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.

Tomorrow on SideStandUp Motorcycle Radio: Grant Johnson of HorizonsUnlimited.com

 

Tomorrow on SideStandUp.com motorcycle radioI talk with Grant Johnson of HorizonsUnlimited.com, the motorcycle travelers community where you can get information on everything from outfitting a bike to where the secret border crossings are into China. HU has a lot to offer, including inspirational DVDs, a monthly newsletter, member websites, live events all around the world, even a beautiful print calendar featuring your best photos. 

Join us and the whole cast of characters on http://sidestandup.com live or catch the archives. Tuesday February 28 from 8-9:30 pm Eastern Time.

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Why I Travel: A video to inspire

People often ask me why I travel. Why I travel by motorcycle. Why I travel alone. This wonderful five minute video from a couple traveling together through Chile and Patagonia captures the essence of the first question, at least. It's not credited well, but I will assume that it is Dan Riordan and Dana Saint of Gnarly Bay Productions. Lovely. 

a story for tomorrow. from gnarly bay productions, Inc. on Vimeo.

Which BMW GS Adventure Bike is Right for You?

Which BMW GS is Right for You? The F650GS, the F800GS, or the GS 1200 Adventure?

SideStandUp Motorcycle Radio
Tuesday, September 27
5:00 to 8:00 pm Pacific Time

Miss Adventuring Carla King talks the finer points of the BMW GS adventure series - F650GS, F800GS, 1200GS, and older models - with Larry Saenz, General Manager of BMW Motorcycles San Francisco, Northern California's top-selling and the only exclusively BMW motorcycle dealership in the Bay Area. Riding since 1968, Larry has been involved with the BMW brand of cars and bikes for over 35 years. His stable currently includes a 1981 R 80G/S and a 2009 HP-2 Mega-Moto.

Tune in, join the fun in the lively chat room to ask your questions, and find out which GS is right for you!

 

Ride the Redwood Highway with Ted Simon, me, and lots of other friends

Sunday, August 28, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Ride the Redwood Highway with Ted Simon
US-101 and CA-162 Northern California starting in Benbow

Ride with Ted Simon on Sunday, August 28th, for a celebratory motorcycle ride down the iconic Redwood Highway in northern California.

Every day is a good day for riding with friends through beautiful scenery, but August 28th will be a particularly special one. The ride is a combined celebration of Ted Simon's 80th birthday back in May, the long-awaited completion of his new book "Rolling Through the Isles," and the launch of the Foundation in his name. A memorable way to enjoy some northern Californian roads, it will also be an opportunity to talk to Ted about his vision for the Foundation and Jupiter's Travellers.

Starting from Benbow at 12pm (not 2pm as originally advertised), the route will follow the stunning Redwood Highway (US-101) south for around 50 miles to Longvale, before turning north east on to CA-162 for a further 30 twisty miles towards Ted's home town of Covelo.

If you'd like to be part of the ride, please click the I'm Attending button on the event's Facebook page to register your attendance.

Motorcycles only please. Rendezvous locations and other information will be made available nearer to the date. Keep updated on the Facebook page:  Ride the Redwood Highway with Ted Simon

October Horizon's Unlimited motorcycle travelers meeting in Cambria California features celebrities, riding skills, first aid, roadside repair, and more

WORLD-TRAVELING MOTORCYCLISTS SHARE STORIES AND SKILLS AT CALIFORNIA CAMPOUT

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

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.

"This year's California Travelers Meeting is special because so many celebrity motorcycle travelers live in the state," says Grant Johnson. "We've caught a lot of them between trips, including Ted Simon, Clement Salvadori, Carla King, Nicole Espinosa, and Pierre Saslawski and Merritt Grooms. From farther afield comes Dr. Gregory Frazier, veteran of five round the world trips."

Participants don't just come to rub elbows with the celebs, though. They come for inspiration from people like themselves who present slideshows of recent travels across the state or around the world. Hands-on seminars equip participants for the DIY lifestyle of world motorcycle travel. Highlights are Grant Johnson's entertaining tire-changing demo, Molly Marti's 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. Riding clinics include off-roading by Coach2Ride leaders Bonnie Warch and Andrea Beach.

Horizons Unlimited travelers meetings are held around the world by Grant and Susan Johnson, founders of the extensive 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

 

Overland Expo Panel on Choosing a Vehicle for a Big Trip

Excellent, thank you AtlasRider Bill Dwyer for posting this video of the panel I moderated on Choosing a Vehicle: How to Get Going and Keep Going on an overland trip by motorcycle or on four wheels with experts Lorraine Chittock, Lois Pryce, Austin Vince, Christian Pelletier, and Bill Dwyer.

Tues Oct 25 7pm ET: Interview with Author Mark Meadows who motorcycled Sri Lanka to have Tea Time with Terrorists

Tomorrow evening on SideStand Up  I'll talk with Mark Stephen Meadows, author of Tea Time with Terrorists, a book about his journey on a Honda XLR 240R Baja trail bike through the minefields of Sri Lanka

Mark is a multi-vehicle adventurer, he is sailing in to port for this interview, and it should be a exciting one! Listen live on the internet and join the discussion in the lively chat room:

Tuesday, October 25 2010
7:00 pm Eastern Time
Sidestand Up Motorcycle Radio
Listen live or catch the archive
Join the chat room

Armed with a map, a motorcycle, an infectious sense of humor, and only a dim understanding of Sri Lanka’s war, author, artist, Meadows arrives  intending to have, as it were, afternoon tea with terrorists. Figuring that the first step to solving a problem is understanding it, he journeys north into the warzone, interviewing terrorists, generals, and heroin dealers along the way

Not for the faint of heart, especially since the Tamil Tigers invented suicide bombing and were the first to lace together terrorists and financiers into international networks of militant uprising. Along with having tea with terrorists, Meadows is privileged with a deep view into an ancient culture, learns to trap an elephant, weave rope from coconut husks, and cast out devils.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION: Download Tea Time with Terrorists now from eBooks.com.

Buy Tea Time with Terrorists on Amazon.com.

Join us live on the air and in the lively chat room.

Keep an eye on www.sidestandup.com for what's new and sponsor discounts.

My 1/2 hour segment on SidestandUp.com is every 4th Tuesday of the month. My beat is motorcycle travel writing, authors, and web tools for publishing your adventures. If you're interested in self-publishing visit my Self-Publishing Boot Camp website.

 

Tonight! A talk with RoadRUNNER motorcycle travel magazine publisher Christa Neuhauser

Tonight on SideStand Up I'll be talking with Christa Neuhauser, the publisher of RoadRUNNER Magazine. Join us live on the air and in the lively chat room.

Christa has been a motorcycle enthusiast since her early days. Motorcycling is not only her passion but also her profession. Relocating from Austria in 1999, she and her husband Christian founded the magazine, the perfect platform to share their love for riding and traveling with the motorcycling world at large. After the fatal sidecar accident involving Christian in 2005 she continued to build upon their vision, supported by her two sons and a dedicated team by her side.

Christa and I will be on in the middle of the show at about 8:00 EST in the program that runs from 7:00 to 9:00 EST. Don't miss the other great guests and news on  tonight's live show hosted by Tom Lowdermilk:

• Sam Kloberdanz from Grand Junction BMW / Harley Davidson / KTM is back to get us up to date on what's happening at Colorado's western most full service dealer that's now open Sundays!
• Director of Advertising for the BMW MOA Ted Moyer returns from the national Rally in Redmond OR and will be letting us know what transpired and what we missed. Ted my even have news where next years rally will be held.
• Tom will be heading for the BMW Riders of Western Colorado's Color Weekend, the 8th annual Thunder in the Mountain Rendezvous in September. The plan is to do a live broadcast from the rally.
• Rallymaster Terry Toner will be making his first stop in to let us in on what will take place that weekend during the prime time for the Great Aspen to be turning in the spectacular glory.
• Jonah Street is off for another off Road Endurance Race, this time to Mongolia to take part in the FA-coat Rally Mongolia 2010. This international cross country rally has been around for 15 years. Jonah and fellow countryman Mike Shirley of Reno Nevada will be the first American entrants in the rally's history. Listen in to hear from Jonah how he has prepared and what machine he will be riding for the event.
• Keep and eye on on www.sidestandup.com for whats new and sponsor discounts.

Join us live on the air and in the lively chat room.

Motorcycle Adventure Travel Lineup Tonight on SideStand Up Radio 4-6pm PT

Tonight's lineup of motorcycle adventure travelers include Carla King, Christopher Baker,  Grant Johnson, and Glen Heggstad. Don't miss it on sidestandup.com 4-6pm PT. Log-in early to join the lively chat room!

Miss Adventuring Carla King is back this week with author of Mi Moto Fidel Christopher Baker. Picking up an assignment to write a travel guide in Cuba Christopher decided to kill to two birds with one pen. Mi Moto Fidel is an absolutely incredible insight into an island and culture that has been shrouded for the last 50+ years. If you like a little sizzle with your moto read you won't want to miss Mi Moto Fidel!

World Moto Adventurer and Founder of Horizons Unlimited Grant Johnson will be sharing with our listeners things you need to know or at least think about while planning a moto adventure through out the world.

Glen "The Striking Viking" Heggstad is back. Glen's newest book is One More Day Everywhere: Crossing 50 Borders on the Road to Global Understanding. Constantly reeling from the harrowing experience in Columbia Glen needed to find out what was really out in the world so he could prove to himself the world wasn't inherently evil.