Now I have friends and acquaintances that have sold everything, quit their jobs, and just travel the world on their motorbikes. One couple in particular, just celebrated ten years on the road. And I think that if I were a cat who had nine lives, at least one of them would include that life. But I’m not a cat.
I also have friends who have done something similar, but for shorter periods of time, such as maybe a year to a few years. Again, the cat comes to mind. But, I still haven’t figured out how to become a cat, if a cat really has nine lives, and if I were a cat, would I be able to travel around the world on a motorbike.
Like I said, before, I’m more like the average joe. I have a wife, kids, a job, mortgage, and all the trappings of a typical middle-aged American. Even If I wanted to do so, I don’t think the family would want me to just quit my job, sell off my belongings, and maybe theirs too, and take off on the motorbike for a long period of time. In fact, I’m pretty sure when I came back, they would be nowhere to be found. Or at least they wouldn’t be too excited to see me again. So however I’m going to do this, I better keep my family in mind. And besides, what would become of me in my old age if I have no home or family to come back to. Maybe I better do some thinking.
After thinking about all of this, I decided that for me, my trips needed to in the range of 30-60 days. I could still work, but take off time for the trip. My family wouldn’t leave me. And I would always have a home base to come back to. Also, and I think this is important, at least for me, is that with keeping my trips shorter, I would not have trouble acclimating back to my “normal” life after being out on the road. This may sound strange, but I am writing this after my trip to Alaska, where I was “away” from the day to day life I’m used to for nearly a month. And even in just that short of time, going back to the “normal” life took a few days to adjust back to. And I have friends who after a few years on the road, say they gave up trying to ever adjust back and some have had a difficult time at best. So enough about the background stuff. Let’s get the trip started.
Day 1 – Leaving Home
As usual, things don’t always go as planned. Originally, I was to leave home around 8:30 in the morning and ride over to Le Claire, Iowa, where I would stop off at the American Pickers Shop and do a video of the visit. But at the last minute, the History Channel changed their shooting schedule to my day, and theirs takes precedence over mine. So no American Pickers video for this trip. Not having to be there at 10:00 am, meant I could just leave a bit later. And so it was nearly 10:00 am before I got on the road.
Here’s a little video of my leaving shot by my youngest son on his ipod. He and my middle age son were home to see me off.
Day one was really pretty uneventful. I planned to ride to St.Paul, Minnesota for the first night. No special route was planned. I would just wing it along the way. But I thought a stop at the self-proclaimed world’s largest truckstop in Walcott, Iowa might be a good place for lunch, so I headed off towards there.
I don’t know if this is the world’s largest truckstop, but it is pretty big.
I took some time to look around, and of course have a bite to eat. I also had plenty of company. Everyone from Harley riders to an older retired couple who used to ride had to stop by and talk with me.
I eventually got away from all the curious onlookers and made my way over to the gas pumps where what else, more people came over to find out where I was headed or from where I came. This would be a common theme throughout the trip. When the bike is loaded up like it was, it attracts people of all ages like a magnet.
Speaking of bike, in the previous video, you might have noticed how I had my tires mounted on the back of the bike. They were hanging over the top box. Hanging over a bit too much. That first day, they proved that to me over and over, as the bike was a bit light in the front end. I actually pulled the front wheel off the ground while passing a bit too aggressively on the interstate. So the next day, I figured out how to mount them a bit more forward, which made all the difference in the world.
So like I said, day one was pretty uneventful. Well, that is if you don’t count the guy who mooned me while passing me on the interstate. Oh, and the girl, riding passenger with another gal, who decided to show me her breasts. Actually, she only partially showed them to me. I think she chickened-out at the last moment. So not full exposure, just a partial. Both events were not recorded with the GoPro. Although I was in photo-mode, and easily could have just reached over and hit the remote control and taken a picture, I didn’t think of it until it was too late.
I had lots of people who gave me the thumbs up, as well as other types of signals that all appeared to show appreciation for what it appeared to them I was doing. Taking a trip on my motorbike. Well, maybe not. Maybe it was the GoPro Camera mounted on my helmet that had them thinking they would be the next video star on Youtube or something.
In the past, when wearing the GoPro on my Helmet, I’ve had people chase me down and ask me if I work for Google Earth. Actually, I once passed a Google Earth car in Peoria while wearing the camera. I was not filming at the time, I have no idea if they were either. Maybe I should check that out some day.
Onward I Travel
So the plan is to ride north from St. Paul, Minnesota up to Grand Forks, ND where I catch Highway 2. Take Highway 2 through North Dakota, and then mostly across Montana. Then turn north on 15 and take that across the border into Canada. I tell you this is the plan because just prior to my trip, Alberta, Canada suffered some of the worst flooding they have ever experienced. Nearly 100,000 people were evacuated from Calgery alone. And all the main roads suffered damage or in many cases, total shutdown as the bridges were washed out.
In the United States, this closing of roads is not a big deal. We’ll just take another one. But outside of our country, especially in the mountains, such a luxury may not be so likely. So based upon my observations in the news, along with a few conversations with people traveling up in that area, it sounded a bit bleak that I might be able to actually travel in that area of the country. And I had planned to ride the Icefields Parkway and stay in Lake Louise, Alberta. Now it sounded as though I might not be able to get there. Word was that the only way into and out of Baniff was by helicopter!
So as I traveled across Highway 2, I kept one eye on the road and one eye on the news regarding travel in that part of Canada. I really wanted to ride the Icefields Parkway. Would I be able to actually even get to the Parkway? And if not, what route then do I take to get to Alaska. This wasn’t some small area affected by a little flood. This is more like if I can’t travel up through what is called the eastern access to Alaska, I might have to stay in the States, ride all the way to the coast and enter into Canada through Vancouver, British Columbia. And that would total upset my travel schedule. In my next installment, I will cover the ride across Highway 2 and my decision of what route to take into Canada due to all of the flooding.
Thanks for following my little presentation and I’ll see you right here next time on Where In The World Is Jim.
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