GUEST COLUMN JOURNEYS AND EXPECTATIONS Gary and I had been searching for a yellow trike online at different Honda dealerships. We finally found one that we both liked at Russellville Honda in Arkansas. It had nearly everything we needed, and what it didn’t have, the dealer could add: a CB system, a spoiler with brake lights and a luggage rack. They also offered us a fair trade-in value for our Goldwing. However, we live in southeastern Connecticut. It was going to be a long ride down and back home. It was already November and getting cold. It seemed crazy to ride down that time of the year with the weather so unpredictable, but we checked the five-day forecast. It was supposed to be in the high 50s and low 60s, so off we went. We left Connecticut on our Goldwing on a Saturday morning at 5 a.m. It was dark and cold, but we were prepared. We were only 50 miles or so into our journey when we realized how cold it actually was, but we kept going. We stopped every 100 miles or so to warm up in a store or gas station. As we walked around warming up and flapping our arms, people stared, but we just challenged each other to keep riding. When the sun came up, it was a welcoming sight. It got warmer as we made our way south, but the wind was bitterly cold on the turnpike and sometimes so gusty that we felt like we were getting pulled off the road. Many times we had biked from Connecticut to the southern states. For several years, we rode to the Honda Hoot in Tennessee, one of our favorite bike rallies, and Americade in New York. We always rode with our group from Connecticut, and we gathered at the rallies. We rode and ate and rode some more each day. It has always been a lot of fun. But this ride was different. We were alone, just us on one bike. We were on a mission. The weather held out for us. The sun came out and warmed us up each morning. We were lucky, finding good motels for our rest and recuperation each evening. We did have time to enjoy the sights—some we had seen before and some we hadn’t, such as the Mississippi River and Arkansas’ cotton fields, ravaged this particular year by a drought and left in the fields unpicked. Everywhere we stopped, we met friendly people. There was always someone interesting to chat with. That’s the thing about riding. When you’re out on the bike, you notice a lot more people, and more people notice you. You stand out. People always admire the motorcycle and the fact that we opt to ride instead of sitting in a comfy car. Although we have travelled a lot, there are things we have not seen or done. Several times, we biked from Connecticut to Knoxville. We have been to the Wing Dings in Greenville, S.C., but we never went farther west than Knoxville. So we got to go through some new places for us, such as Nashville, and visit Graceland, the famous home of Elvis Presley and see his bigger-than-life bronze statue. We had never been to Memphis. Now we have. Traveling farther west on Route 40, we arrived in Little Rock, Ark., for the night. By now, the weather was almost perfect, a little chilly, but
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the sun was out every day. After a short few-hour ride the next day, we arrived in Russellville. We talked to the dealer, and the extras were installed. With our directional lights and, of course, the bright yellow color of our trike, we’ll definitely stand out on the road. No one will miss us now. We thought we would feel self-conscious about the color, but we just love it. It’s beautiful, and we’re getting used to the attention. A few hours later, we were headed home. The ride was good. With the heated seats, it was warmer than the trip going south. The built-in GPS navigator, “Jill,” was right on top of things for us. We joked that it was like having another person ride with us. After five days on the road—and one instance where Gary temporarily “lost” a set of keys to the trike—we made it home to Connecticut. It was late and dark, but not cold—a good sign. It was a long but well-paced trip. We were glad to have done it, but we also were glad it was over. The next day, one of the first things we did was get two American flags for the antenna. We are both patriotic, and we love this country. We are so grateful that we have been able to travel and see as much as we have. Now, with the trike, we are able to see more—and do it in style. AMA Member Millie Gannotti lives in Waterford, Conn.
Photos Portrait: Cara Lee Photography; Inset: Provided by Millie Gannotti
Finding Our New Ride States Away By Millie Gannotti