Author Topic: Az to: Mount Rushmore, Sturgis, New Mexico, East Coast, NYC, back to Az.  (Read 63950 times)

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Offline my78k

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When is it not freezing up here?Typical American question!  ;) We do all live in igloos right?  ::)

Actually here in the Toronto area our winters are far less severe than those in Buffalo and alot of your northern most states. Keep in mind that a fair portion of Ontario and Quebec are further south than alot of MI, Wisconsin, Minnesota etc etc. Now, having said that, I would't recommend planning a bike trip before May or after October.

Dennis
« Last Edit: November 20, 2008, 08:26:20 am by my78k »

Offline Frankenkit

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well he is from AZ... it's like asking "When is Wisconsin not freezing?"
A:  "When it's baking!"

gotta love the midwest.
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Offline Shenanigans

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After some more time spent in Syracuse and one scam of a job, I got a new phone then packed up and headed back to the city. My window of opportunity to get south of the lakes weather system finally had come. I left early enough and made my way on the back roads. I ended up in Fort Wadsworth New Jersey some how while trying to get to the city. Yet again I completely lost my sense of direction but I figured it out and soon arrived to Manhattan. I still did not want to leave my bike but I lurked around as much as I could, the city is really an incredible place. So many people in such a small space. I tried to find the WTC but got sidetracked. The feeling of being in a place like that, so far away with only the essential things you need strapped to your bike is probably one of the best feelings possible. After a while and a few phone calls later, I finally figured out the order of streets and made my way to where I maybe had a place to stay. I would only get a definitive answer later in the night so I risked it and stayed in the city after dark but thats how those things work  ;) It got pretty chilly as I found a corner just outside of times square. All I could do is wait and people watch which I enjoyed. For a little I made my way to times square and took a few photos. At this point everything seemed surreal.










And finally the pictures I was waiting for the entire trip!





As I was waiting I was approached by a haggard man in a overcoat who was constantly stroking his beard. He had two bags full of dirty clothing and sheets in each hand. My first New York crazy person. He launched into a conversation about my bike. He started reciting all these facts about the electronics manufacturers on my bike and all the 70's bikes. He must have been some kind of savant because the details he was spouting seemed correct. The years that different factories made bikes and what models got the ND gauges or the nikkon seppi (sp?) gauges. How the vin numbers were layed out and what each one meant. He soon made his way to car manufactures and then off on some other tangent. I saw my friend waiting across the street, not wanting to interrupt the conversation I was having. I used her as an excuse to get myself away from Johnny factsalot. I had a place to stay the night. I unloaded all my gear into her apartment and we went to times square and ate at the hard rock cafe. Walking down the street I turned back to see my unloaded bike on the center stand, not looking too much out of place. Hoping it would be there when I got back




We got back to her apartment and got up to the roof. It was only about 6 stories tall and I imagine it was not anywhere close to the possible views from the taller buildings but thats where I was. It was probably mundane for the people that live there but I enjoyed the view.






The next day I packed up my stuff again with my only goal being to head inland a little and then south. I was lucky I had somewhere to sleep because it rained that night. As always the bike started first kick. After an hour of trying to find my way out I ended back up on the Island. I guess I just don't want to leave. I made my way south in a tunnel into New Jersey, I had a lot of time to sit in traffic hoping my bike would make it home or at least not strand me in the mess of roads. I got to Philadelphia and toured off the freeway briefly. Then got out away from the freeways and back on to the back roads. I decided my only plan was to only take roads that head south or west.









To be continued...


« Last Edit: July 24, 2009, 03:38:43 pm by Shenanigans »
   This pretty much sums it up.   76' CB592 cafe. 69 750 project, 03 CBR954, 75 750 super sport.

Offline azuredesign

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Skateboard's great!

Offline Shenanigans

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Skateboard's great!

Got to keep my priorities on track you know, plus it beats walking long distances.

Any one in the PHX area have a film scanner I could use?
   This pretty much sums it up.   76' CB592 cafe. 69 750 project, 03 CBR954, 75 750 super sport.

Offline heffay

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i love it that you're speedometer ate itself... makes me laugh every time i see it in the pictures.   ;D
btw, i would have said the same thing to the SUV biotch and cell phonies!  i think you were actually the most mature of the bunch.
the photos are great... next time you must make it here... the more you write, the more similarities i find between you and i, we'd either get along swimmingly or butt heads and one of us would be on our way.   ;D ;D
thanks for the continuing great read!
Today: '73 cb350f, '96 Ducati 900 Supersport
Past Rides: '72 tc125, '94 cbr600f2, '76 rd400, '89 ex500, '93 KTM-125exc, '92 zx7r, '93 Banshee, '83 ATC250R, 77/75 cb400f

Offline Shenanigans

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From Philadelphia I made my way down to Wilmington then into New Jersey. I hoped it would have been a bit warmer by now but it was cold enough to be uncomfortable during the day. I was not looking forward to the night. I took the 40 bridge over the Chesapeake Bay. I got to Baltimore a little before sundown and wanted to get out to the other side before nightfall. I would always rather take my chances in wilderness at night than a large unfamiliar city. The road I was on was horrible (I think the 40 in the city?), it was rough and uneven with lots of patchwork. The sun was setting and casting a steep orange light on everything, it seemed to cover the details of the buildings making old walls into perfect detail-less squares. When I would come up to a hill I could see the oddly lit rectangular buildings that went on in every direction. Hundreds and hundreds that seemed to be almost the exact same building. Just maybe different colors. The buildings started to get less crowded and I was past the city as it started getting dark. I somehow ended up on the 70. Which was fine with me because it was dark outside. It got cold quick. I wanted to press on in the night but I did not know how long I would last. Worst yet there was heavy fog. I have never really ridden in fog before so it was a first. The first thing I noticed is it got everything forward facing wet. I had to wipe my goggles every 15 seconds or so as the mist blurred them up. I tired to put my legs as far up behind me as I could but decided I would rather have the lower part of my jeans soaked than the upper. The only up side was the effects the fog had, besides making me feel like I was in a bubble, the lights of houses and buildings and parking lots had these ambient light effects. When there was a strong light behind a house or a tree it was cast a distorted silhouettes of the tree or house. All the lights had this bubble of light around them. Its a shame I was not exactly in a picture taking position. Its amazing how much light the fog can cover. Seeing a car appear in the opposing lane with its brights on when its no more than 100 feet in front of you. I wondered how much unseen stuff I was passing by. The cold and fog wore me out quick. My tiredness seemed to hit me all at once so I pulled off at the nearest rest stop. Parked in the farthest spot I could with my bike parked sideways next to the curb and laid down on the sidewalk to sleep. I hoped my bike was blocked anyone from seeing me to kick me out. I was beat. Sitting there I noticed my legs where laying across a trail of ants so I arched my legs to let them pass and just slept where I was. I woke up late the next morning around 10. There was a cleaning lady changing the trash bags out of the trashcans and asked me if I had a good nights sleep. I was just glad I did not get kicked out.

The next morning there was still some fog but it dissipated by about 11 o'clock.



Soon I hit the North Carolina boarder. As I rested I looked over my motor which had yet to let me down. It was looking a bit sad on the outside however. My main seal behind my sprocket was starting to give out. Leaving a few drops of oil where ever I went.






I stumbled across some amazing roads in North Carolina. I spent my daylight hours taking the back roads. It certainly made my distance per day go down a bit but it was worth it. I rode all day but I think this was the least distance North to south I covered during my whole trip. That night I went to a grocery store to get dinner and came out to find my master cylinder cover had walked away somehow so I fixed it the best I could. It worked for maybe 30 mins before my front brake was gone completely.




I kept slowly wandering around. I stopped here to rest my arms and look at a map to try to find the nearest lake to sleep at. You can tell I got restless because I start talking a bunch of senseless photos. After the short rest I made my way to a campground near a lake.









I almost lost my camera and all my photos here too. To get to the lake there were these two small bridges that go over these two small streams. I went over it once and then turned around to go check the map at the entrance again. The second time over the two small bridges I saw a little black box on the edge of the bridge with the hand strap HANGING OVER the edge above the water. I instantly realized that it was my camera! I grabbed it and it still worked find but that was a close call and I don't think its possible for it to have been ANY closer. I must have set it on my bike when I was checking the map and not realized it.



Motor starting to leak pretty bad from behind the sprocket. Nothing I could do but keep the oil level in check. One of the O-rings in the cam over is starting to leak pretty bad too but the motor still starts first kick. As you can see my rear fender is starting to sag pretty bad. My back brace I made for my fender has broken on both sides. The oil is making its way to the chain which is then flinging it everywhere.








I manged to stumble right into the Blue Ridge Parkway. I love it when things work out like that.










To be continued...



   This pretty much sums it up.   76' CB592 cafe. 69 750 project, 03 CBR954, 75 750 super sport.

Offline super pasty white guy

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Man, you could have crashed at my place in DC instead of at a rest stop. 

And what kind of effin bastard steals a master cylinder cap?  They'll burn in hell.

Lovin the story.

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Cylinder cap thieves deserve a double nut punch. I would have liked to see them get mine off. Mine has a leaking issue unless it is almost so tight as to need a wrench to get it off.

Really awesome trip man. The pics are great!

Offline 754

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Next time pack copper wire, and tighten it around the duct tape on the master..

What kind of persons steals an mc cap?.. same dickheads that bend up your brakelines with steel tube ends.. usually some loser stuck in a life going nowhere fast..

...
I did not start reading this thread till yesterday, best Christmas present I got ! (actually my birthday)..great read .. great writing style..

Used to travel a lot like that myself..

...

 Seeing as so many seem to enjoy this thread and are probably unable to do that sort of thing themseves, I have a proposal.

Myself and perhaps? a few others could put up a few bucks to  get him on another ride, maybe dropping in or meeting up with other sohc members along the way.  Not free money though, he would have to file reports every week or so and pics. I f there were scheduled meets along the way and he needed a few parts we could probably get them there and have them waiting..

Anyone else think that is a good plan?

(of course after a few oil leaks get fixed)
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My next bike will be a ..ANFOB.....

It's All part of the ADVENTURE...

73 836cc.. Green, had it for 3 decades!!
Lost quite a few CB 750's along the way

Offline Shenanigans

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Next time pack copper wire, and tighten it around the duct tape on the master..

What kind of persons steals an mc cap?.. same dickheads that bend up your brakelines with steel tube ends.. usually some loser stuck in a life going nowhere fast..

...
I did not start reading this thread till yesterday, best Christmas present I got ! (actually my birthday)..great read .. great writing style..

Used to travel a lot like that myself..

...

 Seeing as so many seem to enjoy this thread and are probably unable to do that sort of thing themseves, I have a proposal.

Myself and perhaps? a few others could put up a few bucks to  get him on another ride, maybe dropping in or meeting up with other sohc members along the way.  Not free money though, he would have to file reports every week or so and pics. I f there were scheduled meets along the way and he needed a few parts we could probably get them there and have them waiting..

Anyone else think that is a good plan?

(of course after a few oil leaks get fixed)

Thanks 754, but I wont take anyones money but I WILL take your answers to all my stupid questions.  ;D When I do get to do another trip, which I plan on as soon as I can. If anyone does want to contribute how about a corner of a yard to sleep in instead? Something as simple as knowing I have a place to rest soundly in a said location makes things a lot easier. Plus now I know that I need to plan a little farther ahead to be able to meet up with people. I now also know what I do and don't need to write down and take pictures of and what I need to bring and how to plan my day etc... The more and more I think about it the more and more this trip seems to be a practice run...

Anyways heres another batch of slides from earlier in the trip that I just got back, plus a few randoms.











Middle of the night somewhere. The white line is a car in the distance.



















   This pretty much sums it up.   76' CB592 cafe. 69 750 project, 03 CBR954, 75 750 super sport.

Offline j-conn

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love it.
 ;D
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Offline Spikeybike

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as far as a corner of the yard,  if you roll through chi-town.   i'll give ya your own bed,  . after several drinks and road stories of coarse

Offline 754

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I gotta ask, if you do it again, would you take the 750 or same bike? still run the low bars??

Nobody is talking free money here, it is a job should you decide to accept it, you have to do the work.

Also might be nice to have a bit of cushion, in case you blow a motor, or go down hard and have a few weeks or months of downtimes..

I think if you network a bit with the members before you leave nextime it will be loads of fun, meeting up with them, and maybe riding a bit with them...... just a few thoughts..
Maker of the WELDLESS 750 Frame Kit
dodogas99@gmail.com
Kelowna B.C.       Canada

My next bike will be a ..ANFOB.....

It's All part of the ADVENTURE...

73 836cc.. Green, had it for 3 decades!!
Lost quite a few CB 750's along the way

Offline j-conn

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u got a place to crash in columbus oh. (dont know why ud come here tho)
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Offline my78k

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He'll stop in there on his ride up here to the great white north!  :D

Dennis

Offline Shenanigans

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I gotta ask, if you do it again, would you take the 750 or same bike? still run the low bars??

Nobody is talking free money here, it is a job should you decide to accept it, you have to do the work.

Also might be nice to have a bit of cushion, in case you blow a motor, or go down hard and have a few weeks or months of downtimes..

I think if you network a bit with the members before you leave nextime it will be loads of fun, meeting up with them, and maybe riding a bit with them...... just a few thoughts..

I wish I had a 750 to take but I don't want to take a bike that I did not build and I am not going to tear into my 750, its far too nice original bike to do that. I built my 550 in the walkway between my neighbors house and his fence but that space is no longer open, a shame really as he had a sand blaster and grinders and everything I could ever use. Really all my 550 needs is a new-er motor. (a lot cheaper than rebuilding) That, another disk on the front and some resets and it would be good to go. The low bars would stay. What I need to do is find someone with a shop around here... and a cushion is always a good thing to have.

I wish I would have got in touch with members BEFORE I left but thats one more thing I now know I need to do next time.
That and get my passport.



   This pretty much sums it up.   76' CB592 cafe. 69 750 project, 03 CBR954, 75 750 super sport.

Offline alltherightpills

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Use the member map for locating people to crash with.  That's partially why it's there.
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Offline Magpie

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If you're going to the Canadian left coast, we have lots of room here in Victoria, B.C., on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. PM me with a head's up with your schedule.
Cliff.

Offline 754

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Then ride a half dozen hours East and visit the SUNNY (not this week >:() okanogan Valley..
Maker of the WELDLESS 750 Frame Kit
dodogas99@gmail.com
Kelowna B.C.       Canada

My next bike will be a ..ANFOB.....

It's All part of the ADVENTURE...

73 836cc.. Green, had it for 3 decades!!
Lost quite a few CB 750's along the way

Offline Frankenkit

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You've got a place to stay for a night in Oregon (probably a few...)
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Offline BlindJoe

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ditto for WI

Offline Shenanigans

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Thanks for the offer of places to stay. When my next trip is in the planning stages I will get a hold of people.  :)



From the Blue Ridge Parkway I planned on then going to deals gap but I ended up a bit west and decided to keep going instead of back tracking. I don't think it would have been nearly as much fun without my front brake anyways. A while of the same old stuff and I came to the Alabama boarder. I got off my bike to take a picture and the last brace for my rear fender gave out and my taillight stopped working. I assumed because it was no longer grounded to the frame. Turns out it was just the bulb and that one of my multimeter prongs was shot. All this AFTER adding a ground wire... There was a gas station about 20 feet behind me so I wheeled it over there. The gas station was pretty busy for being in a relatively rural location. There were video poker machines inside that were all full of people. A lot of people would walk in and out from there car, buying lotto tickets and scratching them in their car and then getting some more. It seemed to be the happenin' place. Which was weird because the gas station seemed like it should only be getting a few customers a day.

Dinner, lunch, breakfast.











I ended up bending the turn signal wire holders out and tying it with some extra wire. The bike was still leaking more and more oil. Since there was a lot of people I started asking any passer byers if they knew any welders with no luck. However one women I asked ended up asking me if "I like corvettes and if I want to go take a ride in her husbands while he was away" no, joke. Too bad she looked like the type to take up 2 seats on an airplane  :-X :-X :-X I declined.
No one else even knew of a welder so I packed up things best I could and hoped it stayed off my tire.








 ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D   sorry, I couldn't help it...


Not to far in to Alabama I hit rain. It rained pretty hard and never let up enough for me to be  comfortably on the road. So I took shelter in front of a school right off the road. I sat there for a while, did not feel like sleeping so I messed with my camera and read a little.







The rain stopped so I jumped back on and took off only for it to rain some more not 3 miles later. I took shelter at an abandon looking gas station. There was this lone lawn chair so I sat it down and propped my feet up on my bike and covered myself with the tarp to wait out the rest of the hours until daybreak. JUST as I was leaving a depcripted looking truck pulled into the "abandon" gas stations grage. I guess it was not abandon after all. I am sorry I peed on your gas pump.







Went on for a while and then the rain got to heavy again so I took shelter in a car wash. It was resting here that I finally figure out the almighty goal of sleeping while standing, well leaning, up. It required me to lock one of my knees so I could not really do it more than 30 mins or my knee would hurt. After a large break I kept heading west. I came across a RV graveyard and I wanted to explore it so bad. But not bad enough to get shot. The people in this area were pretty polite. Greeting all strangers and friends. I got gas and got a greetings or good day from every person I passed.










A severe storm started to roll in from the south. A little while later I heard that a tornado watch was in effect for the area. Not exactly good news. I again did the mad dash to get past it. Going north west as it went north and I got past it with time to spare.





Went on and on for a while. I came into this small town. It was absolutely vacant as in not even a car or window light. I stopped under the bright light of a bank ATM drive though to check my map to try and find any easy places to sleep. I could not seem to find the road but I figured I would wander around until I found it. Then I saw the first car and then another. They both started following me and it took me a second to realize they were both cops but my heart rate had already jumped. They followed and followed but did not pull me over. I wanted them to just hurry up and pull me over, ask me some dumb questions then let me be on my way but all they did was tail me from a distance. I think they thought they were being a lot more stealthy then they actually were. So I said screw it and turned around and pulled up next to the first care to ask directions. Suddenly they seemed uninterested in me. I got my directions to the road I was looking for. Before I got out of the town I found a tank and took a break by it. Still certain the towns population was 3.




I went on and on for a while and finally reached a rather large town. The town started on the west side of the freeway and there was nothing on the east side. I pulled up to a hotel which had some sort of carnival circus going on right next to it. I asked the hotel if they knew of any campgrounds or national parks or such. They knew of nothing so I walked back out not knowing what to do as it was getting pretty late. I got the idea to try and sneak into the carnival going on next door but they had that place sealed up pretty tight. After about 20 mins I lost interest and got back on the freeway. After about an hour my rear tire went flat again. I was in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night. I was only 15 miles out from the closest town so it could have been worse. So by my headlight I got out my sleeping bag as sleeping was really my only choice at the time.




I was worried about the wildlife of the crawling or slithering variety in the field so I cupped my tarp like a hammock and bungee'd the two ends to my bike and slept in there. It kept the edge of the tarp/cocoon off the ground. I was awoken the next morning by a cop. He seemed heavily interested and almost amused by my situation but never came close to offering any type of help. A couple hours later I was in the "Town" which was just a gas station. I was later informed that all the buildings of the town were spread out far from each other. At the gas station a older couple asked if I needed any help and instructed me to the nearest motorcycle shop. Which was about 10 miles away in the "town". They said that it was very easy to get lost and that I should just follow them there.

Did you know that you can go 50mph on a rear flat if you keep the bike perfectly still so the rubber does not shift to either side? About 5 miles in they made be pull over and wait while he went and got his trailer. They told me they were getting the trailer because my back end while riding was all over the place, when I did not keep the bike perfectly straight anyways... I could have made it but I waited and I was soon in the cab of a truck looking back at my bike. They explained to me how they really did not like the town. They had had a child there and had to wait to raise her until they could leave because they did not have a lot of money. They also told me that EVERYONE knows everyone else in the town and that people have kids and build a house half a mile away and thats how the town had gotten so spread out. Which reminds me I still have to write them a postcard.




I would have never got to the shop without them. Once there they gave me a parting gift of a bag of food and told me to call them when I got back home. The shop put on the new tube while I ate, the mechanic almost crashed it when he brought it out to me. Remember it had no front brake and he forgot to adjust the rear break arm. I was now back on the road.




To be continued...



« Last Edit: December 31, 2008, 01:52:35 am by Shenanigans »
   This pretty much sums it up.   76' CB592 cafe. 69 750 project, 03 CBR954, 75 750 super sport.

Offline void909

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Great post I cant wait to hear the rest.
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