FJ40 Cross-Country Expedition: Will YOU join us???

[sggoat]

I should be good the first part of November...Need to figure how it gets from FL to Atlanta. I'll get it up thru North GA and to @Cleg in Andrews, NC.

@Chris8760 or @Sig191144 could either of you guys get further South to intercept from the Florida leg?

GA- If we(sggoat/Captconch--others) make it out of Fl, don't see why we couldn't go the extra mile to make Atlanta(didn't talk to John about this yet, so just musing) My plan is to haul an old antique Rivet forge to Walter's Forge in Henegar, Al. on the trip. That's not far from Atlanta, so if the truck holds up, I (or we) will be there--pending confirmation----

 

[GA Architect]

GA- If we(sggoat/Captconch--others) make it out of Fl, don't see why we couldn't go the extra mile to make Atlanta(didn't talk to John about this yet, so just musing) My plan is to haul an old antique Rivet forge to Walter's Forge in Henegar, Al. on the trip. That's not far from Atlanta, so if the truck holds up, I (or we) will be there--pending confirmation----

Sweet, then we can make the covert exchange on the West side of the ATL.

 

[Tennessee80]

@kbahus Please reach out to @olive... he will be leading the charge through the area. It'd be great to have some presence from the Chicago area...





@ginmtb We may not get there until the Spring anyway... see below. Sorry about that. That said, nothing prevents you from kicking off a "Pacific Leg" now in the Fall if you guys want to do it now? Think about it...





Going forward, I will keep a copy of the current schedule in Post #1 of this thread...






So here's where we stand right now... some dates have had to shift due to availability / scheduling challenges. No surprises there.

View attachment 1316097


As you can see, the schedule now has us in Nashville TN in late November... where it's likely to begin a bit of a hibernation (it may also creep along through TN, AR and TX over the winter) before it continues on its way to the Pacific in the Spring. I think this is the best way to do this anyway...

I can tell you that the schedule through Charlottesville, NC is looking quite firm and solid. We may have to accept some flexibility after that.

• @sggoat - now that the dates are firming up, could you share your draft schedule for the "Tributary Leg" from Key West to St Augustine? I know I'm looking forward to your Key West adventure...
• @Bluegrass40 - aware of the fact that you are still tentative. Hopefully the extra time you've been granted above helps! And maybe someone else in the area signs up between now and late November.

What we need now is for the "baton holders" (@ordoman, @woytovich, @brian, @Shark56, @iptman, @Booch, @CharlestonG8R, @sggoat, @GA Architect, @Cleg, @olive, @Speeter, @Bluegrass40) to reconfirm dates work and to reach out to the "other owners" as listed on the last column above to begin to plan the specifics.

You, the Baton Holders, are The Key to this working out as planned!

I for one will be reaching out to @vt0u812, @Splangy and @ordoman to plan the weekend of October 8th. @brian will be sending me the baton soon!

And, just so that we can begin to "know each other and our 40's better..." What about if you share a link or two that best describe the 40 you will be driving on this ride??? This may make "this story" all the more powerful over time...

@hecrod , If your schedule holds true for the Nashville, TN leg, and I meet @Bluegrass40 in Nashville, I will have no road trip to pass the baton. I know that the routes have changed, but don't I need to drive somewhere to call it a road trip? LOL

 

[Tennessee80]

Maybe I am reading it wrong, meaning there may be a potential 2 different directions handing me a baton, either from the north or from the east. At which point I would hold on to it until the next leg was established?

 

[hecrod]

Maybe I am reading it wrong, meaning there may be a potential 2 different directions handing me a baton, either from the north or from the east. At which point I would hold on to it until the next leg was established?

That is correct... Two legs. One leg is more of a definite, coming now from @GA Architect instead of @Cleg , the other is still tentative, from @Bluegrass40.

@GA Architect will be following up with you shortly...I think that's when you are going to get to drive a little!

You will then, at least as thing stand right now, hold onto the baton until we figure out where we go next.

 

[Bluegrass40]

I am pretty sure I will be ready to roll in time (unless something else breaks.

I'm hoping that someone else in the area will be willing to meet me at Mammoth Cave for the hand off. @Tennessee80 , any interest in that? This could be a great way for you to put in some miles! We could exchange batons and keep them moving across the region.

 

[Tennessee80]

Yeah, I just want to avoid receiving the baton, driving across town, handing off the baton in the mall parking lot, going home...

All the while my 40 is wearing the new cross country expedition sticker

 

[Tennessee80]

I am pretty sure I will be ready to roll in time (unless something else breaks.

I'm hoping that someone else in the area will be willing to meet me at Mammoth Cave for the hand off. @Tennessee80 , any interest in that? This could be a great way for you to put in some miles! We could exchange batons and keep them moving across the region.

@Bluegrass40 im game to go north if I get the baton from @GA Architect coming from GA. I'm sure there is some cool spots to camp near Mammoth
Cave?

 

[Bluegrass40]

@Bluegrass40 im game to go north if I get the baton from @GA Architect coming from GA. I'm sure there is some cool spots to camp near Mammoth
Cave?

I'll let you know! I'm going backpacking there for the first time this Saturday with 6year old and another father/son.

 

[cruiserjunktion]

I'm interested in a 100 mile stretch. I'm in Gainesville, Florida.

I'd still like to take part. We have at least 4x 40 series ready to caravan with the baton.

 

[65swb45]

View attachment 1317502

I'd still like to take part. We have at least 4x 40 series ready to caravan with the baton.

Are the shackles on the front of the red 45 for real? They remind me of the multi-drilled plates Pep Boys used to sell for street rods.

 

[cruiserjunktion]

Are the shackles on the front of the red 45 for real? They remind me of the multi-drilled plates Pep Boys used to sell for street rods.

They are "for really" in the scrap pile now. The PO actually cut the stock shackles and welded in a piece of flat stock on either side! I've replaced them with an "unmodified" pair.

 

[olive]

I'm still in for the 15th of Oct. hand-off in Columbus.....the "baton" on my end is now an old tool box I picked up at a swap meet the other day(@Cleg idea) Perfect for stickers and holding an assortment of mementos.

 

[Booch]

FYI I'm near Charlottesville Va I can do that to Charleston

 

[Speeter]

The dates still work and I am ready to take the baton from @olive in Buckeye country. Maybe at the "shoe". The few extra weeks may enable me to get @mtnbiker4evr13 in the loop. Maybe we can do an off-road run at tar hollow together. I plan to do a little of the bourbon trail on either Nov 4 or 5 if anyone wants to join me before handing off to @Bluegrass40 near Louisville.

 

[myquestoyota]

Not sure where the gopro idea went but what about a $50 dash cam. Just plug it in for interesting/important stuff and provide a new sd card when it gets full. They usually take a 32 gb card, good for 8 hours of video and about $15. Take your card out and load the best spots and add them to the thread we start when this is done with every leg a fresh post? Make the dash cam part of the handoff?

 

[77wagon]

Oh man, I thought I was meeting at the end of October... I will be with my wife in Chicago from Nov 8-15 for our 10th anniversary. I can pick up from @Booch the weekend of Nov 5th, maybe meet earlier in the week somewhere? @ErikinSC and @77wagon how are your schedules looking at that time? If Booch is cool meeting in Charleston on the 5th, I can run it down to Savannah on the 6th. Maybe in to North Florida depending on who can meet and where. @mel lowe how far north can you go on the 6th? Alternatively, I can head down on the 19th...

I never exactly know my schedule to far in advance, but I can be pretty flexible usually. I may be riding along side y'all or can hopefully carry the baton some distance. I've just been waiting to hear things iron themselves out.

 

[CaliFJ]

I'm in! Thanks for getting this started! I was playing around with Google maps and plotted a route if it were to start in Seattle.

View attachment 1305601

Approximate distances:

Seattle – Portland – 175 miles

Portland – Eugene – 115 miles

Eugene – Medford – 170 miles

Medford – Redding – 150 miles

Redding – Danville – 210 miles

Danville – San Luis Obispo – 225 miles (my leg)

San Luis Obispo – Los Angeles – 190 miles

Los Angeles – Barstow – 115 miles

Barstow – Las Vegas – 160 miles

I'm in for Danville to San Luis Obispo (SLO). After we finish in SLO, I would likely head a little further south to Pizmo Beach to hit the massive sand dune park on the ocean to get my rig all sanded and salted.

I'm also good for heading to Tahoe from Danville. Although, I'll admit I had delusions of grandeur that my wife could drive her big SUV to Santa Barbara (family there) and then I could tow my rig home. Heading North in Cali is almost always into a wicked head wind. Btw, there are some great scenic routes to SLO (hwy 1, or the old hwy 25). But I'm not picky. Any road trip is fine with me.

 

[graham5david]

I'm just ready for this to make its way to Texas

 

[sggoat]

Not sure where the gopro idea went but what about a $50 dash cam. Just plug it in for interesting/important stuff and provide a new sd card when it gets full. They usually take a 32 gb card, good for 8 hours of video and about $15. Take your card out and load the best spots and add them to the thread we start when this is done with every leg a fresh post? Make the dash cam part of the handoff?

Who makes these? Where to buy? Best brand? My phone is just an old geezer's go-phone--no bells or whistles--I'm going to have to steal my grand-daughter's laptop for this----