It's Time To Move On - A BugsOnMyFace Global Sidecar Adventure

[Roadracer_Al]

Has it really been a year? Seems so much shorter, and that is truly a compliment... the way your visual and written language can blend the days and bend the sense of time is a gift.

Let me be the first to start the chant..

BOOK! BOOK! BOOK!

no, wait...

COFFEE TABLE BOOK!

And, I just happen to know a really good graphic designer & illustrator...

Congratulations on safely completing your adventure, and welcome back. Things here are pretty much the same, but you will find you have changed. It's important to know that distinction. After my wife & I got home from living in Mongolia, we got sick of trying to talk about travel with "stay-at-homes" (people who never ever travel anywhere they can't take their RV to a McDonalds drive-thru) and started attending a monthly "travelers circle" -- sort of a support group for travel geeks. It really fulfilled a need.

[Abenteuerfahrer]

Welcome Home Friends....fascinating trip...what can I say? Can't wait for more as I am slowly tappering off traveling in your kind but need your tales for therapy!

Now...(a) how did the Vredesteins hold up; (b) how much rubber you got left after putting them on;(c) how many approximate miles on a new one!

Why didn't you guys ride all the way from Columbia to Texas! Safety concerns...??

What ya' planning to modify on BigBoy? Curious...

Cheers,

[cmaridersa]

Glad you two are back home for the moment.

PM sent.

[mightymatt43]

Originally Posted by Racenut

Standing Ovation... BRAVO! :)

It has been a real pleasure following along on your adventure. Thank you for taking all the time to share with us. :)

Originally Posted by hwy61

Thanks for the beautiful ride guys...

Originally Posted by Frey Bentos

That was a great trip chaps. I applaud the pair of you. I shall keep an eye on here for the next instalment.

Thank you both.

Originally Posted by Daytonacharlie

Thanks for taking us along and sharing the experience and of course the wonderful photography!

Originally Posted by Alaskahack

Thank you for taking us along.

Looking forward to your next adventure

Safe Travels


Bob

Originally Posted by prsdrat

What racenut said, in triple!!!!

Thank you two very much.

And luck on ya.

Originally Posted by pfdavidz

Once again- thank you for sharing everything with us in a very beautiful way

Originally Posted by cmaridersa

Glad you two are back home for the moment.

PM sent.

You guys are awesome. Seriously. Having the encouragement flowing consistently from ADVRider was a definite buoy for us as we trudged along and put together reports. It has seriously been our pleasure. Thanks again for following along and we'll be back soon! Hope to read some of your reports in the meantime...

Originally Posted by pamplonika

Hello you two,
thank you for your work.
Extraordinary pictures and a beautiful art for us to travel with you.
What cameras did you use?

cu
pamplonika

Thanks!
We both use a Canon 5d mkii with an array of lenses. Really a great camera and super tough. Never failed us yet!

Originally Posted by ooweel

Kristen & Matt,

You two have given us the next best thing to a ADV Experience one can get without actually going on the trip itself! The photography and written words blended so well it made sitting for hours reading thru this RR one of my families, fun things to do. I shared this RR early on with my Brothers and friends, we could meet up or talk on the phone and say "HEY" did ya read the latest post on Kristen and Matt? That Said! You have made an impact on riders and non riders who were fascinated by this shared experience you both just went thru.

Welcome home! Looking forward to what Claude is going to do for you. Most off all! Can't wait till you hit the road again and sharing another RR !

Thanks Guys !
ooweel

Thank you for letting us in on that - so cool that you would share our report with your family! We've seriously had a blast and I hope it comes through. Such a joy to get to travel like this. In fact, I'm hooked for life now...

Originally Posted by Hogslayer

Glad to see you both are on the road again,circumstances have caused me to lock my bikes up in the garage for awhile and hit the road myself but this time on 18wheels to try and save the farm(not actually a farm) your RR and photos are excellent as usual.For awhile I thought I had moved to Texas as I kept criss crossing that state for days before finally leaving for greener pastures and cooler weather,dam you Texans like your heat.


Well know I have something to catch up on when I have some downtime you two have fun and be safe out there. I just realized your actually back in Texas now so never mind I'll have to go back and start at the beginning carry on.

Sorry to hear that you've had to lock the bikes up but it sounds like it's for a worthy cause. And to answer your questions, yes, Texas is the hottest. Always.
Thanks for following along and check out the first page for a table of contents if you're looking to go back in the report.

Originally Posted by Roadracer_Al

Has it really been a year? Seems so much shorter, and that is truly a compliment... the way your visual and written language can blend the days and bend the sense of time is a gift.

Let me be the first to start the chant..

BOOK! BOOK! BOOK!

no, wait...

COFFEE TABLE BOOK!

And, I just happen to know a really good graphic designer & illustrator...

Congratulations on safely completing your adventure, and welcome back. Things here are pretty much the same, but you will find you have changed. It's important to know that distinction. After my wife & I got home from living in Mongolia, we got sick of trying to talk about travel with "stay-at-homes" (people who never ever travel anywhere they can't take their RV to a McDonalds drive-thru) and started attending a monthly "travelers circle" -- sort of a support group for travel geeks. It really fulfilled a need.

That is quite the compliment! I can't believe it's been a year either. A lot has happened for us though and it really has been life changing. I know we'll never be the same after vagabonding around for this long.

We're not going to be "home" for long (we actually leave tomorrow for another 15 days) but when we get back to Texas, I think we may have to stick around for a bit for family responsibilities. I am going to need some sort of group to get involved in, like you say, because I'm going to go a bit stir crazy until we can get Claude to modify the bike and get going again!

And the book... I think we need a few more chapters worth of info before we head down that road...
I'll keep you in mind!

Originally Posted by Abenteuerfahrer

Welcome Home Friends....fascinating trip...what can I say? Can't wait for more as I am slowly tappering off traveling in your kind but need your tales for therapy!

Now...(a) how did the Vredesteins hold up; (b) how much rubber you got left after putting them on;(c) how many approximate miles on a new one!

Why didn't you guys ride all the way from Columbia to Texas! Safety concerns...??

What ya' planning to modify on BigBoy? Curious...

Cheers,

Good to see you're still frequenting ADV, Elmer! I know you're moving on to other things but this board likes having you around .

The Vredesteins did well. I don't have the bike with me so I can't inspect, but there is still a ton of tread on there. I think we did around 6000 miles on the tire (mixed pavement/offroad) and I'd say there is at least 60-70% tread. I'll really have to check when I get the bike back but I think I'm right on that.

We didn't ride all the way back because we had already planned something for September away from South America, and we didn't want to leave the bike again and come back to it later. Super expensive and we've already done a bit of that. We've already talked about filling in the Central America section since it would complete our run from the Arctic Ocean to the tip of S.A. Plus I really want to ride Mexico!

I've got a long list of stuff I'd like to do, but I'm gonna chat with Claude a bit before I reveal that . I'll be sure to document well...

Good to hear from you!

[Horton]

I'm just back from the Job in WA. Sitting in the kitchen for breakfast. Reading my loved RR. . .

Thank you! Matt&Kris

[AceRph]

I have enjoyed this report journal so much. Great pics w/ thoughtful, descriptive commentary.

You mentioned how much effort it took to keep this thing up-to-date. I'm sure that I'm not the only one that appreciates that effort. Your travels were everything that an adventure should be, new places, stunning scenery, adversity and its defeat, sadness and joy, new friends, and, I hope, a feeling of accomplishing something very special.

Most of us will never have the opportunity to travel like you two. For me, living the adventure vicariously through your posts was a great escape from the responsibilities that sometimes weigh me down. I know that more than once I caught myself looking out the window w/ what must have been a 10,000 mile stare, thinking about your trip, imagining such an adventure of my own.

Looking forward to the next chapter, Matt & Kristen.

Thank you so much.

Roger

[Strong Bad]

Therese & I would also like to thank you guys for sharing your travels. We are still a ways out from taking our sidecar to South America, and your reports have been very inspiring.

I was wondering if you could provide more detail on shipping your rig back to the US. Did you have a crate made? Who did you use for import/export help?

[slowpoke69]

Maybe that should be my screen name!! I just found this RR, sorry for your loss.

I love the bike! Only on page 5 so far, but it looks like you'll have an amazing time.

The pix so far have been great, can't wait to see what's to come. Best of luck,I'M IN! Better late than never!

[slowpoke69]

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Next up: Halloween in NYC.[/QUOTE]

If you imagine this shot, but at street level, that is what I saw on 9/12. I had a route to deliver, starting in Greenwich Village at 6 AM. It was deserted, I mean NO ONE. there was still debris coming down, with a heavy coat of ash, about an inch, on the ground. Having been there now, I'm sure you can picture it. It was so eerie, such a huge city, with no one out. Sorry for the hijack, that shot just kind of smacked me upside the head, so I had to comment.

On to better, happier things! Great shots of a great city!

[GP640]

[slowpoke69]

If you ever get a chance, you should see Longwood at Christmas. The lighting and other displays, I think they do fireworks or a lightshow too. I'll bet you could get some hellacious pix of that!

RTM ROCKS! I live right across the river, I didn't even know there wre houseboats over there! I'm in trouble, I'm learnin' stuff, aww hell!

Stay safe!

[Teeds]

Matt and Kristen:

Congratulations on a memory filled second leg of your discovery journey. I must say that your lives have captivated me since I first read about your trip to the Dempster back in the day. Being a fellow Texan I never doubted that you would make it and I eagerly followed your journey there and back.

I missed the ‘tween discovery trips, but stumbled back into ADV after a few years of enforced absence (the damned economy would not get off my back, so riding was out) to find a heart laden beginning to your current journey.

Your gift of the written word coupled with your and Kristens’ gifted eye kept me enthralled as I followed your adventures across Eastern North America and South America. Within the prose I recognized an enlightenment and calm as you and Kristen discovered yourselves. You personally are to be applauded for realizing the strength of your life partner and are to be doubly applauded for being willing to bear witness to your love and admiration for Kristen.

I look forward to your continued discoveries and growth. You are both very good people.

As a parting thought, as a film photographer of many decades I have struggled to recreate the magic and saturated colors of Kodachrome 25 in the digital era. Accepting that your full frame body is better than what I currently shoot (D20), I still believe I can get the look via post pro. Care to share some of your pro secrets with us plebs?

[cavemanjed]

We're not going to be "home" for long (we actually leave tomorrow for another 15 days) but when we get back to Texas, I think we may have to stick around for a bit for family responsibilities. I am going to need some sort of group to get involved in, like you say, because I'm going to go a bit stir crazy until we can get Claude to modify the bike and get going again!

Check out the Central Texas ADVer's thread, the guys in this group ride A LOT, and a good bunch of guys, I'm a humble member as well. http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=525841

Good luck, look forward to reading more.

Cavemanjed

[cmaridersa]

Harvest Classic at Luckenbach is on next weekend, 12 & 13 Oct. If you two are around, a few of us will be leaving from the Boerne Denny's at 0900 to ride up together. We'll probably eat there beforehand. Hope to see you between rounds . . .

[Toadride]

A little hero worship is due here. Being somewhat consumed with my own ride now, I have let yours slip between the cracks. Until now. Sitting in my DC hotel room I have just completed the read on your truly wonderful trip. I am happy and somewhat relieved that you are both home safe and just gotta say that the writeup and photos were the best ever! Thankyou so much for the inspiration.
Toad