Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of you, my dearest friends and family! It's a quiet New Year's Eve as we sip eggnog by the fire. The Christmas tree is beautifully decorated but the presents have long been whisked away, from under it.

Christmas came and went and New Year's Eve will soon be behind us while the new year lays ahead. December has broken all records for snowfall and we are somewhere above 46" in one month. I hope January will be less snowy or I won't be able to get the bike out of the driveway when spring comes, thanks to the ice build-up.

Our planning continues for Sturgis. We've picked a campground and we've set the dates. We'll arrive in Sturgis the week prior to the rally and get some riding in before it gets crazy busy. I hope to shoot a lot of photos along the way and while we're there. Jerry will pack his pc so I'll try to send posts during the trip.

Over the holiday week, I shopped at LL Bean, in Freeport, ME and picked up a couple of camping supplies. I found this great little LED lamp from Coleman for inside the tent and a LED headlamp for those midnight trips around the campground. I want to find a Therm-a-Rest mattress (http://www.thermarest.com/) but LL Bean had few available after the holiday rush. I'll take a peek at EMS (Eastern Mountain Sports) or buy online, as we get closer to camping season.

I buy a lot of my gear at EMS. They understand outdoor gear and bad weather. I probably stop in to one of their stores every month, just to review new gear. I plan to stock up for the new riding season. Motorcycle camping is a lot like backpacking in that the amount of space is limited and you need to minimize weight.

In the coming months, I'll post a camping gear packing list and other preparations for our epic trip. We plan to do 1900+ miles in 4 days and then do some exploring once we land in the Sturgis area. Additionally, I'll post my bike plans, including the aftermarket seat, lights, etc. to modify it for the ride.

For now, I'm going to have a glass of champagne or wine, sit by the fire and daydream about the coming riding season.

Happy New Year and a safe riding season in 2008.

Joe Rocket

Okay, alright...I hear you already!

Sheesh! I wanted an audience and now they're throwing tomatoes! Who knew?

Three times this week I've been nagged to post to my blog. I'm sorry. Work is hectic and the holi-daze are here. Last week, I was single-parenting while my spouse was on a biz trip to a much warmer climate. Lucky her!

This week, I'm just trying to hold on until the Christmas holiday is over and then I can relax. I plan to have some time off and use it wisely to make this a better read. So...don't give up on me yet.

Regarding Sturgis, we've got a planning meeting coming up. We're going to try to decide on a location for there and maybe do some trip route planning (yeah, I know, turn left at Chicago...). So many miles between here and there and we want to make good time. Unfortunately, that will probably mean interstates a good part of the way. We'll see.

We did that (rode the interstates) the summer before last on a trip to Quebec, for dinner. It wasn't planned that way but the weather forecast did not cooperate and a 4-day trip putting around Canada turned into an overnight. We did manage to find a nice KOA campground (with beer!) right outside the city and a great french restaurant with very attractive servers a mile, or so, down the road. Almost stumbling distance.

That was the trip that nearly crippled me. The VFR got real uncomfortable to ride. I'm not sure if the seat or my knees were shot but I had excruciating pains shooting down my leg. At a rest stop, I joked about swapping bikes with Jerry but he remembers it as me begging to switch. Whatever. Speaking of Jerry, here's one of my favorite pictures of him, from last year's bike show. I call it "Squid Jerry". He mounted a world-class MV Augusta for this shot. Too funny!

Anyway, it's Tuesday AM and I need to get moving. Time for (another) cup o' Joe. It's F'ing cold out (7 degrees Fahrenheit) and I have to make the trek across the mountain. Boy do I miss the warm sun-kissed summer days. Nothing better than riding in a t-shirt with the sun lightly toasting your forearms. Oh yeah, winter arrives Friday.

Happy Holidays to all. I'll see some of you this week at the Biker Bash. The rest, drop me a note to say hello.

Thanks,

Joe Rocket

Goals

Hi All:

Bear with me while I give this a go. I hope that this will work out and, if so, I'll share that news and success with you right here.

I could have called this "Blogging for a bike" but, I am hoping that the Sturgis reference will help me get more hits. Yes, sadly, this is somewhat of a commercial endeavor but don't stop reading this yet. Let me explain.

I ride motorcycles, as I am sure a lot of you do. I'm also employed in a marketing capacity for a company here in New Hampshire and I stuggle to find that eternal balance between riding all the time (like some of my retired friends) and work/life/family obligations. I'm not 50 yet and have been riding, more or less, most of my life. More on that later.

The goal of this blog is to help me to afford to buy a new bike in time for Sturgis 2008. To that end, I will try to find relevant topics and content that will keep you coming back to see my progress, to root for me and to help me reach my goals.

I hope that this works for all of us and I will try to find compelling information about riding, bikes, gear, camping and trip preparations that will keep you coming back.

For now, I'll sign off as it's the weekend and there's "stuff" to be done. I'll be back soon to ramble on.

Best wishes for a very warm and short winter,

Joe Rocket