[YEAR 7!] Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...

[lightcycle]

Update from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/41.html on October 12, 2012

Hustlers grab your guns,
Your shadow weighs a ton,
Driving down the 101.
California here we come...

While growing up in the East, we've been inundated with TV shows, movies and songs about California, and many a long, cold winter was spent dreaming of escaping to the land of Ponch and Jon, Baywatch and The O.C. One of our earliest motorcycle road trips was an 18-day trek from Toronto to San Francisco and back, and we stayed glued to the seat for the entire duration, stopping only to eat, gas or sleep.

Well, this time around we're taking the scenic route, it's taken us about 4 months to get here! We've discovered that when we're not trying to outrun Old Man Winter or a vacation-deadline, we travel quite slowly.

Avenue of the Giants, CA

Just south of the OR/CA border, the 101 crosses into Redwood National Park, and further south we get off 101 to properly ride through the giant trees on the Avenue of the Giants, a 31-mile detour that follows old Highway 101. Don told us that before the current 101 was built, the wider trucks would graze the edges of the Redwood trees on the Avenue of the Giants, because the road was built so close to the trees. It was easier to build the road around some of the largest trees than cut them down!

Riding past some of the world's tallest trees!

Neda rides off into the forest

So cheesy, but we had to do it. This tree wasn't even standing on its own...

Towards the end of the Avenue of the Giants, we see a sign advertising a drive-thru a living tree! Cool! However, we're not sure it would have survived without all the baling wire to keep it from toppling over. While we were there taking our tourist shots, we notice that another motorcycle couple had the same idea, and they were ADVers as well! Jon and Natalie were on a 2-week whirlwind trip riding their SV650 and Bonneville border-to-border from Vancouver to Tijuana and back, very cool!

Jon and Natalie from Seattle - she made those panniers herself from ammo cases!

Don recommended that we take Hwy 20 to get inland, as we were heading towards Yosemite Park. What a great scenic, twisty road! However, we hit Sacremento rush hour and we debated whether to take our wide-load motorcycles filtering through stopped traffic. It seemed a bit tight, so we stewed in jam for awhile... At least it was warm! From there, we took I5 to Stockton, and then the 4 to Copperopolis to Angels Camp, however by then, we were driving in pitch dark. It gets dark at 6:30PM! We rode the very twisty Hwy 120 and we knew we were missing out on amazing scenery as the road switched back on itself as we climbed higher and higher in the cool, inky darkness of the late autumn evening. Just outside of Yosemite, we stopped for the night at a neat campsite just outside of Groveland. It still dips below freezing overnight... we just can't escape the cold...

Lots of riders taking a weekend ride through Yosemite

This is our 2nd time through Yosemite, as mentioned earlier, we did our own whirlwind trip through the National Parks of SW US a few years ago. This time, we actually got off our bikes and hiked around a bit. It's interesting reading through our ride report from the first time around, and contrast that to what interests us now that we have more time on our hands. Can't believe we stayed at such expensive places as well!

Riding through the quaint town of Groveland in the morning

In Yosemite, we ride Highway 120 right through the Tioga Pass, the highest mountain pass in California.

Hiking around Olmstead Point on the Tioga Pass

Seeking shade at Olmstead Point - not sure why, it's pretty cold up here!

Olmstead Point is a popular visitor's stop on the Tioga Pass. It offers great views of Tenyana Canyon below as well as Half-Dome, a very famous Yosemite rock formation, in the distance.

Tenyana Canyon and Half-Dome

Half-Dome

Back on the road!

Everything we've been told about hot and sunny California has turned out to be a lie. It's cold here too. We've got to find someplace warmer!

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/42.html on October 14, 2012

We're sick of the cold. So we're headed to the hottest place on Earth, which is conveniently located around the corner from where we are. Our ride to Death Valley ironically passes through a couple of ski resort towns, notably Mammoth. We notice a lot of dirt bikes gathering around the town of Bishop, perhaps there's an enduro happening in the area? I envied all those light bikes with their knobby tires...

Endless desert road in Death Valley

As we descend into the valley, the temperature soars to a blistering 38°C! This is *exactly* what we were looking for and we set up camp at Stovepipe Wells for a couple of evenings, basking in the heat like lizards. Overnights only dipped to a sweltering 28°C, and it felt good not to be swaddled in winter gear and wrapped in mummy bags! Just down the road, we hiked around the Mesquite sand dunes, they are marvelous:

Mesquite Sand Dunes

Popular spot for visitors - had to hike a distance from the road to find untouched sand!

Footprints stay in the sand for quite some time until the next rainfall. I've heard that in some deserts that receive no precipitation, marks in the dunes stay etched in the sand forever. They say that you can still see the treads in the sands of the Sahara desert from when Rommel's Panzers roamed the dunes during WWII.

Lots of sand in Death Valley, but the dunes are areas between the mountains that trap the sand

Begrudgingly hiking the dunes - it was worth it!

Yoga half-moon pose - almost...

Riding around Death Valley

We rode over to Furnace Creek and spent a couple of days there - about 200 feet below sea level. Death Valley is so hot because of the natural basin created by the high valley walls that trap the heated desert air, allowing no outside circulation. You know it's pretty desolate when they charge you $6 a gallon for gas - that's more expensive than Prudhoe Bay in Alaska!!!

Scotty's Castle - fabulous building in the north end of the park built by a multi-millionaire in the 1930s

Ubehebe Crater - an inactive volcano

Cracked floor deep within the Ubehebe volcano

Our neighbours at Furnace Creek campsite - Simon is not a morning person

We met Christina and Simon from Bern, Switzerland at Furnace Creek. Although not on motorcycles, we found them to be kindred traveling spirits, they took a year off, selling all their possessions to travel around the world. Unfortunately for them, their trip is over in November, but we spent a night at the Furnace Creek bar, getting to know them and exchanging travel stories over beer. Awesome couple!

Aborted off-road mission, Neda is coming to help pick my bike up in deep gravel. Slightly sprained ankle for me

We left Death Valley feeling recharged, we wished we could have stayed longer in the desert, but we had an appointment to keep.

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/43.html on October 21, 2013

I really hate schedules.

We're heading to Cambria, CA for the Horizon's Unlimited meeting, a chance to get together with like-minded travelers, exchange stories and tips. However, we've had to cut our desert-time short and head to the coast for the weekend. After 4 months of unscheduled wandering, having to make a date is kind of stressing me out, even if it's for something that we're looking forward to.

Show and tell at the HU meeting parking lot

The meeting was excellent, we really felt an affinity with so many folks that didn't bat an eye when we told them we quit our jobs, sold our home and just went riding. Back home, a few of our friends and a lot of our family thought we were a bit crazy to do this, but at the HU meeting, we met so many people that had either had done the same, were doing it right now (lots of e-mail addresses exchanged), or were planning on doing it that it felt like we were in a herd of black sheep. Lots of head nodding and Amens!

A little cankle-action, courtesy of my Death Valley off. Not as bad as it looks, just a slight limp for a few days

Reunited!

Neda met Carolyn at the Adventures for the Cure dirtbike charity ride in Colorado a few years ago. They've kept in touch over the years and the girls were excited to see each other again!

The best part of attending the "Cooking on the Road" session

Spent most of the weekend in seminars like this, getting travel tips

Tents galore at the HU meeting

On Sunday night, we had a bit of excitement when a 5.3 magnitude earthquake hit King City, just 60 miles away from Cambria. We were in our tent shortly after midnight when the quake hit. We thought it was someone shaking our tent as a practical joke! The funny thing was the animals knew long before it actually happened, all the birds were going crazy about an hour earlier and 10 minutes before, the sea lions on the coast were making a huge racket. So bizarre! I just recently read about the Italian scientists who got sued for not predicting an earthquake. They should have used animals!

The next morning, all the California locals shrugged their shoulders - happens all the time they say. "If it ain't the Big One, nothing to worry about..." Geez!

Buddies at Big Sur

After the conference, we rode to San Jose with Carolyn, to get some service done to our bikes. Stopped at Big Sur to see the elephant seal colony.

Elephant Seal colony just south of Big Sur on Hwy 1

At this time of year, most of the seals are pups and teenagers, spending their time on the beach to develop bone mass on shore, before returning back to the weightless environment of the sea to hunt.

Graceful in the sea, but very awkward-looking once they climb onto land

Fastest hands in service bay! New chain and sprockets!

R12GS undergoing major surgery - final drive crown wheel bearing...

Captain America waiting for the bikes in San Jose

Rolling around San Jose on loaner bikes

Today marks a bit of an anniversary of sorts. One year ago, we officially told my parents that we were quitting our jobs, selling our home and riding around the world. That dinner was kind of an uncomfortable event... But tonight we're celebrating with order-in Chinese food and beer!

Treating ourselves in San Jose

A bit late, but accurate, nonetheless!

After spending a few days in San Jose, we've come to the realization that we're not big city people anymore. It's crowded, expensive and looks the same as any other big city. So we're off again...!

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/44.html on October 26, 2012

Our trip so far has been interrupted by the Horizons Unlimited meeting and the need for some MotoTLC. So we're resuming our trip where we (almost) left off by heading back to the desert. Hoping there'll be more warm weather there.

No warm weather here, but good snow-cones... Donner Pass over the Sierra Nevada.

Since we're no longer Big City People, we decide to head to Reno, the "Biggest Little City in the World". We've ridden to Las Vegas before on our previous trip of the SW US, so we're spending an evening walking around the Bright Lights, Little City.

Drawn like moths to the neon lights of the Biggest Little City...

Slow night, off-season in Reno

New tattoo for Neda?

Mesmerized

We stayed at a state campsite just outside Reno instead - freezing overnight!

A lot of Vegas casinos also have a branch in Reno

Reno really reminded us of Old Vegas the way it was before the gigantic theme parks sprung up on the new strip. More about the neon and cheap food ($5.99 for a prime rib dinner!) than about the roller-coasters and Celine Dion.

From Reno, we headed south to the Highway 50. We're beginning a two-day ride through the desolation of the Nevada desert, trying to discover what led Life Magazine to dub this the "Loneliest Road in America". US 50 follows the Nevada section of the old Pony Express route back when the US Postal Service used to deliver mail via horse, riding day and night from the west coast all the way to Missouri!

Might look lonely up the sand dune, but there were dozens of vehicles behind this one and all over the hill

The Loneliest Road became a lot less lonely when we stopped in to visit Sand Mountain, just past Fallon. Tons of RVs were in the parking lot, belching out all kinds of dune buggies, ATVs, three-wheelers and dirtbikes onto the huge sand dunes just off the highway. Dozens of them climbing up and down the dunes like ants.

Soooo jealous! Paddle tires ******!

When we set up our cameras at the base of the sand dunes, *everybody* started wheelying in front of us!

Even the little kids were getting into it!

We stopped for the evening at Lahontan State Recreation area right on the Loneliest Road in America, can't wait to soak up more of the desert lifestyle!

 

[grogie]

After following along, I am most impressed that you can travel as much as you have on bikes (and with what fits on a bike)?! And my wife thinks it's tough traveling for two weeks in a Jeep. Ha!

Thanks again for sharing your adventure. I might have missed it, but what are your upcoming plans (and long term) if you don't mind me asking?

Best.

 

[lightcycle]

After following along, I am most impressed that you can travel as much as you have on bikes (and with what fits on a bike)?! And my wife thinks it's tough traveling for two weeks in a Jeep. Ha!

Ha, indeed! We've been accused by a lot of other bikers that we are carrying waaay too much and could stand to leave a few things behind. It's all perspective, I guess...

Things are pretty tightly packed up in our cases. It's like a game of Tetris every time we pack our luggage. The pros of this is that everything has its place and you quickly know when you're missing something. The con is being out on the road and needing something at the bottom of the Tetris stack!

Thanks again for sharing your adventure. I might have missed it, but what are your upcoming plans (and long term) if you don't mind me asking?

The theme of this trip is "No Plan". We really don't know where we're going day-to-day, but it's a safe bet that we're going to continue exploring the Americas for the next few months at the least. Lots of things to see and do here!

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/45.html on October 28, 2012

The Pony Express only ran for one year from 1860-1861. But during that time, riders delivered mail from the west coast all the way to Missouri, facing dangers like weather, buffalo stampedes and bandits. The advent of the railroad put an end to the Pony Express and US 50 now follows the rough route that the riders took across Nevada. Today, most of the cross-Nevada traffic takes Interstate 80, rendering US 50 obsolete, much like the Pony Express. Life Magazine called US 50 the Loneliest Road in America in the 80s, stating: "It's totally empty. There are no points of interest. We don't recommend it. We warn all motorists not to drive there unless they're confident of their survival skills."

Nevada desert is anything but flat

The handful of towns on US 50 turned this negative proclamation into a major marketing campaign, boasting ghost towns, mountain passes, motorsports, camping and wildlife watching along this forgotten highway. So we're riding the Loneliest Road in America to see if it's all that it's cracked up to be!

We stop in the town of Austin for lunch

Pizza at the International Cafe

Bar in Austin is closed

I love riding in the desert, especially when there's nobody else around for miles and miles. Just you and your thoughts swirling around in your helmet. We ride like this for over 400 miles across Nevada to the end of US 50, passing by the towns of Fallon, Austin and Eureka, not seeing a lot of ghost towns until we close in on Ely at the end of US 50.

We stop in at the ghost town of Cherry Creek

Cherry Creek used to be a bustling mining town of 6,000 people before the turn of the last century. Now, only a few people live here amongst the ruins of abandoned buildings that draw tourists looking to see a piece of history. It was very neat to walk around the old buildings. Not as spooky as the name "Ghost Town" seems to imply!

The old school building has been turned into a museum detailing life before the town was abandoned

No tumbleweeds though!

Ghost towns of Nevada - a photographer's feast!

The few residents that live here still need to get their mail. Not delivered by Pony, though...

Peering through the boarded-up window of an abandoned house. There was a make-shift tent inside!

Riding away from Nevada in the light of the setting sun

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/46.html on October 29, 2012

We are moving very slowly, spending at least a couple of days at each stop to recharge. The nomadic task of setting up and tearing down camp is less tedious when we can stay awhile and enjoy a day's rest, especially since we've seemed to stay ahead of the impending North American snowfall. By contrast to our sedate pace, the land speed record set by a vehicle with wheels is 1,228 km/h (faster than the speed of sound). This record was set just around the corner at the Bonneville Salt Flats (how's that for a segue?), just across the Nevada/Utah border.

Testing the surface of the Bonneville Salt Flats

As we approached the salt flats, we were amazed at how expansive the surrounding area is, all covered in greyish/white layer, most of it is a thin crust above thick mud. We saw the tracks of off-road vehicles that have done donuts, ripping up the surface and leaving mud trail scars. The actual Bonneville Salt Flats has a much thicker crust of salt and is more suitable for attempting landspeed records.

Neda pulls a Charley Boorman on the Salt Flats

The Bonneville Salt Flats look like a sheet of ice at certain angles. We tentatively walked out onto the surface before taking the motorcycles out, as there were still some wet patches from a prior rainfall. We were surprised at how much grip there was, the salt wasn't loose at all. The surface of the flats felt like sandpaper.

Remarkably good grip on the salt flats

Long shadows cast on the salts

The Bonneville Salt Flats are a remnant of a huge prehistoric salt lake that dried up 150,000 years ago. It's one of several dried salt lakes in the area, but it's the largest, measuring over 100 square kilometers, giving landspeed racers enough running room to get up to maximum velocity.

Watching the sun set on the Salt Flats

Posing with the bikes

Backlit sunset shot

Midgets in the mirror

Watching the moon rise over the Salt Flats

Tooling around on the Salt Flats

Although it would have been fun to visit during a race to see all the exotic vehicles, we did have the Bonneville Salt Flats all to ourselves, and we felt like kids walking and riding around, and taking photos all around the area.

Relaxing at a fast food restaurant at the end of the day. We brought our own salt for the fries...

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/47.html on November 4, 2012

We have unfinished business in Utah. As mentioned before, one of our earliest motorcycle trips was a whirlwind 18-day from Toronto to San Franciso and back. During that trip, we visiting most of the National Parks in the SW US, but only having a limited amount of time, we spent most of it on the back of the motorcycle, not seeing anything but the park from the side of the road. Arches National Park was a bookmark that we just had to revisit, and this time around, we promised that we wouldn't leave until we'd seen everything.

Arches National Park, Three Sisters rock formation up ahead

We made good on that promise, lazing around the park for four days, spending the days hiking the trails around the area, and the nights freezing our butts off inside the tent. The landscape is straight out of a Road Runner cartoon! Other-worldly-shaped orange rocks thrust up out of the ground, some of them precariously balancing larger rocks on small skinny stems - the result of erosion eating away at the softer layers of the sand and rock that history has laid down.

Weather was beautiful during the day, freezing at night, but the night sky was so clear!

One of the things that was very important to us was hiking up to the Delicate Arch, as we didn't have the opportunity the last time we were here. It's about an hour uphill hike to a remote spot where the arch can be viewed. There are over 2,000 arches in the park, spanning from a few feet to over a hundred feet in height! The views are breathtaking!

Hiking the Delicate Arch Trail

Window to the Delicate Arch

We arrived in the early afternoon and settled down to wait for the best time to view the Arch - sunset. We were told that that was the magical time that elves and unicorns would emerge from the portal created by the sun's rays hitting the Delicate Arch.

We take our seats like everyone else and wait for the show to begin

This guy must have shelled out primo for balcony seats

Things to do when you're waiting for the elves and unicorns

This lady brought her Staff of Infinite Mysteries to help open the portal

"... and then the Earth cooled..."

No elves. No unicorns. But pretty, anyway...

Neda takes her photography very seriously, risking life and limb for that perfect shot

Ok, enough hiking and picture-taking, time to do some riding!

 

[beemerchef]

Let us know if ever near by us. [Big Bend right now]. We can compare notes and photos and...
Stay well. Ara and Spirit

www.theoasisofmysoul.com

 

[stioc]

Amazing adventure and thank you for keeping this thread updated here. Since selling my motos I don't spend much time on ADV anymore but have been trying to follow along your adventures.

 

[lightcycle]

Let us know if ever near by us. [Big Bend right now]. We can compare notes and photos and...

Thanks for the invite, Ara! However we are well on our way south right now. Perhaps a rain cheque?

Amazing adventure and thank you for keeping this thread updated here. Since selling my motos I don't spend much time on ADV anymore but have been trying to follow along your adventures.

Thanks stioc, glad to have you riding with us in spirit!

 

[lightcycle]

Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/48.html on November 6, 2012

We descended from Arches National Park and landed in the McDonald's at Moab. We were regular fixtures for a few days there, the TV ceaselessly covering the US election, with us catching up on e-mail, and me stretching that $1 bottomless soda. We saw regulars come and go, and greeted the familiar faces as if we lived there. One morning, after Neda's Skype session with her niece in Italy, we found ourselves chatting with a couple of other Canadians, Jacques from St-Jovite (outside of Montreal) who was in the area on a photo-vacation for a couple of months, and Mark from Winnipeg, who towed his KLR to ride the roads around the area with his dirtbike buddies. This was the perfect company to share a McMorning with, as we got great tips on riding roads *and* photo-spots. We really have no plan whatsoever, so it's chance encounters like these that dictate which way we go and what we do and see!

Potash Road is like riding on the surface of Mars!

Both of them suggested we ride the Shafer Trail, which starts out as Potash Road just north of Moab and ends up meeting the famous White Rim Trail in Canyonlands National Park. We were told to be prepared for great roads and amazing scenery!

Trail turns gravelly and runs through some great canyons

Stream crossing! Ok, the stream was mostly dry. You could see salt or mineral stains left from the water

Marvelous scenery unfolding before us. Shared with NOBODY!

F650GS owners have always been trying to fit a 21" wheel up front. Neda gets a 25" front wheel courtesy of our wide angle lens

The trail is very wide and well maintained. We tried to take a detour off the Shafer Trail towards the Colorado River overlook, but encountered deep sand - our nemesis! So instead of paddling 3 miles through sand with our crappy, gripless Tourances, we decided to turn back to the main trail.

Bye bye, sand. Back to the gravel. Hello, scenery!

As it turns out, we didn't really have to detour from the main trail for a look at the Colorado River, as the Shafer Trail runs alongside it for quite a while. It's at this very spot that they filmed Thelma and Louise driving their car off the cliff after being chased by cops. Hmmm... I hope I didn't ruin the movie for anyone. They also filmed Star Wars here as well, the part where Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker that he was his father...

This entire trip I'm either on a bike or taking pictures. Sometimes both...

Gingerly stepping out onto the edge, trying to get a shot of the Colorado River

Colorado River

 

[lightcycle]

I think this is where Thelma and Louise drove off the cliff

Neda was having a great time!

A bit of perspective - Neda is in the top-left hand corner taking a picture with our bikes next to her

Trying not to look down

I am not scared of heights at all. But whenever I'm looking over a high cliff, or over the top-floor balcony of a high rise, I get this tingling sensation in my toes and I have this small urge to just jump. Not sure why...

Getting ready for the leap... only 2,000 feet to the canyon floor

This picture taken by Gary from Colorado. He pulled up on his R1200GS ADV and told us this was his favorite road!

A friend calls this the National Geographic shot

Trail gets quite close to the edge in some sections, giving us some great views. Hard to keep your eyes on the trail!

Here you can see the rim of the cliff

From the edge of the rim, you can see a 270 degree bend in the Colorado River, very cool!

"Do you need a hand?"
"Naw, I'm Superman *****!"

The Shafer Trail is great for big bikes. A little bit of sand in some areas (as above), lots of gravel, some rocky areas, a couple of steep uphill climbs on loose surfaces,and a ton of fun! Neda and I agree this and the Dalton Highway were our top two favorite rides so far on this trip! What cemented this was the 1,000 foot climb up the Shafer Switchbacks on a section of the White Rim Trail:

Here's Neda motoring up one of the switchbacks

Half-way up we peer over the lip of the basin. Awesome! Toes tingling again, BTW...

Looking back on the way we came

Shafer Basin below us, a spectacular sight!

As we reach the top, Neda hugs the cliff wall on the switchback trail. It's Shafer that way...

We've spent over a week in Utah now. Not sure if or when we're ever going to leave this state!

 

[redruby]

Southern Utah is very beautiful. One of our favorite places to go. Great write ups, really giving me the itch to get going again. Be sure to get to Quartzsite, Arizona by Feb. for a world famous swap meet, a must see.