August 2006 Entries

I've been using Picasa for managing/editing my pictures for a little while now.  It's a great program and it's free...hard to beat.  Anyways, I just saw recently that there's a new beta version (a beta?...from Google?....no!) and the cool new feature here is the link to a new online album, similar to Flickr but with 250MB of storage.  I'm still monkeying around with it but it seems pretty cool.  The nice thing about Flickr is that you can embed a single image into your post.  So far I've only seen how to embed a link to a whole Picasa album (below) but hopefully they'll keep working on it.

I've been home for three weeks now and I'm finding it difficult to believe that I was ever gone.  Life envelops so quickly and things seem just the same as when I left, just more hectic because I was gone for so long and didn't pay much attention to my home life.  It reminds me of my time on the ship, when I would leave for 6 month stints and come home to find that in some ways everything had changed, and in some ways nothing had changed.  Either way it felt like I had never left and that the trip was all just a dream.  And so it is with this trip, except that while many of my memories from the 6 month deployments were ones that I didn't really care to keep, the majority of my memories from this trip are ones that I would love to keep fresh for years to come.  So, I suppose this will be my last post about the trip.  I have been meaning to write a few different ones, but I think I'll just consolidate it into one and call it a day.  You'll find my trip recounted by the numbers below, followed by a description of what went into the making of my posts, and then some final thoughts on the trip.  Thanks for reading.

0: Tickets, Wipeouts, Break Downs (Amazed by all three)
1: Continent, Canadian Territory, Flat Tire, Uncontrolled Road Departure, Dead Video Camera
2: Nations, Canadian Provinces, Confirmed Dragonfly Kills
3: Time zones, Bike Services (8k, 12k and 16k miles)
5: Motorcycle Tires Used
5.5: Annual Inches of Rainfall received on the North Slope of Alaska (I think I got about 4.5 inches of that while I was there)
6: International Border Crossings
8: Nights of Camping
9: States Traversed
11: Nights in Houses of Friends and Family
17: Days the new back tire I got in Washington lasted
17.5: Hours on the road for my longest day of riding (Deadhorse to Fairbanks, stops for food, gas, overheating bikes, and busted Motocompies included)
20: Nights in Hotels/Cabins (5 of those were in Big Bear...a lot of the others were from the rainy days in the middle of the trip).
25: Number of Posts on my website, including this one.
31: Lowest temperature encountered (the wind-chill temp as I was pulling into Deadhorse, AK)
40: Days the trip lasted.
55.8: Best MPG
70.2: Degrees North, the latitude of Deadhorse. (San Diego is at 32 degrees North)
106: Highest temperature encountered (actually, I think I saw higher temps but didn't see any readouts anywhere to confirm it.)
200: Speed in MPH of a Perigrine Falcon, the fastest animal on the planet (I learned this up in Big Bear at the zoo.  Crazy, eh?)
285: Longest stretch driven on one tank of gas
996:  Miles...Fairbanks to Deadhorse and back.
1298: Size of the bike's engine in cubic centimeters.
2187: Number of photos and short videos taken with my camera.
4201: Miles between Deadhorse and San Diego, as the crow flies.
6330: Number of miles my new back tire lasted me after I got it new in Washington.
10,984: Total Miles Traveled
1.4 Million: Approximate number of bugs smashed on the front of my bike and person.

Ok, so something my brother has been asking me to do is to describe what went into the making of my posts.  I kept meaning to write about this on the trip but didn't really find the time because I was usually busy with writing about the day's events and couldn't fit both topics in.  Now I have the time, though, so here goes:
-Throughout the day I would take pictures and videos of things that caught my eye or sections of road that I thought might be fun to record.
-I would find a place to stay and figure out what my internet situation was going to be (WIFI, cell phone, none).  This would drive what I would be able to upload.
So, assuming I had WIFI, I would proceed thusly:
-I would set up the computer in my tent or hotel room, charge up camera/phone/gps batteries, and download my pictures into Picasa.
-After looking through all the pictures I would pick out the ones I wanted to upload to Flickr and would use the Flickr Uploader to do so.
-While my pictures were uploading I would start looking at the video from the day, video from the bike and video from my camera.  Sections that looked interesting got earmarked for editing in Windows Movie Maker where I would cut and combine them into maneagable bits, adding in fades and transitions where appropriate.  Once this was done I would start the upload into Youtube, a very time consuming task depending on the type of internet connection I had and the length of the video.
-Generally, while my pictures and videos were uploading I would open up the GPS recordings from the day.  My GPS files are full of standard NMEA sentences, such as this:

$GPGGA,030536.000,5955.5795,N,12905.8990,W,1,08,1.4,823.4,M,0.7,M,,0000*7F
$GPGSA,A,3,29,18,08,11,19,26,28,27,,,,,2.6,1.4,2.1*39
$GPGSV,3,1,09,28,79,152,28,29,52,259,31,26,52,273,34,08,50,124,33*72
$GPGSV,3,2,09,27,23,123,26,17,23,174,21,19,19,039,27,18,16,329,28*74
$GPGSV,3,3,09,11,16,091,14*4A
$GPRMC,030536.000,A,5955.5795,N,12905.8990,W,35.06,9.89,060706,,,A*45
$GPVTG,9.89,T,,M,35.06,N,64.9,K,A*0E

Not sure what all that means but those files would then be uploaded to www.GPSvisualizer.com so that they could be displayed graphically.  The problem here was that the maximum file size I could upload was 3MB and the files were often closer to 5MB.  That's why I would upload them in pieces and you would have to view them in three or more parts.  Once they were uploaded and displayed on top of a Google Map I would have to go in and edit the code so that the page could be uploaded to my webserver and displayed with an address beginning with www.carotidbattery.com instead of the gpsvisualizer.com prefix...(they only store the files for a short period of time).  This process always took a ton of time, too.  Their server wasn't the fastest and transferring big files over slow connections is always, well, slow.

So, at this point I have pictures, video and GPS logs uploaded...what's next?  Oh yeah, I guess I have to write something about the day to tie all of the visual elements together.  I would usually reach this point at about midnight, if I was lucky and the interweb ether was transferring my bits and bites quickly, but oftentimes it would be later and I wouldn't finish until close to 1 (if I finished at all).  Many times I would have to stop and finish the next morning (as I am currently considering doing with this post as it is now almost 12:30am...No! I must finish).  So, that's kindof how it would all come together and hopefully you can get an idea of why the whole thing was so time consuming.  I really wanted to respond to comments and answer questions, but it was an "either/or" decision between comments and posts...posts won. 

Ok...I'm sure that last section wasn't all that interesting to many of you so I'll cut the technical stuff off there and start up with some closing thoughts.  I'm going to keep this short because it could easily go on and on and on and.... 

If you ever get a chance to take a large roadtrip like this, do it.  If you're scared of motorcycles, don't be...ride one at least once.  If you don't like Canadians (like some of my posters), start liking them...they're nice.  If you haven't been to Alaska, go.  If you haven't seen the Grand Canyon in person, do it.  If you used to enjoy photography but haven't done it in a while, get out your camera and take it with you in the car tomorrow.  If you can't drive thousands of miles, drive a hundred and see where it takes you.  I truly believe that I am a changed person because of this trip and I hope and wish that same type of experience for all of you.  God has made an amazing world and it's worth exploring.  There's more than just buildings and houses out there and I think I had started to forget that.  I mean, just look at that map up there....Look how big this continent is.  Crazy!  Alright, I suppose that's all I have to say.  Thank you so much for following along on this trip.  It was an incredible experience for me and you all were such an important part of that.  Thanks again, and happy travels to you all.

(By the way, the website won't be going away.  I plan on keeping it up and posting new bits of randomness on it at times...and, who knows, maybe there will be another trip to take you all on...we'll stay in touch.)

I just spent a long time on this post and then, through a technological foible, all was lost and I am back at square one.  Were this a different post I might be tempted to ditch it and hold off until the next time but I really want to cover the last few days of the trip, for a few reasons: 1.  I saw and experienced so many cool things, and 2.  I feel like I can't move on to other posts until I knock this one out.  So, I proceed to the knocking out of said post.

As I traveled south from Canada I noticed many marked changes:  less hours of light, less bugs, more intense sunlight, more humidity, less trees, more sand, more vibrant colors, and more cars, just to name a few.  Having less sunlight means traveling in the dark at times and, while I'm not a big fan of riding at night, sometimes it's necessary.  I arrived in Page at night with only the city lights and broad lightning strikes in the distance to illuminate the landscape and didn't get much of an appreciation for the desert surrounding the city, nor Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Dam at the city's edge.  When I woke up on the morning of July 25th I was startled by the amount of color, the bright reds, pinks, oranges, corals and every mixture in between.  I had a very standard complimentary Continental breakfast while enjoying the very non-standard view through the window, loaded up my bike and hit the road like so many other mornings before.  I road back over the bridge to get a good daytime view and was amazed at how much I had missed in the night.  Lake Powell is beautiful and would make for a great weekend vacation spot.  I turned back around on US-89 South and made my way towards the Grand Canyon, some 130 miles to the southwest, as the motorcycle flies.

The Colorado Plateau is home to the most National Parks in the nation and each one is beautiful and majestic in its own right, but the Grand Canyon is truly the brightest diamond in a big bag o' beauties.  In some ways it was a fitting end to my travels, being the vastest and most majestic sight my motorcycle put me in front of throughout the entire six-week journey.  The sheer size of it is overwhelming, but couple that with the beauty of the river, rocks, plateaus, etc., and it becomes a spectacular creation which no human should miss in their brief stay on this planet.  Amazing.  I started on the east side of the South Rim which turned out to be not nearly as crowded as the western side, which is near the visitor's center, and slowly worked my way west.  The great (and somewhat frightening) thing about the Grand Canyon is that they don't try to restrict your enjoyment of it.  The signs say "Your safety is your own responsibility.  Don't underestimate the Canyon."  Translation: "If ya get hurt it's yer own fault cuz we already done told you to be careful."  I didn't underestimate the Canyon.  I climbed around on some of the rocks and made my way out to a small formation for some pictures, but didn't get too crazy.  I would love to make a return trip to hike down into the canyon, possibly across to the North Rim.  The age and color of the rock the Colorado River has cut its way through over the years varies greatly throughout the park and yields a dynamic display of multi-hued formations.  The rock the river is currently working on is extremely old and hard and has given up only the bare minimum that time has required of it, making for a very steep inner canyon.  They call it the "Canyon within the Canyon" and it would dwarf many of the world's other canyon's on its own, apart from the expansive soft rock sections towering above it.  It was difficult to wrap my mind around how large the Canyon was while seeing it in person, so let me throw out some numbers to help myself and maybe you, too:  The average distance between the North and South Rims is 10 miles...15 miles at it's widest.  The average depth is 4000 feet over its 277 mile length (nearly 6 times the length of Rhode Island and longer than California is wide), and is over 6000 feet at its deepest section...over three and a half times the height of the tallest building in the world.  Don't underestimate the Canyon...

I spent about three hours at the Canyon, taking in the sights and wondering at the largeness of everything, before the lateness of the day required my departure.  I knew that I was leaving my last real destination of the trip and it was difficult.  From then on out it was only going to be driving and I would be home before I knew it...the trip was coming to an end.  I got on the bike and turned south towards the Prescott, AZ, area to spend the night with some friends.  The driving at this point in the journey was all long, flat, open roads requiring little technical skill and constant pressure on the throttle...an activity which can tire the right forearm when done for hours at a time.  Thankfully, I had purchased a cruise control-like accessory for the bike before I had left on the trip and it came in rather handy throughout this stretch of my travels.  I dodged thunderstorms on my way down to I-40 and enjoyed the smell of the recent rain on the thick pine needle bed which coated the forest floor.  The road teased me all day, alternately turning towards and away from the large storms in the distance.  I didn't get much in the way of rain until I came close to Prescott at which point the skies grew incredibly dark and the rain and lightning came down fast and furious.  It wasn't too bad, though, and I pulled up to the house with a pair of wet jeans as the day's only casualty.  It was great to see familiar faces and I was again spoiled by good food, a good internet connection, and, most importantly, great conversation.

I planned on getting on the road at about 9 the next morning but didn't leave until close to 11...now a familiar routine.  The waffles were worth it, though, and I hit the road with a full stomach, a rare occurrence throughout the previous month and a half of riding.  I jumped on US-89 South which turned out to be an incredibly enjoyable section of road full of sharp turns and well-maintained roads, something I've learned to not take for granted after seeing every version of "poorly maintained" possible.  Video below...all sorts of fun.  My time on the 89 came to an end, as did the enjoyable, comfortable riding, and I spent the rest of the day riding west in stifling heat and oppressive humidity.  This truly was the most miserable riding weather I had encountered in the 39 days I had been away from home.  If it's cold, you put on more clothes.  If it's hot, you put on the mesh jacket and take off the waterproof pants.  If it's raining, you make sure you're wearing the waterproof pants and anything other than the mesh jacket.  If it's hot and muggy, you...suffer.  No fun.  I think the low point came as I descended down the hill into the Coachella valley...man, it was nasty.  I pulled up to my parents' house in Escondido wanting to get off of the bike and jump straight into the swimming pool.

It was great to see my parents.  They were such a help and encouragement to me on this trip and it was really fun to see how they had been following me on the map, circling the different places I had been.  My dad grilled some steaks and my mom made some veggies and salad...so good.  The pool erased the day's discomfort within seconds (video below) and the comfortable bed in my old bedroom was extremely welcome.  My dad made pancakes and bacon the next morning and I got on the road for the final time.  I was only 30 miles from my house, which I could have easily done the night before, but the evening with my parents was a true highlight of the trip...and for some silly reason I wanted to stick to my original arrival date of July 27.  I was surrounded by more cars than I was used to, traveling south on the 4-plus lanes of I-15 towards San Diego, and although the streets were all familiar to me I still felt like I was in the middle of my trip.  I think I felt that way until I pulled into my driveway, got off of my bike and saw the cat lounging at the door.  Home.  What a weird feeling...it took a while to set in.  I think it still is.

A few more posts to come...thanks again for all of your comments.  I'm glad you all have been enjoying this as much as I have.  I hope you will each have, or have had, the opportunity to experience this continent in a way similar to this trip.  It's so incredibly worth it.  Ok, all for now.  GPS files here, here, here, here, and here.  More pictures on Flickr.