Leaving Tomorrow: Boston to Seattle, the long way

[BubbaZanetti]

well, tomorrow is the big day, my two friends and i are leaving for the cross country trip to seattle via iowa city, colorado and the california coast. hope the bike makes it!

[ian408]

Enjoy the ride, take lots of pictures cause ride reports are
useless without them :D

Good luck on the mountain passes. I hear a few have been
snowed on already.

Ian

[RebeccaV]

Ride smart, BubbaZ! We'll need pictures and a trip report when you get back.

[BradfordBenn]

Remember to stop often to go farther. Fatigue is your enemy. Don't forget to smell the roses also.

Travel Safe.

[username]

write a good report for us please! it seems late in the year to be striking out on a trip like this, so i'll look forward to reading about it at a time of year other than summer.

stop into internet cafes and keep us updated too!

ride safe.

[BubbaZanetti]

day 1,

nail in the tire of my friend's ducati, took all day to have a new one put on

made it 50 miles

my charging system is acting strange, i'm thinking its a bad connection in the starter relay,

so much for luck on the first day

[YB in IN]

Good luck dude. If you get into any trouble out here in Indiana or the vicinity, throw out some feelers on the Forum and I'll do what I can. :D

[rado360]

Sorry to hear about first day,I live in mass also and if you need a diode board or voltage reg for the trip let me know,I've got spares.

Tim 413 245 9875

[oldcarkook]

Originally posted by Lowrider Sorry to hear about first day,I live in mass also and if you need a diode board or voltage reg for the trip let me know,I've got spares. Tim 413 245 9875 Tim, he won't be in the Berkshires for two more days at 50 mpd! http://204.193.156.25/forum/smiles/next/biglaugh.gif Bubba, these things always happen in the first 50 miles, you'll be cruizin like a champ for the next 5,000 miles! http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/smilies/2thumbs.gif

[BubbaZanetti]

finally an update!

so, anyway, here we go, from day 2:

day 2: 180 miles from northampton mass to deposit ny, lots of good backroads so we didn't make many miles, also REAL COLD, haha

day 3: 250 miles to the southern edge of the allegeny forrest in pa, lots of backroads and little towns again, ended the night by sneaking into a campground and setting up our camo tarp between the bikes to sleep under and "blend in"

day 4: 250 miles, the last 50 on battery power.........
dead alterntor, blown diode board, destroyed voltage regulator. luckily we broke down 5 miles from All Seasons in Wooster OH, so we were there 3 days (camping behind the store one night) till they could figure out the issues, great shop, great guys, super helpful and creative w/repair solutions that wouldn't leave us stuck for ever......

day 5: 330 miles from wooster to western indiana, lots of straight backroads and good stops, ended our day at tippicanoe st park with some very friendly locals who set us up with some food and drinks :)

day 6: 300 miles to iowa city, now i'm here with friends and everything is good, interstate today, so kinda boring, we were tryign to make time after getting up at 11, we did stop at the worlds largest truck stop though! wooowee................


more updates and pictures when i can get the uploaded.

[Cliffy777]

adversity brings about character. you will be triumphant.

[username]

nice going bubba - i like the reports of camping behind stores and the like - dude, you're on an adventure. keep it up!

[dzimbric]

day 5: 330 miles from wooster to western indiana, lots of straight backroads and good stops, ended our day at tippicanoe st park with some very friendly locals who set us up with some food and drinks


You were five miles from my house on Bass Lake, we could of put you up here. Are you coming through here on your way back? Or are you leaving the bikes out west for the winter?:bliss :bliss

I'll send a PM with phone numbers.

[BubbaZanetti]

haha, we almost stopped at bass lake campground instead. i don't know when (or if) i'll be comming back, i'm assuming my bike is going to just sort of turn into a pile of dust and blow away by the time i make it to the west coast.......


well, i think we're getting back on the road this weekend, the past 4 days in iowa city have been great, and with temperatures in the high 40s/low 50s, the plains of nebraska seem like a forboding place.....


update soon!

[YB in IN]

Originally posted by BubbaZanetti
haha, we almost stopped at bass lake campground instead. i don't know when (or if) i'll be comming back, i'm assuming my bike is going to just sort of turn into a pile of dust and blow away by the time i make it to the west coast.......


well, i think we're getting back on the road this weekend, the past 4 days in iowa city have been great, and with temperatures in the high 40s/low 50s, the plains of nebraska seem like a forboding place.....


update soon!

Nebraska at the temp will be a whole lot more bearable thatn when it's 100+! Serioulsy, though, bundle up. LAyera rea your friend. And if I was going to be riding in 40 degree weather for the 400+ miles of Nebraska, I'd be putting on my rain suit just to have a thermal blocking layer.

[BubbaZanetti]

well, after another silly mechanical mishap, i figured it was time for an update:

iowa, nebraska as boring as i thought it would be, the rain suit really did work wonders to keep the cold out though

colorado is a whole other story, what a beautiful state, i'd never been here before, but it really is goregous. we've made it down to colorado springs and are staying with some friends.

so today i went out to look at my spark plugs (just curious about running too rich at altitude) and lucky me, i managed to strip a few threads on the right head. but lucky for me, the local bmw shop took me right in. matt parkhouse (keep em flying in ON) did the work on my bike and it turned out to be a quick and cheap job, so needless to say i was very happy.

heading out to new mexico and then tuscon az tomorrow, i keep having to sneak into college computer labs, so the pictures will have to wait till i land with some more technologically sophisticated friends in california

cheers......................

[RebeccaV]

Ride safe and stay warm, BZ! I'm looking forward to pictures.

[BubbaZanetti]

finally!

i'm in LA

after a 450 mile day (the last 50 miles the absolute scarriest of my life) i'm in west hollywood. so i promise, pictures tomorrow!


tech update: rode 60 miles today with a broken positive battery lead, though my clutch was wearing down, hahahah...............

[ian408]

Originally posted by BubbaZanetti
finally!

i'm in LA

after a 450 mile day (the last 50 miles the absolute scarriest of my life) i'm in west hollywood. so i promise, pictures tomorrow!


tech update: rode 60 miles today with a broken positive battery lead, though my clutch was wearing down, hahahah...............

On behalf of my fellow californians, let me be the first to
welcome you to california!

looking forward to pictures!

glad you arrived safely and again, welcome!


ian

[BradfordBenn]

Congrats on arriving safe and sound.:bliss :clap :bliss :clap :bliss

[BubbaZanetti]

finally, some pictures!

first day out, catskill mountains:

[BubbaZanetti]

the bmw side of our bike tent that we set up most nights, you could call them the worlds most expensive tent poles

[BubbaZanetti]

the big breakdown, wooster ohio:

[BubbaZanetti]

me getting ready for bed the one night of rain we had out in "the fort" luckilly the sox won that night:

[BubbaZanetti]

ducati breakdown, bored on the side of I-25, new mexico desert:

[BubbaZanetti]

my travel partners "the ducati boys" stranded in the middle of nowhere, 50mi north of las vegas NM, the yellow ducati left us that day for a repair shop, we were then down to two:

[BubbaZanetti]

me looking like a serial killer in the mountains of southern NM:

[BubbaZanetti]

up through the hills in NM:

[BubbaZanetti]

our last night in new mexico, total darkness, 15 second exposure:

[BubbaZanetti]

AMARC, "the boneyard" in tuscon, i'd been wanting to see this place since i was 8:

[BubbaZanetti]

thats it for now, more later as we go up the pacific coast (i think anyway, i'm liking LA a lot)

[kbasa]

Dood - you coming through San Francisco?

And your pictures totally RAWK

[BradfordBenn]

Veri Kewl

[BubbaZanetti]

heading out to monterey area tomorrow, then through san fran and berkley i think..............

[Cliffy777]

Great job. More pics....more pics....more pics.
How did things end up for the yellow Duc? Where are you two going to end up? You staying out West for the winter?
More pics...more pics...more pics.

[BubbaZanetti]

the yellow duc got to alberquerqe (sp i know!) for free courtesey of a good hearted trucker with an empty flatbed. the repair unfortunately ended his trip and he's stranded in flagstaff at his gf's


we are probably not going to ride back this winter, but as far as the end of the trip, i'm still not sure, in monterey now heading to san fran soon

[110997]

Originally posted by BubbaZanetti
AMARC, "the boneyard" in tuscon, i'd been wanting to see this place since i was 8:

So how do you get in to wander are there? I like you have been wanting to see the AMARC for years

I'm enjoying your ride reports, hating that you are kicking our a## on the rounders, but you are living the life.

Enjoy the life, keep the shiny side up.

[Grey Matter]

PM me when you get to Seattle. I can at least buy you a beer for the great pictures. Congrats on the trip. I am sooooo jealous.

[BubbaZanetti]

well, this will be my final report, my trip is over, ended 1 week and 200 miles early by a twisted/dislocated knee and a bunch of strained and damaged muscles and ligaments (don't worry, it wasn't motorcycle related)

all in all it was a great trip, 5600 miles from boston to portland oregon, i had a friend come rescue my bike and bring it up to his place on the olympic peninsula and i'm once again back on the east coast for a bit

thanks for keeping up interest and here's a few more pics for you:

[BubbaZanetti]

redwoods, this part of cali is amazing

[ian408]

Sorry to hear about the knee :(

Enjoyed the report and hope you're able to continue where you left off
soon!

Ian

[BradfordBenn]

Sorry to hear to about your knees. Glad you are safe.

Follow the rules for the rehab, I know from experience and can tell you when it is going to rain.

[110997]

Sorry to hear about your knee, wish you a quick recovery.


Follow the doctors orders, no matter how painful and you will be on the road again.