The Native Iowan

What a nice, nice ride. Through some great country. On some great roads. But with loads of traffic and plenty of impediments and obstacles. About 150 miles took me 5 hours today. But it was great riding.

My only road side stop today. Pumped the bilges and took a couple picts…

such green!

can you say “fantastic motorcycle road”?

So, more tired after 5 hours/150 miles of real riding than I am after 5 hours/400 miles of cruising.

All is guud…

Tuesday eve here, about 530pm. I have not rode more than 350 miles in 2 days but it has been an interesting 350 miles…

My plans, desire, need to visit the Isle of Man has been circumvented. Basically I fudged up n realise too late that I need to plan further in advance for this. I can catch the Ferry over on the date I want, but not back when I need. Hotels are pretty booked out and my plan of just rocking up and getting a room, where I want, is not happening.

So this will be where I am riding over the next couple days. Based out of Westmorland I have some 600 miles of good terrain to ride through, enjoy and write about…

And all is indeed very, very good

London weekend almost done. I am shattered/ exhausted/ depleated and hapi, hapi as hell.

Tomorrow morn I go pickup a rental bike and head off…

1)Herforshire to Liverpool:

Then to the Isle of Man, the home of 2 wheeled speed…

From there I shall ride the “Lake Country” of Cumbria…

And end up “home’ in Swepstone by the week’s end…

Gonna be a great ride…

big smiles…

On the Thames: Mr M: Bren n Pete: London Tower: Greenwich meridian line:

Golly, what a great City this is. I really enjoy London. I can’t say enough good about it.

Been here over a long weekend with Nick n Bren and Ol buddy Pete Wilson. A Gizo/ Solomons reunion of sorts with last eve, big smile n drum roll, The Monty Python Reunion.

What a great show. What great company. Laughs n smiles n so much fun.

I am shot, buggered, exhausted… n hapi, hapi…

Tomorrow morn I head off on two wheels to the Isle of Man.

More to come but I need a nap.

More later

My dreams are filled with the sound of speed;

Like a sailor whose wobbly legs are a memory of the sea,

I dream of wind and motion and sound and images phlashing past.

I hear the 80mph winds rush over, past n through me.

I see the shadows of faster vehicles before I see or hear them;

they come up fast from behind, tooling along 10 to 20 mph over my speed.

I hear the gears of the big-rigs shifting and toiling, up hill and down.

I smell the fried brakes over heated and warping from the down hill friction test.

I see the majestic scenery; the Colorado River, the Veil Pass, Utah in its barren glory,

Vegas in the glare of daylight, Nebraska in its flat nothingness; green, fertile n rich.

Those lonely sound filled hours of solitude;

a study of stillness in motion, man being still on the machine in motion…

Or such is the theory… how still can you be whilst in control of a 440lbs beast?

You are moving all the time, is the answer, moving and controlling and shifting and…

I think that riding long distance – at speed – is a perpetual motion sorta gig.

It’s about motion n control n awareness n being – out there –

OUT THERE, exposed n vulnerable n on the proverbial razor’s edge,

where the sound of speed is real, alive and an important part of life.

Thursday the 3rd of July in Pasadena. I got back to the apartment here about 10am on Tuesday, the 1st. Total distance was :

So 3867 miles. I picked the bike up 2 weeks ago, tomorrow.

Total time was, lets see, 630am Sunday to 1030am Tuesday. I sat for Thursday and Friday in Iowa then rode back. Basically 4 days of riding each way. Some days I rode over 550 miles. Some days 400. The more I rode the easier it got. Day after day of distance riding does take it out of you. Riding and being aware is the key.

When I got back Tuesday I dumped my gear and went to Trader Joe’s. I needed a big pot of soup. So some potatoes n onions n leeks n tomatoes all in a big pot. I have been eating this since Tuesday and it’s still real good.

Once I was fed n watered I passed out. Slept about 16 hours between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morn. Yesterday I did a few errands, ate soup n slept some more.

Today I am packing up to fly to London. The same minimalistic travel sense applies. I do believe I am traveling with less than I did over the 4000 miles.

Cleaned the bike up: 

The put her to bed while I am gone…

Look forward to riding in the UK.

More later

I am south of Las Vegas by about 25 miles. I am only about 3 hours from “home” in Pasadena. What a journey.

I’ll talk about riding. Riding the way I ride.

It is all about the ride. The symphony of man and machine…

It is all about the road. The landscape and the weather and towns and truck stops… the experience…

Each day’s road is different. Cold in the morning at 4500ft and sweltering in the afternoon, through Vegas. Some roads are real fast. There is one stretch of 100 miles from Green River to Salina…

This streach offers nothing to help a motorist. It is 100 miles of harsh nothingness and beauty. For 2 wheels it is a great ride. Loads of 55mph corners with the speed @ 75. So I cruise these at 80. Switching right n left on empty roadways. Very little traffic. Cranking it to a ton is not difficult. For a cafe racer this is a wet dream with heaps of vroooom.

Some of the ride is flat and boring and, at times, real fast. Some stretches are posted at 80 so I ride @ 90mph/ 144 kph. There is a lot of road-works so some stretches are slow, hot, stinky and no fun for a 2wheeled maniac….

Today’s average speed was…

About 76mph avg. Not bad for a pretty easy day.

I do ride quick. I ride at the head of traffic. If traffic builds up I ride through it and get away from it. If traffic runs too fast I ride along side. I do not like vehicles close behind me. My experience of 2wheels is “death comes from behind.”

I literally ride “on my toes”. My boots are in the stirrups and its the stirrups that control the hoss. I don’t get to be “still” very often. Today was a very, very windy day. My neck n shoulders were in play all the time. My saggy back side shifts as I ride. It is a symphony of man and machine… a tilt of a knee or a shift of the head can change a lane at speed. Too much of anything is bad.

Being light makes it easy to be quick.

Traffic is traffic… world-wide. Most drivers simply suck. Most drivers are over occupied and distracted. I have daily been run off the road by semis that decide to change lane without any signal or looking in their mirrors. I can wind it up and get past. I am quick. And I watch closely. My attention rarely falters. I can’t recall the last time I stomped on the brakes. I normally hit the throttle to get out of trouble.

I shot past a semi that was pulling into the fast lane. He decided he could have his way and probably knew I could jump out of trouble. But the car behind me ended up off the road. I watched in my mirror as the brown sedan braked into the knee-high grass in the ditch.

If someone wants to pass me I make it easy for them. I need a slot between me and any traffic in front and behind me. Today in Vegas I found a nice slot I rode through most of the city. Speeds varied but my slot held good for a long while.

The ROAD is a living being. All travelling on it are parasites; some more worthy, than others.

I have listened to the “HIGHWAY” as I rode these past 3 to 4 thousand miles. I hear it as I ride; the wind, the machines I share the lanes with. I have had one “sport rider” zipp by me with a thumbs up. I ride past most other motorcycles. Most have trailers, or 3 wheels. I saw a Ural with a side car today… way, way cool.

I saw a trailer throw some tread from a flat. I ride watching for faults in the road. I have missed pot-holes that almost threw me. At speed you need both hands on the controls and all 7 senses at play and functions to high levels. I watch my mirrors all the time. I watch the wind in the grass. I watch way, way ahead; looking for trouble, brake lights, pot-holes.

It is an interesting balance of man and machine. One I enjoy. It makes me strong.

So, a few more days n I’ll be riding in the UK.

More later

Day one behind me…

was on the road by 630am. Was doing 70 mph (112 kph) very quickly and rode well for my first 100 miles. Was in Vegas by about noon. Have run past Vegas about 200 miles and have stopped for the night in Cedar City, Utah.

Total distance gained was 440 miles over 8 hours. I ride about 1.5 hours then take a break; fill the bike, drain the bladder, and induce some agua. So we’re not making great time but we are on track. Figger’n 440 miles over 6 hours of road time = avg speed of a bit over 70 miles per hour. And I figger that the first day is always the roughest, the slowest. Long distance riding is a skill set you need to build on… you need to build your neck muscles, and shoulders, and knees and build some callouses on your arse.

I’d like to make Denver tomorrow night…

About 550 miles and we’re half way…

The Denver to Iowa run is 200 miles less so we’ll see if I can do Iowa to Des Moines in a single day. The 3rd day should always be a big day but 800 miles in a day on 2 wheels is a big, big day.

So it is all good. The bike is running very sweet. Traffic is reasonable enough.

And I am grinning ear to ear.

More later….

If you don’t know who Jack Brabham is, you should do some research. His is an inspiring story.

Sir Jack Brabham

• Triple Formula One world champion – 1959, 1960, 1966
• 14 Grand Prix victories
• 13 pole positions
• Australian of the Year in 1966
• Awarded the Order of the British Empire in 1967
• Knighted for his services to motorsport in 1979
• Only F1 driver to win championship in car of his own construction
• Contested 126 Grand Prix from 1955 to 1970

But this story is a gem… read by his son at the funeral, I listened on the radio and laughed until I cried…

“Someone had told dad a magnetic field would help slow his prostate cancer,” he said.

“He brought an industrial size magnet and kept it in his undies.

“The cancer count went down…so dad gets all excited and got two magnets.

“They slammed together.. some of his more delicate parts squashed together.

“It was incredibly difficult to get two multi-grips on two industrial magnets apart when you’re laughing and dad is rolling around in agony.