I did the classical "Just stop in and take a look" at Max BMW in Troy, NY and there she was on the show room floor! Sparking, gleaming and ready to go. Ben Stratton did not have to work very hard to get me to sign on the dotted line.
Blackie came "fully loaded" with ABS brakes, heated hand grips, accessory plug, bags and a Garmin GPS. . All she needed was for someone to take her home and start riding. She had 565 miles on the odometer (had been a press bike before coming to Max).
A few days later I came to pick her up and ride her home. That was over four years ago and I have not stopped smiling about it yet.
Blackie is my second BMW and I have to give a shout out to my first - Red Riding Hood (Little Red). She was a 1998 Funduro and I had her for two years before she found a new home with a wonderful couple in California. Thanks Hal and Sarah! I hear that she just moved on and have a new owner who is taking her to live in Colorado. Have fun Little Red!
Blackie and I have spent many hours and miles together on the road since our first ride. We are close to celebrating 30,000 miles and I plan on celebrating at least 100,000 with her!
We have been all over Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Delaware, DC, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. Our goal is to visit all 50 states together. It will happen! I'm planning on a four corners ride.
This year we discovered adventure, endurance and photo rallies. It has been a fun and rewarding discovery. We sure don't need any reason to get out and go but it has made the riding even more fun to go on a sort of a scavenger hunt. We also like long distance riding and completed our first Saddle Sore (1,000+ miles in less than 24 hours) this year. Shortly thereafter we did another 1,000+ miles in 24 hours.
We don't go anywhere without bringing along TT (Traveling Turtle). She is our mascot, guardian angel, talisman and travel buddy. Sometimes she is featured in photos and other times she just hangs behind the camera, just like I do most of the time.
The 2 Wheel Diaries is about motorcycling, trips we have taken or will take, fun events, rallies, thoughts and anything else I feel like rambling about. Glad you stopped in.
Blackie and yours truly in the woods of West Virginia 2009
