WOW – We Rode 4.3 Million Miles

All I can say is WOW!  Members around the world rode 4.3 million miles in one day.  That is amazing!  We beat last year’s number (3 million) by a large margin (for those of you who like numbers – that’s a 45.75% increase).

I’ve been reading the comments, and they are fantastic.   From those comments, I have learned that we had members who braved heat, rain, snow, and sleet just to log some miles.  We had members who participated in Million Mile Monday for the first time.  We had those crazy “kiwis” in New Zealand and members in Australia who watched the sunrise over the Great Barrier Reef to log some of the first miles.  (Wish I could have been there with you).

We had members in England out for a ride, others were on their bikes in South Africa.  We even had a few riders in Iraq.  We had chapters with motorcycles on the road for a complete 24 hours and some chapters hosted a variety of rides, including short rides, long rides, playing hooky rides and even a Monkey Butt Boogie Ride.  We had members who used Million Mile Monday to ride with family – their daughters, sons, fathers, mothers or spouses.   Some members had to work but found a way to log a few miles anyway, either by taking the long way to work or by using their motorcycle for work – way to be creative everyone. Slick summed it up best when he said, "I had to work but every mile counts".  You are right Slick – every mile does count!

Sure we fell just a bit short of our five million goal but you know what, who cares?  We rode 4.3 million miles in one day!  Once again – WOW!  I’m blown away.  Million Mile Monday was a huge success thanks to you.  I’m so very proud of all the H.O.G. members that logged miles and know that next year we’ll all pull together again to take another swing at the five million mark. 

Please continue to post your comments as we love hearing about what you did for Million Mile Monday.  And be sure to stop by the photo gallery to view and rate photos submitted by other H.O.G. members. 

Congratulations everyone!

The Ride

Before I begin to tell you about my ride for Million Mile Monday, let me start by saying what a difference a week makes.  Last week as we headed out to Oklahoma City for CLUB H.O.G. OKC and rode in record degree heat.  Today, as we headed out for the rest of the ride home, I was in chaps, 2 shirts and my leather jacket.

Today was a great day.  Cindy (my friend and fellow H.O.G. co-worker) and Greg (an engineer at the PDC who joined us on the ride home from CLUB H.O.G. OKC) left Kirkwood, MO around 7AM.  Greg was in the lead and took us on a route where we did not hit one bit of St. Louis rush hour traffic.  (Thanks Greg for that – way to go!)  Since the night before we ended up in a 1.5 hour traffic jam on I-44 not hitting any rush hour traffic today was awesome.

The morning was peaceful with clear blue skies.  As I was riding, I thought this is why I ride.  I was relaxed and just enjoying the day.  I even had the thought – wouldn’t it be great if Million Mile Monday could be every day?  I wouldn’t get much work done but I sure would have fun! 

Then about 150 miles down the road the wind decided to pick up.  As we pulled over for lunch Cindy made the right hand signal and let her hand flop away in the wind.  I literally laughed out loud.  We took our picture at our lunch gas stop – a little family restaurant named Busters.  As you can see the wind was whipping my helmet hair all over the place.  Cindy also had to remind me to RELAX.  I was tensing up with the wind which doesn’t make the ride any fun.  With that reminder, I enjoyed the rest of the ride even the wind.  Thanks Cindy!

As we crossed into Wisconsin, I let out a loud yell to celebrate the fact that we were home.  I think I scared the car next to me!   Greg even took our picture at the Wisconsin State Welcome sign.  Believe it or not this is a first for me – I’ve never had my picture taken there (and I’ve lived in WI all my life).  Too bad I didn’t bring my 2009 Touring Handbook cover (which was in my saddlebags) with me as we could have then used the photo for an ABCs of Touring submission.  (For those of you who don’t know you can use the 2009 Touring Handbook cover for submissions if you don’t have a copy of HOG magazine with you).  An hour later I was home.

Total miles: 407.  Riding time and being away from the office – priceless.  Will my miles help us get to five

million?  You bet!  As I’ve said over and over – every mile counts.  Now the hard part starts, waiting for everyone to log their miles and watching and waiting for the odometer to reach five million.  Log your miles – I’ll be watching the odometer continue to rise.

How did you mark Million Mile Monday? Tell us by posting a comment below. 

Today Is The Day

It’s finally here, Million Mile Monday.  Today members around the world will ride together for one purpose to log five million miles in one day.   I have no doubt we’ll be able to log five million miles in one day.  When I started this blog, I was nervous yet confident that members would rise to the challenge.  Today as I get ready to leave on the rest of my leg home from Oklahoma City, there is no nervousness, I am confident that H.O.G. members will "Strive For Five" today. 

The question will be: How far can we go?  Will we beat the five million goal or will we just meet the goal?  The words we won’t meet the goal are not even an option.  What we do is up to you.  Remember every mile counts.  So take some time to ride today.

A few people have posted here on this blog and on our video post on Facebook and YouTube, how do you log the miles?  The answer: log into members.hog.com.  Click the Log Your Miles button on the home page and enter your miles.  Once you’ve logged your miles, you can watch the odometer roll up as other members log their miles.  You have until noon Central on Tuesday, June 30^th to log your miles.  New this year, you can also purchase Million Mile Monday merchandise, including a pin, to show everyone else you participated.  We even plan to have a "I Did It" shirt that will include the final total miles ridden. (Yes, we are so confident we’ll reach our goal that we’ve already planned the "I Did It" shirt!)

Take some time to ride today because every member – rider and passenger – and every mile counts.  We are in this together.  Ride safe, and maybe I’ll see you on the road today.

Calling In “Million Mile Monday”

Million Mile Monday is days away.  We’ve come up with a few calling in “Million Mile Monday” excuses you may want to use if you decide not to go work that day. 

“I have a serious case of the hiccups <be sure to hiccup here> that won’t stop, so I can’t come in.”

“I have water in the basement and need to take care of it.”

“A skunk got into our house last night and sprayed all my clothes”

“I’m just not feeling well today and will have to rest”

“My cows escaped from the barn and I’ll have to search all day to get them back”

“My garage door is broken and I can not get the car out”

“I sprained my ankle last night sliding into home during our softball game”

“My kids forgot to tell me they have field trip today and they volunteered me to chaperone”

“My mother and father-in-law just arrived for a surprise visit and my spouse says I can not leave”

“I ate something bad last night and haven’t left the bathroom since 2AM”

“My two-year old flushed my car keys down the toilet”

“My Uncle Jack called.  He hurt his back moving some barrels and I have to take him to the doctor”

“My car won’t start.” (Don’t tell them that your bike will)

“I forgot to carry-in the Sunday paper, so when I saw the paper sitting there I thought it was Sunday.  By the time I realized it was Monday it was so late, I stayed home.”

“I need a mental health day and the best therapy is riding my motorcycle”

Or of course you could just say, “I’m taking the day off to go for a ride.  I’m helping to log five million miles in one day.  I’ll see you tomorrow”

We all can’t take off on Monday (wouldn’t it be cool if we did though) but if you could take off work, what would be your excuse?  Post a comment below and tell us your excuse.  Whatever your reason, take some time to ride Monday, June 29.