Final Thoughts and Information on the Trip

The top picture show the route I took on this trip. The next 2 are the "States Ridden In" maps both before and then after my trip.

What a great ride! People have asked how this compares to the previous rides I did the last 2 years and all that I can say is that each ride has been unique. Some of what made this trip different includes:

• The safety training I did early on in the trip. This trip was scheduled around this training. It was a great way to both refresh and learn techniques for riding better and allowed me to practice and integrate the skills into my riding during the next 2 weeks
  
• The many different mountains I rode on this trip: Catskills and Adirondacks Mountains of New York, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, and the Green mountains of Vermont)
• The time spent by the ocean in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Maine
• The weather - I put on my rain gear more on this trip than the last 2 combined. While I only had 2 times that the rain was heavy, the other were just the nuisance of having to put on the rain gear and then taking it off shortly there after as the rain had passed.
• The traffic I dealt with. While I still avoided most of the major cities (other than Chicago), there was still more traffic in most places than I had dealt with on previous trips.
  

I must always remember how lucky and blest I am to have the opportunity to even consider doing trips like this. It is only with the support of many that these trips are so enjoyable to me. Thank you to all of you:

• To Cathy for her support as I prepare for and take the trips.
• To my co-workers and team that allows me to "escape" for this time to really enjoy and relax during these trips which then allows me to return refreshed and renewed.
• To those that welcome me into their homes while I am on this journey.
• To those that I meet and enjoy talking to while on the journey.
  

I know many of you don't understand how spending this much time riding motorcycle by yourself can be enjoyable. However, to me, this is the most relaxing and rejuvenating experience I have. While I am on the road like this, I am able to clear my mind of the many day-to-day thoughts that I am normally concerned with. Just being in these great parts of the country and taking in their beauty puts a different perspective on life that is often forgotten at other times.

So here are some of the final numbers for the trip:
Total miles: 7,125
Longest day: 669 miles from east of Niagara Falls to Chicago (July 22 - Day 17)
Average miles per day: 396
New states ridden in: 11 (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
Totals states ridden in: 19
Total number of states now ridden in: 36 (72% of them)
Total out-of-pocket expenses to me: $740 (plus the safety training class) with lodging and gas being the largest expenses
Nights of camping: 11
Nights in hotels: 3
Nights with friends/family: 3
Average MPG: 46
Average price per gallon: $2.74

I hope you have enjoyed following along during my trip and enjoyed the pictures I posted. I only posted a small number of the 184 I have from the trip!

The next major event and excitement in our lives will be Trisha and John's wedding on August 21. We still have several things to finish planning for and work to be done to prepare for the reception that is going to be at our house so busy times are ahead.

Good bye to all.

Day 18 - July 23: Home at Last

I arrived home at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night, safe and sound with no incidents to report. The total mileage for the trip was 7,125 miles. I will provide more details when I have time to update my spreadsheets and put my final thoughts together. Today, I just wanted to let everyone know that I made it home.

I left Trisha's around 8:15 and went to visit my relatives (Jed and Judy). It had not seen them for a while so it was good to catch up on family news with each other. Jed recently had open heart surgery to repair a valve in his heart so he is just beginning his recovery process. After having breakfast and visiting I continued my journey homeward.

I called my brother Perry that lives in Wisconsin to see if he was going to be home in the afternoon but they were going to be at a wedding so I didn't get a chance to him.

I stopped at my daughter Lindsey's place in Eau Claire for about 30 minutes before she had to go to work.

From Eau Claire, I couldn't stand to take the freeway anymore so I headed north on Hwy 53 and then come across on Hwy 8 through Wisconsin to Taylors Falls and then cross country to home.

What a trip!

Day 17 - July 22: A long way to go and not much to see

The title pretty much sums up the day. I knew at some point on this trip, this day would come. The day I needed to make some good time and cover some ground to get back home. Today was that day.

I spent the night in a campground right on the shore of lake Ontario and I slept the best I did on the entire trip. I don't think I moved an inch from the time I laid down until I woke up. From the campground in New York, the first stop was Niagara Falls. I had been there once before but I forgot what a tourist trap that place is. First I stopped on the U.S. side and paid $10 to park. After walking to the falls, I remembered that the better viewing is actually from the Canadian side. So I went across the river and through customs. The problem is that the parking and everything is such a zoo on the Canadian side. To park in the park is $20. I tried to pay for 1 hour of street parking, but the receipt never printed so I had no proof of payment. Much of the other parking is attached to business such as hotels where you need to be a guest to park or run the risk of being towed. I finally gave up and decided it was time to move on.

From Niagara Falls it was across Ontario and into Michigan. Coming back into the U.S. required going through customs again and it took over 45 minutes. They had 8 lines of cars backed up with people waiting to coming through. From there it was across Michigan and then back to Trisha's place on the north side of Chicago. Over all, I covered about 650 miles today with nothing special to report seeing other than Niagara Falls. Other than covering a lot of ground and getting closer to home, the only I thing I accomplished was squaring of my tires (other bikers will know what this means).

So in total, I have now driven in a total of 19 states on this trip (listed in sequence in which I rode in them): Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and Michigan, plus Ontario in Canada. I will have covered about 7,000 miles by the time I get back home. I will provide more details, statics, and final thoughts once I actually get home.

My plan for tomorrow is pretty open at this time. I have a cousin that lives very near my daughter and I plan to meet them at 8:30 in the morning. From there I plan to stop and my other daughter (Lindsey) in Eau Claire. From there, I may also stop and see my brother that lives in Wisconsin on my home. At this time I have not even talked to them so Perry and Betty if you read this before I call you tomorrow, you might know I plan to stop by if it works out!

At the request of Trisha, I have been asked to include another picture of her dog Einstein - she really loves him.

Day 16 – July 21: New York

The day started early this morning as this was the first night I did not feel fully rested. I had trouble falling asleep and also woke up many times during the night. The weather in the morning was a cool 60 degrees and there was patchy fog. I was on the road by 6:00 a.m. Considering the weather conditions and time of day, I took it especially easy this morning as I made my way across Vermont to New York.

My route this morning was to include a ferry ride across Lake Champlain that separates Vermont and New York. However when I arrived, the ferry operator said they had an oil leak and didn’t know when it would be repaired. He sent me about 18 miles north to another ferry crossing. This location previously had a bridge but the old bridge had been removed and construction on the new bridge had just begun so they were using two ferry boats to bring vehicles from side to side.

Once across Lake Champlain, I did my planned routes through the Adirondacks Mountains. They were nice to see and I am glad I did them but I think my road selection could have been better. I stayed on the major roads and some of them were not that much fun. I should have been on more of the back roads; oh well. I did spend a little time in Lake Placid and did see the ski jumps that are still used for Olympic training. Lake Placid is really not much of a town. I am sure it was much different while the Olympics were taking place.

After leaving Lake Placid, I was just thinking that one thing I really wanted to eat yet on this trip was some really good BBQ. A few moments late I came upon Tail O’ the Pup (not sure where the name came from) but it was a large outdoor BBQ place – just what I was thinking off. I had a combination of ribs and chicken. I now have a new favorite BBQ rib place, to bad it is sooo far away. Unfortunately the chicken was a disappoint because it was very dry.

The last part of my route today was along Lake Ontario. To bad it is not apple season. Much of the area beside the lake has apple orchards. I love fresh apples but they are still looking a little green. I did find one fresh fruit stand that had sweet cherries so I did pick up some of them for supper and snacking on. I enjoy being able to pick up something like that along the way.

I believed we had our first causality of the trip today. As I was going down Lake Ontario Parkway, there was a rabbit that couldn't make up it’s mind about which way to go. It was on the right side of me but all at once I felt it hit my foot on the left side of the bike. It must have gone under the bike behind the front wheel but I think when it hit my foot and it was all over. Now we know where being indecisive gets you!

I am spending the evening at the Green Harbor campground that is right long the lake shore. I am between Rochester and Buffalo New York.

Day 15 – July 20: A Day with Mixed Emotions

I have many other cool pictures to share but the internet is to slow to post them here - sorry.

This morning was spent touring around Acadia National Park which is near Bar Harbor Maine. As I mentioned previously, President Obama was here this past weekend. Everything was back to normal as far as I could tell.

Acadia is a very beautiful and busy National Park. There are many walking trails and is also very popular with the bicyclists. One of the many highlights of the park is Cadillac Mountain which is a large granite formation. It is only about 1,500 feet but you can drive to the top and provides amazing views of the harbor and ocean front. The drive is much easier than Mount Washington was! Another neat feature is the Sandy Beach area. This was the only nice sandy beach that I found where you could actually get to it and spend some time relaxing. The sun was shining and the waves were crashing; what a beautiful morning. Around much of the area, you could see fishing boats putting out there nets and traps to provide everyone with fresh seafood. To do my part, the final meal I had in Maine had to be a fresh boiled lobster. I purchased it at a Lobster Pound which is a small restaurant that cooks and serves lobsters. They are boiled in large pots of salt water heated with wood stoves. It was good but I will still take steak over lobster any day.

About 11:30, after finishing off my lobster, I came to the hard part of my trip. It was time to turn around and start heading back towards home. The turning point is always difficult for me. It has been a very good ride so far and I am thankful for that. I am also anxious to get back home to see Cathy (my wife) and sleep in my own bed again. However, knowing this trip will quickly come to a close and soon I will be back into the normal home/work routines causes mixed emotions.

Once again, I must thank Cathy who continues to support my interest in motorcycling and doing these trips even though it puts an extra burden on her to deal with problems that arise while I am not there (computers crashing, hot water heaters not working properly, power outage due to storms – just a few of the problems that occurred while I have been gone!). Without her willingness and support, these trips would not be possible.

After much consideration and pondering this morning, I decided to alter my route for my return trip. Initially I had planned to return via Canada by going around north of the Great Lakes. However, one of the areas I still wanted to see on this trip is the Adirondacks Mountains in northern New York. This is where Lake Placid (winter Olympics 1980) is.

So, after my lobster was finished, I headed back across Maine and through New Hampshire and the White Mountains again (oh darn!). Tonight I am staying at a campground near East Thetford Vermont. Tomorrow, first the Adirondacks and then east towards Niagara Falls. I have already seen it once, but as long as I am this close, I may stop and see it again. Some depends on how long my return trips takes. I plan to be back on Friday if possible but it may push into Saturday depending on how things work out.

July 19 – Day 14: From Mountains, to Lakes, to the Atlantic Ocean

Finally internet access so I can update my blog. I didn't have it for the last 2 nights.

I was right about the weather this morning. It was 59 degrees when I woke up - it slept good.

I left the White Mountains of New Hampshire this morning and headed towards Maine. The first area in Maine is what is referred to as the lakes area. I would compare it to the Brainard area in Minnesota but with more hills. There are lots of lakes, cabins, resorts and the such. From there I was on my way back to the Atlantic ocean. The majority of the day was spent riding along the ocean area and weaving in and out of areas to get closer to the water. Unfortunately, I did not find many places where you can actually see much of the ocean. In some areas, there are large areas of swamps prior to the open water. In other areas, you can see the water in various bays but again not much open water. This is very different than driving along Lake Superior in Minnesota where you can drive miles right along the shore line.

Since I am in Maine, I had to have some lobster. today I had a Lobster roll (lobster meat with mayo in a sandwich). Tomorrow I plan to have a freshly cooked lobster. There are several steam cookers near the place I am staying tonight.

I ended my day today near Acadia national Park in Bar Harbor. I am staying at a KOA near the park enterance. Ouch, $53 for a primitive camp site! My plan for a good part of tomorrow is to ride through the park. After that, there are some roads in northern Maine that I would also like to ride.

Day 13 – July 18: Goal accomplished – but I’m not done yet!

I woke up this morning to mountain air that was a cool and crisp 65 degrees. It is a great way to cleanse the body with fresh air like this. Tomorrow I expect it may be even cooler as it is already below 70 as I am writing this before I go to sleep for the night. Should be great sleeping weather.

This morning I continued further north in Vermont (within a few miles of the Canadian border) and then west across Vermont and through New Hampshire. It doesn’t take long to travel across New Hampshire at the top as the state is pretty narrow there. From there I did a loop around Rangely Lake in Maine. With this loop in Maine, I accomplished my goal of riding in 11 new states on this trip. However, there is so much more to see.

The highlight of the day had to be riding to the top of Mount Washington on the AutoRoad. It is a 7 mile plus road that you drive to the top of the mountain which is over 6,200 feet. The road is just wide enough for 2 cars to pass in most places. Guardrails? Who needs them! 65% of the road is asphalt, but there is 35% in one section that is still gravel. My understanding is that motorcycles are not allowed on the road is the wind is above 65 miles per hour. I was fortunate today in that we were OK to ride. However, the last mile or so, the clouds covered the mountain, so you really could not see much from the top. It sure was windy up there. It is said that at the top of the mountain, on April 12, 1934, the strongest wind ever recorded by man occurred and it was 231 mph. One person I talked to said the road had to be closed for some time last week due to snow and ice - glad I missed that!

I keep seeing signs for “Moose Crossings” but I have seen any moose yet. I have been watching closely for 2 reasons. First, I would like to see another one in the wild (I saw a mother and her calf on my trip through Canada 2 years ago), and because I don’t want to run into one!

One other item I saw today was a monument named "Motorcyclist in Prayer". I had seen it during some of my pre-reading for the trip but I didn't note it specific location. I just driving by and happened to spot it so I stopped by. It is located in a cemetery. They have a large "Blessing of the Bikes" event at this location every year.

Tonight I am staying at a National Forest Campground named Passaconaway in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Tomorrow I head for the coast of Maine and some fresh lobster.

A couple more interesting pieces of information:
• The roads in northern Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine are even worse than most Minnesota roads. The rest of the roads have been in pretty good condition but these obviously take a beating in the winter.
• People in New England must really like their Subaru’s. I have never seen so many of them!
• People in New England must also like pizza (would have never guessed that) because every place advertising having pizza
• In 13 days of driving I have covered more that 4,700 miles

Day 12 - July 16: What a day, what a day, in a good way!

Today was a gorgeous day (I hope the night is as well but I hear thunder as I am writing this). The air was much cleaner and less humid today after the heavy rains of last night. The temperature was in the mid 80’s most of the day and the sun was a shining!

My route for the day was north out of Massachusetts into New Hampshire, west across the southern part of the state and then into Vermont. In Vermont, I took highway 100 which runs north/south through the middle of the state. This is a great scenic highway. You are surrounded by mountains on both sides during much of the time. There was a pretty waterfall and a place called Smugglers Notch. The use the term notch as a pass between 2 sets of mountains. In Smugglers Notch, the mountain keep getting closer and closer together. At the end you basically climb out between the 2 mountains in the notch between them. Very cool.

Another stop today was the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterbury Vermont. You pay $3 to get a 30 minute tour and a small sample of ice cream. The tour was OK but nothing special. They were not making ice cream today; they only do that Monday – Friday. They have 6 locations around the world that make the ice cream. They have another factory near St. Albins in Vermont that is larger than the one in Waterbury. All the milk for these 2 factories comes from local farmers in the St. Albins area.

Tonight I am staying at a quite little campground north of Smuggler Notch. I found it just by driving by. It is run by an older man and his son. I think there is only 4 or 5 sites occupied. I have a little stream running behind my tent. Early, I went and sat on a rock in the middle of the stream to relax. It is so peaceful.

Tomorrow I plan to continue farther north in Vermont and then go back east back into New Hampshire. I place that I look forward to is Mount Washington. I believe it had the highest every recording wind in the US at over 200 mph. From what I have read, if the wind is less than 65mph, a motorcycle can go up the auto road to the top of the mountain. Earlier on the trip I saw a motorcycle with a sticker that said “This motorcycle has climbed Mount Washington”. I also believe there is an old train that you can take to the top. Either was sounds fun!

Day 11 - July 16: Rhode Island and Massachusetts

Today's route was through 2 more new states for me: Rhode Island and Massachusetts. This brings the total to 8 new states and a total of 15 states ridden in. Three new states still remain: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine. Lookout, here I come!

Much to my displeasure, I was not to find a toothpick holder for my mom in Rhode Island this morning. I stopped in several places but nobody had any "souvenir" type items. I asked several people and I always got the same answer, "I don't know". I never suspected that find something like this would be so difficult. I obviously wasn't in the tourist areas of the state.

This afternoon the weather got pretty hot and humid. The display on the bike was in the low to mid 90's much of the afternoon. I changed my route a little this afternoon as it was getting hotter and hotter and I wanted to get to my destination.

As I mentioned before, I am spending the evening with cousin Paul and his wife Kolleen Turns out this was either very good planning or very lucky. There were some heavy storms in the area early this evening. Sure glad I had a real roof over my head (and the air conditioning felt pretty good too!). I was also able to get all my cloths washed so I have fresh cloths for the rest of the trip. Another benefit of staying with them was a good home cooked meal. Grilled pork chops, potatoes, fresh fruit, pie and ice cream - it was all very good! Thank you to Paul and Kolleen for allowing me to stay with you and having time to catch up again.

As I am writing this, I have not yet figured out my next route. It will be somewhere into Vermont and New Hampshire. A couple of the destinations I would like to see in these areas are Mount Washington and Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I am waiting with Maine until after the weekend to hopefully avoid some crowds along the shore. I saw on the news that President Obama and his family were at Acadia National Park in Maine this weekend - that I one of the place I hope to visit as well.

Day 10 - July 15: I Found the Ocean!

Today's route brought me across the state of Connecticut. The roads were though mostly hilly and wooded areas. With all the driving I have been doing, it is good to know there are still so many naturally wooded areas. Yes there is urban sprawl in places but there are still many, many places that are nothing but wooded land as far as the eye can see.

I was planning to make it into Rhode Island today but there are 3 items I need to pick up on this trip and I almost forgot one of them! My mom collects toothpick holders and is working on a collection from all 50 states. On this trip, I plan to get one from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont for her. Unfortunately I was almost ready to leave the state before I remembered that Connecticut was on the list. I changed my route and headed to the ocean area figuring there would be lots of tourist places to buy one. Not much luck. I was about ready to give up and had already used my GPS to find the nearest campground when I saw another shopping area. It didn't look very busy and it turns out most of the shops were already closed. I went into one store that was open and they didn't have it but they suggested another store down a few doors that might. Bingo! I found a very nice one; the trip has been saved! I will have to start looking for the others a little earlier next time.

Tonight I am at a KAO near Misty Connecticut. The prices for camp sites continue to rise. Tonight it was $46 for a "primitive" camp site (no electricity or water).

Tomorrow I will ride through Rhode Island and into Massachusetts. I plan to spend Friday evening with my cousin Paul and his wife in Hudson (outside of Boston). I don't get to see Paul very often so this is a great opportunity that I couldn't pass up.

Also, since I finally had a fast internet connection. I have gone back to all the previous posts and include a "track" map from my GPS that shows the route I took for that day. When you look at them, it is obvious that I never take the straight path from one place to another, rather I look for the funnest roads to ride or the most scenic areas to ride through.

Day 9 - July 14: The great escape (from New Jersey!)

I didn’t know if I was ever going to be able to escape New Jersey! Last night there was some rain (again!), so the tent and everything thing was a little dirty. I laid in the tent for a while until the rain stopped (about 6:30) and then got packed up and headed off. My plan was to get out of New Jersey and into the Catskill Mountains of New York. The state of New Jersey and the weather had different ideas.

First it was the traffic. I stayed off the interstates but was driving at local rush hour. The worst part was near Princeton. I went by the University and could feel the “brain power” that works there. I hoping I was able to capture some just by driving by. I was able to see their rowing team practicing on the river I as slowly went by.

Second it was the weather. I had to pull off the road twice and park the bike under a shelter because it was raining so hard it was not safe to be out. The last time I stopped at a little mall that had a Radio Shack store and asked the person working there if he had anything to with the radar weather report. He had a radio with the weather band on and it wasn’t giving me much hope of continuing my escape. Finally, the rain let up enough that I could continue north. The northern part of part of the state actually weren’t bad, but by this time, I wasn’t enjoying them and just wanted to get out! I did finally reach New York about 1:00. As I got into the Catskills, the weather improved and so did the riding.

The Catskill Mountains are not very tall or very challenging but do provide many great views and roads with sweeping curves. Tonight I’m staying at Rondout Valley Campground in Accord New York. When the person behind the counter when I was checking in asked me if I wanted a tent site that had water or one that was dry, I said “I wanted a dry one and would like it kept that way all night!” She obviously missed the humor.

Tomorrow I’m off to Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Two last comments on New Jersey. First, if you haven’t driven there before, all the gas stations are full service. You give the attendant your credit card, and they must start the pump for you. At least they let me pump the gas into the motorcycle. Sounds like someone got a law pushed through trying to save some high quality jobs in the state. Second, I didn't think this was possible but New jersey may give Wisconsin a run for it money with the number of dead deer along the road (and that is not a good thing). Along with both the hot and wet weather they have been having, let me tell you, you can smell them from a mile away!

Day 8 - July 13: Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey

Fortunately the rain that started last night did not turn into much. Also, the forecast for today did not look very promising last night when I went to sleep. The forecast was for 60% rain in most of the places I planned to travel today. Fortunately I was able to dodge most of the rain. I put on my rain gear once and drove through some heavier rain for a few minutes on 2 occasions but other than that it was dry. It was obvious by the debris on the roads that in some places there were some heavy rains that I missed.

I put on just over 500 miles today but there really wasn’t much to see. In Maryland, a few of the roads I went on were OK, but nothing to write home about. I did a loop around part of the Chesapeake Bay but in most places, you really couldn’t see that much. Then it was off to Delaware and Delaware Bay area. Again it was difficult to see much of the actual bay. The final state of the day was New Jersey. Again, not much exciting about this state. With the day wearing on, I decided to cut my route short and skip the areas around Atlantic City and Ocean City. There would have probably been more to see in those areas, but I was concerned with the amount the traffic I might have to deal with.

With all these states, I did learn some things:

• There is plenty of fresh fruit available from roadside stands. I picked up a few peaches along the way and they were the best ones I have had in a long time.
• There is a lot more agriculture in these areas than I expected. I expected it be more heavily populated but where I traveled in all the states, there were farm fields. The crops can’t compare to those in the Midwest though.
• I don’t have a strong desire to visit any of these states again!

Tonight I am staying at the Indian Rock Campground in Jackson New Jersey. There are not many campgrounds in this area. KOA doesn't have a single campground in New Jersey. I have also found out that campgrounds are more expensive in this area compared to other trips I have taken. On this trip a KOA or similar campground is $45 just to pitch a tent. On other trips, similar accommodations were $20 - $25.

Tomorrow I plan to head towards the Catskill Mountains in New York.

Here are a few statics for the first 8 days:

• Miles driven: 2,900 – average of 363 per day (includes 2 half days in and out of Columbus and 2 training days)
• States ridden in: 11
• New states ridden in: 4 (Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey)

Day 7 - July 12: Across Pennsylvania

Today's route was across southern Pennsylvania and a little bit into Maryland. The route I chose was very nice and included many wooded areas and a variety of terrain. I even saw a back bear on one of the back roads I was on. He didn't stick around long enough for a picture.

At the end of my day I did a little loop into Maryland. Then it looked like it might rain so I got my camp site at a KOA and got everything set up. I then was on my way to Gettysburg to get a bite to eat when I drove by the battlefield where much of the Gettysburg battle took place so I took some time to drive through looked at some of the information and monuments that are there. I'm not into Civil War history but it is hard to imagine the number of people that died during those 3 days of battle. The Confederate army was very close to winning the battle; how would the USA be different today had that happened?

Tomorrow's route is through Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. I know I won't make the entire route I have planned. Also, not sure what to expect for traffic and weather. Either could cause me to change my plans.

For and update on my dad's heart procedure today; everything thing went very well. The doctors believe his heart is in better shape than previously thought. If everything goes as planned, he will be going home on Tuesday.

It is starting to rain, so I better put the computer away for the night.

Day 6 - July 11: Day 2 of Stayin’ Safe Motorcycle Class (updated with photos)

The day began at 8:00 with breakfast at the Brazenhead Inn where we stayed. While letting breakfast settle, we watched a few video clips to reinforce what we learned previously and the importance of knowing what is going on in all 360 degrees around you.

When back on the road, some of the new skills we focused on today included using the front brake and throttle together, using our body to lean the bike in corners, a few slow speed moves while in a parking lot and braking.

Cass is one of the towns we stopped in today. There is an old steam engine train that goes on tours from there. We were lucky enough to be there when it left the station. What a site to see!

At the end of the day, we all received our “diplomas” from Eric and then people started going their own ways. I stayed with Eric back to Morgantown WV which is where we started the training on Saturday. I am staying at the Sand Springs campground just outside of town. It is a nice, wooded, and peaceful campground.

Tomorrow I begin the rest of my trip. It will begin by going across southern Pennsylvania and towards Maryland.

On another note, my father is having a procedure done on his heart valve tomorrow at Abott Hospital in Minneapolis. We are hope all goes well, please remember him in your prayers.

Day 5 - July 10: Day 1 of Stayin’ Safe Motorcycle Class (updated with photos)

Our class met at 7:30 this morning at an IHOP near the hotel I stayed in last night. There are a total of 4 students and 1 instructor. How is that for a student/teacher ratio? Everyone is an experienced rider so we have been able to move right along in the training. All 4 students are from different states. Ed is from Virginia, Irving is from North Carolina, and Shawn is from Ohio. Irving and Shawn are riding Harleys while Ed in on an 2005 1800 Goldwing. When we finished for the night, Ed was 4 miles short of 80,000 miles so he went back out for a short ride to make it past the milestone. Our instructor is Eric Trow; he is the main person behind the Stayin’ Safe program and we were luck enough to have him as our instructor as this is close to his home. His wife Amy also joined us in the evening.

After breakfast and getting the radio situation in order so the instructor can communicate with us while riding, we headed to an empty shopping mall parking lot to begin with some basic cornering skills to refresh everyone and evaluate everyone starting point. From there we were quickly out on the road. Initially the instructor the lead the way and we would take turns following behind him as he provided guidance over the radio. Later we were able to take turns being in front of the instructor so he could see how we doing while leading.

The class is focused on riding safety and things to do that reduce your risks while riding. Some of the topics discussed including: lane positioning (both for your visibility as well as for other to better see you), determining safe speeds based on your surroundings, speeds to enter corners, and cornering lines. The coaching and reinforcement you get while driving is very helpful. Today we covered about 200 miles.

We are spending the night at the Brazenhead Inn in Mingo. It is a quaint Irish inn. For entertainment, there were 5 local musicians that just got together and played a variety of traditional and bluegrass type music in a little informal “jam” session.

Tomorrow we will meet at 8:00 for breakfast and some video training before we head back out on the road. I look forward to another day of practicing and advancing my skills. The roads here definitely give you lots of opportunities to practice what we have learned.