US Cross Country Addendum

What a trip this has been. By far the best trip I have ever had. So many places I have visited and so many people I have met. Precious!

Some stats about the trip:

States visited with their descriptions:
New York -- Concrete Jungle
New Jersey -- My home
Pennsylvania -- Green
Ohio -- Flat land, lot of trucks, toll roads (bad in condition)
Michigan -- Green and bad roads
Indiana -- can't think of anything
Illinois -- full of tolls and bad roads
Wisconsin -- lot of camping spots, green
Minnesota -- lot of lakes, agriculture. Overall a very nice state.
South Dakota -- Beautiful, high speed roads, Black hills are amazing.
Wyoming -- Lonely roads, ranches alongside, friendly people.
Colorado -- Mountains, canyons, rivers. Just beautiful.
Utah -- Deserted with a charm of its own. Red rocks. Beautiful landscape.
Arizona -- Hot and dry.
Nevada -- Gambling center
California -- Lot of motorcyclists here and what can I say about the beaches.

Favorite state: Colorado
Most fun for motorcycle riding: South Dakota
Most boring ride in the trip: Chicago to Wisconsin patch. Illinois tollway sucks.

Interesting places visited: Chicago, Badlands National Park, Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Black Hills, Rocky Mountain National Park, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon Sky walk.

Favorite attraction: Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah.

Miles: 3700 motorcycle + 300 car
Fuel: 75 gallons (motorcycle) + 14 gallons (car)
Fuel price: approx. 2.80$ (avg) per gallon
Top Speed: 145 mph in Wyoming @ 13000 rpm
Speeding tickets: Only 1 in Utah (55 mph in a 50 mph zone)

Favorite food places:
Peggy Sue's Diner, California -- Intersection of route 66 and I 15.
Country breakfast, Minnesota. Vegetables were amazing. Home grown, fresh.

Longest day of the trip: 15 hr day in South Dakota.
Coldest day of the trip: Night spent in Rocky Mountain.
Hottest day of the trip: Utah - Vegas via Arizona. Boiling temperatures.

US Cross Country - Day12 Los Angeles, California

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Distance: 280 miles Time: 5 hrs

Woke up early (4:40 am) since I had to drop Shweta and Rishabh at the airport. I wasn't in a hurry as I had the rest of the day to get to LA. Came back from the airport, had coffee, uploaded the pics and checked out at around 930 am. I had a break of about 3 days; hence I was excited to ride. I started towards LA at around 10 am. I wasn't in a mood to speed as I had a lot of time to catch my 930 pm flight from LA. Cruised at around 80 on I 15 S.

I had a 150 mile run and was planning to stop for fuel and lunch. I saw sign boards for a 1950s style Diner. My motorcycle riding instructor had mentioned these to me. Route 66, the old famous route, had a few. Although they are fading out, I was lucky to find one.

I decided to check it out. Quite impressed by their interior. People were taking pics with Elvis Presley statue.

Laurel n Hardy, Marilyn Monroe's pics. This was pretty impressive. The waitresses were dressed like the women in 50s. I ordered a chicken fried steak with country gravy. It was so different in taste in a good way. It didn't have the commercial flavor of the chains. I had a good time here. Took some pics including the restroom which was interesting in its own way.

Glad to have found this place. Made my day.

I did not take further breaks. Reached LA at around 3 pm and called my friend, Sandesh. He was a bit busy; hence relaxed in a Starbucks. I met him at around 4. I was tired even when I did not put in those long miles. Perhaps the lack of sleep was playing a role. I gave all the documents to him as I was planning to sell my bike in LA. We went down to give the bike a quick shower. Applied some car wax and readied the bike for sale. I was a bit emotional. This red beauty had behaved so well during the trip. It's a machine at the end of the day but I am not sure why humans develop an emotional bond with it. It's weird.

I had dinner at Sandesh's place. I had shipped my luggage bag to pack all my stuff in advance. Tried to fit everything in it. To my surprise I realized that I had lot of stuff to pack. Ended up wearing my motorcycle riding shoes and jacket inside the flight as it did not fit. He dropped me at the airport for my 930 pm flight. I am tired as I write this final piece of blog. It has been a journey which I will cherish for the rest of my life. What an amazing time I have had. A dream for a lot of people including me.

The flight will land at JFK, NYC at 6 am tomorrow morning. I go straight to work and business will commence as usual.

US Cross Country - Day8 Arches/Bryce Canyon

My alarm rang at 630 am. Plan was to go to the park, see the best arches and come back to the hotel before 11 and check out. I wasn't sure if this was gonna work; hence started early. I drove straight to the Delicate Arch and decided to hike -- the only thing missing from this wonderful trip. There are 2 ways to see the Delicate Arch. a) Drive to the viewpoint and take a look from a distance. As per the National Geographic National Parks book this is disappointing. Hence I went for option b) Hike for more than an hr (roundtrip). Since I was short on time, I kept good pace. I started the hike around 730 am and reached at about 8:05 am. The hike is pretty demanding with it's steep slopes. You don't see the Arch at all during the hike until the very last turn. The view is mesmerizing. I actually liked the part that you need to hike to see Delicate Arch unlike others which you drive to. It's natures toll and there is no EZPASS :) It's so worth it though. I would rate it as one of the best natural attractions I have seen so far. It is gorgeous, huge, tall and handsome. Since it was early in the morning, only a swiss couple was at the Arch. You don't want too many ppl at such a spot and spoil the party. so starting early is a very good idea. Plus it gets extremely hot here later in the day. Asked the couple to take a pic of me posing just to show how huge this arch is. I spent about 30 min taking pics from various angles and then started descending. I was back to the parking lot at about 9 am.

Decided to check out the double arch. This arch used to be a pot hole which got eroded leaving the double arch the way it is now. It's nice but honestly I am biased towards the Delicate Arch. It's just too good. I saw some other attractions such as Windows (natural openings) and turkey arch but none of these come even close the the master piece. I was done at about 10 am and rushed back to the hotel for a shower and check out. The Patel lady called twice in my room to make sure I was done by 11 am. No offence to Gujaratis but I have a question. If you see only 3 letters on a sign board (TEL) and the 1st few letters are hidden, how to you tell if it's PATEL or MOTEL? I uploaded the pics and started towards Bryce canyon.


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Distance 300 miles. Time: 4 hrs 30 min.

I cruised on I70 W to get to Bryce Canyon National Park. I reached at about 5 pm. It's famous for its sunrise and sunset points. Hence I wanted to get there before sunset. I made it well in time. Set up my tent and went for some sightseeing. The hoodoos are beautiful. It's different kind of beauty. Effects of erosion over hundres of thousands of years. I went to sunset point and waited for about an hour to experience the changing colors. Unfortunately, the clouds above spoiled the fun. A couple from Belgium was besides me enjoying the sunset. We spoke a lot about my trip and theirs. I am back in my tent and it's completely dark as I type this under my tent light. I am going to bed now since I need to wake up warly for the sunrise view. Stay tuned.

US Cross Country - Day7 I 70 W

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Distance: 450 miles Time: 9 hrs

I was freezing in my tent at close to 0 deg Celsius. Couldln't get proper sleep due to the cold and woke up at around 5:30 am. Went for a ride to spot animals. One difference I noted was that I saw female (cows) elks. I donno what the deal was with the males. I returned to the site and left for Arches NP at around 930 am. I had to cover 450 miles but since I had some time I decided to go to Denver. Roamed in the downtown for a while and then took I70 towards Utah.

I70 deserves a separate mention in this blog. From Denver to the Colorado-Utah border, I70 is stunning. Very Few interstate highways will have as many turns as I70. Twists n turns, tunnels, mountains, rivers, canyons -- you name it. The rest areas are like tourist attractions. I thoroughly enjoyed I70 a lot. I would rate Colorado as one of the most scenic states in the country. It's awesome.

Entered Utah and the scene changed. Deserted views, high speeds, fewer people on the road and most importantly - no cops. I met some bikers in Utah at gas stations. Special mention of an old couple in their 60s probably from Washington DC doing a cross country (roundtrip). Check out their custom-made bikes. Absolutely fabulous.

Funny incident happened to me on I70. I was cruising at 100 mph with a half tank of gas and a belief that it's an interstate and I will surely find gas stations. Suddenly I saw a board - No services for the next 100 miles. The last gas station had just passed me about 10 miles ago. Plus, people coming from the opposite end would not have had a gas station for 100 miles; hence there would definitely be one close by if I turned around. I decided to make a U-turn :P Actually ended up doing a U-turn where it says "Authorized vehicles only". I couldn't even find an exit in the next 5 miles; hence decided to use the cop's zone since he wasn't there :) costed me about 20 miles or so but gave me the peace of mind of a full tank.

I reached Moab, Utah at around 6 pm. A thunderstorm was passing by and it made me wet. Just for the last 10 miles or so it soaked me. Wet gloves; what a disgusting feeling that is. I checked into my hotel, uploaded pics and went for dinner.

I want to wake up early tomorrow morning to see the Arches. Excited!

US Cross Country - Day6 Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

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Distance: 120 miles Time: 3 hrs

I had decided that I won't wake up early today; but some vehicle's security alarm messed it up. I had breakfast and browsed for a while. Checked out at 10; I was headed towards a Yamaha dealership to buy chain lube. I just had 95 miles to cover to reach Rocky Mountain National Park. I had lunch on the way and reached the park at about 1 am using the Estes Park Entrance. Route 34 which leads to the Park entrance is amazing for riding.

As soon as I entered the park it started to rain with some hail to add to the trouble. I quickly went to the visitor center and utilized this time to buy post cards etc. It stopped raining in 30 min and I headed towards the campground. Was excited to camp for the 1st time in the trip. To my surprise, I got the best spot in the campground.


I didn't know until regular visitors stopped by and started telling me about it that they always try for this spot :) I was just done setting up the tent and it started to rain again. I took this time to take pics of the views from my tent. It was amazing. The valley and then the mountains. Stayed in for a while, relaxed (which I haven't done at all during this trip). Again, it stopped raining in about 30 min or so. I started towards the Elk View trail.

I learnt from the Park Ranger that this is one of the best time to visit Rocky Mountain NP since it's the elk mating season.

So many of them. You see them in herds. The bulls do some crazy things to attract females such as make various types of sounds, urinate often so that the female (cow) smells them etc. I can hear them making those noises even now as I type this.
I took a lot of pics. At 6 pm, a park ranger presented a talk on Elks. It was very informative. Due to a lack of predators, population of elks at Rocky Mountain is very high. The park is now trying birth control measures. Females with a yellow/blue tape around their neck are the ones involved in this research.

I took a ride on the bear lake road. Again, what a place this is for riding. I practiced my turning techniques. Stopped at Sprague Lake for some pics.

Rocky Mountain is a beautiful place. The Fall season is very short-lived. I could see some colors changing. As per the ranger, the season is so short that rangers too take pics when they explain things to ppl not to miss out on the opportunity.

There's no place in the park which serves food. I had a last Bhel packet left which I used up for dinner when oldies in RVs were happily cooking their burgers with ketchup and mustard. I spoke to a lot of people from Ohio, Colorado, Kansas. It was a lot of fun. People found my trip very cool. They are a bit stunned to read "New Jersey" on my license plate. The trip is going better than I thought it would. There's no time to get bored in case you are wondering how can someone do this alone. I am living my dream of seeing the world ground-up. That's all for today. It's not even 9 pm but it's so dark already that I need to go to bed even when I don't want to :)

US Cross Country - Day5 Rushmore/Crazy Horse/Black Hills, South Dakota

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Distance: 110 miles Time: 3 hr 15 min.

I woke up early (6:15) since I wasn't used to the Mountain Time Zone. Was able to get some pretty views of the badlands in the morning. I decided to take the scenic loop connecting to I 90W. Making several stops, taking pics, doing the fossil walk took time. I even tried to setup my camera to shoot myself riding in this no man's land; but figured it was taking too much time. Gave up. Had breakfast on the way and reached Rushmore around 10:30 am.

Mt. Rushmore is regarded as the "Shrine of Democracy".


The park ranger had presentations on history of Mt. Rushmore on the presidential walk. Why Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln were chosen, why are they in that order etc. The place is very inspiring. I spent more than 2 hrs here getting to know American history. Bought a souvenir, posted a card with a Rushmore stamp, and off I was to check out "Crazy Horse" -- representative of the native Lakota Indians in the Black Hills.


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Crazy Horse was started by a sculptor who wanted to pay tribute to the tribes here. He didn't want govt. influence hence rejected any Federal grants. Because of this, only the face of the monument is sort of ready in more than 50 yrs into it.

The video about cutting of the mountain is pretty interesting. I wasn't too impressed with it overall; hence didn't spend much time here.


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One of the highlights of today's day was riding in the Black Hills. They are a paradise for motorcycle riding. I was advised by some riders to do the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park - Iron Mountain Road back to Mount Rushmore. It would take me about 3 hrs to do this. I didn't have that time scheduled but I decided to go for it. What a decision I made! Custer State Park is the largest state park in the US. The wildlife loop road is a pretty ride. You will see herds of bisons n deers grazing.

The wildlife loop connects to the Iron Mountain Road which heads towards Mount Rushmore. It's a tortuous road; heaven to practice your high speed turns. There are 3 tunnels on this road. From 2 of those, you see Mt. Rushmore coming out of the tunnel. The sculptor based some of his decisions from what he could see from these tunnels. It's mesmerizing. I loved it. I reached Mt. Rushmore once again at about 4:30 pm.


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Since I was lagging behind my schedule started immediately towards Rocky Mountain. I didn't have any hotel stay booked for this night since I wasn't sure how much ground I could cover. Again, the empty roads in SD and Wyoming which you see till the horizon with nobody on it. Sunset was around 8 pm and it got pretty cold. I had to take out my scarf for the 1st time. Temperatures were in lower 40s. Bike on reserve fuel, no gas station for miles, no light miles ahead, nobody on the road. I was lil scared I must admit; not because of the darkness but because I was low on fuel.

Fortunately in about 20 miles I found a gas station and hit I 25 S. I stopped at about 10 pm at a town called Cheyenne, WY. An eventful 15 hr and another 480 miles day was over. This was by far the best day of the trip. Thankfully, I haven't seen a drop of rain so far in my first 2200 miles. Hope it stays like that.

US Cross Country - Day4 Badlands National Park, South Dakota

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Distance: 525 miles Time: 9 hrs

I had a > 500 miles day planned; hence started at around 9:30 am. I fell in love with Minnesota. It's beautiful. Agriculture seems to be big here. Lot of fields. I stopped for a country breakfast and could actually taste the freshness in the vegetables. No kidding; veggies are really fresh here. I didn't stop for lunch today since I had a long way to go. Along with Minnesota, I fell in love with I 90 W. You can see miles and miles ahead of you with nobody on the road. I hit some crazy speeds as it was very safe. Nobody, not even cops, on the road :) I did not see a single cop in Minnesota. Covered ground pretty fast which gave me time for some extra stops as it was pretty tiring concentrating at high speeds. Saw Suzlon wind mills in Minnesota. They should put these in South Dakota instead as the wind is even more crazy in SD.

Entered South Dakota around 2 pm. I still had 280 miles to go to Badlands National Park, my destination. One should always stop at visitor centers. They have free maps and people actually take the effort to explain you major attractions, scenic routes etc. The lady was kind enough to give me a detailed route of how to see Mt. Rushmore and have a good experience in South Dakota. I collected the maps and kept moving. The ride from Sioux Falls to Badlands is simply gorgeous. Especially the Missouri river. It's huge. I loved my riding day the most on this trip so far. Saw so many motorcyclits waving all the time. Heaven! I actually realised how much I love motorcycle riding. If you haven't tried it, please do so. It's just out of this world.

Reached Badlands National Park at around 5:30 pm Mountain Time.

I wasn't aware of sign boards indicating time changes until I saw one. Bought the "America the Beautiful" annual pass to National Parks. Stopped at some scenic overlooks. For those who are wondering what Badlands is, here is an extract from the National Geographic book.
They call it The Wall. It extends for a hundred miles through the dry plains of SD -- a hige natural barrier riding the landscape, sculptured into fantastic pinnacles and tortuous gullies by the forces of water.


The erosion rates are extremely high here -- more than an inch per year.

The lodge restaurant closed at 6:30 pm. I had to take care of my laundry and do the usual stuff of unloading. Another item added to the list was cleaning the bike and jacket. Due to lot of insect casualties on my jacket and bike, lot of bees were being attracted. I had to control this problem; hence put some time in cleaning. I met a lot of people and spent some time talking to them. Since I missed dinner, I decided to go to a bar in a town called Interior, SD. I learnt that the town has 60 - 70 people. Just had a couple of beers and came back to the room. Opening my backup "Bhel" packet as I write the blog. It's 10:45 pm and m off.

US Cross Country - Day3 Rochester, Minnesota

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Distance: 350 miles Time: 6 hr 15 min

This was the 3rd day of the trip and I knew it's gonna be hard to get up. It was. Alarm rang at 9 am. I rushed my checkout at 10 am, kept my luggage in the locker and off I was to see Chicago. I only had 2 things on my mind: Millenium Park and Architecture tour. Good thing was my hotel was at a walking distance from these places. When you are travelling with limited time, please do yourselves a favor of booking hotels close to attractions. Believe me, those extra bucks are well spent. You really don't have time to commute back and forth.

Millenium Park is a good attraction with one problem (personal). I had seen pictures of it which kinda spoiled the fun a little bit.

It was worth the time though. The reflection of the buildings with the effect of convoluted images is pretty amazing. I took some picures and went for the architecture tour. Thanks to the long weekend, all the tours for the whole day were booked. I managed a ticket for the sight-seeing tour which is 90 min and includes the Michigan Lake too. I had my 1st experience of a water lock gate used to change levels.

In the end it turned out to be a very good experience. Skyline views and a paradise for an architect. I love Chicago. One may argue it's similar to NYC. It is in some sense but I think it's like Chicago :)


I was hungry and wanted to try a nice Chicago-style pizza. Consulted a few locals who suggested Uno Pizzeria.

The place had a 1.5 hrs wait for eat-in and a 1 hr wait for take-out. I just went to a food court opposite to it as I definitely did not have time for such things.

As per my schedule I left at around 2:15 pm. Took the I90/94 W towards Wisconsin Madison. The Illinois part of the road is a toll road and it's really in a bad shape. So many tolls to pay from time to time. I lost my EZPASS (for those who don't know, it's a device to pay tools easily .. duh) in the process. When on a motorcycle, you sometimes need to hold the pass in your hand as the height can be an issue if you keep it on the bike. The system doesn't pick it up. So in this acrobatic process at 80 mph, it got stuck in my glove and I dropped it somewhere on the freeway :( I will find out soon about any unpaid tolls.

I entered Wisconsin and could find some changes compared to Illinois. More greenery, more picnic spots, modernised sprinklers for irrigation, and most importantly, more cops. I saw a lot of them; perhaps due to the long weekend. I approached Minnesota around sunset. Just after I crossed the Mississippi river, scenery changed. Road condition changed. I fell in love with Minnesota at my first sight. Beautiful for riding. You can see miles ahead with no one on the road and higher speed limits and no cops (just kidding). I took some pictures (on the freeway :D)

Reached my bro-in-law's place around 8:15 pm. Same story. Unpacked the luggage and lubed the chain. Sorry for repeating this stuff. I am tired :) and going to bed soon. It's 11:30 pm and I have the longest ride of my trip tomorrow. So I better get some sleep.

US Cross Country - Day2 Chicago, Illinois

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Distance: 475 miles Time: 10 hrs

I woke up around 7:30 although my alarm was set for 8:30 :( It was very foggy and a bit chilly too. Had breakfast, waited for the sun to show up and off I was at about 10 am towards Chicago. It was a beautiful day to ride. I could see some differences in Ohio and PA. Ohio is just plain flat. Lot of trucking companies. I 80W (Ohio Turnpike) is a toll road in Ohio when it isn't in PA. The road condition isn't all that gr8 though compared to PA's.

I was at a rest area when a friend of mine, Devdutt, asked me to come to Ann Arbor. This would mean a diversion of about 70 miles. Not a big deal you may think. Well, when your ass is burning sitting on a motorcycle, 75 miles can make a difference. I thought of checking out Ann Arbor. It was game day; the 1st game of the college football season. I was surprised to see people offering their driveways, lawn for parking (10$, 15$ etc.) Apparently, locals make a lot of money through parking. Some houses were surrounded by almost 20 cars.


After lunch at an extremely good BBQ place, I headed towards my originally planned destination, Chicago. Left Ann Arbor at around 4 pm.

I could see the difference when I got closer to Chicago. Rail roads, factories and most obvious of all, toll, 3 times within 25 miles. I knew a big city was coming. I checked into my hotel at around 8 pm. I was lucky to get 1 hour extra due to the time difference. My hotel in downtown didn't allow me to park my motorcycle. I paid the doorman a premium and he let me park it in a parking lot next to the hotel :) (Even it doesn't "officially" allow motorcycles). Money talks.

Went out to see the magnificent mile at night. Had no plans as such. I walked by the Chicago Tribune head quarters and decided to check it out. This place is so inspirational. Quotes from the stalwarts of democracy and freedom about the press. Simply amazing.


I was walking back to my hotel looking for a place to eat. Happened to ask to Indian guys for a suggestion. Ended up having dinner with them at a pretty good Indian restaurant. We went to a bar after dinner. The bar owner was so friendly; we ended up spending a lot of time here. Chatted for a long time.

I am back to my hotel room and it's 1 am (Chicago time). I better get some sleep. Another long but wonderful day is over.

US Cross Country - Day1 Youngstown, Ohio

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Distance: 400 miles Time: 7 hrs 15 min.


All my bags are packed m ready to go
m standing here outside the door
I hate to wake u up to say good-bye.. -- John Denver


Due to a lack of vacation, I took a partial day off from work and reached home around 1:30 pm. It took me some time to get my luggage loaded. Maybe by the end of thr trip I will become an expert in this. I left Hackensack, NJ around 3 pm. Plan was to take I 80 W for the rest of the day. I had to cross PA in its entirety and since I was late to start, I decided to cut back on my coffee breaks.




Sunset was around 8:10 pm and I still had significant miles to go. This was probably the only day on the trip I rode in the dark. There are several reasons I believe you showed stop before dusk and not ride in the night. a) Insects have their last moment on the helmet shield during this time. b) Visibility becomes poor; very easy to misjudge a turn. c) You can't see far ahead reducing your speed. d) And finally, if it rains, you may complete the rest of the sentence. I saw various shades on the horizon during sunset. To cover some ground, I had a 175 mile run before my fuel guage started blinking. Decided to stop around 9 pm in Clarion, PA for dinner.

I entered Ohio around 10 pm. Was kinda scared taking this picture as I was worried about ppl not spotting me. I saw some changes as I crossed the state boundary. I80W renamed to Ohio Turnpike. Lot of trucking companies, Cummins, Indalex (aluminium maker). I checked in a super-8 motel around 10:15 pm and it took me another 20 min to unload and lube the bike's chain (very important). I learnt from the receptionist that most of the business in the area comes from truck drivers who are taking a hit in this economy affecting others.

I am a little tired. There's a bar nearby. M grabbing a drink and then m off.