2019 Summer Adventure

The 2019 Tour of Honor announced that they're offering a modified IBA National Parks Tour, so I took to building a few routes to knock out another NPT in 2019. There were a couple of long rides needed to overcome a lack of relevant NPS units in ME, VT, CT, and RI. One of those rides was to cover AR, MO, KS, and NE -- pretty long for even an extended weekend ride.

Donna thought about those long rides, and suggested that we cut back on the New England trip a bit so we could get the long ToH NPT ride in, and that discussion led to a complete re-plan of the 2019 Summer Adventure. So, as it stands today, we're going to do a National Parks Tour in 2019!

I did a little planning to frame up the ride, and it looks like we're going to have a lot of fun, even considering the flat and heat of the midwest!

More to follow....

2019 Summer Adventure

As usual, the plan for the next adventure starts before the current adventure ends. While riding along, enjoying the 2018 Maritimes Adventure, we started batting around ideas for next summer. Donna and I settled on New England--spending about the same amount of time on the road, but with shorter overall distance will allow for more time at each location.

With so much information available on the web, it's going to take a while to settle on a good route with good stops! I suspect I'll need to make reservations this coming winter, to have a decent set of lodging options.

2018 Summer Adventure

Another summer adventure is in the bag; now comes the lengthy process of compiling photographs, video, and notes to make a coherent record of the trip.

We had a great time; just about 5000 odometer miles on the R1200GS Adventure in all kinds of weather and on all kinds of terrain.

Ideas for a 2019 New England Adventure started to form while on this trip; that'll make for good trip planning this winter.

Maritimes 2018: It Begins

After months of planning, our trip to the Maritime Provinces and Quebec begins this morning. A year ago yesterday, I headed out for the 2017 IBR, and today we begin this summer's big adventure. Fewer miles, over more time this year -- more time for bonus hunting, photographs, sightseeing, and flower-sniffing.

Planning (2018 Maritimes)

For some reason, it feels like I've spent significantly more time planning this 2018 Maritimes trip than I have some of the more recent trips (including two IBRs). Everything is either set aside or already packed on the bike; the bike is going to the shop on Tuesday for fluids, tires, and a 12000 mile service check, so some things aren't outside already.

The plan is to launch early Friday, and attempt geocache finds in nine states plus the District of Columbia. The previous record (seven) was in 2005; I should be able to get ten on Friday.

Maritimes: 2018

It was some time last fall (October or November) that I settled on wanting to ride to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec for the "big" summer adventure in 2018. Most of the hotel reservations went in during the first week of February (which turned out to be a good thing, for some of the more remote locations); the rest were picked up in early April. I've spent the past six months or so fiddling with the route, making sure to get on the coast roads as much as possible, and doing the research on the highlights that others have pointed out.

The bike needs a 12000 mile maintenance visit and new tires, and there are a few more things to adjust / add, but it's largely ready to go. One of the advantages of having the bike "rally ready" most or all the time is that the packing isn't a big deal, and the odds of forgetting critical things are low.

It's just over a month until launch.

13 May 1966: North to Alaska

On this day, in 1966, we started the trip north from southern California to Eagle River. Paul, Maureen, Kim, and I left my grandparents home in Ventura, making the trip in our maroon 1964 Rambler (a car I was later to take to college in 1974).

I didn't know it at the time, but I was to leave years of respiratory distress behind, and embark on a new way of thinking about the outdoors and about myself. Living in Alaska had a profound shaping effect on my life.

I haven't been back to Alaska as much as I would like, but certainly as often as life and other priorities allow. My last couple of trips back were work-related; one to Anderson and one to Shemya, both in the winter of 2015. I'm planning a ride to Alaska in 2020; that's a lot of fun to plan for.

Emporia, Virginia Weekend Ride

I didn't get out to ride at all during February; the weather was somewhat uncooperative on each weekend, and it's tough to get motivated for a ride when it's cold and rainy. It looked like this weekend was going to be nice enough, though, so I planned a nice weekend ride to Point Pleasant, WV.

On Friday, Donna and I reassessed the Point Pleasant route in light of the distance, number of planned stops, and hours of daylight available for bonus hunting. The planned route was tight time-wise--that route should be a 2 1/2 day trip, not a jammed two day trip, so I offered a trip south instead.

We headed west to the Shenandoah Valley, then south through Charlottesville and Scottsville to Emporia. We stayed overnight at the Hampton Inn in Emporia, then headed east to Virginia Beach. From there, we headed north to home.

It was a bit chilly--the temperatures stayed within a 40 deg F to 55 deg F band all weekend, but we had a lot of sun both days. The direct sunlight really makes a difference--that, and the heated gear, made for a reasonably comfortable ride.

Alaska 2020

It's always good to have goals...goals certainly keep me out of the "lost weekend" syndrome, where I can fritter away large blocks of weekend time without producing anything meaningful. So, it's with that in mind, that I'm seriously starting to plan a nice ride to Alaska (and British Columbia, Yukon, and everything between Virginia and there) in 2020.

With a 2017 R1200GSA to ride, and much (perhaps all) of the gear needed to make that ride, already around the house, all I need is a plan and a good set of off-road/on-road tires.

Chilly weather

Some winters are better than others around these parts. This is one of the bad ones. We're caught up in a mass of cold air that covers much of the eastern part of the country. So much for getting out for a little winter riding!

The R1200GSA sits on its battery tender, waiting for an opportunity to explore. I have a lot of ideas of where to go this year, but I do need a little bit of cooperative weather. Highs of 20 deg F and lows of 3 deg F aren't conducive to adventuring (at least on a motorcycle)!