Can You DO That?

"I'm going on a motorcycle trip, for a week and a half. I'll probably cover between 3,000 and 3,500 miles in about 6 days on the bike"

"Where are you going?"

"Columbus, Ohio (for a wedding), then down to Tennessee to see my mom."

"What bike are you going to ride?"

"The Scrambler."

"Can you DO that?!"

You certainly can, and I did, last month. I had that same conversation with a number of people, all of whom were pretty certain that you have to have a big touring bike to actually travel any serious mileage on a motorbike.

I was gone for nine days, six of which were riding days, during which I traveled just over 3240 miles. The shortest day was about 285 miles, and the longest was a bit over 700. The bike ran like a champ, with no mechanical issues at all, and delivered between 43 and 56 mpg.

The main focus of the trip was the wedding of Hadley and Jim. I babysat Hadley pretty regularly when she was an actual baby.Valerie and I moved away when Hadley was about 2-1/2 years old. In the meantime, she grew up to be a beautiful young woman...

...and I grew up to be Hellboy.

The day after the wedding, I headed 500 miles south to see my mom (and my sister, who came down from Pennsylvania). 

Joy and I stayed in a cabin at Pickwick State park. It was pretty huge for two people, and quite comfortable.

One morning, we had a guest for morning coffee time. The cicadas were singing, the whole time I was there, and this fellow decided to hang out on the porch with us, rather than join in with the chorus.

On the way home, I stopped at Donelson Cycles, in St. Louis, to get a new rear tire. I had figured that I would need to do that, when I left Denver. But, I really didn't mind.

Donelson Cycles has a motorcycle museum inside their shop. I'd been there twice, in the past 10 years, and this third trip was no disappointment. There is so much stuff in a small area that it is hard to see it all in one trip through.

My homemade rear rack, which plugs into the backrest mount of the Corbin seat, held up fine and allowed me to carry my big bag, with a suit rolled up and stowed in a plastic storage tub, plus a cigar box guitar. The saddlebag held my toolkit (used once, to adjust the chain tension) and my rain gear (unused, since I never saw a drop of rain on the entire trip).

It was a great trip, and I can't wait to get on the road again. 

So, that's the bare bones description of the overall trip. More details, later...



x