Next Sunday, the three of us will meander our way across the country to Sherm's summer home in Kingman, Arizona. There, we will stage for our run across the Mojave desert to Solvang, California for an informal VROC get together from June 26 to 28.
From California, we will work our way back across the continent. If it all comes together, there are a few folks we would like to stop and see and a few roads that we would like to stop and ride. The planned return date is July 15th, allowing us time to fulfill our responsibilities for the Freedom Rally here in Sudbury the first weekend in August. The total distance of the primary route is estimated to be over 5,700 miles, with many side trips and motorcycle rides probable.
We had considered cutting back on our US travels due to the punishing Canadian/US exchange rate, but we value the travels, gatherings and friends too much. Sandy is ready for some time on the road, and so am I.
The medical insurance industry almost torpedoed our plans before we got started. We buy an annual plan from TD that covers us for as many trips as we want as long, as we don't exceed 17 days on any one trip, with no questions asked. This journey will be about twice that long, so we called our insurer and had to submit to a grilling about our medical history. Sandy failed because she was in the ER last weekend and got antibiotics for bronchitis. I failed because I was a diabetic with stents who has not been smoke free for three years (just two). We made a call to RBC and they agreed to insure us from the end of the 17 day TD coverage period, although I dodged a bullet by not being 65 yet. I need to do some serious research to find better coverage going forward.
The Equinox is ready to go. After the last trip, I had the shop do a major inspection. They replaced the front brake pads, resurfaced the rotors and replaced the air filter. When I got it back, the manual shift button was inoperative so it went back. This function is very important when hauling a trailer. In accordance with my findings on several forums, which indicated this was a rare but not unknown issue, the switch was determined to be bad. This was not part of the power train warranty, but GM worked with me to substantially reduce the cost of the job. Then, when the seats were back in and all the wiring plugs reconnected, the passenger seat belt did not know it was done up. The plug was connected but the contact was bad. It was fixed quickly and, as noted, the vehicle is now ready to go.
The trailer went in today to have the wheel bearings repacked. They will get grease a few times over the duration of the trip, but they are Dexter hubs which should make that an easy task.
I am trying to get caught up on my jobs for the Freedom Riders, the OPPVA and Operation Red Nose, plus I owe brother Jax an article for the Riders of Kawasaki. Hopefully, the critical things will be done before sun-up. We'll stop and see my brother Rabbi as we go through the Soo tomorrow. It has been too long.
So stay tuned and follow our journey if you want. The blog will be updated daily and I will do my level best not to fall too far behind..
Proposed Route (5,744 Equinox miles):
2 comments:
It shows a PNW miss, but that's OK, I do understand ... passing through LA area??? I'll be with PopPop Wed of this week ... if'n your future plans hit the PNW, either you'll stay HERE, or if I know in advance, Mary and I will stay where'ere yer gonna b ... K?
Solvang, not LA. We'll be there June 26th to 28th. Say Hi to PopPop for us.
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