October - 2013

Your Memory in Segments

Your Memory in Segments

Day 18-21 – Kelowna, BC, Canada to Mackay, ID, USA – 4,981 km If you have ever undertaken a trip like ours – one that spans many days and a range of country – you will have experienced how the route takes shape in your memory in segments rather than a flow. Maybe this is simply you recognizing the Universe’s ordered narrative, or maybe it is just a byproduct of your mind trying to sort disjointed pieces into an organized catalogue. Either way, I have found each segment is mar

Us Two Strangers of the Tribe

Us Two Strangers of the Tribe

Day 15-18 – Seattle, WA, USA to Kelowna, BC, Canada – 3,720 km More than the motorcycle or anything else, I first noticed his tall, tanned boots like what you imagined a lumberjack wore. Then I noticed his Alaska plate as he pulled his Harley alongside the pump adjacent to ours and dismounted with more agility than you expected from someone so tall and hulking. He was probably a head taller than six feet and when he approached it hurt my neck to look upward at so steep an ang

USA UTAH Capital Reef National Park Scenic Dr to Pioneer Register to Escalante

USA UTAH Capital Reef National Park Scenic Dr to Pioneer Register to Escalante

A rollercoaster tarmac ride and then into the sandy wash Dist: 125 km; Date: Oct 2013 With so many spectacular national parks in Utah, Capital Reef is easily overlooked. Nevertheless, take the time and make the effort. Enter Camp Ground Rd at the Visitors Center from Utah State Route 24. Pass through the small settlement of Fruita and pass a couple of preserved homesteads from when the Mormons first arrived. Camp Ground Rd quickly becomes Scenic Dr and unfolds a rollicking 11

The Good Ones You Meet

The Good Ones You Meet

Day 11-14 – Portland, OR, USA to Seattle, WA – 2,736 km When we arrived in Seattle in the early afternoon after a drizzly morning slog from Portland on Interstate 5, Tim met us at the 7-Eleven up the block from Megan and Marshall’s condo building. Tim is a friend of Marshall’s from university days and he lives nearby in the Ballard neighborhood. Megan and Marshall are the couple I met in Belize several years ago during my first motorcycle trip. They were on motorcycles and we

Your First Impression Is the Truest

Your First Impression Is the Truest

Day 5-11 – Clearlake, CA, USA to Seattle, WA – 2,752 km A few miles past the park entrance Jess signaled and then pulled off at the turnout. I followed and pulled off alongside her. ‘It’s getting too cold,’ she shouted over the sound of the idling motorcycles and through the muffling of the earphones and the crash helmets. ‘There’s frost on the road and look at the snow on the cars coming back this way.’ ‘Ok, you turn back. It’s only a few more miles. I’m going to go on as fa

If It's Important Enough That It Sticks with You

If It's Important Enough That It Sticks with You

Day 3-4 – Fresno, CA, USA to Clearlake – 878 km ‘Greg, are you speaking to yourself?’ Jess called out from inside the motel room. ‘No, I’m taking a video,’ I said panning from myself, standing in front of the bikes, over to Jess. ‘Anyway, how often do I speak to myself? Do I?’ ‘This thing is in wrong,’ Jess said, disregarding my question and focusing entirely on trying to secure the wind liner inside her mesh riding jacket. ‘OK so this is what we are doing. She is stressed th

A Day of Hitting Things

A Day of Hitting Things

Days 1-2 - Los Angeles, CA, USA to Fresno - 595 km A line of vehicles forms behind the kiosk at the entrance to the national park. When the RV ahead of us finishes and it is our turn, I pull ahead of Jess and come to a stop beside the open window. ‘We’d like a couple of annual passes,’ I tell the park ranger inside the kiosk. ‘Sure. Will you be riding together? If you will be riding together, you can get one pass for both motorcycles,’ she explains. ‘Yes, that would be great,

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