Bill's Motorcycle Adventures

Stuck in the Middle With You

2012-01-19T20:36:00.001-05:00

For some reason Gerry Rafferty's odd song Stuck in the Middle With You often plays in my head. For years I haven't been able to find the delete key or escape button that will make it go away.

Well I don't know why I came here tonight
I got the feeling that something ain't right
I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair
And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.

It comes to mind again because I feel like I'm stuck between the cold of last month and the cold of next month. Stuck in the middle, and it's a feeling that definitely ain't right - not when I'd much prefer to be outside soaking in the warm sun on a long and winding road.

I haven't been able to focus on spring and riding these past two months, but I definitely had motorcycling on my mind and at my fingertips. I have just finished a book about some amazing motorcyclists from back in the day - back when girls were girls and men were men - and all that nonsense. Except that the 'girls' in the book I've just finished would probably kick most guy's keisters all the way across the continent and back!
The book is about some amazing and very tough women who explored their world on ancient motorcycles way back in the 1910s - when you had to be tough and resourceful to be a rider. No pavement, no push button start, no computerized engine and fuel controls, no nothing, except a very rough ride down muddy trails. But the women of whom I write had the right stuff - courage, brains, resourcefulness, spirit, and one more thing - man could they ride motorcycles!

The full name of the book is: Grace and Grit: Motorcycle Dispatches From Early Twentieth Century Women Adventurers (Grace & Grit for short)

You can check it out on its very own blog site: http://graceandgritbymurphy.wordpress.com/

It will be on bookshelves across the nation in March. If you like American history, motorcycling, antique motorcycles, women motorcyclists, stories of daring, danger and conquest - you'll like this book.

I saw an ad for Samuel Adams Spring Beer on TV last evening. It brought a huge smile to my face because it must mean that spring is in the somewhat foreseeable future. Large commercial interests have full faith that spring will arrive eventually and are preparing for it. If it's good enough for Sam Adams it's good enough for me. I'm going to start thinking spring, planning rides, shopping for accessories and clothes at my local dealer, and take the cover off my bike and just sit on it for a few minutes. Hopefully my wife won't open the garage door at that moment and make me look foolish. I do that often enough as it is without even trying.
It's probably all that bad influence from the clowns to the left of me and jokers to the right.

Kindred Spirits

2011-12-12T08:01:00.000-05:00

Motorcycle dealerships are unique. They are one of very few commercial places where people feel free to hang out and talk with the workers and other customers as if it were a club instead of a business outlet. I've witnessed this phenomenon dozens of times and find it fascinating.
Nobody would go into a grocery store, department store, office supply store and so on just for the fun of it; simply for the opportunity to hang out and be around people with similar passions and interests. For one thing, they likely wouldn't be welcome. If a person went into a Krogers and just hung around, talking with the help and other customers about the bananas or corn flakes, they would eventually be told to leave.
But folks are more than welcome to come into a motorcycle dealer's showroom and just hang around. They can look at the bikes, talk with the sales staff, sit in one of the chairs that are there for visitors, read the magazines and journals that are kept just for this reason, and talk with other customers and browsers - for a couple hours or more - without anyone telling them they have to leave. Obviously the repair shop is off limits because of safety and productivity issues, but the sales area is almost like the club grounds for members - a bottomless pot of coffee is as much a feature of motorcycle dealer showrooms as are the products they sell.
This is very cool. It's just one more example of the unique relationship that exists between riders and the places that sell bikes and accessories. It's a relationship and community, not just a business (though it is a business also, and one that must survive financially. Keep this in mind and support your local dealer or they won't be there when you need them. You can't meet your friends, look at the bikes, and get free coffee at an Internet site.)
I witnessed this relationship again this past weekend, this time at the Grand Rapids, MI BMW dealer. The number of customers who came in and spent a large part of the day there, just browsing, talking, enjoying a coffee and snack, and basking in the camaraderie and the impressive display of machines and gear was amazing.
Like the old Cheer's TV show, it's a place where everybody knows your name and you are always welcome; more of a family gathering than just another commercial retail outlet whose goals are to make a sale and move customers quickly and efficiently in and out of the doors.

Motorcycle Art (Who knew bikes made beautiful music and are so often the topic of fine literature)

2011-11-01T19:41:00.001-04:00

It's the first day of November, the month that most motorcyclists dislike perhaps more than any other. It signals the end of another riding season for most of us in the northern hemisphere; at least those riders who live north of say the 35th degree of latitude. Depending on how far south of that imaginary line one lives, the riding season is a bit longer, though even the far south has days in the dreary winter months that aren't suitable for man nor beast - be that beast made of iron or flesh.

But on this first day of the dark month it is beautiful and I took advantage of it. With temps in the mid-50s and blue skies, I took what will be one of my last rides for the season. I hope to get one or two more in before winter settles in for good, but today was one of those gifts that must be taken advantage of. Though the trees were mostly bare there was still much beauty to be seen; a flock of wild turkeys enjoying a feast of spilled soybeans in a harvested field, deer in the back corner of a picked corn field, even a turkey vulture circling in the blue skies, extending his stay just one more day before moving south. (The thermal updrafts that these birds love to soar on are mighty rare this time of year). The deer cooperated in my adventure by staying away from the road and not causing me undue concerns.
As I cruised the back roads I was once again reminded how much I love the sound of motorcycles. It's a very basic thing for me - I think that the four-stroke internal combustion engine, properly muffled, (not too much, not too little) makes some of the prettiest music you'll hear anywhere. The sound of those power pulses string out behind as we ride, rising and falling with slight twists of the wrist. It's a beautiful sound that I enjoy listening to for hours. Motorcycle music is one of the many varied reasons I love to ride. Depending on the location the sound takes on different harmonics - next to a woods or rock wall it reverberates with a harmony unlike any other. On an open road the pitch changes to a muted trail of stacatto beats and I often wish I was somehow following behind me so I could hear the sound from my pipes more fully. Want to increase the cadence and volume - twist the right wrist just a bit to increase rpms and get more of those bass notes flowing. Want a little less forte and more pianissimo in your music? Roll off the throttle and listen as the harmony and dynamics change to a gentler more subtle music.
Of course a group of bikes is needed to really make beautiful music. A half-dozen bikes on the open road can produce a harmony of sound unlike any other.

Not all bikes make beautiful music. I had several two-strokes in my earlier riding years and I never did grow to like the harsh metallic ring-a-ding-ding of two stroke engines. And I don't care for the harsh ear splitting sound of un-muffled bikes at all. Those explosive sound waves emanating from within the engine need to be molded and tempered just the right way to get that wonderful and powerful visceral sound that can be both heard and felt. Proper tuning is necessary, just like good music made by any other musical instrument.
In my mind, the V-Twin engine makes the best music of all. To each his or her own - I like the firing interval of the twin and its unique low rpm power pulses and sound, other love the high speed turbine-like whine of a four cylinder engine at high rpms.

And motorcycle art goes beyond music. Look in any motorcycle accessories catalog and you'll notice dozens of books about the topic of motorcycling. They range from technical and mechanical treatises to adventure stories based on bikes, and pretty much everything in between. It's a genre in and of itself.
I've read quite a number of books over the years that were in some way about motorcycling. The very first was way back in 1974, and of course it was the venerable Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I've read it a couple of times since and I think I'm beginning to understand it just a little. (If you really want to be intellectually puzzled, try reading some of the other books that Pirsig wrote!)
This past year I have made it a point to read several books about the sport of motorcycling. They included: The Old Man and the Harley; The Vincent in the Barn; Live to Ride; the Long Way Down and Long Way Round books; The Perfect Vehicle (What is it about Motorcycles); Motorcycle Girls 1900 - 1950; and an unusual one that I highly recommend for anyone interested in the overlap of major historic world events and motorcycling - Captain W.H.L. Watson's Adventures of a Motorcycle Despatch Rider. It's the true story of a young Englishman who joined the English Army's Signal Corps as a motorcycle dispatch rider in 1914 / 1915, when massive armies were moving across France and Belgium. His descriptions of the conditions and circumstances of the first year of The Great War, and of riding a motorcycle through the maelstrom of war, mud, snow and confusion, is fascinating. Just reading firsthand accounts of the descriptions of horse-drawn artillery and mounted cavalry battles, and the unimaginable (in this age of satellites and instant communications) often total lack of communications between units and the lack of knowledge of what was taking place just 2 or 3 miles away, is hard to comprehend today. And that was just one century ago!
Watson wrote his book shortly after his experiences and it's thus long since out of print - but it can be downloaded for free from Amazon on a Kindle or Kindle-equipped smart phone.
I've recently ordered Motorcycling Grandma, the story of Hazel Kolb and her marvelous journeys around America, from a book reseller, through Amazon. I'm looking forward to this next read.

Don't be too hasty about winterizing your bike and ending another season of fun. But when it is time to call it quits for the season, remember that there are dozens of enjoyable and interesting books out there that can make the dark cold winter more bearable. There are also many books and videos that will make a rider a better and safer rider - I can't think of a better way to spend an evening than watching one of these videos rather than the usual junk that's on TV.

I added Sta-Bil before today's ride and topped off the tank with high-octane after the ride. I expect to have to do these and other winterizing steps again, as I fully intend to ride a few more times this year. Usually by mid-November I'm forced to call it quits. I don't ride in the winter except on the unusual warm day when the ice on the road has completely disappeared. I have nothing to prove and won't take unnecessary chances on ice and snow-covered roads. Too many people die trying to prove how macho they are. I'm past that point, fortunately. (And I survived that period in my life! Yahoo!)
So I'll soon hook up the electric life line to the bike's battery, clean it completely and wax all painted and chrome surfaces, and cover it for another long night's sleep.

Hondas in the Hills

2011-09-06T21:53:00.003-04:00

The calendar says we've already closed out the first full week of September. The temperature hereabouts is dipping into the 40s and low 50s at night with very pleasant 70ish temps for highs. Actually very nice conditions, but every year I feel the same blues and a powerful longing for summer to last just a little longer. It's been that way all of my life.
As a kid I wanted to wander the fields, ride my bicycle, and play baseball just a little longer. School was low on the list of my favorite things. The end of summer meant the end of many things I loved, and the beginning of some that I didn't. (Working on a farm in the winter is hard, cold, downright miserable work.)
Makes me think of a Beach Boys song - All Summer Long (Hondas in the hills; We've been having fun all summer long; Won't be long til summer is through; and other typically light and cheerful lyrics of Beach Boys B-side songs.) Come to think of it, all the Beach Boys songs are about the joys of youthful summers; their memories are still powerful stuff.
Maybe Bob Seger's Night Moves and his "Autumn closing in" line are more appropo for the end of summer blues at this point in my long and full life. Except that, unlike my favorite Motown sage, I feel that I have just as much to live for now as I did decades ago when the volume on my transistor radio was turned as loud as it would go to hear Brian Wilson and those surfing beach bums harmonize about our beloved summers.
So, you're beginning to wonder, what has all this got to do with motorcycling, travel, exploring, and so on?
A lot, actually. It's a chance to think about the details of this just completed summer of travel and adventure, to think about next year, and ponder all those heavy and serious things that also make up the fabric of our lives.

Like another funeral last week for a soldier killed in Afghanistan as a member of the Michigan Patriot Guard. It's so powerfully sad that ten years after 9/11 young Americans are still dying as a direct result of that terrible day. I read an amazing article today that listed 100 changes in America due to the 9/11 attacks. One of them was the formation of the Patriot Guard by Vietnam veterans, and the concept that American veterans would never allow another generation of servicemen and women to arrive home knowing that nobody gives a damn, or to have a family grieve alone because their son or daughter died for their country. Returning service members would be honored, not ignored, and casualties of war will be given the honor and respect they earned by doing what the rest of us can't or won't.

The end of this summer also allows me to consider what it now means to me personally having fulfilled two goals in my travel life. I have now traveled through all fifty U.S. states! In so doing I have been constantly reminded what a large and incredibly beautiful country we have the good fortune to live in. I have also now motorcycled throughout all the 'lower 48' states, having only Hawaii and Alaska to motorcycle in before I complete that additional layer of travel.
Hmmmm - maybe I could ride all the way to Alaska next summer!! Something to seriously consider and start saving for!

I have decided that I won't be riding to the southwest any more. Too hot, dry, dusty, windy, and far. I've done it all by bike and car and though we will likely make car trips there, I doubt that I will do any more long trips on two wheels in that direction. I plan to now focus north, northwest and perhaps mostly, northeast. Spending more time in New England, the Canadian Maritimes, and Quebec's Gaspe' Peninsula are high on my latest priority list.
That area is beautiful, unique, cool, scenic in the extreme, different than much of the continent, and it is green! I love the verdant Midwest and northeastern part of our country because of the forests and fields. I have just never developed an affection for hot and dry. I love the majestic scenery of Utah, Arizona and New Mexico, but I need water and chlorophyll-bearing plants.

I've also been toying with the thought of purchasing an antique bike to work on and show, and hopefully ride a bit. Not a basket bike really, because I lack the skill to fully restore a basket case. But rather one that needs some work that I'm able to do to bring it to a running condition, and looking nice, with original parts. Maybe a 1970s Japanese bike - one of the kind that I rode all over this part of the country back in the '70s. I'm familiar with them, they are fairly plentiful and much less expensive than old European or American iron, and parts are more available. If only I had a shed to work in!
I have read many an article or book that describes how an antique motorcycle graces the foyer or living room of a house. This makes perfect sense to me, but it's a losing argument so I won't even go there. I have seen meticulously restored antique bikes that are nothing short of beautiful works of art, worthy of being displayed as such. (In fact, the Guggenheim Museum has done shows based on the art of the motorcycle, where the entire show was comprised of beautiful antique bikes)

Glancing at my last post, I noticed that two paragraphs were somehow deleted. The entire description of my travels through the forests and plains of northeastern Oregon, and the sudden presence of endless wheat fields of southeastern Washington, was AWOL. Perhaps someone from the Walla Walla area is responsible. I did have some somewhat unflattering words for the area around Walla Walla, and the stretch of road from WW over to Yakima. But in any event, I did spend time exploring that part of the country - I did not simply beam myself from Hell's Canyon, Oregon to Mount Rainier National Park in western Washington. (Mental image coming into focus - I can't imagine two more different geographic areas than Hell's Canyon with its complete lack of green and cool, and Mount Rainier with its snow and towering forests!)

I've been doing some reading about a fascinating man & wife motorcycling adventure team from Nebraska. From about 1960 to 1965 they went from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America, experiencing some amazing and downright dangerous encounters along the way. To top this off the duo then rode from the northern tip of Norway down to Cape Town at the southern tip of Africa; again going places that nobody had done before on a motorcycle. Their stories, published in a magazine and later in a book, make for fascinating reading.

So, to complete the literary circle, the end of yet another summer is approaching; autumn is closing in. But I apply this line of thought only to the year 2011, not to life in general. I expect that 2012 will dawn just like every year before it, with a promise of all that life throws at us; the good, the bad; and the downright ugly. I'll appreciate the good and ride over the ugly. With luck and God willing I plan to have many more summers in which to explore and satisfy my curiosity about this grand planet we live on.
In the coming months I have some questions to ponder: should I buy an old bike to restore? Should I plan a trip to Alaska or be reasonable and head to the Maritimes? Or be even more reasonable and stay closer to home?

The bike that started it all. A 1969 Kawasaki Samurai 250cc two-stroke.
Yes, that's a kick starter, and yes, those are drum brakes, capable of gradually slowing the bike down after
the passage of significant time and distance.
Many 2-wheelers have followed this one and the joy of riding hasn't been reduced by the passage of time and distance.

Honoring a Good Man / Patriot Guard Riders

2011-08-16T16:12:00.001-04:00

Patriot Guard Riders (as well as members of the Leatherneck Motorcycle Club, the American Legion, the VFW, and fellow service members) had the unfortunate honor of showing our respects at the funeral of one of our own today in Harrison, MI.
Master Sergeant Mark Carlstron, only 49 years of age and recently retired from the Marine Corps, died suddenly last week. Though I didn't know Mr. Carlstrom I would have been proud to have know him. Community leader, mentor, coach, active and caring man and citizen, avid motorcyclist, veteran; respected by all who knew him.

It was a beautiful day and the sidewalks outside the church were lined by dozens of PGR, Legion, VFW, and fellow Leatherneck MC members holding flags. MSGT Carlstrom's motorcycle was parked in a prominent place in front of the doors. It brought him joy while he was alive and it was well and good that it too was present.
Bagpipes, church bells, and the sound of Harleys were the music that honored MSGT Carlstrom's life, and his service to his community and country.

I'm a fortunate man!

2011-08-11T20:48:00.002-04:00

I really am a lucky person and I am very appreciative of that fact.
During last winter's dark and dreary non-motorcycling months I (and my wife) did a lot of planning about this summer. It was to be a special summer when we would do some once in a lifetime travel. It was also to be the summer that I did more than the normal amount of motorcycle journeying.
As I noted in my last post, I made a long trip to the Southwest in June, with the Grand Canyon as the end point of that hot but very enjoyable ride.
Less than a month later I was on the road again, this time as Seattle as my end point. (My wife and daughter flew out to meet me there and they flew back) I have just completed that 5,364 mile long round trip and what a marvelous journey of exploration it was!

I love riding alone on long motorcycle trips. Virtually every non-motorcyclist I talk to about my travels, when they learn that I usually travel alone, is incredulous. They can't imagine traveling across the continent alone on a bike, on back roads, with nothing more than what will fit in the saddlebags. I get the expected questions about: what if I break down, what if I get sick, what if I get lost, what if I get into some sort of trouble, what if, what if, what if.
I tell them that I use my brain and experience so as to avoid problems that can be avoided with proper planning and equipment maintenance, that it's almost impossible to get lost today - sooner or later a traveler will arrive at a town or some sort of civilization, I have tools that wanderers for eons didn't have the luxury of possessing; a cell phone and credit card. I carry emergency water and food at all times in case I do break down somewhere. And more. In other words, I plan ahead and I do common sense things to stay safe and well.
I encounter many hundreds of bikers on the roads, mostly small groups, but quite a few solo riders. I feel a special affinity with those few who ride for thousands of miles alone. I smile every time I see another rider in places like the mountains of Montana - they're living the dream just like I am - I can imagine exactly what they're feeling and the emotional impact of their dream coming true.
I blitzed west on I-80 / I-29/and I-90 to Missoula, MT. It was HOT in the Plains, and I-90 was a bore, but I wanted to get west ASAP. One of the more amazing sights along the way was the flooding along the Missouri River that even at the end of July had I-29 surrounded by water lapping at the sandbags along the shoulder, placed there to keep the XWay open.
Along the way I detoured to go through the Badlands again and through Sturgis (ten days before Bike Week, and already hundreds of bikers were in town and dozens of vendor tents were up). I skirted the Black Hills and went to see Devil's Tower in NE Wyoming - a first for me. What an incredible sight!

Next stop was the Little Bighorn Battlefield site.
I exited I-90 at Missoula and the fun began in earnest! Route U.S. 12 across central Idaho is just fabulous. If you haven't ridden it, do. You will thank me later! It's a lightly traveled road through forested mountains with nary a straight stretch for the entire length. Don't believe me - read the warning sign posted by the locals:

What a thrill!
Western Idaho became much more stark as I rode route 95 south for many miles before slipping west into Oregon. It was at this point that I ran into one of those problems that one hopes to avoid through planning, but sometimes things don't go as planned. It was very late and very hot as I was heading toward the village of Cambridge in western Idaho. I was getting frustrated due to miles of road construction and hold ups in the 95+ heat. I planned to get a motel room in Cambridge. (On this trip I didn't take any camping gear, I planned to motel it in local Mom and Pop motels)
Both small motels in Cambridge were filled - with all the road construction workers that I'd been encountering for the last 100 miles!
So head west on ID 71, a narrow lightly traveled road into the Hell's Canyon wilds. It's hot, dry, and lonely! An amazing sight was to behold as I was negotiating an extremely tight hairpin curve just as the Snake River was coming into sight. With a cliff to my right, and a precipitous drop off to my left, I came around the curve at about 15-mph to see a Bighorn Sheep running right at me in my lane! The sheep had nowhere else to go, unless he could climb a vertical cliff (which they basically can). We passed with a quick hello and each went our own way.
Luck was with me and in the tiny town of Halfway, Oregon an hour later, as darkness was settling in, I got the last room in a small motel.

I crossed Chinook Pass, at about 5,400 feet elevation, and incredibly there was snow all around me even at that relatively low elevation. The massive snow fall last winter is still nowhere near melting yet, and the local peaks, of only about 7,000 feet, were snow covered as of late July!

I rest my case!!

Mt. Rainier National Park was beyond beautiful and breathtaking. I'm so happy and grateful that we as a nation have been intelligent and caring enough to set aside these irreplaceable natural treasures for all people and for all generations.
On to the huge Seattle metropolitan area. From Olympia on the south to Everett on the north, the Seattle area is very large and its highways as crowded and intimidating as any in southern California or Chicago.
Not knowing the local regs, I avoided the high speed multi-passenger vehicles lane for the first couple miles on I-405. The 'slow' lanes were stop and go, while the special lane was moving rapidly. After seeing a few motorcycles in that lane I quickly followed suit and my average speed immediately went from about 5-mph to 60!
I had a marvelous dinner with family members that I haven't seen in many years, and went to meet my wife and daughter who had flown into SeaTac that day. I left my bike at a local H-D dealer for lube changes and some other minor maintenance, and they were kind enough to hold it for me for a week.
After a week together wife and child flew back home and I resumed my journey. I went north to Everett and got on US-2. It would be my travel host all the way back to Michigan. US2 has always been one of my favorite roads. I love the lore of cross-continent routes and have traveled most of many of these highways across the country (U.S. 6, 20, 40, 50, and 2). I'd been end to end on 2 in a car, and most of the way on a bike before this, but after this trip I've been end-to-end on US 2 on a motorcycle also. It's a cool road, with lots of history and scenery along the way.
I detoured through Glacier National Park again - taking the Going To The Sun Road up and over the park mountains. Because of road construction on that road, and the much higher level of snow melt runoff, the road was very rough and even muddy in long stretches. Very nerve racking. Lots of white knuckle tight curves with water splashing on me and slick mud beneath. I assume it's going to be a many year project resurfacing this road - I can't imagine a more technically and logistically difficult road to work on in the entire continent!
Lots of snow left from last winter resulting in waterfalls cascading down mountain slopes everywhere a person happened to look (when not focused on a car trying to squeeze by on one side and a thousand foot drop on the other, slip sliding in the mud!)

US route 89 east of Glacier is one of my favorite roads - though I've ridden it only twice.
Gassing up in Browning, I headed east again on route 2, and immediately the mountains are behind you, and the great high Plains extend ahead for hundreds of miles.
It was considerably cooler on the way east. The incredible heat covering much of the country had eased its way south a bit and the northern tier of states were pleasantly cool - all the way from Washington to Michigan.
My worst surprise of the entire trip was in northwest North Dakota - specifically that area around Williston, ND. A few years ago black gold, aka crude oil, was discovered in very large quantities in NW ND. For a hundred miles one cannot look in any direction without seeing a drilling rig at work, and existing wells and tank batteries on pretty much every forty acre parcel. The last time I rode through there, in 2004, it was 'normal' North Dakota countryside. Now it is a bustling place that is hard to believe. Thousands of large tanker and chemical trucks ply the roads - all roads - large and small. Access roads have been carved across the countryside to gain access to drilling sites and production facilities. Warehouses and every kind of support facility imaginable line US 2 for miles. The highway is dirt covered and rough with 'troughs' dug into the asphalt from the heavy trucks. Williston itself is a nightmare. I couldn't wait to get through the town and the entire area. Without question Williston has to be the epicenter of crude oil exploration in North America right now.
But inexorably I headed east on 2 - across ND, MN and finally Wisconsin. Upon hitting the Michigan border I headed along the Lake Superior shoreline, visiting beautiful Porcupine Mountains State Park, riding up M-107 to stunning Lake of the Clouds.

The weather was gorgeous that day and my spirits were high as I traveled through eastern MN, across the tip of Wisconsin, and much of the western U.P.
My final day threw the first real rain at me in ten days of riding. It was off and on, but unfortunately it was on in a big way as I crossed the Mighty Mac Bridge. I've ridden across the magnificent Mackinac Bridge dozens of times on a motorcycle and love it! This was the first day I rode across during heavy rain and high wind, however. And because the outer concrete lanes were closed for maintenance, I had to ride on the very slick iron grating of the center lane. My motorcycle did not like that!! Whether due to a combination of tire size, tread pattern, frame and suspension geometry, or whatever, my Road King was frightfully squirrelly as it slipped and slid across the slick metal grating. For the first time in my life I was thrilled to reach the opposite shore.
The rain quit a half-hour later and I rode down I-75 in comfort. It was hard to accept that this amazing journey was actually coming to an end - that the next morning I wouldn't be getting on the bike again and riding through marvelous scenery down wonderful roads, listening to the music of the bike as the pipes resonate with an impossible to describe sound that is among the loveliest music on the planet.
5,364 miles - some hot and tiring, some indescribably wonderful - but all of them now burned into my memory. I've been able to explore America on two wheels for nearly forty years and I've seen things and met people who have enriched my life immeasurably. And for that I truly am a fortunate man!
Did I mention that I love motorcycling?

You See a Lot on a 4,109-Mile Trip!

2011-07-03T15:35:00.009-04:00

Arizona - the latest of the 46 states I've ridden my motorcycle through.

Over the years I've been in every other southwestern state but somehow had always

gone around AZ each time.

More interesting than the geographic marker are the large

number of Native Americans selling their handmade products from

booths that surround the monument.

Though (as usual) the weather could have been more cooperative, my latest two-wheeled voyage of discovery was a resounding success. A person can't travel alone for ten days and nearly 4,200 miles across much of this country, without observing a great deal and thinking about many things.

With the Grand Canyon as the apex of the trip I made a loop across the center of the continent, seeing an incredible variety of landscapes and extremes of weather. I also blitzed on Xways the first two, and last two days of the trip, so as to spend as much time as possible in the Arizona and Colorado area. I don't enjoy expressways - it's long been my belief that one doesn't find or see the real America on these highways, with their billboard scenery and cookie-cutter interchange businesses. But, assuming traffic is moving properly and you're not at a standstill in what becomes a long narrow parking lot (like I was for much of I-80 on the way home), they can be an efficient way to put a lot of miles behind you in a day.
I did over 2,000 miles of the trip in those four days, leaving more time for fun during the days I was in the West. I went west via I-69 and I-70 through the large cities of Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Kansas City, leaving I-70 just west of Topeka to travel the back roads from there to Tucamcari, NM, where I got on I-40 to Flagstaff. (with one side trip on a back road north to the Santa Fe area). It was in eastern NM that the unending blast furnace winds hit with a vengeance.
I noticed a lot of things on this trip. Some new observations, and some lessons learned long ago that were reinforced. In no particular order they are:

It is increasingly important to choose Mom and Pop motels carefully. They aren't all what they used to be. Many have been bought out by new owners, and while they technically still qualify as family owned, they're different in bad ways. It is really important to consider the exterior condition of the facility. If it looks unkempt from the outside you can be sure the rooms will not be clean and healthy. These poorly maintained motels are increasingly common so it's very understandable why problems such as bedbugs are making a comeback. I try to do business with family-owned motels, but I'm very careful in selecting them. If you stick with the major chains there's generally no problems, but that can get expensive and I also prefer to support small local business folks, not the chains.
In a related issue, finding a campground for basic tent camping is becoming increasingly difficult across a lot of the country. RV parks are fairly common, but the places that cater to tent campers are getting scarce. They're also getting more expensive. I have paid $20 per night for a site with just me and my one-person tent, while a huge RV parked on a large lot with electricity pays about the same. State and federal campgrounds also charge too much for tent campers (or too little for the behemoths that take up a lot of space and require roads and parking areas to be maintained for them).

Riding across the back roads of Kansas in late June a person gets an appreciation for how much wheat is grown there, as it's being harvested during the final days of June. Huge combines gobble up swaths of grain as they cross fields in staggered formation and military precision. Large grain trucks filled with the golden grain clog rural roads, requiring special care because cars pile up behind them impatiently waiting for a chance to pass. A motorcyclist does well to have highly visible lights and to keep to the far right of his or her lane so that they're visible to the car immediately behind the truck. Hug the center line and you won't be seen by car drivers until it's too late should they decide to pass.

Every time I travel west I'm always amazed at the dramatic change that occurs at the 100th Meridian. By coincidence, this line of longitude, which cuts states such as the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and so on in half, is also the line that separates the moist eastern plains from the barren, hot and dry western high plains. The difference in everything from scenery, plant and animal life, to ambient temperatures is dramatic.
On this trip the difference was accentuated by the wind - a hot unstoppable wind from the southwest that ranged at 40 to 50-mph for three full days. At one point in desolate northeast AZ the blowing dust was so bad I had to stop for the day rather than ride through a wall of grit being blown by a 50-mph wind from hell. The day prior, as I was riding in the same sort of wind in the Santa Fe area, I thought to myself that if a wildfire started it would spread too fast to stop. The next day a fire that started the day I was in NM had spread to 48,000 acres near Los Alamos!
The next day I had my oil and filter changed at Grand Canyon Harley-Davidson. Riding through wind-blown dust all the way across western Kansas, New Mexico, and a few hundred miles of Arizona dust storms was enough to prompt me to protect my engine with an early oil change. Cheap insurance!

The Grand Canyon has been on my to-do list all my life. Upon finally seeing it, it is impossible to describe with mere words. Pictures hardly begin to do it justice. Walking through the woods from the visitor center and parking area one has no idea what to expect. But when you suddenly arrive at the edge of the chasm it takes you breath away! It is just incredible. I walked the rim trail for a couple hours, stopping at every overlook to see the canyon from a slightly different perspective each time. The Colorado River was often barely visible at the bottom.
I followed Route 160 along the south rim, stopping at many parking areas along the way to see the canyon from different locations. Something that surprised me is that probably 90% of the viewing areas have no rails or guards at all - a careless person or child could easily fall into oblivion. It makes for a lot of very nervous parents of small kids - - I saw and heard many of them at the various stops anxiously calling their children back from the edge.
The canyon geology center, the visitor center, and the movie about the canyon are all worthy stops and help visitors leave with a good understanding of the forces at work. The view from the top of the old observation tower at the east end of the park was a final highly recommended pleasant surprise. All-in-all the Grand Canyon stop was more than worth the years of waiting!

The area east of the Canyon is another story. Leaving the plateau on which the GC is situated, one drops well over 2,000 feet in elevation over several miles immediately east of the park boundary (great for gas mileage - I averaged 60 mpg with that tank of gas!). The high land of green forest at over 7,000 feet in elevation near the Canyon is replaced by an indescribably dry, barren, desolate, and wind blown land of dust and heat. What a difference and what a place to try to survive, like the Navajo and Hopi must do in this huge largely empty northeastern corner of AZ.
There are frequent roadside stands, where a lean-to with a roof is all that separates a family selling hand made items to travelers on route 160 from the blazing sun and wind-blown dust. I ended up spending a night in Kayenta, AZ in the middle of this vastness when a wall of dust ahead of me led me to choose discretion over riding through a motor-damaging dust storm. As it was I was sure my motorcycle paint would be stripped bare on one side because of the sand blasting quality of the wind blown grit.

A stop at the Durango, CO Harley dealer for a new set of tires allowed a few hours to walk around that very cool city, where I'd been before. The heat followed me from the desert to Colorado, with temps in the upper 90s arriving in Durango the same day I did. The Animas River was high and fast from near record snow melt. Watching the lucky folks running the rapids in the river in rubber rafts made me jealous of their ability to stay wet and cool!
I have been across CO west to east on other roads, but never route 160, so that was my decision. Overall, I like 160 much better than route 50. The scenery and mountain roads east of Durango, almost all the way to Interstate 25, are really nice. Wolf Pass at over 10,000 feet was hot, though with quite a lot of snow still on the ground. Because of the snow pack still in place from this past winter, normally dry creeks were filled with tumbling white water. It made for an especially pretty ride.

Wolf Creek Pass, CO

Once out of the mountains it was through the hot and dry high plains of eastern CO and western NE for the next 24 hours. I took a couple of lightly traveled state routes across this part of CO, ending up at Sterling, where I got on I-76 for the final ride to I-80 and the final long two days to home. Traffic on the back roads of eastern CO was very light and I kept hoping that nothing unplanned would happen in the heat and vast open spaces.
Central and eastern NE were wetter and greener than normal, however. The Platte River was full, much more like April than the end of June. In fact, all the rivers I saw from this point eastward were filled to the brim. The Missouri looked more like the Mississippi River, and the Mississippi was full and fast!
Adair, IA proved an interesting stop. This was the location where the Jesse James gang pulled off the first robbery of a moving train. The site is just southwest of this small western Iowa town, marked by a unique monument.

I planned to blitz home on I-80 for the last two days. The first was long and uneventful but the last day proved long and difficult. In the past few years I've encountered a great deal of road construction while on trips, largely a result of the economic incentive spending. There was much less road work this year; until I got to eastern IA, all across IL, and northwestern IN. Lots of stop and go traffic, and having to merge into one lane at reduced speed. Traffic crept along at a frustrating stop and go crawl through the Chicago and Gary area due to construction.
As I was approaching the Michigan border I saw ominous black clouds and some very impressive lightning displays to the north. I stopped a few miles south of the border to put my valuables in their plastic protective bags (wallet, camera, phone) to protect them from what seemed like inevitable rain. I had gone 4,000 with no rain - a record on a trip for me - but it was soon going to end. I thought I could hustle north to the state line, because I knew there was a MI welcome center just north of the border where I would pull in for shelter, put on rain gear, or whatever seemed appropriate. (The lightning made it more than a simple ride in the rain).
Amazingly, the moment I hit the MI state line huge drops began to fall, and by the time I got into the travel center it was raining with gusto (some welcome home!). Two other bikers pulled in about the same time I did and we of course had a long talk about current and past MC journeys and weather conditions we'd encountered.
The storm settled into a moderate but steady rain so I put on my rain suit and headed up I-94. The rain finally quit near Kalamazoo, and it was an uneventful ride the rest of the way. I rode through one of Michigan's more notorious highway deer accident stretches right at dusk, which made me very nervous, but a slower speed, and staying in the left side of the slow lane, provided me with some element of safety should a deer decide to see if the grass really was greener on the other side of the road. I saw none; in fact, I saw almost no wildlife on the more than 4,000 miles ridden on this trip.

My Road King performed perfectly, without so much as a suggestion of trouble. Because of the amount of dust I rode through I do plan to do another oil and filter change ASAP, quite a bit before the normal mileage point. The dust was so bad at times that there is no doubt some was getting into the engine and oil.
It took two hours to thoroughly clean and polish the bike again. The bugs and road grime covered every inch of the machine front to back, and it was nice to see it shine again like it is meant to.

Protecting myself from the glaring sun and heat was a major concern on this particular trip. I guzzled down a Gator-Aid at every gas stop, and always kept an emergency bottle of water, and some non-perishable snacks, in my saddlebags. I took some very lightly traveled rural two-lane blacktops in the west and a breakdown could have been serious without provisions. I also had to apply sun screen every couple of hours to my face, back of my neck under the helmet, and on my wrists (the space between the gloves and jacket sleeves, which burns to a dark brown band).
I'm still looking for summer weight gloves with a long gauntlet. I ended up wearing my regular weight leather gloves with gauntlets to cover my wrists, but they're quite hot.

The bike is resting for its next great adventure later this month. I am riding to the northwest - Washington and Oregon - where the final two states of the Lower Forty Eight will be traversed by motorcycle. My map of the USA will be colored a solid yellow after I complete this bucket list goal later this summer. By the end of this summer I will have traveled extensively in all fifty states, and extensively through 48 of the 50 by motorcycle. (I'll have to figure out a way to get to Alaska and Hawaii to take motorcycle trips there, and thereby complete my ultimate goal of motorcycle travel through all fifty states.)
I've learned more about our country and its people, places and history by motorcycle travel than I could have in five lifetimes otherwise.
And there is still so much to see and do!

A Longhorn in Dodge City, KS.

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

2011-06-25T18:50:00.001-04:00

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!

2011-06-14T16:40:00.000-04:00

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!

Time to quit whining and start riding!

2011-05-05T15:36:00.002-04:00

It's been a cool, wet, and not very motorcycle compatible several weeks since my last blog. I've been grumpy, the weather has been cold and rainy (and too often, snowy) and I haven't ridden or been outside nearly as much as I like.
Even with the lousy weather and (obviously) unreasonable demands on my time I've put on nearly a thousand miles since that first cold ride back in February when the snow melted for a couple of days and I snuck in a local ride.
To help cheer myself up I decided that it was time to buy a new helmet - a 3/4 model Nolan - which I'm very happy with - having put about 150 miles on the road with it. The visor flips up, and it has a built in sun visor, so I don't have to carry sun glasses for those rare days when the sun shines in Michigan (I warned you that I was grumpy!) I will continue to use my full face / modular style Nolan, and I have a short half-helmet that I use rarely for things like military parades / Memorial Day parades, etc. I think my new Nolan is going to quickly become my favorite and most-used helmet. It's lighter and more comfortable than my old modular full face helmet.
Had a cold ride last week as part of a Patriot Guard Riders mission at the Great Lakes National Cemetery, near Flint, MI. (Surprise, surprise - it was several degrees cooler, much windier, and much cloudier, than the forecasters were predicting even that very morning. I have no faith in our ability to forecast weather.) It was a somber event for a young Marine - these missions are always sad and seeing the parents, and in this case a new & very young wife, in their grief is sometimes almost more than I can handle. But the families are so proud and appreciative of the PGR members being present as a line of flag bearers, for the motorcycle escorts when we do them, and for just showing that we and other people care about their young soldier and his / her service to our country, helps them with their grief. I will continue to do this as long as there is a need and I am able.
I had an unusual problem today that I was able to resolve but only after it caused me to cancel a ride to Grand Rapids and a meeting there. The oil "idiot" light started flickering on the bike - never a good thing! I pulled over on I-96 to check for immediate and obvious things, like a broken oil line, ruptured gasket, etc. Everything looked perfect, and I had just checked the oil level yesterday so I knew it was fine. It was a very intermittent and rapid flickering, not a steady light. There were no obvious sounds coming from the engine - the kind of knocks or metallic tapping sounds that typically are associated with a lack or loss of oil to the moving engine parts.
I just didn't think it was a legitimate problem - I was thinking perhaps a faulty sensor. I took a big chance and rode slowly back home. On the way I was thinking about how inconvenient this all was and about how much it was going to cost me to get it looked at and repaired. A bill well into the hundreds of dollars seemed likely.
After checking everything closely, I found that the wire coming off the sensor had touched the muffler and had melted the hard plastic guard around the electrical wire, and had melted down to the metal wire itself. Every time the bare wire touched the muffler, it caused a flicker in the light. A quick repair, followed by a half-hour ride, showed that the problem had been found and corrected! It was a very satisfying feeling, especially since I have several motorcycle events coming up in the next two weeks and just a few hours ago had been cussing my bad luck for such bad timing.
It's always best to check for minor obvious problems before calling in the pro's.
May 21st I will be at Vehicle City Harley-Davidson in Flint as part of their big Kick Start Summer event, selling & signing books. The next day, Sunday May 22, I'll be part of a Blessing of the Bikes ceremony in East Lansing, at All Saints Episcopal Church.
I had the special joy of helping a friend when he bought a bike - his first in many years - following marriage and raising of a splendid family. We loaded it on my trailer and hauled it back from near Fort Wayne, IN. It's been great sharing in his excitement and helping as I could in pre-purchase discussions, and am looking forward to taking some rides together in the coming days and weeks.
I think spring has finally arrived. Though we had a frost this morning - it's in the 60's today and is supposed to be 60 or more for the next week or more.
Riding weather is here. That means it's time to get outside and bask in the sunshine and warmth. Go for a walk, bicycle ride, motorcycle ride, or whatever. Just get out and enjoy life renewed!!

Various Observations

2011-03-28T09:06:00.000-04:00

This past Saturday saw me in Madison, WI, at the Capital City Harley-Davidson dealership. It was their ladies garage day event and it was a fun and very successful event. Many women, sometimes with their husbands or boyfriends in tow, spent hours at the store browsing, taking classes, and learning skills ranging from handling a bike to picking up a full dresser Harley laying on its side. Very impressive.
I had the fun opportunity to talk with dozens of folks while selling my motorcycling tour books; this is always the most enjoyable part of these events. It may have been cold outside but inside it was warm, I was surrounded by beautiful motorcycles, and spent the day talking with fellow riders about our shared passion. It doesn't get any better than that!
To a person everyone was frustrated with the cold weather and the inability to ride even though it was late March - by this time there have usually been a few days when short rides were possible. But not this year.
I was impressed by a couple of women who did ride their bikes to the event - ten or twenty miles in 25 - 30-degree temps.
I was also very impressed with the State of Wisconsin's efforts at motorcycle safety. They had their mobile motorcycle safety van at the dealer. It's a very large semi truck that WiDOT takes around the state putting on safety classes and providing materials. An excellent resource that other states should also use. We all know that states can't simply legislate safety - actual training, including much awareness training for car drivers - is needed.
I was also very impressed with a large sign over the entire width of the I-39 expressway in northern Illinois - it was flashing the message in large letters "It's Time To Watch For Motorcycles". Many states do these sorts of awareness efforts - others, including mine - do almost nothing. Brochures stacked up in licensing bureau offices don't help much - the message has to be bold and it has to be very public in order for drivers to get the word.

Another week of cold temps forecast. Maybe, just maybe, after April Fools Day it'll begin to look and feel like Spring!

Spring is Coming; I promise.

2011-03-24T19:57:00.001-04:00

Spring is coming - in a crawl, but warm weather is inevitable (someday). The weather will change for the better and remaining snow piles will melt. A few motorcycles can occasionally be seen - riders bundled up against the cool air, dodging the salty puddles that are still common on the streets and highways.

Motorcycle-related events are coming thick and fast. Special events such as open houses at dealers, and swap meets at many locations. (If you've never been to a large swap meet, you should. It's a lot of fun walking down the aisles looking at the many varied displays by dozens of vendors. Need a brake lever for a 1974 Honda Elsinore? You will likely find one at a large swap meet.)

Flint's Vehicle City Harley dealer held their Ladies Garage Night last week, which I attended as a book vendor - lots of fun talking with everyone.

Spent last Sunday in Cleveland at a Giant Motorcycle swap meet selling books. Talked with dozens of riders about the joys of riding in the Great Lakes region.

Next stop is Madison, WI to take part in their Ladies Day event on March 26.

Riding will be very iffy for the next 6 weeks or more, but at least there might be days that will be warm and dry enough to do some local riding. Rode to the dealer a few days ago to get oil and filter - not a ride to brag about, but it was a ride.

The oil has been changed and everything checked - the bike is ready to roll.

So get your spring maintenance done - change the fluids, check your tires and put air in them, take the trickle charger off the battery, check all the lights, and tighten all the bolts. It's nearly time to ride again! With luck a person can even take a long ride - as long as they're heading in a southerly direction! There is recent snow here to melt and temps have to get out of the 30s before anyone does much riding in this neck of the cold and miserable woods! Keep the Faith! Spring will arrive - it always does.

New Ride!!

2011-02-05T15:05:00.006-05:00

Beautiful like-new 2008 H-D Road King, with lots of extras, delivered yesterday. The '06 Sportster 1200, which carried me around the country 50,000 miles worth, was traded in.

I had to shovel the snow out of the driveway so the delivery trailer could get the bike into the garage! I am SO ready for Spring!!

The new bike and I will see all parts of North America before it's retired.

Motorcycle Hibernation

2010-12-05T15:59:00.011-05:00

Outside is snow and cold,
a depressing sight to behold.
Because, don't you know,
things I love, hate the snow!
Baseball and motorcycles cannot thrive,
when temperatures dip near five.
So Tiger Stadium; now Comerica Park,
Stands forlorn, cold and dark.
And Rocinante, my iron horse, is not immune, of course.
In the garage he waits, cold and still,
stoically enduring winter's chill.
The bike is protected, hid under a cover,
so at least it doesn't have to see me hover.
Its electrical lifeline keeps it barely alive,
hibernating and dreaming of the next drive.
But some day, one day, birds will sing,
and all around us will be signs of spring!

I'm no poet, don't you know it, but in some manner I must mark the passing of yet another year and the sweet anticipation of a new one filled with the promise of what will be!

Changing Seasons (Again)

2010-11-20T09:14:00.005-05:00

It's late November, time to admit that yet one more riding season has moved from the present to the past. It is frighteningly amazing how quickly the years fly by, especially when measured at least in part by the short motorcycling season that we get to enjoy in the northern U.S. of A. Every group of enthusiasts of course has similar measuring yardsticks. Some use the golfing season, some use the time period when boating or sailing are possibilities, others, such as skiers or ice fishermen, use cold weather chunks of time to measure the passing of years. And of course professions, such as teachers and others connected with schools and universities, have altogether other ways of measuring years.
It's been an amazing year for me. I made several lengthy trips, including travelling coast to coast on the bike, doing research at various libraries and museums for my next book. I met several wonderful people whose help was invaluable, and saw much more of the country from the open air perspective of my bike. Actually feeling and sensing the world around you without the interference of walls of steel and glass really does provide a completely different way of seeing and appreciating the country and its people, places, and history.
The next book is going to be something very different than past efforts. It's set a century ago when horses on America's roads far outnumbers cars and motorcycles. It was a time like no other, one we'll never see again, and it would have been quite amazing to have lived through the early part of the 20th century. Of course there were many down sides as well - all in all a wild mix of new and old, and good and bad.
Packing up boxes of books and displays today for the big motorcycle swap meet in Novi, MI tomorrow, Nov. 21st. Hope I come back with empty boxes!
I think it's finally time to put Sta-Bil in my bike's gas tank for the last time and hook up the trickle charger. I will also cover every metal part with a good coat of wax and put the baby to bed. There will be the occasional warm and dry day in the winter months when I will take a spin down local roads, but for the most part it'll be parked until after the vernal equinox.
Very sad.
But by then it'll be the dawn of another year that for sure will be filled with new promise and exciting times! 2011 promises to be a very good year.

Another Year in the Books

2010-10-29T10:04:00.021-04:00

With only 2 or 3 weeks of occasional motorcycling left in the 2010 riding season, it's time to look back and reflect on another year that has flown by. Once a person passes 40 years of age time speeds up, that's a well known fact. Scientists haven't been able to figure out why or how it happens, but it does. Beyond 50 time goes into high gear. How this happens is curious because for some people on the planet in 2010 time was going by slowly, while for others it was flying by - how can it be both slow and fast at the same time? I know it's not all in my head. There has to be a scientific explanation. What I do know is that the summer absolutely flew by - it was April, then it was October. I know the other months were in there, but I wonder if they were just a dream - they already seem unreal. My fear is that next year and coming years will fly by even faster. Maybe a new motorcycle will help slow them down. A new bike cures many of life's ills.

My theory regarding motorcycles is that you have to multiply the mileage by two. Since bikes only have two wheels, and cars have four, every mile on a bike counts twice as much as a mile on a car. So my bike has 100,000 on it according to this scientific analysis.

2010 was a very good year. About 12,000 miles on the odo, with three different trips to different parts of the country.

June found me in Massachusetts, visiting, among other places, the Indian Motorcycle Museum in Springfield. It's part of the larger City of Springfield Museum, and it is very fortunate that the city government has the wisdom to preserve an important part of their, and our collective, history. I hope the budget cutters don't decide that this is a waste of taxpayers money and close it. The ride east was nice - along the Lake Erie shoreline as much as physically possible, then following the Erie Canal as closely as possible on the old roads through the Mohawk Valley of New York. Very interesting, and since I was riding while NY and MA schools were still in session, there was minimal traffic.

Rode through the Berkshires on old 20, on the Jacob's Ladder Scenic Byway. Fabulous story behind this road, built in 1910, the first ever road built to accommodate automobiles to cross over a mountain range. The old road was deadly and steep, with many a man and horse killed while trying to traverse it.

Heading west I went through the Hudson River Valley south, and then straight west through the Catskills. They are beautiful all times of the year, and once again I had the fabulous hilly and curvy roads pretty much to myself. Low clouds and intermittent cool rain made it a rigorous outing, not a walk in the park on a bluebird day.

South central NY and northern PA is a beautiful part of the country. 50/50 woods and farms, hilly, nice roads, light traffic because people use the Xways and NY Turnpike. It's charms are well known to locals, but probably not fully appreciated by those from outside the area.

Twelve or thirteen days in mid-July found me west - all the way to Truckee, CA.

Followed the old Lincoln Highway through large parts of IL, IA, NE, and WY. The most interesting part of the trip was in the Colorado Springs area, and westward to the Sierra Nevada Mountains of CA.

The ride up Pikes Peak was incredible, though because my brake fluid for the rear brake boiled due to atmospheric differences between sea level and 14,110 feet, it was a scary ride down with only first gear and the front brake to slow me on the hairpin curves with hundreds of feet of open air the result if a curve is missed.

Rode through snow at one point in the heart of the Rockies; very cold & very wet. But the benefit was seeing snow covered peaks that were normally mostly bare except for patches of snow in sheltered basins.

Glenwood Canyon is fabulous, as is the landscape across the Great Divide all the way to CA. That is a extremely interesting area to ride through - if one keeps an open mind and lets themselves be fascinated at the unusual landscape, and the wide open spaces. The widely spaced towns are like islands of civilization in a vast ocean of desert.

Went right through Reno - it was hot, traffic was heavy, and I wanted open spaces, no congested city expressways.

Truckee, Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass, and the entire area around Truckee is a great place to spend time. Wish I had had more than a couple of days!

The trip back east was on a different route - through northern NV and into Idaho. Came down into Utah from the north. Beautiful, though lots of development going on north of Salt Lake City. Houses are beginning to cover the foothills, and a lot of ranches are growing suburban cookie cutter houses rather than beef and corn.

The mountains east of SLC provide great riding and scenery and I was sorry to leave them and enter the high plains. From western WY to the Mississippi River is downhill all the way, losing about 5,000 feet in elevation. That's one reason the huge coal trains heading east out of Wyoming can do it - they're heading downhill except for occasional short uphill stretches. The highlight of the return trip, once out of the mountains, was a stop at the National Motorcycle Museum in Iowa - well worth the ride no matter where you're coming from!

A third and shorter trip was to St. Louis and Columbus, MO. Rode old US 24 all the way from Moberly, MO back east to western Ohio. Long stretches of it make for very pleasant riding, as long as a person can be patient and not expect expressway conditions. You do ride through small towns and follow tractors on occasion. But the trade off is worth it.

Got to spend two full days in Terre Haute this summer due to a stator/voltage regulator problem. By incredible luck the warning light came on when I was less than five miles from a dealer. Better there than in central Nevada on a 100-degree day!

The year had its low points. There were many funerals for military personnel killed in action. I attended 6 or 7 Patriot Guard Riders funeral events, standing guard in a flag line at the funeral services or visitation events.

A couple of American Legion Riders rides, one at the beginning of the season and one at the end, were very enjoyable day long rides. And a few military celebratory rides and events, including LZ Michigan in Grand Rapids, were very special.

Passed through a lot of states in 2010: MA, NY, OH, MI, IN, IL, IA, MO, CO, NE, WY, UT, NV, CA, ID - 15 if I can count correctly.

It was a good year, looking forward to an even better one next year.

Some fun book selling & signing events coming up yet this year. November 21st - at the Novi Rock Financial Center for a big motorcycle swap meet. December 18 at Battle Creek Harley-Davidson, and December 19 at Toledo H-D.

The Military & Motorcycles revisited

2010-08-08T12:39:00.020-04:00

I have written before about the close connection between veterans, military personnel, veterans support activities, and motorcycles. I'm constantly reminded and amazed at how much motorcycling is part of the lifestyle of so many veterans, and interconnected with the various celebratory events, by which support for active and former military personnel is shown. It's as if the motorcycle provides a reason and the mechanism and means for a lot of people to celebrate past and present military personnel and the underlying reasons for the military in the first place; the opportunity to live our lives here in the manner we want, and in a way that brings us happiness. These two-wheeled machines bring happiness to several million people in the country, so why not use something that already brings good times and happiness as a celebratory medium?

It just wouldn't be the same to have a parade in which several hundred cars travel down the road. On a hot day the car windows would be up, air conditioners running at max, and the parade in reality would be several hundred individual pods, with no interaction between them and the outside world, generating no excitement and little expression of celebration. Replace those several hundred cars with motorcycles and everything is different. The bikes aren't self-contained pods filled with self-oriented individuals, rather both the machines and their riders are open to the world and actively involved. In a very real sense the machine is an active participant as much so as the rider. Riders aren't enclosed behind walls of metal and glass, they're in the open with direct contact with other riders and the public. The quiet hum of a modern car is replaced by the powerful and visceral rumble of motorcycle engines. The disconnected, unexciting line of cars is replaced with a raucous, energetic, emotionally charged and exciting parade of people and machines there for all to see, hear, and interact with.

And of course motorcycles have long been used to establish a sense of dignity and power in funeral parades, from presidents to privates. Dozens of families have requested the presence of the Patriot Guard Riders to serve not only as flag bearers at the funeral service, but to provide the powerful statement that a procession of bikes makes on that final journey to the cemetery. I've often thought that even the subdued noise and power of motorcycles in a funeral procession represent a mocking of the totality and quietness of death. The machines themselves and those who ride and enjoy them are proof that life and its accompanying joyful activities and sounds of life will go on.

Like them or not, the fact remains that for most people the sight and sound of a motorcycle causes stirrings in a person's heart and soul that a Honda Civic can never hope to achieve.

There were two recent events that bring this topic to mind. On July 3rd an event in Grand Rapids called LZ Michigan was held as a belated welcome home ceremony for Vietnam Veterans. The celebration involved several predictable component parts - food, music, speeches, displays, recognitions, and motorcycles. Why is this celebration motorcycle-based I thought to myself as I rode into the large parking lot filled with bikes, and mingled with veterans of my age who proudly wore their colors depicting solidarity mellowed with age and experience, rather than feelings of competition between units or branches of service. But really - - why was the motorcycle the binding force for a thousand or so vets who gathered to recognize their peers and to be recognized by the community. It's hard to explain but the event would have been much reduced had everyone driven their sedans and SUVs there. It would have been much less celebratory had there not been a motorcycle parade through town with the marvelous interactions between riders and the many people filling sidewalks along the route with their flags, cheers, and waves. It would have been less meaningful for all involved if not for the motorcycle parade through the VA Hospital driveway along which dozens of patients had been brought out in wheelchairs and walkers, and where staff gathered, to watch this celebration of life - manifested by the noise, spirit, freedom and life itself that the bikes represented. Hospital administrators asked that the riders "make as much noise as possible" while riding through the hospital grounds so that those inside who could not get out of their beds could also hear the celebration and perhaps be healed just a bit by this recognition of their service and sacrifice. But everyone recognized that it was primarily a celebration of life. Nothing can be done for the more than 58,000 who died in that war - they're now in God's hands. We honor and remember their sacrifice in many ways, and as a group this class of vets perhaps remembers those that were killed and are still missing in action more than veterans of any war in the past. But this event was meant to publicly celebrate those whose lives and stories went on after the war. The Michigan Remembers Run in September will yet again be a very visible reminder and a public demonstration that we have not forgotten those thousands still missing and unaccounted for.

And yesterday, August 7th, another motorcycle-based event to recognize and celebrate those that served and sacrificed. A marvelous two-mile long parade of motorcycles riding fifty miles from downtown Lansing to the charming small town of Hastings, which opened its arms and hearts to welcome this loud intrusion into their lives on an otherwise quiet summer morning. Again, it was based on motorcycles. Perhaps none of yesterday's public celebrations and recognitions would have taken place were the event not based on these 2-wheeled machines. The 'statement' that a long line of bikes slowly, almost solemnly, coursing through the countryside makes would not have happened. A long line of cars can be solemn as in a funeral parade, but it's hard to make such a procession both awe inspiring and yet solemn at the same time like these hundreds of bikes pulled off. Local residents lined the streets and roads to join us in the celebration. Would they have been there if we had all been driving our cars? Would they have been active participants? Would the residents have lined sidewalks, and cars pulled over on roadsides, to watch and wave, had we been just a loose collection of cars driving to the same destination? My guess is that the event would have lost much of its meaning and impact but for the bikes and their exposed and very actively involved riders.

Working My Way Home

2010-07-15T20:44:00.009-04:00

The main feature of yesterday was heat and many miles east bound on I-80. The Xway is a story in itself. I've noted over the many years driving I-80, passengers would call it grumbling, that there are as many trucks on this highway as cars. Whether in Wyoming or Pennsylvania, the trucks on this road are its primary characteristic. In Wyoming the turbulence of the trucks blasts you as they roar past at 75-mph, in Pennsylvania you pass them as they crawl at 35-mph uphill, and they roar past you on their downhill runs - it's that way all the way across PA! There are so many trucks that just when you get out of the wind turbulence caused by one you get near another and repeat the process. The speed limit for trucks west of Omaha is 75, and they travel it! Just an amazing amount of economic activity travels across I-80 coast to coast. The most common trucking company is FedEx, with Wal Mart the second most common truck seen. Of course the worst place to encounter trucks on this highway is the Gary / Chicago stretch; they outnumber cars in that stretch, or so it seems. On a bike it's like being in a moving canyon when you're between two of these behemoths.

Saw more state troopers on I-80 across NB than in all other states combines, plus a great deal. The police allowed traffic to flow free in all other western states, and they were rarely seen. Traffic flowed free and safely despite no police on the roads. In Nebraska there was a great deal of sideways travel on the highway as cars moved over for the frequent patrol cars with flashing lights on the shoulder - this causes serious safety problems on a highway with a 75 mph speed limit (and all those trucks!)

Heading toward Lincoln late yesterday I was watching a massive black storm mass building behind me and quickly moving east. I could see lightning in my mirrors, and even moving at about 75 I couldn't outrun it. I pulled into the west side of Lincoln and fortunately found a cheap motel quickly. Ten minutes later a massive rain, wind, lightning and thunder storm erupted, and I was able to watch it out the windows. The weather guys on all the local channels usurped normal broadcasting and they were all gaga over the intensity of the storm. It was very hot yesterday. One town just west of Lincoln had a heat index of 119 - the weathermen were all amazed at a dew point in the mid-80s, they said that is extremely rare. Combine that with a temp in the upper 90s and it's record setting conditions.

Everyone I talk to on trips claims that their state has the country's worst roads. Several Californians on this trip claimed with absolute certainty that CA has the worst roads of any state. I disagree; I believe that Iowa does. I rode a lot of 'back' roads in IA both on my way west and back east. They were all terrible. This afternoon I rode about a hundred miles out of my way to Anamosa IA to go to the National Motorcycle Museum (fabulous- well worth a hundred miles on backed up traffic and rough roads to go there!) Every mile of that trip was on very rough pavement, including about 30 miles that they were working on but all that had been done was stripping off the asphalt and leaving an even rougher base to navigate. Every mile they had posted an orange warning sign stating Rough Road. Duh! It made as much sense as putting signs up in the Arctic, in January, warning of snow and cold. We could notice for ourselves that the roads were very rough. Save the money paid for the signs and invest it in asphalt!

The museum was great - an amazingly broad collection of bikes of every imaginable make and model, from the very first through more modern times. A signed affidavit by Peter Fonda even states that the REAL Captain America chopper from the Easy Rider movie is there.

I did an amazingly stupid thing this evening. I had planned to cross the Mississippi around 6:00. I-80 had a very long backup eastbound because of work on the bridge over the river caused stop and go traffic, and all traffic limited to one lane. I spent 45-minutes creeping along making a mile or so. Just as the river came into view I saw that there was one last exit on the Iowa side. I took the shoulder and exited. I turned left toward a gas station (I was getting quite low on gas) and at a light on a road that seemed to lead back to the gas station and a couple of fast food joints, I turned left toward them. The road kind of twisted a bit and ultimately straightened out - as the ON RAMP back to west bound I-80!! I rode back west losing all that ground I had so painfully gained by creeping along in the heat, cussing like no SW should. The next exit was 8 or 9 miles back and of course I took it, following country roads through the corn fields back in the general direction of town and the river. Half an hour later I arrived back, from the opposite direction, at the gas station I thought I was turning in to in the first place.

So I'm still on the west side of the river, but it's a wonderful view and the sun is shining and I'm almost relaxed again.

Tomorrow I tackle the infamous toll road through the greater Chicago megalopolis. Saturday in the Cleveland area at a community event, selling & signing books at their invitation. I will also be part of a large bike event /rally that is going to end up in the park following a long day ride.

It'll be kind of nice to return to normal for a bit after all this road time.

Every trip I take reminds me of what a vast, beautiful, and special country this is. It is truly magnificent in its beauty and its people. I met many wonderful folks along the way and they are all just great. I'm always thankful and appreciative following each long trip.

I saw a burma-shave type sign today along the road. It said: Urban sprawl....sure ain't very pretty....save our farms.....build in the city. Amen, I couldn't agree more. The wisdom of Hawkeyes!

The Long Way Back

2010-07-13T21:23:00.008-04:00

Left Truckee mid-afternoon on Sunday and headed east on I-80 for a few hours. On Monday I headed further east to Wells, NV and headed north on US-93 for what I thought would be a fun ride into Idaho. Problem was, there was constant construction on 93 with long backups and waits in the heat. Eventually made my way to Twin Falls ID and the lower Snake River Canyon - very cool! It's a deep gash in an otherwise fairly flat agricultural plain.

The geology and ground cover changes almost immediately after entering Idaho north of Nevada. From dead and brown and almost mountainous to most flat fairly fertile land where light duty farming can occur, with the aid of irrigation. Eventually made my way to I-84 and worked across ID and dropped into Utah north of Salt Lake City. It's a long ride south in an increasingly mountainous area down toward Salt Lake City; very pretty, with the Salt Lake to the west, and mountains to the east and south.

Did a walking tour of Salt Lake City this morning. It is a beautiful city, with the Mormon temple the heart of the city, located in a beautifully tended park-like setting in the center of town. As with most large structures, pictures don't do it justice. Also some very good archived newspaper information from the state library. It's been a very good trip from the information gathering perspective - which was a large reason behind the trip.

The mountains begin in earnest just a few miles east of SLC on I-80, and all the way across that corner of UT is beautiful. It gets dryer, rockier, and browner as one enters Wyoming. After awhile it starts to looks a lot like Nevada again. Southern WY is an elevated plain with occasional mountains. Much of the ground is between 6,000 and 8,000 feet in elevation. Also somewhat NV the towns are located some distance apart, though, unlike NV, there are services in between the town so that gas and food are usually no more than 30 or 40 miles apart, as opposed to 100 miles in much of Nevada.

Very cool monument to Abe Lincoln and the Lincoln Highway about 30 miles west of Cheyenne, on the Xway. Spending the night in Cheyenne, purposely in a Mom and Pop motel, so I can watch the All Star Game, do computer stuff, and stay out of the rain (which is threatening quite seriously.)

Some general observations:

Close to 4,000 trouble free miles thus far (except for that brake problem on Pike's Peak which was caused by Mother Nature, not me or the bike).

Seeing very little wildlife. Saw a few Mule Deer at a distance yesterday, saw a group of wild horses in NV 3 days ago, and saw some antelope today.

With no exaggeration I can say that over a quarter of the miles I've ridden have been on roads under repair. Road construction, with its backups and diverted traffic, has been a daily constant. Today far more of the trip was under construction restraints than on normal roadway. I-80 is basically being rebuilt across Wyoming. Every other road I've been on has had long construction stretches and delays.

I'm seeing tons of motorcycles - they're everywhere.

I've had many long and enjoyable conversations with total strangers who want to talk about my life story when they see me on the bike with MI plates. It's been fascinating. Over a half-hour yesterday with a wonderful CA couple at a restaurant who were a joy to talk with (they both decided that it was time to buy a bike and see America); twenty minutes this morning with a retired couple also from CA who were on their way to a family reunion at Jackson Hole and who parked next to me at a rest area; long discussions with a variety of folks at different places, including 15 minutes talking with a delightful woman from Indiana, while parked atop Pikes Peak. Two folks went on at length about CA politics and how everyone is leaving the state because it is now such a terrible place to live or work. (their words, not mine). As someone who clearly remembers California's boom days in the '60s and '70s, this was rather sad commentary.

It's been a grand trip. This is such a beautiful country that it's hard to take it all in; but the best way to experience it is definitely atop a motorcycle!

Tomorrow on to Nebraska.

Deserts and Mountains In One Day

2010-07-11T22:33:00.009-04:00

Traveling across the Great Basin, by motorcycle, from Salina, UT to Reno, NV, in one day is quite the trip in many ways. The vaunted Australian Outback has nothing on this part of the country. Small towns are about a hundred miles apart, like islands in a sea of vast openness. Seeing signs warning of No Services for the next 100 miles takes some getting used to, especially when one is surrounded by nothing but dead vegetation, salt pans, dry mountains of dirt and stone, and heat. On a bike especially one really hopes nothing goes wrong.

So I island hopped across the Great American Desert all day yesterday, arriving in the bustling metro area of Reno, NV in early evening. I didn't want anything to do with the big city so I kept going another 40 miles or so to Truckee, CA. I headed south on a state route towards Lake Tahoe to an area where it looked like federal forest land and found a campground where I pitched my tent. Problem was, I was at well over 6,000 ft elevation, and I Froze!!

I had arranged to meet a man who is a relative of two of the women that are the focus of the upcoming book on Sunday at 1:00, so I had Sunday morning to myself. Already awake at the crack of dawn thanks to the cold, I bundled up, found a restaurant open in Truckee where I had several cups of coffee and pancakes, and headed out to explore: Donner Pass, Donner Lake, the Donner museum, Lake Tahoe (north and western areas), Squaw Valley area, and various mountain roads in the area. Just amazing! By 9:00 I had even warmed up a bit, with several layers on. Donner Lake is very pretty - I think prettier than Lake Tahoe, because it can be seen from high above the valley, from Donner Pass itself. There is a large monument to the Donner party at the park / museum but it didn't photograph well since I was looking into the bright sun.

The entire Truckee / Lake Tahoe region was more developed and hectic than I thought it might be, though it was a beautiful July weekend. There is a lot of residential development spread throughout the area. After the incredible openness of the prior several hundred miles the development and hustle & bustle came as a bit of a shock.

I killed about an hour exploring Truckee on foot and then met the gentleman from Sacramento. After lunch and a couple hour conversation we went our separate ways, and I got on I-80 and started the long trip back east. About 2,600 miles on the westward portion.

A long and very hot trip across the NV desert this afternoon got me as far east already as Winnamucca, which like every town and city in this state is filled with casinos.

Much more desert tomorrow across NV and northwestern Utah. Hopefully Salt Lake City and the state library on Tuesday morning. Never been to SLC, so this will be a first.

A Trip of Extremes!!

2010-07-09T20:42:00.016-04:00

Wow! What a wild 72-hours it has been from Tuesday evening until this evening! TMI might bore readers so I'll be as brief as possible. Tuesday across NE was great - I enjoy seeing farm country in extreme form, and even more enjoyed the amazing wide open spaces of SW NE. Camping at a small park near McCook, NE, under a massive cottonwood tree that surely had seen Indians camped under it 200 years ago - it was huge! I was awoken around 2:00 a.m. by an extreme pyrotechnics show, with lightning flashing non-stop in every direction, thunder rolling from every corner, and the wind picking up significantly. Not wanting one of the tree-sized branches crashing down on me, and not wanting to be picked up by a tornado or whatever this storm was going to brew, I decided on discretion rather than bravery; I loaded up my valuables (phone, camera, etc.) and headed to a small but clean cement block washroom/ shower. In less than 5 minutes all hell broke loose, and it remained until after daylight. Fortunately there was a wood bench to sit / lay on, but mostly I stared out the door into the frey and after it ended I packed up and left. The tent survived fine, and what I had left in it was mostly dry, but I just wanted to get out of there ASAP.

Got to Colorado Springs at the end of Wednesday. Had a very successful 2 hours in the library and just as I was leaving the skies opened up again with a vengeance - same kind of storm as the evening before. I had hoped to camp outside of town but hustled to a nearby Motel6 and took everything inside to spread out on the floor to dry.

Thursday morning dawned bright and blue - and the TV news at 6:00 said it would be nice until afternoon thunderstorms reappeared. I got an early start and headed to Seven Falls State Park to view the falls and get a picture in the same spot that certain ladies did in 1916, whose trip I am recreating to a certain degree to document what they did and where they went. Arrived at the locked gate at 7:30 - - sign said the park opens at 8:30! I didn't want to waste an hour of blue sky so I headed west a few miles to Pikes Peak, and decided then and there to climb to the top. And the adventures of the day thus began. I was one of the very first vehicles on the road for the day, which was both good and bad.

It's about 18 miles to the top, and the lower one half of the road is paved, though fairly narrow and of course curvy. But it was delightful; a typical mountain road. The only problem was a great deal of gravel had washed onto the road as a result of the heavy rainstorm of the night before. I arrived at the unpaved, dirt, portion of the road, which, based on many pictures I have seen of the road as it looked ca 1920, it hasn't changed much at all. Following the heavy rains it was muddy with significant washout along the route. The road becomes much more precipitous at this point. There are many muddy tight curves and for 90% or more of the route there is absolutely nothing separating a motorist from a 2,000 foot fall; no walls or rails of any kind, simply road edge and then oblivion!

I encountered quite a lot of heavy road equipment working on the road, repairing damage and also obviously upgrading certain stretches. The mud, loose stones, fairly deep ruts, and squeezing by heavy equipment with a couple feet between them and the cliff was interesting to say the least! Near the top there is blacktop again, in the areas of very tight hairpin curves (they were called The W's in the early days of the road - the road has the shape of several W's in a row in that stretch). I arrived at the 14,110 summit cold and relieved, except when I went to stop and discovered I had no rear brake at all! The front brake worked fine, but no rear at all. I checked things out, assuming a rock or rut damaged the system somehow, but couldn't see any damage. I took a few pictures while I puzzled in my mind what to do. The road down was 18 miles of steep grade and no margin whatsoever for error. I decided to go for it based on two factors; I would be in first gear all the way down, with some engine braking at work, and on a motorcycle the front brake provides 75% of braking power, and my front brake was still working. It was a white knuckle trip down to say the least, but I made it. I couldn't go without rear braking for the next couple thousand miles so I rode back to Colorado Springs to the local Harley dealer. They took the bike right in. The service rep said they see this on a fairly regular basis; the trip up to the thin air at 14,000 trip causes air bubbles in the brake fluid, which makes hydraulic brakes worthless. No one there knew why this happened, but my theory is that some of the constituent fluids in the chemical make up of brake fluid go to the gaseous form when atmospheric pressure is below a certain point. My theory, until somebody proves me wrong. The dealer washed my filthy bike, tightened the rear drive belt a bit, and I was on my way again. I retraced my ride for the second time yesterday out past Pikes Peak to Woodland Park - a very nice stretch of road. In the meantime the sky had blackened and the wind picked up dramatically. I pulled into a gas station, put in about 3/4 of a gallon of gas to look like a paying customer, as the skies let loose once again. A sign across the street said 59 degrees. Ten minutes later two other bikers slid under the canopy, followed by a fourth a few minutes after that. He said he had been caught in hail just east of town. The wind changed directions and we all noted that it was getting cooler - the sign now read 54 degrees. Almost two hours later the sign read 46 degrees and it was cold, rainy, windy and quite miserable overall under the canopy, having run out of fun things to talk and think about. We spent enough money overall on various snacks and such that the gas station manager had no complaints of us staying there. Two hours later it was 46 degrees and when the rain slowed to a drizzle we went our various ways, with me heading west into the high mountains. When the clouds lifted a little I saw snow on the slopes just a little above the road, and soon there was a little snow right next to the road. The temperature had to be around 40 at most. The 75 miles to the point I stopped finally were difficult to say the least. It started raining again, only this time it was only a few degrees above freezing and the rain above 8 or 9 thousand feet was mixed with snow.

Friday (this) morning dawned cold and clear - 43 degrees where I was, 33 degrees in nearby Leadville, which is perched a bit over 10,000 in elevation. But the sky was blue so I rode! The road and scenery were fabulous - but I was kind of frozen in place so couldn't appreciate it as much as in normal temps. By 11:00 I started dropping in elevation and the temps were becoming more normal, and by the time I reached the Vail area and I-70 things were great again. I got some pics of snow covered mountains along US 24 - a fabulous road!

I-70 runs through Glenwood Canyon, which is incredible; have to do / see it to fully appreciate. Had another successful research stop at the library in Grand Junction, CO, where I topped off with fuel and water, having seen the sign saying No Services for the next 60 miles, and it was very hot and dry there. Between Grand Junction and Green River, UT it is starkly barren - no sign of life, nor could there be. West of Green River (where a warning sign said No Services for 110 miles) are some of the most fabulous rock formations imaginable. Impossible to describe but worth the 2,000 mile trip just to see them up close.

And here I am in Salina, UT, doing laundry and finally finding some wi-fi that works, even though my netbook is giving me fits (as is Google Blogs, which keeps kicking me off their network about every 5 minutes, causing me to go through a lengthy sign in process to get back on - very frustrating, dear Google folks!!!) Threat of more bad thunderstorms tonight so no camping - a motel to work in and get ready for the ride across Nevada tomorrow.

Today was great - cold start but the scenery and fabulous roads and incredible countryside can't be lessened by simple heat or cold.

Tomorrow across Utah and into Nevada - maybe all the way to Reno - on the loneliest highway in America - US 50, which also happened to be part of the Lincoln Highway - the Main Street of America from 1913 through the 1950s.

Into the Mountains!!

2010-07-08T09:24:00.004-04:00

Sitting in a McD's in Colorado Springs on a sunny morning - one of the relatively few times I've seen the sun once west of Lincoln, NB! I won't bore you with the gory details, but a new rain suit is definitely in my future.
Very successful time spent in several libraries along the way. finding exactly the kind of original source articles as I need for my book research. Leaving for beautiful Seven Falls in a few minutes, then past Pikes Peak and into the mountains via US24 - maybe to Price UT by night.
Many photos to follow soon. Gotta make hay while the sun is shining!!

This time - Heading West

2010-07-05T20:15:00.011-04:00

On the road on two wheels once again; this time west bound. I'm in central Iowa as I pound the keyboard, dodging storms and having given up on staying dry. It has rained for days in IA, and there are flooded fields and flood warning aplenty.Rivers are near or over flood stage all over the state. About 40 miles through torrential rain this p.m., causing me to change camping plans to a motel room, as more rain and storms are predicted through the night and even tomorrow. It certainly is green here!
An uneventful day today, except for the storm late in the day (and having lost my first blog attempt; 45 minutes worth of what I'm certain you would have considered profound prose vanished into the cosmos when my Internet connection unexpectedly disconnected itself. So, sorry, but in its place a clearly second-rate blog is filed.)
Pleasant weather for the first few hours today morphed into very windy conditions west of Chicago. The sky got steadily darker west of the Mississippi, and an hour later all hell broke loose!
Before the rains fell I discovered a portion of the original 1913 version of the Lincoln Highway that was still gravel. A century ago it would have been unimproved dirt. After a light rain the 'road' surface would have been slipperier than ice as the clay turned to grease. After a heavier rain the road would have been a foot or more of pure mud, trapping any 2 or 4-wheeled vehicle unfortunate enough to be out. Only a team of powerful horses from a local farm had any hope of freeing a vehicle trapped in the mud of America's roads of a century ago. I had to remind myself during today's rain that along this same roadway a century ago such a storm would have been a major problem for anyone that had been caught in it. I was on asphalt, with my cell phone handy, credit cards in my wallet to ensure food, lodging, and other necessities (and niceties), and a GPS unit to ensure I didn't get lost. The early travelers that I'm chronicling didn't even have road signs to guide them; they had a dirt trail through endless prairie. I was thus shamed into quitting my bitchin'.

I hope the next several days find me all the way to at least Reno, NV; hopefully into CA. There are many library archives and museums to spend time at collecting materials, photos, and information, as well as documenting and photographing conditions and places as they are today, compared to a hundred years ago. All this toward the goal of acquiring original source and supporting documentation for an upcoming book about a few marvelous people and their great adventures across America in the pre-World War One period.

A book selling & signing event at a community celebration in Painesville, OH on July 17 & 18 is causing me to have to hurry this trip a bit, but I am confident I will accomplish all I hope to. In between the research and meetings will be about 4,000 miles of road to travel and explore, including a couple thousand miles of new roads and countless new places! It doesn't get much better than that.

More to follow as wi-fi connections allow.

Miscellaneous Thoughts on my Latest Trip

2010-06-19T06:54:00.013-04:00

I just completed a nearly 2,000 mile trip through NY and MA, during which I was once again reminded of the marvelous beauty and fascinating history of that part of the country; a history that goes back much further than much of the country's. Seeing signs about towns incorporated before the Revolutionary War, or even dates going back to the late 1600's, is very cool!

What's more, the area has some of the best motorcycling roads to be found anywhere. The back roads in the Berkshires, the Catskills, and the hills of southern New York state - almost all the way to the Pennsylvania border near Lake Erie - offer some of the most enjoyable twisting, turning, rising, falling, and scenic two lane blacktop in the country. And because school was still in session last week in NY and MA the summer tourism season hadn't really begun yet, resulting in light traffic on these roads.

While in Springfield, MA I visited the Indian Motorcycle museum. It is now part of a larger city museum but it has marvelous displays and is a recommended stop for anyone who enjoys antique motorcycles and related items from the early and mid-2oth century.

Some observations from the trip:

There is obviously a lack of serious crime in New York. I don't believe I have ever seen so many police working traffic on back roads in my life. It seemed that around every curve or over every hill there was a patrol car running radar traffic enforcement. I think I spent as much time looking in my mirrors or scanning the roadsides for police cars checking my speed and waiting to pull me over as I did normal riding duties. Very frustrating, and I think mostly for naught. I've long believed that riders and drivers will 'float' to the proper and safest speeds on various roads, depending on all of the circumstances and conditions present at any given place and time. This speed might be less or more than the posted speed, which is a best guess average which unfortunately has the inflexible power of law. Many speed limits are set too low in my opinion. Expressway speeds in NY, PA, and OH are set at 65-mph, which I think is foolish, because nearly everyone naturally, and safely, goes 70. It makes a mockery of the law and of enforcement. But of course if a particular highway patrol officer wants to pull a driver over and ticket them for doing a safe and appropriate 70, they could (and do).

I thankfully had no close calls of any kind, and saw no deer or other potential hazards anywhere near the road for the entire trip. I did notice that the amount of weed cutting along the roads is less than past years, no doubt due to budgetary problems in state and local coffers. I like it when they don't mow the entire right of way - I think that's overkill and destroys a lot of habitat for small animals and ground nesting birds like pheasants. But I do like at least 6-feet or so mowed back from the edge of the shoulders so deer near the roadway can be spotted sooner.

I ended up blitzing home the last day and arrived close to 11:00 p.m. I rarely ride after dusk because it's simply too dangerous with deer and other large wildlife moving about. Once darkness descends completely the potential dangers of being on the road increase across the board. Car drivers are less likely to see a rider, there are more intoxicated drivers on the roads, it is more difficult to see dangers in time to take avoidance action (a muffler lying in the middle of the road, etc.). So I have had a long personal preference to avoid riding after dusk and it seems to have worked for me. I read about a lot of night time accidents involving motorcycles and sometimes it's the riders fault for missing a curve or other danger, other times a driver claimed to not have seen the biker. But having been an observer of such things for nearly forty years I have seen patterns that I choose to avoid to increase my safety margin while still allowing maximum enjoyment of daytime riding.

Home for a couple weeks then off on another much longer trip to the west. Gotta get the bike ready for the rigors of the wild, wild west!

On The Road Again

2010-06-14T20:16:00.009-04:00

As Willie said; I can't wait to be on the road again!
End of day 2 - spending the night in the Finger Lakes region of New York, heading east with the rising sun tomorrow morning.
Saw tons of motorcycles in the stretch of route 2 & 6 between Toledo and Cleveland, OH, and then realized it was the last day of the big Ohio Bike Week event. Spent time in Erie PA and Buffalo today, poring over century old newspapers and microfilm, looking for information for the next book. More of the same in various museums and libraries in the next couple of days - including a stop at the Indian Motorcycle museum in Springfield, MA - going to be great fun!
Taking the old roads all the way - in fact, for the most part the same alignments that adventurers would have followed a hundred years ago, only then they were dirt roads at best, muddy or sandy trails at worst. But to a fair degree I'm seeing some of the same things they saw as they shared these old roads with horses and buggies, on the Indians and Harleys of that era, and going through the same small towns. Some of the buildings are exactly as they would have looked a century ago.

Route 5 between Erie and Buffalo is a nice ride, but most folks never enjoy the scenery and the frequent Lake Erie vistas along that stretch because they are on the nearby expressway. There must be as many acres of vineyards in this area as there are in Marin County California!

Route 20 is the old road from Albany to Buffalo - it closely parallels the Erie Canal across the state and has been the path followed by countless travellers for centuries. Talk about a historic road!

Been in and out of a lot of rain these past 2 days but tomorrow promises to be sunny and warm - a great day to cross the beautiful state of New York and get into the even more beautiful Berkshires! Looking forward with special excitement to ride the stretch called Jacob's Ladder - the same exact route through the mountains that some bikers that I feel I know very well took 94 years ago.

Staying Alive Skills

2010-05-27T15:38:00.011-04:00

Over the years I've told people that I am convinced motorcycling has made me a safer driver. I explain that tricks and skills I've learned or developed while riding also have application when driving in a four wheeler.
The examples are many and varied. To note just a few:
I've ridden with many people who, when the stoplight turns green, just press down the accelerator and go - not thinking for a moment to look both ways first to make sure a vehicle isn't about to run through the intersection against the red. It's quite common for cars to continue against the red for one or two seconds after the light turned red for them. A practice I force myself to follow every time I'm at a stoplight on my bike is to never just pull out on a green light, but to Always look both ways to ensure no one is sailing through the intersection. This practice has definitely saved my life on at least two occasions (both times in a 4-wheeler), once when a delivery truck roared through at the point I would have been had I nonchalantly pulled away, and another time a large SUV ran the light a couple seconds after it turned, and if I had immediately accelerated we would have met in the middle.
There are many other applications and skills: Always maintaining adequate stopping and maneuvering distance, even if it means jerks slipping in between you and the vehicle in front of you - if this happens you drop back a bit to always maintain a safety cushion on all sides; never ever assuming the other driver is going to do what they're supposed to do - assume the exact opposite - it'll help keep you out of trouble; never assume the other driver sees you - assume they don't - you'll live longer; keep track of all vehicles in your area of concern and monitor what they're doing; never stay in another vehicle's blind spot for more than the second or two it takes to pass them; never ride next to an 18-wheeler - I've had two big rig tires explode next to my car, I don't want it to happen when I'm on a bike so if I must get next to a truck I make that interval absolutely as short as possible; when stopping for a light or stop sign, always leave some room between you and the vehicle ahead of you for maneuvering capability; when stopped, leave your vehicle in gear for a quick escape; and when stopped, watch you mirrors - danger is going to come from behind when you're stopped.
These last three were put into practice without conscious thought yesterday and thus I'm here and healthy enough to write about it today (though quite sore!).
Driving my Ford Escape on a busy 4-lane highway, stopped at a red light. Out of habit I had a few feet between me and the car ahead. I glance in the rear view mirror and see an SUV heading for me at full speed, the driver obviously unaware that I'm stopped just ahead. I know there is no way he will be able to stop, so I turn the wheels toward the center turn lane, take my foot off the brake and immediately begin accelerating just as he crashed into me. It all occurred in a second at the most. By following the 3 rules above I was able to reduce the impact of the collision, I ended up in open space as opposed to sandwiched into the vehicle in front of me which would have been the typical sudden violent acceleration from being hit from behind, followed a tenth of a second later by the sudden stop, with head slamming into steering wheel or whatever, when I slammed into the vehicle in front of me.
By following these defensive riding practices, which must become second nature so a person always does them, I turned what would have been a very bad incident into a survivable one - the outcome difference was significant.
Ride and drive safe, as if everyone is out to get you - because in reality, they are!

Random Thoughts in the rain

2010-05-22T16:53:00.008-04:00

Headed out this morning to a ride that was to start at 10:00. Had gone two miles when it started to rain, and it rained the rest of the way to the gathering point. The ride was cancelled. Had to ride through a muddy construction zone on the way back and got the bike filthy - spent an hour washing it.
But I had a little more time to think on the bike while riding home.
I've often wondered what kind of motorcycle certain historic figures would have ridden had bikes been in existence in their days. You KNOW that many of the famous and infamous characters of the past would have been enthusiastic riders, while some wouldn't have ridden. (For instance, I don't think that Washington, Adams, or Jefferson would have been riders, though Paine, Knox, G.R. Clark (and William), and Paul Revere would have.) Robin Hood, Isaac Newton, and Da Vinci most definitely would have ridden!
Got me thinking - what would the apostles have ridden (at least those that would have been riders)? My conclusion:
Matthew would have ridden one of the early large Harley touring bikes - a bike that had a presence, as well as comfort. He had been used to at least a somewhat comfortable lifestyle, after all.
Thomas would have ridden an Indian - he wasn't going to take any chances with an unknown - something known and proven for him.
Peter - a Triumph. The name would have been just too much for him to resist.
Judas Iscariot - a Pope - rare and the center of attention.
John - a Matchless; something light, dependable, and dirt worthy for all the long distance overland traveling that came with the job.
Andrew a BSA, to be different.
Matthias, a Henderson - the new guy needed to prove his worth and Hendersons screamed style and prestige.
The others, except Saul / Paul, would have ridden a variety of British bikes for their practicality and usefulness off road.
Paul - most definitely a Vincent Black Lightning. He wanted to make a presence and those who objected be damned - he was going to challenge everyone in an in-your-face manner and let the chips fall as they may. A guy like that needs a bike of substance and strong personality.
My last biblical thought was - I wonder when archaeologists are going to locate Paul's missing book of letters - letters to motorcyclists. After the Thessalonians I'm sure he figured that it was time to bring Bikers into the tent, and I'm sure that there must be a book of Letters to Bikers in a cave in the Middle Eastern desert somewhere just waiting to be rediscovered. What fascinating reading they will be!
Ride On.

To Hell and Back - just for the hell of it.

2010-05-16T23:22:00.014-04:00

Had a great ~130 mile ride today to the tiny burg of Hell, located in SE Michigan not too far from Ann Arbor. In Michigan one can find both Hell and Paradise, and if it has any meaning as to the relative good or evil condition of humankind, they're both about the same size - tiny. Not many people make it to Paradise, at least on a permanent basis, but then again probably less than a hundred people reside in Hell permanently. I guess most Michiganders live in limbo - somewhere in that vast realm between Hell and Paradise.

The reason for the ride to Hell was as much a test of new equipment as it was just a fun ride (which it was!). I purchased a new GPS unit and wanted to try it out before depending on it in just a few weeks when I take a couple of long trips on over a thousand miles of old road as it existed a hundred years ago. It's going to take a lot of trouble determining and plotting out the route in the first place, and the most efficient way of saving it is in electronic form, and definitely the safest way of following it will be with a GPS unit.

I'm a fan of paper maps; always have and always will carry them regardless of whether I have a GPS on board. But paper maps and motorcycles really aren't compatible. The temptation is too great to look at maps while riding - a potentially dangerous thing to do. A GPS unit is mounted at near eye level and a quick glance tells the operator what is needed. The unit is specifically made for motorcycles so it's water proof, stands up to rain, heat, cold, vibrations, bumps, and whatever else bike travel can throw at it, or at least so the folks at Garmin claim.

Today's test showed a couple of bugs with the mounting system which I was able to correct once home again. And just in time - the weather forecast is promising for the coming week.

GPS units have one major flaw. They eliminate the excuse of having gotten lost as the reason for getting home several hours later than promised on a fun day of riding.

Bad Weather Curse!!

2010-05-11T19:27:00.010-04:00

Byline - Ohio:

I've been planning this trip to Ohio for several weeks, hoping that the weather would cooperate, but it wasn't to be. Cold temps, torrential rains, high winds, even tornadoes in OH, meant either put the trip off for an indefinite period, or drive a 4-wheeler; since flexibility in scheduling wasn't an option, I drove the car. I'm visiting several places in OH as part of my ongoing research into a new book.

First stop was at the American Motorcyclist Association to check out the possibility of archived materials that I could access. Next stop, various museums and libraries for more original source research.

But that's the boring stuff. The enjoyable portion of the trip was a chance to once again enjoy some of Ohio's wonderful back roads! I've spent many years telling anyone who would listen about The Buckeye State's fabulous biking roads. All across the state there are wonderful two-laners that are worthy of a long ride to get to, and most people just don't know this fact because they spend their time on I-80 or I-75, and never see the real Ohio. I went out of my way to ride a few of them today on my way to Columbus, and later to Akron. Riding route 315 along the Olentangy River from Delaware to Columbus is a fun trip next to this scenic winding river that is so much more enjoyable than nearby US-23!

Route 79 north from Newark up to the village of Nellie isn't considered one of the fabled roads of Ohio, but I highly recommend it. The road just keeps getting hillier, curvier, and more scenic the further north one rides. Even fun in a car! Routes 60, 93, or 751 are just a few more of many great roads in this small part of OH northeast of Columbus. And these aren't the legendary ones!

I'm hoping that the research pays off in more trips to this area in the next few weeks - - maybe by then it'll be warm and dry and I won't have to leave the bike in the garage!

I am so ready for good riding weather to finally get here and stay around awhile!

Talking to someone today at one of the places I stopped. In the course of our conversation she learned that I had written a book about the Vietnam War and was a VN vet. She gave me a surprised look, and said: "But you seem quite normal; almost all the Vietnam veterans I've ever met are totally screwed up!"
How the hell do you respond to that? I assured her that there were many more of us around that were basically normal. I later of course kicked myself for not saying something along the lines of since when is it the vets' fault that they were affected by that stinking war?
Semper Fi

Spreading The Word

2010-05-07T07:02:00.007-04:00

Did another talk / slideshow at a community library earlier this week. About 25 folks showed up to hear me talk about exploring the back roads and discovering the lesser-known attractions of the Great Lakes region. It was a nice mix of motorcycle and automobile tourists, as one of the points I try to make is that it doesn't matter if you're on a bike or in a big RV, the back roads and best kept secrets of our region are available to everyone. Just get off the main roads and remember that the journey is at least as important as the destination; sometimes the journey is what it's all about! It's a lot of fun talking with the people who hang around after the show to talk and compare notes. Selling a few books after each show helps pay the bills.

In every regard it seems that we've become a destination-oriented society. I don't view this as a good thing. We ought to get off the expressway of life and back onto the scenic, friendly, and relaxing back roads - in every manner of speaking.

I will be on the road a lot this summer conducting research in several widely separated parts of the country - all for my next book, which I'm very excited about. Something a bit different than prior efforts.

Weather permitting the first trip is next week - but the weather doesn't look promising. I could take the truck instead of the bike, but what fun would that be?! (not to mention significantly more expensive, given the mpg difference).

I've already had several lengthy phone conversations with folks from libraries and museums across the country. I've noticed over the years that people who work in these two venues are among the friendliest and most helpful workers you'll find anywhere. They seem to really enjoy their jobs and like to help people.

A weekend coming up, which of course means rain and cool temps. That's unfortunate; lots of folks graduating from universities this weekend, not to mention Mothers Day. (and of course the fact that the bike will be parked, instead of ridden).

Riding Again - Finally!

2010-05-03T18:41:00.011-04:00

It's been nearly two busy and in many ways frustrating months since my last blog. Google has taken over the blog site causing some problems with signing on, but it's all up and running again. The weather has improved dramatically. No longer do I have to check snow conditions before considering whether to take the bike somewhere.

I took my bike in for some work in mid-March, expecting that the down time would coincide with cold and snowy conditions. Little did I know that due to a backorder for a critical part my bike would sit in the dealer's garage for a couple of weeks in late March when we had unusually warm weather - great days for two wheeling - and I had no wheels.

Taking curves too aggressively on my cruiser last summer resulted in a serious muffler drag on concrete, which in turn bent the pipe and broke the complex and fairly expensive crossover pipe. It also ended up damaging one of the ports where the crossover connects with the rear slip-on muffler. I cobbled things together and rode a couple of months last fall but it was clear I couldn't go on that way any longer. For one thing, the crossover pipe also provides the structural stability for the rear muffler, which was seriously lacking for about a thousand miles late last year.

New crossover pipe - - sort of expensive. Two new slip-on mufflers - also kind of expensive and now louder than stock. But with the new air breather, carbeurator re-work, and freer breathing mufflers, there is a noticeable increase in performance, and two niggling problems with the stock bike have been eliminated. The stock bike recirculates crankcase oil mist through the breather to burn it in the combustion cycle. Problem is at certain speeds the system is overwhelmed and oil mist escapes from the breather housing, collecting on the rear exhaust pipe and somewhat on the right pant leg. This problem is totally eliminated. The second issue was a stutter or hesitation at steady low speeds. The carbeurator re-jetting took care of this completely.

Because of EPA regs stock bikes run lean and restricted. A breather system, carb (or fuel injection adjustment) and muffler replacement can make a motorcycle run noticeably better - just no way around it.

Spent two fun weekends in Wisconsin in April. On the 19th I had a slideshow and talk at the Delafield library talking about motorcycling opportunities in Wisconsin, based on my latest book. A week later I was at the Giant Motorcycle Swap Meet in Milwaukee, selling books and rubbing elbows with a convention hall full of other vendors selling a wide variety of motorcycle gear and parts. Also visited the Harley Museum again on the day prior to the meet - great fun.

I unfortunately had to take my truck to Wisconsin both times rather than ride because of the books, computer, and various displays I had to take with me.

Off to the Marshall, MI library tomorrow to do another talk and slide show.

Last Wednesday was another of those emotional days when riding with the Patriot Guard Riders. We stood honor at the funeral of a 23-year old young man from Nashville, MI, just back to civilian status after four years in the Marines, with two tours in Iraq. He and his girl friend went for a motorcycle ride last week and an inattentive driver, possibly under the influence of alcohol, pulled out in front of them, causing his death. Fortunately the passenger's physical injuries were minor, but her emotional injuries were no doubt great. What a waste! I am so angry that unthinking car drivers essentially get away with murder on a regular basis.

Lots of riding on the horizon in the next three months, including a long trip to the east coast, and another trip that'll take me west - perhaps all the way to California. All for the purpose of research for an upcoming book. Several shorter 2 and 3-day rides for the same purpose are also on the calendar.

I'm going to have to get new tires, and change both the engine and transmission oils before June's trip.

It's the riding season! Get Out and Ride Often and Ride Safe.

35 Miles in 112 Days

2010-03-08T17:41:00.005-05:00

After 112 days of hibernation the 2-wheeler finally stretched its legs for an hour yesterday. Though the roadsides and fields were still mostly covered in snow, the afternoon temperature did peak at 43-degrees. Even at that I probably should have been on a snowmobile rather than a motorcycle.
But it felt great to take a ride. I stopped for a few minutes at an access site on a local lake, and watched ice fishermen huddled on the ice trying to catch dinner. They looked at me with considerable puzzlement and I'm sure they thought I was crazy, but the roads were snow and ice free and with several layers of clothing to fight off the wind chill and the warm sun shining on me, it was a most enjoyable ride indeed!

Form and Function

2010-03-04T11:41:00.044-05:00

Over the years I've given a lot of thought to the concepts of form and function, because I'm a fan of both. I admire good form, no matter its manifestation. I also want things I own or use to have functional qualities, unless they are meant to be objects de arte and simply sit on a shelf or hang on a wall to attract attention, scrutiny, and comment.

As a gearhead I have long admired form in vehicles - cars and motorcycles. The first car I bought new, upon returning from military duty, had to have a lot of form in the sense of exuding power and intimidation, good looks, horsepower, sound, and in general a look that screamed macho and power even at a standstill. When running, the expression of its machismo had to be even louder and stronger. I accomplished this with a Chevelle Super Sport, 396 cid engine, with 350 bad-ass horses ready and willing to show any other car who was king of the road. Since then my vehicles have gotten progressively more functional, and the form quality has unfortunately taken a distant back seat. I've always regretted this aspect of automobile ownership that occurs as one progresses from bachelorhood to family man.

My current vehicle, a Ford Escape, is very functional and has served me in a totally dependable manner for 100,000 miles thus far, but it doesn't scream anything - standing or rolling; other than perhaps that its owner is a practical person who values function more than form. But that's not true - I do value form, unfortunately it takes a back seat in my 4-wheeled vehicle, from which I need function more than sex appeal. My Escape is expected to pull a trailer, haul large objects home from the department store, carry several passengers and their gear, traverse sandy two-track trails, carry a canoe on its roof, and perform other tasks that just aren't compatible with a vehicle that has aesthetics as its primary quality. The cars I really want, a Mustang GT or a new Camaro, just couldn't do all the things my Escape must do to earn its place in our garage, and they would thus fail the family man test.

But I do insist on form in my motorcycles, in nearly equal portions as function. I definitely want a bike I can ride cross-country, but I will not give up looks in the search for such a motorcycle. (I did once buy a bike based only on capability, and I regretted it) All of my other two-wheelers over several decades were attractive as well as functional.

I once had a red Kawasaki Concours that was described by a friend as 'the Ferrari of motorcycles', with its aggressive (and attractive) bright red color and sportbike attitude. But it was also a fine touring machine and took me across much of America during our time together.

My current ride is also a looker, while definitely also maintaining the functional side of the equation. Most folks are surprised when I tell them that I ride across the country on a 1200 Harley Sportster. But make no mistake, the new XLs make a fine touring mount for the solo rider. A touring seat, windshield, and removable saddle bags complete the package. Very comfortable, functional, efficient (always more than 50 mpg), dependable, and damned good looking at the same time - my kind of bike.

I personally don't go in for choppers because they are mostly, or even all, form, and not enough function. I also demand dependability, which they usually lack. If a rider wants to make a statement about him or herself, then riding a chopper is a good way to do it, but a price will be paid in the areas of comfort, ease of maintenance, and dependability. Of course there are riders who just don't place a high value on these mundane qualities - they're out to prove something, or, they just don't give a damn about societal norms such as these and are willing to ride their ride regardless of what others may think and of whatever inconveniences they might experience. It's the attitude, even more than the bike, that separates chopper riders from other motorcyclists.

Items based primarily on form can have very limited real-world application, and that's not for me. Some things, certainly including motorcycles, are meant to be used, not just shown off. A machine that can have both great aesthetic value as well as functional qualities is quite an accomplishment.

Motorcycle craftmanship is a unique specialty in which artisans take great pains to transform what in reality is just a machine into a bona fide work of art. Arlen Ness is one of the best (the yellow bike pictured above is one of his many creations). His hand built bikes are truly works of art - I don't think anyone could argue that fact. Certain hand built or limited production motorcycles in my opinion qualify as art because, like paintings or sculptures gracing museums around the world, these select examples of highly attractive motorcycle craftsmanship evoke different feelings in people. Some might marvel at the use of colors, some may find the overall form praiseworthy, mechanically oriented observers will be amazed at how the pieces all fit seamlessly together, while others will daydream about the bike as a ticket to freedom and as a means to escape from the restrictions and duties of everyday life. It's no different than the differing reactions people get while looking at the same Monet print or a Rockwell painting of down home America.

The mark of truly skilled and artistic craftsmen, whether they build motorcycles or furniture, is to build functional objects that have aesthetic values in such quality and quantity that their handiwork can be appreciated by even disinterested persons. Thus, motorcycles can most assuredly be works of art, as can a Louie XIV chair.

And it's all good. Vive la Difference!

Frozen in Time

2010-02-25T16:28:00.006-05:00

It's been five weeks since my last post and nothing has changed; nothing! We are still stuck in a frozen wasteland of ice and snow with no real relief in sight. (The weather guys, whom I don't trust at all, are saying it will get above freezing next week. Sorry, 35-degrees doesn't cut it!)

It has now been one hundred and three days since a wheel has turned on the XL1200C, and unless I fit it with skis it ain't going anywhere any time soon!

At least some people are starting to think about warm days in the distant future. Off to the Fort Wayne, IN area next Sunday to talk at a motorcycle safety gathering, and hopefully sell a few books, and three weeks from now at the always enjoyable open house at Grand Rapids BMW. Several more events coming up in April and May, so perhaps the end of this never-ending winter is just over the horizon.

Enjoyable meeting today with a rep from the national Honda Valkyrie organization. They're bringing their national rally to Michigan this summer and we want to show the attendees what a wonderful motorcycle destination Michigan is with its unique attractions, beautiful countryside, and enjoyable roads. Hundreds of folks having a good time in northern Michigan and spending money at local businesses in the process; it's all good. Maybe, just maybe, the snow will have melted by July!

Speaking of snow, I must go shovel the driveway. When I'm done I will take the cover off Sporty, wipe the dust off, and pretend and imagine.......

Stuck in the Intertropical Convergence Zone

2010-01-20T19:33:00.014-05:00

One of the fears of sailors prior to the advent of powered vessels was to get stuck for days or weeks in that part of the world's oceans called the Equatorial Calms, or simply, the doldrums. No wind and calm seas for weeks on end meant potential disaster for ships that got caught in these zones - technically called the Intertropical Convergence Zones. Well guess what buckos and swabbies - we're stuck in one of these zones right now - at least if you ride a motorcycle. It's been nine weeks, with no end in sight. Stuck in the doldrums. Instead of calm tropical seas with no wind, the northern USofA is stuck in a non-tropical zone of ice, snow, cold, and slippery roads that mean that virtually nothing on two wheels moves. Stuck in the Zone. The Doldrums. The Winter Calms. It stinks!

But in the heart of the doldrums the first signs of a breeze make themselves felt. In February, many gardeners and farmer-wannabes take delight at the arrival of the first seed catalogs in the mail. These catalogs are filled with pictures of beautiful flowers and fruit-ladened branches and vines. Order the seeds or plants now in time for planting when the frost leaves the soil. I've anxiously awaited the arrival of such catalogs for decades.
The same thing happens in the world of motorcycles. In mid-winter catalogs begin arriving in the mail from companies such as RiderWearhouse, Whitehorse Gear, and many other motorcycle clothing and accessory distributors that, like the Sears catalog of old, depend on lovers of slick pages filled with gear that every motorcyclist feels they must have, to survive financially another year. These catalogs arrive just when it seems there is no end to the doldrums; when it feels like we are caught fast in the weeds of the Sargasso Sea never to sail free again.
These catalogs are fun to look at beyond their daydreaming value. I enjoy perusing the witty sayings and motorcycling colloquialisms printed on T-shirts meant for bikers who want to send a message or elicit a snicker. From the no frills "Cars Suck", to the picture of a nun on a bike with the words "Wherever there is sin - There I must ride". Or "The Road to Enlightenment is more fun on a Bike". "Nuke and Pave" and "Refined Hydrocarbon Recycler" are a couple of the less politically correct, while "When in Doubt, Ride" seems quite unoffensive to all but the most anti-two wheeler. There are obviously many in the X-rated category as well, but those are sold in catalogs that haven't put me on their mailing list yet. It's also always quite an eye opener to see how many dozens of books are in print and sold in these catalogs that are about the motorcycling lifestyle or bikes themselves.
This is also the time of year when the International Motorcycle Shows make the rounds in places like New York, Toronto and Chicago, exhibiting the best of the manufacturers from around the world. Much like the North American Auto Show, held in January in Detroit, these shows are a chance to spend a day inside to walk and gawk and even touch; surrounded by objects of beauty and craftsmanship that represent the promise of warmer days and open roads.

I noticed today that the department stores now have spring and summer clothing on display. Winter coats and boots must be requested if they are the purpose of one's shopping trip in January in Michigan - the stores have already moved on, even if the seasons haven't. Bathing suits and short sleeved shirts are on display, not January garb.
I have to be realistic and face the fact that we are stuck deep in the Winter Doldrums in that part of the country north of the freezing fortieth degree of latitude....but I think I detect just a bit of a breeze. Ten more weeks and we will get out of the InterArctic Convergence Zone and on the open road once again!

Hibernation

2009-12-10T21:53:00.008-05:00

This time of year tries the very soul of anyone who enjoys warm weather activities. And there are, of course, few outdoor pursuits that require warm weather more than riding motorcycles. There are indoor facilities where a peson can practice their golf swing, or hit a baseball, or go for a swim. But once the roads are covered with ice and snow all but the most insanely avid bikers are finally forced to park their bikes for the duration.

And while golf clubs and other summer gear are stored out of sight, and thus out of mind in the basement or closet, motorcycles generally share space in a cold dank corner of the garage, near our salt covered cars that slowly drip their briny sludge onto the garage floor. An inglorious and ignominious situation to say the least; a sad way to treat man's best friend!

The cord for the trickle charger looks for all the world like part of an artificial life support system as it drapes across the bike and connects to the battery with black and red clamps. Even the flashing green and red lights on the charger remind me of emergency equipment in a hospital room whose sole purpose is to force life into an ill patient.

The final insult is placing the necessary cover on the patient - looking way too much like the actions of a doctor or police officer covering a dead person with a blanket. Yes, my bike lies dormant under its shroud, making neither movement nor sound, trickle charger plugged into the wall forcing vital nutrients in the form of electrons into its electric bloodstream.

But be assured - it isn't dead. It is only resting and waiting. Its gas tank is filled with the food stuff of internal combustion engines, latent energy ready for mechanical metabolism to commence again, anticipating the next inevitable warm spell when it will again shed its cover and come alive with a roar and an overwhelming need to get out and run. And I'll be there with it, sharing in its joy.

Brainiac Bikers

2009-11-18T13:48:00.007-05:00

Research performed at Tohoku University in Japan in 2008 documented the following:

"When riding a motorcycle, the brain of the rider is stimulated. Differences in brain use and level of brain stimulation can be observed in motorcyclists who ride regularly and in motorcyclists who have not ridden for extended periods. Incorporating motorcycle riding into daily life improves various cognitive functions and has positive effects on mental and emotional health such as stress reduction". (emphasis mine!)

So there you have it. Leather and ballistic nylon have replaced corduroy jackets with patches on the elbows and cardigan sweaters as the unofficial dress code of the intelligentsia.

Global Warming Ain't All Bad

2009-11-15T08:34:00.005-05:00

I think I like this global warming thing! Here it is November 14th and the thermometer was well into the 60s, there was nary a cloud in the sky, the sun was warm and the breezes gentle. Contrast that with the norm for this date: dark scuttling clouds down on the deck, a mixture of snow, sleet and drizzle falling for days on end, no evidence that the sun even exists, and of course temps in the 30s or 40s at best with a stiff breeze to send any but the most hardy inside to channel surf for a football game that interests them.
This time of year folks who venture outdoors are more commonly wondering if there will be tracking snow for deer hunting, not where to go on a motorcycle ride!
But today was delightfully different and the situation just screamed 'motorcycle ride'! When handed a marvelous gift such as a warm sunny day in mid-November, one don't question why or how - a sensible person just takes advantage of the generous offer. The only question was where; the 'if' part was settled without any mental argumentation. Sometimes in late fall common sense arguments can prevail when the temperature is marginal and conditions just aren't very promising for an enjoyable ride, no matter how strong the urge to get out might be.

No mental machinations today! Instead I put on more than 125 miles on curvy blacktop where I saw more fellow motorcyclists than cars. Once the fall colors disappear - and as nice as today was the trees were bare and the landscape very November-looking - the traffic on my favorite back roads becomes more sparse, making them more enjoyable for two-wheeling. With the majority of agricultural harvesting now completed, there are also fewer tractors and grain trucks on the back roads this late in the year.
It was a fun afternoon. Perhaps I can help insure more of this weather if we were to trade in our two fuel-sipping vehicles for a couple of Hummers. You just never know when you might need that extra carrying and towing capabilities!

Life is more fun on two wheels.

Frightening, or perhaps just interesting, Halloween Motorcycle News

2009-10-31T08:35:00.027-04:00

November has always been my least favorite month. It signals the end of all that is good: warmth, freedom of movement, the green of summer and the beauty of early fall, and of course in northern climes it marks the end of another motorcycling season. For going on forty years I've sadly marked November as the time to park the bike and winterize it. In old days (how many remember this piece of history?) the insurance on motorcycles lapsed during the winter months so there wasn't even any occasional riding on a 'warm' day. November meant the end of riding until at least March or April.

The end of October and first of November bring us death-based observations such as Halloween, All Souls Day, Day of the Dead, and other bright and cheerful events marking the end of life. It is with this backdrop that I once again admit that summer is history and that I must winterize the bike yet one more year.

But there is still life in those aspects of the sport that transcend the riding season. The business side of the industry continues with new products and continual research; legal issues wrestle their way through the regulatory process at all levels; and as another racing season wraps up exciting news is once again made on the national and international stages. I've decided to breathe some life into this biking season by spending some time on these other facets of the motorcycle lifestyle. So here we go.

In recent days two representatives from Brammo, Inc., of Ashland, OR, rode the company's totally electric motorcycles from Detroit to Washington, DC, retracing the routes taken by GM and Chrysler execs when they made their famous hat-in-hand trip to DC earlier this year, in hybrid cars after their corporate jets were grounded. Brammo wanted to demonstrate their Enertia Motorcycle, an electric bike already on the market ready for distribution. The below blog follows their road trip and time in DC as they try to get an appointment with Barack Obama, and give him one of their bikes. Fun and interesting reading.

http://www.shockingbarack.com/

It is fairly well known that Brad Pitt is a motorcycle enthusiast, regularly riding in the LA and Hollywood area. He normally wears a helmet to provide some anonymity as he enjoys a ride alone or with friends. But of course this doesn't deter the paparazzi who follow every move that movie stars make hoping for a one-of-a-kind photo that will make them rich.

A few days ago Pitt was involved in a minor accident when a nosy photographer pressed him a little too closely, and he tried to squeeze between cars to escape. Only slight damage to the bike, none to Pitt.

http://www.examiner.com/x-14650-Entertainment-Examiner~y2009m10d25-Brad-Pitt-in-motorcycle-accident-involving-Paparazzi

On an issue having nothing at all to do with celebrity and good looks - Unfortunately there are too many riders who equate noise with power and personal status. Posers who think they must run straight pipes to be cool are the single greatest threat to the motorcycling lifestyle out there today. They are going to bring the government, and worse, public opinion, crashing down on our heads, and we'll some day all be forced by law to ride the equivalent of Honda Civics with two wheels.
I have nothing against a motorcycle that makes its presence known with a deep powerful exhaust note typical of a V-twin, or that shows off the power of a well tuned 4-cylinder sport bike. It's music to my ears!

What I hate is the obnoxious sound that any internal combustion engine makes when it is improperly equipped with a tuned and matched exhaust system. Noise does not equate to power, and more noise doesn't equal more power! All unmuffled engines sound the same - a lawnmower with a rusted out muffler, or a '72 bucket of rust automobile with holes in its muffler, sound essentially the same as a motorcycle with straight pipes. Nothing sexy about any of them!

Anyone who knows a whit about engine tuning knows that a certain amount of back pressure, provided by a tuned exhaust system, is critical. Intake and exhaust, and everything that happens in between, are interconnected actions, and altering one without tuning the others just reduces power and efficiency.

Over the years I've had a lot of fellow riders comment on how poorly their bike ran after they put aftermarket pipes on. It's louder, but now it surges, has less power in various RPM ranges, starts harder, and in general runs like crap. Well, Duh! You just undid years of engineering research and testing done by the manufacturer, turning a well tuned machine into a backyard experiment. As a youth I remember lots of young guys who thought that the first way to a cool sexy car was to alter the mufflers in some way. Usually they just made it run worse, albeit louder. Not sure any of the female persuasion thought it was either cool or sexy, though.
I have nothing against aftermarket manufacturers of exhaust systems. There are very reputable companies that make exhaust systems that are lighter, better looking, and when properly matched to the bike, can make it run better when other parts of the system are correspondingly adjusted. And these quality replacement pipes are not ridiculously loud. I've used them in the past on some of my bikes with good results.

Anyway, after all these years of talk and hand-wringing by those in power, finally we have something to hang our hats on - - a common sense and easily verifiable standard by which to judge motorcycle noise. I suspect that many states and municipalities will enact this standard as law by reference.
Read about it below.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/713/3788/Motorcycle-Article/SAE-Releases-Motorcycle-Sound-Test.aspx

I love watching motorcycle racing. I haven't figured out why NASCAR racing, where drivers strapped in a cage repeatedly race around an oval, is so popular with spectators, and yet motorcycle racing doesn't have the following necessary for prime time TV. To my way of thinking there is no comparing the excitement level between a car driver that isn't even visible to the viewer, and a motorcycle pilot hanging off the bike at insane angles and speeds, inches away from the concrete and other bikes, and at speeds at least as fast as the car drivers. Motorcycle tracks are also quite different from stock car racing in their configuration. No simple ovals, bike tracks have many built in tight curves along with high speed straights. This sort of road race demands infinitely more in skill besides simply holding a line on a steeply banked oval.

There are several levels of racing on road courses, with the international Grand Prix and MotoGP being the best of the best. And the best of the best individual racer for the last decade has been a young Italian by the name of Valentino Rossi, now with an amazing 9 world championships to his credit. Read more about this amazing athlete and showman below.

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2009/Rossi+gives+his+full+reaction+to+ninth+World+title

In domestic motorcycle road racing the best racers compete in the AMA Pro American Superbike category. These races are great fun to watch at venues such as Daytona, Mid-Ohio, Road America, Laguna Seca, and many more fabled tracks across the country.

http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/115/Motorcycles/AMA-Superbike.aspx

How about some funny, or just plain weird news to lead us into this month of darkness:
In Germany, a woman motorcyclist riding in a completely legal manner was found 50% guilty by the court for hitting a drunk who was walking (stumbling) across an intersection against the light. The accident occurred during one of Germany's many beer festivals, and the judge said that the motorcyclist should have anticipated drunks being present during the festival and been more careful. Can't win for losing!

In Florida, a man was arrested for drunk driving on his motorcycle on I-75 - did I mention he was also naked? Turns out it was his 5th DUI arrest! He's lucky to be alive - clothed or not!
In Pennsylvania, a motorcycling dentist was arrested because his female passenger happened to be naked. Putting these two cases together we can now assume that both the operator and passenger must be clothed while riding a bike.

The town of Harleysville, SC, has a problem with its town signs being stolen. For some reason the police suspect Harley owners are behind this crime spree. Talk about jumping to conclusions! I more highly suspect those Suzuki riders.

On the bright side, only five more months till spring.

The Whims & Vagaries of Mother Nature

2009-10-26T11:26:00.004-04:00

Bikers have to be tough, resilient and determined because Mother Nature constantly throws her best punches at us. We can either surrender and find a place to retreat from her wrath, or we can shake our fist at her (maybe even raise a finger) and ride on regardless.

A tornado touched down about two miles away when the above picture was taken in Wisconsin. (While taking refuge under a gas station awning. All the power in the area had been knocked out and it was as dark as night, though it was mid-afternoon)

It was below freezing on the Cherohala Scenic Skyway at about 5,000 feet elevation near the NC / TN border when this picture was taken....

....and at least 100 degrees when this photo was taken not far from Baton Rouge.

It doesn't take long for the memories of discomfort to fade away, leaving behind only the lasting impressions of adventure and enjoyment. That's why we do it.

Anybody who participates in any outdoor activity knows this fundamental truth.

Time To Act!

2009-10-23T09:49:00.021-04:00

Every motorcyclist, whether their riding experience spans 4 months or 40 years, can relate stories of how cagers (somebody driving a 4-wheeled vehicle) did something stupid that put their safety as a rider in jeopardy. My experience confirms that the greatest danger out on the roads for bikers is stupid drivers; with stupid having many subcategories. I've seen them all: the 17-year old laughing and joking around in a car filled with friends and not paying any attention to what he or she is doing; arrogant 40-year old self-important jerks who think that their schedule and needs supersede everybody elses; and sweet but dangerous little old ladies who unfortunately are no longer capable of safely driving a car on public roads.

Many groups have formed to help the fight against one dangerous category - drunk drivers: Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and others try to draw attention to that particular problem. Bikers don't discriminate against just drinking drivers - we despise dumb drivers in general - and cover it all with BADD - Bikers Against Dumb Drivers!

I'm going somewhere with this. The latest group of very dangerous dumb drivers are those who use cell phones while driving for both talking and texting. Texting while driving has been proven by studies at Virginia Tech and Car and Driver magazine to be MORE dangerous than operating a vehicle while drunk! The studies found that drivers' reaction time is slower while texting than while driving drunk. And obviously the danger goes far beyond just reaction time. When someone is texting on a cell phone they are looking at the phone, not where they're going. This creates the reality of cars crossing center lines, slamming into a stopped vehicle, going off the road, and many other life-threatening scenarios.
According to the Wireless Association, more than 1 trillion text messages were sent by users in all situations in 2008, triple the number sent in 2007. The U. S. Department of Transportation recently reported that almost 6,000 drivers are killed each year due to distracted driving, which includes texting.

Enough Already!!

It is time that a national law prohibiting use of cell phones while driving be passed - or at the very minimum, that a law banning texting while driving be instituted. I don't have the statistics to prove this beyond observations and conversations with other drivers, but I believe that the drivers who text the most are exactly those with the least experience and ability behind the wheel; i.e. young and inexperienced new drivers.

Fact is, I don't want any one of these impaired drivers, be they 17 or 97, killing me or another motorcyclist, or any innocent person for that matter.

If Congress or individual state legislatures on their own initiative won't pass laws banning texting while driving, we need to start applying pressure to make it happen.

A quick check shows that only ten states have passed laws banning texting by all drivers, regardless of age, while operating a motor vehicle. These are: WA, CA, UT, MN, TN, LA, VA, CT, NJ, and AK. If you live in one of those states consider yourself fortunate and well served (at least in this particular issue) by your state government.

Seven other states have passed anti-texting laws that apply to novice drivers under age 18. It's a start but definitely inadequate!

The rest of us live in the wild, wild, west as far as texting and chatting cell phone drivers are concerned.
If you live in Michigan now is the time to contact your rep and senator. HB 4394 is going through the legislative process. It's an imperfect bill because it defines a violation of the law as a secondary offense, meaning that even if a police officer sees somebody driving down the road texting on their phone they couldn't pull them over unless they saw a primary violation at the same time - speeding, weaving, or some other violation for which an officer can legally stop somebody.

Proving the cause of a vehicle accident beyond doubt isn't always possible, but it is estimated that 150 people die each year in Michigan because of the driver, or another driver, talking or texting.
The MI bill would prohibit people from reading, writing or sending a text message while operating a vehicle. Violators could receive a fine of up to $100, and they would receive no points on their driving record. A weak law, but perhaps it'll be a first step toward stopping this sort of dangerous behavior.

Some quick and likely incomplete research indicates that six other states have bills introduced that would restrict texting in some manner if enacted. Riders in these states - OR, CO, IL, AR, VT and MD - need to contact their legislators and apply pressure now. Depending on the state, some enrolled bills die at the end of the legislative session if not enacted into law, so there isn't much time left in the year to act.

I have no problem with intelligent people making decisions that put themselves at risk - in fact I think it is part of the human experience. Whether downhill skiing, sky diving, motorcycling, rock climbing, extreme sports, or whatever - if you've got the ability, desire, and brains to do it then go for it! I've certainly done my share of things that may have seemed lacking in common sense to others but which I found to be enjoyable or challenging. But don't put others in danger because of your activities or stupidity. That's my only caveat.

Fall Fun

2009-10-18T19:29:00.025-04:00

This October has not been a good month for motorcycling, at least in the Great Lakes region.We have had, according to the TV weatherman today, 19 straight days of temperatures well below normal. In addition to temps in the 40s and low 50s (at best) most days have been cloudy, drizzly and windy. Not good weather for outdoor activities of any kind, except perhaps something having to do with waterfowl.

But with a forecast high today of near 50, and the promise of no rain and at least occasional glimpses of the sun, I deemed it a good day for a late fall ride. That dreaded time of year, when the bike is winterized for the final time, and parked in a lonely out of the way corner in the garage, isn't that far off, and one has to ride when conditions are even marginal in the Fall, or wait until Spring. Waiting six months is not an option in my mind, so with three layers below the belt, and four above, I headed into the countryside on one of my favorite routes along curvy roads lined with mature trees with foliage at the peak of its annual Autumn extravaganza. The orange and maroon of the Sugar Maples and bright crimson of Swamp Maples in particular, were simply breathtaking. All the remaining trees are just support actors in my mind, with their subtle shades of tans, yellows and browns. The occasional evergreen represents the final tint on the palette resulting in a beautiful mix of colors on nature's canvas. But the Maples are the belles of the Autumn ball in my opinion.

With speeds kept a bit lower than usual, both for the sake of warmth as well as being able to fully appreciate nature's spectacle, I had a marvelous ride of about fifty miles. This equates to one gallon of gasoline at the most on my particular bike, meaning I had a fun outing and witnessed some great beauty for a total cost of about $2.50! Cheap fun, if you ask me!

Fall riding does have some unique conditions, however, that require our attention. In any agricultural area there is going to be mud or at least loose dirt and other debris on the blacktop from agricultural equipment. Sometimes there are clods of hard clay akin to bricks that are on the road and anybody on two wheels best beware of such things. This is the harvest season and trucks and tractors are commonly encountered on back roads. We'd do well to remember that we are guests in the countryside, riding for pleasure on roads where others are working hard to earn their livelihood.

Several cautionary conditions are gifts of Mother Nature herself. The fruit of Walnut trees, which are common along many rural roads, create a unique potential danger as hitting one of these large nuts with your front tire can be like running over a baseball. And of course leaves on the road, wet or dry, require our full attention and lots of common sense. Needless to say, deer are running around like chickens with their heads cut off this time of year, and with about as much sense it seems, so we have to be especially on guard for these and other four-legged creatures.

I must say that I am really losing my patience with deer. I read of two motorcyclists, including one just a few miles from home, that were killed this summer and early fall when deer ran into them. One of these accidents was at daybreak, and the other in the late evening, which admittedly are the worst times to be on the road relative to deer collisions, whether on two wheels or four.

I have a background in resource management and I've been convinced for several years now that we have just too many deer in significant portions of the U.S. and we need to thin them out to a more normal level, compatible with the habitat in which we all live.

Deer populations are out of proportion to their natural habitat in places such as southern Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and so on where there is a mix of woodlands and agricultural land, creating ideal habitat for deer production, but without the natural limiting factors found in forest lands and wilderness areas. In those places where agriculture doesn't provide deer with an artificial food supply, occasional over populations of deer (and other animals) will inevitably result in die-offs until a more natural balance is achieved.

There is never a good season to ride stupidly, but one definitely doesn't want to be a foolish rider in the fall; Mother Nature can play rough, she makes all the rules, and she is the judge and referee with the final say in everything. Sorry, no instant replays or appeals allowed.

This time of year I add Sta-Bil gasoline stabilizer in my bike's gas tank every time I fill up, because I never know which ride will in fact be the last one for several weeks or even months. Sometimes we get a few "warm" day in mid-winter where a short ride is possible, other years, like last winter, it can be months between rides. Especially on a carbeurated bike it's important to put gas stabilizer of some sort in the tank, and run it through the carbs, so that during extended periods of storage the unmoving gasoline doesn't varnish and cause gumming in the lines and fine orifices and jets in the carbeurator.

I'm sure this won't be the last ride of the fall so I'll certainly have to add more stabilizer as I burn up additional gasoline, but that's a small price to pay. Besides, as I keep explaining to my wife, internal combustion engines, especially on motorcycles, are their happiest when they're running, not lazing about in a garage or shed!

And who doesn't want to keep their best friends happy?

BIG Harley News

2009-10-15T19:17:00.013-04:00

Major, and mostly unexpected, announcements from Harley-Davidson today! Because of the impact the current international recession has had on sales of Harley-Davidsons, the company is doing what many other manufacturers have had to do: tighten its belt and readjust production to meet current demand. The Motor Company experienced a 21.3% drop in worldwide sales in the 3rd quarter compared to 2008 (but this was an improvement over 2nd quarter sales, which had dipped 30% from last year.)

The first step in improving their financial position has been under consideration for a few months - possibly moving out of their old, inefficient and over-sized manufacturing plant in York, PA, looking for something more modern and properly sized for their production needs. They're looking at possible plant sites in MO, KY, IN, and TN.

The company is also selling MV Agusta. They just purchased this Italian brand in August 2008 to get seriously into the sports bike market in both Europe and the US. The purchase of Agusta by HD represented a move that was questioned by many at the time because it was so far afield from Harley's core market. More noteworthy for their U.S. market is the fact that they are ceasing production of the Buell brand effective the end of this month. Buell has been a wholly owned subsidiary of HD since 1998 and was noted for its advanced engineering design. The Buell name has been around for 26 years, ever since former Harley engineer and racing privateer Erik Buell took the concept of motorcycling physics and performance to a new level.

H-D will focus on what has been its core market, and customers, for over one hundred years; traditional Harley-Davidson road bikes.

It's probably a good time to buy Harley stock. It's taken a bit of a beating lately and is just starting to move upward again. Things will bounce back and the company is making the right moves at the right time. Harley's worldwide market continues to grow. In addition to Europe, countries such as India and China, with huge populations and a rapidly expanding middle class now able to afford luxuries such as touring motorcycles, are rapidly growing markets.

A detailed financial report by Harley-Davidson can be found at: http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HD_News/Company/newsarticle.jsp?locale=en_US&articleLink=News/0581_press_release.hdnews

The Other Side of Life

2009-10-12T15:29:00.017-04:00

A blog based on participation in a motorcycle swap meet may seem like an unlikely reason or place to write about some of life's bigger issues, but here it is. The blog is based not so much on the venue, a very chilly ice rink in Kalamazoo, or the event - a chance to get hard to find parts for your antique motorcycle restoration project, or early Christmas shopping for a biker buddy or spouse, as it is about the opportunities such forums create for interesting human interactions.

At least in my instance as a vendor I'm there less for commercial success as I am to talk with folks. When people walk in the door they have no idea some bloke is going to be standing behind a card table selling books about exploring the Great Lakes region by motorcycle. If they do happen to be interested in such a product or concept then it's a serendipitous event for them. If not, then it still might be a chance for me to talk with them about the books and the rationale behind them. Either way I get to talk with dozens of strangers, some at great length. Sometimes we talk about shared passions, other times I actually am in a position where I can share some new concepts with a stranger and maybe change by just a little bit how they view the world around them.

When I attend a swap meet or similar event as a vendor I generally sell enough just to cover expenses; sometimes perhaps cover lunch as well, or maybe actually make a small profit to justify my continued status as a struggling writer to my wife and friends. But a large reason I attend these events is to show the flag - a fancy term for crass commercial advertising and marketing. The more folks that are aware of my books the more word of mouth advertising that takes place, and in a world that is based on the exchange of goods and services for money, that's important.

But it's not my favorite part. The best part of selling books, whether at a swap meet, bookstore, or a dealer's open house, is the interaction with others that I get to enjoy. It's the sharing of stories and adventures, ideas and knowledge, tips and tricks, and sometimes even life stories, that is the reward for standing behind a table for 6 hours.

By a great margin most folks who stop at my table (sometimes by my urging, sometimes out of their own curiosity) do not end up buying books. Most just want to hear about the books, and then talk about their stories. Sometimes the conversations project far beyond motorcycling or travel.

I'm a sucker for sentimentality, especially as it involves the passage of time through our lives, and the lives of those close to us. Stories, songs, or movies about the inexorable passage of time from birth, adolescence, young adulthood, maturity, and ultimate death, always get to me. Songs like Que Sera Sera or Turn Around always choke me up or bring tears to my eyes. It's a powerful feeling. This 'true confessions moment' is going somewhere - - one of the most compelling stories that I was privileged to hear involved a woman who was probably near 80 years of age. I was selling / signing at a Barnes & Noble bookstore and she approached me to see what kind of books I had. We talked a bit and then when she felt comfortable around me she shared her story, and it was marvelous.

She and her late husband spent their life together touring the country, and abroad, on motorcycles. She spoke of the many years following World War Two until they became too old to ride any longer, and of how they traveled together seeing the world on two wheels. She told of specific trips and places they saw, and of the various adventures they had that provided the inevitable spice to any mode of travel. They were obviously a loving and happy couple and her story brought tears to her eyes as she was telling it. I was glad that no response was needed from me during the telling because for some reason my throat was quite constricted and not functioning correctly. This wonderful woman really appreciated the unexpected opportunity to tell somebody about her sweet memories and I appreciated the opportunity to have her trust me enough to share them with me.

Not all conversations are as compelling as this one but I have been privileged to hear about aspects of the lives of complete strangers that they felt comfortable to share, all because of our shared enjoyment of motorcycles and motorcycle travel.

People who share something in common often use that shared quality, activity, or condition as a means toward friendship. In my instance, I will likely never see the great majority of the folks I interact with at these events, but we both leave the chance meeting slightly changed. Their stories affect me and what I have to tell them just might change their outlook or their life a bit. And it really does work both ways.

The elderly lady I mentioned earlier had a chance to share a wonderful and obviously important part of her life with a total stranger. I think it was no doubt cathartic for her to share her stories. A couple years ago I had a chance to be on the giving side of someones life story.

At the AMA Vintage Motorcycle Days event in Ohio two summers ago I had a chance meeting with a woman in her 30s who stopped by my table to look at my books and ended up staying nearly an hour talking about a very important part of her life. We didn't talk about motorcycles at all; we talked about her aspirations as a writer and whether she could really pull off her lifelong dream of writing a novel that she had in her head, but hadn't dared to take the next step of actually putting pen to paper. Like me she didn't have a degree in English Literature or other related education that many assume necessary to be a successful writer. But she did have obvious intelligence and most of all - passion. She had a story to tell. All she needed was someone she could relate to that made it possible for her to believe that she really could do it. I was the fortunate person that was able to interact with her for that moment in time and was able to serve that purpose - to be a living example for her and show her it could be done. She didn't buy any books from me but her exhuberant 'thank you' upon leaving was all the payment I could ever hope for. I wish I had got her name when we finally said our goodbyes because I have no doubt but that her book will be in print very soon.

No matter the surficial or obvious appearances, there is always a deeper and more interesting story just waiting for the chance to be set free. And to think that most people just call them swap meets!

Two-Wheeled Links in Life

2009-09-21T14:04:00.023-04:00

This past weekend was another memorable one, and motorcycles played a major role in making it so. Take away the bikes and it still would have been a nice weekend with blue skies and pleasant temperatures. But add motorcycles and everything changes. Opportunities arise that otherwise wouldn't have been present, providing a means and cause for friends and supporters to gather to remember those who can't be with us, and a chance and reason for friends to spend time together, to visit new places and see new things. All while enjoying the freedom of the open road surrounded by the subtle hues of early autumn under an absolutely perfect sky.

I've written before about the emotional connection of motorcycles and the military, but in a sense that goes far beyond those in the armed services simply being motorcyclists. I'm referring primarily to veterans, and supporters of veterans and veterans' issues, who share a love of motorcycling and who connect and make use of this passion for various causes in the support of active military personnel, and in issues relevant to veterans and military families. These motorcycle-based activities range from the Rolling Thunder Ride to Washington DC every Memorial Day weekend, to Patriot Guard Riders standing at honor in flag lines at the funeral of a fallen soldier. Motorcycle groups form around a list of causes in support of current and past military personnel too long to list.

For many who participate in these events the motorcycle forms one of the two common bonds; motorcycling itself, and the cause for which they ride or gather.
And so it was again this past Saturday, September 19. The 11th annual Michigan Remembers Run was held, culminating in a ceremony on the steps and grounds of the Capitol Building in Lansing. Groups of riders from various points around the state rode to Lansing to demonstrate a clear and strong show of support for all POWs and MIAs of all wars, and in particular those 53 men from Michigan that are still missing in action from the Vietnam War (including a soldier from my small hometown, who I knew, which makes it more personal and real).

The Michigan Remembers Run is an annual reminder that there are thousands of individuals and their families who have no closure, who still do not know what happened to their son, brother or husband or his whereabouts. The Run and ceremony in Lansing is a proclamation, a statement, that we still remember those that did not return and we will not rest until the government has done all in its power to locate and return those persons, be they dead or alive. There are still 8,168 MIAs from the Korean War, and 1,874 from the Vietnam War. The technological leap in DNA identification, communications, tracking, satellite surveillance and other high-tech developments that occurred after Vietnam, as well as a change in how recent wars and conflicts have been prosecuted, have helped ensure that MIAs will never again number in the hundreds or thousands. But for those that remain unaccounted for we must continue to send the clear message that "You Are Not Forgotten". A large group of mostly aging veterans stood proud on the capitol lawn Saturday under a cloudless blue sky and once again sent that message to all that cared to hear it.

Sunday was another day of sunshine and warmth, though as expected temperatures near 40 greeted daylight's arrival. This would be a different kind of day in several ways, but motorcycles were still the force that gathered and bound. Five of us took advantage of an opportunity to ride to the small resort town of Saugatuck on Lake Michigan. Saugatuck is a charming small town with deep roots in the maritime culture of the Great Lakes. Present-day resort towns on the Lakes almost always began life as rough and tumble towns where people worked hard trying to make a life through commercial fishing, lumber, shipping, or other livelihoods that were based on hard work and long hours, and had nothing in common with the reasons folks visit these towns today.

The primary goal of this ride (as if one needs a reason to ride) was simply to share the experience of riding our bikes along the scenic two-lane ribbons of asphalt that criss-cross Michigan's countryside. Riding 110 miles one way to have lunch in a new place may seem illogical but of course that is exactly the attraction. But for this opportunity to ride, and to explore someplace new, we would have gone our separate ways this day and some nice memories would not have been created, and friendships not made or deepened. Our views of our world and our appreciation of who we are and what we have would not have been broadened just a little. Removing the motorcycles, and thus the ride, would have also meant not enjoying the beautiful early fall weather and exploring places never seen before. We would not have appreciated the verdant countryside that we rode through, unencumbered by steel and glass walls. We would not have witnessed the land at the peak of its abundance and saw the harvest of food from the orchards and fields of southwestern Michigan, nor seen the many trees already turning shades of maroon, orange, and scarlet along roadsides and fence rows.

We would not have enjoyed a leisurely lunch with small talk, which allowed all of us to get to know one another a bit better. And we certainly would not have had the opportunity to stroll the waterfront in Saugatuck, admiring the sailboats and yachts docked there under a bright sky and perfect temperatures, but for the common thread of our motorcycles.

So it was a weekend filled with poignant memories, honor, and friendship. And it was all made possible because of these marvelous machines that have brought so much soul, spirit, and adventure into the lives of so many for the past one hundred years.

Motorcycling Music

2009-09-02T20:34:00.046-04:00

Motorcycling and music are a natural fit. It is no wonder that virtually every motorcycle event held in venues large and small feature music as a significant part of the program. And not just any music. To personify the charged emotions and pleasures involved with motorcycling, the bands and their music must be hard driven and full of life and rhythm. Lite rock or elevator music need not apply. Motorcycling itself is akin to the granting of substance, animation, and life to music. As if it came alive and was transformed far beyond simple sound waves; something that could be enjoyed by all our senses and our deepest emotions. They're both art forms so there is no mystery as to why a person attracted to one also likely finds the other desirable and pleasurable.

Now there are those who would claim that the only motorcycle music they need is the sound of their exhaust, the roar of the engine, and the sound of the wind as they ride. And I have to agree as far as that goes. When I'm riding that's the only sounds I want to hear. It's part of the experience, after all. Why spoil it with a lot of extraneous sounds that spoil the ambiance of a motorcycle ride?
But when I'm not actually riding, I enjoy listening to songs about the two-wheeled life style. I like lyrics that deal with real life issues. I appreciate the hard driving beat of most motorcycling songs.

There are many songs about motorcycles that I get a kick out of listening to while I'm not riding. Some are on CDs that I keep in my truck and others are tunes I have only because I found them on ITunes and downloaded them to my computer and IPod. Some of these songs just aren't going to be found at your local record store (or whatever passes for a record store today).

Some of my favorites:
Roll Me Away by Bob Seger. A long time favorite for a few reasons. First, I have always liked Seger and his style of music from the time I was a teenager and his first songs out of Detroit hit the mainly Michigan market. He seemed like a real guy, who did all the things that we all did, or wanted to do, and on top of it all he is an avid motorcyclist. Roll Me Away is one of those songs that young unmarried men especially fixate on - heading out on the open road, no particular destination in mind, and you meet and pick up a girl on the way who shares the journey with you. The relationship doesn't work out, but so what? The song ends with him on his bike in the Rockies and it's all up to him (each of us) to decide what to do and where to go next. And the lyrics end with that eternally optimistic statement of "..next time we'll get it right!" What guy could resist a situation such as that?

I went to a Seger concert a few years back and he opened with Roll me Away. It was an incredible way to start the show and really had the place rocking.

In a similar vein are songs by Bruce Springsteen (Born to Run) and Billy Joel's the Motorcycle Song. Songs about finding yourself and looking for the meaning in life's many twists and turns. I've always thought that these three singers, Seger and Springsteen in particular, have a connection to the real world and sing of issues that we all can feel a very real kinship with.
Seger has some other songs that make mention of riding or motorcycles, but not to the degree where the entire song is based on a motorcycle trip.
One of the all time classics of course is Steppenwolf's Born to be Wild, part of the soundtrack for the iconic Easy Rider movie. I never tire of listening to this song and of course it also aims at the forever young and free person that lives inside all of us - no matter our real age or circumstances in life. And heaven forbid we ever lose that feeling, I think that's the beginning of the end. This movie had several other songs associated with it but none made it as big as Born to be Wild.
Going way back in time, when several of us 18 and 19-year olds rode bikes to the drive in theaters a few times in the mid to late-sixties to watch a slue of badly done movies about biker gangs and the biker lifestyle. (Movies, which along with The Wild One created a perception about motorcyclists that it took an entire generation to change.) I think the first of the series was called The Wild Angels, and a follow up called Hells Angels on Wheels, which had an instrumental theme song called Blue's Theme that I liked a lot. I actually still have the 45 somewhere, but haven't played or heard it in many years. It was basically comprised of guitar riffs and the sound of a bunch of Harleys and Triumphs being revved up in the background. These movies, and their associated sound tracks, appealed to a lot of young guys in their late teens or early 20s, and may in fact have played a part in the motorcycle boom period that occurred beginning in the late 1960s.
The concept of being on the edges of society, or even outside of proper society, played a large role in many songs and movies about motorcycling. Whether it's the teeny bopper Leader of the Pack from the early '60s, or the iconic rebel and outlaw song called 1952 Vincent Black Lightning, songs about the darker or rebellious face of motorcycling are quite common and form many of the classics. Several artists have sung 1952 Vincent Black Lightning but I think my favorite is Eddie Dattell's version. The song has a couple of my favorite lines: "Red hair and black leather, my favorite color scheme"; and later as the James Dean-type anti-hero lays dying: "I see angels on Arials in leather and chrome, swooping down from heaven to carry me home". Dattell has a voice that fits the tragic anti-hero lyrics.

Not all biking songs have to be serious or rebellious. Arlo Guthrie's Motorcycle Song, from his Alice's Restaurant album, is a classic from the lighthearted side of the street. "I don't want a pickle, I just wanna ride my motorsickle". And of course who can forget (unless you're too young to remember it) a group called The Hondells, with their one hit career that began and ended with Little Honda? The group, which existed only one year, had an album that contained several songs dedicated to the new class of small, lightweight, and inexpensive motorcycles that Honda, and other Japanese companies, were introducing to the American market, which had been virtually the exclusive marketplace of American and European motorcycles. The Hondells were part of the early and mid-sixties California surfing and car racing music scene, and it was in California that the Japanese motorcycle phenomenon took hold, and quickly spread across the country from there.

There are lots of other songs whose lyrics bring in motorcycling to a greater or lesser degree. Some of these song aren't particularly enjoyable listening to for pleasure unless one is really into hard core, almost punk rock, songs about death or a variety of other problems encountered by young rebels trying to find themselves in a world in which they don't seem to belong. Personally I want to listen to music for pleasure and thus don't include this genre among my favorites. Below are a few of the more 'mainstream' songs that don't fall into the hard core tragic consequences category:
Bat out of Hell by Meat Loaf.
Ghost Rider by Rush. (Neil Peart, drummer for Rush, is an active and serious motorcyclist. Ghost Rider is a very poignant song he wrote following the death of his daughter and wife in less than a year's time. He describes a multi-month motorcycle trip across North America he took seeking healing and relief in a book he authored called: Ghost Rider, Travels on the Healing Road.)
Motorcycle Mama and Unknown Legend by Neil Young. (These two are lighter and more enjoyable to listen to - and women bikers would like Unknown Legends with its story of an independent woman working hard to get by and riding her Harley when she can, her long hair flying in the wind.)
Motorcycle by Love and Rockets. (At its core this might be the quintessential motorcycling song - it's a short and simple song about the freedom and good feelings that are part and parcel to riding.)
Ballad of Easy Rider by The Byrds.

There are many more. I haven't tried to list them all, just those that I'm at least somewhat familiar with and have personal memories about.

I also enjoy listening to many of the "open road" songs whose lyrics praise the joys, or heartbreaks as the case may be, of wandering the open road, looking for whatever might be discovered or leaving behind baggage we don't wish to carry any longer. Some are well known, such as Willie Nelson's ever popular On the Road Again, to a long list of other lesser known songs of the road. Many of these have a bit of a country music twist to them, which I find fitting. In my opinion songs of the road are about themes that are often best explored from a country music angle, not a hard rock perspective. Such songs are introspective, and meditative or reflective lyrics just aren't what hard rock is all about.

I still do plan to do a CD of the best of motorcycling songs. I guess I'd better get busy and just do it so I'm not saying that I'm going to after yet another year passes by (as several already have since I first decided that I was going to do this). It sounds like a perfect winter project in the coming months; something to fill my time so I'm not fixating on the fact that the ground is snow covered and it'll likely be many weeks before I can ride again.

Now there's a depressing thought!

Cycles of Life

2009-08-30T08:35:00.017-04:00

We all learn early in life that our days are comprised of feelings and events, many of which we have no influence over, that span the spectrum of emotions. Sometimes good and happy attitudes and outlooks abound and life seems easy and full of promise. Other times, depressing or negative events and feelings wash over us and seem to control our lives, wiping out those promises of happiness and a bright future. Such feelings or events might last a few minutes or they may stick around for days on end.
This past week was one that typified consecutive days of weather, events, and emotions that were successful in darkening my mood and giving the feeling of a sad weight on my shoulders that I didn't want but couldn't get rid of. The weather certainly played a large role in this. Cool, windy, wet and cloudy, it set the stage for a theater of the poignant and cheerless.
An emotionally-charged ride through cool and damp conditions last Saturday certainly set the stage. Low, dark, and dreary clouds being blown across the sky by a strong wind and occasional drizzle was the somber setting for the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Ride to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in downtown Lansing. Even on a bright and cheerful day going to this monument is like going to The Wall in Washington. It is impossibly difficult to explain the emotions of seeing the names of friends that I knew before entering the service, and whom I met while in Vietnam, etched in marble. Typical guys, forever nineteen; frozen in place for future generations to gaze at and wonder about. Who were they; what were they like; how did they die; why did they die? I and many others could still answer those questions, but it does no good now. Families and friends have either reconciled themselves to their losses, or they just want to let time heal the wounds and move on. No value in retelling the same stories that always end badly.

The memories aren't carved in marble - they're locked in flesh and blood - and will one day disappear altogether. But time has moved on and already few know or care about those nearly 60,000 young men and the lives they lived, or who they might have become had they been given the chance that most get in life.

Monday morning saw me in Middleville at the funeral of a young man killed the prior week in Afghanistan. The huge outpouring of respect, honor, and love shown for this corporal was overwhelming. Another young life cut tragically short in the making of the American tapestry, but family and friends were not going to let Cpl. Roush become just another black and white statistic. He was going to be remembered for what he was; an intelligent, interesting, fun-loving and caring young man who left a greater mark on the world than his young years might suggest.
Events that are beyond our control and sometimes even beyond our ability to fathom.

The death of Senator Teddy Kennedy mid-week added to the sense of gloom. I know he was a man who caused strong and passionate feelings - some loved him while others cared little for him or his beliefs and public policies. But I am of an age whereby the legacy of the Kennedys still evokes very strong feelings and emotional reactions. I have many memories of this unique American family. I was a fan of John Kennedy as a middle schooler when he became president and his murder struck me very hard. I was in Vietnam when Bobby Kennedy was killed. Again, I was devastated, and the distance of thousands of miles from home only made the feelings more overwhelmingly sad and desperate. Seeing the TV flashbacks on the assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy replayed several times during the latter part of this week just deepened the funk and brought back a lot of very unpleasant memories and feelings.

I still find it hard to listen to Dion Dimucci's song Abraham, Martin and John. These events, and this song, mark a sad point in our country's timeline. As an early teen I recall Dion's songs being lively and fun tunes about teen age romance and the carefree life of an innocent generation. Following 1968 in particular the angst of a nation turned this teenage heart throb into a man whose song brought tears to our eyes and a lump in our throat. How things had changed in a few short years.

Like every other human on this planet Teddy Kennedy wasn't a saint, but he grew into a man who devoted his life to advocating for those without the power or means to fight for themselves, and for this he had, and his memory has, my undying respect. As do his brothers, who died in service to this incredible country. If you have the good fortune to be in a position whereby you do not need people like Senator Kennedy fighting on your behalf, consider yourself very fortunate and count your blessings. And don't be so smug so as to claim that it was your own hard work and wise decisions that placed you in your lofty situation. To claim such would be extreme arrogance. It was the work of millions that lived before you, some of whom died on your behalf, who paved the way and allowed you to live a life of security, wealth, and peace.

The rain and gloom continued through this Saturday, and even a day at the MI HOG Rally couldn't shake it. The first two days of the rally were wet and cold, but finally on Saturday the rain turned into scattered light drizzle, albeit with a cool wind and dark scuttling clouds keeping the sun's warmth away.
I fully accept and expect bad weather interfering with life, and have put many thousands of miles on my bikes under extreme weather conditions, but this week even getting out on two wheels couldn't change the underlying funk and unpleasant realities.
But - Today is already looking better and the forecast for the coming week is very promising. I think we've hit bottom and happy days are here again!

Be happy, and most of all be appreciative for what you have, and remember all of those who made it possible.
Ride Safe.

Riding For a Purpose / Vietnam Veterans Legacy Ride 2009

2009-08-22T20:24:00.020-04:00

For the third year in a row, a loose group of individuals in central Michigan organized a ride primarily in honor of Vietnam veterans; a ride billed as an overdue tribute to these vets and their families, and a welcome home. This year's ride gathered in St. Johns, where local businesses and individuals went all out to make the event a success, and to make participants feel welcome and cared for.

A Blackhawk helicopter (sans missiles and guns) from the ANG base at Grand Ledge was a big attraction. It landed in the baseball field next to the city park and was imposing just parked there; motionless but menacing looking just the same. The Blackhawk, I believe, is a direct descendant of the UH-1 troop transports and gunships that were one of the most common visual icons of the Vietnam War. The new birds are bigger and faster, and carry far more firepower than the older Hueys. The pilot also spoke of armor plate that provides much more protection than the Hueys had.

After some food and refreshments sponsored by local businesses and veterans groups, and a few words by various speakers, the approximately 300 motorcyclists saddled up and began what was a wonderful ride through small town America and rural countryside of Michigan's Clinton County. While most riders were Vietnam era veterans on Harleys and Wings, there were several younger men and women on racer replicas and a smattering of other bikes. With the Blackhawk flying support overhead we rode through downtown St. Johns, worked our way on two lane blacktop northeast to the village of Elsie (the self-proclaimed dairy capital of Michigan), then south through Ovid. At one point the chopper hovered a couple hundred feet over the road as the parade of bikes snaked across the countryside. Very impressive! Meridian Road took us further south to Laingsburg where a right turn onto Round Lake Road took us down one of the more popular riding roads in the Lansing area.

The ride enjoyed police escorts all the way, and officers did a marvelous job blocking intersections and keeping other traffic from interfering with the column of bikes.

Along country roads and through small towns we saw many people standing on front yards and front porches, waving flags and holding signs of support and thanks. It was truly a heartwarming sight all along the roughly fifty mile route.

The ride ended in downtown Lansing at the Vietnam War Memorial where a short ceremony once again honored those responsible for the event and for all veterans, present or not, alive or dead, who have served America.

It was a wonderful event, even if the weather did all it could to put a damper on the ceremonies. With a dark sky, strong winds, occasional drizzle and temperatures stuck in the low sixties, it could have easily been a forgettable day. But veterans, in particular veterans of Vietnam, weren't about to let a little unpleasantness get in the way of honoring their compatriots. As I noted to another rider - it's predictable that a day honoring vets of this war would be wet and uncomfortable - it was a true reflection of normal conditions encountered in-country; wet and uncomfortable. So what else is new?

I have long noted the seemingly unusually high percentage of veterans of Vietnam that are also motorcyclists. The Vietnam War and the explosion of motorcycling popularity coincided in the late '60s and early '70s. Many of the hundreds of thousands of returning vets were looking for something more than a quick entry into the job market and raising families upon a return home. They wanted a diversion that got their adrenaline running and through which they could leave a lot of unwanted baggage behind.
Viet vets didn't start this phenomenon. Returning World War Two veterans get the honors for the war veterans / motorcycling love affair that still affects our society over a half century later. It was that group of men, those who weren't ready for white picket fences and a small house in the new suburbs, who instead formed motorcycle clubs, including some that turned into the hard core outlaw groups we're familiar with today, in an attempt to break free from all that military life, and the War, had imposed on them. And I highly suspect that returning WWI vets started the whole phenomenon.

I think it was exactly the same for Vietnam veterans. A great many took up motorcycling with a passion and they enjoy it with the same enthusiasm all these years later. And in recent years this love of motorcycling has been wedded to demonstrations and rides in support of military personnel and veterans. It's a marriage made in heaven.

The Joy of "Drop What You're Doing and Take a Ride" Rides

2009-08-15T07:59:00.022-04:00

One of the joys of motorcycling is that it's something we can do just for fun. The activity is unique in the sense that it is both a purely practical mode of transportation, such as when riding to work or the store, and also an activity that is done simply for pleasure. The same machine ridden on the same roads, but for two very different purposes; and the fun factor remains the same.

Back when I worked out of an office and wore a jacket and tie to work most days I tried to ride my bike to work whenever feasible. I found that it took a little extra effort but I was always glad whenever I took the time and effort, especially on the afternoon ride home. Since I had never invested in expensive full body riding suits in my earlier biking experience I found inexpensive and practical ways to accommodate wearing a suit and tie. An over sized pair of jeans and a larger than normal jacket covered my dress clothes adequately, provided necessary early morning warmth, and made riding to work feasible and fun. While morning rides were generally direct and non exploratory, afternoon rides home usually took quite a bit longer than the same trip in a car would have because I rarely took the shortest distance or straight line option.

But I want to talk a bit about spur of the moment rides. It would probably seem silly to suggest that a person drop what they're doing and take their 4-door sedan or pickup truck for an enjoyable ride through the countryside. But it makes perfect sense to do that very thing on a bike. Spur of the moment riding has several advantages over planned trips. For one thing, good weather can be guaranteed. If the sky is blue and temperatures warm, you can be quite certain that there'll be no rain on your parade if you take a couple hour nearby ride. On planned trips one is subject to the conditions that exist at that moment, with little leeway available for changing routes or schedules - or weather conditions. It's fun to fool Mother Nature and just drop what you're doing to take a ride when conditions are great. And while having a destination or purpose for a ride is very enjoyable and satisfying, having none can be equally fulfilling if it means simply getting out, slowing down, and exploring your backyard. There are some roads we all drive or ride frequently, perhaps almost daily, while passing by other roads that we almost never have reason to venture onto. Even those rides to and from work can be more enjoyable by simply doing something different; taking a different road just to see and experience different scenery and places.

Yesterday was a perfect summer day and at mid-morning I decided to drop it all and just take a ride. The cloudless blue sky and temperatures in the 70s were too much to resist, or waste. We don't' want to let too many of these opportunities slip into the past because they're limited. Enjoy them today because tomorrow's ride is just a hope, not a guarantee.

Because I had enough hours left in the day I decided to make the ride a destination event rather than just cruising country roads with no particular end point in mind. I made South Haven, on Lake Michigan, my destination and took back roads all the way to get there. While at South Haven I decided to tour the Michigan Maritime Museum. If a person has an interest in Great Lakes nautical themes and Coast Guard lifesaving boats it's an interesting place to tour. An on-board tour of a 1950s Lake Michigan commercial fishing tug is an eye-opening experience. They obviously designed the boats for people less than 5' 8" in height because I hit my head on the overhead beams several times. A taller person would develop a permanent stoop if they spent a lifetime working on those boats! A Tall Ship, called Friends Good Will, normally docks at the museum for daily sailing trips but unfortunately it was across the lake in Wisconsin on a sailing tour. The ship is a replica of an "1810 square rigged top sail sloop" (??) built in 2004 for the museum.

South Haven is a very pleasant small coastal town. If you haven't been there before you oughta take the time to make the enjoyable drive or ride there to enjoy the lively small town atmosphere and marvelous beaches and marine activities (boat trips, charter fishing expeditions, sailing, and so on).

I rode the Potterville, Vermontville, Hastings, Fennmore route to get there, riding the Blue Star Highway south a bit to SH, and then headed east on back roads out of SH across northern Van Buren and Kalamazoo Counties, then northeast. The hilltop orchards and vineyards of Allegan and Van Buren Counties are beautiful this time of year and there are many places where a person can stop to pick peaches, blueberries, and other fruits in season.

Riding east on Phoenix Road I encountered quite a number of bicyclists. The Kal-Haven bike and hiking trail somewhat parallels Phoenix Road east from South Haven. Now I enjoy bicycling probably more than the average person, and I ride at least 2 or 3 times each week; but on a trail, not on roads. Every time I see a group of cyclists on a narrow country road I cringe a little because of the danger they've placed themselves in. I also must admit that each time I see them I also think - 'why don't you buy a small motorcycle for your back road wanderings' as I effortless glide by them with a slight twist of the wrist as they work and sweat mightily pedaling up even small hills. Small motorcycles or scooters give the same feeling of freedom and fun as bicycles, but they allow a person to safely and easily cover many more miles of countryside. Save the non-motorized cycles for in town riding on trails and suburban streets, or on the several Rails-To-Trails biking trails around the state, which provide miles of safe riding for exercise and fresh air.

But back to the subject: I hope you all get a chance to just drop what you're doing and take a ride (or at least a drive in the country with the windows down). I find that even a half hour on two wheels is enough to alter my frame of mind and make things look much better than they were before the ride.

Four-Wheeled Travel Ponderings

2009-08-01T20:52:00.014-04:00

So here I am on another trip but this time in a 4-wheeled vehicle. Across southern MI, southwestern Ontario, and much of New York today. Much congestion for over 50 miles on both sides of the border near Niagara Falls! Creeping along mile after mile, being teased by signs that said 100 kph but realistically averaging about ten or less.

Beautiful weather this weekend. I am so envious of all the motorcyclists I've seen on the road! Probably a couple hundred overall, counting the ones parked in restaurants and rest areas. Many bikes on the road solo with two up - no doubt husband and wife duos - mostly on Harley Ultras - heading off on a weekend getaway. Many groups of young guys on racer replicas - looking like they were having a blast effortlessly squirting past traffic and nimbly making their way through the congestion. Lots of groups of 3 or 4 bikers riding together, looking like they were having a good time enjoying the road, the weather, and their bikes, together. Saw a large group of 7 or 8 full dressers pulling motorcycle camper trailers at an ON rest area. They were fully loaded and off on a long trip, would be my guess. This is perhaps a perfect weekend for riding motorcycles. The temperature is ideal, the wind is light, and the sky is partly cloudy so as to not have the sunlight be overpowering. Did I mention how jealous I was? But I'm riding with my family in my 4-wheeler, enjoying the time together, so I'm not complaining. There is a time for everything.

Today's perfect weather, and all the bikes I've seen, made me think back to something I've pondered frequently - and that is why are there more motorcyclists per capita in states such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and so on instead of in warmer southern states. And I think the young highway flagman I spoke with while stopped for highway construction in Oklahoma, in temps well over 100 degrees, had it right. He said simply that it was too hot to ride a motorcycle in Oklahoma. And in fact he's right. When a person is confronted with weeks of temperatures above 90 or 95 degrees, including many over 100 degrees, the last thing they want to do is expose themselves to even more direct sun and heat.

We may complain of northern winters, and of having to park our bikes for large parts of several months each year, but when riding season does finally arrive, it is marvelous. 75 degrees, not 105! I don't have the facts to back up this follow-up theory, but I would not be at all surprised that more cars with sun roofs, and convertibles, are sold in northern states than in the deep south. Again, folks there are taking pains to protect themselves from the sun, not unnecessarily expose themselves to it! So rack one up for the great white north!

Taking 401, 402, and 403 across Ontario is efficient (usually) but not much more. If you have the time follow the north shore of Lake Erie across southwestern Ontario. It is very pretty with light traffic and frequent views of a mostly undeveloped lake shore. You will see lots of other motorcyclists on these beautiful stretches of 2-laners. Fort Erie at the eastern end of Lake Erie is a fascinating place to visit to understand history from a totally different perspective. Remember, during much of our existence Canada was part of Great Britain and thus our enemy during periods such as the War of Independence and the War of 1812, and beyond. Thankfully our wonderful neighbors to the north, or east if you live in Michigan, have been our strongest friends and allies for a very long time and the history we share is now very positive and mutually beneficial.

New York state, like Pennsylvania, is one that I love to ride in. I've made a few bike trips through NY but my three main motorcycle travel goals for NY have not yet been accomplished; these are: extensively riding through all portions of the Adirondacks, following the Hudson River Valley from end to end, and following the old NY Thruway, and the Erie Canal, completely across the state. I've done some of all of these on past bike trips, but there is much more to see, up close and personal.

So tomorrow the Albany area, crossing the Hudson, driving through the beautiful Berkshires of western MA, and on to Cape Cod. It'll be a nice drive, no doubt surrounded again by two-wheelers taking their owners out for a run, and time with extended family.

Till the next time I come across a WIFI location where I can check in; Ride - or drive - Safe, and enjoy life. It's all good.

USO Fundraiser @ Quaker Steak & Lube

2009-07-26T14:00:00.008-04:00

The USO (United Service Organizations) was formed in the early days of WW2 by combining the various groups that were trying to support military personnel and their families. They've been active behind the scenes ever since, helping members of the military in a variety of ways, and helping their families back home. The public might not be well aware of them but military personnel and their families certainly are. USO Clubs in foreign bases were, and I'm sure still are, a favorite place for a little R&R and a touch of home.

Last evening I attended a fundraiser for the Ohio USO at the Sheffield, OH Quaker Steak & Lube. These are wonderful theme restaurants (the theme being motorcycles and cars) that are very popular everywhere they exist. If you're into the internal combustion engine you'll love these restaurants. They have motorcycles suspended from the ceiling, cars parked on stands inside and outside, and too many automotive odds and ends decorating the walls to count.

Last evening's event was threatened all day by passing storms but the sky finally mostly cleared by 8:00 when Darryl Worley, the featured performer, got on the outdoor stage. Darryl has performed in Iraq for the troops six times, I believe. This makes him very popular not only with those who love his music overall (country genre) but especially those who are in some way connected with the armed forces - usually via a family member in the military.

Even though most people had to drive their 4-wheeled cage rather than their bikes, it was clear that a good time was had by all as evidenced by the large bustling crowd being very merry with food and drink. The waitresses, cooks, and other workers really earned their money!

The Marines and Air Force had displays that were very popular with those in attendance, and the young men (I didn't see any servicewomen present) were fine examples of some of our best and bravest.

So keep these young men and women in your prayers - remember they're out there for us, on our behalf, doing the hard work that most of us aren't in a position to do.

(BTW - a large Bike For America event is being planned for August 2010 in Columbus, OH. Stay tuned for more information; this is an event that bikers and military folks won't want to miss)

9th and final day of the trip - Motorcycle Misadventures

2009-07-22T10:40:00.016-04:00

With this blog site I intend over time to cover a wide variety of topics, and as the description of the blog site suggests, it is about the good and the bad, the adventures and misadventures. Every long motorcycle trip will inevitably encounter the unexpected, the unpleasant, or even the potentially dangerous. They are as much part of the trip (true whether on 2 wheels or 4) as the memorable and enjoyable facets.
The last day of my route 66 trip began in Kansas City on Tuesday (July 21), where the rain forced an early stop the evening before. Awake at 5:00 a.m. I watched the weather channel and local news shows that were already on the air. They reported that the storm had passed NW to SE through KC and was now mainly south and east of the city. That settled it for me. I was pondering whether to go east to St. Louis then head northeast, or go north from KC to Des Moines and then east on I-80. Based on what the weather prognosticators said I decided on north. Wrong!
I encountered rain almost immediately and it rained for the next 400 miles, to just southwest of Chicago! This was certainly the lowest point of the trip, but it was all part of the story just the same. Take the good with the inevitable bad - it's bound to happen when you expose yourself in this manner to the wide open world out there. To further irritate and delay, that 400 miles had more than its share of detours, road construction delays, and closures. When it rains it really does pour!
Things improved on I-80 near Chicago (never thought I'd be in a position to say that!) and I confirmed in my mind that I would make it a long day and head home rather than spend another night on the road so relatively close to home. So I did just that, having decent, if not sunny weather, for all but the last 15 miles when I once again ran into some rain. But as of Tuesday 9:00 p.m. I was home, and this grand adventure had come to an end.
I find it very difficult to end adventures such as this. I really don't want to point the bike toward home and park it in the garage, as much as at the same time I very much want to be home to see family and friends. I really do just love being on the bike, running down the road, experiencing all the visceral feelings and emotions that come with riding. Motorcycling is both physical and mental. The sound of the engine, the feel of unrestrained power, the sensations that accompany leans, turns, acceleration, and so on, the feel of speed without a wall separating one from the reality and sensations of that speed. And the emotional feelings of freedom and adventure. Of being part of something unique and immensely enjoyable and important to oneself - even if most around you want no part of it. Like a well kept secret only a few can share. All the fun and excitement that comes with the twist of a wrist; if only all of life had such immediate and joyful feedback from our actions.
The trip was grand and I saw and experienced some wonderful and powerful things. The trip total was 3,928 miles, with the last day's long blitz home totalling 727 miles.
The trip had its share of the good and bad. The heat in OK and TX was quite astounding, and the rain in MO and Iowa, Kansas and Illinois was unwelcome. But there were very enjoyable days riding on fabulous roads, seeing things I'd never seen before and may never see again. I'm quite certain that I will never be back to many of the places I visited. I had also waited many years to see some of these places and the realization of these dreams and plans was very fulfilling. And I definitely was not disappointed in any of what I saw.
I never had any mechanical problems, and the one possible scare with a nail and other object in the rear tire didn't turn out to be a problem. After pulling the two objects out of the tire treads I had close to 2,000 more trouble free and worry free miles. I had two potential danger events that I saw developing and avoided. They both involved inattentive drivers talking on cell phones and the dangerous situations they created were very similar.
The first involved a woman in a suburban area of Oklahoma City. Doing my usual non-stop scan from left front to right front, looking for anything or anybody that might pose a danger, I saw her ready to pull out of a store driveway to my right front. As I got closer I could see that she was talking on the cell phone, laughing and obviously enjoying the conversation, which also suggested to me that she was focusing on the phone conversation, and not on driving. I saw her glance quickly to the right, then to her left toward me, and then quickly look ahead again. I knew she hadn't seen me, she showed no indication of having seen me, so I started slowing down immediately from about 35 or 40. Sure enough she pulled out right in front of me, still laughing while holding the phone to her ear, causing me to brake fairly hard. I purposely laid on the horn to shock her back to reality when she was right in front of me in my lane. She snapped her head my way and for a fraction of a second had a look of total surprise. Then, amazingly, she gave me a big smile and waved down at me from her big SUV. 'Look at that cute little motorcycle, now where did he come from' I could hear her thinking. She doesn't want to know what I said nor what I was thinking of her! She pulled away and that ended what could have been a bad situation if I had been just riding along oblivious to that sort of situation. It happened a second time with similar circumstances. The situations were never life-threatening, because of my awareness, not to any credit of the cell phone talking drivers. PUT THE PHONE DOWN AND DRIVE THE CAR!
As I noted above, a similar event occurred a couple days later with another cell phone talking woman (I'm not picking on women, men are equally likely to do the same thing). That same evening I heard that the national highway safety administration admitted that talking on a cell phone while driving is much more dangerous than they had been reporting, having concealed a report with the true data, with the reasons for such concealment being unclear to me.

Motorcycle riding is like that. If the operator is smart and prepared, then problems can be avoided and even riding 400 miles in heavy rain is doable. Proper attitude and proper equipment are the basics, throw in a good dose of common sense, experience, and just a little luck, and every ride can be an adventure.
But rest assured, every ride will also have its misadventures! Know that right up front if you're going to participate in this activity!

Day 8 - Kansas / July 20

2009-07-21T07:15:00.010-04:00

Heading east, but not without things to do and places to see!

No Internet last evening so here I am at 6:15 a.m. at a McD's just north of Kansas City, MO. 571 miles yesterday across Kansas, 394 on Sunday across CO.

Took US 50 across most of Kansas and was able to visit two places that have always been on my long list of places to see: Dodge City and the Flint Hills. I saw little of DC because it was basically under construction - every street into and in town seemed torn up with major traffic backups. So I explored a few sites outside of town and headed east. 50 is quite a nice road, actually. For hundreds of miles in KS and CO it follows next to or on top of the Santa Fe wagon train trail. Very cool! Two lanes for the most part, light traffic, and an avg speed of 70. The posted speed limits for 2-lane roads everyplace west of MO was 65.

The height of the day was riding KS state routes 177 and 4, both designated scenic highways, through the beautiful Flint Hills. Rolling verdant hills of trees and grass that extend for many miles, with rock outcroppings that add a lot a scenic variety to the prairie and cattle ranches that cover these hills. Kansas, like every state, doesn't fit the mold we try to squeeze it into. It is a varied and very pleasant place to visit. A few years ago I rode US 36 across the northern part of Kansas. 36 follows the Pony Express route and an old stagecoach route. It's a road lined with very interesting historic buildings and sites. Drive it sometime, and don't be bored with the seeming sameness of the landscape, rather keep your eyes and senses open for the many different and historic things you'll pass. US 50 in the central part of the state has the same potential qualities.

Went thru the historic town of Council Grove where one of the Madonna of the Trail statues is placed. As I recall, a dozen of these very large statues were commissioned by the DAR (I believe) about a century ago to honor the role of women in the western migration of the mid-1800s. There are two placed on the old National Road in OH and IN, plus others at points further west.

At the north end of the Flint Hills I turned east on I-70, at about this same moment it began to rain. This was a sad point because it meant that my journey of discovery and exploration had come to an end. Now it was simply driving the many hundreds of miles home. The fact that I rode in very heavy rain for the next 75 miles, before finally being basically forced to stop for the night due to road conditions and the unrelenting rain, drove home the fact that the fun part of the trip was done. But what a fabulous trip it was - I'd do it all again in a heartbeat, heat and all.

I've exchanged the heat for rain and clouds - frankly I think I preferred the heat! Not complaining - just observing.
Onto I-35. Next stop = ??

Day 7, Sunday July 19 - Colorado again / still

2009-07-19T21:36:00.033-04:00

What a day!! Memories of made of this and I am pleased and honored to share these memories with those near and dear, or totally unknown, who may be reading these missives. The day began very early in the morning near the town of Montrose in SW Colorado, because I knew there was much to see today, and I haven't been able to sleep once the sun came up anyway. So early morning found me traveling east on U.S. 50 the short distance to the mountains and the Black Valley of the Gunnison River. The town of Montrose is located in a broad and flat very large valley in a not particularly pretty area. But go just 12 miles east and one enters a wonderland of mountains and one amazing gorge. The Black Valley is another place that defies the attempt to describe it with mere words. It is fabulous. The Gunnison River flows at the bottom, as much as 2,700 below the rim, the valley averaging about 2,000 feet deep, with some of the most perfectly vertical cliff walls that can be imagined. There are two ways to see this valley and I did both.

I had a pleasant surprise when I arrived at the entrance to this National Park. This weekend was free entry - the entry fee was waived at NPs across the nation yesterday and today! As much as I am willing to support our national parks, I was delighted to put my money back in my pocket.

Because I arrived so early I had the place nearly to myself. The entry road going up the mountains to the park was a blast itself, but it only got better. My first choice was to drive the narrow and incredibly steep road down to the bottom of the valley. The warning sign stated a 16% decline and to use extreme caution. They weren't kidding! I can honestly say I have never been on such a long and steep descent with hairpin curves so sharp they were virtually 180 degree turns, dozens of times. First gear all the way down. This went on for a few miles. Once finally at the bottom the view defied picture taking - couldn't begin to do it justice. At the bottom the road continues for a couple miles alongside the river and it finally dead ends and the trip up to the top begins. First gear, and on the gas all the way up. Just amazing. It gave me renewed respect and admiration for the engine and drive train on my bike!

The second way to see the valley is the drive along the rim. This road has many pull overs allowing views from the top. A visitor center stop, with a 15 minute movie explaining how the valley was formed and its history of exploration, capped off the morning. The river has been eroding down through the very hard and ancient granite at a rate of one inch per Century! (for several hundred million years now)

It wasn't entered and explored until 1901 because exploration had been deemed impossible in earlier failed attempts.

In 1909 the BLM blasted a very long tunned through the mountains to bring water to the large valley that Montrose is in, changing it from barren desert to a semi-agricultural area. An impoundment was also formed that provided water and recreation opportunities.

Finally left the Black Valley and headed east into the mountains. The Mts of southern CO arent't as dramatic as those further north, such as in the Rocky Mt. National Park. The southern mountains don't exceed tree line, and in fact many are not all that high and in some areas they are tree covered and in other nearby locales they are brown and barren. But there are delightful stretches where the road is narrow and climbs and falls and twists and turns over several thousand feet of elevation change and uncountable tight curves. By mid morning the early clouds had burned off and the race up the thermometer had begun again. I crossed the continental divide and 11,300 ft Monarch Pass, where it was just pleasantly cool, but far from needing a jacket. I soaked in the scenery at the pass and reluctantly began the ride down. I knew that in about an hour the mountains would be history and it would be flat land for a very long way home.

It was a great ride down to Canon City, fabulous road and good scenery. Just west of Canon City is the largest collection of tourist traps that I've seen on the entire trip. The bridge over Royal Gorge (a walking toll bridge high over the gorge) is indeed very impressive, but it is surrounded by a couple miles of tourist kitsch. I wasted a half hour riding back to the park and getting caught up in the traffic jam surrounding the bridge area.

Everything suddenly ends at Canon City. The city is located in a broad valley and from that point east is plains. Mountains can be seen in the distance to the south and north, but even these quickly fade away. From Canon City east to Pueblo was very uninspiring - quite built up all the way and flat!

And so I rode US 50 (one of my bucket list roads that I would like to ride coast to coast. I've ridden it from Chesepeake Bay to the Mississippi, and now across Colorado) long and far into eastern CO's prairie country. Some of this corner of the state is in agriculture, with the help of irrigation, some is vast expanses of barren dead grass plains, and some is cattle country. I had planned to ride late into the evening to put some of this country behind me, but a massive thunderstorm loomed up ahead of me prompting me to seek shelter. I came to a town with a motel after riding for the last 2 miles in a rapidly worsening rainstorm. Very fortunate, as there are many long stretches with no shelter at all that I could have been caught in.

I will say that I saw the clouds gathering some distance back, and if I were not alone I would have stopped sooner - I had passed lodging and camping places. But being alone I decided to take the chance to put some miles behind me and as it turned out I lucked out, but just barely. Watching thunderstorms gather force on the plains, and then explode in lightning flashes and thunder, and heavy rain squalls, is really quite an amazing sight.

The last three days in the mountains have been just incredible. These roads provide some of the most enjoyable motorcycling in the country and I saw many hundreds, no doubt thousands overall, of bikers enjoying the roads. (okay, they would also be fun in cars, trucks, SUVs, or whatever you might drive, but they're something special on two wheels!)

The only 'bad' incident I encountered today was just down from Monarch Pass, where a truck loaded with lumber had turned over. This must have happened at least a couple of hours prior to my getting there, as they had just about cleared the site, with only minimal traffic backups occurring because of the accident. In all those many miles of dangerous roads, where even a second's loss of concentration would put somebody over a cliff, I saw no accidents or problems of any kind.

I was amazed at the number of bicyclists that were sharing these roads! They were flying down the downhill portions of roads as fast as the cars were, but I can't imagine the work involved in pedaling up the miles of steep road in order to get to the next downhill portion! These are certainly not run of the mill average riders, and the bikes they were riding cannot be average either. They must be equipped with some very heavy duty brakes to slow them on those very long and fast downhill runs.

An observation about the current state of the state of Colorado: It seems that there are now two distinct groups of Coloradoans (sp?) The traditional and long term residents, those that wear the cowboy hats or dirty baseball style caps, drive heavy duty Ford or Chevy pickups that are used for work, not play, and whose holes in the knees of their jeans were put there the old fahsioned way; hard work. These people include the farmers, ranchers, loggers, land managers, miners, and those others who earn their livelihood off the land, and have for generations.

The new Coloradoan appears to shop at Orvis or Bean, not the local Tractor Supply Company store, they drive Subaru station wagons, and the holes in their jeans are by design; they paid good money for that look. From the amount of new development taking place in rural CO I suspect there is much conflict between the old and the new. There are many for sale signs selling large parcels of range or mountainside land for the purpose of development and subdivision into the ranchettes that CO has made an everyday word. Grazing, logging, or hunting lands are under pressure by the forces that cater to the building and lifestyle wishes of the new Coloradoans, who want to stake claim to their view of the west, which just might include a McMansion right in the middle of an Elk wintering area. There is none, or at least very little it appears, of that sort of land use conflict in eastern Colorado. The eastern prairies lack the sex appeal of the mountainous portions of the state.

Upon arrival home I will be spending some garage time changing the motor and transmission oil on the bike that I have incinerated this past week with the extreme heat and mountain roads. I will also be putting new brake pads on; I have pretty well cooked those also these past 3 days!

Next stop tomorrow morning - Dodge City! I hear they're looking for a new Sheriff in that cow town since that Wyatt fellow died, and I think I'll inquire as to what they pay.

Day 6 - New Mexico, and Colorado Mountains!

2009-07-18T20:27:00.010-04:00

This day (Saturday) began in Taos, where yesterday ended after spending a few hours exploring this busy and unusual city. The above picture is a very typical business lining the main street. Almost all are adobe style and many are arts or tourist-related enterprises. But the stores are different in that they sell things several steps up the scale from the typical touristy kitch of most shops. These shops really do seem to sell high quality and unique wares, much of it handmade by local artisans.

There is a major Native American presence here as well. A large Indian community exists here, and a casino is located just outside of town.

(Also frontier scout Kit Carson's home is located in Taos, which has a very long and interesting history).

I left Taos west across a large and barren scrub plain where the tallest plant is perhaps 4-ft high. There is a fair amount of light density development for the first few miles west of town. The most remarkable is what I can only describe as a large (~square mile) Hobbitt houses development. These houses are underground for the most part, with only part of the roof portion, and various chimneys and such extending above ground. There is a ' spaceship earth' center nearby and I assume this Hobbitt subdivision is related. I'm sure they're cooler in the summer and warmer in the cold winter on this high plain than a house of typical construction or adobe construction (which is a frame built house covered with plaster or concrete to give the adobe look; I saw several being built).

A few words about New Mexico. It is perhaps our most unique state. By this I mean it looks, feels, and sounds different than most of the other states. It isn't as homogenized as the rest of us have become. The culture and heritage of all ethnic groups runs deep and is proudly displayed. NM has many cultural and arts-related centers, and they seem ready to spend money on things that proclaim their culture. For instance, most if not all of the expressway overpasses are beautifully painted in a wide variety of Native American art. I don't mean just a portion of the overpass, I mean the entire overpass, pillars and all. They're beautifully done and each one is different, with varying words and symbols embossed in the concrete and painted on the tan background paint of the entire structure. I was impressed! This was an obviously major, and expensive, thing to do, and it has no reason except cultural celebration.

About 30 miles west of Taos is U.S. Rte 285. An amazing thing happens at this road. At the point where state route 64, going west from Taos, meets 285 everything changes. On the east side of 285 is flat alkaline plain with 3-ft scrub brush. On the west side are towering pine trees and forest stretching west for many miles. The trees don't gradually appear, they immediately appear ten feet west of the road. Ten feet east of the road is dead grass and scrub east as far as the eye can see. An amazing pencil line in the sand. I assume that route 285 started life as a trail utilized by native peoples for many centuries, and they purposely made the trail along the edge of the forest, perhaps for safety as well as hunting purposes.

Far northwestern NM is beautiful with forest-covered mountains rising higher as one travels west and north. The top picture above is typical of that region (though of course a picture doesn't do justice to the actual scenery).

I entered Colorado on US 84, heading north to Pagasa Springs (a good sized touristy town that is the site of some historic hot springs). I then went west to Durango. This entire length of roads had some nice areas, but I was surprised by the amount of light density development that has taken place all along this area. There are many 'ranchettes' spread throughout, and a lot of signs offering land for sale for subdivision.Traffic was moderately heavy, and once again, the day was turning very hot by late morning, even at elevations above 8,000 ft.

I'm still pondering something that I saw a lot of in northern NM and Colorado, and that is the obviously new trend of building houses on top of the many mesas and hills in the region: How do they get water up there!? One could drill down thousands of feet and not hit groundwater in those rock hills and mountains. Do public utilities pump it up when they're near towns? The ones far out, and there are many, perhaps have water delivered and stored in cisterns? Though I don't know how a truck would get to the home sites. I couldn't tell how the homeowners got up to them, but obviously there must be a driveway or trail somewhere.

Durango is a very cool, but busy, town. On the way into town I happened to pass by the Harley dealership and noticed that they were having a big outdoor party, with a live band, free food, and classic cars and bikes on display. I stopped in, had a burger and slaked my thirst with lemonade, and chatted for a bit with locals. I then headed downtown to walk the very nice downtown area and see the famous Durango/Silverton narrow gage railroad. My timing was perfect as the train departed less than 20 minutes after my arrival, allowing me to get very close and get a few pictures. I have a bit of a passion for old railroading equipment and steam locomotives in particular.

Riding north from Durango through Silverton and ultimately to the incredibly beautiful town and area around Ouray is one of the best rides I've ever had. It is an amazingly beautiful stretch of road, surrounded by the most indescribable scenery imaginable. It's motorcycle heaven, and in fact I saw hundreds of bikes in that stretch and in the towns along the road.

I set a personal record today - I crossed four mountain passes in excess of 10,000 ft in elevation. In fact, one was over 11,000 feet. And as evidence of the heat in this part of the country, it was barely even cool at those elevations. I recall other summer trips into the Rockies where coats were needed at those elevations.

All along the road, especially from Silverton to Ouray there is much evidence of the extensive mining that occurred here in the past. There are many old mining shacks and shafts still clearly visible in the valleys or hillsides. North of Silverton are some examples of huge modern-day mining where it appeared that entire mountains had been mined through, with the mountain sides covered with red slag and waste thousands of feet up the sides. This massive mining activity is in a rather restricted area and doesn't detract from the 99% that is beyond words in beauty and scale.

Ouray has to be one of the most unique towns in the country. It's a 'Swiss' village in name and style. The village is located deep in a valley with towering cliffs on three sides. Only to the north, where the valley extends north to the town of Montrose, is the scene anything but dramatic. I've never been to the European Alps but I can't imagine anything there more dramatic than the road coming into town from the south, and of the cliffs that surround Ouray on 3 sides.

The road north the 30 or so miles to Montrose is flat and dull compared to what came before. It follows the floor of the very broad valley north, and there is quite a bit of traffic and business activity, as well as many farms, along this road.

Montrose is quite a large town. Whereas the other towns I was at yesterday and today in NM and CO, especially Taos, Durango, Silverton, and Ouray, all have a strong obvious connection to the 19th century, Montrose looks like most of it was built post-1950. It certainly doesn't share the same look of history that Durango and other towns exude.

East of Montrose is the dramatic black river gorge, which I will explore early Sunday morning.

Because of more time spent exploring the sites my mileage the last two days has been less; 216 on Friday and 325 today.
Today was a day that'll be forever etched in my memory. The roads, the towns, the sights - - it was all very amazing.

Why Ride Route 66 at all?

2009-07-18T04:53:00.017-04:00

I left route 66 behind at Santa Fe. At that point the pre-WW2 version - the road of Steinbeck - went back southwest a bit and then west across the AZ and CA deserts to the 1930's promised land of CA. Now that I'm off the road I want to talk about why I wanted to ride 66, or what is left of it, in the first place. Time for some reflection.

America's historic roads have always fascinated me. Roads such as the Lincoln Highway and Route 66, among many others, are stories of America's history and especially of her peoples. Half of the history is still told along the roadways if one looks closely, the other half is in one's mind. Having re-read Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath two years ago got me thinking more of 66. I was very familiar with the road's story since my youth and thought of it as a road to adventure, as well as history.

My primary desire was to try to see what the Okies and others saw when they rode 66 not for adventure but out of desperation. I wanted to follow Tom Joad and his family across Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle, where thousands left during the dust bowl and Depression years. I wanted to touch what remains of the very same pavement and dirt which that desperate diaspora rode on, and see the scenes they would have seen. It certainly added a sense of reality by feeling the same heat that those families felt.

What's interesting is that I have no desire to drive the family car down these historic fragmented sections of road. I feel much closer to the road and to history on a motorcycle, which immerses me in the world around me, not separate me from it in an artificial and air conditioned world with confining walls of steel and glass.

To its very end, route 66 was a tough road in an unforgiving part of the country and you traveled it on the terms of the road and the natural conditions around you. In its day travelers didn't ride in air conditioned comfort, they rode in jalopies held together by baling wire, or later in station wagons filled with hot and complaining kids, windows rolled down for some comfort. That all changed in the 1970s when AC became common and expressways whisked travelers along without regard to the painful history of what they were so nonchalantly driving past, and unaware and unappreciative of the labors of those who worked the farms and carved a life out of an unforgiving and uncaring land. By following the road, especially in New Mexico, one also clearly experiences the story of the Native American and Hispanic peoples that lived their lives here prior to the coming of the dirt farmers.

Some day it would be good to ride the CA end of the road. But that portion of 66 has a different meaning for me and it seems improper to mingle the gritty reality of the Okies with the glamour and fun adventures of 1960s Hollywood and its version of route 66. The California stretch of the road evokes images of light hearted travels of the Beat Generation, of Kerouac and his merry travelers, and of course of the young men in their Corvette searching for the meaning of life in the 1960s Route 66 television show. That's all well and good, but it shouldn't be mixed with the rest of the story. Nobody ever glamorized that part of route 66 through America's heartland. Even today this region is just too real, too hard, too in your face, to ever be glamorized. This is the portion that I really wanted to experience, and which I did.

So now I'll be off to enjoy the mountains and explore another part of America's history and story. It's all very powerful and compelling, creating an overwhelming pull to get out there to experience it and learn from it.

So I'll do just that.

Day 5 of Rte 66 ride - Friday : July 17

2009-07-17T18:23:00.018-04:00

I posted yesterday's blog early this morning, and today's will be late this afternoon, of necessity.

I'm in Taos, NM!! at about 4:00 Mountain Man Time.But more about Taos later.

Today was a bit different for a couple of reasons; I had "back home" business to take care of via cell ph and email prior to starting out. Then when doing my regular bike inspection prior to leaving I found a couple of things that had punctured my rear tire that gave me pause. One looked like a small nail or wire, and the other actually looked like a small but sharp piece of stone. I decided that I'd ride as planned, on old 66, to Santa Fe, where I knew there was a Harley dealer. I decided that I would pull out the two intruders once I was safely in their parking lot, just in case I ended up needing a new tire. It looked like I'd make it there no problem, especially on the old road at slower speeds. By the way, south of SF rte 66 followed the old Santa Fe Trail! Talk about fascinating history! It turned out that the wire was in the tread only an eighth of an inch or so, clearly still in the tread portion. The other item was a sharp piece of small stone. 90% of it was also in the tread rubber, and the rest was clearly far from puncturing the carcass, let alone the tube. In time it would have worn its way in, so I'm glad I pulled it out, After touring the large HD store, and talking with several folks there, I headed for downtown to see the capitol building.

The area south of SF is very nice until you're about 5 miles from town. There is something about spreading development in the sage brush plains and on tops of the hills that really looks unattractive and out of place. SF is very much a horizontal city, not vertical. 90% of the buildings are made to look like the tan adobe common to the southwest, even the malls and offices.

After asking 3 times for directions I finally located the capitol. It is a round adobe building, 2 stories high, completely hidden in a yard dominated by trees. It certainly doesn't look like the typical capitol. But then again nothing about SF looks like the typical capital city. Its southwest and Hispanic influences affect every part of the city.

I decided to head north seeking cooler weather. Like the last 3 days, SF was expecting record highs for today. It was very hot - depending on which bank sign you believed it was somewhere between 94 and 104 - I suspect 94 was more accurate.

The first 20 miles north from Sante Fe is quite ugly, frankly. Lots of development in the barren sagebrush plains. Traffic was heavy, with lots of road work. Once able to leave all that behind the ride up to Taos is very nice. A huge surprise lay in store for me in form of the Rio Grande Gorge, an amazing deep gorge cut across an otherwise level plain about ten miles west of Taos. it's an amazing sight that pictures don't do justice.

Taos is everything I thought it would be:a very busy and congested tourist town, a new age site, an arts community, and a refuge for those seeking to leave the rat race. It is also a very southwestern city, with adobe construction the norm; everything from churches to gas stations wear adobe garb.

In a bit I'll leave the McD's where I'm tapped into their wireless and head out to find a campsite. Though it's still in the low 90s I suspect tonight should be nice and cool once the sun goes down, making comfortable sleeping, unlike OK or TX where it stayed near 80 all night.

Tomorrow, north into CO - probably Durango.

Day 4 Route 66 trip - 7/16/09

2009-07-16T21:09:00.023-04:00

Here I am in Las Vegas! Funny, it's a lot smaller than I thought it would be. Oh, wait, I'm in Las Vegas New Mexico! Not that other one. This morning started out in Elk City, OK, in the far west of the Sooner State. 437 miles today. It's slow going on the old road, and of course lots of pctures need to be taken. What's called the National Route 66 Museum is in Elk City but it was closed when I got on the road early in the morning so I didn't go thru it. I did get an outdoor picture.

The museum was closed early in the morning but everyone else is hard at work very early here to avoid the heat. At 6:30 the roofers, lawn workers, road workers, etc. are all hard at it.

There is a lot to write about today; I'm going to be up late, hanging around a restaurant or whatever I can find that has wireless that I can connect to. I start this blog sitting in a laundromat washing my clothes - the classy traveler that I am! When you spend many hours each day in 100 plus degree heat it's very easy to unintentionally offend. And of course there is only so much room on a bike to stash things, so that always means a laundromat stop midway on a long trip. When I leave here I'll probably find the local McDonalds - the manager of one in IL gave me 3 hours worth of free coupons to use the McD's wireless, and I've only used about a half hour of the time.

Rte 66 across Texas follows very closely to the Interstate highway (40). Often it is literally right along the new road, and in fact the old road is within the fenced in expressway right-of-way. It's used for the access ramps, rather than building ramps for the overpasses. They simply build about a 75 foot 'driveway' angled onto old 66 across the green space and folks get on and off the Xway in that manner across much of northern TX. Very unusual setup! TX has basically a hand-off attitude about 66. There aren't many signs but not many are needed because it's obvious about 80% of the time.

The cost of gasoline jumps a quarter the moment you cross the OK / TX border - more in TX, must be taxes. BTW it jumps another quarter when you cross into NM. From paying about 2.07 in OK to 2.69 here in Las Vegas.

The landscape across the TX panhandle is very stark for the most part. After 30 miles or so the trees are gone and huge expanses of dying grass being eaten by hungry cattle is all that's is seen - except for one area in the central portion where irrigation is in place. Here, the round fields of corn are tall and green. But for whatever reason this irrigated portion is only about 25 miles or so in length, then nature takes over again. Occasionally the rolling basically flat land is transformed into mesas and buttes, with rocky tops and sides, but this feature disappears and flat land returns. The "flat" land isn't truly flat, however. It is broken with many small gullies eroded over the ages. They are usually ~20 ft deep and ~30 ft wide, and criss-cross the land. It must have been extremely difficult traversing this land on horses or horse-pulled wagons.

It looks like the economy has not been kind to businesses along old 66 in western OK and northern TX. I saw dozens of abandoned gas station / restaurant / store combos that were obviously open 10 or less years ago. Old 66 went thru several small towns in western OK that qualify as ghost towns; virtually every building is empty except for a few houses that still looked occupied. They were hot, dry and barren looking places! There are also many of the older abandoned gas stations, cafes, motels, and so on that date further back to the post war to circa 1970 time period. There are many dozens of these lining the road. I included a picture of a typical example.

I tried to follow the old road thru Amarillo, a city of about 175,000, and that proved a mistake. Highway building and urban development made following the road impossible (for me alone on my bike) and I lost a good half-hour trying to relocate it west of town. This exercise re-affirmed my impression that all of suburban America looks exactly the same; Amarillo or Ann Arbor, Detroit or Dallas, it doesn't matter. The edge sprawl areas all look the same.

Northwest TX is wide open with vast vistas. It makes even western OK look downright congested. It is cattle country west of Amarillo, and huge tracts of land, covered with poor quality grass and small bushes, support a large number of cattle spread thin on vast ranches. There was a huge cattle feed lot about 50 miles west of Amarillo that housed probably a couple thousand head of cattle - a very different approach from the open grazing on the grass lands.

Flies - what look like the common house fly - are a major pest all across OK and TX. Whenever one stops they're there and it doesn't matter if you're indoors or outside. Eating in a restaurant means constantly swinging at flies to keep them away. I went thru a 50 mile stretch in which grasshoppers were laying on the old 66 pavement, and because traffic is so light I was the only vehicle that kicked them up. They would jump up a fraction of a second before I got to them, and then splatter on my lower legs and bike. They're one reason my riding jeans so badly needed washing this evening.

My bike is amazingly filthy. After riding all day in the rain in MO, including on some dirt roads and construction areas, plus the bugs and general road dirt, it's a mess.

Entering New Mexico was a real treat. It is (was) one of the very few states I hadn't been in yet, so I can now check it off my list. (let's see, that leaves AZ, NV, UT, and Alaska). The NM license plates have New Mexico USA on them. I recall reading a news story several years ago that a significant proportion of the US population didn't know NM was a state - so they're trying to educate those that need it, I guess.

I thought TX had grand views and vistas but NM raises the bar much higher! Also, the land is constantly rising as one goes west onto the high plains. The elevation in eastern OK was about 900 feet. In western OK it was ~2,000 ft. At the TX / NM border it was 4,000 feet. (By the way, I love my GPS unit. It has saved me from getting lost more times than I can count, has made the trip much safer by not having to deal with paper maps and glancing down at them while riding, and it provides useful and interesting information such as sites of interest, elevations, and much more).

I had heard about Tucumcari, NM, and how it was a traditional stop for tourists riding 66 back in the day. It still is quite the tourist town, retaining the dinosaur museum and other attractions. West of there the landscape is hard to describe with words. Incredible mesas and vast sagebrush expanses extend to the horizon. There is one point where you come up on the top of a hill and ahead of you heading straight west is 66 and the Xway far, far into the distance until it disappears over the horizon. I wish I knew how far it is, but it was an incredible sight. It was also a very common sight. The vistas are huge and the scenery is incredible. Northeastern NM adds a new definition to vast wide open spaces. But beautiful as it is I really want green things - must be the Irish in me.

I decided to follow the pre-1940 version of route 66 northwest to Sante Fe. (and Las Vegas is about 60 miles SE of Sante Fe, on that route) The area just south of here is a scenic delight. Close to Las Vegas the elevation is such (about 6,000 feet) that conifers now cover the mesas and hills.

I made a fundamental decision last evening. Since time and money will run out prior to reaching Flagstaff, I decided to take the 1937 version of Rte 66 to Sante Fe, (which I've always wanted to visit) and then bid 66 a fond farewell. I'll head north into the mountains, maybe Durango, Telluride, etc. These are also bucket list destinations for me. Then I'll gradually head back NE. I had considerable trouble last evening and this morning locating a wireless place, but am finally hooked up. So this blog is coming a half-day late.

From Las Vegas this morning I'll head the final 60 miles to Sante Fe and do so serious exploring, then make final decisions about what comes next; Taos is high on the list also - I can't be this close and not check it out!

There of course is a very strong hispanic presence here. Interestingly, however, the anglo NM residents don't speak with a noticeable accent (they sound just like a midwesterner!) The Hispanic NM resident usually does have an accent. Interesting.

I have to add pictures to this and then be off.

Adios, Amigo! Until tomorrow, probably from CO!

Route 66 - Day 3 / July 15, 2009

2009-07-15T21:04:00.053-04:00

When it is 79 degrees and muggy at daybreak you know it is going to be a hot day!! And indeed today was a very hot day in Oklahoma. Upper 90s before noon, and 107 by dinner time! Before today the highest temperature I ever saw recorded on one of those bank temperature signs was 105 a few years ago on my way to Sturgis, in South Dakota. I broke that record today when I saw several signs flashing 106 and 107. It was astonishingly hot!!

Okay, enough about the heat. Today's 398 miles began in Carthage MO with a visit to their marvelous courthouse for a picture, then a ride just out of town to visit the Carthage MO Civil War battlefield site. This battle saw Missourians fighting fellow Missourians. Some fighting to keep MO in the Union, their neighbors and relatives fighting to join the Confederacy.

Beyond Carthage there wasn't much to see in MO for the last few miles, then 13 miles of old 66 cutting across the far SE corner of Kansas, then into Oklahoma.

The road is quite well marked in eastern OK, and in fact most of it from the border to Oklahoma City has been recommissioned as state route 66. As soon as you get into OK things quickly begin to look a bit different. Men in pickups are wearing cowboy hats, and most everyone speaks with a strong accent, clearly unlike points further east or north.

I was in OK for just a short time when I came into the town of Commerce, the hometown of MICKEY MANTLE! I actually saw the park where he would have played baseball as a kid! What I wouldn't give for a time machine sometimes. I also later drove through the hometowns of Will Rogers and Garth Brooks. I went to the Will Rogers museum but decided not to take the time to do a full blown tour.

As a side note, the cost of gasoline in western MO was 2.07 for the most part. It was a little higher in OK, but by the time I got to western OK it had dropped again down to the 2.10 range. By my reckoning, as validated by no less an expert than Benjamin Franklin himself, I'm saving so much money by buying this cheap gas, with those savings being immediately converted to money earned, it is actually paying to take this trip and the further I ride the more I save (earn), thus the more I have to spend on more riding!

Northeastern OK looks the way I imagined it would, more open and fewer trees than MO. Surprisingly, however, the area around Tulsa and west all the way to Oklahoma City is much greener and has far more trees than I imagined. I've done some riding in the Quachita Mts of SE Oklahoma, which is heavily forested, but I thought it would be more open west of Tulsa.

The federal stimulus dollars are hard at work in America's heartland. I encountered many areas of road repairs, with most well identified as being done with stimulus dollars. At one site I stopped for a flagman with the sun broiling both of us while we waited. I began singing Springsteen's"Working on the Highway" while waiting and after awhile the flagman came over to me to tell me I might as well shut off my bike as we had at least another ten minute wait. We had a nice chat. He asked if it ever got warm enough in Michigan in the summer for people to go swimming outside, and I assured him that yes, it did. Then he said he could never ride a motorcycle in OK because it would be too hot. I said wait a minute - you're standing on hot freshly laid asphalt that is still warm to the touch, in the open with no shade or protection, under the grilling sun with nothing but your baseball cap to protect you, for 8 hours a day, and it's too hot to ride a motorcycle!? He agreed that it did sound kind of silly.

Oklahoma is a land of grand vistas. Except for the two urban areas, I rode across OK in five mile chunks. It seemed that at intervals of that length you could see from one small hill to the next one far away on the horizon. I'd ride that stretch and then from that vantage point I could see the road winding in front of me to the next horizon several miles away. This occurred frequently across the width of the state.

Route 66 east of OKC is a well used fairly major state highway. This is the post 1940 version. There are occasional stretches of the 1927 version that can still be found and ridden, though some are too rough to ride. A phenomenon that I find amazing, and has occurred from Illinois all the way to western OK, is that for long stretches the original 1920s roadway was simply abandoned ca 1940, with the new road built 20 feet away, and paralleling the old for mile after mile. Even today the abandoned 1920s pavement is still visible, with many weeds in all the cracks in the old concrete, faithfully tagging alongside the "new" road mile after mile. Much of the old road was not abandoned and is still in use today, but only by local traffic or by Route 66 aficionados. It was apparently cheaper to simply build an entirely new roadway than upgrade the old and very narrow old roadway. I imagine that the size of the cars and the weight of the trucks post WW2 made the old roadway totally obsolete in every way. When riding on the old roadway one is amazed at how narrow it is. It is barely wider than the typical biking & walking paved pathways found in many communities.

Besides Mickey Mantle's home town there are many very interesting things to see along the road. An old 1926 single lane iron bridge that carried the road over a stream near Chelsea OK is still in place and can be driven across. Many old gas stations, cafes, and motels and tourist courts still line the road, almost all vacant or being used for other things, but very identifiable. Some have been wonderfully restored. A beautiful architectural style found from western MO through central OK are the brown sandstone gas stations, cafes, and other small commercial buildings built out of the native bedrock many decades ago. They're striking in their classic beauty. The reddish-brown stones are cut into varying sizes and shapes and the resulting structures are a delight to see.

Because of the heat I wimped out and didn't try to follow the old road through Tulsa and OKC. The original alignment can still be found with some tricky navigating (preferably with two people - one driving a car and the passenger calling the turn by turn plays). The thought of riding through mile after mile of urban congestion in temps exceeding 100 seemed near suicidal to me so I skirted the two urban centers, picking up 66 on the west side of each city. I'd never been to Tulsa before today but I had been to OK City a couple of times previously. A big attraction in OKC is the American Cowboy and Western Heritage Cultural Center, and I'd already been there so felt no need to go back.

Finding the old road west of Oklahoma City becomes very tricky again. It is a small intermittent road to some degree and keeping track of it isn't as easy as it might seem. Especially in stretches of urbanized development it is easy to lose track of what was 66. Then you have to do a basic tracking method of crossing back and forth as you move westerly until you come across it again. Many small towns do a real good job of celebrating the road and put up signs. Many businesses in OK also exploit the road by using it in their name. It gets more recognition here than in MO.

Beginning about 25 miles west of OK City many things change. The land takes on a much more open and western look. There are many large cattle ranches and the vistas are grand. The green and verdant look changes to the tans of the west. In west central OK there is a large wheat growing area. This was the only crop growing area I saw. But the wheat had all been harvested already and all the fields already prepared for planting of the next crop. Most of the agriculture as one gets into far western OK is cattle ranging very large fields of hay.

The soil in OK is very red for the most part, just like in Georgia.

There are long stretches of the 1920s version of route 66 left in the west half of OK. This road is easy to confirm because the builders had a unique signature; they 'rolled' or beveled the concrete road edges into a 3-inch lip that made a small 'wall' along the outside edge of the pavement. Whether this was for safety, warning someone they're about to go off the pavement and onto the very narrow shoulder, or whether it was a purely aesthetic feature, I don't know. But I've never seen this feature on any other road.

The landscape in western OK takes on the 'out west' look, with ancient small hills and mesas beginning to appear. Not in the size or number as further west, but the transition has certainly begun.

There was quite a bit of oil activity in western OK, with several large rigs drilling new wells and several very large oilfield supply depots with every piece of equipment needed in the oil business available for sale. An interesting related phenomenon in OK is the number of gas stations that proudly proclaim that they sell only pure gasoline, with no ethanol. It makes economic sense, of course. They grow a lot more oil than corn in OK, so I imagine their congressional delegation has not been a big ethanol supporter.

It's becoming clear that I'm not making as many miles each day as I thought I could, so I have to change my expectations a bit. I had hoped to get as far west as Flagstaff AZ, but that is probably not feasible. My goal is to explore the road and its attractions, not reach a particular destination. If the end point is Albuquerque instead of Flagstaff, that's fine. But I really did want to get to Winslow AZ to see if that pretty girl in the red Ford is still there. Of course, like the rest of us, she's all grown up by now.

The bike is running great. Hasn't missed a beat in over 33,000 miles and just hums along in this incredible heat. The 1200 Sportster is one of the more underrated bikes around because too many folks consider it an around town cruiser. In reality it is the perfect bike for this kind of trip. And it is probably the most pure fun bike I've ever owned - going all the way back to my first, a 1969 Kawasaki 250 two stroke. (and getting 50 plus miles per gallon doesn't hurt either, even if gas is cheap out here.)

Tomorrow - Texas and New Mexico!

Route 66 - Day 2: 7/14/09

2009-07-14T21:30:00.027-04:00

390 Miles today. Began the morning finishing the trip through Illinois, with about 45 minutes necessary to get to Old Man River. The corn in the southwest part of IL is as high as an elephant's eye!! Very tall and all tasseled out already.

Many observations to note concerning the trip once beyond the Illinois portion.

First, every time I cross the Mississippi River I am constantly reminded how large and powerful it is; especially in its more southerly portion. I was once again reminded this morning when crossing it on I-270.

Second, the St. Louis metro area is huge! I've been downtown, in the northern subs and in the s0uthern subs, now the western. The sprawl goes on forever! Old 66 is almost impossible to follow with all the new construction and highways. The city was in gridlock and impossible to get around in today because of the All Star game. What with four former presidents and Pres Obama, the big parade, and thousands of people in town, the place is a nightmare so I skirted around town the best I could. I didn't find old 66 until way west of town, in the outermost exurbs.

Third observation, route 66 is poorly signed in most of Missouri. This caused much frustration and many missed turns when I had to go back to retrace the route to find the road again. Come on Show Me State - Show Us the Mother Road!!

Fourth observation; Missouri in general, and the towns along the road, don't celebrate the road the way they did in Illinois, not by a long shot. With a few exceptions there were few signs or businesses noting the highway's presence or history. There was one nice stretch of old 66 in eastern MO but a lot of it wasn't very nice. There was a surprising amount of development, probably because it followed I-44 very closely in much of the state.

Went to Meramac Caverns, most famous as being the place where Jesse James and his gang hid out. Quite a pretty setting with a river on one side and high cliffs on the other. The signs for the caverns began showing up in Illinois, probably a hundred miles away! I didn't go to the Jesse James Wax Museum, however. I know, my loss. I did, however, stop to see the world's tallest rocking chair, and the rain stopped just long enough for me to get a picture of it!

It rained off and on all day today. I was in and out of my rain gear three different times.But I didn't complain, as the weather system dropped the prevailing temps from 95 to the low 80s!! Very pleasant even if damp.

The poor signing really caused a lot of problems, and I think it is inexcusable that state and local governments have done such a poor job. Thousands of people come from all over North America, Europe, Japan and so on to ride this road and surely we should do a better job marking it. If only for crass commercial reasons - there is money to be made exploiting the road. They did it well in IL but MO hasnt't caught on for the most part yet.

The Old Road improves in central and western MO. There are several long stretches that are very pretty, with light traffic and lots of hills and curves, all set in a background of hills and forests. There is one stretch in particlular east of Springfield, MO that is very nice. And again, west of Springfield the road is at its best as it traverses a countryside of large cattle ranches and wide open spaces more reminiscent of the west than the midwest.

In one ten mile stretch in particular one rides on the original pavement, which is so narrow that two cars barely fit side to side. No center line or shoulders. You certainly didn't want to daydream when riding that road! The far west part of MO is quite different from the rest of the state with its cattle ranches and large rolling fields of beef cattle running free. Saw one ranch that had many dozens of Texas Longhorns - very impressive looking!

Though only separated by the Mississippi River, MO is totally different than Illinois in land forms, land cover, and landscape. Across the river IL is flat and covered with fields of corn and beans growing in deep fertile soil. On the west side of the river begins a land of stone, rolling hills, heavily forested, and virtually no row crops to be found anywhere. There are many rock outcroppings lining the roads and the bedrock is obviously at or just below the surface.

The town of Cuba, in central MO is one of few that really celebrates the road. Lots of signs. There are also many very nice murals painted on many of the town's old buildings.

Rte 66 in western MO is very nice for the most part (except for the many miles of sprawl and total lack of signs around Springfield!) There is about a 30 mile stretch that is very scenic and enjoyable, with light traffic. It was very enjoyable riding the last hour of the day. The rain had stopped, the sun was out, the scenery was nice, and the road smooth and free of traffic. Great sailing.

The bad weather and the many frustrating dead ends and detours I had to do to find the road delayed me somewhat today. 390 miles total, and about half of them were less than desirable quality wise. Near the end of the day I passed an old Sinclair station on the original stretch of road. Two men were sitting on chairs out front enjoying each other's company. I stopped and chatted for about 20 minutes and they were a delight to talk with. They assured me that from this point west, all the way to New Mexico at least, the road will be better marked and more scenic as it doesn't parallel the adjacent expressway so closely as it did in most of MO.

Spending the night in Carthage, MO in the far west of the state. Will explore the Carthage Battlefield site early Wed morning before heading west for a brief (13 miles) cut across Kansas, and then begins the long trip across Oklahoma, where it will be very hot even if it has cooled down somewhat. I can't wait!

Day 1: Route 66 (July 13)

2009-07-12T16:58:00.021-04:00

Here it is - one of my bucket list trips underway at last! It's a beautiful day and despite the usual hustle and bustle of the roads on Monday morning it was a great day to begin a journey of discovery. The bike has been prepped and packed for nearly a week and the weather is cooperating, though a pleasantly cool (49 degrees) morning in Michigan is leading to very hot and muggy weather to the south!

For the sake of time I did what I try not to except when I must - that is, I rode the expressway for many miles today, all the way from home to my hook up with old Rte 66 just south of Chicago. It would have been fitting to ride one of Michigan's historic roads such as the old Sauk Trail (US 12) or the old Pottawatomi Trail (Michigan Ave) to get to northeast Illinois but I've made those rides several times, so as the saying goes: been there, done that. Today I was destination oriented until I connected with 66, then it was slow down and explore!

Started south on 66 at I-80 near Joliet. After just a few miles it's all very cool! The original road, light traffic and surprisingly pretty surroundings as a large restored prairie is one of the first places I ride by.

The road soon becomes the road of old, narrow with light traffic. It seems that half of the businesses in every small town along the route are trying to capitalize on the legend. "Rte 66" is found somehow in the name or advertising signs for a great many businesses.

There is a long stretch where 66 is being repaved under the President's Invest In America stimulus package. It's a great stretch with almost no traffic and silky smooth. It was hard keeping my right wrist under control!! I thought this was quite extraordinary - the road that changed millions of lives 75 years ago in the Depression is itself being renewed and changed due to another economic downturn. Deep! Or maybe I'm getting carried away.

The town of Pontiac is very cool. Drive through their downtown if you're ever nearby. A couple dozen very nice murals on the downtown buildings, a wonderful Rte 66 museum,and a beautiful courthouse square and monuments.

The road often parallels the I-55 XWay, but at times is surrounded by nothing but fields. All the small towns are charming and cling to their 66 heritage to one degree or another.

Made it south of Springfield, St. Louis first thing Tue. morning!

470 miles total today.

(Posts will be shorter than planned for the first couple days until I get used to typing on this tiny Netbook keyboard. It is a marvelous tiny compuuter, however, opening many doors!)

Off to find a campsite.

Motorcyclists and Books

2009-07-11T07:33:00.027-04:00

Bikers try to soak up as much information about their sport as they possibly can. It seems to me that there are two reasons behind this - first, simply because we love the activity so much. It is why many enthusiasts subscribe to two or three motorcycle magazines and voraciously read through each of them as soon as they arrive in the mail. This also helps explain why bikers enjoy hanging around motorcycle dealers and independent repair shops; just to talk, observe, and to be around men and women of similar interests. Reading and talking about our sport allows one to immerse him or herself even more deeply into the activity, basking in the ambiance.
But we enjoy reading books and magazines about motorcycling for another very different reason - acquiring knowledge. There are a wide variety of books on the subject of motorcycling, ranging from increasing ones riding skills, philosophical discourses, adventure stories based on motorcycle travels, and books about touring certain geographic areas. It seems that all of the types of books that concern the sport of motorcycling are expanding in number. Simply check the book listings in catalogs for motorcycle accessory companies such as Whitehorse or RiderWearhouse to see several pages of offerings - but what is in reality a small part of the total.
After riding for over thirty years I joined the motorcycle author family, and the five years since that leap into the unknown have been a real treat. Something that I never dreamed of as a possibility a decade ago has become a huge part of my life; writing books about motorcycling.
I must say that the best part has been the interaction with bikers at events such as today; I spent the day at Shiawassee Harley-Davidson in Birch Run, Michigan, signing books for purchasers, and talking with many dozens of fellow riders, young and old, men and women, sport and touring riders, about the broad topic of riding motorcycles. It was great, as it always is at all of these events.
For everyone who has purchased one of my "Motorcycling Across ........" books I say thank you, and to everyone who ventures forth to explore the world around us on two wheels Be Safe and Enjoy Life's Ride!

Vendors - Another Part of the Motorcycle Scene

2009-07-07T09:30:00.012-04:00

Anyone that has attended an organized motorcycle event of any size or form, from local rallies to Sturgis, is familiar with the many vendors that participate, selling a wide variety of biker wares. At many events, swap meets in particular, it is the vendors that make the gathering worthy of a rider's time.
With the proliferation of discount Internet sites that sell motorcycle gear of every description, and of course every dealer out there trying to make a profit by selling accessories, clothing, and leather goods, it is a bit miraculous that the traveling vendor can still make a go of it.
Over the last five years, as part of my book promotional activities, I've attended many rallies and swap meets as a vendor. Seeing the business from the inside gives me a new appreciation for the rough road that these motorcycle minstrels must travel. Profits are thin and hours are long.
Vendors that follow motorcycle events across the country are a special nomadic breed. The items they offer for sale include some things that most dealers sell, but what brings the customer into their tent is what dealers don't sell. In this large category, one will find everything from X-rated T-shirts and patches to handmade jewelry and leather crafts.
Many vendors create a niche for themselves by specializing in certain items. Many are indeed creative and artistic craftsmen, making their own unique products or designs.
I have made a few observations about the business side of motorcycle rallies, (these are generalities, of course) such as:
Sales are directly proportional to afternoon and evening alcohol sales in many of the multi-day events. Alcohol sales are dependent on the quality of the entertainment, which in turn determines the size of the crowd.
Groups of bikers buy. The individual biker browses vendor tents but often walks out empty handed.
Young women bikers, when in the company of their boyfriend or husband, or a girlfriend, will buy risqué T-shirts or undergarments, but alone they are less likely to purchase such items.
Serious and older bikers buy leather (chaps, gloves, jackets, etc.) the younger crotch-rocket crowd buys less overall, and what they do buy is often purchased for its cool factor as opposed to its utilitarian value.
Young male riders do not buy books, even if they are about motorcycles.
Women do buy books - often for an important man in their life (boyfriend, husband, father, brother, etc.). I hope those men are appreciative.
Women like biker jewelry - especially uniquely designed ear rings.
Men like to buy risqué articles of clothing for their woman, absolutely convinced that their woman will find whatever they bought to be cool, sexy, or funny.

Somehow, you can often find identical items selling for less through a vendor than at most dealers. (The entire wholesale, jobber, retail, vendor system is still a puzzle to me from a financial and product cost perspective).
The men and women at vendor tents have been around. They've been to more biking events than most riders will attend in a lifetime. They can tell you the good, bad, and ugly about most every event from Myrtle Beach to Laguna Seca.
Vendors are most often not part of a large company. They are usually husband and wife teams who travel a large part of the country in a van pulling a trailer behind them. They camp at the site and live a life that many of us would find difficult at best. And in the end, they have to make a profit to pay for their goods and travel, as well as all the other bills that we all have to pay.
Vendors have many stories to tell. Spend time with them, but don't interfere with their work; they are just barely making a profit as it is after a lot of ten hour days standing in the sun.

So I hope you'll now look at vendors just a little differently. Give them respect and some business because though we often take them for granted they represent a large part of what motorcycle events are all about. It's on the financial back of vendors, through the high fees they must pay to set up shop at an event, that many rallies can afford to exist in the first place.

Ride Safe and Shop.

Motorcycling Bucket Lists

2009-07-02T15:26:00.011-04:00

Most of us are familiar with the recent movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman called The Bucket List. It follows the life of two terminally ill men who attempt to do many of the things they've always wanted to do, before they 'kick the bucket'.

I have always thought that motorcyclists should have a similar list, but carrying out the adventures and rides on that list certainly should not wait until the end is near. We should make it a life long part of our riding experience; a quest of sorts, to add adventure and personal fulfillment to what is already a soul-satisfying and emotionally enriching activity.

Biking Bucket Lists can come in many sizes and forms. For those that have the means (mostly time and money) the list could include a trip around the world or across continents, such as Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman did in their Long Way Round and Long Way Down excursions. Many not-so-well-connected adventurers of course have made similar trips with much less support and financial investment. You don’t have to be rich and famous to do major adventures, just adventurous, and have your priorities in order.
Closer to home, various Iron Butt rides, The Four Corners Ride, Fairbanks to Tierra del Fuego, coast to coast rides, and many more adventures await. There are many possible ways to test your limits and earn some bragging rights, while satisfying personal goals and dreams.
A rider's aspirations and personal dreams don’t have to be lofty in order to satisfy his or her spirit of adventure and provide a feeling of accomplishment and enjoyment. There are so many fabulous riding roads across North America that it would take a lifetime to ride them all. And I'm not only referring to well-known highways such as the Blue Ridge Parkway, California's Pacific Coast Highway, the Tail of the Dragon, or the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming and Montana, I'm also referring to historic roads such as the National Road, the Lincoln Highway, the Natchez Trace, the Old Yellowstone Trail and many more. And of course every state has dozens of fabulous roads that should be on everyone's list of roads that ought to be ridden at least once.
And a Biker’s Bucket List isn’t limited to roads. Places, whether broadly-defined geographic regions such as the Canadian Maritimes, the Gulf Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, the European Alps, and so on, or specific high-profile destinations such as Daytona, Sturgis, Laughlin, Laconia, Lake George, Myrtle Beach, and more – these iconic places are worthy additions to any bucket list.

My Biking Bucket List is very long (though it exists only in my head). I am happy to say I've been able to accomplish some of my dream rides, including the Blue Ridge Parkway, a long stretch of the Great River Road along the Mississippi, the Talimena Drive in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the Tail of the Dragon, the Going to the Sun Highway, Beartooth Highway, The Natchez Trace from Nashville to Natchez MS, and several more fabled roads. I've also checked several high profile destinations off my list - Daytona, Sturgis, Laconia, and many racing venues such as Mid-Ohio, Road America, Springfield, Indianapolis, and Daytona at the major level, and many smaller tracks across America.

I love to check roads or destinations off my mental Biking Bucket List. But the problem is - the list grows each year, so I will never accomplish all my dream rides, and that suits me just fine.
A short list of my remaining Biking Bucket List includes the following:

Riding historic roads their entire length, including The National Road, The Lincoln Highway, the Dixie Highway from Sault Ste Marie to Miami, and Route 66. (I plan to ride much of route 66 this summer, watch for daily updates) I want to ride across the continent on all of the coast-to-coast highways, including US routes 2, 6, 20, 50, 60, 70 and 80 (routes 30 and 40 are the Lincoln Highway and the National Road). And there are an uncountable number of roads in places as diverse as Maine and California, and everything that lies between, that I want to explore on two wheels. I have ridden a great many of these, but there are oh so very many more that I have not yet ridden.
I want to explore the Adirondacks, the Appalachian Mountains, the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, and the Cascades by motorcycle, riding the roads and hiking the trails. I want to follow fabulous biking roads along major river valleys such as the Hudson, Delaware, Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi, Colorado, Columbia, Snake, and so many more that I can’t list them all - - but I know they’re out there just waiting for me.
My dream destinations include Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula, Alaska, the entire Pacific coast, New England, and motorcycling in all 50 states. I won’t even get into listing all the National Parks that I want to explore on my bike.
And that is just a portion of my dream list.
A Biking Bucket List isn’t meant to restrict or limit where one rides, it is meant to expand our concept of where we could ride if we let our imagination and spirit rule rather than practicalities and self-imposed limitations.
So put a mental list together that you know can never be accomplished; trying to do the impossible is a fun and fulfilling escape from reality.

Motorcycling and the Military

2009-06-29T18:19:00.014-04:00

I want to touch on a couple military / motorcycling topics today. First - a few words about an excellent organization called the Patriot Guard Riders. The PGR was formed several years ago, when the bodies of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan began returning home. Though many folks perhaps have forgotten, or maybe weren't aware in the first place, the funerals of many of those soldiers were desecrated by protestors from a fundamentalist church that claimed that the soldiers died because of government policies relating to abortion, homosexuality, and other contentious social issues. They chanted that God was happy that the soldier had died and that more would and should die because of America's "sins".

Obviously such protests made an extremely difficult situation for the soldiers' families even more unbearable.
A small group of Vietnam veterans had a marvelous idea. They would form a corps of veterans who also happend to be motorcyclists that would appear, if the family approved, at funerals to silently block out protestors, and to separate the protests from the family and the funeral service. It proved very effective. The PGR role has become much more than just separating protestors from the family, however (fortunately such protests have become less common than they were several years ago). The presence of PGR members is to serve as a flag-bearing honor guard, as a demonstration of respect to the soldier and his or her family, and to send a visible public message that never again would one generation of American veterans allow returning war veterans to go unnoticed and unappreciated as had been the case forty years ago when Vietnam veterans returned home to an unappreciative and uncaring nation. The PGR role has also expanded to providing an honor guard at the funeral of any veteran, regardless of age and time of service, and to honor returning soldiers and military units upon completion of overseas duty. I'm proud to stand with these men and women whenever I am able. Check them out at patriotguard.org. You don't have to be a veteran or a motorcyclist to be a member of the PGR.

On a related military topic - if you live anywhere near Cleveland check out the big USO fundraising event to help military families. It's July 25th at the Sheffield, OH Quaker Steak & Lube, with the fun starting at 4:00 p.m.. Big name entertainment, music, lots of motorcyclists to rub elbows with, and I'll be there selling books if anyone is interested in motorcycle or military topics. Go to usocleveland.org for more info. The USO is an under-appreciated organization that has been working hard for military personnel and their families for many years.

Finally - a few words about the annual Rolling Thunder ride to Washington DC every Memorial Day. If you haven't participated, please do at least once. It is one of the most moving and powerful experiences you'll have. There are close to a million motorcycles around town, with folks standing on overpasses and front porches watching and waving. The parade from Arlington to the Mall is amazing with a couple hours worth of motorcycles and veterans displays noisily passing by, and the overall feeling of the event is one that'll never leave you.

Motorcycles and Weather Forecasting

2009-06-25T15:39:00.022-04:00

Motorcycle riders, especially long distance motorcycle travelers, are impacted by the weather more than most folks and are therefore very aware of weather conditions. Like farmers, outdoor construction workers, and others who derive their income or who recreate in the great out-of-doors, we become quite proficient at predicting local weather through observations of the various meteorlogical conditions all around us. But we often have to depend on others to tell us what conditions are expected to be hundreds of miles away, by the time we arrive.

The beef I have is with weather prognosticators and forecasters - those businesses on the Internet and all those paid spokespersons on television who can barely contain themselves as they promise days of wine and roses, or on the other extreme describe to us the meteorlogical terrors that await those that don't abide by their warnings, what with their rantings of record cold, record heat, baseball sized hail, drought conditions, high levels of UV rays, and tornado watches, you'd think the world was coming to an end.
But overuse and abuse of superlatives and hyperbole is one thing; not being able to accurately predict the weather despite enough high technology to defeat the evil empire in a real Star Wars scenario, is what really bugs me.
I no longer put any faith in weather forecasts. They have failed me too often, usually when my trust in them was most important. I will use my own analysis and observation, based on several decades of living, working, and recreating in the great outdoors, including over a quarter million miles on motorcycles during which my weather observation skills have been honed to a pretty good edge.

On a scale of one to ten, with 1 being absolute disdain and total lack of trust in weather forecasts and ten granting them infallibility, I give forecast services a three at best. They're wrong more often than right, and I've paid the price for this too often. From now on if I get wet or cold it'll be my own fault, not because I trusted somebody who reads a forecast produced by computer software.

From years of firsthand experience I know that in mid-June weather in the Great Lakes area can range from very cool and wet to downright hot and wet. The atmosphere contains a lot of moisture in June in the upper midwest and dodging rain is a frequent reality. Temperatures in June are generally mild, but sometimes not.

My most recent experience with fallible computer forecasts was two weeks ago while on a lengthy bike trip across Wisconsin. Prior to leaving I checked the Internet to determine weather conditions all across Wisconsin and forecasts for the next several days.
The Internet weather sites confirmed what I could see out my door and I prepared to run into clouds and possible light rain as I skirted Lake Michigan to the south. The 'good news', that I put too much faith in as it turned out, was that I was supposed to encounter just the tail end of a rain-producing system near Chicago, and west and north of there the technological gods promised relative warmth and plentiful sunshine. I lucked out with little more than a light drizzle near Chicago.
My personal impression was that the nights were going to be cool with a likelihood of at least some rain most nights while on my trip. Because of this I planned to find cheap mom & pop motels to stay in, and left my camping gear home.
What a wise decision that turned out to be! The first night we had an old-fashioned gully washer that flooded the motel parking lot, but the local TV weatherman the next morning gave glowing promises of clear skies by noon, temperatures in the low 70s, and no further chance of rain.
Trusting his fatherly advice, I headed out into southern Wisconsin's bucolic countryside. Four hours later I was caught in a major thunderstorm near Milwaukee, and spent almost an hour under an overpass watching small hail being blown by fierce winds, and lightning flashes equal to the best special effects Hollywood could produce.
That night I found refuge near Madison. The local TV station had non-stop coverage of the storm that wasn't supposed to happen, which I found out included a tornado near Milwuakee. So much for blue skies!
But the next morning the TV forecaster made the same rosy forecast, only lowering predicted high temperatures from 70 to the mid-60s. But blue skies and a beautiful spring-like day were promised for virtually all of Wisconsin, with their impressive looking map renderings based on satellites signals showing nary a sign of clouds, let alone rain. That's odd, I thought, as I looked outside at a dark and dreary sky with clouds so low it seemed I could get on a ladder and swing a bucket through them, ending up with the bucket at least half full of water as a result. But the handsome man said the clouds would dissipate as soon as the sun got a little higher in the sky. I took a little comfort; it was only 7:00 in the morning after all, so maybe I was expecting too much too early in the day.

So onto Wisconsin's marvelous back roads I departed on my trusty two-wheeler, with Eau Claire being my ultimate destination for that evening. The sky darkened, the temperature dropped, and light rain fell throughout the day. If the temperature ever exceeded 55 I would have thought myself very fortunate. Lousy damned weather forecasters I swore repeatedly under my breath!
Next morning, with the temperature in the low 40s, I again turned on the local TV station to see what they were going to unreasonably promise in the way of weather conditions. They concurred with what I already knew about it being a cold night and that the prior day had been a dreary, wet and cool example of Wisconsin's changeable weather, but today would be better! Count on it! The sun would be out by late morning and temperatures would rise accordingly; because it WAS mid-June after all, the weather announcer reminded us all.

So I point my bike east toward Wausau, wondering just when the clouds were going to be burned off by the sun that I knew had to be up there somewhere. In downtown Wausau, exploring the riverfront park area while eating a sandwich for lunch, I smiled broadly when the sun actually broke through and I felt its warmth for the first time in days! Great, I thought, the tide is turning and conditions will now be what I was hoping for and computer chips had been predicting, all along.
So north I ride, to Eagle River, to meet a friend and three of his family members who had come from four different directions on their motorcycles to meet at ther family cabin for a few days of R&R and riding some of northern Wisconsin's best roads. It'll be great, I thought, riding through this beautiful area on renowned biking roads with the warm sun overhead and good friends beside me. Wrong!
The temps dropped, the clouds moved in with a vengeance, and by the time I got to Eagle River I fully expected the unpredicted rain falling from the clouds that the computers claimed weren't there to turn to unpredicted snow which the computers probably wouldn't be able to process and they'd just burn up in the attempt due to sensory overload. We had a very pleasant time in the cabin playing cards and imbibing a little alcohol to ward off frostbite, but exploring local roads was left for another day.

For five days on this motorcycle trip the weather forecasters and computer models promised clearing skies, the end to rain, and pleasant temps under mostly sunny skies. For five days they were dead wrong. It's happened way too often in the past. I refuse to put my faith in computer weather forecasting models again. I'll rely instead on my own experience and abilities - betting that I'll be disappointed and frustrated less often than when depending on weather forecasters who seem to be employed by the local chamber of commerce, and whose real job is to make tourists believe everything will be fine, so come on up and spend your money - oh, and don't worry about those clouds and raindrops, they're just figments of your imagination. Besides, they'll be gone by noon, you have our word on it.

Why do this?

2009-06-23T17:10:00.005-04:00

Motorcycles have been my ticket to adventure, freedom,and exploration of America for nearly 40 years! I couldn't imagine life without the excitement and fun they have provided me. But for motorcycles my life would have been much less interesting and my knowledge and appreciation of America, and her people and marvelous places, much less complete.
So now I begin to chronicle past and future adventures.
I have a bit of experience in this regard. After traveling the back roads, small towns, and unique places of the marvelous Great Lakes region I have written four motorcycle travel books - for Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and most recently Wisconsin.
These books chronicle decades worth of exploring the out-of-the-way places and the country roads that some folks eschew in favor of four straight and unimpeded lanes that deliver one to his or her destination swiftly and effortlessly.
But that's not for me! New roads are efficient; old roads are fun. Modern highways have high tech qualities, old roads have soul and sex appeal. One is practical and predictable, the other is fun and filled with adventure and surprises. I prefer the latter, as you will see if you follow my posts.
Let's go riding!

2009-06-21T10:06:00.002-04:00

Weather conditions ten minutes prior to leaving for a ride

2009-06-21T10:02:00.001-04:00

Weather conditions ten miles down the road