2/28 - All the Lambrettas

28 miles, group ride to the Las Vegas Distillery.

Big Paul lent me his Serveta this morning for a quick buzz around town with Paul C and Aaron. Fun times, I managed to somehow ride everyone’s bike… Rally time! It’s so great to see everyone, many I haven’t seen since rallies of the east!

2/27- My Idea of a Party

78 miles.

Group ride to Pioneer Saloon. Ah, the familiar smell of two-stroke smoke. The scooters are gathering and the raring for a party, but tonight? I'm quite content with a hot bath, followed by 9pm bedtime in a plush, warm bed.

2/26 - Metropolitan Mayham

Who shoved the little Honda Met between the big bikes in front of Hogs & Heifers? Looks like a scooter prank to me.

Cats and Friends. Oct 11 - Nov 20, 2014.

In the months to follow, I'd become so familiar with I-280, US-101, and I-580 that I mostly stopped tracking it. Actually I'm pretty sure I crossed the US without doing as much freeway riding as I have in the Bay Area. Oh well.

I did manage a few trips beyond the sprawl to meet ADVers, or see a familiar face...

2/25 - Burro Xing

272 miles.

Made it to Vegas, and immediately headed for Frankie's Tiki Room with Kyle. Let High Rollers Weekend begin!

2/24 - Rest Stop in Time

213 miles.

I'd wanted to ride by Big Bear Lake, but a wise weather check revealed they got a foot of snow last night. Instead, John rode with me as far as Barstow, following historic Route 66. I continued along 66, eventually pitching my tent behind a large bush at a defunct rest stop just past Cadiz Summit. I crawled inside just as the sun dipped below the mountains. I've never felt so remote, and yet the desert was beautiful in the moonlight. I could hear cars coming for minutes before they would finally pass me (only 3 did, through the night).

2/23 - Mustachioed Motorcyclist, John

179 miles.

John (jdgretz on ADV) put together a dinner with LA Bikers. We met earlier in the day at Griffith Park, and had a lovely ride around Malibu and back via Santa Monica. Great group of people!

2/22 - Sprinter Crush

Rainy today, which is a good excuse to stay indoors and catch up on blog stuff.

Dave's friend Sandy stopped by, so I could have a tour of her converted sprinter. She hauls her bike in there too! Now I need one of my own. It's not for tall people, but for us vertically compact this seems totally doable...

2/21 - Bike Crush

105 miles.

Host Dave (DSM8 on ADV) took me up Angeles Crest for breakfast at Newcomb's Ranch. It's far too pretty a ride to draw, so instead here's a bike I've been crushing on for a while. Sources alerted me to one on Craigslist in my neck of the woods, and Dave was kind enough to ferry me over there to check it out...

Yeaaaah I know I can't ride them both at the same time... but what else am I doing in the LA area?

2/20 - Biker Wave?

164 miles.

As I hit the sprawl of LA, this man gave me the most enthusiastic wave. I mean, it seemed friendly.

2/19 - Farts in a Bathtub

176 miles.

I'm loving Los Padres National Forest. I didn't know you could see elephant seals! They make some fantastic sounds.

2/18 - Colleen is a Rider

181 miles.

Met a rider and blog reader, Colleen, in Santa Cruz for a coffee before continuing south. It was great to break and nerd out over bikes a bit. She led the way through traffic towards Monterey, looking quite regal with her mirrored visor and the upright riding position on her BMW, waving to cars that let us by.

I passed some hang gliders along Rt 1. They hovered motionless on the current off the rocks, the way seagulls do.

The drive down Big Sur was beautiful, I set up tent not far from the coast. My city instincts kept hearing the dull roar of airplanes overhead, but actually it was the king tide crashing on the rocks.

Hello to the road again.

Plan: Launch for the Return East (via the south)

Rolling out: Wednesday, February 18th.

Sticky post here, till takeoff. Daily drawings will continue to update below.

The date has been set for the eastward bound trip. The Route page has been updated to reflect projected path! As always, this map above is a work in progress and subject to change.

For the return, I'm planning on rolling into Baja California a bit, then hope it's warm-ish enough for Colorado. Texas is on the agenda, and then a roughly diagonal path to the eastern most point of the contiguous US States, Lubec, ME. Hopefully, a steam boat across Lake Michigan, a few rallies, and a Horizons Unlimited meeting will be along the way?!

2/17 - Quiet Moment

Bye, real bed, for a while.

Last day in San Francisco with Pete, we made it a chill one. He's still recovering from the immediate effects of a concussion, but we got dressed up for a quiet farewell dinner.

2/16 - Preparing for Launch

Pete should probably be taking it easier after a traumatic incident.

2/15 - Leaning Into It

Had a farewell lunch with Toni and her friends, Shelly and Milo, at Alice's. Pete boldly acquiesced to being my first passenger on the freeway and on some twisties! I noticed him leaning into curves with me, so I kept taking them a bit harder each time...until I heard the left side scrape. Side stand has officially been broken in.

2/14 - Objects in Motion

I played Pete's arms and legs for a scooter lesson in the Presidio this morning. Gina was zipping around within the hour.

2/13 - The Heart of Endymion

The upside, I suppose, is that Pete and I were back in the shop's 1971 Fiat to run police report errands and get a look at the bike where it was towed.

2/12 - Time is Stopped

Last night as I returned from Oakland, I got a call from San Francisco General Hospital. I had to listen to the voicemail twice. Pete was in a motor accident. "He said something about the dogs," was all I could get from the social worker, before I punched in the address and sped to the hospital. I braced myself for blood, bones, even final moments. In my head I know that as a rider, risk is an unavoidable reality and accidents happen regardless of poor timing or other plans. In my heart, I was worried and pissed. We're going to ride to LA together. Please be okay.

He's stable, and was released around 2am with diagnosis: mild concussion and fractures on the right side of the face. They called him back in today for further imaging on the bruise on his brain, and a splint for a fracture in the right wrist they hadn't spotted before. I sat with him while he napped between tests, feeling like I had stolen moments from a far worse fate.

2/11 - Portrait of a Portrait

Got my hair did at Manifesta, where Lisa is also doing a portrait series! I sat for a watercolor portrait, feeling a bit self conscious – it's a bit of a twist being the subject of another artist's lens. It's a bit meta now, doing a portrait of a portrait. I felt a bit choked up as I said goodbye to her and Erik, and Oakland, at least until next time. For more thoughts and photos of the finished piece, check out the post on Lisa's blog!

2/10 - Furiously Coloring

Coloring some comics, dreaming of tacos south of the border.

2/9 - Birth of a Scooter Gang

182 miles.

Pete, Verna, and I went for a full day of riding around Napa. Quest: Obsidian from Glass Mountain, but also to get a feel for an extended scooter ride. I planned the route, including some of my favorite goaty qualities from previous rides. The rain from the weekend cleared by afternoon, 'official business' was discussed, we covered a little bit of all sorts of ground plus a lot of scenery. It's great riding in a trio of Vespas, especially beyond the city.

2/8 - Logo Makings...

Top secret scooter-related work today with Pete. Flexing those old Adobe Illustrator muscles.

2/7 - Picking Up Old Habits

I picked up a knitting habit in New England, to pass cold months trapped indoors. There's limited room onboard for hobbies, but I finally caved and picked up a skein of cotton yarn and some shorty double-pointed needles. It's small, and has been a comforting respite from work to focus on something different for a while.

I'm knitting a familiar pattern: a cup holder for scooter bag hooks. Way back in the day, I made one for my Buddy. It's crazy stretched out now but I still use it. Let me know if you're interested in one!

2/6 - "Studio" Vespa SF

The corner under the stairs at Vespa SF has become an unofficial studio the past couple days, while I'm finishing up a bit of paid work before takeoff. I'm doing a quick page for Chris Duffy again, you might expect it to be SpongeBob shaped!

2/5 - Rearranging the Furniture

I love my new Pelican case topcase, but it seems to have an unexpected gravitational pull. This will work itself out, I'm sure...

I'll have to do a new diagram for scooter setup, with new front rack and work stuff for art.

Really trying not to load down the back so much, to minimize on that front end wobble. The front fork bearings were re-packed (thanks again, Tom at Vespa SF!) with its last service. It feels stiffer, but with imminent heavy things like art paper and electronics going on the back, I feel like every ounce I can distribute elsewhere is probably a good idea.

2/4 - Scoot of Burden

Two dogs, two riders, one scooter and REI run for dry sacks. San Francisco's own Bikes of Burden.

2/3 - Coffee Across the Bridge

It occurs to me I've been across the Golden Gate Bridge four times now, on five different bikes (1. Serenity, 2. Lydia, 3. White Cheddar, 4. Vespa Rental, then New Blue Super for return.) This is my fifth ride across, but only the second on my own bike.

I hadn't caffeinated properly in the morning and needed a ride to cheer me up. Cibo is a beautiful spot for paninis and baked goods in Sausalito. They're roasting the coffee right in front of me.

2/2 - The Route of it all

Route planning and other laptop tasks today. Seeing the entirety of my winding trek taking shape on a map is a bit...overwhelming.

On a personal note about this trip: In the larger sense, for the first time in my life I felt like the disparate things I pursued came together – martial arts, illustration, freelance, travel, riding. Like kismet, everything leading up to this point finally intersected and I couldn't have arrived here any other way. It's a wonderful feeling.

In spite of anxiety, I love route planning and can't wait to hit the road again.

2/1 - California Hills

55 miles.

Jaunt around the Redwood Regional Park and Lake Chabot with Pete on his Super. Began with brunch at Brown Sugar (the waffles... the waffles...), scouted a campground along the way, and ended with the one place I could think of without TV screens on Superbowl Sunday: Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon. Map of GPS track behind the cut.