The Stories We Could Tell

Tom Petty - Stories We Could Tell

Talking to myself again
Wondering if this traveling is good
Is there something better we'd be doing if we could
And oh the stories we could tell
And if this all blows up and goes to hell
I can still see us sittin on the bed in some motel
Listening to the stories we could tell
And if you ever wonder why you ride this carousel
You did it for the stories you could tell
And oh the stories we could tell
And if this all blows up and goes to hell
I can still see us sittin on the bed in some motel
Listening to the stories we could tell...

This song runs through my head as I sit here on a cold night editing and uploading travel pictures. I do it because I have a story to tell. I travel so that I will have stories to tell. I love sharing my story through pictures.

I’ve been exploring a variety of motorcycle related pictures on Flickr lately. I set up my account in the spring, wanting an easy way to upload and share pics, but I hadn't looked around the site much. What a wealth of groups and keywords to explore! I’ve been key wording my pictures more so that others can find them - K75, Motorcycle, Travel, mother, daughter etc. I’ve joined a few groups to share my pics with people of similar interest. I wonder what the members of “Mothers and Daughters” think of the new motorcycle pictures? There are many hits for motorcycle groups. Women on Motorcycles is hit or miss, too many nudes draping on bikes, but also real women riders, I decided to post there in hopes of encouraging more real woman riders to do the same maybe we can push out the posers. Plenty of BMW Motorcycles here and here Adventure MC Club . Bunch of Rounders in the Winter MC Riding

Speaking of stories, I'm finishing up a story for Outdoor Woman Magazine. It's my first attempt at writing for a non-motorcycling audience. It's been a challenge to keep my audience in mind.

Working For A Living

I'm an IT Professional and number cruncher - this cartoon speaks to me.

I like to keep this blog focused on bike related topics. But I’ve been preoccupied lately by work; which is tied into motorcycling. No work, no money, no riding. Been there done that. I don’t have a “real” job. I’m a contractor – but not an “independent” contractor. What does this mean? It means I’m an employee with few benefits, who is subject to the whimsy of budget more than a “real” employee. I work for company X, which is owned by company Y. It looks like I work for company Y until it’s time to pass out the benefits, bonus and vacation time. Company Y is reorganizing; “all” of the company X contracts are being terminated. Thanks for the good work, here is the door. I’ve been here 18 months.

I signed up for such an arrangement because I wanted to go riding. The number one reason people give for not realizing a riding dream is their inability to take enough time off from work. Contracting was my solution to this dilemma. I took the position, did good work, became a valuable team member, and got my contract renewed every quarter. Then I let them know that I wouldn’t be here for 5 weeks in the summer. Not much they can do, if I’m not here they are not paying me. An employee would never have pulled it off. I was prepared to leave all together had someone said no, but I was lucky that they anxiously awaited my return.

I accomplished my goal, but the negative side to such freedom is the insecurity of facing another period of unemployment until I can pick up another contract. I am considering perm positions as well, but really, the idea of being locked in makes my wanderlust soul cringe. If I was better at networking maybe I could work freelance, the best of all worlds. Maybe that should be my next goal.

The Lost Picture Folder

On our trip this summer, I traveled with a Toughbook computer. Almost every night, I downloaded the pictures from our two cameras. For some reason, the last set of downloads did not get under the 2007 Trip folder. When I was home from my trip, I copied the 2007 folder to my desktop machine. I've periodically had the feeling that I'm missing some pictures. Today, I powered up the Toughbook, and sure enough, there was the lost folder.
I just love this picture of Lisa. On the 34th day of our trip, we left DC and headed toward home. As it turned out we landed at my brother's in CT. In this picture, Lisa who by this time was a little jaded about the whole riding thing, is reading a teenager type magazine, outside of a gas station. She kept that magazine in her pack, and sat in the back enjoying it for the rest of the day...completely tuning out the "boring" Pennsylvania scenery. I love her independent thinking.


On the last day of our trip, day 35, we had one more important stop to make. Before heading home we needed to go to the Atlantic Ocean. It's not as if we'd never been there, we live an hour away from it, but our trip had always been sub-titled "From Sea to Shinning Sea". We needed to head to the beach. What a day for it. I like the picture of us with the bike, we have so few of the two if us together. But I think Lisa's face says that she's ready to go home...now!

When I Ride Alone, I Prefer to Be By Myself.

Picture: A long way from home, Nashua, MT

As I first contemplated riding cross country to the 2004 MOA Rally in Spokane, WA, my initial impulse was to find someone to ride with. This impulse was fueled by the constant posts I’d see for riders looking for someone to hook up with, be it for a trip across town, across state or across the country. So, I guessed that’s what I needed to do too. But in doing so, my right brain wasn’t listening to what the left brain was saying…I like to ride alone. My lack of experience caused me to defer to what “everyone” else was doing. Luckily finding a companion didn’t work out for me and I planned for a trip solo.

I was thinking about solo long distance riding because I was contacted by an MOA member asking for ideas on how to find another rider, or group of riders for a trip to next summer’s rally in Gillette, WY. His stated reason was that he “would like the companionship and safety riding with a group can offer, particularly in the case of a mechanical problems.” I urged him to consider the joys of solo riding.

Even though I spent 9,000 miles this summer 2-up with my daughter, it may as well be classified as solo riding, seeing I was the only rider! I love riding solo. When I ride alone, I take the route I want, at the speed I decide, with the stops I need. I stay out for as late as I want, or retire for the day as early as I want. There is no compromising, no hurt feelings, and no lack of control. If I don’t like what I’m doing…I do something different, with no one to apologize too. Of course riding with Kiddo, I did have some compromises, but not when it came to things like route & speed. Differences of opinion with my riding partner in those two categories can drive me batty.

But what about the concerns with safety, companionship and mechanical woes? Companionship? Friends were only a phone call away. I spent many a rest break in 2004 on my cell phone, hungry to talk to a friend. At the close of the day, I often encountered other solo riders, or just other motorcyclists who welcomed me to join their table. This year I had Lisa, and I also had the internet. My Blog & Forum friends served as a nice social outlet.

Safety? I do make accommodations for safety. I took a group tour of Arizona some years back because I felt it would be unsafe for a solo female rider to be riding on the Mexican boarder. I was less confident about my skills as a motorcyclist and was happy to have a guide. Having a guide and a group also worked out well for me on the Alps trip. In both instances, I’d still go back with a group and would be comfortable with that choice. But when I’m riding New England, the Canadian boarder, interior US, I feel safe. In full gear it’s not obvious that there is a woman on that bike, and I don’t feel like a target in that regard.

Mechanical problem? It’s why I have a BMW. I expect a reliable trip. I was reluctant to take my 20 year old bike due to the mechanical concern, but I was reassured that I was not going to be far from help. At the MOA we have the Anon book, a book organized state by state with people you can reach out to if you need a hand.

Why do you balk at solo riding? If it’s just inexperience, only time and miles will help you gain confidence. If it’s mechanical, can you learn some basic skills that will make you more comfortable? I’m not saying solo is for everyone, but I’m putting it out there…give it a thought! Not everyone is traveling in packs!

Continuing Education

I’m about half way though a 10 week Photoshop class at the local high school. I am really enjoying it. For years I’ve been trying to make funny things with digitally modified pictures, but my efforts have fallen short with my lack of real skills. So when I saw the flier in the paper for this adult education class, I just had to sign up. The real beauty of it is that there are no grades! Just learning!

The tie in to bike? All my pictures are of bikes or bike trips, so naturally that is what I’m practicing on. I loaded a set of my own pictures onto a flash drive, and have been using them instead of the stock photos. Today I had the luxury of time to sit and work on some pictures and techniques. I did not set out with any objective in mind, but ideas came to me as I worked on a pen filter graphic of my GT. This led to me spending a couple of hours creating a new header for my blog. I’m very happy with the results and learned several new techniques on way. It was a perfect way to spend a cold November day!