4 BIKES, 4 RIDERS, 14 DIFFERENT STATES, 4,630 MILES
AND MANY UN-4-GETTABLE MEMORIES
AND MANY UN-4-GETTABLE MEMORIES
Detailed Version
 |
| "This red Cushman is just like the one we road as teenagers!" |
The 2013 summer began with me entering my 55th year as a
biker. I remember vividly the very first
ride that I had. One summer my oldest brother Ike had somehow managed to save
enough money to buy an old Cushman step through scooter from one of our
cousins. It was hand painted black, wasn't very pretty at all but it ran great
and it provided us with a hell of a lot of fun.
It was weeks before Ike would allow me to ride the scooter alone but
eventually he did teach me how to ride and from that very day, many years
before I was legally licensed to ride, I knew that I would someday have a bike
of my own to enjoy the experience of riding. I have owned many bikes since that
old black Cushman that I first rode in the early fifties, including the six
that my wife, Sunny and I currently own today. My desire to own and to ride
hasn't decreased one iota from what it was during those earlier days. However
today I must confess that at the end of a long day in the saddle my body
quickly reminds me that I am now over 70 years old and not the teenager that I
was in the fifties.
Since retiring from the military in the early 90s I've made
it a point to plan a summer trip each year. The planning always begins in
January with the selection of a destination. Then the next few months are spent
determining routes, points of interests,
which family members to visit along the way, lodging and always, which
historical sites to see. All planning of course is impacted by the amount of
time I am allotted by my employer for vacation. Without a doubt I've found that one of the
most important things I consider when planning a long trip is who, if anyone, will
be traveling with me.
In the many trips that I've made, I've traveled with as
many as twenty other riders (far too many) and with as few as only one. On many
occasions I traveled alone. Typically I begin in January asking about ten
riders to join me for the year's summer ride. By the time July or August rolls
around that number has usually dwindled to a more manageable five or six. This
year's ride dwindled to just me plus three. The great thing about that was that
I was already very familiar with the three remaining riders; my best friend
Herb "KingWing" Dorsey would be my "tail gunner." I love
this brother to death and trust him with my life. We have spent countless times
together on the road. Herb is 82 and bought his first bike in 1949. He is a
member of four different motorcycle organizations and continues to ride today
as much and as hard as he did in the 60s and 70s. I couldn't begin to tell you
the number of trips that he and I have made together over the past 23 years. My
brother Mark Costley will ride in the number three spot. Mark is an experienced
rider and has joined me on some of the rides in the past. He is the only one of
my eight brothers that is still riding. This trip will test his beautiful 007 Road
King. Mark and I normally meet at Americade each year. It will be fun spending
a little extra time with him this year. 
The number two spot will be held by my wife, Sunny "The Diva". Sunny is also an experienced rider and has ridden across country at least three times. Additionally she has accompanied me on many trips and has ventured on her own to as far away as Texas just to visit friends.
Part of this trip is to have Sunny meet her goal of riding in all 48 states of the Continental United States. Visiting Wyoming, Montana, North and South Dakota will leave Sunny with only one State, Maine, to complete her goal. She is very anxious to make this trip and to make it on her first big touring bike, her 2008 Harley Ultra Classic that she recently purchased. This will be a family affair.
Our destination was the Black Hills of South Dakota to visit
one of America's most famous monuments, Mount Rushmore. Along the way we planned to visit the
Badlands, Sturgis, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Custer State Park and the
Monument dedicated to the great Native American, Crazy Horse. The trip was planned for 9 days; 3 days out, 3
days touring, and 3 days back. Estimated mileage 4500.
One week from departure" KingWing" and I start making
daily checks of the weather across the country. Everything looks good except
for a storm forming in the south and expected to travel up the east coast
around the date of our departure. We would watch it closely and determine later
in the week if departure times needed to change. Two days from departure Mark
calls and says that he is riding up from Maryland a day early so that he can be
rested for the first day of the trip. He arrives Sunday afternoon. Herb and I
confer about the weather and decide that we will push the departure date up one
day to avoid the wet weather that was now definitely arriving in the Jersey
area on Tuesday. Like most bikers, we don't mind so much getting caught in the
rain, it adds to the adventure...but leaving home in the rain is another story.
We spent Sunday cleaning the bikes, packing our bags, and going over our trip
plan to insure that we had everything that we needed for the next 9 days on the
road. Then finally we got some rest.
Sunday night seemed to pass quickly and before we could get
the amount of quality rest that we had hoped for, the alarm on my clock and on
Sunny's phone were both sounding. Mark
was already up and moving around. I guess that we were all a little anxious. We
contacted Herb and confirmed our meeting time at the local Wawa in Pemberton.
Bikes all loaded and wiped clean, "Harley" & "Chico",
our two spoiled dogs, dropped off at the kennel, house walk through
completed, mental check completed, it's 12 noon and Sunny, Mark and I are
rolling out of the driveway to meet
Herb, gas up the bikes, get a cup of coffee and discuss the plan of the day.
Destination....Columbus, Ohio.....500 miles before dark.
1:00pm we rolled out of the service station, took Woodlane
Road to route 206 north. purposely cut through the town of Columbus, NJ so that we could say that we rode from
Columbus to Columbus on the first day, made a left onto route 130 south and in
less than a quarter of a mile we were going up the ramp to pick up the
Pennsylvania Turnpike. EZ Passes
displayed, we passed through our 1st toll, locked into a tight formation and
headed West. The Journey had truly begun.
I have a few simple
rules when riding with a group on long trips; Weather permitting, we start each
day by leaving the hotel at 6am; we end the day by watching the sun set. We
don't eat breakfast until we have burned the first tank of gas and we always
gas our bikes before we find a hotel for the night. Finally, we don't ride at night in unfamiliar
areas unless absolutely necessary. We would follow these rules for the majority
of the trip.
Interstate highways would be our home for the next day. We
departed the Southgate Hotel in Cambridge at 6:00am. In short time we were in
Columbus and in the middle of morning rush hour traffic. We worked our way over
to the left lanes and as traffic thinned we accelerated toward Springfield, OH. Stomachs full from breakfast and tanks full of gas we would make today a full
day of riding. Leaving Springfield we passed through Indianapolis, Indiana and
pick up I-74 west. With quick gas stops in Brownsburg and Rapids City, Illinois
we pushed on to I -80 west and into the state of Iowa. Iowa City would be our destination for the
day. Stopping at sunset we had completed a 650 mile day. We were in middle
America and enjoying the open spaces. We all slept well that night.
It was now Wednesday, our 3rd day on the road. We were ahead
of schedule so found no need to rush but we would stick to our plan. We left
the Clarion Hotel in Iowa City on time. The weather turned a little chilly so we
all put on our leather and headed I- 80 west toward Omaha, Nebraska. Passing
through Des Moines, we stop in Van Meter, IA for gas and breakfast. On the road
again we near Omaha and take 680 to I-29 north toward Sioux City. The weather
became misty and then light rain started to fall as we neared the mid way point
between Omaha and Sioux City. Just south
of Sioux City we veered left onto I-129, crossed over into Nebraska and exited onto
US Route 20. I had already informed everyone that once we got to Nebraska we
were going to give up the Interstates and travel the old roads once used by
ranchers and cowboys to herd their cattle to market. US Route 20 was one of
those roads. It was open country, beautiful scenery, lonely roads and little
towns of just a few buildings stretched miles and miles apart. It was
perfect....except for the rain. I refused to stop to put on rain gear. It
wasn't hard rain. It was more like nuisance rain and the leather gear was
holding up well. Our plan was to make it to Valentine, Nebraska by the end of
the day but as the rain worsened we knew that our plans would have to change.
We kept riding and enjoying the sights in spite of the rain until we reached a
small area called Orchard, not far from where route 20 intersected 275. The
rain was now pouring and the shoulders of the road were too soft for us to pull
over so we pressed on. In Orchard, through the heavy rain we saw a big sign
reading "DETOUR BRIDGE OUT.” We were about 20 miles from O'Neill and
unfamiliar with the area so we toughed it out, followed the detour signs, took
our time and made it safely to O'Neill. It would be the only rain that we
experienced during the whole trip....but it was enough. Arriving in O'Neill
tired from the tenseness of riding in heavy rain and being wet we decide to
call it a day. We had completed 435 miles. Not bad considering most of it was
done in the rain. Sunny was beat and immediately took a shower and hit the bed.
Herb, Mark and I were more hungry than tired. We noticed a Dairy Queen across
the street from the hotel and quickly headed in that direction. Two chili dogs
and a banana split later we make our way back to the hotel and got directions
to the nearest laundry mat. O'Neill is a small town whose laundry mat was a
former bar in an old western hotel. The bar and stools were still there so
Herb, Mark and I made ourselves comfortable talking about the day's ride as the
clothes and leathers dried.
We cleaned our windshields from yesterday's rain and dirt,
drank a cup of coffee and left the hotel on time. The weather was still misty
but it soon burned off as the sun came up. Our next stop would be for gas and
breakfast in Valentine about 115 miles away. Nebraska is known for all the corn
that it produces and believe me we saw plenty of it on US route 20. The scenery
continues to be spacious and beautiful. The bikes were running great and all of
us were anxious to reach our destination by the end of the day. Leaving
Valentine with our tanks full we continued on route 20 toward Chadron 140 miles
down the road. Along the way I glanced into my right side mirror and noticed
that Herb's headlight was out. I radioed him and informed him of the problem.
We decided that we would check it out at our next stop. As we neared our exit
to the town of Chadron we were supposed to pick up route 385 north and cross
the border into South Dakota. But instead I radioed everyone and told them that
I wanted to take them somewhere special. A few years ago I had the pleasure of
being the National President of the National Association of Buffalo Soldiers
and Troopers Motorcycle Clubs. I am no longer a part of that organization.
However, both Sunny and Herb are so I thought that they would enjoy visiting a
fort from the 1800s where the 9th & 10th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers were
stationed for over 18 years. 
Fort Robinson is a gorgeous outpost just 28 miles
southwest of Chadron. It is a very historical site that is opened to the
public. It has a nice museum and the grounds are immaculate. The scenery
surrounding the Fort is breathtaking. It
is well worth the visit if you are ever in the area. We spent a couple hours
there and everyone enjoyed the experience. Leaving Fort Robinson we are still
on schedule and only 108 miles from our final destination, Custer, South
Dakota. Within 30 minutes we were making a left onto 385 north toward the town
of Chadron. Riding down main street and seeing a couple of the old buildings brought
back my memory of being there years ago. I pointed out to everyone the motel
where I stayed on my last visit and told Herb that there was a Honda dealership
in town where we could get his light checked. Just as I mentioned the dealership it came
into view and we all pulled in. We found everyone there willing to help. Some
remembered when the "Soldiers" were there before. Herb explained his
problem and in less than 5 minutes it was repaired. His light bulb wasn't bad
at all. The problem was that the starter button was not fully disengaging after
use. A little WD-40 fixed the problem on the spot. It was now after 2:00pm so we decided to have lunch before making our final 2 hour stretch to Custer. Helen's Restaurant was within walking distance. We filled up, walked slowly back to the bikes, thanked the Honda people again for their quick service, mounted up and headed north to South Dakota. In less than 20 miles we crossed the border into South Dakota. In less than an hour and a half we exited the highway and entered the town of Custer, SD. We gassed up at the Exxon station on our right as we turned onto Mt. Rushmore road. Directly across the street was the Rock Crest Lodge, our home for the next 4 days. We had made it there safely, on schedule and with only minor problems. We quickly checked in, off loaded the bikes, found a place to eat, posted pictures on Face book and went to bed thinking what tomorrow would bring.
Continuing south on
Wildlife Loop we enjoyed the slow ride and gorgeous scenery. It was easy to
understand why this area was made a State Park.
Deer and antelope truly do play here and so do the Buffalo. It was as if
we had the park all to ourselves as we topped a small hill and Mark caught a
glimpse of the buffalo herd to our right. We stopped, took pictures and felt a
little cheated because we couldn't get closer. Not long after that sighting we
noticed that traffic ahead of us had stopped. It didn't take us long to see
why.
The famous park "begging burros" were on the side of the road
begging for food from every visitor. Of course we stopped and Sunny found some
snacks in her tour-pak to feed to the burros.
I took picture as Herb and Sunny
held their hands out to allow the burros to feed and then spent some time just
petting the friendly animals. As the burros slowly walked back to the field we
mounted our bikes and continued around the Loop. At one point we stopped at a
small rest area that was once the home of pioneers in the 1800s. 
It was an interesting place sitting alone in the prairie with a small museum inside. We spent about 30 minutes there talking with other bikers and relaxing before rolling out and finishing the Loop. Turning left on route 16 we traveled west to route 87, Needles Highway. Needles Highway was on our list of routes to ride. "It is part of the Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway rated as one of the top five Scenic Byways in all of the United States. Needles Highway curves and winds through 14 miles of rock tunnels, and magnificent rock formations called "Needles" one of the most prominent rock formations on the Highway is the Needles Eye, reaching 30 to 40 feet in the air with a 3 foot wide slit."
Completing Needles
Highway, route 87 leads us back to route 16 for a couple miles then right onto
route 244. After a few miles we began picking up glimpses of our next
destination, Mount Rushmore. Mount Rushmore is said to be America's shrine to
Democracy. It is awesome. You can't help but just stare at its magnitude. 
All Americans, in my opinion, should try to
visit this site. The sculptor of Mount Rushmore, Gutzon Borglum stated "I
did not and don't intend that (the Memorial) shall be just a damn big thing, a
three -day tourist wonder.A nation's memorial should, like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt, have a serenity, a nobility, and power that reflects the gods they have become. Herb, Sunny, Mark and I certainly experienced the serenity, saw the nobility and felt the power of this magnificent sculpture. We took our time soaking it all in and were still looking over our right shoulders for more glances as we departed the grounds. It was a special experience and one that would not easily be forgotten. From Mount Rushmore we pick up route 16 again heading back to town but not before making one more stop. 8 miles from Mount Rushmore stands the World's Largest Mountain Carving, Crazy Horse Memorial.
Sunny and I ventured outside where we found a magnificent bronze sculpture of 2 fighting stallions. It was so beautiful.
It was already Saturday and a full day of riding was
planned. So far we were on schedule with everything. We hoped today would be
the same. We had a lot planned; Rapid
City, Sturgis, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and back to Custer, South Dakota
all in a day. An early start was required and we were off and running at 7:00am.
A back road trip to Rapid City was a
real nice early morning ride. It was just 40 miles but we took our time
enjoying the scenery and the rhythm of the road. No one spoke on their CB,
everyone just soaked in the experience. In
close formation we passed through Rapid City and pick up I-90 west to exit 55.
While at the Montana, North Dakota Border I think we all realized that we would not make it back to Custer before dark. It would be our first time riding in the dark, at least on this trip and Custer was 230 away. We traveled route 12 to Bowman, ND before stopping for gas and picking up route 85 back to South Dakota. It was now 7:35pm and the sun had set. The next 198 miles would be in the darkness. We give each other a little more room between bikes and head due south. There's very few lights along the way, just road, darkness and millions of bugs. Reaching Belle Fourche at 9:30pm, we gas up, clean off our helmets and windshields, grab a cup of coffee, relax a minute and mount up. We are still nearly 85 miles from Custer. Leaving Belle Fourche we take I-90 east to 385 south. Passing Rapid City we began to see familiar signs for Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Memorial. By 11:35pm we pulled into the Rock Crest Lodge parking lot. We had made it home safely but we were beat and extremely hungry. We had been out for nearly 18 hours. Everything in town was closed except for the service station across the street. Sunny hit the shower while Herb, Mark and I raided the service station for anything that could be micro-waved. Pizza and hot dogs in hand and of course Mark's customary end of the day cold beer, we headed back to our rooms ending the longest day of our trip.
On Sunday morning we woke up with the sun shining on four of the dirtiest bikes that I have seen in a while. They were covered with millions of bugs from last night's experience of riding in the Dakota darkness. Today was supposed to be a day of relaxing at the Lodge, checking out the bikes, packing clothes and preparing for our trip home. By the time Sunny and I made our way to the office for coffee, Herb had already made arrangements with the Lodge staff to have a water hose, bucket and rags available for us to clean our bikes. I think that we walked to breakfast that morning and upon our return to the Lodge we immediately started cleaning the bikes. Sunny and I were busy cleaning our bikes when we were approached by a gentleman from Nebraska. He and his family were there celebrating his mom's 84th birthday. His dad and mom were married in Custer in the 50s. His dad had passed a few years ago and his mom wanted to return to Custer to renew her memory of his dad. They asked Sunny if she would join them in the shaded area that they had selected to celebrate.
They needed someone to take pictures of
the entire family. Of course Sunny joined them and I was stuck with cleaning
both bikes. Everything done, we were set to relax for the rest of the day but I
had a surprise for everyone. Over the past few days I had purposely steered
everyone away from a part of Peter Norbeck Scenic Byway that I felt was the
most dramatic. I called everyone together and explained to them that we were
going to take a ride that they will remember forever. I cautioned them about
the extremely sharp curves, switchbacks, stone tunnels and pigtail bridges that
drop and rise quickly. The gorgeous scenery should be appreciated but don't
take your eyes off the road for too long. It would be 17 miles of road that
engineers of the 30s once said could not be built. I explained the important of
gearing up or down and accelerating properly in some of the drastic turns to
prevent stalling. Everyone was excited. Sunny was a little apprehensive but it
only took a little bit of encouragement before she was ready for the
challenge. Kick stands up we rolled
straight through town on route 16. We entered Custer State Park and exited
still on route 16. Riding faster than we should, we passed our turnoff. Sunny
quickly radioed that she thought she just saw the sign on the left. Mark turned
around and back tracked to verify the sign. Sunny was right. We all U-turned and met with Mark in a matter
of seconds. We were all ready for the
challenge of Iron Mountain Road. Damn this is fun! Iron Mountain Road was
everything that everyone expected it to be. The ride was thrilling and challenging, and
the scenery was overwhelming. The turns,
curves, pigtail bridges and tunnels required all of the attention of an experienced
biker. It was fun with a touch of
danger. It deserves to be ridden more
than once but we just didn't have the time. It was time for us to make our way
back to the Lodge and prepare for tomorrow's departure East toward home. We finished our day with dinner in town and
another stop at the Purple Pie Place.
As usual we were up early on Monday morning checking the
bikes, cleaning the windshields, loading the trailer and saddlebags and
ensuring that we didn't leave anything behind in our rooms. We rode down to the
office were Herb and Mark were already waiting for us. We had our morning cups
of coffee, paid our bills, and quickly discussed our plan for the day and
slowing rolled out of Custer heading north to Rapid City. Custer, SD had proven
to be the ideal staging area for our plan of touring that part of the country. I radioed Herb to see if everything was clear in the rear. He gave us the go. We
changed lanes, rolled back on the throttles, adjusted our positions, picked up
route 16 and in less than 45 minutes we were passing Rapid City and on I-90
East. Leaving I-90 at exit 110 and picking up route 240, it was close to 9:00am
and we were approaching the entrance to the last item on our bucket list,
"The Badlands". We stopped at the Badlands entrance sign where we
dismounted and took turns taking pictures of each other. Sign pictures completed we eased up to the entrance
booth, paid our $10:00 per bike and began to tour one of the most unusual
places in the country. "The
Badlands."
I guess everyone has their own take on the badlands. I found it to be a strange, eerie, and ghostly place, yet very beautiful and extremely interesting. It was like being on another planet with only a hand full of other humans to keep you company. The "pull over" points along Badlands Loop gave us breathtaking views and plenty of room to walk around for great pictures... if you weren't afraid of the rattlesnakes. But to ride the Badlands Loop on your bike is just a wonderful and unforgettable experience.
We all rode in silence just taking it all in and wishing that we had the time to spend the entire day there. We stopped at the Visitor's Center for breakfast and a few more pictures before exiting the Badlands at the Northeast Entrance. A few miles outside of the Northeast Entrance we pulled over to fill up our tanks at the Badlands Trading Post near Philip, SD.
We rode all day Tuesday stopping only for gas and meals. Everything went great until we rode into the
vicinity of Chicago and immediately hit heavy traffic. We hoped that the
traffic wouldn't be backed up too long but we were wrong. We were in the left
lane and barely moving when my bike began to run hot. There was a lot of construction in the area that
left no shoulder on the left side for emergency stops so we began to slowly move through the traffic and work our way to the
far right lane where there was more room to stop if we had to. My bike was
still running hot but the right lane was moving just enough to keep it from
shutting down. Sunny has a Baker 1 Oil Cooler on her Ultra. I'm not sure how effective it really is but she had no
problem in the heavy traffic. Mark's Road King was still running cool and of
course Herb's reliable 1500 GoldWing just automatically kicked on the radiator
fan and kept moving forward. Gradually traffic picked up and the bike cooled
down but we were hot from sitting in the traffic so we exited the highway to
gas up and get something cool to drink. We were in Hammond on the Illinois and
Indiana border. After a brief break we
were ready to get back on the highway but without warning Mark's Road King was
dead. We checked everything and still nothing. Mark thought that maybe the Key
FOB battery was bad. I understand the security
that the FOB provides but I guess I'm just old fashion, its just one of those
items that I can do without on a bike. Luckily there was a drug store across
the street where Mark was able to buy a new battery. Once installed the Road
King roared to life and the problem was solved....at least for the moment.
Rolling back onto the combined Interstates of 80/90 we rode another 2 hours and
pulled into Elkhart, IN to spend the night. With the problems of very heavy
traffic around Chicago and Mark's bike not wanting to respond, we were still
able to cover close to 650 miles for the day. It was time for a good meal at
the Elkhart Crackle Barrel and then some rest.
Wednesday we were back to our regular schedule. We were all
up and ready at 6:00am, the bikes were gassed and at 6:28am we were rolling
East. There was no reason to say anything to anyone. We all knew that we were
going to ride hard all day to make it home before dark. We had approximately
750 miles to go. Herb did a CB check, cleared the rear and we rolled away from
the service station on Cassopolis St and onto Interstate 80/90. In 2 hours we
made our first gas stop in Genoa, OH., southeast of Toledo. We planned to
"gas and go" all the way home except for a quick lunch. Back on the
Ohio turnpike we pushed another 165 miles using I-80 into I-76 and stopping in
New Springfield, OH, dead south of Youngstown. We were making good time. We eat
a quick snack and were ready to roll in 30 minutes when Mark's Road King reared
its problem again. Eventually Mark was able to get his bike started but for the
rest of the trip, all 280 miles, he never turned off his bike again until he
reached his home in Sykesville, MD. Rolling out of New Springfield we quickly
crossed into Pennsylvania. Our next stop was in Bedford, PA. It was 2:00PM and
we still had plenty of daylight. All of us were familiar with the PA Turnpike,
it's curves, tunnels, and straight-aways so we were able to make excellent time
without much concern. So locked into tight formation we rolled back on the
throttles and let the big bikes work
like they are suppose to do. The next 20 miles passed quickly and before
we realized it we were approaching the Breezewood/Baltimore sign and exit. I
radioed everyone that we were taking this exit to accompany Mark home to
Maryland so that he wouldn't have to ride alone, especially with the problems
that he was having with his bike. Herb radioed back that he was going to remain
on the PA Turnpike and go straight home. He missed his "Honey", his
lovely wife Esther, and had called her at the last rest stop to tell that he
would be home soon. He had 217 miles to go.
For the first time on this trip the group was going to split but we all understood why. With Sunny and I accompanying Mark we exited to the right, said our good- byes to Herb and picked up I-70E to Maryland. The 107 miles to Sykesville was an easy ride. This is the part of the country where Mark, Herb and I grew up and we have always loved riding the beautiful rolling hills of western Maryland. Sunny had ridden this area with me several times before too and had always loved the scenery. By 4:00PM we pulled into a service station in Lisbon, Md. It was Mark's last time that he would have to gas his Road King while it was still running. He was less than 30 minutes from home. We all thought about Herb because we were only a few miles from where he grew up in New London, MD. We hoped that he was doing well riding alone down the PA Turnpike. We hugged Mark because this would be our last stop together on this trip. Back on I-70E it was only a few miles when Mark exited on route 32 heading to our childhood home of Sykesville. We all blew our horns and waived and before we knew it Mark was out of sight and Sunny and I were heading on I-70 toward Baltimore. Approaching 695, the beltway around Baltimore, bright tail lights suddenly brought us to a complete stop. Traffic is often heavy on the beltway around this time of the day and we sort of expected some delay but we could tell that this was more than just rush hour traffic. We hung with the cars until my bike once again began to run hot. I looked at Sunny and nodded and she knew exactly what I meant so she started clearing a way for us to move to the right shoulder so that we could keep the bikes moving and hopefully cool them down. We were able to reach the overpass and as we looked down on 695 we could see flashing police lights in the far distance. The merging I-70 traffic was barely moving so we stayed on the shoulder as far as we could then slowly worked our way into traffic and gradually moved over to the left lane. It was the only lane that was getting around the accident. It took a lot of time to get around the accident that was blocking the two middle lanes. But once passed the accident the beltway traffic opened up and so did Sunny and I. It was now past 5:00pm and we were about 140 miles from home. We had enough gas to just about make it so we pressed on still hoping to make it home before dark. Coming off the beltway we picked up I-95N and held down the left lane until we crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge and rode under the "Welcome To New Jersey" sign. Back on our own turf we felt comfortable and somewhat satisfied in knowing that we had just about made it. Sunny followed me as we maneuvered through the curves and picked up I-295N. In less than an hour we were exiting 295 and onto route 38. At 7:00pm we stopped in Mt. Holly and gassed up the bikes. 15 miles to go and the sun starting to set in our rear view mirrors we rode east on 38. 20 minutes later we pulled into our driveway, turned off the bikes, gave each other a big hug and recorded our mileage. We had covered 740 miles for the day in 13 hours and had made it home safely. We immediately contacted Herb and found that he too had run into rush hour traffic and had been held up outside of Philadelphia but arrived home safely about 30 minutes ahead of us. The trip completed, we had ridden 4630 miles and completed everything on the "Bucket List" for this trip. It was a wonderful trip that was made great by sharing it with my wife Sunny, my brother Mark and my best friend Herb.
Pictures and videos of the entire trip can be found on the following sites. Please feel free to share these links with family and friends.
Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/102316986521082254065/2013SummerRoadTrip?authuser=0&feat=directlink
For the first time on this trip the group was going to split but we all understood why. With Sunny and I accompanying Mark we exited to the right, said our good- byes to Herb and picked up I-70E to Maryland. The 107 miles to Sykesville was an easy ride. This is the part of the country where Mark, Herb and I grew up and we have always loved riding the beautiful rolling hills of western Maryland. Sunny had ridden this area with me several times before too and had always loved the scenery. By 4:00PM we pulled into a service station in Lisbon, Md. It was Mark's last time that he would have to gas his Road King while it was still running. He was less than 30 minutes from home. We all thought about Herb because we were only a few miles from where he grew up in New London, MD. We hoped that he was doing well riding alone down the PA Turnpike. We hugged Mark because this would be our last stop together on this trip. Back on I-70E it was only a few miles when Mark exited on route 32 heading to our childhood home of Sykesville. We all blew our horns and waived and before we knew it Mark was out of sight and Sunny and I were heading on I-70 toward Baltimore. Approaching 695, the beltway around Baltimore, bright tail lights suddenly brought us to a complete stop. Traffic is often heavy on the beltway around this time of the day and we sort of expected some delay but we could tell that this was more than just rush hour traffic. We hung with the cars until my bike once again began to run hot. I looked at Sunny and nodded and she knew exactly what I meant so she started clearing a way for us to move to the right shoulder so that we could keep the bikes moving and hopefully cool them down. We were able to reach the overpass and as we looked down on 695 we could see flashing police lights in the far distance. The merging I-70 traffic was barely moving so we stayed on the shoulder as far as we could then slowly worked our way into traffic and gradually moved over to the left lane. It was the only lane that was getting around the accident. It took a lot of time to get around the accident that was blocking the two middle lanes. But once passed the accident the beltway traffic opened up and so did Sunny and I. It was now past 5:00pm and we were about 140 miles from home. We had enough gas to just about make it so we pressed on still hoping to make it home before dark. Coming off the beltway we picked up I-95N and held down the left lane until we crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge and rode under the "Welcome To New Jersey" sign. Back on our own turf we felt comfortable and somewhat satisfied in knowing that we had just about made it. Sunny followed me as we maneuvered through the curves and picked up I-295N. In less than an hour we were exiting 295 and onto route 38. At 7:00pm we stopped in Mt. Holly and gassed up the bikes. 15 miles to go and the sun starting to set in our rear view mirrors we rode east on 38. 20 minutes later we pulled into our driveway, turned off the bikes, gave each other a big hug and recorded our mileage. We had covered 740 miles for the day in 13 hours and had made it home safely. We immediately contacted Herb and found that he too had run into rush hour traffic and had been held up outside of Philadelphia but arrived home safely about 30 minutes ahead of us. The trip completed, we had ridden 4630 miles and completed everything on the "Bucket List" for this trip. It was a wonderful trip that was made great by sharing it with my wife Sunny, my brother Mark and my best friend Herb.
Pictures and videos of the entire trip can be found on the following sites. Please feel free to share these links with family and friends.
Picasa: https://picasaweb.google.com/102316986521082254065/2013SummerRoadTrip?authuser=0&feat=directlink
FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/jan.emanuel/media_set?set=a.10151878508674131.1073741843.648554130&type=1
Conclusion: After reading all of this some of you may
ask if Mark ever found the cause of the problems that he was experiencing with
his 2007 Road King. According to his Harley dealership in Frederick, Maryland,
the culprit behind the sporadic starting failures was no more than an
accumulation of dirt in the bike's starter and on the starter's contacts. The
starter was pulled, disassembled, cleaned, reassembled, reinstalled and Mark
hasn't had a problem with it since.
Sunny's 2008 Candy Red Sunglo Ultra Classic with ABS brakes,
and progressive suspension made 37 gas stops on this trip costing her $504.02
in premium gas. Her bike was the only
one that experienced absolutely no problems on the trip.
TC's 2010 Flame Blue Pearl Ultra Classic with standard
brakes, air suspension and Screaming Eagle air filter, pulling a Hannigan
Aerodynamic Sierra trailer also made 37
gas stops on this trip costing him $508.70 in premium gas. (Just $4.68 more
than Sunny and I pulled the trailer the entire trip) The only problem I
experienced was the bike running hot in heavy traffic.
Herb's 1997 Pearl Black GoldWing continued to rack up the
miles. It made this trip without a hiccup except for the brief period without a
headlight. Watching and riding with Herb you would never believe that he is 82
years old. He and I have covered tens of thousands of miles together and know
each other's riding styles so well that we travel the highways and country
roads in rhythmic cadence like we were still in the military. I'm always proud
to see the expressions on the faces of so many people who are pleasantly
surprised when they learn that Herb is 82 and still riding strong.
After posting
vacation pictures on Facebook I received a lot of calls and comments from
friends who were surprised to see me riding a Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic. For
years they have seen me touring only on my Honda GoldWing so naturally they
wanted me to make a comparison. Here's
my opinion, not by any means an expert opinion, just the personal opinion of
someone whose been riding since 1958 and who has owned a lot of different
bikes. I thoroughly enjoyed touring on my 2002 Goldwing. It was extremely
comfortable, handled like a sports bike, had plenty of power, pulled my trailer
like it wasn't there and was more dependable than my car. I had over 100,000 touring miles on my Wing
when it was totaled in an oil slick accident on my way to Americade a couple
years ago. In all of that travel I was never once left on the highway because
of a maintenance problem with my Wing, not even a flat tire. So you can see why
I loved it so much. My 2010 Harley-Davidson Ultra is a nice bike but of course
different from my Wing. I didn't find it as comfortable to ride for long
distances but that may have been for a couple reasons. First, I had just had
shoulder surgery for a torn rotator cuff just three months prior to the trip.
Shoulder surgery is painful so I really don't think that I would have been
comfortable regardless of what I was riding. Cruise control really helped me
cope with the pain because it allowed me to drop my right arm every half hour
or so to allow it to rest. Secondly, I didn't find the Ultra's seat to be as
comfortable as that of the Wing....but that may not be because of the seat. It
may be because I am now 70 and have lost a great deal of my "natural
cushion" from my butt. The Ultra performed very well pulling my trailer
the entire way without any strain. I was disappointment but not surprised when
it ran hot so quickly in heavy traffic. But I'm elated to know that the recent
changes that Harley has made in their new Project Rushmore series incorporates
radiators for liquid cooling. That
should practically eliminate the overheating. What bothered me more than anything or I
should say what I missed more than anything on my Ultra vs my Wing was the fact
that I didn't have REVERSE. Pushing that Ultra around with the trailer attached
and using these old legs proved to be a real chore especially in some of the
areas that we visited on this tour. REVERSE is wonderful on big touring bikes
whether you are pulling a trailer or not. I would love to see Harley have
REVERSE as standard equipment on all of their Electra Glides. I enjoy riding both of these bikes and I don't
put one above the other. I simply accept the characteristics of each and make
the adjustments as I ride. Most of today's bikes are very dependable so
selection comes down to simply personal choice. For me I wish that the Wing sounded like the
Harley and I wish that the Harley handled like the Wing. Other than that I'll
ride either one without complaining. Right now I'm enjoying adding all of the
personal choice accessories to the Ultra to identify it as mine.
It’s already January, five months after our summer trip out
West. Planning will begin soon for our next one. Preliminary plans are for us
to tour Maine and all of Nova Scotia. Anyone
up for a ride?
See you on the road,
"TC", Herb "KingWing", Mark, and
"Sunny The Diva"
Hey Pop! Just getting around to reading this and this article has definitely whetted my appetite to join you on your next ride! I may not make Americade since it's in the same month Louise and I are heading to Hawaii, but keep me in mind as you set up the rest of your travel calendar.
ReplyDeleteFantastic overview! You should submit it to a couple of magazines for them to publish!
Shawn