Life on the road

What’s it like living on the road for 34 days? Well…

Packing:  How to pack for a trip like this? I really don’t know… we tried to pack for 8 days. We planned to wear jeans two days in a row (and that worked well). Same with towels, we tried to reuse them when we could. I'm kind of a packing pro (queen really) from all my band tour days. I can squeeze just about anything into anything (except a toddler tikes car in my old cavalier during the toy drive, but that's another story; in my defense my car was already full of gifts).

For clothing: We have a duffel bag for socks & undies, a duffel  bag of towels & washcloths, a duffel bag of shirts & pants, & two mesh laundry bags. We had a leather duffel bag that secured to the back of the bike that held our toiletries and shoes. Each of us had a shower box that had our personal soaps & things in it, which worked well. They were color coded too (they had many colors of the same boxes, so why not?) We had a big box of general items (lotion, medicine, etc.) too.

For camping: We have a ‘camping box,’ a plastic tub with all things related to outdoor ‘living.’ We bought a small aluminum camping cookware set which came in handy. We had cooking utensils that were old and could get ruined. Paper towels, bug spray, scissors, hatchet, fire starters, first aid kit, emergency radio, plastic bags… We also made coffee packets for Devin by sewing coffee ground into the flat, triangle filters. It worked! I also kept laundry detergent (the pods) and dryer sheets in there.

For Food: We had a food box too in a piece of bike luggage. I had two of the small plastic boxes that held things that couldn’t get mushed (like bread) or things that couldn’t get busted (like fruit cups). We had a 2 gallon plastic bag FULL of granola and energy bars. We bought peanut butter and the jelly that comes out in a squirt bottle. We brought some dried fruit and dehydrated soups & chili and oatmeal. We also brought the single serve lemonade packets. Of course no trip is complete without cheez-its & pringles. We didn’t want to have to rely on cold storage which is why we packed so much. If was wanted items that had to be refrigerated we could buy them the day of and, if necessary ice them in the cooler. We didn’t get ice that much. We ate out waaayyy too much. It was just the easiest.

Our trailer was also occupied by a quilt, a flannel sheet, pillows, a queen size raised air mattress, a 14x9 tent, tarps, and a water jug. We had a small folding camping table, a flat-folding charcoal grill, a retractable cable lock, and emergency bike supplies like an air pump & motor oil. We eventually figured out our two camping chairs fit better on the front of the trailer, just behind the cooler. Before we left, Devin made a small rack to secure our cooler on the front of the trailer. Our cooler most often housed bike oil, then food, then our rain suits during the last few days (before we needed them).

Putting everything in the available space was a puzzle. It took us a couple weeks to really figure out how to fit everything in there just right.Things rotated too. As the laundry bags filled up and duffel bags emptied things would shift around.

 

It took us about and hour to set up camp at night and 1-2 hours to break it down and pack it up in the morning. After breaking camp we always went to a nearby gas station to fill up with gas and our water bag. 

We traveled an average of 300.72 miles every day in the first leg! That’s around 6 hours just on the bike daily, by the time you figure in stops and traffic.

What do you do on the bike? Good question. Nothing really. You look around. Devin loves driving. Sometimes I tried to update the blog, but it was hard to do on my phone (the autocorrect makes it a nightmare). I have an mp3 player I listen to sometimes; Devin doesn't listen to the radio very often, I think he only turned it on 5 times during the whole trip. Most of the time I'm looking at the weather or map on my phone, or I just look around. You think about a lot of stuff too. Random stuff. And enjoy the scenery. I took a lot of pictures on the back of the bike, sometimes I just enjoyed the ride. I gave Devin a lot of backrubs, especially when I could tell he was getting uncomfortable.

Helmets: Our helmets generally rode in the trunk when we weren’t required to wear them. We were required to wear helmets during leg 1 in Missouri, Nebraska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Nevada. Mini-B was required to wear one too:

Helmets are a double-edged sword. They save lives. They also amplify sound (not good for hearing) and can throw your head around pretty good in a good wind, straining your neck. They also squeeze your glasses to the sides of your head and I usually had a headache those days. We went with a ¾ helmet which may be some of the reason they can be uncomfortable (it goes all the way down the back of your head and covers your ears). You’ll notice in some of the rainier posts we have a clear face-shield that snaps on.

What's it like camping all that time? Well, we were moving almost nightly, so you don't really think about it much. Once we fixed the hole in the air mattress it was really comfortable. Devin put a power inverter in our trunk so we always had the ability to air up our mattress nightly. Because our tent was so tall (Devin insisted we buy one he could stand up in) getting ready in the morning or even at night was a breeze. We also had a TON of little hooks in there so we could hang up towels and washcloths to dry.

We stayed in KOAs nearly the entire time. We have a 'value card' that saves us 10% and we earn reward points for every stay. So many points earns you so much money off of a stay that you can use whenever. Every KOA charges a different price; the bigger destinations, such as Yellowstone, are more expensive.

We stayed with relatives 4 nights, a hotel 3 nights, 3 nights in Kabins (at the KOAs) and the rest (23) in a tent. At one point we agreed that if the forecast for the night was below the mid-50s we would get a hotel or Kabin. At that temp, it's just a little too cold to camp, well, sleep, for us. Luckily we only ran into that a few times.

We charged our phones while we were riding, so we didn't have to rely on electricity at the campsite. We didn't cook a lot. The charcoal really gave Devin trouble (I think because it was so windy every time we tried to use it) and most of the time there were fire bans so wood was out, although we had campfires a couple times.

We didn't have a budget. The bike gets over 40 mpg so gas wasn't that bad. We camped to keep costs down too. (We ate out WAY too much). This was our trip of a lifetime so we didn't put a limit on it and really didn't keep track.

Our favorite sight/destination this trip: We loved Sequoia National Park; the riding on all the winding roads were awesome too.

Least favorite sight/destination: missing saddle bags... Ok destination wise? Well we weren't crazy about Yosemite or Glacier National Parks. They are BEAUTIFUL. They are also inundated with a million tourists during this time of year and difficult to get to and around.

Biggest surprise: (outside of stolen bags) Idaho & Utah. They were amazing. We will certainly be returning; the Salmon River in Idaho was excellent and Utah has a million great things to see.

Our best meal: Well nothing beats home-made at our relatives' homes. I mean, peach waffles? Fresh fried chicken? But for restaurants: Buffalo burgers were great. Devin's Chicken Fried Steak in Hill City. My fish (salmon & perch I think) at the Vegas buffet was divine. The lobster ravioli near Monterey Bay gets a participation award. We had a lot of really good salads and fruit along the way also. The Italian place in Missoula was awesome too.

Our worst meal (outside of our own cooking):  Probably the Chinese buffet (which was supposed to be really good) in Cody, WY.

Best riding (Top 3): Chief Joseph Scenic, Hwy 1 (Northern CA), Hwy 89 going from Idaho into Utah. Beartooth Hwy (Montanta) & Needles Hwy (South Dakota) get honorable mentions. Although Devin adds that this isn't a final list :-)

Worst riding day: Going on the dust roads in Kansas (day 3). That was our own mistake.

Working from the road was harder than I thought, but I feel like I managed pretty well. All the pressing issues were taken care of. Blogging was also tougher than we thought. One blog usually takes around an hour. By the time we made it to camp and set it up we were usually too tired to post, often putting us several days behind. But we did eventually get caught up. I wrote most of the first ones since Devin drove all day. Then he said he wanted to write them so we switched on and off. You can probably tell who's is whose.

What's it like being with the same person 24 hours a day for 34 days? With my husband...ideal. We are excellent partners. We are a team. We share the work. We honestly don't fight (we didn't even really bicker on the trip). And we have an excellent time together no matter where we are. We are best friends and our best day is the one we spend together. We truly love each other and that was the key to making this whole trip a success.

So there it is...for now anyway. We are already planning for the next phase, leaving some things packed, and catching up on laundry. On this trip, these Miles traveled 10,244.7 miles and 14 of the states across America. Until next time...

Day 34: HOME!

We slept in late today...just because we could. We awoke to excellent cinnamon rolls, fruit salad, and a breakfast casserole that we enjoyed with all the Matt Miles' family (even Milo the dog). We sat around and talked until 1pm. I was pampered by Miss Mattie with a back rub, a hand rub, AND a mini-manicure (french tips and all!). It was hard to leave but going home had a pretty good pull.

 
We pulled away in the mist. It was pretty uneventful, and was only misting and windy for the first hundred miles or so. The second hundred miles we hit harder rain. The area of southeast Missouri and southern Illinois was hit by really hard storms today (apparently tornadoes had been spotted near the areas we went through).

The only real issue we ran into was my face shield. We have a plastic face shield that snaps onto our helmet for days like this. I guess mine doesn’t snap too well because we were going along the highway and POP there it goes, tumbling behind us. We turned around and picked it up off the side of the road. Luckily there was nothing wrong with it, only a very small scuff on the corner that attaches to the helmet.

We caught a lot of mist but missed a really good portion of rain, at one point actually drying off. At a gas stop Devin accidentally touched his rain suit pant leg on the pipe and melted a small hole in the knee. We hit really hard rain not too long after that...sideways kind of rain. We eventually got to Sikeston, MO and that was a good stopping point, both because of the rain and because we had already gone another hundred miles or so. It was around dinner time and although we weren’t really hungry we were going to try to eat. We stopped at Sonic but just as we did it really started to pour and blow to where sitting on the patio was no longer a welcome idea. We went next door to stand inside a gas station for refuge. In that much rain there is no rain suit to keep you completely dry. Our socks were soaked because so much rain just leaks through your boots (and we have real nice boots) and in your suit; mostly around the neck and ends of the pant legs (and Devin's melted pant knee too). After a few minutes the rain let up and we went back to Sonic to get the bike. We went to Arby’s just down the street to get away from the continued rain and to try to dry out a bit. There was some punk kid working there that really got under my skin but I digress…not worth blogging about. We stayed there for about 30 minutes, watching the radar on our phones and taking in a small bite to eat. We eventually saw a break and the big line of storms was past our northbound travel route. We took off and really only hit mist then dry the rest of the way home. We saw a rainbow on the way which was refreshing. We made it home just at dark…very soggy but when you’re home after this long nothing really bothers you.

Brown Dog was VERY happy to see us, for about 3 minutes before running off into the night. He eventually came back soaking wet and covered in cockle burs. I guess that’s his way of saying “welcome home.” He did stay close the rest of the night.

Mom had bought us groceries which were much appreciated. She also brought us a celebratory chocolate cake (which we took a bite of first). Before we had left we spent a lot of time cleaning and rearranging our apartment to fit some newly acquired furniture. It was so nice to come home to a clean house and sit on our new couch.

So what’s next? We’re not sure. We need to be home and collect our thoughts for a few days before we truly decide the next phase. We’re not done yet. We are certainly going back west to see things like the Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde; and southeast to Key West. The order, time length, and dates are still TBD. Now that we know what we’re doing and what it’s like we’ll will have to truly evaluate where we’re going and what we want to do. (I have to figure in vacation time from work also). And of course we have some other things to take care of (like the saddle bags). Right now we really just want to spend some time with our family.

This trip has been amazing. We have been so blessed. It doesn’t feel like we’ve been gone for 34 days. We are so excited that so many people took an interest and followed us along the way. Keep checking back (or sign up for email notifications) for the next part. Thank you for your support throughout.

Today we traveled for 310.2 a total of 10,224.7 miles across America.

Day 33: Fordland, MO (again)

We tried to get up early and for us we did. We enjoyed Mic and Carols company for a while before packing up. They sent us on our way with a great breakfast of cinnamon rolls and fruit (and a good nights sleep!) And a couple of bananas for the road. Jess sent us off with a big hug too.

They say 'never look back' or something like that, but I did anyway to get a picture of the road to Mic and Carol's.

We started out very dusty. We were only on county road for 6 miles but when we were done we had a nice dust shellac. I had my sleeves pushed up and this is what they looked like pushed down.

People in Kansas are really nice. Everyone waves at you and says hello if you meet them in a store.  We finally got chugging down the road when we hit construction. It wasn't long or bad but really neat. They have a long line of trucks where the first one chews up the asphalt then the next 7 or so trucks loaded up the chewed up road with oil and the last few trucks relaid it out as new asphalt and rollers came behind to do what they do. It was an asphalt recycling system and was awesome. Illinois should look into that. It seems cheaper and so much quicker.

We went 180 miles before we stopped for gas and lunch at taco bell. Again, taco bell doesn't sell gas, we had to go somewhere else for that. As soon as we got back on the road out was crazy windy.  All the Labor Day traffic didn't help either. It's hard to imagine how much 'dirty air' comes off of vehicles. Dirty air is the choppy wind created by vehicles moving through regular air. It feels like a bunch of people have surrounded you and are pushing you around like a bouncy ball.

We we bound and determined to go the nearly 600 miles to Matt's (which there are 5 of them and 2 of us so technically thats an extra 7 miles, plus Mic & Carol so really 9 extra miles today!) We pushed through and eventually stopped for gas where a guy approached us about the trailer. Lots of people have asked Devin about the trailer; particularly how it pulls. Anyway he was a big rider like us...lots of miles over the years. We got back on the road and by this time it was all clouds. The bike rolled over 30,0000 miles, pretty good mileage for only 16 months. We were headed towards the rain from Hurricane Isaac that had moved inland. The wind was blowing about 20 mph still and it was really, really rough to ride in. It'd started to sprinkle so we stopped and put on our gear.

We didn't get as much rain as we did mist. It was misty up until about the last 20 miles when we actually got rain, but even then it was a normal, steady rain. Other than fighting the traffic and wind all day it was not a bad ride. We finally made it to Matt & Ellen's, a little damp but mostly dry and in good spirits. We stayed up late exchanging travel stories (Matt just took their eldest to British Columbia). A hot shower and warm bed was primo after a long day like today, especially one that is familiar and welcoming....so much better than a hotel or the tent-ma-hal. We are almost home...

Today we traveled 591.2 miles for a total of 9914.5 miles across America.