Tick Tick!!

Thursday March 12th,

The Camcorder showed up yesterday. A Panasonic SDR-S10... a small simple video cam I bought used on eBay for $120... cheap enough!

The snow is dissipating quickly with the warm temps this week. I am looking forward to spring and the option to ride again.

It occurs to me that none of you know what the hell this is all about. Right. Point taken.

On or about June 2nd (edit mar 21 -it now looks like I'll leave about 5days earlier) I will depart on a 15-20,000 miles ride around the USA by motorcycle. As of today I have mapped out 15+k miles with a trip length of 53 days. I suspect that it will actually be more like 60+ days.... however, money will be the real pivot point of the trip. My goal is to do this with as few Motel$ as possible, and as many Free tenting nights as possible. Gasoline is a fixed cost that will be what it will be per mile. *If* I can get to 50 mpg it could make a huge difference..... let me demonstrate.

20k miles/50mpg/400gallons/$900@$2.25p/gal
or
20k miles/40mpg/500gallons/$1125@$2.25p/gal

If I can get 50 mpg I have $225 more dollars for Gas! If I look at the trip in terms of $ per day and I have a fixed budget, savings like this could mean a longer trip.

My destination is the greater Western USA, and some of the Canadian Rockies. I will hit most of the major National Parks out west, as well as thousands of miles of renowned roads and mountain passes. I will experience these places with my own eyes and will renew my spirit.

All whining aside the last 12 months have been rough, and it all sounds a bit like a country song. Some of the heaviest shit you won't get to hear, as it involves other people... I wish I could bring it into the story telling, but it wouldn't be fair to them.

Last spring my mother took a turn for the worse. She had been having some issues, on and off, for the last few years, and I had the suspicion she was not long for this world. Very long, few months story short, she passed away in April. I got the call from my brother to get on the plane and get to Florida, and in two days it was all over. I had had to shut down the computer store before leaving as my biz partner was also having health issues. On my home front, the relationship with the GF had been a mess for a while, but I hadn't found the right time or way to bring up the issue to leave.

Even longer story short, by the end of June I had sold my share of the company to my now ex business partner, been in Florida for 6 weeks, driven back to Maine with a U-haul of stuff and a new Motorcycle, and had moved out of the GF's house. I was a bit of an emotional wreck for much of the time in Florida, but was doing extremely well by the time I had completed the move out of the GF's.

By August I had put a down payment on a house and moved in. There is still much to do to finish the house, and much to do to finish prepping for the trip. In 2005 I made a 7000 mile trip to Florida and back. You can read about that trip here in excruciating detail and see many pictures.

I need to take a long ride... In December of last year, my dear old dog finally passed away. She was a few days short of her 18th birthday. She was healthy until the end and then over a period of two months she started having seizures. I would nurse her through until she could walk a bit and seemed to get better, but then another would knock her down. This went on for 6 weeks, then for 3 wonderful weeks she just got better and happier, even doing a bit of jumping about one day. But then she got hit hard by a violent bout, and it was time. I was lucky.... I had had all the time i needed to be with her 24/7 for the last two months of her life, giving her dignity and comfort. I asked the vet to just let her relax a bit with a mild dose, so she could have a minute of true rest before she passed. May she rest in peace. Jazz, I miss you.

I need to take a long ride.