I first
did it in 1970 on a honda 750. I was 34
at the time and
full of piss and viniger and was looking
to set a cross
country record on a bike. But as far as
I could find out,
there were no know records at that time.
So I decided to go
from N. Hollywood, Ca. to Levitown, N.Y.
as fast as I
could. 57 grueling hours later, I
arrived at my
destination.I stayed in N.Y. for 6
weeks. All the time
working as a Boilermaker. I needed money
for the return
trip which was going to be an easier
ride.
Ready to
depart, loaded up that Honda with
everything you could
think of. I had a lantern, tent, fishing
rod, cooking gear,
rope, extra gas, you name it I had
it.
Off I went, only
this time I was going to see this
country of ours. To be
honest, I didn't spend much time East of
the Mississippi.
The real sites, (as far as I'm
concerned) are West of
it.
I went to Mt. Rushmore, where they
just had a
terrible flood. There were RVs still up
in trees, roads
washed out, what a mess. But the
Presidents were
still there.
From there I headed to
Wyoming. At one point
on the road was a sign that said, "If
you stop at this
historic landmark and walk off the road
and look West,
you'll be able to see the grass still
bent from the wagon
wheels of the many wagon trains that
used this trail". I
thought, yea, right, so I pull off,
light a ciggarette, and
walk to the point where you're supposed
to see this. Damn,
there it was, all this tall grass and
then two faint lines
where the wagons left their mark. I was
stunned with
visions of those trains. It's amazing
what the mind can
conjure up. I SAW THOSE TRAINS.
I then
stopped at a
restaurant and had a bite to eat. As I
was paying my tab, I
noticed a cork board with notes on it.
One was a help
wanted
at a working ranch. I asked the girl how
far it was to the
ranch, and she gave me the normal
answer, "down the road a
piece".
I get to the ranch and this
cowboy greets me. I
tell him I'm looking for work and he
says, "ever ride a
horse? I say, yea, at the Dixie Do
Stables in Brooklyn",
BINGO, I'm hired, $1.85 an hour, room,
board and paid
daily. I worked there for two weeks.
What a learning that
was.
Off to Yellowstone Park. When I
arrived I was spell
bound. If you've never been, don't miss
it. I stayed there
for three days and then on up to
Montana. I arrived in the
first capitol of the state, you guess, I
know it. There I
pitched my tent and did a little gold
panning. Made about
$200 in the week, not bad for a
tenderfoot. Off I go to the
town of Butte. I was thinking of working
the mine for the
Anaconda Co., but after going down one
of the shafts, 3000
feet, I said this is not for me.
I
headed Southwest to
Utah, then on down to Las Vegas. What a
town and what a
time
I had. Don't remember how long I stayed
there. LOL
I
headed for Arizona and hit some hell of
a storm. Rode it
for
about 80 miles and then decided to stop.
It was the town of
Yarnel. I go into this little food shop
for a hot cup of
coffee and this lady comes to me and
says, "you'll catch
your death of a cold, take off those
clothes" Hell I didn't
even know her. lol She takes me to a
back room where I
strip. Of course she gave me something
to put on. I had hot
soup, apple pie and coffee. After a
while she brought out
my dry clothes. Still raining, I asked
her if there were
any motels around. She gave me a note to
hand to a motel
clerk that she knew. When he read the
note, he said, "I'm
taking $2.00 off the rate for you."
Guess what, it cost me
$8.00 for the night, with a dry place
for the bike.
There
are two reasons for not continuing this
trip. One is not to
bore you, and the other is, I ain't got
no talent for which
to rite good. lol I wish I did though,
because with me
telling the story to some one who can
write, I bet it would
make a good movie.
<
BR>