Ad Infinitum

Stockton. The city of dreams and wonders. Maybe I’m just somebody with mild insomnia working in a Kaiser Sleep Lab at 5:30AM. Ironic. Irony becomes me.

I wait as the door closes. Room 371. The carpet comes up so high that the door does not shut properly if I do not force it closed. Once I’m assured that the door is securely closed I head down the hall way. I’m hungry, as is usual for me.

I swing the door open, a bit more abruptly than normal, and I immediately jump back. It’s unusually pale. It hardly even flinched. I tilt my head to the side a bit in genuine curiosity. I’m amazed, intriugued, amazed, I’m in awe. He is looking at me. It seems without fear. This was no ordinary bird. It wasn’t a Bay Area bird that does not fear because its used to being fed. No, this bird was not anticipating food. It seemed to be as curious about me as I was of him.

Him. How do I know it was a him? Simple. My logic for species is this. Human women are beautiful, amazing, wonderous creatures. Human males are not. To make up for this deficit, male animals of almost all species are prettier than their female counterpart. Peacocks, African Lions, Deer(Stags). That is just to name a few. Not there there aren’t exceptions, the Black Widow comes to mind, but most often the male is the prettier of the animal. This bird was white. Pure. The only bird I’ve seen this white was an albino Peacock. It was white. Beak to toe. I stood no more than six inches from it and he did not move! I extended my hand to feel his delicate feathers and the first time he did not move much. A minor side step which startled me causing me to retract my hand. I extended it again and he flew to the nearby roof. I was on the third floor so the bird was still eye level. He just stood there, perfectly still and stared at me (or so it appeared). I stood there for a few minutes in total admiration. What an amazing creature. I went down a floor, looked up, and his head was tilted down staring at me. Curious creature. First floor, same thing. Truly amazing! When I came back with my food he was still there; still staring.

The bird was white and more curious than any wild bird I have ever come across. Remarkable is all I can think of to say. Nature never ceases to amaze me.

June 7th I wrote that I had just over forty-six hundred miles on Tasia. Walking out to her just a moment ago to double check the exact miliage I read fifty-nine hundred forty. One thousand three hundred in just five short days of riding. Allow me to describe my adventure(s).

The journey started Thursday morning. 231 miles of cool air, light breeze, and much more enjoyable scenery than I-5 or CA-99. The trip went by pretty quickly. Three and one-half hours later and I was looking at the pebbled beaches of Montana De Oro. My friends left much later than planned. It was more than ok. I found a campsite and just relaxed. Soaking in the fresh air and letting the salt to absorb inside my lungs!

Once my friends arrived the fun and joking started almost immediately. I was sitting on the bench to an open campsite.

“I won’t camp at this site. I don’t like it.” Started Kelsey. First words out of her mouth as she rolled down her window.

“Uhh, ok. Whatever, its just a camping spot. There are others farther down the road, maybe with more shade.” I retort a little peeved. “As long as there is enough a flat enough space for the tent, I don’t care. Whatever.”

I jump onto the back of Daniel’s Tacoma and we explore further down for a more suitable campsite. Kelsey gets outs of her car, I don’t remember why. I think to give me a hug or something. I just remember she never received one because her car was driving away. Zach had hopped the center console into the driver seat and was taking off down the gravel roadways. I was already laughing. I knew what was going on. Kelsey was standing, dazed, a little shocked. It was taking a moment to click. Her Jeep wasn’t being stolen, but it was. I ran down the road, in my boots, as fast as my heavy feeet would carry me. Zach didn’t stop. I was laughing, panting for breath. Seeing Daniel coming back I decided it’d be best to lie down in the road and play dead. Until he started speeding up.

Note: Clicking the pictures should open a full resolution image in a new window.

We finally got all the vehicles to the newly chosen campsite. Not more than five minutes out Zach and I were already going back and forth laughing hysterically at the “thats what she said” remarks. Not to mention that it quickly developed to where we no longer had to even say it. Twenty minutes into it and we’d just look at each other, proclaim he or she and start busting up together. It was great. Only T.J. knew what we were laughing about and later on Jared caught on. Kelsey and Daniel were just in the dark. *sighs* It was great. These jokes didn’t die out until we all had parted ways. It still hasn’t died. Oh well!

After getting the tents set up we immediately drove up the road a mile or two and went to the main Montana De Oro inlet. The beach is made of millions of smooth stones, rocks, pebbles, and the like. All shaps and all sizes. All smooth from years of wear from waves. It is amazing. We didn’t spend more than an hour on the rock looking at the water, waves, and sea otters. The rest wanted to go for a hike, however I didn’t feel like one at the moment. I inquired around to see who wanted to go for a joy ride. Zach wanted to go. Him and I headed back to gear up for a fun little ride around some twisties the area had to offer.

Coming into the campground area there is a sign:

With a smaller rectangle sign under it saying “Next 4 Miles.” So coming in or going out of the campground I get to hit up five miles of twisties. Not more than three miles outside of the campground twisties I found a side road that had about five miles of some very clean and fun twisties. Zach and I enjoyed them. The next day Carmel and I also enjoyed them. I didn’t have time for me to take more people around on Tasia.

The next day we went on a nice long hike around the coastal regions of Montana De Oro. Here is the aftermath!

Following the hike was Kayaks and a stroll on a basically secluded beach. I’m still a kid. We all were trying to think of something fun to do with the Kayaks. Daniel and I played a short lived game of chicken. We both won… or actually, due to the whip-lash we both received I guess we both lost. This was followed by my bright idea to play a rousing game of Cops & Robbers. Jared and Jonathan shared a Kayak that was blue so I naturally volunteered them to be the cops. Since these two could not cooridinate well and could not keep up I allowed them to tag me and then we slowly just caught every robber one at a time, excluding T.J. He was able to allude us. I’ll just excuse myself from this lapse because I was tired… pitiful excuse, I know.

Since Daniel and I were too tired to continue the pursuit we allowed the felon, T.J., to escape while we made our way to the shore. We walked around the dunes, but not before I put on my ninja suit and made a total fool of myself, as always. And as expected. I was goofing around in the sand doing my flips and what not. Well, it ended foul when I caught a handful of sand and aimed it right into my eye. Not fun. Thankfully the ocean was only twenty yards away. I was able to clean my face off. I love ninja suits!

The trip was not over! Oh, no! Not only had we watched a movie both nights in the tent, we also roasted marshmellows and made s’mores! It was great. Grahm crackers, Hershey chocolate bars, and melted sugar… err, I mean marshmellows. How can you go wrong with that? I proclaim that you cannot!

The next day was indecisive. Not just for myself. Do I drive home now? Do I just go to Carmichael and enjoy my Sunday without anything to do? Do I go to Bakersfield? I decided to go for a surprise visit to Bakersfield. See my dad’s bike. Get a day of rest. Maybe go for a couple bike rides. Possibly see a couple friends. The next decision was what to do with the rest of our Saturday. Some wanted to travel up CA-46 and visit Hearst Castle. Daniel had already been to it once and none of us wanted to pay the entrance free. I have a friend that works there, but was unable to reach her.

Splash. Splash was a renowned seafood eatery in 21 miles away in Pismo Beach. Renowned for “the best clam chowder in the world” or some crap like that. It was only six dollars for a chowder bread bowl. I love eating my clam chowder in a bread bowl. Six dollars is also a very good price for this. Basically, you’d have to try it for yourself, but in my opinion and everyone I ate with, it is the best clam chowder I’ve ever had. I’d gladly make a trip from Bakersfield to Pismo with a cute girl or with a group of friends just to get a bowl. It is that good.

Later that night I had no plans and decided to contact a few friends. The first one to respond was my buddy Dana. She is a cute little girl that I’ve known since Freshman year of high school. I graduated with her older sister, but have always been in contact with both. She had asked me to take her for a ride next time I was around. She had never been a bike, but was extremely excited to get to ride one. I took her out for a quick spin around most of Bakersfield. We only rode for about forty miles when I was taking her home. She continually told me things at the stops (since its hard to hear when we are riding):

“Just so you know, I really like it when you go fast.”

“It is so scary when you go between cars. Do it more!”

“Lets drive to the beach!”

“You better not be taking me home.” She yelled at me at a red light near her home. I just grinned and decided to take another route. By time I dropped her off we had put around ninety miles on Tasia. Going from the fart South end of Bakersfield and ending up at Lerdo Highway. One point we hit 120MPH and she was egging me on to go faster. Later on, during the latter half, we peaked at 131MPH. She later responded with, “Maybe next time we go out we can hit a hundred and fifty!” I just kind of grinned and nodded. “Yeah, right.” Is what I was thinking. We ended up text back and forth for an hour or two afterwards and I ended up agreeing to take her on some real roads in the morning after church.

Sunday morning I washed up, cleaned my clothes, went to church, and picked her up again. We put on over one hundred miles carving through twisties north of Bakersfield up near Glenville and Woody. It was awesome. Even having a passenger on the back I hardly felt any different carving around the curves. It was a blast and I can’t wait until the next time I can take a passenger around through the swervy roads. It is exciting. It was exhilerating. It is something I crave to do again; and soon.

For that hundred or so miles I decided not to wear my riding jacket. It was too hot. Instead I wore a t-shirt. If I had a camera I’d show you my hilarious tan. I still wore my leather riding gloves so I have a tan line that stops three to four inches out from my hand and ends at my shirt sleeve. It is quite humorous.

295 miles later I was home in Carmichael. At my Aunt Peggy’s humble abode. She has the most comfortable bed in that spare bedroom I’ve ever had the privilage to sleep on. It is amazingly comfortable. She told me it was a great bed… I underestimated. It was nothing short of amazing. I slept great. I melted into it and didn’t wake until it was the proper time for me to wake. That is my journey. There is more to it. More to the rides. More to the trip back home to Carmichael. There is much more about my Aunts amazing home. Maybe some other time. Maybe you will honor me with a visit sometime.

Forty-six hundred. My odometer says so. Everytime I look down I see four numbers: 46XX. I haven’t even had her for two months. By her I mean the motorcycle. By the motorcycle I mean Tasia. Tasia is what I’ve decided to name her. I had help from many friends on ideas. I had even more help on opinions on some of the names I liked. Thanks to K, I found Tasia. Short for Anastasia. Her name is not Anastasia though, just Tasia. It means: Rebirth; Resurrection. I like it a lot. Tasia.

Back to the topic, forty-six hundred miles and growing. My leather gloves are more than broken in. They are already showing signs of wear. It will be another forty-six hundred miles before the wear starts to be excessive, I think.

I recently purchased a new helmet. Shoei X-Eleven. Light Silver. It mataches Tasia, you know how girls like to match!

It fits like a glove. I’ve read online that the odds of finding the perfect fit are extremely unlikely. The best most people find is a fit 90% of perfect. Maybe this is just 90%, but I don’t think I could ask for a better fit. After trying on, HJC, Arai, KBC, & Shoei, the X-Eleven fits the best, easily. Sadly, its the most expensive main-stream helmet on the rack. It’s worth it. It looks gorgeous, fits perfect, and feels just right! I’m more than content with my purchase.

Why did I get a new helmet? Well, firstly because the HJC was never meant as a primary. I purchased it with the mind-set that I’d buy another one to replace it someday soon and make it my passenger helmet, that is why it is size too big for me. So I needed a helmet that fit properly and I wanted a solid color, light silver, to match Tasia. This helmet, like I’ve explained to K, is over-the-top, but worth it.

I picked up a pair of riding boots.

There are numerous reasons for this purchase. First after trying on a couple pair, these fit extremely well. Secondly, they were the only pair they had in stock that was the correct size. Other reasons are price and blah blah. All said and done, even if I had an unlimited budget and all the different boots in the correct size, I’d still have gone with these boots. There are a few things about this pair that I like over some of the others. They are easier to get on and they are vented. There are a few vents on them allowing cool air in and hot air out, as well as being perforated allowing lots of cool, fresh air to seep in and keep my feet, which are next to the hot engine, nice and cool.

Why get boots in the first place? Well, obviously proper equipment is very important. When I go down, I don’t want broken, twisted, or shattered ankles. Wearing proper boots with proper ankle protection offers me this!

Last time I went on a long bike ride, I ended up getting engine burn (the heat that is emitted from the engine) severely burned the back of both of my legs. Hindering my ability to walk properly for a couple days. Since I’m going on a trip tomorrow, I don’t want a relapse of that event.

Forty-six hundred miles and it hardly feels like a thousand. I’m ready for my next five thousand miles. I’m ready for the next ten thousand after that. I have always felt that motorcycle riding clears your mind and is like meditation. Recently I read something that explains it exactly how I feel about it. I just am not as good with words:

The act of riding is a form of meditation, because the concentration that’s required to safely ride a motorcycle tends to focus the mind in a way that eliminates other mental distractions that might interfere with the mission. This creates a single-mindedness that, in effect, displaces the continuous stream of thoughts that normally flow through our consciousness.

Just like some people get “hooked” on meditation, motorcyclists get hooked on riding because of the mental relief that it brings. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone discovers that endorphins or something are released during the act of riding. I’m sure you’ve noticed that you can’t “zone out” on a motorcycle like you can when driving a car. Riding safe means being focused and alert at all times – which is one of the reasons why it’s so important to stop and rest at frequent intervals when riding a motorcycle on a long trip.

I think that is all I have to offer for now!

Mary requested some of my top pics of music. I’m at work right now so I don’t have all the options I’d like to have for choices. I do, however, have some music I greatly enjoy hosted on my website and will post a few of those links for all to enjoy. They are posted in alphabetical order.

Andrea Bocelli - Besame Mucho: Italian Opera (Although this song is in Spanish)
Cirrus - Boomerang: Techno
Demon Hunter - Less Than Nothing: Rock/Metal/Christian
Demon Hunter - My Heartstrings Come Undone: Rock/Metal/Christian
Ewan McGregor & Nicole Kidman - Come What May: From the Moulin Rouge Soundtrack
Opeth - The Drapery Falls: Heavy Metal/Instrumental (This is my favorite Opeth song)
Opeth - The Funeral Portrait: Heavy Metal/Instrumental
Zao - Psalm Of The City Of The Dead: Screamo/Metal/Christian (This particular song is an instrumental)

This is all I have to offer at this moment. If you (not just Mary) like some or all of these picks then let me know, I’m more than willing to share with you other bands, artists, & musicians that I enjoy! Have a day!

My plans are set. The details worked out. I know what I’m doing and where I’ll be.

Tomorrow morning I am waking up, somewhat late, and going on a two-hundred thirty mile road trip to Los Osos, California. We will be making our camp site at the Montaña De Oro campgrounds along the coast. By we I mean myself and about nine of my Bakersfield friends. Last year a good buddy of mine, Daniel, organized a similar event last year where the turn out was slightly smaller. I believe we had four people, plus myself and Doug for a day and one half. This year it is about twice the amount of people. I hope it becomes tradition, annual, regular, habitual. We camp out in the beautiful campsites not more than fifty yards from the beautiful, blue Pacific Ocean.

Unfortunately the ride down there is pretty bland. Mostly strait freeway road(s). Highway 101 to Highway 41. Not much adventure in that. However, once I’m there it will be a trip to remember. Filled with companionship, adventure, excitement, riding, food, and just an experience that I’ll ride away from smiling, as I always do.

I know, another boring post. Life is full of disappointments, get used to it! :) Hopefully I’ll have an exciting post after the trip and if you’re lucky I’ll even post pictures!

I love music. I’m always looking for more bands and artists to add to my collection. It’s hard to find new stuff since I don’t listen to radio and I’m not around a lot of major music fans. Pandora. is the solution to this. You type in an artist or band and it’ll find a popular song by them and play it. Then if you like it it’ll find others that are similar based off some very detailed tests. It’s great. I’ve found so much more music that I love. There is always new music to play. If you create a free account you can save your favorites and different types of stations. You can have one for just a single band, or you can have one for a genre or whatever you want. It’s great. You can share a station and everything. It’s always on now! Sorry for such a lame post!