Petty on circuitous route via motorcycle to race sites (cont'd)

"It was funny -- we knew we had to be [in Fontana] by lunchtime [Friday, Feb. 22] to practice, and we wanted to be [in California on Thursday], so we eased in [to Fontana] about 3 o'clock [Thursday]. As far as I was concerned, we had a full day left to ride, if we wanted to."

As usual, Petty had a plan for everything, and riding a bike everywhere is no hindrance. He's not a touring golf professional, so loaner or rental clubs sufficed for the charity golf outing in Phoenix.

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"The easiest thing, too, is this," the eminently pragmatic Petty said. "Since I'm following the races, I can re-pack my bag every time I get somewhere. I don't have to pack all my clothes for four or five weeks on the road, because I'm just reloading on the bus [at each racetrack].

"It's like being with the race team -- you don't unload your bolt bin every week. I'll have things on the bus, or on the truck. I'll just switch dirty clothes for new clothes and the next week, switch to another batch of clean clothes, and go again."

For his mileage readings on this trip Petty, who despite his serious endeavors many consider the clown prince of Sprint Cup, depended on Schrader, who's infinitely serious about his racing, but who possesses a delightfully zany streak beyond that.

"Kenny's got a better idea [how far they rode] than me, because he kept track of every mile," Petty said. "But I think we rode like 2,800 miles to get out [to Fontana]."

And there's no question that, despite having ridden thousands of miles in each of his annual Kyle Petty Charity Rides, this trip -- just him on his Harley and Schrader on his basic black Suzuki Boulevard --- was special for Petty.

"Spending four days with Kenny Schrader was the highlight of the trip, I can tell you that," Petty said after reaching Fontana. He just giggled like he was sharing an inside joke when he was asked how difficult it was to convince Schrader to accompany him.

"It was funny, because I first talked with Schrader about it when we were testing in Vegas [at the end of January], because I had already planned on it -- and he said, 'I'll get with you in Daytona,'" Petty said. "When we got there, Schrader said he was 80 percent sure he was going.

"But then, Schrader didn't have the best week down there, and I was afraid he'd want to go back to North Carolina. But he told me [after the Gatorade Duel], 'I need to ride a motorcycle -- I'm 99 percent sure I'm gonna go with you.'

"I know he went over to the dirt track [in Florida] a couple nights, but he was around, and he and I were comparing notes on what we were bringing -- rain suits and tools and what-not -- to make sure we made it [to California].

"So he jumped on and Monday morning we rode through the rain until we got to between Tallahassee [on the Florida panhandle, about four hours from Daytona Beach] and Pensacola [Fla., about two-to-three more hours] -- but the rest of the trip was a good trip, a fun trip."

Petty has an optimistic scope for his project that, in conjunction with the other irons he has in the fire, such as overseeing the Petty Enterprises racing conglomerate and also maintaining an active role in Victory Junction, also has a reasonable side.

"I'd like to do [the research for the book] in one year," Petty said, laughing uproariously as he considered the magnitude of that challenge. "But I don't think it's going to get done in one year, realistically. It'll probably take a couple years to get it all done."

As he tries to bring his plan into focus, Petty's relied on past experiences, including 13 annual versions of Kyle Petty's Charity Ride Across America. This past November, Petty rode from Texas Motor Speedway to Phoenix with fellow car owners Bill and Gail Davis and media members Matt Yocum from FOX Sports and David Hyatt from MRN Radio.

"That was a fun deal, just riding from one racetrack to another," Petty said. "And that was when I really started thinking about doing all this other stuff. I've always ridden a bunch, but it's going to take some time."

Petty's been blessed, in all that time on the road, to experience people in a "more natural environment," if you will -- one that's different from the stricter milieu found about racetracks.

"So many of these guys -- and you're like me -- you just know 'em at the racetrack," Petty said. "But they're good guys, and really good people away from the racetrack."