I was out in Portland over my birthday spending some time with Dee and driving around the area. She hadn't been there too long but she knew of some great places to visit.
In March I flew out there for a job interview. The trip went well and I managed to convince them to let me stay out there for the weekend. I didn't take their offer, as generous as it was. I was done moving after having just moved back to the house in Omaha from Iowa City (more on that if you email me).
March was also the month of my niece's first birthday! She was a little less than thrilled with all of the goings on, but she did manage a smile for a few photos.
At the end of April my roommate and I rode down to Eureka Springs, AR for a rally of motorcyclists. We have regional gatherings for people who ride the same model bike. It was the first time my roommate had ridden that far on a motorcycle...
I believe 40+ riders made it. The weather didn't cooperate at all. It rained all weekend, even on the ride home. It's still better than a good day at work :)
In May I flew back out to Portland to see Dee. She had explored more of the area and managed to find some great places to visit. Just over an hour's drive west we went to a beach. Fortunately she's in this picture, otherwise the scenery wouldn't be as good :)
Towards the end of May I rode down to visit my great friends Pete & Tracy and their family. They had moved to the Dallas area, which made it a tolerable 1-day ride. :) One of the reasons for the trip was to get a few maintenance items done to the bike. I needed new tires most importantly.
As things go...we had a slight problem while working on the front suspension;
That's a rather critical component. And there were no replacement parts in North America. I was on a deadline to get back to Omaha in order to fly to Denver for work. Well, that didn't happen. I ended up flying from Dallas to Denver, worked 3 days, flew back (while Pete graciously reassembled my bike, took it for a test ride to make sure it was solid before I rode home) and then I rode home. Great trip overall :)
In June the roommate and I took a weekend and went camping at a local state park. It was nice to get out of the city and really relax. We weren't sure if we could take JD so he had to stay home. We hiked a few trails and looked at the "living history" area.
Along the Missouri
We did decide that my backcountry hiking tent was too small....
At the end of June I rode over 1600 miles from Omaha to Portland for a week. The ride out there was really uneventful.
While in Portland Dee took me to one of her favorite places to visit, the Japanese Gardens.
In July there was another camping trip to the same state park. This time JD got to go along (and we had a bigger tent).
Happy to be camping :)
There wasn't much happening in August...I think it was the only month I didn't leave Omaha...that wouldn't last though :)
In September my roommate again rode with me on the motorcycle to a rally. This one was held in LaCrosse, WI.
We rode on some great twisty and hilly roads for two days. Unfortunately, on the second riding day the front wheel bearings started making a lot of noise. We made it to my parents house and borrowed their car to get home. A few weeks later, borrowing a nice big truck, we rescued the bike for repairs.
Dee made one more trip here in November for a week. Not too long after that I rode the bike for the last time, December 5th, and it's been stored since :(. Darn snow.
After all of the riding, I've managed to get to almost all of the western states. I don't know what next year will hold so maybe I'll get to AZ and NM...but I'll probably ride back out to the Oregon/Washington area again :)
I hope you and your family had a great 2009 and look forward to a more successful 2010!
-Paul
