A Book of the Tour

Okay, so the tour is over and lots of people have asked “What now?”

Well, have been giving that some thought and I have decided. Encouraged by some of my blog readers, I have decided that I will write a book about the tour I have just finished.

Apart from experimenting with my blog, for somebody who rarely writes anything, who prefers charts and diagrams, pictures and graphs to actually writing words, that is quite a decision for me. But, I think I have just done something quite significant and many of you seem to have enjoyed my words and pictures, so I am going to give it a go. I like a challenge, so I am going to see if I can do it. I am going to need help, but what the heck, it will be an enjoyable thing to do and it will be a permanent record of where I went and what I saw. If I manage to sell a few books in the process, then that will be a bonus.

I am looking at this being a book of pictures with some words, rather than a book of words with some pictures. That should keep me in my comfort zone.

What’s more, as a thank you to every one of my blog friends that have encouraged me to write more, I am going to give everyone that has ever written a comment on my blog (before today) one of the first copies of my book, for free!

I mean what I say, I really appreciate the support you have given to me over the past few months, so this is my way of saying thank you.

I don’t know how long this will take, but I will let you know every now and then how I am getting on.

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Harley Ride Conversations

Talking to our passengers, seated on the back of our Harley Davidson motorcycle, as we cruise around is one of the joys of a Harley Ride . Do we use an intercom? No we don't. Why? because we don't need one. Its very easy to talk to you if you are a pillion on a bike with us. Here is a Youtube clips that show you what I mean.

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The End Of The Tour

Well that is it. The end of the tour has arrived.

I wondered how I would feel when it was finished and to be honest, I don’t know yet. It felt strange that yesterday I went and bought a suitcase to carry my things back home in.

It feels strange that in a little over an hour I will be collected in a car and taken to LAX airport. It seems strange that I will today be getting on an airplane instead of my bike.

I will miss leaving each morning not knowing where I will end up that night.

I won’t have to look at a map each day to look at where I might go. I will miss doing that.

I will miss seeing new things each day. I will miss exploring.

I will miss the sunshine!

I will miss being on this adventure and I will miss the kind people I have met every day.

I will miss lots of things.

I will miss the ride. I will miss some of the best roads I have ever ridden. I will miss the freedom I felt riding a motorcycle across the USA.

But, I am going back to that special place called home. To where I live.

I will be seeing my lovely wife again. I have missed her a great deal.

I will see my kids soon.

I will see my dog. She will go crazy when she sees me.

Those things are really good. Really good indeed.

I rode 21,475 miles in 27 states in 146 days.

That is an average of 147 miles per day. Take out the non-riding days and the average goes up to 177 miles a day.

I have seen many wonderful and interesting places. I have ridden over high mountains and across deserts. I have been in big cities and tiny towns. I have seen almost no cars in 78 miles of riding. I have seen 78 cars on the road in one second. I have seen extraordinary wealth and extreme poverty. I have seen old things that should be cherished and I have seen brand new things to marvel at. I have been boiling hot and I have been freezing cold. What an amazingly diverse country the US is.

I know I am very lucky to have been able to do this tour and I know many people would like to do the same, but cannot yet for a variety of reasons. Many people have read my blog and shown fantastic support and many have written encouraging words. When I started this blog I had no idea how big it would become. I was worried that my writing was not great and I wondered if people would be interested in what I had to say and in the pictures I posted. The kind words of the readers of my blog meant that I would continue posting, nearly every day if I could. Knowing that people were reading my stuff was a tremendous boost. Thank you to everyone that commented on my blog, for it is you that drove me to keep writing. You will be rewarded for your comments and I will tell you about that on Saturday.

Most of all I would like to thank Jackie for letting me fulfil my dream of riding across the USA. Without your full support I would not have been able to do this. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Finally I would like to thank America. All of it and all of its people. It is truly an amazing place with so many marvellous things to see and places to visit. As a nation you have some very special qualities and Americans are a very special people. I have been touched by your generosity, politeness and overwhelming friendship. Thank you America!

There is just one photo for today. Yesterday, I delivered my bike, the Leading Ladies, to the shipping agent in Los Angeles....

My bike has carried me effortlessly on a tremendous journey without complaint and without any major problem. Thank you Leading Ladies, you did a great job!

There was only one make of bike I could ever have ridden across the USA on, and it had to be a Harley-Davidson.

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Motorcycle Philosophy and the Ortega Highway

Day 144 saw me riding from San Diego to Long Beach in California. This was my last full day of riding and I wanted to make the most of it.

I started early as I had a lot to see and my first stop was Balboa Park and the Museum of Man. I was too early to go into the museum as it was not yet open when I was there, so i took a couple of pictures with my point and shoot camera. I believe the tower is called the California Tower....

I tried to go see the Cabrillo National Monument – a lighthouse – as I had been told the views from the point upon which it sits are fantastic. It wasn’t to be though as the US Navy don’t open the road until 10am each day. I am not sure why and the guard didn’t know either, but I just accepted it and turned around, carrying on my journey north.

My next stop was at La Jolla and I looked at the seals before getting a coffee and some breakfast. I chatted to a guy called Joel who had become a motorcyclist a few years later than most of us and he told me how much he was enjoying what had now become a new passion for him. Nice one!

The previous evening, I had changed the ISO setting on my camera to a very high setting for some night photos. Today was an absolute disaster as I forgot to change to back to a slower speed / higher quality so when I looked at my pictures from my last full riding day, they were, well, rubbish!

I have junked most of them and have included just a few here. This is La Jolla and because of my lack of a brain on this day, it doesn’t look at its best....

I went to see the San Diego California Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, near to La Jolla. It is a stunning church with high reaching spires and its white finish to the building makes it seem like the church is glowing...

At Cardiff, I stopped to look at what seemed like a very peculiar statue. It seemed to be a young boy surfing while wearing an army uniform. I got chatting to a local couple who told me the story of the statue. Meant to be honouring the many surfers along this part of the coast, the statue shows somebody learning to surf, but the local surfers complained the figure was in the wrong pose and limp-wristed. Now knicknamed the Cardiff Kook, people have jokingly added items to the statue and this seems to have become a local prank that people enjoy.

The statue is sometimes dressed in clothes, wears a hat, or one elaborate prank saw a huge shark being added about to eat the poor newbe-surfer. Thankfully, nobody has vandalised the sculpture and I like the fact that the protest continues in a light-hearted way. When I was there, the statue looked like this....

I wanted to get some last pictures of the California coast. The ISO problem made them almost un-usable....

The highlight of my day was meeting Steve Johnson and his friend Jack. Many of you will have read Steve’s blog, called Motorcycle Philosophy, and especially read of his recent ride to Alaska and back. We had arranged to meet at Oceanside and we first rode to San Clemente for lunch. We of course talked about bikes, including riding in this part of California, which has the almost unique blend of being able to ride by the ocean and in a very short amount of time, you could be riding in the mountains just inland.

After lunch we set off with Steve on his Honda ST1300 and Jack on his Suzuki V-Strom DL650. I had read about a great riding road called the Ortega Highway, which has a reputation for being one of the most dangerous roads in the US. I thinks that reputation is diminishing now for as Steve explained, a lot more car traffic now uses the road and that has slowed down the sports bike riders. With Steve in the lead I could quickly tell he could handle his Honda very well and he soon disappeared into the distance. I tried to keep up, but I didn’t want to become a part of the roads reputation!

We reached the top of the ride at a place with a terrific view of Lake Elsinore. Here are Steve (on the right) and Jack....

The view of the lake....

All too soon, I needed to head off back down the Ortega Highway and bid farewell to Steve and Jack. It was good to meet Steve after reading his blog. The name of his blog, Motorcycle Philosophy reflects the fact that Steve likes to read and write about the feelings of riding motorbikes. It is the ride itself that he likes towrite about. His blog is great reading!

On the way back down, I stopped very briefly at the Hells Kitchen, a favourite watering hole for local bikers....

I was late to meet another biker who had responded to my blog by writing some comments and we had exchanged a few e-mails. Having agreed to meet at Mothers Bar just outside Long Beach, I had to crank the bike up a bit to get there in time and I skipped a few places I had wanted to see on the way. I arrived at about the right time, but the guy I was to meet didn’t show up....

On my last full day of riding, I did 203 miles.

I have just a few posts left to write about the tour and on Saturday, I am going to be making an announcement....

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San Diego – A Great City

I arrived late in San Diego on the previous evening, so I didn’t get an opportunity to see the city before it got dark. I hadn’t planned on staying here, but I had ridden many more miles than I had expected in the previous two days, so I now had a spare day and I decided to spend it in this city, seeing what it had to offer. I am really glad that I did.

The view of San Diego across the water....

Named after Saint Didacus, San Diego has a population of 1.4 million and is in the top 10 of largest cities in the US. Unlike its near neighbour Los Angeles, the city feels very safe and was judged to be the 5th best place to live in the US by Money magazine.

At the heart of the city is the Gaslamp area, a small area dating back to 1867 that now houses restaurants, bars, night life and small shops, mainly centred and Fifth Avenue.

This Dublin Square Irish pub in the Gaslamp....

A fire escape on an old building. I love the shapes and shadows here....

A mural showing John Lennon in the centre, what I think is Jim Morrison on the right, but I am not sure who the woman is on the left. Janis Joplin perhaps? If it is, then maybe this is a mural depicting singers that died young, but I am not sure....

Next to the Gaslamp area is Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres baseball team....

Across the San Diego Bay is an island called Coronado which is connected to the main part of the city by an impressive bridge. I went to see the Hotel Del Coronado, a famous resort hotel built in 1888....

My cousin Dean is a golf course expert, so I had to get a picture of the Coronado Municipal Golf Course. Looks good, eh Dean?.....

Along the waterfront in San Diego is the Maritime Museum. This is HMS Surprise, a replica of the 18th century Royal Navy frigate Rose....

This is Anne, who works for the museum. She was originally from the UK. she would quickly slit your gizzard if you didn’t enter the museum....

I decided to visit USS Midway, an aircraft carrier moored at the waterfront. Next to the ship is a small park which contains a couple of interesting things, the first of which is a monument to the famous American comedian and entertainer, Bob Hope. The statue was in the shade, so I took a picture with a silhouette in mind. His profile is very recognisable....

One of Bob Hopes great attributes was he often went overseas during wars and entertained the US troops. The monument reflects exactly that – he is entertaining a group of soldiers.....

Nearby is a huge statue of a Navy man kissing a woman....

The USS Midway is named after what is probably the most famous American sea fight, the Battle of Midway....

Looking down at the flight deck....

The bridge.....

The display of aircraft on the flight deck is very impressive and ex-servicemen are there to explain everything you ever wanted to know, and more, about the planes, take-offs and landings, plus a lot about life on board such a huge ship....

The flags on the ships superstructure were very colourful and apparently spell “Gobble Gobble”, the significance of which escaped me....

The sun was beginning to set as I left the USS Midway. I caught the last rays hitting these trees....

I walked back through the Gaslamp area and tried to take a few night shots. I changed the ISO setting on my camera to “very high”, a decision I came to regret the next day!

I was happy with a few of the pictures I took....

Overall, I thought San Diego was a fantastic city. I could easily live there!

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Joshua Tree and the Mexico Border

The Joshua Tree was named by Mormon Settlers who were reminded by the trees shape of a tale in the Bible of Joshua shaping his hands skyward in prayer.

On day 142, I went to the Joshua Tree National Park, not knowing what to expect. Sure, I knew I would see some Joshua Tree’s but I had no idea what the setting would be, or what else might be there. As it turned out, the Joshua Tree’s were not the main attraction, as there are many interesting and competing things to see.

The park is huge and comprises 794,000 acres, with parts being in an enormous valley.

The Joshua Trees are to be found mainly in the northern part of the park....

There are however many other interesting plant species that I have never seen before.

I liked the way the sun light was catching the needles of this cactus....

Mohave Yucca....

Another very prickly cactus....

The shape of the rocks attracted my attention. It wasn’t until later that they reminded me of the Adidas logo....

My absolute favourite plant species was the Cholla Catus. These strange shaped plant look as if they come from another planet. They are also called Jumping Cholla as if you brush against them, they will attach themselves to you. I loved the shapes they made in an area of the park called the Cholla Cactus Garden....

I thought this was another cactus, but it isn’t. This is an Ocotillo, a thorny deciduous plant which can grow and drop its leaves up to five times a year, depending on rainfall....

The rocks in the park were odd, in that they just sat there, seemingly out of place in the desert environment. I read later they were forced up from underground by volcanic activity. In a molten state, this granite like rock was pushed up from deep underground and was pushed through the overlying rock. It can into contact with groundwater where it cracked and over time, weathering has made the cracks deeper and wider, and formed the rock into the angular shapes seem today. In some places the rock has split into boulders which look as if they have just been dumped into a pile....

While I didn’t stop for a look around, I rode through Palm Desert which seemed like a very up-market place to live. The houses were large, with very well tended lawns and gardens. Long streets lined with immaculate palm trees were abundant. I saw shops with all the up-scale fashion brands. Palm Desert is a wealthy city for sure.

Just south of Palm Desert the “Pines to Palms” highway rises steeply on a wonderfully twisty and fast windy road.

This is looking down on the road....

The view back to Palm Desert shows large green areas – indicating the lush planted areas that money can buy in the desert....

Just a few miles further south and I found rows of post boxes, just crying out to be photographed....

In the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, I crossed the 21,000 mile point of my tour. I of course stopped for the now customary photograph....

I stopped to look at these trees, no doubt killed by the rising water....

I pressed on south and reached the town of Campo, where the road passes very close to the border with Mexico. I looked up the hill I was riding close to and realised I was looking at the border fence....

I was now headed wet following close to the border and heading towards the Pacific Ocean. This road is obviously used a lot by illegal immigrants and I rounded one bend and there was a border patrol checkpoint. The odd thing was this checkpoint is on a road that runs alongside, not across the border. All vehicles are stopped and you are asked to show your passport or other ID. After chatting with the guard about my tour a long line of cars had formed behind us, he trusted that I was English and not Mexican, said he didn’t need to see my passport, shook my hand and sent me on my way, wishing me well. Nice guy.

As I rode away from the checkpoint, I remembered the song “I want to live in America” and I was singing the one of two lines from the song that I knew, over and over again. I was pretty sure this song was about Mexicans wanting to live in America, but later checking on the internet, it turns out I was wrong, as it relates to Puerto Rico. The song is from the musical West Side Story and even if I got the country wrong, the sentiment is the same....



I stopped at Imperial Beach – the closest point on the Pacific to the Mexican Border. I had travelled from the top right hand corner of the USA to the bottom left hand corner. I stopped and looked at the coastline as it turned from being in the USA into Mexico and reflected on what different lifestyles the people have either side of a fence.

In the picture below the buildings beyond the people on the beach are in Mexico....

I had ridden a long way today, 323 miles in total. Nearly all of these were on quiet, 2 lane twisty roads. I was very tired indeed and enjoyed just sitting on the beach for a while.

I got back on the bike and found myself in the strange position of riding north!

Later that afternoon I stopped for the night in a great city – San Diego.

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