Western US Tour

[sparkinator]

Day 13
Capulin, NM to Arcadia, LA
I slept in this morning after a long ride the day before. As I was packing up my gear a retired gentleman came over to look at my bike. His name was Carney Robertson from Alexandria, LA. We struck up a conversation about long distance riding and camping and, come to find out, he was a long time Beemer rider that was impressed with the ST1300. He was a fascinating guy. He invited me over to get a cup of coffee before I headed out and I found my way over to his RV after I had everything packed up. It was like 2 old friends meeting up on the road. We shared stories from the road (his far more interesting than mine) and he told me he was now riding a R75 with a sidecar. I drank his coffee and got his e-mail address before leaving and plan on staying in touch with him in the days ahead. The encounter was a true 'jewel from the road." (Not to sound TOO corny) I headed out from Capulin and decided I would ride today until I got tired and stop. I didn't care if it was 400 miles or 40 miles from home. I punched in my coordinates on the GPS and told it to calculate me a route home. I stopped a few times for gas and a bite to eat, but I made it home by 12:30am. It was an uneventful end to a very eventful trip. The miles just clicked off and I felt much like the day before, that I was finally hitting my stride. Hopefully I will fall right back into it on the start of my next road trip. Miles for the day 817.

Total miles for trip 6,650.

 

[gregd]

All I can say sparkinator is WOW :bow1: :bow1: :bow1: .

I am soooooo jealous. What a great trip report and the pictures were excellent. I am glad you shared your wonderful adventure and that you made it home safe and sound.

Question: What was your planned miles per day and were you able to stick to it? It sounded like you had to cut things a bit short by the end of the trip.

If you did it again...would you do anything differently?

Aprroximately...what was the total trip cost with fuel, maintenance, camp grounds, hotels etc.?

I am planning for a trip similar to this next year...I can hardly wait.

Thanks man!!!

Greg

 

[sparkinator]

Thanks Greg
I had been planning this trip for a year also. I couldn't coordinate dates with others that were going, and then others backed out, so I just decided to go by myself. It probably worked out better for me that way anyhow. If I had encountered a lot of problems, I would probably be rethinking it though.

I used my debit card for all of my gas, so I'm not sure of the total, but average price, maybe 3.80 for premium (probably less) at 6650 miles and average at least 45 MPH. Thats $560.00 (at the most) for gas.

I spent 2 nights in a motel. I looked around til I found one each time for $50.00 that I was comfortable wouldn't wind up on a episode of cops.

Campgrounds ran from 10 to 15 bucks usually. KOAs are higher. Total lodging was less than 250.00 (I stayed at my uncles in Las Vegas one night).

For meals, I went the CHEAP route. Usually one good meal a day and peanut butter crackers, canned tuna or chicken or something similar. I probably averaged $10-12.00 a day on food, but I definitely went the CHEAP route as I said. $140.00 dollars.

Thats 950 bucks.

As far as maintenance, most of those items were going to need to be replaced anyway.

As far as mileage per day. I wound up loosely scheduling 420/day. After reading Bamariders journals:bow1: , I kind of got a feel for that being doable and realistic. I didn't have any problems getting those miles per day, but you're not always going to find a place to stop so you have to be flexible.

The bad--I carried WAY too much stuff. Don't worry too much about that though, because I would have felt uncomfortable leaving out with any less than I had packed. Now that I'm back, I can judge better what to take next time.

The good--I carried a necklace (for lack of a better term) that came with my pin drive that has a quick release clasp with a small loop on it. I drilled a small hole on the edge of my drivers license, National park pass and debit card and looped them onto it. This was about all I needed and I didn't have to keep up with a wallet (It was buried somewhere on my bike where I wouldn't loose it.) I carried a little cash also, for small purchases.

I hope this helps.

 

[gregd]

Thanks Sparky...

Great idea about carrying your cards on a lanyard. $1000 bucks for that much adventure seems very reasonable to me. I am also a terrible over-packer in situations like that...must be the Boy Scout in me..."be prepared"!!!

Thanks again,

Greg

 

[Highway STar]

Sounds like a great trip. I did much of your route through California and Oregon in May after riding out from Toronto. My average on the way to LA was 437 miles per day. I also did the Million Dollar Highway. Beautiful riding.

I would leave again tomorrow for the same trip but might skip Arizona and that wind the second time around.

 

[jim euro]

Really enjoyed reading about your trip and the bike looked well.
Just wondering what make of tyres had you on the bike for that trip and what milage did you get out of them.
Thanks Jim.

 

[Jeff F]

Really enjoyed reading about your trip and the bike looked well.
Just wondering what make of tyres had you on the bike for that trip and what milage did you get out of them.
Thanks Jim.

The trip was in 2007 and if you hover over the OP's avatar you'll see he hasn't been around here for about 5 years

 

[jim euro]

Thanks Jeff F,