STORIES
More Adventures.
More Stories.
Fear, Machistos, and Riding through Guatemala and El Salvador
Rio Dulce I rode across the bridge into El Salvador, and when the bridge ended there was an empty bit of road with buildings to the left down a hill, a little stand to my right, military men milling and people milling around. There were no clear signs that I could see, and I sat […]
Of Loss, Role Models, and Storms
On the Road, Campeche, Mexico Rocketing down the highway, drops of rain nipped at the tops of my legs. I leaned forward into the wind, as if propelling the motorcycle forward through force of will. The road wound through hills in front of me, enormous dark storm clouds gathering behind. I had been outrunning the […]
Of Motorcycles, Police, Wild Camping, and Cockroaches
June 12, 2017 Week Ending 6.11.17 Miles Ridden: 672 // Total Miles Ridden: 4062 Zihuatanejo The moon was high in the sky, a small yellow orb in the distance, matching the yellow lights that shone on the opposite shore. I could hear the sound of the waves crashing below as I descended the steep concrete […]
Of Life on the Road, Dogs, and Grumpiness
Week Ending 6.05.17 Miles Ridden: 470 // Total Miles Ridden: 3390 Puerto Vallarta I zipped around a bus that had been making frequent stops, following the river that wound up the road in the distance, passing small shops and a Tortilleria, where fresh tortillas were being made by a silver machine. All of a sudden, […]
Riding up Stairs, the Pacific, and the Loss of Ego
San Miguel de Allende, Mexico The two lane road wound across the desert, cacti popping up like telephone lines and scrubby trees dotting the skyline for miles. I leaned into turn after turn, opening up the throttle and throwing the bike right, then left, then right again. The early sunrise was golden, and at […]
Into Mexico, Becoming Fearless, and the Tent-Eating Raccoons
Nuevo Laredo, Mexico I was waiting at the Banjercito office in the Migración building, having just crossed International Bridge II from Laredo, Texas into Mexico. I held my motorcycle helmet in one hand, and my tank bag in the other, simultaneously clutching a large ziplock of all my documents needed for my temporary vehicle permit […]
On the Road South— from Rainy DC to Bayou Sunshine
The moon shone, a white orb in the sky above the parking garage rooftop in Asheville. Nelson and I sat in empty parking spaces, our adventure vehicles parked haphazardly across spaces in front of us, cherry tobacco smoke pouring from the corncob pipes were were smoking. It was Monday night in North Carolina, the kind of night […]
From Montañita to Baños, and the Art of Suffering
Montañita, September 1, 2016 I woke up around 5 PM, my entire body feeling like I had been beaten with a club. I had spent the last few hours sleeping on and off, in between waking and throwing all the covers off because of my high fever, then waking up again freezing to try and […]
From Guayaquil to Montañita and into the Great Unknown
The cab raced through the darkened streets, pausing only now and again to roll one way or the other to avoid a pot hole or swing around a traffic circle. It was 2 AM, and almost every storefront lining the street was dark, their metaled and graffitied doors closed until the next morning. All of […]
The Art of Lone-liness
Cape Town 2012 There’s a certain spot in Cape Town where the road suddenly dips and there she is— the Mother City spread like a carpet to the sea, Table Mountain looming in darkness and the city aglitter. In October 2012, I crested that hill for the first time, windows down and the summer breeze […]