glenfiddich
TravelsWithBarley.com
Minus 20F this morning here in northern Vermont. I've used up 75% of the firewood for my shop's woodstove, so am saving the rest for warmer days when the stove only has to take the edge off the chill. Fortunately the winter overhaul of the sidecar rig is nearly complete: new lights, new wheel bearing, new shock, new paint for the subframe, all fasteners and wiring connections checked. All that's left is to clean and wax the beast...and wait for the end of this bitterly cold winter!
To keep my sanity and ward off PMS, I spend a lot of time in winter planning my route to and from the Rally. One could ride straight there and back, but there's no fun in that. Because we'll be visiting friends on the way out, our route and timeline is locked down. Vermont to Rochester NY to visit a friend and former co-worker who lost his sight. From there to Ludington MI for a ride across Lake Michigan then down to southern Wisconsin for a reunion of Glenlivet's littermates on their second birthday. West to Prairie du Chein then angling SW to Des Moines for a reunion of my MOA family.
Leaving the rally is a different story, and since I'll be retired by then for the first time in my life I don't actually have to be anywhere at a specific time. Well, except for the RA Rally in Wellsboro PA the following Friday. So the rough plan is to drop SE from the national, meander through farm country from Moravia to Farmington IA, then south on Missouri 19 before heading east and crossing the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau. That will leave us perfectly positioned to ride the scenic roads of southernmost Illinois and Indiana, across the top of Kentucky to southern Ohio, then into West Virginia and up through Maryland and Pennsylvania to the RA.
Pouring over ride reports, Butler Maps, and Google Earth it was fairly easy to pick a meandering route west to east...until I reach West Virginia. Holy cow there are SO MANY incredible roads in that state that I don't know where to begin! I'll enter WV near Clarksburg and exit north into Maryland near Hancock so I can ride PA 655 through the Big Valley. Between those two points, however, it doesn't seem like there's a bad route. So many choices!
The other unknown is which dog will ride with me. I'm hoping it will be Glenlivet, but his training was cut short by a seized wheel bearing and unless winter ends early he might not have enough miles under his collar to handle a multi-week adventure. In that case it will be Tulliver's third MOA rally and his first RA rally. My big red dog is a dream on the road and seems to blossom when he has me to himself, so again there are no bad options.
To keep my sanity and ward off PMS, I spend a lot of time in winter planning my route to and from the Rally. One could ride straight there and back, but there's no fun in that. Because we'll be visiting friends on the way out, our route and timeline is locked down. Vermont to Rochester NY to visit a friend and former co-worker who lost his sight. From there to Ludington MI for a ride across Lake Michigan then down to southern Wisconsin for a reunion of Glenlivet's littermates on their second birthday. West to Prairie du Chein then angling SW to Des Moines for a reunion of my MOA family.
Leaving the rally is a different story, and since I'll be retired by then for the first time in my life I don't actually have to be anywhere at a specific time. Well, except for the RA Rally in Wellsboro PA the following Friday. So the rough plan is to drop SE from the national, meander through farm country from Moravia to Farmington IA, then south on Missouri 19 before heading east and crossing the Mississippi at Cape Girardeau. That will leave us perfectly positioned to ride the scenic roads of southernmost Illinois and Indiana, across the top of Kentucky to southern Ohio, then into West Virginia and up through Maryland and Pennsylvania to the RA.
Pouring over ride reports, Butler Maps, and Google Earth it was fairly easy to pick a meandering route west to east...until I reach West Virginia. Holy cow there are SO MANY incredible roads in that state that I don't know where to begin! I'll enter WV near Clarksburg and exit north into Maryland near Hancock so I can ride PA 655 through the Big Valley. Between those two points, however, it doesn't seem like there's a bad route. So many choices!
The other unknown is which dog will ride with me. I'm hoping it will be Glenlivet, but his training was cut short by a seized wheel bearing and unless winter ends early he might not have enough miles under his collar to handle a multi-week adventure. In that case it will be Tulliver's third MOA rally and his first RA rally. My big red dog is a dream on the road and seems to blossom when he has me to himself, so again there are no bad options.
