We had talked about it since we were teenagers. And I suppose that like many people, we could have gotten to the end of our lives and looked back one day and said to ourselves, "Wouldn't it have been great to ride motorcycles across the United States?"

I'd actually already ridden across several times, including my participation in the 1999 Iron Butt Rally. But I'd always gone alone before and I knew Dallas really wanted to ride across. Since we'd grown up together and our riding styles are similar, it only made sense. But we just kept talking about it.

Then September 11th happened. The day that changed our modern world forever. And soon after, as I was feeling more patriotic than ever, I called Dallas and said, "We're going to do it. We're going to ride across the US!"

"When are we going to do that," he asked.

"July 4th," I replied. I really hadn't thought that far ahead but he asked the question and that seemed like the most natural answer at the time. "Go ahead and ask off for 10 days next year starting on July 4th and get your bike ready. We're doing this !"

We both had Kawasaki Concours' at the time. I took mine to the local dealership and asked them to go all the way through it. Brakes, tires, wheel bearings, tune-up, valve adjustment, everything.

Dallas bought a nearly new Honda Goldwing. And then we were ready.

I rode over to Dallas' house (Garner, North Carolina) on the morning of July 4th, 2002, arriving around 6:00am. I thought he might be a little slow getting ready since he had assisted in his town's fireworks display the night before and arrived home well after midnight. I was prepared to make today a light day of travel. But Dallas surprised me. He was packed and ready to go.

His family (who had recently explored Alaska by RV) came out into the driveway, took some photos and wished us both well. They were fully aware of what we were about to do and I think they wanted to come along.

We pulled out of his driveway and went immediately to I-40 and filled the tanks (I like to keep records of my trips - fuel and time logs). We bought our first fuel at 6:52am on July 4th. My odometer read 24438.4 miles.

We had lunch that day in Ashland, KY at a Wendy's around 1:15pm. The local bank's sign showed that it was already over 100 degrees. The parking lot had fresh black pavement so I put the Concours on the centerstand. By the time we were finished, the motorcycle had sunk far enough into the parking lot that both tires were touching the ground. I had to ride it off the centerstand to get moving. Man, it was hot inside that Aerostich and full faced helmet.

   

We made it all the way to Evansville, IN that day before getting a hotel room. We unloaded the bikes and found a local store for some beer to drink in the parking lot while we watched Independence Day fireworks over the Peterbuilt Truck dealership across the road.

Total mileage for day one: 703.5 miles.

We were up and checking out of our hotel the next morning around 6:00am again. Dallas said he felt rested and wanted to get some real miles done. He suggested we try for a Saddlesore 1000 (an Iron Butt Association ride that requires the rider to ride at least 1000 miles in less than 24 hours). I liked his suggestion.

We filled our tanks and headed toward St. Louis. Arriving around 8:30am, we found lots of road construction and traffic. We worked our way around town and finally stopped for fuel again in Lake St. Louis at 9:23am. And just like the day before, it was getting very hot.

We rode over to Kansas City on I-70 and took I-29 North from there to Sioux Falls, SD before turning West on I-90.

We stayed on the bikes all day, stopping only for a quick bite to eat at McDonalds. At 6:22pm, we pulled into Jefferson, South Dakota once again for fuel. Jefferson is a small rural town off the beaten path, but so is every town in South Dakota. As we were filling the tanks, a couple of guys pulled up in a truck for gas. We asked them where the good food was in town and as they were giving us directions, a couple rode up on bicycles and agreed with their choice. I personally think it was the "only" restaurant in town. But we were trying to make 1000 miles and we were still 282 miles short at that point. So I suggested we get back to I-90 and eat some miles instead.

As it was getting dark, we stopped for a sandwich at a truckstop in Salem, SD. I took the atlas inside to gauge how much farther we'd need to go in order to qualify for a Saddlesore 1000. To be safe, I decided that we should get as close to Badlands National Park as possible.

We arrived in the small town of Kadoka, SD around 12:30am and began to look for a room. All the motels were family owned and most had No Vacancy signs posted. And all of the motels were closed up for the night and the lights were off. We found a little gem of a place called the West Motel and decided to try and wake the owner for a room. It was either that, or get back on the highway and ride to Rapid City.

I knocked on the door as another couple got out of their car and said they were also looking for a room. "Well, let's see what happens." A dog began to bark ... and bark ... and bark. Finally, after knocking a couple of times, an older man (looked to be in his 60s) came to the door in his boxers and no shirt. He asked if I was looking for a room and I replied "yes and please." He let us in and rented two of his last rooms to us. The couple had just flown in from California and rented a car and drove until they were tired. Just like us, they ended up in Kadoka. They were just out exploring America.

Dallas and I had picked up a couple of six packs earlier (since he was carrying a cooler on his giant motorcycle), so we unloaded the bikes and cracked open a couple. We had ridden a Saddlesore 1000. Man, that beer tasted good.

Total mileage for day two: 1055.6 miles

I have to tell you, it feels good to wake up on day three of a 10-day trip across the United States, and you're already on the western side of South Dakota. We decided it was time to slow down a bit and enjoy some of the sites.

So we checked out and headed straight for Badlands National Park (after a hearty breakfast at a nearby truckstop, of course).

We rode slowly through the Park, stopping to climb out on the ridges and take some photos. At some point, we took a dirt road that wasn't on the park map (or my GPS). In about 10-15 minutes, we came upon a large group of free range Buffalo. What a sight.

Once past the Buffalo herd, we pulled over to watch them from a distance. That's where we discovered the Prairie Dogs. Everywhere. Jumping up out of their holes and chirping at us. Dallas tried to hand feed one but they kept running away. I took more photos and we continued on the dirt road. Eventually, we came out near the town of Scenic, SD. It looked like an old west movie set. I mailed my wife a postcard and we headed toward Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore.

We arrived at our President's monument around 1:00pm. I watched the bikes while Dallas hiked to the base and collected a rock. After a few more photos, we rode back into Rapid City for fuel, onto Sturgis for a photo and lunch and then onto Wyoming.

It was about 6:30pm when we arrived in Sheridan, WY. I-90 was a windy ride so we were going to call it a day. Again, most of the rooms were full and the available rooms were priced a little high for me. So I suggested we head for Billings, MT instead. We bought fuel and beer (for the cooler) and got back onto I-90. But while we were waiting, we were presented with a horse drawn wedding carriage. Bride, groom and the guests !

Within a half hour, we came alongside one of the darkest storm clouds I'd ever seen. The highway turned and twisted as the clouds moved in front of us and all around us. We braced ourselves for the worst. And suddenly, the road went up over a pass and into the clear. We had dodged the storm.

As we came upon the Montana state line, I pulled over and offered to take a photo of Dallas. More than anything else on this trip, Dallas said he had always wanted to see Montana. So I thought he should have a photo crossing the line. So there we were, stopped on the side of I-90 taking photos of the "Welcome to Montana" sign. There wasn't another car in sight.

By the time we arrived in Billings, we were tired. And once again, we found most of the hotels to be filled. The rain was catching up with us as we pulled into a parking lot of a hotel (with No Vacancy) on the sign but I decided to go ask anyway (for a quick break if nothing else). The clerk assured me they were indeed full. A Jehovah's Witness gathering of some sort. As I was standing at the desk, a couple came down and demanded another room, stating their phone was out of order. I smiled and said I'd gladly take that room. I'd use my cell if I needed a phone. She rented me the double room at a reasonable discount and we loaded in.

The rain passed quickly so we had cheeseburgers from Burger King with our beer in the parking lot.

Total mileage for day three: 566.8 miles

We needed to ride about that same amount of miles on day four to stay on schedule. I thought Spokane WA would be a good goal for the day so off we rode. The countryside in this part of the country is truly amazing. The wide open spaces of Montana. The northern Rocky Mountains of Montana and Idaho. The lake as you're coming down from the mountains in Coeur d' Alene. The lush green forests in Washington State. This is what riding across America is all about.

We rented a room at the Motel 6 in Spokane just after 6:00pm. My wife was born in Spokane.  And being the sentimental fool that I am, I sent her a postcard from the motel.

As we were unloading the bikes again, we met a husband/wife truck driving team in the parking lot. They were waiting for a load to take back East. It was like they were old friends. We talked at length in the parking lot before splitting for dinner.

There was a steakhouse in spitting distance so we walked over around 8:00pm. Plenty of folks eating inside but the door was locked. They closed at 8:00?? So we kept walking ... for a while. Under a bridge, over some railroad tracks and across and busy road several blocks from our motel. We finally found a small Chinese Restaurant in a strip mall with no customers. But we ate there anyway. It was great. Afterwards, we walked back to the room and planned the next day. Our easiest planned day of the entire trip.

Total mileage on day four: 667 miles.

Day five took us to Cicely, Alaska (Roslyn WA actually). Dallas and I are both Northern Exposure fans. So early in our planning, we'd decided we would spend one day of our trip in Roslyn, WA.

(photo tour of this day at cicelyalaska.com)

I had arranged for a room in a building above the Village Pizza (a place called Harry's Inn). There are no motel chains in Roslyn so I was careful to get as much info as possible. I even paid in advance to make sure the room was waiting for us.

We arrived in Roslyn around lunchtime and I called the innkeeper. She was nowhere to be found so we decided to eat lunch at the Roslyn Cafe. Afterwards, I made more phone calls back home and we walked around downtown, checking out all the locations for the TV show. The innkeeper called me back a couple of hours later and told me she was having someone put a second bed in the room. So we walked over and loaded in.

A girl from Connecticut and her dog were staying in the room next to us (Kate) and were also on a cross-country trek. They were going to Alaska. The real Alaska. She was a big fan of the show too so we asked her to join us for a beer at The Brick (sounds like we drank a lot of beer on this trip, doesn't it). She declined saying she had already spent enough time there and was going to watch a movie instead. Once there, we met another traveling show fan (Lisa) and her brother. They camped out where "Chris' (In The Morning)" camper was set up (on the show).

While having a beer, some local guy walked in and asked us if we were the guys traveling through town on motorcycles? I said yes and he told me my motorcycle alarm was sounding off in the alley behind the Village Pizza. So I walked over and turned it off. Small town, huh?

We stayed at The Brick until closing time and then walked back to our room over the Village Pizza. I opened the window for some fresh air and went to sleep. Around 3:00am, I woke up freezing so I turned on the heat and went back to sleep. Temperatures were all over the place on this trip. From 100+ during the days to the 40s at night in Washington.

Total mileage for day five: 208 miles, plus a few more walking around Roslyn.

The next morning, we slept in and walked a few blocks to eat breakfast in a local diner. We finally left Roslyn around 9:30am on our way to meet old friend and Moron(tm) Ron Smith at a preselected truck weigh station, where Hwy 18 meets I-5 on the eastern side of Seattle.

 

After meeting up with Ron, he led us around Seattle and out toward the coast where he treated Dallas and myself to lunch at another small town diner in McCleary (I think).

After lunch, he turned back toward home and we rode onto the coast, traveling down Hwy. 101. Around 2:00pm, we rode into Ft. Canby State Park and collected some west coast sand for the heck of it. Not long after that, we crossed the Bridge to Astoria. You just have to see that one for yourself.

We continued down Hwy 101 to Tillamook, OR. The view was incredible as we passed high above the ocean and the giant boulders in the sea.

At Tillamook, we turned back toward Portland and it dawned on us that we were halfway through our quest. On one hand, it was exciting to have accomplished one way of the cross-country trip. On the other hand, it was a little depressing to already be heading home.

We made it to Portland around rush hour and decided to push on and get a room on the eastern side of town. We finally stopped to get a room in The Dalles, OR after dark and a few too many deer on the side of the highway. Yes, it was again time for a beer.

Total mileage for day six: 495 very scenic miles.

The casual days had come to an end and it was once again time to eat some miles. We set our sights on Salt Lake City for the day and headed that way. We took I-84 across Oregon alongside the beautiful Columbia River and connected to I-15 South in Utah.

This was to be the hottest of all our days on the trip. According to Dallas, the gauge on the Goldwing was reading 115 degrees during the hottest part of the day.

Dehydrated and tired, we checked into another Motel 6 in Provo, UT. The night air felt much better than the day so we hung out in the parking lot a little. There was quite a bit of activity and we talked to a few people passing by. A motorcycle is always a good ice-breaker.

Around 11pm, a girl who had been wandering around for a while decided to ask us for a beer and some cigarettes. She was pushing a young kid in a stroller and decided that I needed to know all about her three marriages (by age 27) and five kids (the rest of whom were sleeping in a room nearby). She told me her last husband had sued her on the Judge Joe Brown show over some bunk beds. And that appearing on that show was the only time she had ever left Utah. I gave her more cigarettes to go away and went to the room to sleep. What a character.

Total mileage for day seven: 757 miles.

The next day, we took US Hwy 6 as a shortcut back to I-70 and headed toward Colorado. Most of day eight was spent riding through the Colorado Rockies and into Kansas. The Concours National Rally was going on in Montrose and I had originally hoped to stopover for a night.  But we needed to stay on schedule to get home for work on Monday. Colorado is a spectacular place to ride.  

We stopped in Goodland KS for a room.

Total mileage for day eight: 701 miles.

Day nine. It's hot and the best part of the adventure is behind us. We're riding in familiar territory now and our only goal is to return home safely.

Riding through Kansas City, I realize that I have no peripheral vision on my right hand side. It became quickly evident that I was having a migraine headache. I'd had two before so I knew what it was. Normally, I would have pulled over for 30 minutes or so until the blind spots went away, but the traffic was very thick and moving at a snail's pace. Dallas took the lead and I stayed close behind. Eventually, my sight came back and we stopped in Oak Grove, MO for steak buffet at a truck stop.

We rode onto Mt. Vernon, IL that night before getting a room in a motel (with the hottest disco in Mt. Vernon). But I was too tired to dance so again, we had a couple of beers and slept.

Total mileage for day nine: 678.6 miles.

Day 10. I could almost smell home. We were about 785 miles from Raleigh and the goal was to make it home. Should just be a typical day for us after the miles we'd put in on this trip. But it wasn't meant to be.

From Mt. Vernon, we took I-57 South and then onto I-24 into Nashville, TN. Around the time we rode into Nashville, it began to rain. Harder as we rode. And harder still. From Nashville, we joined I-40 East.

We stopped for fuel in Clarksville TN around noon. We decided to press on toward home. We stopped again for fuel in Rockwood, TN and still decided to press on. But the rain was not going away.

At times, the rain intensified - becoming unbearable at times. I have a Rifle Windshield on my Concours which I like except for when it rains. The vent allows water droplets to collect on the backside of the windshield as well as the front. So after a while of looking through water on my faceshield and both sides of my windshield, I just couldn't see anymore. The rain became so heavy that many cars were pulling over so I left the interstate in search of a gas station in Sevierville, TN.

Dallas pulled in behind me and we parked the bikes under the shelter. I intended to give the rain some time to let up but I was too keyed up and angry about not being able to see in the rain anymore (my windshield is too tall to look over so I spent a good deal of time looking around it).

After a half hour of watching the rain pour all around us, I suggested getting a room and so we did. I had made up my mind earlier that day to ride all the way home and I didn't like stopping so early but I knew it was safer than continuing. So we ate at the Wendy's in the motel parking lot and stayed around the motel for the evening, talking about the trip and what we had done. Tomorrow, we would be home for sure. We had ridden across America.

click the image above for full size

Total mileage for day ten: about a measly 440 miles.

The ride home from Sevierville was uneventful. Cloudy but not raining. Soon after departing Sevierville, we rode into our beautiful North Carolina mountains and continued on I-40 all the way home.

We stopped a few times for fuel on that final day. The mood (for me anyway) was quiet. To me, the best part of any adventure is the journey. Arriving at your final destination just means that the trip is over. I didn't want it to end but it did. It always does. Dallas and I had ridden both ways across these United States in 11 days. It was a great trip and one I hope to repeat, again and again. And because I live in these United States, and because I am an American, I can.

Total mileage on the last day: 345 miles

Total mileage for the 11 days:  6617. 5 miles

Herbie Saint