Salisbury, MD to CA and back

[Spike]

I am taking off from my home in Salisbury, MD on my ST2 and I am going to make my way to CA and back. I will be leaving on 8/17/11 and am looking forward to a great trip. Just wanted to let everyone know just in case I need a little help along the way. I have set aside 4 weeks to make the trip so I will not be rushing thru it. Look out for me.
Kenn Thompson

[Pedro-bot]

Sounds like a great trip!

Have you decided on a route?

[seevtsaab]

Good Luck. What kind of tires you running and how are you managing where to change?

Need pics of your bike, please.

[Spike]

My route out to Cali will be through VA, W. VA, into Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada then into Sacramento, CA and then to Milpitas, CA with a stop at Nichols Mfg. for an oil change and check up. Into San Fran and then down to Yosemite and then out to San Diego. Eventually a stop in Las Vegas then from there out to Texas, OK, Ark., Tenn. N. Carolina, up through VA and then home. I just got a set of Michelin Pilot Road 3's and they should last the whole trip. My mileage round trip will be approx. 7000 miles. I am currently installing my GPS mount and the Powerlet outlet but will take some photos this weekend and post them up.

[ian48th]

Sounds like you've got your route pretty well planned out!  Good for you; should be a lot of fun.  And doing all that in four weeks should keep you pretty busy the whole time.  Post some pics along the way if you can.  You know, some of us are stuck working all summer...

[akmnstr]

Sounds like an awesome trip.  Are you going solo?  If you find yourself on the Texas Coast look me up.  I'm in the middle of nowhere, 60 miles from Houston. 

[Hellraising-vtec]

hope you enjoy the trip. ride safe

[enderwaves]

I'm right on the WV/KY border, near huntington, if you wanna grab a bite on your way through town. Good luck with the trip, we'll all be green with envy at our desks...

[Slide Panda]

What are you packing for gear? Specifically cold stuff? I used to live in CO, and depending on the route you take you'll be going through areas that can still have snow in late summer or even year round. It's easy to go from 80's in Denver to 40's up in the high passes in an hour.

[Spike]

Got the brackets and the saddlebags mounted tonight,




Here is a shot of the new Pilot Road 3 on the rear. I've got about 400 miles on the tire so it is a fresh bun.


To answer some questions, I am going solo and the route is just an outline, I'll pick specific routes as I pass through these states. There is a list on the AMA website of some the best roads in the country so I am going to try some of those. There are some really good routes in the W. VA/Kentucky area and also a bunch in Colorado that I am really looking forward to riding. I have been in the mountain passes in the summer before so I will bring my jackets thermal liner and a Rev'it windstopper layer and an extra set of gloves. I will probably pack my Widder heated vest just in case.

I'm right on the WV/KY border, near huntington, if you wanna grab a bite on your way through town. Good luck with the trip, we'll all be green with envy at our desks...

Thanks for the invitation, I just might take you up on it.