DATELINE: July 2003

Where has the time gone? Never made a June entry and now August is closing in on me. The ride is just weeks away and still the planning goes on. The deadline for qualifying as an Honor Guard, Principal or Associate rider is now past. Based on my $1775 qualifies me as a Principal Rider.

I did order the Draggin' Jeans Kevlar Shirt (K-Shirt), the Australian Store carries it in a small. Great service, got here in just days! Quick email responses, highly recommend these folks. I also found some great wicking shirts at Campmor.com and SierraTrading.com and have added them to my stash. Much of the trip will be in warmer temps so they'll come in handy under my K-Shirt. Also found some great lightweight rain pants but they are a bit short. Will save them for local trips since they take up much less room. For the trip I'll carry the heavier, slightly larger ones that match my rain jacket.

Once the closing ceremonies are done in New York City, I will be heading West towards my old home in Bradford, PA area. I've been checking out the weather - looks like I WILL be carrying my leathers with me (jacket & pants as well as warmer gloves). Daytime highs in the 60's and lows in the 40's - BRRRRR! I will also be traveling the Virginia portion of the Blue Ridge Parkway and know that the mountains there can get cool.

My wireless Palm Pilot is now set up so I will be able to email updates to the crew back home. Cell phone is ready for extra duty, too. Luggage is set and all the rooms are reserved for the ride up (coming back is a different story). I have two roomies for the trip up - we're PondHopper, Tadpole and of course FrogBiker. Quite a trio! I did get an eye exam and new glasses so am good to go there.

I'll be packing some food for snacking but should be eating at each of the stops during the day. In fact, I'll be meeting a lot of online friends for the very first time during some of these stops. Others I'll be meeting on the trip home.

My "To Do" list is getting shorter but my packing list is growing longer. I think I need to do a "practice" pack & load the bike to see how it all fits. I'll schedule that for about a week ahead of time. The next major item is getting an oil change done on the bike just before leaving. From there I will figure out when the next one is due as well as my 10k service. I anticipate being at around 11k miles before I get home. If that holds true then I will wait. If I manage to get in some major miles in the next couple of weeks, that could change.  

Check back often to see how my donations are doing and watch for the June update.

Donna/FrogBiker

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