What did you do to your FJR today?

[FJR NorCal]

Washed and waxed the beast. It is now ready for launch for Thursday's trip to the East Coast.

[El Toro Joe]

Rode it to work...

[BkerChuck]

Today I rode it to work. Yesterday for Memorial Day was another story.

On my first ever long distance rally back in 2013, the Mason-Dixon 20/20 which was held over the Memorial Day weekend, there was one mandatory bonus. You must complete this bonus to be a finisher. If you scored no other points for the whole rally you must score this one and that was a visit to Fort Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville, PA to pay your respects to one particular soldier buried there. Col. James Young was a Viet Nam veteran who had survived that service only to lose his life during a long distance motorcycle rally in CO in 2001. Even though that rally is no longer offered my 5-6 consecutive years of visiting that site left a mark on me and I've continued making a ride there an annual tradition.




These pictures show only a portion of the 7k flags mentioned in the sign. Riding here you are on hallowed ground. From the moment you enter you can't help but feel how special this place is and you're overcome with emotion. You don't speed here. Doing even the posted speed limit feels somehow wrong. I can remember the rider's meeting held at the rally start to this day. Rick Miller, the rally master, instructed all of us, "I don't care how fast you choose to ride every where else, that's your ticket. But if I find out you did 1 mph over the limit on this place, you are an immediate DQ from my rally and if I can do it I will have you blacklisted from every rally in this country so help me God."

I stop to pay my respects at a site I've visited several times.



This year I have a few more stops to make.



My former brother in law.

Turning to return to my bike I come across another old acquaintance.



Rick was an old customer from my bike shop days. He was a chaplain and said the funeral service for my old boss. Rick was one of our Excelsior-Henderson riders if you remember them.



Ray was another bike shop customer. He suffered a TBI while serving so he came across as a little slow. Some staff didn't like to wait on him as they felt he was wasting their time with all of his questions before making a purchase. He lived with his sister who acted as a caretaker for him. Once I learned his story I stopped caring if my time was wasted and was just happy for him to be able to ride again at all. He'd earned that time in more ways than what I had.

Finally one last stop. This is my best friend's dad. I've known this man for almost my entire life. He and his wife had been married 62 years when he passed. I had promised my friend Mark back in February that I would be visiting him this weekend.



Wanted to share this. Eyes have dust in them again, happened yesterday too.

[wheatonFJR]

Whoa. Thanks for sharing. Made me mist up, too.

[BkerChuck]

Whoa. Thanks for sharing. Made me mist up, too.

Wheatie, thank you. 4 of those 5 I visited were riders. 2 out of those 4 I had the opportunity at one time or another to ride with. I think I just felt compelled for whatever reason to share it. Maybe just to remind us all that we get to do the things we love courtesy of men and women who gave up that chance. I will continue to make the time each Memorial Day weekend to go back as much as possible. It's honestly not one of the more "fun" rides I do but afterwards once the dust settles it is one of the most rewarding.

[Spininprop]

Insignificant post following BkerChuck, but road it to work in the rain. I may actually have a non-rain day(s) next Monday and Wednesday when I'm in the office again. Then again, it's early in the forecast...

[gixxerjasen]

Rode it around the local loop. Always things going on taking my riding time. Today it's a board meeting for my son's High School Theater Boosters at 10. But it was 61F at 5:30 so I went out. Soon it'll be in the mid 80's at 5:30AM so I gotta get it while I can.

Side note, looks like at 99K miles I might really really really need to replace the ignition cylinder. Also, battery is weak, so that needs attention too. One or the other is gonna strand me somewhere sometime.

Also moved the juiced squeeze mount to the FJR and installed Fobo to my son's old phone. If I don't use this much, I'll be selling the fobo's and getting a cheap TPMS setup off Amazon with a dedicated display.