"I am maroon" -- Go Dogs!
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| THE SUMMER OF MY SOLSTICE | ||||||||||||||||
| Host: Roger Dabbs, Mississippi State University Class of 1969 | ||||||||||||||||
"I am maroon" -- Go Dogs! |
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| This site is dedicated to those who dream, aren't afraid to joust with an occasional windmill, and pursue their dreams with a bulldog's tenacity. Robert Frost said that he could sum up all his life experiences in three words, "It goes on". Don't watch, out of body, as life goes on; rather, as life goes on, let your dreams pave your roads. | ||||||||||||||||
| It all began years ago when my next door neighbor (both of us were Second Lieutenants in the Air Force) inherited a moped from his uncle. Ski, a former football lineman at the Air Force Academy and a candidate for the "fat boy" program, offered it to me for one penny. I immediately took the moped upstairs in my apartment and began to disassemble and clean it. You wouldn't believe the racket it made when I finally got it to fire up; and that three horsepower, two-wheeled moped introduced me to the feeling of freedom that comes from riding a two-wheeler. Since that time, I have made many trips on a motorcycle: Germany to Spain and back; New Mexico to Florida and back; and the Blue Ridge Parkway. But now comes the greatest adventure so far -- Alaska and back on my newly acquired "Dogsteed", a 1998 BMW R1100GS. | ||||||||||||||||
| Marty, my wife, has been wanting to go to Alaska for years -- she thought dragging our 24 foot camper up the Alcan highway would be a good way to spend a summer. I wasn't enthralled with the idea but a motorcycle trip -- now that would be the ticket. So, I started priming her and finally reached an agreement: I would ride up and back; she would fly up and back; and we would tour on the bike while she was there. | ||||||||||||||||
| With the agreement came the preparations. A new tent, sleeping bags/pads, a kitchen, rain gear, clothes, spare parts and a computer all became a packing challenge of major proportions. The Dogsteed needed a 12,000 mile service so at the invitation of longtime friend and retired Air Force Colonel, Bob Hancock, (we made the trip from Germany to Spain together), the Dogsteed sniffed its way to Bad Bob's garage south of Macon, GA, in mid-April. Below, Bad Bob (right) and Jsquared inspect the valves on the left jug. The 12,000 mile service went well with only one small setback: Bad Bob didn't get a good seat on the left valve cover and when I went for a test ride, my left oil tannned boot received an unexpected reconditioning. A valve cover reseat and the service was complete. An uneventful return to Tennessee and the 12,000 mile service was history. Two weeks later, a new set of tires were mounted and the Dogsteed was ready. | ||||||||||||||||
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