Four Corners

Kevin & Bill Edwards 4 corners USA tour - April 24 - May ?? 2003
Reported by Don Lockhart

On Friday, April 25, 2003 , John Reimann and I had gone to Street Cycles to see if his bike was ready from a level II service. While waiting for John out on the parking lot I had the pleasure of striking up a conversation with a fellow who was there from North Carolina . As it turns out, he was there with his brother, both riding K1200LT’s and his brother was having Street’s replace a blown headlamp. Kevin Edwards, the one I originally started chatting with told be he and his brother Bill were just starting a “Four corners Tour”, meaning touring to the 4 corners of the

USA

! Bill had left San Antonio Texas where he lives and picked up Kevin in Weddington , N.C. and they had ridden to Maine (an 1100 mile day). The Friday I spoke to them, they were heading to Madawaska to start their “tour”. They have 17 days to complete their mission (based on time off until they return to work). When they left Streets on Friday, 4/25 it was around 4 PM and they were hoping to get as far north as possible, knowing there’d be rain at some point the next day. Both bikes were setup wonderfully for touring. Kevin had the BMW/Garmin color GPS, both had GPRS radios to talk with each other, driving lights, a digital camera to record their trip, and a laptop and cell phone to stay in touch. It was obvious these guys were ready for some heavy duty touring!

What I will do next is summarize Kevin’s road reports based on emails he’ll be sending with his laptop when he can. I’ll post pictures they send so we can all track their progress. This is such a cool thing for these guys to get to do together and a unique way to see a lot of the country in a short time. If I could ever have enough excess vacation time, I’d love to try something like this!

----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin Edwards
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2003 3:58 PM
Subject:

USA

Four Corners Tour - Kevin And Bill Edwards

Thank you for your time on Friday 4/25/03 and filling us in on the path to Madawaska.

We made Medway (Maine) that evening at 6:50 PM , found a hotel and a good restaurant called Ruthie's (located just over 1/4 mile from hotel, nice walk!), had some great clams and cold beer.

Saturday we went up 95 to Sherman and connected with Hwy 11 to Hwy 1 and Madawaska (Maine). Starting temp was 27 degrees. It took us 2:45 hrs:min, got the required proof of visit, had our envelopes hand stamped and headed South on Hwy 1, high for the day was 41 degrees. Saw three moose about 100 feet off highway in a field off 11 about halfway to Madawaska, saw lots of potato fields on Hwy 1 as you pointed out earlier. Hwy 11 is a great scenic route, next time I want to take it slower and stop for photo opportunities. With the cold and threat of rain we decided it best to make time and get as far south as possible.

We met up with the rain at Bangor Maine, rode to Brunswick Maine and called it quits for the day.

We left Brunswick on Sunday morning at 7 AM and made it to Hagerstown MD (630 miles), still raining, starting temp was 41 degrees, high for the day was 75 degrees.

We left Hagerstown and made it to Weddington , NC by 2 PM , starting temp was 49 degrees, high for the day was 82 degrees.

It is Tuesday 04/29/03 and the local BMW shop is performing the 12k and 36k service on the bikes plus putting on fresh tires for the remainder of the ride.

Our plan is to leave Weddington NC at 5 AM 04/30/03 and make it to Titusville FL, then to Key West on Thursday 05/01/03 and hopefully back north to Homestead FL that afternoon. We'll wait and see what we feel like when we get to Key West , may stay over, may not.

Here are some of the photos we took, please post to your web site as I want to advise people where they can track our progress.

As I mentioned in my last communication Tuesday 4/29/03 was a scheduled rest / service day. The bikes got their 12k and 36k service completed and we were ready to roll Wednesday AM.

As we were preparing and cross checking everything we found a minor electronic issue on Tuesday evening after the shop had closed so we ended up not leaving at 5 AM but found ourselves back at Charlotte BMW to get the issue resolved. We were rolling towards our days destination at 10:05 AM. Starting temp was 67 degrees, at 4 PM it had reached 87 degrees then began falling as we found rain just South of Daytona, FL and it continued for an hour and a half until we reached Cape Canaveral, FL.

Thursday 5/1/03 we were on the road by 5:15 AM and reached Key West at 2:20 PM, got our receipts, pictures and phone numbers and we turned back towards the mainland, reaching Homestead at 6:15 PM. Starting temp was 76 degrees with light showers, hit rain in Fort Lauderdale, nothing but sunshine from Homestead to Key West and ran into a few brief showers on the return to Homestead with an ending temp of 87 degrees.

We are having a great time, meeting lots of interesting folks. While standing at the Southern most point of the contiguous 48 a fellow rider rode up and parked right beside us, asked us how we liked our BMW's, his phone/walkie talkie started ringing, after he finished his calls he explained he was a policeman and said he rides a BMW for the Key West Police force. He mentioned he likes the bikes but the seats are not comfortable, if you know of any comfortable seats other police departments use let the Key West Police Department know!

Would you do me a favor? While riding through Hartford Conn. on Sunday 4/27/03 at about 12 noon we encountered a fellow riding a R 65. He rode with us for about 20 miles and then came up alongside me and motioned for us to pull over so we could talk with him. I motioned back that we were pressed for time and couldn't afford to stop (we had just filled the tanks and taken our allotted break time.) The favor - either get me in touch with the local chapter of the BMW club there or at least post a message to the this mystery rider advising him that we felt bad about not be able to stop due to our destination of the day. (We started in Brunswick ME and were headed to Hagerstown MD., 640 miles) I would very much like to make contact and apologize for our rudeness but we do have a schedule to keep!

Speaking of the schedule, we have made each daily destination as planned, some tough riding to do that but we are on schedule as of this update, tomorrow is another day!

Today's ride was rather un-eventful (thank God for that!) but rather intense. We decided to snack while riding so we could keep up the pace and make the miles and minutes count. Breakfast consisted of peanut butter crackers, pumpkin seeds and jerky with lots of water to wash it down. Lunch was...ditto! Dinner was much more robust with green beans, salad, chicken tenders and meatballs with noodles. Also found a few cold draught beers.

We started out in Homestead, FL at 76 degrees and foggy, by noon we were in Tampa where it was 88 degrees and sunny. By 4 PM CDT we had 92 degrees in Tallahassee, FL., mostly sunny and humid, then at 5 PM that all changed rapidly to 72 degrees, thunderstorms with moderate rain and some hail (pea to dime size from what we can tell, did not stop to inspect!) and arrived at Milton, FL at 5:45 PM CST with light rain.

Met up with a few people at our planned rest and gas stops that were interested in the bikes, where we had been and where we were going, one rider said repeatedly he wished he could join us but he couldn't take the time off this week.

Folks around Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and Sarasota, FL drive a bit fast and sometimes tailgate a bit much. We have found that with three lanes of traffic moving at the posted speed limit (and higher) the tailgating becomes extreme, so if your planning a trip in this area be warned. On the two lane stretches of interstate people seem to give you a little more room.

Our run through "alligator alley" was interesting and fast! Saw where a few alligators didn't quite make it across the road in time, oh well back to the food chain they go! Be sure to buy gas and water before entering the Everglades, gas is 60 cents a liter, water is $2 per liter!!

Our destination for Saturday is Bills' house just outside San Antonio, TX. - 725 miles, less miles than today, wish us luck! Then on to Tucson, AZ on Sunday, and for a planned Monday stop at the third of the four corners, San Ysidro, CA. We are real happy not to be retracing any miles from here on out.

Monday started out cool, 49 degrees at 5:30 AM, temp went down to 39 degrees out in the desert, then it bounced up and down until the sun had a chance to warm things up. Leaving Lordsburg in the dark and riding away from the sun we made over 85 miles before the ole sol could shine on our backs! Went from 84 degrees in the desert to 54 degrees in the mountains with clouds (for about 30 minutes ride) then a comfortable 69 degrees in the San Diego / San Ysidro area. Breakfast for me same as usual, Bill had left over chicken from KFC (we had dinner with the colonel Sunday evening).

Traffic was light to say the least, we "owned" the highway for most of the day. Oh yes, NO cross winds today!! Although the mountain region does have some strong winds at times (we know because the DOT posted signs warning of it!).

The sunrise in the desert was beautiful (not to mention warming). From the high plains 4500 feet elevation to sea level in the desert back to 4200 feet in the Southern California mountains there is a lot to soak in. What used to be the desert is now farmed, mostly hay but some melons (watermelons and cantaloupe) and grains, made the desert green. The INS is posted about every mile or so for about 20 miles along I-8 on the border, we went through two INS check points, it is difficult to hide someone on a motorcycle so they just smiled, said have a nice day and motioned us on through!

Traffic in the San Diego area was brutal, if you don't go with flow you become a statistic, so we went with the flow! Those white signs with the numbers 6 and 5 must be a target or something, glad to be done with that portion!

Expect to pay $2.10 to $2.20 per gallon for gas from the desert of New Mexico to San Ysidro, just plan on it, enough said...see attached photo of Desert Fuel Stop.

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Today's ride started out very nice, starting temp was 54 degrees and cloudy at 6:03 AM. Today's breakfast consisted of the cake from the colonels KFC from Sunday (made by Pillsbury, chocolate cake with chocolate chips and sugar frosting - all of the good stuff!). The temp went from 54 to 72 degrees, it bounced around a little bit but was actually steady at 68 for most of the day.

Traffic around Los Angeles was absolutely the pits, it was either running at 75 - 80 MPH or at 0 - 15 MPH...we lost a good 45 minutes sitting on the highway. Thank God for HOV lanes though, they saved the day. By the way, for those not accustomed to High Occupancy Vehicle lanes, a motorcycle is considered an HOV.

We passed one spot south of Sacramento, CA that we saw (and smelled!!) well over 50,000 head of cattle, NO KIDDING! on one ranch. Where's the beef? A lot of it is located in California, New Mexico and Arizona. Just take I-10 west of El Paso to I-8 through So. Cal and I-5 towards Sacramento, you'll find it even if you are blind folded.

The roads today were very good, not much in the way of construction zones and most were posted as 65 - 70 MPH, but what does that mean? Oh yes, when in LA do as they do, we were not written up as statistics, you know what we mean.

Photo ops were nil for the day, another day where we had to make miles and minutes count, besides what could possibly match up to the photos of Monday? Crops, cows and canals? Not! Wednesday should prove to be better photographically, so bear we with us until we report in again.

One interesting moment was when we checked into the Holiday Inn in Redding, CA. The desk clerk ,a young man of say 26 yrs. was taking all of the necessary info to rent a room, he asked for an address so I gave my address. Well he then looked up and asked if we had ridden from there to here, well naturally you can't just say yeah, so a full tour point to point description was in order. After we described our tour he said he rides a Honda CBR and that he once rode it 700+ miles in one day and couldn't walk straight for three days. But guess what...he still wouldn't budge on his room rate! Oh well, tried the ole sympathy routine and failed this time, next time it'll be a tear jerker!!

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----- Original Message -----

From: Edwards, Kevin

Sent: Thursday, May 08, 2003 12:26 AM

Subject: USA Four Corners for the Edwards brothers is now complete!

At 6 PM PDT 05/07/03 in Blaine, Washington, Bill and Kevin Edwards completed the USA Four Corners Motorcycle Tour that started on 04/26/03 at 10 AM from Madawaska, Maine.

We got started at 5:25 AM under cloudy skies and 54 degrees on what ended up being a 735 mile day. In less than 2 hours we had rain, fog (very dense) and 34 degrees crossing the California / Oregon border. When we first crossed into Oregon I could not believe the speed limit was 55 MPH, but after about 2 miles it was very evident why. Visibility went from miles to several feet, the temp went from 54 to 34 and there were cars, trucks, campers and buses pulled over on the shoulder waiting for the fog to clear, we kept moving at 20 to 25 MPH with extreme caution. Needless to say we had another and quite different "sphincter tightening" experience today.

After we cleared the fog the fun began as we had many high speed sweeping turns both uphill and downhill...tons of fun!! More than 30 in 15 minutes! Highly recommended for the strong at heart.

We got several photo ops today, besides the final proof photos, some of Mt. Shasta, one of Bill as he ran beside me, one of "highway robbery" in progress (we had to pay $2.41 for mid-grade 89 octane fuel). Some advice for anyone leaving the Redding CA area for points north : fuel up "cause there's gold in them thar hills" and it is called gas! I just didn't want to push that BMW up hill to the next available.

The highlands of Oregon along I-5 are absolutely beautiful, for that matter add in California and Washington as well, today's ride was the best of the scenic portions we could imagine.

When we arrived in Blaine I noticed that the "waypoint" mentioned on the Blaine WA "proof sheet" was closed, we went on into town and gassed up, got our receipts and then headed back to get the other proof. As we finished filling up the tanks a gentleman spoke up as he got into his car to drive off and said "have a nice ride.", He was pulling off before I could say, "we just did!"

Well, we had to call Jo Anne Gamble of the SCMA (Southern California Motorcycle Association, sponsor of the tour) to get the clearance to accept a different proof. She was glad to hear we had made it, and commented that based on our previous filings she expected us to be in Blaine on Thursday.

Well now that this milestone has been reached it is time now for us to turn South / Southeast and head from home. Bill and I will ride together to somewhere around Oklahoma City then he continues South and I head due East.

Our total mileage from Weddington, NC to Madawaska ME to Key West FL to San Ysidro, CA to Blaine WA was 8009.8 as measured by the Garmin GPS unit. Corner to corner to corner to corner was 6609 miles, 123 hrs: 06 minutes driving time with and average of 65.1 mph as measured by the GPS. So far, Bill has covered an additional 1350 miles from San Antonio to Weddington.

That wraps up the official tour portion of the trip, I'll continue to post reports about our return trip to "the barns" and maybe even have some interesting photo ops to share!

====================================================================================

From: Edwards, Kevin

Sent: Friday, May 09, 2003 10:12 PM

Subject: Thursday - Friday working our way South to warmer/dryer climate

Don,

Thursday proved to be a major ride day, we left Bellingham, WA at 7:25 AM (decided to sleep in) with a temperature of 43 degrees, high for the day was 64 degrees. It was blue sky for about 50 miles then we hit clouds but no rain. Traffic was mixed and slowed by a breakdown, but otherwise the HOV lanes got us through the city traffic north of Seattle.

We had some more of the "high speed sweeper turns", whew what a rush! All I could get out a Bill was "yeah baby!", over and over, at one point I even lost sight of him as he "cruised" up the mountains into Idaho.

Got lots of photo ops, some attached, missed one I wish I could have gotten, a coyote was "gathering dinner" (fresh road kill) from the side of the road, looked very healthy and pretty as well. 99% of the photos of the day are "action photos" (moving on down the road), saw lots of snow covered peaks at a reasonable distance.

Around noon we decided we could make Salt Lake City by 9 AM Friday for an oil and oil filter change on the "steeds" if we pressed hard and rode until 8 PM, so we did. We stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho at 9:10 PM, this put us into position to make Salt Lake City by 9 AM with only 218 miles to cover. Our plan was to leave at 5 AM Friday and be there a few minutes early, get serviced and move on to points south.

It rained all night, we were up and peering out the window at 4 AM watching the rain drops splash into the puddles in the parking lot. We ventured down to check the temperature from the bikes temp readout, it read 41 degrees. We mulled the idea of staying versus riding on for about 15 minutes...decided to give it a try. Left at 5:25 AM (behind schedule)...Mistake!

After 20 miles of rain and dropping temps we began to see light/white areas in the median, road shoulder and fields...yep, snow and ice. The temperature was 32 degrees, trucks were sloshing ice and water at us from the left lane (I mean hitting us!!) so we backed down the throttles, put on the safety flashers and proceeded with GREAT CAUTION! to the next exit, found a Perkins restaurant at the Burley, Idaho, ordered breakfast and started asking all travelers stopping in there which direction they had arrived from.

That was 6 AM Friday. We got back in the saddle at 9:10 AM headed for Salt Lake City BMW for the service we scheduled. Called them and advised of our dilemma and they said not a problem that they would work us in. Our thanks to BMW of Salt Lake City - great folks! We arrived there at 12:15 PM, got service and were back on the road at 4:20 PM. They were swamped but worked us in and got the job done.

We rode about 50 miles south of Salt Lake City in the rain, 41 degrees and traffic like I've never seen! We decided we had had enough for the day and pulled off the road south of Provo, Utah. It is now 6:50 PM and we just looked out the window after watching the "weather guessers", and guess what we saw? Snow, snow and light rain!! Not what we were looking for, but tomorrow is another day! No photo ops, as the weather was not conducive to "action photos", except the shot of the Salt Lake City BMW sign with the back drop of snow covered mountains! Enjoy!

The next few days are going to hard riding days as we both have many miles to cover to get home and back to work! We'll keep you posted as to our progress and as we have said before: Thank you for your continued support!

We have discussed the "next" trip already, actually several ideas, one is to do the "4 corners" un-officially without using interstate highways, now that would be a trip to remember! Take 6 to 8 weeks and enjoy the ride! We have used the interstates with the exception of the Medway to Madawaska Maine and back to I-95 and the run from Homestead FL to Key West FL and back to Homestead, otherwise it's been I-(?)!

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From: Edwards, Kevin
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2003 3:15 PM
Subject: The Journeys End

My humble apologies for not corresponding since Friday evening May 9, 2003. We had miles to cover, Bill had about 1500 miles to San Antonio, I had 2500 miles to Weddington, we rode hard and long, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

When we last reported in we were just south of Provo, Utah, it was raining with snow mixed and we were planning out the next two days ride to points south and east.

We met a great person from Salt Lake City BMW - Monty (didn't get his last name, he is the sales manager there) heard what we had done and what we had planned as our route for the day. We sat down with him and got his first hand advice as to an alternate route.

Our original route was I-80 through Wyoming to Cheyenne, WY then south to Denver, CO. We checked the weather on the web and saw that might not be such a great idea (some freak spring weather) as it was snowing in Green River, WY. Monty suggested I-15 south to Hwy 20 to Hwy 89 towards Flagstaff or Hwy 6 to Hwy 191 to Hwy 666 (the devils highway), but the Flagstaff route would be faster.

Monty said he was leaving Saturday afternoon after the shop closed and would be traveling I-15 as well going to see his mother and then he was off to Southern California for "wheelie" training, we wish him success!

Starting out on Saturday it was light rain and 40 degrees. We decided to take Utah Hwy 20 (off I-15) from Beaver east to connect with Hwy 89 to go south to Flagstaff, Arizona. Highway 20 will someday be a nice road, our ride however was during the "re-construction" of the road. (The state had posted signs advising that the road was open only on Friday - Sunday during the construction process.) Add the fact that it was an elevation ascent and descent with icy conditions we had a "great" time!.

Once we connected to Hwy 89 though the ride got very interesting and very scenic. Long sweeping turns, a posted speed limit of 65 (on a two lane road), wide road bed and little to no traffic made this portion of the day very exciting indeed! The scenery included mountain vistas, streams (with trout in them waiting on my next trip) and canyons.

We made Flagstaff by 3 PM (over 400 miles) and connected with I-40 East. About 80 miles east of Flagstaff is a town called Holbrook, AZ, this is were Bill and I separated and went our own way, a sad moment but an exciting time we had shared!

We said our goodbyes, did one last radio check (found that if you don't do a radio check before you hit the road you sometimes can't communicate! Volume gets turned down, channel gets changed, connection is broken, or a switch is thrown the wrong direction, all by accident) and then off we went.

Bill headed for Deming, New Mexico that night and I was headed for Albuquerque, NM. I made it at 8:40 PM, Bill made it by 9:10 PM. A long day, about 860 miles for each of us.

Bill made it home by 4 PM Sunday, said he had a great ride that day, cross winds and dust storms (just like the week earlier!).

For me starting out it was 37 degrees and by days end it was 76 degrees. Crossing the desert it got down to 27 degrees before the sun took over! I made it to Little Rock, AR a 845 mile day (after stopping in Sallisaw, OK to visit with some friends for about 30 minutes), found a Fairfield Inn with a Cracker Barrel just across the parking lot. I ate dinner, cleaned the windscreen and lights, checked the bike, packed everything for an early start and went to bed!

Monday started out at 59 degrees, clear skies and full tank of gas. Rode tank to tank all day so I could make it home, that's about 250 to 270 miles depending on where you can find gas. I made it home at 5:30 PM after 802 miles. I-40 through Arkansas and Tennessee is nothing but farm country, lots of road work going on but the improvements they are making are worth it! I took the last 70 miles on back roads that I travel lots of time, another nice ride day!

That wraps up the Edwards brothers USA 4 Corners Tour. We both made it home safely, the BMW K1200 's are a bit dirty but that can be corrected with a little time and effort.

We slaughtered bugs from every state, as a matter of fact I am going to get a picture of my bike with the bugs from Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Oklahoma, Arkansas Tennessee and North Carolina (or what's left after the driving rains we endured) before I wash them off! The last time the bike was cleaned was when we were in Texas at Bills house, so I've got quite a collection!

Street Cycles of Falmouth Maine - replaced the headlight bulb for Bill, Kevin bought heated socks and thermostat on Friday 4/25/03

Charlotte BMW-Ducati - performed the 12k (Kevin) and 36k service (Bill) on our "down" day 4/29/03 (Kevin's home town dealership)

2) Create a list of clothes, supplies, tools, equipment, etc. (share the list, divvy up the items your team can share if needed)

3) Get a least a FRS radio for communications, our radios were absolutely the best investment for the ride as we could communicate up to 2 miles apart.

4) Plan out your ride days and revise your plans daily, weather can affect your day quickly.

5) Saddle conditioning (the human saddle), although I rode 3,500 miles in the three months leading up to the ride, it was not enough!

6) Electric clothing - we hit some low temps in Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah and Arizona. WORTH the price!

7) Schedule your trip to start May 10th! No earlier! We hit "freak" weather patterns in Maine and the Northwest. (Freak: as compared to "normal conditions")

8) Take along some sunscreen for protecting the nose, face, arms and hands, lip balm.

9) Water...can't say enough about having water, staying hydrated is very important for endurance. We used a water belt system (Bill) and a backpack system (Kevin) plus we had extra bottles in reserve in case of emergency.

10) Medical / First Aid kit - we had it and thank God we didn't need it! I did take Sudafed twice because of sinus issues (that freaky weather and we went through "spring" twice!)

11) Whenever you decide to stop to stretch, fill up the tank while you can. We paid as little $1.38 per gallon and as much as $2.41 per gallon for premium or mid grade gas!

I'll download some of the photo ops we got on the last two days and send them separately, just wanted you to have the final update as soon as possible.

Once again, THANK YOU for your support during this adventure! It was great to be able to post our trip to your website, we highly advise others to do the same, we had family and friends tracking our adventure daily, thanks!!!!

Key West FL	Key West FL	Key West FL	Key West FL

Madawaska	Madawaska	Mason Dixon Line