Blog changes

Pssst.... pssst..... Hey YOU! Look to the left. No, the other left. Oh, my bad. You were right the first time. Anyway, did you notice something new? No? How unobservant! I have added --- drum roll, please --- a countdown clock! Don't smirk. It took me hours to figure out how to do it. Um, yeah. Copy/paste kicked my butt. If you already knew how to do it, why didn't you offer to help me?!


Well, you can make up for it by

Dumping...

NOT what you think! Well, maybe...


There's been a small hiatus in preparations, since my son arrived a few days ago for what will now be an extended visit. Yes, I nagged him into joining our trek and I am looking forward to having an extra driver for the minivan. Since we are taking a break from prep, I decided to meander down memory lane.


One of my less-than-favorite memories was somewhat of a teachable moment for me. For those of you who do not ride,

Ideas, ideas!

Although my intention for writing this blog was just to chronicle our family's upcoming trek for the edification of our extended family, respective psychiatrists and as precedent possible insanity pleas, I have received some extremely useful information from several riders that I feel I need to pass along. Otherwise, it may inadvertently displease the motorcycle gremlins and I'll end up with a dead bike before I even start the trip!

A super cool (literally!) tip I received was to use a

Communication

Being able to communicate effectively is a necessity. Lack of communication causes many problems, from marital strife to plane crashes (some may feel those are interchangeable!). On the road, a car that ran out of blinker fluid may be your pet peeve. Or maybe it's the one that leaves the blinker on for 30 or 40 miles. Obviously, making your intentions known accurately and in a timely fashion is an effective way of saving other drivers money on doctor's visits and blood pressure meds.


On a motorcycle, effective communication takes on even greater importance. Since motorcycles have this amazing ability of becoming invisible to car drivers, most motorcyclists drive as defensively as humanly possible, so I will not cover communication with car drivers other than to strongly suggest that,

Tents and Time

Soooo, yeah, mom (codename "Irene") wanted me to post something so I figure I'd tell you what part of trip preparation we're at right now. We are checking all the camping items to make sure they are usable. We have quite a few items to be checked, and have to clean an area to check them in, making sure NOTHING is there (in the clean area) to insure nothing gets lost while being checked. This step involves a bit of work, which wouldn't be a problem if it wasn't so boring. But the step is necessary. I personally don't want to be caught in a bad storm with a leaky tent (happened before, not fun).

We still have quite a bit of time between now and departure, which adds some difficulty. I'm accustomed to "were going to Missouri" and within a few hours were out the door, or "were going to New Jersey" and we leave in a few days. Not two weeks of waiting , at a moment's notice I could have a bag for the trip packed; heck, I even keep a night bag packed and by the door. But two weeks of twiddling my thumbs and waiting? It's necessary because of circumstances, but it's odd going on with daily life and yet preparing to leave. But there will be much to occupy my mind, I only hope making myself busy will make the days go quicker.

About the heat

Unless you're lucky enough to have been hiding in the Arctic tundra this summer, what's left of you that has not melted into an unsightly puddle is now sitting under the ceiling fan, by the air conditioner, wearing next to nothing, drinking some ice cream. Any normal person in the continental U.S. is doing his best to avoid the lovely outdoors during the hottest part of summer. But we have never been accused of normalcy. We intend to begin our trip smack-dab in the middle of the dog-days of summer: August 16th. Insanity? Consider this:

Suggestions, musings

As this blog has been taking shape, some readers have made some excellent suggestions, such as adding a map widget to follow our progress - look to the left, Noelito. (Spoiler alert: it will show Louisiana for another 2 weeks). Please, please, please keep sending suggestions, from website stuff to travel tips, even campfire cooking recipes. This trip is pretty much constantly on my mind so any trip talk is very welcome!


My obsession with this trip has brought up some interesting thoughts. When I first came up with the idea of an extended moto-camping trip, it was really just a "I need to get away for a while" spark of insanity. No real plan or objective. But every day, as we get closer to our departure day (aka our d-day), I find myself looking forward to it on a different level. I've always imagined every one of us (yes, you included) having that "epic adventure" they've always wanted to take, whether to