Coast to coast in 48 1/2 hours

[Uncle Hud]

Glad this got resurrected. Thanks, garyahouse, for the preparatory reading for our 50CC quest next month.

The geek in me suspects that running it west-to-east reduced your daylight hours by a little bit. Doesn't matter; you DID live, and you added this significant accomplishment to your list. CONGRATULATIONS, sir!!!

 

[Hudson]

Great thred and fun read!

 

[FJRTom]

I, too, am thankful this thread got bumped since I had not seen it previously. I will merely add my kudos, Gary, for both a ride and a report very well done indeed! God bless you.

 

[garyahouse]

Ha... tickled pink that I received a notice from Photobucket that for a short period of time, they were going to "free" my pictures. So the first place I wanted to check was this particular thread, since they killed off all the pictures some time ago. Got to read it again for the first time in years and loved seeing all the pictures again. Enjoyed reminiscing; what an experience it was. Don't suppose I'll ever be able to do a 50cc again as my health isn't as good as it was when I did this those many years ago. But what a ride it was !!!

 

[Redfish Hunter]

You are such a doofus. Why resurrect this old dinosaur thread?

FYI, I swapped a few e-mails with Photobucket. I communicated to them how unpopular they were and that I would rather let all my RRs just go to shit than to pay a ransom. After a few e-mails and the fact that I had been a paid subscriber for several years, I have a decent plan with them that they gave me at a loyalty discount. I am paying $39.99 plus tax for the next year, that will go to $99.99 for the next year.

I am willing to pay $100 a year to keep my RRs working if it helps a few FJR folks enjoy their rides a little more.

I miss you. Ride Safe.

 

[Bugnatr]

So Gary, how about a 5 hour CC report or whatever it is from one coast of Florida to the other. Not too many states have two coasts. DO it!

 

[Uncle Hud]

Bugnatr posted: So Gary, how about a 5 hour CC report or whatever it is from one coast of Florida to the other. Not too many states have two coasts. DO it!

Ha, ha, ha, and another chuckle, to boot! Depending on traffic and whether you want to pay tolls, you can go from Daytona to Spring Hill in about 2.5 hours.

So Gary, what about it? I think Daytona to Yankeetown or Crystal River is the thinnest point on the peninsula.

Make your own 40-50 Ride: Spring Hill to Titusville on SR 50, I-95 to Daytona Beach Pier, then east on SR 40 to the Yankeetown boat ramp, then back to Spring Hill and the house.

(If I remember things correctly from the mid-1980s, that route would be a nightmare of traffic lights and congestion on Colonial Drive through Orlando, mixed with some nice countryside and forests on SR 40.)

 

[wallyo]

Gary, that was a very inspirational R/R! You persevered when you thought you couldn't go any more;you stayed faithful, and true to yourself, to your mission, and to your goals. I salute you sir; even in your weakened state, you did what few of us are willing to do and achieved your goal. Good on you sir, God bless you!

 

[dzane]

Hi Gary, I just read your rr from coast to coast. Fascinating story, well done. Riding through the heat is tough. I rode the Rattlesnake in northeastern Oregon a few years ago in 108 degrees and thought I'd die. I stopped several times that afternoon to dip my shirt in creeks and rivers just to stay cool enough to ride. Still keep bottles of water in the trunk in case there are no creeks or rivers nearby on hot days. That heat just takes the energy out of ya, hey? The Best Western in Clarkston had a room and a shower ready, and it never felt better!! All the best from Western Montana!

 

[Bounce]

I learned last week that these wind farms have a favorite type of music. They're huge metal fans.

 

[garyahouse]

Thanks for the feedback. It's been a busy time for me since mother passed. When I began this journey, I was still teaching full time and my first grand daughter had just been born. Mother became too weak to be left home alone, so I retired from my teaching career in Jan of 2016. I was unable to take the bike out much after that, as I looked after her every day from that point forward, and I'm happy to say that her health indeed perked up and she didn't have to deal with feeling alone inside the four walls of the house for the final two years of her life. It cost me a lot of money and a career, but ya only have one mom as they say. A massive brain hemorrhage took her (quickly, thank God) back in January of this year, but she led a good life until then. That granddaughter pictured on the first page is now 5 and a second one is on the way. How times have changed. The FJR has been in mothballs about a year and now that things are settling down (since the funeral), I should be able to get the bike back up and running. I took the fairing off to do some repair work (slow speed get off at EOM Oct of 2016) and parked it in Jan of 2017, but never put it back together. I've been awful busy, but things are smoothing out now. Hopefully I can get the time to get out there in the workshop and make it happen. Once that's done, I will give some thought to doing another ride report or two.

Appreciate you guys.

Gary

 

[BkerChuck]

Sorry for your loss Gary. That's a tough one, losing your mom.

Glad to see you plan on getting back out on the bike. Did your daughter ever sell that gorgeous Honda CB350-4?

 

[Bounce]

Condolences on your loss.

We moved Mom nearer to the family a year ago (assisted living) and just moved her to a new facility Monday. It takes a special strength to do that care 24/7. I did it for about a month while we were making relocation arrangements last year and I felt spent at the end. Even the pros have shift work. Props for all you did for her.

 

[FTL900]

Thanks for updating your report Gary, otherwise I never would have found it- I bought my FJR in Phoenix last August and rode it home.

It's a tremendous read and helped me get through my slow afternoon at work here in Las Vegas.

Yes, the heat is here- we're in triple digits today, but then dropping back just a bit over the next week.

Great ride report, I really enjoyed reading it!!

 

[garyahouse]

Thank you fellas, again. I've not been on the forum much for two reasons, first I've not been riding. The FJR is still sitting in pieces in the shed, and second I bought a 2015 SRT392 Challenger, joined the Challengertalk forum (using my same name as this forum); spent many hours contributing there. Ya might enjoy this one: CLICKY

However, I do miss riding and will be reassembling the FJR soon. It's been nearly a year and a half since I've ridden it. As I pointed out in the ride report, I was diagnosed with CLL in 2009. Doc said I might make 20 years. Not sure if he was right, but at 62 years old, my numbers are about half way there... Ha, "half way home..." I am indeed half way home. Doc said when my "numbers" reach around 100, they will consider chemo therapy and all that stuff. My white blood cell count is near 50 now and growing steadily. Not looking forward to that, but alas, we all have to go sometime, and I have a lot to look forward to on the other side of the river.

I just finished up some major projects that needed to be addressed, and have two more to go before I get after fixing the bent fairing stay on the FJR. Should be another couple weeks, give or take: WE'LL SEE.

Thanks again for all the feedback. This forum is still amazing.

 

[garyahouse]

Did your daughter ever sell that gorgeous Honda CB350-4?

Yes, last summer. It took quite a bit of advertising to make it happen, but a fella finally snapped it up. I got very close to my asking price, I think it sold for 3700.00

It was indeed a beautiful machine. Sad that it had so many reliability issues or I might have kept it. Honda never designed that motor to go the miles, the cam and followers (think of them as rocker arms that ride directly on the cam) were eating themselves. I bought 4 of what may have been the last known (new/old stock) cam followers available in America. The factory piston rings were just as hard to find. Not the best design, and I have my doubts that that little cam could have made another 20k miles or so. I thought about keeping it. But every inch had to be polished and kept up just to keep a million tiny pock-marks (rust) at bay. Just wasn't the kind of bike that I could keep and ride. Those 4 tiny carbs did not play well with others: sensitive, temperamental, easily clogged, and expensive. But it was indeed a beautiful little rascal though, and I was sad to see it go. My daughter offered to give it to me, but it wasn't the type of bike that could just sit, especially in a humid Florida garage. Those 4 carbs didn't take kindly to sitting around. Just wasn't wise for me to keep it. Oh well, it's gone now, and we move on.

 

[bgross]

Hey Gary -

So glad to see this thread resurrected.

Condolences on your moms passing. And congratulations on the upcoming grandchild!

We often remember fondly the night you spent here - and the concern we had about your ride through the Inferno. What a trip.

Hoping to see more of you here.

B.

 

[garyahouse]

Wow, Brett: good to hear from you.

I hope you and your wife are doing well. Is your mother in law still doing OK? I remember she was there to visit when I came through town. I was just out in Seattle visiting my daughter Kathleen. She moved out there with her hubby last summer: she loves it. I had hopes of journeying across America again one of these days. When I do, I may just look you up. Hopefully, next time I won't be in such a rush.

Resurrected: amazing that this thread is now 5 years old. Seems like it was just yesterday that I headed out across this land to try to reach the west coast on a motorcycle.

Gary

 

[Poolboytoo]

This thread grabbed my attention and it took me three installments to read this thread, Sorry I didn't realize it was a old until people started saying it was old... lol Still a great read and a awesome trip. I also plan to do this ride someday and have to admit was a inspired in more ways than one. God Bless

 

[garyahouse]

Wow: how things have changed. Was just thinking that I started this thread nearly 6 years ago. Well, I added another milestone to my bucket list: I visited Hawaii last week. Ha... how many people can say that they've done that? Pearl Harbor was just amazing. What a thrill to stand onboard the Missouri. The last battleship ever made is permanently docked directly over the place where the Oklahoma was capsized and just behind the permanent memorial of the battleship Arizona.

Much has changed in this past 6 years. Mom's gone now, and little Savannah (both pictured on the first page of this post) is 6 years old now. But I still ride the same FJR and still enjoy this forum. I don't have the same stamina I had when I made this ride, and will never do it again, but what a hoot it was. So very glad I decided to take this journey when I did.