I crossed one border 5 days ago and 2 borders yesterday. Yesterday morning I left San Salvador, El Salvador, rode through Honduras, and then arrived in Leon, Nicaragua just before dark. The 3 hours in Honduras was hellish. I have no desire to return to Honduras at any point in the foreseeable future.
Guatemala to El [...]
Category Archives: Travels
3 borders and 3 hours in Honduras
Also posted in Borders, Motorcycle Diary Tagged Borders, CA4, corrupt cops, corruption, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua 4 Comments
Ciudad Cuauhtemoc to La Mesilla
This morning we crossed the border from Mexico into Guatemala. It was painless. I read about a couple of guys who crossed in 20 minutes so I was confident it would be easy.
To start with we needed to leave Mexico. We missed the exit point which is about 3km from the border. It looked like [...]
Also posted in Borders, Motorcycle Diary Tagged border crossing, Ciudad Cuauhtemoc, Guatemala, La Mesilla, mexico, Mexico to Guatemala, Pacoc 3 Comments
Baja Bound Mexican motorcycle insurance
I’ve read that 3rd party liability insurance is required in Mexico. I wasn’t asked for any proof of insurance at the border, but I hear it can save me going to jail if I get into an accident. So, a couple of days before crossing the border, I bought a policy. I read somewhere that [...]
Roma to Ciudad Miguel Alemán
Yesterday I crossed the border from the United States into the Republic of Mexico. I was slightly apprehensive about the crossing. I’d read that the border region is dangerous due the ongoing drug war in Mexico. I also read that the paperwork process was confusing and might be time consuming.
My apprehension was unjustified. The border [...]
Also posted in Borders, Motorcycle Diary Tagged border crossings, mexico, Roma, Tamps, Texas, usa, USA to Mexico 9 Comments
Elkins to Birmingham
It’s been a while since my last update, about 2′000 miles and 24 days. I’ll try to catch up on the trip since leaving Elkins, West Virginia.
Elkins, WV – Lexintgon, KY – St Louis, MO
My next stop was Lexington, Kentucky which was a halfway stop towards St Louis, Missouri. I discovered ready made, ready rolled [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary Tagged Alabama, Anheuser Busch, Arkansas, Birmingham, Elkins, Fayetteville, Illinois, Indiana, Jackson, Kentucky, Lexington, Louisiana, Memphis, Mississippi, Missouri, Nashville, New Orleans, Pettigrew, St Louis, Tennessee, West Virginia 1 Comment
Philadelphia to Alexandria to Elkins
I arrived in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. Phillip had kindly offered me a place to stay. I was in for a treat. Phillip’s Jamaican hospitality was quite spectacular. He cooked, cooked and cooked some more. I was treated to great food, an education on baseball, and hearty conversation.
Sunday afternoon I had assembled a motorcycle gang. [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary, Photos Tagged Alexandria, chain, Elkins, maintenance, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Virginia, Washington DC, West Virginia 1 Comment
Route through eastern USA
I’m thinking about the places I’d like to visit in the eastern United States. I’ve plotted a route that I might loosely follow. I’m working on my real-time map. Soon you’ll be able to compare this route projection with my actual route, updated live.
View Larger Map
Mapping plans
Since receiving my spot messenger I’ve been looking at mapping. I’d like to create a live route map that documents my travels. I’ve taken inspiration from Mark Beaumont’s map. Mark is cycling from Anchorage, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina, you can read more on his site.
The spot will update my location every 10 minutes. For $50 [...]
NYC to Ashford
Lucy and I left New York City yesterday headed for Ashford, Connecticut to meet Cuzin John. En-route we stopped in my third Portland in the United States. This was Portland, Connecticut rather than Portland, Maine or Portland, Oregon.
We arrived in Ashford around 4:30pm to visit Cuzin John. I met Cuzin Bob at a blueberry farm [...]
Quebec to Prince Edward Island
James asked for more pictures, so more pictures I offer you.
To start with here’s a few scenic shots on the route from Quebec City to Baie Ste Catherine.
The fourth photo in the set was taken from the bike while in motion.
At Baie Ste Catherine the road runs right onto the ferry dock. There [...]
Gearing up, leaving Quebec City
I’ve been busy at MEC today. I bought a stove, a 1l fuel bottle, fuel, a pot / pan set, and two dry bags, a 20l one for my laptop and a 5l one for the stove.
The stove is in two parts, a fuel pump and a burner. The burner fits very nicely inside the [...]
Also posted in Videos Tagged GSI Pinnacle Soloist, MEC, Omnifuel, Primus, Primus Himalaya Omnifuel, Quebec 2 Comments
Saskatchewan Festivals
This post has been a long time coming. What seems like a lifetime ago, back in July, I was in Saskatchewan. In my opinion, Saskatchewan is a little slice of magic, a little gem in the otherwise flat, desolate Canadian prairie. It stands between Alberta and Manitoba as a vision of what is possible on [...]
Also posted in Photos Tagged Forget, Forget Saskatchewan, Forget Summer Arts Festival, Ness Creek, Pacific Curls, Saskatchewan 1 Comment
A day at Dual Sport Plus
I spent the day with the awesome folks at Dual Sport Plus in Stoney Creek, just outside Toronto. I was told that Les, who owns the shop, is a KLR master. He’s a fellow KLR rider and very knowledgeable. He’s ridden KLRs all over the Americas I understand.
In the afternoon I spotted what I suspected [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary, Photos Tagged Doohickey, Dual Sport Plus, Google, Google streetview, KLR, KLR Doohickey Upgrade, klr650, Streetview Car 1 Comment
The Bondslave Motorcycle Club
I had the privilege of riding with a few members of the Canadian Bondslave Motorcycle Club recently. I met Gerry “Shot Put” and Bill “William Tell” by the side of the road. I had just returned to my motorcycle to fix a puncture. Almost as soon as I arrived, Bill and Gerry pulled over. After [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary, Photos Tagged Bondslave, Jesus, motorcycle clubs, religion, spirituality, Thunder Bay 6 Comments
My first motorcycle puncture
I pulled off the road into a picnic site. It was a beautiful spot. Right on the lakeside, drenched in glorious sunshine.
I was feeling pretty sweet. I ate an apple, used the bathroom, basked in the warmth of the sun for a bit. Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I set off. I blasted out of [...]
Vancouver to Brandon
On Tuesday 30 June I left Vancouver with Alethia and Elizabeth heading north to Spirit River, some 1′263km or 14 hours 38 minutes away. It was quite the drive. Me on the bike, the girls in the truck. Between lack of cell phone service, misunderstood communication, and running out of gas, it was quite a [...]
Also posted in Photos Tagged Alberta, Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Saskatoon, Spirit River, Vancouver 1 Comment
Canadian medical services
I showered this afternoon to find some very onerous looking white spots on my penis. Regular readers will know I have the herpes virus, but these are different. Uh oh. I somewhat frantically hit the internet in search of a sexual health centre in Vancouver. I found one open on Saturday afternoon. I called to [...]
Posted in Travels Tagged BC, carepoint, fungal infection, herpes, sexual health, Vancouver, walk in clinics 4 Comments
Posting from ping.fm
If you haven’t yet discovered the ping.fm revolution, check it out. You can post to all your social networks from one place. I push updates to Twitter, Facebook and a whole bunch of sites I never use. Now, I can push updates to this blog also.
Ping.fm don’t support self hosted WordPress blogs, but they have [...]
Posted in Travels Leave a comment
Experimentation. I’m trying out posts without titles in my current theme.
I met a very friendly Washington State policeman at Trader Joe’s supermarket this morning. He kindly informed me that they had added a motorcycle parking section in the carpark. I wasn’t sure if he was subtly saying that I had parked in the wrong place [...]
Bessy
Today is my greant aunt Bess’s 98th birthday. Ninety eight years old and still going strong. Bess is the eldest of her siblings, and one of only two still living alone. She’s an inspiration to us all.
In honour of Bess’s birthday I’m naming my motorcycle Bessy. She might be a few years old (in motorbike [...]
Shopping in Portland
I spent the day shopping in Portland today. Tax free shopping in Oregon, yay!
My first stop was REI, an outdoors store. I was in the market for a few things. A waterproof duffle bag for the back of the bike. A pair of waterproof boots to become my primary footwear both on and off the [...]
Posted in Travels Tagged camping, Georgia Boot, goretex, Hennessy Hammock, Oregon, Portland, REI, tent, Wolfman Leave a comment
Motorcycle maintenance issues strike 1
I spent the day shopping in Portland today. More on that later. After leaving REI and heading to a boot shop, I stopped to fill the bike with gas. I looked down to see oil dripping rapidly from the bike. Uh oh. Then on closer inspection I noticed that the counter shaft sprocket nut had [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary Tagged chris vandervoort, cycletune, motorcycle maintenance, motorcycles, oil leaks, Oregon, Portland 1 Comment
Dirt biking
I had my first dirt biking experience today, courtesy of Kevin Anderson at Dirtbike Camp in Orland, California, USA. Here’s a shot of me suited and booted.
Getting into the gear is no mean feat. You start with the shin pads, which cover from the shin to just above the knee. They go on over your [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary, Photos Tagged California, dirt biking, dirtbike, dirtbike camp, Kevin Anderson, Orland Leave a comment
First day on the bike
My luggage took up more space than I thought. Turns out most of my stuff is still in the bag. I picked up some bungee cords at the local bike shop. I lined the boxes with paper bags and filled them. The rest went into my backpack, wrapped in the bike cover, and strapped on. [...]
Also posted in Motorcycle Diary, Photos Tagged California, Route 1, san francisco, San Luis Obispo 3 Comments
