TOPIC:

I think we have enough riders to start planning the East Coast leg of the North American Relay Ride .

I'm volunteering to coordinate this part, but others are going need to step forward and take on other parts of the country.

We can run the entire length of the North Atlantic from Newfoundland all the way to Miami.

The first thing we need to decide is whether we're going to run North to South or South to North.

If we start in Newfoundland we can't really start until May due to the weather up North. If we start in Florida, we can get started sooner, but then we end up with the flag up in Newfoundland at the end of the run and will have to backtrack through New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont to get it to a new rider.

I'm leaning towards a late start in Newfoundland. Then once the flag is down in Florida it'll be fairly easy for someone to pick it up and continue around the US.

Take a look at the map: g.co/maps/pc4rv and tell me what you think.

Also take a look at this document . It gives a very rough outline of the order we'd go in and the states where the flag would change hands. (This could go in reverse if we decide to go South to North)

If your name isn't listed in the above doc, don't worry. I'm imagining the people associated with each portion of the ride will work out who rides when/where amongst themselves. In Virginia for example I've got a couple people interested and I plan to organize it as a group ride. I didn't list all the people from Virginia though.

If your KZrider ID isn't on the above map, DO WORRY. Get yourself on there. It's how we're keeping track of everyone.

I like the group ride through VA idea. And I'd be up for cruising out to WV and then back down, really nice riding country out that way. I'm just say'n.
Thanks Topper for crossing the T's and dotting the I's on this one.

Yeah I figure you, me and jimstan will meet 650Ed, take the flag and do a group ride. Maybe go down the Blue Ridge Parkway a ways. Dip into WVA and eventually hand it off to tybolt99 in NC.

I've got a couple buddies that ride vintage Japense bikes here in VA including one who's working on a 70something KZ900 that was originally his Dad's. He's even got a pic of him as a baby straddling the bike. I'm hoping he's up and running by spring to join us.

That sounds good, the more the merrier. I hope I'm up by spring myself. It should be completely doable for me, just a matter of funds, as always. Being unemployed for a time, really puts a block on spending money for some reason... Now that I've been working for the last couple of months, I'm almost done playing catch-up with bills, so I can get back to buying the things I need to get my bike back together. Man, do I miss riding...

jydog wrote: KZJOE900, I might be able to meet you in Panama City Beach FL providing I get my bike done in time and it is in good enough shape to ride 250 miles back home. Maybe enaz1 could meet me in Griffn GA. A Panama City Beach to Biloxi leg is another possibility for me also. That might be a little closer for you and a nice trip along the coast.

Sure, Panama City would mean an 11 hour round trip for me. Two hours more than meeting you half way up the I75. But a heck of a lot more interesting. So what are you proposing JYDog, that we meet for Spring Break in Panama City? Not sure if my wife would allow that, hehehehehhe. But in all seriousness, as long as the bike is up to it, I'm up to it. Maybe flyndrive and Boostable can chime in on what they would like to do. Maybe Boostable can do a leg with flyndrive, then I can meet Boostable for the exchange. Then onward to Panama. Boostable? Panama is within range for you as well, isn't it? I will repost this message on the east coast thread. But just wanted to put it here as well so people who have been following this thread can keep abreast of what is going on.

Im really wanting to help. It all depends on when my new baby arrives and if the wife will let me go for a day or so. Any ideas on start dates yet. Maybe Boostable would be able to ride down to me then we could ride together back up to KZJoe900. Or the other way around. What ever works.

Flyndrive wrote: Im really wanting to help. It all depends on when my new baby arrives and if the wife will let me go for a day or so. Any ideas on start dates yet. Maybe Boostable would be able to ride down to me then we could ride together back up to KZJoe900. Or the other way around. What ever works.

Congratulation on the baby! When are you guys due? Not sure about a start date. I'm sure closer to Spring. And besides, I could meet you half way, or Boostable maybe meet you half way for the exchange. So your ride could be done in a matter of a four hour round trip. Want to meet in Heehaw Junction? Keep in mind, that all riders have two rides to this relay. One for the pick up, and the other for the drop off. So that that doesn't mean that the two parts are done on the same day. Most likely separated by a few days or weekend or so. So for example, I may pick it up from you or Boostable one week and then meet JYDog a day the following week. Not within two consecutive days. Anybody has any thoughts on that?

I signed up for mass. And FrankenreX is ready

Thanks. Our baby boy is due Feb. 21. That sounds good splitting it up. I have some friends I can try to get together to ride. Even though they all ride Harleys

KZJOE900 wrote: Keep in mind, that all riders have two rides to this relay. One for the pick up, and the other for the drop off. So that that doesn't mean that the two parts are done on the same day. Most likely separated by a few days or weekend or so. So for example, I may pick it up from you or Boostable one week and then meet JYDog a day the following week. Not within two consecutive days. Anybody has any thoughts on that?

That's pretty much exactly what I was imagining. In my case pickup and drop off will probably have to happen on weekends, so it could be separated by a whole week.

Flyndrive wrote: Any ideas on start dates yet?

That depends a lot on which way we go. If we start in Newfoundland we can't really start until May. If we start in FL we can start earlier, but then we end up with the object all the way up in Newfoundland and have to backtrack a long ways to get to the next rider.

So what do you think about starting in May and going North to South?

Wow. That late. I'll have to just wait and see if I'm still living here by he time it gets down here. My wife is in the Coast Guard and we are due to transfer in June.

I'll just have to play it by ear and see what happens.

Later works better for me, but Im shooting for either.

Flyndrive wrote: Wow. That late. I'll have to just wait and see if I'm still living here by he time it gets down here.

I think that's still up for debate. We could start earlier down South and head North. Like I said, the problem then is that T_Dub and Jay650 have to do some serious backtracking.

Or maybe the object could be shipped from Newfoundland to the next leg of the trip? Does it defeat the purpose if we do something like that?

If you leave FL, that won't necessarily count you out. Hopefully you can participate from wherever you are. Maybe the Coast Guard will move you someplace we really need, like Arizona

Topper wrote: the problem then is that T_Dub and Jay650 have to do some serious backtracking.

Or maybe the object could be shipped from Newfoundland to the next leg of the trip? Does it defeat the purpose if we do something like that?

For all practical purposes, I would think that once it makes it to Newfoundland, it will have to be shipped to the next destination. Wouldn't defeat the purpose, the flag will have been physically in Newfoundland and KZ's involved in getting it there. After all, how do they move the Olympic tourch from Greece accross bodies of water?

Not trying to be a wise guy, but do they have Coast Guard in Arizona?

I kind of doubt it as there's no coast there, but who knows. See, I was trying to be a wise guy

I think the shipping question may be a good one for the whole group.

Ok so I've been MIA during Christmas. I'm game for whatever you guys come up with. I don't think it would really defeat the purpose to have it shipped. It'd really be better for me if this took place a bit later on, even in May it's not the best for long bike rides.

Any thought of starting in FL but also incorporating the southern states early in the ride, ie Alabama Tennessee maybe others? Maybe zig zag a little across the south in a general northerly fashion to let things warm a little up north?

Maybe start in this order: Fl, GA, AL, TN,South Carolina,Ect.. May need a little work but just an idea. Could also maybe hit Mississippi and Kentucky

Ill work on this idea some if you guys think we should consider the idea.

Chris

Secondly I feel shipping the token kinda feels like cheating, but, I don't have a good answer for some of the areas, so shipping may have to be considered.

I think that a good idea you could get a lot of riders done before going all he way north. Even take it up through Indiana, And Ohio then back to the Virginias and Carolinas. Then to PA and New York and on north.

Just a long shot idea for jay650. If he could ride out to Newfoundland, then could ride back with T-Dub. Cuts out the shipping but put a couple guys for some long rides.

Then maybe someone from Niagara could com get it and continue it on into Canada, somehow up to bekz he back down to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Then the Midwest can figure out from there.

I don't know about Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas unless someone close to there just happens to go the long way and pass through there.

Flyndrive wrote: Just a long shot idea for jay650. If he could ride out to Newfoundland, then could ride back with T-Dub. Cuts out the shipping but put a couple guys for some long rides.

The shipping issue isn't about how to get it to Newfoundland but how to get it to wherever it's going after that. I think T_Dub and jay650 will be able to work something out. There's 13+ hours of riding plus a long ferry ride between them but I think T_Dub is up for the ferry ride and getting to the mainland for jay650.

Like I said, the issue is if it ends up in Newfoundlan at the end of our run we then have to backtrack at least as far as Niagra to get to a new rider. Or we ship it.

Or we wait until weather allows T_Dub and jay650 to get started (probably May). Then our leg ends down in FL and someone picks up the batton (so to speak) in Alabama.

So just for comparison...

If we end in Miami there's 14 hours of travel to get it to the next new rider in Huntsville, AL.

If we end in Newfoundland there's about 36 hours of travel to get it to the next new rider in Niagra.

That's assuming highway riding, not back roads.

I'm starting to think shipping the object a couple times is going to be innevitable and we'd be better off to just embrace that. It'll allow us to start when we want and ride the roads we want without burdening a few people with the task of backtracking through territory we've already covered.

My vote is start in FL in March and head up the east coast.

Picking up a couple other southern states along the way would great, the more the better.

But we've got no riders for MS, AK, or LA. Might be better to have our one rider from Alabama cover states to his west rather than assist with getting it north.