Cross Country Trek (and back) on my Tracer 900 GT (2020)

[DavidS]

5 minutes ago, 1moreroad said:

It sounds like a mostly good start to a great trip.

When a friend and I rode in 2006, we found tire wear to be very fast in the desert.  Slower as you moved east into cooler, damper weather.  He still ended up having to replace a tire at a BMW dealer in Little Rock or North Little Rock, I think.

Call ahead to a shop if you can.  Most shops will be sympathetic and replace a tire if they find you are out on the road, but some will put you in line with every/any other repair.  And then there are some shops that simply won't have a tire that fits our bikes.

I'm going to try to make the tires last until I get to Dallas, I will be staying with friends for a few days, so I can afford to have the bike in the shop for new tires. Otherwise, the bike is holding up well, no issues at all. I may opt to get tires that are better at eating up the miles instead of the sporty Michelin PR5's I have on now. I have about 800 miles to Dallas, and I can get the tires replaced while visiting my friends. 

I do notice some fatigue after riding a lot of miles a few days in a row, but some of that could be the desert heat too. Looking forward to getting into some "Cooler" weather, although I suspect the southern states won't really give me much relief.

[DavidS]

Wow, sorry for not keeping up with the posts, I really underestimated the time I and energy I would have after riding a full day. I have completed my ride, and had a blast. I was able to catch up with old friends from Southern California all the way across the southern portion of the US to Jacksonville Florida. (More on the return trip below)

The map I posted on 4/13 above in this thread was pretty accurate from a route perspective and I was able to catch up with quite a few friends along the way. When I got to Dallas I spent a few days with a good friend, and then continued all the way across to Mobile Alabama and Jacksonville FL where I have some good friends who were kind enough to host me.

After resting a few days in Jacksonville FL, I started my journey up through Georgia and Tennessee. I really wanted to ride the Tail of the Dragon, but the weather would not cooperate. I was faced with waiting 2-3 days due to rain and inclement weather, and decided I really didn't want to spend the time to waiting, especially with no real confidence the weather would lift while I was still around the area to complete the ride. I will always regret missing that ride, but honestly it was a good real-time decision, even if I am still disappointed.

I headed back down to Huntsville Alabama, where I grew up, and stayed a few days with my old friend/boss when I went to school at University of Alabama. He has been living near Huntsville, so I decided to stay a few days with his wife and him. I took the opportunity to get a new set of tires, as my existing tires were pretty much toast, and had them do a comprehensive safety check to ensure I was ready to head back across the country. 

I don't have many (if any) friends in the middle of the country, and I saw most of the folks I wanted to see going the southern route. This really just left me just riding each day. I can't possibly communicate the nature of this portion of my ride. It is very flat, with straight roads that seem to go forever. The roads were unremarkable, but the small towns across the belt of America gave me many chances to talk to locals when getting gas or stopping for food/hotels. Having lived most of my adult life in big Cities (Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle) I had to channel my early life in Alabama to connect and talk to the local residents of the small towns I passed through. The people were shocked that anyone would try to do a ride like what I was doing, but they were helpful and provided all kinds of tips and suggestions, many of which helped me out immensely. 

This was truly the ride of a lifetime. Most importantly, I was able to ride for almost a month across the southern portion of the US, and back across the midwest of America on a motorcycle. I got to go where I wanted, no one to second guess or tell me I made a bad choice. I could eat where I wanted, and what I wanted, all while riding 400-500 miles a day. I met plenty of travelers who shared suggestions about where to go, what locations were worth visiting, and really just plain friendly folks who were interested in my journey.

I'm not sure I will embark on this kind of a ride again in my lifetime, although you can never really say never.....

Oh yeah, if you ever get a chance to ride a motorcycle through Denver CO in the spring, you will be treated to the most spectacular views of the Rocky Mountains anywhere. I almost crashed 100 times while trying to take in the mountains while riding a motorcycle. (not a good idea, but it wasn't possible to stop)

Now I think I will stay off my bike for a few weeks and get used to normal life. 

One piece of advice I can definitely recommend is the Frogg Toggs rain suit purchased on Amazon. $40 for top with hood, and bottoms kept me dry at all times. light enough to wear over my regular riding gear, and after this long trip, doesn't even show any signs of wear. Honestly, I just started wearing these over my riding gear every day, so I didn't have to stop and change gear while riding.

My trip was 21 Days riding with more than a few evenings visiting with friends. 

[betoney]

42 minutes ago, DavidS said:

This was truly the ride of a lifetime. Most importantly, I was able to ride for almost a month across the southern portion of the US, and back across the midwest of America on a motorcycle. I got to go where I wanted, no one to second guess or tell me I made a bad choice. I could eat where I wanted, and what I wanted, all while riding 400-500 miles a day. I met plenty of travelers who shared suggestions about where to go, what locations were worth visiting, and really just plain friendly folks who were interested in my journey.

I agree with you on this.  I really enjoy my annual summer road trips with buddies but I love my solo rides where I can make split second decisions to take a detour from the set route or find a great stretch of road and ride it back and forth a few times.  I don't have to keep anyone's schedule but mine, I can stop as often as I want or ride as long as I want, the independence really adds to the adventure of motorcycling.

On my recent ride to California, I strayed from my planned route 4 of the 6 days, just spur of the moment decisions to "see whats down this road", sometimes I ended up in a small town as a dead end and I would have to back track an hour to get back on course but totally worth it.

[piotrek]

2 hours ago, DavidS said:

Most importantly, I was able to ride for almost a month across the southern portion of the US, and back across the midwest of America on a motorcycle. I got to go where I wanted, no one to second guess or tell me I made a bad choice. I could eat where I wanted, and what I wanted, all while riding 400-500 miles a day.

Sounds like you really enjoyed the experience. It can be a lot of fun riding with a buddy or two, but I find that touring solo is a different kind of freedom. I will be embarking on a 3 week solo trip in late summer, into some remote stretches of eastern Canada. 17d in the saddle, plus 4 stopover days... so a bit anxious, but excited at the same time. Thanks for the write-up, and enjoy the memories. Post up photos if you have.