Step by step, Closer and closer...

I'm inching forward....step by step, closer and closer to getting on the road. It looks like my Harley, Rex, will be leaving for his new home on Wednesday afternoon. It will be a bittersweet moment...I am very glad he's going to someone I know, a lady rider at that. But he will be tremendously missed.

So I spent the morning cleaning out all the bags on the bike, figuring out what stayed and what went with him. This meant I started looking at accessorizing Squirt, my new BMW. First thing I noticed was that where I am used to lots of metal and chrome, Squirt is plastic (often referred to as Tupperware ). This is one reason he's so lightweight as compared to the Harley.

My little wristband frog rattle fit on my handlebars just fine. I found that the sides of the license plate holder were metal so I got to put my two small ribbons (USA Troops & Breast Cancer) on either side. I put my little biker frog on the very back of my luggage rack and fastened him down with two tie-wraps (zip-ties as some call them). Then I took my frog riding bell that was a gift and found a spot on the BMW for it.

I realized that I am going to need some type of tank or tail bag to carry the little things like sunglasses, lip balm, registration/insurance, wipes, sun screen, etc. On the Harley I had a good sized pocket on my tank panel as well as a windshield bag. Both were very convenient and easy to get into while riding. I spent a little time online looking at bags....boy, cheap isn't in THAT vocabulary! LOL!

Anyway, now that the bike is selling I will make an appointment to see the 33' Holiday Rambler here in town. If I like it, then will get professional inspection done and go from there. It is a bit larger than I want so I will still look for a Class C in the 25-30' range...so far they have all been cheapies, only fit for a weekend trip for a bunch of guys on a binge (be it hunting, NASCAR or beer....LOL!)

So watch for more updates this week....things are moving quickly now! (OMG, I'm trying to NOT have a panic attack about everything that still needs to be done!).

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

POTGPOTT vs ATGATT

POTGPOTT vs ATGATT - alphabet soup? Not for riders in the know (well, at least the ATGATT, I made up the other one...).

ATGATT = All The Gear, All The Time
thus
POTGPOTT = Part Of The Gear, Part Of The Time

I started out riding five years ago as a POTGOTT rider. As a new rider in Florida, I wore full-finger gloves, jeans, over the ankle boots and a shorty helmet...all the time. Hmmm, guess that really made a POTGAOTT. In summer it was too hot to wear a jacket and what the heck, I got nicely tanned arms.

I'd been riding a year when I participated in the Pony Express Relay for Breast Cancer, sponsored by the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation (WMF). I decided to do the entire Eastern Trail which went from the opening ceremony in Orlando, FL to the closing ceremony in New York City....and we got there via Chicago (imagine a group of 100+ riders going through Chicago twice in one day!).

This experience was life changing in many ones, one of which was my introduction to first, the wonderful founders of the WMF, Gin & Sue, as well as all the staff riders and second, The Motorcycle Tourer's Forum. Both were wonderful sources of education and information about motorcycling safely.

This meant learning how to ride safely in a group, doing day after day of riding, discovering protective riding gear and why it should be worn. My gear on the ride and then my solo return home, typically consisted of my requisite jeans, shorty DOT helmet, full-finger gloves, over the ankle riding boots, combined with a lightweight mesh shirt (this was in August) and topped off with a Draggin' Jeans Kevlar shirt (my pre-ride concession to the "what ifs" of an accident). Once I returned home to FL, it was POTGPOTF, meaning the helmet might get shed at times. (Hey, accidents happen to OTHER people, right?)

Since then, four more years and 55,000 miles on the road have made me a bit wiser. Too many friends, friends of friends and relatives of friends have been in accidents...that hits close to home. When I toured the country in 2005 after my husband's death, I went ATTGATT (okay, we won't count that 1 mile jog from the hotel to the Harley dealer on a hot Arizona afternoon when I left the helmet in the room Joe Rocket Alter Ego. It was textile but panels zipped off to expose a mesh base....perfect for those hot temperatures. So that was added to the closet...and it worked out great. I bought it a size too large on purpose, that let me layer a good fleece jacket underneath.

I have also graduated to a 3/4 helmet (which was a full helmet back in the 60's & 70's before full-faced helmets). I have trouble with helmets...I wear an XS and most dealers don't carry that in stock because of the limited demand. Imagine my surprise (and glee) at finding a gorgeous 3/4 helmet in my size at 50% off...at the Harley-Davidson dealer in Albuquerque. Normally I wouldn't have taken a second look, but in this case I had, just the day before, endured 3 hours in bone-chilling temperatures as I rode from Las Vegas, NM to Albuquerque where I had an appointment for my 1k service.

That helmet is now such a favorite that I ordered a replacement online way before I knew I would need it....in fact, once I bought that I never used the shorty on the trip again. I've found that even a black 3/4 helmet (this one has a flip face shield) is cooler than a white shorty helmet...except if you are in city stop and go traffic.

When I decided to go RVing last year, I sold off a lot of motorcycle gear I didn't use. That meant the Joe Rocket Alter Ego went on the block along with several other items. I added some new gear, most in pink to be more visible. I wasn't planning on longer rides but just in case I kept the black textile jacket & both the mesh and textile over-pants.

Now that I'm evaluating everything once again....I've sold off several jackets and ordered a NEW JR Alter Ego. This one is red & black (rather than the almost all black of the old one) and in my normal size. I know that once you go ATGATT you never go back.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

First an apology for my OOPS.....

I know I need to simplify....how do I know? Because I keep doing dumb things....at home, at work, driving the car, working on the computer, paying bills (actually NOT paying bills), etc. Yesterday was a big OOPS at work (my apologies to the lady I talked into letting her house be shown in 45 minutes after our phone call - she wanted 24 hr notice - turns out it was the wrong house - OOPS).

Tonight my OOPS was emailing a update to all my family & friends and NOT sending it BCC (meaning everyone's address is shown - something I detest doing). Guess I was subconsciously showing why I need to move my updates here. So I'm extending my abject apology to the masses who got blasted tonight...OOPS!

Okay, now for the life in general update for everyone else who bothers to read my blathering here (I promise it will get more interesting soon....).

The house is still getting shown but no offers...have another showing tomorrow afternoon. Keeping fingers crossed that something happens soon but know it will sell when the right person sees it. I've sold several furniture items, a bunch of motorcycle gear and am slowly sorting through things for eBay, keeping, storing, donating & trashing.

I think the Harley is sold....the good news is that he will go to a lady rider friend of mine. She relocated from GA to eastern TN last year. I'll know more next week.

I'm still looking at RVs for sale....vacillating between Class C (probably too small for me but great for boondocking) and Class A (more room but less built for back roads & out of the way boondocking). There is a nice Class A for sale here locally. Good news is that it's in my price range, appears to be in good shape AND already has a motorcycle carrier on the back. Bad news is that it's 3' longer than the maximum I had set for myself. I'll be looking at it next week, unless it's sold first.

I plan on doing a lot of boondocking (hopefully) both to save money on campsites (gotta love fixed incomes) and to be able to see more out of the way places. The photos and stories on several blogs I follow have made me realize that THIS is one of the main reasons I want to be on the road. Sort of a female Charles Kuralt...well, in my mind anyway.

My final day at work will be 8/30...then the serious fun (?) begins. I will be attending the Escapade in Goshen, IN from about Sept 7-14th. I may be in an RV (mine or rented) or a hotel...looks like it will be last minute planning on that.

My to do list is huge...all the little details that still have to be done. It's really hard to pin down everything, some days I feel like I have accomplished a lot, other days I feel like I've added three items to the list and only crossed off one. Part of the problem is every time I think of something, I jot it down. I now have a PILE of jotted down items....time to compile one list and set priorities and deadlines (hopefully the last deadlines I'll have to worry about ).

I know it will all fall together...eventually. I am really looking forward to simplifying things, getting on the road and taking things slowly....one sunrise & sunset at a time.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

P.S. if you currently use a blog reader, I hope you'll add this blog to your list. If you haven't started using a blog reader I highly recommend the Google Reader. It's free and it's the easiest one I've found to use. You can toggle the display from ALL blogs to UPDATED blogs. You can also set up folder and sort them that way. I currently have 46 blogs marked and most days only a few have updates, this way it's not overwhelming PLUS I don't miss an update on a friend's blog.