Michael Czarnecki, author of the book "Twenty Days on Route 20" will be making another cross country journey on US Route 20 this year, and will be making stops along the way to talk about his trip and share in his past experiences.
Details, which include his 2010 schedule, are listed on the web site for Foothills Publishing. Stops are planned in the following communities: Watertown and West Springfield, MA; New Lebanon, Voorheesville and Seneca Falls, NY; North East, PA; Painesville and Fremont, OH; Elkhart, IN; Dubuque, IA; South Sioux City, Ainsworth and Crawford, NE; Casper, WY; Idaho Falls and Boise, ID; Burns, Bend, Sisters, Lebanon and Newport, OR.
Further details, including contact information for Michael, can be found on the Foothills Publishing web site.
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found at usroutetwenty.blogspot.com, here.
Showing posts with label Cross Country Trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cross Country Trip. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Thursday, February 26, 2009
US 20 Cross Country Motorcycle Trip
I stumbled upon a blog, called "Jim and Nate Do America" which outlines a motorcycle cross-country trip on US Route 20 in the summer of 2008. They provide a detailed map of their trip (embedded below) and also include a photo slideshow on their blog of pictures taken on their trip, with a day by day accounting of their experiences.
If you’re looking for something to read about the country’s longest road from the perspective of someone who took the long drive all the way from end to end on a motorcycle, "Jim and Nate Do America" is an entertaining read.
View Larger Map
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found here.
If you’re looking for something to read about the country’s longest road from the perspective of someone who took the long drive all the way from end to end on a motorcycle, "Jim and Nate Do America" is an entertaining read.
View Larger Map
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found here.
Monday, September 1, 2008
US 20: Follow "The Long Bike Back"
I wrote about the documentary film “The Long Bike Back” on May 5, here. The trip and film covers brothers Pearson and Peter Constantino, who are biking cross-country on US Route 20 to raise awareness of road safety. Their cross country trip on US Route 20 is in progress, and if you are interested, you can follow their trip on their blog, here, to get updates on their progress, and also see some photos of the areas where they are traveling.
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found here.
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found here.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
US 20: Cross Country on a Motorcycle
Here’s an interesting story from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that talks about a local couple who went cross country on US 20 by motorcycle. They didn’t go the whole route though; they started in Canandaigua. NY. Still, a significant ride!
Ontario couple uses motorcycle to follow Route 20
Ron and Evelyn Stone of Ontario, Wayne County, had a simple strategy for their trip west this summer:
Follow that road.
In their case, the road was Route 20, a highway that starts in Boston, Mass., and ends in Newport, Ore., near the Pacific Coast.
With Evelyn sitting behind him on his BMW motorcycle, an R 1200 ST, Ron picked up Route 20 on June 27 in Canandaigua.
On their trip, they left the mostly two-lane road occasionally, either to skirt cities or to take in an interesting sight, but generally they were true to 20 as they traveled more than 3,000 miles across the country.
Ron, 64, and Evelyn, 61, arrived in Oregon on July 6 and then left Route 20, heading south and then west to see their son, Mark, 36, and his wife, Rena, in New Mexico.
Coming home a faster route, mainly on interstates, they arrived in Ontario on July 19, having logged 7,500 miles.
That many miles, that many hours of close, wind-buffeted contact, might strain some relationships. But for the Stones, there's no better way to travel.
"I like the freedom a motorcycle brings," says Ron, who has been riding for more than 30 years. "You can smell the rain; you can smell the pines; you can smell the manure."
Evelyn, who left her BMW home for this trip, adds that not only do motorcyclists get to see the country in a more up-close-and-personal way, they also get to meet more people.
A bike is a conversational ice-breaker. People at restaurants and gas stations come up to the Stones, ask them where they're from, where they're going, where they've been.
This was the Stones' fourth cross-country trip, the last being a 2005 trek following Route 50, a road running from Ocean City, Md., to Sacramento, Calif., that's billed as "The Loneliest Highway in America."
On their treks, the Stones travel light, packing just enough clothes for seven days. On the seventh day, they take a break, do their laundry and rest. (On this trip, the first seventh day came in Cody, Wyo.)
The Stones ride between 300 and 400 miles a day, stopping about 5 p.m., as night rides on a motorcycle can be a little risky, given deer, buffalo (yes) and other creatures on the road.
They also allow for "wander time." Their favorite deviation from their route this time was a ride up and over Beartooth Pass in Montana and Wyoming.
But many sights along Route 20 — including lava flows in Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho — stopped them in their tracks.
"It's hard to explain how beautiful this country is," says Evelyn.
The Stones stay in motels, often filling up on the provided continental breakfasts and then skipping lunch. For dinner, they try to eat at non-chain restaurants, off-the-beaten path places. The food is generally good, and they get to meet the locals.
The motorcycle averages about 50 miles per gallon, so they don't spend a lot on gas, though they traveled this summer at a time when prices were nearing an all-time U.S. high. (The peak was $4.98 a gallon in California.)
They drove into a drought and experienced no significant rain on this trip. There was still snow in the Beartooth Mountains.
The temperature was 62 degrees as they rode through northern California and 118 degrees in southern California after they moved inland on their way to New Mexico.
The couple is looking forward to more long journeys, including a jaunt to Newfoundland with friends. And they hope to cross the U.S. on Route 30, another one of the vintage highways.
"So many roads, so little time," says Ron, whose motorcycling avocation is also vocation, as he works part-time as the sales manager at Country Rode Motowerks in Fairport.
He and Evelyn plan to give a seminar at Country Rode on their Route 20 trip later in the year. Meanwhile, Ron has this advice to anyone who would follow their path.
"Just go," he says. "Just make up your mind and go."
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found here.
Ontario couple uses motorcycle to follow Route 20
Ron and Evelyn Stone of Ontario, Wayne County, had a simple strategy for their trip west this summer:
Follow that road.
In their case, the road was Route 20, a highway that starts in Boston, Mass., and ends in Newport, Ore., near the Pacific Coast.
With Evelyn sitting behind him on his BMW motorcycle, an R 1200 ST, Ron picked up Route 20 on June 27 in Canandaigua.
On their trip, they left the mostly two-lane road occasionally, either to skirt cities or to take in an interesting sight, but generally they were true to 20 as they traveled more than 3,000 miles across the country.
Ron, 64, and Evelyn, 61, arrived in Oregon on July 6 and then left Route 20, heading south and then west to see their son, Mark, 36, and his wife, Rena, in New Mexico.
Coming home a faster route, mainly on interstates, they arrived in Ontario on July 19, having logged 7,500 miles.
That many miles, that many hours of close, wind-buffeted contact, might strain some relationships. But for the Stones, there's no better way to travel.
"I like the freedom a motorcycle brings," says Ron, who has been riding for more than 30 years. "You can smell the rain; you can smell the pines; you can smell the manure."
Evelyn, who left her BMW home for this trip, adds that not only do motorcyclists get to see the country in a more up-close-and-personal way, they also get to meet more people.
A bike is a conversational ice-breaker. People at restaurants and gas stations come up to the Stones, ask them where they're from, where they're going, where they've been.
This was the Stones' fourth cross-country trip, the last being a 2005 trek following Route 50, a road running from Ocean City, Md., to Sacramento, Calif., that's billed as "The Loneliest Highway in America."
On their treks, the Stones travel light, packing just enough clothes for seven days. On the seventh day, they take a break, do their laundry and rest. (On this trip, the first seventh day came in Cody, Wyo.)
The Stones ride between 300 and 400 miles a day, stopping about 5 p.m., as night rides on a motorcycle can be a little risky, given deer, buffalo (yes) and other creatures on the road.
They also allow for "wander time." Their favorite deviation from their route this time was a ride up and over Beartooth Pass in Montana and Wyoming.
But many sights along Route 20 — including lava flows in Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho — stopped them in their tracks.
"It's hard to explain how beautiful this country is," says Evelyn.
The Stones stay in motels, often filling up on the provided continental breakfasts and then skipping lunch. For dinner, they try to eat at non-chain restaurants, off-the-beaten path places. The food is generally good, and they get to meet the locals.
The motorcycle averages about 50 miles per gallon, so they don't spend a lot on gas, though they traveled this summer at a time when prices were nearing an all-time U.S. high. (The peak was $4.98 a gallon in California.)
They drove into a drought and experienced no significant rain on this trip. There was still snow in the Beartooth Mountains.
The temperature was 62 degrees as they rode through northern California and 118 degrees in southern California after they moved inland on their way to New Mexico.
The couple is looking forward to more long journeys, including a jaunt to Newfoundland with friends. And they hope to cross the U.S. on Route 30, another one of the vintage highways.
"So many roads, so little time," says Ron, whose motorcycling avocation is also vocation, as he works part-time as the sales manager at Country Rode Motowerks in Fairport.
He and Evelyn plan to give a seminar at Country Rode on their Route 20 trip later in the year. Meanwhile, Ron has this advice to anyone who would follow their path.
"Just go," he says. "Just make up your mind and go."
The US Route 20 Blog homepage can be found here.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
US 20: A Cross Country Trip
I thought that fans of US Route 20 would be interested in reading this article from The Nantucket Independent, about Charley Walters, who took the cross-country trip last year on US 20. Enjoy!
Travels with Charley
Crossing the country in search of a book
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Long-time Nantucketer Charley Walters could easily be described as a homebody, but last spring he said goodbye to his loving wife and comfortable house to drive for almost 10 weeks and nearly 3,400 miles through 12 states across America on the nation's longest road. He was on a mission to write a book about his experiences, and now the first draft of that manuscript is complete.
A quiet man familiar with sand dunes, brick sidewalks, cobblestoned roads and shingled houses, and who mostly walks wherever he goes on the island, Walters found himself in the midst of snow covered mountains, then passing through dense forests, plains and deserts as he traveled from the onset of Route 20 in Kenmore Square in Boston to its end in Newport, Ore. at the juncture of Highway 101. What he witnessed were sights, people and lifestyles unfamiliar to him and, he believes, to many other Americans who have not ventured far or learned much about their stateside peers and vastly varied environments.
Walters was owner of Musicall, the island's only music store, for 25 years. In June 2005, he knew the business would not be viable much longer because of competition from the Internet, and once he came to that realization, he began thinking about what he would do with his time when the store closed. Several years earlier, Walters had thought about writing a travel book of some sort. A conversation 10 years ago with the late Wes Tiffney, who told Walters he was driving to Idaho via Route 20, sparked Walters' interest. When he looked at a map he discovered that not only was Route 20 the longest road in the country, it runs coast to coast and mainly through sparsely populated areas. That appealed to Walters and was something that stayed in the back of his mind.
"It's a country road that keeps on going," he said of Route 20, almost entirely a simple, two-lane divided highway stretching 3,365 miles. "It looks like the 'Sconset Road except the landscape is different. You see all sorts of different landscapes. You even go right alongside the Great Lakes. From Boston to Chicago, you see a lot of the suburbs and a lot of countryside, but once you pass Chicago it's mostly farmland and cattle country. You can go for mile after mile of this - I thought it was beautiful."
When he closed Musicall in December 2006 he spent three months planning his trip and setting up lodging in advance so that searching for places to sleep would not interfere with time for chronicling his experiences.
"I sacrificed spontaneity to have more time to do what I wanted to do," he explained, noting that he traveled an average of 75 miles a day.
What he wanted to do was look out the car windows and take notes, which he did by hand "very carefully" since he was driving at the same time. Walters was so spellbound by what he saw he never once turned on the radio or played a CD because that would have been too much of a distraction. Along the way he saw President James Garfield's house and the home of President Rutherford B. Hayes, both in Ohio. In Illinois, he saw the home of Ulysses S. Grant and in Auburn, N.Y he passed the prison where President William McKinley's assassin was executed.
"A lot of the presidents who have somewhat tenuous connections to the road were among the least known and of the same period in the second half of the 1800s," said Walters, who also saw the homes of many authors including Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ann Sexton. He saw where Longfellow wrote a series of poems called "Tales of a Wayside Inn," the town of Clyde, Ohio that author Sherwood Anderson fictionalized in his book "Winesburg, Ohio" and where Indian historian Mari Sandoz wrote about the mid-west in the 1930s.
Walters met many people on his journey, most of whom, particularly in Iowa and Nebraska, were very friendly to the New England stranger in their midst.
"People would come up to me in the street and want to talk. It was just natural friendliness," he said. "There were a couple people who had that 'Bambi in the headlights' look, but for the most part they were very welcoming."
The rudest people Walters encountered were west of the Rocky Mountains and east of the Cascade Mountains, especially in areas that drew tourists. The only place that made him uneasy was Gary, Ind. where the crime rate is high.
"You don't want a flat tire in Gary, Indiana, but if you drive another 20 miles you're still in Indiana but you're in Amish country, so you get these contrasts," he said, adding that in some instances, a town's speed limit was higher than its population, such as Lost Springs, Wy. that had a population of one and no visible buildings except a combination post office and general store and a bar. In Ainsworth, Neb. the sign at the town line read, "Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere."
Walters said before he left on his trip a friend asked him if he was trying to 'find America.' What resulted from the adventure was the recognition that there are many 'Americas' depending on where one goes.
"I had no special notion. I was looking for what was there, whatever it was. It is not a travel guide, it's a travel log," he explained of his book. "If you want to find out where to eat or where to stay this is not the book. I want the reader to feel as though they are in the car with me. I didn't see everything and I knew I wouldn't, but I'm saying this is what I saw and heard for two months in the spring of 2007. It's not a history book, but there's some history in it. It's not sociology, but there is some sociology in it. For me, seeing all the different landscapes was the best part of the trip."
At this point, Walters is correcting his first draft with some assistance from his wife Nancy Thayer, who has been a published author for 28 years and recently had her 18th novel released. Walters hopes to be finished with editing in a little more than a month. He has not yet chosen a potential title for his book, nor does he have an agent, which he views as essential to successful publication, but those issues do not matter too much at the moment. In fact, Walters said he hopes this book does sell, if it does not, he still wants to write another and is considering several ideas.
Travels with Charley
Crossing the country in search of a book
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Long-time Nantucketer Charley Walters could easily be described as a homebody, but last spring he said goodbye to his loving wife and comfortable house to drive for almost 10 weeks and nearly 3,400 miles through 12 states across America on the nation's longest road. He was on a mission to write a book about his experiences, and now the first draft of that manuscript is complete.
A quiet man familiar with sand dunes, brick sidewalks, cobblestoned roads and shingled houses, and who mostly walks wherever he goes on the island, Walters found himself in the midst of snow covered mountains, then passing through dense forests, plains and deserts as he traveled from the onset of Route 20 in Kenmore Square in Boston to its end in Newport, Ore. at the juncture of Highway 101. What he witnessed were sights, people and lifestyles unfamiliar to him and, he believes, to many other Americans who have not ventured far or learned much about their stateside peers and vastly varied environments.
Walters was owner of Musicall, the island's only music store, for 25 years. In June 2005, he knew the business would not be viable much longer because of competition from the Internet, and once he came to that realization, he began thinking about what he would do with his time when the store closed. Several years earlier, Walters had thought about writing a travel book of some sort. A conversation 10 years ago with the late Wes Tiffney, who told Walters he was driving to Idaho via Route 20, sparked Walters' interest. When he looked at a map he discovered that not only was Route 20 the longest road in the country, it runs coast to coast and mainly through sparsely populated areas. That appealed to Walters and was something that stayed in the back of his mind.
"It's a country road that keeps on going," he said of Route 20, almost entirely a simple, two-lane divided highway stretching 3,365 miles. "It looks like the 'Sconset Road except the landscape is different. You see all sorts of different landscapes. You even go right alongside the Great Lakes. From Boston to Chicago, you see a lot of the suburbs and a lot of countryside, but once you pass Chicago it's mostly farmland and cattle country. You can go for mile after mile of this - I thought it was beautiful."
When he closed Musicall in December 2006 he spent three months planning his trip and setting up lodging in advance so that searching for places to sleep would not interfere with time for chronicling his experiences.
"I sacrificed spontaneity to have more time to do what I wanted to do," he explained, noting that he traveled an average of 75 miles a day.
What he wanted to do was look out the car windows and take notes, which he did by hand "very carefully" since he was driving at the same time. Walters was so spellbound by what he saw he never once turned on the radio or played a CD because that would have been too much of a distraction. Along the way he saw President James Garfield's house and the home of President Rutherford B. Hayes, both in Ohio. In Illinois, he saw the home of Ulysses S. Grant and in Auburn, N.Y he passed the prison where President William McKinley's assassin was executed.
"A lot of the presidents who have somewhat tenuous connections to the road were among the least known and of the same period in the second half of the 1800s," said Walters, who also saw the homes of many authors including Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ann Sexton. He saw where Longfellow wrote a series of poems called "Tales of a Wayside Inn," the town of Clyde, Ohio that author Sherwood Anderson fictionalized in his book "Winesburg, Ohio" and where Indian historian Mari Sandoz wrote about the mid-west in the 1930s.
Walters met many people on his journey, most of whom, particularly in Iowa and Nebraska, were very friendly to the New England stranger in their midst.
"People would come up to me in the street and want to talk. It was just natural friendliness," he said. "There were a couple people who had that 'Bambi in the headlights' look, but for the most part they were very welcoming."
The rudest people Walters encountered were west of the Rocky Mountains and east of the Cascade Mountains, especially in areas that drew tourists. The only place that made him uneasy was Gary, Ind. where the crime rate is high.
"You don't want a flat tire in Gary, Indiana, but if you drive another 20 miles you're still in Indiana but you're in Amish country, so you get these contrasts," he said, adding that in some instances, a town's speed limit was higher than its population, such as Lost Springs, Wy. that had a population of one and no visible buildings except a combination post office and general store and a bar. In Ainsworth, Neb. the sign at the town line read, "Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere."
Walters said before he left on his trip a friend asked him if he was trying to 'find America.' What resulted from the adventure was the recognition that there are many 'Americas' depending on where one goes.
"I had no special notion. I was looking for what was there, whatever it was. It is not a travel guide, it's a travel log," he explained of his book. "If you want to find out where to eat or where to stay this is not the book. I want the reader to feel as though they are in the car with me. I didn't see everything and I knew I wouldn't, but I'm saying this is what I saw and heard for two months in the spring of 2007. It's not a history book, but there's some history in it. It's not sociology, but there is some sociology in it. For me, seeing all the different landscapes was the best part of the trip."
At this point, Walters is correcting his first draft with some assistance from his wife Nancy Thayer, who has been a published author for 28 years and recently had her 18th novel released. Walters hopes to be finished with editing in a little more than a month. He has not yet chosen a potential title for his book, nor does he have an agent, which he views as essential to successful publication, but those issues do not matter too much at the moment. In fact, Walters said he hopes this book does sell, if it does not, he still wants to write another and is considering several ideas.
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