Hi, I’m Tim, and I want to share part of my cross-country motorcycle adventure that took me from Orlando, Florida, to Los Angeles, California, and back home. This leg of the journey began in Denver, heading westward through Colorado, with some of the best riding of the entire trip.
Starting on Interstate 70 in Colorado, the scenery was breathtaking. With snow still on the ground at 11,000 feet and temperatures in the 40s, the ride was cool but enjoyable, especially with my heated gear. As an engineer, I was fascinated by the tunnels cutting through the mountains, marveling at the ambition it took to create them. The landscape was vast and untouched, with no signs of human habitation, just peaks and valleys.
We made our way along the Colorado River through canyons, savoring every moment of this ride. Our destination for the night was a campground in Utah, leaving behind a day filled with beautiful cruising.
The next day, we left Utah for Arizona, with temperatures starting in the low 50s but climbing as we headed south. The landscape remained largely untouched until we neared Las Vegas, where human influence became more apparent. We stopped for lunch with my nephew’s friends in Vegas before hitting the road again.
Near the California state line, we encountered a traffic jam with desert temperatures soaring to nearly 108 degrees Fahrenheit. With a 51-minute delay predicted by Google Maps, we made our own path around the traffic, though lane-splitting California-style proved challenging for me on a loaded touring bike.
After staying in San Pedro, California, we spent Day 7 exploring personal history. As a U.S. Navy veteran and one of the last battleship sailors, I visited the USS Iowa, now a museum in Long Beach. I served on this ship in the early ’80s, and it was surreal to revisit the place I once called home. The museum staff, especially Janice, Paul, and my Navy buddy Don, made the visit memorable.
Before heading east, I walked to the water’s edge to let the Pacific Ocean touch my boots, marking the westernmost point of my journey. With one more drive-by of the USS Iowa, we faced Los Angeles’ rush hour traffic, heading to the Ontario Convention Center to check in for the Run for the Wall event. That’s where this chapter of the journey ends, but there’s more to come.
Thanks for following along!
