6 Days and Counting
In six days Nina and I will be on our way to Payson, Az., a small town north of Phoenix. The plan is to spend Friday on last minute preparations and packing, then leave on Saturday. (I'm keeping open the option to leave on Friday if the preparations go well this week and if the weather is acceptable. I'll ride 1330 miles to the Payson/Phoenix area by next Friday, 3/30/06. After a weekend in Payson/Phoenix with family, two weeks of birding and riding our way back to Columbia.

I'm Walter. Nina is my 2004 Yamaha V-Star 1100 Custom. We've been getting ready for this trip for months -- thinking about it for years.

I think it started a few years ago: My family was all together for some event (my niece's graduation maybe). All the siblings were participating in the usual late-night talk/cry session. It's pretty amazing, really. Five adult siblings, a few spouses and a few of the older grandkids talking about everything: dreams, fears, parents, jobs, family gossip, demons from our childhood. At some point -- as we always do -- we got to the subject of my oldest brother, Billy, who died 20 years ago. I don't remember exactly how it all came together, but I think my brother, tank, suggested we all go to Payson sometime to hike to the place where Billy died. I was in immediately. He had me at "hello". Amazingly all the other siblings, our mother and two nieces are meeting in AZ.

I wanted to turn this trip into a road trip, but I knew I would need a newer and bigger bike. I loved my old bike, so I was looking primariy for another Yamaha. Six months ago, after a few months of searching, I found Nina. I had hoped to hold onto my original bike -- A 1986 Maxim X 700 -- but I eventually decided I would sell her to a good home. A trustworthy guy I worked with, Karaoke, was looking for a bike, and it seemed like a good fit, so I let her go. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time on this trip to talk about Nina, so I'll save some details for later.

Preparations started in earnest about 6 weeks ago. I've been spending a lot of time online, downloading maps, looking for bike accessories, scouting out birding hot spots, and researching motels and campgrounds. I've also been collecting camping and riding supplies. Yesterday I mounted some hard saddlebags on Nina. The rest of this week I'll be packing my gear. Luckily, Sweetie has been very patient with me through all of this.

Once I'm on the road, my web access may be patchy. I'll be eating at coffee shops and staying at some campgrounds that have WIFI, so I hope to post fairly often.

(Some administrative bullshit: Following the lead of my blogging inspiration, ATR, names have been changed to protect the innocent. Only Nina and myself will be using our actual names.)