The lack of recent Journey Reports does not reflect a pause in the journey; I've simply been spending
time with the Matriarch in Chattanooga, my Dad and friends in Nashville, and going on day rides. I
always like to take a few day rides on a bike I haven't ridden in a while to re-acclimate with it before
heading off in the wild yonder regardless of how many miles I have previously spent on the bike.
One such day ride this past week put me around Cullman, AL and D&H Cycle, the same place I picked up my
new FJR motorcycle this past February (that “F-A-R” journey is:
HERE). Nothing
wrong with the bike, I really just wanted to see one of my heroes, “Virginia” again!
Virginia is the 78 year old Parts Dept Manager, and has been such for over 35 years!
Dang, this woman knows her parts! She raps off part numbers like no one I've ever met in the motorcycle industry:
Me with Virginia:
After spending most of the summer in Alaska on a dual sport motorcycle (my DL1000 V-Strom) doing dual sport things
(like tromping through mud and gravel), it's been great to be get back on the FJR and, well, smoke a few
roads. The journey is not about a specific mode of transportation (or even transportation at all), but sometimes
for me it is about riding a motorcycle purely for the love of riding. Twisties, sweepers, and smooth pavement
certainly count as “scenery” in my book. Carving corners isn't exactly the preferred activity in Alaska's
wilderness nor in Phoenix's blistering heat (at least not for this snowbird!), so I've been able to address that
carving need on the recent day rides, on a new set of tires no less.
Today's ride was a little more tame, especially since it included other folks, namely my friend Scott (aka “Grand
Webmaster”) and my Dad. (Didn't want to scare the boys too bad ya know!). Scott and I rode out to
Henderson, TN so I could reconnect with “Frank” the guy I met in Fairbanks recently and reported about:
HERE. At that time Frank was
heading off to section hike the Oregon part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Here's the pic I took of Frank in
Fairbanks as he was heading out...
...two months and MANY miles later for the both, we reconnect on the cattle farm he shares with his brother in Henderson, TN:
In the report from the link above, I stated Frank was in his late 50's. Today I learned he is 69. Yes,
sixty-freakin'-nine years old and in the process of planning his next big adventure: riding his bicycle from
Fairbanks back to TN next summer.... at he age of 70, of course!! Frank is clearly a person who has no
concept of age. I'd wager that he'd agree with me that age is merely a measurement of the time you have
spent on planet Earth. One thing is for sure, he is definitely a seize the journey kinda guy!
After enjoying lunch together, my Dad, Scott, Frank, and I went back to his farm and met a few cows:
While we were all standing around, the black one pictured apparently decided she wanted to go on a hike today, broke
the fence, and heads down the street:
I quickly offered to run ahead of it (thinking surely I can out run a dang cow), but Frank calmly said he'd cut
across the field and herd him back down the street if I'd make sure “to keep 'um straight” (ah, yeah, sure thing),
and if Dad and Scott would direct him back into the fence.
So, off goes Frank...
...and here they come back....
When he rounded the corner to me I reconsidered that running part...as in running FROM since those horns looked
awfully sharp!:
I don't think my Dad and Scott knew quite what they were getting into when I asked them to join me today, but
both would probably say that is usually the case when they hang out with me! Here they are preparing for
their end of the herding:
Just as we were getting the bovine contained, Frank's brother Ed appeared, probably to check on the three city
slickers. From left to right: Scott, Frank, my Dad, and Ed:
Before leaving, Ed showed us his collection of arrowheads he's found while caring for their 30 acres:
As is typical when I ride with others, I didn't take any photos of our actual ride today. The most memorable
part for me from today isn't something that can be seen anyway, which was spending time with a kindred spirit.
Day's end GPS, which reflects the 338 miles ridden today as well as the fact that I own the limited edition turbo
model FJR:
... ok, so “the gizmo” (as the Matriarch likes to call my GPS unit), has a serious issue with “Max Speed”,
huh? The 1,256 miles reflect the cumulative miles of the day rides this past week, or the beginning
of the “Fall Foliage Frolic”!
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