Mic's Adventure

The Motorcycle Adventures and Projects of Mic

Archive for category Adventure

No Time to Waste

Feb 4

Posted by Mic in Adventure | 4 Comments

It is now just over 4 months until my departure from Seattle Washington up to Inuvik, Northwest Territories and I can’t help but look at the last couple months and how fast they really have gone.

It seems only a couple weeks ago I had finalized my route, spoke with Gus about it, and he agreed to come along.  So with that date coming closer, I have also realized I still do not really have the bike I would like to do this trip.

Before I purchase a new bike, I really need to get rid of one of my other bikes. Regardless if it is the Track bike, or my R6 Street bike, I need to get rid of them. I don’t have the room, nor the resources to just go out and purchase a new bike (oddly enough, I cringed when doing tax returns and realized my pay cut I took last year would have bought me a new BMW R1200GSA in full. Youch).

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Crossing County Lines: Destination – A Day to Waste

Jan 18

Posted by Mic in Crossing County Lines | 5 Comments

A relaxing mid-morning ride.

Saturday the 16th started off just like any other Saturday before. I woke up after sleeping in, made coffee, and sat down for  my morning ritual of checking email, browsing the forums at pnwriders.com and advrider.com and checking the local news and weather.

A quick glance at the weather report showed that the day would be rather dry in the morning hours through the early afternoon, with increasing rain into the later part of the afternoon on into the evening.  So with this information, I jumped on onto Google Maps, and started to plan a short ride for the day.

There are a few places around the area I want to visit, but with the day’s outlook, I wasn’t really looking forward to a repeat of New Years Day.  I don’t mind riding in the rain, I do it on what seems like a daily occurrence here in the Puget Sound Region with my daily commute to work, however I do not enjoy spending hours in it while being soaked to the bone, with the sensation of my mind going numb.

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Across the Sound – Destination: The 12th Annual New Years Day Ride

Jan 11

Posted by Mic in Across the Sound | 1 Comment

So it comes to my attention that it is now January 11th, of our new year of 2010. It’s going to take me awhile to get used to this whole “10″ thing.  In fact the “O’s” rolled off the tongue so easily, I want to say O’Ten. Which, technically is acceptable since there is an “0″ preceding the 10 part, but I don’t think people will like that.

The new year started out great. It started with leaving the house, at 7:50am to the Seattle Ferry Terminal to catch the 8:45 Ferry to Bremerton for a new years ride around the Hood Canal with some people from PNWRIDERS.COM.  It is a yearly ride that is put on by Jim Whipple, who you may have read about before in my blog post “Across the Sound – Destination: Phinney Bay Machine Works” .  If you haven’t read about my little trip over to see him, take a moment to click on the link there and read through it. I’ll wait… Read the rest of this entry »

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It’s December First

Dec 1

Posted by Mic in Arctic Expedition 2010, General, My Old Friend: The Rebirth of an XT, The Breeze | 1 Comment

I wanted to make sure I had a post on the first of the month. I really didn’t know what I originally wanted to write about, so I guess I’ll just give little updates on little odds and ends!

The XT has been sitting now for awhile without much work done to it. In fact the only thing done to it, is that I took off the Fat Bars I put on it, and put 7/8 bars back on.

The Kick Starter Kit that I had ordered from Yamaha finally showed up! I wasn’t really expecting that to show up for at least another couple months, with how Yamaha North America made it sound! So I’m happy about that!

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Across the Sound – Destination: Phinney Bay Machine Works

Nov 23

Posted by Mic in Adventure, General, The Breeze | 3 Comments

Waiting for the Ferry in Seattle - Taken with my Blackberry

Waiting for the Ferry in Seattle - Taken with my Blackberry

For the last year or so, their has been a gentleman on a local forum I frequent (Pacific Northwest Riders) that I have been meaning to take the time to go and see.

Jim Whipple, and his wife Tamara, own a small machine shop located in Bremerton, Washington by the name of Phinney Bay Machine Works. Across the Puget Sound from Seattle, this small Naval town is an hour ferry ride from the Main terminal in Seattle.

I decided on Saturday, to send Jim a message to see if was at all opposed to my stopping by, to just take some time to watch him work and bs with him.  He was completely open to it, and told me to come anytime so I let him know I would come over on Sunday if that was ok.

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A Date is set, a Co-Rider Confirmed – Arctic Expedition 2010 is Official

Nov 17

Posted by Mic in Adventure, Arctic Expedition 2010 | 1 Comment

Last night I received a phone call from an acquaintance of mine, who I had met over this summer while him and his wife were passing through the Seattle area on a “around the state” tour of Washington.

Him and his wife had moved to Washington from Alaska,  and were experiencing the sites on his Valkyrie.

So when I finished planning my route, I decided that I would shoot him an message to see if some of the area’s I was passing through, and the times that I had set aside seemed reasonable.

He messaged me back shortly after, wanting to set a time aside for that evening to talk. So last night he gave me a call and we discussed the route, the sights to see, the places to eat, and the date of departure.  With all this decided, he agreed to come along, as he had been wanting to hit up Dawson for the Dust to Dawson (D2D), which I had just learned about from him, as well as another trip to Inuvik.

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Routing to the Unknown

Nov 16

Posted by Mic in Adventure, Arctic Expedition 2010, General | 4 Comments

As I continue to do my route planning, and research of exactly where and what I want to see, I continue to discover points of interest that jump out at me.

My route has evolved from what seemed like simple jaunts between major points of interest, usually little towns along the way, to even more little points of interest of natural and man made wonders.

I sat down one night, and first tried to define what I wanted out of this trip, and where I wanted to go. I do not have the time to do both Inuvik and Prudhoe Bay without giving up some down time to actually enjoy the sites and locations we are passing through, and so a decision had to be made.

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Arctic Expedition 2010

Nov 5

Posted by Mic in Adventure, Arctic Expedition 2010 | 2 Comments

I have finally got around to adding the “Adventures” page/tab for this blog! Hurray!  It is called “Life’s A Breeze: The Adventures and Projects of Mic” after all.

I will populate the Adventures section with past rides that I can find old postings from other sites on, but for the time being, I currently have a page dedicated to my 2010 trip to the Arctic Circle.

The page will be updated as I continue to research, and prepare for my trip, until the day I set off. After that, updates will be blogged as internet service permits, then the section will be broken up into sections.

So go ahead and take a moment to read the “Why” of the trip, and a little background on why I am making such an effort to make it a reality.

Arctic Expedition 2010: Seattle to the Arctic Circle and Beyond

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Back to Basics – The Rain of Insanity

Oct 22

Posted by Mic in Adventure, General, The Breeze | 1 Comment

Me and My XT - Sometime in the mid 1990's with my buddy Owen S.

Me and My XT - Sometime in the mid 1990's with my buddy Owen S.

I see them. The gentle leaves falling to the ground, blotting out the once green neighborhoods in tones of yellow, orange and red.

Our sky’s give in to the clouds.  Slowly removing the blue from our sights, and replacing it with the dreary gray that has moved in, bringing with it, the pat pat pattering of rain gently striking the ground in rapid succession.

It’s autumn in the Pacific Northwest. And while the people pack up their motorcycles, along with their lawn furniture and volley ball nets, I dust off my own, and prepare for the winter ahead. Read the rest of this entry »

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