Road trip on the Katana 600, July 2009

Towards the end of June, I started thinking about going to the KatRiders Rally in Robbinsville, NC. This quickly grew into an idea for a trip that would take me along the eastern coast into Canada and around the Great Lakes before heading home. To keep costs down, I would camp in a tent most of the way, except in a couple cities where I'd stay with friends. After some preparation, I left Wichita, KS on the afternoon of July 17, and returned 16 days later on August 2.

It was a great trip, and the Katana proved to be a fairly comfortable bike for distance riding. Although sportbikes are typically seen as forcing the rider into an aggressive tank hugging posture, I usually sat up straight with one hand on the bars during straight highway driving. The luggage rack helped me carry all my tools and supplies for the trip. I had a few problems during the roughly 6000 mile trip, but they were mostly, if not entirely, my fault :)

Some things I learned along the way...

Road to the rally

KR Rally 2009

Blue Ridge Parkway to Washington, DC

Pennsylvania to NYC

NYC

Boston

Maine and Acadia National Park

Calais, ME to Sydney, Nova Scotia

The detour

Cabot Trail

Quebec and Niagara Falls

Heading back home


Copyright (c) 2009 Paul Miner <$firstname.$lastname@gmail.com>