Lapchik's '25 GT

[Lapchik]

I tried to go out for a 150 mile GT loop yesterday after work, but gave up about 30 miles in due to arm pain. Couldn't fight the wind after damaging myself from riding bicycles with the kids and then fixing the car the day before. I had to persuade, fight, and eventually attack with fire the front end of my 18 year old car. I replaced ball joints, brakes, and shocks. I'm trying to keep this on the road for at least another three years so I can be completely debt free, start looking at a new vehicle, and my daughter will need a car to start driving all at the same time.

I have an issue called "office soft". I sit/stand at a desk all day doing computer stuff which I thought was a nice change from the body destroying work I did previously as an Industrial mechanic and machinist/welder. Sure, it's nice to not constantly have cuts and thick callouses and a general constant low level of pain, but wow does it suck now when I have to do some serious work. Maybe I used to hurt like this all the time and just didn't realize it. Either way, I'm glad I can do this stuff myself because I can't afford to pay the shops around here $2100 for what ended up costing me a mere $400, even with needing to buy some specialty tools.

I plan rides all winter, but just finalized my routing for everything this year. Next week will have better weather for my short after work rides, and it's almost time (or weather good enough) for me to start taking day long trips.
457 miles GT-IA (Iowa day trip)
154 miles GT-A (after work rides are A-H)
149 miles GT-B
245 miles GT-C
267 miles GT-D
285 miles GT-E
315 miles GT-F
301 miles GT-G
357 miles GT-H (yes, really, a 7 hour long after work ride)
528 miles GT-I (Wisconsin day trip)

My first multi day trip is with the kids, on Memorial weekend. I don't have a sidecar anymore, so we can't do the Bonzai rally. We're going to see a big twine ball in Kansas. They want to compare it to the one in Darwin, MN. They aren't sure KS is so great because Weird Al didn't write a song about that one.

My first multi day motorcycle trip is early June, around Lake of the Woods (800 miles). Hopefully they let me out of and back into the country. I will go back to work for a single day, then head down to Arkansas for the Pig Trail (2100 miles).

In July, I'm taking the kids through the Loess hills and later on I am going solo moto around Lake Michigan (2700 miles).

For August, I have two trips planned. One is Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming (2400 miles) and the other is a loop though Missouri with the kids. We're going to see the Ozarks, Bigfoot 4x4 inc., and Hannibal, MO.

A lot of my trip planning revolves around getting to new counties. This year I will collect 188 new counties to add to my current 514. I have been to every single county in ND, SD, NE, MN, IA, and this year I will complete WI. I also made the Colorado route specifically because there were a couple unvisited "islands" on my map that I paint in as I visit places. There's probably something wrong with my brain, but at least it keeps me busy.