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48 States in 27 Days at Age 84

Well, you could ride to a town named for each one of our prisedents,or visit every historical marker in your state, or visit every county court house, or look for the WWI moniuments in each state, or, or, or. It is easy to find an excuse to ride some where:ohyea::yes:
 
You are an inspiration for all of us . Keep getting off the couch and do somthing you always want to do. I know I will .
 
You are correct . . . no trailer.
I pulled a trailer with a Goldwing over 15,000 miles. I'm now past sleeping on the ground, so a stock bike and a credit card are all I need.
Other destinations include finding the largest ball of twine, The Plastic Brick Museum, The Mushroom Museum, or even photographing "pleasure" centers in Nevada's desert. Hit the highest road on Mount Evans to the low point in Death Valley. If those places are too far, go get a Slurpee at a 7/11. Just go!
 
BamaJohn said:
Hit the highest point in each state. Southernmost point in USA. Northernmost point in USA (etc)
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That's a good one. Been to two of the Highest points. MN: Eagle Mt. in the Boundary waters area. 2301 ft. Views for 50 miles in all directions. You had to hike through swamps to get to that one. :yes:
The other is Magazine Mt. in Arkansas. That is a drive up, also around 2300 ft. Spectacular views. We stayed in the Resort there, and spent the night in a Jacuzzi Suite. That was our Honeymoon treat.
 
Traveler, you sure enjoyed your run on the Spyder, hope I can enjoy another year or two. Thinking I might have to get a hip replaced that was replaced in 1998, we shall see, not looking forward to the Dr. visit.

2020 RTL
 
Geographical marker in cornfield near Wausau, WI. Center of the Northeast Hemisphere - 45 deg. N 90 deg W. - Four points in the world and only two are on land. Anchor point, AK. Most westerly Highway point NA. Lubec, Maine Quoddy Lighthouse - most easterly point in US. Friendship Park CA. Most Southwest point next to the Border wall. Cape Spear, Newfoundland. Most Easterly point in NA. Up Pikes Peak several times, Mount Evan's, Mt. Washington, Mt. Hood (until road closed due to snow). Rugby, ND geographical center of NA.
 
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baxter

Very interesting trivia, I won't remember any of it tomorrow, but I learned something today! thanks :thumbup: Bill
 
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Calimusjohn said:
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
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This is an interesting and helpful travelogue. Thanks for doing it

I'm considering doing an extensive tour in the late Spring next year and haven't yet decided if this is going to be when I finally ride across the US. Hitting every State in the lower 48 isn't my goal, so much as exploring some parts of the country that I haven't yet seen much of, like the Great Lakes region, New England (Northern), Appalachia, and avoiding Interstates and metro areas wherever possible...

Do you have a breakdown of your expenses by type (food, fuel, lodging)? I realize costs have gone up considerably since you did this trip, but it will give me some idea of what to budget for.
 
UtahPete said:
This is an interesting and helpful travelogue. Thanks for doing it

I'm considering doing an extensive tour in the late Spring next year and haven't yet decided if this is going to be when I finally ride across the US. Hitting every State in the lower 48 isn't my goal, so much as exploring some parts of the country that I haven't yet seen much of, like the Great Lakes region, New England (Northern), Appalachia, and avoiding Interstates and metro areas wherever possible...

Do you have a breakdown of your expenses by type (food, fuel, lodging)? I realize costs have gone up considerably since you did this trip, but it will give me some idea of what to budget for.
Click to expand...

This guy was my hero! I read all of his post and admired how he kept such good records of everything. I finally completed the lower 48 this past June. I did keep a log of my miles and fuel expenses, but only for gas. I did 36 in May/June of 2025 and covered 9,040 miles in 21 days. Then my buddy had some issues and we had to stop. This past June 1 we did the remaining 12 States and totaled 3440 miles in 10 days. The last 10 day trip consisted of the NorthEastern States. The ride out West was much more scenic, but the surprise for me was that the cost of the hotels was much more expensive in the NorthEast. We probably averaged $80-$120 for the trip in 2025. But the cost of hotels in the NorthEast was in the $200 range each night. And I am not talking about the large cities, the most expensive hotels were in Maine. This was a bucket list item for me to complete before turning 60. I was able to do that with 6 weeks to spare. My next goal is to head back to the West Coast next May/June and hit some of the interesting places that I missed in 2025.

I did learn things on my trip. The 2021 RTL that I rode in 2025 is the ultimate bike for touring. I say this because I rode the 2016 F3L for the 12 states in the NorthEast. It was good, but by no means was it as comfortable. I am really hoping to do it next Spring on my 2 wheeler (a BMW K1600B). I think it will be somewhere between the 2 in comfort. I also learned that I packed too much for the trip on the RTL and even a little too much on the F3L. I did a trip to Bowling Green, Ky on the BMW for a trial run. I think that was a happy medium for packing. One thing that I was proud of is that I never made reservations until about 2-4 hours before arriving to a town. I didn't want to be forced to make it from one point to another, even if I was too tired or exhausted to go on. It was a great experience and I am looking forward to May 2027.
 
@blacklightning, good on ya! You did what you said you'd do in 2023! Too many of us (Me included), have tons of things we want to do, and life gets in the way. Doctors appointments seem to head the list.

I completed my third 600-mile long ride along the Tennessee River this Summer. Ninety-two people on seventy jet skis spent six days enjoying life. I admit that at 87, it's a bit tougher than it was at 84. BUT, doing stuff beats the alternative!

A re-run of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica continues to call my name... Hmm, 2,448 miles...
 
Hello Calimusjohn,
I finally found this post up and really enjoyed reading all of it.
That was a major undertaking for someone at your age. My
body just wouldn't let me do something like that. Especially
on a Spyder. But I like to dream about things. Keeps me looking
forward with life.

Stay Healthy and Enjoy what you do. (y)
 
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