Ridin' Dirty - A North American Motorcycle Tour

"If you don't do it this year, you'll be one year older when you do."
- Warren Miller

Since finishing a stint in the Marines, I've always taken my free time very seriously. For this reason, I've never been able to work or take classes during the summer. I just can't bring myself to stay in the Midwest when there's so much I haven't seen. I bought my first bike in 2007 and that summer rode it from Indiana to Colorado, where I randomly bumped into Cyrus at a campsite. He was on a custom chopper he'd made and we became quick friends, staying in touch over the next several months.

One day I got an email from him saying we should plan a trip for the following summer. This started as a ride to Cali, up the coast to Washington and across to Montana, back to Colorado. Then we considered taking a ferry from Washington to Alaska and riding back. Turns out that would cost around $600 each, so that wasn't happening. Looks like we'll be riding both ways.

I left my home in Lafayette, Indiana on May 21st. It was a cold ride to Peoria, Illinois where I met friends at the Summer Camp Music Festival for three days of camping and live music. We saw George Clinton, Flaming Lips, Blind Melon, moe, and lots more.

My girlfriend rode with me from there to Denver. We took it slow, with a stop at Long Branch State Park in Missouri, then took route 36 west through a very cold and wet Kansas countryside.

I was slightly under prepared for this type of weather. For gloves I was using my old military leather shells and cotton inserts, which didn't work out so well. I had my old combat boots, a pair of waterproof hiking pants and a cheap leather jacket that was a size too small. Apart from that I had a few light layers which I had to split with my girlfriend since she didn't have much of her own. I knew I wasn't entirely prepared for Alaska, but I was just happy to be on the road, heading somewhere new.

We spent a week hanging around Denver, seeing friends and doing some hiking before I finally rode to Montrose, CO and met Cyrus at his place. We made some last minute preparations, including changing the final drive oil on my bike and piecing together the 01 Harley Road King that Cyrus had rebuilt for the trip.

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