I lost a good friend - my ex-father-in-law- to cancer last fall, and never made the time to go elk hunting with him. It was always "next year". A few other changes and incidents provoked what I guess is a mid-life crisis. The stars aligned and the opportunity came for my father and I to take a month long trip to the west coast. We've enjoyed motorcycle riding with each other in small doses and wanted to do something more.

I want to use the blog to let friends and family keep up with the trip. I've got friends that already live vicariously through me and want to "ride along" even though they can't get a month off work. I hope to update the blog every few days, as the trip is only a month long.

I've been riding motorcycles for 24 years (I'm 38), building and working on them for 10, and riding as much as possible all along. I ride a 2004 HD ElectraGlide - no, I'm not predjudiced, I looked at all the other tourers, I just didn't LIKE them. I work in the aftermarket motorcycle component industry (read: high dollar billet parts) and build low buck custom bikes (especially british) on the side.

Dad just retired, hence the chance for him to go. I'm taking 2 weeks vacation and 2 weeks leave of absence.

I want to do some preparatory blog entries to make sure I'm comfortable with the software, and to introduce the characters. We're also doing some preparatory rides - the Blue Ridge Parkway over Memorial Day, down to GA and back - getting some miles on our bikes and our behinds!