Motorcycle

I got the bike on my bucket list, the BMW R1200GS, in July 2013. A bit rusty, after many years without driving a motorcycle and not expecting the effects of the 125 hp engine, I almost pull my hand of the sockets the first time I drove it. That was an instant lesson to pay more respect to the power of this engine and accelerate more careful . A bit heavy for me, at 525 lb, and having the gravity center quite high, it makes it easy to miss the point where ones can hold it when you tilt it while stationary. I first dropped the motorcycle while taking pictures of the wind power generators on the hills in between Livermore and Tracy.

Here is below:

It took me some time to install engine guard rails, panniers and top case. It also took some time to get all the gear for touring. Here is the picture I took in Idaho Falls showing the bike full loaded for traveling.

I listed most of the locations where I was and I was trying to print some mapping itinerary using Google Maps or MS Bing Maps. It worked at the beginning, however, as I started adding segments the software failed completely. Lucky me that I have a Google account, I find out that I can save my maps and post it on my site. See 2013 West US Tour subpage.

2013 West US Tour

The locations on the interactive map are places where I spent some time or just take pictures. I did it retroactive, probably i missed some.

Mileage: 5,882 miles or 9,466 km

Started on Aug 24th and returned to Tracy on Sep 28th. While initially I planned to spend only few days in Seal Beach visiting my son & family I find out that I love so much to spend time with my grands son Dominic (no offense to other family members in Seal Beach, I love them all). I spent about two weeks in Seal Beach. Also I love the ocean, the water in San Francisco area is very cold, if you do no wear a wet suit is no point going in the water. Seal Beach has a lovely lay back community, very friendly and adorable. Excellent area for rollerblading which I did a bit less than I thought, probably because there were many other attractive things to do.

In this trip, above all, I got overwhelmed by the grandiosity and beauty of West US, what a great country we have. Talking with local people is very interesting and enjoyable regardless of the social status and education. Many of the places I have been are truistic attractions and I met people from any single continent, it was a great avenue for cultural inter reaction.