Gonna Bee a Great Weekend

Being a motorcycle rider in New England requires a lot of patience.... we ride in the challenging weather of Spring, rain gear at hand, often bundled in electric clothing, knowing at some point that Mother Nature will eventually reward us with a stellar weekend with perfect days.

For me, it is also when the stars align and I can take the day off from my store to get out on the road. The approaching weekend is looking to be just that perfect combination!

I have gotten out on the bike for little jaunts around the block, or running errands, which is always fun, but they are only teasers for the open road. My mind wanders through the trips I have planned- not unlike the sugar plums that danced in my head on Christmas Eve as a litle girl, while waiting for Santa to come. The adventures that lie ahead of me call romantically, they play like movie trailers in my mind, very exciting little snippets of what is to come. The reality is though, that this is going to be a true test of my spirit and stamina and I know I will be working hard on most days. I am sure that the question of "who's idea was this anyway?" will present itself multiple times. The most immediate need is to get some 'training' in for the long ride- a few long days in the saddle to get my body ready for that posture for 4+ weeks. In the end, I will start the trip with whatever I have, and a strong faith that the road will whip me into shape very quickly and I will step up to the challenge. Mom will splash me and my bike with Holy Water as I pull out of the driveway as well. She has done that with all my tours, and I don't think I can start one without that blessing now!

This next string of days will be fun, and will move by all too quickly I am sure. Of course, the days leading to it have simply dragged....that funny bendy thing that time does. Saturday, I will be riding what looks to be a fabulous tour of central MA and into NH with the New England Riders. I always know that any ride with this group is going to be a well planned ride. They are serious foodies as well- so I am planning on showing up with a full tank of gas and an empty belly- there are three opportunities to eat on this ride! You have to love an itinerary that starts and ends at food establishments, with a nice long lunch break in the middle of the 200 or so miles. My kind of ride :)

Visit their web page!
http://www.newenglandriders.org/

This weekend is also going to be my first riding with my new GPS. My husband gave me a Zumo 660 for my birthday. For those that don't know, this is a pretty near top of the line motorcycle GPS. I don't know if I will ever truly figure out all the bells and whistles that it has! All my friends let out a collective sigh of relief when they heard that I finally own one. I have taken a few doozies of wrong direction rides in my past years of touring! It is one thing though, to do this in the company of others as opposed to solo riding, because I know eventually someone is going to honk loudly enough to tell me to pull over and set me in the right direction or my cell phone will start buzzing with text messages with the same purpose...coming from friends who are watching me on my SPOT tracker. They know faster than I do that I have turned south when I should have been riding north! Hopefully now, I will stay pointed in the intended direction, leaving time for exploration off the beaten path at my choosing.

My husband is happy because now he knows I can find my way home. :)



My first Road Trip in 2007 , destination Eureka Springs Arkansas. This was taken in Branson, Missouri