Coast to coast in 48 1/2 hours

[Brodie]

Glad you decided to take that journey years ago too, and then write such a compelling ride report. It helped inspire me to do same last September, and meet a lot of really nice people at EOM. I appreciated the time we spent together too.

Brodie

 

[SkooterG]

Good stuff! We are all getting a bit older Gary......

 

[garyahouse]

Skooter and Brodie:

Ha: two of my favorite people on this forum. Good to hear from you fellas again. FWIW, I certainly miss you both, and wish we didn't live so far away. But that's life I guess. I've not been riding the FJR much lately, been busy with helping people around here. Next week I'm heading about 85 miles away to my cousin Kim's house to begin a 3 week remodel on her bathroom. No time for the FJR again... Poor thing just sits out there waiting to be ridden. Happy to say that even though it sits a lot, it fires right up and runs just great each time I DO manage to get time to ride it. But once the remodel is done, maybe I can schedule in a journey somewhere in the next couple months. We'll see.

Gary

Edit: Ha, just noticed that this latest resurrection of this old thread enabled it to cross the 200 reply threshold. Another one for the record books.

 

[BkerChuck]

Gary, it was great to get some time to really meet up and talk at EOM last year in Maggie Valley. Glad to see you're doing well and hope this continues for you. I remember this thread from way back in the day. Great read about a great ride. Maybe someday I'll try it. For now I'm content with doing what I can, when I can.

 

[garyahouse]

Chuck.

I really enjoyed gabbing with you at EOM. It was great to get away and do some riding. Also happy that I managed to win a battery tender at our annual dinner and raffle. We raised a good amount of money for a great cause that night, and my battery stays charged up as well. Hope to see you again one day.

 

[Grateful_Guy]

One of the best RRs I’ve had the pleasure to read.
Despite it being nearly a decade old, it was fresh, exciting, and inspiring.
An exceptional combination of perseverance, fun, determination, friends and faith.
Although I don’t own an FJR yet, i can relate to the cross-country riding experience in a small way, as I completed ‘Run For The Wall’ in May (on a friend’s Honda VTX 1800) and my goal is to do it again in 2023.
That ride was 2,600 miles in 10 days, so nothing like your 50 hours, but it was still demanding in a different sort of way. I’ll post about it again in the future.
Anyway, I wanted to send you my thanks for the story that you shared, and the inspiration that it was to me.
I also send my prayers for your health and my blessings over you and your loved ones.

 

[garyahouse]

Welcome to the forum, Grateful Guy. You're going to love it: lotsa great guys here.

Wow, just checked in here to see if there were any other responses to this thread. Surprise surprise. My how times have changed. Because I struggled so much with being comfortable when I ride, I sold the FJR. My Leukemia seems to be stagnant which is a good thing. If my doctor was right, it may be another 10 years before It becomes serious. Time will tell. I'm still kicking though I'm not on this forum much. Good news is that my good friend Mark bought my FJR, and rides it often. It found a good home with a close friend, and I get to see it now and then. I now ride a 2018 Gold Wing and it fits me better. I find long days in the saddle aren't nearly as difficult as they were on the FJR. Comparison? FJR was SERIOUSLY both cheaper to buy and to maintain. However, it's hard to put a price on being able to continue to ride. I reached a point where the FJR just wasn't working. Every trip over an hour left me with a stiff neck: the riding position just wasn't comfortable for me. Riding should be a joy, not an endurance contest.

I just completed a 6k ride this summer on the Honda and what a blast it was.
I almost got to meet three people along the way:
--a cement truck driver who really wanted to be in my lane in Johnson City, Tenn,
--a confused driver who didn't know what lane he wanted to be in... in downtown Chicago one rainy night in July,
--and a local driver who hit his brakes to make a turn in front of me just as I was looking off to my left: only took a couple seconds: my fault. However, I didn't actually meet any of these drivers thanks to the fact that the Lord was once again looking after me and as the old saying goes, it just wasn't my time. Seems like I'm having close calls all too often, but I've never hit another vehicle on a motorcycle, thank God. So now I'm over on another forum, the GL1800 riders forum, and going by my same handle, garyahouse. I've been posting up a storm over there. Just happy to still be riding, and hey, even enjoyed reading this entire thread again just now. Forgot just how many amazing things happened to me on that 50cc ride just over 9 years ago now. And at 67, happy to still be able to ride.

 

[Rocnsanman]

Gary,
Glad you are still with us and still riding. Yup, the 22 GW is a beautiful bike, sporty and comfortable. I enjoyed your 50cc story, you've got the gift. Take care and check in often.

 

[Grateful_Guy]

Gary, thanks for the reply and the kind words.
Glad to hear you’re still on the road, and that the good Lord is still keeping you safe.
The new (2018 and up) Gold Wings are beautiful and I think that a compelling argument could be made that they are also sport-touring bikes, though certainly more luxurious than sporting.
Their reputation keeps many people from riding them, but they’re more capable in the twisties than most folks expect.
Glad you’re still riding and that the leukemia is at bay for now.
Thanks again for an awesome story, and all the best!

 

[garyahouse]

Gary, thanks for the reply and the kind words.
Glad to hear you’re still on the road, and that the good Lord is still keeping you safe.
The new (2018 and up) Gold Wings are beautiful and I think that a compelling argument could be made that they are also sport-touring bikes, though certainly more luxurious than sporting.
Their reputation keeps many people from riding them, but they’re more capable in the twisties than most folks expect.
Glad you’re still riding and that the leukemia is at bay for now.
Thanks again for an awesome story, and all the best!

Indeed. I'll never do an IBA ride again, those days are gone: but I'm glad I did this one. You're right about the Gold Wing. The new ones are an entirely different animal than anything that came before. They're not for everybody, but being able to ride comfortably trumps everything else I want in a bike. We're not all built the same: for me, the FJR just doesn't work. I loved my old FJR when I was younger. But now, I can only ride it comfortably for short distances. This old body LOVES its 2018 Goldwing DCT tour. The seating position is significantly different than my FJR was, and for me it's just perfect. And as long as I can stay healthy enough to ride, I hope to continue doing just that. There's a lot that I miss about my FJR. It was a great machine. But there was no use lying to myself, this old body needed a change.

Feeling thankful that behind a smoke-screen of "safety first," the government didn't make bikes illegal too.

 

[Grateful_Guy]

Grateful that you’re still able to enjoy riding, it’s a thrill and a blessing.
All the best,
-Glenn