Monday July 9, 2012

After a relaxing day in Coldwater MI and a night in a Victorian it was time to continue north. But first we needed to take a bit of a diversion to Grand Rapids Michigan to once again pay visit to an Apple store. Yep, my phone was acting up again. We took highway 69 north to highway 50 west to interstate 96 west into Grand Rapids the ride was a pleasant 81 degrees. Long story short the Apple guy exchanged my iPhone for a new one. We got back on the road Heading north on highway 131 to highway 32 into Gaylord MI. The ride today took us by many farms and the sky's were blue with big billowing clouds. A very nice ride today although off our scheduled route because of the darn phone. However if it dies again I am waiting until I get back to Rocklin to visit another Apple store; it just takes too much valuable riding time out of the day! We rode 313 miles today for a grand total of 7068 miles ridden so far!

Doesn't Myrn do a great job taking pictures from the back of the bike while traveling down the highway! I am so glad she has joined me on this portion of "My Big Ride".

I apologize on the order the photos post in the blog. I upload them in the order that makes sense but the "blogger" app puts the photos in the order it sees fit! Also I wish I could write a caption under the photo but the "blogger" app does not allow it on the iPad. But thanks for reading along anyway!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Sunday July 8, 2012

Today we said good-bye to Fort Wayne as I loaded up the trailer adjusted the air suspension and pulled out of the parking lot of the Hyatt. The temperature was a pleasant 77 degrees and such a relief from the 100 degree days we have been sweating thru! We headed north on interstate 69 toward Coldwater, Michigan where we were staying at our friends Jim and Barb's Victorian home. Unfortunately they were out of town for the weekend but opened their home to us regardless!! It was too bad that we didn't get to visit with them but we did feel very relaxed and comfortable in their amazing Victorian home! The ride into Coldwater was short and easy, I barely knew the Bushtec was hitched to my bike! We arrived in Coldwater; a quaint little town filled with beautiful Victorian's. I took advantage of the cooler weather and finally installed a cup holder for Myrna that I picked up at WingDing. Myrn was inside taking pictures of Barb's creative and period appropriate victorian decorating. The neighboring town of Allen is a self proclaimed antique capital so after lunch we took a ride over there to do some antiquing. Myrna found a couple treasures that packed easily on the Wing. We had to rush back as we had been invited to dinner over at the home of Ron and Minnie (good friends of Jim and Barb). We had never met Ron and Minnie before today, but after we left with our belly's full of a home cooked meal we felt we had known them for years. They were so gracious and inviting; we truly enjoyed their company, the conversation and the food! We didn't cover too many miles today but we enjoyed visiting the little towns of Coldwater and Allen. Total miles ridden today 101, total for the trip 6755.

3 John 1:5 Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you.

Saturday July 7, 2012

Today was the last day for Wing Ding and the closing ceremonies. During closing ceremonies thousands of dollars of gifts were raffled off J&M sound systems to trailers to a Hannigan Trike Conversion and a 2012 GoldWing. The attendance for the 34th annual Wing Ding was just under 9000 GoldWingers. I met a lot of "new friends" of various ages and races including the "Buffalo Soldiers". There is something special about GoldWingers and their love of the road and their bikes. Since this was the last day, I took a few more pictures of the tons of bikes in the parking lot as well as some unique bikes and or trailers. For example, there was a 4 wheel Wing built by Hannigan that was on display in coliseum this week (I posted a picture of it yesterday). Well tonight after closing ceremonies we got back to the hotel and in the parking lot was the 4 wheeler! I went over to talk to the owner and he had it built and delivered to the show. He told me there are only twelve 4 wheel wings in existence and Bubba owns one of them. I asked him if I could get a picture of him with his bike and he obliged then told me to sit on his bike so he could take a picture of me! Next years Wing Ding is in South Carolina so I doubt I will be attending but I do hope to make it to another WingDing in the future as I am so glad I made it to this WingDing. Tomorrow we leave Indiana and head towards Michigan for our journey home. Thank you for your prayers and please keep praying for traveling mercies for us.

Psalm 4:8 In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Friday July 6, 2012

Before we left Abilene I shipped a box of our clothes to the hotel we are staying at in Fort Wayne. Per UPS the box was to be delivered yesterday. We were so looking forward to getting into tennis shoes and non-riding clothes. When the box didn't arrive I checked the tracking and it showed the box arrived in Indianapolis on July 3rd. I called UPS and was informed that the box was now back in Texas and scheduled to arrive in Fort Wayne on Tuesday July 10th! What the heck happened? I told the UPS representative that we will be in Wisconsin on Tuesday. There was no explanation as to why the shipment was returned to Texas and that I needed to contact the shipper and have them request UPS to trace the box and initiate an investigation? Gads how is that for customer care? UPS messed up the shipment and I am the one to call the UPS store where the package originated!! I didn't argue with the lady on the phone and this morning I called the "shipper". The guy at the shipping store apologized and said he would contact UPS and get an investigation started. Since there is no way for the shipment to catch up with us on the road I am having it sent back to Rocklin. In the meantime we stopped by Kohls to buy some tennis shoes and Myrna got a pair of pants. Unfortunately Myrna wasn't feeling well so we shortened our shopping and I took her back to the hotel. I think the heat and humidity took it's toll on her. After spending the day in A/C, hydrating and resting she was fine later in the afternoon. I had to drop the trailer off at Bushtec for a cosmetic issue and I went to visit the vendors in the coliseum. I also wanted to have Blue Lightening Spark Plugs installed so I had that done on the Wing. I also picked up summer riding jackets for Myrn and me and drooled at all the vendors one more time, especially the LED lighting vendors! I took pictures of a few rebuilt GoldWings, they are attached to this post.

1Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Thursday July 5, 2012

Today was very eventful! I signed up for a GoldWing Road Riders Association (GWRRA) certified course on Trailering. It was 4 hours classroom and 4 hours range. They keep the classes to 10 bikes and we had 9 in my class. The range time was a bit toasty. Fort Wayne is experiencing record heat, in fact today it was over 100 degrees for the second day in a row. The last time they had two consecutive days of 100 degrees was in 1988. Figures we would be here during this record heat. Speaking of heat it was 102+ on the range with the reflective heat off the asphalt. As hot as it was doing the trailering course was a blast! You know the worst day of riding is better than the best day working!!! Well about 5:15pm I rolled off the range and back to the hotel to shower and get over to the Coliseum for a dinner and entertainment sponsored by J&M Motorcycle Audio. Myrna got a ride from the hotel shuttle as I was running late so she met me there. As I was pulling into the parking lot there was a huge thunderstorm heading towards Fort Wayne. I put my cover on my bike and headed into the coliseum for dinner. A few minutes later someone mentioned that it was storming outside and they were not letting anyone leave the building! After about a half hour a person made an announcement that a huge storm moved thru and several bikes were toppled. I left the dinner along with several others to check on the bikes. As I walked outside things immediately did not look good. Several branches had been torn from the trees and debris was everywhere. As I walked toward the parking lot my stomach dropped. I saw bikes laying on their side, windshields torn off, helmets rolling around and the worst thing I couldn't find my bike for the longest time! When I finally located it all was good. The cover was blown off, but oddly enough rolled up into a ball and crammed in the corner of the windshield and the instrument panel. God showed mercy on me and my Wing! I was so thankful that no damage happened to my bike. The winds were so strong that they completely pushed over several 932 pound GoldWings, tore the awning off the Bridgestone Tire trailer and the Roadsmith Trike conversion trailer. After I reattached the cover I went back into the dinner and entertainment. The entertainment was provided by Vocal Trash. They were very entertaining and had a unique sound using recycled things as instruments (such as bottles, buckets, trash cans) their vocals were amazing and their energy off the charts! Very entertaining and most enjoyable!

Psalm 28:2 Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift my hands toward your Most Holy Place.