One corner down three more to go.

We rolled into the Keys at about noon EST today.  It was a nice day with a few short showers that cooled us off.  We spent the afternoon roaming around the island seeing all Key West has to offer.  Our first stop was of course lunch!  When on an island, one must eat seafood.  When in Key West, one must eat Key Lime Pie!  After a satisfying meal we walked by Ernest Hemingway's house, the Pan American World Airways first office, and The Little White House.  Apparently, Harry Truman spent more time here in Key West during his presidency than any other president.  I probably would too! 

One of the rules of the SCMA Four Corners Challenge is that you must get a picture of your bike at an official site in the city (landmark, police station, post office, etc.).  We first wanted to get a picture of our bikes at the Southernmost Point monument.  However, the monument is on a sidewalk and was swarmed with people.  We thought it best not to disturb the natural order of things by riding into the crowd.  Our second spot was the post office.  The sign for the post office also is on a sidewalk, however people don't tend to swarm the post office sign.  We got a few nice shots and mailed off our paper work.

When we checked into our hotel this afternoon, Burgma and I were asked where we were coming from.  We explained our trip and our intention to help New Orleans to the concierge.  Immediately, he went off on a rant about how important it is to help New Orleans.  Having been a bartender there for numerous Mardi Gras celebrations, he has seen NOLA before and after.   He also told us he helped create the famous Hand Grenade drink at Tropical Isle bar on Bourbon Street!  

I was rejuvenated by his passion not to mention the ride into the Keys.  Riding in over miles and miles of bridges reminded me of the drive from Baton Rouge, LA to New Orleans.  The humid ocean wind and the ocean horizon on both sides brought back into focus one of the reasons we are doing this trip-to Make It Right.  We are trying to spread the word that New Orleans still needs help.  The Make It Right Project is headed up by Brad Pitt and Global Green to try to rebuild New Orleans.  The project is to build better houses for both the 9th ward and the environment.  The energy efficient houses not only are good for the environment but they are more cost effective for the residents.  This trip is our way of trying to bring New Orleans back into the minds of the American citizens.  You can help us by spreading the word about our trip, The Make It Right Project, and/or making a financial donation to our Team House The Long Road Home (http://www.makeitrightnola.org/mir_SUB.php?section=donations&page=team&range=4). 

Thank You to all of you who have already helped us to Make It Right!

--Czookie

Miami Heat

We made a good start from Cordele,Georgia and ended just south of Miami. Effective mileage 540, just 40 shy of our longest projected day on the four corners.
The morining was mostly clear with some periods of overcast but no rain. Scattered showers in the afternoon were just enough to cool everyone off without leaving any moisture in clothes or baggage.
The scary incidents today were a ladder in the HOV lane and a frightened black dog in the middle lane. The dog survived unhurt, but the ladder did not. The second car ahead of Burgma hit the ladder and blew out both front tires. No one was hurt.
I am taking a picture of every gas station we patronize. I forgot at the first stop today, but fortunately Burgma snapped a shot of Czookie with her purple earplugs on location. I am planning a fascinating slide show of +/- 90 gas stations from Florida to Maine to southern California to Washington state and points in between. Isthisagreatcountryorwhat!

Staring off in the rain

After a wonderful send off breakfast with family and friends, Burgma, Beamerpop and I headed out!  The first part of the ride was great.  The weather was perfect and I was reminded of how beautiful Tennessee is riding up Mont Eagle.   Things got a little ugly as we entered Atlanta.  We hit some NASTY rain and had to pull off the road a few times, but would eventually catch back up to the storm.  We made it to about 90 miles north of Valdosta, GA.

Despite the rain it was a great first day and I started to get really excited about the rest of the trip.  I also got to use my new toy the CrampBuster.  A CrampBuster is considered a type of "cruise control" for motorcycles.  It's a piece of plastic that hooks on to your throttle and extends outward allowing you to control the throttle with the palm of your hand.  So far it's been nice but it does tend to slowly slip downward.  I find that I have to readjust it frequently.  This might be because I bought the wrong size (who knew there were different sizes!).  Although after the rain it seemed to work a little better.

My favorite moment of the day happened before the rain.  I had been having quite a wind problem.   Yes, yes, I realize that I'm riding a motorcycle and wind is inevitable.  However, for some reason the wind tends to blow my mesh jacket and vest up under my armpits and around my neck.  It's really annoying, not to mention uncomfortable.  I came up with the great idea of tucking my jacket and vest into my pants.  In order to do this and have the jacket/vest securely tucked in, the waist of my pants ends up nearly at the bottom of my ribs!  Needless to say it looks ridiculous.  Anyway, I explain my ingenious plan to Burgma at one of our gas station stops.  So as I am trying to simultaneously shove my padded mesh jacket down and pull my pants up, two men riding Harley's wearing jeans, sleeveless shirts, and half helmets (skull caps) roll into the gas station.  As if it wasn't bad enough that our bright green vests make us look completely uncool next to some Harley riders, I'm now trying to shove my vest as far down my pants as the will go!  Burgma noticing the situation leans over to me and says "We are obviously the NERD patrol."  As we both start to laugh we end up bonking our helmets/heads together to top if off.  Revenge of the Nerds on Motorcycles.

On the Way

Thank you to the siblings, inlaws and friends for a warm breakfast send off this morning. Day one of the prologue is drawing to a close. The morning was clear and sunny. Our last stop in Tennessee for about a month was lake Nickajack. South of Atlanta we stopped for a late lunch. Dark clouds were rolling in and we covered the bikes. Within 10 minutes it poured. Lots of wind and lightning. We waited until it was clear, gassed up and headed south. The rest of the day was filled with rain delays as we kept riding right back into the storm. Nevertheless we made it to Cordele, GA, before retiring for the night. Daily effective mileage = 390. Tomorrow's objective is Miami.

The logo!

Thanks to Bugrma's creativity we have our own logo! Burgma was able to put the logo on our vests and make us our own "business cards" for us to hand out along the way. There is even talk of adding the logo as body art after we complete the challenge!

Last night the three of us sat down and went over the gear that we need to take. We pretty much decided that except for the tools, we would all carry our own gear. There had been discussions of having one bag that has all the camping equipment in it, but we decided that everyone is going to carry their own camping equipment.

I strapped on my saddlebags today and rode around. I like them. They are big but not TOO big for the size of the bike. They also have a waterproof/dust proof liner which I think will come in handy. I tried to use the map holder that Burgma had purchased today as well but was displeased. There really isn't a good way to get it tight enough on the handlebars to keep it from blowing around. My plan is to just have a note card with the days route written down.

It's getting close

So we are getting closer ad closer till we leave. Ever since we started talking about doing this trip I have been really excited. Now that it's getting closer, I'm starting to get a little more anxious than excited. There are always those "what if" thoughts that can take over your excitement and send you into an anxious downward spiral. Reading the blog from our last trip has helped pull me out of the anxious mode and more into the excitement mode. Also getting BB (my V-Strom... or WEEE-Strom as some call it) back from the shop today and riding her around, got me pumped about the trip. The only thing to do now is start packing!

I have purchased new boots and gloves for the trip. My boots are actual riding boots (instead of my hiking boots I was riding in) made by SIDI. I was lucky to find a pair in my size and on sale! The gloves are also actual riding gloves (instead of the baseball batting gloves I was riding in) made by Olympia. I haven't tried out the boots yet, but the gloves are great. They are well ventilated AND offer more protection than my previous gloves. And of course you can't take any trip without Dr. Bronner's soap. That's right folks "Dr. Bronner's Magic All-One!" soap is unlike any other. You can do everything from wash your bike, wash your body, brush your teeth, and do your laundry with it. I found it super helpful on our last trip so I have re-stocked my supply for this one. I also found that the peppermint flavor/scent is the best one to use, especially if you are planning to use it for brushing your teeth. The lavender, eucalyptus, and baby flavors/scents aren't so appetizing.

Smoky Mountain Shakedown

Last weekend I had meeting in Gatlinburg and came back through the Smokey Mountains National Park. The scene above is from Cade's Cove. I tried the case liners and practiced on the gentle twisties in the park. My Dad lives nearby and I spent a couple nights and Fathers Day with him. The surprising thing is that although I only rode 2-4 hours per day, my shoulders were sore when I arrived home. In two weeks it will be 8-10 hours per day. I asked CZookie to recommend some exercises/stretches to get ready. I hope there is enough time to prepare. She also suggested some massage techniques. Tomorrow I will make an appointment to have my bike serviced and add auxiliary lights.

We are counting down now.

Bikes to the shop

The V-Strom (BB) and the Burgman are in the shop getting checked out. The Burgman is getting a 16,000 mile check-up!! When we pick the the bikes up next week they should have new tires, new oil and fluids, possibly new brakes as well all nuts and bolts tightened. BB will also have a new endcap on the right handlebar. Czookie is looking for a shorter sidestand to replace the current one which is not stable since BB was lowered. (That's the reason for the new endcap!) She may end up taking the old one off to have it cut and welded back together.

It will be nice to get the bikes home so we can try out the packing arrangements. BB will be sporting new pannier bags and I am eager to find out if they will mount easily or if we need additional support brackets, and also how much they will hold. I also splurged on some Hippo Hands for both Czookie and myself (oh yeah --we like to be warm!!!); I would like to see how they fit over the handlebars. Okay, okay ....I did buy some other things as well. I have new map cases that fit over the forearm (and I also bought handlebar ones for Czookie and me) that I haven't installed yet so I would like to find out how they will work.  The Foream case is long on my arm (extends beyond my elbow) so I don't know if it will work for me. The handlebar case will need special lock straps to go around the Burgman handlebars. There is still alot to figure out! I did put the new Magellan GPS into the handlebar map case and that will work just fine. I do think that being able to hear the GPS would be very helpful but I don't know how to make that happen. This particular model does not have a headset option. It does have all the AAA information which is why we are excited about it. It will save us from carrying all 16 of the relevant tour books. I do think I will carry the maps - I am just a paper kind of person when it gets down to it!! Trust me, it easier for all of us to pour over the map during the GIVI meetings and in the hotel room than all trying to see the GPS.  And a map gives you the bigger picture.

And I think Czookie has started looking for some boots - something that will be comfortable yet still be waterproof and warm when needed.  That should complete the gear buying!!!  We will lay it all out next weekend and see whether we need a support van!!!!