Trip Beginnings

Well, not really beginnings, but some definite answers as to when and where! I plan to ride to Gary's home in piedmont North Carolina on Friday evening this week. We'll spend the night there and start this adventure on Saturday, June 16!

I got the new front tire replaced on Saturday, installed a fenda extenda on the front fender (protect radiator), and a headlight protector over the weekend. More farkles for an already over-farkled bike! Also bought a Steibel Nautilus air horn, but can't find a place to mount it and have decided that it can wait until I get home. Running out of time for a significant addition such as the horn.

Gary finally broke down and bought a GPS for his bike. Not just any GPS, but a Garmin Zumo! Up to this point, he's been a rider who didn't want any electronics around the bike--he felt that they took away from the ride and were simply distractions from the bike. I don't know what changed his mind, but he's now a proud owner of a Zumo as well as an Autocom communications system. So, not only will he not get lost, he'll be able to talk to folks on his phone, talk with me over the radio, listen to his GPS tell him when and where to turn, and listen to mp3 WHILE RIDING! As the old saying goes.."you've come a long way baby".

While we're not sure about the route, but we will likely head west on I-40 and ride to Oklahoma City, Ok or Amarillo, Tx, and then swing northwest towards Colorado Springs, Co. We'll ride 500-600 miles each day on the way to Colorado, and then slow down to see some of the sights.

We're due in Salt Lake City, Ut. on Friday, June 22, to watch the Superbike races in Tooele, Ut. over that weekend. So, any sights along the way are potential sightseeing spots.

We plan to get one of the new National Parks passes (the $80 variety) that is supposed to give "free" (yeah, nothing's free) admission for a year to all of the National Parks, Monuments, and forests along the way. I really don't know if it will work as advertised, but we'll find out.

In Colorado, the one thing I want to do most is to ride to the top of Pike's Peak. Somehow I'm attracted to seeing the mountain (might be because of all I've read about the races to the top over the years). I'm a bit nervous at the thought of riding a topheavy bike up a steep GRAVEL road, but I plan and hope to do it without dropping it. (If it ever falls over, it will take MEN to pick it up!) I don't particularly like to ride on gravel. Dirt is okay if dry, but gravel is hard to manage. Maybe luck will be with us and it won't be loose gravel. Maybe it's the challenge drawing me there. Maybe I'm just a lunatic....

Haven't packed yet, but am starting to throw things in piles on the floor. I've decided to take an extra bag, a Dowco bag that will fit on the pillion seat and provide some backrest as well as extra storage. I don't plan to pack it full, but rather to use it for trinkets I'll buy along the way. With us being on the road for a full 3 weeks, I'll probably pick up a few more farkles or souvenirs along the way. The Roadcrafter is definitely going and the Belstaff and FG overpants are staying home.

Probably written more than I should have written tonight. But I'm getting excited about actually leaving! More later...