Introducing, Andy Eberhardt, our first rider of the group:
"I bought my first motorcycle when I was 16 years old and
have had one ever since. I know my
parents weren't found of the idea back in 1988 but my dad had a motorcycle
since I remembered and whenever I saw him on it, he was smiling. Enough said.
Riding is a big part of my life and serves as a critical outlet. Nothing is better than experiencing the
thrill of acceleration on two wheels with the slight twist of the wrist. The turns, the
speed, the wind and even the proximity to danger is all part of the experience. I love it!
I ride to work with every chance, I take my kids around the block often
and my wife Nikki loves being a passenger as much as I love driving.
"I've always been up for a good adventure. I consider myself incredibly spontaneous and
even at the ripe age of 42, I often place myself in circumstances today that
many would only consider in the immature High School days. I'm not sure I'm
proud of that but that's just the way I'm wired.
"Over a year ago I visited my good friend and colleague's
dental office. I'll never forget staring at the large map of the lower
48 he had hanging on his wall. I love
looking at maps but this one stood out. Steve had a route he drew that started in Utah and did
this sideways horseshoe thing through the south, up the east coast and back
across the Midwest to Oregon. The route
was marked with over 100 small flags with more dots than a good treasure map.
My interest was piqued to the point of forgetting why I was even in his office.
As I grilled him with question after question about this trip, I realized now
looking back the seed was planted within my motorcycle soul. At that point in time, Steve's trip had been
put on hold due to several variables that went south. I saw the disappointment in his face when he
told me it was a dream that may not ever happen but his hope was still someday
it might.
"Months later Steve told me that he put his foot in the
ground and planned to do the 48/10 in the spring. He expressed his window of time was closing
to accomplish this tremendous endeavor and he was going to do it alone if he
had to. He casually invited me to join
him but I knew that taking 13 days off from work, leaving my young family and
buying the right bike to do this trip, didn't make a whole lot of sense. The whole idea was extremely romantic but the
reality was out of reach.
"Each time I saw Steve, he kept inviting me to join him.
After the third and fourth polite "I don't think so", I figured it
couldn't hurt to run the idea by my wife.
I love my wife more than anything in this life and when she said
"you should do it", without hesitation, my love for her grew even
deeper.
"So there you have it....all the right formulas for the
48/10:
1. A knowledgeable
and trusted planner in Steve 2. A
supportive and encouraging wife 3. A
flexible job 4. The desire to do this
thing
"and.....but wait.....you don't have the right motorcycle
and the right motorcycle costs a lot of money!?!
"I convinced Nikki that if I bought a used Goldwing, I
would sell it the day I returned from roaming around the United States for 10
days and hopefully get my money back. Give and take a few thousand dollars for
fuel, tires, clothing, accommodations, food and the right equipment...this may
be a cheap trip. :) Yeah right. Fortunately the timing was perfect as Nikki
just returned home from a two week sabbatical alone in Dubai and she owed me.
"With the help from another business colleague, Jared
Hansen, I found the perfect Goldwing in Tooele, Utah. The owner fanatically took care and
maintained this bike and added all the bells and whistles I could imagine. It was older in years and miles but custom
made for a trip like this. Most importantly,
the price was in the wheelhouse. The ironic thing about this find was that
Jared, also a motorcycle fan, was the one who consistently reminded me of what
a foolish idea the 48/10 was. "If I
were going to take that much time off work riding a motorcycle, I would spend
time casually riding around scenic roads without a worry or
timeline." Of course I left out
some of the other descriptive words he used like idiot, stupid and crazy. Did I mention that Jared was the third idiot
to join us on the 48/10? He must be
crazy and stupid. In all seriousness,
Jared is custom made for this trip and will be a perfect partner.
"Threes are always hard. Four riders, perfect. I threw the idea out to a handful of friends
after I purchased the Goldwing. Many
gave me the same sentiments that Jared previously shared but I seemed to have
planted several seeds that unfortunately shriveled when the formularies for the
48/10 didn't line up. There was one
neighborhood friend that I thought might bite. His name is Marc Menlove. My
family and Marc's family are very good friends. We do a lot together and mesh
quite well. I spontaneously drove down to his house and privately
presented the idea and told him I bought a bike. I showed him pictures, described the map and
planted the seed.
"For those husbands reading this, take note. If you want to do something fun that normally
your wife wouldn't approve of, find one of your spouses closest friends and
promote self indulging activities with their husband. This strategy has never
failed me and did not fail Marc. A
couple of weeks later Marc called me and said that he believed he got the
"green light" from Mary and was in the process of looking for a bike. Ca-Ching!!
"So there you have it, there's my story of the formation
of four idiots who truly believe we are going to travel through 48 States in 10
Days cover over 8500 miles on two wheels.
"Buckle Up!"
