Racist theme park

I don't have a lot of time this morning before hitting the road, so I'll keep this short. Let's just say that yesterday at Cedar Point was beautiful weather and a lot of fun, but my friends and I discovered a disturbing trend which culminated in this souvenir we discovered in the frontier town gift shop:

An authentic "Coolie" hat, just like the ones worn by the folks who built the railroads so many years ago! I found this simultaneously disturbing and hilarious. Sigh...

Buggy Massacre

After a long day with over 7 hours on the bike I made it into Sandusky, Ohio, home of Cedar Point amusement park. I haven't had a lot of time to explore yet, but based on the drive in, this place looks like a hell of a lot of fun. Some passing notes on my two days in Pennsylvania: what a diverse and beautiful state. From rolling farmland to twisty forested roads, definitely a good place to ride. However, the one downside was it was incredibly buggy. At nearly every gas fill up I had to squeegee all the smooshed bug remains off my visor which got old pretty quick. Not to mention I still feel pretty awful for absolutely demolishing a butterfly that had the poor fortune of flying into me while I was traveling at about 65 mph. (It literally just exploded into a yellow mess on my visor right in front of my eyes.)

Off to bed now, but hopefully I will have some time tomorrow to post pictures of Cedar point. After that it might be a few days before I have internet access, so posts may get sparse for a while.

Thanks for nothing Weather.com

This was pretty much my view for the majority of the day. I knew it was naive to think I'd make it through this trip without hitting a few rainy days, but the very first day? Come on! On the bright side, all of my rain gear held up pretty well considering the conditions. Still, after five or six hours in a downpour, some of that moisture finds its way in through the cracks, and the result is a very cold and unhappy Brian. Originally I had planned on camping out tonight, but with more rain in the forecast and nowhere to dry my wet clothes I figured I'd splurge and stay in a motel. So, that's where I am now, safe and warm writing this post on the complimentary wifi. Day 1 in the books, tomorrow on to Ohio to rendezvous with friends and ride some roller coasters.

A little dirty from riding in the rain.

The Final Countdown

After spending a damp afternoon at Boston Calling which has left me with a pretty nasty sniffle, I was finally able to load the bike up and head home to CT. Now I just have to tie up a few last loose ends and do my best not to get sidetracked watching the entire new season of Arrested Development on Netflix. Thirty six hours to go...in the meantime, enjoy some detailed pictures along with my gear list for the trip.

Before pic (with Airhawk seat cushion)

Contour helmet cam with home made mount 

USB charger 

GPS with RAM Mount

Spare fuel canister (2x)

bottle holder with home made mount

Gear list:

Toiletries:

first aid kit

chapstick

razor with extra cartridge

sunscreen

advil

contact solution

glasses

contact case

tooth brush with built in toothpaste tube

shave gel

TP

hand sanitizer

camp soap

toilet seat covers

deodorant

nail clipper

earplugs 

contact lenses

biowipes

tissues 

claritin

carrying case

Riding Gear:

First gear touring jacket (waterproof, vented with D30 armor and zip in fleece liner)

HJC IS-16 helmet with retractable visor

helmet cam

mesh gloves for hot weather

glove liners

first gear mid weight gloves

marmot cold weather gloves (with waterproof membrane)

Aerostich 3 digit rain covers

frogg toggs waterproof overpants

waterproof boot covers

balaclava

Camping gear:

Burton usb rechargeable lantern/flashlight

flashlight

mini keychain flashlight

magnetic hanging reading light

pot gripper

camp towels, large and small sizes

packable nylon backpack

stockpile of wet naps

mirror

tinder

leatherman multitool

knife sharpener

insect repellent

headlamp

fire ribbon

sportsman pocket saw

cooking kit (2 liter pot, mug, camp stove, fuel canister plus spare fuel canister, eatin' tool, magnesium firestarter, lighter)

assortment of tea

camp pillow

ENO hammock with rainfly, bugnet and slapstraps

ultralite cot

thermarest sleeping pad

Alite monarch chair

sleeping bag

Bike gear:

disk lock with reminder coil

chain lube

spare brake pads, front and rear with C-clamp tool

set of bungee cords

tie down strap

retractable jacket/helmet lock

List of US Triumph dealers

tool roll including: duct tape, electrical tape, socket wrench, metric allen key set, set of open wrenches, spare fuses, tire pressure gauge, zip ties, adjustable wrench, vice grips, screw driver, hand pump, spare headlight, rag, spark plug socket and gap tool

spare keys

tank bag

airhawk seat cushion with patch kit

Clothing:

waterproof hiking shoes

sandals

4 pair regular wool socks, 1 pair heavy wool socks

bathing suit

4 pair fancy antimicrobial boxer shorts

3 pairs pants

4 t-shirts

1 smartwool shirt

1 underarmor compression shirt

1 sweatshirt

1 pairs shorts

1 pair thermal leggings

1 knit cap

Misc:

camera

ipod

national parks pass

spare headphones

cell phone

usb charging cable 

handheld gps

waterproof bag for electronics

laptop with power cable and case

good book

throttle assist cruise control

sunglasses

spare fuel canisters

usb charger

camera mount for bike

wallet, ID, etc

rope

granola bars

compression sacks for clothing

cup holder

2009 EFI Mag Wheel Triumph Bonneville, black
Owner's manual

Fully geared up

Oil and filter change, chain lubed and good to go.

Freak Out Time

With today being my last day of work, things are starting to get very real. I'm suddenly hyperaware of all the loose ends that are yet to be tied up, and am having a good old fashioned freak out. I am 100% serious when I say that I woke up in a cold sweat last night after nightmares of being stranded on the side of the road and being chased by a grizzly bear. The one thing that has helped to put my mind at ease is all the positive responses that I have received from friends and family the last couple days. Thank you so much to everyone for the well wishes. I admit it makes me sad to know what I am leaving behind, but it also makes me feel lucky to know that I have so many wonderful friends waiting for me when I get back. I'm sure that these butterflies I am feeling are just a phase, and I'll be fine once I put a few states in the rearview.

I'm working on putting together a gear list with pictures before I leave, so stay tuned.

The Route

In case anyone was interested, here is the latest draft of my route. It is 90% complete, so there may be a few tweaks before I officially leave on Tuesday, but this should give you a pretty good idea of what I have ahead of me: roughly 10,000 miles over 45 days through a multitude of cities and climates. Packing gear to keep me comfortable in temperatures ranging from 30 to 110 degrees will be challenging, but I think I've got everything I need. Granted, I've been planning this trip for over a year now, so I don't really have an excuse if I forget anything. I'll try and get a gear list and itinerary finalized so that I can share that as well.

Oh, and if you notice that I am going to be close to your area and you want to meet up, feel free to get in touch. I'd love to catch up with old friends along the way.

A boy and his bike

Welcome to my cross country road trip blog! For those of you who are unaware, I will be spending the better part of this summer exploring the lower 48 on my Triumph Bonneville. I have never been much of a blogger, which can mostly be attributed to pure laziness, but this seems like the perfect way to update friends and family on my whereabouts. So, stay tuned for posts documenting my adventures across this country that I call home yet hardly know. I will update as frequently as is practical from the road, so bear with me. For now, here is a video that for some reason comes to mind as I am writing this post, and seems to sum up my feelings at this moment. Plus, it's a pretty great song. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bw2o_Go4QWI