I didn't start riding seriously until I was around 43 years old.
Yes... I had a Suzuki TS 125 in my mid 20s that I put about 5K on, but then kids came along and bikes got put waaaay down on the priority list....in fact they weren't even on the list at all.
Me on the TS...I had just ridden through a canal and got some water in the intake... One of my sons in the red jacket.
Then, in my 4th decade, several buddies started buying bikes - Goldwings and Beemers being the most popular.
After hearing them talk about their bikes, and the riding they were doing...the motorcycle bug bit....HARD....and I joined in the fun with a well used Goldwing 1200 (no pic),
then a short time later I got a little nicer GL 1200 and rode it for a year
(22,000 miles)
and then yet another wing that I rode for two years, this time a beautiful GL1500.
(60,000 miles)
At that point, I had surrendered to the 'moto-illness' and every spare moment was spent on the bike riding .......somewhere....anywhere it didn't matter where I was going as long as I was riding!
It was in year two of this moto-madness that I got wind of a ride called;
"Four Corners of the US"
Which is sponsored by the SCMA aka:
Southern California Motorcycle Association;
sc-ma.com
That ride....sounded like SO MUCH FUN and even though I KNEW I would enjoy it it seemed like a pipe dream...I really didn't think I would ever have a chance to do a 4 corners ride.
....and then....
22 years and 473,000 motorcycle miles later I'm getting my chance!
And this is how it will happen:
For our annual family trip, we are going to Steamboat Springs, Colorado for three days.
The families will all drive over, and I'll ride.
When it is time to return home, instead of riding west into the setting sun, I'll go east toward Maine where I'll start my 4 corners ride.
On the way to Maine, I'll do two of the 15 US Best.
One in Ohio, another in Acadia NP, Maine, and also during the 4 corners I'll ride the Blue Ridge Parkway for my 15th road.
Along the way I decide it would be a good idea to stop on the freeway and hang out for an hour or so in this traffic jam...
Then I stopped in Hopeland Ohio at the Memorial Honoring Fallen Riders.
Next a quick stop in Keene, New Hampshire for this photo op in front of the Parrish Shoe Company sign of the Jumanji movie fame. Several scenes were filmed in Keene.