In 1977, Orange Police Lt. Charles Cobbertt set a goal of riding his motorcycle in each of the 48 contiguous United States. This year, he completed the project.

"There are 12 guys in my department who ride their own cycles," he said. "And if any of them do the same thing, they'll have to follow me; I am the first".

Cobbertt and Police Officer Jerry Fogarty started on their trip in early September. "I had to do Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota and Colorado.



"We rode 600 miles a day, stopping at motels, and got to Wisconsin in two days.

"We didn't stop there; this was a driving trip, not for sightseeing. But I can say Wisconsin is pretty; it is a lot of farmland.

"I remember North Dakota being long and flat, and South Dakota is the same. We went through the Badlands there, where nothing grows.

"It looks something like a picture of the moon. They have these hills, with sharp edges where the wind has shaped them.

"We saw buffalos out there feeding on some sagebrush and there were also antelopes.

"I also remember the Black Hills in South Dakota. From a distance, the entire area looks black. But when you get up on it, you see it is nothing but pine trees.

"Then," he added, "we went to Mt. Rushmore. You get a little feeling of going back in history, seeing the four presidents' faces carved up there. You get a more patriotic feeling.

"Also before we left there, we went to see a monument they're building to Chief Crazy Horse. They have been working for quite a few years but it will take several years before it is completed," he said.

Then it was on to the last state Cobbertt needed to complete the project. "We stopped at the Colorado state line and took pictures," he said. "Then, when I got back on the bike and crossed the line, there was excitement and the realization that I had finally completed the entire 48 states."

They didn't even stop overnight in Colorado, he added. "We went to Denver, naturally stopped in a motorcycle shop to browse around. Then we toured the city and started back.

"It took us about four days to get back from Colorado." he added.

Cobbertt is a watch commander on the Orange force; he was on the motorcycle patrol for one year in 1971 but doesn't ride now on the job.

"I was introduced to cycling by a sergeant, in 1971. Then I began doing it for my perosnal pleasure.

"There is something different about it. Here I am 46 years old; when I get in my car, I feel like a 46-year-old man. But on my motorcycle, I feel like a 46-year-old kid.

"It relaxes you, like a tranquilizer. Some days after work, when I am tensed up, I get on my bike, hit (Interstate) 280 and go all the way up (Interstate) 80 to the Delaware Water Gap, into Pennsylvania.

"I just sit on the bike; I don't stop." he added.

Fogarty, who is 38, has been riding for 21 years.

"I guess the basic thing I enjoy is being in the outdoors on the bike, instead of in a car where you are enclosed. You can see more, enjoy more of the country.

"What I liked on this trip," Fogarty recalled, "is the open area of the country itself. There was Badlands National Park and Mt. Rushmore Memorial. And of course, the fact that Charlie had to get all 48 states done was exciting."

Fogarty said he has been in 44 states. "I still have to do Oregon, Washington, Arkansas and Oklahoma," he said.

"We might go to Alaska if they ever improve the Al-Can Highway. But right now it isn't in good shape for our big touring bikes," he said.

His greatest trip, he said, "was in 1966. I took a three-week trip across country to California. It was a goal I set for myself prior to going to Vietnam."

Cobbertt says people seem to have a special rapport with motorcycle riders. "Anytime you go somewhere on a motorcycle, it always draws a crowd. You don't know who you are talking to, but that bike has a special appeal and they come up and are friendly to you.

"I know cycling has a stigma of Hell's Angels and outlaws. But that should change.

"I went to a Gold Wing Roadriders' Association rally in Knoxville, Tenn., this year. There were 5,900 people from all over the world there.

"The average age was 50; they were doctors, lawyers, police officers. One lady rode in a side car and she was 94 years old. These are good people," he said.

His bicycle, he said, "has a radio, 2 tape deck, a CB, an intercom to talk to your passenger." But isn't the passenger sitting right next to him? he is asked. "Yeah, but when you go 50 miles per hour and there is all that wind you can't hear them. So you talk through the intercom, helmet to helmet, right in the ear."

He had one accident. "In 1972, here in Orange, a woman cut me off. I knocked my front teeth out. "But I still like it," he added.

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“Reach Back with One Hand and Pull Someone Else Up With You.”

– Charles C. Cobbertt

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