Week one, not weak one...

​25539kms On the dial. Red Deer, Alberta, Canada.
   Wow, what a start!
  To say it’s been eventful thus far would be an understatement, I’ve basically been on the “Friends Tour” and have had the opportunity to meet as well as reconnect with some of the greatest people on the planet.
  It started with a four stage send off party at a local bike shop owned by a dear friend of my grandpas, Glen Turple of Turple Brothers. The group also included my Dad, some family and the media.

 If you missed the articles in the news, here is a link to one of the stories.  CLICK HERE
   From there some friends rode with me to my Mums place where we were greeted with a Mother style drawn out goodbye and some parting holy angles. After that I was on my own to ride in near freezing temperatures to meet my Brazilian entourage who had been patiently waiting rode side for my arrival. I had stopped for a pee in the ditch in my way and had dropped the overloaded bike downhill on its side. After a number of attempts and some new back pain I got it back on its feet.
 The Brazilian bikers and I soon parted ways and after a few hours I landed right in the middle of some Halloween drinking games with a bottle of Sriracha at my nephews house just before the American boarder. Showing up to get some peace and quite on Halloween at a house full of University students was a bit of a stretch, thou I was impressed that they we’re all up and on the road before 9am!
 Next stop was with a couch surfing friend Meghan in Butte Montana, a Habitat For Humanity worker originally from New York State she was headed to New Zealand the next day, a place I had been several times before, so it made from some nice exchange.
 Winding south on the I15, I stayed the next night on the cusp of the Mormon epicentre in Ogden Utah with another set of couch surfing friends. They we’re great and gave me a full tour of their hood and their version of religion, politics and money. Ohh man I love people.
 Next stop LAS VEGAS!
 As fate would have it, I had a very good radio D.J. and podcasting friend, Foui, in Vegas for his birthday and I caught up with him and some other friends for a night in new and old Vegas. I thought I would be in Sin City for just a night shenanigans, however the universe had other plans and another good friend of mine happen to be arriving in town that day for work and we got to spend some nights out and a day of sightseeing at the Grad Canyon. It wasn’t the grand Canyon as I had pictured it in my mind, as you we’re forced to buy a sightseeing ticket and had to take a bus to an extremely tacky wild west village before you could then go see the actual Canyon. I saw value in the fact they had created some jobs, thou the natural beauty of it all was a bit tarnished for me.
 Next stop San Diego, on the eve of presidential elections and marijuana legalization; I again landed at a friends place. We had planned to meet in her now city of Cabo San Lucas, thou she had been summoned to San Diego instead. In a different life we started our first company together in our teens and early twenties, as well as basically took on the international world for several years after that first venture. We got to catch up on a decade of travel, business and learning curves. I’m happy to say were both still growing at a phenomenal rate.
   With a bit of bike maintenance and some calmed nerves after hooking up with an online overland travel group that has access to an endless supply of stops along the road, I’m now more then ready for Mexico in the morning.

29012kms on the dial. San Deigo California, U.S.A.

  

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