Coast to Coast (and back?) with an Italian Supermodel

[Blader54]

What I take from AntiHero's trip is that there are more choices available to us in life than we generally realize, but we have to be open to recognizing them; also, a lot of the reason we don't succeed at things we say we want is that we give ourselves the easy out by embracing excuses. Some choices result in our not being able to ride off into the sunset. Having children, a spouse, pets, a mortgage, a career....these things tend to tie us down. To some extent they can be worked around. Read GP1152's report: "me, a blonde, and two ducatis". Spouse? Check. House? Check? Careers? Check. Kids? No. But, she rides. So they can't just take off RTW but they can go on rides together during vacations. Then you have Gene and Neda (aka Lightcycle)....sold everything except what they could pack on their bikes, quit their jobs, and are on the road totally open-ended. No kids No pets. Sold the house. Tiffany Coates: no spouse, has a job she can come back to but flexible time off, no kids, don't know whether there's a mortgage. Point being that nothing comes without some kind of cost, and it's our responsibility to figure out how to expend our "capital"...i.e. the time we have to live. Blaming the govt or the liberals or the conservatives? Nah. If we want to ride strongly enough we'll find a way. If we don't, then we didn't. That's it. Either way if we recognize our choice as a choice we'll be happier in the long run, even if it means we realize we're done with riding (because then you can let it go and find something to do that you WANT to do). Jus' my dos punts.

[Voidrider]

Originally Posted by lucati

oh man what is that bug?

Its a North American variety of "sun spider", totally harmless (unless one considers being frightened by bugs harmful). We even have them in the dry parts of Oregon. They are voracious predators and if you have any problems with larger pest insects, they are your friend.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solifugae

[Voidrider]

Originally Posted by 3B43

In my prior life, I attempted to convey this to various people in my family, with the response being 'no response' to 'stop being a child'. My standard line was this: I don't want to be 80, looking back at my life and say, 'damn, I should've done.......' Now, I said this while working 50+ hrs/week AND building a house.....and then a second house & barn! It wasn't like I was not employed or working. In my experience, alot of people never look beyond 'this afternoon' and when you try to explain to them where your headed/what you want to experience and 'feel', they look at you like your speaking Russian! They just don't 'get it', nor do they want to understand it!

Different strokes. That is ALL it boils down to. It isn't right or wrong, until someone tries to impose their view on how life should be lived on someone else. I've done a lot and made a lot of choices most other people "don't get". So what? Its my life, I life with the consequences, how does someone else have a right to judge?

Some people travel or adventure because they truly are using the outward journey to explore themselves and test their limits. Bravo.

There are likely some people on this site who are practically running from themselves and personal issues and they have been running for years. Wherever they go they find themselves and their personal demons. AntiHero is not one of these people, but I find myself feeling sad for those who are trying to self-medicate with travel, and it isn't providing a cure.

Some people are so jaded, or unfeeling they seek the extremes just to feel anything. As long as they aren't hurting anyone else, great, and if they have the ability to tell their tales, their's are often the great tales from the edge.

Hell, there have been times in my own life where all I wanted was a quiet corner in which to read a book. At other times I took great risks to pursue what mattered to me. Neither one of those times were "better" or "worse", and I enjoyed both in their own time.

Say what you want, but the guy reading his favorite books just may be having a better time than a young gun out on the ride of their life. Its all personal. There is enough world and enough different paths for people to find their own way. There are people living in situations where they honestly do not have the luxury of choosing any life but but the one they find themselves in, so we who cam choose should consider ourselves blessed.

In short, live life how you need to, don't worry overmuch about other people getting your life choices and don't worry about getting other people's life choices. Definitely don't bother with trying to justify your own style, AntiHero certainly doesn't!

[Platinumgrit]

Originally Posted by KMC1

Can't agree with you more. I've been working hard, being "good", being responsible, etc. for a long while now, and at every turn there's the government with its hand out demanding more money. It seems the system has essentially become a grist mill, hungry for more willing fools to throw their youth into, with a "comfortable" sustenance life as the promised reward.

But where's the fun?? And where's this "free" country I keep hearing so much about?!?! It seems like there's a goldang rule for every little thing, and violating any of them results in either losing your job, jail or a fine of some sort. "Don't park there!" "Don't ride your bike there!" "That's sexual harassment!", "I can't believe you just said that!", "Don't walk outside with that beer!" "You were going 50 in a 45!" Etc. etc. etc. I probably spend 100 hours a year just keeping my government paperwork up to date for vehicles, homes, licenses, etc. it's just mind numbing.

"Liberalism" is destroying our society and turning us into a bunch of automatons, under the guise of "safety" and "respect" or "tolerance". It's a sad, ironic joke that we say its about "tolerance" and yet we have less and less actual tolerance for any kind of misstep, or freedom.

I feel the sands of time filtering through the hour glass, the grip of fear of dying of boredom.....of being in the same place, doing the same thing 30 years from now. I feel as though I'm on the precipice of a great chasm, ready to risk life and limb for a chance to just let go and plunge headlong into the abyss, for a chance to see what's at the bottom, and with no way of knowing if I can ever climb back out. Just for the sheer excitement and uncontrolled chaos it will bring.

And reading your report (and those of a few other folks) is leading me slowly closer to the jumping off point. Closer to the day when I will throw off the shackles of this incredibly constrained existence, and just LIVE.

Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm not entirely sure you can begin to know how influential reading this can be for certain individuals - like me.

Man, I 100% hear what you're saying. You are describing what Australia is becoming very rapidly. Except we get taxed a lot more than you guys.

[KMC1]

Originally Posted by Blader54

What I take from AntiHero's trip is that there are more choices available to us in life than we generally realize, but we have to be open to recognizing them; also, a lot of the reason we don't succeed at things we say we want is that we give ourselves the easy out by embracing excuses. Some choices result in our not being able to ride off into the sunset. Having children, a spouse, pets, a mortgage, a career....these things tend to tie us down. To some extent they can be worked around. Read GP1152's report: "me, a blonde, and two ducatis". Spouse? Check. House? Check? Careers? Check. Kids? No. But, she rides. So they can't just take off RTW but they can go on rides together during vacations. Then you have Gene and Neda (aka Lightcycle)....sold everything except what they could pack on their bikes, quit their jobs, and are on the road totally open-ended. No kids No pets. Sold the house. Tiffany Coates: no spouse, has a job she can come back to but flexible time off, no kids, don't know whether there's a mortgage. Point being that nothing comes without some kind of cost, and it's our responsibility to figure out how to expend our "capital"...i.e. the time we have to live. Blaming the govt or the liberals or the conservatives? Nah. If we want to ride strongly enough we'll find a way. If we don't, then we didn't. That's it. Either way if we recognize our choice as a choice we'll be happier in the long run, even if it means we realize we're done with riding (because then you can let it go and find something to do that you WANT to do). Jus' my dos punts.

I'm not really sure you understand what I wrote. I'm not blaming "Liberalism" for preventing me from taking a trip - although excessive taxation certainly does affect my ability to build my nest egg. Platinumgrit sounds like he "gets it" too. It's about working your ass off like a hamster on a wheel, not getting anywhere and not getting out of the cage. or at least realizing what little wealth we're able to accrue in our current society, is not worth trading for life experience, excitement and FREEDOM.

Reading about these fine folks actually doing it, is pushing me so close to doing it too, now that I'm reaching the age that I realize there's more to life than what we're "allowed" to do in our sterile, politically correct prison.

[Castle]

I "freed" myself by getting out of the corporate world and starting my own company. Of course my problem now is that I work all the time and rarely have much time to really ride. But someday, I'll sell and have the time to do what I want.

In the meantime, I applaud those of you, such as AH, who find a way to have an adventure and provide us with the enjoyment of going along for the ride!

(Don't get me started on taxes, regulations and government interference. We are no longer the land of liberty.)


Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

[Platinumgrit]

Originally Posted by Castle

I "freed" myself by getting out of the corporate world and starting my own company. Of course my problem now is that I work all the time and rarely have much time to really ride. But someday, I'll sell and have the time to do what I want.

In the meantime, I applaud those of you, such as AH, who find a way to have an adventure and provide us with the enjoyment of going along for the ride!

(Don't get me started on taxes, regulations and government interference. We are no longer the land of liberty.)


Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2

I reckon we should start another thread on this topic alone... I fear if I reply further, of hijacking AH's RR with what could very, very easily turn into pages of further extrapolation! Suffice to say, I work through my own company, hire out an employee, and work currently in a contracting capacity, living simultaneously in employee-dom and director-dom and yeah, not much time left at the end of the day. It's not like you can really take sick days, either; if you're exhausted to the point of delirium you just have to get through the list before you can load up on sleeping pills and sleep the sleep of oblivion.

[3B43]

Let me be a little more 'specific' on what I wrote: In my life, I've had people try to influence what I wanted to do/experience and feel, due to it not being 'what you should be doing at this time in life'. It didn't matter that I had a career and was building a 'dream house' for my wife and I. It was simply that I shouldn't be pushing the envelope. I should back off and 'conform' to what 'they' were doing. Kind'a like 'keeping up with the Jone's', but not in the materialistic way. There were many people that understood, as they had passions that they were involved in. Some were into gardening, others tuna fishing....thing is, these people NEVER found fault with the path I wanted to follow.

The people that DID find fault, were always those that never push themselves to attain anything, accomplish anything, other then buying the newest car, toy, clothes, etc. They did not want me accomplishing something that would make them look 'inferior'. These poor souls were afflicted with a disease that I termed 'LWC'.....Little Weanie Complex!!! Nothing more dangerous then an insecure ego! They always found fault with those that pushed themselves passed what 'they' were comfortable with, and, in fact, did everything they could to undermine my accomplishments. Didn't matter that I was only pushing myself for myself. All that matter was that my attaining certain goals made them look bad.

Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't really give a shit what these folks thought until it started affecting my career. Then I DID care! These folks did finally accomplished their goal, as I retired early, turned down a promotions and LEFT! LEFT to enjoy life and follow a path that I wanted. And I never looked back. Did I miss my job? About 2% of it.

Of course, a few months after I retired, a piece of space junk hit me in the back, taking my heart and soul with it. Never saw THAT coming, but it pushed me onto another path....but that's another story.

[rico2072]

Originally Posted by 3B43

Let me be a little more 'specific' on what I wrote: In my life, I've had people try to influence what I wanted to do/experience and feel, due to it not being 'what you should be doing at this time in life'. It didn't matter that I had a career and was building a 'dream house' for my wife and I. It was simply that I shouldn't be pushing the envelope. I should back off and 'conform' to what 'they' were doing. Kind'a like 'keeping up with the Jone's', but not in the materialistic way. There were many people that understood, as they had passions that they were involved in. Some were into gardening, others tuna fishing....thing is, these people NEVER found fault with the path I wanted to follow.

The people that DID find fault, were always those that never push themselves to attain anything, accomplish anything, other then buying the newest car, toy, clothes, etc. They did not want me accomplishing something that would make them look 'inferior'. These poor souls were afflicted with a disease that I termed 'LWC'.....Little Weanie Complex!!! Nothing more dangerous then an insecure ego! They always found fault with those that pushed themselves passed what 'they' were comfortable with, and, in fact, did everything they could to undermine my accomplishments. Didn't matter that I was only pushing myself for myself. All that matter was that my attaining certain goals made them look bad.

Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't really give a shit what these folks thought until it started affecting my career. Then I DID care! These folks did finally accomplished their goal, as I retired early, turned down a promotions and LEFT! LEFT to enjoy life and follow a path that I wanted. And I never looked back. Did I miss my job? About 2% of it.

Of course, a few months after I retired, a piece of space junk hit me in the back, taking my heart and soul with it. Never saw THAT coming, but it pushed me onto another path....but that's another story.

Now I am interested in the other story! DAM YOU! LOL

[Platinumgrit]

Originally Posted by rico2072

now i am interested in the other story! Dam you! Lol

ditto.

[AntiHero]

Originally Posted by KMC1

Thank you for sharing your experience, I'm not entirely sure you can begin to know how influential reading this can be for certain individuals - like me.

I know how influential this trip (and the camaraderie on ADV) has been on me. I'm extremely grateful that it's had such a positive impact on more than just myself.

Originally Posted by Platinumgrit

ditto.

I Xerox that. Space junk?

[3B43]

On another note.......I, like many reading this RR, appreciate 'hero expounding on life, his journey, and keeping us up to date on his travel's. Interested to see where he's headed. THANKS!

Space Junk: possibly post on this topic (many, Many sub-variables on this) during a ride I'm planning the middle of the year. Oregon/Idaho/Montana/Wyoming/Colorado/Utah/Neveda/Sierra's and home. And yes, I'm on a Ducati, but due to injuries....a MultiStrada!

[AntiHero]

Getting close to the last of DV. :(

Chernobyl Hospital--I mean Amargosa Opera House--Bathroom:

[AntiHero]

There are lots of mines. These kind of signs seem to have the reverse impact on me that they're intended.





The 20 Mule Team Canyon (where the pictures below were taken) was named after the 20 Mule Teams (Actually 18 Mules and 2 Horses) that hauled borax out of the mines in Death Valley to Mojave (the closes railroad pickup point).





Unlike the hard work the borax miners (and mules) endured to bring soap to the masses, I was just there to play around.

[lurw]

Oh man, the first picture of the Panigale's tail against the landscape with the sun setting... so much beauty in one picture. And do I spot a dust trail in the distance?

I love how you take your - let's be honest - very expensive motorcycle "out in the wild" and have fun on dirt roads, while many bike owners really baby their bike and whine about the slightest scratch. What you are doing seems to be the right thing to do in areas like the DV or the Southwest in general!

As always, looking forward to seeing more pictures, and keep the (really really shiny how do you do that) side up!