain views. There is so much to see here in Colorado that you need more time than what we have. We would love to spend a week here exploring the different roads and walks. The rock climbing looks superb it makes me wish I had the climbing gear here. It would be great to return to climb. Betty loved every minute of the ride , even the extreme cold this morning. We are now planning our exit from Colorado into Utah. It will take a lot to beat this.

2007-09-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

Rivington to Estes Park Colorado. Monday 17th Sept.

We spend a really comfy night inn the motel and were ready to put some mileage under our belts. It was great to feel so alive instead of half dead as we did yesterday, two nights of roughing it in the cold had taken its toll.
Leaving Rivington we did 50 miles on one of the side roads; still wide enough to be a major road back in the UK. Not one house or human for the whole of 50 miles. The open space is quite incredible. We eventually joined the main interstate heading towards Denver and Colorado. More miles after mile of endless straight roads disappearing into the distance, and the cross winds didn’t make it any easier. By lunch time it had reduced to a nice breeze as we headed into Colorado. We had just missed some heavy rainstorms as the roads were quite wet. We could see the hills of Colorado enticingly near yet really some distance off. We turned off the main interstate and headed into the national park, making for Estes Park. We had no idea what to expect but from the map it was the start of the mountains.
The roads started to have lovely curves in them as we passed through some canyons until it opened out into the vista of the Colorado mountain, with snow on them. I only hope that the passes are open so we can get some really nice biking in.

Now staying in a KOA cabin with some extra blankets kindly provided by the management of the site. We spent the evening planning our next weeks riding. We are to stay here for two days doing a long mountain route to-morrow and then heading south west into Utah.

Yellowstone to Rivington

2007-09-16T20:43:00.001-07:00

Yellowstone Park to Rivington (on the way to Colorado)

After the coldest night yet we set off to find some breakfast but most of the food places had closed for the season (yesterday was their last day) bitterly cold morning ride down to west Thumb to find a cafe which could give us a good breakfast. Thank God they were open. The day started to warm up nicely for our ride through The Grand Teton. We were looking forward to this part of the ride but the actual mountains were in a haze and really quite far away from the road. What we could see of them they looked great. What a walk to get to the base of the actual mountains. Out of the park and onto the main road towards Colorado. The trees have started to turn colours into the autumn colour. They look stunning and as we pass along you just have to keep stopping to take pictures. Eventually we ran onto the plains again crossing Wyoming. Really strong side winds kept buffeting us and made for a hard ride. Having now lost quite a lot of sleep through cold night we called it a day after 200ml and found a good motel for a soft and warm bed. Did all the washing and minor repairs.

We have now visited eight states, (crossed Wyoming twice) Georgia, Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming.

Next Colorado, then Utah and California.

Just clocked up over 3000 mls

2007-09-16T20:23:00.001-07:00

Red lodge into Yellowstone via Beartooth Pass. Saturday 15th September.

Gosh was it cold last night. We stayed at a KOA site where you need to have sleeping bags etc. The night was just too cold for our sleeping bags , we had to put all available extra clothing on.
Woke up to a glorious sunrise with the prospect of a good mountain pass ride. We were taking the Bear tooth pass into the entrance of Yellow stone Park. The mountain scenery was stunning but the actual ride was quite easy, nothing compared to what we usually have back home in Spain; perhaps we are spoiled. This ride is billed as one of the best in the USA. The scenery is simply gob smacking so it made up for the lack of a ride. I am not saying it wasn't good but not as we had expected it to be. We descended the other side and had a bite to eat at a little shack and met a great local character. The stories we had were superb, tell you all about them when we get back. It was a day of “oh look at that" and wow!! Saw an Elk, coyote, deer and bison. Finally we arrive at Yellowstone (paid the fee) and into the park. It really is a massive park it goes on for ever. Loads of animals, bison became quite common. It must have hurt the Indians to lose these magnificent areas. You can imagine what it was like for them to roam at will all over these forested lands. We made for OLD faithful, the geyser which most visitors head for, in fact on the way there you pass scores of geysers and hot springs. Old Faithful performed on time and was very impressive. We then had to rush to find a camp site as it was far too late to head out of the park. And boy was it cold we even had the bike cover over us to try and keep warm.

Gillette to Red Lodge.

2007-09-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

Gillette to Red Lodge(Nr Yellow stone ).
Started off from the motel this morning in temperatures just above freezing but thankfully not much wind. A glorious day for all that. A lot of straight flat roads again but we did have a great ride over one of the mountains ( Dayton to Lovell) and then those straight flat roads again. We did about 325 mls and arrived in Red Lodge much quicker then we thought we would have so we decided to stop early for a change . The next section of the route is a ride up Beartooth pass into Yellowstone; this is said to be superb. That's one of the reasons we didn't charge ahead to-day, we want to take our time and enjoy the ride. If we had gone ahead it would have left us in a difficult position regarding accommodation. They say there are a number of great rides in the area but we will only do one and then traverse the Park and see the sights, ending up at the Grand Tetons. Far to cold to camp with the sleeping bags we have, evidently it snowed in the park last week. Staying at a KOA site again in a log cabin, nice and cosy. We went to the town of Red lodge to-night to try and find some food. Ended up in the supermarket and bought salad, cheese, buns and stuff to make our own dinner, forgot we didn't have forks or spoons so ended up eating it with our fingers, the salad cream get everywhere. Hope to have an early start to-morrow but the weather to-night , at sun set, doesn't look too promising, dark clouds on the mountains.

2007-09-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Rapid City to Gillette.
Not very far to-day due to spending time looking for me a new helmet. I had made the mistake of getting a half helmt like Bettys, a real bad move. The cross winds we are having are very strong and are causing me a lot of hearing problems. We finally ran down the local Honda dealer who had just what I needed. We finally left Rapid City to hunt up Devils Tower. We could not pass up the chance of seeing this famous land mark. It is as impressive as you imagine it to be, not as impressive as Naranga De Bulness but this one is beside the road. Even Betty felt enthusiastic about returning to climb it. We returned to the the interstate 90 west to head towards Yellowstone and the Big Bear Parkway, which we have been told is a must for bike riding! We are now again in a motel, which is costing a bomb as this is a popular tourist area. We would have camped but it will get very cold to-night and our sleeping bags would not be up to the temperatures which it likely to be to-night.
We are now entering more biking roads so are really looking forward to to-morrow. The trike is now fully run in , past the 2000ml on the clock a while back. Everyone keeps telling us how cold it is but we think it's just nice with all our gear on, like spring back in the UK. It is bound to get colder though as we gain altitude.

St Joseph to Rapid City and Crazy Horse Monument

2007-09-13T19:37:00.001-07:00

St Joseph to Rapid City and Crazy Horse monument.

Boy is it chilly outside but another glorious day ahead. Met some really nice fellow travellers in the motel, from Australia. Although they were in a car they too were m/bikers. The trike brings everyone around. We rang ahead to arrange a nights stay with MTN members Randy and Jan who live just north of Rapid City, but first we were on our way to see Mount Rushmore and the crazy Horse monuments. We are now in the Black Hills of Dakota which are really quite beautiful, great roads for the trike through the national parklands. Loads of Harleys on the road(you'd love it Mark) Talk about Easy Rider! Our first stop was The Crazy Horse monument and the visitors centre. It was well worth the $10 entrance fee and quite inspiring. Made you feel very sad about what the native population lost. A fabulous monument when it is finally done. Our next stop was Mount Rushmore. All though very impressive as a monument it isn't as impressive as the Crazy horse one. What was impressive was the rocks on the way there. They looked superb. There were some climbers on them as well, made my hands and feet itchy!!

We arrive at Randys and Jans log house in the evening and was invited to dinner. What a lovely place to spend the end of a great ride. Fabulous house and such good company They gave us some great information for the following day and gave us some great ideas of how to travel in the future. They have a Camper trailer called time out which can be towed behind a Goldwing.

On the road again

2007-09-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

St Louis to St Joseph (north of Kansas City).
We were bracing ourselves for the rain we had been told to expect but thankfully we woke up to a glorious day,not a cloud in the sky. There isn't that much to say about this part of our journey except that the weather was superb but cold enough to wear full riding gear, which we both prefare anyway. We ended up about 289mls short of Rapid City our next destination. Mount Rushmore and Devils Tower are on the plans for to-morrow. This country is vast. It's only when you have to ride or drive across it that you get some scale of its size.

Nashville - St Louise- st Joseph.

2007-09-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Nashville to St Luis.
Did I hope it wouldn't rain!!. We woke up to the patter of rain on the roof of the cabin,and there's nothing like it; the thought of riding up the main highway in clouds of spray from speeding lorries.Well that' what we got.
We had a lovely night at the KOA cabin, great facilities and not too expensive. For anyone looking for reasonable clean accommodation it cann't be bettered.
it took some carefull packing when putting out luggage back into the trikes boot and top box. we managed to keep most of the cloths dry. we both walked out off the cabin looking like space men, fully togged up for the weather. The day before we had been saying that it may be a waste of timehaving brought our full waterproof gear: not now as we stayed completely dry for five hours of terrentials rain. We intended taking some of the back roads but as we couldn't see much anyway we thought it better to just plough on up the Interstate Paduach and St Louis. We got fed-up of the continual spay and poor road surface, some sections of the Interstate roads are no better than the worste of the UK ones. We headed off onto one of the side raods and made our way in a loop , still raining, to join the Interstate further on. It eventually stopped raining, the sun came out and we roasted instead, no seriously it was great to just motor along in shirt sleeves again.
We arrived in the St Louise area , taking a road round the south west side to end up at another KOA cabin. We intend travelling along the minor roads to-morrow towards Kansas where we have to make our minds up as to whether we take a northern route to The Grand Tetons or a more southern one to Colarado, Oh, these life choices one has to make!
Pictures!! What picture you may ask? Although the country we have passed through is green.lush and in many ways lovely it just isn't photo material. I think it is going to be the mountain that allows us to get the picturesbut you never know what to-morrow will bring. Lets hope it fine weather. The lady at the KOA office said they had just had over a week of rin and to-day was the first sunshine they had seen. It was actually good fun riding in the rain so long as you can stay dry. It does add that bit of a challenge to an otherwise boring drive.

first day on the road.

2007-09-08T17:30:00.001-07:00

We eventually arrived in Atlants after an uneventful flight across the pond. Wayne picked us up to take us to a motel for the night and next morning Hiede his wife picked us upto take us to their house and workshop to see the trike. It was as good as we had expected it it be , in nfact better as the colour was far nicer than we had thought it to be.

Wayne and Hiede made us feel so at home in their house where we stayed for the nexted few days. We had to get some of the accessories and thay took a day to arrive etc.

We left Atlanta this morning , Saturday, for Nashville. Had a great ride as we managed to get off the interstates for most of the way. The roads are so wide and striaght, where oh where are the bends? The countryside is fabulous this country is so large and as usual everyone is so friendly.

Betty is really enjoying the ride sat on the back like a queen? (The boss really). We hope to make it halfway across to Colorado tomorrow but it rained to-night as we arrived. It isn't now so we hope for a good day tomorrow. We had great weather all day, rode in shirt sleeves all the way.

Hope this computer holds up as we have trouble getting on line, or is it my inability to understand this computer, I think it is.

And bill less of the up and down mate.

Regards to all those at home wish we could have brought you all.

Sorry no pic to-day.

Leaving Finestrat for Bristol then the USA.

2007-09-03T10:56:00.000-07:00

Finally we managed to get all the clothes and Motor cycling gear together for our trip across America. Yes it finally is happening ; something we had planned to do over fifty years ago, it was then by cycle, now it's by a Honda Goldwing Trike. One that is the same as in the picture.
It's hard to believe that all the gear will go into what luggage space we have , but it does and some to spare. We did intend using motels and the MtN Motorcycle Tourist Net a network of accommodation in M/Bikers homes. Unfortunately that hasn't worked up to now so its one night in an hotel and then god knows where!. No seriously we have decided to buy a tent when we arrive in the USA. We are taking our lightwieght sleeping bags and Thermarest anyway, just in case we have to bivvi out . This will not be the case now as we have sufficient room to put a small tent. We arrive in Bristol at 01-30 am depart for Newark at 08-23 am and eventually arrive in Atlanta at 18-25 pm after changing in Newark.

We pick the trike up the following morning , put onto it the various bits and pieces we have brought from Spain. Go to get me a helmet and a waterproof cover for the Trike. It's then system go, heading north for a KOA camp site. We are not to sure as to whether we will ride the Blue Ridge Parkway this time as it heads of northwest away from where we wish to go. Colorado is our first main objective although we will ride The Million Dollar Highway. More on this later.
And perhaps The Loneliests Road in the USA!!. Sounds charming doesn't it. You evidently have to make sure you have enough petrol to reach the other side, cars usually care extra cans!!!
What are we going to do I ask myself?

Well it is now time to close down, get the togs on and head out for the airport.

Rowland and Esther