I'm a relatively new kid on r1200gs.info, but not to BMWs or ride reports, though this is my first one here. I am also new to the GS having ridden the r1150r then the r1200r for over 150k miles pretty much all over the USA. Just under 9k miles on the GS and I am convinced this is the best bike I've ever had. That said, I will probably ride "L'il Red" until her wheels or, more likely, my wheels fall off. I am in my "wheels falling off" years. I just turned 70...yikes! However, as y'all know, you never feel more alive than when on two wheels.
A couple of years ago there was a story in The Times-Picayune about a local guy who happened to be a cartographer and had just driven a car the route of The Jefferson Highway.
The what?
The Jefferson Highway...and it piqued my interest.
I knew we had a major street here in New Orleans called Jefferson Highway, and there was a road in Baton Rouge with the same name, but I just thought it was a road that happened to be named after Thomas Jefferson, like Washington Avenue, or Adams Street or Monroe Street, etc. We also have a Jefferson Davis Parkway and no Lincoln Street, but that's relevantly irrelevant and another story.
So, I started researching it, thinking this might be an interesting ride. Later, I was afraid it might be a boring ride, but getting ahead of myself. I do that.
I discovered the Jefferson Highway extends from Winnipeg, Canada, specifically from a plaque in the median on the Pembina Highway in Winnipeg, a location that in the US we'd call urban sprawl, to New Orleans, again, specifically to a plaque at the corner of St. Charles and Common, in our central business district.
Depending on one's perspective the Jefferson Highway ("JH") either began or ended in Winnipeg or New Orleans. It was also called the "Palm to Pine" (or Pine to Palm) Highway because of the trees along the route.
ON the morning I left I realized, duh, I had a palm tree in my front yard! (I apologize for the blurriness, it was 415 am and I shot with natural light, or in this case natural dark)
and eventually I got to the Pines (and mosquito) part of the ride. Hey, it could have been called the Mosquito to Mosquito Highway. Minnesota Mosquitos would be proud of their South Louisiana cousins and vice versa.
I getting a bit ahead though.
The Jefferson Highway was the first paved trans-national route that ran north south in the US. It was assembled mostly from existing roads, but there were some areas, notably Kansas and Missouri, where a North South route needed to be built.
There was actually a competition between the two states to complete their road first. The prize? Uncle Sam said whoever finished first would be reimbursed by the feds. What would up being US 69 in Kansas and US 71 in Missouri came to be.
In true government fashion, though it wasn't a tie, Uncle paid for both.
By the mid 19-teens the road was a continuous ribbon connecting Winnipeg and New Orleans and it was highly publicized. As far as I can tell other than the "being there" aspect of the road, I cannot understand why a concrete/asphalt connection between the two cities was necessary. It could just be civic pride, or more likely civic hubris, but there it was.
And it was advertised at the time as an adventure, and I'll bet it was that! This is the original map as published in 1922.
The "All Year Vacation Route Of America," you betcha. Winnipeg in February must be a vacationer's dream, as much as New Orleans in July, especially in 1922.
The Arkansas limb as shown on the google map was added later and corresponds to US 71.
I want to thank Glenn Smith and David Stearns of the JHA (jeffersonhighway.org) for the help in putting this together. As I was starting the research I thought I would be strictly following the road, but as I progressed in the planning I realized that parts of the road do not exist anymore, some parts are taken over by major highways--like I 49 in Missouri, and there were some sights along the way that demanded detour.
This was to primarily be a motorcycle ride. That made the planning much more flexible and the attitude less strict. Gotta have some free form on these rides, right? So, though I followed the route as best I could, I probably detoured from it about 10% or less.
So, I start routing. Whenever I am planning a ride I try to avoid the big roads, this was kind of tough on this route. the major decision was Arkansas Texas Oklahoma. The original route goes through NE Texas and up US 69 through Oklahoma. That looked really boring. It looked a lot like this-from google street view
So, I considered the Arkansas alternative instead, i.e., US 71. I've ridden a lot in Arkansas, and have only been on 71 when I NEEDED to be--which was not often. In other words I avoided it, preferring the squiggly gray lines on the map to the big red ones. Advrider.com regional forums to the rescue with a resounding "take 71" answer.
The other choice was not much of a choice, US 69 up though Kansas or US 71/I 49 through Missouri. US 69 wins here hands down, no real problem.
So, I prepare for my departure, looking very forward to being on the road with the GS, but admittedly a little concerned because I feared the ride might be a boring ride, in spite of the historical significance of the route.
I turned 70 on Monday, went to dinner at Clancy's with my bro and our brides, tried a new single malt with dinner and was ready to go, anticipating a 315am alarm.
Anticipation, trepidation, depression (at becoming an septuagenarian) on Ride's Eve, my birthday.
Packed and ready to roll out, it doesn't count unless you ride out your driveway...
more to come
A couple of years ago there was a story in The Times-Picayune about a local guy who happened to be a cartographer and had just driven a car the route of The Jefferson Highway.
The what?
The Jefferson Highway...and it piqued my interest.
I knew we had a major street here in New Orleans called Jefferson Highway, and there was a road in Baton Rouge with the same name, but I just thought it was a road that happened to be named after Thomas Jefferson, like Washington Avenue, or Adams Street or Monroe Street, etc. We also have a Jefferson Davis Parkway and no Lincoln Street, but that's relevantly irrelevant and another story.
So, I started researching it, thinking this might be an interesting ride. Later, I was afraid it might be a boring ride, but getting ahead of myself. I do that.
I discovered the Jefferson Highway extends from Winnipeg, Canada, specifically from a plaque in the median on the Pembina Highway in Winnipeg, a location that in the US we'd call urban sprawl, to New Orleans, again, specifically to a plaque at the corner of St. Charles and Common, in our central business district.
Depending on one's perspective the Jefferson Highway ("JH") either began or ended in Winnipeg or New Orleans. It was also called the "Palm to Pine" (or Pine to Palm) Highway because of the trees along the route.
ON the morning I left I realized, duh, I had a palm tree in my front yard! (I apologize for the blurriness, it was 415 am and I shot with natural light, or in this case natural dark)
and eventually I got to the Pines (and mosquito) part of the ride. Hey, it could have been called the Mosquito to Mosquito Highway. Minnesota Mosquitos would be proud of their South Louisiana cousins and vice versa.
I getting a bit ahead though.
The Jefferson Highway was the first paved trans-national route that ran north south in the US. It was assembled mostly from existing roads, but there were some areas, notably Kansas and Missouri, where a North South route needed to be built.
There was actually a competition between the two states to complete their road first. The prize? Uncle Sam said whoever finished first would be reimbursed by the feds. What would up being US 69 in Kansas and US 71 in Missouri came to be.
In true government fashion, though it wasn't a tie, Uncle paid for both.
By the mid 19-teens the road was a continuous ribbon connecting Winnipeg and New Orleans and it was highly publicized. As far as I can tell other than the "being there" aspect of the road, I cannot understand why a concrete/asphalt connection between the two cities was necessary. It could just be civic pride, or more likely civic hubris, but there it was.
And it was advertised at the time as an adventure, and I'll bet it was that! This is the original map as published in 1922.
The "All Year Vacation Route Of America," you betcha. Winnipeg in February must be a vacationer's dream, as much as New Orleans in July, especially in 1922.
The Arkansas limb as shown on the google map was added later and corresponds to US 71.
I want to thank Glenn Smith and David Stearns of the JHA (jeffersonhighway.org) for the help in putting this together. As I was starting the research I thought I would be strictly following the road, but as I progressed in the planning I realized that parts of the road do not exist anymore, some parts are taken over by major highways--like I 49 in Missouri, and there were some sights along the way that demanded detour.
This was to primarily be a motorcycle ride. That made the planning much more flexible and the attitude less strict. Gotta have some free form on these rides, right? So, though I followed the route as best I could, I probably detoured from it about 10% or less.
So, I start routing. Whenever I am planning a ride I try to avoid the big roads, this was kind of tough on this route. the major decision was Arkansas Texas Oklahoma. The original route goes through NE Texas and up US 69 through Oklahoma. That looked really boring. It looked a lot like this-from google street view
So, I considered the Arkansas alternative instead, i.e., US 71. I've ridden a lot in Arkansas, and have only been on 71 when I NEEDED to be--which was not often. In other words I avoided it, preferring the squiggly gray lines on the map to the big red ones. Advrider.com regional forums to the rescue with a resounding "take 71" answer.
The other choice was not much of a choice, US 69 up though Kansas or US 71/I 49 through Missouri. US 69 wins here hands down, no real problem.
So, I prepare for my departure, looking very forward to being on the road with the GS, but admittedly a little concerned because I feared the ride might be a boring ride, in spite of the historical significance of the route.
I turned 70 on Monday, went to dinner at Clancy's with my bro and our brides, tried a new single malt with dinner and was ready to go, anticipating a 315am alarm.
Anticipation, trepidation, depression (at becoming an septuagenarian) on Ride's Eve, my birthday.
Packed and ready to roll out, it doesn't count unless you ride out your driveway...
more to come