I am very happy to report that I was able to ride 12,000 miles in 2009. If I could have taken a month off work and been able to bear that long a time away from my kids, I would have headed north on US-42 all the way up to Cleveland, Ohio. From there I could have taken a route along Lake Erie up into Buffalo, New York. At that point, I would have went eastward toward Rochester and up into Canada changing over to our northern neighbor's routes. From there, I'd continue north and east on Queens roads until I hit Montreal. From Montreal I would go east, entering into the U.S again on SR-27 if possible (Google maps seems to think it can be done). In Kingsfield I would switch to some other state roads for a short bit, ending up in Bangor, Maine.
From Bangor I would ride down the coast and through some small New England towns such as Concord, NH, Northampton, MA, Torrington, CT, and finally down through New York City. After spending at least one night in NYC, I would take the back roads into Philadelphia, Baltimore, and finally into Upper Marlboro, where my friend Patrick lives. Rolling through Raleigh, Charleston, Savannah, would put me into Jacksonville. I would not leave Florida again until I was getting the picture of Lois next to the buoy that says "Southernmost Point Continental USA" in the Keys. From there, backtrack up and then over the gulf side of Florida...Naples, Sarasota, Tampa, perhaps stop in Hernando or Bradenton to see Joe or Bonnie. I'd like to stay along the gulf where I could see the Gulf wherever I went to sleep for the night. I would ride through Panama City and Pensacola on my way west. Mobile, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Beaumont would get me into Texas.
In Houston I'd turn south toward the border and Corpus Christi. From there, I'd keep going toward the east coast over roads less travelled these days. I would take a detour north to visit four corners where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet. While riding through Albuquerque, I'd stop to say hello to my friend Jim. He now rides because of me... From there I'd continue to my west coast destination, Los Angeles. I doubt I'd stay long because I really want to explore along the roads northward and ride through Death Valley National Park. I also want to see some giant redwoods before I ride through Chico to see if I can have a cup of green tea with my friend Jen. I want to stay on the Coast Highway US-1 as much as possible through California and Oregon. When I got to Seattle Washington, I might take a break for a day.
From there I would head eastward ending up in Duluth, Minnesota. The road I choose would be sometimes in the United States, and sometimes In Canada, if I had my druthers. In Duluth, I would come down through the Upper Peninsula into Macknaw City in Michigan. I'd visit Flint where I was born, Fenton where we lived when I was little, and my friend Ward. From there, It would be back down southward into Indiana, stopping to visit my friend Chuck, then back across the Ohio river into Louisville and home. This is how I would have liked to have burned the petrol, dirtied the oil, worn the rubber, and rolled away those twelve thousand miles. I still covered some good road, but a good bit was roads I've already seen once or twice... Hey, there's always next year, right??? I rode 8,000 in 2008, so this makes my lifetime total 20K.
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