Correction, Madrid is in New Mexico, just northeast of Albuquerque, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

9/10/07

We have been so busy and sooooo tired during this ride back with the Torches group that I haven't had time to blog.
Tonight is the last night of the ride. We are in Somerset, Pa and tomorrow we will be going to the Memorial chapel and then possibly to the crash site in Shanksville.
Yesterday we were in New York to visit Ground Zero. This year we were able to go into the center of the site. We took the Path train from Hoboken NJ to the World Trade Center station, which is located in the center of the WTC complex. We then tried to take a ferry back to Hoboken to get our bikes and found out that the ferry's werent running. So back we walked to WTC to catch the Path train back.
Josh was able to join us in New York so he got to meet some of the riders. We were hoping that he could be with here tomorrow, but that wont happen.
All I can say is that it has been a GREAT 3 weeks on the bike. Didn't like the 117 degree desert, did like New Mexico and Ca. The Rt 66 trip was very interesting and getting to see Madrid in Az where they filmed some of the Wild Hog's movie was also very interesting.
The riders that made the complete trip from Ca to the East Coast were great to ride with and we think that once again made some new friends and renewed the friendship of those that were on the ride last year.
We will really miss this group when the ride is over tomorrow, but we are looking forward to getting home and back into the swing of things and planning our next big ride somewhere next year!
Thanks for following along and if you are interested in seeing all the pictures, drop me a comment and I will send you the pictures when I have them compiled and labeled.
Till next time remember,
It doesn't matter what you ride, just as long as you RIDE!
Be safe,
Frank

9/4/07

Didnt post last night because the group went to the Big Texan Steak house for supper and when we got back to the hotel, we hit the sheets because we had to get up early today to make the trip to Tulsa Ok.
On the way we stopped at the world's biggest cross. At this cross, they had statue depictions of the 13 stages of the Cross. It was very interesting and Lil and I are glad that we stopped there.
We then jumped on Rt 66 and made the trip to Tulsa.
We also stopped in Oklahoma City and visited the Federal building memorial site.
Now in Tulsa and going to head out to Branson Mo tomorrow. Going to take and a Bart Rockett show in Branson. Watching the weather, it looks like we are going to be riding in the rain. Hit a little today.
Only 7 more days left in the ride. Going to be had to leave our friends after this ride is over.
Later.
Frank

9/2/07

Made the ride from Kingman to Albuquerque NM today. Started out at 0700 and made most of the run before it started to get warm. Only made it up to about 95 during the ride.
Once we got into New Mexico, we were met by a New Mexico State Police Motorcycle officer who escorted us the 120 some mile to Albuquerque. We maintained about 80-85 mph during this trip so it went by real fast. Had supper at the Albuquerque FOP lodge and went to the hotel.
Tomorrow morning is going to be an early up day. At 0500 we will assist in launching alot of hot air balloons and then we are off to Texas.
Will try and get some pictures up tomorrow night. Have to hit the sheets now (9:00 PM) so that I can get up tomorrow morning at 3:30 am to go to the balloon launch.
Talk to you later,
Frank

9/1/07 Torches Across America begins

Hi all.
The Ride started this morning at 0900 at Kennedy Cycle in Oceanside. Came back across the Mojave Desert and this time thru the temp peaked out at 117 degrees!!! I will never again complain (too much) about the heat in Pa.
Made it to Kingman Az and had dinner provided by the Kingman VFW and are now at the Travelodge in Kingman and am ready for a good long shower.
Don't think that we will do the southern route again. Rt 66 was fun, but 2 times across the desert is enough for one lifetime.
I will post pictures tomorrow night. Think we will have more time at the hotel.
Later.

Aug 31, 07

Well, made it to Oceanside and are in the hotel. Had to make a stop at North County's House of Motorcycles and get a new rear tire! Seems I must have taken a stone the wrong way on Rt 66 somewhere and cut the tire. It held together for the 140 miles from Barstow to Vista, where the shop is located.
Going to dinner this evening with the other riders that are in the area and tomorrow starts the ride back.
Still hot but not as bad as it was in the desert, which we will encounter on the way back to the east coast. Only good thing is that it will be interstate riding and not on Rt 66.
Later
Frank

8/30/07

Didnt post yesterday because Lil and I took a side trip to Vegas. Went over Hoover Dam. Temp peaked in the Gwing thermometer at 114! Too darn hot!! Got to Vegas and checked into the Golden Nugget and hit the cold shower to try and cool down. Went out later to walk around and the temp was still 98!.
Also saw the Grand Canyon. The pictures are of that and Hoover Dam.

Left real early this morning to try and beat the heat and by 9:30 this morning the temp was already 100. Stopped in Barstow and got a hotel around 1:30 this afternoon. Too hot to continue.
Went to supper and felt a bumping in the rear end. Looked at the rear tire and noticed that I had a cut in the tire. So tomorrow morning I will be making a trip to a Honda dealer near Oceanside to get a new tire installed on the rear end!!
Always something.
Talk to you later.
Frank

8/28

Made the run from Albuquerque to Flagstaff Az today. Took in the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest as well as the Meteor Crater. Tomorrow (Wed) going to take a drive to the Grand Canyon and then up to Las Vegas for the night. Thursday will take us from Las Vegas to some place in California and Friday will put us in Oceanside for the start of the Torches ride on Saturday. Here are some pictures taken today. Painted Desert, Petrified Forest and Meteor Crater.
Later,
Frank

Monday 8/27

Stayed in Albuquerque today and did some local sights. Went thru Medrid, the town where alot of the footage for Wild Hogs was filmed. Then we went to Sandia Peak and got lunch there and enjoyed the view from 10,685 feet int the air. Talk about light headed from thin air, I sure could notice the thin air!
Tomorrow morning we are back on the road headed toward Arizona. Looking forward to seeing and riding up and over the Sierra Nevada mountains. That should be another 'thin air' experience!
Later.
Frank

Sunday Night 8/26

Left AmericInn in Oklahoma and traveled thru the panhandle of Texas and then into New Mexico. Ended up at a friend's hotel in Albuquerque. We met Clark and Kathy during last year's Torches ride and since we made it this far today, we have taken them up on their invite to stay at their facility. It is VERY nice and well maintained.
We managed to dodge alot of rain today. We could see where it was coming down and somehow just managed to drive in between all the rain cells. We got a little rain but nothing that caused us to stop and put on the rain suits. Of course, as hot as it was, any rain would have been a welcomed relief.
These pictures are some of the places that we saw today. The Conoco gas station sort of looks like the tire dealer from Cars. I liked the design of the building so we got some pictures.
Talk to you all later,
Frank

Saturday Trip

Today we covered most of Oklahoma and are staying is Elk City, which is close to the Texas state line. Mapopolis software (which I have used to make the Rt 66 route) had me going in circles in Oklahoma City. I finally just stayed on OK-66 and gave up on the old Rt 66 for this area. Otherwise did the rest of the ride on the old Rt 66, which was narrow and no traffic. 65-70 was the speed limit of choice and the road itself was pretty straight. Oklahoma is hillier than I thought it would be. Scenery was interesting, especially the windmill farm (see picture). Just one area along the route had them and that was the last that we saw of them today.
Stopped at the Rock Cafe (no, not the Hard Rock Cafe) in Stroud, Oklahoma. Great food and small, Mom and Pop sort of place. They told us that the character car, Sally, in the movie Cars was based on the owner of the cafe. The picture is of Lil with the Gwing in front of the Cafe. As we were getting ready to leave, a local chapter of the Harley Owners Group pulled in with about 8-10 bikes! The other picture is of the Round Barn, which is located in Arkadia, Oklahoma. This barn was restored by Rt 66 travelers who donated money as they came thru and helped fund the restoration.
Texas and into New Mexico tomorrow. Looks like we will get to California way ahead of time. That sounded like a good idea to Lil. She wants to be a tourist in LA and see some sights. We will see.....
More tomorrow night.
Be Safe,
Frank

3rd day

Sorry no post last night. Stayed at a Days Inn outside of St Louis that did not have wifi so could not post anything.
Tonight we are at a Days Inn in Claremont, Ok which is just over the state line from Kansas. Lil got some pictures today that came out good.
Also some video of the old, old Rt 66 road. This video shows just how narrow the original roadway was. Makes one wonder how 2 cars would pass each other.
Saw some old restored gas stations today. Also avoided alot of storms during the day but got nailed by a real good one as we crossed the border into Oklahoma.
Staying at the Days Inn just inside Oklahoma and hoping the rain moves on for tomorrows ride.
Averaging 400 miles/day and enjoying every minute of it.
We even got a picture of Towmater from Cars! hehe
Talk to you again tomorrow night.
Frank

1st day out

Made it to the hotel just outside of Chicago in one piece. Took us 10 hrs and 640 some miles. Started out in the upper 50's in York and as we came thru the last tunnel on the Pa turnpike, the temp was in the low 70's. Had rain and drizzle most of the way thru Pa and Ohio. Cleared up as we entered Indiana. The day ended up with a temp of 92, according to the thermometer on the Gwing.
We averaged around 42-45 MPG on the trip out. We both decided that if we were making this trip on the Silverwing, we would have turned around and gone home. It would not have been enjoyable at all. The Gwing is the only way to make this trip.
The rest of the trip to Ca should be better. Not as many miles each day. Well update tomorrow evening.
Later.
Frank

4 days to go.

Here is a picture of the new goldwing before I put the backrest and luggage rack on. The CB gets installed on Monday and then we should be ready to head west Wednesday morning. YeeHaa!

5 days to go

Well, we are getting the new Goldwing set up for the trip. Just installed some highway pegs to allow me to move my legs around and on Saturday morning will be installing a back rest for me and a luggage rack on top of the trunk to put some extra gear, if we need the room.
Haven't even had the Gwing a week and have about 640 miles on it. Going to be riding in the York County Firefighter's Convention parade on Saturday with the Red Knights. That should be fun as the weather is supposed to be real nice.
Just counting the days till be start out towards Chicago and the west coast. Looking forward to it and starting to get real excited.
Later .
Frank

Update 8/14

Picked up an 07 Goldwing on Sat and traded in the Silverwing. So will be going to Ca in style and comfort. The Swing was a great bike, but just wasn't the best for 2 cross country runs. 8 days to go!

Torches Across America Blog

This blog will document our trip across this great country to get to the start of the 2007 Torches Across America ride. It will then follow our group ride back to the 3 9/11 sites here on the east coast.
Check back in often to view the updates as they occur. Our trip will start 8/23/07.