Itinerary!!

Getting itchy to hit the road - hoping the weather will give us a break. We're going on three weeks of almost constant rain, either morning or afternoon...or both. We've already gotten 3X the normal rainfall for the whole month of August and we're only halfway through. Flooding, dams failing, etc. My basement is still dry, which is a wonder to me as I'm in a real low spot (the town wells are actually UP the street from me). I guess it was a good day for foundations when they poured mine. I suppose if I had to find a positive note it would be that my lawn looks good. 'Course, it also means I gotta mow it all the frikkin' time.

K. 'Nuff bitching. Vaca is around the next bend and it's almost in sight.

I dropped the bike off at the dealership this morning to have them do the safety recall repair (fuel pump housing) and also take a look at the leaking primary. Turns out that I got the LAST replacement fuel filter housing available at this time (the Factory only sent them nine. NINE! Oy...). The service manager looked at the primary and said it was an inner primary leak, and that they would not be able to get that fixed and still get me the bike back today. *Sigh* So I said just fix the fuel filter housing and I'll catch up with them when I get back (and I'll keep a stock of primary fluid with me on the trip...) But anyway, I should have the bike back in my possession this afternoon and then it's home to pack.

Here’s our itinerary!!

Thursday, 8/14; We depart around 10am tomorrow morning, and our first night’s destination is a place recommended by Michigan Paul; Moose Winooski’s, up in Brantford Ontario. "Is that a hotel?" you might ask? Hell no, it's a bar! We're hitting the bar, first, and then we'll worry about accommodations, later. (Ok, Paul says there's a hotel right across the street from the bar.)

Friday, 8/15; From there, we continue on to Michigan on Friday morning, where we’re meeting up with Paul for a beer (or three) and some lunch, then off to his and Bettina's abode. We’re joining them and their crew (The Michigan Crew!) for a weekend of canoeing and camping on a river. Should be a blast!

Monday, 8/18; Monday morning, Zig and I are scooping up whatever brain cells are left from the weekend, and heading off to South Dakota.

Tuesday, 8/19 - Friday, 8/22; Checking out South Dakota, Montana & Wyoming. Badlands, Devil's Tower, Crazy Horse Memorial, Mt. Rushmore, etc. Miles and miles of riding!

Saturday, 8/23; Depart Badlands and point our tires towards Nelligh, Nebraska.

Sunday, 8/24; Depart Nebraska and arrive in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

Monday, 8/25; Depart Iowa and arrive in Plymouth, Indiana.

Tuesday, 8/26; Depart Indiana and arrive in Hopedale, Ohio, to check out a biker memorial. (I’m going to see about having two or three names added to the memorial while I’m there.)

Wednesday, 8/27; The day we meet up with the NY Crew! We’ll meet up with them in Jamestown, NY, roll back to Olean with them and make the rounds, saying our hello’s and catching up with long-time friends.

Thursday, 8/28; I believe that we’re rolling out of Olean on this day and taking our time winding along a different route than usual. I think we’re going to follow the route the NY crew usually takes on their return path, but I’m not certain. At this point of the trip, Zig and I will be more than happy to let someone else take the reigns. We’ll just fall in behind and enjoy their camaraderie. I believe we’ll find some place to crash somewhere in eastern NY or maybe VT

Friday, 8/29; Friday we’ll continue our jaunt, finally meeting up with Joe and Kathy to party at their palace in NH.

Saturday, 8/30; This morning finds us on the final leg towards our Labor Day destination; Maine!, where we’ll party the hours away with more long-time friends over the course of the holiday weekend.

Monday, 9/1; *Sigh* and then it’ll be back to reality. Monday will find us saying our goodbyes and then taking the long, boring ride home to Mass.

And then work on Tuesday. That day is going to suck…

But that day is almost three weeks away! So I’m not going to worry about it now!!!

Bring on the vaca!!!

(We’re gonna) Ride Hard, Take Chances!!