Picture Album of Adventure!

This will take you through my whole journey. From day 1 to the end. Leave your comments and questions with me. I'm happy to hear what you have to say. CLICK HERE to view. Enjoy!

Fifth Video!

This covers the last half of my trip. Thank you to Steven for doing the ones prior to this. It helped me out tremendously. Enjoy! FIFTH VIDEO HERE

Don't go away just yet! Final thoughts...

A video to come by the beginning of September.

Anyone who has let me stay with them, I truly appreciate you letting me. Made my experience and adventure so much more enjoyable. The three guys who helped me work on my bike and let me use their shops: Danny, Bill, and Lapine Towing and Recovery in Lapine, OR. You guys are amazing, and I couldn't of  done this trip without you fokes. You guys were way above my expectations for what you did for me. It's truly unbelievable the kind of people you can meet while on the road. I borrowed some equipment (gps, gopro, tools), and I can't thank you all enough for letting me use this and for trusting me with it. The people who followed this site who I may not know very well: Thank you for your support. Last but not least, having a supportive family and the best friends to help me be successful in completing this by being there for me physically or spiritually. Anyone, feel free to message me with any questions, or just a "Hey!"

P.S. There has been talk about me writing a book, so maybe if I get inspired to do so I may. This blog isn't meant to be a book (lot less formal), just a collection of memories from most of the days.

HOME!

Millage when I left...

Millage when I got home. 2 months and 7 days later...

Total: 13,306 miles completed. 

August 3

Today was the day for the group ride out east. We all meet in Monroe, CT and hit some twisties. The ride went good. The food was different than last year and very delicious, just needed more bbq on that beef brisket. After lunch we went to this dairy farm for some sweets. That hit the spot. After the dairy farm I went to Chucks to chill out and talk some more with my motorcycle buds. It was getting late, so by 11 pm I said my goodbyes and headed back to Johns house.

July 28, Day 33-37

I went to Mall of America in Minneapolis, MN and rode some Roller coasters in the mall.

July 29, Day 34 I stopped at my friends house Andy in Sheboygan, WI. We meet up with his friend Cody, and then we went out to eat at this lakeside resurant. It was delicious, but they didn't give you all that much. So we ended up going to a bar for some fried cheese that finished off the meal just right. Thanks once again for having me Andy.

 July 30, Day 35 I woke up at 4am to catch the ferry at 6am. I made it with just a little time to spare, but not much. The ferry was nice and relaxing. Once I got off the ferry I started making my way east towards Toronto, Canada. Everything went well till I got to Port Huron. I got there and was asked a million questions. I thought all was good and wouldn't think I would get searched any further. Well, short story short the customs agents were nice about it, but still azzholes. They searched through all my bags except for my camping bag which they x-rayed, and they went through my phone and wallet. Why? Who knows. I must of looked suspicious about something. They were hoping to find drugs and/or weapons, but didn't so they waisted my time and theirs. What a experience, but just crazy what I had to go through. All in all it took me 2 hours to get through customs, and I arrived at my friends house Bob a little late. The traffic didn't help either.

 July 31, Day 36 I woke up early to go to work with Bob. We worked on my bike and while we were trying to tighten the chain, we couldn't any further. The chain was streached out to its maximum, so I walked in town to get a good quality chain and not some cheap one. Later that night I convinced Bob that his town isn't worth eating at, so we had a really good bbq that he cooked up. Tony joined up with us for the bbq, and then Viva and her rock climbing buddy came later.

 August 1, Day 37 I went to work with Bob once again. We didn't work on bikes today. Instead I did some trip planning and played air hockey. I went home early to mow and trim while Bob finished up his work. After that Viv cooked, and I mean I had some of the best chicken. If anyone is invited to Bob's have the wife cook at least once when your there.

August 8

I decided to stay an extra day at the farm. It first started off going into town to crab something to eat. Then somehow I was talked into putting new duct under the house, so my friends could have AC and heat. After finishing that dirty job I took a shower and Sue and Zym started cooking dinner. We had an awesome and stuffed dinner which included: steak, potatoe, pasta salad, pinapple, and corn-on-the-cob. I then checked the weather for my ride home, which didn't help, and I visited with Sue for a bit.

August 7

I had a wonderful ride around Zyms farm today. We did about 150 miles in a few hours. Before we left we had an amazing breakfast. Eggs, bacon, donut, and pancakes. Then once we got back we had brouts that was soaked in beer first, chips, pasta salad, and canolies. I mean everything was delicious and Zym and Sue really know how to cook. :)

August 6

It was an ok day. I had to pack up my tent wet for the first time today, and had the rain suit on the entire ride to Zyms house in WV. I got poured on, sprayed on, and whatever grime and crap was left on the road. My bike didn't care, I didn't care. All that matters was that I was having a good time. The roads were wet, dry, wet, dry. It was one of the most challenging rides because of the constant change in weather.
I arrived at Zyms at around 8 pm, and I was surprised to have a feast right before my eyes. Drunken chicken and speefed up rice was on the meanu. It was good stuff.

August 5

Before leaving town I made a stop at Chucks place. He took me to the store so I could pick up some oil, and afterwards I changed my oil and filter. Chuck made a yummy lunch for us, and for dessert we had oreo ice cream. That ice cream was just oh so good.
I left Chucks at 3 pm. and made my way to Caledonia State Park. I was going to camp in the National Forest which was right nearby, but never did find the spot that I was intended to. It all worked out great. I set up camp right before it started to rain.

August 4

The last few nights I've really  been catching up on my sleep. It has been much needed. Sleeping in till 9 am this morning made the day much easier to get through. I went up to Bear Mtn. and made the mistake going over 287 over the Hudsen afterwards. Bear mountain was was lovely, 287 was junk.

After that ride I waisted some time trying to find oil for my bike,  so I said screw it. I was glad John let me use his car. I then helped John raised his rear shock on his black hawk, and it seems like he likes it raised up.

I took a shower, ate (John made a killer noodles and meat sauce), did up my directions for the next few days, and laundry before crashing.

August 2, Day ?

By this time I'm loosing day #'s so I said heck with it.

I rode about 600 miles this day, which sets my record for the most I've ridden on my bike in one day. I woke up at 4:30am and arrived in NY at 7:30pm. I started in Brentford, Canada and rode down with Jason, Bob, and Brent. We had an overall nice ride, but it was more highway than I wanted and plus that many miles is too much. Going through customs was a breeze, so no problems there. However, we lost Bob only once luckly, which created a little delay. All was good and we were able to join back together.

Once we arrived at Chucks near NYC I saw all of my motorcycle buds. We chated, ate, and drank and just had a great time together. Chuck is our rallymaster, and he puts on a great party before our ride the next day.

July 27, Day 32

Glen, Karen, Keith, Austin, Aunt Jean, and Uncle Walter all came to my Uncle Bob and Aunt Jeanie's house. We had a great visit and lunch. Also, I got a surprised graduation gift and card from Glen, Karen, and Aaron. Thanks a bunch!

I left my aunt and uncle's house at about 2:30pm. and made my way to Buffalo, MN where my Uncle Rich and Aunt Lorie are at. I arrived a little late, but made it before dark. I had a nice meal once I arrived, and I visited with them for awhile. The ride was nothing special. It was windy, boring and tiring.

July 26, Day 31

I left the black hills this morning and made my way to Parker, SD. I went through the Badlands, which was cool to see again. Other than seeing the Badlands all my other riding was boring. Take a look at 44e/w South of I-90. For the most part it's straight.

After thinking about it, tonight is my first night in a bed since the end of last month. Very nice to have family in Parker.

July 25, Day 30

I slept in once again since it was a nice night to be camping outside. So after lunch I rode up some new roads to get to my cousins Davids house. David showed me is tractor trailers, car, and multiple engines to run various equipment. It was cool to hear them started up.

After Davids house I meet Ross and his wife in Nemo and then we rode up to Sturgis to eat. It was nice meeting the both of you, and.thanks for the awesome dinner.

July 24, Day 29

A little late start today, but I did do all I wanted to do. Ride, eat, and visit. I talked to Karin and all the politics and history went right over my head. It was very interesting to hear about her modeling years from a couple of days ago.
I left the house at about 1 pm., and went on Iron Mountain (16A) and Spearfish Canyon (14A). Along Spearfish I stopped at a couple water falls before heading up to Spearfish for dinner.
I meet Sarah, Peter, David, and Catherine at Perkins for dinner in Spearfish, SD. It was nice to catch up and chat.

July 23, Day 28

It was an unexpected day. Ended up taking Erel wife Karin to the doctor, grocery shopped, and cooked dinner for Erel. Erel showed me how a charcoal worked since my family doesn't use one at home.

It's very nice to meet good people along the way who are willing to help out as much as they can. Then after a short time you find new friends, and you hope to talk to them again. If I have the chance to help out, I try to the best of my abilities, because when you want help you'll want it. So to all, be kind to one another and think about how you should treat others. With the outside world being messed up (if you think so), try not to let that bother you too much, because I learned through out my trip that there is MORE good than bad. Think, do, and live.

July 21, Day 26

Todays ride consisted of going through Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Beartooth highway (pic. below, route 212), and Bighorn Nat'l Forest (route 14). Some of the best roads I've ridden on this trip. Of course the GoPro vid. camera acts up today. Grrrrr.

Basically for the whole ride today I was just missing the rain. If I was an hour later I would of gotten soaked. Luckly I had phone service at my camp from last night, and I was able to get an idea of the forecast from my trusty parents. That helped, and me not messing around on the road helped as well (meaning, "hauling azz" safetly, inside joke from million $ highway ;) )

I decided not to stay at Yellowstone for a couple of nights. One reason being because the campground I was orignally going to stay at was booked AND all others were booked as well. Two being the rain, so I wanted to just leave. It was especially important not for me to stay at the camp I was staying at the tetons because I would of had trouble getting out or even in if the forest road was.wet.

I arrived at camp at about 7:45 pm. and at about 8:30 pm. it poured. Luckly my tent and fly was on, and all my stuff was stored in my storage areas outside my tent.

July 22, Day 27

I wasn't expecting to ride highway most of the time to Devils Tower, but ended up going on 90E for about 150 miles. I got off my exit to Devils Tower and got there right when the rain and hail was coming through. I got stuck there for a couple more hours than I wanted. Once it stopped I left and continued on words. I stopped at a gas station and meet a nice gentleman named Erel. He told me the way I was planning on going is storming. He showed me on his phone and sure enough there was some nice little red dots with other crap in my way. So I asked the fella, "Do you mind if I follow you?" (since we were practically going the same direction.) He didn't mind at all, so off we went. About 80 miles later Erel decided to stop at a burger joint. We ate and chatted and I told him where I was going to camp. He told me, "shoot, you can stay in my backyard." I said, "Uh, ok so I did. It all worked out perfectly, and I'm glad I meet Erel during my travels.

July 20, Day 25

I woke up kind of early because of the sun, so I left camp at about 9 am. Before leaving I had to adjust the chain slack, clean, and lube it.

I headed to Grand Teton Nat'l Park and did a little bit of hiking. I started at the Visitor Center and  hiked along Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls and Inspirational Point. When heading back to the Visitor Center I stopped and enjoyed a cold rinse in the lake.

I was starving afterwards so I went to Devon and ate one of the worst calazones. I was to hungry to complain so down it went.

After making a few phone calls, I talked to Jake with a camp fire going. Hope to hear back from him. Seems like a good person. Also, his dog is something else (in a good way). Hope all goes well with the rest of your trip, and your studies takes you to where you want.

Once we saw the rain rolling in we called it a night.