Tenting It.

So I did extend out the hotel through the weekend...it's really hot, it's supposed to rain, and truth be told - I was really unsure what I'd find at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and what the tenting situation would look like. So I hedged the options - went to grab a site and held onto the hotel room. Not ideal - but hey, why not.

I made it over to the fairgrounds - registered - and promptly set up my tent. I met Todd - who has been there since Tuesday night and he was sitting on a bench - waiting. Waiting for arrivals to  watch everyone set up their tent. He was really funny - and took some pics while I set up camp. Turns out - was unable to cancel my hotel reservation for tonight but will move out of the hotel tomorrow morning (Thursday) and become a fixture at camp. Signed up to volunteer tomorrow morning selling some charity tickets - great way to meet peeps. Just being around so many BMW motorcyclists is kind of amazing...will post more pics when I can.

Found a nice shady spot.

Had to add those guy lines!

Mattress pad.

Found the fish! Ha. Todd brought this on his bike. BTW, check out the rig in the back right - they have an air conditioner!

Love seeing all these motorcycles.

Just getting started with the tents. It will get larger!

Yippee!

4 Story Walk Up

When you are driving on the highway reaching 80 miles per hour, it is truly not the ideal time to ask yourself...did I lock the top case, did I secure my bag down correctly, oh shoot - I forgot to attach the e-z pass, did I close the loop on my helmet, am I wearing the right layers, did I zip up my tank bag...yes, it's all akin to - did I leave the coffee pot on syndrome.

Each day I get a little bit better at the launching to ride routine.

While on this trip I wanted a break from my routine at home. Which needed a bit of a freshener.
Things I want to accomplish:
- Meditate in the morning
- Yoga stretching
- Start writing again
- Carb and sugar sabbatical
- Alcohol sabbatical
- Take my daily vitamins/supplements
- Meet my next girlfriend
- Have some vacation and get a break from work mind
- Feel free
- Get some rest
- And feel the awesomeness when approaching the top of an open road in Colorado and viewing the Rockies for the first time in person. This is the real impetus for my trip - this feeling of vastness, greatness and the majestic beauty of the mountains.

So each day I get a little better at the above list too. I am finally starting to feel rested. I have meditated and have done yoga stretching. Doing really great with my food/drink sabbaticals and I even had a small break from work mind. I noticed today on my ride that I was in a complete zen mind mode on the motorcycle. Like when you come back to consciousness and say, where was I? That felt great. Happened twice on the highway. Truly incredible meditation.

The 4 Story Walkup:
When you have an open map and no place that you need to be...Where do you go? What do you do?The beginning of my trip, I was spending hours pouring over a map - where should I go? what should I do? where will I stay? how many miles should / can I do? It was way too much time and energy spent on deciding where to go next. So it was kind of by accident that I happened upon the Hampton Inn Hotels. It was my first stay in Webster, NY and I simply loved it. It was clean, the staff were happy, the bed was really comfortable, there was breakfast (and cookies), it was in a decent location, and it was a real value. I joined Hilton Honors - the rewards program as I noticed right away there are perks and figured going home to a familiar hotel would be an important part of my trip. Then the trip planning got a bit easier as I'd find a town with a Hampton Inn and go to it. We all need a little direction sometimes and a place to land.

I'm at my 3rd Hampton Inn and when I arrived, the elevator was broken. The only room left was on the 4th floor. Yes, we negotiated a fabulous rate and loved the fact that I got some exercise in! I really needed it. The added bonus - washer and dryer.

It's been a wonderful stay.

Road trip is ON!

There comes a point in the drive when you reach THAT point and just have to say...Road Trip!
And you know you are out there when you don't recognize the license plates anymore.

Made it to Joliet, Illinois via Indiana. Tomorrow Des Moines, Iowa. All highway tomorrow - it's about the miles and just getting there (300 more to go). May head over to the campground early and see if I can volunteer before the BMW Motorcycle Owners Association Rally. Over 7000 are expected to attend.

Oh, and I gained an hour. Love gaining time.

Update: Made it Altoona, Iowa.
I crossed the Mississippi River yesterday (Tuesday). And reached over 300 miles today. I like the morning drive and getting off the road in the early afternoon. This heat - yesterday reached over 92 and the day before saw the temp gauge reach 95. It is really f-cking hot and while you're riding the cycle - you need to stay alert and be aware. Look out for one of my next posts...what it's like riding a motorcycle and what goes on.

My favorite state welcoming sign has to be from Iowa: "The people of Iowa welcome you. Fields of opportunity."

So far - crossed through Pennsylvania, Indiana, Illinois and now Iowa. I will be here for 5 days.

Rockin' It In Cleveland.

For Deb. (still did not go in!)

Photo Cred - Brynna Fish...thanks for a lovely stay and really special traveling gifts!

Next time I'm in Cleveland...will go in!

AirBnB for the night. 

Just sitting on a porch watching the cars go by.

Slow and easy. There is no rush. Take some time and relax. And that's what I'm doing today. Watching the cars and motorcyclists go by...from a lovely porch.

The Extra Left Boot. And The Gear List.

My trip changed a bit when my riding partner Rich was unable to go. We had planned to hotel it but now that I was on my own, I wanted to attend the MOA (motorcycle owners association) - the BMW national mcycle group's big annual rally in Des Moines, Iowa (7,000 are expected to attend). Camping / tenting takes on a whole different type of trip planning and packing. And when you're a gear geek, you (er...um I) can really get into the researching - the reading - the reviewing - and then the buying. I had some gear, had to purchase some new gear, and I also took the opportunity to upgrade some old gear. I think I did a good job packing and keeping it small. There is only just so much room on the motorcycle.

Each night, I need to unpack and then repack everything. So it's really important not to have a lot of stuff to carry or think about. So after my first night, I remembered this hard. So I decided - I need to shed some items. The first was an easy item - it was the extra left boot. 

One of the last minute upgrades were my riding boots. I got them the day before takeoff and it's really important to wear boots that are broken in. I was a bit concerned wouldn't be able to operate the clutch...turns out I burned a lot of energy "worrying" about the left boot. The new boots were a perfect fit. Fortunately for me, Kim (my most excellent first night host that makes an incredible omelette) is going to ship this back to my office. Thank you. Next up is shedding some clothes from my bag. 

So what did I bring? Feels like a brought too much, but here's my list:

Left Saddle Bag:

Various tools (flat tire plugger, CO2 canister for a quick tire inflate, electric tire pump/inflater that connects into my bike's battery) First Aid Kit, duct tape, mattress pad, ratchet straps (2) for potential ferry across Lake Michigan, tarp, 50' rope, dust pan, Marmot 2 person tent, fly, tent footprint, tent stakes and guy lines, head net (in case of bugs), permethrin (to douse the perimeter of my tent in case I'm in a tick prone area), bug spray, mace, emergency orange pancho. 

Candles were not part of the mix. And the beer coozie did not make the cut.

Right Saddle Bag:

camping chair, 2nd pair of riding pants (colder weather), flip flops, camping stove, pot, cup/dish, silverware, wind protector for stove, small towel, microfiber towel, rain pants (for campsite if raining), small collapsable water bottle, blue bag (waterproof in case I need to store more stuff on my bike), food (see pic below), book - Motorcycle Journey's Across North America.

Top Case:

large water bottle in a cover (to help keep cool), insulated water bottle, batteries (4 triple a), tent light, headlamp, 2 pairs of riding gloves, rain coat (for camp site), sun hat, food bag for day's journey, insulated tea cup w/yerba matte tea inside, travel atlas (maps), lighter (to ignite the camp stove), carry bag (with computer, a couple of magazines, pad for writing, all my electronic wires and chargers, vitamins). 

Sleeping bag, mattress pad, inflatable pillow

Stove, fuel and the pot it fits in. Contained in the pot is also a bowl with its' cover and the windscreen.

Tank Bag:

Extra straps, tic tacs, visine drops, chapstick, gum, tissues, MOA anonymous book (listing of members across the USA to touch base with just in case or just for conversation and coffee), ear plugs, 2 handkerchiefs, helmet lock, ginger candies, purell, ezpass, tire guage, chapstick, sun lotion, hair ties, and my motorcycle angel (a prized and treasured gift given for my first ride).

Suitcase:

This is strapped to the passenger seat of the motorcycle, right behind me. It has my sleeping bag, inflatable pillow, the tent poles, belt w/my BMW buckle which I have never worn but thought it was perfect for the rally, 1 pair of jeans, 1 pair of black hiking pants, 1 pair of grey 3/4 pants and 1 pink button down shirt (for a dress outfit), 2 pairs of shorts, 2 short sleeve shirts, 1 sleeping pants and 1 sleep shirt, 1 sports bra, 1 mcycle riding t shirt, 1 long sleeve (nice), 2 different weight zip ups, 1 patagonia sweater jacket, 4 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of underwear, 1 bra, toiletries (which are my bonus items - def jammed a lot in but have used most of it already), electric tooth brush and plug, 1 pair keen sandals, wet naps, panty liners, a couple of maxi pads (just in case I get surprised and in the middle of nowhere), pack towel large and small. 

I'm wearing - shorts, riding pants, sports bra, underwear, t-shirt, socks, boots, riding jacket, gloves, helmet and head covering (to help reduce helmet rub).  

I had to bring 2 pairs of glasses, sunglasses and regular glasses. I also have a GPS and new this year, a Delorme inReach - which is tracking my progress across country, allows messaging when I have zero cell service, and serves as an emergency SOS beacon if activated. And yes, I did secure the additional insurance coverage to pay for the rescue, if needed. (Find me here: https://share.garmin.com/RachelSloan)

As I write this, I see a few things I can shed. Will review each time I pack up again.

Ready to Rumble!

Naked and Afraid.

Naked and Afraid is the name of a TV show I was watching on the Discovery Channel. I know, why am I watching TV right now?

I don't have TV (except for streaming) and I was fascinated with this show (def fascinated with survival shows in general). There was a young woman / young man - maybe 30's - they were naked and in the Amazon jungle. I missed the beginning of the show - so had no idea why they were naked - especially in the Amazon. I tuned in at day 3 - they had to make it to day 21. They were just building a shelter, trying to create fire, and needed to find food (fyi...their private parts were blurred). The bugs, the rain, the weather were severe. I watched these two struggle - I mean really struggle. And when I learned the name of the show Naked and Afraid - understood it was the purpose of the show to be stripped down bare to see if you survive.

The two pulled together as a team and they did make it. They lost 1/3 of their body weight tho, had to endure intense bug bites, eat grubs, endure extreme hunger etc. etc. They really pushed through some rough harshness to make it. There was a brief video on them after being home...the woman was hiking with her dogs and made mention of how she can easily get through life after going through that harshness. And the guy, well he was in the hospital being treated for Malaria - I'm sure not the outcome he expected.

A few things occurred to me - why in the world would you ever want to put yourself through that -  just to be grateful where you are now in life? (I wonder if given the chance - would they repeat their experience?) I can't believe they made a TV show about this and I'm watching it. And finally, what am I really afraid of?

Right now - it would have to be breaking down and not knowing where I am. 

Taming your fears is a challenge, for sure.

"If you're feeling regret - you're living in the past. If you're anxious - you're living in the future. To be present - is the gift." - as heard recently via Don Woodworth 

The motorcycle ride is all about the present. As a planner - all I think about is the future. To let that go - is very hard. I'm trying. And really working on this.

Getting ready for this trip used up a great many of my reserves. Trying to plan for every possible outcome is hard work. And riding in the extreme heat and humidity, well that used the last of my reserves. Yesterday (day 2) was a very short day in the saddle. I had to pull over. I'm at a hotel in Webster NY - and decided to stay another day (day 3). Just so I can rest. I'm exhausted.

The heat has lifted today and it is sunny and gorgeous. I should be riding today and taking advantage of this riding weather - just like I planned several days ago when I saw the heat would lift. But I can not. I'm being tested right now to just let go. Let God.

Maybe I could start my own TV show - Naked and Afraid. Rachel rides her motorcycle naked to Colorado. What could possibly happen on that show? Ha!

I've scheduled 30 days out of the office. I could be anywhere right now. So I think I'll just take it easy today and see where the wind blows me tomorrow. Could be just where I am today, in this gift - the present.

Getting ready - Colorado 2018

Shining and Cleaning

There is a lot to do when getting ready for a motorcycle trip.  For me, a must is to clean my motorcycle. Nothing like getting on a clean bike. Shiny and ready to roll. Also allows for some really important bonding time. Sounds funny - but I'll be spending a lot of time with this bike and I want to get reacquainted...with every nook and cranny.

Cleaning and Shining