Bike Week 2013

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I'm doing my blogging here rather than on my Blogger.com site since my wife doesn't want to advertise the fact that she's home alone - albeit with dogs and heavily armed - during my absence.

I met with BMW friend Charlie Parsons yesterday afternoon to firm up some plans and we settled on a departure time of 9 a.m. Wednesday from the Murphy Oil Co. station on Stadium Avenue in Jonesboro.

Charlie's friend Tom is joining us on his 1993 BMW K75S. Tom has limited experience with long haul touring and camping, so we'll be mentoring him to the extent that he needs/wants mentoring.

Charlie needs to be home by next Tuesday evening, so he was loathe to agree to a departure Thursday or Friday when the temperature will be as much as 20 degrees warmer than Wednesday - forecast to be the coldest morning of the week. I have a heated jacket liner and gloves, as well as a heated seat and handgrips, so I don't have any concerns for myself about cold weather riding, but Tom may or may not have acquired the right gear to be comfortable for the first several hours as we work our way south and west.

I'm at Panera right now. I need to check tire pressures as soon as I get home, then start rounding up and organizing the gear I will need for the trip.

I figure my Kilimanjaro jacket with liner and Gerbings electric jacket liner, heated gloves, Kathmandu pants with liner and maybe a windstopper balaclava under my helmet should stand me in good stead for the morning ride.

Charlie asked me to lead and he will be third in line. That way I can set a steady pace with my electronic cruise control and he can make sure we all stay together.

Recalling previous Bike Weeks, I suspect I'll be ready to head home with Charlie on Monday morning, but I'm keeping my options open in case I want a little more Florida before returning to the chilly Mid-South. Of course, the weather is the determining factor here. I'm fine with stretching it a bit if a cold front or rain get in the way.

I must be getting old and lazy because I'm having a little trouble getting psyched up for this trip, but I'll get over it once we're rolling.

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Photos

My K1200GT
Florida bound.