Trans America Trail - 2008

Days 1 to 4 – getting to the trailhead in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

• Miles: Sunday – 530, Tuesday – 653
• States: Sunday - Virginia (VA), Pennsylvania (PA), West Virginia (WA), Maryland (MA), Ohio (OH), Indiana (IN)
  States: Tuesday – Indiana (IN), Illinois (IL), Missouri (MI), Oklahoma (OK)
• Hotel: Super 8, Bartlesville, OK
• Maps: Provided by Garmin City Navigator 2008

Commentary:

Saturday 24^th June

I arrived in the USA after a few delays getting through customs (I was the last in the queue) and a late flight. With the time difference of 5 hours it was about 5pm for me and I’d been on the go since 4am.

My Aunt and my cousins’ wife were at Dulles to collect me and we drove back to Stephen City, VA. It was good to see them again after 10 years (could it be that long?). When we arrived I got into the garage and started the job of prepping the bike. John, my cousin, had bought a new 2008 Suzuki DR650SE in black for me after I wired some cash over. Looking at hire costs and the pound to dollar exchange rates this was by far the most cost effective option for such a long trip. Problem was that the stock bike needed some work to get it ready for the trail. This included:

• A larger fuel tank. Standard was about 12 litres and that’s not enough for some of the section in the West. I bought an IMS 4.9 Gallon on eBay. This was a relatively simple job to fit; the carb did need its vacuum hose blocked off and I did have to shorten the main fuel hose. I removed the stock tank covers that fit between the tank and the frame and the IMS tank just bolted on, no problems. The ‘universal’ petcock was not fitted and I had read some concerns about the o-ring seals so I put a load of blue sealant around this and bolted it on. It never leaked. I think the biggest hassle was getting the fuel from the stock tank to the IMS tank!
• Handlebars. The stock bars have a fixed crossbar and they’re made from steel. I wanted a remove-able crossbar as I was bolting some expensive GPS and Road book mounts to this and wasn’t willing to let them stay on the bike in parking lots overnight. I bought a McGrath bend Renthal and brought it over from the UK. Fitting bars is time-consuming as all the controls need to be removed as well as the grips. I also put on some Acerbis rallye bark-busters. I had to trim the knobs off both levers but otherwise they went on eventually.
• Rear rack. I bought this off eBay again for $69.00 it turned out to be a life saver as I tied almost everything on it.
• General checks. The usual checking that all things were bolted down properly and tight – axles, spokes, foot pegs, yokes, etc. check oil, air, petrol, lights etc.

At the end of it all I got to bed at about 11pm and was completely knackered. I would have loved to stay up late and catch up with all but I had a big day on the Sunday (530 miles to Indy) and had to get some shut eye.

Sunday 25^th June

Sunday dawned and I was out the house pretty early, about 7-ish I think. Aunt Syb saw me off and I headed around Winchester, VA to go up to the Breezewood interchange and get on the Interstate (I-70 West). I gassed up in Winchester and set all the trip meters to zero to see what mpg I’d get. The bike seemed to run ok and was quite smooth, a LOT smoother than a KTM640 I can tell you!

After about 60 miles of some of the nicest rolling hills and deciduous forests I came into Pennsylvania and the interchange. I grabbed a ticket as it’s a toll road and got into a services station to gas up again. I took some photos there:

Got talking to a couple of guys, one on a Harley and the other on a Victory. Apparently it was Memorial Day in the USA and there was a big rally down in DC. That would explain the number of bikes I saw on the road. I checked the oil and saw I need a top up so I bought an extra pint of 10W40 and added a bit. So far the bike was running well but looked like it was heavily loaded. In fact it was so heavily loaded that it almost fell off the stand the rear shock went down so far! Some tuning would be necessary. I found that the side cover had been pushed onto the (hot) silencer with unfortunate results:

There were lots of places I would have liked to stop to take pictures but the Interstate rules prohibited this. I came across some really great places like rivers and bridges and mountains. The day progressed and the bike continued to run smoothly. I went through a load of towns and cities, the biggest of which seemed to be Columbus. I went through a couple of tunnels too. I think I gassed up about three times in all. As the day wore on I got tired of the endless interstate miles. I’d not ridden for quite a while and I got pretty boring. The sun was going down when I got to Indy and turned off the interstate to Bob and Pam.

Monday 26^th June

Stayed with Bob and Pam (and Abbey) that day. Rachel and her boyfriend came over and we went to visit Joe and Vicky Smith for a BBQ.

Had a look at the new house, which looks fantastic but forgot to take my camera. Did a small service on the bike; basically just changed the oil and did some checks. Managed to let most of the air out of my front tyre so we had to make a return trip to the auto store to get a pump. Sorry Bob! Turns out I had to rotate the head of the pump to stop the air coming out of the valve! Bike seemed good otherwise, and was turning 60 mpg on the interstate at about 65 mph

As always being with the Campbells and the Smiths was like being at home – a home away from home in fact. It was great seeing them all again, a pity it was only for such a short time but that was the nature of the trip this time.

Tuesday 27^th June

REAL early start! Had a big day planned (653 miles) and needed to get cracking early. Managed to forget to turn off the alarm properly so I think I woke up the whole house as it went off while I was in the shower (Sorry again Bob). Got out of Greenfield and back onto lovely I-70. It was very foggy and the headlight was a bit high due to the loading. Anyway, got through most of Indy before the rush hour really got bad and went past endless crop fields. Rode for 150 miles before the fog lifted. Went through Illinois and eventually got to St. Louis. Crossed a big bridge over the Mississippi after getting through some tricky feeder roads. Gassed up a couple of times and had a talk to the locals. All friendly but all were worried about the big storms and tornados, can’t say I blame them.

Got into Missouri and that was when the trip started to wear. Mile after mile of pretty much the same thing, but at least I was out of the corn fields. When trying to do these distances I found that it was possible to ‘zone-out’ and think about something far more interesting, like the trail. I didn’t have a radio (except in my Nokia) so it could have been really boring. Eventually I came to Oklahoma only to find more of the same. Still, it wasn’t too bad as I knew what to expect, the first days ride was actually worse even though it was shorter.

Here’s a pic from my TraiTech trip meter after the first two days, the important part is the middle, top counter labelled ‘RT’

19hours, 28 minutes and 29 seconds. So about 10 hours in the saddle each day. Don’t know if my backside will ever forgive me for that…

Anyway, got to the Vinita turn off and headed along to Bartlesville. Practically all of the trees in OK showed signs of storm damage; limbs broken off and dead. Seems like the storms are pretty bad out there. Went through a few small towns like Nowata and got some looks probably due to all the kit I was wearing. I’d expect these places, small farming towns, don’t see too many people like me! There was more of this to come.

Checked into the Super 8 on Washington Blvd and I think it was $59 with breakfast (donuts and coffee) throw in. Not too bad I thought. While I was going through the maps for the next day I noticed two guys were looking at my bike. I went out and said hello. They were contractors down the road working on a AT&T site nearby. One of them had a bike just like mine on the back of his truck:

He really liked the rear rack on mine so I told him to get onto eBay.

I then asked about tornados and what I should do if the sirens started going off. They said put my helmet on, grab a phone and get in the bathtub! Nice. Pretty scary though as they have to live with the extreme weather. They told me about the 18 warnings in the area that day.

I went up the road and had a ‘high-energy’ dinner, came back to the motel and relaxed as best I could; I kept thinking about the trail starting the next day.

Journal Quote:

Here in Bartlesville. Place (Super8) is ok. Nothing special but large. Might roll the bike in as there’s enough space. Miss the wife. Phoned her and Bob Campbell and started feeling better. Went to dinner and had 1,000,000 calories – steak, cheese, chips and fried bread. Wanted to take pictures but thought it might offend. Trail starts tomorrow. Bike seems ok but heavy. Don’t know what to do. Have dumped stuff but still way too heavy. Bartlesville had 18 tornado warnings last night (!!!) Spoke to local named Jesse and he said get in bath tub. Might put all my kit on if I have the time! Will be up early tomorrow. Miss the traffic and want to take lots of pics. All the trees coming in are broken, though it was snow but then realized probably tornados. Nice.

Backside and head hurting a bit. Ears ringing but that’s what 654 miles will do. Went across the Mississippi at St. Louis and saw the Arch. Illinois and Missouri have a whole load of nothing in them. Interstate is as boring but I’ll probably like them if the dirt is mud. Time will tell.