Showing 0 to 9 of 10 Results
Road Report Day 65 - Getting to Yes
Phil and his friend Charlie, left a while ago get a new rear tire put on Phil's bike. The tires he had selected were fine for a twisty place like Deal's Gap but were not suited for thousands of miles of highway. Last night we noticed chords showing. I've spent the morning futzing with my bike's exhaust system. The patch we had put in place hasn't held and the leak is getting worse. The reason this is bad has to do with cold air. The break is only 20 inches or so from the cylinder. Exhaust ...Read More
Road Report Days 60 to 64 - Days Riding With Phil
I just haven't had the kind of time I've wanted lately to write or think about writing. Riding with new people who have very different styles makes that kind of introspection challenging ... my apologies in advance. During a very different kind of motorcycle trip earlier this year, Duncan, Bruce and I met Phil for the first time at Deal's Gap. We were sitting at breakfast talking about how the three of us were becoming known as "those BMW riders". A group of guys had just called over to us " ...Read More
Road Report Days 57, 58, 59 - Next
I do not have the time to develop the ideas in this post to the degree they need to be. In a few hours Phil will be here and I will have to focus my attention elsewhere. If, as so many of you have suggested, I do write a book the themes here will be much better developed and will form the basis of the book. I've been travelling for three days across epic flat under challenging skies all the while waiting for the storms to return. Thinking about perception. No, thinking about feelings behind ...Read More
Road Report Day 56 - Dodging Storms and Chasing Rainbows
Based upon a recommendation posted to the YML.COM forums by Ian, I opted to head to Calgary to an independent BMW service shop called Anderwerks. They have a reputation for being traveller friendly and they certainly lived up to that reputation. It's located back in a warehouse district. The front door is a bit confusing as it looks like a photo. I desperately needed tires as these Michelins had over 6,000 miles on them. Anderwerks hooked me up setting up an appointment for me the s ...Read More
Road Report Days 52, 53, 54, 55 - Do Not Ship to Canada
"Do not ship to Canada.", the stickers read. It was 1982 and there was very little humor that summer, as was the case with most years of my life. It was filled with a lot of being yelled at. I remember the vice president coming into my staging area at 1 AM yelling at me because I was taking a break. I mostly remember the yelling. 14 years old and I was being forced to do 80+ hour weeks for the summer, most nights working past midnight, because the old man's company was going bankrupt again a ...Read More
Too tired ...
Am way too tired to write. Was so tired I pulled off on a dirt road and slept on the bike for half an hour. There's too much to say about the last three days and the words are just not coming to me right now ... maybe tomorrow. I'm currently in Jasper on my way to Calgary to get new tires and an oil change on the bike before I head to the Thunder Bay area. Too many things pointed to Calgary, so I'm heading there instead of Edmonton. I have incredible friends. A huge storm blew through ...Read More
Road Report Days 47, 48 - On Patience, Balance and Lack of Brakes
My apologies for having taken the longest pause between updates. Between lack of sleep, brake issues with the bike and a new friend here in Prince George who has helped me out tremendously, there's been little time to even think about what to write. Back several days ago ... Despite having gone to bed at around 1:30AM after having been in the hot springs too long, I woke up around 6:30AM feeling too tired. After trying to go to sleep for what seemed like a very long time, I misread my wat ...Read More
I'll post an update soon, hopefully tomorrow.
Brake problems and miles and not sleeping much have conspired to prevent me from having the kind of time to write. I hope to have some time tomorrow to catch up on travel events ... ...Read More
Road Report Day 46 - Dani, a real adventure rider
I did not sleep well. Exhausted, I dragged my worthless feeling carcass out of bed and stood under the shower for a while trying to shake this funk I was still in. It wasn't as bad as the previous day, but I was still down. The hotel wasn't bad and there was a cafe downstairs. I had an omelette, which has become customary on this entire trip. The waitress, who I believe was Chinese and spoke with a thick accent, remembered me from before and asked me if I was staying in town. I mentioned tha ...Read More
Road Report Day 45 - Heading East and not happy about it.
I don't know what got to me. Something did. Some thought, sound or image. It happens sometimes. It's not just that a memory is triggered, at times a feeling is triggered and I'm back in that dark place I spent so much time in and with no one around to pull me out I descend into it's depths. I didn't sleep well. I had fitful dreams and when I finally did awake I was in an even darker place. Burdened as if by a terrible weight and withdrawn, it was as if my reason for waking up was no longer t ...Read More