Good 'ol USA Road Trip

Heathrow, United Kingdom

Sun, 12 Jul 2015 13:00:00 +0100

Journey's End

San Francisco, United States

Sat, 11 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

End of the journey. Just the flight home to 'look forward to' :-(

Strange but true, on 8th and Market St in San Francisco

Eagle Rider SanFran, returning the bikes...

Mission accomplished :-)

Have seen images of this bridge a thousand times. Now I've crossed it. Twice :-)

Fee Fi Fo Fum...

Monterey, United States

Fri, 10 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

I know we've been eating a fair bit, but it seems we're a bit 'lardy' now...

Elephant seals fighting for beach territory

At the Monterey CA Mariposa Inn. The desk staff seem to have had a full humour lobotomy - miserable sods!! Still, room is spacious and comfy :-)

Pacific Coast Highway. Roads do not get much better than this

A particularly playful whale

There is a hummingbird in this pic, honest

Taking it all in on the Pacific Coast Highway

Another whale!

Fishermans Wharf at sunset, Monterey CA

Carmel - Clint Eastwood's haunt

Clint invited us in, but we'd already ordered coffee at a cheaper alternative, so had to turn him down ;-)

San Luis Obispo, United States

Thu, 09 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

The mountainous stretch of the Pacific Highway starts here...

Stopped at Solvang en-route up the Pacific Coast Highway today. A Danish town in look and feel, founded in 1911 to help a Danish settler community not feel homesick!

Paula's Pastries at Solvang. Very nice they were too :-)

A little bit of Denmark far, far from home

Another all-year Christmas shop

A little bit of Denmark far, far from home

Santa Monica, United States

Wed, 08 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

Santa Monica pier is the spiritual end of Route 66 (or start, depending on your point of view). We also say Farewell to our travel companions - from here John and I strike out on our own - up the Pacific Coast Highway towards San Francisco

Angeles Peak - 80m of stunning views, endless corners, climbs and drops. Shame about the Harley's lack of ground clearance - left quite a lot of sparks behind!!

Rest and re-group half way over Angeles Peak

The Harley Trike makes it over too

End of the trail... But not the end of the trip :-)

Iron Horse gone native

Mist is common in LA. In fact, LA is underneath the mist in the pic!

Dinner and send-off farewell party, in a custom bike shop-cum-party place!! Very fitting, and a great evening

Victorville, United States

Tue, 07 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

Crossing into California and the high ground - apparently can see the Pacific from some places up here

Bye Bye Vegas and all your flagrant excesses, hello desert. Ah, Vegas did at least have air conditioning...

Crossing from Nevada into California, and the Mojave desert to cross

Temperatures climbing, peaked at about 46c before some cloud cover pulled it back to about 40c

The Bottle Tree Farm

Why? Because he can. And because he collects stuff

Hummingbirds are native to California, 4 or 5 species and the Hummingbird Moth

Las Vegas, United States

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

Place your bets...

Walking the strip, Las Vegas. A city built to worship the two excesses of Money and Celebrity. Nothing else has a space, nor is welcome!!

Just one of the 'strips' in Las Vegas Strip

Water might become the new oil, or gold... Hoover Dam is only half full

Damn, that's big.

Hard Rock Cafe, Las Vegas Strip :-) Table of needlessly giggly girls obscuring an otherwise tacky view...

Harley V-Rod. Rather better engine engineering than some models...

Been there, got the T-Shirt

The best burger in as long as I can remember. Thank you Hard Rock Cafe

Hoover Dam caused this lake, otherwise it would look much like the rest of the Colorado rive - brown and turbulent...

Kitch-Eiffel Tower

Caesar's - the name I associate with Vegas

Who's that having Hard Rock dinner, Vegas style?

Even the streets seem excessive

The Harley brand applies to many walks of life...

Kingman, United States

Sun, 05 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

Leaving the Grand Canyon behind, and all those party revellers with hangovers after the 4th celebrations!

Would Sir be stopping for breakfast?

It would appear that Americans don't have the same understanding of 'semi' as Brits do... :-%

Grand Canyon from the air. Stunning. Simply stunning

Typical Route-66 roadside scene

Another iconic Route-66 road stop

Blimey!! And I thought folks here were somewhat conservative...

Grand Canyon National Park, United States

Sat, 04 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0700

Grand Canyon on 4th July, what a treat. Helicopter ride early on, then fireworks and celebrations in the evening!!

Going via Winslow. Will be "standing on the corner in Winslow Arizona"

I was standin' on the corner in Winslow Arizona, such a fine site to see...

Arizona here we come

Painted valley, at the entrance to the Petrified Forest

Stuff doesn't rust here within the Petrified Forest park, it just gets a characterful Patina

Newspaper Rock, Petrified Forest

Hieroglyphics on Newspaper Rock, up close

Petrified tree, now making a bridge!

Grand Canyon is simply incredible, and that's just seeing it from ground level

Sunset over Grand Canyon. Maybe only a helicopter ride through the canyon will top this... :-)

Gallup, United States

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0600

Mountains ahead! The route to here has been nostalgic and poignant, from here it becomes breathtakingly scenic - mountains, erosion valleys, and yes, corners :-)

Lunch - MacDonalds (and won't be doing it again)

Wild West filmset

Wild West whiskey, Sir?

Hotel El Rancho. A curious mix of old-style Western, film-star gallery and Motel style rooms. Interesting!

Sky City

There and Back, to Sky City

Easy Rider part 11

Easy Riders...

Iron Horse in its native environment. Comparisons with a horse are good. Can be any of: fun, cantankerous, hot and fussy, wobbly, belligerent. Cart horse, not thoroughbred!!

The Continental Divide. The storm about to hit we are assured will drain into the Pacific now - wow, thanks. What about the hail?

Old Fort Wingate-Zuni Wagon Road Historic Site, United States

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 14:28:48 -0600

Santa Fe, United States

Wed, 01 Jul 2015 16:30:00 -0600

Santa Fe, which is conveniently shortened from the original name of La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís

The Cadillac Farm. Why? Because he could. Graffiti is actively encouraged!!

A 30ft arrow sticking out of someone's garden... and chest

Old time petrol house

Mid-Way, by mileage not by hours. The longer, twisty "half" yet to come...

One of the ghost towns from Route-66's hey-day, but now derelict.

A day off the bikes, so time to explore Santa Fe

The Blue Swallow motel, the place gave rise to something in the cartoon 'Cars'

Cool dudes...

Mile upon mile

Long, straight roads typify the USA...

Some seriously straight roads

Amarillo, United States

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 16:30:00 -0500

Is this the way to Amarillo?

Memorial garden to the Oklahoma fallen after the suicide bombing

Lunch mini-stop, given the half-cow steak promised for tonight 'Big Texan Style'

I wanted that jacket, but not for sale :-(

Crazy hippy man. Unbelievable place, person and experience

Some crazy hippy created this, apparently, with a pistol. Gut feel says he's a better hippy than marksman, so I guess these holes were punched or drilled!!

Crossing the Texas State line

Believe it or not there is a Barbed Wire museum

Even more bizarre is the Kansas Barbed Wire Collectors Association...

Got to be in Texas

Armadillo in Amarillo getting shit-faced

Steak House dinner. Everything to excess, including the steaks

Oklahoma City, United States

Mon, 29 Jun 2015 16:30:00 -0500

Getting hotter as we head steadily south-west

Leaving Missouri via a 5 mile cut into Kansas, then into Oklahoma

A concrete blue whale built as a gift from a local entrepreneur to his wife, who apparently liked it. Not diamonds, but a concrete whale...

Dinner in Bricktown, Oklahoma City. A chique-ish area of bars and restaurants, and building sites... Looking forward to the Southern Style Blackened grill I've just ordered :-)

Brick Town canal and cheque bar district. Very pleasant

Did you watch CHiPs as a child? California Highway Patrol on the Kawasaki Z1000 patrol bikes - of which this was one from the series

A 1979 Triumph that has never left its crate. Shame, but awesome too!

Captain America's motorcycle from the films

Maybe more my size!

Joplin, United States

Sun, 28 Jun 2015 18:00:00 -0500

A relatively long day on the bikes ahead, 350 miles or so. Bring it on!

A petrol station shop crammed from floor to ceiling with candies...

The world's biggest rocking chair. Not sure why, but "it is". No climbing sign got missed, sort of!

Children, do not climb on the furniture!

Does my Kriega Bum Bag (or Fanny Bag if worn to the front) count?

Big boys toys

Big Piney River

Our motley crew, a good laugh one and all

Cruising the USA, burning up the highway...

A famous coffee/trinket stop on Route 66, for how much longer isn't known as the old guy who ran it sadly passed away a few months ago

Chilled in the Missouri sunshine

Yep, a chicken 'coupe' :-?

Just couldn't resist

Red Baron or Dick Dasterdly? I'll let you choose...

Saint Louis, United States

Sat, 27 Jun 2015 16:30:00 -0500

Sunshine first thing, will the Mississippi be bathed in sunshine or cloud when we arrive? The 'Big Muddy' didn't disappoint - glorious sunshine to marvel at the huge river that is the Mississippi hammering past like a mountain stream. Followed part of the original brick-laid Route 66 from the 1920s, then dotted on and off that and various later built sections - it isn't any longer possible to navigate all of the 1920-30s road, some has been replaced, some diverted or plundered for various war effort road building.

Healthy start to the day... Not!

One of the original Gasoline brands along Route 66

Joe Cool on the brick road, Route 66. No prizes for guessing the identity of the man behind the shades

Got to be done...

Follow the yellow brick road...

Don't play on the wall. It will only end in tears!!

VW Polo pickups are nicknamed 'Rabbits' it would seem. The owner of this roadside bar seems to think that planting halves will somehow resurrect them...

The old Chain of Rocks bridge across the Mississippi

Chain of Rocks bridge is over a mile long, and kinks 22deg at the mid point to ease navigation of the big boats with the strong currents and curve in the river to negotiate

St Louis in the distance - and tonight's stop

St Louis' Gateway Arch, over 800ft high (so I'm told)

St Louis' Gateway Arch

A few plates (quite a few) of Stainless Steel welded into a self supporting shape that also resists high winds! Construction started in the early '60s...

Evening sun in the city

Big rivers need big bridges, and big bridges over here look like this

When the river (Mississippi) rises, various quay-side streets become inaccessible

Dinner in the 'Irish Quarter'. The place to cruise in your V8 4x4 and look cool and bling

Springfield, United States

Fri, 26 Jun 2015 16:30:00 -0500

The first leg of Route 66 coming up! Thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon...

My Iron Horse...

In Illinois it rains mainly on the plains. And boy does it rain!!

The first Illinois 'Chemically powered engine' fire engine

The bell was louder than I thought...

...too many mushrooms

Livin' the Dream

Advert has nothing to do with taste or nutrition. Wonder why?

Pontiac Illinois on a wet Friday

Lunch - Chilli-dogs and coffee

Finally having dinner at Springfield Hilton. Our chase car broke down, not due to get to the hotel until 12:30-ish. It has everyone's luggage in it, so we're sweet smelling dinner guests!!

Chicago, United States

Thu, 25 Jun 2015 07:10:00 -0500

Sight seeing day in the Windy City

This time tomorrow I'll be sitting beneath this same signpost, on a Harley and facing 3,500 miles on Route 66 :-)

Room with a view - North up the lake coastline towards Milwaukee

Willis Tower, the 2nd highest in USA and was once the worlds highest. Glass box jutting out 430m above street level tests one's vertigo muscle. The kids seems oblivious to being 1/2 a km above a very bumpy landing...

Chicago Cathedral...

Chicago, United States

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 16:30:00 -0500

O'Hare international airport

Long but uneventful flight, Not on the rusty green plane in the pic!. followed by 'forever' clearing customs - remembering to say Sir/Madam, please, and "I'm allergic to latex'.. Metro into Down Town Chicago to the hotel, right inside the 'Chicago loop' of elevated metro line! Left home at 2:25am and arrived 17hrs later. Surprisingly warm whilst walking around Grant park and the Marina, probably 22-24c. Dinner in a Mexican fast-food diner, then coffee to keep awake until a sensible hour to reset body clock!

The hotel lobby :-)

Riverside architecture

The Mother Road's spiritual start point

Ahoy there...

Heathrow

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 07:30:00 +0100

And so the journey starts. An eneventful drive down to Heathrow followed by the interminable wait for check-in and security clearance. Now tucking into an English breakfast whilst boarding time slowly approaches :-)

Greenland from 11km up in the sky

Virgin's planes are a bit 'cheap and cheerful' - check out the green 747!!