US Road Trip - Tick!
Discussion
Where do I start!? Well, I recently changed jobs and was very fortunate to be put on two months gardening leave (I went to a competitor). Not to be sniffed at, even at the best of times. Armed with two months salary in my back pocket, no close family, no kids and recent decay of a long term relationship, meant it couldn’t be a better time to get myself on a motorbike jaunt across the US. Something that has been on my life to do list for sometime.
Most people would think about the classic Route 66 trip when considering a US road trip, but to be honest, once you start looking into the route, you soon realise there aren’t many hills, nor decent curves or even decent national parks along the way. I did some research, read forums and bought maps made by bikers for bikers (Bulter Maps).
My basic plan was to collect the bike in Chicago with drop off destination of San Francisco. I’ve only been to the states a couple of times over the years (NYC and LA). I wanted to see the real middle America and those beautiful landscapes we often see yet never see with our own eyes. I rented the bike for 21 days and I estimated it would take around 4000 miles to do. Below is the routes I took, the initial few days where a bit dull, but soon as I hit the national parks, it made up for it.
Part 1 - http://tinyurl.com/n8vna8b
Part 2 - http://tinyurl.com/ov7b9lb
The bike. No offense to the Harley lovers out there, but there was no chance in hell you’d see me riding one. Being a Brit and with limited choice in terms of decent rental companies, meant a Triumph was the only choice. My steed? A Triumph Bonneville T100. Ok, not the most obvious and sane machine for a road trip, but it would (and did) make it a challenging choice. I originally thought about a new Tiger 800, but it just seemed to, errr obvious really. I was luckily enough and trusted with a 2014 bike with only 300 miles on the clock. I’d never even ridden a Bonneville. what’s the worse that could go wrong, I thought.
In terms of motels/hotels I pretty much winged it. I rode into some towns and just chose what I thought looked nice (and quick check on Trip Advisor!)
Most of the pictures below are from random parts of the trip, but enjoy. They were taken on my Samsung phone.
The start
After the first 450 miles I hit Minneapolis. Luckily a friend of mine who I’d met in Singapore a few years back was keen to join me on the first 5 days of my road trip. He’s a Triumph fan as well, and owns some cool modern classic Royal Enfields as well. I had to pleasure of riding them around the local roads and around the beautiful lakes My first experience on these type of bikes. The blue Triumph is a 1955 beast, gear and brake foot levers on the opposite sides.
Dirt track short cut.. kinda made sense.. not on a Bonneville however!
Close running with a Wyoming State Trooper. He clocked me in the middle of nowhere doing 76 mph in a 65 zone. He was pleasant enough however, slightly concerned of my Singaporean driving license but more intrigued in my trip. As we parted ways (no fine) he said “I was kinda bored which is why I pulled you, nice to chat and ride safe” Hilarious. This picture I sneakily took whilst he spoke to my mate. It couldn’t have turned out any better.
I wasn’t expecting the vast difference in weather. Ok I knew it would be cold but snow, I was not. Since I moved to the tropics 5 years ago, my blood has become thinner and acclimatized to the daily sub-30 all year round… or as my mates back home say, “you’ve become a complete pussy”. Riding through a snowy Yellowstone Park was bloody cold. However descending a few thousand feet into lush warmer climes was a great feeling. You’d never ever get that feeling when driving a car. That’s one of the beauties of riding a motorbike.
Badlands
This is the Arches National Park, in Utah. The Vast landscape and orangey/red rock is phenomenal. The storm brewing in the distance gave this lovely contrast.
Filling up. I lost count how many times.
Some roads went on for miles and miles. It was so remote, I sometimes didn’t see another car/bike for 30-40 miles!
Mt Rushmore
On of the best roads I’ve ever ridden in my life. It was around 50 miles of perfect tarmac and switch back. Stunning.
Putting size into perspective
Stayed a retro Route 66 motel, this was just as dropped into California.
The famous Highway 1, Morro Bay to San Francisco
and an amazing sunset to boot
4000 miles clocked up just as a reached San Francisco!
I reached my ultimate destination! Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco.
I did spend a few days in San Francisco, and amazing city. Bit windy however! I then flew down to LA and spent a week in the sun before I flew back home to Singapore.
It’s safe to say, I had an amazing life and motorbike experience. I got to see so much and meet some interesting (and strange!) people along the way. The problem is now I have the adventure bug… South America did someone say?
Most people would think about the classic Route 66 trip when considering a US road trip, but to be honest, once you start looking into the route, you soon realise there aren’t many hills, nor decent curves or even decent national parks along the way. I did some research, read forums and bought maps made by bikers for bikers (Bulter Maps).
My basic plan was to collect the bike in Chicago with drop off destination of San Francisco. I’ve only been to the states a couple of times over the years (NYC and LA). I wanted to see the real middle America and those beautiful landscapes we often see yet never see with our own eyes. I rented the bike for 21 days and I estimated it would take around 4000 miles to do. Below is the routes I took, the initial few days where a bit dull, but soon as I hit the national parks, it made up for it.
Part 1 - http://tinyurl.com/n8vna8b
Part 2 - http://tinyurl.com/ov7b9lb
The bike. No offense to the Harley lovers out there, but there was no chance in hell you’d see me riding one. Being a Brit and with limited choice in terms of decent rental companies, meant a Triumph was the only choice. My steed? A Triumph Bonneville T100. Ok, not the most obvious and sane machine for a road trip, but it would (and did) make it a challenging choice. I originally thought about a new Tiger 800, but it just seemed to, errr obvious really. I was luckily enough and trusted with a 2014 bike with only 300 miles on the clock. I’d never even ridden a Bonneville. what’s the worse that could go wrong, I thought.
In terms of motels/hotels I pretty much winged it. I rode into some towns and just chose what I thought looked nice (and quick check on Trip Advisor!)
Most of the pictures below are from random parts of the trip, but enjoy. They were taken on my Samsung phone.
The start
After the first 450 miles I hit Minneapolis. Luckily a friend of mine who I’d met in Singapore a few years back was keen to join me on the first 5 days of my road trip. He’s a Triumph fan as well, and owns some cool modern classic Royal Enfields as well. I had to pleasure of riding them around the local roads and around the beautiful lakes My first experience on these type of bikes. The blue Triumph is a 1955 beast, gear and brake foot levers on the opposite sides.
Dirt track short cut.. kinda made sense.. not on a Bonneville however!
Close running with a Wyoming State Trooper. He clocked me in the middle of nowhere doing 76 mph in a 65 zone. He was pleasant enough however, slightly concerned of my Singaporean driving license but more intrigued in my trip. As we parted ways (no fine) he said “I was kinda bored which is why I pulled you, nice to chat and ride safe” Hilarious. This picture I sneakily took whilst he spoke to my mate. It couldn’t have turned out any better.
I wasn’t expecting the vast difference in weather. Ok I knew it would be cold but snow, I was not. Since I moved to the tropics 5 years ago, my blood has become thinner and acclimatized to the daily sub-30 all year round… or as my mates back home say, “you’ve become a complete pussy”. Riding through a snowy Yellowstone Park was bloody cold. However descending a few thousand feet into lush warmer climes was a great feeling. You’d never ever get that feeling when driving a car. That’s one of the beauties of riding a motorbike.
Badlands
This is the Arches National Park, in Utah. The Vast landscape and orangey/red rock is phenomenal. The storm brewing in the distance gave this lovely contrast.
Filling up. I lost count how many times.
Some roads went on for miles and miles. It was so remote, I sometimes didn’t see another car/bike for 30-40 miles!
Mt Rushmore
On of the best roads I’ve ever ridden in my life. It was around 50 miles of perfect tarmac and switch back. Stunning.
Putting size into perspective
Stayed a retro Route 66 motel, this was just as dropped into California.
The famous Highway 1, Morro Bay to San Francisco
and an amazing sunset to boot
4000 miles clocked up just as a reached San Francisco!
I reached my ultimate destination! Golden Gate bridge, San Francisco.
I did spend a few days in San Francisco, and amazing city. Bit windy however! I then flew down to LA and spent a week in the sun before I flew back home to Singapore.
It’s safe to say, I had an amazing life and motorbike experience. I got to see so much and meet some interesting (and strange!) people along the way. The problem is now I have the adventure bug… South America did someone say?
Edited by Rich_AR on Monday 9th June 10:53
I did pretty much Chicago to Mount Rushmore except the other way. The roads around Mount Rushmore (Black Hills National Forest) were incredible, lots of long sweeping bends. However the long straight highway from Wisconsin, through Minnesota to South Dakota is LONG. I don't think I even saw a corner for a couple hundred miles. I don't know how you put up with that on a bike, you must have been so bored. It was bad enough in a car. Probably shouldn't have done that in one day either!
I bet the whole trip was very fun
I bet the whole trip was very fun
Fantastic post and great pictures. I can't get enough of road trips - they tops my list of reasons to have a bike.
Also kudos on the bike choice - I'd love something like that.
I've considered going on a long bike trip somewhere remote like South America or across Asia but my main hurdle is the fact that i'm technically inept. I either need to learn some basic mechanics or go with someone who already has the knowledge. For that reason I've stuck to Western Europe and UK - if I get in trouble I can just call the breakdown people.. An American road trip is certainly on the bucket list.
Also kudos on the bike choice - I'd love something like that.
I've considered going on a long bike trip somewhere remote like South America or across Asia but my main hurdle is the fact that i'm technically inept. I either need to learn some basic mechanics or go with someone who already has the knowledge. For that reason I've stuck to Western Europe and UK - if I get in trouble I can just call the breakdown people.. An American road trip is certainly on the bucket list.
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