The RideAbout Posts
Why RideAbout?
It was 2012, and as my 65th birthday approached with gathering speed, I began to see this event as a significant milestone for reflecting on the journey of life so far. It was, perhaps, time to take a break from my daily routine and set about reflecting on life, relationships, past goals, future goals, and the direction for the next phase of my journey. Ideally, I could enter a period of decompression that would dissipate the day-to-day stress life saddles us all with and obtain physical and spiritual relaxation of mind and body. Lofty goals, huh?
Consideration of this idea led quickly to the thought that since I have spent virtually the whole of my life connected to all aspects of motorcycling both in my personal and business life, a motorcycle should play a part in the process.
Suddenly the pieces started to fall together as I recalled the Australian aboriginal practice referred to as the “Walkabout”, an occasional interruption of regular work where one goes on a long walking journey in the bush far from towns and cities. For the aborigines of Australia, taking a break from routine in the solitude of the outback in order to seek inner tranquility is a spiritual tradition that’s been handed down over thousands of years. Native Americans also ventured into the wilderness on solitary “vision quests” to meet their spirit guide and find direction in life.
The “RideAbout” was born of the merger between the walkabout concept and motorcycling. A further combination with my impending birthday led to “RideAbout65”.
Interweaved with the RideAbout concept was the collection of roads to ride and places to visit I had been collecting over the years and including in my personal “Bucket List”. Thus, my blog sub-title “Emptying Buckets” was coined.
RideAbout65 was conceived to be a “four corners” journey, that is, the four corners of the USA. Each corner would be a separate trip from Tennessee so as to make the time issues more manageable…four separate trips would be easier to accomplish and would allow each to build on the “lessons learned” of the last. Nova Scotia was chosen as the Northeast corner even though it is beyond the US border, “just because”. Just because I had never been there and Nova Scotia has a reputation as a good motorcycling destination. Key West, San Diego, and Seattle were chosen as the obvious remaining corners. Each trip was to be made on back roads to the greatest extent possible with the major portion of route planning done day-by-day with no imposed schedules other than a general, “I’ll be gone for about XX days”, (12 days, 20 days, etc).
RideAbout2010 was the warm-up and shakedown ride out to one of my bucket list destinations, Devils Tower, Wyoming.
Four Corners Fun:
The Four Corners concept also aligned with various shades of Four Corners Symbolism, as in:
- The Four Material Elements: Earth, Water, Air, Fire
- The Four Cardinal Directions: North, West, East, South
- The Four Natural Colors: Green, Blue, Yellow, Red
- The Four Basic Characteristics: Cold & Dry, Cold & Wet, Hot & Wet, Hot & Dry
- The Four Physical Orientations: Left, Behind, Front, Right
- The Four Day Times: Night, Dusk, Dawn, Noon
- The Four Moon Phases: New Moon, Waning Moon, Waxing Moon, Full Moon
- The Four Earth Seasons: Winter, Fall, Spring, Summer
- The Four Lifetime Periods: Old Age, Maturity, Birth, Youth
“Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe.”
– Anatole France
2015 Bucket Item – Route 66 to Leo Lake Memorial Ride
Update posted on 09/06/2022. Yes, I have a large gap since I last posted about any trips - during that time we have been assembling a new company/personal webpage and this blog. All thanks to Jill at UltimateWPHelp.com. But we are still finishing off the construction...
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 15 – Bowling Green, KY to Morgantown, KY to Clarksville, TN to Home
Today's Mileage: 169 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 2401 miles I am listening to: Nothing today. A long-awaited visit with the Nicewinter family - BOOF's (Best of Old Friends).
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 14 – Louisville, KY to Bowling Green, KY
Today's Mileage: 144 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 2232 miles I am listening to: Nothing today. I had a wonderful visit with my favorite niece Paula and good food, of course!
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 13 – Troy, OH to the Air Force Museum to Louisville, KY
Today's Mileage: 176 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 2088 miles I am listening to: Nothing today.
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 12 – Parkersburg, WV to Troy, OH
Today's Mileage: 279 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 1912 miles I am listening to: Nothing today. I stopped in Troy OH for a visit with my old friend Dave and his family. Lots of good food and bench...
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 11 – Dahlgren, VA to Parkersburg, WV
Today's Mileage: 341 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 1633 miles I am listening to: Nothing today.
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 10 – June 8 – Washington, DC – Pick up bike at Luke’s and overnight at Dahlgren, VA
Today's Mileage: 59 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 1292 miles I am listening to: None today. I flew from Nashville to Washington, DC this morning, arriving early in the afternoon. My friend Luke was...
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 9 – Washington, DC – Visit Luke and Drop off my bike.
Today's Mileage: 25 miles Total Trip Mileage so far: 1233 miles I am listening to: Nothing today. On Wednesday or Thursday I had received an emergency work request that would require me to either get home...
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 8 – Washington, DC – Parade Day
If any one thing can be said about the experience of spending Memorial Day weekend in Washington DC, it would be, “I wish I had done it sooner!”. The idea originated with the thought that I might like to ride in this year’s Rolling Thunder motorcycle parade that...
Rolling Thunder 2015 – Day 7 – Washington, DC
No riding today - visited Thunder Alley and the Wall.
Many thanks to Mick Ofield for the drawings of bikes I have ridden and admired over the years. You can find his work and order prints of over 75 different models on his Facebook page.
