escapefjrtist
Searching for Dry Roads
Very nice RR and pics RfH, thanks for taking us along!
--G
--G
+1Very nice RR and pics RfH, thanks for taking us along!
--G
I have a suggestion: Next year, you and your dad should go alone. Your riding styles are close and your bikes are reliable. That alone would have reduced the stress. Th end follow 007's advice and back it down a hair.
Nice report!!
I've said the same thing myself after a particularly miserable trip, but then time passes, the bad parts fade away, I remember the good parts, and the itch hits again...I don't know what to think.
So... This might really be, The End.
Perfect! As others have said, time softens the memories and the best ones will rise to the top and stay there.. it sounds like you and your dad are great travel partners but the addition of two other personalities may have tipped the equilibrium of that partnership... not to say you couldn't go with the other two sometime and still have a good time. Do the things you want with the people you enjoy most... life is too short to do it any other way. B)I have suggested to him to consider a two week trip, just the two of us, at his pace, to the destination of his choosing. I can only hope that he takes me up on it.
I have thought of a whole bunch of different scenarios for changing things and improving the enjoyment level for next year, or next trip, or next whenever.
Cousin GoldWing has made it clear to me that he loves the way I lay the trip out. He figures that if I am in a hurry and I am pushing, I have a good reason. He knows that I will spend time on the important things and that if I pull over somewhere there is probably something worth seeing there. Where this breaks down is when we just stop to rest a minute and he is exploring the area looking for whatever might be "The Reason" we stopped in that particular place. That is probably because I don't communicate all my secrets to the group. His only real complaint? "I ain't never rding across Texas again. Never."
Cousin Harley feels like we are missing out on all that an area has to offer because we don't stop and read every single Point of Interest sign and every single Historical Marker sign. I cannot disagree with him but...
Pop says we don't have time to stop every 15 minutes and he does not want to. Pop says that the most important historical points of an area should (and are) already known and researched by the Tour Guide (me!) ahead of time. Pop thinks that if we need to know about something to improve our trip I will already have that info and will share it at the proper time. Pop wants to ride and see. Pop does not want to "Waste Time". He wants to See Things. I guess he knows there is a finite limit on the years he will have left to ride all over the country on a Sport Tourer.
As for myself, I fear that most of our issues began and ended with me. I love knowing ahead of time what to look for, I love knowing ahead of time what Needs to be Seen. Perhaps I am a control freak that must have the reigns in his hands the whole time.
Either way, I have ordered some repair and some replacement parts for Pop's FJR. He will make another trip if I have to OD him on Geritol and strap him onto his FJR.
Carver, the idea is a great one and I sometimes consider just taking off for my own enjoyment. However, I usually restrict that to rides of just a few hours or so.So then, RFH, since you asked me...
Take at least one trip solo. Just you. Find your center, observe (as you do so very well) your thoughts, emotions... the happy factor.
Compare and contrast solo and group experiences.
Be sure to tell us what you discover.
We considered the Comm Systems for all of us. The Deciding Factor! was that the HD and the 'Wing both have LOUD stereos and they stay playing the whole time. We all know that if we had all been equipped with comm systems my cousin would not have wrecked two years ago like he did. Of course, just paying attention...Pop sounds a lot like me. I like to keep moving and look around as I go. I carry a camera or two, but I very rarely actually stop and take a picture. There have been times that I regretted having blown past some place of interest, but not often, and sometimes I'm back in that area on another trip and still don't stop.
And I don't see how you can believe that the problems began and ended with you. There were four people riding and each has responsibility for the issues. You rightly concerned yourself with the senior member of the ride and you can not be responsible for the other adults.
I have one suggestion. Since you and your Pop had a communication system and used it to your advantage, I suggest that if you ride with your cousins again they get a compatible unit so you can all communicate. But keep them on separate channels so that Pop can't hear the other riders comments as you ride.
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