Day 7: Florida, I am in you

Odometer is at 20,500 miles…I made it to third base! 😄

Route:

I took the lower route, starting with the 10, then the 20, then meandered until I got to Orlando, FL.

California to Arizona to New Mexico to Texas to Louisiana to Mississippi to Alabama to Georgia to Florida.

MyScreenshot_ 2018-10-22 at 21.02.11

Hotels (includes taxes/fees):

  • $65.20 Oct 16 Days Hotel by Wyndham (Mesa, AZ)
  • $73.44 Oct 17 Red Roof Inn (Van Horn, TX)
  • $90.93 Oct 18 Plaza Inn (Big Spring, TX) *Unscheduled, work emergency*
  • $64.22 Oct 19 Days Inn by Wyndham (Irving, TX)
  • $46.30 Oct 20 Inn @ Meridian (Meridian, MS)
  • $57.43 Oct 21 Motel 6 (Macon, GA)
  • $74.10 Oct 22 Wingate by Wyndham Convention Center (Orlando, FL)

Meals:

I came in at under $50 per day for breakfast (McDonalds!), lunch (diners), dinner (supermarket food at hotel), water (lots), and snacks (mostly junk).

Mechanicals:

  • Handlebar lock cylinder rusted, I’ll hit it with WD-40 tomorrow (else Harley Davidson will need to replace it; has to match ignition lock key!).
  • USB/SAE adapter rusted pretty bad, I’ll need to revamp wiring to prevent that from happening next time.engineer-workflow

Gas mileage:

Looks like my average was in the high 30’s to the low 40’s. I felt like I was in a headwind all the way! I was trying to stay 10MPH above the speed limit, but I have to admit those long stretches of smooth road/highway begged me to go faster.

I hit 106 on one of those long Texas stretches. I realized on this trip that the reason my bike never got past 95 was because of cable slop. Comanche Cycles fixed the slop, now I hit 105 without any effort, at which point I back off since I’m a pussy.

MyScreenshot_ 2018-10-22 at 21.11.51

Learned:

  • Rain gear…buy it and use it and put it on BEFORE it rains.
  • Come up with a better solution for running SAE/USB cable to handlebar.
  • Viking Saddlebags are not waterproof. #wellDuh
  • Remember to bring small WD-40 and a roll of Duct Tape.
  • Bring more ziplock bags than you can imagine you’ll ever need (different sizes!).
  • 10 zip ties were not enough (really, maybe bring two sizes next time too!).
  • Be smarter about where you pack stuff (realized after second day I had to unpack/repack to make sure the stuff I needed was easiest to get to on the road).
  • Nets, nets, and more nets…needed third net to attach second helmet to sissy bar.
  • When merging onto the highway and the road is wet, try not to accelerate so fast (fishtailing was fun but in hindsight probably wasn’t the smartest thing).

Saddlemen:

I can’t say enough good things about this Saddlemen. Their S3500 bag is as bullet proof as they come, and WOW all those pockets! Their Step-Up LS gel seat felt sooo much better than the buckets found on touring bikes.

Place to live:

I arranged to rent a room before I left CA, but after a couple days I got a call from the home owner saying he had to pull the listing. He wanted to help displaced families (Hurricane Michael). He gave me some other options, very grateful to him for being honest and helpful.

I ended up finding a room for rent about 30 min from Celebration, FL. Rent is fair, and the neighborhood is really very nice. I can park my Harley Davidson in the garage, and I can park my Honda CR-V on the street once it arrives.

There’s probably more to write about, but I’m exhausted. Tomorrow I’m going to run some errands and get settled in. Then I go to the office on Wednesday.

Can’t wait to do this again!