So I am in Seattle, WA. I took a ferry ride into the city from Bainbridge Island to get some breakfast and look around a bit. It has been an eventful week and a half. The weather finally dried up and Harvest could begin. I have to say that under as much stress as everyone in Potlacth ID was they were all very kind and took the time to show me the ropes and teach me a little about the machinery and process of harvesting that much wheat. In the same circumstances I would have not been as calm and collected. I guess that comes from years of farming and being able to understand that none of it is really in your control. The landscape was unbelievably beautiful and the process of driving the combine was surprisingly intense.

I found out about a possible job in NOLA so had to move onto my next stop before I got to see the fields bare and the job done. I left Thursday morning and rode through the rest of "The Palouse" region, look it up cause it has and amazing history, and passed through a few hundred miles of desert. The temperatures got to be above 104 on my bikes TEMP gauge and I had to find some shade more than a few times and cool off. As hard as the heat was it was still dry heat and once I hit David Lynch Land the weather cooled off and gave me a beautiful ride through North Bend and Snoqualmie where Twin Peaks was filmed.

I had to be a dork and stop at Twede's Cafe and get a piece of Cherry Pie and a "damn good cup of coffee". Ironically enough the pie and coffee has made my stomach screwed up for a few days now.

Snoqualmie Falls is reason enough to visit that town, not to mention the Pacific Northern train cars and weird petrified wood samples lining the roads. All appropriately bizarre for Twin Peaks world. The temp really dropped once I climbed the pass and made it over the Cascade Mountains. 82 degrees and cool. As exciting as Chicago was to ride into I-90 through a tunnel and over lake Washington was equally impressive. After a few wrong turns I made it to the ferry that carried me across Elliot Bay to Bainbridge island to my Uncle Bill's house and a hot meal and a bed.
Lots more to come
ENDURE<
JAMM

I finally feel far away from home!

The most amazing things happen when you're on the road. After Minnesota and North Dakota I was pretty beat up and not looking forward to the long hot ride through Eastern Montana. I pulled out of Sideny, MT and found that the weather was considerably cooler and overcast. After two days riding in tempertures of 100degrees it was a welcome change. I rode north to Hwy 2 which is spans most of the country from Seattle all the way to Michigan and up into canada. I stopped at a gas station after riding through my first rain storm. Two guys on Dual Sport bikes pulled over from the gas pumps and introduced themselves. Jim and Don May.

Two brothers traveling from Ohio to get to the Rocky Mountains to begin a 1300 mile trip that would put them in Salt Lake City to go work the Bonnivelle Salt Flats where people compete for the Land Speed Records. We rode together through some of the worst weather I have ever been in on a bike. Harsh Montana winds and cold stinging sleet and rain. We made it to the other side of MT and got a room for the night. The next day would turn out to be one of the most demanding days of my life.
We were up early and headed up to Glacier National Park. The weather was in the 50's in the morning riding through the flats but as soon as we hit the mountains the temperture dropped and the rain started up again. We climbed to an elevation of 6649 feet at the highest point of the pass. We basically rode up into a cloud and a 38degree rain strom. Picture a two lane road with a cliff to your left and a rock face to your right. You visor on you helmet is fogged up so you are forced to just open your helmet and deal with it. We were warned by multiple people to turn back but that was just not a possibility. We pushed forward and finally rode back down from the cloud into a the most amazing weather and a forty mile ride with dry roads and sunny skies. That was our reward.

After that intense experience I realized my day was only half over. I still had 280 miles to ride before I arrived at The Farm that was my destination for the night. I said good-bye to Jim and Don and hit the road south. The cold weather and rain showed up again and was on and off well into the evening. Everything out west is much bigger than it looks on the map. I made it to my exit and thought I was in the clear. Another few miles and I would pull in right at sunset and save the day. Well this was not the case. The first of three towns I would need to ride through ended up being 42miles down the twisty byway I was traveling on. That meant that The Farm was still 50 something miles away and it was nearly dark. The sun went down and the temperture dropped into the 50's once again. My muscles were cramping up and around every corner you could see shinny eyes linning the sides of the road waiting to dart out in front you, which on a motorcycle is fatal. I slowed to a crawl and eeked along until I finally arrived at The Farm by 10pM. I have never been so happy to have a shower in my life. I have been helping out where I can and staying out of the way where I can. Harvest should start in the next day or so if the rains let up.
It will be an adventure.
Endure, JAMM

Well, let's see now, where were we?

I feel like I am made of jello. It's hard to lift my arm to drink a glass of water let alone lift my 700lbs motorcycle off the kickstand.
I am in Sidney, MT in a little motel soaking up the AC and electricity. The my last post was a week ago in Chicago so...
I was too busy having fun in Chi Town to get a chance to write. My friend Karina finally got some days off work and had a chance to hang out and show me her neighborhood. I have a new 2nd favorite Whole Foods, sorry Austin. The highlight of my trip to Chicago was getting Karina on my motorcycle. After a short ride she was anxious to try and ride so I let her take the bike up and down her street. Within three minutes she was off and rolling. After twenty she was coasting to a stop and taking off out of first without putting her feet down. After a half hour she was whizzing by in third gear and screaming her ass off. It was one of the most amazing things to watch and was the perfect end to my stay there.
I left Chicago on Mon the 10th and rode to drop off a seat to a guy named mike who I met through the BMW club in IL. He was kind enough to lend me his extra seat so I could take people for a ride while I was in Chicago. He also spoiled me by letting me borrow his custom Rick Mayer seat to match. Thanks again Mike.
After dropping off the seat I headed north to Milwaukee to get some oil and a new pair of gloves. That detour set me back a bit but my gloves were well worth the trip.
After Milwaukee I made it as far as Madison, WS and crashed for the night.
For the next three days I did noting but ride, eat and sleep. I went west of Madison to meet back up with the River Road. North from their took me through St. Paul and Minneapolis. Two twins I would rather not ride through again. I headed up to Fargo. Joel and Ethan lied to me. There was no snow to be seen and it was 101 when I rode through Fargo. What a total contrast between expectation and reality. Never the less, I rode through Fargo, ND on my motorcycle. HA!
After Fargo I hit 94 for longer than I had planned. A nice gentleman named Red told me about a few good roads in ND and was nice enough to pass along a map with some notes on it. I have to make a point to pass it along myself. With some amazing sunflowe fields my grandma would have loved.


ND was pretty brutal. Mostly flat prairie land which makes for some nasty winds. I made it as far as Jamestown and looked up a primitive camping spot the said "No Fees" This could mean so many different things. My first reaction was an overcrowded, underkept dump, see "Lousisiana No Fee Camping", the exact opposite was true. It was one of the best camping spots I have ever come accross. The weather was perfect and the view was even better. The only mis calculation was drinking a five hour energy drink three hours before you try to go to sleep.


From their I wandered through the rest of ND and made it just across the border to Sidney, MT.
Tomorrow is a burn for Glacier National Park and destinations not yet known.

Endure, JAMM

Chi Town Streets

Here's a little something fo yo ass! My daily commute into the city. Part of it anyway.

You can't go wrong with Nazi Zombies!

Perfection in cinema!


DEAD SNOW at the Music Box in Chicago was a unique experience. After my first ride on The L we went and had 1800 margaritas and some of the best Mexican food ever, Sorry Juan's, you still win for style points. Then we walked over a few blocks to The Music Box. It reminded me of The Vista in LA with it's old school lighting and architecture. The ceiling in the main theater was speckeled with stars and illuminated to give you the feeling of being outdoors. The big screen was being used for a film festival so Dead Snow was booted to the smaller screen but no size screen can hold the insanity of Nazi Zombie running wild. I highly recommend checking it out. It's like Shaun of the Dead in the mountains with way more intestines.