S2S - The Epic Ride - journal
Day 0 (22 Dec 05)
Finally the Stony Brook era is over 
Starting the epic ride tomorrow !
Day 1 (23 Dec 05)
Have done 330 miles today ! Left Stony Brook at 8am and rode till 3pm (300 miles) to reach Ligeo’s place Falls Church, Virginia. He is a friend from my Enfield days in Bangalore. A nice chat with him later left for my final destination of that day. Rode for another 20 odd miles to reach Derwood, Maryland where I met Suparno, a school friend since age 9, at his uncle’s house. Had a good Bengali chat with the family. We talked a lot about good old days of Santiniketan.
The weather was not too bad. It was cold enough in the morning to appreciate my gerbing electric jacket liner. The temperature soared to 60F in the afternoon at Virginia, and that was quite hot for a late december afternoon. Planning to do 400 miles tomorrow to reach florence, SC.
Day 2 (24 Dec 05)
Did 530 miles in total today and crossed Florence, SC. The weather being great and a lot of miles to do tomorrow made me push a little further towards Savannah, GA. Stopped at a small town Walterboro, SC to refuel and liked the ambience of the place. Checked in at an inn for for $45 and there was too many things in the room: TV, fridge, microwave and what not…
It was a great ride. Though I-95 was boring sometimes. Many a time I stopped by the road just to bite some chocolate to ward off the sleepiness. Took less pictures than I planned simply because it was way too much pain to stop, open trunk, get the SLR out and try to peek through the viewfinder with helmet on !!! It was nice to be crossing North Carolina and entering South Carolina and passing those welcome signboards I see in so many trip reports by motorcyclists.
Day 3 (25 Dec 05)
Total 490 miles today. Reached Tampa, FL. I came this far south from Jacksonville, FL to meet one of my school seniors, Bodhayanda and his Wife Kulkuldi, from my hometown Santiniketan. Staying with them tonight. Kulkuldi is treating me with endless bengali delicacies. Starting with tanduri chicken, I could taste chital fish after a really long time. And then hilsa in mustard followed by the usual chicken curry. Will stay here tomorrow also to do some work on my masters project report as demanded by my advisor. I think my coast to coast trip will be unique in the world for this augmentation of school work in the middle of the trip !!!
Rode on some of the coastal highways of Florida, notably the A1A. Also, had a ferry ride with the bike. The Fernandino beach was a hell of a place by the Atlantic. The magic of sun, sand and the palm trees. Not to mention the tanned beautiful American women :). Rode through Daytona Beach and then Universal Studios at Orlando, passed Disneyland and saw that the Kennedy Space Center was also not too far 
But no time to see these ! Maybe some other time… in a trip from Alaska to Keywest… who knows !
Day 4 (26 Dec 05)
No riding today. Have to work on my masters project report as my advisor demands. Imagine doing that in the middle of a lifetime trip !!! The later part of the day was a little bit interesting. I have written about it in my blog: http://joydutta.com/blog/index.php/2005/12/26/an-eventful-day-at-tampa
Day 5 (27 Dec 05)
440 miles done today. Reached Panama city. Rode through 100 miles of coastal highway. Met Mark, a fellow COGger (www.concours.org) before reaching Panama city and he rode with me to reach today’s destination. Staying in a family room in a hotel in Panama city.
Day 6 (28 Dec 05)
Total 650 miles today Crossed Pensacola FL, Mobile AL, Jackson MS, Monroe MS and finally reached Shreveport LA. It was raining a little on the way to Pensacola. Also saw Katrina’s damage on the way ! Was planning to stay at Monroe but then changed mind and staying in an inn in Shreveport. Tomorrow will ride for about 150 miles and meet Carvey. Then will ride with him to meet another friend John.
Day 7 (29 Dec 05)
Rode 260 miles today from Shreveport to Texas [pic]. After doing 140 miles met Carvey, an online friend, and went to his home in Arlington. From there, went to meet another online friend, John. His home is near Dallas, about 20 miles from Arlington. Staying here tonight. Rode around the city a little bit. Carvey and I had dinner at John’s place. It was my first dinner with an american family [pic]. John and Maria (his wife) have three very sweet kids [pic].
Day 8 (30 Dec 05)
Today staying at Pecos, Texas about 430 miles from Dallas. Carvey rode with me for about 200 miles [pic]. Then we stopped for food and after food went in opposite directions: Carvey back to his home and me on my onward journey which ended at Pecos today.
Day 9 (31 Dec 05)
2005 ended in a great way ! Did my longest one-day-ride today. From Pecos, Texas to Scottsdale in Arizona. 670 miles. Total 3800 miles done and around 650 miles more to go. Staying at my uncle’s house in Scottsdale. Planning to stay here tomorrow also.
Day 10 (1 Jan 06)
First day of the new year ! Having a great time in my uncle’s house: sumptutous bengali food, endless gossip… went to Saguaro lake the family. Saw this lake first time in summer ‘04 when my parents were here.
Saw in the news that the weather in California is very bad ! Heavy rains have caused mudslides on the highways ! Anyway, I am leaving tomorrow for my onward journey. May be will have to change my plan slightly. Will try to reach Sunnyvale tomorrow itself instead of stopping at Los Angeles.
Day 11 (2 Jan 06)
Total 550 miles today. Though the original plan was to reach Sunnyvale today itself, but because of bad weather couldn’t do it. Still 200 miles away from the final destination. Staying in a motel in a small place called Buttonwillow. Had to stop becuase of the traffic ! It was raining on and off but even after 450 miles the weather was very much rideable. But soon I5 started crawling because of the jam and the wind was horrible. But still thought of riding and finishing off the ride. 200 miles were still to be done ! But soon found out that its just impossible to do it with I5 crawling at a horrible speed. The wind was so horrible that one truck turned over ! It took me more than 2 hrs to do a couple of miles ! With this speed, it wasn’t a very good idea to continue the journey. So, decided to stop. Found this small place with an Indian restaurant Stopped there with the happy thought of having some good indian food but it was closed 
However, checked into an inn nearby. Tomorrow will be the last day of my mega trip
The whole journey till now was without any problem. But the last leg of the journey presented itself with a bundle of problems ! Of all the places I crossed in this journey, California was the last place to expect bad weather in. Also, the whole journey was without any accident, not even a minor one. And that too had to happen in California ! I fell down on the slippery road for my own stupidity ! The car in front of me stopped suddenly and I gave front brake, instead of the rear one (though I had read about this and today I realized it takes more than only knowing the stuffs, what it needs is reflex and experience). However, since my speed was very slow (20 mph), nothing major happened to me and my bike except that the crash guard on the right side of the bike got bent. Everything else was alright and I rode few miles after that before I had to make the stop for the day.
Day 12 (3 Jan 06)
Finally its over ! Since it was only around 200 miles to be done, started a little late. Slept peacefully for a little longer. Did 130 miles almost nonstop before giving a short halt. After that it was only at my Yahoo office where I stopped ! Thought of giving a surprise to my colleagues.
Summary : Total 12 days from Stony Brook to Sunnyvale and total distance covered is about 4700 miles (exact figures and statistics will be given later) !