Back in the spring of 2018 I completed a contract project at the Jeep plant in Toledo and I was ready for some time off. One of my first goals was purchasing dirt bikes for my 10 year-old grandson and I, which turned into a fantastic bonding opportunity that lasted up through 2023 as he was approaching 16 and I was approaching 74. The other goal that I was able to realize was to complete a 9,000 mile, 5-week solo trip across the US and Canada on a 1997 Honda Valkyrie. I fell in love with cross-country riding on that trip and knew that I wanted to do this again. However, after that first trip it was time to get back to work for a while, so another couple of contract projects and a final full-time gig brings me to the present. I retired from my full-time job as a senior controls engineer with Darling Ingredients at the beginning of May, allowing be to realize that next cross-country trip.
This year’s trip will see two major changes; first I won’t be going solo. Marshal Keys, a riding buddy I met through my younger brother Dave, is an all-in partner on this trip. Marshall and I (in the picture below) had the opportunity to take a four day trip through Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina and Tennessee in 2022 and had a great time. This trip should be monumental!
The second major change from first cross-country trip is time/distance. Where I pushed hard to make 9,000 miles in five weeks on the first trip, we are expecting to spend approximately 10 weeks on the road this time around. More miles, more time, more Adventure!
The initial plan is to take ten days to get from Willis, VA to Boulder, CO where we have tickets to see My Son the Hurricane on June 10. Along the way there will be stops in Spartanburg, SC, Nashville, TN, Memphis, TN, Clarksville, AR (where we will spend and extra day on a 300 mile trek through the Ozarks), Amarillo, TX, Roswell, NM (pure schlock, I know), Santa Fe, NM and Canon City, CO. (A rough point to point map below)
The next stop will likely be Zion National Park in Utah. We will begin to flesh out the rest of the trip on the fly.
My goal is to try to post daily updates but I remember how time consuming that was on the last trip, so we will see how that pans out.
Adventures of an Old Man 
Excellent account of the trip! At some point it would be great to view your bike setup, how it packed, etc. What a great trip! Thanks for sharing!
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