Outdoors, Travel

8. Aftermath

The Great American Road Trip It only took nine months and a pandemic to find time to organize my thoughts and put a post together about last year’s trip.  Blogging everyday on my way to Belize and back took a lot of effort and much-needed sleep time.   I promised myself that for the GART (Great American Road Trip) that instead I’d immerse myself in the experience and put the notes together afterwards.  Afterwards turned into too long.  To try to capture the trip in a single post, here’s a GART FAQ compiled from the last months of telling stories. … Read More ›

Outdoors, Travel

7. The Great American Road Trip

Fuji My job used to take me to Japan regularly. If you’ve ever been there, Mt. Fuji is a dominant feature of the skyline as you travel along the main island. Befitting its position as a patriarch of the country, the Japanese name even translates to “Mister” Fuji instead of Mt. Fuji,. At more than 12,000 feet it towers over the surrounding mountains. During one of my trips I asked if many people climbed it, and was told by the person I asked that is was quite an iconic hike. He was told by his father that every Japanese should … Read More ›

Motorcycling, Travel

6. Destinations

This trip didn’t start out as a destination where there’d be a place we’d turnaround and come home.  When the USA first loosened restrictions on Cuban travel, I imagined riding all around the rim of the Gulf of Mexico.  This impact crater is what formed Cuba and once the ferry between Havana and Key West started, I just needed to find a ride from Cancun to Cuba.  But after relations cooled, I became focused on Belize.  It just felt much further away than riding to Mexico but it also created a clear change of direction in the ride. To get … Read More ›

Motorcycling, Travel

5. Fifty

Today, I turned 50 years old.  I’m not one for big parties and this is the perfect way to celebrate.  We’re now 22 days into the the trip from DC to Belize and spending my birthday with no particular schedule, and in a place of great beauty, is the kind of change that I needed. Although I’ve spent a lot of my recent life traveling, I’m an inner homebody and this is one day that I miss celebrating at home. But I had a chance to call home and get ready for the next part of the ride. After my … Read More ›

Motorcycling, Travel

4. Travel or Adventure?

A week ago yesterday, we crossed into Mexico. I was worried about the paperwork but, other than long lines typical of any border crossing, everything went smoothly and soon we were on the Mexican side with legally imported motorcycles.  There was a short drive through the border town of Reynosa with heavy, chaotic traffic but soon we were on our way to our first destination, Rayones.  It turns out that Mexico has been on an infrastructure spending spree for years and there are toll roads (cuota) connecting the major cities. Very much like the interstate system of the USA, these … Read More ›

Motorcycling, Travel

3. Mission

We arrived in mission, TX last night for our last stop in the USA.  At some point on the ride today from Galveston, we passed the halfway point of the trip in distance – now we are closer to Belize than to Washington, DC.  When planning the trip, I had imagined that the “adventure” would begin once we crossed the border into Mexico.  But although we’re only five days into the trip, I can see that’s wrong. Riding a motorcycle is an entirely different way to take a road trip.  I love driving, but riding is a completely immersive experience. … Read More ›

Motorcycling, Travel

2. To Belize by Motorcycle

I’m relatively new to riding motorcycles.  A few years ago I took the Motorcycle Safety Foundation course and a week later was on dirt bikes off-roading across Baja for a weekend with some Baja 1000 racers as instructors.  Since then, I’ve been a regular rider but nearly all of it commuting through DC rush hour traffic.  I ride a style of motorcycle called an “adventure bike”, which is an ambitious name for a bike that is trapped in traffic most of the time.  But I’m finally going to break it free. I’m headed off on in the next few days … Read More ›

Travel

1. Winter Vacations

School vacations typically land in the middle of key business periods and for years I haven’t had much chance to spend time with the kids during their breaks.  This year, our local school system did a convenient job of combining the days off with key holidays.  Combined with my newly found time, we’ve headed out on a couple trips already.  We thought we had planned the perfect combination of winter vacations this year: skiing at Mt. Tremblant near Montreal in January and then a much-needed warm up week in Tucson at the end of February.  We managed to hit both … Read More ›

General

0. Mornings

The biggest change has been the mornings.  For years, I’ve been shocked into wakefulness by e-mail, text, and phone messages.  The global world of business means that there are no off hours, only the time I set my phone to Do Not Disturb.  Breakfast was time to triage the urgent messages and fit response time into my schedule.  Mornings were hurried. Up until now, I’ve had an old-school career: more than 30 years with the same company in various roles.  The company always treated me well and I had the chance to work with creative, talented and interesting people. But … Read More ›