SilverHound
Well-known member
This past January I rode my bike from PA to San Diego. It took 11 days and I froze my ass in snow storms and frigid weather in Texas and New Mexico. Anyhow, per the plan I left my bike in San Diego and flew home. Well I had a window of opportunity last week so I flew back out and retrieved it. Spent the last 7 days riding back. Overall, the weather sucked and once again my theory has been proven that the weather men/women and all their modern weather predicting tools and technology aren't worth a crap! Seriously I don't think they got it right once on my whole trip except for one day.
Since I was pressed for time I didn't have time to sight-see and took highways all the way home. My first day riding back was last Saturday and I went from San Diego to St. George Utah. That was a pretty good trip. Riding through the desert to Vegas was pretty cool and the last segment through the top corner of Arizona and into Utah had some pretty cool mountains and canyons. Day 2 was from Utah to Glenwood Springs CO and although I hit some rain it also was a pretty good ride. The scenery in Utah was awesome. My hotel in Glenwood Springs was very nice as was the town and I found a great little pub for dinner.
Utah Pics
My hotel in CO
Things went downhill from there as I went uphill or up the mountains to be precise. The next day I went over the Rockies on I 70. It was raining and about 54 degrees down below but when I reached Vail and then the higher Eisenhower Pass (12,000 ft.) it was 32 degrees with ice and snowing. I would have taken pictures but I was busy trying not to die form hypothermia or sliding off the road. Seriously my entire bike was coated with frozen slush and got all wonky until I started descending again down into the lower altitudes. I thought once I got through Denver and it warmed back up I would be ok but then I ran into crazy strong winds and literally could not keep the bike on the road so I had to quit 170 miles short of my goal for the day. Here's a pic of the sign at the hotel I ditched into in Brush Colorado. It was intact when I checked in. This was the next morning...
Anyhow the next day I made it through to Lincoln Nebraska. Do you know what is interesting about riding through Nebraska on the highway? NOTHING! What a boring state. Plus it rained almost all day.
On day 5 I rode to Davenport Iowa. Almost as boring as Nebraska but with a few more trees that thankfully blocked the wind...Oh and it rained all day.
Day 6 was from Davenport to Dayton Ohio. It only rained for the first 250 miles so that was a treat but it was only supposed to be "scattered occasional showers" and partly sunny which is why I diverted down back to I 70 instead of continuing home on I 80 which was supposed to be worse weather. I probably should have done the opposite of what they predicted.
Friday was day 7, Dayton OH to Bethlehem PA, about 500 miles. It didn't rain but it was pretty cold and cloudy around 48 degrees. You know, because it was late May I left my heated gear I used in January back in CA to have my daughter ship it home to me. In retrospect it would have been good to bring it on the return trip. While the riding pretty much sucked and I am exhausted, I met a lot of nice people, some fellow riders (Even another FJR rider on his way to Tennessee) and now I have ridden my bike across the country and back so I can cross that off my bucket list. The FJR was flawless throughout the trip. Not a hiccup or burp through the snow or rain. So glad I put the new PR3's on before the trip. I've never held much emotion towards any of my bikes but I definitely feel a bond with the Feejer now.
Finally, here's my route out and back. Shorter trips are going to seem like a walk in the park from now on.
My Route - Circles mean nothing...just where I adjusted the route on Google maps. Dark blue was the trip out and lighter blue the trip back home.
Since I was pressed for time I didn't have time to sight-see and took highways all the way home. My first day riding back was last Saturday and I went from San Diego to St. George Utah. That was a pretty good trip. Riding through the desert to Vegas was pretty cool and the last segment through the top corner of Arizona and into Utah had some pretty cool mountains and canyons. Day 2 was from Utah to Glenwood Springs CO and although I hit some rain it also was a pretty good ride. The scenery in Utah was awesome. My hotel in Glenwood Springs was very nice as was the town and I found a great little pub for dinner.
Utah Pics
My hotel in CO
Things went downhill from there as I went uphill or up the mountains to be precise. The next day I went over the Rockies on I 70. It was raining and about 54 degrees down below but when I reached Vail and then the higher Eisenhower Pass (12,000 ft.) it was 32 degrees with ice and snowing. I would have taken pictures but I was busy trying not to die form hypothermia or sliding off the road. Seriously my entire bike was coated with frozen slush and got all wonky until I started descending again down into the lower altitudes. I thought once I got through Denver and it warmed back up I would be ok but then I ran into crazy strong winds and literally could not keep the bike on the road so I had to quit 170 miles short of my goal for the day. Here's a pic of the sign at the hotel I ditched into in Brush Colorado. It was intact when I checked in. This was the next morning...
Anyhow the next day I made it through to Lincoln Nebraska. Do you know what is interesting about riding through Nebraska on the highway? NOTHING! What a boring state. Plus it rained almost all day.
On day 5 I rode to Davenport Iowa. Almost as boring as Nebraska but with a few more trees that thankfully blocked the wind...Oh and it rained all day.
Day 6 was from Davenport to Dayton Ohio. It only rained for the first 250 miles so that was a treat but it was only supposed to be "scattered occasional showers" and partly sunny which is why I diverted down back to I 70 instead of continuing home on I 80 which was supposed to be worse weather. I probably should have done the opposite of what they predicted.
Friday was day 7, Dayton OH to Bethlehem PA, about 500 miles. It didn't rain but it was pretty cold and cloudy around 48 degrees. You know, because it was late May I left my heated gear I used in January back in CA to have my daughter ship it home to me. In retrospect it would have been good to bring it on the return trip. While the riding pretty much sucked and I am exhausted, I met a lot of nice people, some fellow riders (Even another FJR rider on his way to Tennessee) and now I have ridden my bike across the country and back so I can cross that off my bucket list. The FJR was flawless throughout the trip. Not a hiccup or burp through the snow or rain. So glad I put the new PR3's on before the trip. I've never held much emotion towards any of my bikes but I definitely feel a bond with the Feejer now.
Finally, here's my route out and back. Shorter trips are going to seem like a walk in the park from now on.
My Route - Circles mean nothing...just where I adjusted the route on Google maps. Dark blue was the trip out and lighter blue the trip back home.
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