Karl Kincheon Sr.
I call it my trip of a lifetime. I planned this trip with about a year and three month lead time. I watched videos and followed blogs and Facebook posts of some that had done it before me. I really didn’t know what to expect but prayed each day as the trip grew closer that God would just allow me to enjoy myself and meet new people and experience new things.
God didn’t disappoint!! From the very first day until the last this trip was epic. Along the way I saw sights that not many people will ever see. I battled the elements. I battled my own will. Most of all, I met some AMAZING human beings that made me realize I was right all along.
Day one took me to Carlsbad, NM. I left Houston at about 4am and stopped for a short but filling breakfast in San Antonio and also grabbed pictures of my first site in Texas, The Alamo. Once I passed the outskirts of San Antonio this was the furthest west I had ever been in a motor vehicle. I did my best not to think about how far I had to go and just began to eat up miles in small chunks. At some point along I-10 West there was really just me and the road. There were still cars going up and down the interstate, but they were not as frequent as they had been near the big cities. After I got off I-10 and headed north to Carlsbad, things got very desolate. The road I was on was two lane only because of construction. Fuel stops were very few and far between. I arrived at the KOA location about 7:45pm and immediately got to my camp site and pitched my tent. Hungry and tired, I grabbed Wendy’s that night and crashed soon after eating. I woke the next day to a beautiful crisp morning as the sun peeked from beneath the horizon. I was off to Durango, Co.
The Million Dollar Highway lived up to its billing. It was beautiful and scenic. The lovely people of Silverton welcomed me with open arms. I grabbed breakfast and headed off to my next stop. I crossed the Colorado/Utah state line and was met with beauty and beast. The mountains were lovely and left me in awe, but a strong wind storm that would last for several hundred miles made it VERY hard to keep my bike upright. After two warnings by locals and the inability to see more than 30 feet in front of me, I stopped the ride and grabbed shelter in Green River, UT. I woke the next morning and had to re-think my next destination. Wyoming was still several hours away. If I decided to go that route, I would not make it to Flagstaff on time and I did not want to get off track on my days. So, I instead decided to visit Moab, UT and ride the Scenic Roadway for about 30 miles. That was some of the most beautiful scenery in the world!! I left Utah about 3pm and headed for Flagstaff, Arizona. I grabbed a CHEAP hotel room that was a nightmare to sleep in. It was cold that night and there was no heat in this Ma and Pa shop. I grabbed my sleeping bag and bundled under the covers.
The ride from Flagstaff to Moreno Valley, CA took me through the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. The Hoover Dam was a first for me. I was mesmerized by its size and the engineering. I stopped in Vegas and met with an old Marine buddy that owns the Leatherneck Club, just off the strip. He and I talked for a good while and then parted ways. Man the ride through California was tiring for some reason!!! I don’t know if it was because everyone seemed to be going 80 mph or I kept looking at how far I had to go. It made for a long evening of riding. I arrived at my buddy Jame’s house and he prepared me a beautiful steak and potato and then made sure I was comfortable in my room. The next day Baby (my bike) was set to get new tires put on her, so he took me to the shop where he trusted the guy to do good work. From Moreno Valley, I went up the road to Sacramento and stayed with my old Marine buddy Ricardo. This guy took me ALL over historic Sacramento and showed me a good time.
The next leg of the journey took me north through Bend, Oregon and on to Kennewick, Washington. Another old Marine buddy, Cory, rode down and met me so that I would not have to make that ride alone. I will tell you now the weather was a bit nippier in Washington than I had been used to on the ride. I pulled out of Kennewick headed for Montana. I put on my overall bib suit and heated gloves and off we went. The temps dropped to the mid 30s!
From Montana, I rode into both of the Dakotas and stayed the night in Rapid City. I can’t say I "went to Sturgis." But, I did visit Sturgis and get a pic in front of the Harley dealership. The ride across South Dakota was long and tiring, but it had one bright spot. I kept seeing these billboards highlighting an attraction called 1880 Country Town. I actually wasn’t going to stop, since it was not on my agenda. But the last sign made me think. It said something like “You are about to miss your last chance to see a real western town”. I made a u-turn at the next off ramp. The attraction was awesome. A HUGE Dances with Wolves fan, it had a lot of memorabilia from the actual movie. My trek took me through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and into Kansas. That’s where the rain started. I rode for several days after that in rain, not downpours but they definitely made the ride a little different. I had stops to visit friends in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Those were some very memorable stops, as I got a chance to talk to old friends I hadn’t seen in 40 years (all were old Marine buddies).
Another person that had been following my ride lived in Ohio. He had seen my spotwalla post about my route and messaged me to say that if I came up I-75 he would love to meet me and take me to lunch. So sure enough as I approached his area I sent him a message and low and behold there he was at the Harley dealership ready to take me to lunch. We ate at Cracker Barrel, got to know one another better and then he said he’d ride with me as far as Toledo. We rode up through Toledo and waved good-bye. I was off to hit Michigan. That stop was Detroit and after grabbing some pics, I found my hotel and checked in for a night of rest. A Facebook friend I have known since 2009 messaged me and asked if he and his girlfriend could stop by. I was eager to meet him, so I said sure. Was I surprised once they arrived. He is deaf and she helps translate for him. He speaks pretty well but some things don’t come out right so she helps. After they left I grabbed some much needed sleep.
The next day was going to take me back into Ohio, across Pennsylvania and into New York, where I would stop in Rochester. I was hoping to go from Detroit across to Warren, VT but I knew that was not going to happen. At 6:00 am, as I pulled out of the hotel parking lot, I messaged my old Marine buddy David and asked if he had room for me to stay with him for one night. At my next gas stop, I got my answer, “sure”. I rolled in about 9:00 pm. We chatted and caught up on all things LIFE. I told him I’d be pulling out about 9:00 am, so we both decided it was time to call it a night. It rained from Rochester, NY up through Utica and finally stopped when I passed the New Hampshire state line. It was a beautiful and scenic ride into Warren, VT. The green mountains were an awesome sight to see. My hosts were folks I had never met in person. I met Chris through a mutual cancer survivor that wanted Chris to give me some tips, since he had already done the lower 48 ride the year before. We had no time getting to know one another and he had offered to let me stay with he and Darcy. Well when I arrived (to a beautiful "Welcome Karl" sign no less) they greeted me and informed me that I had been invited to join them at a friend’s house for dinner.
This was the highlight of the trip so far! This family welcomed me into their home as if they had known me all their lives. They fed me an awesome dinner and the wife made the most delicious vegan chocolate cake. The best part of it though was the treehouse! This treehouse had been built by none other than the Treehouse Guys! The owner actually lives behind this family. My mouth dropped as I got the tour of this magnificent structure. Rented as an Airbnb I was amazed at all the work that had gone into building it. I was in heaven!
I left Vermont and headed to Portland, Maine to join another friend that I had met just by chance and he took me to get some delicious lobster rolls. Keith was an awesome host as he took me on a scenic ride through New Hampshire and Vermont. We took the Kancamagus Highway and it was fantastic. We found a nice overlook and took some great photos together as well as the scenery around us.
There is so much more to the ride and I hope I’ll get another chance to finish up that rest of it in another article. One of the greatest things I took away from this ride was all the love I got from total strangers. Before I took off all I kept hearing was “someone is going to hurt you”, “how can you stay with total strangers”, “be careful in xxx they don’t care for our kind of folk”. I ran into NONE of that. I was greeted at gas stations, restaurants and other areas with love and support for what I was doing. When I started out, I had no real purpose for the ride other than just making it happen for my own enjoyment. Along the way it became a social experiment and I can truly dispute the notion that there are no good people in America.
God Bless
