Austin Diary
Category Archives: Diary
The Night Before
I am sitting here with just a few hours before we leave and I am about 90% done with all my packing. Much of what is left is just toiletries and electronics that are still charging. I am excited and feeling just a teensy bit anxious with the hope I haven’t forgotten anything too important. Luckily, I will have a couple of days travel in the States if I need to purchase anything else.
I was really hoping to get videos out to you with my tool kit and other essentials I have packed. Maybe they would make good on the road segments. Tomorrow we will be shoving off at about 10am with a long day ahead of us. My folks will be here along with my wife and son to wish us well. We had a last dinner tonight before the big trip and I thought about how tough it is going to be missing 5 weeks of his little life when he is only a hair past one year old. It feels like he will be interviewing for jobs and asking for the car keys when I get back. It is terrifying to think about how quickly he is growing up and I am going to miss a sizable portion of it.
This idea was always a hard one to rationalize but when I was discussing these types of trips in the early days, we thought about why it felt so important to do. I really want to be able to tell my son that when an idea enters my head, I find a way to get to “yes”. There are a billion easy ways to say no to things that seem difficult. People do it every day in thousand of little ways and it slowly chips away at who they are (or at least who they could be). I want to show him how starting with yes and following the path of positivity can lead to some amazing places. We can all start with little steps and after a while when you look back, you realize just how far you’ve come. I need to be that model and the sacrifices I am making now will pay off when those lessons are learned. I look forward to continuing on this path and serving as an inspiration to my son to never accept no as the final answer. Always continue to push forward and like the waters that cut through mighty mountains, find a way.
The Badlands – Episode 1
Get Lost and Why You Should Be Filming
Here is a really great example of why it is so important to document your travels while riding. Teague started filming long before he knew he had a story. He didn’t try to do anything fancy but he was completely honest right from the start. There is room for your story out there and it will resonate with people desperately trying to follow the path you are walking right now. Start talking to your camera so you can keep track of your progress and your experiences.
I am trying to keep this in mind as I journey around. There are big trips coming up very soon but it is just as important to keep logs of your daily commutes to the grocery store too. Every ride you take is a little piece of your story.
So there is some good news and some bad news…
The bad news, of course, is this is the first post I have written since February. That is clearly unacceptable and I apologize. It seriously shouldn’t happen again unless the big trip happens and I have no access to a signal for many months.
The good news is that I have so many new experiences to tell you about. The Honda is incredible and I can’t wait to tell you about it. I have new gear to show you. There have been some really adventurous trips I’ve had the chance to participate in and I have the photos and video to prove it. The travel video is being edited now. There is a ton of footage but some of it is really nice.
Keep tuned in and I will make sure to get you some great info shortly. Thanks for sticking around and having patience.
Hurdles and The Inevitable Bog Down
This idea sprung up based almost completely on inspiration. My dreams were to get a bike, plan a trip and find a billion ways to help others along the way. Unfortunately, passion fades and before long I am left with the nitty gritty of real work.
The time spent on the bike learning is still spectacular and I am enjoying my time on the local roads just as much as ever. Each mile on the road makes me feel better about the trips we have planned for the future. I am looking forward to exotic travels to places I have never seen.
The trips are tough to plan but I have faith we will get everything together. Right now, our initial issue is getting three guys who are all very busy to have two weeks free together. My goal is to coordinate my journey so I can stop over at a few friends on my way to Chicago before the collective trip.
Lastly, my goal in doing all this travel is the “for good” part. I began this quest with way too much arrogance about how valuable my time would be. I thought people would respond to the trip and be interested in our story. The truth is, after some research, this type of trip isn’t even slightly uncommon. There are people all over the world doing far more intense trips. We are ordinary by comparison.
My goal at this point its to find what makes us unique. I need to capture our hook. From there I can capitalize on an original narrative to find ways to benefit those we meet on our travels. My first thought is to interview the people we meet in restaurants, hotels, gas stations and bars so I can flesh out a picture of what makes us similar around the world. I want our travels to be a link so people can see themselves in a total stranger. If I do it well, the world can be just a little bit smaller for everyone following along.
First Month with the Honda CB500X
Diary 1
My first biker wave
I have been riding for just short of a month and today’s ride was a big deal because I hit a couple of milestones.
1. I finally got my first biker wave. Most of my riding has been extremely local (in my neighborhood) but today I finally got out on the main roads. The weather cooperated as well so other bikers were out. I saw him coming and prepared myself to do it right and not fall off in the process. Big day and I laughed in my helmet (no audio).
2. I accomplished my first ride of more than 50 miles (51.2 to be exact). I have several trips planned for 2017 so getting used to heavy mileage days is going to be important. This was just the first of many and I am pushing for 100 next.
3. Today was my first day with another rider. Joe was the guy who was nice enough to drive my bike home from the dealer when I first bought it. Now, I have the chance to follow along and it was a really fun change from just tooling around town by myself. Next time we will figure out how to pair our comms so we can actual talk on the ride.
4. Last but not least…today was my first real ride with my new temp license. Prior to this I was really just practicing out on the local roads but on Friday I received my permit so I am technically completely legal now (at least for 6 months).
The weather here in NC is getting better and better and I cannot wait to get out there and do some more exploring. The video was taken along our route just outside of Raleigh-Durham.
NC Written Motorcycle Exam: FAIL
I went to the DMV to put in an effort to complete my testing and receive my license. Little did I know, the questions for the DMV’s test are ridiculous. I took a few of the sample tests to prepare and I felt pretty confident. That was my undoing. It is necessary to answer 25 questions while getting 5 or less wrong. It didn’t seem too difficult and I always considered myself a pretty solid test taker.
I was wrong. After a 45 minute wait to get started (it was the DMV after all) it took me less than three minutes to answer 10 questions correctly and 6 wrong. The test immediately shuts down and sends you back to the counter to accept your lashes.
I can’t believe I failed. The clerk behind the counter looked at me with pity and said I was welcome to come back next week to give it another shot. For a moment, I thought about what would happen if I just never came back. Am I the type of guy who could live outside the law for the rest of my life? I quickly brushed the thought aside as I don’t really fancy a life on the run. Instead, I resolved to study up this weekend with the snow storm and come back next week for vindication.
I will, of course, keep you all updated.