November 2012 found me facing the prospect of a major job relocation. I faced the reality of moving out of state from home in Corpus Christi, Texas to Cleveland, Ohio to take on this new job and face it’s challenges – to this place I knew which in my wildest imagination and beyond the shadow of a doubt, would alter the dynamics of my passion for riding and touring. (In ways that I could never have anticipated or imagined).
As I contemplated the job offer, the same message resonated across from my riding buddies “ ….. are you sure you want to move so far out there? You know you’re going to get hardly any riding done, don’t you? It’s so cold, the snow, ice, rain …….. all making for a short riding season each year”.
For me it was crunch time. As part of the moving process, I sadly sold my beloved ’95 ST1100 not because I could not have brought it along, but primarily because I had recently purchased my new 2012 ST1300 ABS – and Dad always told me: “Never own more bikes than you can ride at one time”. Advice that I strictly adhere to.
I arrived in Ohio on the first day of snowfall for that winter season. I don’t think I will elaborate any further or digress at this point, but just to let you know, and I’m sure you agree with me, I was not impressed by the weather!
So the going got tough and this tough boy got going! Going ahead, leaving my loved ones behind in order to go begin the resettling process and then to be rejoined later.
Riding now took place in the far recesses of my mind, giving way to work, work and work, but still providing the means to have something to look forward to.
Demands of an extremely busy work schedule forced me to use up my first vacation time to make a return trip to Texas in order to bring/drive my second vehicle up to Ohio.
So in June 2013, my wife and I embarked on this trip, flying down and making the return road trip. It was an enjoyable and refreshing trip for us. We enjoyed the trip so much as we had done a few times in the past years on other road trips, but never far from my thoughts were thoughts of how I would also enjoy this very trip on the bike. Hmm, one of these days, health and wealth permitting!
So my mind now turned towards my 2014 riding season.
New job, insufficient disposable income, still working at getting settled, not many new friends and ……………. Weather! Ugghh!
Was this really going to work out for me? This was so discouraging. I started to have nightmares of my bike aging from misuse, sitting in the storage area wondering what the heck I had done to “us” (the bike and I). We were miserable!
By early March 2013 I was so frustrated from riding deprivation. I could swear the winter would never end. At least that’s how it felt to me. The coldest and most miserable I felt was when the mercury hit -11’F/-6’C with a wind-chill of -34’F/-19’C. This was no joke. This was not fun and not what I had expected. Heck, you were asking for serious trouble if you exposed your skin to the air for more than a few seconds!
A series of events that night, mostly mechanical/automotive combined that night to make it a night I will never forget. (That is a story for another time!)
At this point, I think I was angrier with myself more than anything or anyone else for having made such a choice to move into such wintery climate. But in life, they say, when you get handed lemons, make lemonade!
So I held my self together in the knowledge of a time to come when, with proper/good planning, I could load up, mount up and “hit the road”.
News Bulletin:
Winter 2013-2014 was one of the coldest on record in parts of the Midwest, according to the government's official monthly climate report.
The 2013-14 season, was one of the coldest winters in recent memory in the Upper Midwest, The winter in this Cleveland area went down in weather history/records (started in 1865) as the most severe of the last 20 years!
………………… Weather.com/news
So as with most things in my life, I started to dream. Dream of what I would like and what I could do to begin making a riding dream a reality. It was a simple dream. Put on safety gear, get on bike, fuel up, RIDE! Where? I don’t know, I didn’t mind. Just RIDE!
Simple huh?
Come along with me, let’s ride!.
Fast Forward to May 2014.
It turned out to be a 7 1/2 month long "c o l d" winter this past season.
I spent the best part of my forced personal indoor time dreaming of riding and where I could go. I am certain that is what has held me together through these long, cold, grey, dull days to this point.
Head north, south, east or west? I don’t know. I want to go everywhere!
Shucks, not enough time and resources!
3 years earlier I had been thinking of finding and visiting the geographical center of the lower 48 contiguous states of the U.S.. Yeah, why not? That could very well be do-able. I had new resolve, born out of re-commitment. Now I had a mission! Now I was on a mission!
So out with the atlas. I begin my research and planning.
My mind drifts back to my college days of studying geography (one of my favorite subjects). I begin to remember particular lessons of North America. I recollect lessons of farmlands that have rows and rows of wheat and corn in fields that stretch as far as ones’ eyes can see. Gradually, I am transported back in time and I remember and begin to feel the enthusiasm with which we paid attention in class as our teacher described in nauseating detail, making us actually feel we are there amongst the endless “fields of corn” in the heartland of America!
Now I have the chance of an opportunity and am determined to experience it for myself. All of a sudden this daydream becomes like a magnet. Drawing my attention and desire. Drawing me to come and visit. I am now excited at the thought of being able to see really how extensive the cornfields really are. I’m really “fired up “!
With my heart rate now on the rise with excitement, I make the decision.
Now I have 2 solid reasons for myself to make this journey. This was my journey. Only I would know what I would derive from it. Only I would gain the self-satisfaction through the personal accomplishment and the feeling of knowing and truly feeling the experience.
Oh Boy! What a feeling that could….., oh boy, what a feeling that would be!
I could feel a certain fire beginning to burn in me!
I am pumped up! I am gung-ho! I am mentally ready!
Oh Boy, it’s only the beginning of May! Soon, soon this cold will be over with! – For a couple of months to come, anyway.
At this time however, it “popped” back into my mind. Hey that could be “do-able”. Yeah, it was a prospect I immediately began to consider. This sparked my energy.
This trip is shaping up to be all about wide-open spaces. Great expanses of farmlands and open country. (With an additional dash of experience and education about some of the history of democracy in our beloved country that I could throw in.) About what it means and feels to a long distance tourer, about experiencing the feeling of being able (relatively speaking) to freely travel through and visit this land, free of the constraints of day to day life in the inner cities, even if only for a few days. About the possibility of traveling through a few more states in my personal quest to ride through the lower 48 contiguous states of the U.S..
So I continue to dream of a plan to try and make what could become another privileged and wonderful tour of my lifetime.
This is a very abridged summary of this trip, which took me through 10 states in 8 days! So join me as you continue to read my journal and view a DVD through which I have tried to showcase some photos and video clips of some places in our lovely country that I have assembled and was so overjoyed and privileged to have experienced first hand. I hope you enjoy the ride.