The Characters

Me - My name is Chris Kanous. As of the writing of this I'm 54 years old, married and have two grown children (Alex and Beth). I'm originally from the Detroit suburbs (Sterling Heights specifically) but have been living in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the last 12+ years.

My Wife - Kathy and I actually met in junior high school, but didn't start going out until our senior year in high school. We both have college and master's degrees; hers in science, mine in business. I have to say that she has been terifically supportive of this project, even though, I can get pretty carried away whenever I get involved in something.

My son Alex - Alex is currently in Wasington D.C. doing a fellowship sponsored by Google and working for Public Knowledge. Alex has an undergrad Journalism degree, a Law degree from Michigan State University, and has recently completed a masters degree from the University of Michigan. I don't want to put words in anybody's mouth with this blog, but Alex will always be a Spartan fan, but recognizes that UofM is an outstanding academic institution. In the original formation of the plans for the trip, Alex was a 'strong' possible member of the group. As we got closer to the time of the trip, too many schedule conflicts and commitments required Alex to step out.

Daughter Beth - Beth and her husband Dan (lots more about him later) live in the Detroit suburb of Southfield. I tried to keep her on the 'sunny side' of Michigan, but she had to go where the jobs are. (not that Detroit is a great employment mecca). Beth is also a lawyer. I know there are tons of jokes about lawyers, but I am truly blessed to have both of my childeren with so much education and are doing so much good for society.

Brother-in-Law Ray - Ray lives in San Diego, California. He is originally from the Detroit area and relocated to California about 25 years ago. Ray is one of those brother-in-laws that make you wish he was your 'real' brother. I've always had a great relationship with him, and consider him an added bonus to taking his sister away from their parents. Anyhow, most of the credit for this trip needs to be given to Ray. He came up with the original concept of buying bikes in Michigan and selling them in California, and then enhanced the plan to include riding the bikes from here to San Diego. I can't speculate if this will end up being a good plan, but at this point, all participants in the trip, are excited and anxious. I'll admit to having a little 'nervous anxiety', but that should only be normal considering what we are planning to do.

Son-in-Law Dan. Again, like my Brother-in-Law Ray, Dan is one of those guys that you would like for your own son. Fitting in to our family is quite a challenge. I know I've scared away a few of my kids boyfriends and girlfriends, but that is what dad's are supposed to do - aren't they? Dan has fit in perfectly. My daughter can be pretty strong willed, and she has a carreer that is based around arguing (lawyer), but Dan seems to take it all in stride. This past weekend Dan, Beth, Kathy and I put 350 feet of fence around Beth and Dan's backyard, and you couldn't have picked a better crew to do that much work. Anyhow, Dan had taken a motorcycle safety course last fall with the intention of getting a bike 'sometime'. When Ray and I first started considering the trip, Dan was one of the first to comit. Dan has his motorcycle endorcement and has recently acquired a 'vintage' Yamaha (more about that later).

Ken - Ken is one of Ray's oldest friends. Even though they live 2,500 miles apart, they still act as if they see each other every day. Ken was with us last fall when we were deer hunting in northern Michigan. He had been one of the original riders considering going on the trip. I don't know if Ken had ever really been seriously considering actually going. When I was talking about bikes with him a few months ago, he related several 'unpleasant' experiences involving motorcycles. One of them involved riding on the back of a bike with Ray driving at very high speeds and the other (much worse) had a truck driver clearing his throat and Ken believing he got some in his mouth (gross, but that's the way I heard it).

These are the major players in the project.

Driving long distances on a bike is fatiguing enough. Adding a passenger to the back of the bike adds significant amount of additional stress on the ride. So, I didn't really consider taking passengers along on the trip. One rider - One bike.
Kathy loves to ride on the back of my 'permanent' bike, but has no interest (yet) in getting her endorsement. So, she's out.
Beth has way too many commitments as a lawer to be able to take the 2+ weeks off to go galavanting across the country. So, she's out.
Alex is consumed with his fellowship program and all of the post graduation responsibilities to be involved in this foolisness, he can't even find time to take a motorcycle class. So, he's out.
Ken is probably the most rational of the group. He decided early in the process that this wasn't for him and said so. He's out.

So that leaves Ray, Dan and Me as the group.