TRANS AMERICA RIDE FOR AK TENAMIT

Ak Tenamit Newsletter

2010-11-09T20:18:00.004-06:00

Reflections on the Trans-America ride

Posted on October 26, 2010 by admin

Following is the text of the latest Ak Tenamit newsletter on the Trans America Ride. The ride was a financial succes with more than $20,000 raised to help the education of the children in Ak Tenamit.

Ak Tenamit writes regular newsletters to inform about their activities and events. Check them out at :

http://www.aktenamit.org/

Jean prepares for his ride

On July 7, we wrote about the cross-country motorcycle ride that Rotarian Jean Vayssier organized to raise funds for Ak’ Tenamit’s secondary school. Jean believes so deeply that education holds the power to transform lives in Guatemala that he drove across the US to raise support for Ak’ Tenamit’s education programs. He began his trip in Washington DC on June 7, 2010 and made his way to Seattle before finally arriving in Albequerque one month later. Along the way Jean spoke at Rotarian Clubs about the importance of educational programs like Ak’ Tenamit’s and their connection to reducing undocumented immigration. He also invited other motorcyclists to show their support by joining the ride. We are extremely humbled and grateful for his commitment to the Q’eqchi communities we serve. Below are Jean’s reflections about his experience… To read more about Jean’s trip and see pictures of his experiences visit his blog http://transamericatenamit.blogspot.com

“In May 2009 I bought a BMW touring motorcycle in Albuquerque, NM. My intention was to ride around the United States, 50 years after the author John Steinbeck drove almost the same route to rediscover his home country.

On July 8, 2010 I reached Albuquerque again, having covered 12,634 miles, a distance equivalent to half of the earth´s circumference, through 28 states. I had traversed snow covered mountain passes at 10,000 feet altitude in 38 F, and crossed the lowest point of Death Valley at 191 feet below sea level in 110 F. I was burned by the desert sun of Texas, drenched by rainstorms along the Mississippi and blasted by 60 mph winds on the Midwestern prairie during my 2 month trip.

I will never forget the solitude of the wilderness of Idaho and the wind swept beaches of the North Pacific. What joy to sleep on snow covered ground in the Wyoming mountains, and in the majestic redwood forests of the Oregon coast. I saw the vastness and beauty of a great country, the United States of America, learned its history of struggle and discovery and met many good and generous people, always willing to lend a helping hand and invite me into their homes.

It was voyage of discovery and introspection, of joy and loneliness, and of great challenge and freedom. I will never forget!”

If you are interested in organizing an event to benefit Ak’ Tenamit, please contact our office at theguatfund@gmail.com.

Aftermath

2010-08-03T18:10:00.007-05:00

Today I received the news that my motorcycle has been sold in Albuquerque , New Mexico. Apparently, the new owner was impressed with the performance of the bike and wants to do some long-range traveling of his own. I am happy for him, knowing that my trusted companion will be put to good use.

Even so, it is a little sad to say goodbye to such a great bike!

After two weeks at home I am still sorting out the impressions of the ride. There are some many aspects, details and experiences that could not be dealt with in the blog.

So I will continue to write a page from time to time to capture some of the impressions of my journey.

After returning home, I re-read ¨Travels with Charley¨by John Steinbeck.
It was the first English-language book I read in 1963 and it has traveled with me all over the world for almost 50 years. It may well have been the original inspiration for my trip.
Although our trips were exactly 50 years apart, I was astonished at the actuality of the book, and wonder about some of the similarities (He and I were both delayed by a hurricane, great parts of the route he describes was the same, I enjoyed many of the same views like the one from Sausalito to the Golden Gate and his goatee looks somewhat like mine!).

Steinbeck began the book by describing his preparations to travel the country again, after 25 years. He was 58 years old in 1960 and nearing the end of his career, but he wanted to rediscover america. He had a truck fitted with a custom camper-shell for his journey and planned on leaving after Labor Day from his home in Long Island, New York, but delayed his trip slightly due to Hurricane Donna which made a direct hit on Long Island. According to Thom Steinbeck, the author's oldest son, the real reason for the trip was that Steinbeck knew he was dying and wanted to see his country one last time.

I have always felt attached to writers like Steinbeck and Hemingway, because , like myself, they owned boats and loved to go out on the ocean, and loved hunting, fishing , and good food, company and drink and, unlike myself, they can write about it all.

This is the picture of the Steinbeck house in Salinas, now a restaurant.

And by the way, you can still donate funds to Ak Tenamit. In case you came later to this blog, check out chapter 5 of this blog: how to donate...
Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Albuquerque ..the last days

2010-07-11T22:56:00.019-05:00

Tomorrow .... back to Guatemala and reality...

I have spent the last days with Fernando and Melinda, who have gone out of their way to make me feel at home here in Albuquerque.
And they have succeeded!
Fernando is going to take care of my motorcycle and find a buyer. We had it cleaned and it looks so good that I almost changed my decision.
Yesterday and today we did some wonderful rides together. We rode to the top of the Sandia Mountains which made a new record for my trip, because we reached 10,678 ft, or 700 ft higher than the Tioga pass.

The view from there is grandiose, we could see another mountain range, 75 miles to the west in the clear pure air of New Mexico.
Hummingbirds were feeding on nectar and the green mountain contrasted vividly with the desert landscape below.

After a visit to the Indy car museum of the Unser family we repaired to a local sports bar for the game.

On the picture, Fernando is watching the World Cup game between Germany and Uruguay.

Our plan for today was to ride to Pojoaque and watch the final game of the World Cup, Spain against Holland. I donned an orange shirt for the occasion, while Melinda and Fernando showed the Spanish colors.

We rode to Santa Fe via Bandelier National Forest, an impressive canyon landscape with volcanic calderas and extensive forests of Ponderosa pine.
After breakfast in a small pueblo, Jemez Springs, we passed Los Alamos, the complex were Robert Oppenheimer produced the atomic bombs that ended the war in the Pacific.

At 5:29:45 am MWT on July 16, 1945, the world's first atomic bomb exploded 100 feet over a portion of the southern New Mexico desert known as the Jornada del Muerto - the Journey of the Dead Man. As he witnessed the nuclear explosion, the man most responsible for the bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, thought of a passage from the Bagavaad Gita: "I am become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds." The creation of the atomic bomb made Oppenheimer one of the most recognized and controversial figures in American history

In just twenty-eight months, Los Alamos produced two atomic bombs of very different designs. Their combat use against Japan did not win the war, but they did contribute significantly to ending it.

The Pojoaque sports bar is part of a casino but few patrons left the gambling to watch the game.
It was a tense affair and the outcome is known to you all. I wonder if I will live long enough to see my country win the cup!!

When we left the bar, I found a Harley parked next to my bike, that was identified as belonging to a Bandido member.

The Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate with a worldwide membership.

Its slogan is: We are the people our parents warned us about. It is estimated to have 2,400 members in 210 chapters, located in 16 countries

The Federal Bureau of Investigation as well as the Criminal Intelligence Service Canada have named the Bandidos an Outlaw Motorcycle Gang.

Here are my friends next to that motorcycle, but I don't think they would qualify for membership!

At home , I packed my bags after discarding all excess baggage and I am ready to go.

I still received a cheque and a promise from friends to contribute to the ride and will contact the Guatemala Tomorrow Fund to learn the final amount collected.

I will keep this blog going for some time with additional impressions and information of the ride.
I hope you will continue to read and enjoy it.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Wednesday, July 8 ALBUQUERQUE

2010-07-09T13:44:00.016-05:00

ALBUQUERQUE, THE END OF THE RIDE....

Flagstaff is a nice looking place, nestled between pine forests with lots of golf courses and mountain architecture. Definitely a place to spend a summer playing golf or tennis, biking and exploring Arizona. It is 40 miles North of Sedona, another well known retirement community.

I got back on to the I-40 east and rode towards New Mexico. This freeway is one of the busiest in the nation , and the speed limit is 75 mph which is strictly enforced by highway patrols.

Driving here needs concentration.

Just before reaching the state line, I visited the last national park of the trip: Painted Desert and the Petrified Forest.

PETRIFIED FOREST

The Petrified Forest National Park is located in Arizona in the USA. Long ago the region was covered by a dense forest and mighty rivers cut across the terrain. Water caused by heavy flooding forced dead trees to float to a low lying swampland. In the deep quagmire of the swamp and having, in effect, been hermetically sealed, the trees were subsequently covered by layers of sediment.

Mud, sand and volcanic ash settled above the trees that gradually absorbed minerals from the surrounding moisture. Thus, hundreds of fossilized trunks developed that today are scattered across the prairie.

The landscape looks very much like the badlands in South Dakota with gorgeous bluish colors. and everywhere there are the remnants of petrifies logs that were concentrated here many millions of years ago.
Sadly, a ranger told me that the site has been and is being looted by the tourists, they lose 12 tons of rock PER MONTH!!

I spent some hours in the park, because the actual site of the petrified logs is 2 miles south of the freeway. It was a good way to come to grips with the end of the ride.

Coming into New Mexico, I stopped at the El Rancho hotel, whose owner Armand I had met on the road and where we visited a year ago with Carolina, Fernando and Melinda before starting my ride around America.

The, at 5 pm I came over a hilltop and saw the first sight of Albuquerque, 25 miles away.

Soon I was riding into town, towards Fernando's house.

I stopped at their gate and took the last pictures of the ride:

My tachometer stood at 22,134 miles. I had ridden 7,000 miles or 11,300 kilometers for Ak Tenamit, approximately the same distance as riding from Albuquerque to the tip of South America.

When I bought the bike last year and started my ride around the United States via Florida and the East Coast, the tachometer showed 9,500 miles, so my ride has taken a total of 12,634 miles or 20,332 kilomters.

According to Google maps, this distance is just over half of the circumference of the earth. It equals the distance from Albuquerque to Germany, on to Moscow, then Bejing, on to Tokyo, and then to the volcano Agrihan in the Mariana Islands.

I could not have imagined this distance before the ride.

I had ridden in temperatures that ranged from 110 F (43 Celsius) to 38 F (3 Celsius).

I had traversed snow covered mountain passes at 10,000 feet (3,000 metres), the bottom of Death Valley at 191 feet (58) metres) below sea level. I had been drenched by rain and blasted by 60 mph (96 km per hour) winds.

I had ridden between 300 and 500 miles (800 km) per day, starting at 7 or 8 am and sometimes earlier and finishing usually at 5 or 6 pm, but sometimes riding into the night.

Only once I was in danger of going down, on a patch of gravel in Idaho. Apart from that, I have only encountered good roads and disciplined traffic.

I had met many good and helpful people on the road. There was never a problem finding a hotel room or a home where I was welcome.

And above all, I have seen the the vastness and beauty of a great country, the United States of America.

Melinda had a room ready and I unpacked for the last time, getting all my stuff out of the bike.

It had served me well since I bought it here in Albuquerque a year ago to start riding around the United States.

After having settled in we drove downtown Albuquerque (in Fernando's car!!) to the same micro brewery as last year and met Lorenzo and friends. The welcome was heart warming! There was much to tell and ask.

And the beer was great! I has a Marble Red , an IPA and , since I did not need to ride anymore, I topped off with Double White Ale.

It had been a great end of my ride!

Thank you all who have supported the ride, who have taken me into their homes and company, everyone I have met on the road and who have contributed to the experience. I am left with wonderful memories and new friends.

I will not forget you!

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Tuesday, July 7 the Grand Canyon

2010-07-09T08:23:00.023-05:00

I got up before dawn to pack and get underway before the rush hour of Las Vegas and the heat would start. My first destination would be Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam and from there to Kingman, Arizona.

Attracting more than a million visitors a year, Hoover Dam is located in Black Canyon, just minutes outside of Las Vegas.

In 1930, construction began on the Hoover Dam, the largest of its kind at the time. Despite the remote location and harsh working conditions, it was completed in less than five years -- two years ahead of schedule -- and well under budget.

The dam is named after America's 31st president, Herbert Hoover, who played a large role in bringing the nearby states into agreement about water allocations, settling a 25-year controversy. The dam has been called Boulder Canyon Dam as well as Boulder Dam.

At present a large bridge is being constructed to divert the road above the dam. the road now still leads over the dam, from which one can take pictures but cannot really see the dam in its entirety.

From there I reached Kingman, where I entered the historic Route 66.

U.S. Route 66 (also known as the Will Rogers Highway after the humorist, and colloquially known as the "Main Street of America" or the "Mother Road") was a highway in the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926. The famous highway originally ran from Chicago, Illinois, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, before ending at Los Angeles, encompassing a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km).

It was recognized in popular culture by both a hit song (written by Bobby Troup and performed by Depeche Mode, the Nat King Cole Trio and The Rolling Stones, among others) and the Route 66 television show in the 1960s.

One of the famous photo ops is at the general Store in Hackberry. A 1952 Corvette is sitting outside the store.

A nearby restaurant serves local food as clearly evidenced by its name!! Bon appetit!

At Williams I turned North to reach the Grand Canyon. My lunch consisted of a Greek salad, a turkey sandwich and a Steel Reserve High Gravity beer at the local airport of the Canyon Airlines.

At the visitor center of the Grand Canyon I watched an Imax movie about the canyon. This is recommendable because it shows views of the inside of the canyon and the river which are barely visible from the rim.

A group of female riders from Norway were going down route 66 and we took pictures to send by email.

Ride safely, Anna and friends!

And then I was back at the canyon, the first time after decades. It is majestic, enormous and beautiful. Pictures cannot do it justice.

I stayed all afternoon and rode to Flagstaff in the evening. The total trip for the day was 475 miles so I decided I had deserved a glass of local amber beer of the Flagstaff Brewing Company.

I was a little sad because tomorrow would be the last day of my ride.

But all good things must come to an end.

Sunday 5 and Monday 6 July Las Vegas

2010-07-08T17:07:00.010-05:00

LAS VEGAS.....

Business had not been so good on the July 4 weekend, it was only expected to bring $128 million !!

Maybe the Topless vampires went on strike or the "little people" (quote from the BP chairman) ran out of money..

Or maybe the Sin City brewery ran out of beer..

I was lucky because I had a Sin City Amber and a Hefe Weizen at the Mandalay Bay bar.

The new Hotel Casinos are quite impressive. I walked through the Encore Wynn Hotel and stood amazed at the luxury, thousands of metres of precious rugs inlaid into marble floors, exquisite furniture and art, a very tasteful decoration and many cozy corners to sit and poner your losses in the casino.

Treasure Island offers a street performance in which two life size pirate ships do battle over the heads of the spectators, complete with gunfire and a music performance. The Fashion shopping mall next door is home to the best designer stores and restaurants.

At the Sahara and other casinos, roller coasters run right through the building. The shows are booked solid, no way to get tickets for the Cirque Du Soleil, David Copperfield is still there and other shows cater to nostalgia like the Rat Pack.

And Elvis lives.....!

Temperatures were around 110 F at noon and several sidewalks are sprayed with cold mist to cool the strollers. Nobody has ever heard about an energy crisis, nor global warming, nor water shortage...the show must go on.

If you would like to see Paris or Venice..., come to Vegas. Here you can get closer to the Eiffel Tower and you don't need to learn French!

I was surprised to see so many college age customers and so many middle aged women gamblers.

At night Vegas remains lighted up like a christmas tree and you can walk from your room to gamble a little at any hour of the night and find plenty of company.

The fireworks on July 4 were impressive, as expected.

It was fun to be there a few days but I look forward to leave Sin City in the morning. Despite so many people it is difficult to talk to someone. Everybody is too busy living his own personal phantasy to bother about others. The only communication is with the gambling machines.

Maybe Vegas is a window into our future???

Thursday, Juli 1 to Monterey

2010-07-05T02:37:00.012-05:00

IF YOU GO...TO SAN FRANCISCO.....

After another ride through the wine country of the Sonoma valley, I was nearing San Francisco. There had been no chance to visit wineries because they open only at 11 am, and I was riding fast to pass SF and go South to Monterey before I would hit afternoon the rush hour of this big city.

I stopped for a moment at Sausalito, which offers the first view of the city across the bay and where my wife and I visited on out honeymoon.

I could not stop on the North side of the bridge to take pictures so I took one riding across.

On the other side, there is Golden Gate Park, not easy to find and I got a photo of the bridge.

Some Chinese youngsters from Hong Kong wanted me on their picture (it reminded me of Japan, where we were always photographed by Japanese tourist coming to Toko from their villages.)

After lunch o Fisherman's Wharf I braved the city traffic. The GPS led me across the Oakland Bay Bridge which is enormously large and puts you on the highway South to San Jose.

I cannot describe the traffic. Of course, the rush hour started much earlier than I thought.

It was 100 miles of 4 lane traffic going one way and another 4 lanes going up, equally congested. And the pace was fast and aggresive.

I cannot imagine people having to do this every day to go to work, amazing!

But I liked the helmet this girl biker was wearing!

After 2 hours I got out of the traffic on to the 12 towards Monterey and Carmel.

Here traffic was much lighter and the temperature dropped again into the low 60s. I was riding in shirtsleeves but what the heck, it was only 50 miles more.

Finally I reached Monterey, found a very good Best Western and had a beer on the local dock and a nice dinner at the Sardine Factory.

Monterey is well organized. Police are very active and pull suspected drunk or speeding drivers off the road immediately. Maybe it is the influence of Clint Eastwood, who is the mayor of Carmel, just South of there.

Saturday, July 3 to Las Vegas

2010-07-05T01:46:00.024-05:00

So I had decided to cross Yosemite to the East and ride to Death Valley and Las Vegas.

The way into and out of Yosemite leads through spectacular canyons with views of the rivers and snow covered mounains.

The park is very popular , especially on the weekend of Fourth of July, so I left early and got through without a problem.

I enjoyed a hike on the mountains covered in snow and the brisk, cold mountain air.

Nothing is healthier than that.

Not just a great Valley...

but a shrine to human foresight, strength of granite, power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.

Yosemite National Park, one of the first wilderness parks in the United States, is best known for its waterfalls, but within its nearly 1,200 square miles, you can find deep valleys, grand meadows, ancient giant sequoias, a vast wilderness area, and much more.

I rode out by way of the Tioga Pass at an elevation of 9 ,900 feet or twice as high as Guatemala City.

From there it was all the way down to Death Valley, the lowest point of which lies beneath sea level.

I had been warned not to go through Death Valley in summer, but it is no problem.

I checked my bike, let off some air from the tires and bought a gallon of water to drink.

The heat is intense, it is like riding hrough a furnace, the hot air blasting at one from all sides. On a motorcycle one dehydrates quickly, so I put on a long sleeve shirt, double pants and that kept the heat reasonably tolerable.

To keep te engine from overheating, I kept the speed up to 50 mph, below that the heat became too much.

The landscape is amazing, nothing can live there, except specialized small animals. The bottom of the valley resembles hell, it gets to over 120 F at noon. I had reached it at 6 pm and still the heat was 110 F.

The hottest air temperature ever recorded in Death Valley (Furnace Creek) was 134 °F (57 °C) on July 10, 1913, at Furnace Creek.

During the heat wave that peaked with that record, five consecutive days reached 129 °F (54 °C) or above. The greatest number of consecutive days with a maximum temperature of 100 °F (38 °C)°F or above was 154 days in the summer of 2001. The summer of 1996 had 40 days over 120 °F (49 °C), and 105 days over 110 °F (43 °C).

The name Death Valley was given by the prospectors in the Calfornia Gold Rush.

It is obvious that without adequate preparation one could not survive here for very long.

It was an interesting experience to have crossed this tremendous desert and at 9.30 pm I was nearing Las Vegas, a sea of light on the distant horizon.

Tired after a ride of 500 miles and having crossed two parks, I checked into the Sahara Hotel and Casino, and had a Bass Ale.

NO BEER EVER TASTED SO GOOD!!

Friday, July 2 to Mariposa and Yosemite

2010-07-05T01:46:00.011-05:00

In the morning, it was much warmer than last night, but still it is very cool.
I heard from a local man that this is because the hot, dry interor of California sucks away the air from the coast which is then replaced by cool ocean air.
Because of this, the coast is always cool and often foggy.
This phenomenon is somewhat similar to the weather in Lima, Peru, which is cooled by the Humboldt stream.
I visited Cannery Row, made famous by the novel of John Steinbeck, of the same name.

Cannery Row is an English language novel by American author John Steinbeck. It was published in 1945.
Cannery Row takes place on a small fictional street lined with sardine fisheries in Monterey known as Cannery Row (Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, the thinly disguised location, was later re-named "Cannery Row" in honor of the book).

It revolves around the people living there during the Great Depression: Lee Chong, the local grocer; Doc, a marine biologist based on Steinbeck's friend Ed Ricketts; and Mack, the leader of a group of bums. The gritty novel is by turns comical, sad and nostalgic.

And then I rode away rom the coast into the wide open spaces of California. I was happy, because I had not enjoyed the bustle of traffic of the previous day.

In fact, I decided to stay in the National Parks somewhat longer instead of going to Los Angeles immediately.

area.

I had lunch on the shore of the San Luis basin, a great reservoir that provides water to the area.

The road was good, the weather fine and we ticked the miles off. In the afternoon I reached Merced, a small town on the road to Yosemite Park. I tried to find a computer store, but was advised that the next opportunity to find a computer would be Las Vegas, Nevada.

So I thought, why not go there and on the way, see Death Valley.

I reached Mariposa, 50 miles from the park and decided to go and have a beer in Yosemite. Only, the ride took 3 hours, there and back, but I got my beer, a Mammoth Double Nut Brown. This was the fist time I rode 120 mles, just for a beer.

I returned in the dark, riding fast but with an eye out for deer which appear at dusk.

I saw one standing by the road in the shadow and I knew it was going to jump...It did..but fortunately away from the road.

Several people had told me the enormous damage a collision with a deer can cause to a car. And on a motorcycle it means a stay in the hospital.

I returned to Mariosa safely and got a good night's sleep.

Wednesday, June 30 to Fort Bragg

2010-07-05T01:45:00.013-05:00

The ride South along the Oregon coast took me through more and more groves of redwood trees.
It was difficult to ride with my full face helmet because the play of shadows and patches of sunlight coming through the trees was blinding me.
I changed to the red helmet which has a sun visor and hat worked well.

This time my lunch on the beach was accompanied by an excellent bottle of Pinot Noir, Erath 2008.

However, it made me a little sleepy, so I found a nice spot in a redwood grove and took a nap.

It was spectacular to lie down in the forest and look up at the majestic trees. One could easily imagine how the Indians stalked silently through the woods in search for food.

The silence is complete, only broken by the buzzing of an occasional insect.

At Crescent City I stopped a the Visitor Center and go maps of California and the Redwood National Parks.

The 101 veered away from the coast and the ride became slow and very curvy.

I decided to cut back to the coast at Leggett and ride through a famous tree there. I never found it, but a lady on the same road showed me the pictures she took.

The road back to the coast was etremely diffiult and it was getting dark. I could not go faster than 15 to 25 miles and reached the coast just before sunset.

Crossing into California I stated seeing the famous wine estates in the Mendocino valley. The tasting rooms were closed when I passed, so maybe tomorow I will have more luck.

After taking these pictures the sun set and the temperture dropped steeply into the 50.

I was time to find a hotel, which I did at Fort Bragg.

I had dinner at a local restaurant, but the beef Stroganoff was not very good. The hotel was very expensive but disappointing too, there was not even a room for breakfast.

So now I am in California, land of 5$ gas and million dollar egos!Let's see what happens!

Tuesday, June 29 to Bandon

2010-07-05T01:43:00.017-05:00

From McMinnville the road to the coast was very nice. I had gotten an early start and the sun was behind me.
When I started seeing very tall trees I did not yet ealize I was entering the area of the Pacific redwoods. They were impessive because of their size, growing straight up to almost 100 ft.

At Lincoln City, I finally reached the Pacific Ocean. It was a moment to remember, I had come all the way to the end of the ride across America. No further to go! From now on, I would go South along the coast.

I got on to the coastal road 101 which I would be following through Oregon all the way to California. It is a great road, winding along the coast, going up and down over the rugged coastal landscape and presenting continuous spectacular views of the Pacific.
Many pople travel this road by bicycle, motorbike, ar and even on foot, from the Canadian border to San Diego. I spoke with several travelers who were doing just that on bicycles and it was quite a challenge!

At Newport in Yaquina Bay, there is a plaque commemorating the first landfall of Captain Cook. There is also a historic lighthouse at this place.

In 1778, when the United States was declaring its independence, no visitors had recorded contact with what is now the central Oregon coast. Captain James Cook passed by the southern coast, naming Cape Perpetua, and then landed at Yaquina Bay.

He continued north, naming Cape Foulweather, reflecting the rough weather he encountered. Through the mid-1800s trappers ventured south from the Hudson Bay Company, headquartered at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River.

The history of the central coast was changed forever in 1855 when the United States established a 1.3 million-acre Reservation. More than 4,000 people from 20 different tribes were resettled on this Reservation. Though the government deemed the area unfit for farming and inaccessible, there were other resources.

In 1861, two events again changed the course of history. A sea captain was shown beds of rare, delicate oysters in Yaquina Bay. Companies from San Francisco came to harvest the oysters, creating conflicts with payment to Reservation Indians and depleting the supply within a few years.

I continued down the coast until I reachd the town of Bandon. The ride was slow, because of the winding road and the fequent stops I made to take pictures.
At Bandon, I decided to try the famous crab cakes made of Dungeness crabs at the Sportmen's Cannery in the little harbor. They were delicious!

It was very cold, low 60s and it was getting late. So I decided to stay in Bandon and found a small hotel overlooking the harbor. But first I walked along the old fishing boats, smelling the salt air and the typical tar smell of old boats.

When I turned my computer on, it did not boot. I tried everything I could but nothing worked. A lady gave me directions of a computer repair shop, which I will try tomorrow.

THE NEW COMPUTER WORKS DIFFERENTLY THAN MY OLD ONE. I AM UNABLE TO REARRANGE THE PICTURES ACCORDING TO THE TEXT, SO FOR THE TIME BEING I WILL HAVE TO POST IN THIS ORDER.

SORRY FOR THAT

The blog continues....

2010-07-04T18:04:00.002-05:00

Hi all!

There was no way my computer could be fixed, I had to buy a new one. I still hope to be able to get my data out, but that will have to wait until I am home again.

I am in Las Vegas now, a change of plan from the original destination. I have added another 1,000 miles to the trip and will continue through Nevada, Arizona and finish the ride in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

I will start preparing the missing blog pages now and post them in their correct order.

I hope you will continue to enjoy my blog.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

More computer trouble

2010-07-02T12:23:00.008-05:00

Hi everybody,

This is a quick message to all to tell you I am well but that I have not been able to blog as usual. My computer hung up and I am unable to use it. Also I cannot upload pictures nor do anything else. The problem cannot be fixed here, so I am considering buying another computer to continue the blog.
In any case, the ride is going well. after Seattle I rode down the Oregon coast, which is rugged and beautiful, passed through many redwood groves, the wine country of California, San Francisco , the Golden gate and Fisherman's wharf. I am now in Monterey getting ready to ride East to Yosemite and then on down to Los Angeles.
I hope to be able to blog again soon.
See you soon!

Jean

Monday, June 28 to the wine country of Oregon

2010-06-29T00:41:00.034-05:00

Jeff and Rosario waved goodbye when I pulled out of their parking on lakeside Avenue. I took a last look at the nice neighborhood and the lake and rode up the hill towards I-5.

The GPS had reset itself and I rode out of Seattle without a problem. The streets and the freeway were very busy, and I had to get accustomed again to a big city after the towns of the Rocky Mountains. I had not seen such traffic since Chicago.

Jeff had recommended to stop at Portland and we had discussed making a detour to Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Rainier. I chose St. Helens because I wanted to know more about the eruption of 1980, which I had seen on TV.

I got off at Castle Rock and followed the signs to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, 46 miles from the freeway.

At 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Shaken by an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale, the north face of this tall symmetrical mountain collapsed in a massive rock debris avalanche. Nearly 230 square miles of forest was blown down or buried beneath volcanic deposits. At the same time a mushroom-shaped column of ash rose thousands of feet skyward and drifted downwind, turning day into night as dark, gray ash fell over eastern Washington and beyond. The eruption lasted 9 hours, but Mount St. Helens and the surrounding landscape were dramatically changed within moments.

The observatory offers a great view of the mountains, a documentary about the eruption with a computer generated movie of the eruption itself, and exhibits of massive trees that were broken like matchsticks, 14 miles from the eruption.

The most interesting (for me ) exhibit shows identical deposits from the landslide in Mount St. Helens and from a site in Guatemala near Antigua, indicating that both deposits were created by the same geological event. That must have been a big one!

A ranger explained the process of the eruption in detail and showed pictures of the volcano before its collapse.

It is also clear that these events will continue, because Mt. St. Helens has already self destructed and rebuilt itself seven times.

I reached Portland by 6pm and went straight to the residential area on top of a hill which houses the experimental Rose Garden. Here new varieties are tested and developed. The park was full of flower fans, many of them Asians. The variety of roses is staggering and some are very beautiful.

In the rose garden, I found a small bronze plaque, with the following inscription:

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams,

Live the life you have imagined!

Henry David Thoreau

I have always admired Henry David Thoreau who spent two years in a log cabin at Walden Pond, Mass. from July 1845 to September 1847. His experience at Walden provided the material for the book Walden, which is credited with helping to inspire awareness and respect for the natural environment.

Walden is a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, unencumbered by the demands of modern civilization.

At 7 pm I got underway to the wine country and by 8 pm I was having dinner in the Dundee Bistro, pappardelle with mushrooms, accompanied by a half bottle of 2007 Panther creek, a tasty Pinot Noir, produced by Panther Creek Cellars in McMinnville. It is medium heavy with a nice aroma and goes well with pasta. The desert, a lavender creme brulee, was also very good.

For now, I have stopped the beer tasting and will try the wines of Oregon and California.

I am staying the night in McMinnville and tomorrow I will reach the Pacific coast at Lincoln City. From there I will follow the 101 coastal road all the way to California.

By now I have logged almost 5,000 miles, considerably more than the original plan of 3,500. I believe the total ride will reach 6,000 miles.

The target of the ride is to raise $10.00 for each mile of the ride.

I you decide to support this ride, you may:

1. Buy miles: Buy one or more miles at $10.00 per mile. There are 3,500 miles to be sold.
2. Sponsor a local event when I am in your area (a ride, a barbecue) for a $200.00 minimum.
3. Become a Student Sponsor at Ak´Tenamit for $30.00 (one month) or $360.00 per year
4. Become a Health Care Partner for $10.00 or $120.00 per year.

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Sunday, June 27 a day in Seattle

2010-06-29T00:41:00.033-05:00

Jeff and Rosario were doing a remodel of one of their apartments and had been camping amidst all the furniture they had taken out of it.

A neighbor, Sheri, had graciously offered another apartment on the ground floor for me to stay.

The sun coming in the window woke me up early and I took advantage of this to write a few chapters of the blog, that had been delayed since West Yellowstone.

Rosario had prepared some very, very strong coffee, presumably to make sure everybody was wide awake and ready to go sightseeing.

We were planning to drive around the city and take some pictures, but today happened to be the annual gay parade, a hilarious affair with thousands of participants and spectators.

Even the trees were decorated!

The center was completely blocked, and we lost quite some time before we reached Jeff’s Golf Club, where another event was taking place, with golfers dressing up like in the 20s.

We managed to visit an Apple store and admired the Ipad. Definitely useful in Guatemala to download books that otherwise cannot be acquired.

Sheri was waiting for us in the club and we sat down to a light lunch in the lounge. We had a great time talking about the different countries we had visited and the ride.

I was impressed by the club which was built in the 20s. It has a beautiful design and is very well kept. Contrary to Guatemala, many golfers walk the course and caddies are seldom used.

After lunch we returned home and I wrote some more in the blog.

Jeff had made reservations at Nishino, an upscale but casual sushi place in town.

We shared a number of different plates, kaiseki style, one more delicious than the other and had a great time. The food was just as fresh as in Japan and we remembered the good times we had in that country.

Thanks to my friends, my stay in Seattle was wonderful. The view over the lake from their building is exquisite and the neighborhood very beautiful.

Thank you, Rosario, Sheri and Jeff, you made the day very special!

Saturday, June 26, I MADE IT TO SEATTLE,

2010-06-28T02:18:00.016-05:00

Tom had marked my map of Washington state with a scenic route. I was to leave Spokane and head to the Coulee Dam and from there go over the North Cascade mountain range, which is a national park, and then head South on to the I-5 towards Seattle.

The ride would take around 8 hours.

We had an early breakfast. Wende still gave me a bag of fruit and snacks, I packed my bike and left in sunny weather, around 65 F.

I think the area of Spokane has a very high quality of life. The town is well planned, the river runs right through it, there are many parks and nice residential areas. The humidity is low and and there is very little rainfall. In winter , there are ski areas very close, lakes are everywhere for boating enthousiasts and the hunters can bag elk, deer and even bear, like the fur that was gracing the floor in my room.

The ride to the Coulee Dam took me through rolling field where wheat and alfalfa coloured the landscape vividly green.

Then I passed a stretch of wilderness which Tom had explained as part of the Great American Desert and approached the Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in the USA.

There is a good tour about all the technical aspects of the dam. What impressed me was that everything that gets trapped in the trash racks (wooden logs, garbage ) is totally pulverized by the force of the water.

It is a big dam, but its volume is one sixth of the volume of the Three Gorges in China, a monster dam we visited a few years ago.

I met a family that I had also sen in the Yellowstone park. They were also on their way west.

When i got ready to leave, my GPS hung up. There was no way to get it working again. I spent half an hour on this, but it was no use.

So I rode on without GPS and promptly lost my way. Deep in the Colville reservation I realized my mistake and returned. It was very difficult to find my way on the map because I confused the Columbia river with the Banks lake.

I was started worrying about the duration of the ride, because it was close to noon and someone told me that trip would take another 7 hours.

The best thing would be to shorten the ride and take the southern route, along the Columbia river to Wenatchee, and then take the 97 over the Blewitt Pass to reach the I-90 to Seattle.

But how to find my way in Seattle without GPS?

In Bridgeport I went to the municipal library to see if I could download and reinstall the GPS software, but no luck. The TomTom remained static. So I got on Google Maps and printed out the directions to Jeff and Rosario’s house. It really seemed quite straightforward, so I rode on.

In Orondo, I had a salad in a Subway stop, together with Mexican farm workers who were picking cherries. I enjoyed speaking Spanish with them.

It was a nice ride West , but the temperature soon reached the 90 F and the sun bothered me. So off came the full face helmet and on went the other with the newly repaired visor. It worked like a charm, I could see very well. I wish had done this before.

The road along the Columbia river offers great views of the river and the valleys. There is important agriculture along the river, mainly fruit trees, cherry and berry farms, as well as large trout packing plants.

As I neared the Wenatchee mountains, I began to realize I would soon reach Seattle and with that have completed the Trans America ride. I felt really good about it.

After riding in the Rocky Mountains so long, I was now nearing the last mountain pass I had to traverse to reach the Pacific. I would had crossed America from coast to coast!

And there it was, the Blewitt Pass, 4100 ft. I stopped and took pictures of myself and the bike. It would have been better with champagne, but I did not even have a beer on me.

Then it was all downhill towards the I-90.

The weather became cooler as I neared Seattle and finally I was on Lake Sammamish and into Seattle.

I got off at Exit 3-B, as indicated on the map, and worked my way Northeast. suddenly I was on Lk Washington Blvd and I knew i was close. I called Jeff who directed me to turn around and after 500 yards I saw him waving.

We parked the bike and greeted Rosario. It was so good to see them again!

Before I knew it, Jeff had the beers out, this time beers from Asia, to commemorate our time in Japan!

I had a Singha and then a Thai beer, Chang which I did not know until then. Excellent, because the hot ride had made me very thirsty.

They had prepared a dinner table in the garden outside their condo, which has direct access to the lake and its own dock. A gorgeous setting indeed, and the setting sun gave a very special ambiance. We took my picture in front of Mount Rainier to prove that I was there and ate an excellent wild Alaskan salmon. We chatted about the ride, Guatemala, Japan and our families. It felt so good to be with friends again.

I had completed the TRANS AMERICA RIDE !

I had ridden 22 days and logged 4564 miles from Washington, DC to Seattle, Washington.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Friday, June 25 Spokane

2010-06-28T00:50:00.020-05:00

After breakfast Wende took me into town to get a new battery for my watch. Tom had some other engagements, and Wende offered to show me around Spokane ( I still had difficulty pronouncing it right.) and then accompany me to the Spokane Athletic Club, where we were to attend a Rotary meeting.

Spokane is a pleasant town with lots of green, shady residential streets and good architecture. I was impressed by the Davenport Hotel, a classic that recently restored to its old splendour. The interior decoration is ornate with Italian, Moorish and Asian influences.

"Louis" Davenport came to Spokane Falls, Washington Territory, in the Spring of 1889 at the age of 20. He opened a restaurant and later the Davenport Hotel.

The Davenport Hotel has been world famous since it opened in September of 1914. It was the first hotel with air conditioning, a central vacuum system, and housekeeping carts In these halls, you can walk in the shadows of great men and women including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Mary Pickford, and Clark Gable. Authors Zane Grey and Dashiell Hammet wrote scenes in their works set at this most famous hotel in the West.

Here is a picture of Herbert Hoover at the Davenport Hotel.

The Davenport Hotel was closed in 1985 and demolition was considered.

"Hope for the Davenport" was reported in March of 2000 when local entrepreneurs Walt & Karen Worthy purchased the entire city block for $6.5 million, then spent the next two years of their lives--and $38 million of their own money--to make The Davenport Hotel grand again. The hotel's public spaces and ballrooms were restored to what they would have looked like when they were new.

We toured several pleasant parks and residential areas of Spokane and also saw the Japanese Garden, a gift from the sister city of Nishinomiya in Japan, located between Osaka and Kobe.

Wende took me to an AAA office and I took out a membership that gives me roadside assistance and all information I need for my trips. Nicole will get a card also, when she is in LA, so we don’t need to worry about her breaking down and not getting help.

After lunch at the Davenport (excellent seared tuna, I had two!) we returned home.
Tom had made reservations at the restaurant in Coeur d’Alene and I was glad to be able to see something of the city and the lake I had passed on the way in.

There was an Ironman thriatlon going on and parts of the town were closed off.
Our reservation was at the Cedars floating restaurant, like Tom knew I love to be on the water! True to form, both of us engaged in the beer tasting, porter, pale ale, amber, lager and IPA. Although one pale ale was called DRIFTER, as my boat, I chose a Fishtail Amber which went very well with the halibut I had ordered.

Suddenly a wooden boat appeared on the lake in front of us, and for a moment I thought I saw a sister ship to my boat Cohiba. From the side, they looked very similar, check it out!

After returning home Tom showed me his workshop, a true engineer’s dream with every imaginable tool right there. He fixed the visor of my helmet, so I can ride without getting the sun in my eyes.

The day was over before I knew it and I had another good nights sleep.

Thank you , Wende and Tom, for taking me into your home. You must come and visit us in Guatemala!

Thursday, June 24 to Spokane, Washington

2010-06-27T23:26:00.012-05:00

Riding… riding..

I knew I had to ride around 500 miles to reach Spokane, where I was invited to stay by Wende and Tom. I was told the ride would be 11 hours because the road follows the winding Salmon river north towards Missoula.

So I started out at 7 am, again in very cold weather and in full gear.

There was hardly any traffic so I could ride relatively fast, enjoying the landscape and the road curving continuously and going up and downhill.

The Salmon river runs through a relatively narrow and steep canyon. The rugged rock formations have a dark reddish brown, vegetation is sparse and in some places the steep sides are full of loose rock and scree that could come down on you at any moment.

It is an impressive and very masculine landscape.

It is also known as The River of No Return, apparently because in the early days many explorers did not return from their trip.

It flows for 425 miles through central Idaho, and is the dividing line for the two time zones in Idaho: Mountain time to the south, Pacific time to the north, bisecting the state at approximately 45.5 degrees north latitude. In August 1805, just after crossing the continental divide, Lewis and Clark ventured down the Salmon River, but found it to be too rough to be navigable. Clark wrote:”.I shall in justice to Capt. Lewis who was the first white man ever on this fork of the Columbia Call this Louis's river. Afterwards its name was changed to Salmon. The Salmon River historically produced 45% percent of all the steelhead (salmon) and 45 percent of all the spring and summer chinook salmon in the entire Columbia River Basin.

The mountain range around Stanley is known as the Sawtooth range and the pictures show why.

The ride was going well and I spent 6 hours in the saddle before stopping in the town of Salmon to buy some food. North of Salmon I rode along the Bitterroot river and ate my lunch in a scenic spot on the river bank. I got gas at Missoula and phoned Wende to let her know I was close.

Then I got on the I-90 , a very scenic freeway over the Bitterrroot Range , past Coeur d’Alene into Washington State.

I looked this strange name up in Wikipedia:

French Canadian fur traders allegedly named the local Indian tribe the Coeur d'Alene out of respect for their tough trading practices. Translated from French Cœur d'Alêne literally means "heart of the awl" which might mean "sharp-hearted" or "shrewd." Others interpret "Heart of the Awl" to translate to "Eye of the Needle", perhaps referring to the narrow passage through which the lake empties into the Spokane River on its way to the Columbia.

After 10 hours and 480 miles of riding hard, I finally arrived at Wende’s house, located on a hilltop outside Spokane and was greeted by Wende, Tom and Lucky, their dog. Tom was well prepared and whipped out several bottles of specialty beers.

I chose a Widmer Hefe Weizen and then a Mirror Pond Pale Ale while Tom had a Porter. We sat out on the porch and enjoyed a great view from their home over the mountains, drinking beer and eating Gouda cheese. Tom and I quickly discovered a number of common interests, both having visited the historical museum in Cody and owning Winchester rifles.

It was a very pleasant conclusion of a long ride and after a delicious dinner I slept like a baby in their guest quarters.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Wednesday June 23 Ketchum and Stanley

2010-06-27T10:56:00.020-05:00

The hotel was full of early risers, so by 6 am showers were going on and off. The internet worked for a short while and I managed to post a message to inform that I was still alive and well before it crashed again. I was fed up, made myself a coffee and started riding in 38 F.

Riding in that temperature early morning gets very cold.

Here is what I did:

First, I put on long pants under my riding pants. That gives an additionalair layer to insulate the cold. It is even better to use leggings to seal the gap between the boots and pants leg, but I did not have them. The boots are heavy buffalo leather, waterproof and insulated to avoid your feet getting wet or cold. I grease them with mink oil.

The gloves are waterproof synthetic, which insulates better than leather and overlap the cuffs of the jackets, to make a good seal.

Under the helmet I wear a fleece balaclava pulled down over the collar of my sweater and sealed by the collar of the jacket. My hands stay warm on the heated grip and my legs are warmed by the hot air vents of the bike’s engine. In this outfit, I can ride in really cold weather when needed.

It worked very well when I rode over the Teton Pass into Idaho. The three Tetons stood out against a blue sky and I finally learned the history of this peculiar name.

This is not in the brochures, but I found it on in a Visitors Center in Idaho.

Originally, the three mountains were called the Pilot Mountains, but in the time this part of the US still belonged to France, French fur trappers, probably starved for female company, began to see the landscape in a peculiar way and named the mountains “ les Trois Tetons” which of course translates as “ the three (huge) breasts”. I wonder if the guy who adopted the name into English knew he was doing!

The landscape in Idaho was unlike I had expected. I had always thought that Idaho was flat (it is not!) and only grows potatoes (it does but only in a small part of the country, on rich volcanic soil, which is why those potatoes are so good).

Actually the landscape is very diverse. At noon I was riding through a sagebrush landscape in 100 F. I rode to the Craters of the Moon, which is a volcanic landscape of solidified lava (basalt) stretching from Oregon half way across Idaho. It looks very similar to the lava fields in Guatemala, only much bigger.

My plan was to reach Missoula but a ranger in Idaho Falls told me that Ketchum, the place where Hemingway died and lies buried, was not very far.

Being a Hemingway fan, I could not resist and rode the 150 miles to Ketchum. I am glad I did so, because contrary to what I had expected, I found a classy Western mountain resort town, not unlike nice ski resorts in Europe.

Golf courses, ski slopes and beautiful homes are all over!

At the community library I was given a detailed explanation of Hemingway’s life in Ketchum by Sandra, the librarian. The library is a treasure trove of books on Hemingway and even shows a typewriter which may have belonged to Ernest or his wife. And whatever additional question I might have in future, Sandra offered to help me find the answers.

Thank you, Sandra, I really appreciated it!

Unfortunately the Hemingway home is not open for visits, but at least I could visit his gravesite in the Ketchum cemetery.

Sun Valley and Hemingway

Sun Valley was the piece of American landscape that Ernest Hemingway "Papa" loved best of all. It was Hemingway's refuge, where he wrote in the morning and hunted and fished in the afternoons.

The name "Sun Valley" was thought up by a New York PR man who thought the name appropriate for a place that receives 250 days of sunshine a year. This marked the first time a PR agency was guilty of understatement.

Ernest Hemingway's first trip to the Sun Valley area was in 1939. He was one of the many celebrities invited to the new Sun Valley Resort in hopes that fame and publicity would lure tourists. Ernest was given suite #206, where he also stayed on many of his return visits to the area. In this suite he worked on "For Whom the Bells Tolls.” He made many trips to Idaho before establishing residence in the Wood River Valley with his fourth wife Mary Welsh Hemingway in 1958.

During his years in Idaho he also worked on such novels as "The Dangerous Summer", "A Moveable Feast", "Islands in the Stream" and "The Garden of Eden". He also wrote a short story based on a hunting trip in Sun Valley called "The Shot". In the evenings Hemingway could be found socializing with friends at one of his favorite French restaurants, the Christiania, where he often requested a small table on the southwest side of the dining room. He also spent time at businesses still in operation today such as The Casino, a local tavern; and at star-studded parties that once took place at Trail Creek Cabin, now owned by The Sun Valley Resort Company. His family at one time claimed the MacDonald Cabins (now called the Ketchum Korral) as a local residence.

Decades after Papa Hemingway’s hunting days on Silver Creek (in Picabo, 25 miles south of Sun Valley/Ketchum), his son Jack successfully fought to protect and preserve this natural wildlife refuge. Jack arranged to have the original 479 acres and two miles of stream that make up the pristine reservation sold to the non-profit land-conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy. Today, the Silver Creek Preserve now stands at 8,700 acres and 25 miles of stream, including conservation easements from surrounding neighbors. In addition to the preserve, since 1981 the Nature Conservancy has managed Hemingway’s home in Ketchum. In accordance to Mary Hemingway’s last wishes, the home was willed to the Nature Conservancy and is not open to the public.

In 1961, Hemingway, took his own life in his Ketchum home on the 2nd day of July and is buried in the Ketchum cemetery. Today, many visitors from all over the world, come to Sun Valley to see the beautiful Wood River Valley, which inspired one of the world’s foremost writers. In the Sun Valley Lodge’s hallways pictures of the Hemingway family in Sun Valley and the last letter he wrote before he died are displayed.

In his honor, a memorial with a bronze bust of Ernest Hemingway overlooks Trail Creek for friends, family, and admirers to enjoy. The bust was sculpted by Robert Berks. The memorial was dedicated on July 21, 1966, which would have been Hemingway’s 67th birthday. The plaque reads:

Best of all he loved the fall the leaves yellow on cottonwoods leaves floating on trout streams and above the hills the high blue windless skies …Now he will be a part of them forever.

It was written by Hemingway as a eulogy for a friend, Gene Van Guilder, who was killed in a hunting accident in 1939.

Hemingway lies next to his wife Mary in a small grove of trees, a very simple headstone stating his name and dates of birth and death. I was very moved to stand at the final resting place of one of my favorite writers and heroes.

By now it was late in the afternoon and I rode fast, intending to reach Challis, a small town on the road to Missoula, Montana. But I did not make it. The highway was so beautiful, I had to stop and take pictures. It looked just like Switserland, when riding through the Ticino.

So in the end I stayed in Stanley, in the Mountain Village on the salmon river, as a colleague of Sandra had advised me.

It is a very small town, with a log cabin hotel and saloon, and quite nice. The bar was full of trout fishermen who come here to fish the Salmon river. There is also a lot of rafting on the river.

I did not like the saloon, so I had a clam chowder and a beer of the Snake River Brewery but I forgot the name!

My room was very nice, but what do you know, no internet again. This time I was sure my computer has a problem.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Tuesday June 22 the Tetons and Jackson Hole

2010-06-27T08:18:00.010-05:00

I left the westward Ho motel at 7 am in 39 F, thankful for the heated grips on my motorcycle. I could not have ridden without them. On the way into the park, I saw an eagle, the symbol of the USA, several deer and many fisherman getting their gear ready for trout fishing.

I decide to have breakfast at the Old Faithful Lodge, a magnificent affair built in 1904.

The lobby is impressive, 4 stories high with several floors of galleries looking down into the lobby area. The breakfast buffet was good and served to perfection by a young server from Asheville, North Carolina.

Since it was too cold to ride and the place was so cozy, I retired to one of the leather couches in the second floor and read my book about Chicago until the sun came out and I could continue.

I entered the Grand Teton National Park around noon and rode along the lake which gives a magnificent view of this mountain range.

Jackson Lodge is a similarme imposing building as the Old Faithful Inn. It features magnificent picture windows in the lobby to admire the distant mountains. Both lodges are in privileged locations, with direct access to the best hiking trails and the best views. I must bring my family here..

The rest of the ride was uneventful, basically a ride South along the mountain range. I picnicked on the shore of Jenny Lake and rode out of the park toward Jackson Hole, a ski resort with a nice Old West ambiance.

The entrances to the town square are framed with an intricate arbor made of real elk horn (which are shed every year by the animal).

I visited the famous Silver Dollar bar and had a local Hoback Hefe Weizen and a Pale Ale, brewed by the Snake River Brewing Company on the second floor terrace of the Town Square Tavern, which commands the best view of the square and streets around it.

From there the famous Cowboy Bar is also visible and all the Harley Davidsons parked in front.

The strangest vehicle approached, a Vespa WITH SIDECAR and driven by A WOMAN.

The audience on the terrace, most of them bikers, erupted in catcalls and laughter, inquiring in loud voices after the gender of the guy in the sidecar. I will not repeat the expressions, to avoid Google canceling this blog, but they were hilarious!

Jackson Hole was also very busy but I found a small hotel recommended by the Visitor Center. The owner had been a professional golf player who lost almost all his money in the economic crisis and was starting over as a hotel owner. He was a nice guy with a can-do attitude. Unfortunately the internet there did not work either. I began to suspect there was something wrong with my computer.

It continued to be very cold, forecast for tomorrow morning is 38 deg.

I might take the stagecoach to Idaho instead of the bike!

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Monday June 21 Yellowstone

2010-06-27T00:40:00.020-05:00

My hotel has no room available for the second night, so I got up early, and looked for another hotel room. Every hotel was booked but I found one in a small place called Westward Ho motel, quite simple but clean.

I left my luggage there and rode to the park.

Yellowstone is truly an amazing area. Actually, it is the remnant f one of the largest volcanoes on earth that collapsed onto itself and the park is mainly the caldera, the crater, which explains its volcanic origin, diversity of geology and the geyser activity.

It is very well organized, with several roads looping through the park, turnouts to admire the views, self-guided trails for hiking.

above a picture from the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, which explains the name of the river: The rocks are really yellow.

Something I liked is that anybody can use the park for boating, fishing and other outdoor sports, with a permit and within regulations. So it is not a sterile hands-off situation but a recreational recourse for everybody.

I met several fly fishermen who raved about the cutthroat trout they were going to catch. I hope they did!

The lodges are amazing. Usually they have a large lobby and restaurant building with a great view on some feature. The rooms are in seprate buildings. The archtitecture is alpine and they are built of local wood and stone. Big fireplaces and easy chairs are available for guests and visitors. Food is good and not very expensive. Of course, they are booked full half a year in advance.

There are many picnic areas and it is very pleasant to sit outside, enjoying a great view while having a snack. There is a lot of road work going on , funded by the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to put people to work in the crisis.

The rangers at the Visitors Centers are very friendly and explain every item in detail.

The Upper Falls is one of several waterfalls in the park, that can be approached. It is a real spectacle.

In the afternoon I passed the Continental Divide of the Yellowstone: All water on the east side flow into the Atlantic, while rainfall on the West side of this point ends up in the Pacific.The Divide crosses into Wyoming at Yellowstone National Park and continues south-southeast into Colorado, then western New Mexico.
I remember standing on the divide close to Gallup, New Mexico, last year.

Of course, I watched the eruption of the Old Faithful geyser, which erupts every 90 minutes or so. A large crowd gathers to see the tremendous plume of hot water shoot up into the cold air. See it in the video clip below!

I returned home late and had a few local beers, Outlaw amber and Pale Ale, while learning about a fungus, called White Nose, which is attacking local bat populations.

It seems to be a big problem.

To conclude the evening a strolled through west Yellowstone, which is a cute little town, Western style, complete with souvenir stores and saloons.

I found a school bus converted into a restaurant on a sidewalk selling Mexican food. Curious as always, I stepped inside and talked Spanish with the owners, a young couple from Mexico. They served me the best enchilada I have eaten in years.

Sunday June 20 Yellowstone

2010-06-26T23:58:00.016-05:00

I needed gas which was more difficult to obtain than I would have thought in an oil town like Worland, but finally I could fill my tank.

The road to Cody was OK and I made good time.
The lady at the Visitor Center in Cody recommended me to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and a Winchester gun show.

At the gun show I learned a lot about the value of the guns and met one of the foremost gun appraisers.

Before going to the museum I checked out the most famous Western saloon in Cody, the Silver Dollar Saloon at the Irma hotel. It has excellent Western décor and a good ambiance. I met Frank and Jean from New Jersey, also on their way to Yellowstone. I tried yet another new beer, Moose Drool, which tastes much better than it sounds, and a local brew, Teton Pale Ale, which I also liked.

The Historical Center is actually 5 museums in one, all of them very well appointed and worth a visit.

I began my tour at the Western Art museum, which houses a great variety of Western painters, including Frederic Remington, Karl Bodmer and Edgar Paxson, who painted the monumental Custer's Last Stand.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn —also known as Custer's Last Stand was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota and Northern Cheyenne against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. It occurred on June 25 and June 26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory. The U.S. Seventh Cavalry, a force of 700 men led by George Armstrong Custer, suffered a severe defeat. Five companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. Total U.S. deaths were 268, including scouts, and 55 were wounded. In defense of Custer, some historians claim that some of the Indians were armed with repeating Spencer, Winchester and Henry rifles, while the 7th Cavalry carried single-shot Springfield Model 1873 carbines, caliber .45–70.

After that I checked out the firearms museum, which supposedly has the largest gun collection in the world. And it does, certainly for American guns.
The Buffalo Bill gallery tells the history of this famous scout, hunter and entertainer.

After so much museum I continued my ride to Yellowstone, still 50 miles further West. The road runs through a canyon, with guest ranches and camping grounds along the river.
At the Eastern Entrance I bought an annual pass which gives access to all national parks in the US, so Nicole can use it when she lives in Los Angeles.

The weather turned bad, clouds threatening and it became really cold. At Fishing Bridge heavy rain started, so I stopped and stayed warm inside the General Store, had some lunch and when the rain lightened somewhat I rode straight trough the park out the West Entrance and found one of the last rooms in a small town West Yellowstone.
More than 25,000 firefighters attacked Yellowstone fires in 1988, at a total cost of about $120 million. Thankfully, the fires killed no park visitors and no nearby residents.
About 36% of the park’s 2,221,800 acres were burned. Estimated property damage totaled more than $3 million.

Although the weather was bad, I enjoyed the first encounter with this great national park. There were many bison around, some really close to the road.

The rain turned into a tremendous storm and I was glad to have a roof over my head.
The hotel internet did not work, so I could not post anything. It was just as well, I was cold and tired and turned in early.

The Trans America ride
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANS AMERICA RIDE!!
The target of the ride is to raise $10.00 for each mile of the ride.

I you decide to support this ride, you may:

1. Buy miles: Buy one or more miles at $10.00 per mile. There are 3,500 miles to be sold.
2. Sponsor a local event when I am in your area (a ride, a barbecue) for a $200.00 minimum.
3. Become a Student Sponsor at Ak´Tenamit for $30.00 (one month) or $360.00 per year
4. Become a Health Care Partner for $10.00 or $120.00 per year.
All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.
If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.
If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Computer trouble

2010-06-24T08:03:00.004-05:00

Hello guys,

I have not posted anything in days, because of computer trouble. Now i am in a remote area of the Sawtooth mountains and the internet is very shaky.
Everything is fine, I am working my way through Idaho, close to Ketchum and will hopefully reach Spokane today.
Here in the mountains my phone does not work either, sorry. Hope to post tomorrow.

Jean

Saturday, June 19 to Worland

2010-06-20T08:25:00.009-05:00

Towards the Yellowstone

I left Sturgis at 11 am after checking a minor electrical problem of the start button. Brandon at Sturgis Motorsports was very helpful.

I started west on the 90 in sunny weather and got off the freeway at Sundance.

Here the Sundance Kid (remember butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid?) spent some time in prison and named himself after the town.

Here is a picture of a sculpture of the Kid in prison.

Devil’s tower is an imposing mountain, made famous by the Spielberg movie “Close encounters of the third kind”.

It is well worth a visit. A walking path around the base offers stunning views of the tower and the landscape. It is also a sacred place for the Sioux Indians.

Climbers were active on the mountain, some near the top and hardly visible.

Back on the freeway I rode fast to make up for the hours spent at the tower.

At Buffalo I took highway 16, which is a safer route across the Bighorn mountains, because the higher route still had snow on it.

The ride across the mountain range was beautiful. On the east side, they are covered in dense pine forests that looks quite dark and forbidding.

At the top of the pass, the temperature dropped to the low 60s and I put my sweater and winter gloves on. The air was cold and invigorating like a good winter day.

Once across the pass, I entered Tensleep canyon and came down the other side into a sparse landscape not unlike Patagonia in South America, low shrubs and a desert-like landscape.

Around Worland, my destination, it changed again. Now it resembled an ugly desert where almost nothing grows. The plain is occupied with oil derricks and some chemical facilities. It smells badly of sulphur and so does Worland.

It is a small town of 6,000 in habitants and has the air of a small oil town with lots of big, very loud pickups but hardly any motorcycles.

I checked into a local Best Western, bad and expensive and had a big dinner at a Mexican restaurant accompanied by a Negra Modelo.

About the trip:

By now I have ridden 2,700 miles or 4,300 km and there are 2,800 miles more to go until Los Angeles. The total trip will be 5,500 miles or 8,800 km.

I average 60 miles per hour with top speeds of 90 mph. My riding time per day is 5 to 7 hours, sometimes longer. It is more than I had planned but it is OK. I am not tired, even after 15 days of riding.

The bike gets between 44 and 50 miles per gallon premium gasoline. Except for the broken throttle cable, the bike performs efficiently and without problems.

My health is excellent. I have ridden through hot and humid weather, rainstorms, cold and fog, I have eaten all kinds of food, not drank enough water, had no exercise but I feel fine and have a lot of energy.

I only take some vitamins and an occasional Aspirin or ALKA SELZER.

Best of all, I am enjoying the ride and the wonderful places I visit.

America is incredibly well organized for tourism. When entering another state I always stop at Welcome Centers and Information Centers and get all the info and maps I need. I always find a hotel, even in the most remote places, sometimes very simple but always friendly. Food is abundant, although most places serve fast food or prepared meals that have little character.

People are helpful and considerate.

However, I am not able to make contact with Rotary clubs. My emails have not been answered and I am never in a particular spot when they meet.

I hope that some donations are still coming in, because I have not met any club after Chicago.

So tomorrow I enter the Yellowstone, another highlight of my trip.

The Trans America ride
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANS AMERICA RIDE!!

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Friday June 18 to Sturgis

2010-06-19T10:24:00.018-05:00

The Black Hills, a beautiful ride.

It is now Saturday morning because I yesterday evening it was too late to write.

So first of all, I send my love to the two most important women in my life: To Carolina on our anniversary lots of love and thank you for all those years together and for putting up with my crazy adventures. To my daughter Nicole happy birthday and I know you will have a great time at UCLA. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH

It was a great day. Again very sunny and I had a nice breakfast at the Frontier cabins.
The ride to the Black Hills was short and I bought a new helmet in Rapid City, HJC-IS- 33 with integrated sun visor. Surprisingly economical and well built, not as quiet as the Schubert though, but there is a big price difference.

As I rode to Mount Rushmore the landscape became more gorgeous at each turn, curving roads through stands of very green pine and spruce, dark blue lakes, invigorating fresh mountain air and a stark blue sky. What a country! I loved every minute of the ride.
Mount Rushmore is a testimony to democracy, showing the faces of four American Presidents honoring their contribution to the building of this country. A tribute from a grateful nation, set in the most beautiful setting imaginable. There is an exhibit on the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum who designed the sculpture. He passed away before its completion and the sculpture was not entirely completed ( Lincoln was to be portrayed to the waist).

Then I rode to another astonishing sight: crazy horse memorial, the vision of one man Korczak Ziolkowski who worked for 34 years on the carving until his death1982. The entire complex is owned by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Ziolkowski's wife Ruth and their ten children remain closely involved with the work, which has no fixed completion date.The face of Crazy Horse was completed and dedicated in 1998.

I rode through the Black Hills National Forest and the Custer State Park. Breathtaking views, hairpins curves, granite formations everywhere. It is not possible to describe the feeling of riding through landscape, it must be done! The loop from Keystone through the Iron Mountain road and Needles Highway is a must! Deer were crossing the road and buffaloes roaming free nearby.

Passing through Hill City I pushed on to Deadwood, , the old gold mining town where I visited Boot Hill and the graves of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane lying side by side. These colorful characters of the Old West captivated the imagination of millions of kids with their exploits as outlaws, marshals and gunslingers. Wild Bill was shot in the back playing poker in the Number 10 Saloon, and ever since Deadwood has become a gambling town with over 30 casinos.

I reached Sturgis, the motorcycle mecca, in the evening after a spectacular sunset in the Black Hills. This town only hold 7,000 inhabitants but during motorcycle rallies, there are hundreds of thousands of bikers camped out on every meadow. There had been a Cushman rally on the weekend, a small motor scooter of the 1930's. I met several of them in Keystone. One lady had ridden 600 miles to the rally, amazing on a machine with 8 hp only.

Dinner was a big prime rib accompanied by a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, very good.

Tomorrow I will ride to Yellowstone.

Thursday June 17 to the Badlands, South Dakota

2010-06-18T06:54:00.015-05:00

Entering the Old West

A sunny morning , I woke up very early and by 7 am I was riding towards South Dakota.

The first 100 miles passed very fast and I stopped for gas at Buffalo Ridge. The owner, Dean of Norwegian decent, ran a herd of buffalo behind the store and exports buffalo meat, which is very low in fat and cholesterol. I bought some jerky which was quite tasty.

Riding West I stopped at Mitchell site of the Corn Palace, a building which since 1892 every year is completely covered in corn cobs and wheat to promote tourism in the town.

I had heard of Lewis and Clark exploring the Louisiana Purchase and crossing the Missouri at this point. There is a friendly visitors center that explains this expedition, including a model of the keelboat used on the river.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery as a scientific expedition to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase. The expedition's goal was to explore the Missouri River and its communication with the the Pacific Ocean for the purpose of commerce. In addition, the expedition was to learn more about the Northwest's natural resources, inhabitants and possibilities for settlement; as well as evaluating the potential interference of British and French Canadian hunters and trappers who were already well established in the area. However, the expedition found that an easy water route across the continent did not exist.

Crossing the Missouri one gets the distinct impression to enter the Old West. Rolling prairies, ranging cattle, the western flavour of the towns, and native American culture and handicrafts.

Chamberlain on the Missouri is such a town. It is home to the St. Joseph Indian School Atka Latoka.

Its mission is similar to Ak Tenamit: Since 1927, St. Joseph's Indian School has provided care and education for Native American boys and girls. Its stated mission is to provide for the basic welfare of children (food, clothing and medical care) with special emphasis on the spiritual, emotional and educational development of each child, while respecting their culture and heritage.

It also houses a museum with exhibits that give a vivid description of the life, culture and implements used by the Latoka, or Sioux.

After crossing the river I was hit by strong SW winds, which were forecasted to reach 40 knots. It was difficult riding, leaning against the wind to balance the bike. The weather stayed sunny and the forecasted tornadoes did not happen.

On the way I visited an 1800 era town built as a movie set. It contains many historical items, such as Wyett Earp's .44 Smith and Wesson and movie props of Dances with Wolves.

After 400 miles I finally reached the Badlands, one of the reasons for taking this trip.

It is a impressive formation where softer sedimentary rocks and clay soils have been extensively erodes by wind and water. It has a spectacular color display from dark black/blue coal to bright clays to red.

The badlands are some of the fastest eroding landscapes on earth with erosion rates averaging 1” per year in their fragile layers. However, in areas where sandstone is found, the erosion rate may be 1” in 500 years.

There is a 35 mile loop of good road towards Wall, but the area itself is very large.

I will have to bring the family here.

South of here the famous massacre of the Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee happened.

I stayed at the Frontier Cabins at Wall, a very nice little hotel with excellent log cabins, and a very comfortable bed.

Lonny and Sherry are doing a great job managing the place!

Tomorrow I will head up Keystone and Mount Rushmore.

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Wednesday, June 16 to Jackson, Minnesota

2010-06-16T22:25:00.012-05:00

THE GREAT RIVER ROAD
Developed in 1938 the Great River Road is a collection of state, provincial, federal, and local roads which follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States and two Canadian provinces. They are Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Manitoba, and Ontario.

It is not a road in the sense of a local, state or national highway but the term is instead used for tourism and historic purposes.

At 7 am I woke up to the sun poking through my window. A looked like a day of promise for the ride along the Mississippi.
But the morning was spent writing up the blog of the last few days.

So I only got on the road by noon. The ride along the Great River Road proved so interesting that I did not care about my schedule. I stopped several times to take in the sight of the " Mighty Mississip" and remembered how Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn floated down this river on their raft. They were great adventure books, I will have to read them again.

I managed to mount the GPS on my tank bag, in a position that would cut the glare of the sun. It worked, so finally I can look at the directions without taking my eyes off the road.
While punching the holes through the bag, the knife slipped and I got a deep cut on a finger, nothing serious but it bled quite copiously on to my clothes. Well, it will wear off, I hope.

A BMW cruiser was standing by the road and I met the owner, Glen from Milwaukee, who was refurbishing a second home on the river road.
He rode with me to Lansing, across a 3 mile bridge and up into Hosner park which presents a great view of the river and bridge.

I did not realize that in many places the Mississippi is not a straight river but a maze of back draws, bays and back eddies that make a wonderful area for fishing, boating or just hanging out on secluded sand beaches. People seem to enjoy it very much because there were many craft on the water.

After drinking a Fat Tire in a local saloon, we separated an since I had crossed the bridge at Lansing, I decided to continue west on Highway 9 and take in a little of the Iowa farming area.

The landscape was dominated by corn and more corn, in between berry farms and dairy farms.
I stopped in Cresco and bought a quart of freshly picked strawberries from a girl out of the back of a car. They were delicious.
It was 5 pm when I hit the interstate again and the sun was in the west and in my eyes.
I had planned to visit Tommy's parents in Lake Spirit, but that became impossible.
When evening came I checked into a motel in Jackson. Tomorrow will be a hot day and I will leave very early to reach the Badlands in South Dakota. And now I will have strawberries for dinner.

Tuesday, June 15 to Prairie du Chien

2010-06-16T21:20:00.009-05:00

I left the Montrose marina early with the intention to reach LaCrosse, Wisconsin, a ride of 300 miles. But the bike would not start, the battery being completely empty. I noticed the controls had been moved and the radio was on (an unexplainable error of BMW, the radio can be turned on when the power is off).

Luckily Dieter, a German who lives on his boat there, offered to get his jumper cables and soon I was on my way. Careful not to stall the engine I departed for Galena, where I would start a ride north along the Mississippi to Lacrosse.

Murphys Law hit again: When I stopped after 100 miles I was not in Galena but in Milwaukee, the gremlins also got to my GPS. And when I finally headed for Madison, it started raining.
I rode in the rain for close to a 100 miles and by now there was no hope to reach LaCrosse via Galena, so I diverted to Prairie Du Chien on the Mississippi.

On the way, I had a small town mechanic in Dodgeville improve the GPS setup.
I rested in Fennimore and photographed the narrow gauge railroad, which had been the last 3 foot track in Wisconsin.

I reached my destination without further problems and stopped at the Sawmill Saloon for directions and an Old Milwaukee. Then I checked into the America Inn, a cozy hotel in downtown. The bed was very comfortable.
A historic rendez-vous was being prepared in the park. History buffs stay there in tents, dress up in Civil War era clothes, shoot black power long rifles, trade items like the old trappers and generally behave like mountain men. I was sorry I could not wait for the festival to start.
Prairie is a vacation town where many people own a second home in trailer parks or a houseboat on the Mississippi.
It is well worthwhile to visit, the river is big and beautiful.
The Wenneshiek saloon is a historic landmark and I had a Leinenkugel and Spotted Cow on the terrace overlooking the river.
While I was enjoying the sunset I found a wounded robin on the terrace. There was nothing I could do to help. I hope it survived.

It got late and and before I realized it the restaurants were closed, so for dinner I had a big Mac with chipotle sauce, which was quite good.
Riding in the pouring rain had been quite demanding. I was so tired Icould not update my blog completely and went to bed.

Monday June 14 sightseeing in Chicago

2010-06-16T08:53:00.012-05:00

Dan couldn't make it on Monday because of work (work? what'sthat?) and so Alycia took me on a tour. She had planned to do an architectural tour on a boat to see Chicago's landmark but it was drizzling and foggy, so we took the car.

At breakfast at one of the local places Orange, I had a huge stack of different pancakes but couldn't finish them. They were good though!

I had some pictures developed and bought a book for Alycia to thank her for everything she had done for the cause.

The perfume, by Patrick Sueskind
Set in 18th century France, Perfume relates the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, "one of the most gifted and abominable personages in an era that knew no lack of gifted and abominable personages". Endowed with an incomparable sense of smell, he apprentices himself to a perfumer and becomes obsessed with procuring the perfect scent that will make him fully human. In the process, he creates perfumes—presumably based on pheromones—that powerfully manipulate human emotions, murdering girls to take their scent.

We strolled through downtown Chicago and admired the different historic and important buildings and the stories behind them.
We also passed the Wrigley building, who made a fortune selling chewing gum, and became the sole buyer of chicle from Guatemala.

The company originally only sold soap and baking powder, but in 1892 William Wrigley Jr, the company's founder, began packaging chewing gum with each can of baking powder.
The chewing gum eventually became more popular than the baking powder itself and Wrigley's reoriented the company to produce the popular chewing gum.
In response to a land reform law passed in Guatemala in 1952 which ended feudal work relations, the Wrigley Gum Company refused to continue buying Guatemalan chicle.

The Chicago Art Institute, what a great place, comparable to the Smithsonian of washington!
It has an exquisite collection of Asian sculptures, bronzes, a great gallery of paintings and the architecture of the buildings themselves is awesome.
There was a Matisse exhibition that was more about the technical aspect of his work but showed clearly the Japanese influence, present in many of his contemporaries. a wonderful afternoon!

To digest so much art and culture, I needed a beer. Fortunately the Berghoff was close. It is a German style pub and restaurant, very traditional, similar to the Malzmuehle or Sion in Cologne.
We tasted 7 different kinds of beer, hilarious, and I enjoyed especially the Amber, the Hefe Weizen and the Pale Ale.
All this came with sauerkraut and finger food and I had a delicious Reuben sandwich to top it off.

I accompanied Alycia to walk her friend's dog and then we met with Maryjane, Terry and Meryl at Phill's house for a very special meal, cooked by Chef Phill himself: Hong Kong steak, cooked in a wok and accompanied by rice and vegetables. A delicious meal, and the Marques de Riscal was good too.
Phill presented Terry with a mysterious woodworking tool, a spring loaded center punch, which led to the most hilarious jokes and laughter.
I was honored to become a member of the Rotary Sailing Fleet was was officially inducted into the Chicago fleet by Commodores Phill and Terry. So now I will have to start a fleet in Guatemala!

After dinner I went back to the boat and slept like a baby. I had the weirdest dream about getting lost in a car on a golf course! Maybe it was the Baileys I had before going to bed.

Sunday June 13 Monroe Harbor Chicago

2010-06-15T23:49:00.001-05:00

I left Larry and Susan’s wonderful home (Thank you again, guys, for your hospitality!), and rode east towards Monroe Harbor to meet Plill and MaryJane at the Columbia Yacht Club.

I was really excited about finally seeing the club, after having heard so much about it.

Phill met me at the parking lot, together with Terry, the Commodore of the Rotary Yachting Fellowship and his wife Meryl.

We grabbed my stuff, I changed out of my bikers togs to more presentable attire and headed for breakfast on the club deck. What a location! The Chicago skyline and the boats in the marine, the harbor and the park on the waterfront all created a unique setting.

Alycia joined us for breakfast and Phill gave us the grand tour of this historic icebreaker and ferry converted into a luxurious yacht club.

I was astonished to learn that the propulsion system was diesel-electric and that 16 !! engines were needed to power the ship.

We took pictures of the group and then moved to Phill’s yacht, a beautiful and well set up Catalina 39. The space is unbelievable and the woodwork light and airy, a great boat.

Soon we were on the water, weaving our way through the many boats sailing along the Illinois shore.

There was even a tall ship schooner around!

Chicago treated us to interesting sights with the skyscrapers partly hidden by fog, very special.

After docking the boat we drove back to Monroe harbor to collect our vehicles and Alycia guided me back to Montrose harbor where I would spend the night on Phill’s boat.

We met again at Phill’s and admired their beautiful home and the garden, landscaped by MaryJane.

We all had dinner at Uncommon Ground, a jazz tavern that serves food and a large selection of local beers.

I had a 312, named after one of the subway lines, and a Lake Erie Monster, quite good.

The night on the boat was very cozy, despite the rain. The boat is very comfortable for living aboard. Could this be my next project??

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Saturday June 12 Chicago

2010-06-13T06:17:00.009-05:00

I woke up early and enjoyed the view of my room to a wonderful garden and forest.
Susan already had breakfast going and we had coffee before I took off to St. Charles with written instructions from Larry because my GPS had been discharged. TomTom provides a connection to the bike's 12 volt system that does not fit in the GPS itself!! Amazing!

The weather did not look good at all, and I suspected that not many guests would venture the ride to our barbecue.
My trip was about 40 miles and on the way I passed Elgin, where my wife went to school as an exchange student in the 60s. a nice detail to the trip.
10 miles from st. Charles I got caught in a thunder storm and had to pull into the parking of a pizza place until the worst was over. I put my rain gear on and continued, cautiously.
The barbecue took place at at Zylstra Harley Davidson on S Randall Rd in St. Charles and I was welcomed by Alycia, Dan and Tommy Zylstra, the President of the company, who is an American-born Frisian (the Northern part of Holland). I am from the South, and even in a small country like Holland we cannot understand each other's local language.

The facility is impressive, very spacious, nicely decorated and with an great selection of bikes. Tommy even had some collectors items on display, a 1916 bike and a 1947 red knucklehead Springer, exactly like one I rode in Havana some years ago. I was sorely tempted to change over to Harley Davidson again!

Some of the hardcore Rotary members showed up despite the intermittent rain and we had a good time. Most of the group will come to Guatemala again in February 2011 and I invited them to come and visit for a barbecue at the new house in Antigua.

Tommy was very helpful, providing me with lots on information on the ride west, directions to other HD dealers and suggested I visit his parents in Iowa. So this part of the trip will be dedicated to Dutch heritage and I am looking forward to learn more about the Dutch immigration here. We enjoyed a good bottle of Little Shiraz from Alexander Valley and I have a good list of wineries I should visit in Oregon and California.
I had never drunk this Little Shiraz, so I looked it up. Petite Sirah is typically what is known in Europe as the Durif grape, a cross between Syrah and Peloursin grapes. While it is related to Syrah, and many California varieties share some flavor similarities, they typically make quite different, but equally delicious, wines.

Thanks, Tommy, for all the help, I'll be back!!

The rain stopped around five and Alycia took me into St. Charles in her yellow Corvette Stingray. It is a a nice town on the river, with lots of activities going on.. We walked into a wedding party at the famous Baker hotel, one of the important families here, and some eyebrows went up ( bikers?? are they with the groom?).
A sculpture of the founder is sitting on a bench in front of the hotel. I had a Franziskaner Weissbier, while Alycia enjoyed a glass of wine (not in the party, but the bar).
When the rain stopped, I rode back to Riverwoods and found Larry catching chipmunks in a trap to keep them from burrowing under the trees around the house, they might actually fall over!
he takes the chipmunks to a place far away and releases them, thank God.

Dinner was at a Japanese sushi place, great sashimi and sushi and Sapporo beer and hotto sake, like in Japan. The sushi master was Thai, the servers Chinese, South East Asian or Korean, no Japanese, very international.

After a delicious ice cream desert, we went to bed. It had been a long day, I fell asleep before I could start reading the Devil in the White City.

Friday June 11 to Chicago

2010-06-12T00:02:00.009-05:00

David and I had breakfast at the Whitlow. He took me to the goodwill store, where I replaced two T-shirts I had discarded. There were no left handed golf clubs, so I am not able to practice and keep up with my friend Aldo. But I will get them and in South Dakota and Wyoming, there is more space for the long drives!

Finally I managed to buy The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson, a thriller set in the context of the World fair of Chicago. It was recommended by Alycia and must be quite good.

The bike was ready by 1 pm and after checking out of the hotel, it was time to ride. Since the ferry only ran at 4 pm, I changed my plan and rode around lake Michigan to Chicago.

The ride went smooth, the new throttle cables and the new tire performed perfectly. Thanks to George and Matt of Metric Motorsports on Airline Rd in Muskegon, a well run, reliable shop that performs excellent work fair prices.

On the road I passed Holland, Michigan.
Holland was settled in 1847 by Dutch Calvinists, who were escaping from persecution in the the Netherlands.
Each May Holland hosts an annual Tulip Time festiva, which began in 1930 when 250,000 tulips were planted for the event.Currently six million tulips are used throughout the city.

Holland was known as the "City of Churches." There are 170 churches in Holland, many of which are with the Reformed Church in America and the Christian Reformed church denominations.

There are famous families there, like the DeVos family who founded Amway and whose son we met in Japan when he was establishing Amway in Japan. The Prins family become known worldwide when they founded Blackwater Inc.

I had a coffee and appeltaart at a Dutch farmers market and continued to Chicago.
When I entered the city and saw the traffic conditions, I knew I had made a mistake. Friday evening rush hour had begun, bumper to bumper for two hours in the humid heat and the gasoline fumes!
I wished a hundred times I had taken the ferry and ridden down from Milwaukee.
Be warned, bikers!

At 7 local time, I reached Larry and Susan's in Riverwoods, a beautiful wooded area with great homes. After unpacking, we went to have dinner at a Korean restaurant, and had kimchi, bulgogi and other spice Korean delicacies. This was Korean Keer Night, we had Cass and OB, excellent Korean lagers that went well with the spicy food.

Tomorrow we will have a local ride at Zylstra Harley Davidson.

Thursday June 10 Muskegon

2010-06-11T23:31:00.010-05:00

My plan to take the 10 am ferry to Milwaukee had evaporated. It was obvious this repair was going to take time.

Breakfast at the Whitlow: I was amazed at the enormous collection of stuffed animals collected by the owner. In the hunting department, he could compete easily with Hemingway.

At 9 am I walked over to the Metric shop but the mechanics had not arrived. I started taking the coaming off the bike in hopes of speeding up the repairs.
When Matt the mechanic started working on the bike, we found out it had to be almost completely dismantled to get at the throttle cables. Matt had no experience on BMW but felt his way expertly around the bike. Little by little, its insides became visible. The technology hidden under the body was impressive, I had not expected that much complexity. The good thing was that the hoses,electrical connections and everything else seemed to be in good condition.

When the cables were out, Matt tried to repair it but had to give up quickly. I decided to get new cables, because the risk of breaking down again was too great. George, the owner, lent me a Yamaha Maxima and armed with my GPS I rode back to Grand Rapids.
This time I did look it over more thoroughly, it seems to be a pleasant town with lots of businesses.
After buying the cables and a tank bag, I returned and enjoyed the slow ride and the landscape. After riding my big bike, this one felt like a toy.

While I had been gone, Matt changed my front tire, so that’s out of the way too.

I checked out of the motel and back in again, and spent all afternoon in the workshop.
What had caused the problem. according to the BMW shop, the throttle cables on this model were faulty all along, so it was redesigned complete with a cable mount, so I expect it to hold up much better.

In the afternoon David and I had dinner at Brann’s Steakhouse, a pleasant sports bar. Amber, our server took good care of us andtried a Miller Lite, and I had a Samuel Adams lager and an Oberon, complete with an orange peel.
We had a good conversation about our respective personal and job history, interests and families.

All in all, an enjoyable intermezzo of the ride.

Putting the bike together again will take until tomorrow noon.
I will then take the high speed ferry to Milwaukee and ride to chicago, where I will stay at Larry's home.

The Trans America ride
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANS AMERICA RIDE!!
The target of the ride is to raise $10.00 for each mile of the ride.

I you decide to support this ride, you may:

1. Buy miles: Buy one or more miles at $10.00 per mile. There are 3,500 miles to be sold.
2. Sponsor a local event when I am in your area (a ride, a barbecue) for a $200.00 minimum.
3. Become a Student Sponsor at Ak´Tenamit for $30.00 (one month) or $360.00 per year
4. Become a Health Care Partner for $10.00 or $120.00 per year.
All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.
If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.
If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.
JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Wednesday June 9 to Muskegon, MI

2010-06-09T21:31:00.015-05:00

Hey, my friends from Bayer, do you notice anything special in this picture?? I counted that every mile between 20 and 40 cars see this logo. On a total of 5,000 miles that means 100,000 to 200,000 contacts. I hope you are happy, Miguel Angel!!

As predicted, the storm passed over Strongsville in the night and it was raining hard in the morning. The forecast was for better weather in the afternoon. I considered it easier to ride against the direction of the storm towards Chicago and when the rain became a drizzle around 11 am I rode West. After 50 miles the drizzle stopped, the pavement dried out and 100 miles later the sun came out.

The Ohio Turnpike is a main artery West and bikers appeared from everywhere.
I met Ted from North Carolina on an Ultra Classic , heading for Chicago to ride Route 66 all the way to Los Angeles. He was a hardcore Iron Butt, having ridden 38,000 in one year.
He once rode to a bikers rally to Dawson in the Yukon territory, Canada all the way from North Carolina and hoped to get the prize for the longest ride. He didn't. Another fellow had made sure, first riding down to Key West and then all the way to Canada to secure the prize!!

James Michener wrote a great book, called "Journey". Since I read that book I have wanted to go to Dawson, and I will, on a motorcycle of course!

Publisher Comments:

"The best novel of James Michener's career." Milwaukee Journal

Gold fever swept the world in 1897. The chance for untold riches sent thousands of dreamers on a perilous trek toward their fortunes, failures, or deaths. Follow four English aristocrats and their Irish servant as they misguidedly haul their dreams across cruel Canadian terrain toward the Klondike gold fields.

A couple from Maryland, Amelia and Brian were on their way to the Mackinac bridge and around lake Michigan, a ride I did 2 years ago. Amelia's Harley had a great paint job, see picture, featuring all the Maryland icons, blue crabs, the flag, a lighthouse and more.
Hey, Amelia, put me on your radio show, so your listeners will buy miles for Ak Tenamit.

Jim and his daughter were riding towards Seattle and I am sure we will meet on the way, over in the bikers heaven of South Dakota or Wyoming.

One of the bikers recommended to go to Chicago via Muskegon, then cross lake Michigan on the ferry, and arrive in Milwaukee. That sounded great since friends of mine did that ride and loved it. So it was off to Muskegon.

Leaving Ohio, I entered the Michigan International Speedway, were the limit is 70 (instead of 65) and everybody drives at 80 mph. Nice landscape, a friendly Welcome Center with lots of information on Michigan and the weather was holding!
Really a great day. I did't care about sightseeing, it was all about riding as far as I could.

Going north on the 23, I got to the I-96 West which takes you all the way to Muskegon via Grand Rapids. We had strong headwinds that buffeted the bike and increased fuel consumption. Normally the bike does 50 miles per gallon, but now only 44.

I made good time and at 7.00 pm I reached Muskegon. I had been thinking that on a 5,000 miles ride, surely something must break, and it did.
Coming into Muskegon, I felt the accelerator cable snap and the bike slowed down. I got off the highway onto a exit ramp and stopped. Sure enough, the cable was broken, but the engine ran at low rpm's. I tried to fix it but couldn't, help was needed! A phone call to the number of a BMW rider in Muskegon yielded no answer.

Suddenly, a man called over a fence if I needed help. His name was David and he lived in a cute home which was 200 yards from my position. He suggested we drive the bike to his home. Sure thing, we clipped the cable in a vise, so I could ride pulling on it, and off we were. Only, I misunderstood David's explanation and ended up miles away.

Asking directions to get back, I met John, who by coincidence had been driving for the Bayer Cropscience plant in Muskegon.
He showed me how to get back to David's place and later even came by to see if I made it. David and Patty offered to park the bike in their driveway until I could find a repair shop. I found one nearby and will take the bike there tomorrow morning.
Here are my two new friends: John on the left and David on the right.
Thanks guys, you were great!!

When I prepared my trip, many times I was asked if it wasn't dangerous to ride alone and if I worried that something might happen. My answer was always: Yes, things may happen, but there is a solution to every problem. I am sure I will find help. I am happy I was right!

Restaurants were closed by now and my dinner consisted of a can of baked beans and Spam, eaten on the curb of a liquor store. I still managed to find a real country pub, and had a Killians Irish Red, alone at the bar. A motel, el Royal, was within walking distance, and here am writing my blog before bed.

Today I rode 390 miles and it was fun! That makes a total of 900 miles behind me, and another 4,000 ahead.

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

Tuesday, June 8 Hagerstown to Cleveland

2010-06-08T23:11:00.011-05:00

This was just a day of hard riding!
I learned (again) it makes no sense to get on the computer and pack in the morning, it takes too much time!
So I’m packing and writing in the evening from now on.

I traveled 340 miles today, almost all on the I-80 that will take me to Chicago. No detours, no sightseeing, just riding to get there and make up for the time lost in Manassas, and get there before the storm hits. It is moving in from the Chicago area, so tomorrow it may be impossible to ride.

Temperatures were cool today, 69 F in the morning , going down to 64 and then back up to 76. The landscape was nice to look at, the freeway winding its way along rolling hills, lots of forest, all this under a fairly sunny sky but nice temperatures.

Riding is great that way!
Of course, the Pittsburgh area is different, lots of trucks traveling too fast. To pass them quickly I had to go up to 110 mph sometimes, those guys are crazy!

The bike has loosened up now so I accelerate very quickly to pass. My tires are OK, but I am considering changing the front one, will check it again tomorrow. My new cycle pump is great, it inflates my rear tire easily to 42 psi, no more hassle at the gas stations.

The BMW tourance jacket is equally fine, I am getting the hang of using the air vents to let in just enough air to stay cool depending on temperature and speed. I will need a new helmet though, full face, because the present one is just for warm weather riding.

Today I started discarding the first clothing. It makes no sense to wash T-shirts and the like, and I can get replacements at the Goodwill stores. Cheap and a good cause.

I’m on riding diet again, light breakfast, very light lunch and a good meal early in the evening. That avoids falling asleep on the bike.

Here is a picture of my lunch today, in a rest area on the freeway.

Getting close to Cleveland I asked a gentleman in Brunswick for the way to Strongsville.
We got to talking and it turned out he had a case of specialty beers, even from Vietnam, so we ended up on the porch enjoying a brew. I tried out a Old Speckled Hen English Ale, quite good! Thank you Darryl!

Tonight I am staying at a Holiday Inn and had a Blue Moon, Belgian type beer with an orange peel inside (!). It tasted a little bitter , like the Brooklyn IPA I had yesterday. I concluded the meal of excellent onion soup and a steak sandwich with an old fashioned Amber Bock.

Remember Albuquerque, Lorenzo!

The Trans America ride is a small effort to help a great project in Guatemala.
Check out the details of Ak' Tenamit in previous chapters of this blog.
It is worth your while and we would welcome you to buy a mile, or sponsor a child in Guatemala.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

Monday, June 7 Manassas,VA to Hagerstown,MD

2010-06-08T06:23:00.016-05:00

Today I had an easy start, because my train to Manassas ran at 1 pm, so I had the morning for packing, a long breakfast at the Radisson and writing mail.

The VRE station in Crystal City was hard to find, my GPS did not, but the taxi driver did. This was my first ime to ride a train in the US. Amazingly, it was a doubledecker with an open inner plan, it reminded me of Japan, only slower. In Manassas, I took a cab to the storage unit, hoping the bike was OK. It was, started at the first touch, thanks to BMW and the gas additive.

Self Storage did a good job in keeping the bike stored, dry and heated, thanks!

Repacking took a while, and the bike is a little top heavy. I got under way at 5 pm and the GPS told me to take 66 toward Washington, then make for I-70 towards Pittsburgh. Big mistake at that hour, the traffic was unbelievable around the Beltway.

I noticed the Virginia Maryland area have many historic places related to the Civil War. I passed close to Bull Run, Harper's Ferry and Gettysburg.

I reached Hagerstown at 6.30 pm and decided to stay the night. But before that, I took a ride through the historic of Civil War battlefield of Antietam and the surrounding towns, like Sharpsburg, and Boonsboro. They all lie in beautiful rolling meadows and groves and have many historic buildings.

Hagerstown itself also has a historic district. I found a nice hotel, the Venice best Western, and was attended by two young people from Kazakhstan and Ukrania, who study and work in the US. They were friendly and efficient and I wish them well.

Then I looked for a place for dinner and I found The Landing Pub abd FRestaurant. To my surprise, they served specialty beers and had a trio playing rock and roll and country music. Mike Fotta, the owner, did a great job remodeling the place and the Spaten Lager and Weissbier were excellent.

Tomorrow I will head out early towards Cleveland to make up for time. Weather reports show tornadoes in the Midwest and storms in the Chicago area. here in MD, the weather should hold, we will see!

I hope to meet Rotarians in Cleveland.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

26. Getting to Washington

2010-06-07T07:43:00.008-05:00

Saturday, June 5

I left Guatemala, finally, on Saturday June 5 on CO444 at 2.15 pm, flying to Houston,TX.
Check-in was fast, there were really few passengers. Security control decided to confiscate the bungee I carried to tie down my luggage. They thought it could be used to strangle somebody on the plane, but had no issue with the computer cable, which is probably more efficient for that purpose. The flight was uneventful and the immigration process in Houston very efficient. The immigration officer was a BMW fan and wanted to know all about my trip. I almost lost my connection, which was very tight. The good news is that Continental served a good meal and beverages on both flights. My fellow passenger on the flight to Washington liked diving and sailing, so we had a good chat and time flew by.
In Washington, the hotel shuttle took me to the Radisson Reagan Airport Hotel and by midnight I was in my room.

day, June 6
I woke up to good weather, a little late because my alarm clock was still set to Guatemala time.
I walked a few blocks through Crystal City to the Metro and learned to ride the subway, which is fast, efficient and clean.

The National Mall looked so nice in the sunlight, people enjoying a stroll on Sunday, the trees in fresh green and the gardens blooming. I discovered a small beautiful museum, The Freer Gallery of Art, created by railroad car millionaire Charles Lang Freer, a renowned collection of Asian art and also the largest collection of paintings by James mcNeill Whistler.

I was impressed by the variety of ceramics, paintings, sculptures and decorative art of many Asian countries. When we lived in Japan ans traveled in Asia, wel learned to appreciate Asian art and I recognized many things. Another treasure is the underground Arthur Sackler Gallery, right next door, another great example of Asian art, complete with a Tibetan shrine and the sound of mantra.

Next was the National Air and space Museum, a large museum containing the history of flight and space exploration. It is enormous, with exhibits from the V1 to the space shuttle, fun exhibits for the kids and a great Imax theather which shows Black Hole and Space Travel shows.

The National Museum of Natural History is equally impressive, an enormous collection of dinausaurs, ocean exhibits and again, very hands on for the kids. It's really a "Night at the museum" . Oh, and the food in those museums is good, I enjoyed a green salads and turkey sandwich.
A stroll along Pensylvania avenue brought me to the Elephant & Castle, a neat pub with a great view on many public buildings. I had dinner and tried some of their specialty beer, Paulaner and Leffe Trappiste, which reminded me of my student days in Antwerp, Belgium. It was a balmy evening and I stayed until dusk came at 9 pm.
Washington is worth a longer visit. Maybe next time, we should stay a few weeks and explore the neighboring states and Eastern seaboard. There is so much to see!

25. Help for Guatemala

2010-06-04T11:21:00.022-05:00

Picture of the bridge Los Esclavos, the main road that connects Guatemala with the Atlantic ocean
and the port of Santo Tomás.

The city has returned to normal, but the country is still in a shambles. 16 bridges have collapsed and the roads connecting Guatemala to Mexico and El Salvador, including the Panamerican Highway, are heavily damaged. The Rotary program Bridges to Prosperity is already on the ground.

Aid is coming in. The European Union pledged several million Euros, and so did the USA.
Rotary organized distribution of food and clothing which are flown to the disaster areas in private planes. Many citizens are helping all they can. My wife and daughter Nicole are working with Rotary and other initiatives. My son finally made it back home after 4 days.

The disaster puts the vulnerability of Guatemala into focus:
Insufficient and poorly built infrastructure collapses, like the new stretch of the Pan American Highway.

Rampant deforestation by a population in daily need of firewood for cooking deprives the slopes of tree roots and provoke landslides. Waterways and drains are clogged with garbage which is thoughtlessly discarded everywhere.
A sprawling capital of 3 million people without an adequate sewage system. This was evidenced by the enormous crater that opened up and swallowed a three story house (see picture in last chapter). The same happened in 2007.

A friend sent me pictures taken close to his coffee farm. The red stuff is real burning lava, setting the countryside on fire.

HeI have managed to get a reservation for tomorrow, 24 hours from now.
My program for the Chicago area is set up and I am in contact with other Rotary clubs along the way.
Here is my updated schedule for the first week. I am working on the rest to make up for some of the time lost. There may be some changes, depending on the response of the Rotary Clubs en route.

CITY	DATE
Flight to Washington - Manassas	Jun-05	sat
Washington	Jun-06	sun
Manassas-Pittsburgh	Jun-07	mon
Pittsburgh - Cleveland, OH	Jun-08	tue
Cleveland	Jun-09	wed
Cleveland - Toledo-Fremont	Jun-10	thur
Fremont-Chicago	Jun-11	fri

Chicago	Jun-12	sat
Chicago	Jun-13	sun
Chicago	Jun-14	mon
Chicago-La Crosse	Jun-15	tue
La Crosse - Sioux Falls	Jun-16	wed
Sioux falls - Rapid city	Jun-17	thur

The Trans America ride
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.

Some people make a world of difference in an effort like this.
The group of Chicago Rotarians who started it all (see Chapter 1 of this blog) has been organizing and rescheduling activities for weeks.
My special thanks to Alycia Brock, Dan Wolf, Larry Kanar and Phillip Klein for their enthusiasm and generosity in helping me on my way. You are a great team!

Here is what they sent out to their friends:

For those of you who were members of the first team in this year’s Guatemala trip, hopefully you had the pleasure of meeting Jean Vayssier. To his fellow Guatemalan Rotarians, he is also known as The Riding Dutchman because of his passion for his BMW motorcycle.

Jean and his daughter Nicole joined us at Ak’ Tenamit this year to help us build the library and learn more about their mission and successes. Jean was so moved by all of our hard work, dedication, and the sacrifices we made to be there that he decided to create a fundraiser for Ak’ Tenamit. He will be riding his motorcycle across the US beginning June 1, and along the way he will be visiting different Rotary clubs to spread the word about AT. His total trip will be around 3,500 miles. You can purchase miles for $10 per mile to support the cause. It is his goal to raise at least $35,000 for AT.

He has agreed to pay for all of his meals and hotel stays, but any meal he doesn’t have to pay for or any night he doesn’t have to pay for a hotel, he has agreed to donate that money to AT as well.

He will be in the Chicago area the first weekend in June, and we are organizing a ride to help him in his efforts. He has also created an entertaining blog to help raise awareness. You can follow his blog at: http://transamericatenamit.blogspot.com/

HOW CAN YOU HELP??

1. Buy Miles: go to www.guatfund.org

click on Donate, and buy miles in the Transamerica Ride box

2. Donate (or otherwise obtain) a raffle prize for the local ride we are organizing

3. Sponsor the Food or Beverages for our local event

4. Provide a place to stay for Jean during his Chicago visit (June 4-7)

5. Attend our event Saturday June 5^th and help cook/sell raffle tickets/have fun

PLEASE CONTACT ALYCIA OR DAN IF YOU CAN HOST JEAN FOR A NIGHT, DONATE RAFFLE PRIZES, OR SPONSOR FOOD AND/OR BEVERAGE!!

SPREAD THE WORD!!

Our local event:

Saturday June 5^th, we are organizing a ride from Zylstra Harley Davidson in St. Charles. After the ride we will have a bbq and raffle, and just generally have a great time. Zylstra Harley Davidson has graciously allowed us to use their parking lot for our event as well as provided an enormous amount of organizational support for our event. Even if you don’t ride a motorcycle, come to the after party and have fun with us! Help spread the word by making an announcement at your regular club meetings! More details to follow about times, etc.

Thanks for all your help!

__________________________

Zylstra Harley Davidson

131 South Randall Road
St. Charles, IL 60174
Phone: (630) 584-8000

www.zylstrahd.com

24. Black sand, the scourge and treasure of Guatemala

2010-05-31T20:51:00.034-05:00

Short News

Guatemala volcano eruption 2010 apparently began at approximately 7 PM local time on May 5.

The rain of black sand has reached a depth of approximately 10 centimeters (4 inches) in many areas near Pacaya volcanic, causing residents of at least four nearby villages to evacuate. The Pacaya volcano is approximately 6,000 feet in height above seawater.

The residents of Guatemala City have been shoveling black sand out of their driveways for days now. The city slowly returns to normal. After the deluge of tropical storm Agatha, the sun has returned and dry sand now floats in the air as fine dust.

Few realize this black sand has had a profound influence on the history of Guatemala as a maker of fortunes and misery, economic development and war. It has been a source of employment, taxes and wages but also of economic dependency, inequality and suffering. It is beauty and ugliness, past and future.

33 Volcanoes are lined up on the Pacific coast in Guatemala from Mexico to El Salvador.
They are the origin of the fertile coastal slopes and plains, which are covered in deep fertile soil of volcanic origin, produced be eruptions and erosion.

During the heyday of the Maya, the region was covered in dense jungle and , curiously , of no particular interest to the Maya. Rather, they populated the lowlands on the Atlantic side of Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras and the central highland regions.

The Spanish conquistadors also passed this fertile region by in their quest for gold and the dominance of the Maya. They should have looked closer to find the real treasure of this country!

With the advent of large scale export oriented farming, the volcanic soil became a source of great wealth for the planters of these commodities and the country. However, it also cemented feudal structures which kept a large contingent of cheap labor available for work on the plantations through legal or economic coercion.

COFFEE was introduced into Guatemala around 1750 and grew as an ornamental plant in the Jesuit gardens in Antigua Guatemala. By the beginning of the 19th century it had spread to many regions of Guatemala, especially the fertile slopes of the volcanoes on the Pacific side.
SUGAR came to Guatemala from the Caribbean in colonial times and is now the agricultural mainstay of Guatemala. It prospers in the black sand of Guatemala.
King COTTON prospered here fore some decades until it was driven out by rising cost, labor unrest and pesticide resistance. AFRICAN PALM and CATTLE succeeded cotton to thrive here.

BANANAS were cultivated on that soil by the United Fruit Company.This 1909 map published by the United Fruit Company shows the route of the IRCA, the International Railroad of Central America, owned by UFCO and one of the causes of the dispute with Guatemalan which led to a CIA-backed coup against the Guatemalan government.

Recently minerologists are looking at our black sand. The shining particles one sees when walking on the black beaches turned out to be gold, but extraction is , as yet, uneconomical.
Iron Sands Americas Ltd. is exploring the possibility of extracting iron from the black sand.
The titanomagnetite iron sands span the entire coastline, - the result of the volcanic residue that continues to be carried down by the river systems and deposited on the planes, beaches and into the ocean.

Black Sand incorporates the vitality of Guatemala, the possibility of a better future for many, of a better life for the poor.
Please help organizations like Ak´Tenamit, who are making a difference by educating poor youngsters to become leaders in their communities and turn black sand into well-being for many.

The Trans America ride
is a small effort to help transform the lives of poor Maya children. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANS AMERICA RIDE!!

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

23. Sunday May 30, tropical storm Agatha

2010-05-30T16:57:00.012-05:00

Here a recent image of the volcano Pacaya, located 20 miles from Guatemala City.
Clearly visible are the new craters that have opened up on the side of the volcano.

Tropical storm Agatha did more damage when it unleashed torrential rains on Saturday, 2 days after the eruption of the Pacaya.

At this moment thousands have been evacuated, and there are 17 confirmed deaths an 23 disappeared. The heavy rains completely saturated the earth which caused many landslides in the southern area, including the towns surrounding the capital. Bridges were torn away by swollen rivers. High waves hit the Pacific coast but subsided around midnight.

Many people, including my son, fled the proximity of the ocean for fear of flooding. They had to turn back when the roads leading away from the coast were blocked by landslides and they passed an anxious night on the beach. Today there is still no passage from the coast.

The good news was that Agatha suddenly turned away from Guatemala and moved towards Mexico, sparing the country another ordeal.

My wife and I drove to Antigua last night in the rain and found the road blocked in several places by trees that had been uprooted and landslides covering the road in debris. This morning traffic could resume and we are came home safely.

In Guatemala the main roads have been cleared, partly by the effort of government and citizens and partly by the deluge that sucked the sand into the storm drains. We´ll see what happens next.

My trip schedule is becoming critical. I had managed to get a reservation for Monday, because Continental assured us the airport would be reopened by noon. That scenario now becomes extremely unlikely and everybody now tries to get out via El Salvador. If I can get a flight for Tuesday, I still might make Chicago on time. I will know tomorrow morning and hope for the best!

22. Friday morning

2010-05-28T15:17:00.022-05:00

Guatemala City is surrounded by volcanoes. Here is a view from our apartment window, on a clear day, of the Agua and Fuego volcanoes.
Below the Pacaya, which last night within a few hours spewed thousands of tons of lava sand on to Guatemala City.

Today, however, there is no view, clouds are drifting by our windows. The volcano is quiet again, and people are trying to clean up the sand, draining swimming pools, shoveling driveways.

The streets are still a mess, no sign of any cleanup in our area. Maybe the government will start cleaning up at night. Most people stay at home, traffic is light, schools are closed and businesses are empty.
The government has declared a state of emergency, army personnel is posted on the streets, brandishing machine guns. Villages close to the volcano have been evacuated. Reports on fatalities start coming in, fortunately there a only a few until now.
The extent of the damage is still not known.

This is the pool of our apartment building as it looked this morning.

The children in the building were the first to start cleaning up, later all joined in.

The pool must be drained completely and the sand scooped out. If not it will plug the drains completely.

All flights out of Guatemala are canceled, presumably until next Monday or Tuesday. But I am not losing hope of flying out on time to meet my rotary appointments in the US.
We are checking the possibility to fly out of el Salvador.

This is another example of the problems that befall this country, together with earthquakes, civil wars, hurricanes, drug trade and violence. And it is the poor who usually lose everything.
That is why help is needed so much.

The Trans America ride is a small effort to change the lives of poor Maya children for the better. During my trip I will speak about the importance of educational projects like Ak Tenamit, and especially girl´s education, and its connection to illegal immigration in the United States.

YOU CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE TRANS AMERICA RIDE!!

All funds should end up in the GUATEMALA TOMORROW FUND in the United States.

If you would like to sponsor a child, become a Health Care partner or simply want to buy one of the 3500 miles of the ride , just go to http://guatfund.org/

Tick the box ¨Trans America ride¨and authorize a charge to your credit card.

If you prefer to not to use a credit card, just see Chapter 5 of this Blog on how to donate.

LIFE IS GREAT, ENJOY THE RIDE!
JEAN , THE RIDING DUTCHMAN

transamerica.tenamit@gmail.com

21. GUATEMALA AIRPORT CLOSED

2010-05-27T22:39:00.006-05:00

Thursday 27, 8 hours before take-off

Since the Pacaya volcano became active this afternoon, the city of Guatemala is covered in coarse black volcano sand.

At this time it is about 1 cm thick and growing. It is coming down in the rain, so everything is wet and slippery. It is an impressive sight, even in the dark.
TV stations are reporting on the situation. No airplane can land or take off because the runways are slippery as if covered in soap. There is so much sand in the air that airplane turbines would be damaged flying through it.

Fourteen years ago the same thing happened. It took more than 3 days to clear the runways.
Continental airlines phone lines are congested. It is not clear when and how I can leave Guatemala.
The President is considering declaring a state of emergency.
Villages close to the volcano are isolated, and have probably suffered damage. No reports yet on human casualties. Pictures of cars damaged by falling rocks are on TV.

I will keep you posted.

Jean, the Riding Dutchman

20. UPDATE DAILY AND TOTAL MILEAGE

2010-05-25T19:26:00.017-05:00

IT´S TIME TO RIDE

It is now 10 hours before my flight to Washington, through Houston.
Today I bought a filter kit and spark plugs for the bike. A BMW rider in Manassas kindly offered his garage for an oil change. The bag is packed, few clothes, lots of stuff needed for the ride, goggles, watertight bags, rain gear, tire repair kit, tools, etc.
Thanks to Bayer Alka-Selzer I am now equipped with a new BMW jacket, gloves and pants. so I will tell you all more about Alka-Selzer later on.
Here is a picture of my attire for the nex 6 weeks:
Tourance jacket and Schubert J-1 full face helmet for riding the highways at speed and for bad weather. When touring leisurely in hot weather, I ride in the Navajo vest.
I wear a silver Navajo bracelet with an engraving of the Rain God to keep the rain away. So far it has worked!

I expect my bike is allright. It is sitting in Self Storage Plus in Manassas and well taken care of by Jon and Jan. A recommendable facility, clean and well run. I will tour the Washington-Baltimore area for a few days, getting used to the road , break the bike in again and enjoying the east coast. On June 1, I will be on the road to Pittsburgh.

My itinerary has changed a lot. Instead of 3,500 miles, it is now over 5,500 miles, all the way to Los Angeles. I will leave the bike there and fly back home on July 6.

Below is an update of my itinerary. anytime something changes, I will post the change.

CITY	DATE		MILES

Flight to Washington - Manassas	May-28	fri	0
Manassas-Washington	May-29	sat	32
Washington	May-30	sun	50
Washington-Annapolis	May-31	mon	32
Annapolis - Pittsburgh	Jun-01	tue	264
Pittsburgh - Cleveland	Jun-02	wed	146
Cleveland - Chicago	Jun-03	thur	340
Chicago	Jun-04	fri	50
Chicago	Jun-05	sat	100
Chicago	Jun-06	sun	50
Chicago	Jun-07	mon	50
Chicago - Milwaukee	Jun-08	tue	93
Milwaukee	Jun-09	wed	50
Milwaukee - La Crosse	Jun-10	thur	211
La Crosse - Sioux Falls	Jun-11	fri	300
Sioux falls - Rapid City	Jun-12	sat	360
Rapid City - Keystone - Custer	Jun-13	sun	100
Rushmore	Jun-14	mon	50
Sturgis	Jun-15	tue	50
Custer - Devil´s Tower - Buffalo	Jun-16	wed	249
Buffalo - Cody	Jun-17	thur	183
Cody - Mammoth	Jun-18	fri	167
Yellowstone	Jun-19	sat	100
Mammoth - Butte	Jun-20	sun	168
Butte, Spokane	Jun-21	mon	315
Spokane	Jun-22	tue	50
Spokane - Seattle	Jun-23	wed	280
Seattle	Jun-24	thur	50
Seattle	Jun-25	fri	50
Seattle-Eugene	Jun-26	sat	283
Eugene-Redding	Jun-27	sun	315
Redding-Napa	Jun-28	mon	190
Napa-Groveland Big Oak flat	Jun-29	tue	151
Yosemite	Jun-30	wed	272
Yosemite-Visalia	Jul-01	thur	158
Visalia-Sequoia Natl Forest	Jul-02	fri	150
Kernville- Santa Monica	Jul-03	sat	165
Los Angeles	Jul-04	sun	50
Los Angeles	Jul-05	mon	50
Flight to Guatemala	Jul-06	tue
Total mileage 5610 LATEST NEWS THIS AFTERNOON THE PACAYA VOLCANO BLEW UP. THE EARTH SHOOK AND ASH IS COVERING THE RUNWAY OF GUATEMALA CITY AIRPORT. IT IS NOT CLEAR IF TOMORROW AIRPLANES CAN TAKE OFF. I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.

18. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

2010-05-18T17:14:00.009-05:00

Outdoors sports are a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of nature. Whether riding a motorbike or sailing on the ocean, we gain respect and love for our fragile planet.

I was shocked when I first heard about THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH and now finally somebody is doing something about it.

New York Times
After nearly four years of development, eco-adventurer David de Rothschild has launched his most ambitious expedition yet. The Plastiki, an innovative catamaran made from 12,000 post-consumer plastic bottles, is sailing a 100-day voyage from San Francisco to Sydney. Their mission is to witness some of the most devastating waste accumulation on our planet, including the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Taking inspiration from Thor Heyerdal's 1947 Kon-tiki expedition, the Plastiki's crew includes of David de Rothschild, accomplished skipper Jo Royle, and Olav Heyerdahl, Thor's grandson.
Follow their blog at http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/plastiki/.

Its two hulls are also ringed by about 12,000 whole and highly pressurized two-liter bottles, some with their labels still clinging to their sides. It may be the only boat in the world that you could redeem at your local deli.

Power is provided by a small array of solar panels and windmills, and exercise is provided by a stationary bike. Asked how he and his five-member crew might entertain themselves for the planned three-month journey, Mr. de Rothschild said, “sunbathing.” (He later added chess, dominos and, yes, live blogging.)

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also described as the Pacific Trash Vortex, extends over a very wide area, with estimates ranging from an area the size of the state of Texas to one larger than the continental United States.

The Patch is characterized by exceptionally high concentrations of pelagic plastic, chemical sludge and other debris, that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific.

Despite its size and density, the patch is not visible from satellite photography. Since plastics break down to ever smaller polymers, concentrations of submerged particles are not visible from space, nor do they appear as a continuous debris field. Instead, the patch is defined as an area in which the mass of plastic debris in the upper water column is significantly higher than average.

WHAT ARE WE DOING TO OUR PLANET??

JEAN, THE RIDING DUTCHMAN