Day 17/18: Utah rocks

Trav says:

We slept in and took the morning off to relax. We drove through Capitol Reef park, and witnessed the most impressive 5 mile stretch of road on this trip so far (for me at least). The road cuts along the side of a spectacular canyon, and then dips down into it. Truly amazing. I can't think of anything better than to ride these roads on a motorcycle. The twists and turns are so perfect, combined with the beauty of your scenery. Disney could market this as the greatest theme park ride on the planet and make a killing.

As the day wore on, the clouds looked ominous and we were pretty sure we were going to get rained on. The road happened to take us on a rain-cloud dodging path, so we lucked out. We drove through Bryce park, but the views from the road were not particularly impressive. I think you need to take some side roads to truly see Bryce.

We ended the day in Kanab, UT, right on the Arizona border. Getting close to the Grand Canyon!

Update: Kev got really sick last night and started puking in the early hours. As I type this, he's been puking off and on for the last 7 hours, and he also has a serious fever. Perhaps food poisoning, perhaps influenza of some sort? I'm not keeping count, but I would guess he's puked at least 10-15 times.

I've attached an image I just took of him in bed. He's not posing, and he actually looks that terrible. His fever is up and down, and he moans a lot. Thankfully we were not camping when this happened, as that would have really sucked for Kev.



Update 2: I just did some reading on wikipedia, and it's unlikely that it's food poisoning, since he doesn't have the hot poops. Whatever it is, hopefully it's not contagious.

I've also added a rough map of our route so far:


View Cross-country Motorcycle Trip in a larger map

Day 16: Solitude

Kev Says:
After leaving packing up the hammocks, the first couple hours of riding were downright cold, which I much prefer to riding in the heat, as does Willow. After about 150km we stopped for a roadside diner breakfast where they had the same plates my mom uses at home. By noon we crossed over into Utah. Although our next destination is south to Arizona, we decided to make a big horseshoe to the northwest to explore the terrain Utah has to offer. Turns out it's pretty amazing. We went down roads that were endlessly flat and straight. We could ride for an hour or more without ever meeting another car. Then the flats turned into deep gorges and canyons. There were so many, after a while we stopped even slowing down to look at them. When we stopped at the Colorado river bridge, Trav informed me that the town we thought we were heading to is not a town but rather a natural monument of some kind an the next town was in actual fact still quite a ways further. Having no gas gauge on Willow, very little drinking water left and the sun dipping behind the cliffs made the next hour very stressful. We rolled into a gas station (that as literally inside a mountain) with lots in our reserve tanks to spare. No sweat, whay was I so worried? After fuelling, it became apparent that Fred is having some electrical problems, but we got him going and made it to motel in Cainsville (we hadn't seen good hammock trees in 4 or 5 hours). We decided to take a late morning the next day so we could take some time to update the blog and look into Fred's problems. We went check out the pool & hot tub instead of going straight to sleep. After a 630km day it felt pretty great.


Trav says:
As we started coming down out of the colorado mountains into a large plateau, it really looked a lot like Nevada to me. Very dry, flat, and desert looking. I thought in my helmet "Wow, this really looks like Nevada!." It was a realization that I'm getting really close to home, and I had this giddy wave of excitement come over me. This trip is completely amazing, but I do miss my wonderful wife Amanda. She's patiently waiting at home for me, hoping I don't kill myself.

We entered Utah and my mind exploded when we started going through the Glen Canyon park. Indescribable endless beauty which continued for 150 miles. We're only half way through Utah, and this is already the highlight of the trip for me. I can only imagine what Bryce and Zion parks look like. I have a fascination with desert areas anyway, but the buttes and canyons are truly amazing. This is a spectacular part of the world that I would recommend to anyone! Rock on Utah!

Ohh yeah, and we almost ran out of gas, but we didn't. Lesson learned: We'll need to be really careful when crossing the sparsely populated areas of Nevada. Our bikes will only take us roughly 180-200 miles before needing more gas.

Day 15: The Rockies!

Kev Says:
Packed, fed and on the road by 6:15 we left the feed lot behind and crossed into Colorado in no time. The weather was cool and it made me and Willow both feel good. We had a little sprinkle of rain but just enough to clean the Kansas bugs off of my visor and make the road look contrasty and clean. Before to long, I noticed Trav pointing at something in front of us. It was the Rocky Mountains popping up in the blue hazy distance. We made it! I was so proud of little Willow. All the way from Nova Scotia to the Colorado Rockies! We continued thru the mountains for the rest of the day. As we got close to Monarch Pass (which has an elevation of 11,312ft) Willow started having a hard time. She sounded boggy and there was nothing I could do to get her rpm up over 3500. Her top speed in 5th gear governed out at about 75km per hour. We chugged along until we got over the pass and started heading downward. After a minute or two when the oxygen returned to the air she was back to her old self and we kept chugging. We found a great camping spot and 20 miles west of Gunnison. Had a fire, ate and slept. My sleep was still not amazing but it was the best so far. I think I'm finally starting to get the hang of hammock camping. (Pun absolutely intended)


Trav says:
After two long days of riding in Kansas, entering Colorado was quite the elation. At the beginning of this trip, both Colorado and Utah were high on my list of states to see, so I'm pretty excited to arrive! The rockies here are quite different than the Alberta rockies. Much more arid, and less dense. It's like if you took a chunk of the Canadian rockies, and then stretched it out a bit, you have larger plateaus and valleys, but still some large peaks spread throughout. I've read that the mountains are a bit more intense a bit further north from here (north west of Denver). Decent sleep in my hammock. It was a bit cold though, which I suppose to be expected in the mountains.

Day 14 continued...

Kev Says:
It takes all day and over 300 bucks but Willow is released around 5:00pm. We head west out of Dodge hoping to push for Colorado before dark. However the weather has other plans. It gets dark really dark fast and birds start flocking east by the thousands. We keep pushing on until we heard that familiar boom and see the lightning that has cut a couple of our days short. Begrudgingly, we decide to stay in Kansas one more night.

The only motel in the area just happens to be in close proximity to a feed lot. Which is a big dusty area where cows are fattened on corn until they are killed. I've seen some documentaries about this practice and it's really quite disturbing, we had been driving by these for the last couple of days but this was the first time we stopped. In a moment when the weather let up I went and shot a couple photos for you guys. This was probably the smallest of the feed lots we saw. Neither of us haven eaten meat on the trip since.

Day 13 & 14: I've got a feeling we're not in Missouri anymore.

Kev Says:
Kansas is flat, dry and hot. We rode about 500km then miraculously by sunset we found some trees at the edge of a field to hang the hammocks. Woke up and hit the road around 6:20 and headed further west on the same flat road.

Willow has been having some problems starting and I've been using the kick-starter over the last few days. I'm getting pretty tired with that so we brought her to a shop in Dodge City. The doctor gave her a compression test which she passed with flying colours. He figured it was once again the points to blame and by chance they had two sets in stock. She is still in the shop now so I guess we'll just have to wait and see if we're gonna get the hell outta Dodge today.

Trav Says:
Ahh Kansas. I expected you to be perfectly flat, and completely treeless. However, it turns out that you have some small rolling hills and a few trees here and there. I'm disappointed.

It's bloody hot. Both days are in the 100's. I'm surprised Willow hasn't overheated in this weather (the piece of shit that she is - I kid, I kid. Hopefully Kev doesn't read this before he posts).

A lot of corn stuff going on around here. Corn fields, lots of trucks driving around with chopped up corn stalks going somewhere (for bio fuel? or biomass?). Decent number of trucks driving around with livestock shoved in the back, heading off to be slaughtered. Kind of makes me sick to see. Also lots of natural gas wells and oil pump jacks in the fields. I can often smell the vented gases from the natural gas wells, but I asked Kev and he said he never noticed. Maybe it's in my head after watching Gas Land.

Anyway, I'm eager to get to Colorado for a change of scenery (as well as lower temperatures!)

Day 12: Ozarks

Trav Says:
We had the joy of driving through Cairo, IL today! I remember reading about Cairo about a year ago on reddit, and how it was a perfect example of an american town that has become a wasteland. Indeed it is an empty shell of what once was probably a decent town. As I was thinking these thoughts in my helmet, we got pulled over buy the coppers. Thankfully, he only gave us a warning. What a nice fellow.

Missouri, which I previously knew nothing about, has some really nice forests (called the ozarks) and nice winding country roads. Halfway into the countryside, the main route we wanted to take ended up being closed, and our detour was all over the place. For some reason Jimmy didn't know which roads were dirt and which were paved, so all the recommendations he was making ended up being dirt roads, which would be okay if they were short, but this would have been hours of dirt road driving. Anyways, we eventually made it out of the ozarks, and ended up in Springfield, MO for the night (where we saw a friendly preying mantis in the parking lot).

Kev Says:
We've seen a lot of roadkill along the way so far. You name it, racoons, porcupine, deer, cats, fox, birds, snakes, squirrels, frogs, rabbits, turtles, rats and groundhogs but today just after crossing the Mississippi river I saw a lifeless armadillo laying on the paved shoulder. In that moment that I realized for the first time that we really are far from home.

Shortly after that we were pulled over by the police for the first time so far. 41 in a 30 zone. Let us off with a warning. Score!

By some stroke of luck Willow has never fallen over in the three years I've owned her but it came close TWICE today. Once she slipped sideways in 3" of mud but I somehow was able to save her. (don't ask why we were in mud) The second time I was kick starting her in a gravel parking lot and lost balance. I caught her on a 45 degree angle and was holding the weight of her fully loaded with cases with one leg. I was not strong enough to right her but refused to let her drop so I just held on as long as I could and two helpful people ran to my rescue. Thank goodness Willow remains undropped for now.

Today we hit over 600km Which feels good even if 1/3 of it was not exactly in the direction we wanted to go. While trying to explore for less straight and more interesting roads we ran into some road work detours that left us circling in the Ozarks for a few hours. It would have been annoying if it weren't so fun. The roads were mostly good and the rolling hills and turns were a welcome change from the general flatness we found in Kentucky. Although driving into the sunset tonight was blinding it gave the sense that we were finally making headway in the right direction, if the bikes keep working and we keep this pace I might actually make it to Vancouver before I have to go back to work.

Willow and Fred did so well today they deserved a good comfortable sleep.

Day 11: No bike troubles. Soaked again.

Woke up, and started the day with a surprise 45 minutes of dirt road. Willow seems to be heavy on the front, which makes controlling her that much more difficult on gravel. Bummer. We made decent time going through Kentucky, although the only roads going west are highways, which are boring. Around 6PM we notice some dark clouds to the north, and within 30mins the storm hits us full force. We make it to a ghetto motel in Mayfield, KY. Everything we're wearing is soaked (again). Today's millage clocks in slightly over 500km! Good job Willow and Fred!!

Day 10: Copperhead Rd

Woke up, rode on the back of Kev's bike over to where we left my bike for the night. Tried to start it up (with fingers crossed) and nothing happened. Starter turns it over, but it doesn't catch. Crap. Looks like we're going to have to get Fred towed to a local motorcycle shop. We call AMA (American Motorcycle Association) and a few hours later a tow truck shows up. We get Fred towed to a shop 20 miles down the road who is amazingly open on Saturday. We wait around a couple hours, and then I could hear the distinct sound of Fred's engine running! I walk out to the parking lot, and some guy is driving him around. Awesome. I ask the guy what the problem was, they he said that someone plugged the carb vent hose into the runoff plug form the gas tank. This means that when it rains, the water from the ourside of the gas tank will run into this hose directly into the carburetor. Clearly the last person to work on the carb was a complete moron who hooked up the hoses wrong and had no clue what they were doing. Wait. I think that was me. Anyways, this incorrect hose setup might explain all of my recent Fred troubles. I'm relieved that it was something so simple, and truly hope that this marks the end of Fred's problems.
We hit the road around 3PM, and started looking for camping spots close to sundown. We were in the deep backwoods of Kentucky. (because I decided to go against Jimmy the GPS' reccomendation and do some exploring) All the properties had multiple posting of NO TRESPASSING or WE WILL SHOOT YOU IN THE FACE IF YOU TRESPASS, etc. Kev was concerned that if we camped on someone's property without permission, that there was a very serious chance of actually getting shot. When we knocked on a guys door to ask if we could camp in the woods across the road he informed by locals that the area is "infested" with copperhead snakes that "would get us fer sure" the kind gentleman went on to tell us "I dunno how many a dem I killed this morning". So with that we continued on to the little town of Jellico, TN and moteled it for the night next to a pizza shop. This was a bonus because having wifi let us update the blog and with zero snakebites we fell asleep around midnight.

Also when we went against Jimmy's guidance we ended up discovering some nice twistys.

Day 9: Best Day - Worst Day.

I slept pretty good, and Kev slept okay. Hit the roads at sunrise, and put in a solid morning of riding. There was an amazing 40 mile road in Virginia which followed a river and had the most perfect turns. What an awesome ride. Around noon, I noticed that Fred is starting to run crappy. It's the same problem he had previously, so it's possible he's overheating. We make it to Saltville, VA where we let Fred rest for a couple hours. Eventually, he starts up, and we ride for 30 mins until a crazy rain storm comes upon us. The wind and rain was intense, and thunder and lightening was all around us. Perhaps this type of storm is normal around here, but I haven't seen weather this crazy in a long time. Fred sensed that we were shocked and worried about the storm, and decided that this was a good time for him to quit completely. So here we are, in the middle of a psycho rain storm, and Fred won't run. It was so tragic, it was comical. Kev left to find a motel, and vowed to return and pick me up after he got a room and took the cases off Willow. The road to the motel was blocked by a wind fallen tree. Eventually we got to the Motel (which was half destroyed by a tornado a couple weeks perviously) and met a man who's big rig was struck by lightning. The only thing we could do was try to make light of the situation by drinking like Ameericans.

Day 8: Fun Roads!

We're in the appalachians now, so the scenery is beautiful. Lots of winding country roads in the hills. Jimmy (our GPS) took us on some dirt roads as a surprise as well. It's a hot day today (95f / 35c) so we're being careful to avoid overheating the bikes.

West Virginia is completely awesome and the roads are perfect for motorcycles. Beautiful tree covered mountains, nice windy roads. It was a full day of riding, and we camped somewhere south of Bowden, WV. No mosquitoes, which was rad. Some wildcat or something with a paw print the size of my palm that coud easily reach 4ft off the ground mauled my top case on Fred trying to get to our food, but he failed (what a loser).

Day 7: Willow Goes to the Doctor.

Bloody hell. It's been a week since we started and we're still only in New York. Taking the backroads on these motorcycles really is slow. Since we're not taking freeways, all the backroads generally run through small towns and we constantly get stuck in traffic. The windy roads and great scenery in the countryside is quite wonderful, but progress is slow and sitting in traffic through towns is violating.
We found a good motorcycle shop in Parryville, PA (www.blockers.com). They took a couple hours and found that Willow's ignition timing was off and so they adjusted the points, and she was running good again. Willow's speedometer cable broke a couple days ago as well, so they fixed that( by making a cable with an antique car tool from the 1920s), and also put in new air filters.
Fred just sat in the parking lot while this took place. Afterwards Willow ran like a champ, and we ended the day in Shippensburg, PA.

Day 6: New York

We got up at 4:30AM to leave as soon as the sun came up. Kester and Mary made eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns. We were on the road around 5:15AM and made good time. Kev's bike is still having issues, and generally won't idle. He needs to keep the RPMs above 2000 when we're in traffic or it will die, and possible not start again unless it cools down. Violation. Sure enough, we get stuck in a bunch of traffic after crossing the bridge in Poughkeepsie, NY. Willow died and wouldn't start again for about an hour and a half. We make it just south of Wurtsboro, NY and camp for the night. Not many mosquitos, but lots of tiny black flies. They're not as smart, so they don't get into the hammock as easily. The sleep was decent, and Kev's sleep was just okay.

Day 5: Stay Put

Since Kester and Mary are so awesome, we decided to stay in Foxboro for the day and take Willow and Fred to a local motorcycle shop to get looked over. We're both having issues, so this was a good idea. After calling all shops in a 40 mile radius (at least 6 shops). They are all booked up and too busy to help us. Crazy. By the time we figure this out, it's late in the morning, so we decide to stay in Foxboro anyways. We helped Kester pick up a new handmade canoe from Cape Cod, and enjoyed the day thoroughly. Kester is ridiculous, and I want to be like him when I am older.

Day 4: Destination Number One.

Came out in the morning and Fred started right up (sweet!). Hot and humid day. A LOT of stop and go traffic traffic. Not good for the bikes. Heading towards Kev's relatives in Foxboro, MA , so we had to go right through Boston. Just as we're getting close to Boston, Kev's bike quits. I keep riding for a bit before I realize he's not there. I pull over and wait 30 mins, then decide to head back to find him. Traffic is pretty bad. I get back to him, and he reports that Willow won't run. Situation sounds bleak. We consider calling AAA for a tow, and then another motorcyclist pulls over. We troubleshoot for a while with this guy, then try starting Willow again. She runs! Old timer motorcycle guy speculates that Willow likely overheated and the exhaust valve(s) locked up. Recommendation: Avoid stop and go traffic, avoid driving faster than 55mph, and avoid hot mid-day heat. We make the stressful drive through Boston (traffic and freeways suck on a motorcycle), and make it to Foxboro, MA to stay with Kester and Mary (who are completely awesome). We go out to eat, and also visit their good friends nearby. Lots of beer made the day's stress fade away.

Day 3: Blue Pipes

Day was good for the most part. Pretty hot and humid. Did full day of riding, then rolled into a gas station in Lewiston, ME around 5PM. Tried to start up Fred, but he wouldn't start. Pulled him over, gave him 2 hours to rest while we ate. Came back, and he started up but wouldn't idle. Had to keep RPMs above 3000 or he would die. He sounded horrible. Fred limped over to a motel (barely made it), and I put him to rest for the night. The ordeal heated up his exhaust so much that I blued his pipes. Ohh well. I hoped that he would maybe start in the morning when he's completely cooled down. I also suspect that Fred's ignition coil might be overheating (as an earlier mechanic had suggested).

Day 2: AMEERICA

Made it across Maine border without much trouble. Kev got held up for 20 mins with questions about his camera gear and knife. Bikes were running good.
Camped in the woods south of Calais, ME. Mosquitoes were the worst I've ever seen in my life. Completely ridiculous. Camping sucked royally. Mosquitoes were so loud, I could barely sleep. Kev's hammock seems to be too small or something, so his night sucked as well.

Day 1: A Catastrophe

a.) Kev damaged his GoPro camera after it fell off his bike when hitting a big bump.
b.) Ran out of gas just outside Amherst, NS (I forgot my petcock was set on Reserve the whole time). Kev had to make a gas run for me. Then my bike quit and wouldn't start! Tried to jump start it, but that only got me a mile before it quit again.
d.) Got bike towed to local mechanic and got my bike working (they suspected my carb jets got clogged when I ran out of gas, since all the dirt in the bottom of my tank got used).
e.) While Kev was waiting for me in the motorcycle-shop parking lot, he thought it would be a good idea to tighten his cam chain (it sounded like it was loose). While doing this, he managed to completely drop his cam chain tensioner INSIDE of his engine by accident. He was terrified that his bike was finished for good and the entire trip was done. After 40 mins of crazy hard work, the mechanics were able to fish out the parts from his engine, and put things back together. Truly amazing watching this happen.
f.) Made it to Moncton, and we stayed at Kev's friend Mel's place. Mel, if you're reading this: Thank you!!
Crazy stressful day. Let's hope the whole trip isn't this dramatic.

Day 0

My friend and I are going on our first big motorcycle trip around the USA. We are leaving Nova Scotia Canada at 9:00AM tomorrow morning. Willow and Fred are our motorcycles. Here's Willow at sunset before take off.