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For those who weren't here
last time, allow me to add a link
to my original pages. The links will be up soon. try clicking on the bike and see what happens
If the above link worked then so should the rest. Hopefully they will all open into new windows so that
you can browse at your convenience.
My first trip started during the summer
of 2000. Many people seemed to enjoy the stories I told so I try to keep up
the tradition. Find all the emails from years past you didn't get or forgot about here,
then here.
A page or two, or three here
that I can't fit in elsewhere.
Some pictures from the first trip are found here and here.
My second trip was out East to visit my
younger brother and sister. I also wanted to make it to Florida but got side
tracked in Myrtle Beach.
Several pages here, here, and here.
The next trip was what I call the Big
Circle. I went from Chicago to San Diego, up the coast to Canada,
then East to New Hampshire for my sister's wedding. It was a long trip.
Along the way I also stopped to volunteer on the AidsRide, from Minnesota back to Chicago.
finally last year I tried to rest a bit and stayed home most of the summer. Near the end of the summer I
went to Sturgis with some friends. That story is here. With some more pictures
here.
These are some more opening pages I have used for my various trips. They will add to the story and also
repeat some links inside. 2003 Sturgis, California 2002.
Three I hope that gets everyone up to date. Come back every couple of days to keep up, or just wait
until the end for the final edit. If you would like to be added to the email list let me know I'll try to put you on it. I bought a new lap top with
WiFi so hopefully I should be able to stop at most Starbucks or something like that and get a fast internet connection. This should allow me to keep
the web page more current and cleaner. Yeah right.
Brendan
Finally, if you like to hear a good story guaranteed to have a happy ending try this
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June 13th
Summer Trip 2004
Hello again everyone.
As you know summer has started, at least for me, and it is time for my
annual trip. I spent a good 8 hours the other day fixing up my old site and
putting the pictures and stories back up that I had to take down before.
most of my old stuff is at a new site called 0catch.com That is zero (0) not
the letter o. The address is http://www.motorcyclevacation.0catch.com
of course you can find a link to that old stuff at my original address http://driver1111.tripod.com
I'll be keeping the old site on tripod current because I don't want to
change things for people who have difficultly with change.
It looks like this year I'll be trying to visit the states that I missed
along the Eastern seaboard and hopefully visiting my little brother and
sister. I also bought a new laptop and signed up for a traveling service so
I should be able to take some more time while on the road to edit and upload
stories and pictures. Hopefully, I can take the time I need to edit more
fully and keep everyone up to date more.
Keep the rubber on the road.
Brendan
http://driver1111.tripod.com
http://motorcyclevacation.0catch.com
June 19th
Finally an email from the trip
Well I finally made it. I'm in Providence Rhode Island just in time for
the gay pride fest. Not to say that everything has been easy. First I
forgot my helmet, in line for the ferry to Michigan I realized they might
have a helmet law. It turns out they do. Luckily I had time to run to the
HD store to get a brain bucket. I of course had to buy the expensive one
because they didn't have the cheap one in my style. Then I get back to the
ferry and one of the other riders in line offered me his extra helmet. Too
late fool.
The next day I met up with Canadian customs. What is it about Canada,
we've been neighbors for years, but they don't want us to visit their
country. They gave me a big hassle about coming into their country. I
don't think they wanted me to not enter the country, I think they just
wanted to annoy me because Americans are considered such arses these days.
They finally did let me into the country and I didn't stay very long. I
did stop to visit St. Brendan's Church though. Not many people even know
there was a St. Brendan. Of course I know all about him. The say he sailed
to the Americas in the ten hundreds. There is even evidence of Irish
writing found in West Virginia from about that time.
Anyway I decided to leave Canada a bit early and ride through New York,
Vermont, and New Hampshire, where I stopped for a night at Laconia for the
Annual bike week festival. Thanks to my sister for marrying into a family
with a cabin on a lake just 10 miles North. I didn't get a T-Shirt, but I
did get a new jacket. It was a heck of a lot more expensive.
The next day was raining again, but my new jacket worked great. I headed
West until I got to Maine then turned south. I did a couple of circles,
but finally found Hwy 1 and went south. Eventually I found Rhode Island
and stopped to look for a T-Mobile hot spot to start getting some pictures
and writing emails. It took a few tries, but I finally found one at a
Borders in the center of Providence. I sat for a while writing, but
decided that it was taking me way too long to writing anything. (I'm not
too inspired on this trip) I finally decided to get a room with a high
speed internet access and sit and do some real writing. We'll see if
anything pops up in y head tonight. For now I'm going to put some pictures
to the words I wrote in the Borders this afternoon.
Ride in the rain if you bike needs washing.
Brendan
June 24th
Our Nations Capital
Hello
again all,
Well,
I tried like heck to get into the Providence gay pride parade, but no luck.
I wondered some of the clubs after the parade, but I couldn't find any
lesbian clubs. Perhaps next time. It didn't matter anyway because I forgot
my camera in the hotel room.
The
next day was a short trip to another ferry boat. I guess this is the summer
of the ferry, in more ways than one. A bunch of want to be bikers and their
trailers on their way back from Laconia. It was Sunday after all.
I
never realized that long Island was so long and it seemed to have wineries
every other block. It's good thing I only stopped at one though because the
cops had a road block set up about halfway through the island.
Eventually,
I made it into New York. Even on a Sunday afternoon the traffic was pretty
heavy. I'd hate to see what it is like on a weekday morning. Still it took
me almost 4 hours to get from the ferry to the WTC site.
Around
7 I was on the New Jersey Turnpike and about 200 miles from my sister's
place in D.C. So I figured I would try to make it that night. If I'd known
how bad the I-95 was even on a Sunday night I might not have tried it. But
ignorance is bliss and I rode down the road fighting traffic all the way. If
I wasn't going 80 miles an hour I was standing still.
Just
outside of D.C. I was riding at 80 just trying to keep up with traffic, when
suddenly the car behind me flipped on his police lights. Lucky for me he was
going after the idiot who was weaving through traffic in the right and
middle lanes.
Finally,
I pulled into D.C. and stopped to call for ore specific directions. While
sitting at the gas station of course some kid on a crotch rocket pulled up
and we talked for a bit. Then I was off to my sister's, but not even a mile
down the road I heard the whine of a bike, then a crunch and sparks as a
bike went sliding past. I immediately turned around to help, but there was a
cop already there. He must have seen the accident. At least he was pretty
pissed at some guy in a car. The other rider looked like he was in a bit of
pain, but still moving around and his passenger was up and walking. I'm not
too sure because I was across the street. I wasn't needed so I continued to
on to my sister's house.
The
next morning my sister took off for a business meeting somewhere in Colorado
I think. So it was just her husband and I left to take care of the baby. Or
actually it is more like Uncle B's day care. Barbara and I spend a lot of
time together. Hanging out at the monuments and museums and stuff. I've been
tying with the idea of bungee cording the baby seat to the tank and cutting
down on my walking, but I don't think the stroller would fit well in the
bags.
So
unfortunately the bike has been sitting parked on the sidewalk for the last
few days and will probably sit there for a few more days.
To
ride or not to ride, what a stupid question.
Brendan
June 28th
Virginia
Well the trip is about to start again. As well as come
to an end for another year. Although the bike has been sitting on the same
spot on the sidewalk for over a week now, I did find time to run down to
Virginia to visit my brother in Hampton Beach. My little niece took her
first trip to the ocean and we even found the time to ride some horses.
I'll be leaving Washington D.C. in the morning and heading towards Ohio.
Hopefully, I'll be getting home late Tuesday or possible Wednesday. It all
depends on what fun and exciting things I see on the road on the way home.
Ride fast and take chances.
Brendan
http://driver1111.tripod.com
http://motorcyclevacation.0catch.com
June 30th
Home Safe and Sound
What is it about going home? I just seem to go
faster and farther until I practically drop from
exhaustion. Though I picked some nice two lane
highways to ride all the way home I often found
myself doing 70 miles an hour or more. Of course
many of these back roads are now two lane freeways
with speed limits of 60 or 65. Really though I
prefer the two lane highway with a speed limit of 55
on the bike. The smaller cut through the trees tends
to block the wind better making it easier to ride.
I took I-66 out of Washington D.C. to Highway 7 in
Virginia, then West Virginia, then Maryland, and
back into West Virginia. It finally connected to
Highway 50 which I took into Ohio and connected to
Highway 33. Before Cleveland it turned into a high
speed freeway with absolutely no traffic and nothing
at all too see, not even a town every once in a
while.
A bit of rain slowed me down, but by the time I
stopped and put on my rain pants it was practically
over. That didn't mean my feet didn't get wet. The
last 50 miles or so I spent fighting the wind and
trying to keep my poor little toes warm. I would
have stopped earlier, but like I said there was
absolutely nothing on the road. No camping sites, no
hotels, not even a gas station.
Finally, I found a hotel and stopped for the night.
The front desk lady was pretty nice, giving me the
last ground floor room where I could see my bike
from the window, as well as a free drink coupon for
the bar. The bar was a dirty cold place where I
don't think they emptied the ashtrays for months. At
least they didn't empty them while I was there and
they were full when I entered. All in all it was a
pretty disgusting place to stay for $60 a night.
Though they did have some pretty girls that worked
there, they all seemed to work in the restaurant and
not the bar. Of course in a bar called the Locker room
you can't really expect too much.
Exhausted and too tired to sleep well I headed off
to bed and got a fitful nights sleep. By 7 or six
Chicago time I was up and packing to get on the road
again. The first 200 miles really flew by and I was
almost to Chicago before I knew it. I was tempted to
stop by my sister's place near Joliet, but it was
Tuesday morning and she was at work. Then I wondered
if I should take the I-294 and struggle with
stopping for all the tolls or just shot up I-94.
I figured Tuesday just after noon, the traffic
shouldn't be too bad, I'll take the 94 straight up.
Yeah right, it is construction season, before gtting
to the loop traffic came to a standstill. I slowly
inched my way from 59th street to the loop before it
cleared up and I could make the last 40 miles home.
Just over two hours to make the last 80 miles of so
from Indiana to Grayslake really isn't too bad.
I didn't stop at all to take pictures on the way
home, 820 miles in a day and a half really doesn't
leave a lot of time to stop and smell the roses. It
also leaves one tired and sore. I took everything
off the bike paid some bills just in time and tried
to get some rest. I didn't do such a great job on
the resting part, but hopefully I'll get back into a
regular sleep pattern soon. Or maybe not, I'm still
on vacation you know. I still have a million things
to do now, cut the grass, clean everything up and
put it away so I don't lose it before Sturgis, clean
the bike, change the fluids, and stuff like that. I
think I need to get to the golf course pretty soon
too.
I think I'm getting too old and weak to ride Bessie
on these long trips. I'll start taking donations for
a new bike with a nice windshield and a radio in the
morning. Cash preferred, but I'll also take credit
cards and pay pal if you absolutely must. Donations
of $1000 or more are gratefully expected, I mean
accepted.
Oh and for those who complain about my picture
taking ability. All I have to say is blame the
camera not the camera man. This is the third trip
I've taken with my mom's camera. It's been through
fires and rain storms, from one end of the country
to the other. It's been to Canada and Mexico on a
motorcycle. It's flown to Italy and Israel with my
parents. It's been dropped and covered with dust and
is currently held together with a couple of band aides.
(I would take a picture, but it is kind of difficult
to take pictures of a camera, and of course I'm not
very good am I.) I was thinking of buying a new one
on the trip, but I didn't. Perhaps, I'll actually
spring for a new one next time. Henry of course had
a great camera so if you want to see some good
pictures of Barbara you might want to harass him and
get him to post his pictures of her on his site at http://siohenry.com
B
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