Day One - The Departure

  Sparta, Tennessee, United States
Friday, August 10, 2007

START, Day 1, Friday, 10 Aug 2007, Home to St Joseph, MO.

     The alarm clock blasted at 3:50am this morning. Danner bounded out of bed and began his final preparations for The Big Adventure. The plan is to ride all the way to the North Slope of Alaska and back home within 6 to 8 weeks. They are going to cross the border in Montana and cut across Canada. They don't have any fixed schedule or route, just enjoy the ride.
     He finished loading his bike and left around 5:00am. It was 78 degrees, he was already sweating and he hadn't even gotten out of the garage. He is  headed to St. Joe, Missouri to meet up with the other two riders who are planning to leave from Memphis around 6:30. They will try and stay in contact via cell phones and voice mail. They may not make it all the way to St. Joe, they will have to see how it goes in this heat.                                        
     I heard from Danner around 10am. He was already in Paducah, Kentucky. He said that he had only gotten about two miles from the house and the road was blocked because of a huge wreck. He waited about 15 minutes and turned around and went another way. That detour added another 30 minutes to a long, hot day.

ADDENDUM:  by Danner, BACK HOME.  I'm adding pictures and text where appropriate.  There were insurmountable problems with computers, cell phones and the Internet as we traveled.  Jessica says it's easier in the "third world" than the US and Canada.
     Day 1 was very difficult with 103 degrees for four straight hours.  Lots of stops.  Katheryn had made me a water container to go in front of the tank bag.  I would fill it with ice and drink as I rode.  Starbucks has large green straws that can be taped together to make it work.  This ride was grueling, 733 miles, and I didn't escape the heat.  Passed thru Cookeville, Nashville, Paducah, St Louis, Kansas City, to St Joseph, MO for the night.
ADDENDUM:  by Richard Speer.   HOT and VERY HOT!!  In our hotel were many refugees from Sturgis.  Departed at dawn so as to ride in cooler, early morning temp.  Breakfast an hour and a half later at a Mickey D's in order to make it quick and get back on the road.  By 9:30 it was hot.
 

Day 2, Sat, 11 Aug, St Joe to Scottsbluff

Danner:  We got up early and were on the road by 6:00am.  I'll describe this day as not as grueling as the first because it only got to 96.  Leaving St Joe thru Lincoln, Kearney, North Platt, Sidney, and overnight at Scottsbluff.  This route can best be described as flat, boring, and smelly, lots of feed lots.  In today's 573 miles, the only highlight was a stop at a large Cabellas in Sidney.  We got more camping gear for Canada.

Richard:   Into Nebraska at Nebraska City, found another Micky D's, short stop.  Then a nice divided, lonely road into Lincoln City, gassed up and got on the expressway west.  Summer time in Nebraska, hot, hot wind, lean bike to the left, hang on.  Mile on mile, heat wind, trucks, smells- oh yeah.  Smells off and on, what is it?  Whatever it is, not good.  Feed lots, sewage, comes and goes unless you're in Scottsbluff, there it stays.  No need for personal hygiene in Scottsbluff, no need at all.  Steak for dinner after a 30 minute search for the steakhouse which was within sight of the hotel.  We had gotten directions from the hotel clerk who had never lived anywhere but Scottsbluff.