Hold My Beer: Archive

Anonymous asked: thanks for sharing your trip. looks like a blast. is there any trip video posted?

-peter

Oct 1st

Motorcycle Trip Recap

*Clickable Map Total Trip: Just shy of 3400 miles Final Trip Map. No, I did not move to Bakersfield permanently. I did however, have some trouble drawing that final line for some reason. This ride has been one of the most memorable trips of my life. It was such a great mix of solo exploration and quality time with friends and family. The hospitality I was shown along the way was beyond...

Jul 21st

Day 16: The Final Foggy Stretch

Day 16: Bakersfield, Ca. | San Francisco, Ca. 289 Miles I know I have complained about the heat over the past few entries, but the complaining was well worth it. Today I pulled into beautiful SF with a thick layer of wet fog and a balmy 58 degrees. So refreshing! Now it is time to get back into real life.

Jul 21st

Day 15: Las Vegas - The Antithesis of a X-Country...

Day 15: Las Vegas, NV | Bakersfield, Ca 281 Miles The entire motorcycle trip pre-Vegas was all about exploration and adventure. Post-Vegas the focus of the trip is to GO HOME :) Ruggles and I had planned on staying in the last night in Vegas so we could make an early morning start. This didn’t end up happening. My friend Sona, from LA moved to Vegas. She invited us out with some...

Jul 21st

Day 12: Like a Hairdryer to the Face

Day 12: West Wendover, NV | Las Vegas, NV 367 Miles “You know, it’s gonna be hot in the desert this time of year?” Really, No Shit! Thanks for the info!!! Thanks to about a dozen people who pointed out deserts tend to be hot during summer months, we decided to leave West Wendover at 5:30am. It is interesting how much heat is stored in all the concrete. I walked out of...

Jul 20th

Day 12: No Stops in Utah

Day 12: Afton, WY | West Wendover, NV 317 miles Fact: Dan Ruggles hates Utah. Yes, the entire state. With that in mind, today was a driving day. Get in and out of Utah as quickly as possible. We started out heading South out of Afton. We made out plan to put some miles on the road before breakfast. Considering the fact that we had a few too many drinks with the Afton locals the...

Jul 17th

Day 11 cont.

I forgot to mention that we encountered our first thunderstorm today. It started as a small sprinkle and quickly began to pour. We sought refuge under this tree with some other unfortunate motorcyclists. Last summer Ruggles was caught in a terrible storm while floating the Smith River. They made the mistake of not getting out when they could, and faced a storm that could have ended...

Jul 17th

Day 11: Assembly of a Biker Gang

Day 11: Bozeman, MT | Afton, Wy 273 Miles Today is the first day riding with a partner. It should be a lot of fun. A large motivation of this trip has been to see a lot of beautiful U.S. scenery. With that in mind, I have been avoiding interstates whenever possible. Dan and I got a fairly early start, around 8am. We came up with a great strategy: No breakfast until Yellowstone. We...

Jul 15th

Day 10: Quickie to Bozeman

Day 10: Dillon, MT | Bozeman, MT 114 Miles Today was my shortest drive so far. Just a few hours from Dillon to Bozeman. I greatly regret not fishing in Dillon. The creeks were gorgeous and loaded with fish. I’ll definitely have to make a trip back here sometime. Bozeman is a great city. Dan and his fiancé Rachel welcomed me in and threw a great barbecue. In Montana it’s...

Jul 14th

Day 9: Big Hole

Day 9: 191 Miles Missoula, MT | Dillon MT Of you have ever met a Romney male, you may notice that our ears are angled…er, outward. This has made helmet/headphone application interesting. I first have to insert ipod ear buds. Next I place the helmet on the top of my head. Next the outer earflange must be held down while the helmet is dragged over the upper ear. Next, the earbuds must...

Jul 9th

Day 8: Catch Up

Day 8: 355 Miles Pendleton, Or. | Missoula, Mt. Today was by far the most beautiful leg of the trip so far. I decided to stay off the interstate and take Hwy 12 all the way to Missoula. It was a long ride winding through Clearwater Idaho and into Montana. I started in wheat fields and ended up in the mountains. I also saw my first Moose today on the road! A lot of deer, but come...

Jul 8th

Day 7: On the Road Again

Day 7: 208 Miles Portland Or. | Pendleton Or. After a few days romping around Portland with my family, it is time to get back on the road. I had hoped to leave Portland yesterday after the racetrack, unfortunately BMW held me up, so I ended up a day behind. I was due for a new set of tires and brakes, plus a fluid check to make sure I make it through the rest of the ride. Todays ride was...

Jul 8th

Jul 6th

Day 5: Portland 4th of July

Day 5: 0 Miles. Portland Today was a lot of fun. I got to sleep in for the first time on the trip. My uncle heard on NPR that drinking at least 7 cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and I am convinced by the amount of coffee we drank today we will never have memory problems. We decided to go on the breakfast version of a pub crawl. No alcohol required. Instead we...

Jul 5th

Day 4: Oregon Coast

Day 4: 225 Miles Coos Bay, Or. | Portland, Or. Day 4 was a fun ride. Some windy roads going up the coast to Portland. Outside of Coos Bay were a lot of cool bridges and tunnels. I decided to maximize my amount of ride on the coast considering that I will be headed inland soon and will likely see no more ocean on this trip. Although it is considered a coastal ride, you do not actually come...

Jul 5th

Day 3 - Crossing 1st Border

Day 3: 250 miles Etna, Ca - Coos Bay, Or Today I crossed my first border into Oregon. I started the day by having some corn beef hash with Grandma and figuring out the new cameras. This is one of the video cameras mounted on the bike. They are tiny HD cameras that are built to handle situations such as being blasted by 80 mph winds on the nose of a motorcycle. These cameras can be set to...

Jul 3rd

Day 2: I-5 Inferno

Day 2: 270 Miles | Winters to Etna Today was hot…really hot. I am not looking forward to Vegas or Death Valley in a few weeks. I stayed in the leather today, but am sure I will be in a Tshirt when I hit the desert. I left Winters this morning after having coffee with the family. Dad and Jamieson were around to see me off, Mom snuck out early since she couldn’t handle seeing...

Jul 3rd

Day 1: Lil Warmup (www.holdmybeer.tumblr.com)

15379: Starting Mileage Day 1: The best part about riding a motorcycle for me is how close you get to the environment around you. A car is very protected from the elements. 4 wheels, cushy suspension, climate control, and UV protective glass. On a bike your awareness is kicked up a few notches, partially because it feels like most drivers are out to kill you. But more so because you no...

Jul 1st

Off We Go

After months of blabbering about a fantasy motorcycle trip, it looks like it is finally going to happen. I have carved 3 weeks out of my busy (alright not THAT busy) schedule to get on the bike and head north. My original plan was to ship the bike to Anchorage, AK with a friend and ride back together. He unfortunately had to pull out from the trip, and not feeling in an incredibly solitary mood...

Jun 30th

My all time favorite phone message. Our neighbor...

Jun 29th

Watch

I need a pal like this.

Dec 17th

Dec 14th

Regretsy.com →

Etsy.com is kind of an ebay storefront for people that make homemade arts and crafts. Regretsy.com finds the ugliest and most outlandish items on Etsy and conveniently lists them in one place to make your Christmas shopping a little easier this year. A vial of squirrel blood will only run you $30! Merry Xmas Grandma!

Dec 10th

Dec 8th