The Season

Bikes are out! The season is near! I am getting really excited about riding. I am trying to figure out how to ride to work more often.

What will the other marauder be riding? A 10 speed? A dirt bike? This mystery also is on my mind as spring approaches.......

PICTURES UPLOADED

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A Special Place

Now safe and sound and off my bike and out of the car I am able to start to put it all back together and relive the experience. The bike trip was smooth roads, good music on my iPod, lots of BBQ, good conversations, friendly people, a slip & fall and loads of memories to put into the mental scrapbook.
I was glad to make it home and catch up with family and friends again. I learned a valuable lesson living in Virginia. Family and friends are more important and will always be there whenever you may need them, whether it is helping you pick yourself and your bike up off the streets of Memphis or calling you to make sure you made it home safe.

Thanks all...

Nashville to Natchez and back again 1200 miles

An absolutely wonderful trip. So many good times and great adventure. Check back for pictures tomorrow.

Some final thoughts that were on my mind...

This trip of course was not exactly what I had planned. The riding was actually so much better. I only had the idea that it would be a beautiful ride. I had no idea how perfect it would be for riding a motorcycle. Nothing could be better. It was scenic, safe and smooth.

Brad rain out of gas, had to make at least 2 minor repairs and 1 major (major in the sense that it could have eliminated him from riding any further) and got banged up a little. I burned a hole in my favorite vest and burnt my finger pretty bad. I like fire. Things like this are not surprising me anymore.

The Natchez Trace likely started as a trail for animals. Then it was likely then used by Native Americans to travel to different hunting areas. One of the big reasons I wanted to go was to soak up some Native American culture. The maps of the Trace identify so many spots that seemed to be significant Native American landmarks. This part was a huge disappointment. The stops we made were busts. One that I really wanted to see was the Chickasaw village. It was a small piece of land with some markers about were some Chickasaw dwellings used to be. The map showed a progression of: This is were the Chickasaw were and then we forced them back, then this is where the Chickasaw were and we forced them back more.......on and on until we forced them out of this area all together shipped to Oklahoma............................

And now there is nothing left. Same with the Choctaw of the region.

And we visited a Mound. An area that may have supported a special dwelling. The sign had other words, but what I read is: "Here was a special place, we dug it up, moved it, excavated and eliminated others near it. Aren't we great for leaving some dirt here?"

So disappointing. So sad.

I didn't get nearly enough time to just sit. We traveled at a much slower pace than last year, and that was a big improvement. It is just hard to fit in a lot of miles and a lot of down time in just a matter of a few days. I had some things I needed to sort out in my head and didn't get enough time to do all of that.

For such a very long time, when Brad had hard days in the months preceding the trip, I would just say, text or email one word: Natchez. As if that was a word of magic that would heal anything he needing healing. Something to look forward too, something that would produce answers to the questions he had. By the time we left, the shoe was almost completely on the other foot, or at least we both had shoes on. And on the trip he was totally collected, together and seemed at peace almost throughout. As much as having our phones made it possible to blog and keep in contact with friends and family, they also produced reminders of the challenges that were waiting back at home. I have been sick and out of work for a week recently. Brad had been hard at work at his new job. And we both had things in our lives that we counted on heavily change. Things change. O says that is the only thing we can count on. It is so true. And so I will be back at home ushering in the next change.

"You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round...

The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours....

Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves."

Black Elk (1863-1950) Oglala Sioux Holy Man

How odd...

So we are getting gas & a guy just pulled up and got out of his car and he had a black shirt and it just had a picture of a big white toilet on it. I wonder what that is supposed to mean? If his shirt just said "shit" of something, maybe I would get it. Ah, who knows.

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There's something warm about the rain

I love the rain. I always have. The sound of it when falling asleep. The way it made cars sound like spaceships as they zoomed by my parents bay window in the family room. How good it feels on a hot day.

But when riding motorcycles, it scares the hell out of me. I never ride when it is wet unless I absolutely have too. Yesterday was on of those times. When we packed up at sams town in tunica Mississippi, it was raining lightly. We perpard for a wet day. Bundled up and covered our gear the best we could. Soon after we pulled out, the rain basically stopped. Lucky. But when we hit Memphis the ground was still wet. Hence the spill and required repair below. I have deemed ygr events of yesterday, THE MEMPHIS MIRACLE. Because brad wasn't hurt much and because we found a part that repaired the bike. It happened so quickly. A guy stopped and told is about a kawasaki dealer up Elvis Presley Blvd. I had already called the 2 local Yamaha dealers and ran into deadends. We were making plans for me to drive to Nashville alone and being the trailer back to Memphis.

We have thought we might as well give it a chance and it worked. The kawasaki dealer was in a really rough part of town. The guy at the counter had a pompadour (spelled wrong?) he was dressed up and had a great southern accent. He looked at the broken pieces I brought with me, listened to my troubles and went in the back to look around. He came back with a Suzuki part from the 80's for all of 8 dollars. That is like going into a ford dealer for a special part for your chevy. An incredible long shot. It looked like all the holes would line up perfectly. When brad put it on it worked like a charm.

Amazing. No injury, $8 and only a chunk of lost time.

It has been raining hard all morning, driving north, I am glad we are in a car for this.




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Such is life

While repairing my motorbike yesterday after my spill in Memphis, Tim mentioned to me that I seem to have a lot of grey hairs. Now some would be offended by this remark but who cares really. This is what happens right. Though I might have a few more now after the trip.

Another rainy day down here...

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Nashville

Back to Nashville safe and sound. So many times today I didn't think we were going to make it. At least not on time. Tired hungry. Amazed.
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Bikes loaded

No more riding in the rain, no more semi's, no more windy highway riding.
Shoulder is sore but I am doing ok. The clutch lever I put on that Tim picked up at the kawasaki dealer worked perfectly. I have a broken taillight & one of my side covers flew off on the highway. I think that's it for damage. No more time to blog, time to eat.

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Bike is repaired

And we are in @ graceland.

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So......

The answer is, how much do I want to worry my family & friends. A lot since I am putting this up.
I just had to pick myself & my bike up off the street in Memphis.
I am ok, but I might be a little sore tomorrow. I broke the clutch lever on my bike and while I was typing this Tim sent me a message that he got the part from a place a mile up the road that some dude who stopped to ask if we were ok told is about.
I'm sure none of this will please my already worrying mother but it is what it is & if we do these things in life we should know the risks.
Plus I have this police show right next to me to watch. Donlt worry, I took a picture.

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Set back

Rain. Bike down. No one is hurt.
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Memphis blues

Woke up to a but of cloud today. Seems to be raining a little also. We seemed to have forgotten our rain gear because the weather guy said it would be smooth sailing.

Having a hard time getting up from my comfy hotel bed but need to get on the road & grab some breakfast and hopefully visit Elvis. Guess the bike will get a little washing, and so will we I guess.

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Hell of a deal

Got a great deal on a room here at Sam's town casino in tunica. Took $22 to the casino floor and left with 0. Lost is all on roulette, wuch is pretty rare for me. I think its the first time I didn't come out ahead. I don't really mind though, we had a good time. It was us and a lot of old people.

Had a long day riding and we are heading back to Nashville in the morning and I am hoping that we can swing by graceland. How can you go through Memphis and not see graceland.

Done for the day. My bike really needed the extra rest & I guess I did also.

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It's a new dawn, it's a new day

One of the reasons I was so looking forward to this trip is the sun. This winter in particular I noticed that in addition to the cold, Michigan has far too many grey days. Sometimes it seems endless. I wait for the sun for longer days. I wait for the sun to be able to run outdoors. I wait for the sun to be able to ride the motorcycle. And like the animals and earth I wait for the sun to renew myself and start again. I know that may sound a little 'out there' to some, but it is a reality. Plants and animals go through this every year. Leaves falling, plants dying. Animals hibernate. It is an endless cycle. I feel very much in tune with it this year. Shake off the winter coat, the weight of grey days. Look up to the sky and see the sun. Sometimes I feel like the sun is like a battery charger. I feel ready to scale new heights and a few old ones.

Today we hit everything very well. At times it looked bleak but everything came through ok. We saw both alleged 'Crossroads'. Rosedale and clarksdale. Despite brads mechanical problems we covered roughly 300 miles. He can now sing his own verse of the song: "I went down to the crossroads.....ran out of gas...."

Now we are at some absurd Las Vegas style resort. So strange. There are a number of large casinos in this area just south of Memphis but still in Mississippi. No offense to anyone, but the average person here is collecting social security.

Gambling or not, it was so worth it to take a hot, clean shower. Nothing feels better than actually feeling clean after a shower instead of after a camping shower where you are not quite sure if you are cleaner than when you started.....

Brad and I were talking about how much we appreciate all of our fancy camping gear. A few essentials that I am glad I had this trip: jailhouse sliders and a super absorbant camp towel. They are 'must haves.'

I am off to find the buffett and bet on 11.




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It was about time

Riding the edge of a knife too long down here i finally got cut. The bike has been getting bad has mileage and we have been taking the long way everywhere & it caught up to is and I ran out about 1 mile from town. Oops. These things happen from time to time. At least someone stopped to help. Well, Tim is back...

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A big change

So now we are back to the semi's, resturants, traffic and stop lights. There are parts of this that I missed. I think we have more interaction with local people. And I finally got me some hash browns at a waffle house. Now we are officially in search of the crossroads. I feel like I am often at the crossroads. Contemplating direction, decisions. Every choice you make, you take one path and leave many other in traveled. Brad and I take trips like this, and backpacking too, as an attempt to strip away some of the daily grind and get to the core of ourselves. Riding the bike especially takes me to this place. I have to admit I have shed tears inside my helmet. Always always always years of joy. Yesterday it was gratitude for my dad. All through my life what he taught me about tools and machines has proven useful no one would accuse me of being a mechanic or woodworker, but compared to many, I know a fair amount. I have appreciated this when I know a way to apply leverage to a stick bolt, how to use a wrench in the optimal manner or how to start a vehicle on the cellinoid with a screwdriver.

I will call him to say thank you. And he will be embarassed. And he will know how much I love him.




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Waffle house

Had to do a little bike repair this morning because my okuha looked like they were set ablaze and out back in my bike. Friendly people at the dealer & got out of there pretty quick with tims help.
Just grabbing a quick bite and catching up on work email. That Andrew...
We are trying to make it to tunica, ms by tonight to are the 3rd largest gaming area in the country. See, I have this system...

Cheers!

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No worries

Was an uneventful night last night. No animals to wake me up, though Tim thinks he saw a deer.
We have met a lot of people on our trip so far and I am sure we will meet planty more. They have all been friendly and just want to know where we are from or what part of Michigan do we live or even what we do for a living. This is good for someone like me who avoided people so much in my past but now I have really been able to find pleasure in fiscussibh those small things with strangers. I met a hit yesterday who owned a Yamaha dealer for years and said he would never ride anything else but bought a Harley a few years ago and loved it. You never know what the future holds.

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A long day

We found a good state park just after dark. Not as great as last night but pretty nice.

At dinner in natchez some older women, in her 60's called our bikes rice burners. How irritating. I tried to be civil and just point out that some people have budgets.

Brad may have already mentioned that I got a work related message at 8 am this morning. That has got to be a record. Absolutely hilarious. Thanks andrew.

We are having a serious summit about what direction to head tomorrow. North of course, but by which path we haven't decided.

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THE Mississippi!

We are looking at the mississippi from the Louisiana side. It is amazing. I am tired, hungry and filthy. Need food.
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Deans stand

Sitting down and making a but of lunch about 72 miles from natchez, ms. Had to just drive through our first but of construction the whole trip. I blew by a tractor trailer that was kicking rocks back on me and he proceeded to try and drive me off the road. Tim had had that he ran his rig over both sides of the road trying to catch up with me. Must not like northerners.
Gear is all good but the bike is getting really bad has mileage. Not sure the reason but its crappy.
I have had plenty of time to think today and the thing that keeps entering my mind is how different my life is on this trip compared to our trip last year around this time. Life can be a riot.

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Dr. Doolittle

Sometime in the middle of the night a truck drove by capsite and woke me up. I didn't think much of it as it was probably the ranger. A few minutes went by and I turned over to face away from the lake and I had my eyes open to see a shadow of a four legged animal stand up and start to walk away next to me tent. I say up quickly to see the outline of what looked to be some sort of dog shaking, like it just came in from the rain. Now Tim can verify this noise because right before I hollered "Ganun" to get him up to see this thing he heard it, but it was too far away from our tents and we didn't have a good enough light to see it.
Well, besides that and a couple bad dreams my night was great!!!
And wouldn't you know it, we got a work email first thing this morning.
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M - I - crooked letter crooked letter....you know...

We flew through Alabama and are now a bit into Mississippi. Riding the natchez trace is at least 10 times better than expected. We are camping on a lake in tombugbee national Forrest. I think that is what it is called. Better than last year in Alabama there are no posted warnings about gators. There are some rowdy fishy jumping nearby though.

A few thoughts on why I take a trip like this: a palette of green, brown, black landscape. Millions of trees, fields, dandelions, hills and rock formations. The grey pavement for miles with no stops, no semi's, very sparce traffic bleeding into perfect blue skies with pure white puffy clouds. My ipod pumping my favorite restroom poets, al green, foo, white stripes, prince and so on....add in some adrenaline from driving 65 on just a few inches of rubber on 2 tires and 80 degree weather allowing the comfort of short sleeves. And of course the company of my best friend of the last 18 or so years. All in all, life surely is good.

Told you the speechless state would pass.



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Road of dreams

Sitting down for dinner and a cup of coffee at our campsite 10 feet away from a lake I get a few minutes of quiet to type up the nightly blog entry.

Today was a dream on the parkway. The roads were smooth as anything I have ever rode on & there appeard to be more motorcycles on the road than cars. The parkway doesn't allow commercial vehicles and the speed limit is 50 the whole way so its a nice ride. The road is so wonderful that I can't believe they don't charge to drive down it.

This morning we we're in Nashville picking up supplies and now we sit next to a lake at a national forest south of tupelo, ms. I got nice and tan today because the weather was beautiful & we got to ride in T-shirts all day.

As glen Phillips says "I don't seen anything that I don't have."

Night all & enjoy going to work tomorrow.

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Speechless

Those of you who know me, you know this won't last long, but for right now I am speechless. More when this foreign situation wears off.
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Slow and easy

No hurry today. We have to wait until noon central for REI to open so it is a good time to sample the local food and folks. Everyone is in their Sunday best coming from church so we really stick out. But as usual everyone is really nice. We are in a very affluent area. Million dollar homes and the biggest high school I have ever seen. Some homes have 'names'. How big does your house have to be to name it? Is there some other special requirement? I don't care, I am naming my next house. Actually we did name my parents house back in the day. "Casa de Swoot". We even had a sign. So that is taken. No graceland, neverland or monticello. I have to come up with something else.

80 degrees and sunny. A great day.

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Corrections & other stuff

Not that it doesn't say it at the end of our posts but I just wanted to remind everyone that Tim and I are doing this via our blackberry's and that things will be spelled wrong drom time to time. Like Tim's name gets spit out as yum sometimes. At least its funny.

Oh, we got an hour at some point so that will throw is off a little. Also, I seem to have lost a part of my windshield on the trip down. Not sure if anyone remembers but I lost a piece of my windshield last year in Alabama. Bad luck.

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Riding through the hills of Tennessee

After parking the car we set off to the campsite which may or may not have been open. Following yum through the twisty hills of northern Tennessee and chasing a freight train I had some time to reflect on the recent comings and goings in my life.

I have had it pretty good lately
becaue of old and new friends in my life always happy to be thre for me and always willing to lend me a hand I times of need. I have really been blessed to be surounded with such wonderful people.

The drive was long and the ride tonight was short but we have set up camp for the night and are heating up some water for got chocolate. Tim is bugging me to eat a fruit cup but I am still full from the to-go crackle barrel we got a few hours ago. The weather is nice and we shouldn't have a day under 80 this week.

I have all the things I could ever want and need in life & more.

I will sleep well tonight & I am looking forward to the morning ride.

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The hard part is over.

We safely have arrived in Nashville. We got here much later than expected. Luckily the parking location was perfect and state parks let you roll in late and pay the ranger in the morning. I told brad that I think trailering the bikes feels more dangerous than actually riding them. So dumping the car is a relief. Tomorrow we will have to grab some supplies, attempt a minor repair and have a perfect start to the day.

Having some tea for me, hot chocolate for brad and cigars all around to celebrate the successful first day.

Not only is geeky technology allowing me to post this from a picnic table in a state park outside of Nashville, it also quickly provided a picture of Ben and Nicholes new baby boy! What great news! Congrats to the new parents.

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When does something really start?

Sometimes things seem to move so fast. That I forget where and when it started. Pulling out of my driveway this morning at 10:45 I wondered if this trip is going to be exactly what I had planned. Maybe nothing ever really is. Luckily the one thing that remains constant is the knowledge that life is beautiful. Today my precious daughter cooked french toast for Lucas, Brad and I. Simple things and big smiles.

We are off. We have some trailer repair to do before we hit Ohio. The adventure begins.
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Last before the trip

Heading out tomorrow & want to make sure the mobile blogger works.

Look for nightly updates from us. Sorry, no pictures until we get back.
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Keep in mind

It looks short but these are all rural roads. The time Tim and I took US12 (Michigan Ave.) back from Chicago it took a looooooong time.

New Tank & New Bags

gone and not forgotten

Drove up to the auto parts store in Adrian this morning and picked up a hose that I needed for my bike. I might have spent more in gas to get there and back then the part costs. I got back to the house and got on with it. I let the bike run for a few after installing this hose and it was idling really high. It appears that part of the carb is sticking right above the idle screw. This should not happen after all the work I had done but I pressed on.
I had stopped by my moms on the way back and grabbed my leather jacket and I threw it, my new boots and my cold weather gloves on and set off on a short bike ride. It's been a long time since I have ridden but it was a great feeling. I stopped by and gassed it up and set off down Mathews Hwy which is nice and straight but slightly hilly. One thing I needed to check was the issue I was having last year was that it cutting out at high speed and the only way to check this was to travel at a high rate of speed. This was achieved on Mathews Hwy and it wasn't really safe but it needed to happen. What a way to test your craftsmanship.
The bike needs to go in the shop before the trip but it's going to be hard to get it there.

Missing part

Can't find something on that picture. Don't people usually have parts left over when they put things back together again? What a mess... Can anyone tell what that all is?

It's Alive

Put the bike back together last night, filled it with gas and it fired almost right up. I think it's running a little rough but it might be the weather. I didn't let it warm up too much. To say that I was happy is a bit of an understatement. I took some pictures but forgot my camera. Will post a couple soon.

BOOTS

They were waiting for me after my long ass day at work yesterday. They are nice and a lot lighter than I would have ever thought. Very happy. Can't wait to ride.

Trip change

Have the week of April 23rd off work and will be taking the bike trip down the Natchez.

Spent the night working on the bike and got a little bit done. I was running into a bit of trouble with a bolt and I was feeling kind of sleep deprived to I decided to wash up and hit the sack. Have to sort it out Wednesday after work because I won't be home til later tonight.

I'll have to take some pictures.

Has anyone seen my boots?

Bunch of slackers! My boots appear not to have been shipped yet. Glad my bike is still in pieces. I am in need of a single o-ring so I can put it all back together. Silly. Tim got to ride a bit the last two days though. Congrats.

Sorry, no pictures

My carbs came yesterday and they look great. The guy also threw in some new plug, an oil filter, some fuel cleaner stuff and some sort of break anti bla bla on the box. I am excited to get on with it. Maybe I'll take some pics as I assemble it and get the new gas tank ready. No boots yet but the rest of the bits and pieces are on the way.

Oh!

I ordered my boots...

More and More parts

All the bike bits have been ordered and I will have everything to get the bike up and running in a few days. Very pleased...

Parts Update

Carbs sent off, throttle cable arrived and the gas tank was the steal of the century at $46. Should be ready for the next trip, if I can get it all back together.