Roadrunner Roadrunner runs down the road all day..

[Bungie]

The next time (if) you decide to visit "The Land of Fried Pies and The Most Awesome Motorcycle Museum in the World" you know you have a place to lay your head.

It was a pleasure meeting you and I appreciate the opportunity to have been able to personally share a small bit of the journey with you.

Believe me, the pleasure was all mine. It really is unbelievable how many genuinely fine people are here on the Forum. I'll capitulate the offer as well, should you or MFletch need a place to conk for a while and your in and around Sudbury. My door is always open.

As for returning to Alabama that really is highly likely. Beautiful scenery and waitres... er people. I really got a sense of the pace down there and suits me just fine. Besides, I understand that Barbers rotates their displays often. I'll have to go back just to see what sort of treasures they had hidden away on my first visit.

 

[RaYzerman19]

Oddly I felt I was riding with both my mom and my dad the entire time.

Great summmary, Bungie, so which one was Mom and which one was Dad?

 

[fjrob1300]

Oddly I felt I was riding with both my mom and my dad the entire time.

Great summmary, Bungie, so which one was Mom and which one was Dad?

LOL I'm glad I wasn't drinking milk when I read that!

 

[yamafitter]

A truly great ride report. It was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to ride with you at the CFR, WCR & NAFO this year even with your rotten sense of direction. Having put some time in the saddle myself this year I feel I know something of the reflection on life that one goes through. IMHO there is no better place than on a bike to put everything into perspective.

 

[canucklehead-biker]

A truly great ride report. It was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to ride with you at the CFR, WCR & NAFO this year even with your rotten sense of direction. Having put some time in the saddle myself this year I feel I know something of the reflection on life that one goes through. IMHO there is no better place than on a bike to put everything into perspective.

Amen.

Griff

 

[Tyler]

As you travel the highway and meet the locals you always get the feeling they want to go with you, be with you. I loved the look on the faces of folks when after asking "Where Y'all coming from/ going to?" And we would spill out our destinations and time on the road for them to digest.

That pretty much sums up a great part of what, for me, riding is about... the adventure, the road less traveled, the people along the way... and they almost always enjoy the paths crossed as well... just makes you smile on the inside, y'know?

As I travel along the road, alone in my thoughts, I marvel at how much of my thoughts are about my family. I've not always done the right thing but I've always done what's best for them. yes I think overall they are happy. As happy as I feel I am.

None of us is perfect and we all do the best we can... sounds like you've done a fine job, Rob, on many different levels... even though you hang out with some strange people! B)

 

[Bungie]

As you fine peeps know, I (we) only posted up select pics during our travels. With over a 1000 pics taken it took some time to go through them all. In fact, I still need to get down to Robs to get the rest of the pics (I only had about half of his).

With that being said, I present to you the Slideshow from Hell!

Open up your favourite beverage, put your feet up, get a pen and paper to keep notes, and kill about 20 minutes of your life.

 

[ice_station_zebra]

Great show Steve. That filled up my 'bucket list' nicely. I especially liked Bryce Canyon and the Badlands!

 

[old Pilot]

Steve, I'll add my thanks & appreciation of your ride report. Sorry we did not get to meet at NAFO.

 

[Geezer]

Nice slide show. I don't know how you keep track of which pictures are from where.

 

[Niehart]

Very cool slide show.

Funny how incent those 3 Canadian Amoebas look. Sometimes pictures are very deceiving.

 

[Fred W]

Just watched the full slide show over a (large) cup a' joe.

There is only one overused word to describe it: Awesome!!

Very nice photo work, boys!! Especially for three single celled organisms.

Where the heck do you carry the cameras?

 

[Bungie]

Nice slide show. I don't know how you keep track of which pictures are from where.

Actually a very good question Greg that I gave some thought to before the trip started. I dumped all the pics in folders by day. I knew where I was each day (usually) and for pictures I wasn't sure about, I just matched up the timestamps on the pics to my Spot Tracker. Voila! Reasonably accurate locations.

I just wish I hadn't forgot my little point 'n shoot that I keep dangling around my neck. Quite a few of the pics from the first week are from Rob's camera. He was a REAL good sport with me buggin' him to snap a pic of this or that - especially the pics from around Victoria. Right after our tour of Victoria, I ran into the Walmart from hell (Underground parking at Walmart! Have you ever seen how people drive in a normal Walmart!) and picked up another point'n shoot and a memory card for under a $100.

That worked great until I noticed crossing the desert out of the North Rim and taking, perhaps, a 100 pics, that the damn batteries had fallen out!

 

[Bungie]

18 months have passed. It doesn't seem like a lifetime ago, it seems like it was somebody elses story. Did we really do that?

I often find my mind wandering and something triggers a memory from those days on the road. Last night I got to reading a ride report with a route that was very close to ours through western states. Fortunately, the writer stopped more than we did to take some pics for the future. The airplane museum near GreyBull, Craters of the Moon Ntl Park, the painting on the wall in the Occidental Hotel, the lone tree out on the prairie that has absolutely no business being there, the smell of the ocean and desert.

Doing a trip like that changes you. If I were to speculate, it rejuvenates your soul. I don't think it's distance or the duration, it's the quality that does it. Riding season is either here for you, or rapidly approaching. Get out there. Push your boundaries, get back in touch with the real you.

 

[wheatonFJR]

18 months have passed. It doesn't seem like a lifetime ago, it seems like it was somebody elses story. Did we really do that?

I have that same feeling from long trips that I've made.

Even with all the pictorial evidence it seems unreal...glad I have what I have...otherwise it would be gone like the sands of father time.

I agree...get out and do it while you can. We each have a finite set of breaths...lets use them under the faceshield of our helmets tracing out the curves of our favorite roads...that we haven't ridden yet.

 

[BwanaDik]

:clapping: :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:

We're planning at least two epics this year (I've got 2 1/2 months PTO accumulated )

Thanks for renewing the inspiration! :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo:

 

[BikerGeek99]

Push your boundaries, get back in touch with the real you.

Word.

 

[Bungie]

18 months have passed. It doesn't seem like a lifetime ago, it seems like it was somebody elses story. Did we really do that?
I often find my mind wandering and something triggers a memory from those days on the road. Last night I got to reading a ride report with a route that was very close to ours through western states. Fortunately, the writer stopped more than we did to take some pics for the future. The airplane museum near GreyBull, Craters of the Moon Ntl Park, the painting on the wall in the Occidental Hotel, the lone tree out on the prairie that has absolutely no business being there, the smell of the ocean and desert.

Doing a trip like that changes you. If I were to speculate, it rejuvenates your soul. I don't think it's distance or the duration, it's the quality that does it. Riding season is either here for you, or rapidly approaching. Get out there. Push your boundaries, get back in touch with the real you.

Almost 8 years have passed. Many many miles have passed under my tires. These words are still true today.