Its time to start getting ready....

I am getting really excited about my next motorcycle trip. On July 23rd I will be taking off for St Louis to start my ride along the Lewis and Clark Trail to Oregon then down the California coast, returning home on August 27th, about 8,000 miles later. The other day I was remembering how sad I was when I got home last year - how much I didn't want the trip to be over and have to return to my "normal" life. As I was remembering that sadness it hit me full force that I was going back into the wild, reentering that state of living "life on the road" again. My God, how fortunate I am that I am going back out there again. I will be reentering a world where nothing but my motorcycle, my maps, my God and the moon will be present in my life. These trips are, as they have always been, about the experiences I will have rather than the places I will be. And I have no idea what is in store for me. God, I am so ready to dive in! This will be my 5th trip and I am as excited as I was on my first trip, except now I know a thing or two. For example one thing I know, and many of you know as well, is that I have a rule I must live by when on these trips - if ANYONE asks me to do ANYTHING that is not sexual or violent, I have to say yes. I have seen the Vancouver Islands, tasted sour cream pie, partied with 10,000 fellow bikers in the Black Hills of South Dakota and met ancestors of good friends at a cemetery in the middle of nowhere because of this rule. I have close friends who I visit with every year because of that rule and share powerful memories of my life with complete strangers whom I will probably never meet again. And those are just a few but they are enough to explain how much I love these rides. I am in full assembly mode now, testing everything for good working order and investigating interesting places that I might want to visit along my route. This past weekend I was highlighting a potential route for my trip and as the ink of the highlighter went over places I have been before the images and memories of those places flooded into my conscience. And new places such as Sequoia and Redwood National Parks and Death Valley (in August when the average temp is over 120 degrees) add to my anxiousness to get going. This year it looks like my good friend Bob Massey may be coming with me. That would be something! Last year Mike Hall and Beth Walter came with me for about a week each and that has been the most company I have ever had. The thought of having a friend with me the whole time sounds incredible. Oh the stories we will be able to talk about for the next few years! To Sam, Kristi, Dave, Tessa, Don, Wayne, Donetta, John, Aline, Elaine, and Justin - I can't wait to see you again on my trip! My heart is already singing and I haven't even left let. So glad it is that time of year again!