Home at last!

Hitting the road is always a thrill for me and I rarely sleep well the night before a trip. Images of the adventure ahead and the people and places I will meet and see keep me awake. As much as I enjoy the open road, it is always nice to come home. This trip was no different. I arrived home at 6:30 last night (July 22) and had left on Monday July 5. That is 17 days on the road and 6,698 miles traveled according to my odometer. Average miles per day works out to 394. The low day and there were several were with 0 miles. High day... close to 1,500. People always seem to ask, "What was the highlight of the trip?". To that I have to answer: "too many to mention". I saw some of the most beautiful scenery this country has to offer, met some of the nicest people and renewed old friendships. I traveled safely with only few instances of concern... namely that mule deer in the rain at night in Estes Park, milking every mile out of a failing clutch in western Colorado and Utah and a few tense moments where I thought I might not have enough fuel to make the next available gas station. All in all, it was a great trip. I had a lot of time to think and was able to make decisions based on strictly how they would impact me, which is much more simple than traveling with a group. That said, I can't wait to head back out west in September with the Phat Pac. We all get along so well and every moment is filled with laughs. With all that said.. I hope you all enjoyed the blog. Let me know if you did and if you have any suggestions on how to make it better, I would love to hear them! There is nothing like seeing home appear at that final turn in the road.

Iron Butt Again!

I spent Tuesday night at a little non-descript motel along the Missouri River in Chamberlain, SD. Sometimes it pays to listen to advice of locals. I had just stopped to fuel, as it was getting late and I had done 500 plus miles for the day. I like to fuel the night before, so I can hit the road running in the morning. Especially, since I had decided to blitz the ride home and be home in time for our 39th anniversary on Saturday. After-all, I was in Alaska last year for the 38th. I awoke Wednesday morning to clear skies, low humidity and cool temperatures. Forcasts were for building heat, humidity and showers.. Good time to "beat feet" out of here! I decided to run I-90 through SD, MN, WS and IL... through Chicago and on to I-80 and home. My GPS indicated about 1,450 miles to home.... NO Problem... my new seat is SOOOO comfortable. There is no good time to go through Chicago.. but I decided to hit it at about 10:00 PM, so fuel and food stops were figured into the game plan. Actually, I just rode my butt off and took an extra half hour for dinner on the west side of town to make it happen. At 4:30 a.m on Thursday morning I found myself on the Ohio Turnpike at a rest stop and VERY tired. This has been a safe trip so far, so I decided to keep it that way and spend a few hours at the "Iron Butt Hotel". Yes.... that is the name I give to sleeping on a picnic table in a rest stop. It only seemed appropriate to spend my last night on the road this way since that is where I had spent the first night on the road just east of Saint Louis on the way out. The process involves inflating the Thermarest sleeping pad, putting my jacket into the bag vacated by my sleeping bag and using that as a pillow. Cover with the sleeping bag, put in the ear plugs and wala.. SLEEP. Yes.. you can actually have restful sleep this way when you have traversed 900 miles of highway and Chicago traffic. I normally toss and turn during the night, but for some reason, I never move when sleeping on the top of a picnic table. UP at 8:00, take meds, splash water, attend to nature.. pack, eat and hit the road again. And those 600 + miles to home! It helps to think about that dip in the neighbor's pool when I get home, or that home cooked meal. When you do almost 1,500 miles in less that 34 hours on a motorcycle you need little incentives to keep you going. For some reason, I do not remember this being so hard when I used to do it to go watch David play waterpolo at Navy or Chris play football at Penn State or New Orleans. Maybe age is catching up with me. NAH!!!! that can't be it! I have not fugured the final mileage fo the trip yet, but it is somewhere north of 7,000 miles. Did I have fun? Yes.... I would leave tomorrow to do it all over again. I guess there is just a little "cowboy" in me that has been there since I was young and used to see my hero's sitting around a camp fire in he middle of the wild wild west, telling stories and drinking coffee.

Time to think!

One of the benefits of traveling alone like this in vast spaces is that you get a chance to do a lot of thinking. There are literally hours between fuel stops and sparse traffic on most of the two lane roads I traveled. It is amazing how sometimes you will see something that just fits into your thought process like a piece to a puzzle. I have no doubt that this is divine intervention. Here I was riding along this lonely road in South Dakota and thinking about my life and how several times now I have had to change careers. The first being when the school district I taught in went through declining enrollment and I lost my teaching job. A new opportunity sprung up from virtually no where and I ended up in Human Resources at Harleysville Insurance. Heck, I didn't even know how to spell personnel, which is what HR was called in those days, let alone know what it involved. I quickly fell in love with my new profession though and life went on. Then when senior management at Harleysville changed, I found myself seeking a new opportunity. Commerce Bank came along and allowed me to continue to do what I loved, plus introduced me to people that have become some of the closest and genuine friends anyone could ever hope for. Then, most recently when TD purchased Commerce and the working environment became so terribly frustrating for me, I moved into a new phase of my life with a lot of uncertainty. Should I retire, would I be happy, would I miss the challenges of the HR profession etc? Each time this has happened in my life a new chapter has unfolded and new opportunities developed. So, here I was cruising down a lonely stretch of two lane and all of a sudden this flower was growing in a crack in the pavement. Not just any crack, but one that was sealed with tar to keep all water and one would think "life" out. For some reason, it just hit me that it was God's way of saying to me that a new chapter of my life would blossom. I have been struggling to know what that will be, and I still do not know, but all of a sudden I felt at peace. No matter what it is, I will be OK and as one door closses another will open and a future will bloom in some way. I initially drove on down the road for about 10 miles with all these thoughts spinning in my head until I realized that I needed to go back and take this picture. We have all seen plants grow in the most unlikely places.. but this one ranks up there in my book as one of the most amazing. This seed fell in the most inhospitable place imaginable, and look what resulted. What were the odds?

No Plan... No reservations...No Problem

I really do not intend to paint the picture that this trip was totally without a plan, as I poured over maps for months and researched each of the riding areas on the various sites such as "Adventure Rider" etc. for the best roads to ride. Plus I was able to pick a lot of brains at the Rally, by people that ride these roads all the time. That said however, I did not have any set schedule other than the appointment for my seat to be made and the rally. Initially after riding through the Bitterroot mountains and Lolo Pass, I intended to drop down into Yellowstone then across the Big Horn mountains to the Black Hills of South Dakota. I ran into several people that were telling horror stories of large traffic jams in Yellowstone due to road construction and heavy traffic. One chap said he had spent 6 hours just transiting the park. Since I am going back to Yellowstone in September with the Phat Pac, well after all the kids are back in school and family vacations are just memories, and I was just in the Black Hills last summer, I decided to alter my route to ride some of the "Big Sky" state of Montana. I never tire of the vast open spaces and rolling hills of Montana. All one needs to do is look in any direction and you can see how this state got the description of "Big Sky" country. I guess I just conjure up images of wagons crossing this vast expanse of territory and the common Indian attacks I saw on TV as a kid. I bailed on the original plan and headed for Helena the capital of the state and then took Rte 12 over to Rte 3 then jumped on Interstate 90 for a short while until I got to the Little Big Horn Battlefield and then followed Rte 212 down to Rapid City. Some of this route is the same route Bill and I took last year on the way back from Alaska. It was just as much fun this time as it was last year. I never tire of this scenery.

Montana has a good idea!

From Missoula, I headed out across the "Big Sky" state on two lane roads. This is the only way to transit Montana in my book. I just love the wide open spaces and lack of traffic compared to the interstates. Another nice thing is that most all small towns in Montana allow camping in their town squares. Last night was even better, as the town had a small park near their rodeo arena with electric at each site. Not bad for a nominal $7.00 fee.
While driving along, I kept noticing small white crosses at a number of places. At one location there was a sign indicating that these crosses mark the site where traffic fatalities have taken place. Some have flowers attached to them, probably by family members. I think they do far more to make you focus on you driving than the big signs found in PA to "Click it or ticket". It is sobering to see how many of these crosses are in places where there is simply nothing to cause an accident. You will see them along a stretch of road that is straight for miles on end, with no intersecting road, or any sign of danger at all. They definitely make me think every time I see one. Why don't all states do this? It works!

On to Lolo Pass

This is the section of country I have been waiting and dreaming of riding for over 6 months as I planned this trip. I have researched it on google earth, and poured over maps. My plan called for following Rte 12 to Lolo Pass and then drop down into Missoula. This stretch follows the Clearwater River to its origin near the pass. It is a slow climb for nearly 125 miles and to be honest, I could have taken a picture at every turn. At some point, I just had to put the camera away and just enjoy the ride. I have ridden thousands of miles in all 49 states and in my estimation this is the best and most scenic motorcycle road in America. Prior to this my favorite was the Cherahoala Skyway in Tennessee and NC. This makes that look pale in comparison. The pavement was brand new, the turns were sweepers with some a tight ones thrown in just to keep you on your toes. Traffic was almost non- existent, except for the BMW's heading to and from Oregon. I did not want it to end. I only had one contruction site where two men belayed on ropes were prying rocks from the cliffs above so they would not fall on the roadway at some inopportune time. We sat and waited while bolders fell in front of us for about 15 minutes. Eventually a front end loader then cleared the road and we were on our way. In all of my travels this is the only time I have seen this being done, but it does make sense. The history of this area is very interesting. As most of you know, Lewis and Clark explored the Missouri river up to Great Falls Montana where they had to portage around the 5 major falls there. There were looking for a river route to the Pacific Ocean. Well as we all know (just look at google earth guys!) there is none. From Great Falls they hiked to Lolo Pass where they entered the headwaters of the Clearwater River that I followed up stream to the Pass. They copied the indians method of making dugout canoes by burning the insides of Ponderosa Pines to make their canoes. Then for the first time in their exploration, they headed "down stream". Their trip up the Missouri must have really been a struggle fighting the current all the way. The clearwater empties into the Snake River which empties into the Columbia and thus they eventually ended up at the Pacifice Ocean via the Columbia. The interpretive narration at the Lolo Pass center said that they passed on the abundant salmon wanting meat instead. They traded with the indians for dogs to eat. (BE CAREFUL SNOOPY) So much for salmon being a delicacy. :-)

Time to Head East

Well, I never like heading east for some reason, but on this ocassion, I was looking forward to seeing some new territory. I have been all over the west a number of times, but for some reason, I have never been to the Bitterroot Mountains of northern Idaho. Traveling through Eastern Oregon is really pretty, but it is not what most people think of when they think of the green forests of Oregon. They are along the coast and eastern Oregon can best be described as Bonanza country. I know I am dating myself, but that is what it looks like. I kept thinking I was going to run into Pa, Luke or Hoss at the next gas stop. This is "high desert" but there are the widely spaced Ponderosa Pines that give off the most distinctive and refreshing odor. Only on a motorcycle or a bicycle do you experience the smells of the area you are transiting. For some reason, riding in a car just does not allow you to feel and smell the surroundings. I eventually ended up in the Bitterroots and found my way to this campsite along the Little Salmon River in Riggins, ID. The canyons are about 1,500 feet deep with this wide, but fast moving river running through. Riggins is one of the hot spots for raft trips and you see all the equipment all over the place. In talking to the owner of the campground he informed me that there is several hundres miles of navigable river here, with some of it passing through "primitave areas" where there is no road access for nearly a hundred miles. Better not forget to pack a lunch here. My campsite was on the banks of the river and when I learned that there was a $3.00 fee to take a shower, I headed for the river with my soap. I have a hard time paying for a few gallons of water when millions of gallons are flowing right by my tent. After my bath, I spent the rest of the evening sitting on a folding chair in about 3 feet of slow moving water and just watched the shadows as the sun set over the rim around me. No cell or internet service here, so I was out of touch for awhile and this the blog suffered. Life was very good except for the wind that kept wanting to blow me and my tent into the river all night. No fear, I weigh just enough to keep that from happening. :-) Well maybe a little bit more than just enough! I never could figure out where the wind was coming from as this canyon was narrow and the rim towered above me in every direction. Beautiful place.

Mac-Pac.... let's roll!

For those of you not aware of what the Mac-Pac is, it is a group of BMW riders from the Delaware Valley that I formed along with a couple of friends back in 1995. The group is now over 275 members strong. They are a great bunch of guys and gals that love to ride, eat and wrench on our bikes. I have been less active in years past, but fully expect to become active again. I met up with Jim Robinson, Ken Bruce and his friend Patty Minner, and Richard Cavaliere. I also visited with Bill Hamilton and his wife Sharon who work the communications and events for children at the rally. All great people. Rich, Jim, Ken and Patty along with me decided on a trip to Crater Lake today. If you have never been there, you should put it on your list of amazing places in America. The lake is at about 6,000 feet and is a sunken volcano caldera. It is one of the deepest lakes in the world at about 1,900 feet deep. It is a stunning blue color and is surrounded by snow capped rim. We had a super day with not a cloud in the sky. In total we rode about 250 miles and capped it off with a great steak dinner at the Tumalo Feed Company complete with "Rocky Mountain Oysters". I guess it is an acquired taste, but I did try them just to say I had done it. I have always said you can deep fry anything and it would be palatable. These definitely fit the bill.

BMW International Rally in Redmond Oregon

The Rally site is in a beautiful site here in Redmond. There are about 6,500 registered participants and I am guessing by the looks of the grounds about 90 percent of them are staying in tents and rode to the Rally. I have not seen one trailered bike yet, although I am sure there must be a couple of antiques. The variety of vendors is more than I have ever seen at any rally including Daytona, Mrytle Beach and Sturgis. The nice thing this is that it is almost an exclusively BMW rally and I have not seen another bike here at all. No loud pipes, or loud people for that matter. A very civilized and polite crowd. The grounds are spotless, no trash at all and the showers and facilities are kept spotless. It is a pleasure to be here and experience this. The closest thing I can compare it to is the annual Experimental Aircraft event in Oshkosh each summer. There is definitely a nice group of people that ride these bikes and they have a passion for the marque. I am betting that a full 50 percent of the bikes are GS's with the rest being of the other designs over the years. I met up with about 5 Mac-Pac members here and we have spent time together. Today we took a ride down to Crater Lake. More on this later. Here is the Rally venue. A well organized tent city, complete with a beer garden, nightly entertainment, seminars and every vendor you could hope to visit. The is the best ever motorcycle event for me and I look forward to next year's which will be held in Bloomsburg, PA. I magine that!

On the Road Again

As Willie Nelson says.. it is great to be on the road again. I left Shasta Lake in 107 degree heat and headed north to the BMW Rally in Redmond Oregon. The distance was about 290 miles and as soon as you leave Shasta Lake on I-5 you start to climb. California's central valley climbs into the high desert of central Oregon past Shasta Mountain. I traveled I-5 to the intersection of Rte 97 and then North to Redmond, OR the site of the Rally. I arrived at about 10:30 and was actually kind of cold the last hour or so when it got dark. The sky here is totally cloudless and the temp dropped to about 48 degrees. At one point, I pulled off the road where there were no background lights, turned off the bike and just looked at the stars for about 10 minutes. It is simply amazing how many there are. I felt like I could reach out and touch the milky way. The scenery is vast and the volcanic mountains are mostly snow covered even at this late date. They had a lot of snow out here this past winter and had a cool spring so things are still melting in the mountains. I had to dodge one mule deer and from that point on I was on "high alert" the rest of the way into Redmond. My seat was so comfortable that I did not want to stop riding. I am really going to like this seat.

The "Boss at work".

Here is Terry Bradford the owner of Russell saddles hard at work. As with any successful business owner the success is always in the details. You don't have to be here long to know that this is one big family that work well with each other and have accumulated the skills to set themselves above the competion. Terry's son Michael is the lead builder and Heather is his daughter in-law. Everyone here goes about their business with care and precision and you don't see the water fountain loitering that is seen in many companies. I always knew there was some connection between Russell and Myers saddles, but never knew the whole or correct story. Well the inventor and original patent holder of the spring mechanism on which these seats is based was developed by the elder Mr. Myers. His sons at the time did not have the interest in carrying on the business, so he sold the patent to Don Russell who then went on to build what is currently Russell Saddles. In 2000 Don passed away and in 2001 Terry Bradford bought the company and runs it to this day. They employ about 13 people and build saddles for many makes and models of bikes. BMW is their largest market as for some reason the Germans just feel that you should "adapt" to their saddle no matter what. After all the fatherland knows what is best for you! Meyer's is still in business being run by family, but they can not use the spring mechanism and really build a seat with only varying foam densities. Once you see how a Russell saddle is built you understand that it is what you don't see that separates this saddle from the competion.

Jesus and the finishing process

Well, my seat is almost done. Jesus is spraying contact adhesive on the foam and stretching the cover over it before stapling it to the original BMW seat pan. The attention to detail to make sure the foam is properly positioned under the cover and all the seams are where they should be is something to watch. Like I said, skilled hands make it look easy, but I would be covered in glue and things would be all askew! Although I did not have a full passenger seat formed, they still trimmed some foam off the stock one and sewed a cover to match. I am really happy with the appearance and I am sure I will love the ride. I can't wait!

Violet's Magic needles

Violet is now working her magic on my seat, sewing and fitting the final cover. I elected to go with black vinyl, as from all reports the leather requires far more care and the use of a rain cover every time it rains.... I have enough trouble getting into my rainsuit in a hurry let alone having to worry about the seat. There are all sorts of options on coverings including vinyl, leather, suede, and various combinations of them. You also have to pick among several thread patterns, inserts and thread colors. You can get really fancy and they do all kinds of custom embroidery on a computerized sewing machine that can do all kinds of fonts and logo's. Maybe I should have had "bomber 1" embroidered on the seat. :-) That is my self imposed nickname in the Phat Pac. I almost decided to go with a red insert in the main seat with black around the edges, but I am glad I went with all black, once I saw the size of the finished seat. Black makes it look smaller and more in proportion to the bike. In raw foam, it looked huge. Here is Violet and her handiwork. From here the seat with go back to Chris and then to Jose who will do the final cover installation. It is 2:30 and things are moving along pretty quickly.

The Foam Work is Done!

Here is the fitting of the new seat to the bike. The cover is being cut and sewn as I write. As you can see it is far larger than the stock BMW seat that it replaces and I can tell you that the comfort is simply amazing. Instead of the seat trying to split my butt, this one "caresses" it. When you distribute the weight over a larger surface are that is shapped to fit with no "pressure points", the result is comfort! I can't wait to see what it looks like with the cover on and to hit the road for the ultimate test of Miles and Smiles". Chris says there is a break in of about a thousand miles, but he plans that into the foam shape so the end result will fit perfectly. This is an art and not at all as simple as I thought it was.

Here is mine!

It is not even 11:00 yet and Chris is in the shapping phase on my seat, as I type. Here is my actual seat being finish shapped with the grinding device. You can see the dark foam splices that have been added to the molded seat pan to give it the width and size that is needed. Pretty amazing process. The next step will be for me to take it out for a test ride before the sewing and covering process begins. Russell also does boat canvass, so they have familiar machines that I am used to working with, but Heather tells me that they are doing less and less of that work as the seats are so popular and keep them so busy. No Wonder!

Chris

Chris is the tech that is building my seat. Here is is showing me how the pattented custom spring mechanism is fitted to each seat. The molded seat is cut in half depending on how big and how much spread is needed. As I sit here looking out into the shop, I can see that there is a pretty good size splice that has been added to mine, to fit my butt. Once it is put back together with the splice in it, then a spring is built and fit to the shape of the seat, to support the distinctive "wings" that make it easy to identify a Russell seat. Mine will probably look like the wings of a 747! This picture is not mine. Heathere tells me that the widest seat they ever built was 42 inches wide. I have been assured mine will not be anywhere near the record. :-) Once cut, spliced, sprung and winged, the trimming process begins with a little device that resembles an electric knife. Two occilating blades cut the foam like butter. The final shape is rendered with a foam grinding pad on a drill motor. Pretty intricate work, but as I said before, they have done this a few times before. I love watching true craftsmen at work. They make simple things look so easy!

Heather

The adventure began with Heather. She is exteemely well versed in the seat building process and took me for a tour of the facility. Then it was on to the photo session with Chris who will be building my seat. They take pictures of you in the riding position with your feet on the ground and with them up on the pegs. Chris asked for any special instructions which for me was to move me back as far as allowable and raise me up, both of which help with my knee angle. He assured me that he could do both. I got the distinct impression that Heather and Chris have done this once or twice before. :-) Heather is the epitome of customer service, is bubbly, high energy and far more professional than her appearance would initially lead you to believe. Here she is showing me the injection molding jig, where the basic seat pans begin their life. It is a two part urethane mix with air injected to keep the shape and then it is heat cured. They make a bunch at a time and yesterday was the molding day, so you can see a supply on the racks curing.

The wait is over!

Well, I have driven about 3,000 miles and waited for several years for this day. I began to dream of one day having a Russell Saddle when I bought my first BMW in 1995. I saw this wierd looking seat at a get together and the rider was an evangelist for them. From then on, every time I saw one, I have asked the rider how they like it. I have yet to talk to someone that is not totally satisfied. For those of you that don't know, they are referred to as the "All Day Saddle", meaning that you can ride all day and not feel like it. We will see! I ride all day now with a level of discomfort at times that I would like to eliminate. The day began with me packing up my tent and heading down to the local McD's for breakfast. Bill Thrush would be proud of me, as I ordered a "senior soda". Have to be frugal! My appointment at Russell was for 8:00 and I quickly learned that my phone had not switched over to Pacific time, so I was over an hour early. OH Well...I am excited to finally be here. Russell is nothing much to look at from the outside, but their level of customer service is "Commerce Bank Like" and when you get inside and see that they are building and shipping seats all over the world. It is then that you realize just how big their following is. They make about 10 seats a day including the scheduled drive in customers like me. Here is the vagabond in front of the store ready to be RE-Seated!

WOW! Who turned up the heat!

When I left Lassen NP the road began to drop straight into what is called the "central valley" I think. From 5,000 feet down to 800 feet in about 30 miles. The temps went from the low 80's to over 100 very quickly. To be honest though, it is dry and once I got to the Fawndale campground that the folks at Russell had recommended and got in the shade it was comfortable. Then a dip in the pool sealed the deal. I was a bit nervous about what I would find at Fawndale, as the area around here is pretty sparse, but this is an oasis. The best way I can describe the whole property which consists of cabins, RV spots, and tent spaces is that it is maintained to the same level as our marina in Rock Hall. Super clean, everything in its place and nicely taken care of etc. If you are ever in this part of the country, I highly recommend it. Thanks Russell! Here is my humble abode for the evening.

Tahoe to Shasta Lake

Todays ride was though some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever ridden. I took all back mountain roads up Rte 89 and a few others including 44. My goal was to stay in the high country as much as possible as temps in Shata Lake today went to 105 degrees. Most of the day I was very cool almost to the point of stopping to put on another layer. The ponderosa pines are majestic with many being 6 or 7 feet in diameter. It is like riding through a forest of giants for nearly 200 miles. Very few cars were seen and only a few construction zones. I did see a number of BMW's all moving north toward Redmond. I new I was on the right roads when I saw all the California plates on the bikes as they went by me. These guys know where to go to stay cool and enjoy the twisties. I stopped for lunch in a little town and asked the local LEO where was the best place to eat. It pointed it out and I was not disappointed. A great pastrami sandwhich and bowl of home made brocolli cheese soup. MMMMMMM good! I scared myself a little by not paying too much attention to gas stops. Every 3 miles or so I came into a little town so I did not think there was any problem. Well.......all of a sudden I was about 175 miles into a 220 mile estimated tank and the towns stopped. The one that I thought was going to be my saving grace only had one station and it was closed. ARGH! I really need that GSA for these trips. I ended up making it to the Lassen Volcanic National Park. Fortunately the park office had a single pump. ONLY 87 octane... oh well... it splashed into what felt like a hollow empty tank. Turns out I had about a gallon left, so I was more concerned than I needed to be. You really need to pay attention to gas out here in these vast expanses of mountains.