Connectedness

One can debate the merits of communication in the digital age until the cows, real or virtual, come home but one thing is for certain: we have more ways to stay in touch than we ever have. Some see this as a weakening of traditional social bonds, but I see it differently. I see it as a good thing that I can communicate, in whatever way, with more people than I could possibly see in person. And I don't feel like it weakens any of the social bonds I have with anyone. In fact, it feels like the opposite. Communicating online makes in person meetings more meaningful; and if I'm not able for whatever reason to see someone in person, then I'm better off having the virtual communication than none at all.

So consider me a big fan of communication in the digital age. Send me an email, shoot me a text, post a comment on my blog (you're lookin' at it!) or my Facebook wall (it's wide open now), call me or follow me on Google Latitude. It's all good.

And may the weight of our connection grow stronger over time. Keep it real, but most importantly, just keep it going.

2011 Sabbatical Ride

If you could take a month-long vacation would you? I believe it's safe to assume that almost everyone would answer an immediate "Yes!" to that question, which begs the next question: is the reason so few of us do because we are not given the opportunity, or because we don't make it happen? It has been 18 years since the last time I had a vacation longer than 2 weeks. To say these types of breaks don't come around often is an understatement, at least for most Americans. We're focused on family, work, our homes and material possessions. We take vacations but usually in small segments because we really don't want to hop off that treadmill for too long. That approach is fine for a while, but I believe that eventually everyone needs or would benefit greatly from an extended break. I'm fortunate enough to work at one of those forward-looking companies that believes giving their employees a sabbatical every five years is a good way to strengthen their employee base and in turn the company. Although I was eligible for my sabbatical in November of 2009 a number of factors prevented me from actually taking it. I'm now in a position to take my sabbatical and I've been planning this for years. I'm calling it my Epic Little Adventure.

I've always had an adventurous spirit. From an early age I've been riding my bike 2 or 3 times my age in miles. In high school I got involved in a club called the Wilderness Expedition Society that deeply resonated with my love of the outdoors. Over the years family and work obligations have reduced the amount of adventuring I've been able to do to small outings. It's difficult to really stoke the adventure fires in that short of a time. What inevitably happens to an adventure seeker like myself is not too unlike what happens with a giant wildfire. Fuel builds up over the years until a spark sets it off and away it goes. I'm ready to go and the open road awaits.

Beware thoughts that come in the night.
- Opening sentence from William Least Heat-Moon's book, Blue Highways

As with many grand ideas it started with a dream. For decades I've been dreaming about visiting some National Parks for the first time. I've been to most of the National Parks in California, some many times, but for all of my love of these treasured places, I've never made it to the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. With that itch needing to be scratched I logged on to Google Maps to get an idea of what it would take to visit these two parks. At that time bicycling was my preferred mode of transport (and still is for shorter trips) but it quickly became apparent that I would need at least 6 weeks to pedal a route that included my house and these two parks, and that's not including any time I would want to spend there. It was also about this time that I read Neil Peart's Ghost Rider and saw Long Way Down. Together these two stories triggered a thought that quickly sprouted into an idea that grew into a plan. A motorcycle would allow me to cover this ground and more, while still providing me the enjoyment of riding on two wheels (something that is truly core to who I am). And while the motorcycle makes it easier to carry gear, it is still a lot more difficult than doing the same with an automobile. Thus my adventure was born.

On July 1st, 2011 I set out for the entire month on a 5,000-mile motorcycle ride that will take me through 27 nationally designated and protected wilderness areas, including 9 national parks and 1 national seashore. That is a lot of ground and scenery to cover and I will not hesitate to agree that I will be merely scraping the surface of these beautiful places. To view my trip that way, however, is to fall victim to the common destination-is-the-reward way of thinking. For me, the journey between these places, the thousands of miles I will log on my bike with their attendant helmet time as I call it, is just as important. And this is another reason why travelling by motorcycle is so different from driving a car. Motorcycle riders' senses are heightened and their focus on the world around them is more acute. The added attention required to ride a motocycle results in riders being more aware of what's happening around them and as a result they are more a part of their environment. It may be a subtle distinction to some, but my motorcycling friends know what I'm talking about. For me the mode of transport was just as important of a choice as where I wanted to go.

If you want to see a map of where I'm planning to go check out The Route page. For a little more detail on where I'll be and what I'll be seeing each day check out the Daily Itinerary page. It's a big trip and yes I am growing increasingly more nervous about this undertaking as the day of departure approaches. I've never done anything quite this adventurous before.

One final note: please feel free to comment on this blog. It's going to be a long road and having friends along for the ride, how ever virtually, will make every mile more rewarding. Thanks in advance for reading and joining me on my Epic Little Adventure.

Daily Itinerary

Date	Route	Miles
Friday, July 1, 2011	San Jose to Mammoth Lakes New moon	289
Saturday, July 2, 2011	Devils Postpile and Coyote Flat rides	184
Sunday, July 3, 2011	Panum Crater, Bodie rides	156
Monday, July 4, 2011	Mammoth Lakes to Las Vegas via Death Valley	373
Tuesday, July 5, 2011	Las Vegas to Grand Canyon Tour Hoover Dam	275
Wednesday, July 6, 2011	Hike to canyon floor via the Bright Angel Trail	0
Thursday, July 7, 2011	Hike to canyon rim Stay at Yavapai Lodge	0
Friday, July 8, 2011	Grand Canyon to Moab, UT via Monument Valley and Moki Dugway	437
Saturday, July 9, 2011	Explore Arches NP and Moab area	101
Sunday, July 10, 2011	Arches NP to Park City LIVESTRONG Challenge in Davis, CA	270
Monday, July 11, 2011	Park City to Yellowstone NP Ride through Grand Teton NP	369
Tuesday, July 12, 2011	Explore Yellowstone NP with my family	0
Wednesday, July 13, 2011	Explore Yellowstone NP with my family	0
Thursday, July 14, 2011	Explore Yellowstone NP with my family	0
Friday, July 15, 2011	Explore Yellowstone NP with my family Full moon	0
Saturday, July 16, 2011	Explore Yellowstone NP with my family	0
Sunday, July 17, 2011	Explore Yellowstone NP with my family	0
Monday, July 18, 2011	Yellowstone to White Sulphur Springs, MT	299
Tuesday, July 19, 2011	White Sulphur Springs to Glacier NP	273
Wednesday, July 20, 2011	Hike to Grinnell Glacier	0
Thursday, July 21, 2011	Glacier NP to Whitefish, MT via Going to the Sun Road	98
Friday, July 22, 2011	Whitefish to Missoula, MT via Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Red Meadow Pass	257
Saturday, July 23, 2011	Missoula to Pendleton, OR	356
Sunday, July 24, 2011	Pendleton to Crater Lake NP via Columbia River Gorge and Mt. Hood Scenic Byway	459
Monday, July 25, 2011	Explore Crater Lake NP	52
Tuesday, July 26, 2011	Crater Lake NP to Lassen NP	239
Wednesday, July 27, 2011	Explore Lassen NP	20
Thursday, July 28, 2011	Lassen NP to Pt. Reyes National Seashore	326
Friday, July 29, 2011	Relax in Pt. Reyes	0
Saturday, July 30, 2011	Relax in Pt. Reyes New moon	0
Sunday, July 31, 2011	Home, sweet home Visit my parents	115
	Total mileage:	4948

The Route

Here's a map of my 5,000-mile route through 27 nationally designated and protected wilderness areas, including 9 national parks and 1 national seashore.

Thanksgiving Ride 2010

Thanksgiving morning, before most people on the west coast will have risen out of bed, my friend David and I are heading out on a 6-day motorcycle ride to Joshua Tree National Park. The weather report is for mostly sunny skies but cold temperatures. We hope to do a fair amount of offroad exploring but if the recent rains have left the trails in bad shape then we'll adjust our route to include more slab. Here's a map of the route we've planned out:


You can click on the map to go to Google Maps for an interactive version. I will post reports of our progress if possible, followed by a more detailed write-up with photos when I return.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone reading this. May you have a lot to be thankful for now and in the future.