Catching Up...

So, to continue my story, Faith and I met in 2002 at our Monday night bowling league. By early 2003 we were seeing each other often and in June of that year we moved in together. As I said earlier, she was new to riding on the larger street motorcycles but took to it quickly and our weekends were filled with two-wheeled adventures.

We covered most of New Jersey from the Delaware Water Gap to Cape May. We joined the Polar Bear club http://www.polarbeargrandtour.com/ and rode every Sunday from October thru May. Not always perfect riding weather but that's why they're the Polar Bears.

If we found out about a charity ride or benefit or just a fun ride with a group, we were there. We had rain gear, heated gear and no excuses for not riding. We especially like the large police escorted rides. To be in a group of a thousand or so motorcycles taking up a lane on the highway with police cars and motorcycles leading the way is one of our biggest thrills.

We also attended a lot of state rallies and the larger "bike rallies". With two people it's not easy to pack for a week-long trip so we started pulling a trailer on the longer rides. The "Americade" rally in Lake George, NY  http://www.tourexpo.com/data/index.php  became one of our regular trips and we've done Laconia bike week in New Hampshire  http://www.laconiamcweek.com/  a couple of times.

Our favorites above all are the "Fly & Ride" trips that we take quite a lot. As a Harley owner and member of H.O.G. (harley owners group) we can book a trip to many different locations around the country, rent a motorcycle at a participating Harley dealer and enjoy unlimited miles of adventure and then drop off the bike and fly home. http://www.harley-davidson.com/wcm/Content/Pages/HOG/fly_and_ride.jsplocale=en_us   This program has given us the opportunity to spend more time on vacation and less time riding to the vacation. We've taken advantage of this to go to the "Laughlin River Run" in Nevada many times http://www.laughlinriverrun.com/. It's by far one of the nicest rallies that we attend. And it's nice to be able to relax on the flight home instead of thinking about the long ride home after all the fun.

So we've ridden our motorcycle up and down the east coast and we've done Fly & Rides to the southwest a few times. I must say that the thrill never gets old and Faith is always ready and willing to saddle up and go.

Then it was time for a new motorcycle. Unfortunately, not long after we got this one, I started having back and knee problems. So the riding time suffered and we didn't get out like we used to. After a few scary rides and the realization that my riding skills weren't as sharp as they were, a decision had to be made. Stop riding or think about a trike conversion. Kind of a no-brainer!!

This is our new ride !!!!! We're loving it and we've got quite a few miles on it.

Just checking in....

Been a while since I've been here blogging. Working on my Squidoo lenses. More blogging to start soon.    Likin' Trikin' Squidoos

Pics from 2003 ride from Arizona

a few of the dealerships that I visited on my trip 

Trikin' with Uncle Rob

Trikin' with Uncle Rob

A Little Background

Faith and I love to take motorcycle trips. We've covered many, many miles and many states over the last 8 years. My motorcycling days go back a bit more. I've been riding since I got my license and an old BSA. Back then it was mostly local rides and bar hopping. But back then the laws were a little different. We'll still go to the popular biker bars for lunch or a ride but spending most of the day doing that and then riding home is not my idea of a fun day anymore. When choppers were all the rage, the BSA was replaced with bike that a friend and I stripped down and built quite a nice chopper. Lots of fun but I was starting to like longer runs and the chopper just didn't cut it. No storage , smaller gas tank and a hardtail frame made the long haul a little bit of a pain. I wasn't ready for the "old man " full dressers and swore I'd never ride one of those. My first Harley was a Sportster that I took apart and customized again and this was fine for a while. Still not good for the overnighters but lots of fun. In 1994 I bought a HD Superglide and got it ready for my first weeklong ride and rally. Saddlebags and sissy bar with storage bag and I was on my way. Trailered the bike to North Carolina where I met my cousin and rode from there to Daytona for bike week. After buying more storage equipment and a windshield for the ride back, I realized that those dressers are pretty nice if you're going far. Superglide out, 1989 Ultra in. God, what a difference! I was hooked. I could ride this thing forever. I started going farther and farther for longer and longer rides. I started going to more rallies and events. For years I went to the Americade Rally in Lake George,NY. If I couldn't find someone to go with, I'd be off on my own. After all, it was only a 4 1/2 hour ride. From there to Laconia, NH for the Laconia Rally. Then 8 hours home. In 1999 I rode that bike from my home at the Jersey shore to South Dakota for the Sturgis Rally. Many more miles and many more memories during that trip. Mt.Rushmore, Devil's Tower, Deadwood, the Badlands, and more. I was looking for the long distance adventures even more now. Taking advantage of being a Harly owner, I looked into the Fly & Ride program. It looked like the perfect way to see more of this great country so in 2000 I booked a Fly & Ride with Las Vegas HD. I'd heard about the Laughlin River Run and wanted to check it out. This rally has become one of my favorites and now Faith and I go there as often as we can.  

From Laughlin it's about an hour and a half to Lake Havasu City, AZ. This is the home of the London Bridge. (yep, the real London Bridge) Well, I fell in love with the place and decided that someday I'd live there. The River Run became part of my yearly rides. In 2003 I had a trip planned to go house shopping in Havasu. This trip was different though. I had since gotten a newer HD Ultra Classic. I shipped it to Las Vegas HD and then I flew out. Spent a week riding around Arizona with some time in Havasu, then a ride across the country back home. As much as I like riding with friends and now with Faith, sometimes a ride like that needs to be done alone. I was on my own schedule. No one else's bladder to be concerned with. Rode when I wanted. Stopped when I wanted. Ate what I wanted. On the way I stopped at as many HD dealerships as I could find. It's great to see a friendly face and talk about your trip to someone who shares your enthusiasm. I also started collecting dealer items like dip dots, shot glasses, bumper stickers, etc. When I got home, Faith was waiting.