For those who might be interested, I'll try to keep this area current with what my near future rides are and other such trivia. If I'm going to be in your area, drop me an e-mail at UnclePhilus@hotmail.com and if possible we can grab a bite to eat. Hope to see you on the road!
Planned Rides And Such
1. The ride to the Blue Ridge Gathering at Cruso, NC is an annual event that BamaRider and I usually do together. Nothing formal, just some folks meeting up to ride and eat, and eat and ride! We are looking at a new place to meet for next year so we'll see how that turns out.
2. Had a great ride up to Mansfield, OH on April 17th, 2010 for an annual breakfast I usually attend. Last year the group at the Cracker Barrel gathering in Ohio was the largest ever (30+) and I got to meet some new friends. This year we had 24+ even though the weather was little nasty - cold with some rain. It's always a pleasure to see old friends and to meet new friends. I had the pleasure of hosting Mac and Carole that night back in the Holler as they were headed back to California the next morning.
3. The 'Wild West Tour' with my UK friend, David Whitley that I toured the Alps with, and Andy Derryberry, a dear friend that I have been riding with since bicycle days is finished. I was able to get the last 10 state line signs on this trip. The pictures and the commentary for each day are now complete. Hope you enjoy the ride as much as we did!
4. Just added a Plan A Trip page to give you some ideas of how I plan some of my trips. Hopefully it will be a help to you when you get ready for your next one.
5. The Fayetteville RTE on April 24, 2010 was right in the middle of a storm, but 6 bikes and 8 brave souls toughed it out for a great day of twisties. We had about a 30 minute rain gear test as we started which let everybody know how good (or bad) their rain gear was. It was a great time had by all and we plan to do another one later on in the year. Just a note - It is with great saddest that I mention Todd Miles died while riding his beloved ST1300 on July 1, 2010. He attended this RTE and I was so glad I got to meet him and his lovely wife Debra. Keep the family in your prayers.
6. I had a great time on my Texas Hill Country ride on May 1st, 2010 with my friend Ken Hendrix. And it seems that I picked a good time to be away from home since Nashville suffered some of the worst flooding it has seen in years. The Holler and our new church building were spared and for that we are eternally grateful. Others in our area were not so fortunate, as there were several cases of loss of life and destruction of homes and businesses. I now have the pictures posted and the commentary completed.
7. Well, my Ireland trip turned out quite interesting and is the reason that I have not been able to update the site. My lovely wife suffered in a tipover on the VFR1200 while we were stopped for fuel in Ireland. I had to fly her back after the second day. She has now had a partial shoulder replacement and is in therapy after 13 days with a terribly fractured shoulder. The whole story - the horrible treatment from Continental Airlines and American Airlines and all of the strange things that happened in the process will be told when I write up the tale. We kept looking for the feller from Candid Camera to jump out or to hear Twilight Zone music - but neither happened. In all my years of flying, I have never encountered such careless and unkind treatment as we experienced in the Dublin airport from some American Airlines staff. Since we both work at the same small company, I'm trying to help with her work, my work, doing the housekeeping and cooking. I am working on the site as time permits. Sharyn's therapy is going well, but she still has a ways to go.
8. Due to some physical challenges I am facing I am tentatively looking at traveling to ride New Zealand in 2012 instead of 2011.
I finished 2009 with a little over 30,000 miles on the bikes. 2010 will be an interesting riding year since I have a 'international' ride in the plans. April 2010 has already proven to be a very busy month, May is very busy, and June looks to be the same. So keep tuned in, cause you just never know where I might show up ....
