February 2009 is now forever stamped on my heart as being the month of love, not just because of Valentines Day, but because of the love received from all of my people during it. Tonight I got to spend the evening with mi hermana in Houston. Hermana: "Muchas gracias por abierto la luce in mi corazon".
I have ridden just over 12000 miles since November 28, 2008. (February route link is here), and like every evening since, I am looking forward to the ride tomorrow.
Here are a few shots from the French Quarter in New Orleans, to the bayous in southern Louisiana, just west of N.O. (click on the photos to enlarge them).



Peace all and see you down the road!

Of course we did...

Saw Captain America,
and the perfect set-up for the Majicman's handiman's business in Costa Rica! An old Police ticketing special...

Winter wonderland...

It was a chilly ride from Denver to Illinois.

My sister, "Kool-Kat", was kind enough to let me spend a few nights at her place and fortunately let me park the HOG in her garage for a few days. Kool-Kat also let me use her Saab to ride into Milwaukee to visit my parents and other sisters and brothers. I got to spend quite a bit of time with my brother, the "Majicman", and spent a night at his place waking up to this... The plan for the day was to visit the Harley Davidson Museum but not until someone special fixed us up a big 'ole americano breakfast... I think my brother and I ate a pound of the best dam bacon I ever had!
Would a blizzard stop us from getting to the Museum? Well, the trains were rolling, and we could see out of the windshield, Stay tuned to find out!

Economies of scale...

I just reviewed some numbers that have come from this trip to date. I left Denver, CO the day before Thanksgiving 2008, so have been on the road for just about 12 weeks.
Total Miles: 9200
Countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica.
Gas: $30.00 got me 1000 miles, on average. (Gas was most expensive in the US, but not by a lot).
Cost of living: US $100.00 per day, Central America, (excluding Costa Rica), $30-40.00 per day.
Costa Rica was maybe 10% - 20% less than the States. While rental rates and property are still inexpensive, the cost of living is high. Beer, food, utilities, smokes, a movie, a cell phone, etc. are similar, or more, than in the States.
Harley Davidson, Mac, Canon, all have a presence in CA, though not everywhere. But if you own this kind of hardware, (as I do), be prepared to pay upwards of 25% more for any accessories, supplies, or parts you may need for them, in comparison to the US.
Looking at the larger picture of trade issues between CA and the USA / Euro countries, there are negotiations going on now between them all to get some kind of balance but I have read the discussions aren't progressing well. Here is a section of an article in World Trade magazine; , "Even laggards such as Haiti would be forced to reduce barriers to entry and reform their economies if Central America and the Caribbean embark on long-stalled plans for economic integration, a prospect that may get a boost from the slowdown in the United States.
"When times are tight, that can be an imperative for more economic integration," says Richard Feinberg, a Latin America specialist at the University of California, San Diego. Ruccio agrees: "In this economic climate, we will see more discussion of a Central American common market." Ultimately, Central America may join South and North America in a Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would extend NAFTA all the way to Chile--a far-reaching trade agreement that would revolutionize business in the hemisphere...
The article is here: state of the economies in CA, if your interested.
I have to ask then, after consideration of this article, "Why are we building walls along our borders rather than deleting them?

WHERE U R , I ONLY SEE ON TV , AND WOULD LOVE TO BE A PART OF IT , TO SEE THE WAY PEOPLE LIVE. " Majicman

The time is now. Let's hit the road.

The last time the HOG was in the midwest...

it looked like this:



These shots were taken in early September of last year. It is usually kool and wet here this time of year. No different on this ride. Ten straight days of rain. It rained every waking hour for ten straight days. After making some gear adjustments, over the first few days of this, it became a really nice ride. Mile after mile of a beautiful gray solitude. There was no traffic and was scraping the floorboards through every big sweeping turn these country roads had to offer, and I had all to myself.
The last shot was taken on the eleventh day, which bared the fruits of all that cryin from the sky.
I got a feeling the roads wont be the same as I begin another tour through this area tomorrow.
Feliz dia de San Valentin!