Category Archives: Inspiration

Books, Inspiration

Must Have Book

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If you are interested in adventure riding at all and would like to find out more about it, check out Adventure Motorcycling Handbook by Chris Scott.

This book is the bible for all adventure bikers.  Scott details maintenance, travel, packing, planning and all other elements necessary for a good trip.  It doesn’t matter if you are planning a solid weekend camping ride or a trip around the world, there is something to be gained from Scott.  The book is really well made and could put up with the rigors of travel while also carrying hundreds of gorgeous and informative pictures.

Amazon link below to the latest edition if you would like to check it out.  My suggestion would be to get the paperback over the Kindle because of all the pictures and diagrams which don’t translate as well from the Kindle.

Be Gone, Inspiration

Roatan Is Looking Good

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The idea came easily enough.  We were already booked for a week long dive trip to Roatan, Honduras in September 2017.  My wife and I were really excited to finally have a chance to get back in the water for diving and especially when it looks like paradise from the pictures.  We like to travel with friends and quite of few of them are already divers.  Luckily, one of them is also a rider and has experience making adventure-type trips before.  I floated the idea of making the trip down to Roatan on our bikes and letting the wives meet us down there on their respective flights.  He laughed a little bit and I figured we would probably go no further.

Little did I know, he spent all of ten seconds deliberating while I had already forgotten the suggestion and answered,  “I would be open to doing that…”  I was floored but immediately my head started swimming with exactly what I would need to do to start planning for a trip like this.  I had to map it out to see if this was even a possibility. I wasn’t sure exactly what port would be our final destination before hitching a ride to the island of Roatan but a quick Google search got me the answer, La Ceiba.  La Ceiba sounds beautiful and once I knew there was a port which regularly made trips to Roatan I was certain we could make this trip happen.

I don’t know exactly how to describe the feeling I get when an idea goes from just a brainstorming, non-commitment type of thought to a bonafide, legitimate option.  It is like all those bank robbery movies where the two buddies look at each other and say something like,  “So, are we talking about this or are we really TALKING about this?”  Then they both smile and the super cool music starts playing while we see a montage of the preparation.  The feeling isn’t quite that spectacular but I have to say I am having a ton of fun figuring this trip out and getting an idea of what our real logistical issues might be for this trip.

Again, I don’t even have the bike yet so this could easily be me putting a fair amount of cart before the horse but I have always believed when you see a passionate path, take it.  Don’t worry about the reasons it’s stupid or impossible or too expensive.  Just get your feet moving in the right direction and the rest will take care of itself.

There have been some advancements which I will highlight in future blog posts but first I am really looking forward to bringing home my bike and learning how to ride.  This Roatan trip is the third in a line trips I have planned for a bike I don’t have.  I am going to go from not being a rider at all to cutting up asphalt in less than a year.  I better get to work.

Please subscribe to this blog to get future updates about how to grab hold of an idea, turn it into your dream and finally make it your reality.

Inspiration

How Did I Get Here?

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It all started because I watched the documentary Long Way Round and thought it would be cool to ride with my friends to exotic places.

That is it.  It wasn’t a grand thought.  It didn’t take a long time to come up with.  It just appeared and I let the seed embed itself in my mind.

The following day I got in touch with my good friend Nault to talk to him about this idea.  I pretty much assumed he would laugh and dismiss any notion of continuing this farce.  He didn’t.  Instead, he started to get as excited as I was about the prospect of doing something spectacular.

We tossed out a few destinations and potential trip ideas before finally coming up with Alaska to Panama.  Now this still seemed way out of reach.  I mean, I didn’t even have a bike.  It didn’t matter.  We were on our way to taking care of the first part of a trip like this…cultivating a passion.  If you allow yourself to get excited about an idea and follow it, great things can happen for you.  What we see from so many people is the initial idea and then a thousand reasons why they shouldn’t or couldn’t do it.  The alternative we should be embracing is to have the idea and enjoy it for a bit.  Let it settle in without any interference to see how it works to engage your soul.  If it inspires you, then you can start moving forward with all the reasons to say yes instead of any of the reasons to say no.

Saying no is a simple and weak act.  It does not allow you to grow.  It does not make you stronger.  It only limits you and drains your motivation.  Find a way to say yes when your passionate about an idea even if it seems completely insane initially.  It is through this beginning courageous act you will become someone living instead of someone living vicariously.  Own your own life.

Knowing all of this, I could not sit out this idea.  I had to do something and I wanted to start right away.  Detailed in this blog will be the steps I take to make this specific dream a stone cold reality.  It will be tangible and vivid and revolutionary.  You will be able to see it all right here if you subscribe.

Now please understand, I am no different than you.  I have a job I enjoy.  I have a wife and a young son who need me.  My family thinks me a little mad for considering this.  My friends discount my goal as pie in the sky dreams.  I am sure they may even be some readers here that consider me a fool for pursuing a big hairy audacious goal like this.  The good news is I can still choose to move forward against all other opinions and so can you.

Find your goal.  Seek out that dream.  Pursue your passion.  Once you have it, do not under any circumstances let anyone back you off of it.  Today seems like a good day to start.