A Fredericksburg man logged nearly 31,000 miles on a motorcycle trek around the U.S.
Date published: 12/22/2002
Danny Gali finished his cross-country motorcycle trip last month in Fredericksburg, where he started the journey nearly five months ago.
In that time, he logged 30,630 miles traveling through all 49 states on the U.S. mainland. His journey took him to St. John's, Newfoundland, through southern Canada to Alaska. From there, he drove to the Baja Peninsula, parts of Mexico and zigzagged eastward to the Florida Keys.
"It was the chance of a lifetime," said Gali, who lives off Cowan Boulevard in the city. "I have fulfilled a dream."
Gali, a self-employed graphic artist, left July 4 on what he called "The Great American Adventure."
His northernmost point was Fairbanks, Alaska.
"The Alaska highways were challenging," he said. "It was cold, wet and muddy. There were places where the highway was nonexistent."
Gali, who is 39, chronicled his venture on his Web site: Dannygalixy.com that includes a map of his travels and a state-by-state account of his travels depicted in words and photographs.
On the Web site, he posted more than 2,000 of 7,000 photographs that he took during the trip.
Gali averaged about 250 miles a day, but occasionally traveled as many as 1,000 miles.
The weather posed the greatest inconvenience.
"It rained everywhere," he said.
He left with more high-tech equipment than clothes and planned to sleep under the stars most nights. But the foul weather forced him to buy a tent in Canada.
Other times Gali stayed with family and friends.
He had a close call in Florida when his back wheel locked after his sleeping bag got caught in it. He skidded for 50 yards, but managed to keep the motorcycle upright.
Gali appreciates the support he received throughout the country.
Motorcycle shops helped with repairs and maintenance of his bike. Several residents who learned of his travels offered a place to stay.
Kinko's stores allowed him to hook up to the Internet for free.
There were a few disappointments. He had hoped to raise money for the Nature Conservancy in Washington.
"I raised awareness but not money," he said.
But the special moments outweighed the negative ones. He enjoyed an impromptu reunion with an Oregon classmate who was walking cross-country to celebrate two decades of freedom from epileptic seizures.
And he proved to himself and others that he would accomplish his goal.
"A lot of people were skeptical that I would do the whole trip," he said. "It's hard to believe that I've done it myself."
Date published: 12/22/2002
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