Moderator: Modern Buddy Staff
Scoot Richmond's new site: My awesome local shop. All of the info can be found at http://scootforcharity.com but the direct link to the donation site is http://www.firstgiving.com/trackpete (if you're not familiar, First Giving is a great on-line fundraising site, very secure and well used).Lostmycage wrote:Can you post a link to the donation site for your ride?
My little two-stroke burned itself up at 10k miles, it simply wasn't intended for the type of abuse I'm putting it through (few decel cycles) - I was actually surprised it held up that long. I got stranded in the middle of the Yukon for 9 days waiting on parts, then had the top end rebuilt by a Honda dealer and rode it down to Seattle. In Seattle we found out that the crankshaft had been bent and the dealer up north didn't notice, so at 12k miles we had to do a full top and bottom end rebuild.goldscott wrote:What happened with your engine in Seattle?
Scoot Richmond's new site: My awesome local shop.
Most of the time a 2.5 gallon spare can (also a great back rest) was all I needed. The Dalton Highway was bad enough that I carried the 2.5 gallon can and a 1 gallon secondary and both of those got used up! Technically I think that's the longest stretch of highway in the US without services (like 300 miles), so it was a close one.rablack wrote:Amazing. How did you carry enough fuel on those remote roads?
The best thing is that I can pull over ANYWHERE I want to take pictures/etc. - it's not like a car where you're limited to pulloffs. Then I can do everything at my own pace, some days I only did a hundred miles just because there was so much to stop and look at.Howardr wrote:The Iron Butt broke me of wanting to do timed distance rides, but I would really love to be able to do a long adventure like yours.
Nevada was actually really amazing for me, I took 50 through most of it (including the "old highway"). Tons of mountains and back-country curves separated by short 20-30 mile valleys with beautiful scenery.ilektron wrote:Canada and Alaska and bears aside, I can't even imagine doing that stretch through Nevada and Utah.
Bingo. Not that my 1200-mile "MIway" jaunts are anywhere near the scale of this ride, but I still get reactions of disbelief when I tell people I rode li'l Flash up to Pictured Rocks and back. I'm not a confident, take-the-initiative person by nature, not by a longshot. (Heck, why do you think I'm still single after 12 years as a widow, and have a job I could've done 24 years ago?) But somehow I've managed to go lots of places and do things, by starting to play "what if" and just... following through! That approach took me on a 6-week bicycle/train ride through England, Wales, and Scotland years ago. It took me to almost every country between Iceland and East Germany (back when that was a nation). I spent a week and a half alone in the wilderness of Isle Royale. The last couple years it took me the entire length of the Lake Michigan/Michigan coastline on a scooter, and then from Mackinac to Lake Erie. All by just... doing it. I've been told that it's easier to do this kind of thing when you don't have a family, but I also don't have a family holding down the homestead for me while I'm gone, so I think that evens out a bit.trackpete wrote:You too can make something like this happen (though a shorter time scale is probably more realistic) - just do what I did and start planning instead of just saying "someday..." Seriously!
Bingo again. I've traveled on foot, bicycle, scooter, car, plane, and ship. They all have their advantages, but scooter travel wins in a lot of ways. In particular, I like scootering on a 50cc because not only can you pull over anywhere, you can do it without zipping past whatever you were pulling over to see (though scootering on a bigger bike will also work if you exercise restrainttrackpete wrote:The best thing is that I can pull over ANYWHERE I want to take pictures/etc. - it's not like a car where you're limited to pulloffs. Then I can do everything at my own pace, some days I only did a hundred miles just because there was so much to stop and look at.
). Unlike a car or plane, you're in the place you're traveling through. Unlike a bike or walking, you're not at the mercy of your physical stamina. It's the Goldilocks of transportation options. 100miles/day is my rule of thumb for planning a road trip. For me that's about 3 hours in the saddle, the rest looking around at (and between) the places I'm visiting.
It's not particularly traveloguey, and really not that much about motorbikes either, but Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is book I've enjoyed quite a bit, about an academic's road trip with his son.jasondavis48108 wrote:Trackpete, you should write a book about this experience. I've been searching for a good book to read lately and this one would be most excellent!
