Hey folks-come out and see us off next Thursday at Twisted Taco, Buckhead. The fine folks at AirTran Airways gave us some air passes to raffle off! Come out, have a cold one and meet some of our supporters. It promises to be a great time-come and invite friends-they could win too. Twisted Taco rolled out the red carpet for us the last time we were there, I am sure this time will be no different. We will be there from 6 pm until they sweep us out.
Bikes welcome, as are friends. Park at the Fresh Market-they have a deal with TT.
Departure is two weeks from this Friday-so much to take care of.....
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
preparations 6/26/2011
My motorcycle in the shop for a good going over, as it is 10 years old. I have been pouring over the map of our trip and have made some approx. guesses as to where we will be each night. Some of our stops may be off the path a little due to someone willing to put us up for the night.
Night 1 Paducah, Ky. Need a home
Night 2 Topeka Kan. ll ll ll
Night 3 Denver, Co. ll ll ll
Night 4 Big Piney wy. Staying with a relative
Night 5 drummond Mt. We should only be about 275 miles from British Columbia
I couldn't figure out how to do ditto marks so l will have to do. Anyone in the areas of 1,2,3 & 5 That would take in 2 very nice men for the night , step up and give us a holler. Curt and i were out west last year and found out that all cost go up drastically, one campground wanted $ 40.00 for a tent site , i told them no thanks, i dont like to pay that for my motorhome. So we are hoping to find good people along the way that will help us keep our overhead down since we are paying all our own expences.
Curt and the guys have another fun filled fund raiser coming up , so please come and help us reach our goal.
Keep watch on this site for all happenings as we can get them to you.. Paul C
Night 1 Paducah, Ky. Need a home
Night 2 Topeka Kan. ll ll ll
Night 3 Denver, Co. ll ll ll
Night 4 Big Piney wy. Staying with a relative
Night 5 drummond Mt. We should only be about 275 miles from British Columbia
I couldn't figure out how to do ditto marks so l will have to do. Anyone in the areas of 1,2,3 & 5 That would take in 2 very nice men for the night , step up and give us a holler. Curt and i were out west last year and found out that all cost go up drastically, one campground wanted $ 40.00 for a tent site , i told them no thanks, i dont like to pay that for my motorhome. So we are hoping to find good people along the way that will help us keep our overhead down since we are paying all our own expences.
Curt and the guys have another fun filled fund raiser coming up , so please come and help us reach our goal.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
3 weeks yesterday....
The compression has begun. Getting the bike ready, getting my business affairs in order, organizing our final fundraiser-it will all make you feel like you are inside the motorcycle cylinder during the compression stroke. Be that as it may-I am incredibly blessed to be able to have this opportunity to make the ride of a lifetime, and do it with my father. Many folks would be grateful just to speak to their fathers (and sisters, and mothers) just one more time.
Whatever I am experiencing getting ready for this journey is a carnival compared to a cancer victim getting ready for 6 weeks of chemo, 12 weeks of radiation, or even surgery. These are the troopers. If AtltotheArctic only raises $8k this year-that is a lot of exams for a lot of women. Maybe it will make a difference on one person, one family-maybe one little boy or girl will grow up with a mom because of the work we have done. Maybe he or she will ride with us to the Arctic sometime. However small our contribution-it is worth it.
On the bike front-you would be happy to hear that the critters have been safely relocated to another motorcycle garage. Dad and I did 500 miles in the heat, and the gas tank did not leak at all. Fingers crossed! Believe it or not, I am still buying the necessary gear for the bike and myself. What you need to complete a journey such as this is incredible. I had to order some engine guards, which protect the bike in event of a fall. They are designed to turn a fall into a minor mishap from a potentially trip ending episode. Pretty important in a situation such as this. Bars for the Tiger are hard to get domestically, so I had to source them from Germany. I did this in May to allow ample time for shipping.
As you may have guessed they are not here yet. My email to customer service on 6/10-"Sir: My guards have not arrived yet-please advise. We are now outside your 12 day delivery time." Response: "We neglected to charge you the shipping, that is why they have not shipped yet." So I paid the shipping and waited another 12 days. "Sir: My guards are not here yet. Please advise." Response: "The fellow who processed your order does not work here anymore. It appears you did not pay the shipping." Me: "Ma'am-I paid the shipping, here is the receipt. I do not have many 12-15 day intervals left before my trip. Please ship my guards." With any luck, they will be here before we leave. I guess the simple solution if they do not arrive, is to not drop my motorcycle.
Whatever I am experiencing getting ready for this journey is a carnival compared to a cancer victim getting ready for 6 weeks of chemo, 12 weeks of radiation, or even surgery. These are the troopers. If AtltotheArctic only raises $8k this year-that is a lot of exams for a lot of women. Maybe it will make a difference on one person, one family-maybe one little boy or girl will grow up with a mom because of the work we have done. Maybe he or she will ride with us to the Arctic sometime. However small our contribution-it is worth it.
On the bike front-you would be happy to hear that the critters have been safely relocated to another motorcycle garage. Dad and I did 500 miles in the heat, and the gas tank did not leak at all. Fingers crossed! Believe it or not, I am still buying the necessary gear for the bike and myself. What you need to complete a journey such as this is incredible. I had to order some engine guards, which protect the bike in event of a fall. They are designed to turn a fall into a minor mishap from a potentially trip ending episode. Pretty important in a situation such as this. Bars for the Tiger are hard to get domestically, so I had to source them from Germany. I did this in May to allow ample time for shipping.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
4 weeks out this week...
Curt here-things have been going relatively smoothly. We have had some really fun events with our supporters, and been able to award some really nice raffle prizes-most recently the GoPro Camera.Our supporters have been so generous we are on our way to hitting our $10k goal for 2011.
On the bike front-not so smoothly. Basic maintenance on the Tiger has uncovered some issues-some very serious, some just funny. I pulled the gas tank off to change the fuel filter, air filter and spark plugs, and received some interesting surprises. I pull out the air cleaner from the air box, to find out someone has been living in there. Yup-critter central. They dragged enough insulation into my air box through an acorn-sized hole (that they chewed) to fill a small shoe box. Even if you are not a motorcycle enthusiast, I am quite sure that you realize internal combustion engines do not run well when they are suffocated by some critter's bedding material!
On a more serious note, the battery box mounting bolts are screwed into the plastic gas tank. Not a brilliant design. Well, one of the bolts froze up and had to be ripped out of the gas tank because of the leak it caused. Now I have never ridden to Alaska before, but I am confident it will not be comfortable with gas leaking into my crotch for 10k miles. Fixable? I am not so sure. Cross your fingers folks....
On the bike front-not so smoothly. Basic maintenance on the Tiger has uncovered some issues-some very serious, some just funny. I pulled the gas tank off to change the fuel filter, air filter and spark plugs, and received some interesting surprises. I pull out the air cleaner from the air box, to find out someone has been living in there. Yup-critter central. They dragged enough insulation into my air box through an acorn-sized hole (that they chewed) to fill a small shoe box. Even if you are not a motorcycle enthusiast, I am quite sure that you realize internal combustion engines do not run well when they are suffocated by some critter's bedding material!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Updates and Route changes...
We had a few events here in the ATL and they were a huge success. The GoPro camera was raffled off and went to one lucky adventure rider in need of such a camera. We were also given boxing tickets from Bangkok Boxing, as well as two free passes for Digital Photo school from Showcase School of Photography. We ended up raising over $1500 for Komen.
Following a slow start earlier this year, we are excited to see the momentum building. With so many folks and new ideas it has been hard to keep up. We are very thankful for the support and I know Curt and Paul are ready to make this ride, raise awareness and get some donations from the road!
Due to a very active fire season and a very busy staff at the Komen Headquarters in Dallas, we have decided to change the route at the last minute. We are no longer riding through Dallas to meet with the Komen HQ staff as they are (understandably) quite busy. Additionally, a very active fire season out West has us adjusting our plans and we are going to avoid southern Colorado for now and head north sooner.
There are currently three Type 2 incidents on the Colorado/New Mexico border and we will avoid riding through those very busy areas and let the Forest Service and BLM do their thing. The Type 2 fires are very large and logistically challenging. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the smallest type of fire, a Type 2 is a very busy fire. It is best to avoid such areas unless you are wearing yellow Nomex!
The Active Fire Mapping site link below will show you what areas to avoid and what places are currently wildfire free. This is shaping up to be a very busy fire season and if you are traveling out West please be aware of those green Forest Service rigs and yellow BLM rigs you will undoubtedly see on the road. They are working and likely need to get places. Currently the USFS is in a National Preparedness Level 3 (out of 5), so it's very active now and will get worse as the summer progresses.
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
That's the update for now and I hope the fire info will help you out with your own travel plans!
Following a slow start earlier this year, we are excited to see the momentum building. With so many folks and new ideas it has been hard to keep up. We are very thankful for the support and I know Curt and Paul are ready to make this ride, raise awareness and get some donations from the road!
Due to a very active fire season and a very busy staff at the Komen Headquarters in Dallas, we have decided to change the route at the last minute. We are no longer riding through Dallas to meet with the Komen HQ staff as they are (understandably) quite busy. Additionally, a very active fire season out West has us adjusting our plans and we are going to avoid southern Colorado for now and head north sooner.
There are currently three Type 2 incidents on the Colorado/New Mexico border and we will avoid riding through those very busy areas and let the Forest Service and BLM do their thing. The Type 2 fires are very large and logistically challenging. On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 the smallest type of fire, a Type 2 is a very busy fire. It is best to avoid such areas unless you are wearing yellow Nomex!
The Active Fire Mapping site link below will show you what areas to avoid and what places are currently wildfire free. This is shaping up to be a very busy fire season and if you are traveling out West please be aware of those green Forest Service rigs and yellow BLM rigs you will undoubtedly see on the road. They are working and likely need to get places. Currently the USFS is in a National Preparedness Level 3 (out of 5), so it's very active now and will get worse as the summer progresses.
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/lg_fire2.php
That's the update for now and I hope the fire info will help you out with your own travel plans!
Moving Along...
Things are coming along. We had a fundraising dinner at the 1st. Methodist Church of Albertville Wednesday night. Not as many came as I hoped, but they were very generous and we netted $260.00 for the cause.
I am taking my bike to Craig Johnson at Sand Mountain Boat Repair. It seems like he can repair about anything, and the best part is you can trust him to do what you want done. Let me tell you from other experiences that it is a relief when you are making a trip like this to know that all bases will be covered.
I was in Advanced Auto yesterday and picked up a small compass that mounts on the windshield, just in case Curt gets us lost. I also picked up two of the deer alert things, one for each of our bikes. Just may help avoid a collision. Also picked up a tire repair kit and a large can of Fix-A-Flat. We can't foresee all the things that might occur but we will try to be ready for what comes our way.
I contacted WAAY Channel 31 News yesterday and am hoping they consider our plans worthy to make their 4 O'Clock news.
Stay tuned for further news. Paul
I am taking my bike to Craig Johnson at Sand Mountain Boat Repair. It seems like he can repair about anything, and the best part is you can trust him to do what you want done. Let me tell you from other experiences that it is a relief when you are making a trip like this to know that all bases will be covered.
I was in Advanced Auto yesterday and picked up a small compass that mounts on the windshield, just in case Curt gets us lost. I also picked up two of the deer alert things, one for each of our bikes. Just may help avoid a collision. Also picked up a tire repair kit and a large can of Fix-A-Flat. We can't foresee all the things that might occur but we will try to be ready for what comes our way.
I contacted WAAY Channel 31 News yesterday and am hoping they consider our plans worthy to make their 4 O'Clock news.
Friday, June 3, 2011
This Saturday, Decatur Garage. 12 noon till folks melt, Raffle for the GoPro is at 1:30.... All proceeds go straight to Komen. Please stop by grab a bite to eat and drink and say hi.... Also a plus are some very interesting cars in the shop right now.
A huge thank you to GoPro once again. Also to display the various mounts and areas that the camera can go my bike will be at the shop to show off the GoPro HD camera. See what you will win and how it works!!
Can you spot the GoPro in this picture?
A huge thank you to GoPro once again. Also to display the various mounts and areas that the camera can go my bike will be at the shop to show off the GoPro HD camera. See what you will win and how it works!!
Can you spot the GoPro in this picture?
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Getting started in Albertville,Al.
I am Paul. Curts dad. When Curt told me a couple months ago what he was planning i said no way, tooo old for that ride. Well after thinking about it for awhile my lack of good sense kicked in and i said why not! I may be 70 But i feel good ,last stress test came back good , no new artery problems since my Quadruple bypass 9 years ago.
I am having a fund raising dinner next Wed. night and hope to have a decent turnout. Tyson foods here in Albertville donated the chicken wings and chicken nuggets.A local farmer here is letting me have enough of the small red potatoes (creamers) at his cost.
I have most of my stuff packed, except for last minute things (like a 100 )
I found a 2 bag set in Walmart that are waterproof, and they look like they are going to work out well I have already loaded the bike and rode around here for a couple days to see how the load was going to ride. It all felt great.
I will keep yaaaal posted as we progress. Paul
I am having a fund raising dinner next Wed. night and hope to have a decent turnout. Tyson foods here in Albertville donated the chicken wings and chicken nuggets.A local farmer here is letting me have enough of the small red potatoes (creamers) at his cost.
I have most of my stuff packed, except for last minute things (like a 100 )
I found a 2 bag set in Walmart that are waterproof, and they look like they are going to work out well I have already loaded the bike and rode around here for a couple days to see how the load was going to ride. It all felt great.
I will keep yaaaal posted as we progress. Paul
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