S
Speedo
Guest
all the best in SJE. You're still welcome in MRY (monterey). take care
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C
cruz del sur
Guest
Hey Chris, I see you are well on your way. I will be emailing my sister and a few friends down south in the next few. You will definitely get some places to stay there. Will see if they can get a few contacts in the rest of South America for you (this one guy went from Central Argentina to Colombia in a Chinese 150 cc to see his son, and I am sure he will not only give you a place to stay, but will have many tips for you. Plus he used to live in the US so his English is very good)
Nico
Nico
T
Tom MLC
Guest
Chris, it was a great pleasure to meet you, spin a few wrenches together, and put some rubber on the road with you. An experience my neighbors and I will speak of for some time.
Chuck, my neighbor with the Harley can't stop thinking of ways to get the word out about your mission.
Ray stopped by yesterday after I got home. He has a nasty sunburn...between his legs...from welding your kickstand while wearing short pants!. Ouch! He'll be thinking of you for a few days, at least!
I'm honored that I could contribute in some small way. Wish I could do more. I'll follow your adventures knowing I played a small role in the saga. My wife and I wish you Godspeed on your journey.
I promised you a few contacts. Here are a few GSR members who might be found along your route. I can't speak for their ability to help you out. You can contact them at your discretion.
In Santa Barbara, posplayer (Jim)
In Bakersfield, chef1366 (Bill)
These two characters are talking about a trip to Arizona next week for a big biker rally. If your timing to Arizona is right, maybe you could join them.
In Tuscon, first timer (Ryan)
If your travels take you further south, through LA.
In LA area, Salty Monk (Dan) and BassCliff (Cliff)
Many, many others in the LA area. These two are both GSR icons.
Once again, we wish you well on the adventure. Ride safe, and watch out for those banditos south of the border!
Just remembered, you asked me about the oil pressure indicator. RenoBruce is your man to ask. He should be able to get one shipped to you somewhere along the way.
Chuck, my neighbor with the Harley can't stop thinking of ways to get the word out about your mission.
Ray stopped by yesterday after I got home. He has a nasty sunburn...between his legs...from welding your kickstand while wearing short pants!. Ouch! He'll be thinking of you for a few days, at least!
I'm honored that I could contribute in some small way. Wish I could do more. I'll follow your adventures knowing I played a small role in the saga. My wife and I wish you Godspeed on your journey.
I promised you a few contacts. Here are a few GSR members who might be found along your route. I can't speak for their ability to help you out. You can contact them at your discretion.
In Santa Barbara, posplayer (Jim)
In Bakersfield, chef1366 (Bill)
These two characters are talking about a trip to Arizona next week for a big biker rally. If your timing to Arizona is right, maybe you could join them.
In Tuscon, first timer (Ryan)
If your travels take you further south, through LA.
In LA area, Salty Monk (Dan) and BassCliff (Cliff)
Many, many others in the LA area. These two are both GSR icons.
Once again, we wish you well on the adventure. Ride safe, and watch out for those banditos south of the border!
Just remembered, you asked me about the oil pressure indicator. RenoBruce is your man to ask. He should be able to get one shipped to you somewhere along the way.
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S
Speedo
Guest
We ate, we drank, we sang, we danced.
Well ok, we didn't sing and dance... we wrenched, toured, bs-ed, and played some music...
Chris,
I echo Tom's sentiments wishing you nothing but the best on your mission and wishing I could have done more to help. It was an absolute pleasure to have you as our guest.
Soccer ("futbol")/esp. world cup soccer both from countries that didn't make it this time, guitar, first generation ethnic Americans still speaking a native tongue, love to laugh/poke fun at...well everything, frustrated and adventurous car/bike amateur mechanics, old Suzuki bikes, lovers of classic Porsches, and healthy heterosexual male-ness appreciating God's work with feminine pulchritude (well, not as bad as those horny deer in my yard, right Chris?).
So nah, Shiraz and I have got like NOTHING in common
One night (where the wife was sure to invite one my dear male friends over for dinner as "insurance" that we were not about to "live" one of the many horror movies she dearly loves and watches all the time) turned into 3 nights. Of pure fun, bonding, and loving being a part of this and being able to "contribute in some small way" as Tom said perfectly below.
We ate well (hey, it's a Hungarian thing), libations flowing freely (not while riding of course), got Chris out to take a small sample of awesome Monterey area, stayed up insane hours having way too much fun, accomplished much in the way of Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and well, just didn't want it to end although we both knew it had to at some point.
I hope you enjoyed your stay in Monterey and Steinbeck's "Pastures of Heaven" where we humbly live. I hope you will remember us and your stay; we will certainly never forget you and will be rooting and praying for you over the next four years!
Hanginthere, godspeed, and all that (I hate "goodbyes")....here we (well just you since I'm taking pic) are in my garage having fun wrenching and bsing until 4am holycrap! God i'm gettin' too old for that but what fun it was!:
and another one
and here's the rare but cool Monterey Sunset that welcomed you (that little round bump in the middle is your head....sorry...but hey, the sunset turned out good at least heh heh....)
Well ok, we didn't sing and dance... we wrenched, toured, bs-ed, and played some music...
Chris,
I echo Tom's sentiments wishing you nothing but the best on your mission and wishing I could have done more to help. It was an absolute pleasure to have you as our guest.
Soccer ("futbol")/esp. world cup soccer both from countries that didn't make it this time, guitar, first generation ethnic Americans still speaking a native tongue, love to laugh/poke fun at...well everything, frustrated and adventurous car/bike amateur mechanics, old Suzuki bikes, lovers of classic Porsches, and healthy heterosexual male-ness appreciating God's work with feminine pulchritude (well, not as bad as those horny deer in my yard, right Chris?).
So nah, Shiraz and I have got like NOTHING in common
One night (where the wife was sure to invite one my dear male friends over for dinner as "insurance" that we were not about to "live" one of the many horror movies she dearly loves and watches all the time) turned into 3 nights. Of pure fun, bonding, and loving being a part of this and being able to "contribute in some small way" as Tom said perfectly below.
We ate well (hey, it's a Hungarian thing), libations flowing freely (not while riding of course), got Chris out to take a small sample of awesome Monterey area, stayed up insane hours having way too much fun, accomplished much in the way of Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and well, just didn't want it to end although we both knew it had to at some point.
I hope you enjoyed your stay in Monterey and Steinbeck's "Pastures of Heaven" where we humbly live. I hope you will remember us and your stay; we will certainly never forget you and will be rooting and praying for you over the next four years!
Hanginthere, godspeed, and all that (I hate "goodbyes")....here we (well just you since I'm taking pic) are in my garage having fun wrenching and bsing until 4am holycrap! God i'm gettin' too old for that but what fun it was!:
and another one
and here's the rare but cool Monterey Sunset that welcomed you (that little round bump in the middle is your head....sorry...but hey, the sunset turned out good at least heh heh....)
S
shirazdrum
Guest
Hey Nico, thanks for popping in. I was wondering if you were still on the forum or not. How is your preparation for the grand tour coming about? Thanks for the emails to your family; I?m looking forward to it.
Tom and Andy,
Thank you both for being hospitable and giving so much of your time and resources. I had a blast spending some times with both of you and I?m indebted to you greatly. Say hello to everyone for me and stay tuned for the reports.
Tom and Andy,
Thank you both for being hospitable and giving so much of your time and resources. I had a blast spending some times with both of you and I?m indebted to you greatly. Say hello to everyone for me and stay tuned for the reports.
S
shirazdrum
Guest
Oct, 13th – Oct, 16th. San Jose, CA
First off, I would like to thank Chuck Williams and Hari Crowder for their generous donations. The month of October is almost over and the goal has not been reached. If you are enjoying these posts, please take a time to donate a few bucks for the cause.
Under the torrential rain of San Francisco, I walked through downtown wearing my rain suit and 75 liter pack. I could see a stream of water coming down from the top of my hood every time I stopped moving. A black guy approached me and offered me a sandwich, I was dumbfounded. I realized I looked like a homeless person standing under rain shouldering a backpack with no umbrella.
The rain finally stopped and after farewell with Elizabeth and Harrison I left for San Jose. In San Jose, I met Jessica Cover and stayed with her for the next two nights. Jessica was one of the most interesting people I have met on this trip. At age 27; she is an accomplished young lady with a bright future as a chiropractor. Even though she was preparing for her exams, we talked for hours and had a great time.
As I have mentioned before, Rob Eberle the owner of Cycle Recycle Parts II has sponsored this expedition and generously shipped the much needed parts to Tom Murphy’s house in Berryessa. Located in Indianapolis, The Cycle Recycle Parts stock an impressive inventory of used and new parts for classic Japanese motorcycles. Shipping is cheap and fast and Rob is a knowledgeable guy to talk to. It is nice to find a shop these days who you can actually talk to the owner rather than answering machines. The box consisted of a new high chrome fender, valve cover gasket, oil filter, inner tube, clutch cable, speedometer cable and a set of progressive fork springs.
At Tom’s house, we changed the front springs, made the new fender fit and fixed the kickstand on the bike. Chuck and Ray, two of Tom’s neighbors and bob, another GSer showed up and the party started. Over some beer and pizza, courtesy of Tom Murphy, we speculated on the best way of fixing the stand. Ray brought his welder over and welded the top surface of the bracket to raise the stand. In the mean time, Tom looked for his missing 14mm wrench for two hours and accused everyone of stealing it. It turned out he had it last and left it on the shelf!
Tom, Chuck, Ray and Bob are all great guys and their help was tremendous. We had a great time and lots of fun, but I had to be in Los Gatos for the night so I said my goodbyes and made plans for the next day to meet up in town for a ride in the mountains.
Chuck rode out with me on his Harley to show me the way. I was enjoying my new fork springs until we got to the exit ramp. I tried to lean the bike but nothing happened. I pressed on the handle bar and almost wetted my pants from what I saw. The handle bar was moving but the tire wasn’t! Somehow, between four “Certified Mechanics”, we forgot to tighten the fork pinch bolts and all that was holding it were the headlight ears.
I got off the curved ramp god knows how, and tried to catch up with Chuck (I had no idea where we were heading and didn’t want to lose him), but I couldn’t go as fast for the fear of losing control of the bike. Finally I caught up to him and flagged him to stop and we pulled over in a restaurant. Out of 6 bolts, 4 were finger tight and the other two barely hanging on. I escaped yet another fatal mistake…
I met up with Tom and Chuck in town the next day and we rode up on a twisty road going to the top of the mountain to kill some time at the Alice’s restaurant. This biker bar was a cool place and there were hundreds of bikers from all over. The ride was great and besides witnessing a motorcycle accident scene on the way, was without a glitch.
Tom treated us again to burgers and beer and we basked in the sunshine, talking and enjoying the view. Bob and chuck took off for San Jos? and tom and I rode on highway 1 south for Santa Cruz. We said our goodbyes and I headed south as usual and tom west to San Jos?.
I had a great time staying in Silicon Valley and made some amazing friends. California has been good to me so far. Next Stop; Monterey and Carmel…
First off, I would like to thank Chuck Williams and Hari Crowder for their generous donations. The month of October is almost over and the goal has not been reached. If you are enjoying these posts, please take a time to donate a few bucks for the cause.
Under the torrential rain of San Francisco, I walked through downtown wearing my rain suit and 75 liter pack. I could see a stream of water coming down from the top of my hood every time I stopped moving. A black guy approached me and offered me a sandwich, I was dumbfounded. I realized I looked like a homeless person standing under rain shouldering a backpack with no umbrella.
The rain finally stopped and after farewell with Elizabeth and Harrison I left for San Jose. In San Jose, I met Jessica Cover and stayed with her for the next two nights. Jessica was one of the most interesting people I have met on this trip. At age 27; she is an accomplished young lady with a bright future as a chiropractor. Even though she was preparing for her exams, we talked for hours and had a great time.
As I have mentioned before, Rob Eberle the owner of Cycle Recycle Parts II has sponsored this expedition and generously shipped the much needed parts to Tom Murphy’s house in Berryessa. Located in Indianapolis, The Cycle Recycle Parts stock an impressive inventory of used and new parts for classic Japanese motorcycles. Shipping is cheap and fast and Rob is a knowledgeable guy to talk to. It is nice to find a shop these days who you can actually talk to the owner rather than answering machines. The box consisted of a new high chrome fender, valve cover gasket, oil filter, inner tube, clutch cable, speedometer cable and a set of progressive fork springs.
At Tom’s house, we changed the front springs, made the new fender fit and fixed the kickstand on the bike. Chuck and Ray, two of Tom’s neighbors and bob, another GSer showed up and the party started. Over some beer and pizza, courtesy of Tom Murphy, we speculated on the best way of fixing the stand. Ray brought his welder over and welded the top surface of the bracket to raise the stand. In the mean time, Tom looked for his missing 14mm wrench for two hours and accused everyone of stealing it. It turned out he had it last and left it on the shelf!
Tom, Chuck, Ray and Bob are all great guys and their help was tremendous. We had a great time and lots of fun, but I had to be in Los Gatos for the night so I said my goodbyes and made plans for the next day to meet up in town for a ride in the mountains.
Chuck rode out with me on his Harley to show me the way. I was enjoying my new fork springs until we got to the exit ramp. I tried to lean the bike but nothing happened. I pressed on the handle bar and almost wetted my pants from what I saw. The handle bar was moving but the tire wasn’t! Somehow, between four “Certified Mechanics”, we forgot to tighten the fork pinch bolts and all that was holding it were the headlight ears.
I got off the curved ramp god knows how, and tried to catch up with Chuck (I had no idea where we were heading and didn’t want to lose him), but I couldn’t go as fast for the fear of losing control of the bike. Finally I caught up to him and flagged him to stop and we pulled over in a restaurant. Out of 6 bolts, 4 were finger tight and the other two barely hanging on. I escaped yet another fatal mistake…
I met up with Tom and Chuck in town the next day and we rode up on a twisty road going to the top of the mountain to kill some time at the Alice’s restaurant. This biker bar was a cool place and there were hundreds of bikers from all over. The ride was great and besides witnessing a motorcycle accident scene on the way, was without a glitch.
Tom treated us again to burgers and beer and we basked in the sunshine, talking and enjoying the view. Bob and chuck took off for San Jos? and tom and I rode on highway 1 south for Santa Cruz. We said our goodbyes and I headed south as usual and tom west to San Jos?.
I had a great time staying in Silicon Valley and made some amazing friends. California has been good to me so far. Next Stop; Monterey and Carmel…
S
shirazdrum
Guest
S
shirazdrum
Guest
Oct, 16th-Oct, 20th. Monterey, CA
I would like to thank Thomas D?Acquisto and Garrett Dulaney for their generous donations. Please make a donation of any amount for the month of October and let?s reach this month goal.
Andy Pogany, another GSer invited me to visit him if my travels took me to Monterey. Monterey is a small town just north of Carmel, on the coast of California. Famous for its fisheries from the years gone by, it was also the first capital of California.
I met Andy and his friend Dennis around 6pm at a shopping center near his house. Since it was getting dark, we exchanged a few words and started heading back towards his place. The road kept getting narrower and I started to doubt whether there was actually anything at the end of the path but sure enough, at the end of the road stood a beautiful house on top of a hill surrounded by oak trees.
After a great Hungarian dinner and lots of wine, we played Crokinole, a Canadian board game which was a lot of fun. You cannot beat Andy in that game and I was glad to be his partner. I went to bed around 2:30 and that set the precedent for the following nights.
The next day Andy took me out for a ride around Monterey and showed me much of the town. From fisherman?s wharf to local hotspots, we covered anything that was worth seeing and did some shopping for the bikes. We spent the rest of the night working on our rides, turning wrenches while listening to country music (according to Andy, a necessary activity).
We wired up a coil relay for Andy?s GS750 and fixed his broken mirror mount and later took the rear wheel off of the 850 and greased the splines which was overdue after 8000 miles of hard use. One thing led to another and when I looked at my watch it was already 4 am and we were still talking about cars and our various fruitless attempts to re-invent the wheel in our pasts.
My plan on leaving the next day came to a halt when I woke up at noon and could barely stand straight, so Jollene and Andy offered me to stay another night so we could see the State Parks and the town of Carmel.
We left for the coast rather late waiting for the morning rain to clear but still managed to see a lot of the places we intended. We toured the Carmel area in Andy?s old (1996) Porsche 911 which I was privileged to drive. Now I know what all the fuss is about when people talk about this German beauty. As Andy puts it, it?s a classic car with 6 angry Germans pushing in a trunk. My camera died when we were in Point Lobos and we were bummed that we couldn?t take more pictures and we felt really stupid later when we realized we both had our camera phones with us and didn?t even think of that.
After having dinner in a little Italian restaurant in Carmel (with a horrible ?100 year old family recipe? garlic bread ? Andy forced me to add this) we headed back to Monterey and made a promise to go to sleep early that night. It was all going as planned until we started talking about guitars and the last night of my stay turned into a jamming session that lasted until 3am. Andy pulled out his guitar collection and hooked up the Amp and we played everything from Persian folk songs to old blues. What a great night.
My stay in Monterey was memorable and although seemed like a vacation with no progress on the mission, it laid out a lasting friendship with a great couple. The exciting news is that Andy will be proof reading my journals which will save you some headache trying to figure out what I?m trying to say. Andy and Jollene, thank you both for your hospitality, I had a fantastic time.
I would like to thank Thomas D?Acquisto and Garrett Dulaney for their generous donations. Please make a donation of any amount for the month of October and let?s reach this month goal.
Andy Pogany, another GSer invited me to visit him if my travels took me to Monterey. Monterey is a small town just north of Carmel, on the coast of California. Famous for its fisheries from the years gone by, it was also the first capital of California.
I met Andy and his friend Dennis around 6pm at a shopping center near his house. Since it was getting dark, we exchanged a few words and started heading back towards his place. The road kept getting narrower and I started to doubt whether there was actually anything at the end of the path but sure enough, at the end of the road stood a beautiful house on top of a hill surrounded by oak trees.
After a great Hungarian dinner and lots of wine, we played Crokinole, a Canadian board game which was a lot of fun. You cannot beat Andy in that game and I was glad to be his partner. I went to bed around 2:30 and that set the precedent for the following nights.
The next day Andy took me out for a ride around Monterey and showed me much of the town. From fisherman?s wharf to local hotspots, we covered anything that was worth seeing and did some shopping for the bikes. We spent the rest of the night working on our rides, turning wrenches while listening to country music (according to Andy, a necessary activity).
We wired up a coil relay for Andy?s GS750 and fixed his broken mirror mount and later took the rear wheel off of the 850 and greased the splines which was overdue after 8000 miles of hard use. One thing led to another and when I looked at my watch it was already 4 am and we were still talking about cars and our various fruitless attempts to re-invent the wheel in our pasts.
My plan on leaving the next day came to a halt when I woke up at noon and could barely stand straight, so Jollene and Andy offered me to stay another night so we could see the State Parks and the town of Carmel.
We left for the coast rather late waiting for the morning rain to clear but still managed to see a lot of the places we intended. We toured the Carmel area in Andy?s old (1996) Porsche 911 which I was privileged to drive. Now I know what all the fuss is about when people talk about this German beauty. As Andy puts it, it?s a classic car with 6 angry Germans pushing in a trunk. My camera died when we were in Point Lobos and we were bummed that we couldn?t take more pictures and we felt really stupid later when we realized we both had our camera phones with us and didn?t even think of that.
After having dinner in a little Italian restaurant in Carmel (with a horrible ?100 year old family recipe? garlic bread ? Andy forced me to add this) we headed back to Monterey and made a promise to go to sleep early that night. It was all going as planned until we started talking about guitars and the last night of my stay turned into a jamming session that lasted until 3am. Andy pulled out his guitar collection and hooked up the Amp and we played everything from Persian folk songs to old blues. What a great night.
My stay in Monterey was memorable and although seemed like a vacation with no progress on the mission, it laid out a lasting friendship with a great couple. The exciting news is that Andy will be proof reading my journals which will save you some headache trying to figure out what I?m trying to say. Andy and Jollene, thank you both for your hospitality, I had a fantastic time.
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S
shirazdrum
Guest
S
shirazdrum
Guest
S
shirazdrum
Guest
Oct, 20th – Oct, 26th. Coast to Desert
If you are enjoying these updates, please support the cause by making a donation. As I have mentioned before, I will pitch in $2000 out of my personal travel funds if the collected donations surpass the $1500 goal for the month of October. All donations for this month will go to the “Centro de Recuperacion Nutricional Infantil Bethania” in Jocot?n, Guatemala. It is a private medical center that treats about 400 malnourished children each year. They are desperately underfunded and your help is a matter of life and death.
I’ve been in need of a set of practical riding gear which would be waterproof, light weight, comfortable, not too flashy and most importantly 4 season. San Luis Motorsports had just the thing and after 5 hours of trying on different gear, I narrowed it down to Tourmaster jacket and riding pants. Steve Myrack, the owner of San Luis Motorsports, was generous enough to provide the gear for a deeply discounted price. If in San Luis Obispo, don’t miss this shop, they have a great selection.
The weather is changing as I travel further south, it is getting dryer, warmer and the population seems to grow by the mile. Now I know why so many people move to California. You can’t find nicer weather anywhere else.
I left SLO for Bakersfield on Friday and rode the Hwy 58 west. In 3 hours, I went from deep blue waters of the Pacific to the barren outskirts of the Mojave Desert. It reminded me of my beloved birth place Shiraz. There is something about the solitude in the desert that is hard to describe; the sunsets, the wind, the ever-changing sky line… I’m in love with it all over again.
I met Bill Rea, another GSer in Bakersfield, and stayed with him for two days. For the last 4000 miles, I’ve been trying to find a place where I could do my valve adjustment. I was getting more concerned every day, and I turned out to be right.
Out of 8 valves, 5 were so tight we couldn’t get a feeler gauge in to measure the valve lash (i.e. gap) and the other 3 were out of spec as well. We measured the shims a few times and got 6 of the valves to spec with what we had but we needed two more shims. After calling around and a look around the city, all we found was one shim and were out of luck on the second one.
It might sound horrifying to some “By the Book” mechanics but we had no choice other than to grind one shim down, fractions of millimeters at a time, to get the perfect clearance on the #2 Exhaust valve.
A Dremmel, a cutting disk, and patience like Bills did the job as he made the meticulous cuts and fixed the problem. We also fixed my wandering speedometer, tightened the steering, fixed the kickstand switch, and re-routed the throttle cable behind the forks. Bill also is a great cook – hence his username “Chef1366”. It was an honor to be their guest and I appreciate their hospitality.
I have a lecture in Barstow so I will be heading South/East for a while, stay tuned…
If you are enjoying these updates, please support the cause by making a donation. As I have mentioned before, I will pitch in $2000 out of my personal travel funds if the collected donations surpass the $1500 goal for the month of October. All donations for this month will go to the “Centro de Recuperacion Nutricional Infantil Bethania” in Jocot?n, Guatemala. It is a private medical center that treats about 400 malnourished children each year. They are desperately underfunded and your help is a matter of life and death.
I’ve been in need of a set of practical riding gear which would be waterproof, light weight, comfortable, not too flashy and most importantly 4 season. San Luis Motorsports had just the thing and after 5 hours of trying on different gear, I narrowed it down to Tourmaster jacket and riding pants. Steve Myrack, the owner of San Luis Motorsports, was generous enough to provide the gear for a deeply discounted price. If in San Luis Obispo, don’t miss this shop, they have a great selection.
The weather is changing as I travel further south, it is getting dryer, warmer and the population seems to grow by the mile. Now I know why so many people move to California. You can’t find nicer weather anywhere else.
I left SLO for Bakersfield on Friday and rode the Hwy 58 west. In 3 hours, I went from deep blue waters of the Pacific to the barren outskirts of the Mojave Desert. It reminded me of my beloved birth place Shiraz. There is something about the solitude in the desert that is hard to describe; the sunsets, the wind, the ever-changing sky line… I’m in love with it all over again.
I met Bill Rea, another GSer in Bakersfield, and stayed with him for two days. For the last 4000 miles, I’ve been trying to find a place where I could do my valve adjustment. I was getting more concerned every day, and I turned out to be right.
Out of 8 valves, 5 were so tight we couldn’t get a feeler gauge in to measure the valve lash (i.e. gap) and the other 3 were out of spec as well. We measured the shims a few times and got 6 of the valves to spec with what we had but we needed two more shims. After calling around and a look around the city, all we found was one shim and were out of luck on the second one.
It might sound horrifying to some “By the Book” mechanics but we had no choice other than to grind one shim down, fractions of millimeters at a time, to get the perfect clearance on the #2 Exhaust valve.
A Dremmel, a cutting disk, and patience like Bills did the job as he made the meticulous cuts and fixed the problem. We also fixed my wandering speedometer, tightened the steering, fixed the kickstand switch, and re-routed the throttle cable behind the forks. Bill also is a great cook – hence his username “Chef1366”. It was an honor to be their guest and I appreciate their hospitality.
I have a lecture in Barstow so I will be heading South/East for a while, stay tuned…
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shirazdrum
Guest
G
Guest
Guest
It was a pleasure having you. Please feel free to stop by anytime.
I'm glad I could help you and the cause.
I'm glad I could help you and the cause.
S
shirazdrum
Guest
Oct, 29th. And that’s how it goes…
To be a revolutionary, you first need a revolution. —Ernesto Guevara
I have an addition to this famous line; to have a revolution, we first need an evolution.
We live in a time in which the world has never been healthier, wealthier, or more advanced, but absurdly, the condition of the poor has not improved for centuries regardless of our advancements. With blood-sucking organizations such as the World Trade Organization or International Monetary Fund leaving nothing for the poor and only caring for their own power, Leonard Cohen’s song mingle in my head, “The poor stay poor and the rich gets rich, and that’s how it goes, and everybody knows…”
Does everybody know?
November is bladder-control awareness month! We have a month dedicated to not ****ing our pants but shamefully and shockingly, there is no month or even a day dedicated to the number one cause of death: Hunger. No pretty pink ribbon, no merchandizing propaganda from Energizer, no bracelet to be sold at gas stations and sadly no one seems to care.
Hunger-associated disorders kill 36 million people each year worldwide. This is more than coronary heart disease, stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases, lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, trachea, bronchus, lung cancers, road traffic accidents, prematurity and low birth weight, COMBINED.
The question remains: Why should we care?
Remember the hurricane Katrina victims? They had faces. They had media coverage. They had the whole world watching. We still failed to give them their most basic needs. Now imagine a family in Ethiopia or Haiti with no media coverage, no Wal-Mart to bring water, and nowhere to turn. Their story could be YOUR story. All it takes is one heavy cloud, one strong wind, one earthquake.
I don’t have superfluous expectations, I know that change won’t happen overnight but you can have a share in it. If we all sit down and do nothing, nothing will ever change. It takes one step, one dollar, one person at a time. The first step is raising awareness and every single one of you is capable of doing so. Spread the word. Send this message to everyone you know, whether via Facebook, MySpace, forums, or email. It takes less than a minute of your time to care and the result is undeniable.
You can refer them to my website at www.motorcyclememoir.com. To make donations to reach the goal for the month of October, please visit the donation page on this site and make it a reality.
Revolution starts with evolving our resources and ideas. We are far away from revolution. Let’s evolve, revolution will follow.
To be a revolutionary, you first need a revolution. —Ernesto Guevara
I have an addition to this famous line; to have a revolution, we first need an evolution.
We live in a time in which the world has never been healthier, wealthier, or more advanced, but absurdly, the condition of the poor has not improved for centuries regardless of our advancements. With blood-sucking organizations such as the World Trade Organization or International Monetary Fund leaving nothing for the poor and only caring for their own power, Leonard Cohen’s song mingle in my head, “The poor stay poor and the rich gets rich, and that’s how it goes, and everybody knows…”
Does everybody know?
November is bladder-control awareness month! We have a month dedicated to not ****ing our pants but shamefully and shockingly, there is no month or even a day dedicated to the number one cause of death: Hunger. No pretty pink ribbon, no merchandizing propaganda from Energizer, no bracelet to be sold at gas stations and sadly no one seems to care.
Hunger-associated disorders kill 36 million people each year worldwide. This is more than coronary heart disease, stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases, lower respiratory infections, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diarrheal diseases, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, trachea, bronchus, lung cancers, road traffic accidents, prematurity and low birth weight, COMBINED.
Let me rephrase that because it is vaguely important. Hunger-associated disorders kill more people than the 10 major causes of death, but our government is more concerned about banning artificial sweeteners because it increased the rate of bladder cancer in laboratory rats that were fed large doses of saccharin!
The question remains: Why should we care?
Remember the hurricane Katrina victims? They had faces. They had media coverage. They had the whole world watching. We still failed to give them their most basic needs. Now imagine a family in Ethiopia or Haiti with no media coverage, no Wal-Mart to bring water, and nowhere to turn. Their story could be YOUR story. All it takes is one heavy cloud, one strong wind, one earthquake.
I don’t have superfluous expectations, I know that change won’t happen overnight but you can have a share in it. If we all sit down and do nothing, nothing will ever change. It takes one step, one dollar, one person at a time. The first step is raising awareness and every single one of you is capable of doing so. Spread the word. Send this message to everyone you know, whether via Facebook, MySpace, forums, or email. It takes less than a minute of your time to care and the result is undeniable.
You can refer them to my website at www.motorcyclememoir.com. To make donations to reach the goal for the month of October, please visit the donation page on this site and make it a reality.
Revolution starts with evolving our resources and ideas. We are far away from revolution. Let’s evolve, revolution will follow.
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mighty13d
Guest
and subscribed.
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shirazdrum
Guest
Thanks Matt.
Here's a video of the trip so far. (picture video, i'm still trying to find a good video camera for the trip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q71yGjFG-YA
Here's a video of the trip so far. (picture video, i'm still trying to find a good video camera for the trip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q71yGjFG-YA
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almarconi
Guest
Very cool video...drive safe. Looking forward to more updates.
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shirazdrum
Guest
South through Arizona then Mexico.
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shirazdrum
Guest
Nov, 8th. Windmills of my mind
Stretching from the Colorado River on the Nevada border to the highly populated Riverside, San Bernardino County is a barren piece of land at its best. Boasting to be the largest county in the lower 48, the northern part is also one of the poorest I have visited so far.
My presentation was supposed to be on the 9th of November at the Barstow library, but to my surprise, the newspaper article claimed it to be on the 6th. Nevertheless, the library staff were super and helped with everything I asked for. I enjoyed chatting with them for hours. They are providing services with what little they have to a town of over 30,000 and doing a great job of it. To accentuate how poor this town was, I had found Wi-Fi in Chicken, AK with a population of only 27, but it was non- existent in Barstow library.
In Barstow I stayed with Eva Cox, the daughter of Tom Cox of the Poet Motorcycles (one of my sponsors) and had a great time. We celebrated her roommate?s birthday that evening, and I woke up the next day with a head the size of a basketball. I lost the edge on drinking I suppose; I used to be good at it!
I was praying for low winds on the way back and for most of the way it was fine, but as I approached the windmills outside of Mojave, it got stronger by the second. An electronic sign read ?High winds. Campers and RVs not advised?. I have seen some strong winds in my lifetime, but none compared to what I went through in that 20 miles stretch. The wind pushed and shoved my 1000lb bike to the other lane with no effort, and all I could do was hang on for dear life or pull over to set my balls back in place.
I?m back in Bakersfield for Spanish lessons. My plan was to attend a language school once I entered Mexico but I decided to get a jump start here in States. I will get back on the road shortly and will head for Arizona. Stay tuned?
First, I would like to thank Cynthia Qusipe, Matthew Hanscom and Debbie Medina for their generous donations.
Bakersfield to Barstow on Hwy 58 is only 130 miles, but it was the worst 130 miles of my journey so far. Wind blew at a vicious velocity bringing clouds of dust that made the highway invisible at times. My mouth filled up with sand, and my goggles didn?t seem to be effective in protecting my eyes. I stopped after every dust storm and cried a river to get the sand out.Stretching from the Colorado River on the Nevada border to the highly populated Riverside, San Bernardino County is a barren piece of land at its best. Boasting to be the largest county in the lower 48, the northern part is also one of the poorest I have visited so far.
My presentation was supposed to be on the 9th of November at the Barstow library, but to my surprise, the newspaper article claimed it to be on the 6th. Nevertheless, the library staff were super and helped with everything I asked for. I enjoyed chatting with them for hours. They are providing services with what little they have to a town of over 30,000 and doing a great job of it. To accentuate how poor this town was, I had found Wi-Fi in Chicken, AK with a population of only 27, but it was non- existent in Barstow library.
In Barstow I stayed with Eva Cox, the daughter of Tom Cox of the Poet Motorcycles (one of my sponsors) and had a great time. We celebrated her roommate?s birthday that evening, and I woke up the next day with a head the size of a basketball. I lost the edge on drinking I suppose; I used to be good at it!
I was praying for low winds on the way back and for most of the way it was fine, but as I approached the windmills outside of Mojave, it got stronger by the second. An electronic sign read ?High winds. Campers and RVs not advised?. I have seen some strong winds in my lifetime, but none compared to what I went through in that 20 miles stretch. The wind pushed and shoved my 1000lb bike to the other lane with no effort, and all I could do was hang on for dear life or pull over to set my balls back in place.
I?m back in Bakersfield for Spanish lessons. My plan was to attend a language school once I entered Mexico but I decided to get a jump start here in States. I will get back on the road shortly and will head for Arizona. Stay tuned?
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