Looking Forward to 2009

For the last several years we have set a goal of riding 10,000 miles during the year. So far we have came up short each year. Even with us making a trip to Florida in March and me making another solo trip in early April our total mileage for the year was down from 2007! Julie has said that mileage totals aren't important, that the good times spent with family and friends and those that we have when just she and I venture out are all that matters. She is of course right. But I'm still going to shoot for that 10K mark again in 2009! Having said that we have a few ideas for rides in mind for this year that should help us reach that goal.
-
Sometime early this spring I'm planning to make another trip down to Clewiston, Florida to visit my Dad. As of this moment the idea is to just take what has become my 'usual' route down and back and spend as much time as I can with Dad. I have been looking at alternative routes, but at this point it's still all in the planning stages.
-
Bryan and I have decided to try for an IronButt ride sometime this summer. For those that don't know, there is an organization call the IronButt Association that is made up of hardcore long distance riders. In order to become a 'member' of this association a rider must first complete a ride that covers at least 1000 miles in less than 24 hours. The current record is held by a local state representative from our area named Dale Fowell. A couple of years ago Dale covered over 32,000 mile in 30 days. Bryan and I have no illusions of grander, we will be planning a route that allows us to safely complete a 1000 mile trip with out getting too far from home. This way we can attempt it over a week-end, and if we can't complete it we won't be very far from home no matter where we stop. We are working on several routes now and nothing has been finalized.
-
Last year we had hoped to ride over to visit my sister and her husband in northern Alabama and never got it worked out. Your on the radar screen for this year too sis.
-
We have an idea for a ride that we call "The Battleship Tour" which is actually inappropriately named. The battleship USS North Carolina is harbored in Wilmington, North Carolina and the aircraft carrier Yorktown is in Charleston, South Carolina. Our idea is to visit and tour both vessels during the same trip. We are still working on the logistics for this trip though as the distances involved along with the time required to enjoy both ships would use up a full week-end. We would prefer to tie this in with a trip that enables us to explore some new roads and areas, but it may be time prohibitive. We'll just have to see what happens.
-
Bryan wants to go west of the Mississippi river and I really would like to help him achieve that goal. The problem is of course time. For the most part we are week-end warriors and even though we could always set sail for the muddy river, then turn around and set sail right back that seems a bit pointless. This trip will probably have to wait until we have a week or more to spend and make a real road trip out of.
-
Our anniversary trip as well as a couple of other short trips into West Virginia has got us interested in making some more trips there. We have discussed taking Jordan and Bryan with us over a long week-end to see among other things the Greenbank radio telescope and the Cass Railroad.
-
Although we have pretty much been on every inch of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Skyline Drive by now, we have yet to ride both from one end to the other un-interrupted. I feel like we could get this done over a week-end, especially during the long days of summer. This rates high on my list, but Julie is a bit burnt out on the BRP. So I guess we'll see what happens there.
-
A few times last year we randomly picked a road, actually a secondary highway, that we got on and stayed on as long as we could before turning around to come home. I'd like to do more of that this year. Hwy 8 and US 421 come immediately to mind, maybe even US 52.
-
I don't know how, or where, but someway or another I want to make some tire tracks in two new states this year.
-
That's about it, for now. Obviously we won't get it all done, but there's always 2010!
-
Bruce