"When a man is a traveller, the world is his house and the sky is his roof, where he hangs his hat is his home, and all the people are his family"
- Drew Bundini Brown
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I didn't plan for this one to happen.
Yet after doing 8000 miles acoss the country riding on a Ducati 748, in my heart there was another trip on the itinerary. When that opportunity would come I did not have the answer to...
One year and some change later
Cue a recovered stolen Husqvarna TE610, another hiatus from the daily grind, and the wheels were in motion.
The Colorado BDR was to be conquered.
The face you make when recovering your stolen motorcycle
The husqvarna with assigned racing numbers - courtesy of the police impound
More mocking up
Kicking it with my kickstand
I had always faintly yearned to own a dual sport for off-road ventures. However, my Ducati was and is a gold digger that constantly demands my attention and funds.
It wasn't until my well-traveled friends, Yun and Max, helped me acquire the Husqvarna when my ambitions were coming into fruition. Both, being seasoned off-road travelers, served as my mentors for planning this trip.
After assembling an inventory of proper camping equipment the only task left was looking somewhere to park my car and trailer out west. Fortunately, in this age the internet is an invaluable resource.
I posted up asking for guidance on the ADVRider FB page and shortly received an e-mail from a gentleman named Joe Turse. Joe had a place down in Salida, CO where I could leave my car + trailer. Conveniently, Salida was the halfway point for the COBDR. So with that settled the departure was left.
To my parents, I am a never ending source of stress. That's the ONE thing I know I'm proficient at. But this would be an adventure they couldn't grasp. With my charm I convinced them that being an unemployed bum on a motorcycle road trip was better than being one sitting at home. With their nod of approval and understanding of my lack of responsibility, I took a departing picture with my mom and tore off west.
My mom taking a picture with an idiot
Locked and loaded
The long haul
The journey to Salida would consist of three days of highway hauling. The first leg was a late start to the day and concluded with a sketchy night at a Walmart parking lot in Colombus, Ohio. A security guard peeked at the Husqvarna badge on my bike and my ugly mug before deciding both abominations were too atrocious to look at again. Can't blame the guy, at least it brought a turbulent-free three hours of sleep.
The second leg would take me across the belly of the US of A. Flat. Long. And a commute. With the occasional windmill and Mexican lunch to entertain of course.
Mhm.
Kansas babay
Turbines. Would be nice to have one in my engine.
More fuel for the pilot
A 21MPG-highway setup
Spending 12+ hours on the road was starting to wear thin on my body and mental concentration, even if it was in the luxury of a bitchin' VW Jetta.
It was time to call it a day. There was still a need to practice setting up camp as well, so Cedar Bluff State Park was the stop for the night.
Park bound
Command central
To ease into the camping lifestyle, my friends suggested setting up in the comfort of a state park. Having the luxury of people around and amenities certainly quelled any stress of doing it in the wild.
Fortunately, the MSR Hubba Hubba NX2 came with great instructions for setting up the tent. Everything after that was a total breeze and gave reassurance that I was ready to assert my inner bear Grylls - minus drinking my own piss.
Night was calling. Let's shut eye for the last leg tomorrow.
An eerie morning mist tussled with my forearm hair, enough stimuli to wake me up from an anxious slumber. Was time to rinse and repeat - jump into the car and haul west. But today we were arriving at our destination.
The name was Colorado. Salida, Colorado.
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