North America by Motorcycle with my Dog
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Some interesting trip stats off the top of my head:
total miles: just under 10,000 by about 23 miles. So 10,000! w00000t!!
Total trip time: 32 days
Total Cost for Hotels, campsites, or a place to sleep: $0 ! I didn't pay for a place to sleep the entire trip. Camping, a guest, or crashing next to the bike at night the whole way.
Number of tires used: front 1 (original), Rear 2, and need to change it again
Number of actual, certifiable near-death experiences: 3
Number of mechanical breakdowns: 1
Number of mechanics who worked on my bike: 4
Number of people who helped me or befriended me: 30+
Number of times I started to ride off without checking to make sure Sierra's crate was fully zipped: 3
Number of of times I declared "This is definitely to most beautiful sunset!": 11
Avg miles per gallon: ~32ish
Top speed: 100mph
Number of times pulled over: 1 State: Utah Ticketed: no Reason: badass dog
Number of mystical "enegry zones" encountered: 5
Number of poeple who I thought might be trouble: 2
Number of times I ran out of gas: 1
Distance from nearest gas station at the time: 3/4 mile
Number of tunderstorms experienced: 7
Total days driving in rain: 5
Total days driving in 100 degree or higher heat: 10
Total number of road hazzards manouvered around: 50+
Number of times bike went down: 3
Number of times bike went down while moving: 1
Percentage of trip driven on non-interstate highways: 65+%
Longest period of time without sleeping: 40 hours
Distance traveled during that time: 1100 miles
Enjoyment and Adventure Factor: 10 out of 10
September. My how time flies.
OK, here's the dealio. I made it to Maine. Went to IT. That was about 4500 miles in 14 days. Then I traveled around New England for a while, met some cool people in Vermont from New York, and stayed on their farm for a week. The barn was full of motorcycles in various states of repair, and we noodled on those while the dogs, they had 4, all played and chased deer and swam in the lagoon. Dog-gone fun!
At some point one morning I decided that I was going to get back to California in time for Burning Man. I was planning to leave when the Great Blackout of Unknown Origin of 2003 hit the region. i delayed for a day, then hauled bootie westward - Go West, young man, go west! Made it back in time to get to BM on the first Sunday, spent 10 days in the desert, just north of where I almost became a highway marker staking out where my bike ran off the road on the last day of the return portion of the cross country trip.
I know, this is lots of high level info.
Luckily, I kept good notes of my journey, took some pics and video, and am planning to post some of this stuff as I get the chance. I think I'll end up doing a broadcast-delayed version of my trip, where I discuss each day, but with, hopefully, some interesting observations given the slightly removed perspective.
Tuesday, August 12, 2003
Well, I apologize for the lack of updates during the trip. However, I am safe and sound, currently in New York, hanging out with a bunch of cool people. Updates to come...
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Holy smokes. All sorts of delays before taking off. Luckily I gave myself a good 5 day cushion, anticipating some last minute delays.
The first main issue was cargo. I had planned on taking a bunch of equipment, which ended up being more or less somewhat too much by about 80 pounds or so. The test ride from San Jose to Berkeley was fun but it was way too much gear. I had to re-organize everything and ditch a bunch of gear including a portable battery which was going to be used to charge misc items durin the day. Instead, I made some last minute electrical changes and modified the bike's battery to have a cigarette lighter attachment, to which I attach a small 60w converter and then some item, as well as an adapter cable for the flexi solar panel I'm carrying. Now, I have an ultimate setup where during the day riding, I am charging the bikes battery with both the alternator and solar panel. I tested the battery drain using a voltmeter and found that with the solar panel, I can easily plug in any single item while riding and get only a very slight drain or sometimes positive flow. I also ditched some extra tools and misc items, along with excess clothes, so now I have three days worth and less clean underwear.
After rejiggering all the gear and cargo, I was able to get a decent load balance, and keep all the essentials, plus the video camera and equipment for charging.
I also had to replace one of the turn lights, and now we're ready.
I woke up planning to take off early, but once again something happened and I got delayed in the morning helping fix a windows problem on my friends laptop. The total time it took to do that was about 4 hours. A pain in the butt, but now its done and off we ride, a bit late start, so we may only get to shatsa tonight, but its a long day so we'll see.
Next update from somewhere on the road...
adios, amigos
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Made some money at the garage sale, thogh not much. Enough to get out of Cali, at least. Getting the rest of the way, who knows. Uh, hehe.
I've gone through one, nay, two configurations so far with all the gear for the trip. The bike keeps looking smaller and smaller compared to the gear I'm trying to drag along.
I need one more afternoon to get it all squared away.
The big debate at the moment is just how necessary it it really to bring a portable power supply. Lots of pros and cons about bringing the battery and solar panel. We'll have to see how it goes this afternoon.
Got the tickets to the concert in Limestone, Maine from the UPS guy yesterday. They sent two copies - two seperate envelopes, for saftey, I guess, but they both showed up at the same time delivered from the same truck. I'm not sure If I see the safety features in that strategy completely.
Last night I tripped over a fan at my buddy Ed's hose at 3 in the morning. Cut my big toe on my left foot. It's gonna hurt for a while. I resolved to be careful when waking up to take a pissat in the middle of america somewhere.
Scheduled departure date is tomorrow morning at 8am or earlier. Start looking out for me around 8:15.
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Started packing and getting ready for the ride... All tuned up and ready to roll. Any comments from people who have ridden cross-country are appreciated.
I'm going to Maine via motorcycle. Starting in SF and heading east with my dog, Sierra, I will report the things I see and hear. Should be interesting... ;)
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