Showing 0 to 20 of 21 Results
Road Report Day 23, 24 - Victoria
As I mentioned, Ian and I had set up camp behind a hotel in this wonderful little spot next to a river. It was one of the best camping spots we'd ever found. Ian had wanted us to get up early so we could reach the San Juan Ferry with plenty of extra time. I woke up around 7:15 to the sound of a hot air balloon being inflated. I packed up my gear while Ian slept. The balloon rose high overhead. For the previous few days I had just been slow. Ian had patiently waited on so many oc ...Read More
Road Report Days 20, 21, 22
Sorry I haven't written in a while. I spent the last four days riding and camping with Ian. Since it was just the two of us it didn't seem polite to carve a couple hours out each day to process photos and write. Riding with Ian is always good. It's been far far too long. So now I'm in Victoria, BC, Canada sitting downstairs with my laptop. My cellphone is roaming so I have no data service. From here until I get into Alaska it looks like I'm only going to be able to do updates sporadically as ...Read More
Road Report Day 19 - Risk
I ended up, as I think I mentioned, staying in a cabin in Yellowstone because all the campgrounds were full. The cabin wasn't bad although it didn't muffle much in the way of noise. What I found surprising about Yellowstone was the level of amenities. There are these "villages" in the park with complete services. Gas stations, stores, restaurants, bars, hotels, cabins, campgrounds. I wandered over to the lounge for an after ride drink and met two swiss tourists who had driven down from Seatl ...Read More
Road Report Day 18 - Mortality, Wind and Yellowstone
I'm at Yellowstone. There was alot I was going to write but I'm barely getting one bar. I'm surprised I'm getting any of connectivity at all. Just half an hour down the road there was none. I had tried to get a spot at a campground but everything was full, so I ended up in one of the cabins. If someone were to fly out to meet me, this would be the place to do it. There are countless things to see and all the rides are short and stunning ... I'll have to make this very short, so I leave you ...Read More
Road Report Day 17 - from very hot to quite cold.
I think I need to write these things in the morning. By the time evening rolls around and I get into a campground or hotel I'm often too tired to make much sense. I sat in the diner yesterday until almost 2PM writing. Between all the photos and trying to phrase things the way I wanted, it took me almost three hours to write that last post. I was telling Bruce that the writing is in some ways detracting from being in the moment during the trip. "It's like in physics, it's impossible to obse ...Read More
Road Report Day 16 - what goes up ...
I'm in Delta, CO right now at a Family Diner. They've kindly let me plug in my laptop so I'm taking some time out before I leave for Yellowstone to put up a post. I would have done this earlier but finding a replacement for a burned out taillight occupied much of my morning ... for being alone yesterday is the kind of day I need more of. I had promised the noisemakers that I would get up in time to say goodbye in the morning. Unfortunately, this meant I would have to willingly experience "no ...Read More
Road Report Day 15 - Poison Gas
As I awoke I noticed my tormentors, the noisemakers, were otherwise occupied. For a short while I was able to get some work done and write. Bruce called over and said "Yermo, look behind you". I turned and saw a deer mere yards away, slowly stalking towards me. I left it undisturbed and it returned the favor. Eventually my tormentors noticed my presence and once again I was attacked and forced into hard labor. They demaned to be chased. Up the mountain. Down the mountain. Across the mou ...Read More
Road Report Day 14 - Mines and Route 550 out of Ouray
Note to self. When pitching a tent do not pitch it on an incline side ways. A nylon sleeping back on top of a nylon thermarest pad might as well be a slide. I did not sleep well at all. The temperature continued to drop until it got good and cold. The last time I got up and checked the bike the thermometer read in the 30's and it got alot colder later in the evening. I got up around 8. Getting dressed in that small tent of mine is a challenge. Ha was making breakfast. She is so failing at g ...Read More
Road Report 13 - Ouray
I'm currently sitting in a folding chair next to the bike up on the side of a mountain above Ouray, Colorado in one of the most awe inspiring camp grounds I have ever seen. I had tried to write a report last night in the cold and dark here but I lost connectivity and couldn't get it back. Remind me to add an auto-save feature to my blogging software.(Yea, I wrote all the software that runs this site.) But I digress. I had stayed at a hotel in Buena Vista. Little did I know that there was ...Read More
Road Report Day 12 - Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak
I am now in some motel in the town of Buena Vista somewhere on Colorado route 24. Surprisingly I'm getting 5 bars so I'm able to write another road report. I'm pretty beat, as usual, so we'll see how much of this I get written. The hotel last night was old but clean and comfortable. It was a family owned place called the Travelers Inn, in Colorado Springs. I can recommend it. As I was packing up my gear I ran into the proprietor and asked him where one might get a good breakfast. He suggested ...Read More
Heading up into the Rockies
I've spent the last few hours taking care of a few things for the business while sitting here at a starbucks in Colorado Springs. In a little bit I'm going to head up into the mountains. I'm meeting Bruce, Ha, kids and their friends in Ouray to go camping for the next four days or so. I don't know if I'm going to have connectivity, so for all of you who have forbidden me to tag guardrails, get eaten by mountain lions, mauled by grizzly bears, slide out of corners, keep the rubber side anything b ...Read More
Road Report Day 11 - Oppressive Flatness
I had big plans for this post, but it took longer to get to Colorado Springs than I had thought, so we'll see how much energy IK have to write before I collapse. Cell service out here is spotty at best and the wireless access at the motel I'm staying at leaves something to be desired, so I'm sitting on the steps outside next to the office. Connectivity is fairly good here. Loud cars and bikes race by on the road here. Colorado Springs seems to be a colorful town. I figured some of my frien ...Read More
Road Report Day 10 - We Remember The Moments
Angela and I stayed up fairly late talking while an absolutely insane rain storm raged outside. I heard someone say it was coming down at a rate of 3" per hour. Close to 2AM we decided to call it a night. She retired to her room. I needed to get a change of clothes off the bike in the garage. I was fumbling with the big BMW bag when I realized that rushing sound I was hearing was coming from inside the garage. I found a staircase in the corner that lead downstairs to the basement. I crept dow ...Read More
Road Report Days 8 and 9 - Freedom through Boundaries
I sat at Starbucks for some time writing and waiting for the rain to let up. Of course, the rain only got worse. To add insult to injury, in the distance I could see the boundary where the clouds ended and the sunshine began. It continued to pour where I was and the sunshine in the distance was just natures way of teasing me. My route out of starbucks would take me along the boundary, always on the raining side. Mike, Angela's boyfriend, had sent me an email saying that he was tied up with h ...Read More
Road Report Day 7 - Roasted Yermo
I'm currently just outside of Kansas City staying at another motel. I had intended on camping but menacing clouds and oppressive heat caused me to wuss out in a big way ... Today was hot. Crazy hot. I'm completely wiped out and am likely to call it a night shortly ... we'll see how much energy I have left to write anything. I woke up this morning around 9 to a cacophony of bird songs. The windows were open allowing a cool breeze to permeate the room. Sounds of people arriving at the Merca ...Read More
Road Report Day 6 - Dancing Rabbit
I slept fitfully last night and when I finally did fall asleep late morning came too quickly. As I write this I am incredibly tired, so please forgive me if I ramble. I showered and quickly moved my gear out of the room to make it out in time for checkout. The Comfort Inn I was staying at was set up for business travelers and they had a nice work area where I could set up the laptop. Right before I left, we got a little contract. So I spent a couple of hours working on that. We so live in ...Read More
Road Report Day 5 - Introspection
Day 5. I had gone to bed reasonably early and woke up early having slept fairly well. Being dry is a good thing. Most of my gear was dry by the morning, with the exception of the sleeping bag. I proceeded to pack everything on the bike. Menacing clouds were still present on the horizon. 20% chance of rain my ass. I headed over to a diner next to the Motel 6 for some breakfast. The waitress was very nice and gave me a booth where I could see the bike. She noticed how everyone who passed it s ...Read More
Road Report Day 4 - Paying my dues
As I mentioned, I camped last night.It had been such a nice day filled with cool breezes and alot of sunshine. All good things must come to an end, abruptly. At 2AM I was woken up to the sound of rain.This turned out to be convenient since I needed to take a leak. I crawled out of tent tentatively (pardon the pun) and was surprised to find that none of the rain was reaching the forest floor. "This won't last". And it didn't. I was woken up again around 4 when the rain started coming down in ...Read More
Road Report Day 3 - Chicago to Northern Wisconsin
It's about 10:30 central time in Northern Wisconsin at the Black River Falls State campground. I'm sitting at a campsite on a picnic table with my laptop plugged into the bike for power. It's pitch black. No moon. No stars. There's a slight breeze in the trees and the sounds of far away trains. The light from the laptop screen is attracting all manner of flying insects. Right now it looks like a scene out of Survivorman. There are bugs crawling all over the display. It's very disconcerting. ...Read More
Road Report Day 2 - Wind, Angry Sky, Rain and Chicago
It's late and I'm once again probably too tired too capture even a fraction of the thoughts I've had today. Last night kind of sucked. There was just this relentless loud rain interrupted by thunderclaps that conspired to wake me up at random intervals. I looked out the Days Inn door to see my bike just being inundated by rain. It was still raining at 7AM. By 9 the rain had stopped and hints of sunshine attempted to pierce their way through the clouds.I finally managed to fall asleep th ...Read More
Road Report Day 1
I find that usually the first day of a ride is always the worst. You're out of practice. Little things that you could do in your sleep, like putting on your gloves, or packing away the camera, seem to take extra effort. You remember where everything goes and how it all works, but nothing is fluid. It all takes thought and consideration. Everything is forced. And so it was. Kyrin who I know from Piratz Tavern came by to see me off. I hit the road around 11:45. It was hot. I heade ...Read More