bunrab

I bought my new used BMW F650GS a year ago, because I knew that having moved to someplace closer to a lot of things I want to visit, I’d do more visiting. My old bike was a Honda Nighthawk 250, a perfectly serviceable commuter bike, but not great for long stretches at 70 mph on the highway. The F650 has a windscreen and is heavy enough not to get blown sideways every time there’s a breeze. And I bought a Garmin Quest GPS as well, usable on a bike as well as in a car. However, I let finances and weather get in the way of any long trips, and through no wish of mine, some medical/surgical problems kept me off the bike for a couple months at a time, twice.

I have relatives in all the immediately surrounding states now; unlike Texas, it doesn’t take 600 miles just to get out of the state. And we have friends in Pittsburgh; I really want to ride through the mountains to visit them. We’ve been several times by car, but I want to go up and down on the bike, and see all the green hills, and even go through the long tunnels, odd as that sounds.

And now, my spouse is finally buying a new used bike to replace his old one: he’s trading in the 1977 R100/7, with no frills whatsoever, for a 1999 R1100, with faring and windshield, not to mention a radio, of all things.

So with both of us equipped with bikes adequate for touring, we really have no excuse. I want to go! It’s January now, and we have to worry about ice and snow – though there hasn’t been any of it yet this winter, it could finally turn to winter any second, especially where we want to ride further north – but by April, it will definitely be spring here in Maryland, and then I want to GO!!