September 11 - 20, 2008 - San Francisco, CA to Ocean City, MD

The Scooter Cannonball Run is a coast to coast endurance event for scooters up to 252cc. It is a test of both rider and machine that covers over 3000 miles and takes in some of the best motorcycle roads in the country. It will be run as a time/distance/regularity rally where points are awarded based on miles completed and the ability to maintain the standard pace.

So should I do it? I originally was planning on it, but because the dates got switched around, I figured I couldn’t. But there *is* a way that I can.

Basically, I’d have to do this:
-Ride from the West Coast to Pennsylvania in July. Then at the end of August, I’d ride back to Berkeley, California (in a pretty quick fashion and as cheaply as possible). I’d arrive there around Sept 5ish, get the scooter checked out and then set off for home via the Scooter Cannonball Run on the 11th. I’d probably make it home on Sept 22.

I know it seems pretty crazy to cross the country FOUR times in one summer, but I’d love to do the Run.

Registration closes on July 31, so I have time.

Any thoughts?

I wrote most of this as I was writing out the blog entry.

This sucks SO bad. A HUGE dust storm kicked up and the weather people (who didn’t mention ANYTHING about ANYTHING ten minutes ago, now say that there’s a sever thunderstorm coming through right now. No kidding. Thanks, guys.

Later
The tent is blowing over and I’ve had to fashion a new way to keep it in the ground. I’m using my tie down straps to hold up the side that keeps blowing down.

My tent poles are literally held together with cheap duct tape.

There is dust everywhere. I have to keep the windows open or the wind blows the tent over. But with the windows open, the dust comes through the screen.

Little later…
The weather people are now saying it’s partly cloudy with winds at 16mph. They are clearly lying to me. Even the radar shows nothing. I guess this is how they do things in Idaho. Want to know what the weather’s going to be? Just wait… it’s a surprise!

Dust is EVERYWHERE. It’s in my teeth, in my eyes, I’m covered in it. The floor of my tent is covered.

The tent is ripping. I’m not sure that it’s going to make it through this. The poles were broken during the Gallup, NM wind storms and I’ve wrapped them in duct tape. They seem to be holding and that’s really really weird.

My analysis of weather.
Weather hates me when I’m riding. As the long-time readers will know, I’ve had REALLY bad luck with weather, especially in Route 66. But when I was in Albuquerque the first time (not riding), the weather was GREAT. As soon as I left - wind, rain and snow. Oh, but when I got to Berkeley (again, not riding), the weather was amazing!

It then tried to trick me by being pretty good to Salt Lake City. And when I got there and traveled with Sarah (again again not riding), the weather was great! And last night it dipped into the freezing temps and right now I’m sitting with my back to the tent wall, holding it up against 60mph winds.

Seriously, knock it off.

Looking to the west, I can see it getting really dark. If things go bad and start to really rain, I’ll take my act indoors.

More later…
The wind died down for a bit, but now it’s picking up with rain. The neighbor’s tent just blew down. Possibly away. It’s dark now and hard to tell. They’re very unhappy about it.

They’re having a much rougher time than I am. They’ve got several tents and they’re all blowing down. If I were them, I’d go to a motel. But I’m just me and if I have to abaondon ship, I can hide out in the bathroom. The office and recroom are closed, so I can’t do much about that. It seems we’ve been sort of abandoned by the campground manager.

At least it’s not snowing.
I guess.

The neighbors are sticking around. Hats off to the troopers!

Later still
You know how they always tell you that tornadoes sound like freight trains? Well, you know what else sounds like freight trains? Freight trains. And there’s one right by the campsite every 20 minutes or so. I’ll hear this rumbling in the distance, the wind will pick up (because that’s what wind does) and suddenly there’s a rumbling sound like a freight train!

Because it’s a freight train.

Morning edit
All is fine. The storms passed with a little rain and now it’s nearly 7am. People are up and coughing. A lot of people are up. I think there’s only one bathroom for the entire camp. That bathroom includes one toilet and one urinal and two showers. This should be an incredible start to my day.

Here are The Monks with “Hushy Pushy” to get you started on your day.

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Can you think of a better way to spend the first night of summer? How about in a teepee in Wyoming where it’s so unbelievably cold that it completely hinders even the concept of sleeping? And how about when you wake up, there’s frost on the ground. You know… that mythical first frost of summer. Ahhh!

That’s pretty much my night. Except that there were obviously moments of sleep. I had dreams such as:

-The dream about a gas heater… warm blue flames.
-The dream about buying thermals at Kmart.
-The dream about hanging out with Cole in warm California.
-The dream about an electric heater.

I’m sure there were more. So I slept at least four times last night.

The scooter was also covered in frost. Right now, it’s 39 degrees. I’ve ridden in colder, but would really rather not. The sun is out and warm (thank god the sun isn’t cold). The temps will rise quickly in the sunny spots.

There are cows bellowing in the background.

Tonight, they’re calling for the possibility of severe thunderstorms with dangerous lightening (as opposed to that safe, cuddly lightening) and microbursts. My tent won’t hold up to that. The fiberglass poles are held together with duct tape. If I find a Gander Mountain type store, I’ll be hitting it to buy aluminum poles. If not, and if the weather goes bad, I’m heading for a motel. I don’t want another night like Gallup. No thanks.

11:30am (MDT) - I need rear brakes. Mine are nearly shot. Scooter Lounge in Orem told me they were bad, but they couldn’t get any in because Vespa (who is incredibly impossible to deal with) couldn’t get them to them in time.

This might be a reoccurring theme, and as much as I love the modern Vespa, an easy to work on vintage might be the way to go (if you’re not crossing the country).

I called two shops in Portland, but neither can help me. I called Vespa Seattle, but they can’t help me either. I’ve got two shops, one in Seattle and one in Portland that I’m about to call. I emailed Big People Scooters in Seattle and they said that they could fit me in for a tire change, but I need to make sure they can do a break change too.

I’ll be calling them when they open.

12noon (MDT) - Called Big People Scooters and they are fitting me in at 4pm on July 2. So it’s looking like I’ll be in Seattle till at least the 3rd. That’s weird, since I was supposed to be home on the 4th.

It’s not that I’m behind schedule though. If you’ve been following me, I’ve added a bunch of stuff, including Seattle, to my trip.

So Big People will be doing a rear tire change and a break change. As for the oil change, which I won’t need by then, I can do that myself in any parking lot, so no big deal. It’s just nicer if someone else does it for me.

Let’s have a song, ok?

How about… “I Lost My Girl to an Argentinian Cowboy.”

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Later

For those interested, here are the routes I’m taking to Portland…

Day 51 - SLC to Jackson, WY
-201 E to 215 N
-214 N to exit 324 US 89
-US 89 (10mi)
-I-84 E to Exit 92
-UT 167 North (12mi)
-RIGHT on UT 39 (50mi)
-LEFT on UT 16 (19mi)
-RIGHT on UT 30 (4mi)
-Turns into WY 89 (4mi)
-LEFT on US 30 (50mi)
-RIGHT on US 89 (80mi)
-RIGHT US 26/89 (36mi)
-LEFT on WY 22 (5mi)
-RIGHT on Moose-Wilson RD
KOA - Two miles

Day 52 - Jackson, WY to Mountain Home, ID
-WY 22 West (17mi)
-Turns into ID 33 (5mi)
-LEFT on ID 31 (20mi)
-RIGHT on US 26 (43mi)
-RIGHT on Broadway ST in Idaho Falls (5mi)
-Straight on US 20 (61mi to Arco)
-44 miles to Carey
-100 miles to Mountain Home
Cross I-84
-Straight on ID 51
-Right on N 2nd ST
-Straight on Main (1/4mi)
-RIGHT on 10N ST
KOA

Day 53 - Mountain Home, ID to Baker City, OR
-Main Street N out of town
Before I-84
-LEFT on Old Oregon Tr (16mi to exit 74)
Cross I-84
-LEFT on Old Hwy 30 (5mi)
I-84 (21mi)
-EXIT 46 / ID-55 (112mi)
-Straight on US 95 (45mi)
-RIGHT on ID 71 (29mi)
Turns into OR 71 (11mi)
-LEFT on OR 86 (67mi into Baker City)
Follow 86 to Clark ST
-RIGHT on Auburn
-LEFT on US 30/Bridge Street

Day 54 - Baker City to Portland, OR
-Auburn to ID 7 S/W (50mi to Austin)
-RIGHT on US 26 (140mi - 25mi to John Day)
-LEFT on OR 126 (46mi to Sisters)
-RIGHT on Santiam Hwy (31mi)
-RIGHT on Cascades Scenic (44mi)
-LEFT on OR 224 (43mi)
-North on I-205?
Need directions from Ashley

Later Still

Here are some maps.

Even Later Still
It’s just occurred to me that this is the 50th day of my trip. I’m well over half-way, but it feels like I just started. Not in a “time sure does fly” sort of way, but in a “I have no idea what I’m doing” sort of way.

I think I’ll be on the road for another month. That’s 30 more days. Maybe I’ll go out after that. Maybe I’ll make it an even 100 days. Or I could make it auspicious and make it 108 days.

Though it seems like I’ve been stagnant, driving in a PT Cruiser or staying with friends in ABQ, SLC, PDX and SEA (ha! airport codes are fun!), I’ll definitely be putting on some miles real soon. It’ll be over 1,000 to Portland, another 250 to Seattle and at least 3,000 to Pennsylvania. You’ve got upwards of 5,000 miles of writing to look forward to! Lucky you!

Let’s have another song, shall we? Here’s “Convertibles and Headbands,” another song-poem. The music isn’t much to write home about, but the spoken part at the end is worth it, trust me.

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Much Later
I decided to go for a ride and get some Chinese food from Long Life Vegi House. What a wonderful place!

I got the Sweet & Sour Chicken sans onions and peppers with nearly raw broccoli on the side. YUM. I love when places will substitute crappy vegetables for broccoli. Love it. Thanks!

Since this is my last night, I thought I’d treat myself, you know?

Mandy and Earl were at a wedding reception, so I milled about and didn’t really do much. I collected my thoughts and loaded up the bike a little bit. Oh, I did some laundry. Fun.

I’m ready to go. Mandy and Earl have been really fun and great - but it’s time to ride, Sally, ride!

It’s been a long time since I’ve really been riding. I’m ready to hit the road. I’m excited! I don’t really know what I’ll be seeing, but I feel like a cowboy! Yeehaw!

And to sing me on my way, here’s a travelin’ song. “Lola” by The Raincoats.

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Oh wait! There’s more! Watch this.

And then watch this.

OK? Good! Now sleep.

Miles today: 33
Total miles: 6.066

Today was a day off in pretty much every respect of the word. We didn’t do much at all, really. I showed Sarah around ABQ for a bit, we got some semi-ok Indian food and then came back to Cortney and Sabra’s.

I’ve started to plot out my trip from Seattle to Pennsylvania via the Yellowstone Trail, it’s sort of like Route 66, but not nearly as well traveled, researched or kitschy. I’m pretty excited about it. It goes from Seattle to Plymouth Rock, Mass.

Just how long that will take me, I’m not sure. I should be in Portland by June 23 and in Seattle by June 25. I’m not really sure how long I’ll stay in Seattle, but I assume about a week.

I also don’t know if I’ll do the small “southern” portion of Scoot 66 or not. Basically, that trip starts in Wheeling, WV, heads south to North Carolina and then north up the Blue Ridge Parkway.

If I do the southern trip, I’ll only be doing the Yellowstone Trail to around Cleveland, Ohio. If I don’t do the southern trip, I’ll do the Trail to somewhere in New York State, taking US 15 south to Lewisburg. I hope to complete the Trail on my way through New England.

I’ll be home by the beginning of August, either way. Then it’ll be time to think about New England and possibly The South. After that, it’ll be time to think about moving.

… since starting Route 66, I mean.

Today is the start of a new leg of Route 66. This leg lasts only two fully days of riding and then I have a much-deserved week off.

During that week, I’ll still have daily updates and will hopefully be riding as much as possible.

If any scooterists out in the Bay Area want to show me around, feel free to let me know.

Next week - The Loneliest Road in America (till SLC)…

The blog will probably change a bit. There have been SO many things that I wanted to talk about concerning riding, but have left them out in favor of Route 66 stuff. My philosophy was that Route 66 stuff is happening NOW. The random stuff about riding will happen again, so talk about it then.

Random stuff like - yesterday I noticed that my headlamp was blown. The day before that, it was the highbeam, now it’s both. I’ll be stopping at an autoparts store and fixing it on the road today (or tomorrow). The running light still works, so I do have some protection.

I should have carried a spare. Lesson learned.

Ok folks, it’s nearly 8am on the left coast and that’s when I’m hitting the road.

Big Sur tonight!

I awoke to this sight of the scooter dusted in snow and more coming down and I’m unsure what to do.

It is supposed to snow until 9am, though it could last throughout the day, dropping three inches. At nine in the morning, it’s supposed to be around 36 degrees in Flagstaff. However, in Williams, roughly 35 miles away, it will be ten degrees warmer.

I am not equipped to ride in such cold temperatures. I wasn’t expected much under 45 degrees. But near-freezing is just not possible with what I’ve got.

Staying here another night is an option, but I would much rather move on. The high in Flagstaff is only going to be 40.

Before getting to Williams, I have to climb in elevation. 7400 feet, to be exact. This is the highest point on the post-1937 Route 66 (Glorietta Pass in New Mexico is the highest overall). So basically, it’ll get worse before it gets better.

Between Flagstaff and Williams lies mostly dirt roads that used to be several different alignments of Route 66. Oh, and interstate. And not much else. All of the dirt roads will be off limits today. The snow, which mostly melts upon hitting the ground, has soaked them.

And while that makes the trip to Williams a lot quicker, it completely defeats what I wanted to do on this trip. This sucks. It was one of the stretches that I was most looking forward to. Even if I stick around till tomorrow, it can’t happen, they’ll still be too muddy.

I’m using two books as guides. One says they are gravel, the other says they are dirt. Gravel would actually be perfect in the snow. Dirt, not really.

Gravel would slow me down to the speed of a brisk walk, which, as opposed to the interstate, would be much warmer than trying to do 65mph in 35 degree temps (which, if you were curious, is a wind chill of 17 degrees).

Check out time is at noon. I’ll take advantage of that and see what the weather brings.

I’ll update this before leaving.

-

It’s 10am (1pm, for you east coast folks). And it’s sunny. So off I go! Wish me luck. Here’s hoping there’s no wind (so far, there’s not) and here’s hoping the trucks aren’t SO bad on I-40. And here’s hoping that it’s gravel, not mud. Woo!

Hi from SUNNY Albuquerque!

I’ve alluded to the trip changing a bit, so here goes with what that means.

Firstly, I’m staying an extra day in Albuquerque. I’ll leave for Gallup on Tuesday afternoon.

I’ll roll into Flagstaff on Thursday (5/22).

As for the four-day loop trip through AZ, UT, CO and NM, I’m saving that for later, wanting to do all of 66 at once.

I’ll be heading into LA on Monday (5/26) afternoon, which is not something I really wanted to do, but so be it.

Berkeley will happen from 5/28 (a Wednesday) to the morning of 6/3 (a Tuesday) when I leave for Donner Pass on my way to Salt Lake City, which will happen 6/6 (a Friday). I’ll be stationed in SLC until, I believe, Sunday 6/15.

Now, why so much time in SLC? Well I won’t be in SLC all that much. On 6/10 (a Tuesday), Sarah is showing up and we’ll be seeing the Spiral Jetty just north of SLC. Then, on Wednesday, we’ll be doing most of that AZ, UT, CO, NM loop in a rental car. So yeah, not on a scooter, but by that time, I could probably use a break. She’ll leave that Saturday, I think and then that Sunday I’ll be heading off to …. SEATTLE!

Yeah, it seems dumb to do Portland and Seattle *after* SLC, but that’s how it’s going to work out.

I should get to Portland around June 18, a Wednesday (at this point the dates are fairly tentative). I’ll spend a day or two there and then ride up to Seattle around June 20, a Friday. I will probably be in Seattle until June 27 (a Friday, I figure about a week - and the Portland thing could happen somewhere in between all of that).

So if I leave Seattle around the 27th, that would get me to Wheeling around July 9. Which brings me to central PA in mid-July. Again, at this point, it’s wild speculation.

I also have thoughts of New England to visit Jen and Ned. And South to visit Michael. I’ve done the math, if I do all that I want to this summer, I’ll have hit 46 of the lower 48 (Nebraska and Wyoming would be missing). So it’s possible that I’ll even ride out to Nebraska and Wyoming before all is said and done (though I’m doubting this last part).

Because of this, Scoot 66 has taking on a whole new perspective. It started with just Route 66, but has turned into what could possibly be a tour of the entire country.

But for now, let’s just make it through Albuquerque.

It’s 44 degrees right now. 44.
I’m in Amarillo, Texas and the rain has finally stopped, but everything is cold. And wet. But mostly cold.

There’s this chunk of rain that just sitting there over Albuquerque. It’s not going away. It’s supposed to move east a bit to rain on me. Probably all day.

I’ve been glued to AccuWeather.com and their prognosis isn’t a good one. I’m going to get rained on today. And it’s going to be cold.

Is it too much to ask for a hot dry day in Texas? This is just weird.

Oh, and why is vice president Dick Chaney doing the weather? Has he finally eaten all the babies?

My original plan was to be in Mena, Arkansas to night. No, Route 66 doesn’t loop back around and head into Arkansas, I just figured that I’d want a nice little side trip. Turns out that I’d love a little side trip. But I’d like a day off a bit more.

This particular side trip was two nights, three days. From Mena, Arkansas, I’d head into Texas and stay at Bonham, just west of Paris. The next night, I’d be back here.

Now, what’s happening is that I’m here, in OKC for another night. Tomorrow I’ll pack up, head down to Paris, TX (unless someone has a better idea) and then head back - on a different route - to OKC. The day after that it’s back to Route 66.

Last night, the wind here in OKC was 30mph sustained. Gusts had to have been double that. The tent was being blown in on top of me (but since I staked it down properly, it bounced right back). I was convinced that the wind would blow Ruby on her side.

But I “woke” up this morning, getting maybe three hours rest in total, and was cranky and didn’t want to go anywhere, so I didn’t. Who needs Arkansas?

On another note, I read this today:
Hail measuring 4.25 inches (11 centimeters), about the size of a softball, was reported near Baxter Springs, Kansas.

It was also reported that a tornato was spotted south of town. I was just in Baxter Springs a couple of days ago. I’m glad I missed it.

The horrible storms seem to have shifted eastward, so I shouldn’t have any troubles. For now anyway.

And in closing, Calder sent this to me yesterday.

-

And a little addition to the update. Turns out I might have a little problem. My rear tire, the one I just got about 2000 miles ago, is nearly shot. I’ve got about another 1,000 to go before I get a new one.

Not sure what to do. Hm. I guess I’ll visit the Vespa shop tomorrow and see where I get with them.