Day 20, Niagara Falls, Home, Summary

Day 20, Friday 6/29 –Saginaw MI to Wayland NY, 410 miles/7562 ttl

The decision was to cross Canada to NY rather than go south to Rt 90 & Cleveland. The trip across Canada was uneventful (good news) but the delay at the Lewiston bridge was 2 hours so I made my way to the Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls. It was a beautiful day at the falls and the tourists were out in full force but the crossing only took about 20 minutes.

Niagara Falls

Summary:

20 days

Total miles = 7562

Average miles/day = 378

Max miles/day= 1029, St Louis to Albuquerque

149.1 gals of gas

Average 50.7 mpg

We encountered almost no rain. A few spatters near St. Louis and a few more in upper Michigan but the roads didn’t even get wet.

We did have HEAT. Several times we saw triple digits. It was 110F in Las Vegas.

I could live without Denver and Las Vegas.

No major incidents on the bikes

I did encounter ~10 miles of bad road in Montana due to construction. Learning – when the sign says “Motorcycles consider alternative route” do it!

Lodging was hard to find in North Dakota due to the oil boom and I had to travel into the night and a couple hundred miles further than plan.

The bike ran flawlessly, hour after hour, in the heat and heavily loaded. The only thing that failed was the “info” button and it should be a warranty item.

Highlights

The high desert in Arizona

Independence Pass – Colorado & the Rockies in general
Million Dollar Highway

The Durango to Silverton Train

Arches National Park
Jeeps in Canyonland National Park (my favorite)

Daniel & Canyon De Chelly

The Grand Canyon (Nancy’s favorite)

Chief Joseph Highway & Beartooth Pass

The prairie in Wyoming, Montana & North Dakota (away from the oil boom)
Speed limits on rural 2 lane roads out west (65 - 70 mph)
Gas prices anywhere away from NYS

Lowlights

Humidity & allergies everywhere east of the Mississippi

Construction & dirt/gravel roads on a heavily loaded road bike

Triple digit heat

Drivers in NYS – Friday the 29^th, everyone was in in “get to 4^th of July vacation” mode and they were aggressive and rude.

I did note that people were more likely to approach and start a conversation out west, were friendlier at stops and more polite on the highway in general.

Would I do it again – absolutely, starting tomorrow. I need to service the bike and wash my clothes. I would look for some new roads (not all) and skip Denver & Las Vegas. I would include Glacier National Park in Montana and more time at the Grand Canyon for starters.

Touring on a motorcycle is very different than traveling in a car. It is difficult to covey but a key difference is you are not isolated from the environment – you travel in it.

Great ride/great vacation.

BTW - This blog had 337 page views (not counting mine for updates). Thank you for keeping track of us!
Dave