USA 2009/10

JohnnyRebs USA Travelogues

Two 14,000km, 40 odd day road-trip diaries, indexed down the right-hand side under the titles of USA 2009 & USA 2010, starting from LA or San Francisco, up the west coast of California, in 2009 to Astoria, across to Vancouver Island, up into Canada, down the Glacier Parkway through Jasper and Banff, and as in 2010, across the top of US to the Sturgis Rally, back down through the Mid-West to Las Vegas, through Death Valley and back to San Francisco, or LA.
Both tours, organised by "Ride America" Ken O'Leary  (jan.ken@paradise.net.nz), in 2009 on rented bikes, and 2010 shipping our own over.
Mainfreight, now with a depot in LA, do a great job of getting the bikes over, ship them 6 weeks prior, and theyre there when you arrive. There's a bit of documentation you have to do yourself, apply for temporary import, and jack up your own insurance, both bike and personal travel.
Ken organises the rentals and shipping, accommodation, and the tour itinerary, supplying a handy, bound, route map and itinerary book.
Ken's experience organising tours over a number of years ensures interesting roads, including a number of America's top rides and several national parks.
The accommodation is tops too. You know where you'll be staying each night, its all a matter of pleasing yourself how you get there, and what you choose to haul in to see on the way.
If you've ever had to organise an extensive tour, you'll know how time-consuming that can be, and fraught with uncertainty about the quality and cost of accommodation.
With these tours its all done for you.
Couldn't be a better introduction to riding America either..., 
Go with Ken and Jan.


Sturgis?           Yeah right!