January 7, 2007

January 7, 2007

Today I finally managed to get on the road. I had meant to leave on the first of January, but on December 29 had found a bike that I wanted to get. I really want to do this tour on a motorcycle, but wasn’t starting out with a lot of funds. I also didn’t want to leave my daughter without some good transportation. So we worked on an arrangement that would suit everyone, but it meant that I needed to hang around a while longer.

On December 29; the last day I could put plates on the bike, I couldn’t meet up with the guy, so I had to hang around until January 3 which was the first day that the secretary of states office was open.

Then we had a couple of days of bad weather and, well, to be honest—it was hard for me to leave. Because I am traveling by motorcycle, I had to slowly work on paring down what I was going to take. It is still too much. It probably wouldn’t be too much if I had a Sissy Bar, but I don’t.

So, what I am riding is a 1999 Kawasaki Vulcan 500. It is a bluish purple and black. It had about 2300 miles on it. A couple of people thought that it was too small, but it is a bike that I am comfortable riding and somehow I think that is important.

It will really help when I drop some weight. (I wouldn’t mind losing about 130 pounds.) Then things wouldn’t be so large, bulky and heavy. Weight just doesn’t kill you when it is on a body, but when everything else has to get so large and bulky; life gets tough.

What I am traveling with:
A small cheap tent that is way more colorful than I realized. ;)
A sleeping pad that rolls up
A duffle bag that holds my
Sleeping bag
Water bottles
Propane
Fish oil, vitamins, ibuprofen, Tylenol, etc.
Laptop with cables (I am dreaming of another solution and hope to get enough cash to visit http://www.usedhandhelds.com to get something smaller
Cables and docking station for the camera
Spare clothes; jeans, underwear, sweatshirt, shorts, socks, t-shirt, etc
A couple of side bags that hold my stove, lantern, some food, a hatchet, my cookset (which I also eat out of, a cutting board (some of the table are skuzzy), a spatula; and some silverware (if I didn’t forget it).
And a backpack that has my camera, planner, the Kawasaki Vulcan Manual my Columbia sandals which I forgot to pack and can’t find room for elsewhere, a couple of paperbacks an atlas, a campground guide and well, there’s probably a partridge and a pear tree around somewhere also.

It’s really not much it’s just that much of the stuff is large. I’m large and much of my stuff is old so it’s neither the smallest nor the lightest stuff that’s available. I’m not sure what else I would leave out. I feel as if I will make some changes but some of them will take some time to make. Let’s face it, you lose weight one pound at a time and those changes will make the biggest difference.

About the trip today. I got a late start and if my daughter hadn’t helped me I am not sure I would have been able to leave. My first stop for gas was at a Speedway Station in Rockwood, Michigan. I savored the warmth and smell of a 16 oz. cup of raspberry tea.

Then right when I took off, rain battered me. It was a total downpour. Since I wasn’t sure what was going to happen-how long and steady would the rain be, would it turn to snow, etc, I rode through it for a while and then decided to stop as my boots and snow suit were soaked which really raises the chance of hypothermia, even though the temperature was warmer than when I left home.

I stopped at a budget motel (I don’t think the price is budget, but they seem to) called Buckeye Inn and Studios at 1740 East Wooster Street, Bowling Green, Ohio. It’s $50 a night with no data ports or Internet access. Now I call that a rip-off, but I couldn’t afford the Holiday Inn Express that is in the area that would have those wonderful amenities. The hotel is very clean, the carpet is nice and it does allow pets.

Anyway, it is supposed to snow tomorrow morning and then after that I am going take off. The temp will be in the low thirties so there will need to be plenty of stops and lots of slow driving to keep down the wind-chill factor.

Happy trails, Marty