Back in the USA

 I forgot to mention the motorbike dealer in Oregon City, well I did mention it but only referred to it as a local bike shop I got my tyres changed in!
So heres a big shout out to Aaron at Apex Sports Oregon City
www.apexmotosports.com
Great guys and a fantastic service :-)

Sunday 14^th July : 150 miles, Haynes Junction to Whitehorse

Short ride as I wanted to spend some more time in Whitehorse, not only did I stay at the same camp site I used the same pitch place as last time. Spent some time exploring Whitehorse and stocking up on fresh food. Gutted as I lost my veterans badge!

Monday 15^th July : 300 miles, Whitehorse to Junction 37

I used the same campsite I stopped at on the way up as it has good and cheap laundry facilities.  I was shocked at how much road construction was ongoing.

Tuesday 16^th July : 300 miles, Junction 37 to Toad River campground

My original plan was to return South via the route 37, however I heard rumours of about 100 mile of construction, most of it was gravel road. So I decided that I would take the Alaskan Highway all the way back down South, however I was unprepared for the amount of construction work that was not there 2 weeks ago. I spoke to a couple last night and he said, theres 2 seasons in the Yukon, Winter and construction!! So I suppose they have to do all the repair work while the weather is good.

Wednesday 17^th July : 340 miles, Toad River campground to Sikanni Chief campground.

It was a lovely hot day and then the black clouds appeared! Soon I was looking at lightning right in front of me, so I headed to the nearest campsite, shared a site with a guy who was heading up to Alaska. We spent the night chatting and talking about the routes around us.

Thursday 18 July : 300 miles. Sikanni Chief campground to Mcloud

Instead of going all the way to Dawsons Creek I took route 29 to Chetwynd, it was a fabulous scenic route with lots of twisty turn. Chetwynd looked familiar until I realise I had passed through the town on my way to Alaska.

Friday  19^th July : 320 miles. Mcloud to 100 mile house

I was now on the home straight and hoping to get back into the USA as the cost of everything is sky high in Canada, six pack of beer costs around 15 Canadian dollars!
However it was quite warm and the traffic was heavy so my dream of making back into the USA would have to wait 1 more day.

Saturday 20^th July : 300 miles. 100 mile house to Sedre Woodly USA

Well I made good time and hit the border, time for a grilling I was thinking. So the Immagration lady asked me “so whats your story here” I replied, “its not a story, its an adventure!!”
Soon I was telling me of her trip and 20 minutes later she let me go. I took route 9, which was a bit of a mistake as it was such a slow road.

Sunday 21^st July : 340 miles. Sedre Woodly to Astoria.

I managed to get hold of my good friend Tom and he was at a family camping meeting in Fort Stevens Astoria. So instead of getting a nice warm comfortable bed it was back to camping for one more night! I am so glad I went to meet him as I had a lovely time with him and Sue and the rest of Sue’s family.

Monday 22^nd July Still in Astoria.

Tom decided to stay down in Astoria but at his beach house, so after 6 weeks of camping I was finally sleeping in a real bed J
I also had a great time being driven round by Tom and being showed the local sights, I even got a chance to drive his big truck on the beach, that was great fun.

Tuesday 23^rd – 26 July. Chilling at Tom and Sue’s house

It was time for a break and catch up on much needed laundry and bike washing. The bike was filthy after all those miles to Alaska and back. I also carried out a service and checked the bike was in tip top condition. Tom and I also visited the Evergreen air museum, it was packed with interesting exhibits and I could have easily spent 2 days walking around the place.

Saturday 27^th July Oregon City to Corvallis

It was sad to leave Tom and Sue’s but I have to make my way to Sturgis so I waved my goodbyes for a short journey down to catch up with another good friend, Nichole. We spent a couple of hours gossiping about bikes and rallies and then took her two children to the local river. It was lovely just to chill out and watch the world go by from the river bank.

Sunday 28^th July Corvallis to Dayville

I have stopped in Dayville twice before, this time I was looking forward to a nice pizza, it was really nice that the campsite owner only charged me 10 dollars instead of 15! However the pizza wasn’t up to the usual high standards and was undercooked, hence to say, I threw most of it in the bin!

Monday 29^th July Dayville to Glenns Ferry

You may have noticed that I have stopped recording my mileage, this is because my beloved TomTom has finally stopped working and now I am using my garmin nuvi phone as a satnav. So I have no idea of my mileage but I reckon I am still doing 300 miles a day.
I am staying in the same motel I stayed in on the way up to Alaska. Nice and cheap but most of all clean with free wifi!

Sunbathing in Alaska

NO PICTURES AS THE MACDONALDS NETWORK AS A SLOW AS A SNAIL IN A COMA!!!

4^th, 5^th and 6^th July, still at Sven’s hostel

I decided I would have 4 nights sleep at Sven’s. During which time I just chilled and met with other travellers, there was motorcyclist and pushbike travellers, as well as a couple who had shipped a car over and drove South to North.
It was great to chat and swap ideas and routes, I have now found out that I can ship from either Houston or Miami to Columbia, so that now gives me another option.
I even rode with a guy called Pete to see Santa Claus at the North Pole, I also sent my Mum a postcard because it gets franked with the North Pole stamp.

Sunday 7^th of July : 300 miles. Fairbanks to Willow.
I took route 3 to Anchorage, it was quite a late start as I said my goodbyes to all the good people in the Hostel. The route was stunning and had some fantastic mountain views but the weather was getting wetter and wetter! Around tea time I hit a pretty big storm and seeing lightning in the distance I decided to stop at Willow about 70 miles short of Anchorage.
Putting up the tent in the rain wasn’t much fun! But I was not paying $100 for a cabin! I did treat myself to a nice cold beer and a huge cheeseburger with fries.
It was still damp and miserable in the morning but I packed up and headed towards Anchorage.

Monday 8^th July : 70 miles, Willow to Anchorage.
It was a short ride but as I set off the clouds started to disperse and lovely warm sunshine started to break through.
My Tomtom sat nav was playing up, I think it was the downpour yesterday that broke it. It wouldn’t do any new routes and I was looking for a Stenard road where there was a free campsite for motorcycle travellers.
As luck would have it, just as I was about to turn around and give up on the campsite I found myself on Stenard Road. Within 10 minutes I found the campsite and was set up and busy drying all my wet gear off.
There is a couple of other travellers here so I have decided to have a 2 day break here and just chill before setting off South.

Tuesday till Friday  9^th to 12^th Motoquest campground Anchorage.
Peter the pole from Fairbanks Hostel turned up so we spent a few days just chilling and hanging about. Did some shopping at REI, got some new egg holders to replace my old ones as the latch had broke and the eggs keep falling out.
Peter and I managed to get a bargain flight for $200, this was a 2 and ½ hour trip and took us out to a glacier and then we saw some whales on the return leg. We swapped seats at the halfway stage and I was allowed to hold the flightstick!

Friday 12^th July 340 miles : Anchorage to Tok
The weather was beautiful on the ride out to Tok, my 9 year old satnav decided it didn’t want to work anymore, so it was back to paper maps.
I managed to catch up with Bill a guy from Texas who had rode to Alaska to find work but sadly for him there was no jobs so he has decided to return to Texas. I followed him to a cheap motorbike only campsite just outside Tok. We had been set up long and Peter the pole arrived. He had received bad news, a friend of his had been killed in a motorcycle accident so he was cutting his holiday short to get back in time for the funeral.

Saturday 13^th July :340 miles : Tok to Haynes Junction.
I had tried to make Whitehorse my finishing point but the roads were that bad I simply ran out of riding time! They have laid so much more loose gravel since I travelled up this road 2 weeks ago. The worst is the loose small gravel, where the front wheel wobbles from side to side and you just have to keep some power on to try and force your way through it!

Fighting off the Bears in Alaska!

Thursday 20^th and Friday 21^st June, still at Toms house. On Friday I updated my journal and blog. Then rode a few miles to catch up with an old friend Cliff Danger, met Cliff in town and spent a couple of hours chatting about travelling.

Meeting Cliff and his bike Lucy, I had met Cliff last year in California

Saturday 22^nd June : 230 miles, Toms house to Vantage Washington.

After saying my fond farewells to Tom, Sue and Charlie I made a late start and began heading North, I headed North East along the Columbian river and then took route 97 up North. There was some spectacular roads and I had to keep reminding myself that the tyres still needed a good scrubbing in before I can really start to crank it round the bends.

I arrived in Vantage, the campsite was $21, so I went off in search of the State park campsite which was $32 but was full anyway!
I did find a free campsite but it was full of young ones getting drunk and playing very loud music, so I went back to the original campsite and admitted defeat! The lady at the desk gave me a contractors rate, so I got the campsite for $10, what a bargain. She also told me her brother had been sadly killed in a traffic accident and he was a biker and had always wanted to travel to Alaska. So I asked her to write a small note and I promised to wrap it in a plastic sleeve and I will place it under a rock when I arrive in Alaska.

Sunday 23^rd June : 230 miles, Vantage Washington to Peachland Canada.

Up early and on the road the weather held off and was quite pleasant.
I reached the Canadian border around 2 and had no problems getting in, the Immigration guy was more interested in my travels. Soon a queue had formed behind me, when I pointed this out the guy just said “let them wait, I am fascinated in your travels”

I was soon looking for a campsite but they all wanted around $30! In the end I got a bargain at $20, camp special for motorbikes. I spent a real pleasant evening chatting to a Canadian couple, managed to pick up a few tips including, the fuel in Canada is sold by the litre and here was me thinking it was really cheap!
Turns out its about 90p a litre, so not to bad.
Woke up in the night to the pitter patter of raindrops and when packing up my wet tent I thought to myself “living the dream” well if that was the dream you can happily keep it!

Happy to be in Canada

Monday 24^th June : 240 miles Peachland to Golden

Setting off in the wet is never fun, wearing waterproofs I was literally boiling inside as the temps were quite high. I suddenly thought going to Alaska was not such a good idea.
anyway, progress was slow but steady. The Canadians drive like looneys and don’t use indicators and simply pull out in front of you and expect you to brake (reminded me a bit of riding in Russia).

However my choice of roads took me through glacier national park and the scenery was truly outstanding! The roads began to dry and I was able to carve my way round mountains!
It truly was an outstanding ride.

Bit the bullet and took a motel as the skies were starting to look dark. Not cheap at $80 and that was a cheap rate, looks like I will be doing a lot of camping from now on.

Tuesday  25^th June : 300 miles Golden to Macbride

Rode the Icefields Parkway through the Rockie mountains. What a fantastic day, though it did start out with damp and grey skies soon the weather Gods were shining down on me and it stayed quite dry allowing me to ride some fantastic twisty and tight turns.

Wednesday 26^th June : 200 miles Macbride to Macloud

Despite it raining during the night I awoke to bright and warm skies, soon I was on the road to Prince George, I was quite surprised at the size of the town. I did spend far too long there getting food supplies and updating facebook!
Decided to stop early and found a forest camp site, though it was going to be expensive at $16, Karl another rider I had met opted to share the site and therefore halving the cost. We spent most of the night discussing routes and what works best for our bikes. The mozzies were out in force! But deet managed to hold them off.

Thursday 27^th June : 300 miles Macloud to Pink Mountain

Took a detour and headed for Dawsons Creek, so glad I did as it was the Mile marker 0 for the Alaskan Highway. This is where it all started!
I am beginning to think I have really underestimated the time and mileage to Alaska, so far the days seem quite slow and only managing around 300 miles a day. Stayed at a real crappy campsite, $20! And you had to pay $1 for a shower, so I cheated and did a strip wash using the warm sink water!
The campsite was just a sodden mud bath! And I struggled to find somewhere that wasn't water logged to put up my tent.

The start of the Alaska Highway

Friday 28^th June : 340 miles Pink Mountain to Laird River Hot Springs.
Stopped off in Fort Nelson to use the free wifi at AW’s and of course treat myself to 2 baby burgers, the cheapest ones on the menu!
Outside AW’s I got talking to a RCMP Sergeant (why do I always feel guilty when chatting to a police officer?) anyway, Les told me about the roads ahead and gave me a card if I was ever in trouble. He also said, that this was the last place to get some beer before Whitehorse. Its just a shame I didn’t get bread too as there was none at Hot Springs.

RCMP Sergeant Les, a great guy who gave me some tips on the roads ahead

I had been riding passed a guy on a Honda cruiser all day, he would pass me and then further on I would pass him, it was like a game of chase.

turns out he was in the next pitch to me at Hot Springs, so we spent the night fighting off the dam Mozzies and drinking warm beer. We didn’t realise it was almost 1 o'clock in the morning as it was so light.

Jody getting ready to set off

In the morning I went down to the Hot springs and boy were they Hot! It felt lovely to lie and relax but after 30 minutes I thought I was beginning to boil. Also had to fight off the mozzies while getting dressed!

chilling at the Hot Springs, were the water was really hot !!

Saturday 29^th June : 140 miles, Laird River Hot Springs to Watson Lake

A short ride to a lovely cheapish campsite, at $15 dollars I was happy, I also put 2 washes on as my clothes are starting to get a bit smelly!
So far I have seen 2 Bears, one I got a picture of (a baby I think), the other as soon as I slowed down he was off into the woods!
2 Mooses, the first I rode straight by until I twigged on that it was a Moose! By the time I slowed down he was off into the woods.
Seen lots of Bison herds, only stopped to take a picture of the first few. As for Mozzies I have seen a billion trillion of them! In fact some have become quite attached to me!

Sunday 30^th June and Monday 1^st July : 330 miles Watson Lake to Whitehorse

With Monday the 1^st of July being Canada day, I decided that it would be nice to spend 2 nights in Whitehorse. I also had met another biker on the way, Harry was originally from Holland but had lived in Canada most of his life.
We spent a lot of time just hanging around and chatting, we also went down to watch the Canada day parade, which was quite eventful! And very entertaining.
However the weather was a mix of sunshine and rain spells but we made the most of it and had a lovely day out.

Canada Day parade at Whitehorse

Tuesday 2^nd July : 300 miles, Whitehorse to Beaver Creek

Woke up to nice sunshine and was soon packed up and on the road. I met a BMW rider who had broken down and was waiting on a replacement alternator  belt. He warned me that the road to the border was quite bad. I did hit a fair bit of gravel where they were replacing the road surface, however the worst bits was where the ground had pushed up, creating a ski mogul type surface. The going was slow in places.
I did try and cross the border but just as I left Canada the rain started to come down, then I saw roadworks, gravel ahead for 14 miles, so I turned back to Beaver Creek and camped the night. I will face the bad roads first thing in the morning.

Wednesday 3^rd July : 340 miles, Beaver Creek Canada to Fairbanks Alaska USA

The rain came down heavy in the night and I was glad that I had made the decision to turn back and rest for the night, in the morning the rain had eased off and soon after breakfast I was on my way.
The roadworks were not to bad! It was a bit slippery in places but on the whole the road was hard packed gravel and soon I was at the Alaskan border.
The border guard was very chatty and interested in my travels, though he did struggle to find my entry stamp in my passport as I have quite a few now!

Soon I was on reasonable tarmac roads and able to make some decent speed up. Until a Moose jumped out right in front of me! I had to slam the brakes on to avoid him, clearly the Deer Whistles fitted to my bike don’t work for Moose’s, unless of course this one was deaf!

Arrived in Fairbanks and was surprised at the size of the City, it’s kind of weird being a city in the middle of nowhere. I soon found Sven’s Hostel and Campground. I decided to have 2 nights and take a rest as the next day was the 4^th of July. However, since spending a night here I have decided to have 3 nights and hopefully tomorrow get an oil change done on the bike, which so far has been a delight to ride apart from I am over stretching for the handlebars, which cause slight neck and shoulder ache!

For Barb in the campground, for her Brother who was killed in a RTA before he had a chance to go to Alaska

Finally I come to end of the Alaska Highway, 1442 miles of mental pain lol

The end of the Alaska Highway

Sorry for the long update, I promise to try and do more regular updates in future

a catch up on the last few weeks on the road :-)

To try and save some time I have simply copied and pasted bits from my Journal to which I have added a few pictures to this blog.
I really must make a better effort to update my blog

Hung around Doug's till the 3^rd of June waiting on my last bits to arrive via the postal service.

Set out on the afternoon of the 3^rd only to be caught in a huge storm! After 1 hour I was soaked to the skin and had only ridden about 27 miles, so I returned to Doug's and got all my gear sorted out and dried.

this is how much rain came down in an hour

Tuesday 4^th June 440 miles, Punta Gorda to Marianne Florida.

Finally early on the 4^th of June I set off. With a constant threat of storms I made my way north west towards the gulf of mexico. It was really hot and I was drinking litres of water. I made it to Marianne and used a motel for the night as it was too hot to camp.

Wednesday 5^th June 440 miles Marianne Florida to Lafayette Louisiana

Quite a boring ride using the interstate roads (UK motorways) but I just needed to get some miles under my belt and try and out run this big storm that was due in the area. I did hit a couple of rain showers but because it was so warm it was quite refreshing and I was dry within 10 minutes.

Thursday 6^th June 266 miles, Lafayette LO to Sealy TX.

I had promised my friend Nicole that I would like to spend some time with her dad, so I headed out to meet him in Sealy TX.

It was such a pleasure to meet Bob, who had been injured in Korea and was a Purple Heart recipient .we had such a good night, he took me for a proper big feed and then we spent the night on the porch watching the sun go down and chatting to the small hours. In the morning he took me for breakfast and then we went off to meet some veterans. It was such an honour to spend time with Bob.

Bob about to treat to a real belly stuffing meal 

watching the sun go down on Bob's back porch

Friday 7^th and Saturday 8th June 134 miles: Sealy TX to Cedar Park Austin TX

A short ride to Lee and Pat’s house, I had met her last year on my RTW trip and was having a 2 day stop over. It was great to see old friends again. I got my laundry done and spent a bit of time at a huge camping store, also chilled out in the pool with her grandson Caleb.

chilling in the pool with Caleb, who kept making me fetch his toys from the bottom of the pool!

Sunday 9^th June : 344 miles Cedar Park to Lubbock TX

I am a bit hazy on this part of the trip but I am sure that I used a motel (maybe this is why you should keep journals up to date!).

Monday 10^th June : 243 miles, Lubbock TX to Boise City Oklahoma.

This was one of the hottest days I had ridden with the temps well into the 100’s! And the roads where probably the most boring! Just lots of straight roads with farmlands and farmers to look at!

Tuesday 11^th June : 460 miles, Boise City to Farmington New Mexico

Another long and hot boring day with lots of straight roads that just seem to go on forever! I stayed at a cheap motel as it was too hot to sleep in a tent.

Straight and boring roads.... you just got to hate em lol

Wednesday 12^th June : 300 miles, Farmington to Tuba City.

I was told not to miss Monument valley, the most exciting thing that happened was a 4 x 4 pulled out on me! Thankfully ABS brakes kicked in and I managed to safely go round the back of him. He did slow down and look at me and then sped off faster than a speeding bullet! I think he knew I would have torn him a new asshole!
To be quite honest I found the valley to be quite boring, you can only look at so much rock in one day! I almost forgot, I did Four Corners, I only remembered when I was going through some pictures!

me lying with a limb in all four states

Also found out that there was no drinking on an Indian reservation, so I ended up doing a 70 mile detour to pick up some beer. I only did this because I couldn’t find anywhere to camp so ended back in Tuba city and having refused to take a $140 motel room they allowed me to camp round the back at the cost of $17.

Thursday 13^th June : 270 miles. Tuba City to North Rim Grand Canyon.

I was on the road and met up with a fellow Vstrom rider who was 77, his name was Bob and he was telling me of a rally further up the road.

Bob 77 and still rides everyday

 Anyway I wasn’t sure that I wanted to go and see the Grand Canyon as I had my fill of looking at rocks. He assured me it was worth the ride. So I set off and I am so glad that I have seen the Grand Canyon, it truly is very spectacular. 

spectacular views on the Grand Canyon North Rim

I wanted to camp there but the campgrounds where full (in fact they have a 6 month reservation list) so I ended up wild camping in the forest.
It did take me about 1 hour to make my mind up as when I looked round there was nothing around for miles and I had no service on either my UK or USA phone. Whilst setting up my tent I could swear I could hear banjo’s playing in my head!

I have to say, it was one of the best nights sleep I have had so far in the trip, that good that I even dreamt that night.

Wild camping, scary stuff when you hear banjos in your head playing!

Friday 14^th June : 300 miles, Wild camping to Panguitch Utah

I had promised Bob that I would catch up with him at a BMW rally being held, the price for the weekend was steep but I could stay the Friday night for $14, so I put my tent up and they where on the whole a good bunch of people, though a couple did look down their noses at my dirty looking Suzuki Vstrom!

Saturday 15^th June : 300 miles, Panguitch to Provo Utah.

I was given plenty of routes to take by the guys at the BMW rally, I chose to take Route 12, a beautiful scenic route through Bryce Canyon and the Grand Staircase. It was a real treat to ride some lovely twisty roads and then the weather changed on me and big black clouds started to show! So I made a detour for the interstate and headed North. I went to a state park campsite which they offered me a pitch on rocks and gravel for $14, so I turned it down and headed further North only to find a RV park campsite charging $20! But by that time I was so tired I bit the bullet and paid. It was a lovely campsite on grass and I met some lovely people and chatted away the evening about travelling.

Sunday 16^th June : 333 miles, Provo to Glenns Ferry Idaho

I ended up back on the interstate as I was getting desperate to get to Oregon City where I had new tyres waiting for me. So on a fuel stop I ended up in Glenns Ferry, which was a really quaint old town. I found a small motel and at $40 it was cheap. I was very surprised at how clean and tidy my room was, after some of the cheap fleapit motels I stayed in last year. In fact I went back to tell the owner how nice their motel was and ended up chatting again for hours about travelling.

Monday 17^th June : 300 miles, Glenns Ferry to Dayville Oregon

Last year I stayed in Dayville which is a real quaint old looking western village, the owner of the garage Julie made a cracking homemade pizza, so when I turned up she remembered me and then told me “I am out of pizza dough”! so I ended up settling for a can of ravioli, still it was worth the 4,000 mile ride just to get a hug of Julie again!

Tuesday 18^th June : 290 miles, Dayville to Corvallis Oregon

 I made my way west to meet up with an old friend Nicole who I had met last year at a HuBB meet in California ( it was also Nicoles Dad Bob that I met in Sealy TX).
For the first time in my trip I had to put on waterproofs as the rain started to come down, about 40 miles down the road I had to stop again to put some fleece top on as the temp’s had really start to drop.
It was a crying shame as the roads were lovely and twisty and the scenery was just mind blowing! But with near bald tyres I just had to slow things right down and take my time.

It was fantastic to meet up with Nicole again, she treated me to a meal down the local pub where some of her friends had gathered to give me a warm welcome. I was given a couple of lovely T-shirts and I cracked a joke about anyone having spare socks and undies!

Meeting some of Nicole's great freinds

The next day Nicole rode up with me almost to Oregon City, it was fantastic to be shown local roads but once again the weather spoilt it a little. I would have loved to throw my Vstrom round some of them lovely twisty roads.

Wednesday 19^th June : 100 miles, Corvallis to Tom and Sue’s house in Oregon City.

It was fantastic to meet up with Tom and Sue again (they were the first people I stayed with when I went round the world last year). I just love staying here and it feels like a second home to me.
Tom had arranged for the local bike shop to have new Metzler Tyres waiting for me and Toms good friend Charles helped me take the wheels off and down to the shop to get the new tyres fitted. Charles also took me on a tour of Oregon City and we visited my favourite camp store to pick up a few bits and pieces before heading further north towards the Canadian border.

Charles helping me get the wheels off ready for new tyres

New tyres just waiting to be scrubbed in before I head further North

So I am now having a few days rest at Tom and Sue's house. My new tyres are on and Charles helped me bleed the brakes, also did a mini service and changed the oil and oil filter ready for my next big ride up to Alaska.

Lost soul

Well I managed with the help of Doug get my bike registered in my name :-)
Not before I had to pay the lady $360, 300 of that was tax!! yep you pay tax on a used motorcycle in Florida.... maybe the UK is not such a bad place to live lol

So after getting a few bits and pieces for it I decided to take a 2 day trip to Key West the most Southern point of the USA.

All packed for a trail run

The ride down was HOT!! temps were well into the 95 or it felt like a 100! Thankfully I had my mesh jacket and kevalar trousers, which help to keep me cool once I am riding.

I was using the Corbin seat that came with the bike. It was probably the most uncomfortable I have ever sat on! and the way it is shaped pushes you back away from the handlebars, this created terrible shoulder and neck ache!

My destination was Bahia Honda State park via the old Tamiami trail route 41, this was a very pleasant route and there was plenty to stop and see.

I think there's alot of Alligators round here

When I got to the campsite, the ranger wanted $47 for just me and my tent and that was on pea gravel! she said it was the same price even if you came in by RV, now thats not fair is it ?

So I headed back up the road. By this time it was getting close to 8 oclock and I was getting tired. So I found a campsite for $36, still way over my daily campsite budget, I bit the bullet and paid!

As I was just about to start setting up my tent, the owner came over and said I was in the $50 a night pitch spot! So I carried all my stuff 200 metres and finally got set up.

It was so hot though and as I stripped to my shorts I felt I was being eaten alive! So I crawled into my tent with a beer and settled down to watch a movie.

I had planned on staying another night here, however because it was Memorial weekend she was putting up her prices to $55 for my pitch!

So I packed up and headed South.

Hot and Sweaty I make it to the most Southern point of the USA

I decided I would head back towards Doug's and as I got to Homestead the clouds had become very grey and looked quite storm filled!

So I opted for a cheap motel for the night, I did however spend most of the night peeking out of the window to see if my bike was still there! To say it was a dodgy neighbour hood would be an understatement!

I took the 41 back to Doug's, once more plenty of things to see.

He was lying basking in the sun

Here is something you dont see everyday in the UK

So it was a great little ride out of around 500 miles to try the bike out. The Corbin seat soon got swapped out for the stock seat, it seems to put me in a better riding position.

Well I should be heading North towards Alaska soon, just waiting on one more part for my bike.... infact I am all packed and rearing to go... just waiting on the postie lol

Chilling in Florida

Well Monday came and I did the last minute meter readings and handed my house over to Wendy and Jeremy :-)
My friend Tony and Stella came to take me to the train station, it was a very emotional send off as I suddenly realised I was off once more !

I did struggle with my over laden bag, which contained most of my camping and riding equipment, I had already posted out a 10kg box to Doug's with my tent and some of my camping equipment.
I don't think I realised how hard it was to pack! normally most of my gear is on my bike.

The train ride was quite uneventful and finally arrived at my hotel. The food was really overpriced at the hotel so I did what I normally do... went to find a chippie!

Tuesday morning found me awake at dawn, don't know what it was but I just couldn't sleep!
On arrival at the airport I found there was a delay on my flight but they did not have a take off time.

I had stuffed my motorbike jacket pockets with any thing that would fit, I also had a huge bum bag stuffed with equipment as I was struggling to meet the 20kg luggage restriction. Then I found that my bag was too big for the check in and I had to take it up to oversized luggage, I was a bit sneaky here and took off the oversized bum bag and put it back into my bag.
I managed to get away with taking my helmet on the flight as well as my backpack as I said it was like a handbag! So I slung it over my shoulder just as you would a handbag!

I know now for the return leg I will post all the stuff back and travel with a small bag.

After a 4 hour delay the flight took off and I soon had my ear plugs in and slept for most of the flight.

We arrived at 7 Florida time (midnight UK time) and it took about a hour to get thru Immigration. I asked for another 6 months and was granted it with a nice big smile.

I then picked up my bag and headed out of the airport, I was then stopped at the final Customs check. He asked me where I was going and what I was carrying, thats where all the problems started. As soon as I said 6 months he started grilling me!
Then he took me to another desk and they opened ever single item I was carrying.
I have to laugh though, when he opened my first aid kit he asked if they were all prescription items, I said Yes, then he said "what will you do when you run out". I said "no problem I can get most of the stuff from Walmark, however the COCAINE may be a problem.... of course I meant to say CODINE!! I very quickly corrected myself!
I then went thru a further 2 interviews, they were concerned at how much time I had spent in the states and how much time I was wanting to stay this time.
So I will try and find a consulate and check whether I can do Mexico and South America and of course be allowed back into the states.... If not, I will have to do plan B...... your right I really dont have a plan B at this time lol

So finally at 10 o'clock they say I am free to leave the airport and I head off to find my rental car.
I had rented a small cheap car and they were pushing for me to upgrade, I said No happy with a little one.
Then they said they had no small cars and gave me a mid sized one, however that one wouldnt start and then it took another 2 cars till they found one that actually worked!
I got myself a little Ford Fiesta and headed off for a 200 mile drive to Dougs house. I think by this time I was running on overtime! funny thing is, I was wide awake while driving.
I finally arrived just before 2 in the morning (which I worked out at being 6 in the morning in the UK).
The first thing I did was throw my leg over my Suzuki DL650 Wee strom.... only then did I remember how tall these bikes are!

Oh I cant wait to ride

 Thankfully I have brought some Dog bones with me so I can lower the bike a little... looks like I will have to look for high heeled riding boots lol.

Its now Sunday and I have been pottering around doing little bits and pieces to the bike, Doug also let me use a little Honda v twin so I was able to get into town and do some shopping.

Yesterday was my 51st Birthday, it was great to read all the greeting on facebook. I spent it almost on my own.... I did have the cat for company.... and oh boy, did we party lol

Doug's back in the next few days, so its a case of loading the bike onto the trailer and go to DMV (think DVLA for the UK readers) and get the bike registered and get a plate for it.....
and then I will head out somewhere :-)

I wonder what Alaska looks like ?

Well I have been home for almost 6 months and I have to say, once the initial excitement of seeing my family and friends, I was feeling down in the dumps and missing riding my bike everyday.

So about a month or so I manage to find a Suzuki Vstrom DL650 out in America and with great help from my friend Doug I managed to buy it.
Though there was lots of hassle with the bank transfer it was eventually all sorted and Doug picked it up the bike and  brought it back to Florida.

It still needs registering which fingers crossed I should have that all sorted out in the next few weeks. Mind you if I wanted it easy, I would have booked to go with Ewan and Charley on their next adventure lol

My 2007 ABS wee strom with 15,000 miles on it.... wonder how many miles will be on it when I have finished

My original plan was to head out in July, then I found out that Doug was away and I didn't have a working bike to go to Finland, so I had to cancel a few things and ask my future Tenants if they were happy with an early move in and they were.

So I took the plunge and booked to fly out on Tuesday the 14th of May.

Then it hit me that the last time I left on a packed bike, this time I would be flying out with all my kit. The trouble is my riding and camping gear came to well over 30kg  so I sent a box out to Doug's with all my camping gear. 

Though I have been unpacking and repacking and re-weighing my bag quite a lot!!

My rough plan is to get to Florida, sort out the bike and make my way North to Alaska for June/July.

Then head South to Sturgis, then back along the West coast to the Californian HuBB meet, where I will give a presentation on my Gambia Scooter trip in 2012.

By then my 6 months visa will be up and I will head through Mexico towards South America for the Winter months.

Return to USA in 2014 and end up back at Doug's, where I will probably leave the bike for him to sell for me (unless I get a crazy idea and decide to ride back via Russia!).

So that's it so far, tomorrow morning I will hand my house over and take a train to Manchester, right now though I am still busy packing storage boxes.

oh and I also thought I would just keep adding to this blog rather than start a new one :-)