In From The Storm

...17 days and 4002 sMiles later I've returned to the northwest

What a great journey it has been!  The last 450 miles completed today were some of the worst conditions once entering OR and continuing into WA.  I got a full day of low temperatures; sunbreaks that were separated by snow in the morning and then hail in the mountain passes followed by plenty of rain for most of the ride.  The sunbreaks were awesome - looking at a mean dark cloud overhead break open while seeing a few miles away blue sky was inspiring to ride faster.  I saw plenty of rainbows everywhere during the sunbreaks and even had some zero visibility behind a few 5 axle rigs.  It would figure I would get that kind of test so close to home!

When I first seriously thought about doing this trip I was thinking about riding the whole Pacific coast.  After riding the Big Sur section and getting stuck in a line of traffic for 20 minutes waiting on road work I decided to change that and just slab it back north and ride for time and distance.  I mostly jammed on I-5 once out of the Bay Area and thoroughly enjoyed the Uly power passing everything in site.  I don't typically ride very fast, but in this case I really just wanted to pass everything in front of me - and it was so fun watching traffic open up and riding to space and making clean passes.  I can't say it enough times how comfortable, powerful and smooth the Uly is to ride in all conditions.  I think it sounds way better now than when I started this trip - Major props to Buell for making such a great bike - a super cleaning and polish is due the steel steed :D

After all the miles, time, places and people of this trip a few people have asked me why did I do this and some people even think I'm 'looking for myself.'  If you have to ask why someone would travel cross country on a moto in all sorts of weather with no plan I will answer because I can.  If you think I was out looking to find myself I would say that a journey like this is a good way to lose yourself and never come back as I was presented with more options the more people I met.  To really answer the question for non-judgmental people I will say that I have always wanted to experience long distance travel on a moto.  There is more to it than just riding 100 miles and returning home - it requires a great deal of endurance along with focus and the right mindset to accomplish successfully.  I also don't intend for this to be the last moto-adventure-journey; this is only my first test of myself, gear and machine for future adventures :)

Some other people have asked me what have I learned during this trip.  That's a great question because I learned more things that I would have never imagined about everything.  Being alone for most of the trip I thought I would have needed my Ipod, laptop and a bunch of other stuff, but really didn't.  The travel itself provided plenty of stimuli and made me think of how much other stuff I have in my life that is there in case I think I need it, but really don't.  Moto travel is all about simple things - things that take up too much space are useless - cheaply made stuff will get broken - electronic stuff will get wet and fail when you need it.  Although it will sound ironic after all my talk about how fast the Uly likes to go and passing vehicles, I think I learned most how to slow down and really live the experience and not think about the next minute, day or week.  Some of the best moments I will cherish are the times when I had no concept of anything except what I was doing and it seemed like time was standing still while I was totally absorbed in the moment - I don't think this makes me a Zen master but I think I have a better idea of more and realize I really don't know much and still want to learn more.

Thanks to everyone that has read this blog, given me feedback, support or just enjoyed hearing a story of one person going out for a moto ride.  Thanks also to the sarcastic and cynical creatures that would prefer to sit back and think about me as potential roadkill or all the bad things that could happen to me and call me CRAZY.  Energy derives from both the plus and negative everywhere.  I hope everyone has a chance to experience their on secret journey in some way and be able to share all the respect, harmony and love with everyone they touch along the way.

all the best in life,love&laughs

tdw

"I know, I know you probably scream and cry
That your little world won't let you go
But who in your measly little world
Are you trying to prove that
You're made out of gold and, eh, can't be sold

So, are you experienced?
Have you ever been experienced?
Well, I have

Let me prove it to you.."

Friends

Monday night I found myself in the Bay Area crashing with my friends Pete and Meghan at their pad close to Berkeley.  Pretty much this trip I've just been riding a direction and when I'm close to some friends just giving them a call to see if they are around - what better way to visit people when touring around on a moto?

Pete and Meghan use to live in Alaska and have visited Seattle a few times- always a great time and I was really stoked to return a visit even just for the night.  After a weekend of great wines in Thousand Oaks I was pleasantly surprised that after a Manhattan with Pete we all went out for some great deep dish pizza and wine.  After the pizza and wine we returned back to their pad and another bottle of wine was opened - my apologies to Pete and Meghan for passing out; I really enjoyed the wine and food - and thank you so much for the bed to crash in :)

Leaving their house it was raining lightly, but as soon as I got on the freeway and stuck in the Bay Area morning commute traffic it began to downpour - pretty typical for me riding in Seattle.  As soon as I got out of the Bay Area the rain stopped, but then the crazy winds began.  It was a serious effort to go straight with these winds - those signs warning about extreme winds were quite accurate this time - I should have stopped to take a few pics of the all the windmills on these surreal looking green hills, but I seriously thought I would be blown over if I wasn't moving - and I was moving pretty fast to get out of this windy area!

As I am approaching home I really need to give a major shout and special thanks to all my friends that I've had a chance to visit and see along the way.  I am so very sincerely grateful to have such awesome friends that allowed me to crash their pads and were excited to have a meal & drinks with them and their families & friends.  I really can't say thank you enough for sharing your time with me.  My apologies for everyone I missed along the way - I really didn't plan this trip with much in mind except to ride a few places and see all that I could see along the way.

"Yeah it's fine, we'll walk down the line
Leave our rain, a cold trade for warm sunshine
You my friend - I will defend
And if we change, well I love you anyway"

Big Sur

Many thanks and much love to bro Ray and Bretney for their hospitality.  Great food, drink & partying along with a workout and some hiking made for a perfect weekend to soak up the SoCal sun.  Thousand Oaks looks like it's one of those places that always has sun and happy people.  And on the hike this time there was no rattlesnake looking to bite my ankle :)

The Uly sat in a covered spot for 3 days, but quickly fired up for our Monday departure.  After some fuel we rolled north up the 101 and as soon as we left Thousand Oaks were into a damp cloud and the temps dropped ending the happy warm time.  Fog and mist until getting up around Pismo Beach.  I don't have a problem riding in the rain or even some snow, but enjoying a sunny ride in southern CA is def preferred!

The Uly has been the rockstar on this entire trip!  Every hill, turn or move on the Uly is smooth and predictable at any speed.  I'm guessing after 3000+ miles on the bike it's getting broken in and I'm learning how to ride the bike the way it wants to be ridden.  I can't say enough about the power and cornering of the Uly - it makes it so enjoyable to have that much control of a powerful bike that does what you want it to effortlessly :D

For part of this trip the Uly & I need to ride part of the Pacific Coast Highway from around Morro Bay to Monterey and experience Big Sur.  I still don't have any words to accurately describe this - to begin with, this is where the Pacific Ocean meets the California coast and it appears this meeting was/is violent.  The cliffs and erosion are massive - there probably should not be a road here as it twists and turns anyway the rocks dictate.  Plenty of fallen rock zones and just places you would not want to slip because even if you survive the fall the waves would probably be happy to crush anything on some of the rocks and very cool bridges built in the 30's.

I still cannot describe the ride itself - the weather was perfect, the scents in the air were amazing, the Uly was HUGE fun and US 1 up to Monterey was much more than I expected and everything was in it's right place.  I stopped for pics and videos and realized this is too big to explain with a few pics and even moving pics.  I was able to catch some birds and squirrels that actually like human attention, but found it difficult to capture the ride up the coast.  Everyone really needs to enjoy some time on this road - now I know why this road is featured on Modern Marvels.

Ocean and waves on the left - sunshine above and rocks, cliffs and colors to the right was most of the US 1 ride.  Not to take anything away from Big Sur; all the roads leading to US 1 were great to ride as well.  Catching all the flowering and budding fruits made for delicious scents.  Although some nights my eyes are itchy and I'm a little stuffy from all the pollen it's so worth it.  I really want to ride this again - everything a road crawling up the Pacific coast should be and more!

"All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say.
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight.
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come"