Motorcycle Misadventures

Boost Your Creativity: Go to the Back Country

I was so happy when daylight savings time kicked in yesterday but it's a cloudy, rainy week in the San Francisco Bay Area so I'm having a little trouble kicking the winter blues. Yes I do know that people do ride, hike, and camp out in the rain -- my friends and family in the Pacific Northwest, in Canada are giggling now because they don't let it stop them -- otherwise they'd never get outside.

And I also know that a backcountry experience will help boost my mood and my creativity. I just spotted this article in Backpacker Magazine that may spur me on: Top 3 Literary Hikes: Thoreau, Hemingway, and Kerouac all went into the backcountry to find the right words. Here are the three tours:

Fox River, MI 
From Hemingway's "The Big Two-Hearted River" 
In this Hemingway standout, a war-weary young soldier named Nick Adams spends three days hiking and fishing in a remote area of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. 

Matterhorn PK, CA
From Kerouac's The Dharma Bums 
Seeking enlightenment, Jack Kerouac attempted an ascent of Yosemite's 12,279-foot Matterhorn Peak with poet Gary Snyder and friend John Montgomery in 1955. 

Mount Greylock,MA 
From Thoreau's A Week on the Merrimack and Concord Rivers 
Not long before heading to Walden Pond to build a cabin, Thoreau climbed this whale-shaped hump of a mountain in the 10,000-acre Mount Greylock State Reservation.

Read more about these Top 3 Literary Hikes.

I'm heading up to the Sierras this weekend to help celebrate my friend Carol Levow's new book Dare to Paint. If it's not really storming I'll ride the Guzzi up there a day early, find a place by the river, pitch my tent, cook a meal, sleep with the sound of the water and the night to clear my mind.

World-Traveling motorcyclists learn how to fix it, cook it, and jump it at California campout

The latest from Horizons Unlimited - please share with your lists!

WORLD-TRAVELING MOTORCYCLISTS LEARN HOW TO FIX IT, COOK IT, AND JUMP IT AT CALIFORNIA CAMPOUT

Riding Skills, First Aid, Roadside Repair, Camping, and Cooking on the Menu in Cambria

Cambria, CA -- September 2, 2011 – Motorcycle travelers meet, learn, and become inspired by sharing stories, skills, companionship and encouragement at the California meeting to be held at Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria, California, October 14-16, 2011.

"A lot of industry professionals live California, so we have the benefit of first class education at this Horizon's Unlimited meeting," says Grant Johnson. "Riding clinics include off-roading by Coach2Ride leaders Bonnie Warch and Andrea Beach, Molly Marti's leads a hands-on emergency first-aid clinic, and Chris Sidah's "farmer fix," workshop to show riders how to get themselves at least limping into the next town. Plus Nicole Espinoza of Rugged Rider will be there to showcase dual-sport accessories, camping equipment, and provide tips and tricks for dual-sport newbies and experts alike.

Participants come to HorizonsUnlimited Travelers meetings for inspiration from people like themselves who present slideshows of recent travels across the state or around the world, and to rub elbows with motorcycling celebs, like Ted Simon, author of Jupiter's Travels; Gregory Frazier, five-time RTW motorcyclist and author, Clement Salvadori, celebrated columnist and travel book author, and Carla King, author of the Motorcycle Misadventures series.

Horizons Unlimited travelers meetings are held around the world by Grant and Susan Johnson, founders of the vast HorizonsUnlimited.com web resource for motorcycle travelers, and accomplished world travelers themselves. "This year's location in Cambria was chosen in order to reach riders from both Northern and Southern California as well as travelers riding through on the ever-popular Pacific Coast Highway," says Johnson. "Camp Ocean Pines is set on 13 acres by the sea, and offers cabins and a vast camping area. Participants don't even have to cook as the event offers meals packages of up to three meals a day."

Over 200 motorcycle travelers and aspiring motorcycle travelers can be accommodated, and if other meetings are any indication, the display of participants' touring-outfitted motorcycles and packing systems will be worth the price of admission itself. Campers are constantly entertained and educated by impromptu demos of stoves, tents, GPS units, clothing, tank bags, panniers, lights, locks, and bike modifications.

"But most of all, you can meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or Africa or across Asia, or even around the world," says Johnson. "People get to share experiences and advice on how to do it and, who knows, maybe they’ll meet each other again in Mongolia or Timbuktu. "

ABOUT HORIZONSUNLIMTED.COM

First created in 1997, with the addition of the HUBB and E-zine in 1999 and 2000, HorizonsUnlimited.com site has become the most relied-upon resource for thousands of motorcycle travelers around the world. The site has over 9,000 pages of superb content and gorgeous photos, not including the HUBB, which has over 48,000 threads, 300,000 posts and over 900,000 user sessions per month. 

LINKS

·         Details and Registration

·         About the HU Meetings

·         HU 2011 California Poster

·         Hi-Res Images from Past Meetings

·         Horizons Unlimited in the News

·         Photo Highlights from Grant & Susan Johnson's 11 year, 39 country, 5 continent, 100,000 km journey

 

 

Motorcycle Travel, Cooking and More Tonight on SideStand Up 7-9 pm EST

Tonight's guests for May 18th 2010:

Miss Adventuring Carla King (yep, that's me!) is back to talk with author, photographer, videographer Brent Miller of Sojourn Chronicles about motorcycle rides that'll take you back in time. The Natchez Trace, Trail of Tears, and the Pony Express Trail are just a few of the historical roads he's chronicling in A Season of Riding.

A nontraditional man Phil Golden is leading a nontraditional grass roots campaign to raise funds for Adrenoleukodystrophy research known as Expedition-Awareness. Building two Jeeps Phil and his team will set out for the first leg of their campaign crisscrossing the Continental Divide thru 2 countries, 15 states, and 4 provinces of mostly dirt roads and trails while raising money and speaking to groups along the way.

Known to many as the "The Beemer Chef" Ara Gureghian will be our guest. Ara is a prolific photographer, traveler, and adventurer many of us have and are following is trail on The Oasis of my Soul. For the last several years Ara and his trusty riding partner Spirit have been riding together seeking personal growth and knowledge. Ara will be sharing his journey on the roads life and exactly what is needed to be your own chef on the road.

The Clown Prince and the man behind Hoagy's Heros Inc. Long Distance Charity Riders Hoagy “Robert” Carmichael will be on to let us know what his next extreme philanthropic ride will be! (i want to see his helmet) Dave Despain Is back and we are talking land closures. Tom and dave will be joined by Ed Moreland Vice President of Government Relations at the AMA and monthly contributing correspondent Chas Aagard. If you have any information on land closures we'd love to here from you.

Call in Tuesday evening 1-724-444-7444 when prompted for the episode number it's 64458# when prompted for the PIN it's 1#. Email Tom@SideStandUp.com. Keep and eye on on www.sidestandup.com for whats new and sponsor discounts.

Get on the web and get in on the lively chat room!

American Borders available as an ebook online with Scribd, Smashwords, Amazon

It was almost too easy. I uploaded my book American Borders: Breakdowns in Small Towns All Around the USA online to be downloaded from Scribd for $6.99, to view in PDF format. Readers can also buy it direct from Amazon in Kindle format, and  in text only format that reflows for easy reading on devices, even on mobile phones, buy it from Smashwords. I'd recommend the same process for any indie author.

For those of you who already have the book - you'll notice the cover has changed on the ebook edition, but the words inside are the same.

Today 4-7pm PT SSU Radio: Motorcycle Travel & Road Food with Sam Manicom

Catch  Side Stand Up tonight at 8:30 Eastern (that's 5:30 Pacific) for my chat with  world traveling motorcycle author Sam Manicom about finding food on the road in even the most remote places, camping stoves, cutlery, packing, tips, stories. This is going to be fun because Sam's been everywhere.

Side Stand Up Motorcycle Radio

Every Tuesday 7-9 Eastern (4-7 Pacific)

Join the chat room or listen to the archive.

Combo jacket-tent a great idea for motorcycle camping

Mike Werner posted news of a concept jacket/tent combo on this blog: Ideal Adventure Motorcycling Jacket from Bikes in the Fast Lane. I hope they make this thing a reality too, it's just too good! (Mike, where do you find this stuff?)

 

Long Dual-Sport Ride: What I packed; what worked; what didn't...

 I love reading other bikers' packing lists. Here's on for a long dual-sport ride in Mexico, posted on the Adventure Rider site: Long D/S Ride: What I took, What worked, What didn't.

And here's a DVD on dual-sport riding techniques, posted, perhaps developed by the same author?

Here's my list of personal items and gear for a sport touring ride around the Adriatic Sea, some of it camping.

Here's the poster's loaded bike: (Oh, don't forget to get loaded properly! Here's how.)

The Perfect Camp Lantern: Lightweight, rechargeable, adjustable LED

If it's good enough for a backpacker it's good enough for a motorcycle camper. Bright, light, and rechargeable--the perfect camp lantern is here. Backpacker Magazine's Green Editor Berne Broudy breaks down why the Black Diamond Orbit lamp made the cut. See it in action in this short video:  2009 Editors' Choice Award Winner: Black Diamond Orbit Lantern.

Motorcycle Camping in Bear Country?

Motorcycle camping in Alaska, Yellowstone, or other bear-infested regions? Hopefully you have very sturdy metal saddlebags and aren't too attached to your paint job. Hopefully you aren't sleeping with your food. What to do to keep bears away from your food and, more importantly, from attacking you? (Not an unknown scenario; see this article.) Carry a bear canister, or even rent one from ranger stations or in nearby towns. Here's an informative video that shows you how a bear canister works, what to put in it, and how far away it needs to be from your campsite. Backpacker Magazine - How to Use a Bear Canister.

Here's more good advice from a member of trailspace.com on the gear selection forum: . . . contact the rangers or land managers for the area . . . to see what works there. If, like much of the Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico, you can get along with just a bag and some parachute cord or counterbalancing, then save your money. Or, as in Yosemite, if you can just rent the container or only have to come up with a refundable deposit, again save your money. But if you are going to Denali NP, you may have to spring for a BearIKade.

The best resource I could find for more information is the Get Bear Smart Society. They've got tons of info on containers, spray, food storage, differences between kinds of bears, and "in case of attack" advice, and lots more.

Budget Motorcycle Travel

I just found a good document on the Adventure Travel forum by Jamie Z on very budget motorcycle travel. It includes advice on motorcycle camping, eating, transport, gear, entertainment, planning. He says that, "The ideas in this document are often US-centric. I have traveled for cheap in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia, but the majority of my time on the road is in the United States." Read it here.