Nov 06, 2007 -

As many of you are no doubt aware I am currently on a motorcycle trip.

In the summer I finished a contract and did not line up a new one so essentially I had a break from work.

As I had to move in mid Oct I had the opportunity to redefine where I live...I decided on the place in Robert's Creek which does not require any sustaining costs. I bought and installed a large shipping container for storage so my things are dry and secure and can stay that way for an indefinate amount of time. But yes, as Dick mentioned, I am effectively homeless.

With a few bucks in the bank and no relationship or dependents it seemed the perfect time to take an extended trip.

I've unofficially dubbed this trip - A Wing and a Prayer '07 - Coasting into Weirdness.
Why that name? Well basically I am doing this trip on a GoldWing, hence the Wing part. Why a prayer? The GoldWing is 25 year old motorcycle I bought only a few weeks before leaving! I am praying all the time that it keeps running! So far it has been flawless.

Coasting into Weirdness - Coasting is Phase 1 I did with Vik, the west coast of the USA, and the weirdness is the unplanned southern part of the trip.

Basically the trip is in two phases.
Phase 1 - Ride with Viktor between Vancouver and LA.
Phase 2 - Go South.

The Prep - The prep for this trip is worth mentioning because its such comedy.

As I was on the Europe trip between Aug 24 and Sept 15 I had 5 weeks to prep for this trip. This included prepping, buying and installing the shipping container in Robert's Creek, moving the Tuesday before leaving, I had a major proposal to submit for work, tax work to do, bike prep to do and getting all misc business stuff cleared up before leaving for a few months. I hired my friend Annie to help and basically everyone around me was so helpful and giving of their time and patience, I have to thank them, especially Karen and Vik who were sooo helpful in making this happen.
The last few days before leaving both Vik and I were so busy we barely even slept.

The night before I had to modify the windsheild on the Wing. Over the years it had turned yellow and was hard to see out of, all but impossible in the rain. I was trying to find a new windsheild but hadn't been able to up to the time we were leaving so I just cut off the top 6 inches, enough so that I could se over the bit that was left for wind deflection. With that finished I grabbed a couple of hours sleep before departure!

Phase 1 is complete and it went really well. We rode some absolutely killer roads, took tons of pics, had some great little adventures, met some awesome people and The Wing ran great the whole time!

Essentially this trip was planned by Vik, he had a finite timeline - 2 weeks off from work. He and Karen have friends - Janice and Carl who live near LA and are very gracious in letting Vik store his bike there over the winter. So the trip is 2 weeks from Vancouver, BC to LA while riding the coast with numerous little side trips for scenics, attractions and a bizzillion pics.

Viktor and I left Vancouver, BC on on a dark and rainy Sunday Oct 21st morning. We rode through cold rain on a long and fast day down to southern Washington. Through a motorcycle travellers network that Viktor belongs to we connected and stayed with a very nice couple - Phillip and Valinda. They hosted us in their lovely home and we were met with hot Buffalo Chilli and beer, very welcome after a long, wet, cold ride. The Wing was great on its maiden voyage.

The rest of the two weeks travelling down the coast are forthcoming.....some highlights include:
• A new windshield for the Wing and seeing the Spruce Goose.
• Amazing coastal roads, crazy turns and stunning views.

• The Redwoods. Yes we drove through that huge tree, too funny.

• A haul ass ride from Fort Bragg into San Fran starting at 5am. Alcatraz. Our new friend Joy.

• Dick and Wanda hosting us in their amazing house in San Jose. They were alot of fun and super nice. Last year they rode 41 days, 2 up into BC (including the overland route to Bella Coola- very impressive) and over to Edmonton and several states.
• More amazing coastal roads. Plus Las Padres National Park, gorgeous.
• Staying with Janice and Carl in their beautiful house north of LA. They are alot of fun too and super patient with 3 peope landing on their doorstep.

• Being super sick for one day, then being fine. What's up with that?

• Driving around Malibu with Karen.

• Joshua Tree. Wow. I will definately be back there. It's sort of a mystical place.



In LA Vik stored his bike and headed off into the sunset with Karen in a 4 wheeler, bound for the airport and a very short flight home.

I headed into LA....

Because Vik had a limited amount of time on his portion of the trip we kept a pretty brisk pace which is why its taken so long to put together this update. So my first few nights alone consisted of staying in a cheesy but pricey and sketchy hotel room in North Hollywood the first night. The next day I just ran some errands, had a long lunch, people watched, chilled, booked a hotel room in West hollywood, had a workout and read in my room. I heard Jen Anniston and Jessica Biel were looking for me but I was bushed.

Phase 2 - is still being defined. I am writing this from a hotel lobby in West Hollywood and am about to ride the coast to northern San Diego, Escondido. There I want to get some maintenance work done to the bike before heading into the weirdness that is Mexico and possibly Central America.

The basic plan is to ride down inland Mexico to the surfing area. One town I have heard of is Sayulita. I'd love to just chill out there and surf abit, get some tan action before continuing on.

After a chill period I think I'll continue riding south until I am about a week away from the ferry between mainland Mexico and the Baja, Cabo San Lucas. Why here? Well since Vik has stored his bike in LA he is about a one week ride from Cabo as well. If in March we take 2 weeks off, he could ride to Cabo on week one, I could ride to Cabo from the south on week one, and we could ride from Cabo back to Vancouver on week 2. Nice plan.

Another plan for me is to keep riding and stop wherever I feel like, stop when I get called back to work, or stop where the bike dies, lol, whichever comes first. Yeah, its a pretty unstructured plan, which for those of you know me well is NOT my natural state, but hey, I also love adventure. I do think I'll try to wrap up in time to go to Ontario for Christmas with the family.

So there is the story to date. I'll try to send some updates and I'll try to fill in abit more of Phase 1....

If anyone has connections or recommedations for along the route by all means please send them along. Anything interesting, adventurous and cost saving is greatly appreciated. I'd love to find a deal on a round of golf somewhere....

If you have someone you would like added to the mailing list, just let me know their address.

Thanks for reading and your support,
Ron