Motorcycle Cannonball Run - Coast to coast on pre-1916 motorcycles
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
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Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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Thursday, November 12, 2009
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
I tried
Since I quit work at the end of February, I haven't accomplished near as much as I thought I would. I'm one of those people who gets 80% of the work done in the last 20% of time I have to do it. Nothing like a deadline to motivate me. Yesterday I thought I'd make an hour-by-hour schedule of what I'd do with my time.
It started out great. I got up before the alarm went off and made it to my 8:30 appointment on time. That's where it ended. Things happened that I hadn't planned on. Signatures I thought I had, I didn't. One signature I needed was down at 38th Avenue in Wheat Ridge. As long as I had to go, might as well take the bike. Beautiful day.
I got these adorable tiger ears and tail for my helmet. The manufacturer says they've been tested to 170 MPH. I don't think my bike goes that fast. I have friends who said my tiger ears look dorky, but I don't care. I still think they're cute. Because today was so warm, lots of people had their windows down in their cars. I had two people holler that they loved my ears. I saw several more do a double-take and smile. It felt good to be a bright spot in those people's day. Maybe I'm a little old to do "cute", but it's too much fun not to.
I don't like riding down Wadsworth too much. There's a lot of traffic. Some people are good and stay way back at the lights, but others don't. I thought that going west to the edge of town and back north that way would be far safer. It was a nicer ride, even if it was out of the way. I had to hit the fabric store to get some fabric for the binding for the quilt I finished this morning, so I went back across Wadsworth on 88th. I tried a new route leaving there as well, which dumped me out on 92nd. Another alternative took me up behind my apartment complex, which I blew by so I could ride out 128 while enjoying the incredible scenery of the Rockies covered in a ton of snow. I got to the end and did a u-turn and came back. At this point I had blown the schedule completely. I'll get the quilt done tonight, but I'll need to move the other items to tomorrow.
I think I'm going to have a hard time resisting the call of the open road if I'm not chained to a desk. Darn.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Something about Everything
That's the title of a small book my son wrote/drew very early in his life. It's a little vague. I feel a little vague. I seem to be wandering aimlessly in my efforts to do a lot with no real structure. I think I'm getting stuff done, but it never feels like it.
One thing I did do, that I hadn't planned on, was to put a forum (message board, bulletin board, whatever you want to call it) on Biker Chick Magazine. I hadn't wanted to do that initially, but I think it will be a good way to exchange information and get to know more women who ride. Facebook is fun but superficial. They've done something to it recently that has had the effect of loading up my news feed with things that are somewhat entertaining, but actually more of a waste of space. It would be nice if there was some place you could go to find out your friends' 5 people you want to punch or the 5 cars you've owned or the 5 celebrities you want to sleep with when you choose, and not when Facebook feels it's urgent.
It's been a great winter, weather-wise. Or maybe I haven't noticed bad weather because I couldn't ride anyway. The last three weekends haven't been great. I've had two Basic Rider Courses canceled and one stopped about two hours before the end. Last weekend there was a huge snowstorm in random parts of Colorado. 51" in Rawlinsville. That isn't far from here. 11" where I live, and a "winter mix" that drenched parts north of Broomfield. Today is beautiful of course, now that the weekend is over. The snow has almost all melted down here, but there is accumulation right down to the lower edge of the Flatirons.
I had an appointment in the late afternoon and decided to ride my bike. Because riding down Wadsworth at rush hour isn't so much fun, I decided to go down to 88th Avenue and head west towards the Flatirons. There's a highway that runs north and south along the edge of where the mountains hit the range, and I take that up to another east/west route that brings me back to town. It's a ride I've written about before, and one I enjoy.
It started getting colder as the elevation rose on towards the foothills. It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. After all, as I mentioned above, the snow comes all the way down to the bottom of the mountains there. In another mile or so, there was snow everywhere. As I turned back towards town, I marveled at the ability to ride very comfortably on a dry road with snow surrounding me. Colorado rules!
Unfortunately I'm still struggling with pain and stiffness from the wrist surgery in November. I don't know if that's something that will ease with time, or if I'm old enough that it will be a lifelong irritation. I'm worried about the insurance settlement and hope that I don't have to fight too hard. The doctors' offices are getting impatient. What amazes me is that it's within two months of being a year since I got rear-ended. I'm looking forward to that being behind me.
One thing I did do, that I hadn't planned on, was to put a forum (message board, bulletin board, whatever you want to call it) on Biker Chick Magazine. I hadn't wanted to do that initially, but I think it will be a good way to exchange information and get to know more women who ride. Facebook is fun but superficial. They've done something to it recently that has had the effect of loading up my news feed with things that are somewhat entertaining, but actually more of a waste of space. It would be nice if there was some place you could go to find out your friends' 5 people you want to punch or the 5 cars you've owned or the 5 celebrities you want to sleep with when you choose, and not when Facebook feels it's urgent.
It's been a great winter, weather-wise. Or maybe I haven't noticed bad weather because I couldn't ride anyway. The last three weekends haven't been great. I've had two Basic Rider Courses canceled and one stopped about two hours before the end. Last weekend there was a huge snowstorm in random parts of Colorado. 51" in Rawlinsville. That isn't far from here. 11" where I live, and a "winter mix" that drenched parts north of Broomfield. Today is beautiful of course, now that the weekend is over. The snow has almost all melted down here, but there is accumulation right down to the lower edge of the Flatirons.
I had an appointment in the late afternoon and decided to ride my bike. Because riding down Wadsworth at rush hour isn't so much fun, I decided to go down to 88th Avenue and head west towards the Flatirons. There's a highway that runs north and south along the edge of where the mountains hit the range, and I take that up to another east/west route that brings me back to town. It's a ride I've written about before, and one I enjoy.
It started getting colder as the elevation rose on towards the foothills. It shouldn't have been too much of a surprise. After all, as I mentioned above, the snow comes all the way down to the bottom of the mountains there. In another mile or so, there was snow everywhere. As I turned back towards town, I marveled at the ability to ride very comfortably on a dry road with snow surrounding me. Colorado rules!
Unfortunately I'm still struggling with pain and stiffness from the wrist surgery in November. I don't know if that's something that will ease with time, or if I'm old enough that it will be a lifelong irritation. I'm worried about the insurance settlement and hope that I don't have to fight too hard. The doctors' offices are getting impatient. What amazes me is that it's within two months of being a year since I got rear-ended. I'm looking forward to that being behind me.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Plan H
I haven’t posted in a while because I feel awful about the whole thing. Many people donated a bunch of money on my behalf to ride in the Harley-Davidson Daytona Women’s MDA ride. Dan and I gave it our best effort. Not one, not two, but three days of the most difficult riding I’ve ever done got us as far as Dallas, not even 1,000 miles from home. If the weather was going to cooperate after that, we could have pulled off a couple of 600 mile days and made it. As most people in the country are aware, the South got hit with one of those storms that happens like once every three billion years. If we had woken up in Dallas with a temperature above freezing and a forecast along the route of high 50’s and light winds, we would have gone for it. Nope. The television flashed images of snow accumulations throughout Alabama and Missouri. It was a very difficult decision to make, but at some point I had to admit defeat.
After setting the HOG touring atlas next to the computer, we perused the map for places that would be nice to visit and checked Weather Underground for current and forecast temperatures. Knowing that the weather on the way back to Denver could change in a moment, we decided to keep it within Texas, New Mexico, and possibly Arizona. We finally chose a destination: San Antonio. I decided that the ride from Dallas to San Antonio was my own private MDA ride, which was substantially longer than the one being held in Daytona.
Because it was still a bit chilly, I put on every shirt I brought with me – 5 of them – plus my new hoodie and leather jacket combination I picked up at Mile High Harley-Davidson back around Christmas. We stopped at Cabela’s on the way down and got some hand and body warmers. From there we got off the Interstate and headed south on a road that paralleled I-35. In Marble Falls, we stopped for gas and to change to night vision glasses. I also put my rain suit jacket on over my leather and adhered the body warmer to my innermost shirt. The rain jacket helped cut the wind, and I was able to press the warmer against my chest when I got really cold. It helped. However, it would be great to have those with the ability to stay pressed against the skin at all times. There’s something for you entrepreneurs to work on.
We finally made it to San Antonio and took the grand tour of the city trying to find a hotel room. After we got settled, we walked down to the Riverwalk, passing the Alamo on the way. The Riverwalk is really cool. I’ve taken a ton of pictures and will be posting those soon. Yesterday, Monday, we secured a campsite for two nights then went back to Riverwalk for the day, covering several miles on foot. The evening ended with dinner at the Hard Rock Café and a ride back to the tent.
Somewhere in there, I noticed that I have a leaking rocker box gasket. This is something that was new with all the work I got done last year. I put in a call to Thunder Mountain and really hope they’ll stand behind it. I know that warranties on work like that are only about 90 days or so, but I’ve had the bike for seven years before the work was done and haven’t had a leaky gasket yet. We’ll see. I just hope it doesn’t get any worse on the ride back home.
This morning I woke up to some really strange bird noises. One sounded like it was gurgling, like running water. At one point the bird made it’s gurgling noise while flying behind the tent and then farted. Well, it sounded like a fart anyway. Dan and I broke up in laughter and started the day. Just so happens that today is my birthday, so when I checked my phone to see what time it was, I also saw several “Happy Birthday” messages posted on my Facebook wall. To top off such a great start to the day, Dan gave me the earrings I’ve wanted for years – small gold bar and shield earrings with diamonds. They’re beautiful! They’re kind of hard for me to see in the mirror on my bike though. That convex configuration makes my earlobes go way back and I can’t see the earrings very well. I know they’re beautiful though.
We’re off to check out a Harley dealership or two and maybe some more touristy stuff in the city. We’ll be back in time to jump in the hot tub here at the campground. They’re also having Bingo tonight. We’re the only campers with a tent. Everyone else has a few decades on us and driving RVs. Not complaining. Some of my best friends are old and hang out in campgrounds in RVs - like my mother and her husband. I can see how this could be a decent way to live, assuming there is a place to haul the bikes around with you.
Thank you to everyone for expressing your concern and understanding for our radical change of plans. When you ride, you have to be flexible.
After setting the HOG touring atlas next to the computer, we perused the map for places that would be nice to visit and checked Weather Underground for current and forecast temperatures. Knowing that the weather on the way back to Denver could change in a moment, we decided to keep it within Texas, New Mexico, and possibly Arizona. We finally chose a destination: San Antonio. I decided that the ride from Dallas to San Antonio was my own private MDA ride, which was substantially longer than the one being held in Daytona.
Because it was still a bit chilly, I put on every shirt I brought with me – 5 of them – plus my new hoodie and leather jacket combination I picked up at Mile High Harley-Davidson back around Christmas. We stopped at Cabela’s on the way down and got some hand and body warmers. From there we got off the Interstate and headed south on a road that paralleled I-35. In Marble Falls, we stopped for gas and to change to night vision glasses. I also put my rain suit jacket on over my leather and adhered the body warmer to my innermost shirt. The rain jacket helped cut the wind, and I was able to press the warmer against my chest when I got really cold. It helped. However, it would be great to have those with the ability to stay pressed against the skin at all times. There’s something for you entrepreneurs to work on.
We finally made it to San Antonio and took the grand tour of the city trying to find a hotel room. After we got settled, we walked down to the Riverwalk, passing the Alamo on the way. The Riverwalk is really cool. I’ve taken a ton of pictures and will be posting those soon. Yesterday, Monday, we secured a campsite for two nights then went back to Riverwalk for the day, covering several miles on foot. The evening ended with dinner at the Hard Rock Café and a ride back to the tent.
Somewhere in there, I noticed that I have a leaking rocker box gasket. This is something that was new with all the work I got done last year. I put in a call to Thunder Mountain and really hope they’ll stand behind it. I know that warranties on work like that are only about 90 days or so, but I’ve had the bike for seven years before the work was done and haven’t had a leaky gasket yet. We’ll see. I just hope it doesn’t get any worse on the ride back home.
This morning I woke up to some really strange bird noises. One sounded like it was gurgling, like running water. At one point the bird made it’s gurgling noise while flying behind the tent and then farted. Well, it sounded like a fart anyway. Dan and I broke up in laughter and started the day. Just so happens that today is my birthday, so when I checked my phone to see what time it was, I also saw several “Happy Birthday” messages posted on my Facebook wall. To top off such a great start to the day, Dan gave me the earrings I’ve wanted for years – small gold bar and shield earrings with diamonds. They’re beautiful! They’re kind of hard for me to see in the mirror on my bike though. That convex configuration makes my earlobes go way back and I can’t see the earrings very well. I know they’re beautiful though.
We’re off to check out a Harley dealership or two and maybe some more touristy stuff in the city. We’ll be back in time to jump in the hot tub here at the campground. They’re also having Bingo tonight. We’re the only campers with a tent. Everyone else has a few decades on us and driving RVs. Not complaining. Some of my best friends are old and hang out in campgrounds in RVs - like my mother and her husband. I can see how this could be a decent way to live, assuming there is a place to haul the bikes around with you.
Thank you to everyone for expressing your concern and understanding for our radical change of plans. When you ride, you have to be flexible.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
78518 - 79060
This isn't going well. I'm very discouraged. I don't even want to write, but here goes...
The mileage listed in the title is actually two days. It's embarrassing. Two days ago it was 94 degrees here in Denton, TX. Today the high was 45 with wind gusts regularly at 45 MPH. The wind chill was probably 20 degrees alone and about -135 on the motorcycle. Back when I was driving across South Dakota on my cross-country trip, it was 112 degrees. I kept thinking that if those big hay jelly rolls spontaneously burst into flames, it wouldn't faze me. I also knew that someday I'd be riding my bike and freezing, and that I should think back to being cooked that summer and maybe I'd average out to a comfortable temperature. Yeah... no. I tried. I honestly tried to psych myself to that place, but no such luck.
Back to yesterday morning. The temps were below freezing when we left the hotel. It really didn't feel too bad. The sun was out, and it was windy but not terrible. We finally got out of Colorado, into Oklahoma, and into Texas. In Texas we passed through this huge wind farm. It didn't seem so big as we were approaching, but at one point there were a couple of rows of windmills ahead of us, and I could look in the mirrow and see several behind me. It was impressive.
When we stopped for lunch, we sat in a warm, sunny window of the Subway. We chose not to get gas there, since it wasn't that far to Amarillo. With Amarillo being a rather large dot on a map of Texas, one could expect a little urban sprawl with a gas station or two before reaching the city limits. I hit reserve about 25 miles short of Amarillo. It took me a second or two to get the valve twisted from "on" to "res". It's one of those things that requires a strong opposable thumb on the left hand - something I don't have yet. One would think that four months after the surgery I'd be at 100%, but no. My hand made some great progress quickly, but the last 15 to 20% has been slow. Anyway, when I finally got some gas running through the carb, I sped up to Dan and gave him the hand signal for "I need gas NOW!" Of course there's just so much you can do without an available gas station. We slowed down a little. My hope would rise along with the road, and drop as we'd crest the hill and see there was nothing in sight. Amarillo was visible in the distance, but the odometer was ticking and eventually I was done.
I told Dan I'd be fine while he went ahead and found gas. I sat on the side of the road, with my Glock tucked in the pocket of my chaps, and ate the contents of a couple of the snack baggies I had filled with Jelly Bellies, Twizzler bites, and jelled Scandanavian aquatic creatures. I'm not sure why I packed them, but between that and the ability to surf the web on my cell phone, the wait was bearable. Unfortunately I spent the warmest part of the day sitting in that spot. Dan eventually got back, carrying a gallon water jug filled with gasoline on his lap. The day had warmed up nicely, but as we turned onto the bypass and put the sun at our backs, the chill came back. We eventually made it to Childress where we got dinner and a hotel room. I had to call my friend in Denton and tell her we wouldn't be making it that night; we were still 200 miles away.
This morning seemed so nice from the widow at the Super 8 motel. When I looked out the window, I saw a warm glow on my chrome front end from the rising sun. I described it to Dan, and it almost sounded like poetry. I told him it could be a Haiku. We laughed when I said I should write poetry about my motorcycle. I laughed to the point of snorting, and then tears, when we said simultaneously, "There once was a bike from Nantucket..."
It seemed like a great start to the day. We planned on making it 100 miles to Wichita Falls where we'd stop for a late breakfast. We made it 30 miles to the next town when I made the signal for, "Let's stop and eat." I figured it would warm up while we were eating. I figured wrong. The high for the day was about the time we went in for breakfast. The temperature had dropped by the time we came out. We made it to the outskirts of Wichita Falls, where we saw a Harley dealership and stopped. I fantasized about a big fireplace in the dealership, but with this being Texas, it seemed silly. Not so! There was a nice on there, and we parked our frozen buns in front of it for quite a while. There's no way in the world I'd give up my Softail, but those brand new Street Glides with their fairings were looking pretty sweet. We eventually left and headed on.
This is when things went from not-so-good to fairly unbearable. We looked at the map and planned a route that bypassed Dallas to the north. It seemed like we got turned around, so we stopped, pulled out the map, and decided we needed to get on 44 East. The wind was no longer a nuisance. It was now impeding our progress. Dan pulled off again, insisting we were going the wrong way, because the wind should not have been coming head on. Plus, the sign said we were headed for Oklahoma City. I resisted, but he finally pulled out the GPS, which proved he was correct. I'm still not sure how 44 eastbound goes due North to Oklahoma City, but it does. We finally got going in the right direction.
I thought getting off the main road would be better. At this point the wind was gusting so hard I had to get on the inside of the lane behind Dan so I wouldn't get pushed off the road. We made it to Nocona and stopped at a gas station on the east side of town. While I was breaking in the suicide lane, I must have hit some sand. My rear tire went out from under me, my brakes locked, and there was a loud screech. By the Grace of God, I didn't go down. Maybe the tens of thousands of miles of experience and my MSF RiderCoach training helped too. As Dan and I sat at a table in the gas station's eating area, he mentioned that it didn't look like we were going to make Daytona by the time we need to in order for me to be in the ride. I was crushed. I texted the friend I was supposed to stay at the night before and asked her what the weather looked like. 45 degrees and windy. The story of our trip. This was where we were supposed to spend last night, and at 4:00pm we were still west of Denton. Lisa told us to come in and spend the night. I felt like a jerk having blown her off last night, but I was so grateful to have a home to go to. We blasted the 60 or so miles there, had dinner, and now I'm in bed writing about all of this.
Dan and I have gone over all of our options. I'm not ready to give up on the MDA ride, but it isn't looking good. The forecast was revised to show lower temps yet again. It's snowing in much of the deep South, and it's warmer in Denver than in Key West right now. We've been on the Internet and think we might be able to find a heated vest at the Bass Pro Shop about 20 miles from here. I am determined to make it.
For any of you who donated to MDA as a result of my partaking in this ride, I am doing my best to make it happen. I am not going to give up yet, but it's very possible that we just might not make it in time. At least MDA will have the money for research and be closer to finding answers that will help so many. Please know that I appreciate your support, and I'm doing everything I can to get there. Dan has also been amazing in his support, and I thank him for sticking with me through this. As I noted in my Facebook status, I don't know what made me think that taking a cross-country ride in the middle of winter was a good idea. But, the fat lady has not yet sung. We're moving on tomorrow.
The mileage listed in the title is actually two days. It's embarrassing. Two days ago it was 94 degrees here in Denton, TX. Today the high was 45 with wind gusts regularly at 45 MPH. The wind chill was probably 20 degrees alone and about -135 on the motorcycle. Back when I was driving across South Dakota on my cross-country trip, it was 112 degrees. I kept thinking that if those big hay jelly rolls spontaneously burst into flames, it wouldn't faze me. I also knew that someday I'd be riding my bike and freezing, and that I should think back to being cooked that summer and maybe I'd average out to a comfortable temperature. Yeah... no. I tried. I honestly tried to psych myself to that place, but no such luck.
Back to yesterday morning. The temps were below freezing when we left the hotel. It really didn't feel too bad. The sun was out, and it was windy but not terrible. We finally got out of Colorado, into Oklahoma, and into Texas. In Texas we passed through this huge wind farm. It didn't seem so big as we were approaching, but at one point there were a couple of rows of windmills ahead of us, and I could look in the mirrow and see several behind me. It was impressive.
When we stopped for lunch, we sat in a warm, sunny window of the Subway. We chose not to get gas there, since it wasn't that far to Amarillo. With Amarillo being a rather large dot on a map of Texas, one could expect a little urban sprawl with a gas station or two before reaching the city limits. I hit reserve about 25 miles short of Amarillo. It took me a second or two to get the valve twisted from "on" to "res". It's one of those things that requires a strong opposable thumb on the left hand - something I don't have yet. One would think that four months after the surgery I'd be at 100%, but no. My hand made some great progress quickly, but the last 15 to 20% has been slow. Anyway, when I finally got some gas running through the carb, I sped up to Dan and gave him the hand signal for "I need gas NOW!" Of course there's just so much you can do without an available gas station. We slowed down a little. My hope would rise along with the road, and drop as we'd crest the hill and see there was nothing in sight. Amarillo was visible in the distance, but the odometer was ticking and eventually I was done.
I told Dan I'd be fine while he went ahead and found gas. I sat on the side of the road, with my Glock tucked in the pocket of my chaps, and ate the contents of a couple of the snack baggies I had filled with Jelly Bellies, Twizzler bites, and jelled Scandanavian aquatic creatures. I'm not sure why I packed them, but between that and the ability to surf the web on my cell phone, the wait was bearable. Unfortunately I spent the warmest part of the day sitting in that spot. Dan eventually got back, carrying a gallon water jug filled with gasoline on his lap. The day had warmed up nicely, but as we turned onto the bypass and put the sun at our backs, the chill came back. We eventually made it to Childress where we got dinner and a hotel room. I had to call my friend in Denton and tell her we wouldn't be making it that night; we were still 200 miles away.
This morning seemed so nice from the widow at the Super 8 motel. When I looked out the window, I saw a warm glow on my chrome front end from the rising sun. I described it to Dan, and it almost sounded like poetry. I told him it could be a Haiku. We laughed when I said I should write poetry about my motorcycle. I laughed to the point of snorting, and then tears, when we said simultaneously, "There once was a bike from Nantucket..."
It seemed like a great start to the day. We planned on making it 100 miles to Wichita Falls where we'd stop for a late breakfast. We made it 30 miles to the next town when I made the signal for, "Let's stop and eat." I figured it would warm up while we were eating. I figured wrong. The high for the day was about the time we went in for breakfast. The temperature had dropped by the time we came out. We made it to the outskirts of Wichita Falls, where we saw a Harley dealership and stopped. I fantasized about a big fireplace in the dealership, but with this being Texas, it seemed silly. Not so! There was a nice on there, and we parked our frozen buns in front of it for quite a while. There's no way in the world I'd give up my Softail, but those brand new Street Glides with their fairings were looking pretty sweet. We eventually left and headed on.
This is when things went from not-so-good to fairly unbearable. We looked at the map and planned a route that bypassed Dallas to the north. It seemed like we got turned around, so we stopped, pulled out the map, and decided we needed to get on 44 East. The wind was no longer a nuisance. It was now impeding our progress. Dan pulled off again, insisting we were going the wrong way, because the wind should not have been coming head on. Plus, the sign said we were headed for Oklahoma City. I resisted, but he finally pulled out the GPS, which proved he was correct. I'm still not sure how 44 eastbound goes due North to Oklahoma City, but it does. We finally got going in the right direction.
I thought getting off the main road would be better. At this point the wind was gusting so hard I had to get on the inside of the lane behind Dan so I wouldn't get pushed off the road. We made it to Nocona and stopped at a gas station on the east side of town. While I was breaking in the suicide lane, I must have hit some sand. My rear tire went out from under me, my brakes locked, and there was a loud screech. By the Grace of God, I didn't go down. Maybe the tens of thousands of miles of experience and my MSF RiderCoach training helped too. As Dan and I sat at a table in the gas station's eating area, he mentioned that it didn't look like we were going to make Daytona by the time we need to in order for me to be in the ride. I was crushed. I texted the friend I was supposed to stay at the night before and asked her what the weather looked like. 45 degrees and windy. The story of our trip. This was where we were supposed to spend last night, and at 4:00pm we were still west of Denton. Lisa told us to come in and spend the night. I felt like a jerk having blown her off last night, but I was so grateful to have a home to go to. We blasted the 60 or so miles there, had dinner, and now I'm in bed writing about all of this.
Dan and I have gone over all of our options. I'm not ready to give up on the MDA ride, but it isn't looking good. The forecast was revised to show lower temps yet again. It's snowing in much of the deep South, and it's warmer in Denver than in Key West right now. We've been on the Internet and think we might be able to find a heated vest at the Bass Pro Shop about 20 miles from here. I am determined to make it.
For any of you who donated to MDA as a result of my partaking in this ride, I am doing my best to make it happen. I am not going to give up yet, but it's very possible that we just might not make it in time. At least MDA will have the money for research and be closer to finding answers that will help so many. Please know that I appreciate your support, and I'm doing everything I can to get there. Dan has also been amazing in his support, and I thank him for sticking with me through this. As I noted in my Facebook status, I don't know what made me think that taking a cross-country ride in the middle of winter was a good idea. But, the fat lady has not yet sung. We're moving on tomorrow.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
78302 - 78518
As Dan and I were pulling out of the apartment complex for the first time, he reminded me to reset my trip odometer. I noticed that I was exactly 6,000 miles from when I picked up the bike after the wreck. I don't feel like I did any substantial riding last year. I got the bike back at the beginning of August, took a weekend ride up to Aspen with a big loop around the northern side of the Black Canyon and Gunnison, and had a 5 day jaunt down around Ouray where I was frying a headlight bulb every time I hit a bug. I didn't get nearly as much riding in as I had hoped, since I was more focused on getting back to the campground before dark and fixing my electrical problem. Then came the wrist surgery, in the beginning of November, which made a very precise end to the riding season. Not sure how I wracked up the miles, but the important part is that I'm back on the road.
Dan needed to drop a package in the FedEx box at the post office across the street. On the way over, I noticed that my tire was scraping every time I hit a bump. When I had my rear tire changed last week, the mechanic said it scraped when he took it for a test ride. He had looked at it and noticed that the tire had worn a spot in the plastic taillight/license plate holder that extends from the bobtail fender. For some reason it didn't seem like a big deal. I didn't notice anything when I rode it home that day, probably because the wind was blowing so hard I was more concerned with keeping the bike upright.
We tried to bend the license plate up, but that did nothing. We went back to my garage to fix it. The idea was to use the Dremel tool to cut the plastic piece down to where it wouldn't scrape the tire. The Harley-Davidson general repair tool of choice is no longer a bigger hammer. It's the Dremel tool. We've used it for a few things. Dan started with one attachment, which ended up adding little caves to the mountains on my Colorado license plate. After the first attempt, I took it for a test ride, but it was still scraping. Another attachment did a quicker job of lopping off a bigger piece, and the test drive was successful. We were finally able to get out of there. While we were quite a bit later than planned getting out, I'm really glad that we figured it out before we were too far from home. I told Dan at the next red light that life is a lot better when you believe in God. Instead of being frustrated with the setback, it was easy to assume that there was some good reason for it, like not getting plowed over by a semi that got caught in a gust of wind.
The ride after that was uneventful. It was pretty good weather for February, but it cooled quickly when the sun went behind a cloud, and it was behind clouds more often than it was out. Things were looking a little grim until we headed south. We stopped for gas in Kit Carson, the one gas pump in a 50 mile radius. It did warm up quite a bit, to about 60, as sunset approached. Our shadows stretched out to the east, and there was a soothing glow. At that time, we were on a curving overpass, crossing the road we were about to merge with. A car carrier was on the low road, driving up to meet us in a quarter mile. While listening to Bob Seger sing "Like a Rock", I imagined what the leaning motorcycles on the overpass must have looked like in the color of the sunset. It was one of those moments where everything just feels good.
We made it to Lamar, where we looked around for a campground. We found a place that's a motel/RV park that has a sandy spot for tents. With a forecast of 20 degrees and high winds, we pulled a Dave Ramsey and got a really good deal on a room with log furniture and accented with corrugated and rusted tin framed by rough cut wood. There are also fake trees and fishing poles and fish and nets everywhere.
We're looking at about 540 miles tomorrow. With temps starting below freezing, it's probably going to be a long day. Good night!
Heading out
Finally riding again. Wrist surgery on November 4th, due to the accident, put a damper on riding. Thankfully it was the off-season. I've ridden a few miles since installing an easy-clutch. Dan and I are heading for Daytona today. I tried to put my saddlebag lids back on last night (after clear bra application), but twisting a nut or holding onto anything small like that is still out of the question. Lots of pain. I need to save my hand for the trip, so Dan will have to do that when he makes it over here today.
I know this blog has not been written in for months, so I doubt anyone's reading right now, but I'm going to post a link to my Daytona Women's MDA Ride donation site anyway. Make a difference!
Daytona Women's MDA Ride
I know this blog has not been written in for months, so I doubt anyone's reading right now, but I'm going to post a link to my Daytona Women's MDA Ride donation site anyway. Make a difference!
Daytona Women's MDA Ride
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