Our 2018 Cross Country Spyder Adventure

[DGoebel]

Well, please pray for us, tomorrow Jerry ('12 RTS) and I head out for our warmup Iron Butt multi-day training run...
Pines to Palms, Angle Inlet, MN to Key West Fl (in <60 hrs or <48 hrs). Then sightseeing road tripping, vacation traveling after to get back home.
Saturday starts with a few hundred miles up to Roseau, MN for a nights rest, up and out at 3AMish Sunday to head through Canadian customs and up to Angle Inlet, pics at dawn to start our P2P run, back south through MN, IA, MO, and stop at Paducah KY for some zzzzz's. Up Monday AM early to head through TN, AL, and on down to the finish at Key West.
That's our first cross country (north to south) this year. Then we relax and vaca our way back. We'll wave to all our SL friends if/when we pass by.

Following a Key West rest day we head back up through SC and stopping in GA for rest. Up early and off to Tellico Plains, TN and the southern terminus of the Cherohala Skyway, up to the TotD, and up through the Devils Triangle, Rocky Top and up to Cincinnati for a rendezvous with our wives.
Then we go back into KY and see the Ark Encounter, Creation Museum, and back up to Dayton to the National Museum of the USAF.
That should be enough for a week and then we'll leisurely 3 or 4 day return back to MN.
We've packed our rain gear, serviced our bikes, and made some reservations that should help us relax where we can.
#22 on the map is our start and finish.

I forgot to add this in the initial post.

IF you're interested in following along, we're using the Spotwalla site to share realtime trip info.
The link to the public map starting after noon Saturday the 23rd is

https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php...=0&showAll=yes

[SpyderAnn01]

Safe travels! That sounds like quite the adventure.

[DGoebel]

Thanks Ann, that's a long weekend for you and Joe eh?

[ARtraveler]

Lots of pictures please.

[Kredab]

Safe travels, where are you going through Iowa ? Sounds awesome

[Pallidus Aranea]

Enjoy the trip and take in as many memories / pictures as you can. When I was reading you trip plans I was thinking that you planned the trip the only way I could make it ... with Dayton, OH and the Museum of the USAF at the end. I have literally planned a week long trip to the museum. Aircraft are my real love and that's a great collection.

[SpyderAnn01]

Thanks Ann, that's a long weekend for you and Joe eh?

If you’re running the interstates then, yes that sounds like something we’d do. While you’re in FL maybe you can find the one curvy road in the state (located near Ozello in Citrus County) Because after A1A through the Keys you’ll need some curves.

Is this a guys trip?

[pegasus1300]

Happy TRAils to you.

[DGoebel]

Wow, I can remember back in the 80's when I was planning a CC trip on my KZ650, I had to remember to get extra cash from the bank and ... yep ready.

Now, spare glasses, check, prescriptions, check, sunscreen and lib balm, check, photos of wallet contents, check, AMA card (for Roadside assistance), check, waypoints and favorites plotted in the GPS, check, Emergency contact info to share with riding partner, check, tire pressures, check, spare qt of oil for the 998, check, oil and filter change with sample to Blackstone Labs, check, Passport for CA crossing, check, ..... and get everything charged up.... check

[DGoebel]

If you’re running the interstates then, yes that sounds like something we’d do. While you’re in FL maybe you can find the one curvy road in the state (located near Ozello in Citrus County) Because after A1A through the Keys you’ll need some curves.

Is this a guys trip?

Ann, the first few days of IBA Pines to Palms, and our really curvy days in the Cherohala Skyway, TotD, and DT is just us two guys. Wives will fly to Cincinnati, where we'll pick them up for the Ark and museums and relaxing travel days home.

Since we're working on a safest, fastest P2P (<2days) and casually coming back though 3 major curvy sections in NE GA, SC, TN, NC we figure they will make up for the LD interstate straight riding days.
This is the morning of our day 6 planned route. Leaving from Cleveland, GA, through SC to TN, back to NC, back to TN and up to KY.

[trikermutha]

Lots of rain in the areas you are traveling.(Southern) Hope it all works out and have fun!!

I like to do more of that too when I get more free time.

[DGoebel]

Well, our Big trip is over, we're home, we survived 4,800 miles in 10 days, rode through monsoons and lots of beautiful country.
And we spent 3 days in museum's with little mileage on those days. So we're safe and sound (well that's questionable).
Unfortunately, I had back to back nights of insomnia the night before we started from up north, and our first (unplanned) rest stop.
We did ride up 400 miles to our pre start staging point no problems, some rain, but we dried out pretty fast. Tried to rest at a motel in Roseau MN with plans to leave at 3 AM to make the Angle Inlet at dawn. Couldn't sleep a wink, my riding partner was asleep in three breaths..... We head out only to discover the border crossing we intended to use (just north of Roseau) is only open 8AM to ... we're 20 minutes from there at 3:10 am, detour through Warroad, MN, border crossing open 24/7.
As we approach Moose Lake in Manitoba heading to the Northwest Angle, the pavement ends, and we ride 27 miles of dirt roads into the NW Angle, to Prothero's Post Resort landing(northernmost driveable point our Spyders could get to), then south a bit to the Northernmost marker buoy at Jerry's where we got this pic.

See, I'm already getting a bit cross eyed.....

[DGoebel]

So we leave and (Oh, by the way) we have to go back through customs at the northwest angle customs control booth. head back out 24 miles of dirt road which the Spyders handled well. Back through US customs and now we're heading south, the scenic curve around HUGE thunderstorms coming our way. 7 hours of riding just to get back where we started from.
So we left at 1 on Sat the 23, and at 4:30 Friday afternoon we'd rode for 18 hours of saddle time, AND I hadn't slept a wink.
This stop had been planned as a drop our passports off at home, smooch the wife, and take off south. I WAS Exhausted as I hadn't slept since Fri night to Sat morning, I had been awake since 8 am Sat and it was 4:30 in the afternoon Sunday.
So we start with planning only a 4 hour break. Still couldn't sleep, then we stretched that to a 12 hour break with a planned departure for Key West at 5 AM Monday morning.
Still couldn't sleep... Argh, I was cleaning my spyder and checking oil at 3 AM.....

More to follow.

[ARtraveler]

An interesting trip that even most Minnesotans do not make. I lived there over 20 years. Did some walleye fishing on Lake of the Woods, but never made it to the Angle.

[DGoebel]

This trip was just our "warm-up" for our future planned NTA. We did (we hope) complete an IBA Bun-Burner 1,500 miles in 36 hrs, and looking at a Great Lakes 100 (80 hour version) in July.

[DGoebel]

So after 900 or so miles (sans sleep) we depart FBO again at 5 AM Monday morning heading to Key West (picking up as many southern states as we can on the way, SOOO we drive 34 hours with no stops longer than fuel, meals and a few 10 or 20 minute naps (Where I did sleep).
Alas we were watching our countdown timer (now for the 60 hour P2P) and our time to destination and realized that we weren't going to make it and my getting a good night's sleep was more important than the certification was. Did I mention how HOT Florida was? We crossed the Alabama Florida border at about 3 AM, and only made it to Fort Meyers by 2 PM and I was toast.
Did for the first time sleep ON the Spyder All the Gear on, helmet even, just stretched out closed my eyes and napped.
Best darned bike I've ever rode 1700 miles in in 34 hours on....

[DGoebel]

Day 5 we get up to head back north, wanted to swing through S. Carolina on the way to Cleveland, Georgia where we planned a nights sleep. By now we've determined that one of the bikes is only getting about 140 miles a tank, we are stopping more often for fuel than we anticipated, I've easily gotten 180 a tank. We abandon the S. Carolina loop we intended and just head as directly as possible avoiding Atlanta.
We're headed into Cleveland by back roads quaint little road called Apple Pie Ridge Road, and it's raining, and dark, and I'm driving too fast for road and road conditions and just launched the Spyder off some railroad tracks! Airborne all the way! The landing was brutal, hard enough to knock both my mirrors off their magnetic Magic Mirrors (Tether-free) AND Once I can bring it to a stop, both mirrors dangling from the turn-signal wiring, stopped, jumped off the Spyder (ahhh Adrenaline) and popped the mirrors back on.
A short drive to the Cleveland motel that left much to be desired, but I slept!

Only 650 miles and 10. hrs in the saddle.