This is something that I have wanted to do for close to 30 years…but with a tragedy in my family and along came marriage and kids I never was able to get to it until the last few week.
It took 11,000 miles, 21 days (actually 13 days but I spent time with friends in California, visited Ellsworth AFB for a few day and family in Kentucky) to complete.
The most enjoyable state was Colorado…US 50 and 550 (Million Dollar Highway), California was nice and Oregon coast line is unmatched.
The worst was in death valley…I rode it during the heat of the day and about burned up.
Shortest mileage was in Colorado with only 239 miles…too many things to see.
The longest was 1700 miles riding 40 hours straight…that was insane.
Top 5 states in no particular order are: Colorado, California, Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina.
I took over 700 pictures and over 300 videos from my helmet camera.
My average mileage per day was close to 800 miles.
Ozarks was nice…golden wheat fields of Kansas and Nebraska was enjoyable.
Hardest was from Rapid City SD to the Great Lakes…the wind beat me half to death.
Amish country was inspiring…although I had to watch out for horse crap in the curves.
The gulf of mexico was nice…Rockies was spectacular…saw so many sites including 4 corners, Hoover Dam, PCH, Redwoods of California and wine valley, Yellowstone Park where I was close enough to touch Bison, numerous small and large cities…the great lakes, Niagra, and so much more.
The most touching moment was in a small town that honored their fallen soldiers by displaying their pictures on banners that lined the main street…sadly too many soldiers (both men and women) were hanging from those banners…that was tough to see.
My iron horse, a 2005 FJR1300, performed flawless which was so important since I road alone. Still have a few more items in my bucket to accomplish but this was probably the most enjoyable and toughest.
Cant wait to plan the next adventure.