“…it’s about the journey, not the destination…”

                                                                SUMMER TRIP 2023

Look at the population on Van Tassell WY on the sign in the background.

        The aspect of touring the way I do is that every day I get up, pack up, and see many different things and towns on the way to a destination the I probably have never been before. This makes each day an adventure. When I ride with my college room mates we rent a cabin somewhere and stay there for 3 to 5 days. They usually go hiking and I explore the area. Very different that what I do when on my own. On this trip I stayed in Bozeman MT because I had to get new tires on the bike. I love the freedom I felt, the excitement of discovery of each day since I left. It is so much fun.

I stopped around 10 am to read for a while. It seems silly to me to ride as fast 

as possible through an area without really looking at what is there.

        Today my goal was to ride US 20 out of Casper WY east across Wyoming to Nebraska, continuing on US 20 to Valentine NE. I expected to ride around 330 miles. I had to ride I 25 out of Casper for 30 miles or so as US 20 merged with it. Once on US 20 riding eastward traffic dropped. As usual on the routes I choose there were few cars or trucks. Easy riding. 

Riding east towards the Nebraska border there were still amazing views of rock formations.

         I decided to gas up and have lunch in Chadron NE. By the time I got to Chadron I had just about 200 miles on the tank. The bike has a 6 gallon tank, and took just under 5 gallons. The bike got a little over 39mpg. After lunch at Subway I started heading east towards Valentine. I only had 140 miles or so to go, around 2 1/2 hours of riding, and the entire afternoon to do it. However I would pass from the Mountain time zone to the central, loosing an hour. 

North western Nebraska is not like the strerotype. It is hilly, not flat. 

        As I was riding, at 65 mph in a 65 mph zone, 4 Harley’s, who had been at the gas station where I filled up, came roaring past me probably doing 75 mph. Within minutes they vanished from the road in front of me. Around 45 minutes later, as I was going through a small town, there were these guys, who had been standing around talking back in Chadron, standing around and talking as I rode past them doing 65 mph. By the time I reached Valentine they hadn’t caught up to me. In my opinion, motorcycling is about riding, not talking.

Another scenic view from along the road in Nebraska.

        I got to Valentine around 5:45 pm local time. I gassed up once again, and once again I got 39.2 mpg. I found my motel, checked in and had dinner. Tomorrow US 20 east once again until it meets US 275 which runs down to Omaha. I plan to stop for lunch at the town of Beemer NE, at a restaurant I stopped at in 2018 on the return trip from Alaska, which I did on my BMW R1150 GS. I wonder if the woman who runs the restaurant will remember me? It will be fun to find out.

Rock formations in north western Nebraska.