Hang On St. Christopher

Just got home from the ride, had an absolute ball. If I didn't have to work I would turn round and do it all again. Had perfect weather the entire time, rode on wet roads for a little while in Pennsylvania but that was all.

Some of the highlights were the breakdown in Indiana that I mentioned in a previous post, the tail light/brake light/license place bracket falling off on I-80 in New Jersey and the interesting fix, a Grand Am's front tire blowing on I-90 about 5 feet from me and sending pieces of their front clip all over the road, getting lost in Newark, getting lost in NYC, getting lost in Gary, IN, getting lost in the Poconos and getting to see some family.

I was warned by a few people that riding in NYC would suck but I thought it was great. It's like an all out race the entire time, like running the gauntlet. Total blast! I totally recommend it. The Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge were cool too, the view of the city from the bridge is pretty spectacular.

Also, I learned that if you're ever in Toledo they apparently don't appreciate when you say "Holy Toledo" in reference to anything. Way to be super uptight about the name of your city Toledans, way to be. Jeesh.

I've gotta thank all the guys at McDaniel's HD in South Bend, IN again for getting me back on the road, Katie and Renee for letting me crash on their couches, Mary and Paul for dinner and Troy for building a super strong and tight motor. The bike ran like a raped ape the whole time and didn't burn so much as a drop of oil. I was really impressed since I was running long days of high speeds in 80-90 degree heat, but it did great.

All in all it was 2884 miles of total fun and I plan to do it all again without changing much except being able to spend more time riding in PA and not staying at a gross KOA. Those places are nasty.

Oh, and I managed to do the whole thing without so much as getting pulled over or falling down once (even though I'm convinced the roads in New Jersey were trying to kill me) and with a dirtbike tire on the rear of my bike!


This song came up on my iPod quite a few times on the trip. Felt appropriate: Tom Waits - Hang On St. Christopher