Video… Not So Much

I rode around for most of our trip looking like a dork with a Go Pro camera mounted on my helmet. An iPhone app allows me to control the camera. It's pretty cool, really. Except for the dork part.

EXCUSES
So we get pretty good video with the helmet mount. However… a video editor I am NOT. So here are a couple of excuses / disclaimers:

• I have no clue what I am doing when it comes to editing video.
• I did this one really fast, as I am back in the real world of work.
• I figured out how to straighten the first part of the video, only to find out the video that looked fine in the editing software was crooked when I uploaded to YouTube.  So forget that. I had to un-straighten it. It's only crooked for a little while.
• I have to use stock music. YouTube disables my videos if I use anything copyrighted. So I know the music is stinky. I'm open to ideas when it comes to music.

SUGGESTION
Enough of the excuses. Here's a suggestion: Click on the little gear at the lower right of the video and select 1080 HD video. It looks much better this way.

CONTEXT
I have HOURS of video to sort through, and will create and upload as I have time. Might be a while before I get to do another. As for this one…

• After a hard four-day push for me (three days for the other guys) to Oakland, California. we slept in due to the length of the ride the day before.
• Getting a late start, we headed across the Bay Bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge. We had to get off of the freeway and go through part of the city of San Francisco to get to the Golden Gate Bridge. This little ride through the city landed us right in the middle of roadblocks for a LBGTQ parade. We lost an hour or more - in heat - finding our way to the bridge.
• The video documents our ride across the Golden Gate Bridge and a fun ride on a road called Panoramic Highway which offered a lot of twists and turns, elevation changes, and an exhilarating first view of the Pacific Coast.
• The remainder of the video gives you an idea of the changing landscape of Highway 1, The Pacific Coast Highway.
• This first day on the PCH ended at Point Arena Lighthouse. We rode like crazy people to get to the lighthouse just in time for sunset, and then rode off in the cold in search of a hotel.

Here's the link to the video on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Rq_Zyf6Z8

Or you can just watch it here:
(It's bigger and better on YouTube)

Home Sweet Home!

That's where I am. Home. After a bunch of miles and nineteen nights in hotel rooms, I am SO glad to be home, sleeping in my own bed. The adventure has been wonderful, as we experienced so much in these days away. At the end of the three-year challenge, I reflect on the entire 48-state endeavor and marvel at all we have seen. We've seen The Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, Yellowstone National Park, and so much more. We have met some of the most interesting people along the way. We have laughed. Relationships with fellow riders have been deepened. We have seen tragedy along the way (more on this in another post). But today, I celebrate home. And I rest.

Here is the final track, recorded by our trusty SPOT Gen3 Satellite Tracker. The 2014 plan was our most aggressive, by far. We had no assurance we would finish the journey, knowing that only with great weather and machines that performed well would we be able to visit each of the remaining states.


End-of-trip report:

• Regarding weather, I experienced about 40 miles of rain on my ride to Port Allen, LA to meet the other riders. On our first day of riding together, there was rain on the weather radar, but we hardly experienced a sprinkle as God kept opening windows through the showers for us. We suited up in Sturgis for about 15 minutes of rain, followed by some wet roads through The Black Hills, and I was rained on about two minutes near Gainesville. Other than these bits of rain, our roads were dry, enabling us to make great time.
• Our machines performed very well. We had one minor issue in La Crosse, Wisconsin with a loose bolt on a shifter that we were able to diagnose and repair in about 10 minutes. No parts flew off of the Harleys - and we were able to stay on schedule.

The result was we finished the course and visited each of the states on the route. Mission accomplished! In terms of miles, there is a bit of a discrepancy. My motorcycle odometer indicates a total trip mileage that is a bit higher than the mileage reported by our Garmin Zumo 665 GPS. Some of the difference can be explained away by quick trips to dinner without all of the electronics - but I believe the Garmin number is probably the most accurate. In either case, we eclipsed the 8,000-mile mark. In an upcoming post, I'll document the actual miles ridden per day. Some were extreme high-mileage days, as we simply had to reach a destination in order to stay on schedule. Others - like our days in The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone, as well as at Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore - were shorted, in order to allow time to get off of the bikes and enjoy the sights. For now, let it suffice to say that we averaged 470.85 miles per day over the course of the 2014 Adventure Ride. An aggressive ride, indeed, but fun and rewarding!

Thanks for sharing the journey with us, and especially for praying for us as we traveled. We enjoyed safety, harmony, favorable weather, and were able to experience so much of the beauty of creation.

It's time for a nap. More to come...

If a Picture Paints a Thousand Words...

… then perhaps you'll get an idea of some of the things we are experiencing along the road less traveled. No time for commentary tonight. This morning, actually. It's late. We rode some 640 miles today - and still pulled up about 90 miles short of our goal. That's better than last night, when we stopped somewhere in Nebraska, 190 miles short of our goal of Sheldon, Iowa, concerned about traveling late at night where deer abound.

We're tired, but thrilled by the adventure and the sights along the way. Tomorrow, we ride to Milwaukee to visit the Harley Davidson museum, and then ride another leisurely 200 miles or so to our destination. For now, here are some pics of things we've experienced:

Chief Joseph Highway, on our way to Beartooth Pass

Our first glimpse of Beartooth Pass

Riding Beartooth Pass, an All-American Road

The Black Hills, where we visited

The Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount Rushmore

Lunch at the iconic Wall Drug Store in Wall, South Dakota

The Badlands

The Great River Road south of La Crosse, Wisconsin

These things make us smile!

July 4th, National Parks, Goodbyes, and More

RIDE UPDATE
The Garmin Zumo 665 GPS, our trusty guide for the ride, indicates we have traveled 5,808 miles so far. My motorcycle odometer has recorded more miles - but who's counting? However we track the distance, we've seen a lot of America in the past week-and-a-half. Here is a visual overview of where we have been so far:

Yesterday, we rode two great motorcycle roads - the Chief Joseph Highway and Beartooth Pass. White-knuckle excitement would be an apt description. We did it, and I have the t-shirt to prove it! Pictures and video to come later. Tonight, we are resting in Rapid City, South Dakota. We're in a motorcycle mecca of sorts, as the largest bike rally in America, based in Sturgis, will begin in a few short weeks. Riders come from everywhere to ride The Black Hills and The Badlands. We are enjoying these areas in our time here. We were  also able to visit Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial. All were inspired by the sights and the history associated with these national treasures.

National parks are always a part of these epic adventures. This year, we visited two of the gems of the national park system as we made our way through The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Our visit was preceded by expectation and apprehension. The apprehension centered on visiting these national parks on the July 4th weekend: I was concerned that our attempt to see such a vast area in two days would be compromised by holiday traffic. Traffic was a non-factor, and we saw everything we planned to see… Old Faithful, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, the Fountain Paint Pots, Tower Falls, and so much more. We saw a bear, buffalo (or bison - not sure which is which), elk, mountain goats of some sort. And we were able to savor the experiences along the way.

My expectations were high. Still, I was not prepared for the splendor and majesty of God's artistry evidenced in our ride - especially in Yellowstone. Oh, my goodness! I won't even begin to put into words the grandeur of creation. Perhaps the pictures will give you an idea of the beauty of it all.

JULY 4th
The July 4th consideration (happy Independence Day, by the way!) turned from concern about traffic to appreciation for this great land we call America.

• We should be grateful. The foresight of those who envisioned a national park system, protected the natural beauty of these lands, and then made them accessible for us - these things should be appreciated.
• We should be proud. We saw people from so many peoples and tongues who were here in our country to experience our great land.
• We should treasure our heritage. In striking up conversation with a server in a restaurant in Yellowstone, I discovered she was from Bulgaria, working in the park for the summer. When I asked if she would stay in America, this server spoke of how much she wished she could remain in the United States. Our nation, with all of her challenges, is still the greatest place in the world to live. Let us give thanks!

GOODBYES

We said goodbye to one of our riders yesterday after our ride through Beartooth Pass. Trent Schelin in making a bee-line for San Antonio to share an unexpected and wildly exciting family blessing. I won't share details, as Trent, Wendy, Sally, and Larry should be allowed to share their excitement with the world on their own timetable. I'll simply say (1) God is good - all the time, and (2) Pray for Trent as he rides solo from Montana to Texas to celebrate with his family.

Tomorrow, we say goodbye to Annette and Elizabeth. They fly home to resume normal life. Because someone has to work to pay for this crazy adventure! We have enjoyed a wonderful time riding together, and they have endured the long days and miles with tremendous grace. Randall and I are blessed beyond measure. These lifelong friends are pictured at the end of The Devil's Tail in Hell's Canyon - just before we turned around and rode it again - the other direction. And they are still smiling. The ladies are the best!

THE DAY AHEAD

We get our oil changed. We visit Sturgis, ride more of The Black Hills, make our way through The Badlands, stop in at Wall Drugs, and then press east into Nebraska on our way to some place called Sheldon, Iowa. And the adventure continues.

The Best-Laid Plans…

My intention was to provide a quick daily summary and a highlight image each day. FAIL!

I am SO sorry about my failure to provide ride updates here. We are well into our 2014 Northwest Adventure, and are having the time of our lives. But the pace is grueling. We ride more miles in a day on this trip than we have ever attempted. When we arrive at our hotel each evening, we unload, clean up, eat.. Next, I have to get back to the room, confirm our route for the next day, and email the route to the other riders. At that point, I'm done. And I know I must sleep. Hence the failure to update.

We have seen so much of what this great country offers! Everyone who calls America home should see as much of this country as possible. From the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white with foam… we've been privileged to see all of these already on this adventure of a lifetime.

Each year, the trip has a focal destination. In 2012, it was The Grand Canyon. In 2013, Niagara Falls was "the prize". This year, it's Yellowstone. Our sights our set on that destination now. We leave Pocatello, Idaho this morning and make our way to Jackson Hole for lunch. Then we head north into the Grand Tetons. If time allows, we'll venture into Yellowstone late this afternoon. If not - tomorrow is the day!

Yesterday, we rode motorcycle roller coasters in Hell's Canyon and The Devil's Tail, carving canyons along the Snake River. You'll see video soon!

Here are a few pictures of things we've experienced so far. More pics and video to come!