Motorcycle Rides

This is a collection of photos taken on motorcyle rides, the longest being from Manchester, MI to Fairbanks, AK.

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2004

This was a ride to Austin, Texas with my good friend Jerry Sobieski for an Internet2 fall member meeting. Jerry drove to our house pulling a trailer with his bike aboard and we rode on from there to Austin, taking three days to get there. It was difficult for me to keep up with Jerry and he often teased me about that. This was my first long ride since moving to Michigan, and the first on my Harley. In all the rides I took on the Harley, it never once broke down. The first day we rode to just outside of Saint Louis, and the second to several miles into Texas. The third day was through some desolate regions of Texas and during one stop, I commented about being out in "the middle of nowhere." Jerry, who spent many of his early days in Texas replied, "No. nowhere is 250 miles to the west."

2006

In 2006 I took two long rides. The first was to the Internet2 spring member meeting in Washington, DC. On the way home I took a side trip to Gettysburg, PA and visited the civil war battlefield there, taking many photos. The second trip was with my wife Carolyn to Chicago to visit family. We took the fairy across Lake Michigan to Milwaukee and spent some time there taking photos. The ride home was all interstate, around the southerrn tip of the lake to Manchester.

2008

In 2008 I wrode to the spring Internet2 member meeting in Washington, DC. My wife Carolyn flew into DC as the meeting was ending and we rode together to the Outer Banks in North Carolina to visit with Doug Van Howling and others from Internet2. We spent several days there and then rode east toward home. In Greensboro we rode through a blinding thunderstorm. We could hardly see the road and decided to stop. We spent the night there waiting it out and left in the early morning, a crisp but cold day. We rode to Asheville, NC and started up the pass over the Smokey Mountains. As the elevation rose, the temperature dropped. The roads two miles either side of the pass were solid ice. I've never been so afraid, or cold, during those four miles. Carolyn was freezing, and when we had lunch in Nashville with our friend Ana Preston, she pointed out how cold Carolyn's ears were. From there we rode further east and then turned north though Ohio to home.

2011

The big ride of the year was to Alaska. Three friends, Dale Finkcelson, Paul Schopis, and Steve Wallace, all of Internet2, and I, decided to ride our bikes to the fall Internet2 member meeting in Fairbanks, Alaska. It took me 28 days round trip and was one of the greatest experiences of my life. We decided to meet up near Fargo, ND, so I took the ferry across Lake Michigan and rode through Madison, WI and Minneapolis, MN. From there we rode as a group, albeit usually spread out over long distances, to Bismark, ND, and then north to Canada through MouseJaw and on to Calgary where we spent the night. From there we rode northwest through the incredible Canadian Rockies and evevtually to Dawson Creek, the start of the Alaskan Highway. Along the way we would stop for lunch and at one of these, I laid down to take a nap and soon felt a dog licking my face. Made a friend at a faraway place in northern Canada. We rode north to the Yukon where the roads were constantly under construction because of the permafrost. I was always uncomfortable on those roads - just don't like the backend whiplashing about. Eventually, we got to Alaska, and the roads were incredibly better. Attended the meeting, had my bke serviced, and started back, althought I left somewhat early. We met up at the Haines ferry, which we took to Port Rupert, and then drove east toward home. Everyone split up eventually for the long ride home. In the end, it was a great ride. I eventually stopped in Illinois to meet with my brother Bob and his family. For several days, I missed getting on the bike. In Setember, my wife and I got on the bike to ride to Niagara Falls. We rode north of Lake Erie throgh Canada to Niagara Falls, spent several nights there, and drove back through Buffalo and Cleveland. Took in an Indians game and also had a nice visit to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame.

2013

In May of 2013, Carolyn and I rode to Kansas City for a family wedding (Scott and Amanda). We rode to Sprinigfield, IL and spent an evening and a day there. I had not been to Lincoln land since I was a kid. The next day we rode on to Hannibel, MO and spent a day there. We took in the wedding and spent the evening in a Kansas Ciry hotel. Late that night I came down with a bout of Pseudo Gout in my left shoulder that was extremely painful - I couldn't pull in the clutch lever, for example. We spent an extra day in the hotel and took off the following morning for Chicago, barely avoiding a huge thunderstorm. Spent a night at my mom's house and rode home the next day.