Miss you daddy

Hi daddy how are you? I know i'm not punctuating very well but I love you!!! And Today is very Friday morning so i'm cleaning my room now (with Dana) (she is sleeping over today) and I cant help but notice how you left your blogger account open so I'm writing you this sweet post (and after you read this you can delete this because you have the password) So I just wanted to say that me and mom cleaned up the whole house and that I'm still very confuzzeled about the whole proscout thing so you know. But that's okay. How are you, I didn't get to read all of your blog but I definantly will then. It rained cats and doggies thursday around sixish and that definately sounds smartical!! :) Me and brad have been playing monopoly for two days in a row. So as you can see it's very very very very very very very very very very veeeeeeeeeery exciting here at the Klinger homestead and everything and yes that was me who wrote this (cant you tell from the smartical part :) ) he he well dana is poking me to death so I ought to go now before this post becomes a novel (with all this typing) your posts are longer though. But I haven't talked to you on the phone lately so I just want you to know that i care about you but you better wear your helmet at allllllllllllllllllllllllllllll times (you hear me) dana says to make sure you quote "Staaaaand clear of the closing doors!" quote But most of all please make sure your safe but I have to tell you a couple more things: tell pop-pop I said hi and ask him if he liked his fathers day present!! thank you!!!! have fun, Ilove you, I miss you, and I hope to see you soon email me please since I seem to be away when you call!!! Dana says Hi and Bye and have fun. So does mom. Well see you on next Friday. --K8e

Motown

Today is Opposite Day. Where yesterday was hot, hurried, and kinda stressful, today was absolutely beautiful. When you’re riding in strong winds, you’re constantly “steering” the motorcycle, leaning into the wind. When a 32-wheel truck (actually counted them today) comes barreling past you, it blocks the wind and suddenly you are veering in the direction the wind had been coming from. Then when the truck has passed, you'd better be ready to make sure you don’t get blown back in the other direction. When that wind is 99 degrees and you’re doing 70 through a construction zone, it can make for a long day. It’s not really as bad as it sounds, though, and still better than a good day at work. Today was crystal clear, cool chamber of commerce weather. In fact, it was only 22 degrees when we left Kitchener! The ride was beautiful, traffic was very light heading west toward the other end of Lake Erie, and again, there’s the courteous drivers who are paying attention. What a concept.

Today’s discovery: you can’t do the hokey pokey with out bumping into two Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada. McDonalds seems like exclusive dining in comparison. Curiousity piqued, I finally did eat in one, but it was across the river in Port Huron, Michigan. You can save yourself the trip; it wasn’t all that.

The border crossing, which I again expected to be a hassle, was a 10-minute affair including the line. We got into the Motor City (actually staying in Auburn Hills) a little after lunch, and spent the afternoon exploring the Chrysler museum and learning about all the cars I grew up being enchanted with.

Tonight we will have a moment to catch our breath, get re-organized, and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow before heading to the races, we will take a driving tour of Detroit and see pretty much the entire history of the American auto industry. We will be unarmed. Wish me luck.

Oh, yeah: we checked in this afternoon and there was a FedEx package waiting for me! :-) So... there will probably be no more updates for a while, as we will be spending the next few nights being drunk and disorderly at the racetrack campground in Norwalk, Ohio. During the day, it will be 300-mph Top Fuel drag racing. Just the ticket for a simple redneck like me.

Canada -My New Favorite Place

Here I am in Canada, Eh? Kitchener, Ontario to be exact (originally named Berlin until WWI, according to the guy on the next barstool.) We rode about 220 miles after work on Tuesday night and stayed in upstate New York, then up early for a run to the border today.

This was my first experience in Canada. The border crossing was surprisingly easy and went something like this:

Border guy: "I need your ID."
Me: "Here you go."
Border guy: "Do you have a knife?"
Me: "No."
Border guy: "Do you have any guns or explosives?"
Me: "No."
Border guy: "Have a nice day."

There I was with travel bags strapped to backpacks bungeed to zipper bags looking like a freshman on moving day. I was hoping I wouldn't spend a half hour taking the whole shebang apart for him, and it turns out I didn't need to even pull a zipper. Very nice.

We did the tourist thing in Niagara Falls, made our way here to Kitchener, and checked in. With the searing wind still relentlessly assaulting us and the muggy skies darkening, we made for Toronto with our fingers crossed. After a trip to the top of the CN Tower (highest observation deck in the world) and a quick tour of the **very nice** city, we found it much cooler and much less threatening for the ride back. Since entering the country, we had been getting passed by everything on wheels --including trucks with 28 of them-- and with the day's priorties completed and the promise of a cold beer in my future, I hunkered down and picked up the pace considerably.

Holy cow, this is like the friggin' autobahn around here! People actually stay out of the left lane unless they're passing somebody, and unless you're doing 80, you ain't passing anybody. We started running 70 mph, which is well above the 100 km/h standard, and cars were literally rocketing past us. 75? Still a traffic hazard. 80? Nope - get the hell outta the way.

OK... pin the throttle and hang on? Hey, at 105 mph we're finally starting to pass people! :-) We kept that up for a while, then settled in at around 75 and just stayed out of the way. I drive in North Jersey every day and didn't think this existed. What a country!

Also of note: I had my first minor crisis today. I woke up this morning and realized that I'd left the race tickets and campground passes at home! That had been taken care of months ago; it was how the whole trip got started in the first place. In the time since, I'd been putting so much effort into planning the rest of the trip that I totally forgot about them. After a few minutes of panic, I made a hotel reservation for tomorrow night in Detroit, then called Lisa (hi sweetie!!) and had her FedEx everything there. I told the staff to expect the package, and Lisa put my cell phone number in the comments, so hopefully disaster has been averted. We shall see.

That's 550 miles, three states / provinces, and one (hopefully overcome) setback. So far, so good!

On The Road Again

Road Trip, version 2007

Looks like I'm all set to leave tonight for my annual adventure. This time, I will have a road mate (my Dad) which is always a nice thing to have when you're 1,000 miles from home on a motorcycle. We're heading to the drag races in Ohio, via Toronto and Detroit. The route home will take us through Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio again before riding back through Steelers Country and the Alleghenies.

Tonight will be late - hopefully updates by Thursday sometime.

Happy Trails!

Yes, I understand

Adventures in New York City...

I had a training session in Queens on Wednesday, just across the 59th St. bridge in Long Island City. I had stayed overnight in one of the apartments Met owns in the East village, and took the subway over for the class in the morning. I had lucked into a parking spot on the street and my parallel parking skills saved me the aggravation of parking in a garage. Had a nice walk around Union Square, a couple beers in a pub, and a good night's sleep.

When I got there, the first thing the trainer said was that we'd probably be done around 3. As Ashton Kutcher would say, "sweeeeet!" I'd be at the Holland Tunnel by 4, easy, and have a nose out in front of rush hour. I got off the train and walked up to 20th street, and that's when things began to unravel quickly.

My $%#&ng car was gone. See, they don't tell you this, but if there is one of these signs anywhere along the length of a street, you're illegally parked, no matter how many other no parking signs there may be. And per NY code blah, blah, blah, section umpteen, of 1959, the entire city is a tow-away zone. Now mind you, there's a sign 20 feet behind my car that says no parking Tuesday and Saturday mornings, and the No Standing sign is 50 feet in front of my car with an arrow pointing to Denmark. And, as noted, I had to parallel park in the only open space on the street.

The lady in the tow pound is royalty when she's behind that window. Nobody would probably give her the time of day on the streetcorner, but at work she's the Queen of England. From businessmen in $1,000 suits to punks whose cars are worth less than their sneakers, we are all equal --all subjects of the Queen. There are 10 bulletproof walk up windows, and one lady. And she's in no hurry to get you back in your car. Stand in line, "yes, ma'am, I understand," have a seat. Get called back up to the window, "yes ma'am, I understand," have a seat again. Never spoken, but crystal clear to everybody in that room, was the reality that any other response would cost you as much misery as Queen Latifah cared to dispense. Your car might depreciate before you see it again.

Called back up, "yes, ma'am, here's my $185". Down the hall to another room, hand over the paperwork, have a seat. After 2-1/2 hours, I finally get to my car and realize that my contribution to the city did not end with the towing fee and the chamber of horrors. There's still the matter of the two $110 parking tickets tucked under the wiper. When I get a parking ticket at home, it costs me 5 bucks and I don't even need a stamp.

What a racket. The city owns a fleet of tow trucks, buzzing in and out like blue bees with NYPD emblazoned on the side and armed cops inside. Probably 100 tow trucks, and ONE uninspired, underpaid lady to process all the paperwork. When she got up from the "information" window and walked over to the "cashier" window, I almost peed myself. No wonder they're behind bulletproof glass.

So, $405 and 3 hours later, I'm back in business, sitting behind 10 blocks of traffic trying to get thru the Lincoln Tunnel at 6 pm. New York thanks me for my visit - come again soon.

Pizza Provi Wit

For people who live so close to Philadelphia, I have always been sort of ashamed to say we have never been to the birthplace of our nation. I mean, we've been to Philly plenty of times, and I even visited the Liberty Bell when I had jury duty, back when it was displayed in that little shack on Market St. But we've never seen Old City, the National Park, or Independence Hall. So, taking advantage of a visit with my good friend Liz, we did the tourist thing and actually stood in the hallowed hall. Very, very cool. We also walked down Elfreth's Alley, billed as the oldest continuously-occupied street in the nation, and of course had to take Katrina boutique shopping so she could fawn over all the Coach and Burberry stuff.


Also, I finally made it to Pat's for a cheesesteak. I've had a Philly cheesesteak before from Tony Luke's (not bad) but the center of the cheesesteak universe has always been where Passyunk crosses 9th; where Geno's and Pat's square off from opposite corners. For the record, the girls each got a Whiz with, and mine was a Pizza Provi with. You can get real good cheesesteaks in lots of places in the Lehigh Valley, and honestly I wasn't expecting much. I was surprised -it really was all that.
Notice how this space is basically kevinstravelblog.com?

Brace Face

OK, I said I'd update with important stuff if important stuff happened, and then it did and I didn't. In October, I had a visit with my friendly neighborhood orthodontist, and for the next 2-1/2 years or so, I will look like a teenager. The way the timing worked out, the big day was October 30, and I had the perfect Halloween costume for work the next day. Unfortunately, the next morning, the novelty was gone, and the braces were still there.

If you've had braces, you know the first couple weeks are just hell. I was totally miserable, couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, and was seriously reconsidering my decision. But then I figured if a teenage girl can take it, what the hell is wrong with me? So, they're still here. Still a pain in the ass, too, but at least I'm not in constant pain anymore. In 4-1/2 months, my teeth have moved quite a bit already and I'm pretty impressed. Only 2 more years to go.

Thanks For Stopping By

This pretty much ends my motorcycle adventures for the foreseeable future. I somehow made it through the last month without ending up in divorce court, and as I like to say, I'm brave, but I ain't stupid. In an extended summer engagement, my face will be shown exclusively at home while I catch up on my honey-do list and my own responsibilities that have been building up for so long (Welcome to KevCo, home of the 8,000 mile oil change.)

This, then, also pretty much ends the regular blog updates. As fun as this was, blogging is kind of a girlie thing, number one, and number two, with precious few exceptions, most blogs end up being either gossip, ranting, or incredibly boring drivel. I'm not real big on either gossip or ranting, and my life is no less boring than anybody else's for 50 weeks out of the year. So, I'd say if you liked the road trip story, check back next year and see if I'm going anywhere. (We have a very tentative idea so far.) I might throw something up here in the meantime if it's really noteworthy, but otherwise, hey, it's been real.

Hope y'all enjoyed the ride!

Fuggeddaboudit

I don't like surprises. Especially when it comes to me holding up my end of a promise to other people, I like to have a plan, a backup plan, and then a contingency or two. After Jim and I announced our New York City ride to the chapter, my first order of business was to seek professional help. Who better, I figured, than the NYC chapter of HOG? Calls were placed and e-mails were sent.

Bless their souls, the NYC gang was willing to not only provide advice, but meet us and escort us through the city. From the word go, Vinny (their director) treated me like we grew up together. "You tell us what you want to do, and we'll make sure you're taken care of." This was great, of course, but I never really did get an exact itinerary or a whole lot of details. "We'll take good care a you. Fuggedaboudit."

The day came, and Vinny was good as gold. I never thought a ride through the city could be so stress-free. His crew was zipping around us, behind us, between us, seemingly everywhere at once. Once our guys got the hang of ignoring traffic control devices and kicking cab fenders, it was a piece of cake. From muscling into parking spaces directly in front of Ground Zero, to merging onto the BQE from the Brooklyn Bridge, to riding right down Broadway into Times Square, they had everything under better control than I thought was even possible.

They even provided security. Whenever we got off the bikes, Bill would dismount, extend his telescoping cane, and stand menacingly in front of the 30 bikes. Bill is a solid, bulky Oriental man, and he looks like he came straight out of a James Bond movie. If you walked back to your bike for something, he'd say, "Your bike is OK. Go. Enjoy. Take pictures. I am watching your things." Priceless. If you look closely, you can see him on duty in the photo of the bikes lined up at Ground Zero.


I had to take the lead of a sub-group after Vinny and some of his boys had to take off, but I don't think there was more than a minute or two where I couldn't see the last bike of the group ahead. These guys are good! During the time we were planning our visit, one of their members got notice that he was being redeployed to Iraq. They set up a big send-off for him, but Vinny remembered his commitment to us and made sure we were in good hands. All for some guy from PA who called out of the blue and asked him for a favor.

The neat thing was, as fast as our passengers were snapping pictures, the other tourists were taking pictures of us. You don't see a lot of bikes in the city, so we were part of the sights that day, I guess. All told, it a great day all the way around. Even the weather was cooperating; the sun was obscured most of the day, and it was 10 degrees cooler than the forecast. Eventually, we made our way uptown to West Harlem, where our tables were waiting for us at the Dinosaur BBQ. You could see the GW Bridge from the front door, and soon we were on the highway home, with everyone present and accounted for.

So, Kevin came through, although it was due entirely to the help of our brothers from the five boroughs. We all had a great day, and I suppose we'll have to do it again in a few years.

And Now, For My Next Trick

Just when you thought the fun was over...

Come back Monday and see how this weekend goes. This Saturday, Jim (pictured) and I are leading a club ride into Manhattan. We had done this ourselves last year and didn't get killed, so we thought we'd invite the gang and do it again. I looked up the NYC chapter and recruited some help (Yo, Vinnie!) but people are really coming out of the woodwork for this and I was starting to get a little stressed. Herding 30-some bikes through Manhattan promises to be tough enough when you know all the people you're doing it with. Throw in a bunch of people who have never ridden with us, and it could get pretty interesting.

Vinnie says they've done this plenty of times, though, and if they can get people from England through the city intact, we shouldn't have a problem. He's bringing a bunch of his gang to look out for us, and after everything I went through last week, I'm really not too worried about it anymore.

Famous last words...