Let me take you back to the beginning of 2020. At that point in time only a handful of people knew of a thing called Coronavirus and virtually none had ever even heard of covid-19. Most people thought that the Coronavirus was a drinking problem in Key West. In middle of January 2020 NFL fans were excited about the upcoming Super Bowl, the NBA and NHL were plunging into the last half of their seasons, and high school & college seniors were wondering if the school year was ever going to end so they could sing Alice Cooper's School's Out anthem. Churches were full and movie theaters were selling out....occasionally at the same time. Families were looking forward to their Spring Break Disney vacations. Retirees were booking cruises. Real estate values were up, the stock market was sky-rocketing, and as hard as the politicians tried to screw things up everything in the future looked rosy. HA....joke was on us!
And what about me? How was I being affected? Thank you for asking. I too was in full enjoyment of the rosy view of that aforementioned future. Back in May of 2019 I had attended the FINAL Rolling Thunder Rally in Washington, DC over Memorial Day weekend for the awareness of the military POW/MIA's. Hundreds of thousands of people and motorcycles poured into the nation's capital for the event. It was a great event held that weekend for decades and many were sad to see it being eliminated. In response there were many people, organizations, and even President Trump that tried to persuade the Rolling Thunder organization to continue the rally but the group was done with it on a national level and they declined all offers. Later in the summer The AmVets made the decision to take over the event. Rolling Thunder owns the name so the AmVets changed the rally's name to Rolling To Remember and scheduled a 2020 event for Memorial Day weekend.
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| At the 2019 Rolling Thunder Rally |
I met with one of my riding friends, Gerry, who, like me, is also a veteran of the War in Vietnam. We sat having our burgers at the Past Times Restaurant and Bar while we discussed the rally. The result of discussion in January, beside devouring burgers and fries, was that we decided that we would ride our bikes from Central Florida to Washington, DC at the end of May for the 2020 Rolling To Remember rally. We immediately started making our plans. We worked out a route and booked all our rooms for the trip up, the trip back, and for while we were actually in Washington. We were, as you can imagine, excited and we were already counting the days for our May 21st departure. 130 days to go......120.....100.....80.....and then, and then, and then...! Apparently that Key West drinking problem was spreading.....somehow via China. The covid-19 virus was rapidly working its way around the world. Events, big and small, were being postponed and canceled. People were being quarantined. Things got so locked up that even the air over Los Angeles was clearing up.
As time passed and the shut down not only continuing but was growing in intensity. Gerry asked me if I was still thought that we should attend the event. My answer was that I thought the position that would be the most acceptable for us to take was that since the AmVets hadn't yet canceled Rolling To Remember we could wait a bit longer to see how things panned out. I went on to tell him that somewhere around the first week of May I would evaluate the situation, get with him, and we could make a decision at that time. Gerry agreed and so we waited. We sure didn't have to wait long because the decision was made for us just after the 1st of April (no fooling) when the AmVets announced that they were officially canceling the 2020 Rolling To Remember rally. Sadly, Gerry and I proceeded to cancel all of our arrangements but at the same time we vowed that we would mark our calendars for May 27, 2021 and make the ride to the AmVets 2021 Rolling To Remember. That is, of course, that we didn't find ourselves in the midst of a pandemic of covid-20 or covid-21 or the Cuban Ingrown Toenail Outbreak which, as we all know, would be the new mutation of the Spanish Flu.
As the covid-19 virus grew more widespread and the response became more restrictive I was slowly coming to the conclusion that, sigh, my 2020 was going to be free of road trips. I even authored a post on my Facebook timeline that said something to the effect of "I had went through a state drive-thru testing site and I was tested. The result was that I was diagnosed with a severe case Motorcycle Road Trip Deficiency." Yep, it looked like this would be the first year in two decades that there wasn't going to be motorcycle road trip for me.
But don't cry for me Argentina.
Before I could whistle a verse of Born To Be Wild I received a message that changed the road running outlook for 2020. This 2020 changing message came from my cousin (to be specific, she is my 1st cousin once removed) who lives in North Georgia. She has been riding for 5-7 years and it is pretty much an under statement to say that she is ENTHUSIASTIC about riding. In those few years she has logged many thousands of miles and there is no indication that she is slowing down. I am also happy to say, and more than a little bit proud, that I was with her for her FIRST ever long day of riding several years ago that covered a few hundred miles. Then a year after that ride I was with her for her FIRST long two-day road trip. Her message was "How do you feel about a FL ride? I would love to do the Florida east and west coast....". Like she had to ask!
After throwing a few messages back and forth that were full of discussions of routes and timing and stops and sights to see...we were ready to make it a reality. So a year that started out looking like there would be a grand road trip to Washington, DC which was followed up with the DC road trip dream being smashed to smithereens by a virus and possibly a band of murdering hornets had now found redemption in the form of a 1st cousin once removed and her quest for adventure.
In the next chapter or two I'll discuss the route and stops. I will talk about my preparations here in Florida and at the same time I'll relate to you the preparing being done in North Georgia by my cousin, Sherry. For those of you who have been around my blogs in the past and have read the journals of my various road trips may or may not remember (probably far more of you are in the "not" category) that the traveling sections of those trips were with me riding the motorcycle by myself. This will be the first time that I will attempt a daily blog while riding with another person. So if you are NOT reading this right now it can only mean that I attempted to write the blog but couldn't juggle riding, visiting, exploring, and interacting while at the same time writing and publishing a daily journal. If you ARE reading this then a) I have succeeded in juggling all the multi tasking and, b) you have too much free time on your hands.
Thanks for listening to my little intro. Over on the right you can insert your email address and receive notifications each time I publish a new chapter. Leave a comment and share with your friends.....oh heck, share with your enemies too. Talk to you later in Chapter Two.
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