Fredericksburg's Danny Gali has logged more than 8,000 miles so far in his cross-country motorcycle adventure.
Date published: 8/19/2002
Danny Gali has logged more than 8,000 miles so far on his motorcycle journey through the United States and Canada.
The Fredericksburg resident has traveled through 24 states and three Canadian provinces in the six weeks he's been gone. He plans to touch all 49 states in his circuitous route on the U.S. mainland.
Gali, a self-employed graphic artist and photographer, left Fredericksburg on July 4. He headed north to Newfoundland and through southern Canada before snaking back into the United States.
Earlier this week, Gali called The Free Lance-Star from Hulett, Wyo., near where he visited the famous Devil's Tower National Monument made famous in Steven Spielberg's "Close En-counters of the Third Kind."
Gali had his own close en-counter with the renowned movie director on the streets of New York City. Spielberg shook his hand and got his e-mail address, but Gali hasn't heard from him yet.
Gali is traveling with high-tech equipment, including a laptop computer, three cameras, a travel guitar and a minidisc recorder.
Gali updates his Web site (www.dannygalixy.com) at Kinko's office-supply stores along the way. He keeps an interactive map of his route and posts pictures he's taken along the way.
He said he's attracted a following in cyberspace who keep tabs on his trip and send him regular e-mails.
Gali has found people more friendly and hospitable than he expected.
A couple from St. John's, Newfoundland, who read about Gali's trip on fredericksburg.com, invited him to stay with them while he was there. They used to lived in Fredericksburg.
Gali also met up with an Oregon classmate who is walking cross-country to celebrate two decades of being free of epileptic sei-zures.
Gali averages about 250 miles a day, and has managed to stay with family and friends for much of his journey. Occasionally, he's slept on picnic tables and washed off in nearby lakes. His greatest obstacle has been rain that he said seems to follow him. He bought a small tent to keep from getting drenched.
So far, Gali has been lucky with the condition of his sports motorcycle. It hasn't needed repair, although the bike has worn out two sets of tires and had three oil changes.
Gali's next stop: Yellowstone National Park and Montana on his way north to Alaska.
Date published: 8/19/2002
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