Something painful.

Sun. Sept.13th 2009

So there is one thing I hate about traveling. It's something that I've been aware of, and know I'm going to have to deal with every time I leave the house on any sort of adventure.
You make these super quick crazy friendships on the road. People you meet at gas stations, in museums, on trains etc. Fellow travelers, locals...all sorts of folks. Just as quickly as you make a new friend, you are ripped apart forever.
As I was taking advantage of a new campsite here in Glacier yesterday, my friend Ted from last night, who gave me a beer and firewood fired up his bike and roared away. Then I realized he had broken down camp already....that he was leaving...from where I was he would not see my new camp site....of any evidence that I was still there. Sure enough, he gave a glance and headed out of the camp.
It was crazy. Who was this guy? Why should I care? We had swapped stories of riding, drank a beer and sat around a fire. He was a stranger. Yet, as with all my quick friends, it was sad parting. I never thanked him for the wood, or the company, or the drink.
Till the day I die, it will break my heart a little every time I have to say good bye.
Spent the day hiking around glacier. Tomorrow I'll head off into the sunrise!

Come as you are, pay as you go.

Sat. Sept.12th 2009
8:00am @ Glacier National Park.
Super short ride yesterday. 220mi or so...if that:)
Pulled into Glacier Nation Park around 2:30 in the afternoon. My experience at NPs before has taught me to get there early. Most the camp sites go by noon.
Place threw me for a loop! Had a gate, and they charged $35 smackers to get in! To my amusement, motorcycles are only $12. Ha! I win again!
At the moment, I'm hanging around the campgrounds waiting to see if anybody leaves. When I pulled into the camp grounds last night there turned out to be two spots left, and a long line of cars behind me! So I took the first one I saw. Right next to the bath room. Ug.
Glacier is heartstopingly beautiful. I had only intended to camp here and keep on moving....but I can't imagine not spending a few days here! This choice was made at the expense of canceling my own coming home/birthday party. That's how awesome this place it.
Met another motorcyclist last night. Ted. He's riding a Softtail. Told me about another 'Must Ride' road. Beartooth pass...it's on the NE corner of Yellowstone or something. Damnit. I really kind of want to get home. Damn all these bikers and suggesting all these awesome motorcycling roads!
Tomorrow I'm bouncing Glacier via the "Journey to the Sun" road which is supposedly pretty spectacular. Judging by the rest of Glacier I've seen to far, I can't imagine anything less.

Riding sKills.

Sept.11th 2009
Had the closest call of the trip so far today. Was riding down a mountain road, being as alert as usual. A huge lumber truck was coming around a sharp turn in front of me. It passed with it's chain of frustrated drivers in tow, all wishing they could pass. As I approached the turn I suddenly realized I'd misread the speed indication sign way back there just before the truck obscured it from view. I thought it had read 35mph, meaning I could take it comfortably with a fun lean at 45. Well as I was right on top of the turn it turned out that the sign read 15mph! Ahh! I was going 3o miles to fast for what turned out to be a switchback! Fuck me!
I leaned the bike over as far as I could, but still went over into the oncoming lane, and over shoulder. I missed hitting the gravel/guardrail by about 6 inches. Thank god there was no one in the on coming lane!
Anyhoo. Still very much alive:)

Jesus would have been a biker.

Thurs. Sept.10th 2009
8:00pm, some park on the border of Washington and Idaho.
There is a beautiful river here.
Here is a quick summery of the days after the Ferry.
Said goodbye to all my motorcycle friends and Andrew who was my buddy on the boat.
Then off the Seattle. It was only 70mi, so it took no time whatsoever. Missed the exit for Joel's place, so I went out to the Harley dealer to see if my tire had come in. The Dunlop was a piece of crap. It was not going to make it home. No new tire.
Eastside Harley there who had put on my tires before I left was real excited when I returned. Actually, I had lied and told them i was going to NY, so they were suprised when I rolled in again. The managers of the dealership really got into the trip, and the fact that I'd gone up there on a Buell Blast. They took a video interview, and gave me a T-Shirt. That was cool, becuase I really needed a new shirt. Mine were pretty gross by then....maybe they smelled me and took pity? Ha!
In total though I was super embarrassed to be standing there at the dealer. There were some bad ass bikers there hanging out. And there I was in my Oshkashbigosh of motorcycle gears, sporting 'my first helmet' from HJC, and riding a bike that looked like it had just come from the war, completely shit rigged up with crap. Yup. I was feeling pretty awesome. But I had nothing else to do. So I just hung out with my coffee and shot the shit with the managers for a couple of hours:)
Next day(Saturday?) I rode down to Portland to try and get to the Museum of Stereo Art and Photography. But it was raining BUCKETS and it took me most of the day to get 100mi past the storm. Bummer.
This marked the first interstate riding I'd done the entire trip. It was really fatiguing! I could only go about 30-60min before I had to pull off and rest. Going 70-80mph is a whole nother ball of wax! Most of the trip so far has been sub 60mph.
Stayed at a hostel. Went to the Bluemoon bar for dinner and a beer. Had an awesome Black IPA. I swear it was real. And it was awesome! Looked like you were drinking a guinness, but it was a super bitter and light IPA. I could see why people like beer after drinking that.
Many people suggested Portland to be a cool city to check out. But when I got all packed up...and the bike was checked out, and I was all geared up...and the sun was soo nice, and the weather is just the way I like it, no wind and a little bit chilly.....well, shit to Portland, let's go for a ride! Booahahaha. Motorcycles are way more fun than stuffy old cities!
Tuesday, after getting my new tire on(Pirelli MT75 for those of you who would be interested:), back on the road! East!
Route 2 goes across the entire united states practically, so I took that one. Less thinking. At the best rest area ever(free brownies and coffee) another motorcyclist suggested that I take route 20 over to Glacier as a detour. Haven't been steered wrong by a biker yet so I took the road. Beautiful. Then 97north was closed, but another biker at a gas station had warned me already, so i knew to take 97alt. Apparently a bridge was out....tractor trailer in the river....eh. No idea.
And so it went on like that till arriving at Glacier Nation Park. Pretty roads, no plan, ride till I got tired and finding some place to camp and crash for the night. Food is pretty readily available down here in the lower 48 also, so it's been easy to cook for myself.
I get approached by older dudes a lot. Sometimes couples also. Well, first off, I've only seen two other younger guys(under 40ish) riding around, and that was in Canada. The old dudes are all so excited about the trip! They talk about their bikes they had when they were 'kids'. They talk about the bikes they didn't have for one reason or another:( Many who are retired complain that they waited. How they wish they had done what I was doing when they were younger and stronger and full of energy! Apparently the median age of people who vacation to Alaska, is 65. Whoa.
Oh one last thing. Pulled into this city park one evening because I was exhausted. Turned out to be a real red neck kind of place. My people:) But I came back to my tent to find some literature placed infront of the entrance flap. In bold letters it read: "Jesus would have been a biker." On the inside was filler with analogies between motorcycles and why Jesus died for our sins. I should have kept it, but I didn't want to egg who ever left it on. So I clearly and plainly threw it away. I wanted to get up and out early the next day:)

Is this going to hurt?

Sept.3rd 2009
Got a tour of the engine room today. I'd asked the purser about it yesterday. He was confused. Apparently nobody asks for a tour of the engine. He made me write a letter to the head engineer, and said he'd get back to me. I could not imagine how that was going to happen, and counted the whole thing off as a wash. Figured there was not harm in asking.
Well sure enough three days later, me and two other guys get caller over the loud speaker to come to the purser's desk. I had forgotten about the letter by then and assumed I was in trouble for any number of things:)
There we met the chief engineer and got a tour of the engine room!!! It was so amazing. Same idea as the combustion engines in our cars and motorcycles....only bigger....and with more toys. The other two guys where big tractor head, and the three of them spent the next hour or so throwing around so many terms I'd never even heard before. There is so much to learn in the world!
Anyhoo. Apparently it doesn't hurt to ask. It was a little embarrassing writing the love note with the grumpy purser standing there. In the end. Completely awesome!