Spies everywhere

The nice thing about using a SPOT geo-tracker is friends and family always know where you are. This is comforting providing those friends and family bear you no ill will. Two incidents over the last two weeks illustrate how closely I'm being watched.
Last weekend Brett correctly identified the street address of the house I was at due to my SPOT tracks. This morning, Ess and I found a note under the wiper of our car. I can only surmise that Rod dispatched his sister-in-law Connie to say hello and welcome us to Missoula.

Bikeless on Lolo Pass.

Pasco Dutch Bros grand opening.

200K this morning on the TDI.

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First and second place!

My raffle winnings.

My raffle winnings.

The winner?

Matts garage.

Meeting Woody and his bride in La Grande for coffee.

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The waiting is the hardest part

Many thanks to the Monmouth and Dallas Dutch Bros crews for helping me out today. I suspect I'm worrying too much about my stops; after years of participating in rallies I think I have my stop routine down pretty well. While every photo posted to this blog, not every photo posted to Facebook. This is a bit of a concern since the Dutch Bros Facebook crowd is the main audience for this ride. I suppose there's little I can do about that.
So, I'm ready to ride. 31 days and counting...

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Round and Round

I'll be doing a little training today. Since my stop routine is critical to documenting Dutch Treat, I figure I need some practice. I'm riding between the Dallas and Monmouth stores to get a feel for my routine.

Stops 161 and 162

As we come down to the wire, it looks like there will be at least 162 Dutch Bros locations to visit. I've already mentioned Pasco, Washington. Stores might also be open in Boise as well as Scappoose, Oregon. As you can see from the photo, fresh asphalt is being laid in Scappoose and Facebook intel puts the opening as late May. None of this last minute additions to the itinerary significantly change my schedule, but a new itinerary is up at
http://www.twowheelsfortransition.org/Images/162%20Itinerary.pdf

Eyes on the Ground

I just received a call from the mayor of Pasco, Washington. It seems that the construction of the next Dutch Bros location, at the intersection of Burden Blvd. and Convention Place, is nearing completion. Matt's convinced the store will be open in time for a June 19th visit during Dutch Treat. I can't wait. Hopefully, there'll be at least one city official on hand for a photo op.

A Tale of Two Packages

I just purchased two new helmet visors on Amazon. The visors, one clear and one dark tinted, shipped from two different companies. The packaging of the two gives some insight into how we can approach life.

The package on the right is from Motorcycle Superstore of Louisville, Kentucky. This visor came neatly boxed with Fill-Air inflatable cushions to protect the contents. The visor was still in all of it’s OEM wrapping, clearly indicating it was an authentic Shoei brand product. The box was secured with packing tape embossed with the Motorcycle Superstore name; very professional. A comprehensive invoice thanking me for my order completes the package. The price was $35.99 and $6.99 for shipping

The package on the left is from PGR Motor of La Verne, California. This visor had protective plastic on it, but no Shoei labeling. The visor was placed in a UPS plastic shipping bag, presumably lifted from a local UPS store. That was then placed in a USPS Priority Shipping box, again presumably procured from a local post office at no charge to PGR. The box was then wrapped in plain brown paper to avoid the more costly priority shipping rates. There was no invoice, customer service phone number or any communication of any kind in the package. The price was $36.99 and $7.49 shipping.

I’ll make sure not to give Mr. Kevin Chen of PGR Motor any more of my business. Quite frankly, I don’t see a lot of pride in his work and I spend enough time dealing with that in my 9 to 5 life. Additionally, I believe he’s a thief, stealing from both UPS and the USPS to increase his profit margin. And that bothers me even more.

Documenting Dutch Treat, Part I

Riding to 160 Dutch Bros. Coffee locations in as many hours is no small feat. Even some experienced long distance motorcyclists feel it’s pretty ambitious. Just so there’s no question, I’ve decided to document the ride to Iron Butt Association standards. That means receipts and photographs.

Here’s an example of a photo you’ll see from each Dutch Bros. location. The whiteboard attached to the lid of my top case will be used to list the number of the stop as it correlates to my route. The photos will be taken with my phone and immediately up loaded to this blog and www.facebook.com/shellyshouse Thanks to Sheila and Gracie of the Monmouth Dutch Bros. for serving as my models.