Morning – Sitting on the porch of Hancock House. A little later than our normal kickstands up on account of a morning storm rolling through. Glad that we spent the night in a hotel instead of our tents. Today’s ride will be our first on the NEBDR. I expect more difficult riding on this segment of our journey.
Late in the evening, we are relaxing in lawn chairs outside Hillcrest Motel room in Hot Springs, VA. It is peaceful listening to crickets and looking across the road to the cows grazing in a green field. We are all dirty and exhausted from riding and changing the tubes my tires. We determined the cause of a flat back tire to be small metal burrs between the wheel and tube. Fearing that the front tire may have the same problem, … Read More
A porch swing looks over a vegetable garden and beyond to a valley where tomorrow’s sun will rise. It is day three of riding and we have almost finished segment one of the Mid Atlantic Backcountry Discovery Route (MABDR). Last night, we slept in our tents along side of Beaver Dam creek. The sound of the wet logs crackling in our fire and the rush of the stream lulled me to sleep in my hammock. The camp host’s warning of … Read More
I thought all of the wilderness of America remained in the West. Growing up in Utah, I am familiar with the alpine lakes of the High Uintas, the red rocks of Southern Utah, the high peaks of the Rockies, and our Grand Canyons . This trip will be a discovery of the eastern American wilderness. We cross the Appalachian Trail countless times, pass by historic battlegrounds, cross rivers, and meet many people from diverse backgrounds. We awoke to a rainy … Read More
The official beginning of the Mid-Atlantic BDR is in Damascus, VA. Taking a queue from our Patagonia trip, the first day was intended to be an easier ride. This would allow us to fine tune any of our packing approaches and enjoy some of the North Georgia and North Carolina rides. Dave and I began our ride from my house in Atlanta. We had our group hugs with my family as we set out. Curt had a work commitment and … Read More
Dave’s bike arrived in Atlanta and is now at my place. Fine tuning the packing and route details. A few other riders will join in for portions of the route. Dave and I going the distance from Atlanta to Maine. MABDR and NEBDR. I have used Motorcycle Shippers in the past. Dave found xxxx to be less expensive and the bike ended up in the same warehouse.
I flew from Santiago to Puerto Montt where I met our guide, Daniel. We are a group of four. Dave and his Jane are from Maine. We all have many interests in common including world travel, mountain biking, outdoor sports, … We spent the day organizing our gear, getting acquainted, enjoying some nice food and drinks, and previewing our route.
I avoided the protests in Santiago downtown area. Staying in Vitacura, I enjoyed walks in a very modern, international city. The nearby mall had top end shopping and many places to eat. I enjoyed walking through nearby parks, visiting museums, a scooting around on the Lime scooters.
All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go. Preparation for this trip has been different from past rides. I am focused more on my packing than on my motorcycle. For long trips, much of the road experience depends on the preparation of my bike…. I miss that. I started packing by filling my bikes panniers with what I am taking. There is no kitchen equipment, camping/sleeping gear, or emergency tools to bring along. So the packing puzzle was based … Read More
Tommorow evening I fly from Atlanta to Santiago, Chile. As with previous rides, I enjoy having a “theme” for the ride. The time spent on a bike provides a certain meditative quality. It is a chance to shift my thoughts into new areas. My first Motorcycle trip focused on rediscovering America and challenging myself by achieving a teenage dream. On this ride, I explored the gulf coast, the Mississippi River, the Ozarks, Route 66 (the mother road), and places of … Read More
