Here is it in 4 easy steps:

1. Buy the necessary oil, a gallon of water, and a throwaway funnel at your favorite retailer.

2. Find some shade behind their building and stake out your territory.

3. Perform oil change, drain used oil into emptied water jug (don;t forget to put your bike back together).

4. Return (recycle) dirty oil with the same (perplexed!) retailer that is *supposed* to have the ability to recycle oil. (If they sell it they’re supposed to recycle it, eight?)

Mike and Sandy Dimond are the local hosts, and they’ve done a bang-up job of organizing a varied and quite interesting line of presenters–including Ted Simon, Gregory Frazier, Carla King and Clement Salvadori. And of course HU founders Grant and Susan Johnson will be there, gurus of world travel and bringing travelers together. Check out their web site for this California and other meetings: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com

If you are anywhere near the Bay Area or LA in California, or planning a motorcycle trip, you should make a point of attending. I’m riding there from Idaho with my friend Zigy (Colorado).

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/meetings/California2011.php

We’re going to talk about the goods you bring on a long distance ride. Tim says we’ll cover the full spectrum of things like tools, navigation, safety/first-aid, personal items, camping, etc. Tim says we’ll be on roughly 4:20pm PST or 5:20pm MST.

Each week Side Stand Up has a variety of guests–the show airs live each week from 7-9 Eastern. You can even call in! So join us live on the air on December 14th, call in or join us in the chat rooms, and get your weekly motorcycle fix for those of us living in the cold climes.

I’d read about some of the suspension work they’d done for racers and other travelers, and decided to use them because I was adding so much extra weight to the DR650. They offered to sponsor my ride (because it’s for Breast and Ovarian cancer CURES) and whipped up a set of shocks for me in what must have been record time.

I’ve only taken it for a short ride, but let me tell you it’s *awesome*. No diving of the front end even under hard braking conditions.

Thanks Rick and Joyce at Cogent Dynamics!

We arrived here is Peacedale, RI last night and I got my first look at my (new to me) 2003 DR650SE…it’s awesome! Ill post a picture as soon as I figure out how!

Wow, I’ve been home for just a week now, and so much has been happening.

First of all, it was great to see Edward again, my travel partner this summer on the TAT and CDT.

I’ve been catching up with friends, doing errands, cleaning up lots of paperwork left over from before I left in June, cleaning up more loose ends as I prepare to be gone for the next 8 months.

I have a million things to do before leaving, and the list seems to be growing rather than shrinking every day that goes by.

I have a cozy place to regroup this week–I’m housesitting for my friends G&M and getting to visit with my dogs they adopted and my cats that they are graciously taking care of.

(By the way, I am still looking for good foster / permanent homes for a great pair of sister calico cats if anyone has a lead for me).

Well I got back to Connecticut yesterday.

I was ready to cry mercy by the time I got back “home”–1100 miles in the cold on a small dirtbike, I must have earned some tough biker chick award or *something*. Dang, it was a long, cold ride.

So now I have a couple of weeks of “down” time–finishing up a couple of projects, writing magazine articles about my adventures so I can have some things in print while I am away, and processing my post Trans America Trail stuff of life.

And most importantly: getting the bike ready for South America. The question is: which bike? I’ve been talking to BMW Motorrad about them “sponsoring” me, which is a very exciting prospect. I plan on making my ride a fundraiser / awareness vehicle for finding breast cancer cures, and it would be GREAT to have them on board. But regarding which bike, Do I get the engine fixed on my DR350? Do I say enough is enough for that little bike and get a DR650? Do I ride my 1150 GSA that’s heavier than all get out, but all set to go? Or do I keep holding my breath and waiting for BMW to come through?

Leaves me in a bit of a pickle, not knowing which bike I am riding 3 weeks before the trip, but I’ve always been a gal that pulls it all together at the last minute…..

I’ve decided to stay in NC for another week…throughout my busy “corporate” life I’ve never been able to come and visit for a goodly chunk of time. I’ve also discovered that I can save almost $900 on my travel innoculations, getting them done at the Buncombe Public Health Dept rather than in Connecticut. Getting them done here is a no-brainer, especially since Mom will make me chicken soup if I feel poopy after all those shots!

Oct 1 I get to be a big pin cushion.

• Hepatitus A&B combo
• Tetanus booster (it’s free at Buncombe!)
• Yellow Fever (Yowtch! I got one when I traveled to Brazil in1991 and it was literally a pain in the butt!)
• Typhus (I think I can opt for an oral verson)

I also have to take malaria pills, so I have to do some research and see what strain(s) they have where I’m going. Research has shown that there are several different types.