Guess I've been a little too busy with school this past month, today is the first I've checked in on this thread. I couldn't sleep, so i got up early and just happened across this story. I've been reading for well over an hour and have enjoyed this story a great deal.
Tony, you sir are amazing. But I was thinking, some might ask the obvious: WHY? Why would anybody want to do this? To most of those who've posted on this thread, the answer is understood. Many of you may not know this, but as of this minute, there are 47,139 registered members of this forum. I'd be willing to bet that a very large percentage do not understand why anyone would want to do this, and dead sure would never try it themselves.
After all, there are a slew or reasons why most would never do this. In no particular order:
- Cost. a single trip across the country from San Diego to Jacksonville is about 2200 miles. Do the math. That's somewhere around 50 gallons of gas per leg: not cheap. Tony purchased over 200 gallons of gas to do this trip, at a cost of 650 bucks or more.
- Time. this journey took 8 days on the road and a dead minimum of a day's time on both ends for preparation and recovery. 10 days: that's all the vacation many of us see in a year.
- Wear and tear. Most guys fuss over putting too many miles on their motorcycle. Ever try to sell ANY bike with over 40k on the clock? People are scared of miles, and though we know something about the reliability of the FJR, it doesn't change public perception of used bikes with higher miles.
- Physical limitations. Many simply do not possess the ability to do a ride like this. Weight, age, physical conditions, general health, etc.
- Risk. What if I get lost, robbed, hurt, sick, or experience a breakdown in the middle of nowhere? Too many things can go wrong.
- Fear. What if I fall asleep on the road and kill myself?
- Inexperience. You'd be surprised how many people own a motorcycle but couldn't find the battery. They have no idea that a bike can be push started, much less how to do it.
The list could go on, I'm sure but you see my point. So WHY? WHY would anybody attempt to do this? I guess it all comes down to the strength of the human spirit. For you Tony, and many others who have completed incredible rides as well, a dream became a plan and that plan, thanks to the strength of the human spirit, resulted in a victory over some nearly impossible odds.
I'll let some folks you might remember, all much wiser than I, shed some light on the "WHY."
1. There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect. -Ronald Reagan
2. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us. -Wilma Rudolf
3. No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land... -Helen Keller
4. There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not? -Bobby Kennedy
Years ago, someone asked me again, for like the umpteenth time, "Hey man, WHAS-HAPPENIN'? We all know the standard answer to that question. I just stood there, staring, thinking. After a moment I stood up just a little straighter and replied, "I don't care about "what's happening." I am only concerned about what I'm going to MAKE happen." He looked at me and just stared. "Whoa," he replied. "That's like heavy, man."
After I walked away, it struck me. I think I might want to remember that. I need to start practicing that ASAP.
Why you might ask? It's not the ride, though seeing America is a dream for millions. Just ask a truck driver. Even great scenery gets old sooner or later. The ride cannot compare with this one thing: the victory of rising to a challenge, standing against all the odds, and walking away the victor.
Tony, thanks for teaching all of us something about the human spirit.
The next time I see you, I plan to tell this to you face to face, and will consider it an honor to shake your hand.
Gary
darksider #44
