4 days of riding in Spain was one of the best trips that I’ve ever taken. For my long-time readers, you know that’s saying a lot. It helps to have great scenery and a great route (even if you have to adjust it on the fly), but what was most important was riding with friends. We spent no more than 4 hours each day on the bikes, leaving plenty of time to hang out and socialize. And knowing that I was riding with friends gave me a sense of security and safety that I wouldn’t have had on my own or may not have had if I had been riding with a tour group. But there was a lot more to the ride than just that.
Category: Adventure & Excitement
Motorcycling In The South Of Spain- Part 4
The next few days of riding were fantastic. Gorgeous weather, great roads, and good riding. As I mentioned before, I haven’t done a lot of long rides, but both Glenn and John commented that this was some of the best scenic riding that they’d ever done. Along the route from Cadiz to Ronda on day 3, we stopped in a small town called Algar. It may have been one mile from one end to the other, but it was nothing but bumpy European streets and sharp turns, so we left as quickly as possible.
Motorcycling In The South Of Spain- Part 3
Upon leaving the bike shop, Glenn did a great job of getting us onto the highway without too much trouble. The first thing I noticed about Spanish roads that I hadn’t considered before is that they love their roundabouts. That worried me. I hate roundabouts. I will deliberately reroute myself when driving in DC to avoid roundabouts. But DC has roundabouts with crosswalks and traffic lights, which completely minimizes the point of the roundabout in the first place. Spanish roundabouts are the ‘right’ kind. Cars and trucks, no crosswalks or pedestrians, no traffic lights or signs. Just a roundabout, the way they’re meant to be. That makes them much easier to navigate.
Motorcycling In The South Of Spain- Part 2
When we got to Malaga, after a quick stop for lunch at the train station and knocking out some laundry at a local laundromat, we grabbed a taxi to IMT Bike. Over the previous few months, I’d been emailing them with all kinds of questions and thoughts, and they’d been great about helping plan our trip. Not great about helping to plan our route, since that would compete with their guided tours, but everything else about their service was fantastic. Yeah, I’m plugging their business, but I think they did a great job, so if you want to rent motorcycles in Spain, talk to them. Tell Elisa I sent you. I don’t get any credit for it, but I just like it when people drop my name for no good reason.
Motorcycling In The South Of Spain- Part 1
“This is dumb. This is dumb. This is so freaking dumb. I’m going to die.” The words echoed through my head almost in time with the thrum of the engine. Part of me was excited about the ride. Part of me was terrified. And a small voice in my head was convinced that I was going to die. But that’s why I was here in the first place. Not to die, that is, but to do something outside of my comfort zone. With that thought, I rolled on the throttle and rode out into the rain.
Kiteboarding in Costa Rica
I could see the instructor waving her arms at me, but I couldn’t clearly see what she was doing. Monica was a few hundred yards away on the beach and I had salt water sheeting down the outside of my sunglasses. It was also in my ears and nose, but that was of lesser importance. I looked harder at her standing on the beach, trying to remember what each hand signal meant and trying to match the signals to what she appeared to be doing, when suddenly my view was completely blocked as my kite crashed to the surface of the water. I guess she was trying to tell me to pay attention to my kite because it was coming down. Oops.
Riding a camel
If you’ve ever ridden a horse, you’ll be right at home on a camel. Camels are taller, smell worse, walk slower, and are more stubborn. But other than that, it’s the exact same as riding a horse. While I’ve avoided, for the most part, doing the clichéd things on my trips, I have definitely done some. I took cooking classes in Italy, I did the “I’m holding up the leaning tower” pose in Pisa, and I rode in long boats in Cambodia. So it wasn’t too much of a stretch for me to decide to ride a camel in Morocco.
Songkran in Chiang Mai
Often billed as the world’s largest water fight, the Songkran Festival in Thailand has its roots in centuries-old Buddhist traditions celebrating the new year. But when you allow people to splash water on each other in 95+ degree heat in a popular tourist destination with a low cost of living, you have to expect that tradition will be quickly sidelined by tourists out to have a good time.
Thailand’s Full Moon Party
Take 5,000 people or more, add a half-dozen bars blasting music ranging from hip hop to techno, throw in booze that’s literally sold by the bucket, put it all on a beach in the gulf of Thailand, and what do you have? The full moon party in Koh Pha Ngan.
Muay Thai in Thailand
I knew I was in trouble when the trainer told me to jog for 5 minutes. I don’t jog. I’ve always hated running in whatever form, and I was even relieved over 20 years ago when I injured my knee in the Army, preventing me from running again. But, since I was here, and since I was paying this guy to train me, I might as well jog. So jog, I did. Slowly.