Forever on 2 wheels

Since 2002 I have been on many long Motorcycle excursions. The pure Lunacy of some of them has me looking back on why we did it the way we did. The first was a long weekender of right at 1000 miles to Arkansas and back through rain and Fog... I have made probably about 25 trips to Arkansas and Talimena drive as well since then, each one with its own misery or elation. We have ridden to New mexico and Colorado a few times, Wyoming twice, Idaho,Utah, and Montana with a day in Yellowstone. Also to Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama, as well as a trip to New Orleans and all over Texas. Along the way we have visited caves, mountains, civil war battlefeilds and crossed many rivers. Have ridden 3 times to the top of the highest paved road in North America, Mt Evans Colorado. And talk about weather....Rain, in buckets coming down so hard cars are parked on the side of the road as we ride by. Hail....it hurts! Winds... high winds! Snow, yes I said snow. Cold cold in the early morning and 110 degrees for hours coming home.  I have ridden as much as 18.5 hours in one day and many many days of over 12 hours. We have had flats, deer encounters, had a car hit a member of our group while sitting at a gas station, and he received a broken leg. We have been inundated by Love Bugs in Mississippi, hit by large insects and small birds. Pooped on by birds, splattered by bugs and peed on by cattle in a truck. I have been stung by insects on my face and neck and ear 6 times! We have seen animals galore, bears, deer, Elk, Moose, Wolves, Eagles, Foxes, Coyotes and a cave with 12 million bats flying out of it and dodged every kind of roadkill you can imagine. We have also ridden at dawn and watched as the sun peaked up over the horizon in a splender unmatched. And we have watched it set while we chased it over the horizon. We have met wonderful people, eaten in awesome little cafes all across this land. I have covered almost 100,000 miles on my bikes in the last 10 years, and the one thing that sticks in my mind the most are the guys I have shared the road with, from my Pastor and music leader, to other church friends, to local riding buddies to close friends I met because I ride, to those few biker buddies I am proud to call Brother, and you know who you are! Whether it was on top of Mount Evans, sitting on a park bench in Eureka Springs listening to Banjo music played by stringy haired stinky hippies, or sitting in a large circle of friends just laughing and having fun, biking has kept me sane. It has given me life long friends, and as I said in a previous post, kept me on an even Keel. Its all about the experience, good or bad on a bike, but at least it is on a bike. This retrospective was prompted by my looking forward to my large trip in 9 days, hopefully I will only add to the stories, and create more memories that last a lifetime....Forever on 2 wheels!!

Why I Ride...and Where....

This is not a thesis derived to justify my motorcyle riding and trips. It is not even the ramblings of a blowhard biker who feels the need to stick it to the man! I just wanted to share the reason that I , and many others, choose to mount our iron steeds and seek solice on the open road. Within each of us is something that keeps us on an even keel. What is that you ask? Well, like on a sailboat, in order to perform and sail with speed even in trecherous conditions a weight is placed below the hull to offset the lateral forces of the wind and keep the boat from capsizing, that is what my motorcycle trips do for me. My family, especially my lovely wife is my rock, she keeps me anchored in what is good and right, but the rest of the world drags me out into open water, and it is there I start to "keel" over or be pushed into capsizing by the waves and wind. It is in those moments on my bike where the worlds ropes start to break, when the sail is at the perfect angle and provides a lighthouse to make me aware of the rocks. In a little over a week I am leaving on a journey that for us will be of epic proportions. My best  riding buddy Greg Cohlmia and I are heading to see the 13 westernmost states, the Pacific, several mountain ranges, 12 national parks and travel over 5000 miles. Why you ask? Why Not, I ask. Life provides for us what we need, God gives us a partner in life, but we must influence how we actually live. Every time I go on a trip and return I return energized, glad to see my family and full of a sense of accomplishment. On the trips I see God's hand in creation, I see his glory presented in such a way that only a blind and deaf scientist that never steps outside could deny. I learn to appreciate what I have. So, during my trip, each night starting on May 31st, and ending with a wrapup June 16th if all goes as planned I will throw on here a quick synopsis of the day and what it had to offer, good and bad. I hope you follow it, feel free to comment. But by all means ride along with us as we explore on motorcycles and see this wonderful country from the outside, smell and feel the fresh air, hear nature, be at one with the road. Below is an overview of where we will be each night on the trip and what we will see:

May 31st stay in Amarillo Tx (nothing to see )
June 1st ride across NM to Gallup (again pretty boring ride on I-40)
June 2nd ride to Flagstaff and see the Grand Canyon then stay in Williams Az
June 3rd Ride to Las Vegas on Route 66, see Hoover Dam spend afternoon and night in Vegas
June 4th Ride through Death Valley N.P. and stay in Mammoth Lakes Ca
June 5th Ride through Yosemete N.P. and across Cali and stay in Petaluma Ca.
June 6th Ride north through 3 Redwood forests and then along the Pacific coast highway to Crescent City and Redwood N.P.
June 7th ride NE into Oregon and the Cacade mtns and ride through Crater Lake N.P. and on to Bend Or for the night
June 8th ride north into Washington to Clarkston for the night
June 9th ride across Idaho into Montana to Bozeman for the night
June 10th ride south into Yellowstone N.P. for the day and stay in Jackson that night
June 11th ride to Heber City Utah(swiss alps of Utah) for the night
June 12th Moab Utah and Canyonlands and Arches N.P's
June 13th through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison N.P. and to Gunnison Co for the night
June 14th south through the Rockies to Red River NM for lunch and on to Eagle Nest NM for the night
June 15th ride back to Enid Ok