In the Blink of an Eye

Lisa went back to school today.
She was all excited about her new clothes; fixed her hair just right, wondered who was in her class…her summer’s done. I did my best to make it the best summer ever, but it’s behind us now, and I feel a little blue. I want to linger in it a little longer; I want to be back on the road, brush out her hair at the rest stop one more time, take a couple of more pictures, lean into another corner... I don’t want summer to end.
2,000 pictures were not enough to capture the feel of our journey, but they will do. We’ve promised each other we’re going to work on a scrap book together. I have a box filled with the flotsam and jetsam of our trip – some gas receipts, wrinkled maps, dog eared tourist brochures, hotel letterhead with some hastily captured route numbers. I have some zip lock bags filled with sand from the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean and tiny colorful rocks from the tiny beach we played in at Lake McDonald at Glacier.
Every year seems to be better than the last. I don’t know how 2008 will top 2007, but somehow it will. Until then, we’ll write our stories, gather our pictures and otherwise pack up our memories from our summer of a lifetime, which came and went in the blink of an eye.

Cafe Racer

I’ve been reading a lot about the Iron Butt Rally this year. I think it’s more interesting now that I know a handful of the participants. It’s fun to read the blogs of people who are actually participating. The historic reports are great reading too.
There are lots of appealing aspects to this rally: goal setting, planning, execution, trumping the techno geek next to you, overcoming adversity, making things happen…all good stuff. But all the best plans can come to not if you don’t have luck on your side. And what good is luck, if you are not prepared? It seems some entrants may have skipped reading the historic accounts of the Rally. Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it!

But I’ll never be a contender. I am just not into self sacrifice. Give me a contest that involves a required 10 hour over night at the Marriott, and I’ll be there! I’ll endure long hours in the saddle. I’ll ride through the rain, dirt roads and construction. But sleep deprivation? Not gonna happen.

Good luck to all my riding friends who are up to the challenge. Tomorrow morning, I’ll catch an extra 10 minutes in the sack for you!

Joy Riding

Sometimes you’ve just got to go out and ride.
No plan. No time table. No schedule.
On average I do this about zero times a year.
It seems like I’m always on the clock.

I need to get to work, get home from work or pick up the kid.

Always making miles, making time…
This weekend, we tossed the camping gear on the bikes and pointed them toward Vermont and went for a joy ride.
We made it all the way to Woodstock, VT., a whopping 125 miles away.
LOL. I remember when Woodstock was far away.
What fun we had. Stopped for ice cream, roasted corn and sappy road side sites.
We picked up a lean-to at Vermont’s best camp site (so they say): Quechee State Park. And it was good. A load of wood for a fire, a little bottle of wine and a starry night.

It was a fine weekend for a joy ride.
I think I’ll make time to do this more often!

What kind of rider are you?

I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately about what kind of rider I am and what I aspire to do as it’s related to motorcycling. The label of motorcyclist encompasses a broad spectrum of activities and interests.

I attended a track day this year. I learned that I was not that kind of rider.

I‘ve seen several blogs and stories about people riding to Alaska. So many, that it doesn’t seem as unique as it should. Not on my short list. But not ruling it out.

Recently a story hit the forums of a man who rode 10,600 miles in 7 days. The Iron Butt Rally is 11,000 miles in 11 days. Let’s see I did 9,000 in 35 days…no, I'm not that kind of rider.

My trip with Lisa was big. I am very pleased that I can inspire others with my story. But it’s done; it isn’t something I’ll be repeating year after year. Lisa told me she wants to do it again when she’s 21. I’ll put that on my list. Parent riding with child...I'm that kind of rider.

I’ve not been on a dirt bike since I was a teenager. There are many dirt roads in NH & VT that I think would be fun exploring. Dirt may be on my list of things to do. I don’t aspire to do it with a $16,000 precision engineered German motorcycle. I want a scrappy small bike that I can pound on and not worry what it’s going to do to my insurance.

Traveling outside the country. A couple years ago, I went on a trip to the Alps. I had a smile stuck on my face for the whole week. I want to go back. I want to spend quality time in Italy. I just loved what little I saw. Europe is on my list, I'm that kind of rider.

What kind of rider am I? Is the motorcycle just incidental to the joys of nature and exploring this country or the world? Are the things I aspire to do motorcycle centric? I have no answer, but it's something I like to think about when the road ahead is long and straight.

Photographs and Memories

Thanks in large part to the efforts of my back seat photographer; I came home from my trip with about 2,000 pictures. Large volumes of pictures can be daunting to track. Having an organizational strategy before you leave for a trip will help you avoid a mess upon your return. I hope you will find some of my strategies useful.

I was traveling with a laptop, so I was able to download our two cameras every day. No matter how tired I was, the download and battery recharge was a days-end must do tasks. The only time I strayed from this where the final few days of the trip. But at that point, we were taking only a half dozen pictures a day.

I began organizing the pictures into trip day folders e.g. DAY1, DAY2. The flaws of this system quickly became obvious; I had to cross reference the location with the day. I switched to location folders: Ottawa, CA, OR. I also created subfolders for significant stops in those states: Redwoods, Crater Lake, Glacier. Glacier rated its own subfolder for Going to the Sun Road and Hungry Horse Dam. This system held up, I occasionally have to cross reference the pictures with the day, but for a 5 week trip, I’m more interested in where the picture was taken then what day it was shot. Additionally, picture properties can reveal the date.

Find the complete write up here: Photographs and Memories - BMW MOA

Every Trip Needs a Little Luck

Picture: Sporting her now trademark purple hair-glove, Lisa ponders life in Hungry Horse Montana

They say that luck favors the prepared. We had a lot of luck on our trip. Most of it having nothing to do with how prepared we were. Here are some incidents that I can recall.

1. Leaving the Great Falls, MT area at the end of our first week, I see Lisa in the mirror waving her pony tail to me indicating that she’s lost her hair-glove. The hair-glove is that divine invention that has kept her long beautiful hair from becoming an unmanageable rat’s nest. My heart sinks at the prospect of managing her locks without it. We pull off at the next exit; I need to get gas and air anyway. We get off the bike, chattering about how the hair-glove came loose, when we both look toward the tour pack and at the same time spot the purple neoprene glove wedged between the back seat and tour pack. It fell from her hair and landed safely. We were ecstatic and did a little happy jig right there in the parking lot. What luck!
Read the complete ride report here: Every Trip Needs a Little Luck - Rounders Forum