Looking Forward to 2010

My family and I are in a state of limbo as I write this.  I've been unemployed since early October and until I find a job almost everything in our lives is on hold.  If I am fortunate enough to get something in the not too distant future in the same sort of income bracket that I have been in we should be able to more or less pick up where we left off and continue on with our lives.  On the other hand, the only real offers I've had would lower our income level and require some pretty major adjustments for us.  We've talked about the possibility of me going back to my previous career and become an over the road trucker again, which would allow us to maintain our income level, but force me to be away from home for weeks or even months at a time.  Which if you don't mind me saying so, sucks big time.  But we do what we have to do, right?

However, I'm going to think positively and look forward toward 2010 in a more or less 'normal' fashion.  Which means from a riding point of view!

As always the number one goal is to hit what has become the elusive 10,000 miles ridden in one year mark.  Bryan made it, actually he eclipsed it logging in over 12,000 miles in 2009.  Julie and I lost a few from 2008 and ended up with 7669 miles in 2009.  Yep Momma, the boy kicked your ass.

I've got to say that for Bryan and I the number two item on our riding wish list is to become members of the Iron Butt Association by doing a Saddle Sore 1000.  This will require us to complete a documented ride of at least 1000 miles in 24 hours or less.  Last year we had planned on doing this at a Motorcycle Tourers Forum sponsored event held in Charlotte, but the date conflicted with a family reunion that obviously took precedence.  There isn't an MTF event on the books close to us for 2010 so we'll have to do it on our own.  But, somehow, someway, we will at least attempt this and hopefully get it done.  Julie wants nothing to do with this and doubts our ability to get it done.  The gauntlet has been laid.

For the last several years Bryan and Julie have been joking about taking a road trip out to the Dakota's for Bryan's graduation.  Well he graduates in May and we've all pretty much accepted the fact that we won't be going that far west for his trip.  Damn it.  But Bryan seems to be content with anything that will allow him to ride west of the Mississippi River and has mentioned that he might like to go to New Orleans.  So number three on the wish list is some sort of family road trip that gets us across the muddy river in celebration of Bryan's graduation.

Another carry over from last year is getting an "End to ender" award from the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.  This entails doing a documented ride from one end of the BRP to the other.  Bryan and I want to include the Skyline Drive in our effort so the plan is to ride from Cherokee, North Carolina to Front Royal, Virginia a distance of some 550 miles on nothing but the parkways.  Like the SS1000, Julie says she'll sit this one out.

Other than those about all I'd like to do is more exploring.  West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky immediately come to mind because of the great roads and good times we've had on previous trips to these areas.

Wish us luck!

Bruce