Anyone ready to get out of town?

[jmdaniel]

After a 10.5 month job search, I landed a sweet new job last week. My start date isn't until 6/22, and if there is anything I need after 10.5 months of not working, it's a vacation!

I'm thinking about a 7-10 day ride, but all of my usual suspects are not interested, due to already planned vacations, and/or Mamabear saying "hell no, you won't go!" So I'm throwing this out to see if there is someone in the same boat; wants to burn some miles, and would prefer not to do it solo.

Ride parameters, (some are flexible, some are not):

Length (days): 7-10

Mileage (daily): 400-600. I did a 10.5 day, 11 state ride a couple of years back, which totalled 5250 miles, or right at 500 miles/day.

Timeframe: Prefer to start around 6/8/15, which is the day after X Games ends here in Austin. That is flexible, but a 6/8 start and 10 day trip gets me back in time to go to work on 6/22.

Lodging: I'm strictly a hotel/motel guy, too old to sleep on the ground. And I don't share rooms with anyone but my wife. Nothing personal, just had enough of that in the Army.

Trip direction: Very flexible on this one. The 11 state trip mentioned above included TX (duh), NM, AZ, UT, ID, MT, SD, NE, WY, CO, and OK. Lot of space to the east of the Mississippi to explore, or the West Coast, or hell, even some ground I have already ridden on.

Personality: Have one. My friends have told me I'm funny as hell, sarcastic, and kind of a smartass. My enemies have said the same. See my avatar for an example; minivan owner/operators used to extend one fingered salutes in response. I'm prepared to converse on almost any topic you can think of, and sometimes even intelligently.

So hollaback if this interests you!

 

[n2osx]

After a 10.5 month job search, I landed a sweet new job last week. My start date isn't until 6/22, and if there is anything I need after 10.5 months of not working, it's a vacation!

I'm thinking about a 7-10 day ride, but all of my usual suspects are not interested, due to already planned vacations, and/or Mamabear saying "hell no, you won't go!" So I'm throwing this out to see if there is someone in the same boat; wants to burn some miles, and would prefer not to do it solo.
Ride parameters, (some are flexible, some are not):

Length (days): 7-10

Mileage (daily): 400-600. I did a 10.5 day, 11 state ride a couple of years back, which totalled 5250 miles, or right at 500 miles/day.

Timeframe: Prefer to start around 6/8/15, which is the day after X Games ends here in Austin. That is flexible, but a 6/8 start and 10 day trip gets me back in time to go to work on 6/22.

Lodging: I'm strictly a hotel/motel guy, too old to sleep on the ground. And I don't share rooms with anyone but my wife. Nothing personal, just had enough of that in the Army.

Trip direction: Very flexible on this one. The 11 state trip mentioned above included TX (duh), NM, AZ, UT, ID, MT, SD, NE, WY, CO, and OK. Lot of space to the east of the Mississippi to explore, or the West Coast, or hell, even some ground I have already ridden on.

Personality: Have one. My friends have told me I'm funny as hell, sarcastic, and kind of a smartass. My enemies have said the same. See my avatar for an example; minivan owner/operators used to extend one fingered salutes in response. I'm prepared to converse on almost any topic you can think of, and sometimes even intelligently.

So hollaback if this interests you!

You forgot - "Likes long walks on the beach, candle lit KFC, and cuddling up on the couch to watch gay porn..."

 

[jmdaniel]

You forgot - "Likes long walks on the beach, candle lit KFC, and cuddling up on the couch to watch gay porn..."

That is exactly the kinda attitude I'm looking for!

 

[n2osx]

I really wish that I could go. Hell, I am hoping that I get fired because I make more $ on unemployment than I do where I am at. Plus I just found out this morning that I may have to ride to Shitville Sturgis in Aug for a wedding.

I don't think that you will have too hard of a time finding a riding partner (I hope) around this forum. Good luck my friend.

Carl

 

[jmdaniel]

Thanks, Carl. As far as getting fired, don't. All kidding aside, that job search sucked donkey balls. It is so bad getting a job here in Austin in HiTech that a woman wrote a book about it. I've interviewed at some of the companies talked about in the book, and she is spot on.

https://www.amazon.com/Youll-Never-Interview-This-Again-ebook/dp/B00UW1V8RQ

All the companies here, in order to attract the millennials, brag about their fully stocked kitchen and ping-pong tables. There is even one (CSID) who elevated this to a new level; their website bragged that they have a ping-ping table. I read that and thought, "oh great, another sport I suck at!"...

 

[SacramentoMike]

Congrats on the new job. Lucky you could stay in familiar ground and not have to move, if that's what you wanted.

You're smart to try to get buy-in from a companion in advance. Incompatible styles can suck away a lot of joy, but don't hesitate to go alone, IMHO. I like the freedom of leaving, stopping, eating, etc. when and where I want, and determining my own route and pace. And it's easier to talk to locals anywhere when you're alone. That's a nice bonus when you're in a new place, plus they may have good local info that will enhance your trip. Enjoy the ride. And the ping ping.

 

[jmdaniel]

Mike, I am more than ready to move out of this overcrowded and overtaxed hellhole called Austin, but the wife likes her job, so I pretty much was looking here, as well as for remote jobs where I could work out of the house. As it turned out, I got a gig where I can work out of the house, even though the company has 7K employees located here, so it's the best of both worlds. They just contacted me to see if I wanted to start a week early, on 6/15, so my almost year long sabbatical is going to be a week shorter than planned. Hard to complain about that, so I'm not.

And I agree on the making sure the riding partners match up reasonably well. The husband and wife I did the 11 state ride with were a great fit, no hassle, and common goals. I remember the second to the last day, sitting somewhere in the panhandle of Oklahoma, 100+ degrees, in landscape that reminded me of Mad Max, waiting for the 12 mile reduction to one lane only to clear, and looking over at them and laughing at the craziness and fun of the trip to that point. At this point, I'm open to a solo trip or accompanied; just throwing a line out to see if there is any interest. Thanks for your comments.