Mississauga to California

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2012-08-14T21:49:00.000-04:00

We left the hotel late and i missed breakfast. I sweet talked the lady cleaning up to let me take a bowl of cereal. Since it started raining so hard we forgot to get gas last night so we gassed up and left for home. The boarder crossing was way more uneventful than i thought it would be. As soon as i crossed over the boarder i knew i was in for a fun ride home. My chain was skipping pretty bad every time i tried to accelerate. We made it pretty close to home before mike stopped because he was afraid of running out of gas. Getting back on the highway with a slipping chain was super fun. The last 10km of the trip was stop and go traffic which was terrible but managed to get home. My last tank of gas took me all the way from Flint Michigan all the way to Milton, Ontario. Pretty good if you ask me.

The total KM for the trip was about 11,500. 19 days. 18 states. Lowest elevation was at sea level. Highest elevation was 14,110' @ Pikes peak Summit. The farthest point from home was Big Sur, Ca at 4390km.

Day 18 (Iowa to Flint)

2012-08-14T21:32:00.001-04:00

The plan was to try and drive all the way home in one shot. It was about 1400km. I felt terrible in the morning and was still so tired. We got on the road and the traffic was awful but at least we left on time.
We drove in the heat and the traffic was terrible. One of the worst things about the trip has been the road construction. They constantly block multiple lanes for miles meanwhile they are working on the other lanes of a divided highway. JERKS!

We rode on the indiana tollway (80/90) for a long time and all of a sudden we realized we just passed out exit. Well the toll road exits are pretty far between so we got off at a service station to look at out options on the map. To go to the next exit and ride all the way back was 50Km. Then Mike looked closer at the map and realized there was a service road right behind the service center. Problem solved and we saved like $8 each. We rode up to the 69 and all of a sudden it was very dark with no lights and very few service stations. We rode along there for a long time with my gas light on until we decided that we were cutting it closer than we needed to so we stopped for gas. As we pulled into the gas station it was as if someone turned on a hurricane. We had no choice but to stay for the night. The lady at the counter looked up the phone number for the hotel across the road for us. She also informed us that it was good that we made it to this exit and didn't get off at the last exit. Apparently Flint Michigan if the murder capital of the US. She told us that the 7/11 just down the road often gets robbed at gun point. GREAT!

We got into the hotel and fell asleep fairly quickly as it was like 2am.

Days 17 (Denver to Iowa)

2012-08-04T14:58:00.001-04:00

We got up and went to leave and I noticed my rear tire was worn down to the belts so we looked for a place to get it changed. We ended up finding a pretty cool store just outside Denver that gave us a good deal on the tires. We dropped off the bikes and new tires next door and we went to lunch. We met a guy there that told us about the 13 years he served in prison for attempted first degree murder on an officer.
After the tires were done we headed out for a really boring ride to Iowa. All day we rode along the edge of a massive storm that stretched as far as you could see in both directions. Luckily we missed rain all day and the highway was completely dry. This was one of the most boring rides and if I ever ride a trip from that direction again I would be happy to ride for an extra day just to avoid that stretch of road.

We got a bit turned around getting to the hotel as it was about 3:00 in the morning. We got pulled over doing 71 in a 60. The officer was pretty nice after I explained what happened and where we were going. We didn't end up getting tickets.

We got to the hotel and the girl at the desk was a bit of a jerk. I asked for a late check out as it was already 3 am and checkout was 11 am. She told us it was for premium members only. So we went to our room and fell asleep. We were woken up be a drunk Mexican asshole who kept banging on our door. Mike told him to go away. He did. For 10 minutes and came back. After mike had some not so kind words for him he left for good. I believe his words were "This isn't your fucking room dumb shit!" As tired and angry as i was at being woken up like that i could not help but burst into laughter.

Day 16 (Aspen to Denver)

2012-07-31T23:14:00.001-04:00

I woke up with a semi wet tent. Apparently I forgot to close the outer zipper which keeps the outer shell tight so it doesn't touch the inner part. We they touched and it dripped on my sleeping bag. I couldn't figure out why my feet felt cold until I woke up in the light. Luckily the sun was out and it was fairly warm so iI could dry out my tent. As usual Mike got up pretty late so my tent was fully dry/clean/packed by the time he got up.

We left the camp site and headed into aspen. As we pulled up to McDonald's we thought someone got shot or something but it turns out there was a bear in a tree and the cops were stopping everyone from getting too close. We left the McDonald's on our way to pikes peak. The roads were pretty narrow but we managed to get to pike Forrest in about half the estimated time. Take that Google maps!

We pulled up to the pikes toll booth and the lady informed us basically that we didn't want to go up as there was going to be rain in about 2 hours. I knew it wasn't going to take that long to get up and down so we paid the lady our $12 each and headed up the hill. The road was pretty covered in junk as they had a serious rain storm the day before so I didn't get to make a wicked awesome video like I wanted but the peak was really nice. There was a gift shop and snack bar there so I got myself a pretzel and snapped some pictures. The air is so thin up there that both me and mike felt really light headed. We sat down for a bit and then rode back down the mountain where we were greeted by a rain storm. We threw on our rain gear and rode through. It was only about 20 minutes and then another 2-3 minutes down the road. So far we are winning with the rain.

We rode into Denver and found a $50 room at the super 8. I felt my chain skip on the front sprocket when I tried to pass someone today so I walked over to the parts place across the street. They had a free tool rental program so I got a 30mm socket and torque wrench and adjusted my chain. After some lube it seems good as new. We are FINALLY going to see batman. Figures the place we get the time will be the place a bunch of people got shot seeing the same movie we are going to see. Wouldn't it be crazy if the cause of our death was not the 12,000km motorcycle trip that everyone thought was so dangerous but instead was simply going to see a movie?

Here's to hoping we don't die.

Day 15 (Salt Lake City to Aspen)

2012-07-31T22:51:00.007-04:00

We got up and decided to go for a swim in the pool. The water was a bit cold but nothing compared to the ocean so we swam for a bit dried off and left. We drove around the corner and started to do an oil change. We couldn't get the drain plug off Mikes bike so I changed mine and away we went.

Mike wanted to go check out the outlet mall which we thought was on the way but once we checked Google maps we found out we had to go back about 35 miles and then take a different road to get to Aspen. We found our way and drove for a long time. We needed fuel as it was getting pretty close to my fuel light and the sign said last gas for 68 miles. We didn't want to take the chance so we stopped.

After we got gas Mike wanted to rest for a bit so we pulled into the shade and lounged around. A couple bikers pulled up and one referenced the fact that "times like this make me glad I got my .45" as he walked into the store to buy a beer. The thing that made him say that was there was a tranny walking around with some weird costume on. Then the other biker sat down next to me and started rolling a joint. He looked over at me and said "I hope you're not offended". I wasn't but being that we were in Utah and i have heard from lots of people that drugs and Utah shouldn't mix. So we left there promptly and headed to Aspen.

It was really nice driving on curvy roads after the boring drives the 2 days before. We stopped at Walmart in Rifle, Co. for dinner. It was probably the best meal we had for $5 the whole trip (Chicken wings, pogos and chicken tenders Yum!). We got to the camp site after dark and setup our stuff. We couldn't get the fire going as everything was a bit damp. Our redneck liquid fire starter (gasoline) did the trick. We had a huge although stinky fire in seconds. After about 10 minutes it rained for about 10-15 minutes. I had a brilliant idea to take shelter in the bear food locker as we had not yet set up our tents. We sat by the fire again for a while after the rain stopped but eventually it rained really hard so we went to our tents. It rained hard for another 10 minutes then stopped and the sky completely cleared up. We were already in bed so we just went to sleep.

Day 14 (Reno to Salt Lake City)

2012-07-28T22:51:00.000-04:00

We woke up and decided our chains needed to be actually cleaned before we re-lubed them. We made a huge mess in the parking lot of the hotel with the dripping dirty chain cleaner. We did a pretty thorough job on the chains which put us behind schedule again. We drove on a super boring drive all the way to salt lake city. The salt flats were pretty nice and we drove right by Bonneville speedway. I don't know if it was the idea of riding along the salt flats or what got into us but we made the last tank and a half of gas pretty short time wise but fairly long in the distance covered. Terrible gas millage but fun to ride.

We wound up spending half an hour looking for a KOA in salt lake as it was dark and the whole city was under construction. We got to the camp ground and it turned out to be an RV park. The pool was closed and the internet didn't work. We went to Denny's for dinner and used their wifi to plan the rest of the trip. We went back to the site and everyone at the park was sleeping. I tried to go to sleep but they built the site was right next to a train yard and for some reason the driver had the need to blow the whistle for 10-20 seconds at a time every other minute. There was also a main road about 20 feet away from the tent and an airport pretty close to the site. Not a good combo for a good sleep.

Day 13 (San Francisco to Reno)

2012-07-27T22:51:00.000-04:00

We spent the morning in San Francisco. Well apparently its a $5 toll per bike to go back. Jerks! I have no idea why anyone would want to go to San Francisco. It was over crowded and people were generally rude. The highlight was a family of performers from England who although not great in acrobatic skill were very good at performing. It was to be expected because they were trying to raise money to go to acrobat school. The shop staff stood out on the street and tried to had you stuff so you would feel obligated to buy it.

We left San Francisco on our way to Reno. We checked into our hotel and headed out to the strip.
It was just crazy how weird it was. Everyone was old. It was as if you captured Las Vegas from 40 years ago and remade it. We walked into this art performance thing at the end of the street. It was pretty strange. Mike suggested we leave before we got ass raped. I agreed. We got some food from what Mike called the worlds oldest short order cook. He was working the whole show by himself and he looked to be about 70. The beers were cheap at $2 for tall cans but unlike Vegas you can't take drinks out of the buildings. After that we decided to walk back to the motel. On the way after stopping for snacks there was a group of bikers. We proceeded to walk down a dark alleyway to get around them. We made it back to the hotel without getting bothered.

Day 12 (Monterey to Oakland)

2012-07-26T22:51:00.000-04:00

Well we left our crappy motel and headed for San Francisco. I wanted to stop at Facebook/apple/Google but we didn't have enough time. On the way we had to take a unplanned detour from the highway. Mike had to pee which coincided perfectly with the fact that we were driving fairly fast and there was a cop doing radar we passed. As we went to get back on the cop was also getting on the highway the other way to go back to where he was sitting. We got lucky on that one. That was the best hiding spot. Kudos chp. After that we got to San Francisco. I have to say, all of northern California is awful. The weather is always cold and the fog they always have is terrible. We found a great deal on a hotel but it was in Oakland. The reviews said it was a decent place so we booked it. Once we got there it was like something out of a movie. Drug dealers and crackheads. Great! We wanted to finally go see batman but we decided against it. Coming back to the hotel at 1:30am was not my idea of a good time.

Day 10 (L.A. to Santa Barbra)

2012-07-25T20:14:00.000-04:00

We rode back to the ranch for the last time and I had the biggest breakfast in my life. As we were sitting there 2 1199s's pulled up and parked right beside my bike. We then rode back down the 2 on our way to mullholland. We made the mistake of finding mullholland Dr and not highway. Not the same thing at all. After we found the snake it was pretty interesting. The best part was it was completely empty. After that we headed out to Santa Barbra. It was pretty cold out there to the point we had to put on sweaters while riding. We ended up at another national forest for the night. Tonight was the first time we had our own fire. I made the mistake of setting up my tent on a slope I didn't see. We need to work on getting to places before it gets dark.

Day 9 (L.A.)

2012-07-24T13:09:00.000-04:00

I got up around 7 and went to work fixing the bikes. I had to remove the gas tank to get at the fuse. What a pain. Then I rewired mikes USB plug on his. We headed back up to the restaraunt on the top of the hill for coffee (I had coke). The lady was very nice and because we dropped off bug spray to a girl at our camp ground it was free. We drove down to the city. We ended up driving around and wound up at the Santa Monica pier. It was interesting. The beach was full of nut jobs tho. We tried a bit of lane splitting I can see why its illegal in pretty much everywhere. We rode to the Hollywood sign which was not really worth the trip. We then spent a long time driving all over the highway as the numbers are screwy. We ended up going back to the same camp ground as this morning and we met up with the guy we met at the restaurant in the morning. We hung out at his campfire for about 3 hours talking with him and his wife about pretty much everything you can think of.
We went off to bed at 12:30. Mike yelled to ask me if I was outside his tent. He is convinced there is something outside his tent. He's yelling "hey!" And clapping his hands. I think he's going crazy.

Day 8 (Vegas to L.A.)

2012-07-23T12:55:00.000-04:00

It was stupid hot by the time we checked out. We got about 30 miles before the sky was not looking like it was going to cooperate so we stopped for gas and lubed up our chains. We rolled on as fast as we could and ended up missing the whole storm as it paused for us to go through.
We got to California and it was even hotter. The bike air temp was showing over 41°c
After we found out where we wanted to go we stopped to get gas. There was a dude at the doors of their station begging for cash. We told him we didn't have any. He told mike he needed cash because his truck broke down. As we went to leave on the bikes he pulled out behind us in his ram pickup and followed us. After about a mile of him following us we pulled up to a stop light. Mike suggested we do our first legal lane split. We passed about 12 cars and got to the front. He drove on the shoulder and pulled up right behind us. So we hit the gas. I think he saw that we had intercoms and pro ally thought we were calling the cops so he took off through a red.
It was a bit tricky after that to find where we were going but we managed. We went onto highway 2 which is a mountain pass like 60 miles long over the angles forest. Unbelievable roads. Other than the rocks scattered around it was really nice and the weather was insane. It was about 21-23 degrees.
We got a bite to eat at newcombs ranch at about the half way point. The bikers were really nice telling us where some bike shops were. We went to go in and a Tesla pulled up. Needless to say we chatted with that guy for a while.
We ate and rolled on to the camp site which was nice other than the terrible bathrooms. It went down to 12°c over night but my sleeping bag did the trick as I was a bit sweaty. Good thing I listened to the guy I bought it from and spent a bit more.

Day 7 (vegas back to vegas)

2012-07-22T12:54:00.000-04:00

So we got up a bit late because we stayed out a bit late. So we left the hotel at 11 and packed the bikes. We went to leave and mike called me over. His battery didn't like the 103 degree heat and decided to quit working. Well I tried to charge it a bit by linking my 12v socket to his but it blew my fuse. Now I can't charge my stuff.
He ended up going to get a new battery from batteries+ for $79.
We left pretty late and apparently so did everyone in Vegas. The 15 from Vegas to was jabmed so we turned around. One more day in Vegas. We stopped at mcdonalds and found a deal for the Hilton for the night.
After going to the hotel we decided to buy tickets to see carrot top. Mike went for baller massage at the bellagio and then we went to go see carrot top at the luxor. If you are ever in Vegas go see him. Funniest show I have ever seen.

Day 6 (Grand Canyon to Vegas)

2012-07-21T18:49:00.000-04:00

We ended up stopping at a truck stop to take a nap for 10 minutes in the grass. It was about 1:15 at that point. Well at 6:30 when we woke up it was light out so we got gas. During our fill up we had a local tell us a bunch of crap like "Vegas is a shithole, go see laughlin instead" and "just skip the Hoover dam and drive over the mountains cause you can't see it anyways"
We also had some jerk come bother us at the station for cash. Gtfo of here dude!
We made it to the Hoover dam fairly quickly which was nice because even tho it was only like 8am it was stupid hot. And because we got there before the parking guy was there we didn't have to pay for parking. The dam was impressive and so was the bridge over the river.
After that we headed to Vegas. We stayed in a hotel a bit off the strip but it was pretty nice and it was across the street from the hard rock. It was so hot out during the day even after we took a dip in the pool then a nap it was still crazy hot. We still walked up the strip anyways. Interesting place. Street performers, restaurants and casinos all down the street but also about 1000 people handing out flyers and cards for hookers.
We walked around for a bit. We found a decent priced meal at the outback steak house.
We went out after that to the hard rock and paradise club.

Day 5 (new mexico to grand canyon)

2012-07-20T18:44:00.000-04:00

Well we left the camp site in new Mexico early due to the bugs and loud birds. On our way we drove through some really neat mountains.
We got to the canyon a bit late. It was around 5 when we finally got into the park and parked the bikes. We thought it was going to be $25 each but the lady said it was only $12 per person on motorcycles. Great! Also the pass lasts 7 days and apparently the park never closes so you could stay there all night if you wanted to.
The canyon was nothing short of spectacular. I can't even describe it other than to tell you to go see it for yourself.
After we left the canyon we went to get a camp site. All full. Shit!
We drove down the road. All full. Double shit!
It was pitch black out by this point so we figured we would ride into the little shitty town by the interstate. They wanted $107 per night for a shitty super 8. We then decided to just roll on to Vegas. Well about half way there I started falling asleep. We underestimated how tired we were from walking all around the canyon for hours.
So we stopped at a truck stop.

Day 4 (Texas to New Mexico)

2012-07-19T18:46:00.000-04:00

We left Texas on our way to Albuquerque a little later than we planned. Especially after the mentally slow girl at the cash took 15 minutes for mike to pay for the site. We also got up too late for the free breakfast thing.
We stopped at target to buy water and baby powder. If you have never used baby powder while riding you don't know what you're missing. If you do then you know why wanted to get some.
We left target for what felt like the most boring 50 hours of my life but I think was actually around 3. Texas is BORING.
That all changed when we got to new Mexico. It was winding roads and beautiful mountains.
We decided to ride past Albuquerque to Gallop. Mike found a state park to camp at and it was only $10. As we pulled off the road there was a sign that said the park is 7 miles off the road. It was the best 7 miles I have ever ridden. Simply incredible. Hairpin turns. Sweepers. Blind corners. All on beautiful roads with no dirt at all on them. We setup camp and a group of horses came over to greet us.
We ended up camping on the beach next to a guy with an RV and 2 bikes outside. We chatted with him for about 2 hours in his RV as there were at least 10,000 bugs in our small spot on the beach. Also being woken up by huge crows and barking dogs was not what I had planned.

Day 3 (Tulsa to Texas)

2012-07-18T11:22:00.001-04:00

I got up this morning feeling pretty happy that we stayed in a hotel. Other than a sore butt from the crappy ducati seat I'm pretty well rested. We ate the free breakfast at the hotel which was great as they had DIY waffles which are my favorite.

The plan for the next 2 days is to ride to Amarillo tonight and stay at a nice campground mike found. By tomorrow night we should be at the grand canyon. The night after should be Vegas :)

We made it to Amarillo Texas. The first thing we noticed is that the gas only goes up to 90 octane. Weird. Also instead of staying at the camp site mike found on the map we took the advice of some guy that we asked at the gas station. We ended up not driving 30 or so miles south of Amarillo and went to a RV park just down the road. Not only did we save 60 miles of driving and gas but it was $7 cheaper. Plus this place has a little breakfast thing in the morning and free wifi all over the park.

As I was unpacking a very nice recently retired couple came up and asked me about our trip. After I told them a bit about what we were doing they said they were off on a walk but to come by if we wanted to. After mike came back from the store we went over and they were super friendly and gave us a tour of their kick ass RV with a garage in the back for his motorcycle. We talked with them for about an hour and a half and each had a couple beers. When we were saying our goodbyes we exchanged emails and said if we came back or they came to Canada we could meet up again. Hopefully we see them again as they really changed our opinion of Americans from the south. Although the man did tell me about the gun he has hidden away in the cab of his truck.

The weather is great tonight. It cooled off very nicely and there is no humidity which ahould ale for a very nice sleep. Tomorrow apparently we may go see the worlds largest tram ride in Albuquerque that jonathan told us about.

Day 2 (Columbus to Tulsa)

2012-07-17T13:33:00.001-04:00

We left our resting spot for the night at about 3:15 after packing up in the dark. Fueled up and headed out. Cincinnati was pretty nice looking. Louisville had some pretty cool bridges near the KFC Center. At around 7 mike decided he was too tired to ride and needed a nap. We pulled into the rest area on the blue star memorial highway.
Our original goal was to make it to St Louis but since we started so early and are more than half way already we figured after the rest stop we could ride on past St Louis and get as close as we can to the next goal. Putting us a day ahead of schedule will let us spend more time in California and Colorado.
I went to the bathroom at the rest stop and there was a cop sitting on the sink. As I turned the corner I realized why. There was a prisoner in full shackles standing there. Weird.
We made it to St Louis at about 11:15 local time. We stopped at the arch which while neat is not quite worth the $4 per bike they want for parking on a dangerous uneven slope of a parking lot. As expected the weather is hot as hell. The plus side is it was supposed to thunder shower today and it has been clear skies all day.
My mom was mad at me and told me she would pay for a hotel tonight so I can get some sleep. Thanks mom, you're the best!
The plan so far is to ride to Tulsa for the night and tomorrow ride to

Mike had to stop to get his dry bag replaced. In his hatse when the cop was ushering us out he ripped off the seal on the top. We ended up stopping at the largest bass pro shop in the world. I think it is the single coolest/largest store I have ever been in.
We stayed the night in Tulsa enjoying the fact that we saved ourselves a day and a half to enjoy other places because we rode about 1450km today and 750km Monday.

Day one (Toronto to Ohio)

2012-07-16T03:51:00.000-04:00

We left at around 11:30 this morning hoping to stay out of traffic and have a nice easy cross at the boarder. As we were nearing the Niagara falls exit Mike and I decided to cross at fort Erie instead. The drive to Fort Erie was nice but the wait at the boarder was much longer than crossing at Niagara. Lesson learned.
After we crossed the boarder I turned the iPod I brought specifically for GPS and it didn't get a signal. Mike tried his GPS but it was impossible for him to see it in the sunlight and it didn't have Bluetooth so he couldn't hear it in his helmet. Shit! So we ended up half guessing the route by road signs. I knew out first stop should be around Columbus, Ohio. We made it there by stopping at a few McDonald's for some free wifi. Apparently every McDonalds has free wifi.

Around dinner time we were looking for places to eat and Mike wanted to celebrate our first day on the road with a delicious burger. We ended up eating at a converted rail train. Pretty neat and the food was pretty delicious.

After dinner we figured we would finish our ride to Columbus and find a camping spot. As we got into Columbus we decided both of us could get a head start on tomorrows drive so we kept going. We called it quits for the night about 30 miles outside Cincinnati. We pulled into an out of the way spot behind a huge water tower next to corn field. Free camping! Setting the tents up in the dark was less than ideal. It's also hot as hell but we're both tired so we should sleep fairly well.

Update: According to the nice cop that came to see us we weren't going to have a good sleep. We are up at 2:45 packing all our stuff. Not even 3 hours sleep. Ssshhhhhhiiittttt! Apparently under the water towers in the states is not a good place to camp. Our plan of finding free camping obviously won't work so we will have to pay for real camp sites.

The day before "The day"

2012-07-15T22:32:00.001-04:00

This is a blog about a trip that my friend and I are taking across the states on our motorcycles.

The route is about 11,000 km. The bikes we will be riding are a 2011 Suzuki SV650 and a 2012 Ducati Monster 696. This is my first year riding a street bike and Mikes first full year on a street bike. As of right now my experience on my bike is 7200Km and i believe Mikes is just over 8000Km.

My packing list is:

- Gears Canada Rain suit/Boot covers
- Icon waterproof gloves
- 6pr Socks
- 4pr Underwear
- Sweater
- 2X T-shirt
- Shorts
- Sweat Pants
- Tent
- Sleeping Bag
- Inflatable mattress
- MSR Pocket Rocket Stove w/2 large fuel canisters
- Camping shovel
- Camping cookware/cutlery
- Tinted visor
- Snacks for the ride

The GoPro camera i ordered from amazon which was supposed to come on Monday is now coming on Wednesday so i will have to buy another one for the trip. The plan is to leave Mississauga around 12PM and see how far we get before packing it in for our first night.