Day 2 – To Northland
New Zealand is a motorcycling paradise. This, of course, was strongly suspected when I arrived. I now know it to be true.
After a good night’s sleep, I fell out of bed on my own at 6 am (already on New Zealand time!) and headed downstairs for an excellent breakfast buffet at the hotel. After a couple of ‘long blacks’ (Kiwi-speak for an Americano, it being the opposite of a ‘short black’, or just a shot of espresso) and an omelette, I was changed and out into traffic. Lots and lots and lots of traffic. Read more…
Day 1 – Around Auckland
There are many that will tell you that a trans-continental flight is an ordeal to be endured, and an experience to be recovered from. They will advise that jet lag takes its toll, and the best thing is to get somewhere and rest until you’ve recovered. Until such time as this has occurred the operation of heavy equipment, engaging in complex geo-political negotiations or the performing of frontal lobotomies or other delicate surgeries is to be discouraged.
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Day 0 – To New Zealand
I lost an entire day.
I took off on a plane from Vancouver on Friday evening. I went to sleep shortly after midnight. Less than 8 hours later, I woke up, checked the time, and discovered that it was approximately four in the morning. On Sunday. Saturday 17 October 2009 did not happen for me. I skipped it. I lost an entire day. And as I’ll continue to fly west from here, I will never, ever get it back.
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Day 6 – To Edmonton
This morning dawned hot and blowing. And I was alone, thank you very much, so get your minds out of the gutter.
There is very little open at 6:30 in the morning for breakfast in Kamloops (should you ever find yourself in this situation, you may want to keep this in mind). Several establishments open at 7:30am, of course, but I had a long day ahead of me and my goal was to actually be on the road by then. Read more…
Day 5 – To Kamloops
This morning, I decided to grab a quick breakfast at a coffee shop. Of course, given that I was staying at the Fairmont in Seattle, this isn’t just any coffee shop. Belle Epicurean is run by a Cordon Bleu-trained pastry chef, and they’ve won a raft of ‘best of Seattle’ awards. A brioche and an egg and ham sandwich on house-made croissants, along with one of the better Americanos I’ve had on this trip, and I’m ready to hit the road. There are really much worse ways to start the day. Read more…
Day 4 – To Seattle
After a shorter night, I packed up and headed out to breakfast at the Wild Flower Cafe in Lincoln City. Dianne and I had breakfasted here last time we were through, so I had a fair idea of what to expect. It’s an excellent thing that I got there when I did, because by the time I left there were at least six parties waiting for tables… Read more…
Day 3 – To Lincoln City
Ride. Eat. Sleep. Ride. Eat. Sleep. This is the dynamic of my current existence. And that’s not an exaggeration.
Despite having set the alarm for 6am, I don’t actually wake up until 7am. Nine hours of blissful, restful sleep is a wondrous thing. Read more…
Day 2 – To Mendocino
I woke up at 6am, got dressed, had breakfast, checked out, and got a cab to the motorcycle store that has been Alessandro’s temporary quarters for the last couple of weeks. According to the service manager, there was no real ‘smoking gun’ that they found. Read more…
Day 1 – To Monterey
So as it turns out, I suspect — once again — I spoke too soon. Raving about the service on one airplane only dooms you to regret every utterance once you get to the other plane. Of course, ‘once’ would be the operative word in that sentence. Read more…
Day 1 – Leaving Edmonton
Even after several years of riding a motorcycle, I continue to be astonished by the degree to which they are the great social equalizer. Ride a motorcycle, and quite literally anyone will come up to you and just start talking. And I do mean anybody. Read more…