What a busy summer!

I've missed blogging, but we have kept busy this summer. Again, I hate to blame being busy for not taking time to sit down and type out my thoughts, but there has been a lot on my mind this summer. Here's just a sample of what's gone on since I last published a post:

Memorial Day weekend, the family drove down to see my parents outside Chicago. One of the selling points of moving to Traverse City was being closer to family, and my parents are now just 5 hours away, rather than the 10 hours away they used to be. It was a good get-a-way, and we will be returning for Labor Day weekend - our third trip of the year. Considering that we had been to see them three times in the previous maybe 10 years before moving to Michigan, it's turned out to be a huge plus.

Family time

In late June, after having several weeks of practice on my KLR (yes, I sold my BMW and bought the Kawasaki), I participated in BMW's "demo day's" event, test riding motorcycles that cost upwards of $20,000. It was there I found my new dream bike - the F800GS Adventure. On the motorcycling front, I've ridden my bike to work every day for the last two months. I'm by no means an expert, but have gotten significantly more comfortable.

My dream bike - the BMW F800GS Adventure I test rode

The big BMW R1200GS Adventure

My KLR 650 on the Old Mission Peninsula

The family took at trip to Mackinaw City to visit with my wife's father, and take a boat ride to Mackinac Island (yes, they are spelled differently, no, I don't know why). An amazing, beautiful place that's a complete throw-back in time. No automobiles, and the only way to get around the island is walking or on bike or horseback.

Family time at the Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island

Just before the 4th of July, my daughter dislocated her kneecap at Taekwondo. That has been difficult for all of us. She was on crutches for a month, and is finally completely off her brace except while doing Taekwondo. Oh yeah, she's still doing martial arts. In fact, by August 2nd, she participated in a tournament in Lansing, MI and won both competitions she entered! Forms and weapons. She has showed great determination. While down state, my amazing 13 year old decided she wanted to visit the campus of Michigan State University, as she says she wants to attend Law School there!

Proud parents

Future lawyer?

Back-track to the 4th of July weekend itself, and we went to see the US Navy Blue Angels air show at the National Cherry Festival. Supposedly, there were nearly a half million people in TC for the Saturday show, and traffic grid-locked after it ended. We lucked out and left a couple minutes early, and escaped to Leland, MI and the Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Blue Angels at the Cherry Fest

More family time at Sleeping Bear Dunes

Just one of the fantastic overlooks

And that brings up nearly up to today. This weekend we hope to get to the Buckley Old Engine Show. The following weekend I've got a motorcycle ride set with about 20-25 people I've met on the ADV Rider Forum all around the NW corner of Michigan - up to Boyne City and Charlevoix plus over to Northport and Frankfurt. Then it'll be Labor Day weekend, and we'll have our trip to see my parents set - and pick up my kayak! Then my daughter will be back in school, and summer will be about over.

Over this summer, as a family, we've celebrated our one year anniversary of moving to Traverse City. Certainly, there have been some struggles, but it has been overwhelmingly positive for our family.

And, back to the motorcycle...

Isn't it funny sometimes? You plan and plan and plan for something, and once the time comes, all those plans just go out the window. The first entry in this blog was about taking the MSF Basic Rider Course and getting ready to ride my '85 BMW. Six months of waiting went into getting to that point, and once it came, it wasn't what I expected. The ride comfort on that bike wasn't what I hoped (kind of how you may like a sofa at the furniture store, but no so much once in your living room), so I've decided to sell my bike and get something "new." Consider it a lesson learned I guess. On the good news front, I'm pretty sure I've identified the bike I'd like to replace my BMW with, and found one for sale locally. I'm set to take it for a test ride tomorrow. Now to sell the Beemer...

My next bike? A 2001 Kawasaki KLR 650 dual sport

What to say next

Okay - maybe I waited too long on this second post. Part of the problem is that I added a couple shifts at work, but that's pretty cliche to blame "being busy" for not blogging. The bigger problem is I couldn't decide on a topic. I'll keep some of the losers to myself for a while longer, but the motorcycle is one of them. I'll skip that for now, because it'll be a good entry once I get to it - hopefully soon. Another is the move here and, well, let's wait on that one too. What I want to talk about is my amazing daughter.

All of us are proud of our kids, and I'm certainly no exception. We moved across two states at a tough time (middle school) and she has come out nearly a year later stronger than ever, with new friends, new hobbies and continues to excel at school. Not just A's, but 100%'s in nearly every class. I'm also amazed at how she's conquered the challenge of starting Tae Kwon Do and getting fit. All while dealing with growing up and losing friends she's known her whole life. Summer was difficult for her (we moved in June just after school let out), as she didn't know anyone and had three months before meeting anyone at her new school. Again, we're all proud of out own kids, but I'm no exception.

I tell her I'm proud - now I'm telling the world.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog! This isn't my first, or even my second attempt at blogging, but it is my first non topic-specific. Meaning that my previous attempts were all centered on a specific area of interest, such as my last blog, Rebuilding Big Red about restoring my 1949 International KB-6. While I'm sure I'll focus on some topics (motorcycles, trucks, hockey, family) more than others, this is intended to be a general "about me" experience. As to the title, I used to work in radio, specifically as a sports play-by-play announcer, and used Moose as my on air name. I gave that career up nearly a year ago when my family moved to the TC in the title - Traverse City, MI.

So, with that background out of the way, I've been spending today wanting to share my excitement at completing the Motorcycle Safety Foundation Basic Rider Course! I've been waiting over six months to take this class, since late last summer when I decided I needed to buy a bike. As most of you know, this has been a long winter in the upper Great Lakes (TC gets a lot more snow than where we used to live, and got ~ 140" this winter), so the wait was that much more difficult. Finally, class weekend got here, and I finished up yesterday. I can't possibly say enough about the MSF class. It's affordable for just about anyone (a whopping $25 - including the use of a motorcycle. Mine was a Yamaha TW200, quite small for my 6'6" frame, but a fun bike. I'd be interested in something similar if it had more power and a larger frame. Plus those large knobby tires look cool!) and very comprehensive. There were others in class like me, who had never ridden a motorcycle before, as well as guys who had ridden but just wanted their endorsement to be legal (passing the class takes the place of having to take the written and road test at the Secretary of State office).

The three day class starts Friday night with a classroom portion, and if there is a weak spot, this is it. There is a book and questions from it, but really, outside it being administered in a classroom setting, there's nothing that can't be learned on your own from either reading a book or watching a video. The real highlight comes over the weekend. After a quick review of the classroom portion and the written test, we quickly moved on to skills exercises. Here is where the program shines. It is set up to build confidence and teach the building blocks for becoming a successful rider. And the teachers, Joy and Jordan - a mother and son team from the Upper Peninsula - were fantastic. Half the skills were learned Saturday and the rest Sunday, with the culmination the on-road test. Everyone in the class learned a lot and everyone also passed!

At this point, I'm ready to become a responsible motorcyclist. I just need to get my bike insured, licensed and add the motorcycle endorsement to my drivers license; all told, about $100. Once that is sorted

My 1985 BMW k100rt

(Friday), I can start learning my bike (it'll surely be different than that Yamaha) and start riding it around town! If you have any interest in learning about my bike and how and why I decided to buy it, please read the final entry in my '49 IHC blog. I've also started thinking of several topics (motorcycle and other) that I want to write about in this space. I have a tendency when I start blogs to write every day, then slow until I tire of doing them. I think I'm going to purposely hold myself back at the onset with this one to try to avoid the burnout. So if you don't see anything tomorrow (or the next day), don't worry. I'll be back. Soon. Now, about that bike... It's been a long wait, is it Friday yet?