A Solo Adventure Ride Accross America to Feed the Soul
A Solo Motorcycle Ride Across America came from the opportunity to do some training for my business. And then an opportunity presented to me..
An opportunity came knocking and it turned out that, I have the means, the desire and like-minded people to help me make it happen. A business training opportunity became the reason and all flowed on from that. An incredible adventure wouldn’t have evolved if I had spent many hours debating, preparing, doubting.
AND the magic became reality…
When Opportunity Turns into an Amazing Adventure of Discovery
Be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. I have a wish board on my iPad that I use to do some goals setting and I had West to East on my Motorbike but had no idea how it was going to happen, but it did and so magically unfolded with ease and grace.
Sitting at the airport in Chicago on my way home to Australia I reflect on my journey as I write this, while I wait for my connecting flight from Chicago/LAX/Brisbane over the next 24 hours.
I start to reflect on the journey that was – West to East motorcycle ride across America – Wow, I did it! Because I let it, I was open to it and accepted it as a possibility, and all my Real Inspired Dreams came true.
Travelling alone on my BMW F650 from San Francisco on the West Coast to East New York on the far East I travelled 13 states and two countries of the US and up through Canada around Niagara was such a wonderful experience.
Helmet Time is Gold
Lots of helmet time, singing at the top of my voice and just time to munch on the meaning of life ( not the Monty Python meaning of life!) and a journey I thoroughly recommend.
I rode from San Fran to Las Vegas where I did my Master Practitioner course for NLP and Time Line Therapy training with Drs Tad and Adriana James. (That was a wonderful two weeks) full on but magic!
I popped out the other end with my Master Practitioner certification. This is to assist and guide my clients at a much deeper level of healing, working with the body/mind connection.
I met some truly exceptional people on this unforgettable course.
On this trip I took in some incredibly beautiful and hot countryside, I was taking advantage of the smidgen of good weather that came my way! So, I hightailed it to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the world famous Air Show.
I left Vagas on the Sunday after graduation and arrived in Oshkosh (on the Great Lakes) on the following Friday.
I rocked up three days early and managed to get myself involved with the War Birds (WWII aircraft) volunteering on the flight line. How good could life get!
Being a recreational Pilot myself of single engine aircraft, I managed to dodge the sandwich making in the kitchen and get trained to Marshall aircraft on the flight line.
So I was a very happy vegemite being with a gaggle of War Birds (Mustangs and T17s or T28s) – Just too much fun and I had the time of my life.
One full week playing with War Birds and having fun with the team – It was fantastic! I managed to get a flight in a T28 after winning the bid on a charity auction I even was taken for a flight in a T28 in formation.
We went to 8500 ft, and I couldn’t see the other end of Lake Michigan! The Huge expansive body of water…It looked so much easier on the map, to just ‘whip around’ the lake to the top end of the lake.
However, after seeing this I realised I was no whipping around this big body of water it would be a few days of travel, and that was just to the top, so it took me a few days to get around it and into Canada to Niagara Falls.
I was more than halfway to the East coast so, without the two weeks in Vegas and the week in Oshkosh it really only took me a week and a half of comfortable riding days to get across America and that’s with breaking down for half a day!
To experience a country’s true essence, even though I feel like I have only touched the tip of the iceberg so to speak, was awesome. The country exposed its heart to me, showed me the strength of it’s heritage and the real beauty of vastness and there is still Canada to fully explore! (More fun to come!!)
It’s a never-ending exploration of discovery.
The ever changing landscape, the incredible acceptance and welcoming feeling of this Aussie in the States was overwhelming.
I know I have only touched the tip of the ice burg of this great country and it’s people – It is so vast and so much to explore.
I will return to fully explore the rest of the USAA and journey on to Canada.
Someone asked me recently since I had travelled so much what was my favourite place and for me, it is not the place it is the people and my experience.
It’s a never-ending exploration of discovery for self-growth and understanding, an adventure of awareness of how other cultures operate – that’s the essence and fun of travel.
While travelling, I thought about my postures I managed my energy through yogic breath and mindfulness of the body giving me more clarity than I have ever had while travelling other continents around the globe.
I took this opportunity to create the motorcycle yoga exercises based on the classic yoga cues. My first leg of my adventure started in San Jose California to Las Vegas Nevada and across the Mojave Desert.
All those aeroplanes in the Desert – area 51 (which does exist). It just happened to be the hottest time of year hitting over 100 + F and yes it was hot! Hot! Hot! As a student studying Yoga teacher training, I naturally used the yogic breath for clarity of mind particularly if you practice yoga and understand the practice of Ujiee breath.
It helped me enormously, especially the second day as I was tearing down the highway on the edge of the Mojave Desert as I was passing a truck, the bikes power went, its the day before the 4th of July holiday and everyone’s in a hurry.
Quickly I had to make a decision, do I pull off the highway where a truck is parked and get help or try and make it to the underpass were I had shade.
Luckily I went for the overpass option and that’s was the best decision. So I got off the bike walked around it saw no smoke, the bike was hot but not overheating I didn’t think, then I turned the key again…nothing – the only thing it could be is the battery.
The day before I had taken the bike to a BMW dealer to get the GPS fitted, they couldn’t do it, but they also forgot to tighten the earth terminal when they disconnected the GPS.
“It didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out what was wrong”
Working on the bike, took me a good two hours to unpack the bike on the side of the road and take all the panels off, tighten the terminals and repack. Whew! It was over 100 + Degrees F, and I am feeling the full force of the heat in the desert with motorbike gear on and it’s HOT!.
How fortunate I was to make sure I knew where I placed the nut that tightened the bolt! That heat doesn’t do much to help the brainbox!
Of course nobody was going to stop and lend me a hand as everyone was rushing to be with family for the 4th of July celebrations! They were all on their own focused time restricted journeys.
How many stories did they hold in their hearts as they passed by me…
Anyway, maintenance is done, back on the road and I am zipping across the Mojave Desert thinking to myself, ‘How did anyone ever survive the day crossing the desert on one horse and I have a couple of hundred horsepower under me!
I thought of the bravery of those souls that crossed this country looking for their fortune in the California goldfields – Ranchers with their stock ‘going West to start a new life – Risking their lives and all they possessed .. surviving on hope and the promise of a new life. I had all the conveniences and so much fun to do.
America is very accommodating, and everything is at your fingertips. However, the only thing I found difficult was finding fresh fruit or any real food and what happened to milk?
Real milk…every time I had a coffee, it was with artificial creamer! O one, just no one offers milk, real milk! (and this is happening in my own country, Australia…..NOT GOOD!
As I gallivanted across the country, I did find it strange that every fast food you can imagine but no real food. Other than that it was great.
Here are some useful tips for all the motorcycle adventure bunnies out there.
BREATH- Your number one basic survival skill. To keep myself occupied I practice yogic breathing and exercises all day. Breathe, breathe, breathe, so you sound like Darth Vader in your Helmet!
It is so important for clarity of mind that you practice, conscious breath. It is like feeding every little cell in the body consciously and giving the breath of life to the areas of the body that feeds the mind/body clarity.
HYDRATE- 2-3 cups of hot water sip on that with lemon if you like. Drink 1 litre of water before the get on the bike in the morning. Hydrate every stop with water, make water your focus not food, just water, not flavoured drinks, coffee or tea just water and aim to drink three litres a day minimum. You will have to stop more for toilet breaks, but it’s a safe way to travel.
COMPASSION– Always give gratitude for the day and set your intention for the day make it positive, say it in the positive terms. Mine goes something like this. “Thank you for the gifts I receive today I am truly blessed”. When someone does something mindless on the road, cuts you off, then have compassion have a giggle and get on with it, reacting with fear (swearing and cursing) does not serve you or the people around you. Stay in a positive frame of mind and watch your day’s experiences stay beautiful and allow the flow without the wave.
EXERCISE – Do exercises to keep you occupied e.g. whenever I was passing a truck I would engage to gluteus muscles squeeze the tank with my thighs, engage the spine, engage tummy muscles and keep deep breathing till I had passed the truck. Doing that all day long your body becomes stronger each day.
If you’re lucky to get a grassed area to rest then do some stretches and maybe a few salutations to the sun to get the body moving. Lay on the grass then rest.
It’s important to do each exercise with mindfulness of each movement so that the integrity of the body is taken care of and injury does not occur.
LAUGH- Laugh every day, sing at the top of your voice and keep the self-talk positive.
Having travelled extensively throughout the world on my motorbikes (they have all been BMWs from the R90s and F650 GS) the only time I didn’t ride a BMW was the Cape York trip in Queensland, recently lapped Australia – However, my partner took the BMW F650 GS, and I took his KTM 640. I will add I had the best bike for the conditions and rough off-road. The GS was great but just didn’t have the hight clearance that the KTM had for Cape York.
I have now recognised that travelling long distance on a motorcycle, you are thinking for yourself and for the people around you.
You have to ride like you’re invisible and quiet often you are not seen by other vehicles it’s important to be ahead of the game and act quickly, so you work twice as hard and always on the ball. You will get tired, so having these tools up your sleeve it’s wonderful, and it’s the essence of freedom.
The benefits of motorcycling are the freedom and simplicity of travel. You’re limited in what you can take and you live and breathe the bike every day. I love that.
Now that I have experienced the mindfulness of the long-distance riding with the assistance of my Yoga training I have benefited immensely from having the yoga training.
Yoga seriously saved my life because I had a clear mind and was able to make great lifesaving decisions.
It is highly recommended you look at these little tips and use them or go to a local yoga centre and learn yoga before your trip it will keep you happy and healthy without pain throughout your travels.
Laugh lots and live your dream, travel mindfully with respect for self and others and assume not!
To all adventurers on two wheels or four and those with wings keep on discovering!
Linda McCall
Phone +61 422334745