Hitting the Road With Michael

It is early Friday morning and I'm out in the garage. I couldn't sleep anymore. I'm too excited. On Sunday afternoon, as soon as we get home from church and eat a little something, my son, Michael, and I are heading out to a western adventure. I'm calling it, for clarity and due to lack of imagination on my part, "The Father's Day Ride."

Somewhere along the way, my son picked up my love for all things motorcycle. What he didn't get was my good fortune not to wreck very often. Michael has wrecked almost every bike he has had. He has also had his fair share of just bad luck.

He ran a little Kawasaki through a corner into a grassy ditch. Nothing got hurt. He got hit by a car on a city street while riding a Yamaha cruiser. He didn't get hurt but the bike got dinged. He bought a Triumph Triple and ran into the back of a car on his way home from making the purchase. They both got hurt on that one. He really bought it when he hit a road divider on that same Triumph at 65 mph on the highway. Then he bought a Kawasaki crotch rocket that he loved...until it was stolen off his driveway. He spent quite a bit of time making payments on a bike he no longer had.

Here's Michael on his way home from his last trip to the hospital after a bike accident. Poor kid!

BUT...

I find Michael to be an absolutely excellent riding partner. He even seems less susceptible to biker road rage than I am, which is an admirable quality.  I think we will do just fine. Besides, I love to ride with him. He's the reason why I like to have more than one motorcycle. We don't get to ride together very often but every time is special to me. This trip will be the best! I'll be riding Beauty, my Harley Road Glide Special, and Michael will be on the Beast, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. An added benefit will be our ability to trade bikes from time to time.

The longest trip we've taken together was a ride out to the Tail of the Dragon, the infamous US 129, which we did over Thanksgiving weekend several years ago. I had a Victory Vision and a Harley Ultra Classic back then and Michael rode the Victory. It was a hard ride - cold and rainy - but it was a grand adventure and we came through just fine.

Now that we are older, wiser, and better equipped, we're ready to do it again.

Of course, there are always preparations that need to be made. Every trip requires something, and every something makes the trip even better. I've added several somethings to the list for this one.

• I'm taking an extra camera. The Olympus Stylus TG-870. I'll let Michael use the Go Pro to capture whatever he finds noteworthy and I'll be the point and click guy. I'm not much into taking pictures on rides but this one is special.
• I bought my very first Selfie Stick and little tripod. See above. Special.
• Later today I hope to install a set of Sena 20S communicators in our helmets. I have long resisted wanting a Bluetooth anything when I'm on a long ride. Not being able to answer the telephone is one of the reasons I do what I do. But I want Michael and I to be able to talk beyond the old arm waving thing and I trust that these will do the trick.
• Since we'll be doing quite a bit of camping, I got Michael a nice chair - watching the campfire in a comfortable chair IS the point of camping - and we'll each be bringing our own tent.
• And I got an extra Camelbak so he will have one too. Drinking water while riding is an absolute requirement for health and safety reasons, especially since we'll be in the desert for part of the ride.

The ride plan is appropriately ambitious. The idea behind it came last fall when my dearest and most beloved mentors, Pastor Marlin Wogstad, passed away. He was a real father figure to me, especially during my early years of ministry and through some of the struggles I have had (and caused) along the way. In his last years, he and his wife, Susan, were members of my congregation. As painful as it was, I had the honor of walking with him to the end and officiating at his funeral. When his family told me that Marlin's wish was that his ashes be scattered in the waters of Puget Sound off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, I immediately knew that I would be there. And I hoped Michael would be there too.

My Dad died in 2006. He is buried in a cemetery in Poulsbo, WA. Which just happens to be on the way to where Marlin will be scattered. So the plan is to visit my Dad's grave on Friday, be with Marlin's family for the scattering on Saturday, and then spend Father's Day with my sisters and their families. 

Here's a shot from the last time I was able to have a conversation with my Dad.

Those times will be the heart of the trip but, of course, there IS the getting there and back. We'll see how things go but this trip will take us down some roads I have been to and I want Michael to experience (like Durango to Ouray), some places that Michael wants to go to (Yosemite and Las Vegas), and some bucket list rides for me (Lolo Pass.) Camping will slow us down to we might end up having to take more interstate than I would like but what is life if not trade-offs?

I know that there is a value in writing up daily reports but my experience has been that, while I do take notes and write along the way, it is just easier to write it up at the end so that is my plan for this one. We don't get to leave until Sunday!