Travel

Day 2/3: Pittsburgh

May 26, 2013

Pittsburgh is what I am going to call the jumping-off point for this trip. Yes, I rode over 450 miles to get where I am currently at but this still feels like a home to me. The hospitality is probably to blame. A hot shower was needed to help me regain warmth and after that I was ready for some good eating/drinking. Industry Public House came through well. I forgot to photograph the burger I had. It was called the “Management Burgher” (it is spelled like that on purpose). I bought it for the irony of what has happened to me over the past month. They also have good beer.

The next morning I awoke pretty early to enjoy my first non-riding day. After a good breakfast, we decided to revisit my bag situation. My friend Bob brought up the fact that I need to be comfortable leaving the bags on the bike for short periods of time. We condensed the multiple bag setup into one larger one. The tent and sleeping pad will now be bungee strapped to the top of the bag instead of the sides. I’m also able to run a cable lock around the whole kit.

Later that evening I was fortunate enough to try a Primanti’s Cheese Steak. The fact that it had fries and coleslaw on the sandwich almost scared me off but I’m glad it didn’t. It was a great combinations of flavors!

A case of beer, Con Air, and Super Troopers concluded the night.

Today was a day of rest. I slept in, made Finding Chezz business cards with Sean (thanks bud!), and am now having a good night beer. I want to send a HUGE thank you to Bob and Nicole for all of their hospitality!

Tomorrow we set off for Boston.

Day 1: Mother Nature Says, ‘Nah.’

May 24, 2013

It is a good thing I decided to wake up early. I was able to pick up a radar detector from my friend last night at 1130PM so I assumed it would take me a few minutes to wire in. What I failed to take into account was the fact that this particular radar was not the same as my previous one. My old one would go on automatically when I started the bike. This one needed to have the ‘ON’ button pressed.. regardless of if it is hardwired in.

My dad was an engineer. If I could not think of something to fix this I would bring much shame to my family.

15 minutes later, a coat hanger poking stick was created and I now had a working radar. So far, so good.

After a quick shower I headed into the garage to try loading all my gear for the first time. I’ll admit, there was a point where I thought one of my bags was not going to make it. I said to myself, “Cargo nets, they stretch really really far. If I can’t figure out somewhere for this to go I shouldn’t be going on a trip like this.” After that quick pep talk I found a place for it. The bike was complete. It just needed a rider to pilot its crazy looking self.

It certainly handles different with the weight and I don’t have room to move anywhere but honestly, it’s pretty crazy I was able to carry all of this on a motorcycle. I am pleased.

The first leg of the trip into Ohio went smoothly, except for getting used to poking the radar on. Mother Nature must have watched my video where I said, “I’m prepared for weather down to freezing and above 100.” Before you know it, I’m in full body shivers and I just kept pushing it until I made it to my next gas stop. Time to check the weather.

I was prepared for freezing temps.. in a non-moving situation. 85MPH on a motorcycle with no wind protection and it feels like 38 when you are standing still? I was not pleased.

There were a few situation throughout the day which I found myself reverting to old habits. There was a gentleman asking a million questions at this coffee place and I was getting impatient because my order was simple (coffee). I then reminded myself that there is zero rush to do anything in a timely fashion during this trip. I don’t want to be the guy giving dirty looks when I have no where to be. This happened a few times and the more I remind myself, the more it sinks in. I have all the time in the world.

Two hundred cold miles is a long time to keep yourself occupied. I questioned many things. I could complain about the shitty weather or I could look at it in a different light. Canada can’t be much colder than what I rode in today.. (I’m sure I jinxed myself). I talked to myself, I made up raps, I beat boxed, I hyped myself up, and while all that was happening I rolled into beautiful Pennsylvania. If my hands weren’t frozen I would have taken some videos. It always feels good to ride into those rolling hills.

I made it. Disheveled, but in one piece. A good first day if I say so myself.

14 Hours To Go

May 23, 2013

This day has been a roller coaster. I woke up early and was relaxed. After breakfast I realized exactly I needed to complete before I left let’s just say at that point I could have went for a 10AM drink to feel better. My PLAN (see, we are already being flexible) was to go have a dry run in my parent’s backyard and honestly, it’s probably a good thing I didn’t. I started rushing to get everything together and forgot quite a few key items. After deciding to scratch the dry run idea and complete the tasks at hand I once again felt better and my excitement sparked. I did promise a video update so enjoy this one that I shot in my office.

Pray for a little warmer temps tomorrow too.

33 Hours To Go

May 23, 2013

Just like my previous post, as this trip gets closer I seem to get less and less sleep. Last night was another 5AM night followed by waking up at noon.. in a panic about what I needed to complete. On the productive side of things, this is the first face my new GoPro witnessed.

Yes, I would be scared also.

Let us examine the more important mechanical work that was completed though. Huge shout outs to Lance and the entire ChicagoRiders.us for all their support and donations. There is no way I would have been able to get my bike ready in time without their help. I finally received the correct rear sprocket but before you can swap between the old and new you must take off the chain. We ended up doing it the ‘Polish’ way and it worked like a charm.

I could not believe how much quieter my bike was with new sprockets and new chain. Combined with the new seat I was riding on a dream machine.

I was fortunate enough to have 2 bags donated to me for this trip. This is a photo of my most recent Amazon.com delivery and honestly, as worried as I was about packing everything, I am golden. I have more than enough space for everything and now it comes down to deciding how I want to arrange it all.

Tomorrow afternoon I am doing a ‘dry run’ where I will set everything up as if I was at a camp site (all of this completed in my parents suburban backyard). Aside from all the neighbors having a laugh, I think this will help solidify that I have all I need or remind me that I forgot something important.

In summary, I am READY and I’ll see you in tomorrows updated video post.

Five Days To Go

May 20, 2013

It’s 5AM on Monday and I still haven’t been to bed. As this trip gets closer I seem to notice more and more city noise and it certainly doesn’t help with my racing mind. Yesterday I was able to work out a few things for this trip so I assumed I would have rested easy this past evening. It appears I was wrong about that.

The new seat is now installed on the bike but I didn’t even have time to give it a test ride. I reinstalled my license plate lights to keep the cops from getting me on a technicality and I also received my replacement phone which now has a working hotspot function.

This trip has been in the works for a few weeks but even as of yesterday I am still buying things that I had missed. Every time I remember to purchase something I seem to remember something else with it. I need to get out of here before I’m out of money!

I also had my first camping experience yesterday. Rule #1: Don’t try to setup a tent indoors on hardwood flooring. During that whole process I have never felt so stupid and inexperienced. Everything was all over the place. Nothing would stand correctly. To top that, I ended up folding the tent incorrectly and had trouble getting it back into the stuff sack. After some slight convincing and much hesitation, I decided to be that guy who goes to the park to convince himself he knows how to setup a tent. Eight minutes later ..

I was now a man. It’s amazing how helpful a few stakes are.

The last of my big ticket items are arriving tomorrow so you can expect an update either Tuesday or Wednesday.