Time to pick up the Vanagon T3

Well, I got the call, The Van is here, or there, depending on how you look at it. I'm in the border between Tennessee and Kentucky, the van....well the van was shipped to St Louis Missouri. Now I have to find a way to get from a small town in the middle of two states to a major city in the middle of two completely different states. I have to make my way 260miles thats 418.4 for the metric guys, then drive the unproven almost 30 year old Vanagon T3 with over 2k miles on the odo, all the way back, no tools, no spare parts, no nothing. I only have till Friday before storage fees start, today is Thursday, I feel like I'm in some contest.

I thought about hitchhiking my way there, this has tremendous promise of being a lot of fun, the down side of it is, I cant control when I get there, I need to arrive Friday morning, so I didn't consider this option for long.

Option two is, fly there, I can catch a cab to the shuttle terminal, from the shuttle terminal I can ride a van to the Nashville Air port, an hour and a half away, fly into ST Luis and catch another cab the 21 miles to the Overseas Vehicle Processing Station. and then drive back.

Or three, catch a Greyhound bus, I can take a cab to the bus station in town, ride the bus to ST Louis then take a cab to the VPC.

Based on my past experiences.....I'm taking the bus, I'm considering it a cross between hitchhiking and flying. If this bus is anything like the last bus I got on, this should be a heck of a lot of fun. I think its the closest I can get to hitchhiking and still control when I get there. I expect to meet and see some interesting individuals in a six hour bus ride. The great unknown still remains how will the Vanagon T3 behave, she does have a peculiar sense of humor, I just hope this time, the joke, is not on me.

Got The New House Today

Well, went and signed my life away and got the keys to my new home, the house was finished 2 weeks ago. I'm exited, but I think I overdid it, well, at least I wont be short on space for all my gear, bikes and Kayaks. The sucky thing is I have to buy lots of furniture because the house is more than twice the size of my condo in Hawaii, as a mater of fact the kitchen dining room and second living room are bigger then my condo was, not to mention the extra bedrooms and the main living room.

I have been taking cabs since I arrived two days ago, you can see one in my driveway, and let me tell you, it has gotten expensive really fast. I cant wait to pick up the T3 Vanagon in a few days, and thats a huge worry for me all on its own. I have to take a greyhound bus all the way to Saint Luis Missouri, about 5 hours away one way. Then I have to drive back with the Van, unproven over such a long distance and I have no tools or spare parts. I guess we will find out if I'm as good a mechanic as I hope I am.

Truck is on its way

Shipped the Truck yesterday, It was painless compared to shipping the Van, It took about an hour or so. I washed it and drove it right to the port. I had to take an extra long detour because I had put a needles width to much of fuel in the tank, and from my experience with the T3 Vanagon, I was not going to chance it. I arrived with the needle right at the 1/4 (.25 of my fuel tank capacity for you metric guys) mark, so no arguments from the draconian port officials. Getting back home was another issue all to together, those of you that know me really well know I'm not known for my thorough well tough-out plans or for my spelling abilities while were at it. 

I eventually gave up on trying to hitch a ride or find a bus stop near the terminal and ended up calling a cab. while riding on the cab I decided that a stop at the Aloha tower and Gordon Biersch was in order, after an incredible Oktoberfest themed lunch, I took a short walk to a near bus stop. After waiting for almost an hour in the blazing sun, my bus finally arrived. I boarded and soon noticed the smell of alcohol and tobacco, interesting I thought, I soon realized that I had been missing out all these years, it turns out the public bus was more entertainment than HBO on a Friday night. I dont know what was more fun to watch the drunk guy trowing up in the back of the bus, the lady screaming at the bus driver or the crazy homeless guy urinating down the rear exit steps. that was on a 20 minute ride, can you imagine all the fun I have been missing out on all these years. we will never know..... 

Got a Nook

Got me ones of those Nook electronic book things, so far so good. My intent was to have something to read while on airplanes or down time during my trips, I like to read but hate carrying books. I have been taking the thing with me everywhere I go. the battery last for ever and I find it easier to read than an actual book. Its light, I dont have to hold the thing open and I can take hundreds of books in the little pad.  the coolest part I think is the fact that as long as I have a wi-fi connection or 3G network within range I can buy books right from the nook. I have found this to be a really cool feature. I can also download books from public and online library's. I have declared my little nook (I call it nookie) an essential part of my adventure kit, right next to my GPS and my anti chafe cream. If you get a chance to check one out do it, you will fall in love with it. I think the nook and other similar devises like the Kindle are going to do to books what the Ipod did to CDs. well see....

Just a little longer

Well, I just reached my 10 day milestone, in ten more days I will be on an airplane headed to my next big adventure, I'm excited and a little apprehensive, I have set some very high expectations of Tennessee and Kentucky. I have some big plans involving road trips across state lines in my T3 Vanagon, Lots of mountain biking, Kayaking outings and some intense long distance multiday hikes. I have imagined this perfect place, a playground to let go and enjoy life to the fullest. I will be happy if at least 70% of my expectations are there. but you know what? The uncertainty and the unknown are what make it exciting and fun, so I will do what I always do when I don’t know what's waiting on the other side...I will take a deep breath, think of those I love, smile and charge.

Trans North Georgia Mountain Bike Adventure live tracker by trackleaders.com

Mountain Bike Adventure at its best, I cant wait to try one of these, I figure if I train really hard for a year, I might be able to finish the ride, this link shows the plot trace of individual racers trough the use of a GPS tracking system. I would love it if they had one of these races where you had to ride your bike towing a kayak, then paddle your kayak and then finish with an epic hike, now that would be something. The rules for the 9 day event are scary, and make you think about what you are about to do.

North Westy VW Services

A friend sent me a link to North Westy  , they do T3 Vanagon pop-top conversions starting $3500. Thats some seriously exciting stuff right there. Some time in the near future I can plan on driving my T3 Vanagon to WA. I can go mountain bike riding after I drop of the T3 for the conversion, after I'm done I can then fly back, when the Vanagon is done I can fly in, pick it up and road trip back home. The conversion is only $3500 so its a heck of a bargain for the work and benefits I will get in return. I now have to make a decision between the engine conversion or a camper top....I'm going to have to do some serious thinking, and to make things worse, the guys at Noth Westy also do the 4 wheel drive syncro conversion. Can you imagine it, a mini RV camper with 4 wheel drive that still gets 28 plus MPG....I can dream cant I.


On a side note, I went to the Aloha Stadium today and bought a bunch of T-shirts and other Hawaiian stuff. It was fun feeling like a tourist for a day. I bought some really cool large wood carved Tiki's and some signs. I plan on building a Tiki bar in my garage when I get back to the mainland. thats right, I'm going to have a bar in my garage, the plan is, after a long day of riding or paddling the guys can come hang out have a beer and relax. Well thats the plan, don't know it will get much use, I'm trying out the "build it and they will come" business model. LOL

The VW is gone

I was finally able to ship the Vangon today. wow what an ordeal. I have come to realize I hate the DMV and car shipping company's. I cant stand places where they tell you what you need one step at a time, you waste a day looking for a piece of paper you could have brought with you if they would have just told you it was necessary the first time you went to the counter. Its crazy, But my roving base camp, is on its way. I still have a few things that need to be packed, the second set of movers will be here on the 10th, after that all I will have is the Truck and a suit case of clothes. I plan on shipping the truck on the 14th, it will take 30 days to get there, then I have to somehow get to Saint Luis Missouri to pick up both vehicles. I have no clue how thats going to work and might be a little adventure in itself.

Goemans updated Magicshine 900

Magicshine 900 

Well, what do you know, one of my favorite lights just got better, A few weeks ago I gave my Magicshine to a very special person in my life. It was 6 months old and still working flawlessly after heavy use on the trail and as my commuting and loanout light. I started missing it immediately so decided to replace it with another one, so I ordered it. Imagine my surprise when one of the things I hated about my old light was corrected. The battery pack is now actually functional and looks and feels like a quality component. The battery bag was also improved and is a league above the old crappy one. The light itself is the same, and that is a good thing.

I also own a NR 1200 which has been nothing but problems, the first one was DOA and the second one is very finicky. impossibly bright when its working, infuriating when its not. I consider it unreliable and wasted money

My old NR Moab is a different story, as long as you dont yank on the cables when you disconect them its reliable, goes for ever, and is very bright, I consider this the best light I own.

Tennessee Department of Transportation

Tennessee Bicycle & Pedestrian Program

I was looking at a bike survey today, it was from the state of Tennessee,  I was like woah!, They actually want to know how to make the bike infrastructure better. I found this to be a very good sign. Hawaii is not exactly bike friendly, mater o fact its darn near bike aggressive, commuting is an extreme sport here. If you ride a MTN bike its even worse. The roadies and tri-guys have a strong voice but MTN bikers errrr, not so much. Imagine my surprise when I opened the link and saw questions that actually made sense and had relevance. Is this a case of the grass is greener on the other side....will see....