Very productive day today. new battery and front tire done. ordering rear tire + wheel from ebay. helped piyush installing hard bags on his VFR. June 28, 2009, 12:35am

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Instamapper.com rocks. Just set up a gps tracker for our month long cross country motorcycle ride. http://bit.ly/O9d9w June 29, 2009, 1:38am

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New rear tire should come today. Bike should be ready by evening. Dry run of packing to follow afterwards. July 1, 2009, 9:16am

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Feeling infinitely lucky to have a wife who is excited to be on a motorcycle trip for 30 days. July 2, 2009, 1:09am

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Seems like I can lose weight and stay young on a motorcycle: http://bit.ly/73jOX and http://bit.ly/10WZFS July 2, 2009, 2:15pm

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Started at 7am. Breakfast stop at Benicia. July 3, 2009, 7:24am

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175 miles done. I-5 is a bit sedate. July 3, 2009, 9:57am

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At Weed, CA. 325mi done. Touched 97F peak at Redding. Morning was 58F. July 3, 2009, 12:35pm

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At Chemult, OR. Blinded by greens and blues. Don’t wanna leave Oregon. July 3, 2009, 4:27pm

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Got rained on day 1. Awesome. The smell of wet soil took me home in monsoon. This IS home. July 3, 2009, 4:27pm

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Day 1 over. 555 miles. Staying at Bend, OR at my coworker’s place. July 3, 2009, 8:05pm

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Day 2 begins. Shivering cold in Bend. July 4, 2009, 4:33am

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Breakfast stop at Madras, OR. Wish there was a dosa/idli restaurant. July 4, 2009, 6:24am

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Chilling at Kennewick near Pasco WA. In 2007 I almost bought an yellow Goldwing from here. July 4, 2009, 11:43am

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Watching awesome fireworks beside lake flathead. 50 more miles to Whitefish, MT. July 4, 2009, 8:47pm

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Reached Whitefish, MT. 670 miles in 17 hours. Will camp at a guy’s place who I sold my Canon 5D last year. July 4, 2009, 10:50pm

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Idaho rocks. No bullshit tax. Cheap gas. 75 limit roads, even on mountains. July 4, 2009, 11:53pm

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Chilling at Whitefish. Slept at 2am, woke up at 7:30. Will visit Glacier NP today. July 5, 2009, 8:05am

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Damn, are all the prettiest American girls living in Whitefish ? July 5, 2009, 10:52am

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At Choteau, MT now. 200 miles today. Scenary overload all day. Glacier NP and then beautiful roads in evening. July 5, 2009, 10:54pm

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Wish there were tech jobs here at Montana. This state is too good. My head is hurting with pretty overload. July 5, 2009, 11:21pm

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Bfast stop at Great Falls, MT. 60 miles today. July 6, 2009, 8:19am

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Instead of Monday morning blues we are drowning in the greens of rural Montana. And popcorn clouds made for us… July 6, 2009, 8:54am

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Loving the life on the road. This is how we wanna live, work hard and ride harder. July 6, 2009, 3:14pm

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Visually drunk and totally fallen in love with Montana. My previous favorites Colorado and Oregon got pushed down in my list. July 6, 2009, 3:15pm

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Piyush’s VFR got a leaking right fork seal. Ouch. We did two quick fixes and hope he can get it fixed properly at SLC on his way back. July 6, 2009, 5:07pm

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At red lodge, MT. Camping beside a river. 385 miles today. July 6, 2009, 6:16pm

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The VFR fork leak got fixed by a masking tape trick. Thanks a ton to Goldwing yoda Susan Coles. July 6, 2009, 6:34pm

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Soaking in the sights and sounds of nature. Never camped this close to a river. July 6, 2009, 8:42pm

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Damn the night was one of the coldest I ever spent out. 48F is the morning temp at 5:10am MDT. July 7, 2009, 3:20am

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Sun is probably rising from west today. Priti wants to shower in this 48F morning at the campground. July 7, 2009, 3:41am

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Yellowstone turned out to be least fun in the trip. The slow road is painfully sedate on a motorcycle. Not sure I will ride here again. July 7, 2009, 3:10pm

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Yellowstone SUCKS on a bike trip. 80 miles through the park at 35mph. NEVER again on a bike ! July 7, 2009, 3:13pm

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Waiting for old faithful to erupt. July 7, 2009, 7:45pm

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Enjoying the ride through grand Teton park. Light is not right so will come back for sunrise and sunsets. July 8, 2009, 8:30am

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At Casper WY. 350 miles done. Got 43.3 mpg on highway instead of usual 38. Woot. Thought slow park roads gave earlier 44 mpg. July 8, 2009, 4:42pm

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Casper to Douglas WY – 50miles. Dialed in 80mph cruise and it felt like flying a private jet. July 8, 2009, 5:47pm

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Camping at KOA of Douglas WY. Beautiful location, free wifi, heated pool. After a 400 mile day I could not ask anything better. July 8, 2009, 5:53pm

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Watched a beautiful sunrise. Now heading to Sturgis, South Dakota. July 9, 2009, 4:22am

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Marathon day tomorrow. 700 miles to Chicago to meet up with parents. July 9, 2009, 8:31pm

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Had a solid sleep, ready to start in 15 min. July 10, 2009, 3:44am

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I totally absolutely hate construction zones and sun in the face. Would love to live in a permanently cloudy place !!!!! July 10, 2009, 5:27am

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Ice cream stop at DQ. Worthington, MN. 200 miles done. Minnesota is very green. July 10, 2009, 7:39am

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On autopilot almost whole day at 80-85mph. Wing is eating miles for breakfast. July 10, 2009, 9:17am

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Snack break at Albert Lea, MN. Boiled eggs taste better with tortilla chips than salt alone !!! July 10, 2009, 10:14am

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Fastest day of the trip so far. 440 miles in 8 hours. Lunch break near la crosse, MN. July 10, 2009, 12:23pm

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Last fillup at Monona, WI. 630 miles done in 12 hours, 150 more to go. Still have lots of energy! July 10, 2009, 4:35pm

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At Chicago. 775 miles in 15 hours. Longest so far. July 10, 2009, 7:51pm

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Change of plans: leaving Chicago on Monday instead of Sunday. July 10, 2009, 7:59pm

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Got a good look at my face. Resembles grilled chicken. July 11, 2009, 6:30am

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Doing oil change myself at a shell service station. They gave me a pan, gloves, rags and a cardboard. Cool. July 11, 2009, 9:04am

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Chicago feels like Kolkata. Got cooked in traffic on a short trip to change oil. July 11, 2009, 11:37am

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2nd day of lazing around in Chicago. In a train, going to meet up with a school senior who was a student of both my parents. July 12, 2009, 10:38am

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En route to Cleveland, OH. Had a feast of a lunch at my school junior’s place in south bend, IN. Feeling sleepy every 20 miles July 13, 2009, 9:44am

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Getting robbed by tollbooths in IL, IN and OH. Damn things are making us pay every few miles. July 13, 2009, 12:15pm

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Started hating east coast already. Lost count of the cash gone in tolls, and am not even in NY/NJ yet !!! Can the gps help avoiding tolls ? July 13, 2009, 2:49pm

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Staying with sister’s batchmate and family at South Euclid, OH. 395 miles today and 4125 miles so far. July 13, 2009, 4:16pm

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Mentally still in pacific time. The road lag is not going away easily. July 14, 2009, 5:23am

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Reunited with a school friend after 7 yrs. At Ithaca, NY now. 400 miles today, 4525 miles so far. July 14, 2009, 8:01pm

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Met up with a ST13 rider at Fultonham, NY. Enjoyed sone awesome rural roads and also had a scary little ride on gravel road. July 15, 2009, 1:32pm

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Having mac chicken at a service area on I-88E at Schenectady, NY. July 15, 2009, 2:10pm

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100 more miles of awesome Vermont twisties before Nashua, NH. July 15, 2009, 3:57pm

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At Nashua, NH. 360 miles today, 4880 so far. July 15, 2009, 6:46pm

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Off to stony brook. July 17, 2009, 8:28am

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Stony Brook, here I come. Lunch at my favorite Chinese buffet Yin Yang. July 17, 2009, 10:54am

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Got fried in traffic around NJ-NY. Turned off engine many times to prevent boiling the coolant. July 17, 2009, 11:11am

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Took I-495 and northern state pkwy. Memories, memories… July 17, 2009, 11:12am

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Priti forgot to show ezpass when getting on NJ turnpike I-78 from Bayonne. What to do to avoid fines ? July 17, 2009, 9:23pm

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Going to manhattan with friends. Time for some street photography which I should have done long back. July 18, 2009, 12:42pm

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Charmed by NYC at night. I think I like this city more than SF which has no season at all. July 18, 2009, 5:03pm

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Had a fantastic thai dinner at Yum Yum Too near 9th and 46th. July 18, 2009, 9:15pm

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1am feels like 7pm in NYC. Awesome. July 18, 2009, 9:18pm

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10mph on I-95 near Rutgers. HATE it. Should have taken 206 at 45mph . Goodbye east coast. I will likely not miss ya. July 19, 2009, 10:40am

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Finally got rid of the congestion on I-95 and at walt Whitman service area. 100 more miles to Maryland. July 19, 2009, 12:08pm

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Escaped from mile long 10 mph toll plaza queue insanity at last. Entering Maryland. July 19, 2009, 1:19pm

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Dear Priti, repeat after me 50 times: we will never ever ever ever ever even think of living in NY/NJ area !!! July 19, 2009, 1:21pm

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At Baltimore. Meeting Ja from Stony Brook after 3.5 years. July 19, 2009, 3:09pm

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Met mejomashi and family at Ellicot city, MD. Now with Ayan and Aritra at Ashburn, VA. July 19, 2009, 8:02pm

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Got stuck at 5mph construction zone traffic for an hour on I-66. The awesome cloudy weather kept me calm. Don’t know how people go to work. July 20, 2009, 8:40am

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Got blown over at Luray Caverns at Virginia. Raining now, gonna be an awesome monsoon ride to Durham, NC. July 20, 2009, 1:08pm

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Raining cats and dogs, taking a bite at burger king near Luray Caverns. July 20, 2009, 1:29pm

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Checked into 360 motel at Midlothian, VA. 220 miles today, 5960 miles so far. July 20, 2009, 5:31pm

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Midlothian VA to South Hill VA. 90 miles non stop in 70 min. My fastest sprint so far. Reward: bfast at Dennys. July 21, 2009, 4:02am

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Slept like a log at Kools’ place in Raleigh. Fully charged up for the ride south. July 21, 2009, 9:02am

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Rode into heavy downpour before walterboro SC. Taking shelter below an overpass due to very low visibility. Quite fun. July 21, 2009, 1:51pm

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Staying at Savannah today. Bike tires wore unevenly and it is wobbling a bit. Have to fix it tomorrow. July 21, 2009, 4:05pm

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Perfect day. Just as I pulled into Florida welcome center the rear tire blew. Guess the puncture was there for a while. July 22, 2009, 6:31am

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Got lucky about the location to fix my puncture myself. Also met a Goldwing rider with yellow wing and trailer. July 22, 2009, 6:32am

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Fixed puncture but tire won’t hold air. The big gash blew it. Now trying to reach a local gwrra member with trailer. Honda dealer is 30mi. July 22, 2009, 7:09am

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Omg ! A local wing rider has a spare wheel with rear tire and he is on the way!!! Wooooot. July 22, 2009, 7:19am

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The local winger came with wheel. We swapped the wheels in 10 min. Now at Jacksonville Honda getting a new Bridgestone. July 22, 2009, 10:15am

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The wing rider had the spare wheel because he switched to a car tire (dark side). July 22, 2009, 10:20am

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Don, the local winger is a pilot as well. He even rebuilt a plane!!! This GWRRA membership is fully worth. July 22, 2009, 10:30am

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The best things in life are priceless. We meet the nicest of people un the strangest of places and situations. July 22, 2009, 3:28pm

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On the road again. Zero wobble. Whether or not I shoulda examined the rear tire more during wobble does not matter now. Had a helluva day. July 22, 2009, 4:16pm

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Don is the symbol of how life should be lived. We talked about motorcycles, aviation and boating as well. His wife does woodturning too !!! July 22, 2009, 4:21pm

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Tire lesson #1: if front wobbles check rear tire 10 times. July 22, 2009, 4:43pm

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Don had car tire on his wing for last 7k mi with no issues. Am convinced enough to get one next. 3x miles, more traction, tilts fine too. July 22, 2009, 4:45pm

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At chuck’s place in Satsuma FL. He rides an yellow wing with an yellow car-shaped trailer. My fav color and combo. 225 miles today. July 22, 2009, 5:17pm

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On US-17 to Orlando. 80F, 80% humidity and just trotted beside a goods train. Feels home. July 23, 2009, 4:48am

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Reached temple terrace FL near Tampa after a non stop 120 mi ride from Kennedy Space Center. Rode through some hellish thunderstorm as well. July 23, 2009, 6:09pm

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Don said priti should get her moto license before car and also should study towards a pilot’s lic as well so I can fly July 23, 2009, 7:58pm

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Planning to ship all camping gear home tomm to reduce the excessive weight of the suitcase. We are unlikely to camp in this southern heat. July 23, 2009, 9:31pm

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Shipped 20lb of stuff home. Suitcase should be much lighter after redistributing rest of stuff. July 24, 2009, 7:18am

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Bailing on Clearwater beach. It can be out of the world but 25 miles through town at 15mph is making me sick. July 24, 2009, 9:42am

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FL-98 is 10x better than I-75. Glad I ditched Clearwater. Still have my sanity and also prevented coolant boil-out of the bike. July 24, 2009, 12:00pm

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Having a refreshing icee at Old Town, FL. Love these small towns, nice people and relaxed life. And no parking hassle ever. July 24, 2009, 1:04pm

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Got first speeding ticket just when I thought the day was getting better. FL-98 is too good to ride near limits. Struggling to save the day. July 24, 2009, 4:24pm

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Trying very very hard to enjoy the most gorgeous sunset at the same spot I stopped in 2005 on my first cross country bike trip July 24, 2009, 4:44pm

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Stopping at a nice little town Appalachicola, FL. But it is Friday and inns are $$. Florida is giving me a bittersweet experience. July 24, 2009, 5:33pm

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At the shore of the gulf of Mexico, st George island, FL. July 25, 2009, 5:07am

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We got our Clearwater with 1% crowd. Patience pays off. July 25, 2009, 5:33am

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With Suparno and Tusi at Baton Rouge, LA. Long day today, 510 miles. July 25, 2009, 6:03pm

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Friend at Dallas is on-call today and got busy. We were unsure where to stay, then Priti found a contact at Uncertain, TX by a lake July 26, 2009, 1:38pm

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Had an incredibly awesome stay at Uncertain, TX. The boat ride on the swampy Caddo lake was beyond any kind of our imaginations. July 27, 2009, 6:09am

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Priti called Florida clerk of court to ask if online traffic school is possible for my ticket. And they said yes !!! My trip got saved ! July 27, 2009, 7:47am

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No more bad moods and fights with Priti for a while July 27, 2009, 7:49am

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Reached Midland, TX and got a motel. Incredibly sleepy day today but 530 miles done. 8670 miles so far. July 27, 2009, 7:01pm

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At monahans sandhills state park. Feels like visiting the gobi desert in Rajasthan except for the cool 75F temps. July 28, 2009, 6:43am

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Lunch at a Mexican place by I-10. My god, the waitress is hotter than Salma Hayek ! July 28, 2009, 11:18am

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Getting roasted in blistering 101F Texas heat now. July 28, 2009, 12:37pm

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Had to ride 2 miles on unpaved road. Not fun on wing. Parked little far from house since it is a steep gravel slope to the house from road. July 28, 2009, 7:33pm

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Imagine. 10pm. Moon playing hide-n-seek. 3 ladies and us sat in a natural hot springs pond in the woods for an hr. Au naturale, except me! July 28, 2009, 9:19pm

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Had a beautiful morning ride from Bayard to Silver City on mountain spirits scenic byway. 75F at 6000 elev. Now on US-70W from lordsburg. July 29, 2009, 9:04am

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Had a refreshing light snack at a small town Duncan, AZ. July 29, 2009, 10:04am

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Getting oven roasted at 104F desert heat in AZ. Picking up another chilled soda at Globe, AZ. 100 more miles to Scottsdale. July 29, 2009, 12:56pm

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50 miles from Scottsdale. Temp when moving is 108F but not too bad since it is dry. We can survive. July 29, 2009, 2:03pm

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Reached Scottsdale, AZ. New record temp 113F but still better than humid 95F in Florida. July 29, 2009, 3:08pm

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Anyone want a quadruple bypass burger from heart attack grill at Chandler AZ ? July 30, 2009, 8:10am

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Priti’s iPhone 3G did auto shutdown and won’t come back up. Anyone knows how to hard reset it ? July 31, 2009, 5:47am

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Thanks everyone for the iPhone reset tip. I tried all those but the phone decided to ignore everything for a couple hours, then booted up. July 31, 2009, 10:34am

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Staying at Caltech/Pasadena with Priti’s ex-roomie from IISc. 415 miles today, 9920 so far. Will cross 10k tomm the 30th day of the trip. July 31, 2009, 4:17pm

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Walked a few blocks for a juicy chicken burrito. Walking back is not fun. Burp. July 31, 2009, 8:09pm

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Met up with 2 friends of Priti in Marina Del Ray and Los Angeles. Starting for home now on 101. August 1, 2009, 9:30am

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Telling the GPS to route home, finally !!! August 1, 2009, 9:50am

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101 is nice but has lots of slow sections. Should have taken I-5. Still 270 miles to go. August 1, 2009, 12:41pm

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Last fueling done at Soledad, CA. 100 more miles to home. August 1, 2009, 4:08pm

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At Gilroy. Waiting for Piyush at a gas station. August 1, 2009, 5:03pm

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Reached Sunnyvale at last after a 30-day, 10360 mi xcountry motorcycle trip. Running to a friend’s daughter’s first bday party. August 1, 2009, 6:02pm

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Finally, home. Can’t believe the trip is over. August 1, 2009, 6:33pm

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This summer we decided to finally embark upon our long cherished motorcycle adventure – a coast-to-coast-to-coast trip in 30 days. We have no fixed route, no hotels booked. We will camp almost all the way. The plan is to take a northern route through Yellowstone and Glacier NP, then head to New York via Chicago. On the east coast I want to show Priti around my graduate school at Stony Brook and visit my favorite lighthouse at Montauk. Then, maybe a short hike up to Maine via Boston. The return is either the quickest central interstates or a longer southern route through Florida, depending on available time.

We are leaving on 3rd July. Piyush, our roommate will come along till Yellowstone and Glacier NP with shiny new hard bags on his red VFR.

Here is a gps-tracker-on-a-map to follow us along the trip: Spot us on the map. It needs a password, please ask me about it.

Update (Feb 2010):
Priti has uploaded the trip photos in her flickr gallery: X-country trip, July 09
My flickr gallery is still a work in progress: X-country USA – July 09

Here is my status archive retrieved from facebook.