Road Trip 2022 5,726 miles

[Bonnie and Clyde]

Disclaimer: Might be picture heavy and yes there are pictures of food and some selfies.


Ok this was a big one for us. We bought our bike last October 2021 doing a fly and ride. Since getting it home, we had not done any trips on it together except a few day rides. My wife still works full time and had three weeks of vacation coming. So she left it to me to plan a road bike trip, hitting as many National Parks and a few S.F. Giants baseball games along the way. We both are born and raised Bay Area kidz. Its a good place to be FROM! I couldn't live there anymore. A big thanks to my wife who is an awesome traveling partner and documented the trip from Pillion position like a champ.

Day 1 was short 220miles and smack in the middle of a heat wave. She got off work on Friday and wanted to leave ASAP. We left home around 5:30pm it was 98 degrees and made it Gardnerville NV to Winnemucca. NO pics and nothing to see. Got some dinner and hotel room.

Day 2 Winnemucca to Naples Utah 527 miles. Again 100+ degrees across hwy 80 into salt lake. Once we got on hwy 40 around Park City it started to cool off. Bombed into Naples UT got a room and some good BBQ. Tomorrow the sights start and trip really begins.

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Day 3 499 miles Naples to Gillette WY . 1st stop was Dinosaur National Monument in Jensen UT. Very cool even for adults.

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They have a trolley that takes you from the visitor center up to the main fossil exhibit.
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Then we headed north on 191 a very curvy scenic road with plenty of switch backs up to Flaming Gorge.
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Once we hit Rock Springs on hwy 80 we headed east to 287 north to Casper. Then 25 up to Gillette.
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[ekap1200]

A trip to Milwaukee , stop into the Harley Museum. It is a nice bit of history, I worked on the Wall Of Engines , way back when it was being built.
Gene Kap.

[Nails]

I can't help, but maybe we'll cross paths. I'll be leaving in mid-Sept, basically circling the opposite direction: Texas, Natchez to Nashville, hang out in Ohio (family), and then back somehow. Haven't decided the return trip, but first draft is south side of Lake Superior, noodle over to South Dakota, and on south to New Mexico. Else maybe scenic routes just to the west of the Natchez Trace. (I'm so-ooo sick and tired of riding across Texas and Oklahoma.)

I've been back and forth between NM and Ohio way too many times, way too many ways. Haven't really found a good route yet. I keep looping wider north and south.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

How many miles are you guys getting on a rear tire? 2 Rears to one front? Im starting on new Conti tour tires. Will i need to plan on buying a rear on the road? 2 Up with luggage I estimate somewhere around 3,000 to 3,500 miles. Maybe more or less.

[cushman eagle]

I get 15-17,000 on rears and 22-25,000 front.
That has been with Dunlop E-3s and E4s.
I am now running Commander IIIs now ,and will see how they perform.I have 4200 on the rear and 3600 on the front.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

I get 15-17,000 on rears and 22-25,000 front.
That has been with Dunlop E-3s and E4s.
I am now running Commander IIIs now ,and will see how they perform.I have 4200 on the rear and 3600 on the front.

Wow better than I hoped for. Thanks for that response, it takes that worry of tire life off my mind.

[Nails]

I get half that mileage out of RT66 tires. There's an old saw about two kinds of tires: either expensive and high traction or cheap and long mileage. I'm not sure modern technology has completely refuted it.

I misjudged this last year, only saw the good side of a bald tire when I checked, and found (after I got home) that I was dangerously into the cords on the other side. Yikes! (Yes, more motivated to make it home that night than in being careful. Lesson learned.)

[Bonnie and Clyde]

I get half that mileage out of RT66 tires. There's an old saw about two kinds of tires: either expensive and high traction or cheap and long mileage. I'm not sure modern technology has completely refuted it.

I misjudged this last year, only saw the good side of a bald tire when I checked, and found (after I got home) that I was dangerously into the cords on the other side. Yikes! (Yes, more motivated to make it home that night than in being careful. Lesson learned.)

Just for clarification do mean MT66 Pirelli? Still 7,000 + miles is going to work for this trip.

[Nails]

Just for clarification do mean MT66 Pirelli?

Yes. Love them, except when they only have 3K left for a 4K trip.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

T minus 3..........Locked and Loaded

[Nails]

There certainly are a number of long-cuts you could take, if you wanted that kind of trip. I'm most familiar with Colorado and to a lesser extent Utah. In Colorado, I-70 is scenic enough; and Colorado NM is a nice break off the superslab -- it's a swell ride via Monument Road, Rim Rock Drive, and back to Fruita. I find that end of I-70 and right through Utah to be fkng boring, so I also recommend at least looping through Moab via Fischer Towers and Castle Valley, and then back toward Green River. This is through the stuff that eroded from the huge mesa of Colorado NM for a beautiful 3D perspective of the landscape. The route gets a little squirrely west of I-15 onto Nevada's US-50. I liked Lehman Cave if you haven't been there, but the rest of that NM seems best for camping.

To be honest, I find US-50 to be kinda boring, too; but last time I rode it I was freezing my butt off. Sorry about not trying to hook up for a beer or something, but when I came through it was mid morning with snow on the ground, and I was trying to beat feet. I spent a fair bit of time in the hinterlands of Gardnerville -- had a girlfriend (roommate's sister) who's mom lived back there, off the grid. Most pleasant memories of clamper bars, stealing flowers off the governor's grounds for my lady, and inadvertently reincarnating Indian ghosts on winter night hikes in the desert (lots of owls).

For my part, I'm leaving in about two weeks heading further south. Thinking of Carlsbad and/or Big Bend, plus visiting my daughter's duty station in San Angelo, TX. Then surely a slog (much more boring than anything above) across southern TX and onto the Natchez Trace. I suspect that'll actually go pretty fast (only 500 miles), but I'll have camping crap to slow it down. Then about a week at my mom's house in SW Ohio. I haven't really put much thought into the trip back, but I'd probably get to the UP after you're already home. I'm thinking of basically back-tracking your route through SD, so take some damn photos! I might backtrack all the way through SLC to 395 -- maybe we'll get that beer after all. Then down to LA to visit Deanna, and finally back home. Or I might cut it short and just come back home via basically a blues route along the Mississippi. I still need firewood, for one thing.

[Nails]

Don't forget the photos!!!!

[Bonnie and Clyde]

We are back safe and sound. Epic trip. TONs of pictures. Report to follow.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VXkoz5yYq6GX83Ah8

[Nails]

I don't know whether this is one photo or the horde you teased, but if the latter I couldn't figure out how to make this Google thing go. I didn't "join" (but I think Google "joined" me) because I'm actually in the middle of weaning myself completely off Google.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

I don't know whether this is one photo or the horde you teased, but if the latter I couldn't figure out how to make this Google thing go. I didn't "join" (but I think Google "joined" me) because I'm actually in the middle of weaning myself completely off Google.

Its just one pic in that link. Im sorting out the trip so I can put some kind of logical report together. As to Google resistance is futile.........you must assimilate. I hate apple so google for me. I just put a new rear tire on the bike and fixed a bad carb float. Doing oil change and once over on the bike then ill work on the report.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

Day 4 226 miles Gillette to Rapid City SD

We left Gillette and headed towards The Devils Tower
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Then to Sturgis just to see the Motorcycle Museum and say "We have been there"
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I meet Dave Barr back in 2006 and got an autographed copy of his book
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I thought I had done some cool overland journey riding but stories like Dave Barr and these two sisters put me to shame
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Then headed down to Deadwood again just to check the box that we had been there and done that.
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Im not sure why I thought it would be different but Deadwood was pretty busy and touristy. We stopped for gas and a walk around. Refreshed with a ice-cream cone.
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Then headed south to Mt. Rushmore
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We were surprised to find it was free to enter Rushmore but $2.00 to park ( we have and annual NP pass)
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We did see a couple sasquatch on the loose
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Then we headed for Rapid City for food and a hotel room
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[GrandpaDenny]

Anybody else notice that with Sturgis being "Hog heaven" or whatever, the police bike was a KZ1000? <smile>

[Bonnie and Clyde]

Anybody else notice that with Sturgis being "Hog heaven" or whatever, the police bike was a KZ1000? <smile>

I rode motors my last 3 years on the Job. One of the instructors in the motor school was retired 35yrs CHP. He still rode his KZ1000 from 1978. Those are excellent motorcycles.

[Bonnie and Clyde]

Day 5 467 miles Rapid City thru Bad Lands NP to Fairmont Minnesota

Out of all 12 NP's or monuments we hit on this ride my wife was most fascinated with the Bad Lands.
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Once through the park we set the cruise control and started ticking off miles towards Fairmont.
We both laughed about this spare tire cover
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We rolled into Minnesota getting close to the end of the day
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Then about 1/2 mile from the exit for our hotel after a 9 hour day, the Green Hornet started to spit and sputter. Then died. I pulled in the clutch put in neutral and let it roll until it stopped. My wife asked "Did we just run out of gas?" "Yep, we did" Flat empty at 187.6 miles I dont think my fuel light works
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I had been slowly bumping up the speed and had been running at 80 mph this last tank of gas for the day. I was surprised we ran out of gas but neither of us got too upset as we could see the off ramp and gas station. We started to push the bike towards the off ramp. Then a nice gentleman stopped behind us and asked if we needed help. He offered to run to the gas station and get gas. I gave him some cash and he returned with a gallon of gas. He told us he used to ride and was happy to help and welcomed us to Minnesota. He wouldn't take any money for helping and the gas station just wanted their gas can back. We thanked him again and rode to the station and filled up.
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Then checked into the hotel right across the street. That was easiest run out of gas situation I've ever experienced thankfully. My wife would not let that happen again on this trip. I was now under strict orders to keep it at 70-72 mph and start looking for gas sooner.