Canadian Rockies '18: New-to-Me Bike and Other Things I Use

I bought a new-to-me bike for this year's trip.

Our '13 FLTRU on the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia

I LOVED our '13 Road Glide Ultra. We spent more money than I should have getting her set up just like we wanted. There were no heavy-duty mods like custom paint, extended bags, etc., but we chromed the front end, added chrome wheels and rotors, a painted inner, heated grips, Daymakers, LED lighting everywhere else, stage 1 with pipes I really liked, upgraded audio... It was a nice bike. Problem was I had just barely under 60K on the clock, had the tranny rebuilt last year, and while the bike was well-maintained, I was worried about reliability while facing a 9,800- mile ride. So we had been in the market for something new for a while.

2018 was our target year. I was hoping HD would produce a CVO Road Glide Ultra in '17 so I could try to pick up a leftover when the 18s came out or grab a barely-ridden previously owned bike. The Motor Company voted no on a '17 FLTRUSE, so we watched the most recent dealer show online, hoping for a 2018 CVO Road Glide Ultra. Once again, we were disappointed. So we waited, thought about what to do, prayed about it, and decided to shop for a pre-owned '15 or '16 FLTRUSE. The story of how we ended up with our new-to-me bike is too long to share here. We purchased this one in March, and I'm pleased. Here she is:

When I first saw this color - Carbon Dust and Autumn Sunset (more orange than red or brown), I said, "absolutely not". I didn't love it. Then I went to Bike Week over in Daytona, saw a few bikes just like this one (more on that later), and it grew on me. I asked my friends, and they liked it. I asked my wife and kids, and they liked it. So I began to consider grabbing this one, and decided to go for it.

The bike had just over 10,000 miles on it. That was new enough for me. It had not been cared for like I care for my bikes, so I spent some time cleaning up the nooks and crannies and buffing out some surface scratches - but it's in great shape now. I still have a scratch on the front fender hasn't buffed out, and there are some surface scratches on the tour pack lid because I've been too lazy to take the luggage rack off to clean them up, but I'm happy with where we are.

So why did I decide to go CVO? I mean, these bikes are really pricey. And I know I run the risk of pulling into a hotel for the evening to find another bike pretty much exactly like mine. This was never the case with my '13 Road Glide. It was set up the way I wanted it... and no one was going to have one exactly the same. In fact, I seldom saw another Midnight Pearl FLTRU. I liked this. So... why? CVOs are expensive. That's why I went low-mileage pre-owned. I wanted someone else to take the big depreciation hit, and that worked for me. And then I weighed how much I spent on mods on my '13 against what I was going to get in the way of resale. We took a look at resale / trade value on a CVO, and decided to go that route. We'll see how it works out for us.

The bike is pretty much stock CVO. It has Vance and Hines Power Duals, Monster Rounds, and a V&H Fuelpak FP3. I like playing with the Fuelpak, but Alyshia Sargent, the service manager at my dealership, Stormy Hill Harley-Davidson in Clermont, Florida, really wants me to consider another fuel management / tuning system. I'm thinking about it because she rocks and I trust her. I just have to stop spending money for a while.

Here are my observations after the first 1,500 miles or so of riding the 2015 CVO Road Glide Ultra:

• This 110 with the power duals runs cooler than the 103 on my '13. I like that.
• I'm a little concerned about fuel economy. We'll be in some remote places this year, so I've had to plan fuel stops carefully.
• The Hammock seat is nice. Comfortable. Annette really loves the comfort and the fact that the seat is heated. And I like for her to be happy. I think I'm sitting a little higher, and I'm only 5'9", so I'm still getting used to that.
• This bike has adjustable passenger floorboards, and I need to adjust them. I feel like they are too far forward, and they bother me when we're riding two-up. I'll try to fix that before we leave.
• The Infotainment is new to me. I like it. I especially like not having to upgrade the audio again. I'm going to stick with the CVO-stock Stage II Boom Audio System. It's fine for me.
• I like having Sirius / XM on my bike radio, rather than on my Garmin GPS.

So that's the bike. I'm looking forward to getting her out and letting her run. I'll post my thoughts on how the bike is performing as we make our way west and north. And then there's this:

Just about everyone will look at all of these "tools"- or junk, to some - and say, "What in the world is all of that?" I get that. There are some things to know about me and about our process that might help this to make sense.

First - I am a planner. I literally spend a year planing our trips. We decide toward the end of each year's adventure where we are going the next year. And I go to work. I know full well that some like to head off in a given direction and wait to see where the road will take them. I know others right turn-bu-turn directions on their windshield with a grease pencil and start riding. That's not me.

• I use Garmin BaseCamp and plan the trip with painstaking detail. I plan daily start times, lunch stops, gas stops when necessary, and determine where we are stopping for the night.
• I have a Zumo 665, and will continue to use my stand-alone GPS rather than the Infotainment GPS system for navigation. One of our other riders imports our route into the Harley system each day, and we compare notes on how the different GPS systems are working. That's the HD GPS mount, by the way. I installed it myself and it wasn't difficult at all.
• And in case you're wondering... we book our hotels in advance due to the size of the group. It's a little risky, but so far, booking in advance has worked for us.

Next - I stay connected. My phone is always accessible to me. I sometimes want to stay in touch with work. I ALWAYS want to stay in touch with my family. I also use my phone to control our bike-to-bike communication systems and my GoPro Hero5.

Third - I hydrate. We ride long, hard days. We ride in the summer, and though we're headed far north and to elevation, we start out in the Deep South where it is hot and humid. I was in search of a great cupholder for years. I finally found something that works for me with this Ciro3D product. I pair this with a Yeti cup that keeps my water cold for hours and I am good to go!

I am a musician and I enjoy listening to music as I ride. I've activated Sirius-XM for the long miles this ride will require. I also have playlists loaded onto a USB drive that is connected to the Infotainment system, and can stream music from my phone.

Finally, I am safety conscious. I stopped at a gas station a couple of years ago as I was starting one of these journeys. A couple of guys came over as I was filling up and were admiring my bike, then asked about "the little orange thing." When I explained what it was, he said, "You're wife knows where you are all the time? Aw, he** no!" I laughed. I don't mind my wife, family, and friends knowing where I am at all times. So the orange device on the right is a Spot Gen3 satellite tracker. If I drive off a mountain, I can be found. If we break down or have a crisis while in a remote location where there is no cell service, I can send an emergency message to friends and family, or I can send an SOS to law enforcement or rescue personnel. My family and friends can follow along, tracking our progress throughout the journey. And I use the tracking date to create a log of where we've been.

So try to excuse my junk. I mean... tools.

There are a few more things we use that you can't see in the pics above. The most significant of these are our Cardo PackTalk communicators. One of the reasons our laugh time is so great is we are talking almost constantly. We talk about life and work, family, kids (and now, grandkids). We talk about struggles we are facing. Some of the talk is really practical, like "I need gas" or "I need a restroom break". We discuss upcoming maneuvers- like, "We're turning right in 2 miles." We've found staying together in traffic is much easier when we can communicate what we are about to do. We discuss restaurant choices. And yes, we laugh. A lot. I know this won't work for many. Part of the fun of riding is solitude... quiet... nothing but the rumble of our exhaust and the sound of wind in our ears. But for us - we choose the banter that builds our friendships. To each his own, right?

I can only think of one more thing I use. I've found our Airhawk Motorcycle Seat Cushions, We've found these help us endure the long ride days with some added comfort. I'm not so sure how this is going to feel this year with the added seat height of the Hammock - but we'll find out soon.

More to come soon.

The 2018 Adventure: It's Almost Time to Ride

Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all." I like that. Annette and I have viewed our lives together... our marriage, our family, and our ministry... daring adventures, and we've had, for the most part, the time of our lives for a pretty long time. We're getting older, but we're not slowing down. It seems we're always peering down the road in search of the next adventure. We enjoy living our lives this way.

I was reading a book to one of our granddaughters recently (we have TWO of those little treasures now!!), and I found myself reading this to little Ruth:

So be you - fully you -

a show-stopping revue.

Live your life in full color,

every tint, every hue.

Discover. Explore!

Have faith but love more.

And learn and relearn all

that God made you for.

from God Made You

written by Matthew Paul Turner

I read that page over and over to my that precious 13-month-old girl, thankful for the opportunity to imprint a couple of things on her little heart... thoughts that (1) God made her, and (2) life is to be lived in full color. I love that! For years, Annette and I have said we would live loud and live large. Now I've added "in full color" as a descriptor of how we want to experience our love and lives together.

This is me - Papa - with Lorelai, left, born in
November, and Ruth, born in March.
These are the best of times, for sure!

So before we get to motorcycle adventure things, let's consider a couple of other roads Annette and I have traveled since the epic adventure that took us to Nova Scotia a year ago. First, we've fallen in love with the role of being grandparents. We have a second little grand-blessing in Lorelai Mae, born November 27, 2017. Two granddaughters born in less than a year has just about caused our hearts to explode with joy. Our lives are forever changed for the better!

Here's another: A road that all too familiar to us is one that had us navigating health concerns. I'll spare readers the details. After several months of care and treatment,  I find myself feeling great and optimistic that we have those physical challenges in the rearview. We are thankful for the work of healing God has done. We've learned to be thankful for every day. And we are fully trusting that God is holding us tightly. Amen!

Enough of those "adventures". We're bearing down on a whole new journey - and I can't wait to get started. For those new to our crazy riding habit, a bit of history is in order.

• In 2012, we embraced a challenge to ride all 48 contiguous states. We nailed it, riding the Southwest in '12, the Northeast in '13, and the Northwest in '14. We stopped to get a quick pic just over the Kentucky state line as we covered the 48th and final state. And then we said, "Now what?"
• In 2015, we revisited the southwestern United States, which happens to be my favorite part of the country so far.
• In '16, we thought we'd stay close to home, exploring the Ozarks, and then decided we needed more adventure and went north to Pennsylvania to visit the Harley-Davidson factory.
• Last year, our destination was eastern Canada and the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia.

And that brings us to the 2018 adventure. This year, we're going big - just under 10,000 miles - riding to the Canadian Rockies to explore the Columbia Icefields Parkway that runs north from Banff, Alberta up to Jasper. The pictures we've seen are simply stunning. Along the way, we'll ride Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain Park, spend a day-and-a-half in Yellowstone National Park, and then ride through Lolo Pass. From there, we'll tackle some great roads on our way to Seattle, then head north into British Columbia. After several days exploring this region of western Canada, we'll end up in Banff, where we'll spend three days on the Icefields Parkway - one night in Banff, then a night in Calgary as we pick up our wives, a night in Jasper, and then another night in Banff. Finally starting home, we'll visit Glacier National Park and ride Going to the Sun Road. Finally, as we start the long ride home, we'll visit the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore National Monument, and Badlands National Park.

Whew! That makes me tired just typing it all!! But if God grants favor in the way of safety and absence of serious mechanical challenges, I believe this ride will be the most epic of all. Did I say I can't wait? We're weeks away from blastoff and I'm already packed!

Here are a few things about our trips:

• We don't camp. The closest we come to "roughing it" is staying in a hotel that is not part of a national chain. We stay in Hampon Inns most nights, but we'll find an IHG or something in the Marriott family if we can't locate a Hilton property. We'll grab a Best Western reservation when necessary - and only stay in a local mom-and-pop hotel if necessary. No camping for us! We like a hot shower, a clean bed, a hot (and free) breakfast, and, in a perfect world, a hotel staff that understands we like to clean our bikes up a bit.
• We eat pretty well. Breakfast in the hotel... a break at lunch... a nice dinner that lets us enjoy the depth of our friendships as much as we enjoy the food. We try to avoid national franchises, choosing instead to research the best local fare in the towns we frequent. We don't camp and we don't cook over an open fire. Nope! That's fine for many - but not for us.
• We ride hard. Pretty much every day is a 12-hour (or more) day. We're typically in the saddle by 7 AM, and are often rolling into our hotel close to 7 PM. We don't always ride for 12 hours, though. Our day in Yellowstone, for example, is less than 300 miles - but we're off of the bikes a lot, celebrating the wonder of God's creation. Conversely, our longest day this year is 820 miles. No, that's not a typo. We maximize our time away, then push hard when it's time to head for home.
• We visit a lot of national parks. Each park is a treasure of creation and history that has been preserved by our government in a wonderfully wise move. More on that soapbox of mine later...
• Our trips are more about relationship than riding. I'll address this more in another post - but suffice it to say that my life and riding experience is enhanced in an indescribable way by the friendship of our little band of brothers.

Our little band of brothers, last summer on the famous Cabot Trail
Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia

That's enough for now. We invite you to ride with us. To live vicariously is "to live in a way that is experienced in the imagination through the actions of another person." So ride with us vicariously as the journey begins on June 14, and we'll be sure to keep you posted with words and images that describe the adventure. C'mon June 14. I'm ready to ride!