Untitled

[traveling250]

At the Iron Horse - Horizons Unlimited NC 2017

At the Iron Horse – Horizons Unlimited NC 2017

I like riding through the Smokey Mountain National Park (Or Sugerlands, or whatever the bits and peices are called). The road is in good condition, the views are nice, and while there is traffic it’s nothing compared to other national parks I’ve visited (though I understand people complain anyway).

As a reminder, I was traveling with a medium format film camera and my iphone. Black and white…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Getting DIstracted, also Lunch - HU North Carolina 2017

Getting DIstracted, also Lunch – HU North Carolina 2017

I get distracted easily. I’ve always been honest about this, and I think it’s a very positive feature in a traveler. Assuming, of course, that there isn’t anywhere I need to be, or that I have time to indulge my distractions. When I am on the road, I try to make sure there is time in the schedule for me to indulge my distractions.

Again, for people arriving late, on this trip I was traveling iwht…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Down I-65 Again - Horizons Unlimited North Carolina

Down I-65 Again – Horizons Unlimited North Carolina

I love HU events. I really do. They are entertaining, the people are cool, and getting to hang out in the smokies is usually a pretty good time.

In 2017, due to scheduling things, Horizons Unlimited had two events going the same weekend. That isn’t usual, and I had been planning on going to the Ontario event (rather than the NC one). A few things happened, kinda last minute, and going to NC…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Not Really Racing To The Finish - Mountain Madness 2017

Not Really Racing To The Finish – Mountain Madness 2017

I checked the bike over in the faint light of the morning, and it seemed to be in good shape. I hadn’t dropped it the day before, so I wasn’t expecting damage, but it just seemed prudent. When I’d gotten back to camp the night before it’d been dark – that really deep dark you get when there are no lights anywhere and the sky is covered in clouds. Honestly, I felt a little bad riding back in, even…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

We can't be lost, we haven't gone far enough - Mountain Madness 2017

First riding day at HUMM Appalachia 2017!

I slept pretty well, considering, and the bike started right up. I’d made sure I had a full tank of gas, not wanting to be “that guy,” and headed back to the casino. It was foggy, and there was a chance of rain in the forecast. Rain and dirt roads. yay.

At the casino, there were already some bikes. A fair number of people were staying in the attached hotel, which made sense. You didn’t have to…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Off to the Mud - Mountain Madness 2017

Off to the Mud – Mountain Madness 2017

When I got home I worked on a seperate project – taking pictures of a triathlon team while they were training, and then completing their tri – so I didn’t do an special, particular motorcycle travel. I did ride around a lot, since I like riding motorcycles and my camera gear fits into the luggage (which might have been a requirement).

Horizons Unlimited was having it’s first east coast USA…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Overland Expo - Spring Road Trip 2017

Overland Expo – Spring Road Trip 2017

If you haven’t been to an overland expo, and you are interested in overland or international or adventure travel (and I am not being particular about any other details here, just interest in one or more of those things), you should go. I’ve been going off and on since 2011.

Okay, to be honest, I went in Spring of 2011 because Carla King thought I should I was leaving in a few months to spend a…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

It's Not A Wrong Turn - Spring Road Trip 2017

It’s Not A Wrong Turn – Spring Road Trip 2017

Since I don’t always remember, I’ll mention this right from the top. All the pictures in this post – and most of this ride report – were taken with a film camera. The camera in question is a Minolta X370, and the film Fuji Superia of various ISO (200 or 400).

Okay. When I got married in 2016 (Hi Sue!) she came with a family. That seems obvious to a lot of you, so you will have to just trust when…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

It's Just A Spot of Bother - Spring Road Trip 2017

It’s Just A Spot of Bother – Spring Road Trip 2017

So, the bike wouldn’t start. It was damp, not quite raining but definitely wanted to. I was nearBirmingham, but really was in a small road between small towns. Luckily for me, there was a landscaping company’s building nearby. Only one worker had shown up and he wasn’t planning on staying. As I said, damp rainy day. Not the best for landscape work, I guess. He had some vehicle maintenance he was…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Friends and Museums - Spring Road Trip 2017

Friends and Museums – Spring Road Trip 2017

It wasn’t far from Appomattox to my friend’s house in Northeast Georgia, and I spent a few days catching up. It had been a few years since we’d been together in real life, so that was good. Her family has an art gallery, with a craft shop and framing store attached. I spent a lot of time there because there was good wifi, and it was a place we could chat.

As a reminder for people just joining…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

It's Like a Triangle - Spring Road Trip 2017

It’s Like a Triangle – Spring Road Trip 2017

So, the snow was mostly melted and it was time to get to a couple events. I like riding motorcycles, though I dont like the pressure of deadlines. Having to be at events on time was like a deadline (which I haven’t always made), but I going and they are a reason to get out on a nice long ride.

This year, Horizons Unlimited’s Virginia Event was two weeks before Overland Expo West. If I went from…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

This Thing About Packing

This Thing About Packing

I talk a lot about packing. I admit it, this is the content that got Minimal Motorcyclist started in the first place. It’s a popular thing to talk about among motorcyclists, and many people know they are carrying too much, and dream of a way to cut back.

This leads naturally to minimalism. But – and this is important – I know that a true minimalist lifestyle is expensive. I know all about…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Whiskey Country - Horizons Unlimited North Carolina Part One

Whiskey Country – Horizons Unlimited North Carolina Part One

I know I said I was going to focus on motorcycle trips, and this is going to have Cliff the RV carrying all of us to an HU Event – but Horizons is very much about motorcycles and so is the Iron Horse Resort, not far from Deals Gap. So, it’s definitely motorcycle land.

We all went to the North Carolina event last year, since it was the week after Overland Expo East. This year (well, in 2016) both…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Water, Water - Where, exactly?

Water, Water – Where, exactly?

Look, we all need water. To drink, to cook, to clean (if you’re into that sort of thing) – with it we quite literally die. 

So, how do we carry it? Where to do get more when we run out?

When traveling, my primary water supply is a 3l hydration set up in my backpack. I like to have sometime to sip on while riding so I don’t fall behind on hydration while riding (which leads to fatigue and poor…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Where I press the fast forward button

Where I press the fast forward button

So, Sue and I got back from Ontario and, a few weeks later, hit the road with her two girls, two motorcycles, and an RV named Cliff. For while, I was going to be posting that trip here, but I changed my mind. While we did have motorcycles and road a lot, it wasn’t really a motorcycle trip. So, it’s going to be in it’s own blog over here.

I also have a new hub-type site, which links to all the…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

By The North Road - Horizon's Unlimited Ontario Part Four

By The North Road – Horizon’s Unlimited Ontario Part Four

Sue didn’t want to go through Chicago (which I couldn’t blame her for), so we decided to loop around and come through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan instead. Its about the same distance, but smaller roads and usually take a few hours longer in driving time.

We stayed one more night in Canada, just because, and were introduced to dessert nachos.

After recovering from our sugar comas the next…

View On WordPress

[traveling250]

Okay, so a bit of a restart

Okay, so a bit of a restart

2016 was a busy, busy year for me. I got married, we went on a road trip. I gave presentations all over the place, and am working on a new book. It’s been a full slate.

What I had been planning on doing here (and there are even a whole bunch of drafts written which were going to start dropping this week – I kinda stopped them, sorry) was covering my summer road trip with my wife and her two…

View On WordPress