Two years ago I rode my Harley from Seattle to Denver, and back. Denver was the destination for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference. This year the destination was New Orleans and I wanted to make the same trip. But where the Denver trip added up to about 3,500 miles, New Orleans would mean double the distance – not an option for me. The alternative was to ship the bike to New Orleans, and ride one-way back. That is what I decided to do.
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This year I also managed to excite Kay about doing a joint trip and she agreed to fly in and meet up with me in Rapid City, SD. I will take 5 days to ride from New Orleans to Rapid City, then we will have a week together on the bike and experience Mt Rushmore (mountain with President faces), Sturgis (big MC rally, but we are there 2 weeks before), and Yellowstone National Park. Then Kay flies home and I take another 2-3 days to ride home. |
For shipping I used www.uship.com and teamed up with Wolverine Transport. The bike was picked up Thursday July 9th in Seattle and delivered Friday July 17 in New Orleans. Matt handled the shipping with great professionalism and kept me updated on the bike’s progress throughout. We offloaded the bike outside my hotel, the Hilton Riverside, and got a good audience. The flatbed was loaded with off-road bikes and the trailer was packed with Harley’s, Ducatis, Hondas and much more.
Day 1
It was with ominous clouds across the afternoon sky I took off. Pretty soon I was forced to stop and put on my raingear. If you know how hot, humid and soggy New Orleans can be, you can imagine what it feels like with raingear. I still wonder if I got wetter with or without the gear.
I eventually get on my way and head north out of New Orleans. A couple of hours north of New Orleans the weather clears up and I start to dry out.
While I had first intended to cover some 6h the first day, since I am late out I only do half a day and stop for the night in Jackson, Mississippi. A Best Western Hotel provides the needed bunk.