August 4, 2005 - Thursday – Day 40

48 States or Bust – The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today – 401 - Total Miles – 10,836 – Average –270.9 (travel days)
10:45am- 8:45pm – 10hrs.
ROANOKE, VA to HAVERTOWN, PA (western Philadelphia suburb)
(-staying at Home! VA,WV,MD,DE,PA (48/48!!)
- HOME! -


Breakfast was at one of those ubiquitous Waffle Houses again. And this one was only feet from the motel room door. I ate that waffle slowly, knowing that this was to be the final breakfast of a wonderful trip. Each forkful I sliced and ate deliberately and much of the day I proceeded in the same manner. The cute, freckly young woman waitress with the huge southern accent smiled at us on our way out when we were done. "Y’all have a gud day!"

Karen was going to try a little pillow on her seat this day. But when she sat on it she was just too high. (She had tried using her orange padded-like cold vest the other day as a cushion, but it didn’t work out for her. And I was just as glad since it threw the dynamic of the bike off a bit.) Sometimes throughout the trip, either because she had lost some weight or because she was leaning back more, I couldn’t feel her in back of me. And I had to actually look in the mirror to make sure she was still there!

During the trip we've seen mostly motorcyclists in black, of course. And before today there was exactly just one other guy in one of the hi-viz yellow suits. But today we saw a business guy who was presumably on his way to work as he had his briefcase strapped to the back of his gold Goldwing. And he not only had the yellow full suit but also a bright yellow helmet like mine.

It was a smooth riding day toward and through landscape that was known to both of us – especially at the end. Throughout the day it began to look more and more like home was coming at us. We had a few sprinkles of rain, but nothing significant.

We stopped more frequently than usual on this last day of the ride. Instead of every 100 to 110 miles (or about an hour-and-a-half), we stopped about every 75 or so miles. This, partly because of sore butts and partly to savor the day.

When we hit the traffic around Baltimore Karen said, "Well, back to the congested northeast again!" I noted the difference in the air quality as we moved into the northeast corridor. The smog and/or humidity I guessed.

One sign off the major highway around Baltimore stated boldly that motorcycles should beware the bridge ahead because of open vertical grates and I wasn't relishing that in the near-dark. But, thank goodness a turnoff came before that bridge.

We stopped on I-95 at the Maryland House and had salads at a Bob’s Big Boy restaurant there. We had stopped at around 7ish and lingered over that dinner. But had I known it was going to get dark as soon as it did, we wouldn't have stayed so long. Esther, a lady with really unfortunate teeth (one sharp pointy one in the front middle of the bottom jaw, and fused decayed ones on top), was very friendly and helpful. Extra friendly, in fact. She followed us out the door and gave Karen a little Bob’s Big Boy as a memento of the last part of our journey. Then a little boy came up to her with big eyes, and asked, "What are YOU doing here?" Karen said we were motorcyclists not firemen, but the young lad’s dad explained, "Oh, he thought you should be up on the space shuttle!" (Which was making big news at the time, as it was supposed to land in a day or two.)

Shortly, we had our final gas-up of the trip and on our way on the last leg. By 8:15ish it began getting dark and we were on the last major highway in dimness After that we were on what’s called the Blue Route – a road that dumps us off within five minutes of home.

Regrettably, there was danger there, too. In fact, one of the three or four incidents – which could have gone either way in making this trip really uncomfortable or deadly – occurred within the final fifteen minutes of the ride today.

One of those incidents you’ll recall was back on day 22, the Avenue of the Giants day. That was when we toppled over on the bike. If one of our limbs was just a few inches one way instead of the other, we surely would have suffered a broken something. But the bike crash bars were constructed soundly, and our suits helped, and we tucked in just right. Nothing but embarrassment there.

Another incident has gone unreported. That was also on day 22. At my former student, June’s home, we were unpacking stuff. Our gear was brought into the house. Well, I decided to take out my contact lenses and was leaning over the big back bag doing so. As I took out one of the lenses it slipped from my grasp and tumbled to who knows where. Although I had an old back-up pair and a pair of glasses, it would have been a very uncomfortable trip without my regular lenses. After about ten minutes I found the elusive lens in and amongst some folds of clothing.

There were a couple times during the trip when the adventure might have come to a sudden and painful ending when I stumbled and almost tripped over curbs. You know, those close calls that could go either way but one rights him or herself just in time!

Well, on the way back on this last day in the evening glooming we hit construction in the final five miles of the ride. And it was the kind of construction that has one of the two lanes already newly blacktopped and the other lane not completed yet. So there is a lip between the two lanes going the same way. Now this is no big deal to a car’s four wheels but to a motorcycle it can mean life or death if that lip is hit in just the wrong way – especially around a curve. I was conscious of the road situation, and was very very careful to stay away from that road danger, but once going around a curve and in the midst of a bunch of traffic, the mc veered over to that lip, and there was that few moments hesitation of the bike toppling before I righted it with balance maneuvers. I don’t think Karen even noticed, but I sure did, and was breathing heavily for a while after.

By mid-evening we were pulling into the carport from where we had left 40 days ago, a wealth of new experiences under our belt and wonderful images to replay in our minds for many years to come.

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Over the next week or two I will be sending you a couple Afterwords and also some other info about the trip along your way. It was sure good having everyone with us on the journey. Plans are being made for the next one -- and hoping you'll join us on that one, too.

News Note: Safely Home

NEWS FLASH: THE INTREPID DUO HAS LANDED AT HOME SAFELY AT 8:40PM TODAY - AFTER TOUCHING ALL 48 LOWER UNITED STATES WITH A DOUBLE CROSS-COUNTRY RIDE TOTALING 10,836 MILES IN 40 DAYS!

(LAST DAY REPORT TOMORROW, FOLLOWED BY VARIOUS OTHER INFORMATION AND AFTER WORDS... )

PS. IT WAS GOOD HAVING YOU ALONG.

August 3, 2005 - Wednesday - Day 39

48 States or Bust – The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 422 - Total Miles: 10,435 - Average: 267.6 (travel days)
11:30am (after Stone Mt. visit) - 8:00 (8.5hrs.)
ATLANTA, GA to ROANOKE, VA
(-staying at an EconoLodge-) GA (42/48)
- INTO THE HOMESTRETCH! - A COUPLE MORE CLOSE CALLS -


And we’re into the homestretch!

With another 400+ mile day today, we’ve brought ourselves within 400 miles of home. It’s very exciting and sad. I guess it would surely be feeling the textbook example of ambivalence.

After a Waffle House visit for breakfast, we went about five miles to see Stone Mountain. Neither of us had been to the place for about 25 years. This is a quite spectacular mountain. It rises to a height of 1,683 feet above sea level (roughly 650-750 feet above the surrounding area, depending on where it is measured), and has carved in it three gigantic Confederate generals – Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson.

As with most things over the last 25 years it’s become hugely commercialized now – even has a ‘village’ around it with all kinds of come ons.

I was sorry we spent the $8 "parking fee" to get in and sorry we walked around the place for so long in the heat of the morning. After pictures we finally left around 11am, just not having more time to spend.

It was a very difficult first hundred miles of the morning on the highway what with more trucks than I can recall from any other day. Also, the wind was buffeting like crazy.

The second hundred miles of the day ended at Spartanburg, SC, and was not so truck-filled or windy. There were a lot of little and giant lakes going from South Carolina to North Carolina.

One of the things we see a lot of these days is kudzu. Kudzu is a hardy vine from eastern Asia. It was brought to the United States in 1876 at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, PA. There's so much of this fast-growing vine in the Southeast, you might think it was a native plant. Actually, it took a lot of hard work to help kudzu spread so widely. Now that it covers over seven million acres of the deep South, there are a lot of people working hard to get rid of it! (Check out http://www.cptr.ua.edu/kudzu/ if you want to find out more about this amazing hardy plant which can grow a foot a day.) It covers everything including trees and poles and bushes and signs. Karen noted that it makes some things look like giant green dinosaurs standing by the road. It covers everything including trees and poles and bushes and signs. Karen noted that it makes some things look like giant green dinosaurs standing by the road.

We rolled into a Subway around 2:15pm. Both of us were beat up from the heat of the day and the road. I was pretty tired, and after the meal, leaned over onto my mc jacket and helmet next to me and dozed lightly for about 20 minutes.

For much of the south we passed through today, I got kind of down about what the three main enjoyments of the people here seem to be – at least as defined by the biggest and most numerous ads – cheap liquor, even cheaper tobacco products, and even cheaper and bigger fireworks. I never saw such big fireworks stores – they were as huge as giant department stores. I couldn’t believe it!

I’ve often wondered about those big shards of rubber on the highway, and how dangerously they must molt off the tires they’ve been on. I’ve also always wondered what it would be like to be behind one of those big many-wheeler trucks when those tires come apart. Well, I need wonder no longer, because just north of Charlotte, NC, we were rolling along when a smoke smell began to permeate the air. I looked all around. And there just ahead and barreling along in the right hand lane (next to an even bigger rig in the left hand lane) there was smoke coming from one of the rear tires, and the truck began to wobble. It continued on like the driver didn’t realize the problem and I became extremely alert, slowed down, and watched with great anticipation about what might happen next. It kept on like that for a few moments, and the smoke and the wobbling continued both even greater, and then huge black scabs of tire spewed out onto the roadway. I noticed smaller ones that I avoided and then the bigger ones rolled speedily off to the side, and then the trucker, clearly knowing something was amiss, pulled his huge 18-wheeler (minus one!) off the road entirely.

Another rain shower again today. Just as we hit the foothills of the Appalachians also after Charlotte, NC, before we got on I-81. We had some recently familiar spatters. The sky ahead was very bright, but there was that orange lightning bolt through the light blue! And THEN there came the torrent. I was managing fairly nicely until the tanker truck swooshed by us – then everything turned to a misty white and I had to slow to a crawl. Luckily the thundershower only lasted about 5 minutes – but on that mountain curve with the traffic around us, it was a long 5 minutes!

Was in a shower of another kind, too. As a van passed an occupant tossed out some coffee onto the road. It spattered on the windshield making a nice design. I’m guessing the occupants of the van didn’t realize we were there.

Again, we were pretty butt-sore by the end of the 400 miles. And I had a few extra special shooting stabs through my seat and my shoulder. We weren’t a pretty sight either as we dismounted a few times during the day. But I guess if this whole she-bang were an easy thing to do, everyone would be doing it, eh?

The EconoLodge this evening was right next to a Waffle House and beside a Subway. They took our ten stamps that we’d been collecting all around the country and only charged us the tax for the room!

The Subway had a veggie patty (unlike most all the recent ones we’ve been to), and I walked over and brought it back to the room where we celebrated the last night of the current trip on the road with the sandwich and a Stewart’s root beer!

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NOTE: Hmmm... If I had it to do over again, I would have changed the sentence after my police encounter story yesterday. We both thought it was pretty clear anyway for those who also read the whole paragraph, but I guess not. This is how I would have changed the sentence to read: Well, if you’ve been wondering what I’ve been thinking about for all those sun-baked hours on the road, you have a pretty good indication from the daydream fantasy above what some of it is.

August 2, 2005 - Tuesday - Day 38

48 States or Bust - The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 440 - Total Miles: 10,013 - Average: 263.5 (travel days)
9:15am-7:15pm(9hrs.) (moving back into Eastern Time)
GULF PORT, MS to ATLANTA, GA
(-staying at an EconoLodge-) MS,FL,AL,GA (42/48)
- TURNING THE 4TH AND LAST CORNER - TOPPING 10,000 MILES!! - A CONVERSATION WITH AN OFFICER! -


(Off on the side of the road, somewhere between Montgomery, AL and Atlanta, GA - perhaps near mile marker 259 – I began the uh, conversation, with...)

"Yes, officer??"
"Do you know what the fine is for going 30 miles per hour over the speed limit in these here parts, son?"

I took off my helmet then. And replied with,
"Respectfully, sir. But if you notice the grey on the sideburns I might be old enough to be your father."

I tried to manage a smile while looking up at his crisply ironed blue shirt, somewhat sweated on the edges in the afternoon heat and humidity. He wasn’t amused.

He repeated his question. Then, without waiting for a reply, said,
"You’re not from these here parts, are you boy?"

"N-n-n-no, sir," I stammered.
"Where exactly ARE you from, boy?"
"Pennsylvania." I said.
"Oh, so, you'se a YANKEE then?"
"Yes, sir."
"Let me see your license, boy," he bellowed, "if you HAVE one for this thing, and an owner’s card."

I fumbled to get the paperwork he had requested.

The cars and trucks were whizzing by on the highway. Occasionally one would slow down and I noticed ma and pa and little MarySue look over at the goings-on and "Tsk-tsk" to themselves about the commie-hippie-punk motorcyclist with the dew-rag just pulled over to the side of the road.

The officer took the said paperwork back to his car for computer reference or something. He shortly came back to the Shadow, Karen, and me, who were baking in the afternoon sun. He was perspiring himself and with clipboard in hand came right up to me…

"You gonna be around these parts long, boy?" he snorted, badge glinting into my eye from the sunshine.
"No, sir, we’re just passing through."
"What’s that fancy sign on the back of your rig sayin’?"
"Oh, that’s just sayin’ that we’re on a trip around the country and touching all 48 contiguous states."
"Contigu-WHAT, boy?? Are you making fun of America???"
"NO, SIR," I shouted over the belching of a passing truck full of hogs. "It’s just that all in one trip we’re trying to go through each of the 48 states."

He put his yellow police pad down as I continued.
"Yes, and this is the 38th day on the road and we only have two more days to go. We just passed 10,000 miles today."

With this his features seemed to have softened, he got on his police phone and made a call to his superiors. Then he turned to me and said, "Well, I’ve talked things over with my boss," and then he reached into his pocket and took out his wallet. THEN he riffled through his wallet and took out $50 and handed it to me saying, "Well, we’re so darn impressed by what you’re doing we’re giving you $50 out of the community fund we have and letting you know you can go as fast as you want through the rest of this hea' great state of Georgia!"

We thanked him mightily and headed off smiling down the highway...

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Well, if you’ve been wondering what I’ve been thinking about for all those sun-baked hours on the road, you have a pretty good indication from the daydream fantasy above what some of it is.

Also, among many other things large and small, I recite the hour or so worth of poems I have memorized in years past. (The inside of my helmet has had some pretty darn good recitals!) While riding on the back and when not taking pictures, Karen is often times thinking about the great scrapbook she wants to put together about the trip.

Once again, after looking out the motel room windows this morning in Gulf Port, MS, we knew our decision to stop last night was the correct one. It was grey clouding all over, but at least it wasn’t raining, and the sky showed promise for brightening up.

We were hungry for more of those Waffle House waffles, but decided to get on down the road a piece before having some. We left a little after 9am, and I was glad Steve wasn’t on-line to scold us about the relatively late leaving.

Just south of Mobile, AL we turned north on what was our fourth and final corner. We skirted in and out of and between showers all day long. Must have been six or seven of them. But the worst was just as we were leaving Montgomery, AL. It was on the interstate through town in a whole crowd of cars when the splashdown began. A few patters at first, and I thought, "Uh-oh!" and then the constant downpour. It was right in the midst of the 70mph traffic and all of a sudden my visibility was down to a few feet. I quickly handed my sunglasses back to Karen and just as quickly popped up on the pegs so I could see over the now-water-blotted windshield. Rodes like that for a while calling on all my strength and experience from such situations – though truthfully none of the past times were amongst so many cars and big trucks. It lasted maybe five minutes, but was pretty scary, especially when I noticed the curve in the roadway and had to maneuver through that.

After most every gas stop, I always forget to put my earplugs back in. (Many cyclists use the things to mute the noise constancy of the passing traffic and the engine roar.) Then I have to pull off to the side, take off my helmet, and put them in. At one time today, I was doing so, and leaned back to Karen and joked, "You know, we’d save an awful lot of time every day if you’d just remember to remind me about putting in my earplugs!" We got a good laugh out of that.

At 10:30am we got our Waffle House stop in.

Rode for a while today behind a pretty stinky trash truck. Ugh! That was not pleasant riding.

I just hate it when I’m hurrying Karen along to get on the bike and then I realize I don’t even have the bike in gear yet!

We worked hard at not missing State Route 21 off of I-85 toward Atmore. It was only about 8 miles down that road that we tapped Florida at exactly noon for our 41st state Karen took a picture of me by the welcome sign and we returned back to the big highway. On the way back we met a man at a gas station from Allentown, PA. This fellow said he had inherited a 1934 Harley trike! It was all rusty now but he was spending a mint on E-bay getting parts to fix it up, and he hoped to ride it one day.

Also in Atmore we came upon a health food store. I had mentioned just yesterday that one of the things I missed most from home was some Soydream (something that tastes like ice cream, but is made of non-dairy soy). This place had a delicious confection of non-dairy chocolate and nuts and vanilla Soydream. It was great, and we each relished and savored the taste of the ice cream-like treat!

At a gas station just 20 miles north of Montgomery, just as I was walking toward the office to pay (one of the rare stations that didn’t have credit card pumps), I saw a man leaning against the front wall there. I noticed that he and I both noticed a rather nice looking lady in hot pink short shorts walk by. I looked up at him as I passed and said, "Nothing like hot pink, eh?" He laughed, and said with a big Morgan Freeman-ish smile, "Just something to look at."

We stopped into gas-up at one point about 60 miles shy of 400 miles pretty darned tired – I pointed to the name of the station, and said, "That’s what we need about now." The gas company was named "JET-PEP"!

By the end of the day, my stomach problem (guessing it was some kind of virus that ran its course) seemed to have died away completely. Happy about that, and I could tell the rest of my body was, too, as total energy and spirits returned.

As we entered Georgia we "lost" another hour because of entering the Eastern Daylight Savings Time. (Now just WHERE do you suppose we lost that hour? I looked all over for it, but couldn’t find it anywhere. In fact, I spent so much time searching for it, I had to set my watch an hour earlier when I was done looking.)

We’re both feeling the adrenaline-effect over the excitement about finishing the trip. That adrenaline is seeping into our muscles and our minds. However, not enough of that adrenaline is seeping into our butts, which seem to be aching more and more earlier and earlier in the day.

When we got done crunchwrapping at Taco Bell we headed off for the EconoLodge near Stone Mountain. Karen wondered if I had seen the policeman sitting on the side of the road with the detector pointing in our direction as we entered Georgia. (I hadn’t!)

We had one of those long laughing fits as we were leaving the Taco Bell. Karen’s face, concentrating hard on being able to get her leg up and over the motorcycle so late in the day, and as tired as we were, was so set in determination and her lips were so clenched to be able to make the effort a successful one, just struck me as really funny. And as I described it to her, she found it comical, too. We sat back on the Shadow and laughed for quite a few moments about it.

15 minutes later we were checking into the 10th motel of that chain. (Our next night at an EconoLodge is free!! And there just happens to be a few in Roanoke, VA, our goal for tomorrow.)

August 1, 2005 - Monday – Day 37

48 States or Bust – The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 384 - Total Miles: 9573 – Average: 258.7 (travel days)
8:30am-4:30pm (8hrs.)
SARDIS, MS (south of Memphis) to GULF PORT, LA
(-staying at an EconoLodge-) MS,LA (39/48)
- STREAKING THROUGH THE SOUTH -


It was a basic keep-riding and make-time day today. All interstate at 80-90mph and a couple truck passes at 100mph. We wore our orange cool vests for the first time for awhile since it was pretty darn hot.

At a Taco Bell in McComb, MS, I put my head down at the table and just fell asleep. Did that the other day, too, at a lunch stop. My body must really be fighting off the probable virus in my belly (which ranges from just okay to very painful at times). Now, I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t get sick very often so this is something pretty unusual. But I’m also the kind of guy who can just put his mind ‘somewhere else’ to tolerate a painful situation – like, for instance, no Novocain for even the occasional root canal! So this has been more of a discomforting nuisance and something Karen has to put up with, more than an actual illness.

A woman came up to Karen while I was sleeping and Karen got in the usual conversation with her. Marilyn Jackson had said she had seen the motorcycle (and sign) and that she just wanted to come over and "welcome us to Mississippi," and that she "was glad we included Mississippi in our trip."

At a gasoline stop right after lunch I came into the station with a little herky-jerky motion and then came right up to the pump and stopped very short. Well, it just hit Karen kind of funny the way that happened, and she went off on a laughing binge. I got into it, and helped it continue with a few deadpan, "What?" comments. And then a few wry and deadpan jokings, "Are you making fun of my driving?" questions.

Ran into spots of rain between New Orleans and Slidell. They just cooled us off and then we dried out on the other side. But just before Gulf Port there was a bigger storm with no blue that could be seen on the other side. What COULD be seen, however, were long dull orange bolts of lightning splitting the skies. We pulled off and much to our good fortune there was a Waffle House and an EconoLodge (with laundry facilities, to boot!). We stood wondering, in light of only having 3 days left if we should stay, but Karen had our miles figured out, and she said that we’d be able to do it.

From all the trips I’ve taken in the past I know that these last few days are the most important to a journey’s success. I mean now is when home is looked forward to the most, and concentration on the travel at hand can become sloppy. With all the successful days behind, it’s darn easy to become over confident and miss little important details. Also, weariness is at its greatest point now, and problems can develop from being tired. So, as we head into these last few miles of what seems like it will be 11,000 or so, we have to be even more on guard than ever. More perceptive to our surroundings, to sounds and performance of the Shadow, and keenly aware of ourselves and our goal. (But ahhh... ever so looking forward to sitting in our favorite chair again in the cozy tv room at home with a bowl of warm popcorn in our lap watching a favorite show and knowing that we don’t have 420 miles to go when the program is over. mmmmm... )

July 31, 2005 - Sunday – Day 36

48 States or Bust – The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 290 - Total Miles: 9189 – Average: 255.3 (travel days)
9:30am-4:30pm (7 hrs.)
SIKESTON, MO to SARDIS, MS (south of Memphis)
(-staying a Super 8-) MO,IL,KY,TN,AR,MS (38/48)
- WE TOP 9,000, AND FEELING THE MILES – DIPPING SOUTHWARD – FIVE(!) STATES CHECKED OFF -

In 1985 when I went through Blythedale, which is near here, I had a great experience and met some new friends. Here’s the story from my July 3rd, 1985 journal:

Finally, at day's end, I had trouble getting a place in Blytheville. No luck with a campsite. As I wheeled by a drive-in theater, a man and child were coming out. I rolled over and asked if they knew where I could pitch a tent. It was the theater owner and he said that I could put my tent up in a corner of that drive-in theater!!! I went over to the best place, sat down, and wrote postcards and journal pages. Soon, Shane, on his 4-wheeler dune-buggy-type rig came over, and we chatted. Shane, the theater owner's son, was a very likeable 12-year-old, and he took a big interest in my trip! I wrote postcards for about 45 minutes and then noticed dark clouds rolling over. Shane came back, and at first drops, we took the bike, still fully packed, to the projector room/concession stand. There I met Shane's good-looking blonde mom. We stood around, watched the clouds roll in, and then we witnessed a huge thunder and lightning storm hit with a fury matched only by the brilliance of the flashing bolts. The wind ripped. The skies created huge mosaics of ominous cloud in varying hues of gray and black. They swirled and blew. It was quite a show. Not great for the anticipated crowd for tonight's feature show and I felt badly for Mr. Glasscock, the owner. I also felt badly for myself and my evening tenting prospects. But Mr. Glasscock suggested I stay in the trailer behind the big outdoor movie screen. After securing the bike, that's where I landed. My back really itched from bug bites while I wrote this journal entry at around 10:30PM. Shane and his grand dad came out with a sheet and pillow for me which I appreciated. After some chatting, I curled up in the sheet. The night was punctuated by more storming at around 2AM. I was happy to be in that trailer behind the huge drive-in movie screen and I had a good sleep.

Well, I checked on line for any Glasscock that might be in the area and sure enough I got to chat with a member of the family. Seems Mr. Glasscock passed away and Shane was out of the area. I tried calling Shane’s brother all day but only got an answering machine.

We were out and gassed-up by 9:15am and it was pretty much a through-driving day.

Once we turned off a highway and there was a hospital right there at the intersection. I toyed around a bit with the idea of stopping in and checking out the pain near my belly, but decided to move on.

It was a hazy day today – the first such of the journey, and partly because the surroundings were fairly mundane (mostly all flat farmland as far as one could see), and because it was getting so warm, and because the highways had nothing particular notable about them, it was a bit harder to keep concentration up.

This was the beginning of our sixth week on the road and we passed over the 9,000-mile mark today. And for whatever reason, it’s starting to get a little tougher now. We both admit to being a bit road-weary at the end of the day. And Karen, who does such a good job charting our next day routes in the evening, says it looks like we’ve got 1,600 more to go! (Remember, we’ve planned to be back by this next Thursday and MUST be back by Friday to get ready to shoot a Saturday wedding. So it looks like we’ve got to put in all 400-mile or so days coming up this last week! A lot of people said this would be ‘fun’, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy. We both agreed that it would be a perfect time for a day off, but it just can’t happen now. It was 18 days ago (after 18 days on the road) that we took our only day off. (In Superior, Montana, remember?)

We were looking for an EconoLodge this evening since we only needed two more stickers to get a free night, but ended up at a Super8 south of Memphis. We could have gone into see Graceland, but we were both exhausted and butt-weary, and had little interest anyway.

After unpacking, we both napped, exhausted from the day’s ride. My stomach thing began acting up again a bit more than it had during the day, and I was feeling a bit stiff all over, and I was happy for the air conditioning, too.

Karen did some hand wash in the room while I mcycled the little way to Nonnie & Pops, a little eatery scouring for something that we could eat.

We talked routing back in the room and I caught up on these journal notes while Karen did some reading.

July 30, 2005 - Saturday - Day 35

48 States or Bust – The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 276 - Total Miles: 8899 - Average:254.3 (travel days)
HANNIBAL, MO to Sikeston, MO
(-staying at the Country Hearth Inn) MO (33/48)
- INTO SAINT LOUIS – AND THE GREAT GATEWAY THERE! -


A lot of the names of these little towns along the way have been familiar to me from my 20-year-ago Gulf-of-Mexico-to-Canada ride. But one of my favorite stories comes from when I met Nikki, Bub, and Little Bub. I had rolled into town on a July 4th and my recollection has been that Nikki and Bub just let me, a total stranger, take care of Little Bub while they went to see the fireworks. (This was not substantiated by my journal notes. However, that’s sure the way I remember it!)

We got on the road mid-morning and headed into the town that has been my favorite since childhood. Who knows why? But anyone who knows me, knows that the city of St. Louis is one that I’ve had a love affair with ever since I was about 8 years old. The city, the sports teams, anything about the place... (Oh, and when I rolled through there in 1980, the series of interesting and amazing circumstances found me at the Cardinal’s ball park, Busch Stadium, watching a night game. On the scoreboard (and I got a great picture of it) they flashed the words, "Joel Perlish, who is Bicycling Across the Country, is Attending Tonight’s Game!!" -- THAT was quite a thrill for me.) So, twice before I triumphantly entered St. Louis. Once from the west on the cross-country trip, and once from the south on my Gulf-of-Mexico-to-Canada-Along-the Whole-Mississippi ride, and NOW from the north!

It was about 100 miles to the big city from Hannibal to St. Louis, and it was a thrill to see the huge stainless steel arch spiking up from the riverfront as it came into view. We navigated the city roads well and found a parking space in the nearby underground parking garage.

A big family, the Tuzaks, had just parked beside us, and I quipped that they were our welcoming committee. We got pictures with the folks, Jim and Michele, and with their three cute kids, Ashley, Samantha, and Zach. From Joliet, IL, the family was in town for the day. Jim said he hadn’t been to the Arch since he was a kid.

Then, with all our gear, we trudged up the steps out of the parking garage and then down the long thoroughfare of tall-tree lined grass area to the base of the 630-foot tall Gateway Arch. It positively gleamed in the sun of this brilliant day!

We found a long line for the security check (which, of course took longer for us because of all our bags and gear). After about a half-hour in that security line around mid-afternoon, we faced a ticket line that snaked around and was an hour long!

At the base of the Arch inside, there is the ticket area, two big theaters, a few gift-type shops and a wonderful museum. We got tickets for the ride to the top, and tickets for the two shows there. One, a National Geographic IMAX presentation about Lewis and Clark, and the other, a film about the building of the Arch. Our ride to the top tickets were for 2:40pm, so we had time to see the two movies before the ride.

The Lewis and Clark IMAX flick was first. It was slick and wonderfully done. The huge big screen popped with gorgeous colors and brought the audience right into the scenes of the two explorers as they crossed the newly purchased virgin territory part of the United States in 1804. It made Karen and I both want to learn more of their exploits. We enjoyed the movie from the last top-most row, munching on some trail mix we had brought in.

After that 45-minute presentation we were even more exhausted than we had been before. We sat near the museum entrance for a bit and munched on an apple and a couple soft pretzels. We ventured a bit into the museum, but shortly it was time for the building-of-the-arch movie. We sat in the darkened theater way beyond the start time, and that was concerning to us since the end of the film bumped into the start of the tram ride. Well, the film never did start – seems a bulb burned out or something.

Others stayed, we got up and left, and explored more of the museum, and then a little before 2:40pm went to the queue for the tram. We were led to a loading area, and then another loading area, and finally down a series of steps. Eventually, a little bubble-shaped car appeared behind a door that opened. It was small and held only five people. The others with us were a very tall motorcycle policeman and his two daughters. When the door closed it was very claustrophobic in there and the car began a series of somewhat nerve-provoking shuffling bumps and grinds. In that way the little cylinder made it’s way to the top of the Arch. Finally, the pod stopped, the door opened, and we made our way up a short series of steep steps to the little hallway at the top. Others were milling around there already, and leaning against the carpeted somewhat-slanted window sills to peer out one of the eight or so windows looking down from America’s tallest man-made monument.

The Arch, in the area of the St. Louis riverfront that is known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial was completed in 1965. The visionary designer was a guy named Eero Saarinen, but he died before seeing it completed.

People looked like ants below. I enjoyed the St.Louis city side of view the most. There were views of the Old Courthouse (where the first Dred Scott case was heard), and Busch Stadium, and the beginnings of the new stadium to be completed next year. Looking out the other side one could see the magnificent Mississippi still huge even from so high up, the little play boats on the river, and views westward.

After about half an hour we reversed our ride up. The pod went down much faster, it seemed, and plummeted down in three minutes (as opposed to the four it takes to get up the side of the archway).

We then went back to the theater to see the film we had missed. It was made in the late ‘60’s shortly after the Arch was completed. It was good, but dated. And the theater was a regular one, so after the 4-story tall IMAX show, this screen seemed pretty puny. Our heads bobbed a couple of times during the show.

Then we left the complex taking pictures and video along the way. Two couples, the guys mostly toothless and tattooed, were from Britain, but they lived in the area. One was a truck driver. I asked the one if I could take a photo of one of the babe tattoos he had. He obliged eagerly. I asked him the same question I ask a lot of folks with tattoos, and that is, did he ever regret getting it. (He had at least 20 all over him.) He volunteered that he had designed-over several women’s names, and he listed them for me, at the base of the one of the tattoos. "Gail" was the final name on the list, and that one still was there!

Leaving the foursome with smiles, we made our way back along the sunny field and back to the mc underground. We left the parking area around 4:30pm and headed south.

At one gas up today we had our cheapest gas ever - $2.09. Also, went the most miles without tanking up – 113! Still haven’t had to turn on the reserve for the whole trip. Pumped in 3.17 gallons. I think the tank hold 3.5 gallons.

Beginning last night and working itself through today, I had some kind of stomach cramps. Whether caused by some kind of viral thing, or caused by not eating right, or even a more serious appendix thing, we didn’t know. But by the time we arrived in Sikeston I was pretty much doubled over and more exhausted than ever on the trip. I fell into a deep sleep without even showering, and apologized to Karen for all my moaning.

It was a grand day in St. Louis, and I was feeling a little down when we motored out.

July 29, 2005 - Friday - Day 34

48 States or Bust – The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 206 - Total Miles: 8623– Average: 253.6 (travel days)
11AM-4PM (5hrs)
ST. JOSEPHS, MO to HANNIBAL, MO
(-staying at an EconoLodge) MO (33/48)
- CROSSING MISSOURI – A RIVERBOAT RIDE ON THE MISSISSIPPI -


If anyone asks you how far it is from one side of the top of Missouri to the other, you can tell them it’s just about exactly 200 miles! And that’s what we covered under sunny skies today. It was mixed road surface so in parts we had to slow down, but basically it was farm fields of corn and some wheat, warm winds in our face, and pockets of trees beside the road. Also, rolling hills for a change instead of pancake flat land. Karen noted that more than half the sky was covered with swirling clouds.

We had begun late because we had to pick up another camera battery and charger at the local Wal-Mart, but it was basically a good ride. And then we had a race to get to the 4pm riverboat ride which was the last of the day out of Hannibal.

Hannibal, Missouri. The name conjures up for me the days of Mark Twain and the slow-paced days of life on the river. I had bicycled through here in 1985 in the midst of my New Orleans to Canada – All Mississippi bicycle ride. (1642 Miles - 31 Days - Jun 24 to Jul 26) It was a great ride and as a far as I know, I’m still the only one to have crossed the country both ways (west to east, and south to north) solo!! Anyway, one of the highlights of that ride was my campsite right by the river. Here are my notes about it from my 1985 journal:

As I wrote this particular journal entry it was a really special and wonderful moment. I was sitting right smack dab on a bank of the Mississippi. It was not more than ten feet in front of me. My tent site wasn't more than 100-yards in back of this picnic table I’m writing upon. A huge barge was just floating by. A long train whistled past to the left about 300-yards away. It was just before dusk and there was a cooling wind to the east blowing my way.

The river looked so serene here. An occasional bottle would float by, but otherwise it looked clean and gentle. I was seated with cameras at the ready and binoculars set. The green of the banks and the green/blue/gray of the ripples combined with the millions of birdcalls to create an idyllic peaceful setting.

The barges moved so slowly and smoothly down the river. They were like hour hands... they hardly seemed to move at all, but then you noticed, after looking away, how time tricked you. And movement was there after all. But like southern drawls, and the ways of many southern folks, the barges were purposeful, & intent, and forever moving forward.

The odd duck horn of the tugs as they nudged their cargo downstream was delightful and it was easy to see how Samuel Clemens - or anyone - could fall in love with the Mississippi. The snake-like barge cargo seemed to stretch for miles in front of the barge pushers. And what a slow inexorable push it was! I got a wave from a riverboat captain and it felt like a real treat! It was about 8PM, and the light was dimming on the riverfront. To the sounds of the river, the train, and the birds, I fell fast asleep in the cozy tent.

As I wrote, we raced to the 4pm riverboat ride. I didn’t think we’d make it really, but arrived JUST in the nick of time to get tickets and board. We got there at 3:55pm! As with most touristy places, one has to go the gift shop area first, but then we boarded for the hour-long trip up and down the river near Hannibal. The PA system had a cheesy soundtrack of history and jokes and tall tales that occasionally punctuated the peacefulness of the ride. One could see many of the younger folks quite bored with the ride. After all, there were no loud fireworks, fast animation, or gored up battle scenes. It was a slow and purposeful trip. Occasionally the loud full horn of the ship would blast and there was a short rendition from the big calliope on the top deck. It was warm and sunny and we both enjoyed the ride – and the comparison between it and the willy-nilly racing of the motorcycle rides that we’ve daily been taking for more than the last month.

Soon it was over and we climbed back on shore, to the Shadow, and having gotten caught up in the mellowness of the river, and the steamboat ride, and the sunny day, we made the decision (even though we were only at 200 miles) to stay in Hannibal for the night. We found a reasonable EconoLodge and scored one of the nicest rooms of the trip – a huge spacious new room to boot.

After a little nap we got on the motorcycle (sans gear other than helmet) and took some back roads into the main part of town. We noticed to our dismay that even on this Friday evening, all the tourist shops and little stores had closed up early – before 8pm even.

We went to the Mark Twain Dinette (the enormous mug proclaiming its name as signpost) and had a delicious reasonably priced meal, that included home made root beer in a somewhat frosted mug.

From a town brochure:

Hannibal is a picturesque town situated on the banks of the Mississippi River approximately 80 miles north of St. Louis off of US Highway 61. Best known as the boyhood home of the American author Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), who is better known as Mark Twain, the emphasis on this fact is evident throughout the town. Many attraction and businesses focus on a relationship to Twain or two of his better known novels of life along the Mississippi - Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Attractions in this genre include the Mark Twain Boyhood Home And Museum, the Becky Thatcher House, and Grant's Drug Store where Twain once lived.

Hannibal does have a significant history besides its connection to Mark Twain and his imagination. Hannibal was founded in 1819 and chartered as a city in 1845. The first railroad to cross the state of Missouri was the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad. The first locomotive manufactured west of the Mississippi, a 34 ton engine called the General Grant, and the first railway mail car for sorting mail en route were made in the town's railroad shops.

After the meal we walked around the corner to see some of the old buildings – Becky Thatcher’s house, Mark Twain’s boyhood home, and the Tom Sawyer fence of fame. We headed back after the walk through the cool air of dusk – we were determined to get a good night’s sleep and an early start tomorrow.

July 28, 2005 - Thursday - Day 33

48 States or Bust - The USA on Two Wheels
Miles Today: 401 - Total Miles: 8417 – Average: 255.1(travel days)
11:30AM-9:30PM (10hrs)
GREAT BEND, KS to ST.JOSEPHS, MO
(-staying at a Super 8) KS,NB,IA,MO (33/48)
- THREE STATES! - A FRIEND FROM THE PAST - INTO THE HEARTLAND -


One of the Days Inn come-ons is that one can pour the batter and make freshly made waffles in the morning. While Karen was making us a few in the snack area, a woman said to her, "I don’t go hardly nowhere, but I don’t know if I’d want to do it on a motorcycle."

On that bicycle trip of mine a quarter century ago I stayed in Great Bend for a night. Here's how it went after that 84-mile bicycling day from my journal notes:

One cute woman in the laundromat and I got into a conversation and after she learned about my adventures, she asked if she could call her husband. He happened to be a reporter for the Great Bend paper. She went to pick him up. I spent the next hour being photographed and interviewed. Then, when my tip of a place to stay in at Pawnee Rock fell through, reporter Chuck Smith and his wife Lisa invited me to stay at their home. Lisa made bean tostados for supper. Chuck was a big fellow and wears a cowboy hat and a bushy beard. He was constantly puffing on an ever-extinguishing pipe. The couple was in their twenties and Lisa is expecting a child in December. I slept on the floor in my bag which was laid upon Chuck's big buffalo cape. I forgot to ask the Smiths to turn off the fifteen-minute-interval chime of the grandfather's clock. The huge clock was in the same room where I was sleeping. But it didn't matter. From the time my head hit the bag at 11:00, until I was up at 6:00, I didn't hear a thing. In fact, I thought they had turned it off! My sleep was sound and deep.

Well I wondered if maybe Chuck Smith might still be around these parts. I called a person by that name in the phone book and the lady who answered said it was the wrong one. Then I mentioned that he had been a reporter 25 years ago and she said, "Oh yes, I read his stories in the paper!" I quickly got the Great Bend Tribune phone number and before you know it, I was talking with Chuck Smith.

As soon as I said I was the guy who slept on the buffalo robe, he knew exactly who I was from so long ago. We chatted a bit on the phone and I was sad to learn that Lisa had past away, but Chuck had remarried and was doing well. He was now an editor of the paper. He invited Karen and me over to the office.

We were there by 10am or so and Chuck and I gave each other a good hug. After some conversation, he took a picture of Karen and me and the Shadow with intention of doing a story about us. Then he invited us in to his office. When we walked into the Great Bend Tribune newspaper building, Karen, who had worked for a publishing company many years ago, immediately smelled the ink and felt nostalgic.

Chuck was just recently 50 and there were birthday messages in his office. (Like, "Antique Human – THIS is what 50 looks like!")

We met Kevin, a friend of Chuck’s. As we were talking about Chuck STILL being at the paper after all these years, and how surprised I was, Kevin gave a friendly jab to his pal by saying, "Well, you’ve gotta add the element of sloth in there, too."

We got a nice tour of the little newspaper office including the huge press machines in the back. Chuck and I reminisced about my time there and we talked about his kids and a little about Lisa. There were some good posted slogans that I liked around the office – one in particular read, "It’s Fun Doing the Impossible!"

Chuck, admiring the trip we were taking by someone older than himself, said as we left, "What you’re doing gives me hope." We shoved off at around 11:30ish.

We rolled passed some cattle pens. Not the big ones like yesterday. Outside Dodge there were huge stinking pens of cattle. The smell was intense. Here’s what I wrote 25 years ago, and what I still thought today:

On the way out of town, I passed sprawling cow pens. The poor beasts were mooing their lungs out ready for slaughter or ready to be sent to the slaughter houses. I wanted to tell those cows that it wasn't *my* fault, being a vegetarian and all. But I pedaled speedily away. The stench of the air from the unclean pens made me want to get away quickly. And the filth there made me gladder than ever for being a vegetarian!

We swung eastward on Route 56, then 156 north, then I-70 east then 75 north, then 2 east, and I-29 south... Now, that’s a lot of numbers but what they meant was we zipped through Kansas to Nebraska, then into a little nip of Iowa, then south a-ways into Missouri. And that added three more states to our goal of reaching all 48 contiguous states. (At the last gas stop in Kansas, I was going over the route with a trucker guy, and he turned the phrase, "So, you just gotta go up and tap Iowa, an’ then come back!")

Trees. We saw trees today for almost the whole day. That’s the first we saw of trees on our way back from the west. Also, today was the first day of the trip in which there was not a single cloud in the sky for the whole day.

The roads were the worst of the trip on I-29 south out of Iowa and into Missouri. There were big vertical cracks in the highway that just looked hungry enough to gobble a motorcycle tire. I was VERY careful there to be sure. Karen noted that it bumped Ohio off as having the worst roads.

Coming into St. Josephs, I let the mileage get all the way to 112 for the tank of gas. Still didn’t have to put it on reserve.

We had stopped at one of those visitor’s centers and saved a bunch of bucks with a coupon on a Super 8.

On my run in the evening out of the motel, I found Carlos O’Kelly’s Cantina (a mixture Mexican and Irish place I guess) and got us a couple of guacamole tostados to bring back for supper. Karen wasn’t sure if we were getting potatoes or beans.