Finally!

It's finally here! We leave tomorrow morning. First stop, Sunnyside Grill for a bit of breakfast. Can't travel far on an empty stomach! Sounds like a plan.
After days of wrestling with a stubborn machine, I made it home about 1 o'clock this afternohon. I stopped on the way and bought a set of bags for the bike. Stopped at home to visit with Marie and her daughter Heidi, and son in law Jason, then off to Jim's where he whipped up a support for my new bags. This set up will be ever so much more handy to load and unload than previous rigging jobs. Pictures to follow. After Jim's, it was home for laundry, more visiting, packing, and more packing. Then, more packing.  It's amazing how much stuff I can fit on a bike. I think I have everything but the kitchen sink.  Doug and Jim will be carrying packs for two. I can't imagine where it's all going to go.  
Tomorrow morning we'll meet up about 8 then head to the restaurant for a quick bite and some last minute route adjustments if necessary.
Next stop will be somewhere in Illinois. We'll keep you posted.

2011 Ride Day 1

Well, tomorrow was supposed to be the day we start the next long road trip out west. Unfortunately, I'm still here in somewhere Indiana working. Isn't it always the case? You need to be somewhere on a certain day and life gets in the way. Work in this case is getting in the way. Maybe I should just go ahead and retire....in my case retire means starve. Oh well. Gotta keep working so I can afford to RIDE! I still have sooooo much to do. Jim and Doug are ready to go. Hopefully I'll finish things up here Saturday morning and we can be on the road Sunday. We'll see. Stay tuned.

Preperations

We had our final (second) meeting at Jim  and Pam's house on Sunday evening. We went over several different maps pinpointing where we're going to try to stop on our way out to Denver. We will take about a week to get out there, so we have some time to stop and see several places. Jim, Doug and I will meet the ladies in Denver then ride north. The general direction has been established, and some specific spots that we want to be sure and see have been determined, but the rest is up to the whims of the moment. Whims meaning something like "Dang, it's snowing over that way, let's go the other way." Or as we've said many times,"There's a walmart everywhere, if we need it, we'll go."
We discussed some of the equipment we'll be carrying. We'll have 2 pocket rocket stoves, a stainless steel mess kit for cooking, if we so desire, laundry stuff. Those combined detergent softener sheets are great.  An assortment of small hand tools, including of course the axe for changing brakes, and the twine for various other repairs. We can pick up the log anywhere along the road if we need it.
We will have an assortment of tarps, clothes to fit the environment, we'll be in several different temperature zones. Some of those chemical body warmers will come in handy.
Well, till next time......

A little over a month now!

I just put my bike in the shop today. I wanted to get everything taken care of before the trip. I'm  back on the road for work now and don't have time to do all the work myself, so, it's off to the shop for this one. I had a whole list of things needing attention. New front brakes and rotor, new front and rear tires and tubes, shifter linkage repair, oil changes, the works! So far this bike has been very reliable, with no serious problems in all our travels. The shifter linkage that broke on the way to New Orleans is still being held together by some twine. Hey, it made it all the way back from that trip, then out to Virginia Beach and back, then to Madison Indiana, and a few assorted smaller rides around the area here. Doug has some GOOD twine!
I know Doug and Jim are both doing the same thing. Got to have the bikes in great shape for the stuff we do.
Just for a little story of interest, I'll write down a list of the things we carry with us on the bikes during these long road trips. Several people have asked us about this. When we have things pared down I'll make a list and put it here. We actually get by with very little.
I'll write a bit more as things get closer

Getting closer

Well, so far it's been an interesting year. Very little possibility of anything like a longer ride to get ready for the August trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone. Doug, Jim and I have all taken advantage of the short breaks in the rain to take some trips closer to home, but even as I'm writing this, there are thunder storms outside my window. I guess the gear for the trip will be rain gear.
An interesting development this spring has been the addition of a trip to the Grand Canyon next year. My kids and I are planning another Rim to Rim backpacking trip in the Grand Canyon next year. When I told Jim and Doug I already expected Doug to go, he was a big part of the last one several years ago. I didn't expect Jim to want to go too. Cool! Sandy is even thinking about it. Pam, Laura and Tim,  and maybe Marie and my sister Mary,will go, but not into the canyon. Looks like we'll have a couple more hikers with us this time. Our last trip through the canyon was probably the most difficult thing I've ever done. It was BRUTAL! and so awesome I'll do it again in a heartbeat!
Anyway, the plan is for Doug, Jim and myself to bike out to Arizona and meet everyone at the Canyon. We'll be doing a North South hike this time. We plan to spend more than two nights in the canyon. There is soooooo much we didn't see last trip. That time the goal was to complete the rim to rim hike. This time we're tourists.
When we get out of the canyon, everyone else will head home, the bikers will continue on for a couple more weeks. That should be a very exciting trip!
This year..... we're heading to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons! The plan is to meet Pam and Sandy in Denver. They will ride with us for two weeks through as many parks and interesting places as we can get to. Then we'll drop them off at another airport for their trip home, and once again, the 3 intrepid (aging) bikers will continue on. 
Folks, this isn't a bucket list type thing, it's purely an interesting and fun way to spend a few weeks. There are so many places I've flown over that must be visited. We may be riding for many years yet. 

Finally!!

The weather here is starting to break! It's not real warm or sunny yet, but it's dry and warm enough for a short ride. John, Brenda and I rode for a short while on Thursday. We tried to keep off of the main roads. That makes for some interesting rides. Man that felt good to be riding again! Buddy and I did a short ride yesterday.....ok...it was only out to lunch, but it got about 25 miles under our belts. It was a bit chilly with a few sprinkles of rain yesterday, but a good day to ride none the less. I'll try to remember to carry my camera and get a few pictures of the bikes and people mentioned in the blog. Most of the people you'll see written about here are just as nuts about travel by motorcycles as Doug, Jim and myself, it's just a matter of degree. 

Lousy weather we're having

Soon, soon, maybe, I hope. The weather here has been extremely bad for bikes, when I'm home that is. If I'm out of town and no where near my bike, it's sunny and 72 degrees! Oh well, it can't keep raining forever, although I believe we've broken an all time high for rainfall in the month of April. Maybe the next post will be from my ark! Check back in a few weeks, maybe things will be better and the riding season can begin. Not that we ever let a little rain stop us before.