Getting ready to roll!

Trip Start Aug 12, 2009

Trip End Sep 11, 2009

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Our own comfy bed for now...

Flag of United States Las Vegas, Nevada
Wednesday, July 29, 2009

We are currently in the planning and preparation stages of our trip. We are scheduled to leave Las Vegas for San Ysidro, CA on August 13th and will be on the road for over four weeks. We have 21 days to ride from San Ysidro, CA to Blaine, WA to Madawaska, MA and arrive in Key West, FL. We will generally follow the route shown above as we travel. As you look at our route, note that we will ride in all but a small number of States. The one's we are missing on this trip, Paul has already ridden in and by the time we complete the trip, he will have been on his Harley in all 48 contiguous States. Barb will pick them up in the next year or so. Now we have to figure out how to get Hawaii and Alaska!

For now we are getting our supplies and equipment together and getting the bikes ready for a trip of over 11,000 miles. We both need to get new tires on the bikes and make sure all the equipment is ready. Barb needs to get fog lights installed and we will probably identify other needs before we leave. Finally we need to get our registration packet back from the Four Corner's Association to officially qualify for the ride. Now that we have begun to plan, we are getting very excited. Keep us in prayer as we plan for this adventure.

Update: 08-04-09. We now have all our documents together and all the work on the bikes is almost done. I'm still waiting on tires to be delivered for installation but that's about it. We are so ready to go. Just a few more days and we're off.

Update: 08-05-09. Things changed fast overnight. Our trip changed from a focus on the Four Corner Tour and a pretty direct route home to now planning to incorporate riding in all 48 lower States on the ride too. Paul had ridden in all the States we were not headed to on this trip, but Barb still needed to ride in a few. When we did the mileage calculations, we determined that building all 48 States into this trip added about 1500 miles and we just couldn't resist. Now we will head north after a quick run into New Mexico and add all the States needed to ride all 48 in one trip. Riding to the Four Corners of the USA in 21 days is an accomplishment but riding to all 48 States is going to add a whole new dimension to our travels. We must be nuts but it's all about the adventure and the ride.

Update: 08-06-09. I got the Harley back today with new tires on it. We also got new "fog" lights and auxiliary tail lights on Barb's Honda to make it much more visible in rain or dark. Both the bikes are now ready for the trip and all the paperwork, etc is done. We really want to leave now but we have family commitments until next Tuesday. We will have Wednesday to pack and load up and then be on the road very early on next Thursday. Two nights in San Diego and then off on the adventure. If you know of anyone who might like to "ride along" by following this travel blog, send them the link or let us know and we'll invite them. If you want to reach us you can always e-mail us at pmschmi (at) msn.com. (replace the word at with @)

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