DAY 25: Dropped off the bikes to the San Francisco eagle rider. They let me keep a souvenir and headed to the airport. I will post on this from time to time as well and still have a ton of video and photos to go through from the trip. Thank you to everyone who watched donated supported and took interest in this. It has meant a lot to me and is the greatest adventure I have ever been on.
If anyone still is wondering you can still donate to Cystic Fibrosis Canada:
http://my.e2rm.com/PersonalPage.aspx?registrationID=2266918&langPref=en-CA

Total days:  25 days on the bike
Total Miles: (all purpose, gas stops etc) 5439 miles (8753 kilometres)

Day 24 (LAST FULL DAY IN CALIFORNIA!) We left Santa Cruz and headed up Route 1 again to get to San Francisco. Dropped our bags off early at the hotel (and was fortunate enough to get an early refill) and then hit the open road.

We were 10 minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge, which we crossed over and stopped to see the sights and had a feeling there was more good road past the bridge. Indeed there was. Took some of the craziest hairpin turns through the mountains and beaches for the next 75 miles. I don't regularly like doubling back over roads, but this one was worth the exception! Finished the night off getting gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and taking in the Giants vs Diamondbacks game. 6 hours 230miles

More Day 23:

There were just so many great shots I thought I'd leave a few more:

Day 23: More Route 1 leaving Buellton and heading further Route 1 north towards San Fran. Hit Los Padres forest park and Big Sur with awesome redwoods and hairpin turns (I'll post some) it was the most fun on the road I've had this trip driving wise!

Saw Guadalupe (driving through the town it smells like strawberries). California in general has some of the best scenic and terwhiffic (sorry pun) rides. Oranges, strawberries, cedar, oak, not to mention fresh sea air and the sound and sights of the waves hitting the rocks within 30 feet from you was incredible. There were lots of bridges and tunnels as well we hit. Great to be able to have dad along side for that ride!                                

Stopped for coffee at Rock and Roll Diner converted from two old train cars wallpapered in business cards. We stopped at Hearst Memorial beach with an incredible pier and views. They also had zebras there...yeah, zebras.  Pretty sure dad enjoyed it all too. Finished the drizzly night getting into Santa Cruz and visiting their beach and boardwalk fair. 5hrs 245 miles

Day 22: Made it to the Pacific Ocean! From Anaheim we took 22 West to hit Long beach. Got to the AWESOME Route 1 heading north stopping to see Venice beach and Manhattan beach. We had run out of time to have a full 'beach day' so I was able to at least hold a surfboard and dip into the ocean. In hindsight I should have just surfed in my jeans quickly to check it off, but it would have made for a cold ride on the bike!
Visited Malibu (aka Lamborghini and latte town)  and travelled slowly up Route 1 north. On the bikes for about 3.5 hours and just under 200 miles. It was a nice relaxing ride!

Day 21: Left Vegas and headed towards Bakersfield. After driving in intense heat (close to Utah's 'open the oven door' type feeling) we stopped in Barstow, we stopped at a Denny's to have something to eat and 3-4 glasses of water. There was an elderly gentleman behind us to overheard us talking about the heat and where we were going. He warned us not to go to Bakersfield. We also gassed up and met another guy who was doing the LA to Vegas drive over the past few days and was dousing himself in water saying it's a bit much. We took their suggestion and looked for a cooler route. We were able to hit Famous Route 66 for a few miles while in Barstow as well!


We rerouted around the Majove and Death Valley parks, partially due to exhaustion from the heat, and the rental companies don't like people forging into ridiculous places in July. We headed to Anaheim and took in a Jays vs Angels game. Nabbed a foul ball too! Happy to be in 29°c vs 44°c weather! 4 hours 264 miles with lots of water breaks. Took I-15 South to 91 West 4 hours 264 miles

Day 19/20:

Probably getting the best reward for reaching the fundraising goal. Dad came in this morning and is riding to San Francisco to finish off the trip.... Only two cancelled flights and two delays but he made it! The surprise has landed!We hit the Hoover Dam then the city of Las Vegas for the night. Being here long enough it was easy to navigate through and get to some of the good spots on the strip. We ate at Burgr by Gordon Ramsey and got to see Christina Wilson who won Hell's Kitchen run the kitchen for about 20 minutes while we ate our second to none gourmet burgers. 
2 hours driving, 66 miles

We are off to Bakersfield tomorrow, California here we come!

WE HIT THE FUNDRAISING MARK!!! $10,000 RAISED FOR CYSTIC FIBROSIS CANADA!!!!

Thank you to family, friends, colleagues, new friends and random people I've met through acts of kindness and anyone who doesn't fit that description-thank you so much for supporting and donating to the fundraiser. I've been trying to keep up with the donations and will continue to do as best I can on the road. I put 10k as a goal I never thought we would get close to reaching but we DID  I am honoured humbled to have such great people in my life, this truly means a great deal.

I am behind on my posts but for completeness I will post what I have from Facebook/Twitter for those reading!
Day 18: last day of rest before getting on the bike. I reset, rested and ate 2500 calories for $13. I also forgot to mention I briefly was in Arizona on the treck here. Might go watch the UFC fight at Mandalay Bay then ready to hop on the bike tomorrow and get to the surprise
One thing I find very interesting and do almost every night when I walk the strip is to buy a beer at the pharmacy, the oddness of this concept doesn't escape me and actually it's one of the cheapest places to buy a beer on the strip!

Day 17: HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

There were another 300-350 thousand more people here for the fourth of July festivities

I did manage to get in sky diving. I had been wanting to do it when I got here and was fortunate enough to do it. I got it done early in the morning where I didn't have time to contemplate what ifs. It was fun getting ready we had a ride out to the shop and I got called in last second to get on the first plane, geared up in about 60 seconds while they were adjusting my straps while getting on the plane, added to the adrenaline.

.There is a UFC fight across the road tomorrow (Saturday) night as well so it is more packed here. I did a lot of walking again I wanted to make a point to check out all the hotels in Vegas, all of which are impressive. The strip is a long walk but worth it.

The afternoon of the 4th I went to FatBurger and had drinks with two guys Vince and Brandon who bought me a drink after talking to them about my fundraiser and also the bartender was nice enough to help me out with drinks too (who's name I'll omit in case you're in trouble haha) but by far the nicest bartender I have met the whole trip and really made the day.

I went out for fireworks but the rain came down HARD and they were a bit sparse to watch. Still a great day, wishing the surprise would have happened today but we will have to wait until Sunday!

Day 15/16: Got into Vegas in the afternoon (to 46 degree heat) unpacked the bike and headed into the Luxor hotel for a few evenings of rest. Yes. Rest in Vegas. The sights and pure hugeness of the city took me in and I ended up walking the strip and back. There is everything and anything to do in this city.

People from all over the world. I was able to meet a group from Kansas City who were in town for their daughters 21^st birthday. I had sat down to eat and got into talking about the trip. They were generous enough to pay for my meal (thank you again guys!) but it just shows how engaging and kind people can be and the interesting people you can meet along the way.

I somehow found myself following a club crawl to a few establishments and enjoyed some beers with a group from England and another group from North Carolina. Very few people are from Vegas who go out and do things I’m starting to learn, makes sense.

0 miles on tires

20? On feet

Day 14: Woke up early to head to the Grand Canyon. Had to have the Motorcycle serviced since it was closed in Grand Junction. Zion Harley took good care of me. The weather and heat changed my plans once 10am hit. I looked on the map and Zion National Park was close to St. Geroge. Even with the heat it was only 30 miles away so I headed out with water, sunscreen and the camera.

It was a great stop with winding roads, hot sun and great views of the canyons, cliffs and desert. It was a lot of stopping to take in the scenery and was a great trip for little distance to cover. There was a lot of geology to see with different formations over time, educational and scenic.

I took it easy on the bike due to the heat which gave me an excuse to to get off the bike and hike a little bit on some of the pull offs with walking trails. It was like an outdoor sauna.

Heading back towards Hurricane Utah to rest up for the night before going onto Las Vegas for a few days and a rest!

Total today: 66 miles

Total: 3973mi

Day 13: Grand Junction did not have service available this morning (closed sunday and monday) So they said head into Utah as it was the next closest. My goal was to get into Kanab Utah but ended up having to commute into St. George. It was a very hot and dry day. Lots of wind and open road. I stopped several times to apply sunscreen and drink water/Gatorade.

I was lucky to meet a man named Larry as well. I met him at a gas station in Green River and drove with him to Salina Utah. We chatted after stopping as well, he gave some really great pointers for driving around trailered trucks and watching out for things on hot days. It was a pleasure to ride with him and nice to have someone to share the road with.

I landed in St. George tonight and hope to get service in the morning. Planning out my next stop this evening then will head back out again!

Total today: 5 3/4 hrs. 389 miles
Total: 3907mi

Day 12: Had a little bout of altitude sickness. Feeling nauseated and tired and had an upset stomach most of the day so I only put in 3 hours to get to Grand Junction, Colorado. I didn't take much for photos but took the day to really rest up for my long drive tomorrow through the Utah desert.












Total: 3hrs/152 miles
Total:  3518mi

Day 11: Left Denver for Mount Evans. It is the highest paved route in North America. It was a very narrow road up and took you up to an elevation of 14, 240 feet! When I got up to the top the first thing I did was proceed to the wash room were mountain goats occupied the building. It was nice talking to some people at the summit and then proceeded back down. It was 7 degrees Celsius at the peak and went back down to 30 degree weather. From there I headed on the I-70 west towards Aspen, taking routes 91 24 and then to 82. I was about 10 miles outside of Aspen when I put in my hotel address.....it was not in Aspen but in Crested Butte on the OTHER side of Mt. Baldy. After another 3.5 hours of driving having not one not two not three but FOUR deer cross out in front of the road I arrived quite cold at the Crested Butte Mountain resort and spa. I found a great price for it but it was way out of the way. Still was very nice and poshy.

I went into town on a free bus and stopped into Kochevar's for a beer. Eventually taking a 5 dollar bus back up the mountain to the resort, for the most part. It was a really long day but glad I made it to the right place. In the future I'll better plan my driving time as it was 9 hours and 387 miles in total.

Total: 3366 miles

Day 9/10: I left Rapid City South Dakota and headed for Denver. On my way I found (by accident) Mount Rushmore, it was a great 12 mile (at 12 mi/hr) drive in on a small windy road with lots of forest and great sites before rolling up to the memorial. If time had permitted I would have camped here for the night but I wanted to get to Denver.

I encountered more thunderstorms throughout South Dakota after visiting Mount Rushmore and then hit Cheyenne SD before getting into Colorado late and staying with Joe. He and his family were generous enough to let me stay and relax do laundry and have a day off of the bike.

Friday was a great off day. Joe and I went to Buffalo Bill's grave and oversaw the town of Golden, which is where the Coors Light plant is. We did the abbreviated tour and then set off to another pub before heading back to home base for a taco bar. After playing bean bag toss and teaming up our US/Canada team beat a US/Russian team. It was a good night!

Thank you to Joe, Jackie and Zachary (I hope to meet you guys soon) for your hospitality and for allowing me to stay at your home. You always have a spot to

Today: 6.5 hrs 399 mi
Total: 2979mi

I KNOW IT HAS BEEN BURIED UNDER THE ENTRIES BUT YOU CAN DONATE OR FIND THE FUNDRAISING TRIP THROUGH OTHER OUTLETS:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/695043223892472
Twitter: @cfmotorcycle

Cystic Fibrosis Canada Donation Site: http://my.e2rm.com/PersonalPage.aspx?registrationID=2266918&langPref=en-CA

Day 8: I had been driving enough over the past few days to have worked up a decent buffer of time, to take a few days off. I just had the bike serviced in Lincoln and started to look at my options, ending up choosing South Dakota and the Badlands park area. It was a long drive up, but well worth it. I got to drive through the park and just as I was finishing it I saw storm clouds coming and decided to head to Rapid City for the night.

The drive north through Nebraska was great, saw a lot of small towns and followed the rail system through the state, which had several trains pass me as I was parallel to them on the road. 83 north was a very rough road to take, probably wouldn't recommend it to those on a long tour as I could feel it in my back for a few hours after getting off of it.

Then the storm. It was probably the single most scariest 2 hours of my life with high winds rain and no where to find shelter, I stayed on the interstate about 50mi/hour and ended up finally getting in soaking wet and hitting the bed and sleeping. It was not a pleasant ride and my nerves were a bit shot after the drive. Overall still really happy I made it up here and was able to visit and explore a new state with my extra time!

83 north
I90 west

6:35 riding
416 miles

Total: 2580 mi

Off to Denver for Day 9!

Day 7:

Left Topeka Kansas this morning and headed to Lincoln Nebraska. I took route 75 north instead of taking the interstates which I much enjoyed, realizing the gas stations are much farther apart (not every 10 miles) so I will keep that in mind as I move further out west and off the main interstates.

Once in Lincoln I visited the University of Nebraska but didnt stay long as I had an appointment to get an oil change again (2000 miles completed so far in total) and spoke to a guy who was getting service done as well. He mentioned taking route 34 instead of interstate 80 to get to Kearney which I did do for part of the way, it was full of great skies and cows, mostly.

I am reworking some of my routes to avoid rain (I drove in about 40 mins of it today only) but would like to avoid some of the crazy weather and thundershowers and high winds going on in Indiana and Denver.

Distance today: 296 mi/4:43 travelled
Total: 2164 mi