Photos:

Normally, I would not consider A.C. Reeves obsessive, but one does have to wonder about a fellow who plans to crate up his motorcycle and ship it across a good part of the Pacific Ocean to Hawaii so that it can be driven in all 50 of the United States.

In his defense, it should be noted that the Taylorsville man does intend to follow the bike — probably by plane — and he may even bring his wife, Donna, along. That is on the family timetable for sometime next year. If it does, indeed, come to pass, he will join a rather small group of overachievers.

“I know that there have been others who have ridden bikes in all 50 states, but there aren’t all that many who have done it on the same bike,” he explained. “On the other hand, it’s pretty rare to not only ride the same bike in all 50 states but all of Canada’s provinces, except for a couple that are virtually impassable.”

The trip to Hawaii will be the culmination of an odyssey that began upon the acquisition of his current “ride,” a 2003 Yamaha Venture. At first he didn’t think in terms of covering the country, instead charting long trips that took him into several states and Canadian territories.

One of those trips took him to Alaska, the long way, up through a couple of states and territories, onto the Alcan Highway and back down through the westernmost continental states and back over through a whole bunch of Western, mountain and Midwest states.

That trip alone put 15 states under his belt. Still he didn’t commit in writing or spoken word to going farther. His wife, Donna, did.

“Sometime in 2007 she turned to me and said, “Make up your mind. If you’re going to do it, then do it.”

That was all the encouragement he needed.

Think your friends should see this? Share it with them!