Roanoke to Portsmouth, Virginia; 29 June 2011

I left a message for my brother, David, to meet me and Mark for coffee at 0700.  Mark and I wanted to share some of our trip with David before I blasted off for my home in Portsmouth.

David showed up on his airhead BMW, it's almost stealthy it is so quiet.  It sure was good to see David again.  Being 250 miles apart limits our time together.  Both Mark and David have Nortons so that's their common bond.

By 0830 I was on the road with David leading me out of town.  I never would have found my way to US460 without his help.  Once on 460 it was a simple ride home through the rolling hills of rural Virginia.  It's a really pretty ride.  I took it easy and actually stayed at the speed limit the whole way.  Actually, I'm a bit numb from all the days on the road, two 600 mile rides back to back, and being over-served by Beth last night.

I did stop at the D-Day memorial in Bedford.

Also stopped in Appomattox.

Finally rolled into Portsmouth.  I always stop at Baron's Pub for a cold beer when I come home from these trips.  Sara joined me.  After a light lunch I rode the last two blocks to the house. 

Sara had told me that after all the problems I have had with this Multistrada she was ready to shoot it.  In fact, she had the gun loaded and waiting for my arrival.  At least it is only a water pistol!

Now I am decompressing from 20 days on the road.  Tomorrow I'll do a post mortem for the trip.

Mt. Vernon to Roanoke, Virginia; 28 June 2011

After one 600 mile day yesterday we were both tired and excited at the prospect of actually getting Mark home...in Roanoke.  The GPS told me that we needed to go 611 miles to Mark's house.  As usual we were awake at 0530 and on the road before 0700.  Since we just had to stay on I64 there was little planning to be done, just get on the bikes and ride. 

My bike is still limited in range due to the horrible fuel mileage I am experiencing.  We can push to 120 miles between gas stops but since I have run out twice at about 130-135 miles we do not want to take any chances.  We stop at about 100-110 miles.  That's a lot of stops for a 600 mile day and only adds time to the already long day.  At least the weather front seems to be moving ahead of us, meaning that we are dry and cool.  At every stop the people tell us of the bad rain they had earlier in the week or day.

By about the 500 mile mark we finally ran out of weather luck.  We had just paid the final toll on the West Virginia Turnpike (I77) when the ever present black cloud started to spit out rain.  As we were already stopped it was easy to put on rain gear and hope for a short storm.  This turned out to be about 30 minutes of serious rain, the kind where Interstate traffic actually slows down.  Mark and I were both warm and dry so we merely forged ahead and finally rode out of the rain about the same time we rode into Virginia. 

This is the point in the ride where one would expect to slack off a bit.  After all, we had been on the road for 12 hours and made 550+ miles for the day.  However, I was riding with Mark Finkler and he knew a 'shortcut' to his house.  This route turned out to be a two lane goat trail that took 100% of my concentration to keep up with Mark.  After all, I did not know how to get to his house from this direction so what choice did I have?

We finally pulled into Mark's driveway, got off the bikes and had a very cold beer.  Beth made a wonderful dinner which she capped off with something called American Honey (Jack Daniels and honey).  I fell into bed and slept like a dead man...again.  Over 620 mile today.

East from Ft. Morgan, 26 June 2011

Up early today. We know that we are 1500 miles from Roanoke so it makes sense to put miles on while it is cool. Kansas in June = hot!

Note to self: eastern Colorado and all of Kansas on I 70 is just to be endured, not enjoyed.



OK, the riding is not noteworthy so we can talk about other things of interest. In eastern Colorado we passed through a wind turbine farm of at least 200 huge wind turbines. We saw where construction crews are ready to build many more. I cannot understand how this makes economic sense but, after all, I do not know the economics behind this kind of investment.



We did a short stint on I76 then dropped down to I70 via Rt 71 and made good time. It was actually cool and we were going south for about an hour so did not hav to look into the sun. Went through Last Chance, Colorado...maybe that was an omen.



On I70 we were blessed with fog and cloud cover so it was still


cool. Stopped at 100 miles to have breakfast in Flagler, Colorado. Flagler (population 150?) is blessed to have a Starlight Diner. We met the owner, cook, and head waitress. Rick is an award winning chili cook who was the head chef at Willie Nelson's restaurant in Austin, TX 30 years ago. He insisted that we try his various chili blends and then we embellished our breakfast with chili. This was the best breakfast of our entire trip! Honestly, it is worth making a special stop when on I70...it is that good. Rick is certainly a character. Told he is 61 years old and recently married a 30 year old, declaring that indeed, "There IS a God."

By 1100 it was getting noticeably hotter. Around 12:30 Mark pulled us into Hays, Kansas because we simply had to do something to beat the then 93f heat. We gassed up, changed to our lightest riding gear, filled the cooling vests, and were about to forge ahead...when I glanced at my rear tire and saw tire cord showing. That brought me to a standstill.

It is Sunday in Kansas. We have about a dozen motels nearby. There are two motorcycle dealers in town, both closed on Sunday but one open on Monday. The temp is climbing and now hitting 103F.



We checked into a Days Inn for $51, had a beer at the restaurant next door, took a swim in the pool and decided that life is good.

In the bar we net a guy from Maryland who is on a similar trip. He rode 1800 miles in one sitting (Maryland to Pueblo, CO.) Makes us look pretty wimpy. Oh, he is on a Harley Ultra Glide Classic averaging 32 miles/gal versus Mark's 42.

Motorcycle tIres are a black art. Mark has Michelin Pilot 3 tires, I have Pirelli Angels. They are the same size, on similar bikes, carrying about the same weight, and have exactly the same number of miles, at the same speeds. My rear is toast at 5600 miles but Mark has quite a bit of life left on his. It should be noted that for about 50% of the circumference my tire looks OK, the other 50% is showing a 1/2" band of cord. Mark thinks I have a defective tire.

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Location:Hays, Kansas

Across Kansas, Missouri, and into Illinois ; 27 June 2011

Since the motorcycle dealer did not open until 0800 we could not follow our normal routine. We were at the shop by 0745 and caught the owner as he was opening up for the day. The shop had exactly one tire that fit my bike. By 0810 we had the new tire mounted, balanced, and paid for ($200).

On the road again it was time to hang on and keep the bike on the road. At least it was cool and the traffic was manageable.

I70 goes through some large cities where the traffic is a real challenge. I ran out of gas again in a construction zone with a narrow berm. Mark had pulled behind me, turned on his flashers, and turned off his bike. After dumping the one spare gallon of gas into my bike, I was ready to blast off. Unfortunately, Mark could not. His bike was dead. After taking off his luggage packs and seat, he discovered a lot of corrosion on one of terminals. After cleaning the terminal, the Guzzi fired up. Other than that small drama there was little to talk about. We simply endured the ride all the way through St. Louis and into Illinois.

From Hayes, KS we had 1200 miles to Roanoke. Two 600 mile days were going to be the bottom line. We made it to Mt. Vernon, Illinois, exactly 600 miles from Hayes and 611 miles from Roanoke. If the weather holds we will be in Roanoke tomorrow.

Tonight we took a chance on a local Mexican restaurant. Sitting at the bar we met some guys who had been in town for a week and had sampled the local food. Based on their recommendation we tried a new dish. This turned out to be our best dinner of the entire trip. Somehow the cook had combined shrimp, beef, chicken, peppers, and onions. Fantastic. These fellows were hog farm managers, with head honcho being from North Carolina.

We will be up early tomorrow. Time for bed.


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Location:Mt. Vernon, IL

East from Colorado, 25 June 2011

Gar and I made sure we were at the Ducati dealer when they opened.



This is a very classy dealership. They handle BMW, Ducati, and Triumph. I talked to the owner and complimented him on his operation.



They took the bike in immediately and started to diagnose my various problems. The fuel pump had come loose from it's flange due to my attempt to reuse the factory retaining clips. I got replacements from NAPA?..not really the same thing but close enough for the mechanic to make it work. Next he disconnected the Power Commander since that seemed to be causing my rotten fuel mileage. The bike ran fine.



The service manager took my bike right in.


The owner is a former GE exec.

We met three guys from Virginia. They are riding BMW's. Two if their bikes were broken down. They are having the trip from hell. Bikes broke down in the rain, traffic came to a stop on the interstate so they got to roast for about an hour, and one had to have his bike towed 200 miles. Mark commented that the Ducati and BMW riders ought to get something bulletproof, like a Moto Guzzi. I have to admit that of all the Moto Guzzi riders we have met, none has had a problem...oh, wait, we have not seen ANY Moto Guzzi guys!

By 2pm the bike was finished and we left for a 60 mile test ride through the Rockies. When that turned out to be uneventful I felt confident we could start heading east. We stopped for a late lunch and met Jennie from TN, a senior at Clemson, working here for the summer.


Jennie and Mark talked about last night's baseball game where UVA lost to South Carolina.




We rode east until about 7 pm when we stopped at the Sands Motel. It is odd that The Sands in Ft. Morgan costs $49 and is sans pool while the one in Reno is $29 with a pool and casino.




mark taught Brie how to mix some drinks.

We had to walk about 8 blocks to find a dinner spot which served beer. We learned that Ft. Morgan has a beet processing plant, a meat processing plant, and two high schools...one for alternate education. Bedtime came at 9:30. Mark is wearing ear plugs tonight due to the nearby trains.

Tomorrow we ride across Kansas.



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Location:Ft. Morgan, Colorado

To the Badlands...NOT, 24 June 2011

Let me try to recount all the events for the past 24 hours. So much has happened that something will be unsaid.

We got off to a good start from Greybull, after some chiding from Milo who owns the historic hotel. The ride from there was pretty enough and we planned to stop at any decent diner for breakfast. Within 50 miles my low fuel light came on and I could only put 2.2 gallons...which also translated into 30 miles per gallon. I cannot make it home with kind of range. We were in Ten Sleeps, Wyoming as we decided to go 60 more miles to Buffalo where we could probably get parts to fix whatever we found inside the tank...after I took the tank off the bike. By the way, taking the tank off is a real pain the ass..takes me about 90 minutes and I have lots of practice.









The ride from Ten Sleeps to buffalo is worth noting...it is a spectacular


road over what the locals call "the hill". I would do that 60 miles over and over.



As a side note, the town is so named because it was half way between two large Indian villages and it took ten sleeps to get to the half way point.

In Buffalo I was about to start the job in the parking lot


of a gas station when a couple pulled in. Mark saw that the man was wearing a Norton cap. That led to instant talk about Nortons (Mark has one). The next thing I know we are being offered use of a garage, tools, and any other help we need. Gar Jorgensen has three Nortons!






While Mark and Gar talked I went to work and in about an hour had the tank off. Along the way I spilled gas all over the place (no problem, says Gar), I took the pump apart but could not find a problem.


The pump is held together by single use clips. I had to reuse them.


When I got the bike back together it ran for about a minute, then died. Frustration set in. Here's the situation: there is no Ducti dealer in the state, I am stuck with a bike that does not run, I have run out of things I can fix, now I can only fly home and ship the bike home...again. Remember this happening on the trip to Alaska? I was getting pretty depressed.

Gar got on the Internet and found that the nearest dealer was 350 miles away, fear Ft. Collins, Colorado. More depression for me. Gar insists he can trailer me and the bike to the dealer and be at the shop when it opens in the morning. I am blown away! We load up and arrive in Loveland around midnight,


getting the last motel room in the area...softball tournament. Mark stopped for the night in Code, Wy. He will get on the road in the AM and meet me at the dealership. I sleep like a dead man.


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Location:Loveland, Colorado

Yellowstone, and beyond, 23 June 2011

Man, this has been such a large day that I will have a tough time putting it all down.

The weather guys made it clear that the weather would be sunny and cool, turning hot later. They obviously did not look out our motel door. As we loaded the bikes we could see black clouds rolling in from the direction we would be traveling. We were going to be on US89 all day. Oh well, put on the rain gear for the first time this trip. We traveled along the riverbed of a steep canyon...for about an hour. Had it not been for the drizzle and 45F this might have been a four star journey. Then we started seeing lightning...not just a little but the kind of show you only like through a picture window. Then I ran out of gas. Remember the rain...remember the lightning, remember me saying that my low fuel light was coming on sooner? Well, I had that spare gallon of gas and learned that I can now only go 132 miles to no longer running. I think the pump is somehow unable to get to that last 2 gallons in the tank. This will make us stop more often but otherwise is just a minor pain.

We finally pulled over to wait out the storm. A local farmer offered us room in his barn so we proceeded to learn about the area. Item: they were snowmobiling on Memorial day! While we waited a whole heard of cows came down the highway, being herded by 5 cowboys on horseback. Cool!

Breakfast served by a lady named Suni Summers.






After breakfast we bundled up for more cold and rain. Soon the sun came out and we got to enjoy both the fantastic scenery and fine curvy roads. Along the wet we saw rafters in the Snake river. Remember that it is only 45F, we also saw the boy scout high country adventure camp, quite a big deal.






Next up was Titon Nationan Park, which led to Yellowstone National Park. We saw Bison, Elk, Grizzly Bear, Cranes, and Winnebagos. This was all very spectacular and exactly what I would want for a summer trip. Too bad we did not have the time to really soak it all in.






The trip out of the park was really spectacular.





I did not take any photos because we were suddenly under a huge black cloud.






You can see that Mr/Mrs bison can stop everyone!

Nevertheless, the scenery was like some God had carved sheer rock faces






leading down 1000 ft to the river bed where our road carved just above the raging whitewater. Honestly, it is so distracting as to rouin a great sport bike experience. We found that up until two weeks ago he parks were closed due to snow.











We finally got to the basin floor and all of a sudden it was 95F. We rode through Cody (too many tourists) and on to Greybull where we stopped for the night with a room at the Historic Hotel.











after a beer at one of the bars we had a good Mexican dinner, and then a nightcap.





Of course we had to pay our respects back at the hotel lobby and to look at the old vault.





Tomorrow promises to be just as much fun.






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Location:Greybull, Wyoming

Salt Lake City, 22 June 2011

It was a shame we could not spend more time in Twin Falls, it is a pretty place. We did get a glimpse is one of the falls but could not take the time to really tour the place. Maybe another year.

Our ride started out going into the sun, a painful experience which had me shading my eyes for about an hour, at 80mph. We stopped for breakfast at Molly's. Mark chatted up Molly and found that she had been in business for 40 years. No wonder it was the gathering spot for all the local ranchers.



Back on the road we were in a huge valley all the way. We got to Salt Lake as the temp was climbing into the uncomfortable range. Salt Lake Motorsports took my bike right in and made us comfortable.


Mark is now asleep on a sofa.
Mark writes now.
As we were preparing to leave the Ducati shop, I asked Peter if, since we were close to the Famous Mormon Tabernacle, he would like to stop in and pray that his Ducati would make it back to Virginia. His response was not very Christian-like.
After soaking our cooing vests with water, we headed north toward Bear Lake.


We rode through one of the neatest canyons, eventually arriving at Monticello for the evening.


We walked across the highway to a family style restaurant, where the special was chicken fried steak. We were uncertain as to what that exactly was. Is it chicken or is it steak ( beef)? Our waitress, Janelle, didn't know either. She "doesn't cook.". Well, against our better judgement, we both ordered it. Mistake.


We were the only customers at that point. then in comes a cowboy, who had been recently hired to help establish a 1500 acre ranch at the base of the mountain, where the goal was to raise black cattle (Angus, I presumed.) He told us it will probably dip into the 30's tonight, but I doubt it.
Off to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone tomorrow. I expect this to be the prettiest part of the trip.
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Location:Salt lake city, Utah

Salt Lake City, 22 June 2011

It was a shame we could not spend more time in Twin Falls, it is a pretty place. We did get a glimpse is one of the falls but could not take the time to really tour the place. Maybe another year.

Our ride started out going into the sun, a painful experience which had me shading my eyes for about an hour, at 80mph. We stopped for breakfast at Molly's. Mark chatted up Molly and found that she had been in business for 40 years. No wonder it was the gathering spot for all the local ranchers.



Back on the road we were in a huge valley all the way. We got to Salt Lake as the temp was climbing into the uncomfortable range. Salt Lake Motorsports took my bike right in and made us comfortable.


Mark is now asleep on a sofa.
Mark writes now.
As we were preparing to leave the Ducati shop, I asked Peter if, since we were close to the Famous Mormon Tabernacle, he would like to stop in and pray that his Ducati would make it back to Virginia. His response was not very Christian-like.
After soaking our cooing vests with water, we headed north toward Bear Lake. We rode through one of the neatest canyons, eventually arriving at Monticello for the evening. We walked across the highway to a family style restaurant, where the special was chicken fried steak. We were uncertain as to what that exactly was. Is it chicken or is it steak ( beef)? Our waitress, Janelle, didn't know either. She "doesn't cook.". Well, against our better judgement, we both ordered it. Mistake.
We were the only customers at that point. then in comes a cowboy, who had been recently hired to help establish a 1500 acre ranch at the base of the mountain, where the goal was to raise black cattle (Angus, I presumed.) He told us it will probably dip into the 30's tonight, but I doubt it.
Off to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone tomorrow. I expect this to be the prettiest part of the trip.
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Location:Salt lake city, Utah

And now into Idaho, 21 June 2011

The plan was to head west as far as 500 miles would take us, in the direction of Grand Teton National Park. We got off to an early and brisk start, made more brisk as we crossed two 6000 ft mountain passes. I was chilly but not cold. More important than the cold was the fact that my bike is starting to run bad at low rpm's. It will not idle below about 1750, which means that it quits every time I roll off the throttle. I tried to figure it out, even called Dave Lillard, but the solution escapes me.






We got to Lakeview for breakfast and had the pleasure of meeting the waitress who must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed...no, she was worse than that! I mention this because everyone else we have met has been so nice. After lake view we got on US395. This road is both resolute and beautiful in that it goes through territory where you find almost no sign of life...120 miles between gas stations...but every vista is






memorable. At one point we were going across a valley when a F16 came streaking across the desert floor at about 500 ft. He rocked the plane on a wingtip to make a tight turn for the next ridge and was gone, only to make another pass from the opposite direction. Awesome! Next we stopped for road construction, met a couple in an Audi, and talked cars until the 'follow me' car led us to the other end of the construction zone. At that point the Audi passed us and we then followed him for about an hour...at 90mph. He had a radar detector.






By the time we got to Vail my bike was becoming a real problem at slow speed. I called the only Ducati shop in Bosie only to find that they no longer handle Ducati. The next closest dealer is in Salt Lake City, about 6 hours out of our way. Well, we have little choice so that is now the way we are headed. We stopped for the night in Twin Falls and will blast to Salt Lake in the morning.


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Location:Twin falls Idaho