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Soul owner of a single kidney and  victim of occasional arrhythmia attacks (byproduct of  the 80's).  April the 28th 2006 Afraid that if I didn't do it now, with my luck at age 67 I'd keel over  packing for my trip of a life I set out..  I only had a couple of goals first to see all the cool things I had stared at in my geography texts as a kid  held   prisoner of war in Kokomo, Indiana and to hedonistically get the most out of every day........Enjoy the moments. During the 178 day 42,656 mile long party I sent out an email to my friends every two weeks or so. The 3rd anniversary that each email was sent I will post that email on this page. The originals were raw quickly written with little thought given to spelling or grammar, don't expect much more from these barely edited versions.    Check back to catch each post.
                                                                                                                             Live to ride another day...... Tom
The first email I sent to friends from the road Tuesday May 9th 2006  
       Ahoy Mates! Currently about 80 miles southwest of Nashville, day 12 of 180. Set out from Orlando Friday the 28th for 3 nights of haze and confusion in Key West to celebrate the beginning of my adventure. Monday evening was spent at Joe Hamker's place in Homestead FL an old friend from the Hurricane Andrew days. Back in the saddle Tuesday morning rode across the Everglades National Park, camping that evening on Lake Manatee.  Took about 40 or so minutes to realize I had no clue how to set up the tent, luckily I found the instructions.  I had not camped a night since 1978 you had thought I would have set it up before I left........why?. Got to Mark & Mike's (friends for over 25 years) Wednesday afternoon for a couple of relaxing days while BMW Motorcycles of Tampa Bay was doing a 12k mile service on my machine. The boys have the coolest old home close to Tropicana Field / Downtown St. Pete.  Friday noonish I picked up the machine and set out from the shop.  About 20 miles out riding one handed leaning against my tank bag with my right forearm cruise control set at 70 the revs took off.  Immediately it was apparent I was astride a motorcycle with a transmission was coming apart or more commonly known as BLOWING UP!  Grabbed a handful of clutch stood on the brakes in an effort to cut the speed before the rear wheel locked, got her down to about 25 mph before I skidded to a serpentine stop.  Aaaah Yep you got it the tech did not refill the tranny case after servcing it. Long story short they came and got me, they took a tranny out of a new machine from the showroom and put in mine,  they put me up in a cheap motel ( the carpet was so dirty my feet were black on the bottoms a hour after I showered), then against all odds they had me back on the road 6 minutes under 24 hours from the time I got the machine stopped. Joe Maguire (owner) also told me my next major service is on the house, what more could I have asked for I'll be back.  Camped Saturday night in Panacea FL a cool little fishing town on the Reneck Rivera.  First lesson in the cost of camping, as I was leaving Sunday morning  the guy who ran the place wanted $26 for me and the tent. Nobody in the office  when I rolled in the night before, he ended up taking 20 bux cash. $26 for a tent? BS That's just wrong. I knew I had to get north by Sunday to get around a storm coming in from the west, due to the transmission problem setting me a day back I was right in the middle of a viscous storm that had overtaken the deep south with no end in sight. The last two days were spent riding south to north thru eastern Alabama on secondary roads in a constant heavey rains.  Hit a couple of unbelievably nasty storms. Deafening thunder, lighting strikes popping everywhere.  With no where to hide.  I'm hoping I get all the storm riding out. Tomorrow night I hope to be drinking heavily with a buddy Big John Regets, I'll let you know how that goes.  Take Care Friends
p.s. I can get the tent up in about ten minutes, with a chilly in one hand!   
 
 
Second email from the road sent Tuesday May 16th 2006
   Time line Tuesday the 16th of April......Good morning friends and enemies!
   For the first time in sixteen days the sun is shining in Imperial, Missouri.  I would imagine it hasn't rained here in Imperial everyday for the last sixteen, although it has rained everyday everywhere I've been the last sixteen days and it's starting to suck!  Since the first email it has rained constantly, nothing to do but ride thru it. On the way to Kokomo, IN to spend Mother's Day with my Mom I cut down a rear tire. Luckily I was close to a BMW dealer they got me fixed up while I walked to a Mexican Joint they recommended.  Holy burning in my gut burrito the place was terrible, gravitated to a Gatorade diet the following 2 days.  Should have remembered the name, easier yet just ask the folks at Bloodworth Motorcycles in Nashville where the closest Mexican joint is and don't go there. 
   Had a great time visiting my Mom it meant a lot to her too have her kids together for the day.  Every time I leave Kokomo I have a damp and scratchy feeling in my crotch that doesn't clear up for a couple of days. The plight of Kokomo's is predicated on the strength of the American auto market seems to have been stable for the local economy. Folks here have been riding the high life the last several years.  I remember when most folks were laid off a couple of times a year. I left over 30 years ago the first time, returned briefly a couple of times. Finally succeeded breaking away.  
   Got to St. Lois yesterday afternoon found a little bar Pardio's or something like that in an old worn out industrial area.  Odds are this area was at one time buzzed with activity, now most building appear empty passing the years in different stages of falling in on themselves.  No better information about a city can be gleaned that from a group of sots in a beat bar, Budweiser leaving hurt bad, the old Cardinal's stadium was better than new one and paid for to boot, then of course the standard local government full of crooks.  After slamming a few chillys with my new friends getting my required data I was off to locate a cheap motel du joirs south of town (Imperial) and get back in time to catch a Card's game.  After finding a suitable parking garage across from the stadium the attendants let me park right next to the exit free. What a deal first the sots now these young bucks. Seems these "Show Me" folks are pretty cool. It was about that time I met the next cool persons in St. Lois Zeke, his wife and brother in law visiting from Seattle. As I was trying to decipher the seating chart the lady was holding against the ticket window showing me where available seats were located, Zeke nudged me.  He had an extra ticket straight behind home plate. I thinking it was more than I wanted to spend  as I turned to the lady letting her know I had a seat. With a beer and "bratburger" (brat shaped like a burger, dryer than a west Texas sand storm.) found my aisle seat about 25 rows back from where future hall of famer Tom Glavine will be pitching to future hall of famer Albert Puljois.  I hope I keep getting this lucky. The rain returned during the 7th I had to ride 25 miles back to this dump in a driving rain......again.  This place is right in the middle of a crack neighborhood, the manager gave me little pieces on aluminum with a thumb screw to use for locks on the windows, for 31 bux  wad ya want! 
   LMAO I just opened the drapes, every member of the mid-eastern owner's clan is standing out front staring at my room with various cleaning tools in hand.  I need to hit the road.........
                                                                                            Giddy Up
 
3rd email from the road sent Tuesday May 23rd 06
  Greetings from Greenville, Mississippi home of the Delta Blues.
  Last Wednesday I left St. Louis headed for Grass Roots BMW in Cape Girardeau Missouri lost my right Mirror in a nasty storm. RIGHT! I had been riding in storms most of the trip to date. Not far south of St Louis, out in the middle of nowhere a man working on his car told me I could ride on the Mississippi River's levee, found it in no time. I decided to turn north for a bit before doubling back, Hell I'd never rode on a levee before. Wasn't long before I saw something to my left on the side of the levee, As I closed to about 50 yards the first Coyote I ever saw in the wild took off for the brush, it was beautiful it stopped just in the brush turned and watch me go by.  I decided to go ahead and doubled back south about a eight of a mile further.  I cut the motor as I neared the area where it had been hoping to coast up to a photo op, didn't happen.  Later that day I stopped for lunch with wide eyes I related my Animal Kingdom moment to my worn and frumpy waitress who just shrugged and said "Yeah you see them all the time around here." Not only did she piss on my parade but the food sucked! 
   Grass Roots is a stand alone BMW Shop (a rarity today) With Herb & Reno Anderson at the helm. I arrived just after closing time to find Reno closing the doors, she said they didn't have one in stock and Herb was on the shop's Wednesday evening dinner ride. Lucky for me there was a little bar next door with a stool that fit my ass perfectly. I struck up a conversation with the closest victim. Another small world moment the guy's name was Paul Mingushe he was a Marine detached on the USS Inchon LPH12 the boat I sailed on in the mid seventies he during the eighties wow it was cool. Funny when I was in the Navy it sucked now I only remember the col stuff.  During brewski #3 Herb walked thru the door with a friend. Over a couple of more brews we shot the breeze, Herb said one of his guys had picked an 05 Rt in St. Louis that day if the mirror was okay I could by it and he'd order a new one, worked out well. If you ever get to this part of the country stop by Grass Roots Herb & Reno are the best. Thursday morning I was off for Mamouth Springs, Arkansas on a route a tech at Grass Roots laid out for me, the day was perfect the road was wonderful sweepers and rivers every mile.
  Hit the rode early Friday morning set out early after riding for a bit pulled in for breakfast there was a new RT like mine, and R100 and a Honda ST. I pulled up a chair, they were heading to Hebor Springs for a ST Rally. I decided to ride with them, didn't last long the road was Twisty City these  guys weren't interested in cutt'n loose. 
  Stopped for a water at a little joint, the parking lot was filled with sport bikes. I went in side with map in hand. Rick showed me a ride he thought I would enjoy.  I went exploring the area as I came around a curve there they sat  getting ready to ride Rte #341 north to their Rally headquarters in Gassville. they asked if I'd ever rode the road before, answering no they assured me I was in for a treat. I had no clue what they meant but soon as I passed a sign rounding a curve on a hill double the posted speed limit that read " Caution Sharp turns and steep grade the next 25 miles. Holy Pucker Factor of 10 I'm on the infamous Push Mountain, Arkansas's answer to Deals Gap. I slid in 6th of 8 bikes perfect for loosening up, soon I wanted to go faster than my group. At the half way point the first group was pulled over, it had been a brisk 12-13 miles of constant switchbacks and blind hills my brain needed a break.  I jumped to the rear of the first group for the next segment the Asphalt Angel was fully loaded, this group was on sport bikes. None the less I did a I did an admiral job of hanging with them. I knew I could out power them but the curves was all them where they could get a jumped on me. As we came into a clearing at the top of a hill I could see we were about to go into a long sweeper down a hill the back up into another sweeper. I thought might as well show off a little pasted them at a buck 35, lol watching them in the mirror you'd thought they were fire ants and I had stomped on their hill.  I held them off for a couple of miles. It is amazing how fast and how much your brain can process you can actually feel it wearing down, I guess that is why most motorcycle races are sprints. When we stopped and took off our helmets we had to laugh we were all a bunch of old farts out riding the young bucks in the second group.
  Off to decorate  my Grandparents grave in Bradford Arkansas on my way to the the Big Easy, Party Time
                                                                                                              Giddy Up.  
 
 
4th email from the road sent June 8th
Good evening all reporting live from the Sunshine Laundrette in spooky Roswell New Mexico. Roswell home of the UFO and bookoo secret government projects. These folks sure know how to get their bucks worth out of the UFO sighting the little alien logo is everywhere.
I'd be remiss if I failed to tell about a couple of folks I met along the way but failed to mention before. Heading south for Little Rock on Rte 341 (Push Mountain) the morning after attending the rally the sport guys put on I met Chuck Gordan. Passing a gap in the forest I noticed a BMW LT sneaking out, thought it a bit strange road bike emerging from the woods. Wasn't long before the stop sign red LT come blowing by with gold lettering on the top bag the read "Wush ba you". The guy was riding flawlessly along the twisting road, with a long gray ponytail flapping in the wind you could tell he was a regular customer on Push Mountain. It wasn't long as I rounded a turn the LT rider was standing in a pull slugging on a Mountain Dew.  Chuck a retired Navy vet, works a 3 day work week and spends the rest of the time riding the Ozarks. The fairing on the 6'+ 300 pound+ bib overall clad rider was scraped from cornering the twisting road.
  A buddy of mine Courtney gave me the name of a good friend in the Big Easy. Jackie made sure I was whacked by 7pm by visiting watering holes in New Orleans that only the locals know about. After sharing a sampler platter  at Cops I stumbled to my room, a cool kid and a natural fit for the Bourbon Street area thanks Jackie. The 9th Ward where the levee broke during Hurricane Katrina was a mess. Homes were washed from their foundations, miles of destroyed cars were stacked under a highway 5-6 high. I guess most folks never felt the levee would breach, never had before. Riding west out of New Orleans along the Gulf Of Mexico I ran across a 75 mile swath of destruction caused by Hurricane Rita. Although several small towns were washed away if Rita would have blown ashore 60 miles east it the impact on New Orleans would have been devastating.
  Stopped by Bells, Texas (about 60 miles north of Dallas) to visit a boyhood friend. Mike Grove is an active Patriot Guard member and American Legion Rider. Met his buddies Sparky, Treetop, Double D (the nicknames fit perfectly) at Susie Q's a biker bar in Dennison, Texas. Mike informed a red haired gal that she needed the flash me as she would never see me again, she complied proudly those Texans sure are nice folks LOL. After two days it was time to head out Mike rode with me for a couple of hours before heading back to Bells.
  Carlsbad Caverns are incredibly stunning. After a steep I mile hike to the bottom I was in these two beautiful giant rooms. I took the elevator up the Ranger told me they let folks walk up during the winter months, No way would I do that. I returned that evening to watch the bats exit the cavern. Just before sunset thousands upon thousands of bats like a black tornado came streaming the cavern an amazing site. While making my way back to my camp site 6-8 deer dashed right out in front of me had to stand on the binders to keep from hitting any of them (pucker factor 8).
  time to get going the clothes dry. Heading for S.W. New Mexico in the morning.
                                                                                                                                           Giddy Up