Just a quick reminder. Click here for the link to my, hopefully, location on any given day (after Dec. 27th). Just wish I could see it 🙂
BT
Where the Hell Am I?
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Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas, all.
Departure is set…December 27th. I’ll leave out of San Felipe with the help of The Commander and G.R. Should have a few photos to post from the drive into town.
I Can Outrun A Dog
Got it: 55m.p.h.
It wasn’t pretty and I probably pissed off the entire neighborhood doing hot laps down the street, but I got the bike to do a double-nickle without totally wringing its neck. Actually, at 45m.p.h., it was downright smooth. In other words, I can hang on the highway and get out of the way of a giant flat-bed trailer bearing down on me at high speed. Important, those two things.
True, I can’t see a damn thing out of the rear view mirror due to the vibration, but I can just make out lights and large objects. What else do you need? I’ll bring a 42T sprocket just in case I want to pick up another few m.p.h. and do more road miles on the way home, but, for now, the 45T seems to be the ticket.
I’m now off to pack the tools and organize the clothes. Still fighting a bit of a cold, but I’m far better than I was a few days ago. Departure date, Sunday (27th) will be here before I know it… wahoo!
BT
Figures…
It started at 102…103.7 since yesterday…the flu is lame. Still haven’t made it out the desert for a final test, but, it’ll happen.
My Crew
Seriously, without my Crew, nothing would happen.
When she learned of the opportunity for an overland adventure on the small bore 230 (hers), E. didn’t miss a beat. When I emailed her shortly after I learned the company was closing its doors, her reply was swift. “Well, it looks like you’ll have the time to do that overland trip after all. Seriously, you need to take this opportunity to make a ride happen. The gift is in your lap. Take it.” So…’Hall Pass’, accepted.
Daniel, typically, was much more sanguine about the whole affair. He wanted to know if I got as far as the mainland if there would be jungles, wild animals, and, most of all, natives that “shrunk heads”(?!). When I answered, ‘no,’ he, in his most cavalier tone replied, “Bummer, it would be cool to have a shrunken head.”
100% awesome, my crew.
E.: "If not now...when?"
"Shrunken-Head Indians...dead"
The Low Rider…Goes A Bit Slower
Trying to find a few more m.p.h., but I’m about out of drive myself for the day. Went from a 50T rear sprocket, to a 47T, to a 45T (pictured), and have a 42T on order. Don’t know if the two-three-oh will pull the big gear, but I’m trying to get at least 55 out of it without completely screaming the motor.
Nothing better than having the right tools for the job…(thanks Mike D.).
Spot
Wednesday 12/16. Just updated the Spot Messenger account to include tracking. New posts will include links to Google Maps to pinpoint my location. For now, because I haven’t logged any tracks in more than a week, users will just see the landing page. (Note: drop me a message if you want to be notified via email of my ‘begin day’ and ‘end day’ Spot messages, and I’ll add you to the list.)
Packing It In…
From the initial test of the bike. Max speed…45…dog meat.
Free to Ride Machines
Free to ride machines…well, almost. I leave in 10 days and the bike (Honda CRF230f), just might make it across the border with me. As you can see from the pics, the bike has come a long way and testing should be better be must be done this week.
Why such a small ride…? Continue reading
Early Retirement (…kidding)
It’s official…I’m out, done, ready to move on.
For those of you that didn’t know, my company closed shop in California on December 15th. So this, I guess, is where the blog, and the ride, begins. Yes, it was sad (for a moment), but in the end it was a lot of smart and talented people sitting around being saddened at the thought of being sad.
For my part, I was over it several months ago. I stayed in it to the end out of loyalty (read ‘severence’), but I have known for some time that it was getting time for a change. The ride is a way of putting closing punctuation on my tenure at MH and some distance–literally–on what had become my familiar routine.
2farandaway 