I like the Irish roads when I am not sliding down them

Whoops. It seems I was following to closely. A beginners mistake. I thought it would be from driving on the left side of the road. This was my first time to fall. I thought my first would be on some backroad in Africa that was dirt or gravel not the nice curvy country roads of Ireland. Not to much damage done. I need to locate a mirror now. The rest can be fixed with the good old duct tape. I check myself out, a few bruises and some road rash, but I was on my way in 10 minutes.
I new it would be hard to travel alone. I have felt lonely with my best friends right by my side though. If I waited for my loneliness to go away I would never go anywhere. The style of traveling I am doing makes it possible for me to not have to relay on anyone except for food and gas. I have everything I need in the old mule. A tent, sleeping bag, first aid, cookware, tools, spare parts for the bike. It is a traveling autonomous vehicle-much like the huge land yachts that Americans use. I wonder if they actually see anything when they are so independent. Sometimes I wonder if this is a good thing. I am with a friend from Colorado and she is hitchhiking and depending on the kindness of strangers for her journey. She has little money, and so she is forced to stay in communal situations, i.e. hostels. These are big dorm style rooms where you are subject to the snorring of the other people in the room. There is something about traveling from this town to the next that is not conducive for building relationships. I should re-evalute my style of traveling. Maybe I could pick a place and stay in for a number of days, so that I can dig through the veneer of tourism to the more authentic experience. Regardless of that Ireland is friendly and beautiful. You really don't have to plan anything here. Just wonder, see which way the wind blows you. I had my first Irish campout last night, albeit on the side of the road. I was traveling down a desolate but beautiful coastal road when it looked like road turned into somebodies driveway. As it turns out, It probably was but went to the next town I was looking for nonetheless. Happy as a clam, I pitched my tent next to sheep, They did not seem to mind.

People kept saying "the people in Ireland are Lovely", but I didn't imagine. It was kinda like coming back home to a mate from high school. I lined up for the ferry across to Ireland and within 10 minutes this other motorcycle rider offered to have me come to his house and spend the night. As it turns out there is quite a motorcycle scene here and he knows of a few races happening soon. These tiny winding roads? Could be fun. I checked to see if I had reception on my phone when we got to his house. It said 11:11. From a purely superstitious perspective, I have heard that that means you are going through a gateway. Really excited to see what comes my way in near and distant future. I miss you all.

The loch ness monster and more

"Hello Mister Josh, Do you have a motorcycle?", "yes" I said. "Could you come down to the front office?". Oh crap, what is it. I went to the front desk and found two of Scotlands finest waiting to question me. Briefly I thought it must be about all those speed cameras that they have hidden every 10 miles. "Do you own a 2009 KLR 650?", "yes". "We found the bike down the street a mile or so". It seems that some kids thought it to be ok to take it for a joy ride. There it was just as if I had left it there. Everything still intact. I thought "surely I don't have to worry about my bike being stolen in the U.K." I am really going to laugh if this is the only place that it gets stolen.
After a couple of days for the fingerprinting process, I got my bike back. Northwest Scotland is some of the prettiest scenery I have seen so far. The people really begin to warm up also. I spent the next day riding along Loch ness. I did not see Nessie. Only a hand sticking out of the water in the shape of a head. This picture is one of the many castles in the area situated on Lochness. Rainbow anybody?

hightailing it from England to Scotland

I giggle everytime i hear a new accent. Everwhere I look its something new to discover. I think I have seen a few people giggling at my accent.
I picked up the bike, and as usual, I had to tinker with it and kick it in the butt like an old stubborn mule. 1 week of sitting and it would not start. The battery was dead. "take a deep breath", I said to myself, as I started to go into a fight or flight response. "Is this going to happen to me all the way around the world?" The people at the shipping company where incredibly helpful though. Cigerettes in there mouth they pushed the bike with me on 1,2,3,4 times and still it would not start. They were kind enough to locate a new battery and give me a ride to pick it up. "But why would it not start from push starting it?" I was actually pleased that it wouldn't. Because then I would have been left to my own devices to find a battery. I installed the new battery, and wammo! it hit me. The guys that shipped the bike had drained the fuel so low that I needed to turn the switch to reserve. After a few grunts and groans, my motorcycle, who I have affectionately named either Mad Max or Minnie Winnie started up. Now the panick of driving on the left side of the road. How do those roundie-bouts work?
I can't fairly say that the English are one way or the other, because I was stuck in a corporate metropolis for a week while my bike was flying over. One thing that I do think is true is that cities are a ripe place to bread paranoia and self indulgence. The city of Manchester did not seem any different. I was happy to get on to Scotland where things already seem more healthy. I did connect with one person while I was in Manchester-Jimmy. A kind hearted brother that had a comforting nature about him. I felt I could have called him if I really needed help at any time. That made my stay in a new foreign territory feel a bit safer. Things are only going to seem stranger from here on out.

The heart of New York

I met a man tonight by the name of Michael. He walked down the street past me as I was sitting outside. He looked at me and made eye contact and I returned the gesture. His eyes immediataly asked the question "friend or foe"? I felt a sense of apprehension because I could see that he was obviously drunk and I did not want to expose myself to the discomfort of relating to him. I remembered something that I had learned recently that with all insane people, sanity is sometimes achieved by relating with that person and giving them a chance. I knew he was lonely and was looking to have a connection with someone tonight. I suppose I was to. So I opened myself to this person. I could see in his eyes that he had the capability of being very violent, but that he also had a gentle side. He was a defenite New Yorker. Hardened by the streets and disenchanted by all the alcohol and violence that he had obviously experienced in his life. We decided to go get a beer at the pub down the street. Along the way we chit chatted and became more and more comfortable around each other. I think he realized that he did not have to be afraid around me. I said to him after noticing "You walk around with your fists clenched". He said "when you see me open my hands you know there is trouble, when my fist are clenched its ok". "Have you ever had your jaw broken?" he asked in what seemed like a half threatening tone. I said no. Still having fear come up inside me that this man could be violent with me at any time. Then he proceded to show me how his jaw was misshaped. I did not go into the story at all. I asked if he had grown up here. He said "yes, these are my stomping grounds". I asked him, "Where were you when the towers came down" He said I was there. I asked "how do you feel about that?". He said "what can you do? you just start sweeping up". He then pounded on his chest with his fists and said "I was the one who got it done." His eyes said "you are in the presence of a hero" I sincerely enjoyed his company, despite the fact he seemingly had a violent upbringing and plenty of alcohol on top of that. But the more I acknowledged him and talked to him sincerely, the more sane and articulate he became. The easy and predictable thing to do would be to run away from this character. I have done this plenty of times in my life- scared of insanity But instead, I realized that sanity has a lot more to do with how we are treated by others than the circumstances in our life. cheers.

Launching tomorrow, but today New York. the picture-Savannah Georgia baby.

Today I am New York. If there is any place that you need longer than a day to digest, this would be it. I have some sort of appreciation that this is where all the immigrants first came when they decided to venture to new lands, and that I will be launching from here to explore origins in other parts of the world. I walk down the street with my hand held to my chest feeling the warmth of my hand touching my heart. Is this the center of america? the heart of America. It does seem that all things are born here and when internationals come to visit, New York seems to be the default location. To the tourists, the big exciting world of New York is a place where freakish occurences could be enough to think that you were in some enlightened place, better than home. But to the locals, there are no surprises here. We have seen it before. I appreciate it but I am just trying to work and get home to my family. This is a good place to start my trip. I think this city is maybe a model for what foreigners think America is-busling nightlife, disgusting consumerism and grand appreciation for the arts.
I am just starting or have I been on this trip for ages? When did it begin? It all a bit fuzzy. My posture suggests that I am beginning something new, but what really can change from traveling. Sometimes this is an epic Adventure, sometimes it is a war story where I am leaving my loved ones, a crash course in motorcycle mechanics, or a mission to become more enlightened through exposing myself to the nature of the world. This could be dangerous. I ultimately would like to find out what we all have in common and to be surprised that behind the consumerism, politics and law and trajedy we are bound by kindness. That in fact we don't need someone creating a law of kindness, that we choose kindness out of our own basic human nature. I think when we expose ourself to cultures without laws and people are kind anyways, it can shatter the paradigms we have held about the big bad scary world and create a deaper faith in humanity.

1 giant leap