July 3, 2015

I’ve heard it a million times….”Life is what happens while you’re making plans”.

Life changes. Plans change. Things don’t always turn out the way you expect, or hope, or want. In any case, due to a number of things, my departure has been pushed back a bit. The bike is done. The logistics are done. The paperwork is done. Still planning to get out of here this month, but I have a few more things that need to get done before hitting the road.

I’m down to living on an air mattress and a chair. My desk is now my lap and the kitchen counter. My dining table is now my lap and the kitchen counter. My workbench is now my lap and the kitchen counter. Soon the kitchen counter will be gone…

July 13, 2015

I spent the better part of last week in California at work. It was a somewhat difficult and emotional week, between meeting with HR to arrange for my “voluntary termination”, and saying goodbye to a lot of people I’ve come to know well over the past 27 years. It’s not the last time I’ll see most of them, but it may well be the last time I see them for a year. Being the workaholic that I’ve been, these are my friends and family. I’ll miss them.

On a good note, it definitely felt like serious progress and commitment to moving forward with departure. I have an “exit interview” to conduct with my employer on July 23rd, and the next day is my last. So as of now, it’s looking like somewhere between July 25th and July 27th for the actual departure date. My travel health insurance starts July 15th, and my employer health insurance ends July 31st, so I need to get out of the U.S.

On an even better note, I’ve wanted to team up with a charity of some kind during this trip, and I found what I was looking for. I’m currently working with the organization to develop a plan, and will pass along more details very soon.

I spent the past weekend saying more goodbyes. Old friends drove to Austin from out of state for a farewell dinner. It was great to see Will, and to meet his fiancee Ashley. They’re awesome people with an unbelievably great attitude and a bright future ahead of them. After Chickensh*t Bingo at the Little Longhorn Saloon, I had to take them to Gourdough’s Public House for “donuts”. If you’ve never had a dessert donut at Gourdough’s, you owe it to yourself to experience this place if you’re ever in Austin.

More goodbyes this coming weekend.

Not long now…

July 13, 2015

Lloyd Bass with his RayBan sunglasses, ca 1980

Panama Canal

My former father-in-law, Lloyd Bass, was an incredible man. Immensely humble, always smiling and joking, ready to help anyone, anywhere, any time on a moment’s notice. People as down-to-earth and solidly good as Lloyd are extremely rare.

Lloyd and his wife Jean loved to travel. Even after he suffered a stroke which left him with limited use of his right side. he refused to slow down. They continued to travel the U.S. and abroad. Like most, we look back at the photos of our parents from years ago, and many are of their vacations and trips. In these photos, Lloyd inevitably was smiling that big grin of his, and often wearing his RayBan sunglasses.

Lloyd passed away in December of 2005. Lloyd and Jean’s daughter, Ann, who has remained my best friend, recently gave me Lloyd’s RayBans, and told me that Lloyd would have loved to travel to the places I will go on this trip. So in memory of a great man, Lloyd will be riding along with me in spirit, and his RayBan sunglasses will make one more trip around the world.

Lloyd Rides Again

July 16, 2015

I decided to have some stickers made that I could pass out along the way. Sort of a calling card so those I meet can follow along as well if they choose to do so. Clarke and Campbell at Bumperactive in Austin did a great job with these, including several different aspects of the trip. I hope to pick them up Monday and get them on the bike.

July 21, 2015

Last weekend was my last chance to enjoy Austin for a while. A friend flew in for the weekend and we had a pretty full weekend of fun, starting with indoor skydiving at IFly.

Joe’s 1st flight: awesome body control!

Then we headed to the ACL Live at the Moody Theater to see Buddy Guy. At 78 years old, Mr. Guy puts on a fantastic show. His opening act for a while now has been Quinn Sullivan, and if you haven’t heard of Quinn, Google him or check him out on YouTube. And don’t lose sight of the fact that this kid is still only 16 years old!

Sitting outside the Moody Theater before watching Buddy Guy play in Austin. It occurred to me while sitting there that this would be the last time I would wear jeans for at least a year, as I’m not packing any with me.

All of that, another trip to Gourdough’s, and tubing on the river made for a nice time. But I’m back to final preparations for departure now. And of course now that I’m ready to go, the temps have hit the mid to upper 90s. Oh well… it only takes two days to get into the mountains of northern Mexico and it will be back to the 70s soon.

July 22, 2015

I wanted to get involved with helping less fortunate kids in some of the places I’ll pass through, so when I ran across Free Wheelchair Mission, it sounded like an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

This organization arranges the manufacture and supply of thousands of low-cost wheelchairs for those who couldn’t otherwise afford a chair, and works with distribution partners in areas all over the world to get the chairs to those in need. To date, they’ve supplied almost 900,000 wheelchairs in over 90 countries, but there are many millions of people who still need wheelchairs. The cost of one of their chairs is only $77.91. If you can afford to donate any amount to Free Wheelchair Mission in support of my ride around the world, I strongly encourage you to do so. I’m hoping that in addition to bringing awareness to this great cause, I will be able to contribute my time and hands-on skills somewhere along the way.

I’ve created a fundraising page with a goal to raise enough money for 250 wheelchairs by the time my trip around the globe is over. Help me get started today.

July 27, 2015

I’ve been planning this trip for a year. Really planning. I’ve been thinking about it for most of my life, but for the past year I’ve been taking notes, researching places, prices, shipping, etc.

Leaving came quickly. I was surprised actually at how, even though I had been moving everything into storage, the morning of departure suddenly came rushing at me.

The bike was prepped. I was ready. Or so I thought. I wasn’t prepared for how hard it would be to say goodbye to loved ones, friends, co-workers. It was suddenly very real. I had quit my job, sold most everything I owned, and now it was here: time to actually do what I had told everyone I was going to do.

There was no fanfare. Nobody came to see me off on Monday morning. I got up from the floor of my apartment, where I had been sleeping on my camp mat and sleeping bag for the last few days, packed away the last few things, put on my gear, got on the bike, and rode away. Quietly. Sadly. It’s a feeling I can’t describe.

And the 100 degree heat didn’t help. Neither did the brutal headwind. My little 250 was struggling. Yes, it was hot, and I rode just under 300 miles Monday from San Marcos, Texas to McAllen, on the Mexican border. I knew that I just had to ride Monday and Tuesday and once into Mexico it would get cooler. For those of you who think it just gets hotter as you go south into Mexico, there are actually some large mountains in Mexico. And that’s exactly where I was headed.

Spent Monday night in Mission, Texas in a Motel 6. I remember as a kid that they were called Motel 6 because they were six dollars a night. So how come they aren’t called Motel 60 now? Hoping I don’t pay anywhere near that for a night’s stay for a long time to come.