2013 Coast to Coast US Trip – Page 2

Ended up only sleeping 5 hours or so. Planning kept me up later than I hoped, and I’d set to be woken up at sunrise which only gave me the five hours. The fog outside was terrible. I ended up waiting a couple of hours in hopes of it clearing some.

Still rather foggy but a little better, I didn’t want to wait any longer to begin. The harley riding cowboy rode with me to gas station to see me off and sign my witness paperwork for Iron Butt. Farewells said, I began the arduous journey.

I wouldn’t call it a fun experience. It was somewhat stressful always trying to rush gas station stops yet still feeling like you took too long. I’m still glad to have done it. The states I rode through were quite bland in their scenery, as expected. Once approaching Louisville, I realized it was slightly plausible for me to complete yet a third IB challenge, 1500mi/24hrs. Obviously I was going to wait to see what mental, physical, and emotional condition I was in once in Louisville to make that call. Turns out IB wouldn’t have accepted the three for one, as they require completion of an easier ride before attempting the 1500/24. Moreover, it would have been a race to the finish, as I ran into all sorts of traffic, accidents, and construction zones in several states.

On that note, my intent from the start was to get photos at all the border crossings. Some didn’t have a sign due to construction, others whose lines were set by a river sometimes wouldn’t have a sign or would have a sign on top of the bridge with no shoulder to stop on.

When I finally rode into Louisville, I found a gas station and got the gas attendant and some random guy gassing up to sign the witness paperwork for me. I truly hope they answer when called. I made my way to a Wal-Mart parking lot afterwards and set up my tent in a corner to sleep for a measly two hours.