rtwPaul finishes his ride through the lower 48 states on his Honda CT125. See other installments in the series here—Ed.
October on the Pacific Coast is not the warmest or necessarily the driest place to be. It was time to head south for some sun, but first, we were headed for some big trees!
The Avenue of the Giants to be specific! Now, some sections of this route are better than others, but if you think you know what big trees look like, and you haven’t been here, then hold that thought. To make them appear more massive, just arrive on a very small bike, aka the Postie
Photo: rtwPaul
There is a photographic technique called “tilt shift,” a way of blurring the upper and lower sections of an image to make it look like anything in the image is a small model. Avenue of the Giants does this for you automatically.
Photo: rtwPaul
Meandering down the California coast to San Francisco, big cities (as mentioned in Part 3) are not really a problem on a small bike. Traffic is generally slow and easy to keep up with, but you do have to keep a careful eye out on your fellow motorists’ driving habits.
These two shots are taken directly in line with each other on opposite sides of the bridge.
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
The biggest challenge for riding an 8 hp postie bike in San Fran is the hills. In some of the steeper areas I would guess a stop halfway up would result in a U-turn as the bike simply doesn’t have enough power to hill start while carrying a big load… and I would qualify as such.
Photo: rtwPaul
With our big city fun completed, we rode south, leaving early enough to avoid the crazy rush hour, heading for quiet roads with minimal traffic.
Phoenix is home, and I was getting keen to return. A friend recently asked me when I could “Smell the barn.” It’s true; I did want to get this little red horse back in my garage. I would say that right after crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, my home in Phoenix was on my mind more and more… but there were still some places to explore even as riding season closed out and the temps dropped to the 40s in the mornings.
Which way would you head to keep at a reasonably low elevation but still have fun backroads to ride?
I chose to lead the guys to San Jose, not because it was a great place to ride, but because just east of it is Route 130—a gem of a road that easily rivals all the twists and turns of the Tail of the Dragon on the east coast.
Image: Google Maps
Photo: rtwPaul
And of course, you get a wonderful view.
Sadly the observatory is closed to the public midweek, so if you want to see inside make sure you come on the weekend—but you won’t have the place to yourself as we did!
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
Down the other side, into farmland and fruit trees by the thousand.
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
Overnight stops in empty campgrounds were just the ticket after fun days of riding. Being out here later in the season, midweek in these remote campgrounds gave us the best spots, with no neighbors to keep us awake or crowd us out—and it kept California costs down.
Photo: rtwPaul
… but is California that expensive compared to the rest of the country?
Fuel is always a good way to gauge costs wherever you are in the US. On the east coast and in the south, one gallon of gas was hovering around the low $3 mark in most areas. California was state 46 of 48 traveled to on this trip. Yeah, fuel costs are a little higher here. A lot higher, actually!
Photo: rtwPaul
The punctures continued; we racked up six between us, one for me, Ken had two and Parker won (or is that lost?). Here he is fixing his third.
Photo: rtwPaul
The map was nearly full, just that one blank space to fill…Nevada.
Photo: rtwPaul
California was nearly over, but we made one last stop for a chance to see some of the biggest trees of all in Sequoia National Park.
To avoid the crowds, simply go where the crowds don’t go. Yes the trees are fractionally smaller, but just as impressive, and not another soul anywhere to be seen.
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
The remnants of Route 66 are kind of still around in California. Sadly, of all the states this historic route passes through, California seems to care the least about its condition.
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
To read a little more about the actual state of Route 66 just east of Barstow this will give you the details as of fall, 2022, but they are night photos because I had to rush home for an emergency.
My last four days had to be cut to two, so I broke my normal rule of no riding after dark. As you can see, it could have gone badly.
Photo: rtwPaul
I hit the 48th state of my trip late at night.
Photo: rtwPaul
The final day started with a little refraction and reflection.
Photo: rtwPaul
I drew the straightest line possible on the map to my house, and it was more of Route 66, in Arizona this time where it was in good condition and a fun ride.
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
As a final treat to the postie bike, I took it on a little 40-mile adventure down some sandy tracks.
Photo: rtwPaul
Photo: rtwPaul
Telltale signs I was in Arizona, riding through the Saguaro forest northeast of the city.
Photo: rtwPaul
I pulled into the house at 6:32 PM—57 days, 11 hours, and 12,013 miles later after I left, riding all 48 states.
Image: Google Maps
Photo: rtwPaul
The top box lid confirms it happened!
Photo: rtwPaul
Is the Honda CT125 an adventure bike?
I guess that’s relative to what you consider adventure. It creates a unique experience, lots of conversations at gas stations with strangers that grew up with the CT90/110 as their first bike and the most commonly heard phrase on the whole 48-state trip was… “on that thing??!”
The Honda CT125 made it all around the country with zero issues and lots of fun along the way. There are loads more details in the Ride Report – Utter Ridiculousness With 8hp.
If a RR is TL/DR for you, the very abbreviated visual version is below:
