The Rides Begin -- Heading to Pennsylvania

I head out tomorrow morning to Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania to observe the end of the 2013 Iron Butt Rally (http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/2013.cfm) and to join the riders who just finished riding more than 11,000 grueling miles in the last 11 days in their celebrations and banquet.  The Iron Butt Rally consists of checkpoints and bonus locations around the United States that each rider must visit within certain very rigid time frames (http://www.ironbuttrally.com/IBR/default.cfm).  For me, this trip to Pennsylvania is a casual 600-mile round trip, and you can follow my SPOT tracks to and from Cranberry Township at the links in the top left margin of this blog.  Although my ride to Cranberry Township is not remarkable in distance, it will be very remarkable to watch some 90-plus riders finish an event of a lifetime.

2012 in Review: 7,260 Miles Down the Road & Back

Although I did very little blogging last year, the good news is that 2012 was a moderately good year for riding.  In March, I traveled 1,540 miles round trip to the 2012 Daytona Florida Beach Week, and while there I participated in a 1,000-mile Iron Butt Association "scavenger" hunt through the panhandle and mid-region of Florida.  In August, I traveled 3,400 miles round trip to Denver, Colorado to participate in the Iron Butt Association International Meet (http://www.ironbutt.com/national/), and while there I participated in another 1,000-mile Iron Butt Association ride through the northern mountains and southern plains of Colorado.  And then in November, a friend and I rode to beautiful and scenic Appomattox, Virginia, in a relatively short 320-mile round trip through some of Virginia's most beautiful back roads.  All in all, not counting other short trips and commuting to work, I logged in 7,260 miles in 2012.  Not bad.  Lots of quiet time to think and reflect and enjoy being on the road.  My SPOT tracks for these adventures are available in the top left margin of this blog.  At the moment, my plans are to beat that number of total miles in 2013, and to do much better about writing at least a short blog for each adventure.

Motorcycle vs. Car

My wife and I were traveling in our car last weekend in stop-and-go traffic when we were rear-ended by a motorcyclist.  His pride was bruised and his right leg was scraped up, but the rider is otherwise fine.  We were stopped for a red light and the rider came upon us too quickly to stop.  He swerved to the left to miss us, but the concrete curb prevented him from moving over, causing his crash bar to catch the driver’s side rear bumper, causing him to fly over his handle bars (fortunately into a grass median), and channeling his bike as it moved forward, wedging itself between the curb and the driver's side of the car.  The bike came to rest even with the driver's door with its wheels slightly under the car.  The bike looked in pretty bad shape, but it was still street-worthy.  After we chatted with the local medics and highway patrol, we all continued our respective trips.

I passed this story around this past week because lots of times I have heard that it’s the car’s driver that doesn't see a motorcycle on the road, but I learned first-hand last weekend sometimes a rider gets distracted to his or her great detriment.  So my message is for all riders to be careful out there, because sometimes it’s our fault and not the driver of the car!

A long distance rider friend reinforced my point, with what I thought were some very surprising statistics.  He highlighted that the large majority of motorcycle-involved collisions – including this one – could have been prevented by the rider, and that drivers are truly at fault only about 15% of the time.  For example, my friend passed along unofficial statistics for Oregon motorcycle fatalities in 2011, which identified the fault for 39 accidents as follows:

19 single vehicle accidents were the rider’s fault

13 motorcycle vs. car accidents were the rider's fault

5 motorcycle vs. car accidents were the driver's fault

2 motorcycle accidents caused by animals or other factors

I don’t know how representative Oregon’s statistics are when compared nationwide, but the lesson I learned from sharing this accident with more experienced riders is that there are times when the car doesn’t see the motorcycle, but as riders we can avoid most accidents by always being aware of our surroundings, paying attention to what is in front of us, and looking for potentially dangerous situations.  Ride hard, ride far, ride safe.

2012 Daytona Beach Bike Week - Planning

The 2012 Daytona Beach Bike Week  promises to be a lot of fun this year!  In addition to enjoying Bike Week activities (http://www.officialbikeweek.com/), I will also attend the Annual Daytona Iron Butt Association Party and participate in the Iron Butt Association's "Florida Mountain 1000" (check both out at http://www.ironbutt.com/daytona/).  The "Florida Mountain 1000" is a 1,000-mile ride that must be completed in 24 hours or less!  I plan on arriving Jacksonville on March 14, and participating in the "Florida Mountain 1000" on March 15 and 16.  That gives me a full day left for Bike Week activities on Saturday, March 17, before I return home on March 18.  Click on http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=41244f4291c685061, http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=41264f42935c2f931, and http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=41254f42928c80241 to check out my progress on my trip to, during the "Florida Mountain 1000," and my trip home, respectively.  Hope to see you in Daytona!

2012 Timonium Motorcycle Show

Anne and I had a great time this year showing "The Patriot" at the February 2012 Timonium Motorcycle Show.  We literally spoke to thousands of folks who attended.  There were more than 250 bike entries, and "The Patriot" won First Place Trike Full Custom!  "The Patriot's" Marine Corps theme seemed to resonate with everyone.

Back in the Saddle!

Back in the Saddle.  After a year and a half of reduced long-distance motorcycle riding, I have finally beat my colon cancer and am back in the saddle!  Long-distance riding is certainly a sport and an adventure that I have missed.  My longest trip since my last blog was only 190 miles to a friend's chalet in the mountain resort area of Davis, West Virginia, but I have big plans for "The Patriot" in 2012 - starting with showing "The Patriot" at the February 2012 Timonium Motorcycle Show (http://www.cycleshow.net/).  Look for "The Patriot" on the Show website under the "Celebrities and Bike Builders' Bios" link!  "The Patriot" won "Best of Show People's Choice" and "Second Place Trike Metric" at the February 2010 Timonium Motorcycle Show.  Hopefully, "The Patriot" will win some mention in this year's show.  I took "The Patriot" out for a short ride today to test my SPOT device and blog connections (http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=40424f242c3aa4b90).  It was a very short ride so there are not many data points, but everything still works.

Trip Report for the 2010 Grand Motorcycle Tour of Virginia.  Anne and I really enjoyed the 2010 Grand Motorcycle Tour of Virginia.  From May 1st through September 11th, 2010, we traveled 3,680 miles over ten days throughout Virginia visiting the Tour's 82 locations.  Our shortest trip was 150 miles to catch six stops in Northern Virginia and our longest trip was 945 miles over two days to catch fifteen stops in Southern Virginia.  Although we really got to see a lot of wonderful and quaint parts of Virginia, I think the most scenic leg of our trip was when we visited the Paint Bank General Store (http://www.paintbankgeneralstore.com/) in Paint Bank, Virginia.  The road to Paint Bank was beautifully scenic through the mountains with lots of switchbacks to make the ride even more interesting.  Plus, the Paint Bank General Store has a very popular restaurant that would serve as a great ride-to-eat (RTE) one weekend.

2010 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia - Trip 8

If all goes as planned, Anne and I will visit 12 locations in the Richmond and Hampton Roads area on Saturday, September 11, which happens to be our 34th anniversary of when we met in Norfolk, Virginia on a blind date.  This ride will complete all 82 stops for our 2010 Grand Motorcyle Tour of Virginia, and as serendipity will have it, our last stop will be in Norfolk where Anne and I met 34 years ago tomorrow.  We will celebrate finishing our "grand" tour and our anniversary by having dinner in Norfolk with our daughter before returning home Saturday evening.  Click on http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1f694c8a1b790754a to check out our progress on a map in real time visiting these 12 locations.

2010 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia - Trip 7

On Saturday, September 4, and Sunday, September 5, my wife Anne and I are riding through the Central Virginia and Shenandoah Valley area to catch 14 more stops during our 2010 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia (http://www.motorcycleva.com/).  When we complete this ride, we will have visited a total of 70 locations since May 1, 2010.  That leaves us only 12 more locations to visit before the deadline of November 1, 2010 to visit all 82 locations.  Click on http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1ed54c810fc1be5a1 to check out our progress on a map real time visiting these locations!

2010 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia - Trip 6

On Saturday, August 28, my wife Anne and I are riding to the Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore area to catch nine more stops during our 2010 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia (http://www.motorcycleva.com/).  When we complete this ride, we will have visited a total of 56 locations since May 1, 2010.  That leaves us only 26 more locations to visit before the deadline of November 1, 2010 to visit all 82 locations.  Click on http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1e514c77949f9d63e to check out our progress on a map real time visiting these locations.

2010 Motorcycle Grand Tour of Virginia - Trip 5

On July 2, 2010, my wife Anne and I are riding to Kilmarnock, Virginia to catch four stops during our 2010 Motorcyle Grand Tour of Virginia (http://www.vamotorcycletour.com/).  The Grand Tour requires you to visit 82 locations in Virginia that will stamp a "passport" to document your visit.  When we complete this short ride on July 2, we will have visited a total of 47 locations since May 1, 2010.  We have until November 1, 2010 to visit all 82 locations and return our passports to the Grand Tour headquarters in Richmond.  Click on http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=5666 to check out our 945-mile Memorial Day ride starting on Jeb Stuart Highway through southern and southwestern Virginia that weaved through the mountains of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Kentucky.  And click on http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=6516 to check out our leisurely ride of July 2 to eastern Virginia.  PS:  Anne and I will not be eating any sub sandwiches on this trip!