Harley Mom - Cindy Dietz

I purchased a 2005 Harley Davidson 883 Low Sportster (Effie) in FEB 05 and I travel all over the country with it. In 2005 we travelled 25K miles to 34 states. 42K miles in 2006 (48 states, 9 Canada provinces). I was the winner of the 2006 ABC's of Touring an annual competition held by Harley Owners Group. The first person (and so far the only person) to win it solely using a Sportster. I slacked off in 2007 with only 21K miles (21 states). 2008 had more pleasure trips only 19K miles, only 14 states and 1 Canada province. The purchase of this motorcycle has changed my life. These are the stories of my travels with Effie.

2006 Far East ABC Trip
August 4th 2006 -» August 20th 2006 DIY INSTALLING PARTS AND ACCESSORIES ON EFFIE
January 1st 2007 -» January 1st 2007 2007 XL East Coast Rally
May 10th 2007 -» May 11th 2007 2007 Ridin the Rockies HOG Tour
June 22nd 2007 -» June 30th 2007 2008 XL East Coast Rally
May 15th 2008 -» May 18th 2008 2008 Group Ride to 105th Party
August 22nd 2008 -» September 1st 2008 2009 Natchez Trace Trip
April 8th 2009 -» April 12th 2009 2009 June Upper Midwest Trip
June 23rd 2009 -» June 28th 2009 Garnett KS & The Traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall
September 3rd 2009 -» September 7th 2009 2009 West Coast Trip
September 15th 2009 -» September 30th 2009

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Joined on: November 27th 2006
Last Login: December 28th 2009

Blog Entries: 127
Photos: 1379
Recommended by 2, Recommends 2

TB Code: [blogger=27215]
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Blogs & Travel Journals

by Harley Mom, order by Date newest first.

By Harley Mom
December 25th 2009

2009 Christmas Letter North America » United States » Kansas » Kansas City

Enchanted Highway

Since my previous Xmas letters are posted in the blog I thought I would post this one too. 2009 Seasons Greetings. I hope this letter finds you well. Seems like it was not that long ago that I was writing last years Xmas letter, but here I am again. I have had a pretty full year. I took advantage of being able to pay someone else to do my job at the American Legion and took 3 trips this year. Early April I was suffering from the cold weather so headed south to ride the Natchez Trace from its beginning at [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 30th 2009

09 WCT Day 16 - Pratt, Kingman, Bobz Bikz and home. North America » United States » Kansas

Pratt Water towers

DAY 16 - WED - 30 SEPT Everyday I have been entering my gas reciepts and mileage in a spreadsheet. Its been interesting looking at my MPG throughout the trip. As I am entering yesterdays reciepts I notice that the best MPG happened yesterday as I was heading north through TX and OK. Believe it or not I got 70 MPG. My average has been around 50, so I double checked my numbers. I have a slight noise in the motor but its not using any oil and I'm getting 70 MPG, make all the noise you want. This was to [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 29th 2009

09 WCT Day 15 - Cadillac Ranch, Mullinville & Greensburg North America » United States » Kansas

SUN & SAND Motel

Day 15 - Tuesday - 29 SEPT I was up early this morning but reluctant to leave because it was cold out. Old age is getting to me. As I was packing the bike I heard a thump thump thump… it was the motel housekeeping swinging a rag at the window ledges to get the dust off them. The motel was as interesting this morning as I had found it last night. The parking lot was huge. This motel had lots of rooms. I can’t wait until I can follow route 66 for its entirety maybe next year. The first stop [View Full Entry]

Thump Thump Thump cleaning the window sills

By Harley Mom
September 29th 2009

09 Sandia Crest National Scenic Byway North America » United States » New Mexico » Sandia Crest Byway

Entrance Sign

On my west coast trip I stopped at Madrid NM and was told by a local that this was a must ride. He was right. Its a 14 mile road that takes you to the top of a local mountain. The only way off is to turn around and come back down. The road is a lot of tight twisties and real fun. It smelled great! In the 14 miles you climb 10K feet to an elevation of 10621 ft. 23 miles south of Madrid on Hwy 14 or 3 miles north of I-40 on Hwy 14 is the entrance to [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 28th 2009

09 WCT Day 14 - Trek Across NM North America » United States » New Mexico

Picture from the dirt road.

Day 14 - Monday - 28 SEPT - Farmington to Santa Rosa After spending time last night and this morning I have changed my route home. I was planning to head across the top part of NM and then on home. Pretty much the direct route from here. But after talking to Carol I decided that I would take an extra day and see some stuff on the way home. The first thing I thought of was the town that Wild HOGs was filmed in. I couldn’t remember the name but I have copies of our HOG club newsletters on my [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 27th 2009

09 WCT Day 13 - Trek Across UT North America » United States » Utah

Effie in UT

Day 13 - Sunday - 27 SEPT - Ely to Farmington It was an awesome ride today. There isn’t a lot to write about on this leg. I didn’t stop to see anything cute along the way. I was mainly just riding to get a bunch of miles behind me. I traveled almost 600 miles. Temps in the morning was 43F, later in the afternoon it was over 100F I think the day ended with it in the 60s. I missed getting into the 4 corners monument by just a few minutes, they were locking the gates as I rode up. [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 26th 2009

09 WCT Day 12 - The Loneliest Hwy (NV Hwy 50) North America » United States » Nevada » Ely

The Daily Travels

Day 12 - Saturday.- 26 SEPT I was the first one up this morning. I packed my gear and folded up the rollaway bed. I knew I had 500-600 miles to travel today so I wanted to get going early. In the process of quietly getting my gear to the door when the dogs woke up Lena. I wasn’t going to leave before they got up, but I figured that I could pack my gear on the bike while they still slept. Karl went up to bring Effie down the hill from the shop, I had told him I had been [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 25th 2009

09 WCT Day 11 - Wine Tastings - Oh Yeah North America » United States » California » Jackson

Karl's Mom and her dog Pinto.

DAY 11 - FRI - 25 SEPT Lena, Karl’s wife, had asked on Wednesday if I wanted to go on a wine tasting tour. Are You Kidding??? So we had planned to go this morning. I was up early, after all I don’t want to miss this. Karl had taken over the chore of having a cup of hot tea for me in the morning. I was one lucky person. Opa had one for me every morning and most nights when we were in Wendover. Karl, Lena and I sat on the front porch and watched the birds and cars as [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 24th 2009

09 WCT Day 9 & 10 Repairing Effie North America » United States » California » Jackson

Wire harness just a hangin'

Day 9 WED - 23 SEPT Karl came and got me last night we loaded up the bike and were gone from the dealership about 8:30pm- 9pm PT I think. My watch is still on CT. Karl drove all day to get here and we are immediately turning around and heading back. I will take around 10 hours to get to Jackson. He drove all night and his sons unloaded the bike this morning while we slept and they looked it over. Karl and his sons removed the primary cover and bags to have a look see. Karl told me he [View Full Entry]

By Harley Mom
September 22nd 2009

09 WCT Day 8 The base and heading to Jackson North America » United States » California » Twentynine Palms

29 Palms Mural

Day 8 - TUE - 22 SEPT Scout and I raise early to get to the HD dealer Hutchins in Yucca Valley, CA. I find that travelers do not have a priority there. First come first serve, I will be 5th in line. As I talk with the service guy I become uneasy. It could have just been me, but he just didn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. Before I turn Effie over to someone I really want that warm fuzzy that they are competent and she is in good hands. He estimated that it would be $180 for them [View Full Entry]

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