Finally, a response

Yes, Apple responded. I didn't think they would given the number of days past since I sent off the letter. I thought my request was reasonable, if not downright interesting. It appears Ms. Wilson believes quite differently.

I still hold out hope that Harley or NPR will respond. Yes, I agree with you, even in my middle age I remain naive.

We're continuing to make our plans and depending upon the weather, we're still targeting April 1, 2007, to begin our trek across the country.

What a marketing opportunity!

October 31, 2006


Mr. Steven Jobs, Chief Executive Officer
Apple Computer, Inc.
1 Infinite Loop
Cupertino, CA 95014

Dear Mr. Jobs:

My very good friend Terry (age 59) and I (age 56) will embark on a 10,000+ mile coast to coast motorcycle trip, departing on April 1, 2007. We did this once before, in October 2003, when we traveled 8,500 miles in 32 days on our Harley-Davidson motorcycles, from South Florida to San Francisco and back.

This time we intend to make extensive use of the internet, blogging our entire trip every day with commentary and photos. I write this letter to ask if the very capable minds of Apple can offer us a very robust, yet small device that we can use for uploading photos and commentary and that can connect us to the internet regardless where we may be. We’ve considered laptops but it’s highly likely they would not survive the trip, hence my request.

Our trip will take us north through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and then along the outer banks of North Carolina. We’ll proceed to York, Pennsylvania intent on touring Harley Davidson’s assembly plant. Onward to Vermont to tour Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream plant and then Massachusetts to tour Sam Adams beer plants. From there, we go west on Route 6 to Reno, Nevada. Northwest to 101, following Oregon and Washington State’s western most border, to Vancouver. On our return, we’ll travel through Banff, Calgary, the Dakota’s and Minnesota, stopping in Milwaukee to pay homage at Mecca (Harley headquarters). By the time we return home to Florida, two months will have passed as well as more than 10,000 miles. We do this because life is an adventure and we’re in the August of our years (all too soon, my lower back will not allow me to take such trips).

We’re not particularly interested in sponsors (although ... just imagine the marketing possibilities) but it is just possible we could be convinced otherwise.

I do hope to hear from you for the ability to record our great adventure is very important to us and our families. I’d dearly like to keep our log on Apple equipment. We’ve little interest in asking the dark (windows) side.

Thank you for your interest,

Mike ....

http://www.terryandmikesgreatadventure.blogspot.com/

c: Joanne M. Bischmann, Vice President, Marketing
Harley-Davidson Motor Company
3700 W. Juneau Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53208

Kevin Klose, President
National Public Radio
635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001

The Zen of Motorcycle Riding

Why in the world would one consider taking such a trip and why not in comfort?

Well, if you're interested, please allow me to explain. Riding is the opportunity to share solitude, to share adventures on the road, to come to know and better understand all the things of value in your life. For me, it's knowing that at any moment, events can conspire to dramatically change the normalcy of your life. In the face of danger, if you can relax and accept your fate, then a real calm can embrace you. All the 'stuff' that interfered with your peace just seems to vanish, if just for a little while.

Riding becomes a celebration of life.

It would be amazing to be a Zen master. I've tried to imagine the sound of one hand clapping as if that imagery will facilitate some sort of revelation about life. Every time I try to understand Zen, my imagination brings up Kung Fu Hustle.

Seems like I'll just have to settle for riding.

The Planning Stages

Hi, I'm Mike. My friend Terry and I, two best friends, find ourselves in the August of our lives, seeking great fun and adventure. I was married for 27 years and Terry for 24. We're both divorced from our ex-wives, which is a whole story in itself. Terry has a wonderful son and daughter and I have three awesome sons, each of which is as confused (sort of) about life as I am. Well, having said that, let me back off a bit, for I've never seen things more clearly.

Life, a very precious gift, offers the opportunity to have great fun, as long as the wheels of life haven't run you over. I consider myself to be exceptionally lucky, even with my aching lower back (too much stress .. for that's frequently where a man clusters his angst).

So here we are, in the prime of our lives (well, maybe just a bit over), thinking it's time to ride motorcycles from South Florida, all over creation and back. Our goal, this time, is to ride more than 10,000 miles. This time .. you wonder? In 2003, October to be exact, Terry and I mounted our Harleys (New 2003 Road Kind (Terry) and 2003 Softail Heritage) and rode off into the sunset, returning a month later with 8,500 miles under our belt (the numb bum adventure).

Working for a living is a very good thing, but life should be full of adventure, rather than just plodding along until we trip, falling into our freshly dug graves. "Go boldly into the night" is the refrain that echoes in my mind, telling me to get off my duff (not Homer's beer) and live it up while I can, before we're in "Joe Black's" sights.

This is the beginning of what will likely be a long (and hopefully interesting) blog, regarding our adventures. We start the planning process today, with a departure target of April 1, 2007!

We appreciate your interest and hope you enjoy the ride.

October - November 2003 - 1st Cross Country Trip

A cross country ride is not new to us. October 15 to November 16, 2003 saw Terry and me riding from South Florida to California and back. The numb bum trip consisted of 32 days and 8,500 miles. Our route consisted of:

Route 98 along the western border of Florida, through the panhandle.
I10 to New Orleans for a cigar (Terry) and a night spent in the French quarter (awesome).
North on the Pontchartrain bridge, then NW to Natchez, MS


NE on the Natchez Trace Parkway (yes, that is cotton behind me) to Nashville, TN (great town).


NW to St. Louis, MO. That's one rather large landmark.


The St. Louis arch from downtown (looking east).

Riding Route 66 to it's end (really, it's I44 to Oklahoma City and then it becomes I40).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66; http://www.route66.com/

We had such great hopes and expectations for Route 66, and certainly it was interesting in Oklahoma where it serves as the main road through (a good 150 miles or so) town.

East of Amarillo, TX we saw the biggest cross in the country.

Winslow, Arizona did not find one single girl passing in a flat bed Ford slowing down to take a look at me (or Terry).

We spent the whole day driving to Sedona, Arizona because Terry had a thought he might want to move there. Ok, a tourist town with no industry other than old hippies trying their best to remember the 60s.

Of course, you can’t go through Arizona without seeing the Grand Canyon. Our luck .. the forestry service decided to set a controlled fire to mitigate the likelihood of an out-of-control lightning induced fire. Of course, the set fire quickly went out of control. You could see the Colorado River if it weren’t for the smoke. We had to travel back to Flagstaff, AZ because Terry left his cell phone at the hotel.

Enroute to Kingman, Arizona you had to pass Seligman.

We had to pass by Hoover Dam before arriving in Las Vegas for one fun night of contributing money to the down and out casino owners.

Vegas – what a great town!

We had intended to ride I15 to Los Angeles but that very day the winds stoking the Santa Ana fires just north of San Diego decided to blow northeast. The previous night was crystal clear, yet the next day was filled with smoke. We tried riding SW but stopped after 10 miles, when the breathing became challenging.

We turned around, heading north on I15 to 95. Our original intention was to ride north on California's Route 1. Life intervened. 95 was one interesting road .. on our way to Tonopaugh.

That day was full of challenges for the Santa Ana winds while riding north through the desert were in excess of 50 mph. I followed behind Terry, enjoying watching his American Flag at 90 degrees to his bike, while we rode at 65mph. In the face of on-coming trucks, the winds attempted to knock us off the bikes, but what was a bit scary at first, soon became 'normal'.

The following morning we rode west on Route 6, enroute to Yosemite. There was a great undulating stretch of road that was awesome to ride, for it went up and down like a rollercoaster. But what scenery!


We entered Yosemite at 2pm with the temperature nearing 32 degrees. With my 5 layers on top, 4 on the bottom, 2 pairs of gloves and wool socks, I was nearly frozen. The 2-3 hour ride to the valley was more than cold. I had to stop twice, taking one pair of gloves off to rest my hands on the mufflers (and even they were cold .. after 7 hours of riding).

From Yosemite, we drove to Napa, one of the greatest places on earth. Terry wasn't overly enthusiastic but I was having a great time.

A typical boring vineyard .. ho hum.

Before entering San Francisco, we had to take in the view from the Marin Headlands.

There are a million views of San Francisco but not enough time.

Riding 'twisty turny' otherwise known as Lombard Street.


The Fisherman's Warf seals

The setting for Full House.

A great street (perfect for motorcycles) in San Francisco!

The Firemen's Memorial - Coit Tower in the background.


We should have spent several days there, but with incoming inclement weather, we decided to make a run to Santa Cruz
From Santa Cruz, we rode through Carmel and Monterey (two great towns .. definitely visit Clint Eastwood's Mission Ranch Restaurant) and then down the Pacific Coast Highway, which was the main reason for the ride.

PCH --- simply spectacular!

We spent the night in Los Angeles. I wanted to visit the Sidewalk Cafe in Venice Beach but Terry was overcome by the insane drivers. We decided to hightail it out of town.
I10 leaving L.A. was a nightmare for the road grooves were really difficult to navigate. More than once the road grabbed my tire(s), wanting to be done with me.

We ended up in Palm Springs, where I was most impressed by the number of windmills near the highway.


From Palm Springs, we continued on I10, passing through Phoenix, Arizona, where we both got new back tires on our bikes.
We had to ride to Tombstone. Terry was sure it was all authentic, exactly like it was in the 1800s.

ooook!

Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury's actual graves and markers. Certainly not a tourista trap.

From Tombstone to Las Cruses, New Mexico.

The next day found us in El Paso, Texas, preparing for our run to Carlsbad Caverns. El Paso is a nice town with more junk yards then I’ve ever seen. Leaving town on 62-180, we were stopped by border patrol, making sure we were not escaping from Mexico. If we were, we were doing it in style. They may have wanted to commandeer our bikes and continue on themselves. They turned out to be nice guys interested in Harleys. Who isn’t?

62-180 to Carlsbad is one lonely stretch of road. It was a good 180 miles of nothing, except …. It was get gas or walk.


The Guadalupe Mountains held back inclement weather, which turned as soon as we got close.

Definitely cold after passing the Guadalupe Mountains.

The last time I was at Carlsbad Caverns, I had just graduated college (73). It’s still one damn big hole in the ground. Thank goodness for the elevator going up.

I absolutely could not pass up San Antonio, Texas, the home of the Alamo. Matthew, my youngest watched PeeWee Herman’s Great Adventure more than 100 times when he was a youngster. The American’s would have won if they had fortified themselves in the Marriot (in the background). Matt didn’t remember his adoration for the movie but I’ll never forget.

From San Antonio, we rode east, passing through Houston, just in time for the Veteran’s Day parade. We had to rest the bikes because the heat was too much for them.

I don’t mean to take issue with Texas but riding the eastern half was difficult because of the fragrance (smells bad). What’s the deal?

East of Texas, all on I10, through Louisiana (back to New Orleans for more cigars), Mississippi and Alabama .. all uneventful. By this time, we were two tired fellows just wanting to get home.

Entering Florida, near Tallahassee, I decided to visit my sons in Gainesville while Terry decided to follow 98 once again. We said our goodbyes, promising to ride safe and then meet back in South Florida.

I started the ride with 3,000 miles on my Heritage Softail. In 32 days, I had the 5k, 7.5k, and 10k performed, plus one new tire. Not at all cheap but worth every penny given the experience.

Thanks Harley, for the reliability.