Tentative map
VERY rough sketch of my route
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Quantum Cosmology
Also, it's now official. I will be attending McGill University in September for grad school. More detail is available upon request.
Sightseeing
I forgot to post photos of the Third Street Promenade on the post from yesterday, so I'll just put them here.
On the 21st of April, I woke up and decided to take care of some of the chores on my list. I started by looking up a better place to stay than my roach motel, and moved onto calling USPS about my knife. Anyway, I packed my crap and went out in search of oil. I stopped at a place called West Coast GP Motorcycles and priced out some oil. I asked what they charge to do the change themselves, and the guy said $40. I didn't want to pay $40 to have someone loosen a single bolt, then put it back and pour oil into my bike. But I'd have to go and find something I could use as an oil pan, and then buy it, and then deal with my spent oil, and waste time that I'd rather spend enjoying California. So I told the guys I'd spring for the change if they give it a good once over and inspect stuff because I wanted to be in tip-top shape before heading back. I bought the oil and paid for the change, and I'm so glad I did. It turns out that everyone in the store races bikes. Not just that, but they all race SV650s! So they know these bikes inside and out. They changed my oil, checked (and topped up!) my coolant, inspected and approved my brakes, inflated my tires to a better pressure (and told me what it should be given the weight I'm carrying), checked and sprayed my chain and gave it a good once over. Best $40 I ever spent.
From there I went to check into the Super 8 in Culver City, CA. I then wasted the majority of my day trying to get passport photos taken for VISA applications I need to send. It was a debacle and I eventually gave up.
I went to the beach and found that it was too cold to swim. So I walked along the beach in the water for a while, and then decided to do something else. I went back to the hotel and spoke with a biker named Wes in the parking lot. I went back to my room and decided I should just work on blog posts and stuff for the rest of the night (it was already dark).
On the 22nd of April, I went to Hollywood. I walked along Hollywood Blvd on the Walk of Fame. The vast majority of the stars on the walk said "Reserved for Grant Salton".
I then went downtown LA to pick up my knife from the post office. I went to the city center but I didn't really find anything interesting. I think I was in the wrong area?
I left the downtown area and decided to visit:
To get to the vantage point in this picture, I had to hike a fair bit. Here's the view from the top:
From there I decided to take a drive through Beverly Hills.
It's all so nice... Everything just seems so ... expensive. Here's Rodeo shopping district:
From there I went back to the hotel, changed into warmer clothes, and then went for dinner. I ate at some upscale restaurant/sushi bar. The sushi was very good, but also very expensive. I wanted a cup of coffee or something, so I went back to the Third Street Promenade. In Starbucks, I spoke to a Jamaican guy who used to ride a Honda fireblade. We talked for a while, and by the time I got back to my bike I had a parking ticket. I was confused - I'd specifically parked so that I was leaving the space available for other cars. I got a ticket for parking like this:
The ticket is for being "100% in the red". I had initially parked in the space as though I was a car. I thought it was kind of unfair and wanted to move it. At that moment, some official looking guys ("community service officers", apparently) rode by and I asked if parking was free. They said yes and told me I should move my bike to where it is in the pictures so I don't snake a whole spot. I agreed and moved it. Anyway, I asked local cops who said it was ridiculous and told me to contest it. How much is the ticket? ... $65. Ya, I know. So I called it a night.
On the 23rde, I got my stuff sorted out and then went to the beach for a bit. I went in search of sunglasses and ended up buying a bamboo shirt on clearance. I then went to the water and body surfed on the waves for a while. It's not the same as the regular surfing I wanted to try, but it'll do. I went back to the hotel and worked on my visa applications for travel. It took forever, and it became too late to take passport photos. I just hit the road.
On the way, I stopped in Fontana CA for a coffee and to check maps. I spoke to a biker in the store who strongly recommended I not try the mountain pass that night due to high winds, winding roads, excessive trucks, and a general danger. All the nearby motels were ridiculously expensive, so I decided to camp. I stopped at Target for supplies (can of dinner, etc.) then drove around looking for a good place to stop. I was in a really posh area, so nothing stood out. Eventually, I just said "screw it!" and camped on a soccer/football field in the middle of town:
It's right here:
View Larger Map
From 1-2am the sprinkler system came on and sprayed my tent. One of them was really bad so I got out and went to divert the water until it turned off a couple minutes later. I was successful although the tent was soaked. It didn't matter in the end because it rained in the morning anyway. I was also freezing cold that night and barely slept. And so concludes my Californian adventure.
 |
| Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica |
On the 21st of April, I woke up and decided to take care of some of the chores on my list. I started by looking up a better place to stay than my roach motel, and moved onto calling USPS about my knife. Anyway, I packed my crap and went out in search of oil. I stopped at a place called West Coast GP Motorcycles and priced out some oil. I asked what they charge to do the change themselves, and the guy said $40. I didn't want to pay $40 to have someone loosen a single bolt, then put it back and pour oil into my bike. But I'd have to go and find something I could use as an oil pan, and then buy it, and then deal with my spent oil, and waste time that I'd rather spend enjoying California. So I told the guys I'd spring for the change if they give it a good once over and inspect stuff because I wanted to be in tip-top shape before heading back. I bought the oil and paid for the change, and I'm so glad I did. It turns out that everyone in the store races bikes. Not just that, but they all race SV650s! So they know these bikes inside and out. They changed my oil, checked (and topped up!) my coolant, inspected and approved my brakes, inflated my tires to a better pressure (and told me what it should be given the weight I'm carrying), checked and sprayed my chain and gave it a good once over. Best $40 I ever spent.
From there I went to check into the Super 8 in Culver City, CA. I then wasted the majority of my day trying to get passport photos taken for VISA applications I need to send. It was a debacle and I eventually gave up.
I went to the beach and found that it was too cold to swim. So I walked along the beach in the water for a while, and then decided to do something else. I went back to the hotel and spoke with a biker named Wes in the parking lot. I went back to my room and decided I should just work on blog posts and stuff for the rest of the night (it was already dark).
On the 22nd of April, I went to Hollywood. I walked along Hollywood Blvd on the Walk of Fame. The vast majority of the stars on the walk said "Reserved for Grant Salton".
 |
| Part of a mall |
 |
| Hollywood Blvd |
I then went downtown LA to pick up my knife from the post office. I went to the city center but I didn't really find anything interesting. I think I was in the wrong area?
I left the downtown area and decided to visit:
To get to the vantage point in this picture, I had to hike a fair bit. Here's the view from the top:
From there I decided to take a drive through Beverly Hills.
 |
| A residential street |
 |
| A section of the sidewalk |
 |
| Perpendicular view from above |
It's all so nice... Everything just seems so ... expensive. Here's Rodeo shopping district:
From there I went back to the hotel, changed into warmer clothes, and then went for dinner. I ate at some upscale restaurant/sushi bar. The sushi was very good, but also very expensive. I wanted a cup of coffee or something, so I went back to the Third Street Promenade. In Starbucks, I spoke to a Jamaican guy who used to ride a Honda fireblade. We talked for a while, and by the time I got back to my bike I had a parking ticket. I was confused - I'd specifically parked so that I was leaving the space available for other cars. I got a ticket for parking like this:
The ticket is for being "100% in the red". I had initially parked in the space as though I was a car. I thought it was kind of unfair and wanted to move it. At that moment, some official looking guys ("community service officers", apparently) rode by and I asked if parking was free. They said yes and told me I should move my bike to where it is in the pictures so I don't snake a whole spot. I agreed and moved it. Anyway, I asked local cops who said it was ridiculous and told me to contest it. How much is the ticket? ... $65. Ya, I know. So I called it a night.
On the 23rde, I got my stuff sorted out and then went to the beach for a bit. I went in search of sunglasses and ended up buying a bamboo shirt on clearance. I then went to the water and body surfed on the waves for a while. It's not the same as the regular surfing I wanted to try, but it'll do. I went back to the hotel and worked on my visa applications for travel. It took forever, and it became too late to take passport photos. I just hit the road.
On the way, I stopped in Fontana CA for a coffee and to check maps. I spoke to a biker in the store who strongly recommended I not try the mountain pass that night due to high winds, winding roads, excessive trucks, and a general danger. All the nearby motels were ridiculously expensive, so I decided to camp. I stopped at Target for supplies (can of dinner, etc.) then drove around looking for a good place to stop. I was in a really posh area, so nothing stood out. Eventually, I just said "screw it!" and camped on a soccer/football field in the middle of town:
It's right here:
View Larger Map
From 1-2am the sprinkler system came on and sprayed my tent. One of them was really bad so I got out and went to divert the water until it turned off a couple minutes later. I was successful although the tent was soaked. It didn't matter in the end because it rained in the morning anyway. I was also freezing cold that night and barely slept. And so concludes my Californian adventure.
Tuesday, 26 April 2011
At Roads End
From: Needles, CA
To: Venice, CA
Mileage: About 464km
Today, I ran out of road. I even ran out of land. Read on.
I packed up camp and made my trip through the Mojave desert.
I kept moving, but started getting drowsy. I stopped for lunch in Barstow, CA. I used my Starbucks giftcard, and planned out my route for the rest of the day. Continuing on, I came upon a mountain range. Once I reached the top, I was greeted with a great view. I was in the clouds looking out at scenic mountains and cities below. Sorry, no photos - there was nowhere safe to pull off. As I started coming down the other side of the mountains, I started getting nice views of the metro area ahead. Eventually, I entered Los Angeles county. Tropical trees everywhere, ultra-modern everything, lots of wealth. Nice cars and bikes everywhere!
I took an exit for Santa Monica and continued on. Eventually, the mile markers reached 0 and the road ahead of me vanished. When I ran out of pavement, I had ended up at
Elated, I parked and walked to the water.
I stayed on the beach for about 20 mins or so, but then needed to take care of business. So I bought a hot dog on a stick (the original). I then went in search of a hotel. I drove into Venice, CA and visited the beach since it's the namesake of my blog.
I looked for a place to stay and didn't see much, so I stayed at the Santa Monica Motel. It sounds nicer than it is. Here's a quick shot of the Santa Monica Pier:
By this time it was late and dark, so I went to the Third Street Promenade (a touristy pedestrian street) and ate dinner at a cafe before turning in.
To: Venice, CA
Mileage: About 464km
Today, I ran out of road. I even ran out of land. Read on.
I packed up camp and made my trip through the Mojave desert.
I kept moving, but started getting drowsy. I stopped for lunch in Barstow, CA. I used my Starbucks giftcard, and planned out my route for the rest of the day. Continuing on, I came upon a mountain range. Once I reached the top, I was greeted with a great view. I was in the clouds looking out at scenic mountains and cities below. Sorry, no photos - there was nowhere safe to pull off. As I started coming down the other side of the mountains, I started getting nice views of the metro area ahead. Eventually, I entered Los Angeles county. Tropical trees everywhere, ultra-modern everything, lots of wealth. Nice cars and bikes everywhere!
I took an exit for Santa Monica and continued on. Eventually, the mile markers reached 0 and the road ahead of me vanished. When I ran out of pavement, I had ended up at
Elated, I parked and walked to the water.
 |
| Success. |
 |
| Venice Beach (by bike) |
 |
| The outdoor gym |
By this time it was late and dark, so I went to the Third Street Promenade (a touristy pedestrian street) and ate dinner at a cafe before turning in.
Friday, 22 April 2011
A Very Good Day
From: Flagstaff, AZ
To: Needles, CA (aww, I spoiled the surprise ending...)
Mileage: About 606kms
I woke up feeling very tired. I didn't get much sleep - at about 1:30-2:00am I had some foreign guy using skype and sitting just outside my room. He was loud enough that he woke me up, and I donned some pants, went outside, and told him to take it downstairs to the lobby. Then at about 3:30am I disturbed again by some (drunk?) guys arguing with the hotel staff about getting into their room and having lost the key, etc. Then from about 4:00am on, there was a ridiculously loud banging noise as though someone was smashing down a door. And there was yelling and cursing. I think a drunk (homeless?) guy locked himself in the bathroom downstairs and claimed he couldn't figure out how to get out
After breakfast, I went to get gas. I noticed that the bike was really underpowered and the exhaust smelled rich. I pulled her up to a tire filling station and cleaned the air filter. It was dirty and somewhat sandy from desert wind storms, plus I was at a high altitude. I gassed up and off I went.
I took the scenic route north (highway 180). The ride was amazing - a nice easy winding path through a wooded forest:
The 180 ended and I followed the 64 North. I arrived at:
YUP! The grandest of all the canyons! Well, it's no Valles Marineris. I parked the bike and walked to the canyon rim. Here are some more pics: (sorry, for some reason the server rejected a bunch of them, so I don't have my best pics up)
I was completely blown away when I first saw this thing. I didn't even take a photo, I just kind of stared at it for a while, unable to comprehend. I found the Grand Canyon was captivating and surreal. At first it really does look fake. Since I couldn't actually understand the sheer enormity of this thing, I couldn't properly gauge distances, and it just kind of looked two dimensional. But after staring for a while (and giving my brain time to process), I started to realize the scale of the canyon, and it started to come to life. It just doesn't seem to end! It stretches as far as I could see, and when you think you're looking a the bottom, you notice that the part you think is the end has an edge that overlooks a huge canyon. It's stunning though, and I was pretty well taken aback. On the way back, I passed 5000km since I started. This is where I was at the time:
Anyway, I needed to push on, so I took the 64 south until I hit I-40. I took it to the next town: Ash Fork. From there I followed the longest continuous stretch of the old Route 66 still in existence. It runs all the way from Ash Fork to Topock, making a stop in Oatman. This was a brilliant ride, and ended up being an incredible experience. The ride started nice and easy with pleasing landscape and scenery. I gassed up in Saligman and chatted with a Canadian who'd been living in the US for over 50 years. I carried on and filled up again in Truxton, just to be safe. From that point on, the road was just incredible. In fact, it was probably the nicest road I've ever ridden. It started nice and easy with beautiful scenery all the way to Kingman:
From Kingman to Topock was absolutely incredible... It starts as a simple ride through the desert, but it heads toward mountains. I kept thinking "okay, where is the break between the mountains?". But then all of a sudden, you reach the mountain, and the road starts climbing. Unfortunately (and I really mean that!) the sun had just about set:
But this road was the most amazing road I've ever see, nevermind ridden or even driven! It climbs up this mountain with these hairpin turns. It's an historic old road, so it's not that well kept and it has an old fashioned feel to it. It's up the side of a mountain, so there are rocks and gravel all over the road. It's old, so it doesn't have a guard rail. It's on the side of a mountain, so on one side of the road is a cliff face. This is no amateur road, believe me. But to make matters worse, I was riding it at night! That was an ordeal, let me tell you. I couldn't get good pictures at night, so this photo really doesn't do justice to the road:
I kept calm and relaxed (and surprised myself in this regard), and I focussed and rode through it carefully. It took me forever just to get to the top where I was expecting the town of Oatman. But of course I had to come all the way back down the other side with more of the same hairpin turns. I finally reached the town of Oatman, and I really wish I'd arrived during the day. The town is an old, wild west sort of town, set in mountains! I couldn't take proper pictures at night with gloves and a lack of time, but see if you can get the gist here:
Before setting out on this stretch of the road road, I called a campground ahead of me to see what the story was. I mentioned I'd be taking 66 through Oatman, and the lady said that I'd take longer because I'd have to drive slowly and watch out for wild donkeys. I figured "yeah, okay lady... I'll watch out for wild donkeys..." When I started on the road up the mountain toward Oatman, I saw a sign for "Donkey Crossing" (an image of a donkey). I thought "that's ... weird...?" and continued. I put myself on alert, but still thought it was crap. Then I started noticing that I was dodging donkey #$%@ on the road. ..... OK. Then I started dodging frickin' donkeys!!! Sadly, the pictures didn't work:
[Blogger keeps rejecting all my images. It's VERY frustrating and taking up a hell of a lot of my time trying to upload]
So to recap, I was riding a mountainside road with tight, hairpin turns, gravel and rocks on the road, no guardrails, a cliff face on one side, at night. And I was the only living soul on the road, aside from the donkeys (and bats). Since it was so dangerous, I took it nice and slow and easy, so that it was late and dark by the time I finished. I rounded off route 66 in Topock and deided to continue on to my campsite. I was going to try a KOA (my first time). I jumped on the interstate and pressed on.
A little way down the road, I actually crossed the state line and entered California!! I also crossed into the Pacific time zone!
I found my campsite and called it a night.
I still need to post for Wednesday and Thursday, but I'm having a lot of trouble from Blogger. It takes a long time to upload a single picture, and 90% of the time the server rejects my images. I'll do my best though. Sorry, these images kind of suck, but they're the only ones I could upload.
To: Needles, CA (aww, I spoiled the surprise ending...)
Mileage: About 606kms
I woke up feeling very tired. I didn't get much sleep - at about 1:30-2:00am I had some foreign guy using skype and sitting just outside my room. He was loud enough that he woke me up, and I donned some pants, went outside, and told him to take it downstairs to the lobby. Then at about 3:30am I disturbed again by some (drunk?) guys arguing with the hotel staff about getting into their room and having lost the key, etc. Then from about 4:00am on, there was a ridiculously loud banging noise as though someone was smashing down a door. And there was yelling and cursing. I think a drunk (homeless?) guy locked himself in the bathroom downstairs and claimed he couldn't figure out how to get out
After breakfast, I went to get gas. I noticed that the bike was really underpowered and the exhaust smelled rich. I pulled her up to a tire filling station and cleaned the air filter. It was dirty and somewhat sandy from desert wind storms, plus I was at a high altitude. I gassed up and off I went.
I took the scenic route north (highway 180). The ride was amazing - a nice easy winding path through a wooded forest:
The 180 ended and I followed the 64 North. I arrived at:
 |
| BAM! |
YUP! The grandest of all the canyons! Well, it's no Valles Marineris. I parked the bike and walked to the canyon rim. Here are some more pics: (sorry, for some reason the server rejected a bunch of them, so I don't have my best pics up)
 |
| The greenish part is actually the Colorado River |
I was completely blown away when I first saw this thing. I didn't even take a photo, I just kind of stared at it for a while, unable to comprehend. I found the Grand Canyon was captivating and surreal. At first it really does look fake. Since I couldn't actually understand the sheer enormity of this thing, I couldn't properly gauge distances, and it just kind of looked two dimensional. But after staring for a while (and giving my brain time to process), I started to realize the scale of the canyon, and it started to come to life. It just doesn't seem to end! It stretches as far as I could see, and when you think you're looking a the bottom, you notice that the part you think is the end has an edge that overlooks a huge canyon. It's stunning though, and I was pretty well taken aback. On the way back, I passed 5000km since I started. This is where I was at the time:
Anyway, I needed to push on, so I took the 64 south until I hit I-40. I took it to the next town: Ash Fork. From there I followed the longest continuous stretch of the old Route 66 still in existence. It runs all the way from Ash Fork to Topock, making a stop in Oatman. This was a brilliant ride, and ended up being an incredible experience. The ride started nice and easy with pleasing landscape and scenery. I gassed up in Saligman and chatted with a Canadian who'd been living in the US for over 50 years. I carried on and filled up again in Truxton, just to be safe. From that point on, the road was just incredible. In fact, it was probably the nicest road I've ever ridden. It started nice and easy with beautiful scenery all the way to Kingman:
 |
| I have better pictuers, but I can't upload them. Very annoying. |
From Kingman to Topock was absolutely incredible... It starts as a simple ride through the desert, but it heads toward mountains. I kept thinking "okay, where is the break between the mountains?". But then all of a sudden, you reach the mountain, and the road starts climbing. Unfortunately (and I really mean that!) the sun had just about set:
But this road was the most amazing road I've ever see, nevermind ridden or even driven! It climbs up this mountain with these hairpin turns. It's an historic old road, so it's not that well kept and it has an old fashioned feel to it. It's up the side of a mountain, so there are rocks and gravel all over the road. It's old, so it doesn't have a guard rail. It's on the side of a mountain, so on one side of the road is a cliff face. This is no amateur road, believe me. But to make matters worse, I was riding it at night! That was an ordeal, let me tell you. I couldn't get good pictures at night, so this photo really doesn't do justice to the road:
 |
| This is a long exposure picture. It was actually very dark in real life. |
I kept calm and relaxed (and surprised myself in this regard), and I focussed and rode through it carefully. It took me forever just to get to the top where I was expecting the town of Oatman. But of course I had to come all the way back down the other side with more of the same hairpin turns. I finally reached the town of Oatman, and I really wish I'd arrived during the day. The town is an old, wild west sort of town, set in mountains! I couldn't take proper pictures at night with gloves and a lack of time, but see if you can get the gist here:
Before setting out on this stretch of the road road, I called a campground ahead of me to see what the story was. I mentioned I'd be taking 66 through Oatman, and the lady said that I'd take longer because I'd have to drive slowly and watch out for wild donkeys. I figured "yeah, okay lady... I'll watch out for wild donkeys..." When I started on the road up the mountain toward Oatman, I saw a sign for "Donkey Crossing" (an image of a donkey). I thought "that's ... weird...?" and continued. I put myself on alert, but still thought it was crap. Then I started noticing that I was dodging donkey #$%@ on the road. ..... OK. Then I started dodging frickin' donkeys!!! Sadly, the pictures didn't work:
[Blogger keeps rejecting all my images. It's VERY frustrating and taking up a hell of a lot of my time trying to upload]
So to recap, I was riding a mountainside road with tight, hairpin turns, gravel and rocks on the road, no guardrails, a cliff face on one side, at night. And I was the only living soul on the road, aside from the donkeys (and bats). Since it was so dangerous, I took it nice and slow and easy, so that it was late and dark by the time I finished. I rounded off route 66 in Topock and deided to continue on to my campsite. I was going to try a KOA (my first time). I jumped on the interstate and pressed on.
A little way down the road, I actually crossed the state line and entered California!! I also crossed into the Pacific time zone!
I found my campsite and called it a night.
I still need to post for Wednesday and Thursday, but I'm having a lot of trouble from Blogger. It takes a long time to upload a single picture, and 90% of the time the server rejects my images. I'll do my best though. Sorry, these images kind of suck, but they're the only ones I could upload.
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