48 States in 27 Days at Age 84

[Calimusjohn]

Day 24

It’s still summer in Kansas. An occasional tree displayed slight color changes promising that fall would arrive soon.
The highway heading northeast from Boise City was empty of traffic, wide, flat, straight, and smooth. The speed limit signs read “65.” I thought it was a suggestion only.
Every ten to fifteen miles, a named community huddled around the bases of huge grain elevators positioned beside railroad spurs. Between each town, I passed fields of corn, wheat, and sunflowers that stretched from horizon to horizon.
I stopped for breakfast in Elkhart. As I entered the café, men wearing John Deere caps turned and checked me out. The waitress called, “Come on in former stranger. Who are ya? Where ya been and where ya goin’?” I peeled my helmet off and heard a guy say, “Damn. He’s older than dirt.” I felt at home.
Today’s ride featured another Kansas resource. Wind. There are thousands of wind towers attempting to harness the wind. They don’t even make it pause. On Broadway, they called the wind, “Mariah” - I called it, “expletive deleted”! I fought the blustery bitch and lost. She blew me and semi-trucks off our chosen path with each gust of wind approaching forty mph. After battling for eight hours, I gave up and stopped in Manhattan, Kansas.
Expenses:
Breakfast: $ 15.00 biscuits & gravy, eggs, bacon, coffee
Lunch: $ 0.00 Skipped, making miles
Dinner: $ 11.45 KFC
Misc: $ 0.00
Gas: $ 31.25
Motel: $ 79.32 Super 8, Manhattan, Kansas
Day’s Cost: $ 137.02 Trip Total: $4,166.61
Day’s miles: 390 Trip Total: 7,649

[Calimusjohn]

Here is a link (I hope) to a Knoxville TV station coverage of my trek.

WVLT
https://www.wvlt.tv/2023/11/08/84-year-old-takes...
84-year-old takes trip on motorcycle to all 48 mainland states
Web · 2 days ago · 84-year-old takes trip on motorcycle to all 48 mainland states John Mander took 27 days to travel more than 9,000 miles · By Jared Austin Published: Nov. 7, 2023 at …

Well, Drat! So much for the quick link. Anyway, they determined that I am "quirky" in my choices of "what to see" places.

[Partzman23]

His link will work. Click on link, at top of news page right hand side there is a search icon, click on it and enter- 84 year -
the video will pop up to watch. I watched it. Thanks John for the link.

[JohnRuckus]

I'm an 84-year-old ADV relic and just completed a 9,391-mile ride on my 2022 Sea to Sky that touched all 48 states. If readers are curious, I will submit a day-to-day ride report. I cover routes, weather, costs, and observations. Is anyone interested?
John

That's Cool!
Now to touch the other 2

[JohnRuckus]

His link will work. Click on link, at top of news page right hand side there is a search icon, click on it and enter- 84 year -
the video will pop up to watch. I watched it. Thanks John for the link.

or you can just add it here:

https://www.wvlt.tv/video/2023/11/07...trip-lifetime/

[BamaJohn]

Day 24

It’s still summer in Kansas. An occasional tree displayed slight color changes promising that fall would arrive soon.
The highway heading northeast from Boise City was empty of traffic, wide, flat, straight, and smooth. The speed limit signs read “65.” I thought it was a suggestion only.
Every ten to fifteen miles, a named community huddled around the bases of huge grain elevators positioned beside railroad spurs. Between each town, I passed fields of corn, wheat, and sunflowers that stretched from horizon to horizon.
I stopped for breakfast in Elkhart. As I entered the café, men wearing John Deere caps turned and checked me out. The waitress called, “Come on in former stranger. Who are ya? Where ya been and where ya goin’?” I peeled my helmet off and heard a guy say, “Damn. He’s older than dirt.” I felt at home.
Today’s ride featured another Kansas resource. Wind. There are thousands of wind towers attempting to harness the wind. They don’t even make it pause. On Broadway, they called the wind, “Mariah” - I called it, “expletive deleted”! I fought the blustery bitch and lost. She blew me and semi-trucks off our chosen path with each gust of wind approaching forty mph. After battling for eight hours, I gave up and stopped in Manhattan, Kansas.
Expenses:
Breakfast: $ 15.00 biscuits & gravy, eggs, bacon, coffee
Lunch: $ 0.00 Skipped, making miles
Dinner: $ 11.45 KFC
Misc: $ 0.00
Gas: $ 31.25
Motel: $ 79.32 Super 8, Manhattan, Kansas
Day’s Cost: $ 137.02 Trip Total: $4,166.61
Day’s miles: 390 Trip Total: 7,649

Funny...I called Kansas wind the same thing in July....loving your commentary!

[baxter]

Like your advice - "get off the couch and follow your dreams". Did the 49 states by motorcycle some years ago (not at one time like you) and heading to Hawaii to get that 50th.

[Calimusjohn]

Thanks for the help with the link. I'm a Luddite when it comes to iPhones and swapping info. I've done the 49 states, also. I made it as far north as Colfoot. Hit a blizzard. Turned south and went to Cabo San Lucas to thaw out. I thought about doing Hawaii but decided the first 1/4 mile heading west from San Francisco would do me in.
Day 25

The Manhattan Kansas, weather folks forecast, “Twenty-five mph winds with gusts above forty.” They nailed it. They left out the black, swirling clouds threatening me as I headed north on Highway 99.
Kansas took its allocated number of hills and planted them in the northeast corner of the state. Highway 99 crosses most of them. It’s like riding the world’s longest roller coaster. The road is straight but never level. It swoops and soars over the hundreds of hills. Cattle hunkered down in the valleys avoiding the whistling wind on the ridges.
I poked my nose into Nebraska on the outskirts of Summerfield, Kansas. My nose was cold. I stopped and donned all my cold-weather riding gear. With a small jog to the east, I turned south toward warmer climes.
Missouri welcomed me with blue skies and wind gusts peaking at a mere thirty-five mph. Missouri is green. Green trees. Green grass. Green houses. Green vehicles. Green road signs.
Green people. Well, I thought so, until I realized the green aliens were part of a Halloween display. The display was in Peculiar, Missouri. Appropriate!
Expenses:
Breakfast: $ 0.00 Motel fare, waffle, yogurt, orange juice
Lunch: $ 14.00 Grilled cheese sand. & soup, Peculiar, MO
Dinner: $ 30.00 T-bone, taters, mixed veggies, tea
Misc: $ 0.00
Gas: $ 72.75 Gas under $4.00 per gallon!
Motel: $ 71.80 Super 8 Joplin, MO
Day’s Cost: $188.55 Trip Total: $4,355.16
Day’s miles: 395 Trip Total: 7,944

[baxter]

I did make it to the Arctic Circle sign just south of Coldfoot. Was on a new Harley at that time and did not want to beat it up more by going to the end of the Haul Road. You know how "nice" that road is... I was going through South Dakota a couple of years and the crosswinds were over 50 mph. Talk about keeping in your lane! Remember several years ago the national news was about the winds in Salt Lake blowing semis off the road. Guess who was coming through that area? Yep, me and a friend of mine who was on a gold wing and we had to pull off because he could not keep it on the road. Past many trucks on their side. We waited for about 45 minutes then bit the bullet and took off. Three wheels were much better than two except when I thought my windscreen would snap off.

[blacklightning]

All I can say is, “you are an amazing inspiration to us all”
I am so looking forward to your trip each day when I log on here. God’s willing, 2025 will be my year to do something similar

[Calimusjohn]

I'm pretty sure God is willing to help those who . . . etc.
Day 26

At 4:23 a.m. a brilliant bright light followed by an explosion woke me. I threw my hands up believing that a S.W.A.T. team had inadvertently entered my room. I sat up and another flash of light and a thunderous boom hammered my eyes and ears. Lightning!
Rumbling thunder sounded suspiciously like God laughing at my discombobulation.
On the road, rain fell from clouds hovering 300 feet above my head. Visibility was “best guess.” I tucked in behind a semi-truck and hoped it was heading toward my destination. Monsoon rains drenched me for the first 100 miles. It only drizzled for the next 75. I still had a crosswind to deal with, a paltry 15 to 25 mph. The weather improved after passing Little Rock. The vegetation had no clue that fall colors are de rigueur.
Trucks carrying huge pink or yellow wrapped bales left shreds of cotton in their wake. The bales are rolls eight feet wide and eight feet in diameter. The song lyric―tote that barge, lift that bale―is now impossible. A single bale weighs 6,000 pounds.
My route tickled a corner of Louisiana, turned east and crossed the Mississippi River into Vicksburg. I checked out two mom-and-pop motels. They had been heavily damaged in the Civil War and have not been well maintained since. I located a Best Western and considered myself lucky. They had two rooms still available.
Expenses:
Breakfast: $ 0.00 Motel fare. Yogurt. The waffle mix was missing.
Lunch: $ 10.10 Subway sandwich & coffee
Dinner: $ 25.00 St. Louis style Bar-b-que ribs, beans, salad, tea
Misc: $ 0.00
Gas: $ 45.40
Motel: $131.00 Best Western. Vicksburg, Mississippi
Day’s Cost: $211.50 Trip Total: $ 4,566.66
Day’s miles: 497 (It felt like more!) Trip Total: 8,441

[Calimusjohn]

Day 27

Start of day: clear skies, 60-degree air, dry pavement, little traffic. Leaving Vicksburg and heading east toward Jackson revealed that the rising sun is blinding as it swelled above the horizon. I soon turned south and could see, again. I saw trees. Lots of trees. In fact, I could only see the trees that bordered both sides of the highway all the way to Mobile, Alabama.
I saw no signs of agriculture. Based on my limited observations, I concluded the local people only eat pine nuts, acorns, and roadkill. Hmm maybe they Uber order.
Mother Nature is a tease. The day started beautifully. The temperature slowly increased into the seventies, then plunged to fifty. The sky clouded over, looked angry for an hour, then cleared up. I added and subtracted clothing all day.
I zigged off I-65 east of Mobile and tip-toed my way into Florida. With a toe tap, I crossed off visiting my forty-fifth state on this single tour.
At Auburn, Alabama, my body screamed, “STOP!”
Expenses:
Breakfast: $ 0.00 Motel fare. Eggs, sausage, biscuit & gravy, juice
Lunch: $ 21.00 Catfish, hush puppies, fries, heartburn
Dinner: $ 22.00 Loaded baked potato, salad, tea
Misc: $ 6.50 Room tax for yesterday’s motel.
Gas: $ 54.30 Regular below $3.00 per gallon
Motel: $126.00 $160 quoted. I walked out. “WAIT! I HAVE SPECIAL!”
Day’s Cost: $226.80 Trip Total: $4,793.46
Day’s miles: 465 Trip Total: 8,906

[Calimusjohn]

Day 28
The twenty-eighth day on the 48-state tour began under an overcast sky and 54-degree air. I walked past the motel’s breakfast bar’s waffle, all the way to my motorcycle. A hundred miles down the road, I stopped at a Cracker Barrel restaurant and ordered a “Grandpa’s Special.” Forty minutes later, it arrived. I devoured three eggs, steak tips, fried apples, tomato slices, biscuits and gravy, and drank three cups of coffee. My food locker bulged.
The designers. engineers and builders of Interstate 65 must be embarrassed. I deduced that fact from their hiding the road between thick rows of trees across the state of Georgia.
I understand. I saw why. It’s a simple road. It’s made of long strips of flat concrete stitched together by sections of asphalt, two to six lanes wide depending on which county it’s in. The pavement runs straight without a significant curve. It never crosses a memorable body of water. It undulates over hills that have no scenic pull-outs and that no goat would consider a challenge to climb. They threw in a couple of rest stops, to remind drivers they had been somewhere. I hurried as quickly as possible along the road to reduce the boredom.
Driving through Atlanta, I became qualified to drive in a NASCAR race at Talladega. I drove at eighty to eighty-five mph in the slow lane trying to keep up with the speeding mass of cars spanning six lanes. The posted speed limit was fifty.
The roadways of South Carolina, and its northern neighbor, North Carolina, rumbled beneath the Can-Am Spyder’s three wheels. I did it. I’d ridden through portions of all forty-eight contiguous states on one tour. Another bucket list item got a check mark.
Stop-and-go traffic through Knoxville, Tennessee, lengthened a long day. It lightly rained during the last ten miles to my home.
Home.
Home at last. I felt like a sailor, home from the sea, but not quite ready for Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, Requiem.
Expenses:
Breakfast: $ 0.00 Passed on the motel fare.
Lunch: $ 21.00 Cracker Barrel brunch. Mega-meal.
Dinner: $ 8.00 Stouffers lasagna at home, much cheaper than restaurant.
Misc: $ 0.00
Gas: $ 54.50
Motel: $500.00 My bed! I must charge me to pay for the trip!
Day’s Cost: $ 83.50 Trip Total: $ 4,876.46
Day’s miles: 485 Trip Total: 9,391

[Bangorbob]

Just an incredible journey. Thanks for posting. As others have said, you have inspired me to do more. Again, A big thanks.

[baxter]

Outstanding display of enjoying life your way. Good job of telling your story. I assume that you fat fingered a '6' instead of a '7' for I-75, which runs through Georgia, while I-65 is in the next state to the west. True about flying through Atlanta. Same speed I was running at 8:30 in the morning coming back from FL, just to stay out of the way. Enjoy a well-deserved R&R.

[BamaJohn]

Home at last. I felt like a sailor, home from the sea, but not quite ready for Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, Requiem.

Nicely said, and glad you made it home safely! I've checked total miles ridden per day and am in wonder how you ride 400+ days back-to-back-to back....I did that in July for only 2 days and it hurt...a lot!

[Calimusjohn]

Ah ha! Hwy I-85 runs through Atlanta, not I-65 as written. I ride on every day the sun shines. Four hundred-mile days are easy for me. Average 50 mph and it's an eight-hour day. On Interstates and running 70 plus, it's a six-hour ride. I've done a couple of thousand-mile days to qualify for the Iron Butt Assn. and they kicked my butt. Ride what's fun. When I rode double, days ended around 300 miles.

Here are some random thoughts on the completed tour and riding in general.

Ride in Review
I’ m asked, “How do you do these rides?
“Ride, eat, rest, repeat,” I answer.
Okay, it’s not quite that simple. I start with an idea, concept, or theme. I’ve used Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the four corners of the U.S. as destinations. Visiting all 48 states on one ride was my latest excuse. Shorter rides to visit family and friends are easier to plan and execute.
No matter the length of the ride, they all require dealing with some of the same factors. Weather is always present. Having the correct attire to deal with extreme heat, biting cold, monsoon rain, snow, or the occasional perfect day, make the difference between a tour remembered favorably and the ones that create nightmares.
The most important piece of equipment is a helmet that fits! I use a modular with a visor, and a built-in sunshade. Yes, it’s heavy. It’s hot when riding across a desert. The blue tooth communications system allows me to listen to music, directions from the GPS, and the occasional telephone call.
Pick the style you like. Wear the helmet for eight hours―while mowing the lawn, working, watching TV, or better yet, while riding your motorcycle. Adjust the padding to eliminate hot spots and pressure points. A poorly fitting helmet is torture.
Take half the clothes and twice the money, works well.
Service the bike before the ride. Finding tires, oil filters and other items specifically made for a Whizbang motorcycle may be impossible in the middle of nowhere.
Motel reservations: I don’t make them. I don’t like mandatory routes and stops. But! There have been times where I regretted my choices.
Food costs: Restaurants are expensive. Grocery store food and camp cooking is much cheaper. Mom and Pop cafes located in small towns are havens for comfort foods and provide great opportunities to meet new friends.
Camping: Stealth camping is the cheapest. I’ve asked farmers for permission to sleep in barns. Churches in small towns have allowed me to pitch a tent on their grounds. On a cold, rainy night, I asked . . .and slept in an empty jail cell in southern Indiana.
The Spyder: The Sea to Sky heated seat saved the day. No “monkey butt” and kept my core warm on 30-degree days.
Milage: 26 mpg at 80 mph. 37 mpg at 60 mph.
Stability: Three wheels saved my life when I violently swerved on wet pavement through the debris field caused by the multi-vehicle accident in Minneapolis.
I passed two wheelers hunkered in underpasses when crosswinds exceeded fifty miles per hour. It wasn’t pleasant. I wobbled but stayed in one traffic lane.

[blacklightning]

Ah ha! Hwy I-85 runs through Atlanta, not I-65 as written. I ride on every day the sun shines. Four hundred-mile days are easy for me. Average 50 mph and it's an eight-hour day. On Interstates and running 70 plus, it's a six-hour ride. I've done a couple of thousand-mile days to qualify for the Iron Butt Assn. and they kicked my butt. Ride what's fun. When I rode double, days ended around 300 miles.

Here are some random thoughts on the completed tour and riding in general.

Ride in Review
I’ m asked, “How do you do these rides?
“Ride, eat, rest, repeat,” I answer.
Okay, it’s not quite that simple. I start with an idea, concept, or theme. I’ve used Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the four corners of the U.S. as destinations. Visiting all 48 states on one ride was my latest excuse. Shorter rides to visit family and friends are easier to plan and execute.
No matter the length of the ride, they all require dealing with some of the same factors. Weather is always present. Having the correct attire to deal with extreme heat, biting cold, monsoon rain, snow, or the occasional perfect day, make the difference between a tour remembered favorably and the ones that create nightmares.
The most important piece of equipment is a helmet that fits! I use a modular with a visor, and a built-in sunshade. Yes, it’s heavy. It’s hot when riding across a desert. The blue tooth communications system allows me to listen to music, directions from the GPS, and the occasional telephone call.
Pick the style you like. Wear the helmet for eight hours―while mowing the lawn, working, watching TV, or better yet, while riding your motorcycle. Adjust the padding to eliminate hot spots and pressure points. A poorly fitting helmet is torture.
Take half the clothes and twice the money, works well.
Service the bike before the ride. Finding tires, oil filters and other items specifically made for a Whizbang motorcycle may be impossible in the middle of nowhere.
Motel reservations: I don’t make them. I don’t like mandatory routes and stops. But! There have been times where I regretted my choices.
Food costs: Restaurants are expensive. Grocery store food and camp cooking is much cheaper. Mom and Pop cafes located in small towns are havens for comfort foods and provide great opportunities to meet new friends.
Camping: Stealth camping is the cheapest. I’ve asked farmers for permission to sleep in barns. Churches in small towns have allowed me to pitch a tent on their grounds. On a cold, rainy night, I asked . . .and slept in an empty jail cell in southern Indiana.
The Spyder: The Sea to Sky heated seat saved the day. No “monkey butt” and kept my core warm on 30-degree days.
Milage: 26 mpg at 80 mph. 37 mpg at 60 mph.
Stability: Three wheels saved my life when I violently swerved on wet pavement through the debris field caused by the multi-vehicle accident in Minneapolis.
I passed two wheelers hunkered in underpasses when crosswinds exceeded fifty miles per hour. It wasn’t pleasant. I wobbled but stayed in one traffic lane.

Believe me, I am soaking all this knowledge in. As I stated earlier, I am looking to do a cross country trip in 2025 and your experience has been helping a lot.

[ARtraveler]

Great trip. Great write up.

[baxter]

Reading your descriptions of a typical riding day on the road sounds so familiar. I have been bouncing around the country for years. Basically from the Arctic Circle to Key West and from St. John's Newfoundland to Pacific Coast next to the Mexican line southwest of San Diego and everything in between. Following snow plow in the Rockies to 127 degrees crossing the Death Valley. One day melting under the Desert sun to next day driving in the snow. Long days and short days in the saddle. Riding is putting yourself into a different dimension. One has to love it to understand why we do it. Keep the shiny side up and dirty side down. Waiting to read about your next adventure and there will be another.. Ride On.

[safecracker]

What a great adventure. You averaged $1.92 a mile for your trip. Bruce

[Knizar]

What a great adventure. You averaged $1.92 a mile for your trip. Bruce

I came up with approx $0.52 a mile

[RickWB]

You are an encouragement to others.

[safecracker]

Knizar, you are correct... I was still asleep at the keyboard.

[Calimusjohn]

Where else can you have so much fun for 52 cents per mile? Riding replaces the medications I'd need if I simply sat on the couch. My "light sport" aircraft costs a lot more. I recently sold a boat that drank 27 gallons of gas per hour.
What's next? Short-term -rides on every sunny day!
Next summer - Doing the Tennessee River 600-mile ride on a new jet ski. I just purchased a Seadoo Explorer. It has some problems that the dealer and BRP are addressing.
Long-range planning - Perhaps visiting "Riverside" found in 46 states or maybe a shorter ride to "Springfield" found in just 34 states., or hitting the capital of each state. Once again, riding to Hawaii and Alaska's capitals are going to be difficult. As long as there is a hill, I'm going to want to see what is on the other side.
Sorry, I have to leave - the sun is shining.