I am not a solo rider, nor am I a camper

Since I have been back from my Transcontinental Trip to PEI,  I have gathered some random thoughts which I am going to share with you.  This is only the first of a few to follow

It was also my plan to give you some statistics and costs and also to thank those that hosted me.  They all went out of their way to make me feel welcomed and I really appreciated it.

I am not a camper.   I have never camped before and it was only a couple of years ago that I purchased some camping equipment.  I bought a tent, a sleeping bag and a self inflating sleeping pad.

    Spring 2012 setting up my new tent

I was preparing for iMBC2012 where we had a bloggers get-to-gether in Baker City, Oregon.

I am also not a solo rider but I don't mind riding by myself to meet others.  To be by myself for a day or so is manageable for me.   I remember that I left before 6am from Vancouver and I arrived at our campsite around 4:30p in Baker City, OR.   I pushed myself .  It was hot and I rode over 500 miles that day.

Here I am in Baker City, OR.   I couldn't believe it .    I was actually camping.   This was my first time and I will always remember this day

    Baker City, Oregon   July, 2012

Vstarlady arrived a day earlier and she was my mentor, you know, show me what to do and what to bring.

I am glad that this was a top rated campsite and by that I mean that it is up to KOA standards but not a KOA  but imagine my delight when the tent fee for that night was only $22.   Since I was going to be retiring soon I thought that this would be a way for me to continue to tour around the country when I no longer had an income.

I am not a solo rider but when the plan to ride across the country was in the planning stages, the plan was for me to meet up with David and Karen and then the three of us would ride together and head to Portland, Maine.   We decided to meet in State College, PA at the KOA campground in Bellefonte, PA

David came from Montreal, QC and Karen came from Kingston, ON so they both had a 2 day ride.  I had to ride 3,000 miles and I allowed 9 days.  We're talking MILES not kilometers and all of this distance I would be by myself and I had no one to rely on if I had any problems.  Of course I didn't wish to be on the Interstate all day pounding out the miles so along the way I made a few detours.

On July 10, 2013 Wednesday I left early and reached the Cdn/US border around 7am.  My plan was to take I-90 for two days to get away from familiar territory.   Remember that I am not a solo rider, nor am I a seasoned camper but for this trip I decided that I would stick to KOA campgrounds as they are the Mcdonalds of campgrounds with a consistent standard even though they were more expensive than independants.   My thought was that 2 nights at the campsite would be equal to 1 night at a Motel6 so I would still be ahead.   Yes, I did have a budget for this trip but I will save this info for another more detailed post but my budget did allow for staying at  hotels for the whole time.  My plan was to see how much I could save by camping.

We were in the middle of a heat wave and it was nearly 100°f for the first couple of weeks.  In full riding gear all day I wasn't sure if I could survive sleeping in a tent (due to the heat) but I also knew if I didn't try to camp for the first few days, then I would just be hoteling it all the way

Here I am entering Spokane, WA.  I have no idea where the KOA is but I am relying on my GPS to lead the way.   It is still fairly early around 3:30pm   The next KOA is in Idaho but I wanted to relax a bit, get something to eat and generally just relax at the campsite, which was not always possible

I arrive at the Spokane KOA after a non-rushed  431 mile day.    There is still lots of daylight left.  I check in and while I am setting up the couple next to me come over to talk.   I found that when you are traveling by yourself you are more approachable.  After I set up I ride over to a fast food place to grab a bite.  I am sweltering in my riding gear but I am slowly eating in air conditioned comfort.   I am dreading the thought of gearing up again to ride back to the campground

There is good WiFi here and soon enough it gets dark and time to call it a day.   It is my desire to be on the road by 8am every morning

    KOA: Spokane, WA    July 10, 2013

I like the feeling of self sufficiency that camping brings to motorcycle touring. 

I can tell you that there is no better feeling than being in a tent, with your clean body sandwiched within your sleeping bag miles from home and I would get to do this again many more times on this trip