On The Road (Yet) Again / OR / The Value of a Bucket List

The EAGLES made Winslow, AZ famous in their 1970's song Take It Easy.
Fans flock to Winslow - on old Route 66 - to take a picture at the corner memorialized in song.

It's been an interesting, enjoyable, and successful road trip thus far. I've blitzed over 2,000 miles in 4 days, but have arrived at my first main destination - Winslow. Very cool! There was a small but steady stream of people, young families in cars and boomers on motorcycles taking pictures & getting their picture taken at a place that in a sense helped define their youth. There were folks there this morning that weren't even born in the mid-70's.
If I had to define this trip with one word it would have to be 'wind'. Amazingly windy from Kansas all the way to the border of the Grand Canyon - - which is where I'm sitting right now. Do the Canyon tour starting very early tomorrow morning!!
It was also Very Hot from Kansas to Flagstaff. Pleasantly cooler here in the higher elevations.

So what's this got to do with a bucket list, you might be asking yourself.  Winslow has been on my list ever since I heard that a mural had been painted in downtown Winslow 12 years ago.  I finally got to go there. The Grand Canyon has been high on my list of must-do things. Tomorrow it will also be realized.
I've had a goal to motorcycle through all 50 states - by the end of this summer I'll have ridden thru 48 (all but AK and Hawaii).  Right now I sit at 46.  Not just a few miles, but extensively ridden through each state.

I'll make it to Alaska later this summer with my family - another lifelong wish achieved. 
I know that very many items on my wish list won't be accomplished, but that's fine.  The idea is to always have lots of dreams and plans and to keep chasing elusive desires.  It makes life so much richer and fun!

The Road King has been a delight to ride. Over 2,000 high speed miles through high heat and strong winds without the slightest hiccup.  I just love the beautiful music it makes as the 96-cid V-Twin smoothly and powerfully carries me along. Its exhaust note at speed really is a thing of beauty!

Well I gotta go - I understand there is going to be a gunfight on the streets of Williams, AZ this evening!

A month of some serious riding - and it's just the beginning!

At the new Grand Ledge, MI Vietnam Veterans Monument

A beautifully restored 1923 Douglas Motorcycle, made in England. They were made famous during World War I
as the preferred mount for British military Dispatch Riders. Photographed at the Gilmore Museum at Hickory Corners, MI

Guilty as charged.  I'm guilty of failing to post any new material in the last five weeks, and I'll use the same excuse that we all use; no, not the one about the dog eating my homework, the other one - I've been busy.
Besides the normal kind of busyness, I've also enjoyed a great deal of motorcycle busyness. I had a great time a few weeks back at Flint's Vehicle City H-D open house, selling books and talking motorcycles and travel with dozens of fine folks. I've been fortunate enough to put just over 2,000 miles on the Road King this spring thus far - with many serious miles coming in the next two months - what with a couple of cross-country trips in the works.
With help from my friends we had a fun Blessing of the Bikes ceremony at our church in late May. Hot dogs and camaraderie followed by a fun group ride in the country. We hope to see this event become a tradition in our community and grow with each passing year.

I've participated in several Patriot Guard Riders missions since my last post, including one for a World War One veteran whose cremains were just recently discovered after being stored for decades in the basement storeroom of a funeral home. He had no family to claim him so on the shelf he went. An organization called the Missing In America Project located the remains and he was given a proper burial, along with two similar WW2 vets, at the Great Lakes National Cemetery.  It was a privilege being part of the honor guard for these vets, otherwise they would have been buried without ceremony and without anyone there to pay their respects. I know, they don't care at this point, but we all should. (I thought it appropriate to insert a picture of a WW1-era motorcycle that was used to carry messages during that war. It was the bike that proved that motorcycles were better than horses for dispatch riders.)
Several other PGR missions were for recent Afghan and Iraq KIAs and a couple Vietnam Vets.
I've been able to squeeze in a lot of rides ranging from 1 - 4 hours over the last few weeks. These short rides, on new roads and into new areas, are some of the most enjoyable. A person doesn't have to have a wonderful destination to justify getting on the bike and riding, just an hour or two in the countryside is plenty of reason! Like the Nike ad says - Just Do It!
I participated in the Grand Ledge Memorial Day parade with the American Legion Riders, which was followed by the dedication of that city's new Vietnam memorial. It was a wonderful day even though it started out cool and drizzly. The ALR is an active group of great guys and gals who enjoy motorcycling and have a strong military ethic and background.
As the group's road captain for 2011 I have plotted a different ride each month from May - October. The first ride (to Hell) was cancelled due to thunderstorms, but the second ride this past Sunday went off without a hitch (other than being much cooler and cloudier than predicted). We rode to the wonderful Gilmore Car Museum near Kalamazoo. They hosted their annual vintage motorcycle show, and it is getting bigger and better every year. The museum itself continues to grow at a rapid pace. There is much new construction and a large new building going up. This is one of the highest quality automobile museums around - a must see for anyone who cares even a little about cars and bikes.

Two fabulous trips coming up!  The first is to Arizona (including a photo of the red Ford mural in Winslow), thence north through the mountains and back to the Great Lake State. The second is a few weeks later and will find me in Oregon and Washington, coming back east through southern Canada.  RK and I are hardly able to contain our excitement (RK being the Road King).
Lots of photos, and probably even a little text will be published while underway. I will take my small netbook which does a passable job with these tasks - much better than trying to make my fat fingers work on my new smartphone keypad!