The Travel Channel Academy

I love video, but I don't have a whole lot of experience with it (just look at my website:-)). That's why when I learned of the Travel Channel Academy I got excited and immediately booked a spot in their class in Washington DC. It's taught by a guy named Mike Rosenblum who is seen by many as the leading proponent of 'short-form video' in the world. Mike has an extensive video and film resume and his take on the world is that video has progressed to a point where just about anybody with a little training can put together broadcast quality product. That opinion appears to get him a lot of scorn from certain areas of the broadcast community.

At first, I was a bit skeptical about this approach, after all don't you need a trained eye to be an video 'artist'. Well, as I sat there in class I began to realize that's not the case. In my class sat absolute newbies to video and people trained at film schools. If I learned one thing, it was simply that those with extensive training and fancy camera's were just as capable of putting together a pile of crap as the rest of us. Seems the more training most people had the worse the crap they put out, didn't make sense.

That's what made this class interesting. I got to watch the work of 40 people scrutinized and critiqued. On our first go around, there was a lot bad video, even from smart people. The second time around, however, not a bad video emerged. Yes, people who had never touched a camera before actually made some very interesting stuff, that only would have been better if they had better microphones and recording techniques.

I hope to figure out a way to incorporate more and better video in my travels in the future. It will be trial and error to figure out what works and what doesn't, so I hope you'll be patient with me. In my opinion a photo might be worth a thousand words, but a short video can increase that exponentially.

The Winds of Change...

are blowing!! WIth my neck feeling a bit better, I decided to take a ride down to visit my friends at BMW Grand Rapids last Friday and maybe test ride a bike or two. Before the day was out I had traded in my LT on a new F800GS. I've only put on 400 miles or so, but it's the bike I should have taken around the world. I really like this bike a lot!!

I have been seeing the F800GS since Ekatrinburg Russia. My initial take was that it looked like a nice bike, but seemed a bit top heavier than the Dakar. Now that I have had a chance to ride it, I will agree that it weighs a bit more and probably is a bit toppier, but it's handling characteristics are very good and I doubt it will be much more of a challenge to get across a deep river than the Dakar.

That aside, the changes in this bike are very significant and make the maintenance much easier. It also retains the 21 inch from wheel, which I prefer for 'adventure' travel. Oil changes go from complex and time consuming on the Dakar to very simple and straight forward on the F800GS. Changing and adjusting the chain is much easier and it has a smaller diameter sprocket, making it easier to fit a spare in the pannier. Access to the shock, lights, horn are all easier. They've done away with the buttons on the handlebar mount. (my ABS button was mounted there on the Dakar and raising the bars broke the wires, a situation that damn near killed me in Iceland). They've added a computer which gives you some nice information, including outside temp and two trip odometers (the later is a very nice feature, given how many GPS's I've gone through). The lights are hugely improved and I can actually see at night so I don't feel compelled to add more lights. The alternator has grown in size, large enough to run all my gear. There is easy access to the accessory plug. BMW put a normal chain guard on this time and included fork guards, basic stuff that should have come on previous F bikes.

Yes, there are a couple of things missing that I would have liked. Tubeless tires lead the list here, followed by no EWS (which I have heard will be option on next years model), and finally typical hex bolts for attachments. A real tool kit that addresses the needs of the bike would be nice too! The rear subframe bolt looks beefier, but I'll still remove it and through bolt it.

I can't speak to any known problems about the bike, but from my stand point the bike is HUGELY improved over the previous generation and performs accordingly. Going through the list of upgrades I'm finding I'll need to spend less too. One thing I won't be upgrading this time is the shock. I had a bad experience with HyperPro and I won't go down that road again. Besides, if the shock blows it will be covered under warranty.

What a difference a Month Makes...

I first got to Iceland just shy of seven weeks ago and stayed for two weeks. It was one of the weathiest countries I visited and earlier this year had won an award for being the 'happiest' place on the planet. Since leaving the currency has corrected 55% as of yesterday and the their government stepped in today and fixed the currency to the Euro. The locals I met there were all worried about their economy, but who would have thought the severity of it, especially in such a short time. Now they hang on the precipe of becoming the first national bankruptcy. (Read Article) It's amazing that in some of these small countries that the banks become larger than the countires.

Now, when I rode into Europe (Poland) in the beginning of July, I began to realize how bifurcated the European Union is.   As someone in told me in Norway, we are not part of the EU, we are part of the EEC, that's different. And despite the wide use of the Euro, I had to get separate currency for an aweful lot of countries. Hmm, shattered my image. Now they have a huge financial crisis and seem less equipped to deal with it than the US with all of it's problems.  Since I arrived in my first Euro country this summer the currency has lost 16% of it's value against the Dollar. This shows how fickle the investment community and human nature can be. A year ago when the Euro was going strong everyone was talking about how it will displace the dollar and every one wanted to own it. Today, as I watched the news, commentators were discussing if it would even survive this crisis.   I thought it was scary in the US, but Europe scares me more.

I spent a month in Russia before Europe. It seemed more prosperous than I expected despite the fact in small cities people still walk down the street to fill buckets with water at a common well and getting heated water in the same towns is just non-existent in the summer. That said, the big cities have done well due to oil money and commodities (and a stolen car or two). Still, they're stock market is down some 60% over the last year, 19% for the day. People there are crying out for a second bail out (read).

The appreciation of all these currencies made my trip a lot more expensive than it would be now, just a couple of months later. Now if I could just get my neck to cooperate, I'd go back, because it's all on sale right now! Crazy times for crazy people!!

Proof of Life, well sort of...

Presently enjoying a little time off the bike in some undisclosed locations in North America.  I've been nursing a pinched nerve which has made riding a literal pain in the neck:-)  Last time I had this in '01 it took a while to cure, so I'll let you know when I'm back.

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Regards,
TJ Parrent

Time is Winding Down

I've been checking the weather in Croatia and other areas I want to get to.  Overall, Europe has been having a cool autumn thus far.  Weather it's Germany, Croatia or Ukraine, it's cooler than average.  The problem is I've been traveling in cool weather since before going to Iceland.  I want some warm weather and if the beautiful Croatian coast can't give it to me, then I'll have to seek it out in a different hemisphere.

Yep, after perusing the rest of my Itinerary taking me to northern Africa and around the Med to Turkey, I figure I have a 10,000 miles.  In a cool fall, it is perhaps not may favorite time to do it.  Consequently, I'm contemplating storing the bike in Germany and continuing on with this leg of the trip in a different season.
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Regards,
TJ Parrent

Make it Stop!

Warren Zevon was a favorite of mine growing up.  Same with the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band.  That's why I liked Kid Rock's song 'All Summer Long' when I heard it last week in Estonia.

But damn, I've heard it everywhere.  Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and even at the upscale restaurant I was in in Esslingen Germany last night while nawing on some kangaroo.  

A friend just told it's popular in Norway and one of my best mates knows it from Korea.  Make stop, make it stop please!  

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Do note the hat though!! :-)




Regards,
TJ Parrent

The LIthuanian and Russian Shore Line

I report, you decide. I'll finish this post when I get the time, until then you Northern Michigan types can figure out if other parts of the world do indeed look like your home.

Moving on to Latvia and Lithuania

If one thing remains universal, it is the fact that weather forecasting sucks everywhere!! I stayed in old town Tallinn an extra day so I could surf the sunny weather forecast for several days. That's why to my surprise, I woke up to pouring rain. Lovely, just lovely. Suit up, get wet, I might as well travel the world in scuba gear the way it's been lately.

Anyhow, the destination today was southward with the first stop being Riga, Latvia. Actually, that wasn't the first stop. That came when I was waved over at the Latvian boarder by two Finnish motorcyclists who had been behind me. They saw the stickers from all over on my bike and wanted a photo with me:-) I've begun to get used to the fact that either I or the bike photographed many times during the day, but it's still kind of interesting when it happens, especially when I'm waved over while riding. Seems I am living what many consider their dream of traveling the world.

I made it to Riga and got the familiar deja vu I've been getting lately. This time it wasn't reminding me of N. Michigan though, it was very similar to many of the cities I visited in Russia. As I pulled into town the apartment buildings looked the same, as did the bus stops, and the crowds of people standing at the bus stops. The old Soviet look was alive and well. Even more like Russia was the large number of people who waved to me or pulled up to me in their cars giving me the thumbs up or yelling out good luck. I hadn't seen that kind of enthusiasm since Tom and Stuart and I would pull into remote Russian towns where people would do all kinds of crazy things when they saw us. That's the one thing I like about these parts of the world, they certainly make you feel like your doing something special.

I didn't stay in Riga, but to get through it I pretty much had to tour the town. It was a pretty old city and I wish I would have had an extra day to explore it. My real interest though was to make it to the coast of Lithuania so I could explore it's dunes the next morning. I made it to Palanga, Lithuania for the night. This is a sea side resort that reminds of a one street version of Daytona Beach or Anapa, Russia but on the Baltic sea and a bit more compact. It's definitely a party town, but since summer is over it was more of less a ghost town. I was able to secure a hotel room quite cheaply, but unable find anyone around who spoke English. The guy running the hotel spoke Russian, and while we couldn't communicate the did a great job. After checking in he even brought me a water boiler and some tea bags, knowing that I had been rather cold on the bike. This is a type of Russian hospitality I've missed for a while.

Finally, Tallinn Estonia

I finally made it to Tallinn last evening. Darn hard time getting here too. The ferry I had signed up with was cancelled each of the last two days. Finally, I took a larger one, but it was definitely rough, even on a ferry the size a cruise ship.

I'm staying in the old town section of Tallinn in a rather nice boutique hotel call St. Petersbourg. Nice place, great (and I mean great) staff. Old town reminds me in some ways of Krakow. It's sort of like a someone went to the town square in Krakow and cut a corner off, complete with the church in the center, and then placed it in Tallinn. All sorts of outdoor restaurtants, beautiful cobble stone streets, wine bars, just a lot of fun places. I liked it so much I took an extra day to explore it.

Tomorrow I'm off to Latvia.
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Regards,
TJ Parrent

Video Clip. Where am I now??

A quiz for those in Michigan

OK, here's a question for those living in Northern Michigan.  Where were these photo's taken?? 

If you even thought it was Michigan, you're wrong, they're all in northern Scandinavia, one north of the arctic circle.  Looks familiar though!

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Regards,
TJ Parrent

Surfing my 15 minutes!

I'm often greeted in a number of ways when I answer questions while I travel. Probably the biggest question I deal with when people see my license plate is 'where are you coming from?'. Invariably I tell them China. I'm almost always met with 'oh you flew here from China?'. Then I tell them 'no, I rode here'. At that point, I'm usually met with a blank and baffled look, while they try to process the information.

I started the morning with a conversation a couple of motorcyclists at the local fuel stop in Alta, Norway. They had seen the license plate and stickers on my bike and we talked. Then out of nowhere the one blurts out "I saw you in the paper a while back". I thought to myself wow, people still remember that article.

I headed south out of Alta and into Finnish Lapland. It was a beautiful sunny morning that had me retracing some of the road I came in on. Am I glad I did, it was beautiful. Gone for a while was the familiar N. Michigan look and now I had the Colorado look, a rugged valley following a stream. Alas, that ended and the familiar look came back. Trees, sand, small dunes by the lakes. Again, I would have thought I was home, if it were not for the reindeer and the AC + latitude.

Still in Saami Lapland I pulled into a small cafe in a tiny town along the way to have a coffee and warm up. After I finished, I was engaged in conversation with a guy walking his dog. We looked at the world map on my windshield and talked about the northern latitudes of North America. He really wanted to go there. Then he blurted out "I remember you, you were in the newspaper over in Norway". Yep I thought myself, twice in one day in two different countries. I'm still surfing my 15 minutes of fame.

I continued into town to come upon a church on the hill. It was one of those moments you hope doesn't happen. I picked up my camera and the "memory card is full" light kept flashing. Darn shame too, because there upon the hill was a genuine Lappi wedding complete with traditional clothing. The first time I had see the clothing was on a lady at a souvenir shop near Nordkapp. I thought it was just for show, like German Leiderhosen. But the entire wedding group was wearing the same outfits, and they were blue and quite striking.(click here to see someone else's view of it) I managed to stop up the road and off load some photos to free up some card space, but by the time I had gotten back the wedding was over and the cars were disbursing. I got the low down from a couple of young Czech backpackers who were walking by.

I also saw a lot of reindeer today. Crazy animals, you almost think they have the same rights as the people here. I say that, because you'll see them walking down the sidewalks in small towns, completely unconcerned about the people. I even saw one crossing at a marked cross walk in front of me, I almost fell off the bike laughing.

On to Nordkapp

Well, despite what I planned, I just kept pushing on to Nordkapp. My ride through northern Sweden was like deja vu. Had it not been for the fact I was well about the arctic circle, freezing my bum off and stopping constantly to let the raindeer pass, I would have thought I was in northern Michigan. Yes, the topography was that similar, though the trees got smaller the farther I got from the arctic cicle. Oddly though, they began to get larger, the closer I got to the arctic sea. Very strange.



Having been to Prudhoe Bay Alaska by bike, I wasn't sure what to expect going to Nordkapp. When I finally got there and I guess I thought it would be more 'arctic like'. To get to Prudhoe Bay you have a 400 mile dirt road that passes through the Brooks Range and then out on the arctic tundra, it is perhaps America's most remote road. To Nordkapp you have a paved road that weaves around a Norweigen Fjord. If it weren't so cold (5c) and rainy this morning I would have thought I was on just about any fjord in Norway. Beautiful yes, arctic no. Then when I finally got close to the top there was a 70 Kr. fee to continue and a 200 Kr. fee to enter the building up there. Beside the building were parked numerous tour buses with glassy eyed tourists wandering all over outside, not very arctic if you ask me. Once inside there was a large gift shop, an esspresso bar, a liquor bar and a lunch caffeteria. Yup, it was easy to get there and a tourist trap, lots of good size towns just south of it too.

Overall, it was a scenic and fun ride out to Nordkapp, but it was the 'polar' opposite of going to Pudhoe Bay. The good thing is that since it has a nice, smooth paved road, you can take any kind of bike up there without having to think about tires, shocks, or anything else for that matter.

One other note, there were also a lot of raindeer the last few days. They so different from the white tail back home it's amazing. They stand by or on the road all day long and are rarely spooked by cars. Usually they'll just stand right in the way of where you want to travel and look you the same way you look at them. At some point Doner and Cupid might decide to move and let you pass or you just figure out a way around them. They don't seem to care either way. Who knows, I might soon be seeing a jolly old fat guy saying HO HO HO. I'll know I've been on my own too long at that point:-)

What are you doing today??

Click for recent video post.

http://gallery.me.com/cyclebloke#100209

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Regards,
TJ Parrent

My Final Day Post from Iceland and Photo Link

My post from my final day in Iceland is at the following link:

http://web.mac.com/cyclebloke/rtw08/Blank.html

For photos of Iceland click the following link:

http://web.mac.com/cyclebloke/rtw08/Iceland.html

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Regards,
TJ Parrent

On a sheep crap high!! The weather gods bless me and IMAX says hi!

What a difference a day makes.  The weather gods cooperated and gave me some decent weather on my way to Myvatn.  Cold, but little rain. 

Lake Myvatn was a hot bed of volcanic activity and it home to a lot of geothermal activity.  I camped at a beautiful spot right on the lake and went around the corner to visit the boiling mud and steaming vents.  Much to my surprise the crew of IMAX was there filming their next movie 'Quest for (something or other, I forgot).  I chatted up one of the crew who as quite interested in my trip and doing one himself.

I really lucked out on finding this place and have to thank Anna for her recommendation.  The local specialty, trout and lamb smoked in sheep shit, is really quite tasty!!

--
Regards,
TJ Parrent

Livin La Vida Loca

I just checked the weather. Tomorrow it will be sunny and 80F at home by the beautiful shores of lake Michigan. Where I plan to travel, it will be 46 to 50F, rain and a right stiff wind. Surely I must be crazy?

Alas, traveling to the edges of the planet (so to speak) means dealing with extremes. I have laid out my wardrobe for the morning. On top I will be wearing (from outside in) a rain over-jacket, my riding jacket, a goretex liner, an electronically heated jacket, and a coolmax long sleeve shirt. On the bottom: a rain outer layer, my riding pants, a gortex liner and long johns. On my feet" Goretex 3/4 shin high boots, and socks. I don't wear this much in winter back home!!!

So why do I do this. Not sure, but maybe I am crazy!!

Adventure Travel: What Really Happens!

Everyone thinks that adventure travel is just a charmed life. Blue skies and the wind at your back. But the truth is some days suck!!!

Yesterday, I was heading into one of the most desolate regions of Iceland. An area that resembles the moon with it's black volcanic sands and volcanic mountains. It's a narrow two track road that crosses the country and gives you the impression of being on a different planet. It's also rather remote. That's why when I got not one, but two flats, it was an event. Seems I found the only nails ever spewed from a volcano into it's black volcanic sand. Making things even worse was the fact that it was raining and amazingly windy. The loose volcanic sand became volcanic muck and it was a freakin' mess. One car passed and saw the bike on it's side with my stuff strewn all over and assumed I was in an accident. Surprisingly a Ranger showed up after a while and offered what limited assistance he could. Actually, I had taken care of the problem by then so he more or less just watched as I put things back together.

This means a big change of plans for me though since I was expecting to be on the north side of the country last night. Now that I am running a 21 inch tube in a 17 inch tire I will go looking for a shop to get a new tube or have mine repaired. Unfortunately, that takes me in the opposite direction of where I was to be and the exact opposite side of the country from where I was to pick up the ferry.

Such is the life of adventure travel. Some days are indeed beautiful and some just suck!

Latest Video Update

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Arriving to the desolate shores of Iceland. The excitement builds!!!

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Bidding farewell to Norway

The Mexican tallship joined my ship on the way out of port. Next stop
Iceland!

The good news is....

I made a call to Garmin Denmark and they agreed to swap the GPS cradle out with any dealer I could find who had a Zumo in stock. Luckily my guys at MC Marine in Bergen had it in stock and agreed to the swap. I really have to thank these guys because not only did they swap it out they spent 45 minute on the phone figuring it out with nothing else to gain but my satisfaction. I wish could say I recommend the BMW dealer in Bergen, but I can't.

Now the shock. Hyperpro delivered as promised and I was quite pleased when the mechanic looked at the problem and agreed the shock was messed up. It's been a perplexing problem because there hasn't been an signs of leakage. That said, the mechanic figured that whatever charged the exterior control had leaked out. The shock was bad enough I could easily press down the back of the bike and bottom it out. Unfortunatly, the shock was supplied with a upper bolt that was too short for the application so any attempts at fixing it myself would have brought me back to the dealer anyhow. This was more than a bit aggitating but the mechanic figured a work around.

Overall, I remain impressed that Hyperpro and Klaus, the US distributor, have taken this matter as seriously as they did. The biggest problem is that I have paid for a shock that the distributor hasn't been charged for and I still need to ship, but am unable to do because of the travel circumstances. I remain optimistic that this will have a happy conclusion and will let you know the results.

If it's not one thing, it's another...

After coming off nice weekend at the music festival, I now have to deal with my problems. If all goes well, I'll have a new shock and new tires today. Nice for Iceland.

The problem is my GARMIN GPS cradle is now kaput. That means no GPS. The last couple of days that was not a problem, but now Stuart and I are going separate ways and it is about to become a BIG PROBLEM.

A search of Garmin's website produced little in the ability to get spare parts in Norway. The GPS is only 5 or 6 weeks old anyway, so why it's gone to shit I do not know.

Anyhow, it's the day before I set sail to Iceland, so I have a lot of work to do!!!

Fwd: Jan Olav ønskjer å tipse deg om ei sak.

Sometimes we even seen interestng to the press.

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Begin forwarded message:

From: jan-olav@goc.no
Date: 9. aug 2008 17.18.37 GMT+02:00
To: cyclebloke@mac.com
Subject: Jan Olav ønskjer å tipse deg om ei sak.

Frå Kina til Kalvåg

http://www.firdaposten.no/lokalnytt/article3708854.ece

A festival in Norway

Any way I look at it I love Norway. The scenery is amonst the best on
the plant, the riding is amazing and people are great. Yesterday and
today we are at true norweigen festival on the coast. It is in a
small town and huge numbers of people have come from all around. In
fact, everyone I met in the last town is here.

Word seems to have gotten out that there are a couple of guys who have
riden around the world on motorcycles at the festival. I found this
out while relieving myself at a concert last night when someone asked
me if I was one of the people. It's not often I have to introduce
myself while pissing and being right handed makes it awkward shaking
hands at such a moment. None the less we have been invited to
numerous happenings around town and allowed to camp free... If I got
the story in the toilet right.

The concert was a lot of fun too. Norweigen country music with the
likes of johnny cash during breaks. And to hear the people here sing
Rocky Top, was a truely special moment.

Well it's off to find coffee...somewhere..

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Just maybe there is hope...

After exploring numerous options yesterday, it appears Hyperpro of Holland will be manufacturing me a shock today and express delivering it to me for Monday delivery. I am told such a thing is almost unheard of so I am quite please to recieve this attention. For this I have Klaus, the Hyperpro rep back in the States and Jan at Hyperpro to thank.

Provided all goes according to plan, I will be leaving for Iceland as scheduled and not forced into skipping it. This is a huge relief to me.

As an alternate, the Great folks at BMW of Grand Rapids are standing ready to ship my original stock shock to me if needed.

If I haven't mentioned it already, Norway is a beautiful place to get stuck, but also one of the most expensive on the planet. Another week here and I could buy a new motorcycle:-)

I'm really quite fortunate to have some great folks standing behind me, thanks to all!

Just when you thought....

Sometimes I am truly humbled when I travel. Yesterday I received a sticky note on my motorcycle from a man who said he was flying a small airplane around the world and wanted to talk. And talk we did, Seki is from Japan and is currently flying around the world in a plane he built. Over the past several days he has flown from Canada, to Greenland, to Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and now to Norway. He is among the most humble and unassuming guys I have ever met, and his photos were the things National Geographic is made of. Imagine flying right over the tops of glaciers floating in the ocean, absolutely amazing. Whats more is he has also done such a similar trip in a gyroplane. He showed us a short video of himself flying over the Matterhorn, yes, the freakin' Matterhorn. So close he could touch it. Just amazing. The more I travel the more amazed I am by peoples adventures and I must say this guys adventures are amongst the best. What's even more interesting is that I set up his website for him. Imagine a guy doing such an adventure and lil' ole me setting up his website while sitting in Norway. I hope he posts his photos soon, because they are simply some of the most amazing I have ever seen.

Big Problems

I am scheduled to go to Iceland on Tuesday, but my four month old Hyperpro rear shock has failed. My options are limited at the moment. I can get the shock removed and sent to Denmark to be repaired, but it will take a while. I am currently searching for options, but fear they are limited. If this delays me too long, I might have to through off going to Iceland all together. This will be a huge disappointment since it one of the crown jewels of my trip. I now feel it would have been better to keep the stock shock on for Russia to Europe, since if it failed BMW would have had to replace it under warranty and it would have been much quicker to simply get a new one than to wait for a repair.

In short, the part of this trip I have most look forward to now hangs by a thread while I search for options.

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My SPOT got run over by a bus and the replacement isn't working yet.
Stuart and I are currently in Voss and will re-ride Flam today and
then head to the coast. I'll leave for iceland next Tuesday.

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Norway...WOW!

I am currently outside Bergen Norway. I have been in Norway for three riding days now and must say I am impressed. This is one of, if not the most beautiful places to travel. The scenery is just stunning and just keeps going on forever. Yesterday, I traveled to Flam and criss crossed up a very small road to the top of the Fjord. It was the most beautiful moment I have had. The road continued on in the high areas and it was raining. There was still a good deal of snow up there and few people. Again, simply beautiful, if not a little cold and wet.

Oddly as I traversed higher and higher my GPS showed me crossing a main road. It turned out to be the Lærdal Tunnel, the longest road tunnel in the world at 15.2 miles long. While my GPS showed me intersecting this road it was actually 1500 meters under the surface and I returned using the tunnel. I'm not sure stinky tunnels are for me, but now I can say I crossed that area both by the road and tunnel, both very unique in their owns ways.

Today, I am arranging new tires in preparation for my voyage to Iceland and waiting my Kiwi friend Stuart to show up too. With a little luck we will travel to Iceland together, if not, I will leave next week and return to Denmark. If I have learned one thing about Noway, it is also one of the most expensive places on the planet and my new tires will cost me dearly. Oh well, lesson learned the hard way.

That said, the people here have been amazingly friendly to me and I am rarely wanting for conversation.

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Proof of Life

Where I sm

Taking a two week break back in TC while the bike gets services in
Germany. Be back the 21st
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On The Move

Currently in Yakeshi City, Inner Mongolia. Had big delays getting the bikes to China and then getting them through customs. I've been riding for four days now and we're doubling some days to make up time.

China is the craziest place to drive. While rules exist, they aren't generally obeyed so it's constant motion and near miss collisions in the cities. No one gets angry though since it is dishonorable to show public anger. That said, it's not for the faint of heart. Eleven people on big motorcycles (they don't have them here) from the USA draws a lot of attention and we're met with crowds (some quite big) where every we go. It's really kind of a wild experience. The Harbin (China) motorcycle club greeted us the other day and I was asked to autograph five different cars (yes cars), in return one of their guys put some Chinese sayings on my bike.

Now our travels are taking us to more remote areas and not only do we have to cope with crazy drivers, but also sheep, goats, cows, donkey carts and horses. The weather has gone from hot to almost freezing with rain and I am longing for some additional riding gear. If this keeps up it will get really uncomfortable.

We've had just about everything imaginable to eat while here. I have found the donkey to be quite tasty, but I'm not overly keen on the intestines. The fermented Yak milk is a bit odd too. Getting a cold beer is a bit of a challenge too, so were adapting to the warm ones.

We're crossing into Siberia in two days and hopefully will get a day off in the next week so I can actually write more. We'll see.

Hope all is well!

Tour De Whoop Ass Begins

Click for Podcast 1

China, the wild card??

In travel, things don't always go peachy. In fact, they sometimes go pear shaped (an English and Oz term for bad). I was to meet my good bud Marius for a week of sightseeing in China before heading off on my trip. We've been planning this for months. Marius is a German, who lives in Korea and works a great deal in China. He was in California this week for company meetings and had his wallet, passport (with all visas), computer and camera stolen. In one brief moment things with pear shaped.

Since Marius was able to obtain a provisional passport to get back to Korean, the Chinese visa becomes the problem. Discussions with the visa folks ended up stating that getting a new one quickly might not be possible. You see this year is the Beijing Olympics and things are different.

That said, I'll be leaving Friday now to meet up with the group. But there are more clouds looming on the horizon. I just received a communique from the group leader that we might run into problems getting the bikes into China and might even be denied. Contrary to what many people think, you don't simply ride you motorcycle into China. It's kind of a pain in the rear to get one in, even when things go right. First you need to take a drivers exam, next you need a license plate and finally you must use a Chinese guide. Easy right?

Well evidently not in an Olympic year. Seems there are all sort of new guidelines and regulations and there exists a real possibility that entrance for the bikes might be denied. As it stands we will now be heading off to the hospital upon arrival to have a some sort of drivers physical, something I've never heard of... anywhere, except for pilots licenses.

This isn't just affecting us either. The Great Race 2008, an around the world auto race commerating the 100 year anniversary of the original (maybe you saw the movie), has been postponed due to the same problems in China. Bear in mind, they are not some minor group, they had chartered two cargo 747's to fly the cars to Shanghai. In the end though, even with their pull and backing, the race was postponed.


So the trip has not gone according to plan yet, so why should I expect it to now?? The best thing to do is keep an open mind and roll with the changes.

On Blogging and Emails

I am learning that blogging and I are not always compatible. In fact, I have fallen woefully behind with this blog. Bear in mind it hasn't been on purpose, but I have left behind the Mac's power cord so many times now that I'm beginning to think I have CRS or at least CRDC (can't remember the damn cord syndrome). IT's getting to be a rather expensive problem too:-)

Anyhow, I will blog when I can, though there might be some sizable gaps in the process. This will be a function of the lack of Internet where I am going and the fact that when I'm not riding my preference will still be exploring. For my family and friends (and all others interested) you can always check the 'Where am I' section for proof of life and my recent location as given to you by my trusted SPOT personal locator. I'll try checking in with it everyday and hopefully the signal will go through.

I also want to apologize to several people who have e-mailed me over the last month. When I forget my cord, I fall woefully behind in e-mails too. Couple that with how much I've had to do for this trip and you can start to understand I've been busy. Many apologies for not getting back and don't give up on me.

Anyhow, I hope things will settle on the road and I'll get some time to write and answer emails. Bear with me though!!

Thanks,
TJ

Back at Last

I just got back from three days of training in the Mohave Desert with Admo. I am sometimes amazed at what I have gotten myself through over the years with little formal idea of WTF I was doing. So this time I decided I'd head out to the desert and spend a few days knocking about with an instructor. I am happy I did too. I learned quite a lot that will be useful when the going gets rough. It also gave me a chance to re-aclimate to different terrains again (rocky, sandy, loose, steep, and oh yeah, I was the one who ran over the rattler...opps). While I wasn't riding a big GS I was on a KTM 450 EXC that was far less forgiving that the other bikes they had. I figure if I can do it on the KTM, I'll be good to go on anything....that is, if my ass ever stops hurting.

OK ESN:0-7367030

SPOT Check OK.
ESN:0-7367030
Latitude:44.8297
Longitude:-85.5653
Nearest Location: Crystal Spring, United States
Distance: 7 km(s)
Time:04/11/2008 00:55:07 (GMT)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=44.8297,-85.5653&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Stuck in Louisiana

Things certainly aren't going as planned. Yesterday, my destination was somewhere beyond Houston as I had seen there would be some serious weather in Dallas. Dropping down would allow me to miss it. Despite my prudent planning, the weather gods turned evil and threw me something else. The problem was very high winds. In fact, I can't ever remember riding in such winds before. While the sustained winds were strong, the gusts were amazing. The biggest problem was there was no way to predict them. They just hit randomly and when they did it was like being clocked with a load of bricks. Twice I was blown onto the shoulder and several times I fought just to stay on the road. It was an incredible amount of work and I finally gave up and decided to find a town and stop. I've never bagged a ride due to wind, but there was no point taking a risk so I pulled into Alexandria, LA and got a room.

Today has been more of the same so I'm holding over at the hotel. As I write I can hear the wind whipping through my hotel door. It's sunny at the moment, but there are all kinds of weather warnings and winds are sustained at over 30 mph and gusting up to almost 50 mph. Due to the delays I am again changing my course to head through Dallas, but the weather there is so bad, they've cancelled the flights in and out of the airport.

So much for making time. Ain't much to do in this here in this town to boot. My motorcycle does seem to be a source of interest for many at the hotel though. Already one person has asked me if I am actor. Another asked if I am a famous travel writer. Wow, a celebrity in my own mind.

Let the Adventure Begin!

Well, after many false starts this week the journey has begun. Yep, I tried to ride out of Ann Arbor earlier in the week taking advantage of a favorable weather pattern. My bike would have nothing to do with it though. It had developed an electrical short that knocked out most of the electronics. It took two dealerships many hours to track down the shorts, two of them. During this time my plans changed several times based on the weather only to end up back at the original plan of riding from Deal's Gap.

And that's how it began at about 10:30 this morning I rode south through the Gap. I stopped at the store on the North Carolina side and then bid Amy and Tucker a final good bye. I plugged New Orleans into the GPS and set off. I diligently followed every twist and curve the GPS threw at me only to find myself riding right back to through Deal' Gap abut an hour later. *WTF* Yep, the first hour of my trip was GPS gibberish and that have yet to figure out and it kept me from making it to New Orleans. As such, I changed plans a bit and decided to ride higher so that I could still drop down into Big Bend when I got to Texas.

That said, the riding in Tennessee was awesome as usual and the GPS error gave me even more of the experience. If you love curves it's really one of the motorcycling wonders of the world. The weather was cool, but nice. The roads had dried up early from the vicious storms that had moved through the nite before (think Atlanta Tornado).

It's nice to be riding again!

The Official Start Date

It's official, my trip will begin March 14, 2008. Since it's still a cold hard winter in Northern Michigan, I am choosing Deal's Gap as the fitting and official start of my journey.

For those of you unfamiliar with Deal's Gap, it's an 11 mile stretch of curvy road located between Tennessee and North Carolina noted for it's 318 curves and no road entries. It is also one of my favorite stretches of tarmac east or west of the Mississippi. While it isn't not a dirt road, it is the kind of road that a large GS comes to life on.

As for the bike, it's currently in the capable hands of the service crew at BMW Grand Rapids getting remade for the trip. I have to reiterate, of all the BMW dealers I have dealt with in my travels, these guys are truly top notch!!! Then again, people who shop there already know that!

New Cards

The New Cards Arrived Today!!


CrazyTomac

Why on a Motorbike????

I spent the better part of '95 and '96 traveling extensively by motorcycle. About 70,000 miles worth of travel. For me it is the perfect vehicle to see the world terra firma. By it's very nature it makes you a part of the environment you travel through and you literally feel and experience the environment in a way you simply can't in an auto, plane or any other way (except for maybe a bicycle which is also a favorite of mine). Motorcycles also have the ability to take you to places in the world you never would have gone otherwise and make you more accessible to people when you arrive. Any matter, it is also a great accomplishment to have finished a great journey on a bike. As with all great adventures though, there are good times, blue skies, and great scenery. Then there are hard times that make you want to quit and go home. Alas, that is what a journey like this is all about; to see, feel and experience the world. The good, the bad, and the down right difficult all mixed in with some of the most beautiful scenery, cultures and people in the world.