Latest Blogs

Shanti We left Kaza and continued up the Spiti Valley. We headed past Losar, our refuge from the storm last year, and climbed Kumzum La, the 4990m pass that we had climbed twice in a blizzard. It was much less arduous with dry roads and warm temps.At the bottom of the pass we hooked a right turn to Baikal or Moon Lake. The road to the lake was challenging with several deep water crossings, loose...

Halfway done w/number 1 We took the boys on a day ride to get familiar with the bikes and left-side driving. Back up Solang Valley and they all looked solid so we headed halfway up Rhotang La for lunch. The dry road gave them some idea of what they may be in for without the added stress of hundred meter mud puddles and water crossings, plus traffic was light because we timed it so that...

Sunday, August 2, 2009 Field trip   We started our day at the hot springs in the temple just up from our hotel. You leave your shoes outside the temple with a man who will keep an eagle eye on them for one rupee(3cents.)Many locals bathe daily in the temple pool. The water is much hotter than you will find at a hot tub in the states. Your skin quits sending the pain signal to...

Saturday, August 1, 2009 Smells   Sally (shameless plug for alaska travel source) pulled some strings, worked her magic, threatened, cajoled or whatever and got me on Thursday's oversold flight. Mariska and Anu picked me up in Kulu and only an hour late, which is practically early in India.The first thing I noticed was the heat. 34 degrees Celcius (double it and add 30 for F, I'll do this one for you, it's 98.) Then...

Pathet Lao Caves, Vieng Xay, Laos NOTE: This blog is NOT based on an organized tour. SmugMug Gallery This is a group of friends riding the same route as our MotoQuest Tour, and having many of the same experiences that our tour participants have in Laos, but not staying in the same places as the tour participants do. We are traveling on a shoestring budget, and our lodging reflects that. During our MotoQuest Tour,...

Alaska, land of lakes and mountains, rivers and glaciers, is a long way to go for an 8 day ride so I had to pad it out a bit. There is a cute little town on the south eastern corner called Skagway, located at the end of a long fiord like inlet and so full of history that I can’t put it all in this epic.  However,   to get there I flew from Ankorage...

It started here two weeks ago and seems like two months. Every day packed full, every day packed well. That so much could occur makes us think a spell, and then think a little more. Riding at 15,000 ft in Peru. The first day out rode well, up into the mountains to get in gear, to see just what this altitude thing was all about. Back at dusk and to the top of El Moro,...

The road today kept climbing, with still debris in places. Although the strike ended two days ago, no-one seems to be in a hurry/nor responsible for cleaning up the mess. In places that are cleared, it's not cleared very far. Just to the edge of the road, thank you. Charred stumps, steel rails, piles of rocks. Yea, we remember those. Burned/melted spots in the asphalt where the tires and stumps were a-lit; shame good roads...

My, what a city. A lot of hustle & bustle, a lot of narrow, cobblestone streets, a lot of old (I said old) buildings, and the feel of strength in the air. Walked the streets for hours and hours, stopped at every plaza we happened across. Sat and talked with people (what an amazing sort), and munched on bakery goods from the Panderia. Had snacks from street vendors and ice cream from the Helado cart....

Well, it's better than the pictures.  So much so my eyes welled up upon walking thru the Gate.  A boyhood dream, finally come true.  I mean, there it is, in incredible hewn-stone glory, celebrating the sky, the mountains, and the earth.  It's in the most-inaccessible of places, on a sharp ridge dropping a thousand feet to the river, and they said Let's build something here.  To guide their planting and harvest, they constructed a rounded...

But you know, you just don't get up on a volcano all that often. The scenery was truly surreal, the air so incredibly crisp, and the view was farther than you thought you'd ever see. Headed down the other side we had bike trouble (ours), and that far out you better be prepared. We were, but sometimes there's only so much field operation you can do. The first stall (felt like running out of gas)...

We knew the day could be interesting, for we heard there was going to be a strike. Seems the populace was angry about the government selling water to Chile, and the roads in and out of Cusco and many of the neighboring communities would be blocked. Also, the train to Auguas Caliente was not going to run, which meant there was no way to get to Machu Picchu (the Inca Trail was also closed). The...

Went up in a Cessna today, almost too windy to fly. But there's cowboys here, and unless the plane's blown over on its side up indeed they go. Kinda like a bucking bronco ride (a lot), it's the only way to see the lines. So see them we did. The surveyor in me figured no big deal, for we run straight lines as well. But if you consider the remoteness, the terrain, their incredible complexity,...

Arequipa   Yes, it was a three-hour dinner on a three-story rooftop overlooking the Plaza de Armas at sunset. And it was incredible. Cold, yes, but the waiters brought serapes and we were toasty as hell. The light in the sky seemed to take forever to fade, refusing to let go until the last Magnifico was uttered. Of course the ensuing darkness was abayed by the sparkle in the plaza, where a thousand lights strung...

Laos is the forgotten destination of southern Asia, sort of squeesed in between Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma ( now called Myanmar).   A country of wonderful people, with a long and mysterious history. Like a lot of things that happen in my life, it all came about as a bit of an accident, I had been trawling the internet for adventures following my other exploits and Alaska Rider just turned up,  and it seemed like...