2013 Cross Country (Day 4) - 450 miles

So all this time Yermo has build the Mbymc site to be able to able to have maps that show all our stops via our Garmin zumo... I am now up to speed. I will now post a map of our daily stops for the day. The ozarks best western was really oddly. It was cheaper than expected. It looks like we are some baller yuppies on their BMWs. I discover this critter on the wall. 

The weather is heating up so we put on out heat out suites... I rip the sedici that I got from Duncan. Because there are seems along side the arm. But it's useable, just likely will rip more times on this trip. I recon I will throw it away after the trip. 

My gums was bothering me, my back kinda stop hurting, my ear was hurting from the ear plugs. Blah blah blah. 

We took a slow morning, and are in much better spirits. I think the 6 am on the road was a bit much. We bend to Danny's needs a bit and got out of just riding to ride. We were leaving at like 9:30, as I was leaving some kid pointed to me, I totally freaked and thought it was one of my kiddos catching me out side of school. He might have look familiar, but I was no way going to verify that, hahaha. 

A few miles in, we had to GPS the turn we have to make. Then we did out thing and stopped at Starbucks. 

We stayed at Starbucks for a good half an hour. It was getting good and hot. The heat out stuff is money. 

Then we got gas again after a few hundred miles

It was an unattended gas station. It had wierd above ground gas things with huge gas guns. Looked pretty industrial

We rode forever, and try to get food. Finally when we rode into town, at 2 ish we were tired and hungry. We saw food in the distance... Then we roll up... Bam, we had to wait for this shenanigans and bake in 100 degree sun... Then finally got food. We got some sub at this place. 

Still in kansas. It looked like a barren wasteland with a tiny town middle of nowhere. 

As we were leaving I ask the hostess+server+cashier hahaha how big is this town. She said... Oh I don't know, we were 3a in high school... I said to her with this look on my face 😒 "what does that mean?" She was like "I don't know blah blah blah." hahaha. She was so frazzled. I just let her get frazzled. I think I'm a master of awkward moments. Lol. I just watch her ramble and squirm and I just walked out when the check was paid. Haha 

Gas again. 400 was not as bad. We went through little towns all along the way. It was not all flat, but rather there was different things to see. 

We stopped here just under the bridge. I started leading now. It was rather interesting cause the cross wind that we were getting is coming at an angle, and earlier Yermo was telling me, "careful lots of wind, grip the tank don't tight up" I felt nothing. I was caught in his slipstream. Until I led for a good 100 or so miles, then I got the full blast. 

Each time a 18 wheeler roll by, I got the full blast of wind versus much much less on the far side. At this stop. I was worn out. It's tough leading, not just paying attention, but this many miles taking windblast, it is physically more exhausting. 

Cars and trucks are going at 80 mph. Catching bugs at 80 miles an hour hurts... Just like riding in the rain the last couple day at 80 mph feels like being pelted by BB gun. Even through the leather it hurts. Bare skin, was quite... The sensation. But I'm okay with this kind of pain. 

There are some really interesting farm decors, that ran 1000 ft prob. Just random stuff. No clue. Then there are the slaughter houses that we can smell miles away. 

We stopped short, real short of our daily goal. We never made it to Colorado. Instead we found dodge city. A famous tourist attraction. Apparently... It's suppose to be cowboy central. 

We rolled into dodge city late. Maybe around 8 ish,we got settle with lodging at 9 ish. Soon after we went looking for food. Being a minority, throughout the trip, I notice my surroundings quite a bit. When you walk in you have to be aware of your surroundings. While I do not as Yermo would call it "war game " in my head, I am as I confess, "distracted" by what is happening around me. Maybe distracted is even stronger than the word to describe it.

I simply feel uncomfortable when I'm at a place when I'm treated like an invalid. Hell, that's the reason why I never went into cornerstone in College Park. Because its a white bar. People look at you like you are lost, walked into a wrong place. I use to go into Sante fe bar when it wasn't closed yet, when you go in, it was diverse. You don't feel invisible, and people will look at you when you walk in and recognize you as an individual. It is a feeling one would have to experience to know what it means.

So it was quite odd as we ridden around dodge city looking for food. We pass this shop and there must have been 15 Asian people in the store. In fact they were all Asians. I said "that's odd" and Yermo responded "who do you think built the railroads, they never left". 

We stop at a restaurant soon after. As we sat down. A guy started talking to us, saying he was following us through Kansas for a long while and chatted us up. He looked mixed. His name was Albert. Turns out he owns the establishment 

Half way through the conversation with Yermo and I, the owner started asking me where I was from. I told him Taiwan. He was like "my wife is from Taiwan!" Then he showed me picture of his 2 daughters his wife and his son. He began to tell me about their lives. Never once did he show Yermo the pictures or talk to him. 

My minority friend of dodge city. He was indeed the minority. Our host at the resturant was Albert. 

The truth is, I never really hung out with the Asian crowd growing up. I always had African American, Hispanic and Caucasian friends. But beyond that, I play tennis, I play chess, I did Asian club. From athletes to geeks to ethnic clubs, it didn't matter. 

Racism is around everyday. Danny our former special forces person, never spoke to me, and never looked me in the eye, but talked to Yermo almost 100% of the time. People are prejudice, and as I look at my middle school kids, and the ones I sent to QOHS two years ago. I know the social elite sits on the top floor and most athletes and Caucasians. I know the ethnic group sits in the cafeteria. 

I know, when they were in middle school, they accepted each other more and hung out together. I know that it will change, they may still be "friendly" on all accounts, but some will never be invited to birthday parties, some will never be included in social events. We learn to hate, and we learn to segregate, it was never in our nature. 

2013 Cross Country (Day 3) - 425 miles

So I neglected to mention. 1st day, my guts was not doing well. It could be nerves, because everything was fine until 2 days before leaving. 2nd day was fine, but I have develop an aching pain in my right lower gum. It started with throbbing ear pain, then it was gum pain. It definitely bled some when I brush it at night. This morning, I felt it only a little and was completely unaware of it until end of the day. As the ear plug were in longer the gums hurt more. There may be a correlation.

As I write this, my gum is hurting more than even yesterday. It's not debilitating, but it is a constant aching pain. I was again shocked to see Yermo alive this early in the morning

I am less bloated. At that current point, nothing was hurting and I felt good.

Yermo forever with a cup of coffee. We went underway, Danny talked a whole lot at breakfast. He seem quite bother traveling our pace. He kept mention "he is a guy with goals and he achieves them, cause he's special forces." He talked rather loud, and it seem he wanted the whole world to know he was special forces... It's like the alpha male mentality for some guys when they meet other guys who are equally "hardcore" if you will. They seem to need to proof his ranking in the pack. Such ridiculous behavior. Oh well. 

Then he said the most hypocritical thing... "I have to conscious set a goal to not have a goal." Aka I'm having a hard time going at your pace, and I need to meet my goal. But I'm gonna set a goal not to set a goal... Really? Isn't that like still setting a goal. So essentially nothing's changed... 

As I wrote in my book, most people believe they are making a difference choice when they are making the same one. Change is about changing how one process things. Change ones own logic. We road 90 miles and came to this stop. Later we found out the gas was super lame, and both me and Yermo got less than 40 mpg. It rain so many times today. On and then off. Then on, then off. It was ridiculous. I put on the rain suit like 3 times. The BMW Pro Rain one piece is worth every penny.

We made another stop and went to BWW for lunch. Gassing up before heading into the Ozarks

In the Ozarks,the rest stop

In the next four miles, we end up on the road they called Arkansas dragon. 15 miles of twisties. Surprisingly the road was very well maintained. It went from 50 mph sign to 45, to 35 etc etc to 10. The 10 mile per hour might as well be u turn, it was that tight. I got pretty scared and went at total snail speed. Like 20 maybe. 

At one point we stop for a picture in a blind corner. Danny got very worked up. It was kinda dangerous if someone came behind us, but we road the same direction at quite the fast pace. There wasn't anyone going to come up on within a minute or two. Either way, Danny road off, and at the end of the road, we chatted and he said "he can't ride with us." I think we just didn't make as miles as he would like, and it bugged him since last night, and at breakfast, and anytime we stop. He was probably just looking for a reason to go longer and faster on his own. 

40 some miles away from eureka springs. Our off road excursion to video the storm and sunny side of the Arkansas weather

We came up on a very cool antique bike grave yard. 

We finally did the last 20 miles and we were on the topside of eureka springs. A town within the mountain. Pop 2000 or so. Very neat. Brody told me this is where he stayed for his Ozarks performance. Pretty cool.

This was apparently not the place he performed... For a small town there sure was a lot of performing arts places... 

Dinner at the local restaurant. Yermo and I discussing where to go next. 

Found a best western just 2 miles out. It's quite the imperial suite for 80 bucks

 We plan on making to Colorado tmr. It'll be a long day. It was along day today, especially with how Danny left. Oh well, for all we know, he may have been a child molester, hahaha. 

I'm too tire and my gum is hurting too much. I'll likely reflect more another day. For today, it's goodnight. 

2013 Cross Country (Day 2) - 370 miles

We got up at 6 am and got to the restaurant at 6:30.... What a fail

The diner doesn't open until 7:30. That's what we get for being efficient and productive. Should of slept in. 

It looked like a brilliant morning, and even though we got food at 7:30 and were going to run the gap bag-less for one full pass, then come back to Fontana to checkout, it started raining pretty steady....

In the interest of covering some distance today, we load up and decide to ride through the dragon and go. 

Yermo was kind enough to air up my tires, since my aerostitch pump fail to have a BMW attachment.  

The rain was steady for the last 20 minutes while we packed. We got in our monkey suit... And long and behold... 

The rain stopped... We met that guy. He was going to Alaska to pick up a 1200gs and ride around. Go figures. Being sarcastic "let me go to Germany tmr, and buy a Lamborghini and tool around" where these people have the money and time...hahaha

Stop at the lake, it was drizzling, but hardly enough to wear the rain gear. Started to feel better. 

When we got to the dragon Yermo was not feeling too hot, so we stopped, he went and got coffee, I picked up another can of plexus. My can is almost out. 

Then I went to killboys new shop to check it out. It has expanded quite a bit since last year. The loft is completed and there is a metal dragon sculpture now

As the rain stop, the traffic started to pick up on the dragon. The rain suits became unbearably hot. So off they went. 

Halfway point on the dragon. The last time we came down here, Yermo didn't have the Sena unit, this time was interesting as Yermo guided me play by play each turn. The ground was still wet, so I was a bit skittish. We went through rather slow. Nevertheless it was still a lot of fun, and re learn a lot of things. 

We waited here for two trucks to make it down first, cause they were holding up our fun. This was almost at the end. 

Lunch soon came after at waffle house. Just outside of Knoxville, TN. 80 miles so far. 

We then follow suit to Starbucks after gassing up. We rested a while longer

The day has started to get easier. Actually look forward to riding and just go. We have a rough idea where we will go, but we don't really have any direct route. It doesn't matter, I was starting to enjoy just being on the road, regardless the location.

We pass Danny on US 40. He join up behind us. He was rocking a f650gs thumper.  Later we met at the gas station. He is apparently a former military medical something. Either way, we were heading the same direction, he ask if he can tag along and just ride with us, we happily accepted. He had lots of story on the bike, including injury his head and having poor memory. Yermo handed him a card, asked him if he will "remember us when he see the card later" he took a picture of us just so he would remember. #epic 150 miles so far. 

We were near Nashville at this point. The storm was very intermittent. We got dump on, then it was 80 degrees then more rain and repeat. Yermo has taught me the Jedi master way of avoiding the sucker hole. (Putting the rain suit on for 5 miles and then having to remove it again, because its too hot, and then repeat and repeat.) 

Between gassing up and being on our way, it was all sunny again... #crazy weather

And then I killed a butterfly. It just flew into my helmet. So gross. Bucksnort ,TN. Danny is still with us. We are gonna grab dinner soon. A giant moth, I hope I don't catch that on my face shield ... 

After food at a local place, we left another 30 some miles, ending today's adventure at 370 miles. We are about 100 miles from Memphis 

Danny is logging up with us, they gave us a cot and we have three beds in a two bed place. 20 bucks a person. Can't beat that. They even have brkfast. Danny will be riding with us all day tmr, and show us some routes. It seems like he has a lot of miles under him. Pretty awesome.

I look stoned. I feel like I look like this every night. Tire and hundreds of miles of wind blast to the face. 

I've not felt this free for a long time. I have no desire to turn around, or go home. I have no desire to be in the comfort of my house. I will have to say, I do like southern people, they are so much nicer than the city folks. I heard alot of conversation exchanged between the older white men. :p At time, I felt left out, since I did not have such adventure to share, nor do I have as much experience, but you learn what you can, with what is given. 

The most important one, I would say would be that "you can plan, and you should plan, but have no expectations." This is a ride cross country, that is the plan, but it is not to say we have to see anything specific for certain. We left the dragon early, we could of ran it a few more times. I think Yermo really wanted to run it more times. But if we did, we wouldn't have met Danny. 

Although, Yermo and Danny spoke of expectations in motorcycle terms, it does apply to a lot of things. Many people do a lot of things with preconception of how it will turn out, or how it needs to turn out. When those expectations are the same as reality they are either disappointed or bored. We are influence by media so strongly. What should be, and what fun looks like. We forget that more often than not, what is fun is the unexpected. 

2013 Cross Country (Day 1) - 620 miles

Today is the first day of our trip. I got up at 5:00 and waited till 5:15 to call Phaedon to make sure he will be at Yermos at 6 to pick up my keys. To my surprise he reply immediately as I text him. "I was up at 4:30". Okay I wasn't really surprise, I knew Phaedon was reliable. I got showered and dressed. When I arrive at Yermo's both bikes were already out and ready. Its an interesting feeling dealing with reliable people. Being able to depend on people. Being on time, and keeping your word has always been out of respect for others, but more importantly, respect and expectation for myself. Many people do not value those values any longer. 

After a few photos, we left at 6:01 am. I was so tired. I slept only 4 hours the night before. Maybe it's anxiety. I was however alert enough to ride.

Before long we did 90 miles and stopped at our usual first rest point, Front Royal, VA. We were going a  pretty good clip. I felt rather excited. I didn't look down at the odometer, just at the road ahead. It was quite the burden last year doing the whole way back from the dragon, albeit it was crazy hot. Today, seem much easier. Expectation is such a powerful anesthetic, if you do not know what to expect, it seems the pain is interminable. While if you knew what is coming, the same act seem less burdensome  and less taxing. 

Our first gas stop. All the stop we stop for gas or rest seem very familiar. Yermo said to me that "he seem to stop at the same place each time. At first I thought, maybe he is familiar and comfortable with the place. While that maybe true, we stop when we don't need to stop, and we take periodic breaks whether we need it or not. It's good practice, it's discipline to keep not only yourself safe, but all those you ride with. Naturally, if we took the same route, we stop at the same mile markers.

220 miles in Acadia. Shell gas station. Just break, no gas, we only had 80 miles on the tank, we will stop in the next 80 mile marker.

300 miles, at the sportsman general store. This was actually a new place. We missed a exit and had to go to the next one. It was right by the lake. The lake didn't come out well in the picture. We then broke for lunch soon after at Shoneys at the next available town. 

We then made it to Bristol va. As we roll up into the Starbucks, I remember last year at 120 degree weather, we met some guy from bmore or something chatting us up as he was going back home as well. I remember him to be quite loud. 

Some places the water is just better than other places. And Bristol, at least today, was one of those places. Guy at the counter asked if those were our BMW bikes, I said "yea, we are headed to Seattle". He said cool and some small talk. I went to pick up my drink, and a light red head barista asked, "so does your bike have names." She was standing 6 feet away as she fixes the stuff on the counter next to me. Okay, she was really cute. Do I think she was flirting? Maybe. 

Leaving Bristol the sun came out, Yermo turned very Asian all of a sudden. 

At 440 miles at Metcalf Overlook on route 26

We parked our bikes over 300 ft away

Darn it was bright. I was falling asleep at this point. Like crashing type of falling asleep. 

Then we took a crazy detour to this k bike camping ground. This was a planned route, just didn't know it was this far. This took a lot of time. And it was quite disappointing. Unlike the e30 gathering of custom mods, it was all stock bikes. Stock suspension for the most part. Yawn... 

I did get two photos for Duncan on the k1. The black one is pretty awesome #dowant

It was getting late and we still had 80 miles to Fontana. At one point, I had to tell Yermo to pull over because my shoulder was cramping up. This guy that lives in the area chatted up Yermo, while I walked around to loosen up. We did about 600 miles by then.

At around 5:15. My Sena unit battery decide to die, I think the music killed the battery via Bluetooth. I pulled out my accessory USB power, courtesy of rob Shaunessey, and plug it right in and tucked it in my jacket. Yermo took a picture of it charging, and I was able to use it. Apparently when the unit is plugged in, it amplified its volume and clarity... Hm...

Then we did the last 20 miles to Fontana, or rather the Dragon preparation roads. It's surprising how bad I've gotten over the year. Complacency is pretty bad. Shoulder was tight, hands were tight, body position is off, on and off throttle is inconsistent. Sigh.... Lame. 

Finally got to Fontana at 7:30, Then we went to get food. 

So the oil came with the bread that's as under the wrapping. The waiter goes "some bread for you." So I try to look under the wrapping, and Yermo goes... "The bread isn't there, they are gonna bring it out." Long behold it was under the covers. Hahaha. Hilarious.

As we ate dinner, I remember a year and some ago, we were here. Things were different then. For both of us. It was quite the dejavoo moment. Many times in the conversation, I went back and forth to the year before. Not knowing which trip this was. All the responsibility and the baggages I had last year, they are no more. The book was done, what else is next?

Sometime during dinner the question was posed, "what is the story of this trip?" I thought I knew. It was rather clear for the last few month. I wanted to write about the backstory, the reason why I need to find myself again, etc etc. In fact, it was cleared until that question at dinner. I looked down at my phone and the photos I took, and how it would relate to the story I would like to tell. The story I wanted to tell about why I'm not sharing this with her. How I want to overcome this and that, all seem to matter no longer. Right now, I just want to get up, ride the dragon. I want to see the Ozarks and Pikes Peak, and most of all the Pacific Ocean. 

Maybe I'll figure out the story along the way. 

11:55 at Fontana resort

2013 Cross Country - Packing and Bike Prep

So I ask Yermo to come with me to this cross country trip. I will post more back story to come as I get underway. I want to post an overview of the trip and packing list. 

This is our proposed trip. The trip is planned for July 13th to August 3rd or 5th. A total of 21 to 23 days. We will go south first to deals gap. From there head west to the ozarks. We will then move towards Colorado. Pacific coast highway, then up to Seattle. 

I got my bike prepped with the help of Yermo last week

Yesterday Yermos bike ran into some trouble with his bike

But at 7 pm today we manage to tidy everything up, I also wired up this gizmo into the bike hatch, so my phone will be charged the whole time when I'm underway. This was an issue last year in the mountains. My phone keeps dying cause it keeps searching for service due to lack of reception in the mountain. 

I also worked a bit on packing this time, since I needed a lot more tools and equipment to be comfortable going through many temperature changes in the mountains. My main suit is the rev it ignition 2. It is a half mesh and half leather suit. It does heat up quite a bit when your not moving, being black it sucks up the heat fast. Along with my shoei rf1100 chroma helmet. There are liners for the rev it suit, but they are more like emergency items, since they aren't exactly adequate for more dramatic temperature and weather changes. I packed the liners in with the tools.

Electronics which will mostly be packed in the tank bag will include, Garmin zumo550. Go pro hero 2. A Sena SMH10 on the helmet and a spare in my bag. My phone, my iPad mini, and misc charge cords. Enough tech to go to the moon. You are also looking at over 2 grand of farkles that will be obsolete in another year. If not already

Rest of the gear including BMW silk glove liner, BMW Atlantis 3 gloves (waterproof), BMW one piece rain suit, rev it fly (my summer glove), aerostitch kanetsu heated vest, a quart of oil, aerostitch portable tire compressor, bag of misc tools and tie ties, tank bag extender, my GPS stuff, revit liners. I would find the spare oil filter later and shove it in the case somewhere. 

This is how it looks fitted. This is the left saddle. The side with the side stand, which is the side where I also come off the bike. All these items are carefully chosen as items I will consistently need when weather changes. It is on the most accessible side. 

For the clothing, I decided to use the bag liner, that way when I get to the hotel, I don't have to use the hard case, I can just grab the duffel and go inside with a shoulder strap. It may not seem like much, but convienence will likely play a big part when we are exhausted and looking for lodging. 

So I packed a toiletries, sedici cooling suit courtesy of Duncan sterling, rev it socks, alpine star socks, 1 pair of casual pants, sandles, swim shorts, thermos, fleece jacket, some tiger balm type pads in case we have injuries or muscle fatigue that requires it. 

Finally my tank bag, with plastic cleaner for lens, the red water container, microfiber towels, glasses, electronics, Mbymc hat, and some other nic nac I need. 

Well that's it for now. We have a 6 am departure time, and it's almost midnight. 

Back of the Dragon Trip (WARNING: EPIC FAIL CONTENT)

So I took the trip with the car guys on my bike. We are suppose to go to the back of the dragon and then down to deals gap. Well back of the dragon was pretty nice.

I took Shaba's brother this time.

To my own poor decision, and not listening to Yermo's warning, "skyline drive sucks, the speed limit is way too low". I took skyline drive...

I eventually got a ticket for 200 bucks. The cop stated that he "got me going at a certain speed". He got me on radar when he was driving towards me, and I was directly behind another car... Yea okay... He was totally harassing me, knowing I was an out of town-er. Asking me to put my hand up like if I was a mass criminal... Then he ask me all kinds of inappropriate questions like my SSN like I'm some illegal immigrant; this was well after he cross checked all my license and registration.

I'm not foreign to racism, but losing my cool was having it effect me emotionally was really an issue. I lost my cool, just like how I got seriously injured on my snowboard that one year. It's really hard to tell when you are emotionally compromised. That's why it is very important to travel and do any high risk activity with people that will compliment you well to slow you down. People that can tell you how to act, when they know that you are out of your head and won't admit it. The person that will take your key away from you, when they know you have too much to drink.

I had alot of fun, but getting angry at the cop for harassing me got under my skin. Some where mentality I locked up, and eventually I came into this corner, and hit a few gravel, recovered. The another corner... gravel, recovered. But little by little, my eye sight started focusing on the floor where the gravels are and not where I was going. On a inside turn on this road call "the back of the dragon" (not to be confused with deals gap), I was turning left, I locked up on the handle bar. My eyes were fixated no more than 6 feet in front of me. I was half lean over. I hear myself telling my self as the bike refuse to turn anymore. "let go, let go, your going to crash, you need to let go, LET GO, BAM!" It was an odd sensation, I couldn't let go my grip even though I was telling myself to do so. I see myself crashing 4 seconds before the crash, and each second I was telling myself to let go. I hit the ground probably at 25 to 30 miles an hour. The bike flew in the ditch, and I somehow was standing in the middle of the road the instant after. I want to say, I had a religious experience, and that my life flash before my eyes, etc. The truth is, it happen so quickly, I didn't even have time to be scare or feel anything. The bike was facing the opposite direction, so it must have spun 180.

First thing I was worried about is that Shabas brother was on the top of the bike, and strapped in to the tank bag. I ran over and got him out. Thank goodness he was alright, I would have really lost myself if he was damaged. Jeff 1 and Jeff 3 came soon after and helped me get the bike up and out of the ditch. It was way too far over, and lifting 500 lb from a half upside down position was more than I can handle by myself. The bag mount broke off on one side, the windshield shattered in couple pieces, my phone was mounted on my bike, and remarkably it didnt seem damaged. I would later find out that the phone was bent, but the screen didnt crack.

Remarkably other than those damage the bike itself didn't even get scratched. I replace the windshield and the bag, reset the ABS and the bike was just fine. I put another 10 thousand miles on it already, and it is now prepped to go cross country. I rode couple hundred miles back by myself after the crash. Bruised ego, no injuries, another little nick on my helmet.

A crash and lock up can happen anytime. Having a calm and collected head is always the most important thing in riding. Never ride angry, never ride annoyed. I have alot to work on, getting over things that bothers me. If anything, to keep myself alive.

Deals Gap 2012 (The Ride Back) - 636 miles

We woke up early, we saw that the weather will be brutally hot, so we got on the road as soon as possible. This was one of my favorite shots as we rode out.

Coming back was pretty brutally hot and humid. At our first Starbucks stop, I almost felt like my vision was blurring out on me. It was a good 45 minute break, but after that I was okay all the way home. Yermo on the other hand... well lets just say he doesn't like the heat as much as I do. Lol

It took us 14 hours to get back, many of the those hours were breaks we had to take inbetween to hydrate and cool off from the heat. When we got close to Front Royal, we also saw the derecho was coming our way. We rode ahead of the storm just by a hair, going quite fast. Half way through the ride, just when we hit 495 Yermo's headlight blew out. We couldn't stop, knowing the storm was right behind us. There was a major traffic jam up north of 495. It should have just taken us 25 minutes back without traffic. If we sat in the traffic it would have taken us over an hour. So we took the long way around the beltway, which took 45 minutes. It was a good decision since there was no traffic, but more importantly we beat the storm by 15 seconds give or take a few seconds. The second we got into the garage and the bikes on the stand, the storm hit, and the power line in front of Yermo's house came down.

I left Shaba with his brother to tell him about the trip and went across the street in my car to tell her I was alright.

Here are some pictures from the professional photographers on the mountain pass.

A month later, the book was done.

Deals Gap 2012 (Day 4) - 199 miles

Next morning, we rode the Dragon and then we went back to Fontana and packed up to go exploring around the area.

I took Shaba with me. This was the Cherohala Skyway.

We visited the Tennessee side of the Dragon, and we went inside one of the stores to get some coffee and take a break. I went to use the rest room just before we were ready to leave. Immediately, when I went in the bathroom and shut the door, the clerks started talking trash about Asian people. "taking all our jobs"... etc. I walked out and Yermo says to me "lets go" sternly. Hahaha.

Later in the day, we return to the dragon, running it through one more time.

All good things comes to an end, this was the last night at Fontana resort.

The days seem to meshed together, I don't remember how long it has been since I came into the mountains. It did not seem to matter either. I do however, know that soon enough, I will have to go home. While I did miss home, I did not really want to leave, at least not yet.

Deal Gap 2012 (Day 3) - 102 miles

You know you are getting close to motorcycling mecca when you wake up and go to your bike, and there are towels on your bike to wipe off the morning dew.

Soon we are an earshot away from Fontana Resort. The resort we will stay in, that is a couple minutes to the tails of the dragon AKA deals gap. Then we arrived!

We unpacked, check fluid level, and tire pressure. I left Shaba in the cabin, and we took off to the Dragon.

I took an obligatory photo op. It was kinda... okay very cheesy the way they have it set up. It was a lot less grander than I thought. It seem almost amateurish in its presentation for such a popular place. I think Killboy is fixing this with his bbq/ lounge/ gift shop.

A few shots of the first pass through the dragon. 

Yermo showing me where not to crash and kill myself. #gravitycavity. Then we avoid the 18 wheeler on our way back... experiencing the fear of colliding into a 18 wheeler on a motorcycle.

I watched the sun set at the resort, winding down my first day on the dragon. I wish she was here with me at the time. I knew she would enjoy the resort, but I also know she wouldn't have enjoy the 550 miles leading up to this. This was a trip that requires the temperament and calmness even facing hours of uncomfortable heat, saddle soreness, and the ability to leave the luxury behind to discover natures perfection.  

Deals Gap 2012 (Day 2) - 308 miles

I woke up the second day with little expectation other than getting on the road as soon as possible. I have always been an early bird. Getting up 6 in the morning would be consider normal for me. I never like sleeping in.

But since Yermo is a bit of a night owl, I got up and did my stretches and showered. It worked out rather well, we never had to bump shoulders for sink space. We went to get breakfast soon after and got on our way.

We also stopped for gas, and we asked this other guy who was on a motorcycle as well, to take this picture for us.

Yermo told me about how Blue Ridge Parkway is always filled with traffic and that it is very very slow. Obviously, because he said that we got almost no traffic at all.

Soon in the day, I have made a crowning achievement. :) After signaling and honking at Yermo for nearly 2 miles that he didn't notice, I went back to take a picture of this sign. When Yermo realize I was gone, it must have been a couple minutes later, Yermo thought I crashed and died. He came riding back, what must have been 100 miles an hour. Then he saw me just come back from my photo op. I think this was the turning point for him to buy the SENA SMH10 unit. Hahaha. The turning point where the entire MbyMC got the Sena unit...

then there was this awesome turn, with an equally awesome sign in the middle. A few more stops as we go higher and higher up into the mountain.

We then get to a scenic highway that we decided to hike in. We found a rock that over see the highway. I later choose to use the photo I got here for the cover of my book with the tag line "roads to redemption" just inside the cover.

The day disappear quickly with one beautiful scenery after another. I didn't think about going home anymore, I did however wish I could have shared this with her and Shaba's little brother. Before long, we are at the top of the mountain.

After the peak, we putt down the mountain, many times just coasting in neutral. There was a few parts at the end, where we gone through tunnels in the mountains that had no lights at all. Imagine leaning into a dark tunnel with no light and no illumination of any kind, not knowing where you are going and even though the headlight is on, you can't really see where you are going, cause the light is pointing forward, but you are going left or right through the turn. Pretty harrowing experience. Maybe I'll be able to catch some footage next time, now that I know what to expect.

We arrive at the end of the parkway entrance on the other side. It was a interesting feeling, I almost wanted to just turn around, not go home, but run the mountain over again. But anyone who knows how to enjoy something overtime knows that we always save some for later.

We didn't want to push the last leg to get to our destination, it was getting late, so we took off looking for some where to stay.

Deals Gap 2012 (Day 1) - 369 miles

It has been two years since I started motorcycling under the tutelage of my good friend Yermo Lamers. What seem like a long two years at the time, was filled with memories that I seem to only remember through the pictures.

It has been 7 years since the last time I traveled. It has been 11 years since I took a vacation. Between finishing undergrad, ending a five and half year relationship, going to grad school and dating someone else; I have not only lost track of time; I seem to have lost myself. I find myself stuck, wanting to go back to a time that I felt safe. A time that I am not even sure what it was or when it was. I just know I was stuck, and this feeling of being stuck that I could not let go. I didn't want to travel for the longest time, that is until I felt the freedom of the two wheels beneath me. Something I said I would never do, just a few years before.

I was almost done with my first novel "Three Broken Promises" at the time. It was in its final stages of cover design and final submission. For the last three years, that was my obsession. It is something I wanted to achieve long before anything got complicated, and here I am only moments away from being done. It was time to take the trip.

Over the years, I have develop a sense of fear of leaving home. While I was always aware of this fear, I never truly dealt with it. Instead, I masked it, and pretended it wasn't there. I develop coping mechanism and halfway solutions. One could argue that I had a full onset of adjustment disorder from my last break up. All I know was that I was inseparable from my "bears".

I couldn't really tell how uncomfortable I was at the time, nor could I identify this feeling that I am able to so eloquently assign a name to now. What I felt as I got on that road was shortness of breath, ulcer like feeling, and my mind was racing wanting to see something familiar.

As we set off under way, I couldn't shake this feeling of wanting to turn around. I wonder if I could make all the miles. The longest I have ridden before this trip was a two day ride that cover less than 400 miles. Today alone we will do nearly 400 miles, and there is a week worth of riding to come. The time inside the helmet, even with my SMH10 headset and music, seem to turn slower. I kept looking down at the odometer and seeing how much longer I had to go. It seem like forever when we finally reached the beginning of Blue Ridge Parkway.

When we got there, I sat on my bike, not wanting to step off the bike for the picture, fearing that I may not have the courage to keep riding if I did. Just before we took off into the mountain, I open my tank bag and took a drink and spoke to Shaba (he was sitting in my tank bag with my drink), assuring him that we will have the best of times together.

Ever since I was young, the mountains always spoke to me; more than any other natures gift. The mountains humbled me, effacing all the materialism and the superficiality of city life. I felt like myself again, remembering the things that really matters. I showed Shaba where we were, and put him back in the bag promptly, since there were many stops to come we didn't stay long. I wish she was here with me, but somehow I knew she would not have enjoy it as much without the limelight.

As we rode through the twisty back mountain road, we came up to a few others who was riding similar motorcycles, so we made some friends :)

A few hundred miles in, we stopped at a tourist site. I'm not much for tourist sites.

Then it was miles and miles of riding. I got on the bike, I got off the bike. Everything starts to feel right, I still talked to Shaba every time we stopped. I took some pictures for him.

It was nearly 90 degrees outside, and a bearable 80 in the mountain. On this one stretch of road, there was a sudden change of weather, and a thunderstorm came over us. The rain came instantaneous, but no more than 3 minutes the rain stopped. All the rain evaporated and fogged up the entire mountain. I could barely see anything in front of me. The fog was so dense, I almost came to a stop on the side of the road cause I couldn't see. Yermo had to turn around when he didn't see me in his rear view.

After a few more lookouts and more miles, our day was done.

After a long day, we are finally ready for bed

Sometime between the rain, fog, and getting on and off the bike I had left a lot of my anxiety in the miles behind me. I was content on just getting on my bike the next morning.

R80rt my first bike.

I bought her last may and put about 2k on her. She was an awesome bike, started every time, and never gave me any problems. But the carbs were just too much hassle for a daily bike. If I live closer to my work, I probably sport it regularly, but since have to super speed the beltway my S is the main star now.