Prolog - 6/4/99

Odometer at 12,555

What a difference a year makes. Before the long trip last
year, things had been fairly slow at work. This
allowed a lot of time for trip preparation. I made detailed checklists and
pre-packed the bike to check weight distribution.

This year, my work and travel schedule had been very hectic.
There was less uncertainty since I had one long trip with this bike under my
belt. The biggest difference is probably that DQ will be following me in the
truck, which means I don't have to pack everything on the bike.

The bike was recently serviced for 12,500 miles. I used the
same checklists as last year and packed in about two hours. I'm ready to start
tomorrow.

Saturday - 6/5/99

Moss Point, MS

467 miles

The vet that is boarding Tigger did not open until 8:00 am,
so we did not start as early as normal for me. We hit the road about 8:30 am,
mostly I-10 all day. DQ behind is good, not only is she with me, but I seem to
check the rear more often that I would other wise.

It was overcast for part of the day and not overwhelmingly
hot. The traffic through Houston was OK, and we had breakfast in Baytown. We
crossed into Louisiana about 11:00 am. There were a couple of construction
delays - one about 30 minutes.

A car directly in front of me had a massive blowout of a
rear tire, most likely a retread. It was smoky and exciting, but I avoided the
debris and got safely past as the car pulled over.

We hit Mississippi about 4:30 pm and drove through
Diamondhead, where we used to live. The area is growing, but still quite laid
back. We stopped in Ocean Springs but found no vacancy at three hotels, so we
drove on to Moss Point.

This was a pretty good first day - DQ is doing quite well
driving behind me. We seem to be communicating well. It's also nice having
company for dinner and the evenings.

Sunday - 6/6/99

New Ellenton, SC

544 miles

A good night's sleep and an early start. We crossed over
into Alabama, losing an hour to Eastern Time, then headed north rather than
continuing into Florida because of expected construction delays. There was not
much traffic on the roads, and the countryside was pleasant. We climbed up
rolling hills from sea level, then turned east toward Georgia after lunch in
Montgomery.

We went around Atlanta about 4:00 pm. We passed a group of
riders from the "Wayward Few" motorcycle gang. They looked rough but
smiled and waved as we passed.

We made very good time and turned north into South Carolina
around 6:30 pm. We actually got here about a half-day
sooner than planned. DQ's driving stamina was greater than expected.

Monday - 6/7/99

New Ellenton, SC

52 miles

An easy day. Some laid back cruising with Charlie (my
father-in-law) with his Kawasaki Vulcan Classic 1500, but mostly resting &
relaxing. The laundry is done, so we're ready to head out again tomorrow. It's
going to be a hot one.

Tuesday - 6/8/99

Roanoke Rapids, NC

406 miles

This was a pretty tough day,
particularly for DQ. She developed some sort of stomach bug after dinner, so
did not sleep well at all. This was strange - we had dinner with lots of
relatives, and I don't think anyone else got sick.

She toughed it out and drove, but we had to stop about once
an hour. It was unbelievably hot - 95-100 degrees all afternoon. In the
morning, I took some back roads that had looked good on the map, but were
rough, boring, and loaded with logging trucks! We headed back to the interstate
for the afternoon.

DQ could drink fluids, but hardly ate at all. We made it to
Roanoke Rapids, where the thermometer read 102. She took a shower then went to
sleep at 8:00. I had a quick snack at Burger King and followed closely behind
her.

Wednesday - 6/9/99

Wilmington, DE

321 miles

DQ is better, but not quite back to normal. This was a much
better day. We crossed into Virginia before 8:00 and had a Waffle House
breakfast about an hour later. We turned east on US 301 just passed Richmond
and entered Maryland about 1:00 pm. We traveled over some very interesting
roads and visited some familiar places, including Radcliffe Manor in Chestertown
MD.

We were in Delaware by 3:30 and drove by our old House in
Taylors Mill, then visited Mike's Famous HD (where I bought the bike) at their
new expanded store. It is really neat with a
restaurant and sports bar.

We talked with some old friends on the phone, then went to
bed fairly early.

Thursday - 6/10/99

Scarborough, ME

414 miles

It was much cooler today. We crossed the Delaware Memorial
Bridge about 7:30 am, and we actually had a slight
drizzle on the New Jersey Turnpike, but not enough to require rain gear. It did
not last long. We crossed the George Washington Bridge about 10:15 and were in
Connecticut about 10:30. The roads were fairly rough
and the traffic was heavy during the first six hours. DQ and I are getting
better with our signals and communication now, but I lost sight of here for a
while In New York City. Pulling over to the side of the road was impossible,
but fortunately she caught up with me after about 10 minutes. This is the first
time I really missed having radio communications with her.

After the slight drizzle, the sun broke through, and the
weather was super for the rest of the day. This was perfect riding weather with
the temperature in the low sixties. The roads through Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, and southern Maine were much more peaceful and scenic. The
tollbooths were a pain and more frequent than expected. We'll let DQ pass me at
tolls in the future and pay for both of us.

We found neat local restaurants for lunch and dinner. I had
hoped this would get DQ to eat. It was partially successful, but her appetite
and strength are still not back to normal. She was a trooper though and managed
to keep on driving.

Friday - 6/11/99

Smyrna Mills, ME

309 miles

I hit Jiffy Lube in Portland ME at 7:30 am for an oil change
for the truck - it should be OK for the remainder of the trip. I was not so
fortunate on the bike - I called three dealerships yesterday, but all were too
busy to service the bike either today or tomorrow. Because of hard winter,
spring is very busy for the dealers in this area, and the week before Laconia
is especially busy.

Another super weather day! We took a leisurely pace and
enjoyed the isolation and super scenery here. Without a service stop for the
bike, we got to Smyrna Mills earlier than planned.

We had no trouble finding the Eric and Lib's farm
(mother-in-law). The farm is on an unpaved road. It is really isolated here,
but peaceful and serene. The past few days have been unseasonably hot for Maine
(about 85), but the mornings and evening are very cool. We met some of the
local neighbors, and enjoyed looking around the 27
acres. With the farm, Eric inherited a 1957 John Deere. We'll try to get it
running tomorrow.

We saw deer and a fox this evening, but no moose yet. They
are alleged to be plentiful in the area.

Saturday - 6/12/99

Smyrna Mills, ME

zero miles

Today was another easy, restful day. I slept like a log last
night, and DQ is back to normal. We had a huge breakfast at a local restaurant,
then hit the road. We took the truck today because of the mileage on the bike.
It will be over 15,500 when we get to Laconia, and service was due at 15,000.
Most of his has been highway miles, so I'm not concerned about the engine, but
I don't want to jeopardize the extended warranty by pushing the 2500 mile service intervals too much.

We toured on the back roads I had previously picked for a 180 mile loop, which included the cities of Presquett Isle
and Caribou near the Canadian border. The countryside was neat. Maine is a very
pretty state - green mountains, rolling hills, and lots of lakes. The cost of
living seems pretty reasonable.

After we got back to Smyrna Mills, we cranked up the old
John Deere and cut some grass until the mowing attachment sheared a couple of
bolts. The old tractor was fun, but I'm not quite ready to give up my day job.
The deer flies chewed me up badly.

We all went "moosing"
around dusk - we saw one deer, several rabbits, and one raccoon, but no moose.

The game plan for tomorrow is a run down the interstate to
Bangor, a loop east over to the coast, then back roads west into New Hampshire.
It's been a nice visit, but I'm ready to hit the road again.

Sunday - June 13, 1999

Meredith, NH

327 miles

We got an early start after another big breakfast with Eric
& Lib. The weather was perfect with temperature in the sixties when we
started.

During the morning run down I-95, a coyote darted out on the
road in a short distance in front of me. Startled, he then turned back into the
woods. It was a little interesting, but not really too
dangerous.

The run down the coast was neat, but US 1 is farther inland
for much of the distance covered than in the southern US. It also had more
hills and curves, which I enjoyed. We stopped at a little hole in the wall
lobster restaurant right on the beach for a nice lunch break.

The next stop was Freeport - home of L.L. Bean and numerous
other outlet stores. The main store was phenomenal with an actual trout pond in
the middle of the first floor. We could have easily spent a half-day there, but
we settled for an hour before moving on.

I got turned around in Portland and lost a little time
before we headed west on the back roads. This stretch was longer than it
appeared on the map. We got to the hotel around 7:30 after stopping at a diner
for a sandwich.

The hotel in Meredith is super - our room has a gas
fireplace, refrig, and a balcony overlooking the main
drag and a beautiful lake. After unloading stuff from the truck, we hopped in
the truck and checked out the general locations. The Harley dealership is only
a few blocks from the hotel. We are only 4 miles from Weirs Beech, where most
of the activities and vendors are. Laconia, which is the largest nearby town,
is only 10 miles away. That’s where I believe that the racetrack is located.

My initial impression, based on limited observation is that
this is a significantly smaller rally than Sturgis. The centers of activity are
more compact. The Laconia rally officially starts tomorrow. I was in the
Sturgis area a few days before it started, and there were more bikes there and
more vendors set up. There will still be plenty to do and see. The local roads
and area are beautiful.

The first order of business tomorrow is to get the bike
serviced. I have decided to go ahead and take care of the rear tire at the
same, rather than finding a Dunlop truck later in the week. The weather
forecast is for scattered showers.

Monday - June 14, 1999

Meredith, NH

8 miles

We slept in today. The H/D did not open until 9:00 am, so I
went back to sleep a couple of times. We enjoyed coffee in the room, then the
continental breakfast in the hotel. I then went to H/D to get in line.

There were about 30 bikes in front of me. I waited about an
hour, then got the service order written. Similar to
Sturgis, the people in line shoot the bull and share experiences. I talked with
one guy who has been here several times before. He said that the rally always
starts slow and the crowds build during the week. The
largest crowds, up to 300,000 bikes, will be here next weekend.

The service manager at the Meredith H/D shop told me that
the "static" in my digital odometer is now covered by extended
warranty, It takes a fax to the factory for permission and usually requires
leaving the bike for two days, but most of them are being replaced. I'll check
on this when I get back.

As expected, there were vendor tents around the Harley shop.
I completed buying the tee shirt order for the crew, and
got my Laconia patches sewn onto the vest. DQ met me at the shop, and we
explored a couple of the other vendor areas in the truck. One minor problem I
had not expected is that four-wheel parking is limited and expensive near the
main areas. At the biggest area, which includes the rally headquarters, one lot
wanted $20. We passed, and walked a few blocks. I was
surprised that a lot of the vendors are not yet setup. There are signs out for
other bike vendors, but none of them are here yet.

While we were exploring the main vendor area, it rained pretty hard for a while then quit. We went to pickup the
bike at 4:00, and it really started raining hard for about an hour, then
slacked off to a drizzle. I drove the bike back to the hotel, where they have
old towels and kickstand props available for bikers. What a nice demonstration
of customer service.

It was still drizzling at dinnertime, so we ate in the hotel
and headed out by truck to the main drag. It was closed to four-wheel vehicles,
but we found a convenient parking space that did not require too much walking.
The rain stooped, but still caused cancellation of the fireworks and reduced
the crowd. We enjoyed looking at all the shops and people. The layout with bike
parking in the center of the road was similar to
Sturgis. There were lots of cops out, but they were friendly rather than threatening.

We got back to the hotel around 11:00 pm. Tomorrow, weather
permitting, I want to take a long ride through the countryside.

Tuesday - June 15, 1999

Meredith, NH

234 miles

The rain passed and brought cooler temperatures. I was in
leather most of the day and saw some spectacular scenery.

I headed out about 8:30 am following a couple of routes
featured in the Laconia Rally magazine. The route took me through the White
Mountains National Park or twisting mountainous roads, some of which were unpaved
which always makes things interesting. The streams and lakes are beautiful.

I went north on I-93 and visited a state park featuring a
natural formation called "old man on the mountain". This is part of
the Appalachian Trail and was remarkable in how much it looked like a man-made
stone carving. I continued north into Vermont for lunch at a small general
store.

The return route south to Meredith featured some more
unpaved roads, a covered bridge from the 1890's and a stop at Walter's Basin
for chowder. The place got its name from the celebrated trout in "On
Golden Pond" since this is where parts of the movie were filmed.

I then went back to the main drag and a couple of outlying
vendor areas before returning to the hotel. I have not seen the heated grips
nor bike-to-bike communications vendors, I don't believe they are here.

DQ and I rode tandem to a local restaurant then into town to
see what was going on. We bummed around and came back to the hotel around
10:00. I still do not feel real conformable driving tandem, especially at
slower speeds and when breaking. I suspect this is simply a matter of practice.

Wednesday - June 16, 1999

Meredith, NH

234 miles

Another beautiful day - sunny and cool. I got up early and
took a morning walk.

Today was laid back. DQ went shopping and took care of
laundry. I went to Laconia and found an old time barbershop. I had to wait in
line for several locals, and the guy did a decent job. He said he had been
cutting hair 42 years. A haircut and beard trim cost twelve bucks. I ate a neat
lunch in a chowder house, I then bummed around the vendor area, watching people
and bikes. I decided to invest in a gel seat pad, rather than a permanent
insert, because I'll probably only use it as a change on the longer days.

Demonstration rides started today. I only had to wait about
30 minutes to ride an Excelsior-Henderson. They had a 9-mile layout that
allowed me to get a pretty good feel for the bike. (In retrospect, I did not
ride any other of my bikes nine miles before buying them, so it was a pretty
good test. The bike only had 200 miles on it, so it wasn't really broken in. I
like the handling and feel, The hydraulic clutch was smooth, the brakes were
super, with an anti-diving mechanism. My only complaint was that the gears were
fairly tall, making the bike feel a little under
powered. It reminded me of a stock Harley, before tuning the airflow and
exhaust. I give the bike very good marks overall.

I then took a neat run around the lake through the neat
roads here before coming back to the hotel for a break. I'm sitting on the
balcony watching bikes go by with a before dinner cocktail. It's beginning to
look more like a major rall as crowds are picking up
everywhere.

We've decided to stay an extra day and head home on Friday.
I want to participate in a POW-MIA run that's planned for tomorrow evening. The
room is prepaid anyway because of the five-night minimum, and getting home one
day later than planned is no big deal. I've planned a different route to avoid
New York City and see some new scenery. We're planning on two family visits
going home so it will take five easy days of 350 miles or so. Weather
permitting, I want to ride some on the Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway.
They are both beautiful roads, but the speed limit is only 45 mph. it will be
hard to top some of the back roads in this area.

Tonight DQ and I are going back to
Walter's Basin for dinner, and then we'll see what happens after that. It
really is peaceful here. It gets light around 5:00 am, but I really would like
to get up early and watch the sun rise over the lake from the balcony.

Thursday - June 17, 1999

Meredith, NH

150 miles

We woke up early to watch the sunrise. The colors were neat,
but the clouds obscured the actual event. It was nippy outside, so we enjoyed
the fireplace to warm up when we came in. Then we went back to sleep for a
while.

We rode tandem to the main drag for breakfast, then people
& bike watching until mid-day. The crowd is much larger now. It seemed much
hotter this morning.

I then took a super ride around the big lake in the
afternoon. There were more hilly, curvy two-lane roads through the trees to
travel. The lake views were super. I stopped and walked through the little town
of Wolfboro, which was neat and peaceful. I then looped
back into Maine briefly before coming back to the hotel.

I left Meredith in slight drizzle headed for Laconia to
participate in the POW run. I never got there because of traffic and a missed
turn. I doubled back and did make it in time for the ceremony, which was on the
lake very near our hotel. DQ was able to meet me there.  It was quite moving, but the crowd was very
small. Maybe it was the drizzle, or perhaps competing activities, but I
estimate about 250 bikes max - they had hoped for 2000.

We had a nice dinner in a nearby inn, then returned back to the motel. The drizzle is light, hopefully
it will be gone by tomorrow. We're starting to repack the bags and load the
car. We enjoyed the rally, and I'm glad we stayed the extra day. We've been on
the road awhile, and I'm ready to head back home. It will take about six days
with the two family visits we've planned along the
way.

Friday - June 18, 1999

Harrisburg, PA

503 miles

This has been a very long day, but still enjoyable because
of the beautiful countryside we experienced.

I changed the planned route to see some new territory and to
avoid going back through the congestion in New York City. We left fairly early in a light rain. We headed south on I-93, then
west on a state road through New Hampshire, Vermont. We saw many more bikes
coming in than leaving, so I expect it will really packed
for the rally this weekend. The rain and traffic really slowed us down. With
one breakfast stop in New Hampshire, we had only covered 150 mile
by the time we stopped for lunch at a diner in Vermont.

The rain stayed behind us as we continued west into New
York. About an hour later we were back on Interstate highways and the pace
picked up considerably. I was pleasantly surprised how pretty it was in upstate
New York and northern Pennsylvania. The terrain was mountainous and beautifully
green with clear skies and unlimited visibility all afternoon. We turned south
at Scranton, and stopped for a Cracker Barrel dinner
before getting to the motel.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, although it was a 12-hour
day. DQ continues to surprise me with her stamina driving. We are both
exhausted.

Saturday - June 19, 1999

Roanoke, VA

327 miles

The weather gods favored us again today. We slept in a
little later and ate at a diner next door to the hotel. We were on the road
about 9:30 am. We went southeast on I-81 and crossed into Maryland then West
Virginia before taking a break at Winchester, Virginia. We found a shopping
mall for an emergency replacement of DQ's sneakers. She had blown out treads on
both of them.

We then went to Front Royal to enter the Shenandoah National
Park and the Skyline Drive. The Skyline extends 104 miles south to along the
Blue Ridge Mountains. It's a super motorcycle route. There are beautiful views,
sweeping curves, lots of overlooks, and no commercial traffic. The only
drawback is a 35-mph speed limit, which is particularly awkward for me because
it's only third gear. The speed limit is not strictly enforced
and slower traffic will usually pull over rather that slow down the flow. There
were many more miles of enjoyment and only a little frustration when slowed.

I had planned to continue on to the
Blue Ridge Parkway, but we needed to make a little time. So, we switched back
to the interstate about 5:00 pm then continued south to Roanoke before stopping
for the evening.

There are lots of restaurants nearby
so we'll do something simple for dinner and call it a night.

Sunday - June 20, 1999

Morristown, TN

217 miles

Today is DQ's birthday and Fathers Day, so a special day for
both of us. We again slept a little later because we had a fairly
short run to visit Richard (youngest son).

I had allowed time for a short loop east to a brief run down part of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was drizzling
when we started so I decided to stay on the interstate rather than head higher
into the mountains. I'll do the Parkway another day - it's not like I haven't
had the opportunity the past few days.

That turned out to be a good decision. It was dristy all morning, not enough to require rain gear but
enough to make it seem really cold. We stopped for
breakfast an hour later.

As we hit the road again, Lorrie Morgan's tour bus passed
us. We played hill tag for a while before they pulled away. The driver was very
friendly, but we did not see anyone else on the bus. The dampness lasted until
early afternoon after we crossed over into Tennessee. We stopped for lunch in a
truck stop, then the sun finally came out. We reached Morristown around 3:00
pm.

We had a nice visit with Richard and enjoyed seeing his new
apartment. He has started a new job there and is enjoying the advantages of
relatively low cost of living and a close knit
community. We enjoyed sitting in the sun on his deck and christened his washing
machine with a short load of laundry. Unfortunately, we discovered a leak that
he'll need to get fixed before moving in. We mopped up the water and finished
the load in a local laundromat.

After a nice dinner in a local restaurant, we called it an
evening and returned to our motel. Tomorrow, we go to west Tennessee to visit
more family. We've now been on the road for 16 days. I'm ready to start the
final stretch toward home.

Monday - June 21, 1999

Trenton, TN

372 miles

This was an easy day in Tennessee. We left Morristown and
rode less an hour to Knoxville to check on my mother. After a cup of coffee
with her, we were back on the road. We stayed on I-40 passing through
Crossville and into Lebanon for lunch. By then it was hot.

We got through Nashville without any problem then continued on to Jackson, then headed north to visit Lou and
Dick (my aunt and uncle) in Trenton. We gained an hour returning to Central Time
and reached their house about 3:00.

We enjoyed visiting with them and seeing all
of the antiques. The house was built in 1916 with 12-foot ceilings on
the bottom floor. It is beautifully furnished with some wonderful old
furniture.

Tuesday - June 22, 1999

Marshall, TX

459 miles

Dick fixed a huge breakfast, so we hit the road at 8:00 am
with our bellies full. It was muggy all morning. We passed through Memphis into
Arkansas about 9:30. We found a neat barbecue place on the outskirts of Little
Rock for lunch. Arkansas' interstates are terrible - I felt like I was riding
on a washboard all day. There were Slick Willie billboards in both Hot Springs
and Hope - both of which made me want to puke. Tennessee had one for Gore that
was just as bad.

It was overcast in the afternoon, which helped hold the
temperature down. About 4:00 pm, the sky began to darken ominously. I pulled
over and put on gear just in the nick of time. Although we were 10 miles from
the state line, we hit a genuine Texas gully-washer. The sky got dark,
visibility was severely restricted, and it felt real
good to have DQ behind me in the truck.

The rain slacked off but continued intermittently for the
remainder of the day. We pulled off in Marshall, and a biker friendly motel guy
gave us a room where we could put the bike under shelter just outside the room.

We had Mexican in a local place in downtown Marshall, recommended
by the hotel that turned out to be pretty good. The weather forecast for
tomorrow calls for more rain. I hope not, but we're only about 250 miles from
home.

Wednesday - June 23, 1999

Home at Houston, TX

218 miles

It was not raining when we got up, so we headed south on
highway 59. The rain held off util the last 50 miles, so it was not all that
bad.

I dropped the bike off at Mancuso's after getting an
appointment for tomorrow. As expected, it is late for the 17,500 service, but
not a problem because of the highway miles. Elaine at Mancuso will fax
Milwaukee about replacing the speedometer and odometer, but she suspects that
it will be covered. I'll be without the bike until next weekend, but that is
OK. My butt can use the time off.

Epilog - 6/24/99

Odometer at 17,958

5403 miles

All in all, I am pretty satisfied
with the trip. The bike performed well, there were no accidents or near misses,
and DQ was a real trooper behind me. I loved the countryside, but I learned
that two weeks is long enough for a bike excursion. I am mentally rested, but
physically exhausted.