33 days to the Ride

It's Memorial Day and we are just a few short weeks away from our adventure. Pat and I just returned from the parade and ceremony in Milford, Michigan. This is a parade that does it right and honors those who have given their all in service to this country. I'm honored to be able to participate and it gives me time to sit back and reflect on those I knew who are now indelibly etched upon the Wall.
"For as long as we speak their names; they will not be forgotten"

35 days to the Ride

In 33 days Ralph and Blue will arrive at my house and the final preparations for getting underway will occur. Jim arrives in early June and Ray and I are here anxiously waiting for them.
We'll complete the packing of the bikes and the truck; spend a day letting all the participants get acquainted and make final adjustments to the route and then try to get a good nights' sleep before getting underway on July 4th. What a day that will be. 5 Veterans of 4 separate services and two separate nations bonded by the sense of adventure and camaraderie that comes from our shared experiences riding submarines and being in combat. Our history brought us together and my hope is this trip will allow each of us to know each other better and enhance our knowledge and appreciation for our country and all the wonderful people who live here. Having our Australian shipmate along for the ride only makes it better; just a little more "seasoning" in the stew.

Now it's time for me to leave for the Pipe Band Competitions; just another opportunity to hang out with the guys and play with instruments designed to make loud noises.

Ride safe,

37 days to the Ride

Ordered another upgrade for my bike today. I'm adding Rush Performance pipes, a Stage 1 "Super Tune" and a Stage 1 Air Cleaner. The pipes will not only give me that "throaty" rumble of a Harley but with the new tuning set up provide improved gas mileage. That's what they told me anyway; I think the improved mileage comes from my wallet being considerably lighter than it was before I went in there. Oh well, Pat will think I'm safer by being louder.

Not Just Bears!

What are you guys getting me into? This looks pretty darned dangerous:

http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/007200.html

BTW, will there be a cappuccino machine on the truck? And does Seattle have Chinese delivery?
Somebody's got to worry about these things.

38 days to the Ride

The time is growing shorter until we shove off.
Yesterday I was contacted by an SSMC member in Oregon who has offered to give us an escorted ride up the Columbia River Gorge on the day we leave the Seattle area and start heading to Yosemite. It sounds really interesting and he provided numerous tips on routes that will take us there with maximum scenery.


Now we just have to work a ride to see the Pacific Ocean and we'll achieve everything on my list of sights in the area. Mountains, oceans, historic rivers, Grand Coulee Dam, is this great or what?
I got another surprise last night when my wife suggested I put louder pipes on my bike (safety reasons of course). Does life get any better that this? I get to go on a cross country ride and permission to make my bike louder with that patented "Harley Rumble"

Ride Safe,

40 days until the Ride

Lots of planning activity took place over the weekend. Bob Opple, President of SSMC, and our host while we are in the Seattle area recommended we stay at the Holiday Inn at Renton. Bob McManus has already booked his room and Ralph is exploring whether we can get any kind of a group rate. Since I think we're all over 65, except for Blue we ought to at least get a senior rate on the rooms. The plan is to "double up" to save money so start thinking who you want to hear snoring in your room.
Bob Opple will also line up rooms for us in Sandpoint, Idaho where we will be linking up with them. Looks like they got a number of riders to escort us in so it should be a great ride from Idaho into Washington. On Sunday and Monday there will also be some very scenic rides that will give us plenty of photo ops and stories to regale our friends and families with back home. More details to come but be prepared for mountains, the ocean, snow capped peaks and deep lush valleys. All that stuff we never see here in the flatlands of Michigan.

Ride safe,

Okay, I'm in.

Parachuting into SEA 10 July, and skootin' the 13th. Lookin' forward to it, you damn betcha!

42 days to THE RIDE!

Well, I'm starting to pack stuff up for the trip back to Michigan. 96 outside and the sky is tropical hot blue, not a cloud to be seen. Dar is at the beach, Bairn has his bath and is laying in front of the fan and the more I think about it the more I should take the bike out for a ride. One thing I have found out that you can become severely dehydrated from riding in heat like this and if I'm correct we will be riding in heat just like this except dryer. Better make plans to take lots of water and way to hang it from your handlebar or at least an easy access point so you can get at it. Going to a Hawg Roast tomorrow given by the local Harley group, should be alot of fun. Not having much luck finding a coffee pot down here, but I'm sure one will show up either here or up north. I'll go get the trailer next week & check and repack the wheel bearings. Fred, I'll be seeing you about the 8th or 9th of June. Oh, looks like Blue will have to drink water, can't find any good Aussie beer down here......

48 days to the Ride

Couple of things happened today:
First, I got a nice ride in and finally learned how to disengage my "quick release" (an oxymoron if ever there was one) sissy bar so now I can disengage my seat and install the rider backrest. You need the thumb strength of Paul Bunyan to make the thing move but with the help of a friend I was able to get it done.

More importantly I got this in from my niece Megan:

Hey Uncle Fred!
I was just checking in on your ride blog and found the shout out to me from back in March. Here is my comment back,

Hey there guys! Thanks for the welcome! I had a quick glance at your site waaaaay back in March when Uncle Fred sent me the invite and the link. Since then, I've settled on our new home, moved out of a crummy temporary apartment(you've got a bed now, Uncle Fred. In a room. With a door. Can't promise that'll keep out the wee ones, but it is an improvement!), and celebrated my baby's 1st birthday. It's been a busy spring!
Indeed for you chaps, as well. 49 days now - or is it 48? Right around the corner. The big ride. I'm excited for all of you. Even you, Blue! Enjoy this time. The planning is part of the fun. The journey will be remarkable.
I will be keeping close eye of your plans over these next few weeks. Thanks for letting me share the excitement!
All the very best to each of you!
Love you and miss you Uncle Fred!
Megan

Love to Aunt Pat, too!
Talk to you soon!
megan


Finally:

I'm working on a route that will take us from Sandpoint Idaho to Yakima Washington (about a 4 hour ride). We can meet up with Doug Dahlke and have a burger at the "Miner Burger" and Blue can let us know if it beats Kangaroo Burgers in taste and size. Then we'll have about a two hour ride into the Renton area. I'm looking into hotel accommodations between Issaquah and Renton to keep us centralized for all the people we want to meet up with; including (drum roll please) Bob McManus.

Watch the blog and your e-mail for more details, complete with changes.

49 days to the Ride

I sure like the sound of 49; next time it will be 39 and we will have to start the real serious planning our daily activities. I've added a propane lantern to the supplies and that should give us two. Jim will be exploring the purchase of a camping coffee pot and we know we can count on Blue to make sure there is always food available. Of course, getting it away from him may be a problem but if we sneak up on him and whisper "look at that sheila" we may be able to distract him enough to grab some grub before he figures it out.

Ride safe; Blue keep practicing.

50 days to the Ride

I'm too groggy to write anything profound but for some reason each time we tick off another 10 days from the calendar it seems to require mentioning.
There, it is mentioned.
Ride safe everyone. Blue, are you practicing?

54 days to the Ride

I received a nice phone call from Bob Opple, President of SSMC, this morning and I'm going to send him our proposed itinerary while we're in the Seattle area. Bob has a couple of different routes in mind for our trip from Sandpoint, Idaho, including one, that will take us down through Yakima where we can visit with Dough Dahlke and enjoy (and vote on) whether the Minor Burger is the best in the country/world. He has also suggested that we consider taking the ferry tour and crossing over to the peninsula side of Puget Sound which, I think, will put us in John Clear country. Bob tells me the riding up there is also spectacular. We're also trying to locate a centralized place where as many boat sailors as possible can gather for beverages, food, stories and a good time getting acquainted/reacquainted. More details later but it looks like our time in the Seattle area is going to exciting and memorable.

The photo was shamelessly stolen off of Don Gentry's BBS and was taken by Chief John Clear. Apparently that is a common view from his house. Must be nice; us flatlanders are envious.

Blue is this what we need to stock the ice chest in the back of Ralph's truck with?

56 days to the Ride

 

This is how the patch will look on my vest. SSMC authorized me to put it on the front (port bow). Raining again here today and also cold and windy. But, it won't be long before we're "saddling up" and heading out. T-Shirt design is almost complete and I'm just figuring out how to put the "major stops" under the map. Should get that done this weekend and then I can move on to other little jobs to be completed.

Pat is busy planning the menu for the "cook out" on the day before we leave. The menu has changed 50 times but whatever she comes up with will be very good and it will include having me "working the grill or the smoker" or both.

Official Ride Patch

I picked up the patches today and they look great. Can't wait to sew it on either my vest of my jacket. I have to check with SSMC to see if it can be authorized for the vest. If not then it will go on my jacket for all to see and admire.
I can just hear Blue trying to explain to his mates back in Oz where the Northwest is.

I just heard back from the president of SSMC and I can put it on my vest. I already have the spot picked out on the front of the vest right below the SSMC Logo.

What the hell.....I thought I was coming over for your Summer, my Winter? I must have the wrong vehicle!


Blue *_*

59 days to the Ride

Got a notification that the patches are available for me to pick up at the Post Office. I'm anxious to see them and wished they could have just been left in my mailbox; but since they are insured and require a signature I will have to go pick them up tomorrow. I'll post a photo when I get them.
Also, as it relates to items, I've asked a graphic designer friend of mine to take one more shot at enhancing the map that will grace the back of the t-shirt. I should have that this week and will finalize the t-shirt order. Since this is going to be a "once in a lifetime" journey for me I wanted the shirts to be as nice as we can make them so this little extra work, will, I hope, be worth it.
My boss (owner of my company) was asking me about the trip today and has given me full permission to take the time off. Everything is falling into place and I'm really getting excited about the next few months. Next week I go for another "electric roto-rooter" in my throat but I'm convinced that there will be no negative news so I've put that completely out of my mind; except to remember to actually show up for it.
A friend is coming over today to help me install my rider backrest so, with luck, that piece of work will be done today and I can give it a good test tomorrow. It's raining again today so no riding.
Lot's more to do but it's all coming together.
Ralph; we need to talk about accomodations in the Seattle area. I'll try calling you on Saturday. OK?

61 days to the Ride

April is gone and May is well underway. The weather just keeps improving and I realized this morning that in two short months we will all be gathering at my house for the final ride plan; a cook out; some refreshments; some introductions; some sea stories and then the realization that we are off on a marvelous adventure.
I still have a few things left to do; such as get a GPS device; install the rider back rest; install the helmet lock (all things I was going to do but work and the pipe band got in the way). I also need to check my boots for waterproof effectiveness and also need to spend the night in the tent to ensure it is working properly and that my sleeping bag system meets all requirements for a good nights' rest.

Other than that it's just keep looking at the maps to see if there are additional things to see. My wife found a good article on Jackson Hole, Wyoming that has me curious if it might worth going to see. It's about 60-90 miles south of Yellowstone and has some very interesting history and scenery.

That's all for today; if you're riding then ride safe. If you're in New York be very careful where you walk around.

McManus is safe and has reported in.

My 800cc

G'day guys, here is a photo of my Kawasaki VN 800cc Vulcan Classic that I rebought of my workmate that I sold it to back in 2007. Now that I have my full license, I will get out on the road more. The bike is a 2005 model and only has 7,500 km's on the clock ( about 4,500 miles )

Looking forward to the trip to the Northwest!

Blue *_*