Albuquerque

There isn't a whole lot to speak on from yesterday. Hung out in Vegas till about 8:30, Bobby adjusted my highway pegs for me while I packed up my bike to leave. The ride down through Arizona was really pretty; I only wish I could had done it from back roads instead. This was my route -

The temperature pretty much stayed around 40 except in Flagstaff where there was still snow on the ground and it dropped to about 34. I made a stop for gas and realized the town I was in was mentioned in a famous song.

Recognize "standing on a corner in Winslow Arizona"? 

I made a switch from foam ear plugs to wax yesterday too. I discovered the foam ones vibrate in my ears from the wind and was making my ears itch., They are preferable over the wax because I think they block sound better, but the wax do the trick and don't move at all. I would have cringed at the thought of riding so long on the express way until I discovered ear plugs. 

Lastly, the battery socks seemed to have worked okay. Strangely I couldn't feel heat coming from the socks, but my feet never got uncomfortably cold either. The temperature is suppose to be colder this next leg so I'm going to put my rain gear over my shoes too. I should feel the "warmth" a little more I would think. 

It's 4:30 here now, I'm going to head out about 6, which should put me at my next and last overnight in Tulsa OK about 5:00. Kind of sad it's almost over...

 

3 More Days

I didn't blog yesterday because I decided to take an extended stay in Las Vegas, had a couple surprises show up too. More on that in just a bit.

Woke up in Sacramento about 5am, wrote my blog entry, and packed up and left. There was a lobby full of airline employees, all looking very disgruntled. I tried to crack a smile, but it didn't help. Maybe they ate to much turkey the night before, who knows.

So, on the road... The weather wasn't bad at all. I'd say somewhere in the 30's with no wind. My feet got a little chilly at one point, but it wasn't anything like the day before. I was able to see an amazing sunrise and grabbed a shot.

It turned into a reflective morning and realized knowing what your not is just as important and knowing what you are. I frequently come up with a self-help book I want to write while I'm touring on the motorcycle.

Made it down around Barstow and up the mountain. This area is beautiful! I wish I had an opportunity to stop and take a couple pictures but I couldn't find any pull offs and it was to cold to take my glove off. Highway 15 outside of Barstow, check it out.

On the border of California and Nevada there is a crazy looking solar farm. I couldn't stop to get a picture but I found this online. It was really impressive.

Over the Nevada border there is a small valley you go through before entering Las Vegas. I stopped for gas and noticed the temperature was 60 degrees! First thought - "HELL YEAH"; Second thought - "Get this cold weather gear off of me". Stripped off my suit and gloves and hopped back on interstate. Not 15 miles down the road it dropped down to 45. I had to pull over on the side of the road and put my gloves back on. Luckily it wasn't to much farther to Vegas.

My check engine light had come on a couple times over the last couple days, so I email BMW in Vegas and they said for me to bring it in anytime. These guys were terrific. I had a feeling I already knew what the problem was but wanted to make sure I could make it home. Turns out one of my coils was failing it. He said even if it was to go completely out, I would be okay running on 5 cylinders till I got home. I already had one replaced, luckily my bike is under warranty. Didn't charge me for the check and sent me on my way. Great guys!

Got to the hotel and look who showed up for my birthday!

Then I get to my room and the gifts just keep coming.

Bobby shows up and Ivy has wine and cheese sent to my room (thank god because I was starving).

I booked at the JW Marriott outside of strip because I thought it would be more laid back, but since Bobby came in we got a room at The Cosmopolitan for last night. Walked up and down the strip, drank, ate, got a killer massage.... It was a bad ass birthday!

Back to the trip home... I'm going to have to take a few longer legs coming home now. The plan is to go to Albuquerque NM today, Tulsa OK the next, and home on Tuesday. I also purchased a pair of battery operated socks yesterday. I'll report back on these from NM.  

Until then, here was my route and a couple shots I took yesterday. 

Happy Birthday....

Happy Birthday Bruce Lee! Oh and to myself... I woke up in Sacramento CA this morning on my birthday which is pretty awesome. I was exhausted yesterday after a 750+ mile ride that was stretched out over 11 or so hours (see map).

Over the last week I have been going to sleep pretty early; Mostly because I've had to get up and work about 4:30 every morning, but I really don't want to have to fight with getting back on schedule when I get home.

With that said - I woke up about 3 yesterday morning, made up my bed, collected my things and hit the road! I was out the door way before 4. It was really dark outside, I tried to take a couple pictures of mine and Sunshine's bike, but my flash wasn't strong enough. I had a ton of problems with my GPS in Seattle. Most likely because of all the building, but there could be some supernatural force coming from under the city (could happen). This happened the day before when my cousin and I went for a ride and leaving yesterday. It just kept re-routing me every few streets. Never the less, I drove around downtown for about 10 or 15 minutes looking for an I5 South entrance.

Out on the open road, the sky was amazingly clear with a full moon lighting up the interstate. In Seattle the temperature was a comfortable 34 degrees, I'm going to take some picture of what I was wearing before I finish this so I'll get to that in a minute. Headed down I5 for about an hour and the temperature dropped to a sweltering 23 degrees. At this point I could feel my right foot going numb. It wasn't terrible but it was a little unnerving. Surprisingly my feet and finger tips were the only thing cold. But as the temperature fluctuated between the 20's and 30's it was easy to tell when the temperature dropped again. First time I stopped for gas I put my rain boot covers over my shoes to keep the wind from getting inside them. This pretty much saved me from frost bite I think (without trying to sound overly dramatic).

Got down to Portland and the sun started to come up, again beautiful morning. If it hadn't been so cold I would of stopped and took some pictures because the moon sitting behind the city skyline of Portland was amazing! This was the first time I came across a little ice. There were a couple bridges and on ramps that I had to take really slow. A few hours later I was south Oregon going through the mountain pass. There was snow everywhere except the roads. All the time I felt very safe, you can actually see where I stopped for gas on the map. Without going into to much detail, it was a beautiful second half of the ride. I did stop and take this picture when I got into California.

There were plenty of places I would had loved to take more pictures but this was the only one I could find that had a pull off. I was hoping for a better shot of the mountains I just drove through but it wasn't worth the pictures.

California - flat, straight, windy and full of farms. The temperature rose up to the 40's then 50's when I got to Sacramento. I was actually unzipping clothes and took off my gloves at this point. A few more shots I was able to obtain.

Arrived at The Citizen Hotel in Sacramento; Apparently they were just recently acquired by Marriott because it took me over 30 minutes to check me in. Finally checked into my free comped room (big smile) I splurged on room service. The room was tiny but the bed was amazingly comfortable. 

My riding gear consisted of my Joe Rocket jacket, a one piece riding suit, a scarf and the rain boot covers. I had to take the armor out of my jacket because it wouldn't fit under the suit. I'm hoping when I get further south I won't have to wear the suit and can put it back in. All in all I wouldn't change much except the ability to have my armor in and a different pair of shoes. 

So today I'm off to Vegas. It's almost 5:00 am here in Sacramento and I'd like to leave by 6. The temperature should stay above freezing today and the sun comes up around 7:30. I was talking to my dad last night and I might change my route home. More on this when I decide which way I'm going.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! VIVA LAS VEGAS BABY!!!

The Long Journey Home - Part 1

November 25th

I've missed my bike about as much as I would miss my arm if one fell off. So when I got the opportunity to work in Seattle remotely and ride home over the holiday I jumped on it.

First things first - Scored a cheap first class one way to ticket to Seattle on United Airlines. It was (suppose to be) an early flight that would get me into Seattle Sunday around 1 pm. 6 hours later and a few new parts for the plane....

Actually lets back up a night...

Night before I departed my nephew turned 21. Called an Uber Black to pick us all up and off to Jeff Rubys we went. Here are a couple shot from the event.

Next morning, off to the airport and at my gate 30 minutes early. On the plane, drink a bloody marry and get right back off the plane. The delay time went from 8:40 to 11:20 to 1:30.

Any ideas what I did for the next 5 hours? Here is a clue.

A few drinks and a lunch on the second flight later I arrived in Seattle around 6 or 7... Can't seem to recall. Over the next couple days I spent some much needed time with my cousin and even got some work done in the process. I brought along an early birthday present that was given to me, it almost put my bag overweight when I checked it, but even if it had it would of been worth the money. I give you.... MY NEW HIGHWAY PEGS!!!!

 I've only had about an hour out on the bike between work and the rain, but I am definitely looking forward to stretching my legs out on the way home.

It's Wednesday and my cousin (Sunshine) got a motorcycle yesterday, I'll have to post some pictures later. We're going to ride south towards Portland and see how far we can get. I'd like to stay the night there but if we have to turn back and I leave in the morning, that would be okay too.

More to come as I jet... err... motorcycle off tomorrow.

Space Needle

But I Speak "American"

While my motorcycle sits in Seattle Washington I am going through some serious withdrawals. My dads bike was suppose to have been fixed by now, but due to some insurance bullshit!! 

I am stuck bikeless....

Luckily my brother loaned me his for a week (or two) and I decided to ride it up to Detroit Michigan. It was about 9 hours each way taking the back roads. My brothers bike is a 2014 Honda Valkyrie 1800. Basically a Honda Goldwing cruiser style.

2014 Honda Valkyrie

Left Saturday morning really early, it much of been about 6:30 or earlier, and there was this horrible vibration coming from the top of the windshield pounding the top of my helmet. I didn't get 45 minutes down the road and turned around. Here is a pretty good shot of the windshield.

Windshield

Got home, took off the windshield and off again I go. It is quite a different experience riding without a windshield. It'd like to say it's overwhelming but without anything to disrupt the air in front of you it's quite smooth. Fast speeds and gusts of wind are very noticeable though. Anyway, it was much better than the vibration from the windshield. Here was my route.

My Route

Pretty boring actually. I was just happy to be riding and out of the city. I went though a couple pretty awesome farm lands and it's actually a little hilly to the went of Cincinnati. My brothers bikes doesn't have GPS, so I was listening to Google Maps navigate me all the way up there. It probably explains why there aren't any breaks in my route. This worked great until I was 20 minutes from the hotel and my phone battery died. Ooops....

In Detroit I discovered that I was actually staying at the GM Building! There was a ton a people and police navigating around the building when I got there, so I decided to just stay in for the night (it was about 7 or 8).

GM Building

I used some of those points I got from my last adventure and scored a really nice room on a high floor.

Very High Floor

Marriott Detroit room I scored!

I figured since the room didn't cost me anything I might as well get comfortable and order some room service. Which was AMAZING by the way.

Room Service

It came with this giant bottle of wine (the size of a building). So I drank it.

NEXT MORNING

Woke up super happy! The bed was crazy comfortable, I drank the entire bottle of wine the night before, made it through about 3 or 4 episodes of Blue Bloods and... ordered breakfast to the room.

My plans was to leave the room about 10:30 and head through the tunnel that was next to the hotel; so I could say I visited Canada over the weekend. Only to find out that motorcycles were not allowed in the tunnel, no idea why but the lady at the toll booth was very nice and gave me directions to the bridge. Still on top of the world I drive over the bridge into CANADA! I was singing and smiling all the way over.

Once I reached the other side I waited 45 minutes just to get into the country. 

Happy feelings gone. 

This put a huge dent into the time I allotted myself to come into the country so I decided to just stop at Starbucks and get a mug. It was less than a mile from the border and for some reason my cell phone wasn't working. Forced to use Google Maps to get around, I thought it best to just head back.

Packed up and headed back to America. The line coming back into the country wasn't near as long and I only took me about 10 minutes. I pulled up to the gate, turned my engine off and got yelled at by the border guard for not taking my helmet off. Which was fine because I was having a hard time understanding him with my ear plugs in anyway. He asked my what I was doing in Canada and I explained that I was on a weekend trip and went over to get a mug. 

I'll spare you the details....

Fast forward an hour later I'm putting my backpack back together after being detained and interrogated inside the building. Apparently going across the border for a short amount of time is "stupid" as is riding your motorcycle from Kentucky to Detroit for the night. Oh and I don't sound like I'm from Kentucky (thank god).

Needless to say I got back on the road in a foul mood. I was so happy going into Canada and drove back out ready to scream. People are getting shitty with me on the road (I get shitty back), the wind is blasting me from the south and the west constantly.... A couple hours later I get my zen back and suck it up to Madison Indiana. Here I meet a friend and had pizza at the Red Pepperoni.

It was a great trip all and all. Despite the shitty border guards, I came home with my mug!  

My journey takes me back to Seattle on Nov 22nd to bring my motorcycle home. Stay tuned for more!

Route Back to Louisville

Day Before Departure

Yesterday my cousin (Sunshine) and I went to a music festival here in Seattle. Unfortunately I forgot my phone at home and I only have this pictures she took of me.

That's me holding the space needle (if it wasn't obvious enough). 

So last day here and I felt like I should blog something. It's been a pretty epic two weeks of travel, learning, and thinking. The best therapy for me is the open road on two wheels. Life is so much like riding a motorcycle. Example -

You constantly have to watch out for jackasses who want to run you over. Who doesn't have people like this in there life.

Sometimes the road is flat and boring, other times its curvy and fun. Patience is indeed a virtue and if you can make it around the next corner, it is normally worth the wait. Even when riding through a desert where you can see 20 miles of straight road, make the best of it and open it up!

Prepare for the worst. Luckily I only got rained on twice the entire trip, but I was ready for it and honestly said "BRING IT"! It was my first time wearing my rain suit and was pretty excited. 

You have a million plus friends out there. With every passing motorcycle your friends are always looking out for you. Letting you know if there is something in the road to look out for or if there is cop around the corner waiting for you. You have a million plus friends.  

WEEKS LATER -

I'm not really sure what happened and why I never got around to finishing this post. Life I suppose. Never the less, here I am. I flew home after an amazing weekend with my cousin. Here are a couple photos.

Don't worry that drag wasn't on the plane. We had brunch the day before at a really great restaurant that had a show going while you ate / drank. It was a little costly but was worth the money and the place was packed with people. 

So home I went, started my new job, and life goes on. I am missing my motorcycle (extremely missing it) and am already plotting a plan to get it back here ASAP. I feel like after 5,400 miles of it being attached to me that a part of me is missing. I'm grateful for this journey and know there will be many many more to come in the future. Part of me is starting to appreciate the introvert side of me that has been hiding all these years. Me, myself, and I on the open road. I know now that I don't need more than the three of us to feel complete. 

Until the next journey! Ride safe and keep the rubber on the pavement.