I've been back a month or so, and finally getting to a quick ride report.
I'm a boring rider. I hop on and go and look and view and take in the sights and ... don't hardly stop. 6100 miles and 21 pictures. I still have a hard time posting pics. I understand something called photobucket is the way to go, but I tried once and it asked me too many personal questions and kept popping up ads. If there are options, I'd happily put up some pics.
Riding the back roads and minor highways through KS, NE, IA was some of the most restful and enjoyable parts of the trip. Not many curves, but lots of opportunities to honk the horn at the cows and make them look up trying to find the source of the sound.
I was impressed with how clear the water was going over the bridge with Lake Michigan on the left and Lake Huron on the right. Astounded by how muddy Lake Superior was.
Lotsa lakes in Minnesota. Wonder if anyone else ever noticed that?
I went over the border to Canada, as the info in the earlier posts in this topic explained. Showed the man my passport. He asked about my intent, I told him. He gave me a map and told me what to do and a couple of suggestions for what to look for. I switched the instrument cluster to Kilometers, and went north. 25 or 30 miles of gravel on an FJR and a curvy road is not fun. Not fun. Not. Went to the end of the road, found the marker that said 'You are here', took pics, came back. The only other fun thing was finding a nice long straight with no gravel and showing a full 180 on the speedometer. Take that, Hayabusa!
Serious rant to follow. The US border patrol and I do NOT get along. There is a little hut with a couple of telephones, after you get 'back into' Minnesota. First you use one phone to call the US to tell them you're coming 'back'. I spoke to a woman, gave her my passport number. She was quiet for a little while, came back and asked what my intentions were. I was in a really good mood, really enjoying the ride, beautiful weather, great scenery. It occurred to me that she asked me a little ... sharply. Well, on the phone all day with people telling you the same thing over and over, boring job, I just kept upbeat and told her I was just enjoying my time seeing America. I think the last thing she said was, "Well, OK.", in a way that said "There's nothing I can do from here, so, go do what you need to do." And hung up. On the way back, called the Canadian phone, gave my passport, was given a long number to write down and wished a pleasant day. Went back on the gravel, to the US border patrol building. The car in front of me stopped, opened the window, handed over the passport, it went inside, came out in 30 seconds, handed back and the car left. I move forward, lifted my faceshield to show my face, handed over the passport. One guy took it inside, I chatted with the other agent. He seemed interested in my trip (All the way from Texas? Wow!) and friendly. The second guy came back out, moved behind the bike (I'm still sitting on the bike, obviously). He said, "Sir, please put both of your hands on the top of your windshield. I'm Just Following The Protocol." The first agent looked as startled as I was. OK. Hands on shield. "You will need to move your vehicle forward and park it and come inside. I'm Just Following The Protocol." I got off the bike (hands STILL on windshield!), looked at him and asked if I could put my hands on the grips. He looked annoyed that I asked an obvious question and nodded. Then I said, "I can push it, but it weighs 650 lbs, and ..." Here is what I was going to say: "...it would be easier to start the engine and idle it over there...". What I got out was "...it would be easier to st", and then he shouted (not 'said') "DO NOT START YOUR ENGINE!" OK. I pushed it about 40 feet, level ground. No problem. I was told to come inside (he stayed behind me the whole time). I took off my helmet and stood around. The guy took my passport to one terminal, clicked a bit, went to a different terminal, clicked some more. Went into an office with a door, closed the door, and he and the 'boss' stood by the window in the office and looked at me. I looked back. He came back out, handed me the passport and said "You're free to go." Went away. The other guy, the 'friendly' one, had been looking on the whole time, looking sort of confused. OK. I'm done, I can go. But I wasn't in a hurry to get to the hotel, so I asked the agent, what the heck that was all about. What is it on my passport, which I use every year to go out of the country to go scuba diving, that causes this sort of reaction? The guy...clenched his teeth. I could see the muscles in his jaw working. I could see that he wanted to say something. What came out finally was... "I can't say anything about it." No "Sorry". Just, "I can't say anything about it." I left and had dinner and a good nights sleep.
Then through MN, ND, and SD. I think, when they made the highways in those states, someone with a ruler drew up the roads. Pretty scenery, straight as an arrow for long stretches.
I went by Devils Tower, which is a totally wild and interesting sight in the middle of nothing like it anywhere. I found Rugby, ND, geographic center of North America. After a night in Laramie, WY, the morning sights were just dozens and dozens of cute little prairie dogs standing up with their paws in front. I saw far too many deer, mostly behind fences. I was not convinced that they were actually 'fenced in'. Used my horn a lot. As I mentioned earlier, the cows look up slowly to see where the noise is coming from. Horses look up a bit faster, and focus a little quicker. Deer: they look up and almost wrench their necks to get them up. And focus immediately on where the noise comes from. Difference between domesticated...and not.
Went by Steamboat Ski area to see what it looked like in summer. Then to Denver to visit a friend. Loved the highway (I70), all downhill. There were miles and miles where I had the clutch in, and easily kept to the speed limit. I got 59.3 mpg and 355 miles on that tank (40 miles on reserve). Amazing.
Southern CO and Northern NM were spectacular rides, with mountains and curves and wunnerful scenery. Started getting warm...
Stayed in El Paso with another friend for a couple of days to rest. Then the last trek. In 88 to 92 degrees. It stopped being fun. Got home and decided that I could do that again. Next year. To Alaska.
