The Native Iowan

I sit in Casper,Wyoming. Rode out from Camp Eclipse this morn about 730am. Did not ride all that far. A bit over 300miles over maybe 6 hours. First miles on mountain passes so slow going. By the time I hit Casper I was hungry and thinking of doing my laundry.

Had 1 pair of clean socks left. Everything else needed a wash.

So I am fed, hapi and my laundry is all clean. I’ll head to independence, Iowa from here. All I gotta do is follow HWY 20. I should be there Friday or late Thursday.

Over the past several days I have been unable to upload much. Though I have endeavoured to keep the words flowing. I tried to write daily.

So here is a write-up of the ride into and the stay at Camp Eclipse…

But some picts first… And… remember that all road picts do not look the same… They just look like they look the same…

The roads I have traveled have been pretty good. I get a lot of time with very little traffic. I love the lonesome highway. Especially @80mph…

My helmet camera is restricted so very little left right move-ablitiy thus all shots by default are looking down the HWY…

I think I have done 2200 miles so far. Maybe 40 hours of road time. And a few hundred picts that need editing…A hint: look in the rear view mirror in the picts…

Does not really look like much but this is running down a switch-back…. losing altitude running down the mountain but only going 45mph…The long lonely road…Riding in very sensual. Unlike being “inside” a vehicle, I smell everything. I hear a lot, even though my helmet produces a lot of wind-noise. Bugs hit you. Some of them big.

The pine forests offer an olfactory party. I even kinda enjoy the odd dead skunk in the middle of the road. Been years since I smelt skunk…I think I might be getting pretty good at these road picts…. I met some fun people this weekend. The problem is I am terrible with names. This was the kind of gig where we all wore name tags so it was easy to be familiar, just look at their tag. This is a Russian/ Englishman and his lovely daughter Victoria…Victoria and I became pretty good buddies…The tent city as the eclipse starts…Mamma always said to not stare into the eyes of the sun…

But mamma, thats where the fun is…The dusk of totality…

I became friends with the man who owned the land this tent city was erected upon. Ralph is a true cowboy. 4th generation rancher. His wife was a hoot. I met his son n daughter and their families. This was an honest invasion by aliens into cowboy country. Aliens from California, and Texas, and France, and netherlands, and Spain, and England and even the Solomons….

Cowboy Ralph and his posse were enjoying the party (every night), while marveling at the extravagance, but staying quiet about the invasion of aliens from more than a dozen countries.

There was much there to comment upon, from a Cowboy’s percpective. Being small town born n bred I udnerstand their confused complcity.

I Met Ralph the first night and we drank n told lies each night thereafter. I very much enjoyed his company, his family an dhis friends.  I truly hope he takes up my offer and one day visits Australia.

This is a shot of one of the many, very enthusiastic participants at the event. Lucky for Princess Neno Ralf had left his gun in the truck… 

Back dated words….

OK, its been a few days since I updated the journey. been busy. otherwise occupied…

I have sent a few emails since I past posted day3 riding.

But have not managed to get a blog post organised… lets see… Working back wards… I am in Idaho, hanging out, waiting for the big event… The Total Eclipse Of The Sun…

I watched an eclipse when I was a kid. I remember in Boy Scouts, constructing our viewing boxes and going outside, after all the warnings, and looking at the sun as it eclipsed. And no, I did not go blind. I don’t really recall any powerful emotion from that event. My head was in a box and I saw bugger-all!

But I do look forward to tomorrow… for a couple of reasons…

First of course is it’s my 60th birthday (according to modern counting methods). Last year I threw myself a 60th bday party, but that was counting the womb-time as yr 1 and birth date being 1st bday. I know I confused folks then.

But this year is my 60th, conventionally counting, bday. And my present to myself is an eclipse.

Second, I am rediscovering long-riding… In July 2015 I had an accident on the road from LA to SanFran. It wasn’t a “bad” accident, But I tore my left shoulder all to hell. I aborted what was to be a several week trip, less than a week in, and limped back south with a very, very sore shoulder. Over the next many months the condition did not get much better. Pain was a constant companion. My shoulder did not work at all. It got so damn bad I consulted a doctor.

Eventually I brought two Polynesian healers together for about 10 days (in Honiara) and I got quadruple daily treatment through massage/manipulation. It fucking hurt. It hurt a lot. I screamed and hollered and sweated. But a lot of my mobility returned. Since then I have self-treated through constant use. And this long bike ride was going to be a test. Either my shoulder could take it or not.

The first couple days of riding found my shoulder aching a lot. I persevered and now can happily say my shoulder is pretty damn good. In the last two nights of sleep I do not recall waking due to extreme shoulder pain. That is a big plus.

Third is a weird, eclectic, strange, and fun group of people I have met through Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic (VG) project. The idea behind VG is to develop and market “space tourism”. The project has been partially funded by crazed individuals who have been willing to invest a huge sum of money (you can find out on-line how much) into the R&D of it all. To date (actual numbers are closely guarded) there are roughly 600 “investors”. I am one. We call ourselves “Future Astronauts”.

So “Camp Eclipse” is a VG event which I am lucky enough to welcomed to.

And it is very cool.

Last year I used all my selfish muscles and put together the best possible ol-fart birthday party. The party started Saturday afternoon and ended Sunday noon. We had a swing band and various entertainers, and a great meal, and too much grog, and a big-arsed hangover the next day.

This year, because I am really, really 60, I am going to give myself  party that will last for a couple of weeks…

In A Nut Shell: I hit LAX from Brisbane on Friday the 11th. On Monday the 14th I rode into Arizona. Day 2 I rode through Williams, Az and past the Grand Canyon, spending the nigh at Cedar Springs UT. From there I rode the mountains passes to Dushesne UT.

Day 4 started in Dushesne. A very pretty little mountain town. I rode through some incredible mountains passes and switchbacks and ended up in Jackson WY that night. Day 5 saw me ride 191 through Yellowstone from north to south. I spent 3 hours riding at low speed through Yellowstone in terrible traffic. I spent the night in Bozeman, Mt. Day 6 I drove back south on 191 to Tetonia, ID and “Camp Eclipse”.

Day 7, today, is a rest day from the bike and an enjoy day here at the camp. Some intersting people of knowledge gining interesting perspectives and insights… very cool.

So, To catch up quickly I will pull a couple emails I recently sent out…

1) To Hans at San Bis resort

Dude…

How are you?

For an old fuck I am pretty good…

And…

I am more than fucking happy. I have risked my life numerous times today. And the day before… Man. If running fast n slippery on the razor’s edge don’t make you happy, don’t know what will!!!!

Riding and the meaning of life:

Have completed my 4th day of lonely long, hard riding. Been running up the Rocky Mountains south to north from Arizona into Montana. Been a long day through magnificent mountains.

My day is done. I have settled into a “cheap” $200 a night hotel. It is very basic. I am in tourist season, in tourist country.

Ready to find some food. Get some sleep. 

Luckily a decent place for feeding is next to the bedotel… Don’t have to walk too far to get pissed… Thus I sit…

Drinking a very flowery Ale. Brewed locally. I usually will try a local brew, but this one aint getting a reorder. 

Sitting outside as the sunsets and the chills its in. The wind is brisk. I’ll go back soon, I feel like a nice coffee before I bed down… its only 6pm so another beer and a coffee…. The mushroom ravioli with mexican peppers was excellent. 

I am in a cowboy-town, Jackson, Wyoming. Been riding through switch-back mountain roads. Up to 9000 feet, crossing summits then rushing down into the valleys, to 4000 feet in, say 20 minutes or less. Being Swiss you know what I mean…

It is very cool. 

Exhausting riding. 

I’ll be up in the morn and on the road by 9am. It’ll be too cold before that. We are at 6500 feet. Temps very much like the sunny coast.

So I sit and eat my one meal of the day. And get enough sedative to last the night. 

Damn this young-buck shit wears an old chassis out!

Tomorrow will see me run through Yellowstone Park, south-to-north. 

Looking forward to it.

Have traveled over 2000 ks since I started in California. 

I get another couple of weeks to keep this foolishness up. 

SMILE

And life is very good…

Smiles

2) To DB in northern Michigan…

Dok,

I sit in Jackson Wyoming. It’s 6c out so still too cool to ride. Should warm up a fair bit in the next hour or so. So I sit n drink water n watch news before I ride…

I am riding a stock standard Thruxton… a great machine. A tank bag. Heavy riding gear, n bugger all else for 3 weeks. Got to do laundry yesterday so life very good.

Riding the Rocky Mountains from south to north, Arizona to Montana.

Amazing ups n downs n switch backs n no guard rail deadfalls…. very good riding.

I ride today into Montana. Following hwy 191 for one more day. I’ll check into an ad hoc tent city “Camp Eclipse” on Saturday. I need a rest from the bike. A couple of days of no riding and I’ll head east to Iowa. 

Unsure if I will ride north into your neck of the woods. Have taken 5 days to get this far. So not traveling as fast as I can. But the roads are Grand. The riding is Great.

Would very much enjoy a BS session with you but time is going to run out… only get a couple more weeks of this then back to Aus.

And life is good. 

Smiles

So, I am almost caught up…

Smiles