Day two and close to Mexico now....

Dear Family & Friends,

Another great day.. I got up early and the weather was beautiful so I decided to ride an hour or two before breakfast...

The desert offers great motorcycling. Not as pretty as Scotland or England but statistically as close to zero chance of rain as possible. In the winter it can get quite cold in the desert and of course in the summer 115+ is not out of the question but this time of year it is perfect, mid to high 70s..

Motorcycling can offer two types of enjoyment... The perfect day with great weather and interesting roads and a good reliable bike  which is pure bliss, or it can offer all sorts of challenges, bad weather, bad roads, and mechanical problems. On those days I may not enjoy the ride that much but I do enjoy the sense of accomplishment when it is over and I have survived.  This morning started out great but after about an hour and half the wind started kicking up and suddenly I was in a very bad dust storm. I could hardly see a 1/4 mile. So I did the smart thing and got off the road and had breakfast...  By the time I finished the wind and dust storm was over and the rest of the day was perfect..!!

I have been riding motorcycles for 45+ years (OUCH!! That sounds old..) and motorcycles have made amazing technological progress. The are so much safer, reliable, faster, and even have review mirrors that you can see out of. This makes motorcycling much less challenging and more enjoyable, but one of the greatest of all the advancements is the Apple I-pod! I love riding with music and with the ear phones in I can listen to my hearts content.... I tend to go for the oldies and have an eclectic taste in music so I have over 500 songs from Mozart and Bach (real oldies) to Elvis, Cash, and the Beach Boys... A good motorcycle, good weather, good roads, and good music and I have a perfect day.

Some people drink or use drugs to rid themselves of stress (Don't we all have stress to some degree or another?) I just need a day on a motorcycle and it I am a new man. Riding a motorcycle does not allow you think about other things, if you want to survive, you stay 10% focused on the task at hand and all the thoughts and problems that cause stress just vanish....

Now I have only sent out ONE report and already I am getting email correcting my grammar and spelling !! (I rode my motorcycle on a road today).

I once read where the great Chinese artist always added a flaw to their paintings knowing people resent perfection and can relate better to a slight flaw. So I have spent my life trying in all endeavors to NOT be perfect.. In fact I have perfected not being perfect, if that makes any sense???

So if you see a few mistakes in my reports realize I am making a concerted effort not to be perfect!!

Tomorrow I am meeting up with a friend from SLO that is going on this ride. We are going to head over to Tombstone AZ, a very famous old western town. Should be able to get some good photos there. Then in the afternoon we ride to the Mexican boarder to meet up with all the other riders and guides for our 10 day adventure in Mexico!

More to come.

Jason

Gila Bend, Az...

Some road side culture... I would love to have one of these for our front yard but it would not fit on the motorcycle... :(

You can tell I am getting close to the Mexican boarder.. This was a gas station vendor..

Every station needs these...

When I started riding motorcycles  (45 years ago) I would go on a week long trip and everything I needed was rolled up in my sleeping bag. Now I take an embarrassing amount of gear. Doesn't everyone need multiple choices of clothes, electric riding clothes in case it gets cold,  a lap top computer, an I Pad, and I pod, and I phone, a camera, a GPS, and innumerable cords to connect, charge, and transfer data around all these devices!