USA Coast to Coast 2000 Report 3. USA Coast to Coast 2000 Report 3.
El Paso to Benson AZ
The next morning (Sunday) Ken discovered that he had a flat on his Shadow. Unfortunately as Charles discovered while trying to be helpful tubeless plugs and tyre sealant don't work very well on a tubed tyre. Leaving Ken and Jim to get the tyre off we joined Paul in a search for suitable repair materials on a Sunday. The local Walmart had everything for tubed tyre repair but we couldn't find anywhere selling tubeless repair items and returned to the motel where Ken had removed the wheel and started phoning local mobile tyre repairers.
With it now well after 10 we abandoned our planned trip to White Sands National Park and joined Paul who was planning a ride over some mountain roads along the Mexican border. After much fruitless searching for the road we abandoned the plan and headed off up the Interstate at our usual brisk pace. We had again commented on the relative scarcity of lorries the reason however was only too evident as we saw a large number of trains each carriage with a double stacked container and with over one hundred coaches per multi-engined train.
Arriving in Benson early afternoon we had a swim before heading south with Paul to see Boothill Cemetery and Tombstone. This is the "Badlands" of cowboy fame.
During the day Tombstone is a lively place with mock gunfights and a stagecoach on the high street but on a Sunday evening it was quieter. Paul returned early to make some phone calls and we continued to wander around, eventually meeting up with Andrea, Phil and Ken who had travelled over the mountains to Tombstone. As we were leaving we saw Kevin and Chrissie arriving.
The hotel in Benson was in a new development on the outskirts with few facilities but we stopped in town for cold beer, a pizza and a rather large tub of Ben & Jerries and ate by the pool as darkness rolled in.
Benson to Scottsdale AZ The next morning Charles moved his bike to the other side of the car park next to the lawn. We took several photos before advising him of his excellent bike wash arrangements provided by the hotels sprinkler system!!
We had read of the nearby Kartchner caves which were only discovered in the 70s and after a huge investment programme are now a national park with hermetically sealed access to an excellent underground tour of the still growing stalagmites and stalactites. It was a pleasant low 80s when we went below ground but on returning from a superb underground tour with light show we discovered that temperatures were well into the nineties and headed north to Tuscon.
Our next stop was in the Saguaro National Park on the outskirts of Tucson where we took the cactus trail tour.
The park ranger showed us a route around Tuscon which was very useful. Having negotiated the outskirts of Tuscon we stopped at a McDonalds for a late lunch snack and were joined by the "Brit bikers" group who were feeling much the worse for wear having ridden through Tuscon in the heat with much start stop riding. We had an extended break at McDonalds but soon passed the group riding in regulation order and continued through Florence and Apache Junction to Scottsdale.
The route into the hotel was easy which is probably just as well as it was now 114 degrees. We arrived at the same time as Ken & Jim who had been shopping at Walmart (again!!!). We were just finishing a pleasant session by the pool when the main group finally rolled in more than an hour later.
Scottsdale to Flagstaff NV
Paul, who had been in the area some years earlier recommended the Washington Reservoir and Monument National Park near Sedona but warned us to check for unpaved roads. Once again we found ourselves planning the longest route of the day and heading off on our own. Our planned route took us west on Highway 88 then north over the mountains to Sedona and Flagstaff. The mountain part of the route used some minor roads and the detailed maps were carefully checked to confirm that they were paved. Heading east (yes east) back through Apache Junction we continued 25 miles down Highway 88 only to discover that the last 7 miles of the route to the reservoir were unpaved and had to retrace our steps. Lesson - check every road for paving!!
We continued north to Mountain National Park where the scenery was straight out of the cowboy films with huge columns of red sandstone rising out of the partly tree covered landscape. After a break in the very picturesque town of Sedona we headed north picking up Route 66 into Flagstaff which while only 140 miles north of Pheonix is a whole 6000 feet higher and significantly cooler. With Sedona and the Mountain National Park, Meteor Crater and the Grand Canyon all nearby Flagstaff must rate as one of the top tourist centres. It is a university town and has a cosmopolitan town centre where we enjoyed a very pleasant dinner at an Italian restaurant with Paul.
The Grand Canyon and Meteor Crater NV
The itinerary allowed for two nights in Las Vegas but together with Andrea and Peter we cancelled the first night in Las Vegas and stayed over in Flagstaff. Next morning we booked to fly the Grand Canyon and heading out to the airfield we passed two large forest fires the first of many which have occurred in the area this year. With the canyon rim at 8000 feet above sea level and the canyon over 200 miles long it is only from the air that the scale can really be appreciated.
There are many companies operating tours with larger planes but it is only in a light aircraft that you can get an all round view. Our pilot Dave led his six passengers to the Cessna on the tarmac and offered to take souvenir photos with our cameras before optimising the weight distribution and taxiing out. The flight lasted just over an hour and was truly spectacular - the best value for £40 anywhere - with Dave giving an excellent and very informative commentary.
This was followed by a trip to Meteor Crater where we walked the rim on a tour led by the very amusing Eduardo. The day was completed by finding our first Internet café followed by another excellent meal in a vegetarian restaurant in downtown Flagstaff.
Flagstaff to Las Vegas NV
Next day we had a very windy ride down the old Route 66 to Kingman before heading north through some very empty country to the Hoover Dam. After a tour of the dam and power station we headed for the sprawling city of Las Vegas, Las Vegas is as big a contrast from the Grand Canyon as one can get, with the wow factor being entirely man made. The city comes alive at night with the excesses of the casino buildings creating a crazy mixed up world with the Pyramids next to Treasure Island and Paris's Eiffel Tower alongside a Roman Coliseum. We went for a ride past the major casinos before walking to the excellent light show in Fremont Street.
Las Vegas to Los Angeles CA
At Las Vegas it finally hit us that the trip was almost over and all that was left was to cross California to the Pacific Ocean. We headed for the Red Rock Canyon park where we paid our $2 to ride through the park dodging the local chipmunks then it was off across the edge of the Mojave Desert. It was really strange crossing this almost uninhabited area to suddenly come across a huge casino complex where one might have expected a service station.
We entered north east Los Angeles and headed onto the six lane freeways. I had been concerned about this part of the journey but found it much easier than the M25. Although traffic passed on both sides lane discipline was very good and although the advanced motorcycling training certainly came in useful in retrospect it was easier and safer than several motorways I have traversed in the UK. We exited the freeway system only a few blocks from our hotel in Santa Monica which was only one block from the sea front.
We had covered 4,630 miles since leaving New Jersey and leaving the bikes in the underground car park we walked down to the pier and the Pacific Ocean. All of the bikes made it across - yes even the HDs - but it was the Wings which stood out as the bike for the journey.
Californian Party Animals
Next morning we headed off to Moturis to return the bikes. The LA operation was on a much larger scale and the bikes were inspected and check-in procedures were quickly completed and insurance excesses returned where appropriate. Our Wing was thoroughly checked for drop damage but they completely missed the fact that the aerial was missing!!. It had fallen off sometime on day two taking our St. Andrews and Lion Rampant pennants with it. A check of the other two Wings showed that the aerials had not been properly tightened at PDI.
With just over a day left Paul hired a minibus (complete with TV, VCR and Sat Nav) and eight "party animals" went sightseeing in Venice Beach and then took Paul for a meal on the sea-front and thanked him for all his efforts in organising the trip.
The next morning we all piled our luggage into the "Kellymobile" for a tour round the sights of Hollywood and some last minute shopping before leaving the vehicle at the airport and flying home.
The Stats
23 in party (6 couples plus two sharing)
16 bikes - 4 Wings, two Shadows, one Nighthawk (two up!!) and nine Harleys
Mileage - from just over 4,000 upwards
States - up to 17 States (New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California)
Fuel - who cares at $1.80 a gallon!!
Dropped / Crashed Wings - two (one while stationary with no damage)
Dropped / Crashed Harleys - four (one twice)
Honda problems - three punctures, one set of brake pads replaced on a Shadow
Harley problems - fuel caps departing, overheating, oil leaks, electrical, poor starting, drop damage, crash damage (not to mention the dreaded vibes)
Organising a Group Trip
The majority of the group had never ridden abroad or been to America, that said their ability to adapt varied significantly. Many were soon travelling independently but one group of five kept together throughout the trip. This group of "old Brit bike riders" had a very definite riding style perhaps shaped by their normal bikes.
Progress was moderate with frequent breaks and getting going again was a major social event . Paul summed up trying to lead such a group very well "It is like a John Clease movie - the one where Sybil is trying to follow him with a minibus full of pensioners who keep demanding toilet stops. They then wander off in all direction and she has to round them up when she wants to leave".
Acting as back marker for this group my IAM training identified some very poor riding skills, in many ways I was glad not to be responsible for them after Charlotte. One rider had no cornering ability taking all corners upright (very slowly). Observation skills were very poor - when we stopped with an HD electrical fault en route to Gettesburg none had noticed that we had stopped 200yds past a large HD outlet and this on a day when we were supposedly looking for a HD outlet to buy a clutch lever!! Similarly anticipation and planning skills were none existent in some cases resulting in some very interesting incidents with 18 wheelers joining from slip roads.
Paul had done a tremendous amount of work which had obviously taken a considerable amount of his "quality time" in organising the trip.
Most of the Group were prepared for an adventure holiday where sometimes things might go wrong. A small minority however seemed to think that Paul was acting as a tour guide, responsible for every detail and expected to be nursemaided across America.
The accommodation was of the larger Motel standard mainly Best Western and with the exception of Charlotte all of good quality for the price range paid. And easily locatable.
Despite the good accommodation Paul received repeated complaints from some of the party whenever a motel did not include a restaurant or bars within the building - despite the fact that this is normal in America.
We certainly enjoyed the trip and together with a large part of the group would like to record grateful thanks to Paul for all his efforts.
In Reflection
Since we have come back we have been asked many times if we would do it again.
We greatly enjoyed the holiday and the challenge to cross such a vast and varied country but the answer is no. We felt that we had too little time to see everything that we wanted to see in many areas while other areas were just too vast and empty.
That said we would certainly like to go back and see more of America and yes we would do it by Goldwing again!
The Wing was the ideal bike for the journey, comfortable with good luggage capacity and adequate performance and handling. The low seat height made handling the weight easy and once rolling the bike was stable. However the screen on the Aspencade was a disaster in the rain.
Jill enjoyed the pillion ride except in the twisties where she felt insecure and with no grab handles available was forced to use her legs to brace herself into the seat. This resulted in her knees giving her problems and twisties riding having to be moderated. Given the amount of good twisties in Scotland we won't be buying a Wing.
Driving or motorcycling in America is so much more pleasant than Great Britain. The whole attitude to driving is much less aggressive and more like the north west Highlands out of the tourist season. Speed limits have been raised in America in recent years with rural Interstates having a limit of 75mph. Generally traffic travelled at 10 - 15 over the posted limit in 55 and 65 limits but kept to around 80 in 75 limits. The roadside facilities are plentiful and you are always made welcome and given excellent service in a manner so alien to our motorway service stations.
