phase x: 04 may 2006 - 25 may 2006




date ending city ending odometer reading [miles] daily distance [miles] total distance [miles] route comments
03 may 2006 livermore, ca 18052.3
04 may 2006 midpines, ca 18233.7 181.4 181.4 i-580
i-205
i-5
hwy-120
hwy-108
hwy-120
j-132
hwy-49
hwy-140 		tioga pass through yosemite was closed; twisting and turning hwy-49 through the moutains; vultures
05 may 2006 bakersfield, ca 18542.8 309.1 490.5 hwy-140
hwy-49
hwy-41
hwy-180
hwy-198
hwy-65
hwy-99 		saw the largest known living thing in the world: a sequoiadendron giganteum named general sherman in sequoia national park; hwy-198: switchbacks; hwy-65: long straightaway torture
06 may 2006 las vegas, nv 18947.5 404.7 895.2 hwy-99
hwy-58
hwy-14
us-395
hwy-136
hwy-190
state line road
hwy-160
i-15 		absolutely amazing day in death valley; beautiful weather; ride felt great; bought a one gallon gasoline container
07 may 2006 flagstaff, az 19334.4 386.9 1282.1 i-515
i-93
i-40
us-66
i-40
hwy-64
hwy-180 		could these days get any better? crossed the hoover dam. rode the infamous route 66. cried at the grand canyon. froze while riding to flagstaff in the dark, shadowing a minivan for fear of giant elk monsters.
08 may 2006 cortez, co 19679.5 345.1 1627.2 us-89
us-160
us-163
us-162
us-160
us-64
us-491 		free subway meal; surplus rain gear; biker recommended monument valley detour; four corners; route 666
09 may 2006 cortez, co 19684.3 4.8 1632.0 main street chilled in cortez due to the weather; local driving
10 may 2006 golden, co 20116.3 432.0 2064.0 us-160
hwy-145
hwy-62
us-550
us-50
us-285
hwy-470
us-6
hwy-93
hwy-72 		froze through many of the high altitude passes; beautiful scenery
11 may 2006 golden, co 20175.4 59.1 2123.1 local driving
12 may 2006 golden, co 20234.4 59.0 2182.1 local driving
13 may 2006 golden, co 20253.6 19.2 2201.3 local driving
14 may 2006 golden, co 20264.8 11.2 2212.5 local driving
15 may 2006 newcastle, wy 20608.4 343.6 2556.1 hwy-72
hwy-93
interlocken loop
i-25
us-85 		us-85: long, straight, and flat in wyoming. looking forward to getting into the south dakota hills.
16 may 2006 murdo, sd 20859.0 250.6 2806.7 us-16
hwy-244
hwy-44
i-90 		south dakota black hills were amazing. crazy horse is gigantic. mount rushmore much smaller but very impressive. kicking badlands scenery and then straight flat nothingness on i-90. not too thrilled about hitting the flatness.
17 may 2006 brookings, sd 21201.6 342.6 3149.3 i-90
us-83
hwy-34
hwy-50
hwy-25
us-14 		this was the most challenging day of this leg. as expected, i've run into very flat terrain, but the most challenging aspect to deal with has been the wind. the wind is fierce enough to push the bike all over the road and the sound in the helmet is extremely aggravating. hit the laura ingalls wilder house.
18 may 2006 lacrosse, wi 21549.3 347.7 3497.0 us-14
hwy-60
hwy-3
hwy-50
us-61
us-53 		rode the width of minnesota. overcast and chilly day. never quite settled in. rand mcnally's scenic route along the mississippi wasn't so scenic.
19 may 2006 elkhart, in 21947.4 398.1 3895.1 i-90 i'm out of siteseeing mode and into ass hauling mode. hit some major construction around chicago. should reach pa tomorrow.
20 may 2006 oil city, pa 22351.0 403.6 4298.7 i-90
i-80
hwy-8
us-62 		still hauling ass. settled into a nice rhythm today and made it into northwestern pa... a part of the state i've never visited before today. i think i could have made it down to ligonier, but there's a certain stretch of road that i want to ride tomorrow morning. i'll get some pics. plan to arrive in boston on thursday.
21 may 2006 latrobe, pa 22561.5 210.5 4509.2 us-62
hwy-666
hwy-66
hwy-66 alt
hwy-22
hwy-981 		problems today. the bike wouldn't start in the morning; i could only get it running by jump starting it. rode the infamous highway 666; mission accomplished. the bike eventually died in latrobe, 15 miles from the gro vehicular operations base in ligonier.
22 may 2006 ligonier, pa 22644.7 83.2 4592.4 local driving on route 30 the gro vehicular operations team has determined that it was a loose battery wire. we've tightened down the wire and the battery appears to be charging now. leaving for boston wednesday with an eta of thursday afternoon.
23 may 2006 ligonier, pa 22644.7 0.0 4592.4
24 may 2006 scranton, pa 22903.7 259.0 4851.4 hwy-30
hwy-711
hwy-22
i-99
us-220
i-80
i-81 		rode a familiar route to new england. helmet shield flew off on us-220 and a truck ran it over; need new shield. arrival in boston tomorrow.
25 may 2006 boston, ma 23202.6 298.9 5150.3 i-81
i-84
i-90 		well, the cause of the earlier battery drain has not been resolved. died on i-84 and had to be towed to a garage. with a recharged battery i was able to make it the rest of the way to boston only to die again right off of the masspike. sarah picked me up and i'm BACK.


phase i: 05 april 2005 - 11 may 2005 : united kingdom and ireland
phase ii: 11 may 2005 - 15 june 2005 : france, spain, germany
phase ii.5: 15 june 2005 - 22 june 2005 : usa, north carolina : return to the states for my sister's wedding
phase iii: 23 june 2005 - 08 august 2005 : germany, denmark, norway, sweden, czech republic, hungary
phase iv: 08 august 2005 - 20 september 2005 : czech republic
phase v: 20 september 2005 - 26 october 2005 : poland, italy, switzerland, the netherlands, united kingdom
phase vi: 26 october 2005 - 10 december 2005 : india
phase vii: 10 december 2005 - 15 february 2006 : thailand, laos, vietnam, cambodia
phase viii: 16 february 2006 - 05 april 2006 : new zealand
phase ix: 05 april 2006 - 04 may 2006 : united states of america
phase x: 04 may 2006 - 25 may 2006 : united states of america coast to coast motorcycle trip