RidinMyHDDream

I've seen quite a few posts by the bikers among us. I was new to the biking world last year when I got my 06 1200 Low Sportster. This year it's new to the band world. I'd like to know from my fellow riders out there if they have any tips on how to handle roadtrips, rallies, etc. I'm looking forward to participating more with weekend trips and want to be prepared with my new stomach. Thanks! :shade:

How's everyone doing? It's been a nippy one here in Texas but I've still been riding. One morning it was 18 degrees when I left my house. Thank God for leather! Finally back on the band wagon as I should be. Have some goals this year I'd like to meet. I've been working out every day at the gym at work. I figured it's free so I better get in there and get going. Feeling good already. My Doc said 'eat nothing but chicken for a month and you'll lose 20 lbs'. Well I'm eating mostly chicken but man I had some steak this morning with my eggs. I mean to tell you I couldn't even drink water until after 2:00. My band's where it needs to be that's for sure...lol That steak stuck but not in the bad way. Just satisfied me until about 4:30 when I figured I should have a couple more bites to make sure I'd have energy to work out! Elvis and I crossed our 35k mark in less than two years at the end of January. Looking forward to a couple big trips again this year. Our annual HOG ride to Big Bend and then we're also going to go to do the Dragon's Tail. Finally!! Really psyched for that one. Anyway hope everyone is okay!! Peace as always!!

Welcome Pipedoc! You'll love the band. It really helps but you got to work it and it sounds like you're off to a great start. You'll be back on the bike soon too! Have fun tonight. If you're a drinker know that the alcohol sneaks up on you faster now so start slowly!!! Riding today in an event to support our Vets. Should be a gorgeous day later. Little cool right now but that's what chaps are for. If you're a HOG member I'm on page 58 of the new HOG magazine! Woohoo!!! Peace to all and ride safe!! Carol :Yawn:

Whew..okay so I wasn't all so unhappy when the Dr's office called on the Friday of the rally to say we had to reschedule my Monday appt. Although I behaved pretty much that weekend. Went this past Monday and I lost 7lbs! Finally! Determination is paying off this time to get me going in the right direction. Now for another month. Would like to get 10 off. I'm walking on the treadmill every day and listening to the band. When it says stop eating, I stop eating. Now on to the riding. Elvis and I have 32000 miles in 18 months. Riding over to College Station this weekend for service. Would have helped to check before to see the Aggies are playing so hotels will be pricey for Friday night. Ah well. May ride part of the way up there and then ride the rest of the way on Saturday. Ya'll have been awfully quiet. What's going on out there? Is there a party somewhere and I'm missing it? teehee Keep riding and be safe! Carol

Congrats!! I know I've had to fight every day to keep focused. They've not all been perfect but they are getting better. Had a great riding weekend. It's cooling down some here in Texas and the fall should be full of great riding! State HOG rally starts on Thursday and I go to weigh in on Monday. It's going to be a tough weekend...lol Just have to stay focused on the long haul and exercise!! Peace to all and safe riding!! Carol :biggrin:

Wow time flies when you're having fun! Where has the summer gone? Had some band set backs when I had my EGD my esophagus was a little pissed off and my band too. Had to remove fluid twice and let it chill for a couple of months. Good news though. Last EGD showed everything back on track so I got a fill today and hopefully another one in a couple of weeks so I can get this weight off. Tired of failing at this so on I go. Elvis and I are doing fine. Still celebrating the LOH grand prize win for 08. According to the people I've been nagging at HOG, there should be something in the next edition. I also hit 30,000 miles with Elvis in just 19 months. That included a trip to the Grand Canyon for this year's big adventure. Also ROT in Austin, home to Dallas for my 30th High School reunion and a couple of trips to College Station. Well I hope everyone else is out there, doing well and riding! Peace to all and safe riding!! Carol

Welcome Copjock! Take care of the knee so it can allow you many more moons of riding! Hi to everyone! I hope this finds you well. I'm getting back in the 'lap band' saddle again to get back on track. Last year had family drama and I was laid off after 23 years. But I faced my fears and went back to the Dr. last month and am moving on this year. My good news..I start a new job on Monday! Really excited about it. My better news...I submitted a story to the Ladies of Harley Motorcylcing Memories contest for my trip to Wisconsin for the 105th last year and I won the Grand Prize!! Really cool plaque and $500 in gift certificates and I should be published in the HOG magazine soon. (If they do it like prior years but they have merged Hog Tales and the Enthusiast so I don't know for certain.) But if you're a Harley owner and you see an LOH article published about me and Elvis then you can say...I knew her when....lol. Randy, we're coming up on the 13th for ROT. My bday is the 15th so it'll be my pre-bday celebration. Elvis and I may just have to pass out on the grounds somewhere! I'll call you when we get to town so I can hook up with you and Joy. Hugs to all! Ride safe and be strong! Carol :smile:

Welcome Burgygirl and belated greetings to newmsa as well. We've been kind of quiet around here. I think everyone's hibernating. Well I know I'm not. We've been blessed with a mild winter so there's been lots of riding. Between Fri to Sun I added an additional 600 miles to Elvis. I'm less than a month away from having him a year and we just crossed over 18000 miles. Enjoy the band! It works when you work with it! I'm trying to still get back in the game. The past year of family stress and getting laid off caused me not to care. But this is the year of healing so I'm getting back on the band wagon...pun intended...lol It sure makes getting around on the bike a lot easier. Maybe someday we can get all us 'Texans' to meet up in the middle of the state somewhere. I was over near College Station the last weekend in Feb and the Bluebonnets were already out!! :laugh: In the meantime...Peace to all and safe riding!

Hey there! I'm on the NW side of town so it only takes me 20 minutes and I'm there! Three sisters is my favorite ride in fact I just rode it last month. I love living down here!! It may get a little cold but it's been a gorgeous winter so far. Definitely give me a holler when you come down. We can go riding and admire the hills and the wranglers too!! woohoo!! That would be the other reason I love living here!! Happy New Year to all!! THG...did you go to the Lone Star Rally? Just wondered how it was? I was busy with HOG chapter stuff so I couldn't take off. Randy...where you at? Staying warm up there in the north? Okay, it's only north Texas but we all know the difference a few hundred miles can make...lmao! I'm on month two of my 'laid off' vacation and loving it just a little to much. Riding whenever I want can really be tough on a girl! Not!! ROT presale started today. Not sure yet if I'm going. It'll depend on the finances and job and what not. We're doing our Big Bend ride again in April and I'm in charge of getting it all together. Then in July we're doing a Grand Canyon ride that I really want to go on so I may have to either pass on ROT or make it a day trip. Give my love to Joy!! Peace to all and safe riding!!

Woohoo!! 12 pounds to go! Congrats!! :thumbup: I've still been struggling mainly getting the exercise going again. I've decided it's time for a breakthrough so this will be the new adjustment week. Wish me luck...lol I need to get this aspect of my life back on track especially with the fact I have to find a new job after 23 years at one place. It's pretty scary with today's economic situation. However I've always fallen in to things and it's always been a good thing so this is just another time for a great adventure. Today started out well! The local rock station is giving away a 2009 Rocker and $10,000 and I won my entry this morning! Thanks to friends who were listening...lol I was still asleep. I've had entries before but I figured now that I own a Harley I'll win one. But hey, it'll sell! I'm not to fond of the ride on the rocker. We had demo rides this weekend and I got to ride a Crossbones and a Screaming Eagle Fat Bob. Now those are my next two favorite rides behind my Road King of course. I hope everyone has a great week! Peace to all and safe riding!

Alright already...I'll come in from play time to post....lol All's been well down here in the Hill Country. The weather's been gorgeous and we've been doing lots of riding. Hoping to get the Three Sisters in sometime soon before it gets too cold. I've been kind of wrapped up in getting laid off by a certain bank that can't accept responsibility for their own failures, they have to blame it on others. After 23 years (21 with my real company) I have to now go out and figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Kind of sucks. 12/1 is my last official day. But I get a 2 year severance package so hopefully that'll pay off some stuff and buy me some time to figure it out. Hope everyone is doing well. Randy, tell Joy 'Hi' for me. CJ congrats on your surgery! With all the stress of this year I've not lost a pound but put some on. Just getting my head back in the game and starting to exercise and pay attention to what I'm eating again. The thought of shopping for work clothes...ack....lol Peace to all and safe riding! Carol :grouphug:

Now Randy, you know I'm not crazy...well except about riding! Yep, I rode there and back all by myself. A little over 3600 miles for the entire trip. Great rides, lots of great people along the way and in Milwaukee. Got to go to the museum and ride in the parade and see Bruce. Who could ask for anything more? Just added my pins to my vest tonight. MDA had a pin fund raiser. Looks really cool all together in one place. In our other string Randy told me to go riding when Ike hit. Well, I'm riding tomorrow but we won't have any affects of it quite yet. Looks like we'll be okay. And no, my butt's not iron but my will is when it comes to going where I want to go. Longest day was 664 miles in 11 1/2 hours. Milwaukee to Memphis. I highly recommend leaving the trucks and trailers at home and just getting on the bike and going. Some people say 'Ride it like you stole it'. I say 'Ride it like you own it'! Peace Carol

Sittin in SA waiting to greet Ike...lol Woohoo!!!! Milwaukee was an excellent adventure. I did little over 3600 miles in 9 days roughly. Made the ride by myself up there and back. No issues, only blessings and fabulous weather. Even took Elvis to Graceland and got a picture of him in front of the gates. That was the longest day from Milwaukee to Memphis. 664 miles in 11 1/2 hours. We went to the museum...really cool stuff. We rode in the parade with over 7500 other bikes. Great time! And I finally saw Springsteen in concert. He played for over 3 hours. Wore me out...lol Saw lots of very cool bikes and met lots of really cool people. I had originally planned on crossing down through Louisiana on the way back but Gustav kind of messed up those plans. My goal was to hit as many dealerships as I could on the way up and back. Forgot about the 9/1 holiday and all the dealers being closed so that messed up my totals but still I hit 35 of them. Had lots of fun bouncing around the country. Almost, really close to Almost headed for the Dragon's Tail cuz I really want to ride that. Maybe we could plan an outing for next year to do that one? I think it's 388 turns in 6 miles. Elvis did great! We have over 11,000 miles in just over 5 months. I really need to slow down...lol I hope alls well with you! I may be back up that way for another visit sometime soon. It would be fun if Joy and you and I could get together for a visit. It won't be on the bike though cuz I need to claim some of my junk from my Mom's house. I'll let you know if I decide to come that direction. Peace!!

Never more than the 23rd did the saying 'today is the first day of the rest of your life' mean more to me. I was banded in San Antonio by Dr. Carcamo. Everyone was great at the Nix and the day went smoothly. I've had very little pain at all. Now that i'm a full three days out the pressure has subsided and just the incisions are bugging me some. I'm on clear liquids for a week and then the slider stuff starts. It's fascinating reading the different posts and seeing how others have different instructions for the phases. I am looking forward to the change in my life! I thought last year was a big one when I got my Harley. This year's addition (my band) will only help to make that lifestyle more fun. :clap2: Thanks to everyone who shares on these sites. The more I read the better informed I become and it helps to keep me focused on my own success.

Hi Christy, Surgery was really quite easy I thought. Carcamo and his staff are great! I did get there first thing in the morning and was out of the door by noonish. Toughest part was waking up with that usual after surgery grogginess but just relax. Remember it's all for a good cause and it doesn't last. The port pain for me was the longest to deal with. Just really tender and couldn't sleep on that side for a few weesk. But then, like everything, one day it was gone and no recollection of it afterwards. Just follow the instructions. Get all of your stuff pre-surgery so you don't have to hunt it down afterwards. I took off 7 days I think only because I wanted to get through some of my mushy phase before I went to work. I was never hungry, just a little light headed because of the lack of calories but that's normal. Remember though, everyone is different so my experience may be different than yours. But also remember that Dr. Carcamo is one of the best and his people are too. Also remember you're doing it for you and for your future. Best of luck to you! Carol :cool2:

Hey everybody! Welcome to the newbies. I've been remiss about getting on. Yes, doing a lot of riding but also backsliding a little on the weight loss. So much drama in my life I've regressed to old habits. Working my way back out of it though cuz I have to keep me in mind first at this point. On the positive side I have put 7000 miles on my new HD, Elvis, since April. Of course that means I have three harley services this year...lol Ouch! I'm also heading up to Milwaukee at the end of August for the 105th anniversary party. Anyone else going up there? I hope this finds everyone doing well. Randy....I haven't heard any good ROT stories. Where are yours and Joys? Peace everyone and ride safe and often!

Thanks Randy! I'm loving him already. You can see it on Bikerornot.com. Just look for this same screen name. Or tell me how to post a picture...lol Yes, ROT is in the plan but I haven't bought my tickets yet. Planning on doing the camping thing this year for the total experience. That and it's my bday weekend. Woohoo! Tell Joy Hi for me and see ya'll soon. :smile2:

Greetings to all and happy Spring! Well, we're in the 80's already so for some of you, happy summer....lol I've been running around and have not taken the time to share my news. And if I could remember how to attach a picture I'd put one on so maybe someone will remind me how. The link in the reply section never works for me. I have a new love. He's a big daddy. Weighing in at around 800 pounds. His name is Elvis and he's my new 08 FLHR Road King standard. He's got a custom paint job and he sparkles like a jewel in the sun. I put 1100 miles on him in the first week. This is the beginning of week three and I'm right at 2500. Now, the trip to Big Bend last weekend with my HOG chapter helped put on the second thousand. I really think I should slow down...hmm....nah....lol If you really want to see him you can check out some pictures at bikerornot.com under the same screen name as here. I traded my Babee in so my Sportster's out there somewhere waiting for a new owner. I'm hoping to see her again someday but I'm really enjoying Elvis in the meantime. Why Elvis? Cuz I'm riding the king of course!! :cool2: This weekend it will be the Texas State HOG rally in New Braunfels. I'll be there from Thursday through Sunday. Should be a lot of fun and great riding weather. My chapter's hosting one of the guided tours on Friday to Bastrop so if you're on the ride look for me and Elvis. He's a royal purple with sparkly metallic flake in red,green, blue and gold. I hope everyone's doing well. See you on the road sometime! :coolgleamA:

Congrats Daddy! She's a beauty! I'm sure you'll be tearing up the streets soon! Enjoy! Ride safe!! :puke:

lol...yes, Wonder Woman's what they call me after my trip to Sturgis on the Sportster but primarily because I took off and finished the trip by myself. Now, Randy always gives me more credit than I deserve. I actually had my band last January and it wasn't until August that I made that trip however there were rides before that. Sandy, if you read through the posts the most common thing you'll see is ask your doctor. Randy's right, it's an individual thing. But that's plenty of time in between. Definately stay hydrated. Concentrate on getting protiens in first whenever you stop for a meal. It's really not all that bad. You can always find something even at the rallys. I hope you hear good news soon! Good luck and we hope to hear how you're doing. I spent my Easter in the church of Harley today. We rode up around Fredericksburg and put on a couple hundred miles. Little windy but overall a great day! I hope everyone's doing well. Daddy, good luck on the bike hunt! I hope you find your next dream soon! :crying:

Okay, checking in as instructed...lol Here! Well Randy, I've been riding a lot since we've had the weather for it. With the exception of the past two days but we need the rain so it's a good thing. We went to Stone Henge this past Sunday and didn't even have to cross the ocean. There's a replica of it in Hunt Tx...who knew? lol That entire area is a gorgeous ride and I highly recommend it if you come this way. Harley Girl...congrats on your band! Welcome D'...I've only been riding two years myself and I've put about 18,000 miles on my Sportster in that timeframe so I am LOVIN it!! Jax, how was the trip down south? Did you get to do the MDA ride? Dying to hear some stories! Would love to come your way next year for Daytona. Making a road trip next Wednesday to College Station. Hopefully the weather will be clear again by then. If I don't check in before I'll definitely check in when I get back. Peace to all and ride safe!

I forgot when weigh in day is, shame on me it's been so long. Anyway, I'll put this one down even though I think it'll creep back up some. Had a gastro thing that I caught from my granddaughter for 2 1/2 days and have barely eaten so yeah, I'm going to lose some weight...lol The truer picture will be next week. :tea: MARCH THRU MARCH WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE! reach goal weight by 3/31/08 Name................Starting........ Loss.......Current.....Goal......ToGo staindgal..............315................12...........303.........295 .........8 MrJumbles............288.................5...........283..........268. .......15 RidinMyHDDream....256.................7............249.........247.... .....2 LilMissBand-Aid......269................0............269..........259.......10 Globally Yours........308................0............308.........290........18 Insubordination......273................0............273.........268.. .......5

Thanks Randy! If anyone wants to read the story it's in our Chapter newsletter this month. We're not locked down yet so you can get there by going to CalienteHarley.com. On the left side is a link to our HOG Chapter website and then look for the newsletter. Yeah we were definately out this weekend. We had the Chapter ride to Tarpley and around Hill Country on Saturday. Then on Sunday we were out shopping for a place for the Chapter picnic. Found one that should work nicely. We haven't had rain but man the wind has been whipping it up down here. It's supposed to be sunny today and tomorrow though. Say Hi to Joy for me! Peace to all and ride safe!! :rolleyes2:

Thanks Ladies! I was really excited..still am for that matter. I'm not sure if I'll get the story in the magazine. I think they only put in the Grand Prize winner but they might have them on the HOG web site. We'll have to wait and see, but my name will definately be there. Can't wait to get my plaque. I think I might have a patch made too just to have it on my vest. "1st place Most Adventurous LOH 2007'. Hmm...might be one huge ass patch...lol So happy for ya'll getting to go to Daytona! I'm hoping to add that to my to do list for next year. The big ride this year will be the 'ride home' for the 105th party in August. Hey, maybe I'll go for another category in the LOH contest this year...teehee Peace to all and ride safe!

Forgive me Twoterville...it's been ??? weeks since my last post and I'm back for support. Been wallowing in the no loss zone for too long so looking for additional inspiration to get back at it. January was one year and 72 pounds gone. Although I feel as if I should be farther in my journey at least I'm here. Ready to kick it on to the next level though. I'm only going for 9 but it's nine that I haven't been able to get rid of for a very long time. Plus it will get me to where I was 13 years ago when I moved back to Texas. I have a chapter ride that involves a weekend and bathing suits on 4/18 so I'd like to hit close to 20 down by then. Hopefully I can get a fill on Monday and keep myself in check too. Maybe if I'm really good the weight loss fairy would let me get there...lol MARCH THRU MARCH WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE! reach goal weight by 3/31/08 Name................Starting........ Loss.......Current.....Goal......ToGo staindgal.............315................2.6............312.4.......295...... .17.4 SEC1978.............288.................0...............288........268........20 RidinMyHDDream...256.................0...............256........247........9