Cleveland and the End of our Journey!

On my way to Minnesota I decided to visit Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. I have seen the carved faces in the Mountains many times on pictures but actually experiencing the rock formation in short distance was just grandiose. I kept asking myself the question " How did Gutzon Borglum the sculptor know how the faces would look in the distance?" He either was a fantastic runner or a great visionary artist. His plan was to carve out the hole body's of the four US Presidents but before finishing he died and his son started to continue but insufficient funding forced the sculpturing to end. The whole idea of 60 foot (18m) faces of US Presidents looking down the valley was not really accepted and appreciated by Lakota and Sioux Native Americans. So I had mixed feelings about the scenery and just focused on the artistic value.
Not far from Mount Rushmore is another sculpture of Chief Crazy Horse who fought for his land.
His answer after being asked by a white man. "Where are your lands now" he replied. "My lands are where my dead lie buried."
I left Mount Rushmore and followed my nose towards Minnesota / St. Peter where I decided to visit friends from Cleveland.
After saying good bye I kind of planned to ride from St. Peter to Chicago and maybe soak up some art and architecture but I was brutally caught like a fly in a spiderweb in Chicago's traffic jams.
And since it was again Friday and everyone wanted to get home...... I decided to stay legal and not to try to squeeze myself between cars. So I easily inhaled smoke worth of one pack of cigarettes by just waiting and the orangy brown color picked to show the surrounding of Chicago on my map was just realistic. It was already way to late to explore the art scene and I decided to find a quiet Motel outside of Chicago.
In the morning freshly recovered and in perfect weather conditions I hopped on my bike for the last 4, 5 hours of the voyage and I missed the remoteness of the west as I was riding towards east and getting annoyed by the lack of driving skills. And please can someone explain to me the strong urge and need to drive slow on the left lane!!!???? Is there maybe some kind of hierarchy power associated with the lanes which may go way back to our ancestors ??? It is a mystery and it will never be solved.

I am in Cleveland now and our almost three month traveling on the bike tour has reached the end. I will miss the easily accessible connection and way of communication on the blog.
I want to THANK EVERY ONE who followed our path and supported us through our travels. It was a wonderful experience and the memories will live a long time.

And now my dear friends it is again time ..........

....to say good bye

Zennure

Yellowstone National Park

We are currently in Yellowstone National Park still enjoying the wonders of nature. Our good friend Jeffrey from Cleveland decided to spend one week with us in the Park and since he shares the same fascination of outdoor activities and wild life we are The PerfectTeam together.
We are staying in a cozy hostel/motel located just half a mile outside the west entrance to the park. Great location. And every time we enter the park we enjoy the bald eagles nest which is build in a dead tree just 20 yards of the street. The chicks are almost grown up but don't have the distinct white head yet. The last couple of days we spend most of our time in the park just riding, hiking and enjoying wild animals.
Yesterday we decided to go on our second hiking trip and of course it had to be Avalanche Peak the most strenuous hike in the park. The trail begins with steep uphill climbs and continues to climb steeply for its entire length. That is the description. We rode to the other side of the park and the ride provided again some sweating caused by panic attacks. I just can not get used to riding next to Bisons. Bisons are the most beautiful and ancient animals I have ever seen but please can someone send me the Pope Mobil !!!!!
The Avalanche Peak is one of the few areas in the park that escaped the massive fires of 1988 and passing the treeline and enjoying beneath the fertile forest was rewarding enough.
Couple of days ago we entered some of the many Geyser basin landscapes. Incredible how water is heated by deep sources of magma than the pressure is increased and by sometimes 40 m high eruptions the pressure is released. Just spectacular!!

My favorite experience was a couple days ago when we had the chance to see Wolfe puppies on the other side of the Yellowstone river. We approached the area and discovered that people with huge objectives and professional camera gear were blocking the road. So we joined and had the once in a life time chance to see five frolicking Wolfe puppies in the wilderness. Neither the pack nor the mother was visible but I am sure the protective eyes weren't far.

So my dear friends, I think my travel buddies are getting hungry.
Zennure

Great Falls, Bozeman / Montana

They left us back in again and all the smuggled Goods from Cuba. The ride from Great Falls to Bozeman was again miles and miles flatland and now the Rocky's appeared in the distance. I was very surprised by the dry fields and after talking to a local it makes sense because the land experienced 11 years of drought. So everyone out here is praying for rain.

We are now very close to Yellowstone National Park and our obsession with wild animals can be continued. I can not believe it but Till saw a Grizzly bear in Waterton in 50 m distance. I gave up after riding around for hours and focusing on bushes and the surrounding and not on the street, so the chance riding into a bear was actually bigger than seeing one. I found out later that the best time to see wildlife is Dawn or Dusk. I guess Till was meant to see a Grizzly and I can just watch the video he took.

Now spending some time in Canada and experiencing cultural differences between the US and Europa I think Canadians are very close to Europeans, generally saying. One example made it pretty clear for me. We met an interesting Canadian in Banff and decided to hit the local bars together and our last destination was an Irish Pub. We were sitting close to an empty table with just three empty glasses on the table and next was a big group of maybe seven to nine people sitting and enjoying also music and drinks. Now all of a sudden one of the empty glasses burst in thousand peaces. We felt interrupted, stared a couple seconds at the peaces and were already with loud thoughts on our way to solve the mystery.

The big group stared a moment at the sealing than at each other and than at there beer. Basically just continued like nothing happened. Alex our new friend from Canada pointed out that this distanced and quiet behavior is very common in Canada. Now in the US this incident would have been discussed much louder and in a bigger group and of course with CNN and big cameras interviewing traumatised and bleeding victims.

I also experienced differences in the bike to bike waving culture. In Canada it is not really common to wave at each other, so after riding for so long I kind of wave automatically like using my signal light. So some bikers were overwhelmed, some looked around and didn't know what to do. And here in Montana it is more a waving with the index finger. I have to practice that in front of the mirror. Now I am going to stop boring you with the cultural differences from the view of a biker.
There is something else I wanted to share, every were out in the pampas are signs with " historic sites "next to the street. And when you follow the signs you will find yourself way off the main street and specially here in Montana you can maybe read that 1962 was a Cow born with three legs and than 1964 she broke unfortunately the wrong leg. And right next you can maybe buy stuffed Cows with three legs.. .....Or something like that.

And something else actually Till wanted to get out. We are staying in a hostel in Bozeman which was once the childhood home of the late actor Gary Cooper. He took drama classes here and his career also started here. So that was the historic part to it.
My dear friends....

Zennure

Still in Canada - Glacier Parkway - Waterton

We stayed in Banff for a couple of days to enjoy the wilderness and to hike up mountain Norquay. In the summertime the little ski village is just penetrated by a couple of lost tourists but since it was Canada Day, a national Holiday and close to 4th of July weekend it was kind of busy. So the idea to hike up Norquay mountain to escape the crowds was just perfect. The physical challenge hiking up the mountain was pushed a side by planning escape roads every minute and what to do if crossing the way of a hungry grizzly. Perfect method of distraction!!
But we saw just plenty of deer and Rocky Mountain sheep. Now sheep sounds very cute but these mountain sheep have quite a weapon on there heats, specially the male. The other time we had a chance of a close up was on the road. From the distance we discovered four male sheep walking very elegantly on the street. We approached them slowly and as I was just passing them I thought a framed portrait of a big horn sheep would be a great idea. But the moment I pulled out my camera one animal stoped walking, stared at me and decided to approach me. With shaking hands and full throttle I left his territory.

We left Banff and rode towards Jasper. I am so glad we rode further north. The Glacier Parkway should be on every ones to do list before biting the dust. The experience topped everything I saw before. Just overwhelming beauty and with the help of Pink Floyd playing in the background I was lifted up onto a different dimension.
I also felt very fortunate to have seen the remaining Glaciers. It is very sad like almost extinct creatures they are leaving us without saying good bye. Because of the high density of minerals melting glaciers create these incredible deep turquoise colored lakes and rivers. Almost artificially looking.
Right now I am resting next to the main road in Waterton and deer are crossing the street like pedestrians, every where I look deer grazing on peoples back yard, mother deer with there calfs, just great. I am thinking about a new pet. Maybe a domesticated deer to mow my grass?? But how do I get it to sit still on my bike???
So my deer friends it is again time.......
Zennure

Banff National Park /Canada

We distanced ourselves from the Gypsy life and decided to stay six days in Vancouver. A needed recovery time. After a couple of days resting on the sofa we took the bus to downtown Vancouver and on the way we were really surprised by all the homeless and drug addicts. It was very sad to see so many young people wondering around, trying to get there next fix. Downtown Vancouver had many new high rise buildings but like most harbour cities it had a touch of international flair. We went to China Town had some snacks and listened to the view of a homeless who caught us waiting for the bus. So our impression of Vancouver was overshadowed by the amount of needed people.

We left Vancouver on Thursday and the ride toward Banff National Park was my favorite feast for the eye. Nonstop giant mountains covert with pine trees in front of azure sky's with silvery glaciers decorating the perfect dance of colors. Many rivers and waterfalls running down the mountains like life supporting veins and touching the ground next to the street. Turquoise rivers carving there way along the valley. It is the perfect habitat for grizzly bears with plenty of Salmon in the rivers and tourists coming every year. But it is also a perfect setting for bald eagles, moose and elks. I just heard from the hostel staff that we have a big change to see bald eagles and couple of days ago a grizzly was seen in 50 m distance from the hostel so I feel that Till might have finally the chance to use his anti bear spray which he is carrying almost everywhere.

On our way through the glacier national park we also rode through tunnels and from the distance the openings looked like mouse holes and when we got closer they still looked like mouse holes.

So the first couple seconds after hitting the hole I was proud of my aiming ability but the feeling was promptly pushed aside by fear - the tunnel was dark and not one light bulb was leading me to the end. But this was the moment when I had the idea to name my bike and his name is Boxer. So the next thing I will do is donate light bulbs to the Glacier National Park.

Now my dear friends.....

Zennure

Vancouver, Canada

Arrived save in Vancouver on June 22. The ride from Portland was not really spectacular but maybe we are now spoiled and a little bit numb. We took the highway and around Seattle we experienced our first real Traffic jam. Miles and miles cars filled with commuters who are just trying to get home on a Friday afternoon after a long week of stressful work. That would explain the aggression towards us.Till didn't see himself waiting for hours on the highway and maybe we were encouraged by the way how the streets in California are peacefully shared and optimal used. Motorcyclist are allowed to ride between cars and everyone leaves room. So with the encouragement and confidence we decided to take the emergency lane far on the left of the highway and passed all the stuck and waiting car drivers. Till was with a big distance in front of me and between him and me there was plenty of time for the bored and waiting car drivers to think about a mean way to stop me. So I survived sudden pull outs of usually pick up trucks filled with red necks or trucks almost touching me from behind. Till was not aware of my fight to survive instead he was wondering why it took me so long.

Right now we are at Till's uncle's house and enjoying some peace. He was so kind and drove us along the coast up north to a beautiful waterfall. The surrounding reminded me of a rich and healthy rain forest. We watched the ferry leaving the harbor, a Canadian mother goose protecting her five chicks and enjoyed the 5 min. without rain.
We decided to explore down town Vancouver and check out the local Hopfen Tee.
Our plan is to travel on Wed. further east.

My dear friends it is again...........
Zennure

Live in the Red Woods

Redwood Coast/ California

On our way from San Francisco up to Klamath which is just north of Eureka we experienced the curviest roads with the most breathtaking views of the pacific.
Miles and miles of motorcyclist heaven one sharp curve after another, there were many moments with silent screams in corners which where taken to fast or just completely dry contact lenses caused by lazering the eyes on the road without blinking. Followed by a lot of blinking!!! But all these side effects are very common and well known to addicted adrenalin Junkies like we are. Now it's out!!!!

Perfect opportunity to learn the fine balance between right speed, heart rate acceleration and grade of the curve. But sometimes a loud question might still fill your head specially when surrounded by scenic 100 m downfall cliffs.
“Can I do the curve or is the curve going to do me.”

I am writing from a Youth hostel which is right next to the Redwood Coast/ National park and the pacific. Wonderful location I feel again blessed.
Riding through the forest with the world largest trees made me feel like riding through a long tunnel. Some of the Redwood trees can grow 1000 years old and soar to more than 370 feet (ca. 120m) huge branches don’t always let the sun break through so it is sometimes quite dark. Redwood trees seldom fall over, there shallow roots form a system of connecting threads to neighboring trees that provides strength against powerful winds and storms.
Now I want to share my experiences about our Alcatraz visit in San Francisco. We took the first boat in the morning to avoid the masses of people. But waking up to late and having to run 2 miles to the pier without coffee felt like a triathlon.
The location of the former prison and all the stories about Al Capone, Prohibition, the Great Depression and the gangster era made the trip Hollywood worthy. All the escape stories and how 3 inmates managed to break out of the prison by chipping away the cement with a spoon over a year. They made dummy heads out of soap and collected hair and placed them in there beds. What a fantastic idea. They were never found and I hope they made it, just because of there creativity.

Now my dear friends it is again time for my beauty sleep
Zennure

More pictures from Califronia

Kate and Crocodile hunter in action
Two love birds nesting in the trees of Sedona.
Resting Pudding on the California Coast.
Philip (mini me) and I playing soccer in Santa Cruz. Great day of riding and playing. He is taller but I am heavier so we both are in great balance. This is how a work out looks like San Fran style. It is rather cold here in SF and the hills help to warm you up and/or burn some of the seal blubber of my belly. I thought going on a trip like this would mean thinning out but I think quite the opposite is happening. at any rate I have not attempted to write for quite some time so it is time again to get something out there for my audience.
Adding to the story from Zenni we left Sedona quite sad as the time came to an end with Kate and Aaron. It was a real pleasure to see the two come out and I have to thank them again for going through the effort and fly for 5 hours just to see us for 3 days with both leading very busy work and social life it always takes a lot of energy to do those trips. I had a blast though and it was a new experience for me to remember mornings after hanging out with Aaron for a night so this one was a first (great success!! as Borat used to say). from there we decided to cover as much ground as possible heading west to California and going through the desert. we did our longest day of riding that day (440 miles) out of which 4-5 hours were in 120 degrees (44 in Celsius). You could not hydrate quick enough out there, so at the end of the day we had big heads with swollen eyes. All was compensated the next day when we hit California and stopped for a nice big burger and a cool blond in Santa Barbara which is a very nice town. Then my highlight for the day, the ride up from there towards Carmel with as many curves and hills as the eye can see. At the beginning of the road there was a sign that said: careful curves and mountains and bridges for the next 65 miles. Now where is that a problem?!
Then we met up with Philip and he took us around for some nice rides around town with food and beer and soccer which was much appreciated and needed.
Now we are in SF in a super cool hostel again right in down town next to bars and good food with lots of international travellers and there we hooked up again with our road friend from Holland (Michiel) whom we met earlier in Santa Fe and Taos. His trip came to an end here and we celebrated his last night. The night and I went out in a big bang and I had almost forgotten how shitty it feels to wake up in the morning when you go to bed at 4am in the morning. A day of rest and hibernation followed. We actually explored the city by foot. we started in t shirt and shorts in the morning and then started to freeze our much needed behinds off in the afternoon so we headed towards the old hippie district and bought some warm cloth and boots to wear for the night. which brings us to today. we started with a great tour of Alcatraz in the wee hours (for me at least) and almost had the entire prison for us as we were one of the first group to enter the island. spend 3 hours there and heard a lot of great stories!! Now my friends comes something that I rarely do but was much needed.....MY beauty sleep in the afternoon to tank some energy for this article.

All is well, the bikes run great with no technical problems, new tires for Zenni, new oil for both of us, almost 7000 miles driven concluding that the gear selection was the right one and that we are in the middle of a great experience. Current top three places. 1. Boulder Colorado, 2. SF, 3. Santa Fe New Mexico.

Now it is Saturday night and time for a beer at the local street fest with good live music .

Good night and good luck
Till

Sedona, Arizona / San Francisco, California

Eureka!! Eureka!! We have found it. This is what the gold miners, European explorers and settlers shouted when they arrived in California, the land of gold, the seedless watermelon, fortune cookies, the Internet and 1200 miles of Pacific Coast.

Now I can understand why Spanish explorers and missioners made a serious attempt to settle the land and why 1821 Mexico ruled California.

We are in free spirited and vibrant San Francisco right now and enjoying the gorgeously restored Victorian homes, the attraction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the multi culti. Have I mentioned the picturesque views created by the city's 1000 hills.

But now I have to turn the time back and share the experiences we had in Sedona with our dear friends Kate and Aaron.

Aaron was so kind and organized a very cosy house with a fire place, plenty of room to stretch our old bones and a scenic view of the cathedral rock formations. We spend our time with home cooking, hikes to unexplored vortexes and trying to feel the energy fields. Also choosing the hottest day to hike and borderline dehydration didn't help to find the power fields. I think we had our own spirits with aliens wearing dotty underwear, knots in there t-shirts and plenty of sun lotion.

On Saturday we decided to take a biplane scenic tour to see the mesas from the bird prospective.

As you can see we made sure to wear the protective helmets in case of an emergency.

The majestic rock formations appeared even bigger from above. Wonderful idea.

And after the flight it took Till just an hour of meditation and deep breathing to get the green shades out of his face.

After a sad good bye ceremony we head west to the promised land. Arrived in Santa Cruz met with Philipp and his family, Till's former boss and friend. A charming town with delicious dining opts., eucalyptus trees and shouting seals.

After discovering that I was riding already on the metal mesh wire of the tire we decided to purchase a new set of tires. That was quite an educational discovery. So you can actually ride on mesh for miles and miles. Just avoid rain. Also not to try at home!!!

The coast line is just mesmerizing and there is really just one and only way to experience the rough cliffs and that is on a bike. On the way up we passed a carpet of about 50 giant elephant seals which can weigh up to 2, 5 tons. Very interesting how these masses try to move, just imagine 2,5 tons of Pudding with fins times 50.

Tomorrow I will try to run across the Golden Gate Bridge and then we will ride further North towards Seattle to feel some rain.

So my dear friends it is again time for my beauty sleep.

Zennure

Injured black bear

I completely forgot to share our incidents with wild animals. Couple of days ago Till, Dough and I went for a run/hike in the tundras of Telluride. Miles and miles of wild Sage made the run feel like a healing tread and on the way we discovered the only two neighbor houses up in the mountains. My mind was drawn to the fact that our surrounding belonged to the animal kingdom. One part of me wanted to see mountain lions and bears and the other part signalised vulnerability. So the only proof of wild creatures shown to us was a very clear foot print of mountain lions, let me tell you they were huge. After our discovery I ran faster and the boys enjoyed there activated hunting instincts which I think are stronger embedded in there genes.

The other incident happened right after saying good by to Dough in front of the mansion. In about 100 m distance we could see a black bear walking away from us. I jumped of my bike, grabbed my camera and walked towards the bear but suddenly I didn't like my voyeuristic behaviour after discovering that the bear must have been injured because of his limping. I felt a strong need to help him or her. But how??

We made it down the mountain on difficult gravel roads and sharp 360 degree turns without dropping the bikes and left the lushes paradise behind us.

Talking about dropping, I accidentally dropped my camera about 3 weeks a ago while riding 70 miles/hour on the road. As it fell out of my hand and towards the ground I used my kickboxing techniques and kicked the camera away from the road into the grass. Please not to try at home!!!!

It is a miracle almost all pix shown on our blog were taken with our bandaged Sony Cyber- Shot UC-TA.

So tomorrow we will meet our lovely friends Aaron and Kate in Sedona/Flagstaff for a couple of days and I am sure the visit will provide us the next adventure series.

Again it is time for my beauty sleep.

Ciao

Zennure

Flagstaff, Arizona

The pic's are still from the Rockys, sorry !

After saying good by to our new friends in Telluride we rode towards Arizona. The ride to Mesa Verde National Park was brutally hot and dry. But it was very interesting to experience the land of ancestral Puebloans and their world. About 1400 years ago, long before Europeans explored North America, a group of Native Americans living in the Four Corners region chose Mesa Verde for their home. For more than 700 years they lived and flourished here. They build elaborate stone communities in the alcoves and canyon walls. And then around 1200 they left there homes and moved away and left us wondering.

We didn't spend enough time to explore the whole park which would have required a couple of

days but on our way to Fagstaff we passed the Navajo Reservation and the Hopi Reservation and decided to stay in a remote Motel in Tonalea owned by Native Americans with a beautiful view at a red Canyon.

In the morning freshly recovered from our heavy riding the day before we thought 130 miles left to Flagstaff shouldn't be a problem. After riding an hour and trying to find out behavioral patterns of tumble weed balls in heavy crosswinds and finding out what to do when getting attacked by five at once, we arrived at a closed section by the police. As we got closer a huge gas transporting truck laying sideways was visible. The police closed the contaminated area and since 160 is a two lane road the cars in front of us turned into the dirt next to the street and Till and I followed the hope. A huge dust cloud was created by about 20 cars driving back and forth trying to find a way back to the street. Till managed to get out of there as soon as he realised that the sand got deeper as he rode into the prairie. I continued as long as I could and prayed not to stall the bike.

Of course I stalled the bike and getting out of one foot sand in a half mile dust cloud was not my specialty. But as I was kind of giving up suddenly a young gentlemen (good looking) send by an angle pushed me out of my dilemma. Till was already on the road and waving because he hung out with the cool crowd who just cut the fence to get back to the road and was the first one out and then helped to get me and my bike.

The rest of our trip was comparably easy, just crosswinds and wait.......... the vicious tumble weed balls.

Now we are enjoying Flagstaff for a couple of days.

And again my dear friends it is time for my beauty sleep

Zennure

Moab, Utah / Telluride, Colorado

This picture is from our time in Boulder.

Our bikes are serviced and run even faster now. With our newly installed speed controls my right hand has a bigger change to heal from all the blisters. But of course it took me two days of riding to get used to the fact that as soon as the speed control is set at a certain speed it requires a little more strength to loosen the handle grip. So after a couple panic attacks, some meditating and mental adjustments I proudly announce my self as a right hand waver on the road.

We stayed a night in Grand Junction which was just on our way to the land of mesas and canyons in Utah. The landscape changed quickly from lushes green overloads of mountains to rugged land. On our way to Arches National park were rocks meet the sky, we decided to stay in Moab which is located in the desert. Because of the harsh climate, plants grow very slowly, sometimes a three foot tree ( ca. 1 m) can be hundreds of years old and that made me show big respect to all plants and animals which manage to survive in the desert.

We left Moab before the noon heat and explored the canyon lands. After a couple hours we somehow rode towards east not being aware of, we were brutally used by the Rocky Mountain magnets and ended up as victims in a Ski town called Telluride.

The most charming little Mountain village with the longest and freaking steepest gondola I have ever been on which was of course made by Swiss manufacturers.

As we entered our Victorian style B+B which was recommended by a local , a young man lounging in the reception area approached Till and wanted to know if he was from Cleveland.

Now here it comes, Till and I went with friends 3 or 4 years ago to a party. I don't remember what happened that night but maybe it's better this way, anyhow for some reason Dough our new friend and former owner of the ultimate club Touch remembered us from his party.

Dough and his wife Pranee invited us to stay a couple of days high up in the mountains in the huge luxurious mansion they are sitting and living in. The picture with the mountains is the view out of our window.

So this afternoon while laying between two trees in a hammock I had some time to think and what came into my mind was that I must have been a good person to my surrounding to deserve this beauty. It is so quiet here I can even hear squirrels scraping and eating nuts.

Till and Dough decided to scare some mountain goats in the wilderness with there bikes and

after there return we will have some dinner and relax maybe in one of the Jacuzzis or have dinner in the Jacuzzi or.....

So my dear friends the elks and coyotes are calling for me now.

Take care and Fortsetzung folgt.

Zenni