Putting it together.....From cool to trip-worthy.

So it's a cinch that the factory-equipped (and very cool if I must say so), 105th Softail Custom just isn't going to be able to haul enough stuff for a long trip, and the bugs down south are the size of birds....and then  there's the birds. And I need something to charge the phone and maybe a GPS to get me un-lost when on those back roads. Knowing all that, I started with this:

and added this:

and this:

.......and started ending up with something like this.....haven't yet had it all installed at once. I just can't bring myself to do it....

 

This is collectively more junk than I've ever had on a motorcycle. Windshield and saddlebags? Are you fucking kidding me?

Cowboy

New Orleans.....Or not.

Thoughts for the day.....

Been working on my checklist of stuff to take....I got the Harley Owners Manual out last night so I don't forget it. Have 99% decided to mount my Hummer GPS on the bike, so I need a mount and cover to keep the rain off.

Have also decided to paint those awful chrome lower wind deflectors black so I don't look like some reject from a Ben Hur movie going down the highway. They work, but they sure don't look good. I also don't want Dave Shapiro or Bev Gottleib making fun of me.

....on another note:

This adventure is supposed to be fun, with a little extra time spent in New Orleans to relax, get over the stiffness of a long ride, eat some good food and listen to a little music on Bourbon Street.

But I'm increasingly distracted (who isn't) by this dreadful environmental disaster going in the Gulf. I'm just not sure if this endpoint of the journey is the right one. I was about to make some plans for a New Orleans hotel last night and something was holding me back. I think I'll open up a map again tonight and consider other options.

Vacation aside, I'm personally upset over this awful mess in the gulf....It's just wrong and I can't believe BP, or someone else, can't devise a solution to stop this oil from pumping into the water and killing off the fish, birds and wildlife. And effecting those who's lives depend on the Gulf.

Sorry to get off on some political rant....this is just bothering me, and moreso each day.

Cowboy

Post #2, the Starting Point. It isn't a place, it's an event. How the hell did this start, anyway?

My Old School 63 Panhead...Old School Cowboy, too!

Obviously, you just don't jump on and go, right? The trip for me actually started in May of 2008. Though I'd ridden, I hadn't owned a bike for a number of years. I had been on the fence about one for about a year when an old friend called me. My childhood next-door neighbor from North Linthicum, John G.

I hadn't seen John for years, but he and I grew up together, and together we'd put a lot of miles on motorcycles. We'd also spent a couple years as members of the same motorcycle club (another story for another time). During this conversation, while we were catching up on old times, John told me he was still riding, that other friends are still riding, and he wondered why the hell I wasn't riding!

What's a guy to do? I went right out and bought a brand new 2008 Harley Davidson Softail Custom 105th Anniversary Edition!! June 1, 2008 is the date on the paperwork, and it was my very first new Harley. It's one of about 7 in a string of Harleys I owned over the years. I give John full credit for the bike and think of him every damn month when I make the payment.

So I guess that was the start point.....getting back on a Harley. There were actually a few new things to get used to. For one, I always rode choppers, and this thing had features I was unfamiliar with: Front brakes, a front fender, shocks, a comfortable seat, lights that actually worked, turn signals, and of all things, a horn. And yeah, there were two more gears after 4th, though I rode around in 4th for a while before I realized that. The coolest thing, though, was having a gas gage. I ran out of gas all the time riding choppers. And yeah, there's one other nifty feature: A warranty!

And I have to add this. For the first year or so, I was always looking down on both sides of the bike, and watching behind me, though I wasn't conscious of doing it. John finally busted me for it, reminding me that this wasn't a chopper and I wasn't in danger of losing parts on a long ride! On those old ones, I never got anywhere with everything I left with; I was always watching out for missing parts so I could double back to get whatever fell off. Old habits die hard.

So the stage was set, sort of, and as time went on, I realized I just might be able to ride this bike on a long, long ride. One I'd always wanted to take. But I needed some new stuff....Stay tuned.

Cowboy

Kickoff...... Blog Post #1 of.....Well, it's anyone's guess.

Here we go....an attempt to document the fulfillment of a dream to ride across America on a motorcycle. I'm not doing the whole bit, East to West (My son did that and he's still got a sore back!), but I am planning a scaled-back adventure that starts in Alexandria, Virginia (my current home), though the south, to New Orleans, Louisiana. 
And back.



A goal for the trip is to avoid, whenever practical, the Interstate Highway System. Instead, I'm making my way through the Southeast via back roads and through small towns. I want to re-discover America, and maybe even my roots. I've always felt "southern", and consider myself a Texan (sorry Baltimore). For me, this is like a trip home.



My Mom and I spent many summer hours and countless miles on the roads between Baltimore and Fort Worth, Texas, and through the window of the car I saw countless places where I wanted to stop: Roadside stands, tourist traps, snake farms, and all those signs pointing toward something historic. On this trip, I'm making some of those stops, and might even spend a little extra time in a friendly town if the mood strikes. Even longer if one of the local ladies talks me into it. Of course, the local authorities might just encourage me to get my ass back on the Harley and move on. It'll be interesting to see how it all works out.



So with that intro, I'll try to tell you a little about my long-awaited trip, and maybe you can ride along with me...in spirit, anyway...on a trip where I'm looking for a little Southern Comfort.

PS - I'll probably lapse into using my old nickname, "Cowboy", through much of this. Old friends still call me that, and it somehow seems appropriate to resurrect the name for the ride.