Where you gonna go on the bike this year?

[AKBEEMER]

Barb,

Please accept our condolances.

Thanks for reinvigorating this thread. This will be our first summer of retirement and we have plans:

April: Branson, Ohio, Chicago, the Spam Museum (a must do), Blackhills, Custer Battlefield and home to MT

May: Lolo, southern Idaho, Fraser River Valley thru British Columbia to Hyderfor Hyderseek, Jasper, Banff then south to Nakusp and the lakes region of BC.

June: Cassiar to Whitehorse, Skagway, Klondike Hwy to Dawson City for Dust 2 Dawson, Fairbanks, Manley Hotsprings, perhaps Homer for a wedding then the Alcan home.

July: National Rally, Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP

August: Daughter's graduation in Bozeman, Beartooth Rendezvous and Stanley Stomp in ID

September: 3 Flags Rally Check Point, state Airhead picnic in Kalispell, and perhaps the MOAB

We'll fill in the gaps riding the many great roads of our new home in Montana. By our estimation we'll log 25K miles or better. Can't wait to get started

[Walking Eagle]

Kevin,

You DID post your travel plans in order to make the rest of jealous, right?

I'm feeling like a piker . . . and I live in "12-month" riding country!

That said, your itinerary IS a scoop of inspiration on top of the big slice of humble pie.

Bravo!

Walking Eagle

[AKBEEMER]

[dancogan]

Kevin,

You DID post your travel plans in order to make the rest of jealous, right?

I'm feeling like a piker . . .

Yeah, me too. I'd take any one month of that itinerary and be happy with it.

[AKBEEMER]

We've been planning on getting our lives organized for the past almost four years so we can ride as we plan to do this summer. We met Paul and Voni up in Alaska some years ago and their experiences got us headed towards making the changes we needed to make. Early retirement, moving south from Alaska, setting up a place here in Montana and getting a bit more competent and capable at maintaining our bikes were all required steps. Annie and I have done some long distance riding, but typically it's been one trip a year. For this summer we chose to make multiple forays that all end back at our home; this allows us to switch bikes and/or maintain bikes between legs of the trip. Each trip has enough time built in so that we can take days off if we choose, make deviations and ride as much or as little as we care too. It just worked out this summer for us to return home after each big trip because of what we wanted to do. In future years we plan to be away for more extended periods. We plan for Annie to do her first Saddle Sore ride on our way to Branson as part of our First Summer of Firsts. I'm sure we have a lot to learn about meandering around for months at a time. For example, we plan to camp far more than we've done in the past to make long stays on the road financially feasible. It's a tough task, but we are willing to take it on. Part two of the plan is to roll out of Montana in January of next year and trailer some bikes to AZ, park the trailer and then spend 2 months riding around the south US and perhaps Mexico. We are still unsure of the Mexico part and are doing our research.

[kellysbeemer]

Barb,

I'm very sorry for your loss, hopefully Spring will come early here so you can get going on your therapy!!

I live in WA state, north end near B'ham. I'm always up for a ride so we will have to meet up one of these days.

PM me if you want and we can exchange info.

Kelly

[JanesRT]

Hi Barbara,
My condolences on your loss. I wish you many happy therapy miles in 2012.

Jane

[henzilla]

It's mid January...did the women get tired of the winter restless grumpyman syndrome posting?

Got tired of seeing racer7's last post on Christmas ideas...

Helen said I am following her this Spring/Summer more...she's tired of all my goofy detours! Her detours are way more interesting.

On her (mine too) list...Blitz to Branson, MOA-Salem, Canadien Rockies something , W. Coast lazy schedule trip south...it's a start...how about y'all?

[Earache]

Annual trip to Utah via Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada
Minnesota / Superior loop
North Carolina - about 7 times again
Ohio / West Va a few times (in-laws live there)
Might squeeze a Scotland or Ireland ride in there as well.

[Bullett]

I moved last year and I'm now headquartered on the West coast. Doing some day rides as weather permits. We're planning a little run down to the Yosemite area in April and tentatively planning to ride up to Salem with our local contingent of BMW riders in July. We did a lot of riding last year, so we need to settle down now and earn a living.

[Rod Sheridan]

Diann has convinced me to try and re-arrange my work schedule so we can go to the RA rally at Biltmore again...........Rod.

[NewEnglander]

So the question begs an answer. After hemming and hawing and whining all winter I have decided to make the trip out to Salem. The decision was influenced heavily by the death of a fellow local club member - made me realize life is just too short to not take the trips we want to do and I want to do this trip. I've never had the chance to ride on the west coast or beyond the Rockies. I already have the permission to take the month off from work. It took them less than a day to say "yes". (35 years in one place will get you something!) That's where I'm going this year. All my other riding will be local because I'm taking that whole month off from work and so I need to husband my leave bank so that it isn't totally wiped out by this trip.

I am very excited to be doing the trip. Also a little scared. Scared even though I've done a lot of riding on my own (over 120,000). All of my long distance trips since becoming single have been of the forced-march-on-the-slab variety so that I could have some time to enjoy the destination. This time I will be able to do the trip with wandering time available so instead of diving into a hotel at the end of each day I will need to be finding places to camp. The last time I did that kind of m/c travel I was married and had the advantage of traveling with someone who was riding an EML sidecar rig (our child and 80 pound dog were the passengers) so there was oodles of room for everything. Not so with this trip... it's just me so I'm having to do some serious modifying of equipment - mainly the tent and the sleeping bag (and the boots and the helmet and the riding gear and the Kermit chair and..................). Oh, and new tires too.

My biggest question right now is whether there is a resource somewhere of motorcycle friendly campgrounds? KOA is one that I can think of but are there any other avenues available?

I'm already mentally off on this ride!

Louise