Jim and Nate Do America

EPISODE 2: JIM AND NATE DO AMERICA

2011-08-23T20:25:00.000-07:00

Episode 2, in which our champions explore Yellowstone National Park and its environs. They have a bit to say about the National Parks Services and their National Forestry Service brethren.

EPISODE 1: JIM AND NATE DO AMERICA

2011-08-14T15:25:00.000-07:00

It starts!

Follow Jim and Nate as they depart for Washington State and begin their transcontinental journey. This episode is brought to you by the number 3, the letter H, and a seal:

Jim and Nate Do America: TRAILER

2011-08-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

It was exactly three years ago that Jim and Nate were on their way across the U.S.A. We're finally ready to share the tantalizing footage of our trip.

Here's the TRAILER for your favorite new reality TV show:

The Full Route

2008-08-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

Here below is the our full route across the country:

View Larger Map

Full Slideshow

2008-08-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

Full photos of the trip available below. Or, click here to see them mapped across the country!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

The Finish Line

2008-08-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

Must begin this post with a big word of thanks to the Bliss family for putting up two smelly biker dudes last night. It was great to be home. And what a meal! Thanks, guys!

At about noon today, we maneuvered our hogs into a very hectic Kenmore Square and happened across a road sign with prophetic meaning for our trip--US20 End! That's right folks. We made it. I know many of you loyal readers thought we'd have killed ourselves before we even left the west coast, but through not a little good luck we completed the quest.

We drove another few miles to Everett to teaching huge Harley dealership where Eagle Rider has set up shop. And then, after 4,500 miles clocked, we bid farewell to our road warriors and left them in the trusty care of Brad, the east coast counterpart of Seattle's Claudio. (nice folks at the ole Eagle Rider.)

Then it was a jaunt on the T to South Station where we hopped a Chinatown bus for the last (and arguably most dangerous!) leg of our trip.

We'll be in touch with some final commentary and words of wisdom (or attempts, perhaps) before we sign off for good. But, a hearty thanks to our readers and to all the wonderful folks we've met or have given us great advice on this trip. We owe ya!

Next stop: NYC!

We made it to Massachusetts!

2008-08-16T13:10:00.000-07:00

The Toronto crew!

2008-08-15T19:11:00.001-07:00

The Toronto crew!, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

Having graced so much of the United States with our stinky selves over th past 13 days (12 states as of today), we decided it was timr to visit our northern neighbors for a change of perspective. Oh, Canada, you treat us so good.

After a morning visit to Niagara Falls (American side), we brought the hogs over the bridge and convinced the nice fellow at passport control that we were not bringing any weapons into the country, and then made our way northward on Canada's largest expessway--the QEW.

After a quick fill-up in Hamilton (which shares many of the struggles of the other steel town we've driven through, Gary), we ditched the expressway and took a nice drive up Lake Shore Drive all the way to Toronto, passing some pretty lavish mansions and estates as we headed north.

Soon, the twirling windmills and landmark CN tower came into view. We took a stop at the waterfront to take in the scenery, and then headed downtown to try to grab a beer (only to get stuck in our third big traffic jam of the day as revelers packed into the local stadium to see the Steelers play an exhibition game--the first ever NFL game on Canadian soil!). We finally ditched the bikes in a pricey downtown garage that said "no motorcycles" (oh well) and stumbled our way to a local watering hole called the Loose Moose. Delores, our lovely bartender, read our out-of-town-ness on our faces and gave us the good ole sales pitch on why Toronto rocks while serving up some local brews (canada has a lot of them!).

Soon thereafter we met up with the righteous brother, mr breydon himself. We strapped him to the back of our bikes for the quick ride to his abode in the coolest urban neighborhood you've ever seen--Toronto's little Italy. So many young people, bars, and authentic old Italian folks--good stuff.

After we dasterdly maneuvered our bikes into B-dogg's backyard and unloaded our gear, a steady stream of good people started flowing in, all Korea alums who knew Bisbee from his teaching days. A night of unchecked revelry followed in a series of local spots.

We could go on and on...but the long n short of it is that Toronto rocks, and that the dudes who go by names like Brewhar, Spankie, and Johnny Mullaly are some of the best you'll ever meet.

We were a bit sad to leave toronto (and almost didn't this morning when Nate couldn't find his keys) but the road beckoned and we pushed on.

Thanks for the good times, Canada. We'll be back.

Back in the U.S.A.

2008-08-15T15:22:00.001-07:00

Just crossed the border outside of Kingston, Ontario.

Back in NY.

Camping in the adirondacks tonight.

Oh, Canada!

2008-08-14T13:01:00.001-07:00

We crossed the border and took the hogs to Ontario. We just did the entire length of Lake Shore Drive, and are just a few km outside of Downtown Toronto.

Data roaming charges are kicking in so no updates until I can find some wireless.

Peace!

We're in New York!

2008-08-14T07:13:00.001-07:00

We made it to Buffalo last night.

And then the phone promptly ran out of batts.

Giving her a charge now...

...and then, we check out Niagara.

We're in Cleveland! Stop at West Side Market

2008-08-13T12:15:00.001-07:00

We're in Cleveland! Stop at West Side Market, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

poor signage in Cleveland led us to a few wrong turns off 20. But we happened across the West Side Market where we stopped for a cofort station break.

Damn suburbs r making for some slow moves today...

Lake Erie!!

2008-08-13T08:36:00.001-07:00

Lake Erie!!, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

If he's not sneezing, he's blind. Young mr. Bliss forgot his clear goggles in Chicago which caused all sorts of problems when it got dark. In fact, pretty much all of yesterday was a hairy situation. Chicago's roads were riddled with tank traps, indiana needs a complete overhaul, and much of Ohio is dangerously strip-malled. Rolling down a four lane highway with a center road for turning, in the dark, sans appropriate eye-wear, and dodging idiotic cagers does not a relaxing night make. But now we're on lake Erie where the local high-school waitress claims "ain't nuthin to do." let me tell you, towns where there ain't nuhin to do are my kind of towns. Some names from the past two days: Kelton (worked at denny's...could't understand a word he said), john (groundskeeper at campsite...awefully jealous), meijer check-out woman (couldn't understand why we were doing this), billie, phyllis, leah, and megan (sweethearts at the Port-n-Starboard who are claiming the town shuts down at 9). To all the humans who make this trip fun.

Maumee Bay State Park

2008-08-12T20:13:00.000-07:00

So...our late start and slow road goings did in our plans for Put-In-
Bay, but we've made do at a nice state campground in Oregon, Ohio.

We're cooking some dogs and drinking some brewskis. We'll check in
wit y'all in the morning.

We made it to Eastern Standard Time!

We made it to state 10!

In Indiana amish country

2008-08-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

Wondering if we're gonna make the last ferry.

The Chicago hosts

2008-08-12T14:55:00.001-07:00

The Chicago hosts, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

Daaaaaaaaaaaan imnida there. Jimandnatedoamerrca there too. Dan the man. Danimal. Goddanit. Thanks to one of the original mules for showing us Chicago. Granted the noodle was hurting this morning but nothing a little denny's couldn't fix. Muchos gracias as well to his lovely roommates and various friends. (how someone like danny wound up living with two competent, kind, and above all, clean girls is beyond my reckoning but god bless 'el for hosting our decaying carcasses.) so Chicago was a hoot. We're now fully in the east, complete with mobile gas stations, windy roads navigating terminal moraines, and fully populated towns. On dan's suggestion we're going to stay on some island in lake Erie tonight. Then it's upstate ny and niagara falls tomorrow, toronto Thursday, somewhere in new York Friday, and then beantown Saturday. Pull you socks up friends, we're going to be kicking you in the cubes before you know it!

Ferry across the Mississippi

2008-08-12T08:22:00.001-07:00

Ferry across the Mississippi, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

a bit of a report on Day 8 before the memory fades...

So, the day began with the creature comforts of ye olde Holiday Inn and breakfast at iHop. But the road beckoned and we took to it, through mostly boring Iowa cornfields. Our little US20 turned into a divided four lane expressway for most of the state. That's not fun riding (nothing particularly magical about holding on for dear life at 80mph while getting blasted by semitrailers and the occassional bug clowd).

We ditched US20 for a while, taking a parallel side road that was a bit more manageable, although similarly flat 'n boring. It took us through some cute towns, like Independence, IA. The road then took us to that famous Iowa town of Dyersville, where they shot Fields of Dreams. We stopped at a local watering hole called the English Pub. (we've lived on a balanced diet of bar pizza and beer recently)

In Dyersville, we took a left and headed north to Millville, where we turned onto a dirt road, crossed some railroad tracks, and were suddenly at a dirt ferry landing on the Mississippi.

The Cassville-Millville ferry is one of the last historic ferry operations still active on the river. It's just a few minute jaunt from the Iowa side to the Wisconsin side. Once we made to Cassville, it was just a few miles up the road to the Nelson Dewey State Park, a beautiful campground on a bluff over the river. As the sun set over the valley, and a freight train rolled by, we realized we were witnessing a distinctly American scene.

A fabulous day.

Chi-town!

2008-08-11T23:04:00.001-07:00

Chi-town!, inserito originariamente da nate.bliss.

We made it to Chicago! Out celebrating with Jim's bro from Korea, Dan. We're crashing with the guy tonight (thanks! esp. to your lovely roommates). Supposed to hit Cleveland tomorrow night....but maybe a detour to Indiana for some Cicc/Obama action?

Stay tuned folks...

Also to come: thorough description of our Mississippi crossing(s)!

closing in on Chicago

2008-08-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

just a few miles to go...

Odometer fun

2008-08-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

This thing read about 150 miles when we started....

This is our review of BBQ

2008-08-10T08:18:00.001-07:00

Hells bells! I just painstakingly hammered out several sentences of a blog ok this confounded Jobsian futuristic interface and then lost it all!

Now my brekky has arrived so you'll just have to wait now won't you? As a personal reminder, it was about sneezes, bison, and thoaxes...or is that thori? More later.

this is our review of bbq

2008-08-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Nate's got the sneezes real bad here in corn country. He'll go motoring ahead for a bit, start convulsing like a bison taking a dirt bath (a little local color for you there, or at least local to 1,000 miles ago), and deaccelerate rapidly. So it was a rough stretch of road through Nebraska. Long, straight, cold, and a host of other dull adjectives. It's also grasshopper country and I've got the guts to prove it. Yellow-green guts with the odd exoskeletal leg or abdomen still attached. They sun themselves on the quieter roads and woe betide he who gets caught following too close. We put in 460 miles yesterday, half of which was just gwtttong us back from sturgis. To mark the halfway point of our trip (in days if not distance) we splurged on accommodations at the local holiday inn in Sioux city Iowa. Ne'er a more wretched hive of scum and villany etc etc. After showering off the bug carcasses, we donned our newly acquired sturgis shirts and hit the town. We first sashayed brazenly into a 1988 class reunion before enough expectant looks informed us of our folly. A touch more sashaying brought us to a nice watering hole featuring a nice bartender and an insufficient supply of Sam's summer. But there was a surprise in store. Two bachelorette parties AND a bachelor party in the same bar! Or perhaps two bachelor parties and a bachelorette party. I couldn't quote figure it out. Whatever the case there were a lot of happy people. But the best part of the night was the chin-wag we shared with martin wolf soldier outside the bar. He was either was relatively sauced or a few bulbs short of a billboard but was a righteous old mule nonetheless. He had spent 13 days hitchhiking from Chicago, trying to get back to his family in Montana. He taught us some key nakota phrases, all of which I got muddled with Korean, Chinese, French, and Spanish (damned cerebral organization) and promptly forgot. But a mule. A mule's mule with more interesting stories than a bar-full of bachelorettes. So we're properly homeward bound now with a week to go. It's been a trip. Yellowstone feels like a month ago, Astoria a year. Thanks for checking in you scallywags...we'll be stinking up your joints before you know it.

Back on Twenty!

2008-08-09T13:09:00.000-07:00

Finally made it back to the Great Road.

A nice detour, but good to be back.

We hit US20 in a sleepy town called Merriman, NE.

Sturgis is ridiculous!

2008-08-09T12:39:00.001-07:00

Sturgis is ridiculous!, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

Of all great divides between the stereotype and reality, there is none wider than the chasm between biker culture ideal and reality. The tough virile men are actually old loons and the hot young women are actually more gnarled than the men. There's a lot of overlap between biker and metal culture, at least aesthetically. But what wool these jokers pull over their eyes! I wonder if anyone of these old bats has any sand to him. Sturgis seems like a bunch of posers. Although we're in valentine Nebraska and there's a real dude talking loud enough for everyone to hear him. He's a cross between an easy rider hopper and the dude himself, lamenting the decline of sturgis into window dressing. It seems that the best way to separate the wheat from the chaff is to look for those that think a look is ridiculous.ah biker culture in america, what a perverted display of sexual insecurity.

Badlands are beautiful

2008-08-09T07:20:00.000-07:00

We camped last night at Badlands National Park. We rode in at sunset—spectacular.

Headed back to I-90 to look for breakfast and a route back to the Great Road.

detour: Sturgis!

2008-08-08T08:59:00.000-07:00

So... We've been talked into a detour.

The good folks in Casper, WY were incredulous to hear that we weren't
planning a stop at the country's largest motorcycle rally.

Not ones to dissapoint, we've altered our plans and will leave the
Great Road for a jaunt up to Sturgis, south Dakota.

This should be interesting...

Photos to follow....

Wyoming? Because it awesome!

2008-08-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a truly epic day.

Ride outta of the campground on US20.
Buffalo Bill Dam and accompanying mountain terrain.
Breakfast in Cody, the "home of the rodeo."
Beautiful praireland out of Cody.
Mineral Hot Springs in Thermalolis.
Unforgettable ravine roads from there to Shoshoni.
Fast break to Casper through 10-person towns.
Mountain road with sweet switchbacks up to Casper Mountain.
Skunk Hollow campground at secluded spot.
Ate at mountainside Broken Spur Cafe--delicious!!
Met righteous Wyoming dude, Clark, & talked local politics.
Cooked delicious Walmart burgers and drank Oregon brew.
Enjoyed a campfire till the wee hours.

Great day 5.

A sincere round of apologies to our friends and family (esp.
girlfriends) with whom we've been out of touch. Service continues to
be spotty. And our batteries seem to last for a blink of an eye. We
love ya and miss ya.

Thoughts on Good Ole Yellowstone

2008-08-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

Partly because we felt compelled to visit such a super-American
destination an partly because the Great Road led us there, we spent
much of wednesday cavorting around Yellowstone. Buyer beware! August
in Yellowstone can look like the LIE at rush hour!

The approach to the western entrance was a bit disheartening. Having
just departed the amazingly beautiful Idaho countryside (with a
lengthy stop with Dava and her dog Stella at rhe Hend's Lake nature
preserve--thanks!) it was a bit jarring to see the shopping outlets,
tourist traps, and IMAX movie theaters that lines the road through
West Yellowstone. And then, we sat in traffic at the West Entrance
waiting to pay the $20 per bike entrance fee, and then again in
traffic at the first set of cascades past Madison Junction, and then
again in traffic as both lanes of travel gawked at a buffalo who was
sunning himself a few paces from the road. After lunch at Canyon
Village, we knew we had to get outta there.

We decided to forego our original plans to camp at Fishing Bridge and
instead forged ahead out of the park.

Yellowstone, gotta hand it to ya, you redeemed yourself on the road
out of the park to the Eastern Entrance. As we passed hurds of
buffalo, the terrain got more and more mountainous until we found
ourselves in a valley that could only be described as magical. Mix in
the hairpin curves and the slight drizzle, not to mention the oddly
beautiful wildfire smoke in the distance, and we just about fell back
in love with Yellowstone.

But we forged on anyway, trying to escape the crowds, and fell into a
lovely Forest Service campgroud about 15 miles from the East Entrance
called Newton Creek. Just about the most picturesque spot you've ever
seen, and nice and quiet! We claimed a spot, drove east a ways toward
Cody for some supplies, and cooked up a nice dinner of polish sausages
and Doritos, with some local Wyoming brew to wash it down.

A great day. Photos to follow shortly.

Limited cell phone service

2008-08-06T20:54:00.000-07:00

As I suppose we could have predicted, cell phone service has been
spotty as we travel through America's great outdoors. To our loyal
readers (hi, mom and dad), we apologize humbly. To AT&T, we scoff.
Come on now!

In other fun cell phone news, the GPS functionality on the iPhone has
proved largely reliable, although you may notice some bizarre geotags
on some of our photos. (At breakfast Wednesday morning in Arco, Idaho
the phone thought that I was in the Netherlands! Maybe it was some
atomic interference.)

Anyway, thanks for your patience. We'll get some more updates an
photos to you when we hit coverage down the road...

Snack break in Rexburg, ID

2008-08-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Idaho country, cont.

2008-08-06T10:52:00.001-07:00

Mixed feelings about the road in Idaho.

Crossing the border with Oregon, we pumped our fists to the air in jubilation. Three states in as many days!

But the first bit of landscape US20 took us through was a bit rough. A mix of what looked like struggling farms, an occasional bizarre new construction subdivision, and lots of lumber/textile/quarry mills dotted our path. We did pass a cool drive-in movie theater in Parma that caught my eye.

As we approached Boise, the farm plots turned into a bizarre stretch of what looked like very recently constructed suburban developments, complete with office parks, manicured landscapes (with fountains!), and even schools.

US20 is folded into a series of other roads for a long stretch around Boise, almost as if its original transcontinetal purpose had been usurped by the tranportation needs of a sprawled mini-metropolitan area.

Boise itself is nice enough. Seems to be quite a lot of construction downtown, but we heard from a guy we met at lunch that everything has come to a grinding halt with the recent housing crisis...and that the boom industries of real estate and construction have been bleeding jobs. But it was really nice to see a well-planned, bicycle-friendly, pedestrian environment. Nice town, from the brief look we had of it.

After Boise, we were stuck on the interstate for a while again. Stopped for a fill-up at a has station along the highway, we noticed an odd sight—a bunch of guys dressed in Arab headress and garb. Turns out that the local airforce base hires locals as extras for military training exercises. Pretty strange!

When US20 finally broke away from the highway, the road became downright magical. As it winds its way up the moutains, there are some spectacular views (and some really fun curves!). The bugs were out again in full force today—as our photos will attest. But we also had to contend with some small swooping birds (sparrows?) that were feeding on said bugs (and diving into our. Not sure who would win in a collision with one of those things but I can't imagine it'd be pretty!

Out windy road eventually took us into harsher terrain, as the landscape changed from farms to jagged volcanic rock (aa! Great scrabble word!). And as we climbed higher, the landscape grew even more moon-like, until (sure enough) we were in Craters of the Moon National Park!

Idaho country

2008-08-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

A shot of the Great Road as it zooms through Idaho farm country...

Knitting Factory? In Boise?

2008-08-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

In Vale, OR

2008-08-05T11:39:00.001-07:00

We made it to Mountain Time. Reset your watches, folks.

About 100 miles into today's ride. We got more ground to cover!
Onward!

The Great Road, under repair

2008-08-05T09:57:00.000-07:00

We were held for about 15 min by this lovely oregon state DOT woman at
a big "chip set" project. The loose gravel gave ya a bit of stir, but
we made it through.

Jim's jerry-rigged bike cam!

2008-08-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

What they're talking about in...

2008-08-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

In Washington state...
Jim and I came across a kindly fellow at a small diner north of the Oregon border. Beyond being very helpful with road tips, this gentleman also gave us a sense of the local economy. "if you're not working in logging around these parts, you're not working," he told us. Seems the Washington coast is still recovering from a big storm that past through with hurricane winds last fall. It's been all hands on deck in the logging industry since then to recover as much "blow-down" as possible before it starts to rot.

On the Oregon coast...
Seems like a pretty salty bunch around here, other than the smattering of tourist towns. We ran into a local guy from rockaway, OR who gave us a quick (and unrequested) lesson in clamming. Seems like pretty messy work.

On the Oregon coast...
Big news here as the crash of a small prop plane yesterday morning, just a mile north of where we'd camped out. Seems the private prop plane crashed into a vacation home.

In Burns, OR....
Checking in at a mostly occupied Days Inn last night, I had to ask the hotel attendant: "what are all these people here for?". He just looked at me and asked, "well, why are you here?".
"just passing through," I said.
"well there you go," says he.
Yep. Burns, OR is a true junction town.

good morning!

2008-08-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

We're just rising here in Burns. We flipped on the television and Mr. Weatherman is telling us we're in a heatwave. After a few chilling drives in the past few days, that actually sounds pretty good!

Today's itinerary has us ending the day in Idaho. But first some complimentary Days Inn continental breakfast.

US-20 turnout in Oregon

2008-08-04T23:16:00.001-07:00

US-20 turnout in Oregon, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

We managed to catch up to our itinerary today although not without some trouble. While Nate and I are fine, the same cannot be said for a not-small percentage of mid-Oregon's bug population. Following in the footsteps of misters dillon and miller, we have decided to reclassify the insect population to more accurately reflect the level of pain they cause when colliding with the human body at speeds greater than 30mph.

Small flies (including but not limited to black flies, noseeums, mosquitoes, and gnats): sparrows

Medium flying insects (black flies, horse flies, and the innacurayely named house flies (if it was a house fly, what's it doing plunging headlong into my facial pores at 70mph?)): falcons

Large flying insects (moths, butterflies, and the odd dragon fly): eagles

Heaven forbid, an actual bird: teradacdyle or perhaps a 747...thankfully we haven't been on the business end of bird-face collision so we'll have to make a final judgement on name appropriateness should those dire straits ever be met.

This taxonomy accurately reflects the pain of colliding with one of the above insect-types at cruising speed.

There is much more to say about today's adventures but I'm bedding down in a real ned and will be goddamned if I lose precious sleep to the likes of you!

It begins!

2008-08-04T14:53:00.001-07:00

New York, Aug 4, 2008, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

that's right boys and girls. We made it to the beginning of US-20 east! It's a rather non-interesting intersection in Newport...but it represents the beginning of our eastward quest!

Goodbye Pacific Coast! We're headed inland!

Beautiful Oregon coast, with dead seal in foreground

2008-08-04T09:53:00.001-07:00

Hobsonville, Aug 4, 2008, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

stopped at a viewpoint just south of Rockaway Beach.

Good morning from sleepy Seaside

2008-08-04T06:53:00.001-07:00

It's a dewy morning here.

Good night sleeps all around. surprisingly good, in fact, given that
it was darn cold and our tents are not heated. (by the way, a special
thank you to mr michael Ciccarone for so kindly lending his tent, amd
to Mr and Mrs C for letting me come up last Sunday to grab it!)

So....not the best weather for riding, but were forging ahead! Burns,
OR by nightfall!

Seaside, Aug 3, 2008

2008-08-03T22:42:00.001-07:00

Seaside, Aug 3, 2008, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

Astoria is a town on the border between Washington and Oregon. There's a 4 mile bridge leading up to it and the entire town is built into a hill rising straight out of the ocean. It's like hong
Kong but green. So the bridge is elevated enough so that you have this like cartographic view of Astoria as you come in over the bridge. You look down into streets that run up the hills away from you. Naturally and as any red-blooded young man would, Nate and I screamed into the deafening wind at the top of ours lungs as we entered Astoria at sunset. If you're looking for articulate responses to pure beauty, look not to the dudes on motorcycles who can't hear themselves think over the wind. Look to pete smith. (he'd never get on a motorcycle anyway.)

So astoria was jaw-dropping. And route 101 was great too ( if a bit nippy in the shade). The initial parts of the trip which mostly involved us getting lost in Seattle are somewhat blurred in the recollectio by adrenaline. But a good first day it must be said! Lots of footage, lots of paddy quotes, and lots of shivers from the cold. Also, lots of smells from Nate it must be noted. Girlfriends missed, food deep sixed, and mildewed tents unstuck. G'night blog and blog faithful. We love you. (no, seriously...if you're reading this we love you.)

Tv

Our hogs!

2008-08-03T15:27:00.001-07:00

Our hogs!, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

We touched down safely in Seattle and met Auntie Anne and uncle Mike at lovely Tacoma airport. The two were ever so kind enough to accompany us on a courtesy shuttle to Eagle Rider's new Seattle location, where Claudio and Hugo were waiting for us with a pleasant surpirse: free upgrades!

Yep, we're on matching blue 2008 Lowriders. What hogs!

Already blazing down the trail...just did a leg on US-5 and about to hit 101 for a eastward jaunt to the pacific coast.

More to follow!

On our way out the door this morning

2008-08-03T03:17:00.001-07:00

On our way out the door this morning, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

Aqui estamos en el mar de japon. Although I suppose not in actuality. When we're burning down the west coast highway this afternoon the more expansionist of the Japanese would be pleased as punch if they 1) heard me calling the pacific ocean the "sea of Japan" and 2) understood Spanish. In any event, we've discovered that eagle rider Seattle is located at the airport. So we're just going to pack our saddle bags and try to meet up with auntie poo and ratika for lunch. Alright, they're boarding us now and I've really given this iPhone a run for its word recognition money. Tootles!

Eve of the Trip

2008-08-02T18:45:00.001-07:00

Eve of the Trip, originally uploaded by nate.bliss.

Well, everyone...the moment has arrived.

We've packed our bags and completed our e-check-in for the flight. At 4:30am tomorrow morning, we'll stumble down to the Bowery and try our darndest to hail a cab to LaGuardia. And then our trip begins!

Many thanks to you fine folks who joined us last night at our bon voyage soiree. Fun times were certainly had. And a big 'danke shane' to the many of you who have already shared tips about dives and detours, as well as possible accommodations. It warms the heart, it does.

Just a few hours to the starting bell... stay tuned...

Bon Voyage Party on the Bowery

2008-07-31T08:44:00.000-07:00

In a few short days, two hapless young chaps will set off with the money in their pockets and shirts on their backs for an epic journey--a journey that will test their humanity, their courage, and most prominently their buttocks. Yes, friends...your own Nate Bliss and Jim Bisbee will soon embark on a cross-country motorcycle adventure on Harley Davidsons, completing the entire length of US-20 East, a two-lane highway that starts in a sleepy beach town in Oregon and will spit us out in Kenmore Square, Boston.

So, we're working on growing out our handlebar mustaches and planning our biker tattoos, but in the meantime...

JOIN US FOR A BON VOYAGE PRE-TRIP GATHERING
at 352 Bowery, Apt 2
Friday, Aug 1
10 - ?
Beer/Spirits provided, but BYO appreciated

Over-under: Gas

2008-07-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

Okay, so...how much gas will we be using on this trip?

Google directions for our route map the trip at 3,627 miles. That's without any scenic detours, missed turns, or in-town cruising (of which there will no doubt be some). But let's say 3,627.

Gas mileage estimates for the 2007 Harley Sportster range from 45MPG to 59MPG highway. MotorcycleUSA.com could only verify the lower of the two figures, so let's say 45MPG.

Was never very good at math, but I believe 45 goes into 3,627 approximately 80.6 times—which means about 80.6 gallons of gasoline per bike for the trip.

So...with national gas prices at an average of $4.064 (as of 7/21), we'd be spending about $327.56 each on gasoline.

And, with our trusty bikes holding about 3.3 gallons in tank, that's about 24.4 fill up at service stations across America.

Man-oh-man. Does Exxon want to sponsor us?

In sum, per bike:
3,627 miles
80.6 gallons of gas
$327.56 on gas
24.4 fill ups

The over-under is on. Place your bets. Awesome prizes await you!

Our bikes: Harley Sportsters

2008-07-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

"These dudes are going across the country on Sportsters? They must be nuts!"

Inspiration: Easy Rider

2008-07-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

Well done, gents. Well done.

Along the Route: Tim Russert Highway

2008-07-23T15:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of a non sequitur:

Earlier today our Commander-in-Chief signed a bill into law officially renaming a section of our very own US Route 20 as the Tim Russert Highway. Mr. Russert, a 16-year anchor of NBC's Meet the Press, was a Buffalo native and a big fan of the Buffalo Bills, whose stadium is also along US-20.

We're scheduled to hit this stretch of highway on Day 13 or 14. We'll look for the new road signs.

News coverage on the Highway Renaming:
Bush Signs "Russert Highway" Into Law (ABC)

Tim Russert on Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Russert

Jimbo is online!

2008-07-23T09:48:00.000-07:00

An adventure several weeks in the making, I finally found the time and competency to sign in and post on my blog. Welcome to me, round of drinks, smattering of applause, let's catch-up on the trials and tribulations. I have purchased a Sony Handycam to record the trip. The medium is Mini DV, the view-finder is touch-screen. Upon unpacking it last night, I discovered that my old Samsung (which I had believed to be broken) is in fine working order. Thus we can record twice as much footage! Different POV's! First-person for my crash with an accompanying wide-angle third-person for bone-crunching replays!

In discovering that the Samsung was still among the living, I also discovered several old Mini DV's from my time in Korea which just about drowned me in Bud-infused nostalgia for an hour or so as the carcass of my equally soused pal Pete decayed on my couch. I also have several stories involving my inability to hold onto my driver's license but that will have to wait for another time. It's great to be here and I can't wait to spam the shit out of this joint!

Two Weeks To Go!

2008-07-20T18:52:00.001-07:00

Down to the home stretch.

Barring any (further) license complications (or misplacement--JIM!), we should be good to go!

T-minus 14 days and counting!

17 Days to Go!

2008-07-16T21:09:00.000-07:00

17 days to go until Día de La Bandera in Venezuela. (For reals.)

Oh...also, 17 days until we take to the road.

Our Route!

2008-07-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

It's confirmed: we are gonna do US Route 20—the longest of roads—for it's entirety, from Newport, OR to Boston, MA.

We've taken a guess at our itinerary, but stops are all subject to tweaking based on recommendations and offers of accommodations. But here's the working version:

Day 1: Seattle, WA
Day 2: Newport, OR
Day 3: Burns, OR
Day 4: Craters of the Moon National Park, ID
Day 5: Yellowstone National Park, WY
Day 6: Casper, WY
Day 7: Valentine, NE
Day 8: Sioux City, IA
Day 9: Dyersville, IA
Day 10: Chicago, IL
Day 11: Cleveland, OH
Day 12: Niagra Falls, NY
Day 13: Albany, NY
Day 14: Boston, MA
Day 15: New York, NY

Check out the map:

View Larger Map

22 days to go...

2008-07-11T21:18:00.001-07:00

The countdown is definitely on.

Nate's New Bike!

2008-06-28T16:10:00.000-07:00

Lovely Amira was kind enough to accompany me up to Yonkers today to pick up the bike (which started beautifully, despite the weak battery). We brought it down to the mechanic for a full tune-up and inspection.

Lovely Amira was also kind enough to take a few photos of the adventure.

Road Trip USA

2008-06-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

In search of info on possible routes for our Seattle-to-New-York trip, I happened across a helpful resource in the form of this website companion for Jamie Jensen's Road Trip USA, a book with a wealth of information about transcontinental journeys.

I'm thinking some hybrid of the Great Northern and the Oregon Trail routes might be just what the doctor ordered...

41 Days To Go...

2008-06-22T16:02:00.000-07:00

I bought a bike!

It's a beauty of a 1985 Honda Magna VF700c. It needs a new battery and some TLC, but it rides like a charm. I'll post pics in a bit.

Many thanks to the Deuce who travelled up to the Bronx with me to check it out. Deuce—you are good dude.

41 days to go!

48 Days To Go...

2008-06-15T21:12:00.001-07:00

As the month of June creeps by, our departure date approaches.

I went to check out a starter bike in Yonkers today. I think I'll buy it—a 1986 Yamaha Virago. It's got a bit more power (1100cc) than my cross-country Sportster will have. Will give me some good practice around NYC before our August departure.

48 days to go!

Hat Tip: The Original Transcontinental Bike Trip

2008-06-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

Credit where credit is due.

In 1903, a fellow by the name of George Wyman became the first motorcyclist to traverse the country. Riding a 1.25 horsepower, 90cc motorcycle and braving all sorts of elements in his 50-day journey, George blazed a trail—and we're eternally grateful.

So...dear, George...we'll pour one out for you on the road. Good man.

For more info on George's journey, check out his page at the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

Not Jim's Bike

2008-06-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Jimbo was drooling over this one at the Motorcycle Expo at the Javits back in January.