Andrea Says: Setting up camp

Mike called around 7:30 today. They had found a place to camp with "perfect trees" in Pennsylvania. The boys enjoyed a meal of re-hydrated honey lime chicken and tortilla shells. Before they set up camp, they met a man in the parking lot of a CVS. He noticed they were away from home, so naturally, they told him about their journey. He said: "Sounds like a Walkabout, or maybe a Rideabout?" Mike said that was a apt statement and then told him about the name of the journey.

Mike shared a picture of their camping set up. Looks pretty sweet!

  
     

Andrea Says: Good luck. We're all counting on you

A bit after 10 today the boys hit the road. Everything looked secure. Here's a few pictures from the morning.

Andrea Says: Pack it up, pack it in

Let me begin.

As of 9:30 tonight, the boys are almost ready. Here's some pre-game fun.

Andrea Says: You be the playlist master

Ok, so I am taking a break from cleaning Mike’s awfully dirty apartment. He is off getting his hair cut and then has plans to pick up his replacement iPod. Last night he learned the new iPod was on its way, so this means he has to unpack his computer stuff and create a new playlist for the trip. This got me thinking, The Great American Rideabout blog readers should offer playlist suggestions. You all have until 7:30 p.m. tonight to leave a comment. 

My suggestion: America by Simon and Garfunkel

Andrea Says: Carry On

I have a mental (and Facebook) countdown to when the boys head off on their big trip. Somehow people are getting it confused with a countdown to the Royal Wedding. While they are hitting the open road on British bikes, both boys are better looking than Prince William.

As I write this, I am sitting on an ugly bench in the middle of Mike’s Norwood apartment with moving boxes on one side and motorcycle gear on the other. Three days seems so far away.      

Many know that I’ve been with Mike since junior year of high school (12 years). In October we will start the new “married” phase of our lives. This trip has been called Mike’s last hurrah before the “big day.” But I know better. There are going to be more of these, maybe not as long, but there is one thing I’ve learned Mike and Paul are inseparable. They have childhood, teen, young adult and soon awesome road trip memories. 

The two, at times, seem to be of one mind. Trust me, I’ve been around both of them long enough to know when they are quoting “Seinfeld” or just making up dialogue. They often make up dialogue and Paul has a habit of telling lies as if they were fact (ask me later about how Martha’s Vineyard was formed).       

Along the way, the boys will be checking in and I will try to do my best to post musings from their journey when they can’t get to a computer. Though I am not as funny (cue Mike: “But you’re funny looking”), I will do my best to capture the humor of these two men that have been a huge part of my life.

I’ll end this post with a short memory. Gosh, it must have been 6 years ago, Paul, Mike and I went to a car rally in Maine. We couldn’t get the CD player to work. Mike was hitting it and Paul continued to clean the disk. It was just broken. Then, as if it wasn’t busted at all the CD started spinning and the opening lines to Kansas’s famous song blared: “Carry on my wayward son, there’ll be peace when you are done.” We all laughed and sang along. I now put that song is on every road trip CD I create.

Mike and Paul Revealed: The Hunt for Number 5

We are just days away from Mike and Paul’s big adventure. As such, I can no longer keep my silence. Anyone who knows these two gentlemen knows two things: they hate science and believe the Cold War is still going on.

What is the real mission of this “road trip” – to find and destroy Robot Number 5 AKA “Johnny 5.”

Number 5 is one of five prototype robots proposed for Cold War use by the U.S. military, although the scientist mainly responsible for creating them, Newton Graham Crosby, Ph.D. and his partner Ben Jabituya, are more interested in peaceful uses of their artificial intelligence, like playing musical instruments. One fateful night while a demonstration took place on the grounds of Nova Laboratories in Damon, Washington, a lightning storm forces an end to the formal presentation of the prototypes. A power surge hit Number 5 while it was recharging and altered its program, causing a malfunction. An associated accident causes it to be taken off company grounds and it wandered away, unable to communicate and not knowing where it is.

Number 5 then found its way to the home of animal-lover Stephanie Speck in Astoria, Oregon, who initially thinks the robot is an extraterrestrial visitor, but then determines that the robot was built by Nova. After she helps it satisfy its cravings for "input", and explains the nature of life and death to it, Stephanie and the robot realize the power surge has brought the robot to life. The robot subsequently gains a respect for life, rejecting the destructive nature of its military programming, as well as a fear of the disassembly that awaits it back at Nova, believing it to be akin to death. It is this achievement of awareness that irks Mike and Paul. They don't buy its "respect" for life. They believe that Number 5 – Not Skynet – will start the inevitable war between man and machine.

After several narrow escapes from a troop of soldiers led by Nova's security head Captain Skroeder, Stephanie and Number 5 finally convince Dr Crosby of the robot's sentience, but are cornered by the full weight of Nova's security and the Army, who seemingly destroy the robot. Unbeknownst to the soldiers, the robot they destroyed was a copy built by Number 5 from spare parts, and with the robot's "destruction," the project that spawned it is ruined and Skroeder is fired.

Number 5 was last seen heading toward Montana…whereabouts unknown.

Sound farfetched? Sound like a movie that won the hearts of children, lost said hearts in a sequel and then hopes to regain them in an upcoming remake? Well you’d be wrong. This happened.

Mike and Paul aren’t traveling to “see this great land of ours” they are on a mission to save lives and find the one known as “Johnny 5.” Good luck men, you’re our only hope….

Making a list and checking it twice…

Although a road trip may only be as good as your ride, I think the adventure is determined by the supplies. Inspired by Mike’s last post, I swung by his place to see his ride. Unfortunately, what I found was a check list of supplies that must have fell out of his pocket.

Really Mike? Really?

I see no clean socks, underwear or toothbrush. I’m beginning to doubt your commitment to hygiene and, of course, sparkle motion.

You have about 10 more days to impress me...and I'll be watching.

Fontaine

Like my grandma always says, a road trip is only as good as your ride. Paul and I thought long and hard on what to choose to carry us across America. For me, there were only a few choices as dictated by finances and my personal taste. Perhaps a smaller BMW dual sport bike, like the F650. Or the American legend, the Harley Davidson Sportster. I really love the Ducati SportClassic, but they can be tough to find, and that sporty riding position might destroy my back after a week or two AND most importantly, they are pretty pricey. We thought hard about the Royal Enfield Bullet, but decided it was under powered.
There was really one obvious best choice. It's got the looks. It's got the history. It's got the power, the charisma, the value, the versatility. Not too big and not too small. Paul and I both decided on the Triumph Bonneville.




















The bike pictured above is my 2008 Triumph Bonneville T100. It is a modern recreation of a classic from the '60s, so I named it Fontaine, after the Star Trek character. A 24th century hologram of a 1960s lounge singer. Paul's Bonnie is very similar, but I will let him tell you about that.
My dad and I spent the winter modifying Fontaine. Our goal was to transform it from a weekend toy to a Mad Max style road eating machine and life support system. I am reminded of my dad's comment on my first post on this blog. He said to come home in the same condition I left in. I plan to, but I don't think I can expect the same of this bike.

The Truth Shall Set You Free, like the Open Road

The truth is a powerful weapon. One that helps shed light on many subjects. You won’t find any of that in my posts. The truth is too… well truthful. Why be good and report the truth? To quote Spaceballs “Evil will always triumph because Good is dumb.”

Who am I? This is Troch. Part narrator, part friend, all man. I've known Mike, Paul and Andrea since Junior High. We’ve seen each other grow from immature school students to slightly more mature college students to young adults who still giggle at inappropriate words. I always knew that someday our paths would cross on an epic cross-country adventure…wait a minute! I’m not going on this adventure! Perhaps it’s because I still think this is a motorcycle:

Well, if you can’t join them, mock them! My role on this epic quest around the country will be to add some color to what I think my buddies Paul and Mike are up to. Could they find buried treasure? Maybe. Fight crime? Perhaps. Enter a Tony Danza look-a-like contest? They will when I tell the story!

Stay tuned for more…Troch out.

On Hammocks

When I tell people that we are going to be camping a lot on this adventure, people are fine with it. It only makes sense I guess. Then I tell them that we are camping in hammocks. That’s when I get the strange reactions. Hammocks? Like Gilligan’s Island? Then comes the shocker. We had this crazy idea. What if there are no trees? What are we gonna do? Sleep in the dirt? No, stupid. We’ll sleep in midair, hammock style, between the two bikes. At least that’s the plan. Obviously, I see the potentially fatal flaw. 500 pounds of bike crashing down on our skulls. Well we tried it out, and it works! But you don’t have to take my word for it.

Origins

14,000 miles
54 Days
35 States
4 Provinces
2 Friends
1 Experience of a lifetime

Hello all, this is Paul here, the other rider on this grand adventure. Several years ago I was in a dusty outpost along the Tigris River in Iraq. One night, seemingly no different than many of the others, I was sitting in a cold cement guard tower. With the wind whistling through the windows and the blank almost alien landscape, I was alone with my thoughts. It made me realize that I was off in this foreign land, yet I had seen so little of the nation that I was serving. It was clear to me there, as I looked across the dark Arabian expanse that I needed to rectify the problem.

The decision was to embark on a long motorcycle journey across the United States once I had completed my service obligation. To share in the adventure, I invited my childhood friend Mike. With him soon to be married and me leaving the military, it seemed to be a fantastic "last hurrah" before we transition into new phases of our lives. We wanted to complete the trip on motorcycles because a bike captures the feeling of the land, climate, people, and yes even the smells of the area that you're riding through. You truly experience every mile of the journey. So now, much in the same way that Aborigines embark on walkabouts and wander the countryside for extended periods of time, Mike and I will embark on our rideabout to experience as much as we can of the nation that we call home. It will be the Great American Rideabout.

Along the way, we will be stopping to see things both weird and wonderful. Other areas of interest that we will make a point to visit are things relating to astronomy, aviation and the military. For the duration of the trip, we will be abiding by two major rules.
Rule #1: Avoid highways and interstates wherever possible.
Rule #2: Avoid national chain restaurants. The exception to this is if the location is significant, such as it being the first one.

Finally, we would like to thank our families and friends who have been so supportive and some who have even bent over backwards to help us realize this dream. Neither of us can wait to start this trip, and we look forward to sharing it with anybody that wants to follow along. I hope that perhaps it will inspire at least one other person to take charge of their life and experience the world that exists beyond their bubble of the day to day.

The adventure commences in 18 days.

Get Ready

We're getting ready. Things are coming together. Paul's and my giant two wheeled road trip is kicking off on April 30th, 2011. We'll be starting from Massachusetts and heading south to make best use of the spring weather. We're heading to Key West via lots of stops along the way. Then we'll head up the gulf coast and across Texas and into New Mexico. From there, we will zig zag all across the big blocky desert states. Then down to San Diego to start the west coast leg of the trip as we head north up to Vancouver. From Vancouver, we'll set out northeast to some great provincial and national parks in friendly Canada, then make our way toward the great lakes. After crossing the border a few times, we will cruise across northern New York and back into New England. To top things off, Paul and I will stop at Mount Washington and make our way back to where we started via Maine and New Hampshire. The plan is for this all to take about eight weeks.


This blog is where we're gonna keep you updated. Whether you're here to follow me or Paul, friend or family, you'll probably see a few familiar faces along the way. Andrea will also be posting, perhaps more often than either Paul or I, on our behalf. We will have netbook computers, but internet access and electricity might be an issue. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading.