An update for everyone.

Well things are going well so far with our trip. Quick break down of things to catch everyone up to speed. We didn't get to pull out of Auburn until close to 6am Friday morning. We put 785 miles behind us going through Mississippi, Arkansas and ending in Oklahoma just west of the Kiemishi Mountains.

Day 1:
Auburn to Sallisaw Oklahoma.... 785 miles
Problems: luggage touched muffler and burnt hole :(
passed el'popo speeding just a lil, zeb was really worried we were bout to get it

Day 2:
Sallisaw Oklahoma to Mote Vista Colorado.... ~780 miles
Problems: I, Thomas, was pulled over in Monte Vista for an apparent complain about me...
I think the cop was just trying to pull my leg as he said I had been following too
close to a person and they called it in... For those who know me, know that I don't
stay behind another person. So w/e
Day 3:
We are leaving Monte Vista and making our way to the Grand Canyon.


Wish us luck, and we'll keep ya updated.

20 hours to go...

Everything that can be done, has been and departure is eminent!!! Thomas and I are both ready to get on the road and start making our way west. We will post before we leave and again once we are at our first stop (somewhere around Oklahoma City, OK).

It's on like Donkey Kong!!!!!

-Zeb

Counting down - 8 Days to go

Well, we're getting close to departure and I can tell... I got the park pass in the mail yesterday. I finished up most of my bike prep. I got new wheels/tires mounted and balanced, rebuilt the front fork, finished up a few electrical system modifications and changed the oil/coolant.

We have a basic timeline of the trip:
Fri, May 16
Leave Auburn,AL and Arrive Oklahoma City, OK

Sat, May 17
Leave Oklahoma City, OK and Arrive Silverton, CO

Sun, May 18
Leave Silverton, CO | Pass through Arches National Park and Monument Valley | Arrive Grand Canyon South Rim, AZ

Mon, May 19
Leave Grand Canyon, AZ and Arrive Hollywood, CA

Tues, May 20
Leave Hollywood, CA and Arrive Las Vegas, NV

Wed, May 21
Still in Las Vegas, NV

Thurs, May 22
Still in Las Vegas, NV

Fri, May 23
Leave Las Vegas, NV | Pass through Zion and Bryce Canyon National Park | Arrive Salt Lake City, UT

Sat, May 24
Leave Salt Lake City, UT | Pass through Grand Teton National Park | Arrive Yellowstone National Park, WY

Sun, May 25
Still in Yellowstone, WY

Mon, May 26
Leave Yellowstone, WY and Arrive Rocky Mountains National Park, (Denver) CO

Tues, May 27
Leave Rocky Mountains National Park, CO | Pass through Mt Rushmore, Badlands National Park, and Minute Man Missile Park | Arrive Somewhere outside South Dakota

Wed, May 28
Leave Somewhere outside South Dakota and Arrive Chicago, IL

Thur, May 29
Still in Chicago, IL

Fri, May 30
Leave Chicago, IL and Arrive Indianapolis, IN

Not sure about the rest thus far, but we will either hit Nashville,TN or go through Deals Gap on the way home...

We were also thinking about attempting the Iron Butt 1000 on the first day... Not sure if it will happen, but sure would be fun to say we were Iron Butt riders!!!!

More to come this weekend
-Zeb

National Park Pass

After much debate and discussion with friends, we have decided that it is going to be in our best interest to buy a National Park Pass for this trip (Info). I looks like it will save us a bundle on entrance fees on most of the National Parks that we are going to visit.
Oh, it costs $80 bucks, not bad when you consider most of the entry fees are $12-25 bucks each...

More later,
Zeb

18 Days and counting down!!!!

Well, the time is closely approaching... Our departure is looming large on the horizon.
Here is a revised/tentative list of trip stops:

• Arches National Park in Moab, UT --> Info
• Monument Valley, UT --> Info
• Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim) --> Info
• Hollywood, CA --> Info
• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, CA --> Info
• Las Vegas, NV --> Info More Info
• Hoover Dam, NV --> Info
• Zion National Park, UT --> Info
• Bryce Canyon National Park, UT --> Info
• Salt Lake City, UT --> Info
• Grand Teton National Park,WY --> Info
• Yellowstone National Park,WY --> Info
• Rocky Mountain National Park, CO --> Info
• Mount Rushmore National Park, SD --> Info
• Badlands National Park, SD --> Info
• Minute Man (Missile Site) National Historic Site, SD --> Info
• Chicago, IL --> Info
• Nashville, TN --> Info
• MGM Grand Crazy Horse Paris Show --> Info
• The Gun Store - Las Vegas --> Info
  

Last, but not least... We have been told that we should visit the Famous Chicken Ranch Brothel in NV --> Info

There will more than likely be more or less as we actually start off on the trip, but this is most of our wish list for places to visit.



More updates this weekend...
-Zeb

Weekend of repairs and prep

We are shooting for leaving on May 16 in the wee-early morning hours and making our way to the first stop in Oklahoma City, OK. We are thinking our return trip will put us back home around June 3. We are looking for input on places to stop, eat, and camp. Any point of interest would be great to add to our list so that we can experience everything interesting along the way.

With our current route plan, we will be taking a southern route out to the west coast and a northern route on the return. Our highlights for the trip are going to be Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Hollywood, Route 66, Las Vegas, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain National Park, Badlands National Park, Chicago, and anything else that creeps up during our adventure.

This weekend we are hoping to finish up so minor repairs and perform so upgrades on our bikes to make them more long trip friendly. I will be replacing my chain, adding a power socket for my GPS, adding driving lights, and adding a small fuse block for all the accessories. Thomas will also be adding driving lights, and a gps mount with power.

We both need to mount and balance our new tires and get them scuffed before we leave.

Fun at the drag strip

Well, I'm not sure what came over us, but we decided to take a ride down to the local drag strip. Once, there we decided it was a good idea to make a couple of passes on our bikes. Here are the results:

Thomas was running a low 11 with his 2001 R1 and I was running low 12 with my 2004 FZ6

Overall it was fun and a great way to loosen up for the trip. We are still planning out the trip specifics and gathering all the rest of the needed trip materials.

Link to Photos