"training" for the ride

29 days until take off.  Tons of stuff still to do.  Whittling down the list of things to buy for the trip.  Bike locks came Wednesday. Dry bags (though it won't rain on the trip) came Thursday.  Throttle lock arrived yesterday.  Borrowed 2 books called "Road Food" and "Hamburger America".  Finding places to eat.

Today Kim and Martha are taking the MSF Experienced Rider Course (picture).  Round and round in a parking lot, thru tiny orange cones placed very close together.  Lou and I were too afraid to do it.

Wish it were time to go.

Chuck

The route

This is "sorta" the route and timing for the trip.

Nothing for sure, but it gives an idea of where we are going.  Something may catch our eye and we may stay longer, or deviate from, or just change our mind and go another way or to another place.  But there has to be a plan...right?

Chuck

Sunday          27 May          PTC to Statesville, NC                    308                 RON

Monday        28 May          S’ville to Charlottesville, VA        267                     RON

                                          Bedford D-Day museum, Appomattox

Tuesday        29                   C’ville to Ft. Wadsworth              336                 RON

Wednesday 30                     Manhattan  

Thursday      31                   Manhattan  

Friday            1  June       Ft. Wadsworth to Gettysburg    213                 RON

Lincoln Hwy is hwy 27 thru Rahway, NJ (Merchants and Drovers Tavern) & Princeton. Washington crossing to Valley Forge to Lancaster. Shoe House in Hallam, PA

Saturday       2                Gettysburg to Wooster, OH       302                 RON

Dunkle Gulf Station in Bedford (300 west pitt st,) and Lincoln Motor Court (23 miles from Bedford on 30).  Peppis  Sandwich Shop in Pittsburg (1721 Penn Ave.)

Sunday          3               Wooster to Matteson, IL             328                 RON

Monday        4                Matteson to Ames, IA                  327                 RON

Lincoln Café in Mt. Vernon, IA,  National Motorcycle Museum, 102 Chamber Dr.  Anamosa.

Tuesday        5                 Ames to Mitchell SD                      322                 RON

                                       Leave Lincoln hwy @ Dennison

Wednesday 6                      Mitchell to Ellsworth AFB, SD     270                 RON

                                          Ellsworth is north of Rapid City

                                          Depart I90 @ exit 131 to take rd. thru Badlands

                                          National Park.

                                          Visit Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse

Thursday      7                Ellsworth to Gillette, WY              216                 RON

Stop in Deadwood (Wild Bill).  44/385/85 hwy thru Black Hills National Forest to Sundance.  Visit Devil’s Tower while in route to Gillette.

Friday                         8  Gillette to Billings, MT                   234                 RON

Hwy 14/16 to Sheridan.  Exit I90 @510 to visit Custer Battlefield.  See Dan/Diane

Saturday       9                Billings to Island Park, ID             271                 RON

Exit I90 @434 to hwy 212 thru Custer National Forest to 89 thru Yellowstone to Old Faithful then 20 to I. Park.

Sunday          10              Island Park to Mtn. Home AFB  292                 RON

At Idaho Falls take 20/26 thru Craters of the Moon

Monday        11               M. Home to Winnemucca, NV   311                 RON

Tuesday        12              Winnemucca to Fallon NAS         130                 RON

Wednesday    13             Fallon to Bishop, CA                      240                 RON

National Auto Museum in Reno.  Rojo’s restaurant South Lake Tahoe (3901 Harrison Ave) on hwy 50

                                      Bishop to Beatty, NV                     170                 RON

                                      Beatty to Nellis AFB                       230                 RON

                                      Thru Death Valley, Viva Las Vegas

                                      Nellis to Fredonia, AZ                    202                 RON

                                      Thru Zion.  Cowboy Butte Grill and Steak House

                                      Fredonia to South Rim                  216                 RON

                                      South Rim to Cortez, CO              268                 RON

                                      Cortez to Alamosa, CO                 194                 RON

Great Sand Dunes

Alamosa to Santa Fe, NM             140                 RON

                                      Santa Fe to Lubbock, TX               315                 RON

                                      Lubbock to Fredericksburg         327                 RON

                                      F’burg to B’dale AFB, LA              410                 RON

                                     B’dale to Meridian NAS, MS        309                 RON

                                     Meridian to PTC                              300                 RON

Planning the trip

So, Martha says to me, "you ever heard of the Lincoln Highway'?  No, says I.  Well Lou and I are going to ride it on our motorcycles, you and Kim wanna go?  Sure, I foolishly say.  That was 8 months and $15,000 ago.  We didn't have motorcycles, Kim and I now each have one.  And we didn't have a lot of"stuff" like chaps, helmet, rain gear etc.etc. which we now do.

We leave Peachtree City 27 May and head to Times Square where the Lincoln Highway starts.

More later