Travel

Day 10: South Past Orlando

June 2, 2013

Airbnb has been a great choice for travel so far. Jen and I didn’t actually meet until this morning but she was very excited about my trip and this website. I’ve had numerous conversations about reducing the camping and increasing the Airbnb stays for the sake of being able to go out on the town and talk with people. I realize I can do that at a camp site but the ability to safely place my gear in a house with a lock and key and adventure around is a nice feeling.

I once again slept in until about 10AM because there is no rush. After two cups of coffee with Jen I packed up and headed out into the sunny but rainy weather. After all, I was in Florida.

Southward I went via backroads. As I’ve said in the previous posts, I highly dislike densely populated areas.

Sitting on a 200+ degree motorcycle at a stoplight for multiple minutes in a full leather kit is not enjoyable. Once I’m out of stop light city I don’t have a complaint in the world. If air is moving around me I am comfortable.

Today’s riding fuel consisted of a banana and these.

I’m not sure why I didn’t stop for lunch but I pushed all the way to Naples in an effort to have a nice big dinner.

I made an effort to take a picture of my bike in an orange grove but I was met with an onslaught of bugs and unstable ground to put the kickstand on. I did try… but I took off back to the road through the sand and dirt while trying to rid my helmet of all the little flying pests.

County roads are still my favorite. These are the roads in which I will go 10-20 minutes without seeing any other vehicles. Just me and the road. I know I’m doing this trip correctly when there are points in which I have zero cell phone reception.

I used my bike’s speed capabilities to race around 2 large storm cells. I captured some GoPro footage which I will be reviewing tomorrow before I upload. I think it will provide an interesting perspective because half the frame will show nice blue skies and the other half shows extremely dark storm clouds.

About 70 miles away from my destination while cooking it through the backroads, I saw a huge storm cell that there was no chance of avoiding. My GPS said 33 miles until the next turn off. In the middle of all these farms and plantations I came across this mecca.

A nice gentleman who worked on one of the farms in the area said that there was rain in the direction I was heading. I gassed up and put on my rain gear. Three other gentleman pulled up and had some nice conversation with me about bikes. They did proceed to call me crazy multiple times for the amount of miles I’ve traveled so far but they also reassured me that I needed to put on my rain gear.

I was all suited up and hit the road once again after finishing the last of my almonds. Within a half mile I was in sheet rain. The wild thing about the rain in Florida is the fact that the roads are so hot that it actually steams the water that hits the pavement. It creates this sort of fog effect which doesn’t help when you’re doing 70MPH on a motorcycle. Fortunately for me the cell was only about 3 miles long but those 3 miles seem very long when you are trying to pick your line to avoid hydroplaning. For my non-riding friends, we don’t have windshield wipers. If you’re lucky the wind will push the water off your shield as fast as the next drops hit. I can’t even begin to explain how much this trip has boosted my confidence regarding riding. I rarely rode in the rain prior to this trip. I was also absolutely terrified of taking my bike off paved roads.

I rode through gravel and sand to get to the edge of this private dock (which I may have possibly trespassed on if I saw the signs posted) all because I thought it might make a nice photograph.

Twenty-five minutes later, I was in Naples.

Time to feast. Grilled salmon pasta with pesto. As fast as they brought it out I devoured it.

After that amazing meal I decided to watch the Hawks dominate the Kings with some good stout.

Tomorrow will be a day of rest and the rest of the week will be filled with Florida adventure. I’m excited. By this weekend I’ll probably be rolling out of here to New Orleans.

In tomorrows post I will discuss some discomforts I have had throughout the trip so far. If you guys have any questions for me feel free to put them in the comments below. I should also have a video post up this week that will highlight what I’ve captured so far.

Day 9: SC, GA, FL

June 2, 2013

I would like to start this post by apologizing for that mid-day video I tried to post this afternoon. My friend suggested I film short videos throughout the day to upload. YouTube kindly flipped the video upside down for no reason. We will try again tomorrow.

A funny thing about this trip is that I seem to naturally wake up around 7AM. I say it is funny because before I departed Chicago I couldn’t seem to get myself up before 10AM. I blame my extremely comfortable bed. Today was my first effort to slow down. Instead of getting up at 7, I got up at 10 and by 1040 I departed Corrie and Daniel’s home. Today was going to be the day that I tried to take at least 1 picture every 100 miles. I also started listening to that little voice in my head that says, “That looked cool. You should turn around and check it out.”

The best part about these pictures is that I did no editing/enhancing at all. All those colors, as vibrant as they are, are 100% real.

I spent a majority of the day traveling the back roads of SC and GA. The weather was fantastic. I did notice a common theme among the roads I traveled. Abandonment. If you asked me to keep track of all the abandoned buildings and homes I saw I would have lost count after an hour. This brought me to thinking about my home state of IL. What would I see if I didn’t take the highway? Would I see similarities? I will be looking into that when I get home.

Another observation I had both yesterday and today was that as I traversed NC, SC, and GA, people actually relaxed outside the front of their homes. Some were sitting on the porch. Some working on their cars. Some just sitting in their lawn.

I have riden past a million farms on this trip so far and to tie into my previous point, some of these large plots of farm land only seem to have a small home located on them. I once again had questions with no answers. Do folks out here really live a more simple life? Are they able to enjoy the little things and not have a desire to spend their money on bigger televisions or the latest Apple product? Or was the farming not profitable enough for them to expand to a lavish lifestyle? I know many people who can own 10 BMW’s but choose not to spend their money in that way. By the same token, I know people who drive BMW’s and can’t afford them. I thought about pulling up the driveway of one of the farms with activity to speak with them but I couldn’t muster the courage to. I also didn’t know how I would start a conversation that would ultimately ask them a pretty large question about the way they live.

I wanted to take a nice picture of the bike by this lake I stumbled across but unfortunately I couldn’t because you can’t really put your kickstand down in sand unless you have something to support it. I didn’t have anything at my immediate disposal so I continued up the sand road to do a u-turn in someones yard/driveway. Note to self: riding a motorcycle in sand is hell. I would take gravel and dirt over sand any day of the year.

While in GA, I decided to grab a quick lunch from something off the beaten path. I’m proud to announce I have not yet eaten in any chain restaurant or fast food joint so far.

So much food for so little money. After I ordered, I decided to get a desert. I said, “and I’ll take a brownie too.” She said it was a “spongy bread” or something bread. I can’t remember now but it was certainly a brownie. I ate that first because let’s face it.. I’m a child. Two fellow patrons struck up a conversation with me about where I was heading. I always feel bad when I have to say, “excuse me,” because I was unable to understand what someone said. The accent was thick in these parts. They talked to me about how this was fall weather and it was only going to get warmer and more humid. They commended me on my journey so far and wished me luck.

I made it to FL and even did a little dance for my GoPro (footage to come later this week). I was also greeted by a train that decided to start moving from a dead stop right as I approached the gates.

Instead of getting mad I ended up having a conversation with two gentleman who lived in Jacksonville and complimented me on my bike. They talked about how Jacksonville really isn’t a nice place and how hard it is to get a job. He emphasized the fact that nobody will hire you without your GED. That is the second random conversation I’ve had on this trip where GED was brought up. It is times like these when it hits me square in the face just how lucky and fortunate I am. I don’t recall many people dropping out of high school where I grew up but who knows.. Maybe if I ventured off the beaten path I would hear similar stories up north.

I arrived at my home for the evening and took a quick shower. Check out that neck tan!

Off I went.. right around the block to Island Life Grill.

I forgot to take a picture of my chicken skewers but they were great. As I was conducting my nightly phone calls I happened to get involved in a conversation with two couples who were sitting near me. I’m glad I didn’t hold my tongue and sit idle because it was some of the best discussions I’ve had this entire trip! Instead of having my dinner and heading elsewhere I ended up staying to chat for over 3 hours. Venturing off the highways was a great choice but venturing outside of my comfort zone has been even more rewarding. I’m looking forward to more encounters like these along the way!

Oh yea, that’s what my bike looks like. Figured I would snap a photo to remember.

Day 8: Old Habits Die Hard

May 31, 2013

I’m a great blogger because I forget to write things in my articles. I shall catch you up in chronological order. After I took a morning shower at the campsite, I noticed a park ranger driving away from my belongings. He came up to me and said, “Are those your things?” I told him yes and asked what the problem was. It turns out I wasn’t even at my camping area. I pitched camp in the parking lot of my area. Once I assured him I had a reservation and didn’t sneak in after midnight all was well.

The second to last picture in my previous post is by far the best beer I have ever had. Can’t thank you enough German. I’m buying you dinner next time I see you.

Let’s talk about today. I was up early and on the bike by 8AM which is exciting since I always start at 10AM or later. German set me up with a mountain route so I did that first. It was pretty awesome! I don’t know why I didn’t fire up the GoPro. After that 2 hour ride I needed to decide what my game plan was. I could either stay in Virginia for one more day or start heading south. I stood inside a gas station for over 30 minutes calling various camp sites in NC to find that every one of them was booked. Dammit. Then I started getting nervous. I guess it is time to try the Airbnb app. Oh wait, it keeps crashing even if I delete it, reinstall, and hard reset my phone? Great. Luckily they have a mobile website and I found a house with some great reviews. I sent a message asking if it would okay that I arrive at 9PM or later. I’ll touch on this more later in the article.

I plotted out a route to Columbia, SC. At the next gas station I would check if I received a response from Corrie and Daniel (Airbnb). When I was leaving the gas station I didn’t know how I felt about just heading south with no sure plans. I had to remind myself that it doesn’t really matter where I end up.. I’ll figure it out. I’ve been living in a large city for 6 years now and enjoy it. After the traffic I hit in D.C. and Baltimore, I avoid large cities like the plague. While I was hustling and bustling with all the morning commuters I was questioning if I would be able to do this trip. At that moment in time I thought about saying, “Well I got to Virginia and now I’m heading home.” All those thoughts soon cleared as I started heading down US-522.

I kid you not.. there was a moment during this ride where I almost shed a tear of happiness. I had went from completely doubting myself and this ride to almost crying in a span of 3 hours. I apologize for not taking enough pictures today but I did take a good amount of video. Once I get to Florida or somewhere with good internet I will upload.

Avoiding highways has been the best decision thus far in the journey but I once again need to reevaluate some things. Today I spent 13 hours in the saddle and avoided making some stops I wanted because I felt pressed for time. I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO RIDE FOR 13 HOURS TO FEEL PRODUCTIVE. Old habits die hard. When I looked at the map this morning I was thinking, “if I do any less than 400 miles I’m never going to get to Florida.” I was so hung up on Florida for some reason. During one of my gas ups I called my Dad and told him I had a choice to make. I had a free place to stay in Raleigh, NC or I had a reservation in Columbia, SC. Raleigh was only an hour from where I was at but I almost felt like I didn’t put enough miles under my belt. I pushed on to SC. Food was on my mind and I regret not stopping somewhere in NC to eat. Oh well. I only took 2 pictures while riding through an entire state. That needs to change.

It’s probably a dark thing to say but they had beautiful cemeteries all over. NC and SC also have lots of churches.. everywhere.

Surviving the day with only a Clif Bar and some other nutri-something bar I decided it was time to eat.

I walked in and was greeted by a heavy accent to which I have no complaints about. I said I’ll take whatever you recommend. I believe that sandwich is called a “SLT.” All I know is that it was amazing. Roast beef covered in a ridiculous amount of cheese with crumbled bacon in the middle. I ate outside with this nice woman who worked next door. This was the first time in the trip that I had really spoken with a stranger. It was nice to be out of the comfort zone. It was also nice to have eaten something besides a packaged bar of food. I took a slightly longer route into Columbia because I now avoid large cities but just as I suspected, the ride was beautiful.

Touching on what I wrote about earlier.. Daniel messaged me back in the middle of the day and said, “Michael, what are you in town for? Can you add some info to your profile? (Photo, verifications, etc) -Daniel.” I must have seemed like a creep considering I just made my account that day, I had zero information, no photograph, nothing at all. Oops! After I directed him to this website he said to book it and that he would see me later. I went from going down south with no where to sleep to having this nice queen bed that I’m sitting on now and it cost almost the same as camping.

Corrie and Daniel have been fantastic hosts. We talked quite a bit before I retired into my room to write this and they have been fantastic hosts! They also have 2 cats so they get 2 additional points for that.

This 13 hour day included lots of great roads but it also includes my sore ass and my still numb throttle hand. I think from here on out we stop worrying about being productive and just try to arrive somewhere around dinner time. Florida will still be there whether it takes me 1 more day or 2.

Day 5/6/7: Camp Planning, Highway Avoidance, and Traffic

May 30, 2013

I’d like to start this post by mentioning that my radar detector setup once again failed before I could get it out of Adam’s driveway. Oh well.

Day five included some much needed rest from that long haul I did the day prior. I woke up around 11AM, had my leftovers from the night before, and then decided to walk around the area and see if I could find any little coffee shops that could provide a relaxing atmosphere to write an article. I happened to find one two blocks away. Another reason why I wanted to venture out of the house was to test my iPhone tethering. At this very moment in time, I am writing this article via a tent in southeastern Pennsylvania. After ensuring that my setup worked it was then time to once again work on the radar setup. This time we tried to use velcro but as I already said, that failed. It was approaching dinner time so I wanted to make sure I had a camping reservation taken care of before we left. It was shocking to me how hard it was to actually get this completed. I found a nice place in New Jersey that would have been right between my next stop. Unfortunately, New Jersey requires you to stay for two nights.. and for that amount of money I would rather just stay at a cheap motel. The only solution I could think of was to head a bit west back into Penn. After another great dinner and some craft beers it was time to call it a night and see what the following day has in store.

A HUGE thank you to Adam and his girlfriend for their hospitality!

Day six started out .. interesting. It was raining in Boston so I was able to give my rain gear their first go. Thirty minutes into the ride everything was going great. Oh wait, here comes that monkey wrench. I left my GoPro on the hood of Adam’s second car. As I was on my 30 minute drive back it started to pour and traffic was just at a halt most of the way. That was a miserable start but the camera was still there! I saddled back up and once again fought the Boston traffic an hour later than my planned departure (this is the common theme so far). The rain seemed to stop as I got closer to Connecticut. By about 2PM the sun was shining and it was nice and warm! The only things that got wet were my gloves and feet which is much better than being fully soaked. Yesterday I decided I needed to take this ride differently from here on out. I set my navigation to avoid highways and I can’t tell you how GREAT of an idea that was. I rode on amazing sweepers and twisties for 85% of the entire day. Even in the beginning when it was raining and wet I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I’m more than willing to sacrifice putting up big miles to do that with all my destinations. Connecticut and New York were absolutely stunning. What they did make me realize was I really need to purchase a point-and-shoot camera. It’s another expense I didn’t want to have but I felt like I missed a lot of amazing photographs not only for myself but to share with all of you. As I neared my campsite I went past Pocono Raceway and there was a car doing laps. It doesn’t look like they go that fast on TV but in person I was stunned. After that it was off to the campsite. I made the mistake of following Google’s directions into the site. I ended up riding about 10 miles on gravel and I still had to exit that area, hop back on the road, and drive further to get to the camping area. I’m learning from all of this and thats what counts! After I setup my camp, everyone decided it would be great to tell me how much I need to worry about bears. I debated just going to sleep after I was all setup so I could stop worrying about it but I wanted to write all of this down while it is still fresh. I have food to cook but honestly, I’m too worried to fire it up. It’s also nearing 11PM so I’m going to TRY to fall asleep and enjoy my first camping experience.

Tomorrow we head to Virginia.. highway free of course!

Day seven started off great. I won’t let the last half get me down but I will say it was not enjoyable in the least. I broke down the camp in under an hour and then started another great half day. Venturing through Pennsylvania back roads was another amazing ride. Elevation changes and twisty roads can not be beat. Unfortunately everything started to go sour once I made it 15 miles into Maryland. After venturing off the highways for the past two days I seem to not miss city traffic in the slightest. Baltimore looked very nice driving in. I’m sure I would have enjoyed it much more if I was staying the night. Traffic was horrible from Baltimore all the way into Virginia. Eighty-eight degrees, dead stop traffic, and a 215 degree fahrenheit steed in between my legs with a full leather kit on. Once I arrived, some great beer and great company fixed me right up!

All was well after a few drinks and a great dinner thanks to German and his girlfriend!

Day 4: 11 Hours In The Saddle

May 28, 2013

Estimated launch time: between 9 – 10AM. Actual launch time: 11AM. The new bag proved to be very sturdy but it was another learning experience when it came time to mount it to the bike. A majority of the ride was spent in Pennsylvania but I can’t get over how beautiful the scenery is. It was a poor decision for me to leave on Memorial Day because of traffic but I was fortunate to only hit two blocks of traffic.

The first day was both mentally and physically challenging because of the cold but yesterday was mostly mental. It was the first time where I would spend half a day riding continuously. I continue to have odd thoughts about “the ride home.” I’m so used to taking smaller trips where I end up contemplating the ride home during the ride there. The further I get from Chicago, the more it sinks in that I’m really starting this venture around the country and I couldn’t be more excited!

I had a decision to make. Wait 15 minute for a Subway sandwich or have a New Jersey gas station lunch. The picture tells the tale.

Disclaimer: I have never witnessed a large bridge. I know that seems trivial to most people but to see the actual size of the George Washington Bridge was amazing. Immediately after the crossing I ended up on Henry Hudson Parkway which runs parallel with the river. Absolutely beautiful. I took a few GoPro vids which I will be uploading soon.

The Boston I know contains a whole mess of roads that intertwine and confuse people. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I was to not have to deal with that when arriving at Adam’s house. A few short miles off the highway and I arrived in one piece. Roughly 600 miles completed for this leg of the trip. This is who I was greeted by.

Right now I’m sitting at a coffee house, the weather is beautiful, and I couldn’t be happier to just relax a bit before I start to venture off into the unknown.

The ride from Pittsburgh to Boston needed to be completed with minimal stops to avoid riding in the dark (because I’m too lazy to take off my mirrored helmet shield). Had I left on time, I would have arrived at sunset. When you are riding for 11 hours, you have lots of time to think. Since this is the last stop before I start camping, I think I need to reevaluate a few things. That seems to be the theme so far.. Reevaluate the bags. Reevaluate the strategy. What I’m trying to say is that I think I should cut my riding down to roughly 400 miles a day. This gives me time to pull off the path, check out the areas I am driving through, and give me time to setup at camp before it gets dark. The original plan has me riding to Virginia tomorrow to stay with Bob’s friend Rob. That’s another 600 mile day. Maybe tomorrow I will find a campground down the East Coast, stay the night, and then venture into Virginia. These are things I will decide today while I once again work on fixing my radar setup. I spent 1/5 the ride without it.

Does anyone have any experience with adventure point-and-shoot cameras? My riding buddy always straps his to his Camelbak so that at any moment he can just grab it and take a picture while riding. I want to take more pictures but there is no way I’m taking my phone off the mount to try to take a picture at 80MPH. Please leave any suggestions in the comments section and I’ll be sure to read them this evening. Thanks!