Skating, Business, Home

Thank you to each of you that made this trip so wonderful and to each of you that encouraged me and just listened while I told my story. There were countless amazing sights and experiences and some life changing hard times. Six weeks on two wheels. Wow. It’s almost hard to believe I’m home!

I suppose I should finish my story before I forget what happened and before you guys get pissed that I left you hanging.

July 7, 2003 PM

Soloing Cathedral Peak left me intensely appreciative of life. I rode back down to Yosemite Valley to say good bye to my friends there and I headed out of the Valley. It was dark and the road was twisty. It was the first time on this trip that I rode curvy roads at night. One key aspect of riding a motorcycle well is to look well ahead of where you want to go. At night it adds a new dimension to the ride since you’re looking into the darkness around the corner that your headlight has not got to yet. The feeling is hard to explain, but when your bike is leaned into a turn your headlight isn’t illuminating much road in front of you, so your awareness needs to be razor sharp.

After a couple of hours of curves, the last set of which were some really tight 20mph turns (or so the sign suggested) I was getting pretty tired. The climb all morning definitely served to drain me a bit too. I saw a sigh for camping at some state recreation area and hit the dirt.

July 8

I really have a problem paying for camping when I’m traveling like this. If I was in an RV, or putting up my tent for the week, then I wouldn’t mind paying, but when I come in at midnight, sleep for a few hours on the ground and leave soon after the sun comes up, I don’t want to pay.

Well the ranger in the site thought differently and he wanted to charge me $30 for the night. I politely but firmly declined, and after quite a bit of arguing we agreed on me paying the day use fee of $5.50.

I needed to go west out of the camp ground, but looking back east at the turns I came in on was too much to resist. I headed back up the mountain I descended the night before and boy am I glad I did! No traffic, perfect blacktop, great camber, no side roads, crazy fun first and second gear turns (1st is good for about 80mph, 2nd for over 100mph, recommended speed was about 30mph). Great road! By the time I was headed back down the hill the tires had warmed up enough for me to drag my toes from time to time. It turns out that I had nearly 40 more miles of this great road heading west too! Great way to start the morning!

I was tired and hungry by the time I rolled into Oakland. I found a Starbucks and worked for several hours. I also found my friend Mike Fortney over the bridge in San Francisco. Me and Mike grew up in the same neighborhood in North Carolina and have had many super fun times over the years. I hadn’t seen him in probably 6 years so it was awesome seeing him again.

That afternoon we went skating downtown. Just like old times. There was no fog in San Francisco that afternoon so watching the bay turn red and seeing all the lights on the bay bridge and the city was a spectacular sight. All the more so since I saw it from my skateboard as I rolled down the waterfront.

July 9

More skateboarding. A handful of us hit this crazy spot I’ve seen in videos over the years. It’s on the top of some abandoned military installment that used to guard the bay. I spent most of my time taking pictures since it was such a crazy place. Thick concrete jail cells, gunnery bunkers, and cool hips to skate. Fun stuff.

That night I checked into my hotel. OMG. I couldn’t believe it. The Marriott in downtown San Francisco. After sleeping in the dirt in Yosemite, the streets of Riverside, and wherever I could find a place for my head in the preceding five weeks, this was absolute luxury!  It was so nice being able to unpack all my stuff for the first time in over a month and take a shower.

July 10, 11

Wow! Twelve hour days packed with more information that the average human mind could absorb. I feel so fortunate to have been invited to this amazing Business Builders Summit. Take a minute and read these names and topics, it truly is relevant to you.

Speakers I heard included:

• Jack Trout, Best selling author on marketing. He spoke about Branding, Positioning, and Building a Personal Business Strategy.

• Bill Dyszel, Author of Palm Pilot and Outlook for dummies. He spoke about computerizing your business.

• Willie Jolley, Award winning speaker who’s on a short list of amazing speakers including, Colin Powel, Christopher Reeve, Margaret Thatcher. He spoke about Overcoming Barriers to Success.

• Terry Savage, Best selling author on personal finance. She spoke on Money Management for Your Small Business.

• Mechele Flaun, Heads a brain trust that tracks trends. She spoke about Understanding Upcoming Trends in Creating Your Business Strategy.

• Kathy Burlison, she is the program manager for H&R Block. She spoke on the Tax Advantages of Owing a Home-Based Business

• Leigh Stevens, She is a consultant with Franklin Covey. She spoke on Resource Allocation and Time Management

The closing dinner was a fun time with Ian Adamson, three time Eco Challenge winner, giving a presentation on overcoming challenges and building a world class organization.

Scientist, Dr. Ralph Heinicke received a lifetime achievement award for discovering the amazing health benefits of the Noni fruit.

You guys get it yet? I couldn’t believe I was surrounded by so many successful and amazing people! This is exactly the kind of knowledge that I was searching for. Thank you, Thank you!

There is one story I just have to tell. It is simply amazing how small the world truly is. I was in a Taxi going to china town. One of the men in the cab with me was attending the Seminar too. Well, we got to talking and it turns out he was from Hendersonville, NC. I told him I started and sold a carpet cleaning business in that town after I graduated high school. He about choked. Turns out he had recently purchased my company from the gentleman I sold it to! What are the odds?

July 12

On the road again. Not for long though. I rolled up to Sacramento to see my friends John and Deena before the sprint home. I was planning on going to the World Superbike races in Monterey, then to see the grandfolks in Sonora, but 6 weeks on the road had cut into my finances pretty heavily.

July 13

I wanted to visit Garian, the cool girl I met in Yosemite, so I headed down to Davis College to spend the day. It is HOT in central California. We hit the pool and had a delightful time. Her roommate Tanner is a really cool guy too and we had a good time talking smack about Garian and her mom.

July 14

Try this. Go outside where it’s 98 degrees. Get a 2×6 board. Sit on it. Now bend yourself into a sitting fetal position. Point about a dozen blow driers at yourself (they don’t blow at 100mph, the bike does) and maintain this position for the next 12 hours without passing out. Well that was my day. One hard, painful, hot, miserable day trying to get home. The damn highway patrolman had no mercy either. At least he clocked me on a slow portion of the trip (106 in a 75). It was really really nice getting home, but I was just about too tired to care.

Now what? I’m home, my soul is larger, my brain is fuller, my wallet is emptier. I suppose it’s time to buckle down, use what I’ve learned and enjoy my home, my friends, and my family. Maybe next year I can turn it into twelve weeks on two wheels.

Thank you again to everyone that took such good care of me on the road. I can’t imagine the loneliness I would have faced without you. You guys that had encouraging words for me during the rough parts of the trip, you hold a special place in my heart.

Even though this trip is over and daily life resumes, please make an effort to stay in touch. Thank you all for listening to my story.

Your friend,

miah