Well, it has been a few weeks since I posted. Mostly because we have been busy with work, grandkids, church, and other stuff....plus, things weren't moving very fast as far as our PTSD trip. I had a "work trip" down to Florida......
- quickly followed by a trip to Georgia - to visit our daughter and 2 of our g-kids (the other 2 live here in Springfield). Just a lot of other things going on..... anyrate, here is the current status...
1. I have put a total of about 900 miles on the new bike - most of it WITHOUT Jeanette on the back. One thing about riding a motorcycle - it is not "cumulative" - meaning that if you get off the bike for a few months - or don't ride for awhile - you tend to "lose" the muscle memory and you don't retain all of the skills that you developed. It is not like you are a total spaz once you get off the bike, but you do need to remember that you must work on keeping your skill level at a high level.....so it is not a good thing that I am not riding a bunch with Jeanette - as the bike rides very differently with her on the back. So we will keep looking for small trips we can make until we leave next week. Also, I did take the bike in for the 700 mile "checkup" - after a little adjustment of the clutch and the throttle bodies (fuel-injected) - things are "a go."
2. I had a friend help me put on the new shocks - they are made to lower the bike by about an inch and a half. We installed them and the bike is MUCH easier to control. The local bike shop wanted $150 to replace them - and we did it in about an hour....and that is probably only going to cost me a six pack of something cold for my buddy. The shocks are manually adjustable - and right now, they are a little "firm" - they have 5 settings - and I put it on "4" - which is really firm. So Jeanette and I went on a bike ride Friday - (Wright Patterson has an annual "Motorcycle Safety Day" - where the base has briefings and vendors come out to the Air Force Museum (military riders required to attend and civilians "highly encouraged" to attend) and the safety experts and local riding groups spend the entire day talking to the Airmen and civilians about driving your motorcycle safely.
- so before the actual Safety Day Meeting - we went over and had breakfast at one of those "healthy" breakfast places (I hate those "healthy places".....where is the sausage gravy??? what do you mean "turkey or tofu?"....and the hot chocolate is "carob"). Sheesh, what a bunch of hippies.
Anyrate, we went to the event and it was one of the best things a motorcyclist in the Dayton area can do for free. There were about 400 bikes there. There were also some very good exhibits. Jeanette wound up buying a pair of sunglasses - and we got a free lunch after all of the briefings were over.....and here I thought there was no such thing as a free lunch...
The new shocks were a little rough as we hit a couple of bumps that kind of reset our spines - so I will adjust them this weekend. But it was nice to go for a ride with Jeanette on the back. We haven't had enough drives because of our busy schedules.
3. I just put on the "trunk rack" on the trunk of the bike. So now we can put a small duffel bag on there and expand our "storage" by a cubic foot or so. The rear trunk has a really limited weight limit - so we will probably put something light in the duffel bag - or just our jackets on the rack - but it does give us a little more space - and when you are gone for 33 days - you need all the space you can get.
4. A week or two ago, I purchased a small tire repair kit (Stop and Go Tire Repair kit). It has a tire puncture repair kit and a small air compressor - that we will carry with us on our trip. I didn't think it would come in handy, but we met a friend Friday at the "safety day" - and sure enough, there was a nail in her tire. It was in there good enough that she could drive it to a tire place - but it made an obvious point to us that you can pick up a nail - or screw or some debris - that will bring you and your bike to a standstill with a flat tire. So better to be prepared.
5. I took my Concealed Carry class - which includes basic handgun safety - it was a great class and very interesting. I had to rent a gun from the gun range - as I still hadn't bought a pistol. I rented a Glock 17 - which was MUCH nicer than the "standard-issue Beretta" that I carried while I was in Iraq. So I mentioned to a friend of mine (who is a cop) that I wanted to buy a handgun - and he had a couple of Glock 19s - one used and one brand new - which I bought from him. Both are really nice guns - but I will "carry" the used one on our trip. As with any type of "insurance" - I hope that it will not be necessary to use it on this trip. And that is the great thing about the basic handgun safety class (which eventually, I want all of our family to take - so even if they don't like guns - they know how to safely handle one in case they come across one....) is that it doesn't emphasize shooting people or blasting someone out of the water if they disagree with you - it teaches that the gun is a dangerous weapon and your best "defense" is to leave a scary place or situation first - and ONLY use the gun as a last. last. last. resort.
6. Finally (and most important)....Jeanette got her "short-hair" hair cut. THIS IS IMPORTANT - as she doesn't want to go all that time with "helmet hair." Actually, I am a big proponent of short hair - as I have worn my very short since 2004 (I shaved my head when I was in Afghanistan - and I liked it so much, I just kept it that way)....but Jeanette discussed with her stylist (and good friend) about the trip - and being gone for such a long time - and the effect on your hair of riding approx 6-8 hours a day with a helmet on your head. But I have always liked her with short hair anyway - and I think this is one of the ways that she is "mentally preparing" for the trip.
So we are a little over a week away - and it is starting to hit us that we need to start thinking about packing the bike, choosing what is important to take (and what we can live without). For me, my work has been very kind about letting me take this "wind-down" trip - after the time in Iraq. I am looking forward to just NOT WORKING for the next six weeks....and just "going down that long, lonesome highway"..... just me and my girl.
We will definitely start posting nightly once we start the trip. With a little luck, I will get one more post out before we start the trip.
Wade and Jeanette
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| The view from my chair - in Mexico City Beach, Florida Yep....this is tough work... |
- quickly followed by a trip to Georgia - to visit our daughter and 2 of our g-kids (the other 2 live here in Springfield). Just a lot of other things going on..... anyrate, here is the current status...
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| From left to right - Shelby, Tiffany and Sam We are very proud of our daughter and Georgia G-kids |
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| At the National Museum of the Air Force Motorcycle Safety Day - 2012 Also - note the newly installed "trunk rack" on the top of the trunk |
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| having a "hippie breakfast" - fruit, egg whites, turkey... WHERES THE BEEF and THE PORK??? |
The new shocks were a little rough as we hit a couple of bumps that kind of reset our spines - so I will adjust them this weekend. But it was nice to go for a ride with Jeanette on the back. We haven't had enough drives because of our busy schedules.
3. I just put on the "trunk rack" on the trunk of the bike. So now we can put a small duffel bag on there and expand our "storage" by a cubic foot or so. The rear trunk has a really limited weight limit - so we will probably put something light in the duffel bag - or just our jackets on the rack - but it does give us a little more space - and when you are gone for 33 days - you need all the space you can get.
4. A week or two ago, I purchased a small tire repair kit (Stop and Go Tire Repair kit). It has a tire puncture repair kit and a small air compressor - that we will carry with us on our trip. I didn't think it would come in handy, but we met a friend Friday at the "safety day" - and sure enough, there was a nail in her tire. It was in there good enough that she could drive it to a tire place - but it made an obvious point to us that you can pick up a nail - or screw or some debris - that will bring you and your bike to a standstill with a flat tire. So better to be prepared.
5. I took my Concealed Carry class - which includes basic handgun safety - it was a great class and very interesting. I had to rent a gun from the gun range - as I still hadn't bought a pistol. I rented a Glock 17 - which was MUCH nicer than the "standard-issue Beretta" that I carried while I was in Iraq. So I mentioned to a friend of mine (who is a cop) that I wanted to buy a handgun - and he had a couple of Glock 19s - one used and one brand new - which I bought from him. Both are really nice guns - but I will "carry" the used one on our trip. As with any type of "insurance" - I hope that it will not be necessary to use it on this trip. And that is the great thing about the basic handgun safety class (which eventually, I want all of our family to take - so even if they don't like guns - they know how to safely handle one in case they come across one....) is that it doesn't emphasize shooting people or blasting someone out of the water if they disagree with you - it teaches that the gun is a dangerous weapon and your best "defense" is to leave a scary place or situation first - and ONLY use the gun as a last. last. last. resort.
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| This is not a toy....or a way to win an argument. |
6. Finally (and most important)....Jeanette got her "short-hair" hair cut. THIS IS IMPORTANT - as she doesn't want to go all that time with "helmet hair." Actually, I am a big proponent of short hair - as I have worn my very short since 2004 (I shaved my head when I was in Afghanistan - and I liked it so much, I just kept it that way)....but Jeanette discussed with her stylist (and good friend) about the trip - and being gone for such a long time - and the effect on your hair of riding approx 6-8 hours a day with a helmet on your head. But I have always liked her with short hair anyway - and I think this is one of the ways that she is "mentally preparing" for the trip.
So we are a little over a week away - and it is starting to hit us that we need to start thinking about packing the bike, choosing what is important to take (and what we can live without). For me, my work has been very kind about letting me take this "wind-down" trip - after the time in Iraq. I am looking forward to just NOT WORKING for the next six weeks....and just "going down that long, lonesome highway"..... just me and my girl.
We will definitely start posting nightly once we start the trip. With a little luck, I will get one more post out before we start the trip.
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