Member Contributer motormike Posted June 28, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted June 28, 2011 Hi Olive, I'm not familiar with you back ground. Just curious, how can you take off of work for six weeks? Is Canada similar to Europe where you go on a long "holiday"? I'm envious. Here, I'm lucky to get one week of vacation at a time....but you pay for it by having to do the same amount of work is less time. Thanks, Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Willy Posted June 29, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted June 29, 2011 Olive, Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us. I don't know what the current 4th of July agenda is in Telluride, but the town used to host a huge fireworks show and it was a great place to camp for he holiday. I hope they dazzle you. Find your way over to Ouray CO too if you can. It's a beautiful town. The KOA there is a nice place for tent camping too. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Olive Posted July 1, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2011 I don't know what the current 4th of July agenda is in Telluride,,. The KOA there is a nice place for tent camping too. The 4th agenda is a meetup with a bunch of friends. We actually met up today in Flagstaff and will be riding out to Telluride tomorrow. As a group we are renting a condo - some of the riders aren't keen on camping, and it is a very affordable option for everyone involved. If you are in the area and see a group of bikes heading past honk and wave, it's our motley crew. As for camping, I tend to avoid the KOAs because they aren't really my style of camping. To start with I find them to be very expensive for what they are. In many ways they feel as if you are in a large parking lot that is populated by a lot of small children up well past their bedtime. I can understand why they have a strong appeal for families with children, but for me a state park with a primitive tent site in the trees is far preferable. After the weekend I will be heading south into Arizona, and then over to California and back north to properly update the ride reports and upload the photos that some of you have been waiting for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Olive Posted July 1, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 1, 2011 Since Florida I have definitely found the warmer weather. It has been interesting seeing how the land changes in relatively short distance as I have traversed the lower states. For a person who has spent their entire life living in Calgary, it seems decidedly odd to see alligators, turtles, snakes and armadillos make up the road-kill, or to see roads raised over the swamps of Louisiana as if the roadway was one continuous bridge, or to see the long expanses of brown and dead Texas, where the only sign of life is a tumbleweed crossing the road in front of you or the occasional green tree with a group of cattle clustered desperately underneath in a search for some shade. The dryness has caused fire departments across multiple states to put out fire bans because of tinder dry conditions. In Georgia I rode through the thick smoke of some well established forest fires, and while riding in Florida I saw quite a few signs warning of possible smoke from fires ahead. In Louisiana I noticed the trees clustered together in the median of the highway were very brown, and even the ground around them looked burnt. Ahead a bit of smoke was evident, but I didn't take note of it until I got closer and realized that the trees to my left were actually burning. It was neat to see the flames flickering around the trees, dancing yellow, orange and red seemingly innocuous. There was very little smoke, although the narrow tract of forest was definitely aflame. Sadly I couldn't pull over to take a picture or to watch the fascinating spectacle. This evening I am in Flagstaff where I met up with a group of friends including VFRD notables Cruzinaz, Aussie, Gerry02800 and Wheatie who are also headed for Telluride for our third annual BBB ride. Rumour has it that RRW will be pulling in at some point tonight. I was responsible for starting this ride a few years ago when I had the bright idea of taking a week long motorcycle trip and seeing if I could meet up with a few people near the Grand Canyon on the far end. That ride has grown, and there is a group of us who make it a yearly plan to gather for the 4th of July weekend. Tomorrow the group will ride together to Teluride where our weekend will be based. The weather seems a lot cooler in Arizona than the dry burning heat of Texas, or the moist humidity of Florida or Louisiana. In theory we should find a bit more warm weather, but riding temps around the meetup should be a little cooler making the two crazy Canadians in the group feel right at home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 1, 2011 Share Posted July 1, 2011 Hey Olive! Sorry we couldnt offer up a more colorful ride... Hopefully the hill country roads made up for the hot and drab conditions!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRSuperfreak Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 ... At the front there was a small pool, bicycle rentals and some kid-friendly entertainment. My tent site featured a prime view of the highway, and the gentle sounds of passing traffic and overhead planes and helicopters to lull me to sleep. Ok. When's that book out? And will you need a translator for it to reach Spanish markets? (cert. TEFL and interpreter here). The poignant expressiveness sprinkled with just a tad of sarcasm, paints enough of a picture so pictures are almost unnecessary. (but I'm with Dutchy. You 'Deep Woods Off!' seasoned badass rider you!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Olive Posted July 7, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 7, 2011 When I stopped in to visit friends in the greater Atlanta area they teased me about being the vortex attracting Weather (yes, that's weather with a capital W). In Telluride I attracted rain, thunder, lightning, hail and a bit of hail. At least Aussie and Cruz assure me that there was no doubt it was indeed hail, I just figured it for driven rain. Guess I'm spoiled with the type of hail I hit closer to home... where there is little doubt that you are being pelted by chunks of ice from the black, threatening skies above. Great roads around Telluride, although most of our group was wiped out after the ride to Telluride and Saturday's run. Consequently only three of us hit the road on Sunday - Aussie, Mormon Boy and myself. Just a short morning run that hit the aforementioned storm. But I digress. Riding through Utah and Arizona I found rain, lightning and thunder. Yesterday I found the edge of what seemed to be a dust storm in Arizona - I really didn't like the look of it so I decided to turn back to find a place to stay for the night. That was when I found another thunderstorm. I have to admit that it was really odd to be riding through very dusty air during a rainstorm - the rain was falling in large, muddy drops. I ran out of the dust storm quickly and back to the cleaner rain north of Phoenix towards Flagstaff. This morning I discovered that I had found the edge of Phoenix's dust storm of the decade that was front page news. Probably a very good thing that I decided to turn back. Even today when I passed through the area there was a lot of dust in the air, reducing visibility and reminding me of the forest fires of southern Georgia. This evening finds me in Tuscon with the first opportunity to sit down with a computer and net access in a few days. The bike is just shy of 17,000 miles and I put on the second set of tires of the trip with the help of Cruzinaz. This set should last me the rest of the trip, as I am now headed for California and my tour up the Pacific Coast Highway. I haven't yet decided where I am going to join on the highway because I am not terribly eager to discover heavy congested traffic, but there are sections of the highway south of San Luis Obispo that I missed out on during my trip last year. I am glad that I took the time to revisit Arches National Park - just gorgeous scenery in Utah that really speaks to me. It was a very different experience this year. Last year I remember the heavy traffic in parts of the Park, but this year it was almost deserted despite the fact I visited on Monday, July 4th. I wasn't going to complain, because I liked having the park mostly to myself. Temperatures rose as I drove further into the park topping out around the 115F mark. I spent three hours in the park, and put on an extra 55 miles during the time. Just amazing how quickly the landscape changes, and how impressive the towering rock formations really are when you see them in person. Some shadows of the rock formations are to be found in other parts of Utah as well, such as south on the 141 about 25 miles south of Moab where the Wilson Arch can be found. Definitely some of my favourite riding scenery! While I haven't been posting proper ride reports the last few weeks, I will be doing a retrospective look in the side view mirror with lots of photos and the story of the trip. My original intention was to keep posting during the ride, however time really isn't permitting that as much as I had hoped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 7, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 7, 2011 helloOlive, it made the news in Europa too. the dust storms........ You will make the news when your book gets released :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer NorthernVFRDave Posted July 7, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 7, 2011 Friend of mine lives in Phoenix posted a picture of facebook of his brown pool, Not the idea of living on the beach he has always dreamed about. Don't worry about the ride reports Olive, just give us the basic updates when you can and we'll wait for the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 This seasons weather is kinda poor for touring... But I am glad you are in your zone! Keep listening to your inner person and I think avoiding historic weather won't be an issue. Hopefully the Cali portion brings you home with some more fond memories! Listening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmythecop Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 ...............and use the force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Olive Posted July 14, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2011 25,270 km 18.686 miles two sets of tires and I'm right back where I started. Now I have reliable internet access... and will catch up on sharing the story of the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 14, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2011 Welcome home, the Moluccan must be pleased to see you again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 25,270 km 18.686 miles two sets of tires and I'm right back where I started. Now I have reliable internet access... and will catch up on sharing the story of the trip. YEA!!! HOME ALREADY!? Talk about EPIC!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweeper Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 Glad you are home safe. We've missed you. Its been almost like winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer digitallyhip Posted July 14, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2011 25,270 km 18.686 miles two sets of tires and I'm right back where I started. Now I have reliable internet access... and will catch up on sharing the story of the trip. Wow! I hope you don't mind all the gushing and adulation, but you are today's hero for me. Thank you for taking us along with you and for coming home safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer cruzinaz Posted July 14, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2011 Did it feel good or bad pulling back in the driveway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer dr.toto Posted July 14, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2011 Glad you made it home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Olive Posted July 14, 2011 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 14, 2011 Did it feel good or bad pulling back in the driveway? I remember the last time I came back from a trip and tried to pull up the driveway only to discover that a friend had borrowed my car but hadn't parked to the right hand side of the driveway as I usually do to permit the bike to ride up beside the car and park in front of it. Not a good discovery on a driveway with a sharp uphill slope and finding oneself suddenly missing the cycle corridor. Being smart, I parked on the street this time. Listening to the news this morning it sounds like I am indeed acting as a weather vortex. There was a report of a tornado touching down in south Calgary last night (news story ) - exceedingly unusual weather for this city. Golf ball sized hail, torrential rain and a live thunderstorm wouldn't have surprised me... it was what the weather forecast was calling for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baileyrock Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 25,270 km 18.686 miles two sets of tires and I'm right back where I started. Now I have reliable internet access... and will catch up on sharing the story of the trip. WOW, it's already over!!! I need to catch up on the thread, glad your home safely O. BR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted July 15, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2011 Listening to the news this morning it sounds like I am indeed acting as a weather vortex. Mods...... please change Olive's handle..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 ^^ LOL!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer NorthernVFRDave Posted July 15, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2011 So how many days did it take to ride 26,000kms? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer AussieinUSA Posted July 15, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2011 Check the math O, the kms and miles dont work out. 18,000 miles is aprox 30,000 kms Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted July 15, 2011 Member Contributer Share Posted July 15, 2011 Great Ride, glad your home OK !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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