Where NOW?

Date Weather Milage Start -Finish Notes
88 10/1 Foggy/
Sunny
Monterey, CA -> San Francicso, CA
87 9/30 Sunny Santa Barbara, CA -> Monterey, CA
86 9/29 Sunny San Diego, CA -> Santa Barbara
85 9/28 Foggy/
Sunny
San Diego
84 9/27 Sunny Barstow, California -> San Diego, California
83 9/26 Sunny Las Vegas, Nevada -> Barstow, California
82 9/25 Sunny Las Vegas
81 9/24 Sunny Las Vegas
80 9/23 Sunny Grand Canyon, Arizona -> Las Vegas, Nevada
79 9/22 Sunny Grand Canyon
78 9/21 Sunny Kayenta, Arizona -> Grand Canyon, Arizona
77 9/20 Sunny Moab, Utah, -> Kayenta, Arizona
76
9/19
Sunny Telluride, Colorado->Moab, Utah
145N to 90 to 46 to 191. Another breathtaking ride with a sharp transition from the golden leaves of Colorado to the reds to Utah. Some peg scrapping twisties, too...if you don't mind the sharp drop at the edge of the road.
75 9/18
Sunny Telluride, Colorado
74
9/17
Sunny/
Rain
Durango, Colorado ->Telluride, Colorado
160W to 145N. 160 was OK, great if you count the fact that it took us to Mesa Verde Nat'l Park, 145 was a breathtaking mix of Fall colors (gold, red, green) and mountains. Only bad part was some really cold rain near Telluride, and all-in-all that's a price worth paying.
73 9/16 Sunny Santa Fe NM ->Durango, Colorado
72 9/15 Sunny Santa Fe
71 9/14 Sunny/
Rain
Santa Fe
70 9/13 Sunny/
Rain
Lubbock, TX ->Mule Shoe->Santa Fe, NM
69 9/12 Sunny/
Clouds
Fredericksburg, TX -> Lubbock, TX
68 9/11 Sunny San Antonio, TX -> Fredericksburg, TX
67 9/10 Sunny/
Cloudy
Katy, TX -> San Antonio, TX
66 9/9 Rain/
Cloudy
Katy, TX
65 9/8 Rain/
Clouds
Lafayette, LA -> Katy, TX
64 9/7 Clouds/
Sun/Rain
Mobile, Alabama -> Lafayette, LA
63 9/6 Cloudy/
Rain
Tuscaloosa, Alabama -> Mobile, Alabama
62 9/5 Cloudy/
Rain
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
61 9/4 Cloudy/
Rain
New Orleans, LA -> Tuscaloosa, Alabama
60 9/3 Cloudy/
Rain
New Orleans, LA
59 9/2 Cloudy/
Rain
New Orleans, LA
58 9/1 Cloudy New Orleans, LA
57 8/31 Cloudy New Orleans, LA
56 8/30 Cloudy/
Rain
Baton Rouge, LA -> New Orleans, LA River Road along the banks of the Mississippi. Pleasant, somewhat twisty, lots of fun.
55 8/29 Rain 103 Natchez, -> Baton Rouge, LA Straight on 61. We got a little wet, but unlike The Trace there were no traction issues.
54 8/28 Rain 293 El Dorado, AK -> Natchez Took 167 to 20 and at Vicksburg got on the Natchez Trace. It was beautiful and in good weather it would have been a wonderful ride through the woods. My attention was in large part taken by the slippery when wet road itself. I don't know what surface they use, but boy, there were moments when it felt like ice.
53 8/27 Cloudy 137 Hot Springs, AK -> El Dorado, AK Again 7 all the way, but at Camden it stops being scenic and turns into a major highway.
52 8/26 Sunny/
Clouds/
Rain
100 Russelville, AK -> Hot Springs, AK More 7 to Hot Springs. Same as yesterday but a little more twisty.
51 8/25 Sunny/
Clouds
136 Eureka Springs, AK -> Russelville, AK 65 South to 7 S (Scenic 7 Byway) at Harrison. The 84 miles on 7 this day took us through the Boston mountains by Lake Dardanelle, Big Piney River and the Buffalo National River. Not super twisty but very pretty.
50 8/24 Sunny/
Clouds
99 Branson, MO -> Eureka Springs, AK We took 65 South to 62 West. The outskirts of Branson and then Eureka are the best parts of this ride. Other than that it's empty looking towns and some water.
49 8/23 Sunny Branson, MO
48 8/22 Sunny 379 St. Louis MO -> Branson, MO Today was a chance to water the sports bike roots. Twisties!! Here we go: 44W to K south, at St. Claire, turn left on 185, at Potosi take P going south west which becomes DD. Take 32 west past Salem, at Licking take 63 south. At Caboo find 181 south then 76 west to Branson. K and the last part of 76 are particurly twisty and also have some great hills. Thanks to Neville McNaughton of Midwest Rider for the route.
47 8/21 Sunny St. Louis MO
46 8/20 Sunny 71 Ste. Genevieve, MO -> St. Louis, MO Crossed the Mississippi on a ferry, mostly took 3 in. Nice backroads travel but there were still a lot of antique stores.
45 8/19 Sunny 90 Cape Gerardeau, MO -> Ste. Genevieve, MO 55N, an hour or so on modern super slab.
44 8/18 Sunny 240 Land Between The Lakes, KY -> Cape Gerardeau, MO Spent a little time in Murray, 641N to 60W accross the Ohio and Mississippi river. Missed 55 so we went over the Mississippi a second time on 57, then took 3N. Mieko was taken by the ride's flatness, I was shocked by the distance between exits.
43 8/17 Sunny 197 Nashville, TN -> Land Between The Lakes, KY and TN Nice ride on hwy. 70, 13 and 49. Worth checking out.
42 8/16 Sunny/
Rain
Nashville, TN
41 8/15 Sunny 190 Elizabethtown, KY -> Nashville, TN A few hours of super slab while we got used to the bike
40 8/14 Sunny 45 Louisville, KY -> Elizabethtown Not much to say, but Bootleg Bar-B-Q between the two is worth checking out.
34-39 8/8-13 Sunny Bardstown and Louisville, KY Transition.
33 8/7 Sunny 56 Harrodsburg, KY -> Bardstown Intensity 5.5. Some rolling hills but not too bad, and much easier after Springfield.
32 8/6 Sunny 63 Berea, KY -> Harrodsburg Intensity 6.5, maybe 7 if count the heat.. Rolling hills with long, flat stretches and some great descents. Jack Turner road, for example, is an amazing rush.
31 8/5 Sunny (0) Berea KY
30 8/4 Clear with light showers 46 Irvine, KY -> Berea Intensity 6. A couple of good sized hills, lots of rollers but not that bad. Note: the 46 miles includes a lot of miles inside both Irvine and Berea. Town to town milage is around 35 miles.
29 8/3 Rain, heavy rain and a little mist 56 Lodge at Buckhorn State Park, KY -> Irvine Intensity 7.5 when clear. Some pretty good hills
28 8/2 Sunny 23 Hazard, KY ->Buckhorn State Park Lodge Intensity 6.5.. Supershort distance but a couple of good sized hills. Had 8/2 and 8/1 been combined intensity would probably be around 8.
27 8/1 Sunny 38 Pippa Passes, KY->Hazard Because of the short distance intensity was maybe 6..
26 7/31 Sunny 74 Breaks, VA-> Pippa Passes, KY Intensity 7. Two pretty good hills and some rollers, but lots of downhill stretches.
25 7/30 Sunny Rest day in Breaks
24 7/29 Rain 10/38 Rosedale, VA -> Breaks That's 10 miles on the bikes, 38 (or so) by truck. I'd guess that under normal conditions this would be an intensity 7 to 8 ride.
23 7/28 Rain/clouds Rosedale, VA Fun day, not much riding.
22 7/27 Cloudy with rain 30 Abington, VA->Rosedale Intensity 6.5. The ride on 80 over the mountain after Hayters Gap was steep but not as bad as I expected. Rain made things a little hard but it was not a killer day.
21 7/26 Cloudy with rain (9) Abington, VA Day off for rain and maintenance
20 7/25 Sunny, cloudy, and light rain 37 Troutdale, VA->Abington Intensity 5, pretty much a half day. Some great descents, beautiful scenery, a few climbs and low air in the B.o.B. tire to keep things interesting.
19 7/24 Sunny with clouds and 20 min of sheet rain 39 Wythville, VA->Troutdale Intensity 6.5. Some climbs but not too bad. Scenery OK, could have gone on to Damascus.
18 7/23 Sunny (0) Wytheville, VA Rest day.
17 7/22 Sunny 62 Christiansburg, VA -> Wytheville Intensity 7.5. Not a bad ride, but a step down from the day before in fun.
16 7/21 Sunny 51.3 Troutville, VA -> Christiansburg Intensity 6.5. Beautiful scenery, a really nice ride (Read about this Intensity Scale).
15 7/20 Sunny (0) Troutville Rest day.
14 7/19 Misty 50 Lexington->Troutville Beautiful ride, hills mostly mild, fun side trip to Natural Bridge
13 7/18 Sunny with showers 29 Vesuvius, VA->Lexington Great, short ride followed by a great afternoon in Lexington
12 7/17 Sunny (0!) Vesuvius, VA Rest day at Sugar Tree Inn
11 7/16 Sunny 32 Afton, VA -> Vesuvius 5000 feet of climb, one tired Mieko and a night at the Sugar Tree Inn
10 7/15 Sunny 31 Charlottesville, VA -> Afton Hills, hills, hills and a night staying with the Cookie Lady
9 7/14 Sunny (15) Charlottesville, VA Rest day.
8 7/13 Sunny (0!) Charlottesville, VA Rest day.
7 7/12 Sunny 56.7 Louisa, VA -> Charlottesville Nice roads, nice people. Not all down hill, but easier than 7/11.
6 7/11 Sunny 57.7 Ashland, VA -> Louisa Got lost just after Patrick Henry's house. Other than that a fine ride. Some roller-coaster type hills
5 7/10 Sunny 34.1 Richmond, VA -> Ashland Equipment OK after problems in Richmond. Our first camping experience.
4 7/9 Sunny (5.9) Richmod, VA Mechanical failure. Stuck in Richmond.
3 7/8 Rain/
clouds
31.7 Charles City, VA -> Richmond First rain. Bill says it was a sprinkle, Mieko says it was a downpour.
2 7/7 Sunny 42.5 Williamsburg, VA -> Charles City Absolutely beautiful ride. I know its another state, but couldn't stop singing "Almost heaven/West Virginia."
1 7/6 Sunny 16.3 Yorktown, VA-> Williamsburg Dipped our rear tires in the Atlantic at 4:20 p.m.
1 7/6 Sunny Newport News Airport -> Yorktown This part of the trip is not going to be included in the total milage.

Date Weather Milage Start - Finish Notes
7/3 Cloudy 40 Chaneyville, MD -> North Beach, Chesapeake Beach, Chaneyville Test ride. First time with all our gear loaded. HEAVY......
7/4 Sunny 30 Alexandria, VA -> Rooveselt Island -> Alexandria -> South towards Mount Vernon -> Alexandria Nice July 4th ride along the Potomac.

Bicycle Ride Intensity Scale:
As of 7/21 I'm rating every day for intensity on a 1-10 scale. 10 is something I hope never to encounter,
a day of hills so high that even an experienced and strong rider with 30 pounds of gear might have to
push up hill or bail. 1 would be almost no effort, all down hill, or short and level.