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The Route

This centennial tribute began on July 4, 2019, but was interrupted by mechanical failure in Kansas. The tribute was finally completed in September 2022.

The 2019 Route is below. The 2022 Route is available on a separate page.

The rest of the tour in 2019 as far as the Grand Canyon in 2019 generally followed the timeline in the table below. Information about the completion of this tribute in 2022 is available on the 2022 Route page.


Issues With Road Access:

There is some uncertainty as to exact route C.K. took. Some of the roads are no longer there or are inaccessible. Therefore,  it will be impossible to ride over all the exact roads upon which C.K. traveled.

We believe we are 95% accurate in terms of riding over the actual road taken and scenery C.K. Shepherd saw in 1919. Problems with the remaining 5% include such things as:

  • The old road approaches a waterway over which the bridge was long ago removed.
  • The modern road was built over the old road, leaving some sections of the old road visible but not connected for through traffic.
  • In some cities, the old road is now a one-way street and we’re going the other way.
  • The old road is now on property that is either privately owned or is controlled by government or tribal agencies.
  • The condition of the old road is unsafe (for example, a La Bajada Hill in New Mexico).

Issues With Road Use and Condition:

The 2019 route used secondary roads to the maximum extent possible. The only traveling on Interstate highways was when there is no viable alternative to use secondary roads. Over the preceding two years, Captain Hunnibell personally surveyed, photographed, and filmed the entire planned route. This helped ensure that it was a viable route and that participants will be best informed as to key landmarks and the condition of the roads to be ridden on that day. While most roads are paved, there will be a substantial number of dirt and gravel roads used in the West.

The Map:

AABMC Map ThumbnailA transcontinental map of the originally planned route is available in high-resolution form and corresponds generally to the table of of planned enroute and overnight stops below.

Compared to other long-distance motorcycle events, the pace of this ride was rather slow, but would still have cut off about three weeks of C.K.’s elapsed travel time. Most of our expected time savings included avoiding making three stops to fully overhaul the engine! We did not account for catastrophic engine failure however! With some modern safety improvements and performance enhancements, we made much better time over the modern paved roads compared to the 95% dirt and gravel conditions C.K. faced. We expected to be able to average about 40 mph on the open road.

The original planned timeline below reflected time spent at planned mid-day stops for fuel (at least every 75 miles) or other events. The average miles per day was 158.5, but most legs required less than 145 miles of riding in a day. The longest leg was from Indianapolis to Hannibal: 331 miles. Ouch!

The Timetable:

LegDateDescriptionEst. MilesEst. Drive HrsEst. DepartEst. Arrive**Notes
107/03/2019Coney Island Round Trip30.75.08:00 AM ET12:30 PM ETRound trip from Herald Square to Coney Island
207/04/2019Manhattan to Toms River, NJ67.55.07:00 AM ET12:15 PM ETReception in Toms River to receive the newly-wrapped support trailer.
307/05/2019Toms River, NJ, to Philadelphia130.98.08:00 AM ET5:00 PM ET
407/06/2019Philadelphia to College Park MD133.99.58:00 AM ET5:30 PM ETReception at Daniels Restaurant and Open Air Bar in Elkridge, MD, at about 2:30pm
507/07/2019College Park to Cumberland MD166.69.08:00 AM ET5:00 PM ET
607/08/2019Cumberland MD to Moundsville WV132.76.08:00 AM ET2:30 PM ET
707/09/2019Moundsville WV to Pickerington OH130.97.58:00 AM ET4:00 PM ETReception at American Motorcyclist Association Hall of Fame Museum in Pickerington, OH, at about 1:30pm.
807/10/2019Pickerington to Yellow Springs OH91.45.08:00 AM ET1:30 PM ET2-Night Stop. Reception at the Springs Motel, in Yellow Springs, OH upon arrival.
07/11/2019REST @ Yellow Springs
907/12/2019Yellow Springs OH to Indianapolis190.38.08:00 AM ET5:00 PM ET
1007/13/2019Indianapolis to Hannibal MO331.49.58:00 AM ET7:00 PM CT
1107/14/2019Hannibal to Kansas City MO247.09.58:00 AM CT6:00 PM CT2-Night Stop
07/15/2019REST @ Kansas City
1207/16/2019Kansas City to Great Bend KS290.49.58:00 AM CT6:00 PM CT
About 1.5 miles south of Burlingame, Kansas, the crankshaft broke, and the ride became a "tour" that went as far west as the Grand Canyon according to the planned timeline that follows.
1307/17/2019Great Bend to Syracuse KS192.86.58:00 AM CT3:00 PM CT
1407/18/2019Syracuse KS to Royal Gorge CO227.39.58:00 AM CT5:30 PM MT3-Nights
1507/19/2019Pikes Peak!170.08.08:00 AM MT4:00 PM MT
07/20/2019REST @ Royal Gorge
1607/21/2019Royal Gorge to Trinidad CO148.526.58:00 AM MT3:00 PM MT
1707/22/2019Trinidad CO to Santa Fe NM219.611.56:00 AM MT6:00 PM MTRaton Pass
1807/23/2019Santa Fe to Socorro NM146.88.58:00 AM MT5:00 PM MTLa Bajada Hill
1907/24/2019Socorro NM to Holbrook AZ246.79.58:00 AM MT5:30 PM MST
2007/25/2019Holbrook to Flagstaff AZ103.55.08:00 AM MST1:30 PM MSTMeteor Crater then 2-Night Stop
07/26/2019REST @ Flagstaff
2107/27/2019Flagstaff to Grand Canyon AZ84.44.08:00 AM MST12:00 Noon MST2-Night Stop
07/28/2019EXPLORE @ Grand Canyon
After two nights at the Grand Canyon, including dinner with C.K. Shepherd's son, the "tour" was over. Everyone headed home while we ponder what "Part 2" of this adventure will look like after getting the Red One repaired and on the road again later this year.
2207/29/2019Grand Canyon to Peach Springs AZ141.05.08:00 AM MST1:30 PM MST
2307/30/2019Peach Springs AZ to Needles CA116.05.08:00 AM MST2:00 PM PT
2407/31/2019Needles to Barstow CA159.44.58:00 AM PT1:30 PM PT
2508/01/2019Barstow to Los Angeles CA142.57.08:00 AM PT5:00 PM PT3-Night Stop
08/02/2019REST @ Los Angeles
08/03/2019REST @ Los Angeles
2608/04/2019Los Angeles to Pismo Beach CA204.910.58:00 AM PT5:30 PM PT
2708/05/2019Pismo Beach to Salinas CA143.35.58:00 AM PT3:00 PM PT
2808/06/2019Salinas to San Francisco CA109.66.58:00 AM PT3:30 PM PT
08/07/2019Totals:4500204.5** All estimated arrival times are approximate.
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