West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 1 (10/1/18)

Day’s Stat’s:

• 1:00pm to 7:30pm (6 hours on the road)

• 115 miles travelled

• Spent three hours in the rain – got soaked and started uncontrollably shivering

• Spent the night at a bed and breakfast in Gualala

• Considered turning back and cancelling the trip

I got a late start to the day, did not eat lunch to save time and then finally hit the road at 1:00pm. I was so nervous, I almost threw up multiple times out of stress.

I rode north for about 3.5 hours and decided to stop for gas, which is when it started to drizzle. There was only a light drizzle, so I continued to push on north. Then the light drizzle slowly turned into pounding rain. Looking back on this, the stretch of highway I was riding on was full of hair pin turns, very steep cliffs and metal grates which were extremely slippery in the rain.

I started uncontrollably shivering after riding two hours in the rain and decided to pull off into a housing development somewhere along the coast. I spotted a tree with a dry patch underneath of it and decided to make this place home base for the next hour. I warmed myself up, plotted how much farther I had to go and got myself ready for another ride in the rain.

I was extremely uncomfortable because I didn’t pack well, my legs and back were achingly sore, and I was soaked. I decided camping was out of the question and cruised north another hour. I finally made it to Gualala where I got a bed and breakfast for the night.

When I finally got dry and warm, I was questioning if I should even do another day of the trip. I had no idea what I signed myself up for and went into a spiral of negative thoughts. I quickly realized what I was doing, pulled myself out and took stock of the situation. I am sore, I am tired, and I made it through the first day. The rain should stop at around 10am the next morning so I will rest up and crush the next day of riding.

P.S. I feel that this is a sign to slow down and remember everything does not have to go according to plan 😊

West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 2 (10/2/18)

Day’s Stats:

• 11am to 6pm (7 hours on the road)

• 215 miles travelled

• Drove through Chandelier Tree

• Feel like I am getting into the groove of travel

Today was awesome! I had a HUGE and free breakfast at the bed and breakfast which started my day off right after a restful night’s sleep. I went on a morning stroll around Gualala and silently thought to myself, “I’m glad I don’t live here.”

I packed everything up and hit the road by 11am. Today I really feel like I got into the groove of riding. I got the securing of my duffel bag down, the saddle bags are good and not burning, I am more comfortable riding, I am building up my stamina and the motorcycle pants are amazing. Not to mention I am doing well on gas. 

This stretch of CA Highway 1 is a dream; the roads were filled with lush, mountainous and windy stretches of highway. I was completely engaged when I was on the motorcycle today. I was totally focused on what I was currently doing and had no mind. I love being in this state. This is the pure essence of living. I was drinking pure, unfiltered, wild air that few people ever have the pleasure of breathing.

This life is simple. You really can relish in the small delights like a warm drink or a long rest. I am only focused on what I am doing in the current day and fully locked into the present.

P.S. I love how when I am riding my world seems vast and infinite compared with when I am camping in my tent which feels very finite and intimate. For some reason this reminds me of Buddhism, when I learned Hinayana and Mahayana sects, which mean the small vehicle and big vehicle. 

West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 3 (10/3/18)

Day’s Stats:

• 10:30am to 5:30pm (7 hours on the road)

• 194 miles travelled

• Crossed over into Oregon

• Saw Paul and Babe the Big Blue Ox

• Feel like I am extremely comfortable riding and a bit stressed

It was a bit of an ordeal getting to the campground today, Google Maps did not know that E. Beaverhill Rd. was changed to W. Beaverhill Rd. I felt stressed, but that was only a small portion of the day.

Overall the day was awesome! It was very smooth riding and I crossed into Oregon. I was thinking why I was doing this trip and the answer is to have a real adventure. To have things go wrong, to question things, and to have an awesome experience. I was also thinking that everyone dies, but not everyone really lives (shout out to William Wallace). I want to really live; I want to love hard, to accept easy and live fully.

This site has no cell service which I did not want but needed. It feels so nice to be cut off from technology and enjoy the simple pleasures that are right in front of me.

P.S. Song that encapsulated the day: Nothing to Find by The War on Drugs

West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 4 (10/4/18)

Day’s Stats:

• 10:30am to 6:30pm (8 hours on the road)

• 236 miles travelled

• I made it safely to Portland, saw a lot of the beautiful Oregon Coast, and had a very bland drive  up the I-5 North towards Portland.

This has been my longest day on the road. My face is burnt, knees are sore, shoulders achy BUT I made it to Portland. My Airbnb is in a rougher area of Portland, a side that is still kind of gritty. I made friends with one of the roommates so he doesn’t axe murder me. This Airbnb is a house full of six people living in it plus a room on Airbnb.

Oregon feels like Vermont’s mountainous landscapes mixed with North Carolina’s beaches and prejudices with the coastal sea towns of Maine.

West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 5 (10/5/18)

Day’s Stats:

• Rented a car for the day and cruised around outside of Portland

• Went to Multnomah Falls and saw the Colombia River Gorge

• Met up with a buddy from studying abroad in China

I am in Portland now and feel very well rested. I stretched, got some food and lots of sleep. I ventured out of Portland today to see Multnomah Falls, which was gorgeous but I’ve seen better. However, I did get the most American lunch of all time because I wanted to feel some comfort. I got a cheeseburger, fries and root beer for lunch at the Multnomah lodge which had a massive fireplace warming the dimly lit lodge.

I also took a walk in the woods by Multnomah falls today. It was wild how calm and at ease I felt. It honestly feels weird to be back in a city again. I miss being on the road and camping. The outdoors calms and simplifies my life in a way nothing else quite does.

West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 6 (10/6/18)

Day’s Stats:

• I went into the city of Portland and ventured around

  • I went to Voodoo Donuts, Lan Su Chinese Gardens and Powell’s Books

• Getting clear on what I want to after travel

• Spend three hours in the Chinese Gardens

I am starting to learn it’s okay not to have answers to all my questions and that it will take time to get those answers. So, stressing out about it will do me no favors.

REMEMBER – where my mind goes, reality will follow. So only hold the outcome you want.

I was at the Chinese gardens today, which was the highlight of my time in Portland. I was wandering through the gardens and came across this cherubic sixteen-year-old Chinese girl playing the guzheng. If you don’t know what it is Google it man, it’s pretty much a Chinese guitar/ harp. I sat and listened to her play for about an hour. This struck me like a bolt of lightning. It made me realized how much I love China and Chinese culture. 

For whatever reason, I really love the Chinese culture and language. It has so much history and purpose with millenniums of meaning, Chinese history is steeped in rich traditions. It’s this deep historical context that is being confronted by Communism and Capitalism that makes it so interesting and compelling to me.

I really want to investigate working in a western city like Shanghai or Hong Kong. It seemed the music at the Chinese gardens today, really realigned me with my path. This is what I find uniquely interesting. I am passionate and curious about it, while at the same time this could potentially be lucrative. I am not sure where this will lead, but I will follow the thread to see where it goes.

West Coast Motorcycle Project: Day 7 (10/7/18)

Day’s Stats:

• 12:30pm to 4:30pm (4 hours on the road)

• 103 miles travelled

• I got absolutely SOAKED in the rain (10x worse then the first day, but not as bad mentally)

• Met a coked out fifty-year-old man on a motorcycle who was fucking weird and wanted to be my best friend

• Made the decision to stay in Astoria for three days

I got absolutely soaked in the rain today and am now staying in Astoria, OR for three days. My original plan was to stay in Cannon Beach for a night and then drive up to La Push, WA to spend two nights. This is clearly not happening.

On my ride to the coast, I met this weird guy named Nels. He was a mid-fifties divorcee who was hell bent on riding with me, he didn’t seem like an axe murderer, so I thought it would be cool to ride with someone. As we continued to ride in the rain, it started pouring. I was soaked through three layers of clothes, “waterproof jacket AND pants” and my saddle bags easily had a half a gallon of water in them. It was fifty degrees, wet, rainy, and windy day riding through the mountains. I was low on gas and getting absolutely soaked in the rain, so we decided to stop at a mountain side gas station/ general store.

We sat down and got some coffee to warm our hands and hearts. The lady behind the counter top was kind enough to allow us the throw our soaked gloves in the oven to warm them up. While we were sitting at the counter top, Nels started talking about his ex-wife and how she owes him money, his girlfriend and this other chick he’s trying to bang who lives on the coast. After telling me many intimate details of his love life, he started aggressively pushing the idea that we should ride together for the rest of my trip and stay with his ex-wife’s father and his friends along the coast. I started to slowly put these new pieces of information together along with that fact he has a bleeding nose at 1:00pm at sea level and has been up since 4:30am. I slowly concluded that this guy is seriously coked out and is fucking nuts. So, after multiple attempts of asking for my number, I reluctantly gave him my digits and gave the most non-committal answer possible for meeting up later. I felt like a hot girl getting mercilessly hit on and just giving the creepy dude my number so he fucking beats it and goes away.

After this strange interaction, I get on my bike and continue to ride another hour in the pouring rain. I finally arrive to the prestigious Motel 6 and between shivering and chattering ask the woman at the front desk for a room. This is where I would spend the next three days.