7 months ago 3632 views



My Two-Wheeled Adventure Journal

A log of all the street motorbiking, dirtbiking, and cycling adventures I’ve gone on.

Originally published 2023-04-10 by Nick Sweeting on docs.sweeting.me/s/blog


Background


I grew up cycling as my default means of transport with my family in New York City. My grandmother was a bicycle activist in NYC, and my mother is an urban planner focusing on sustainable transit. I’ve always lived in bikeable cities, and generally enjoyed cycling even in rural areas because of the ability to cover big distances with less effort than jogging.

As a teen, I started taking long bicycle rides at night to excercise and explore the city. As a hobby project I electrified a three-wheeled cargo trike with a hub motor, speakers, and undercarriage lights. To save money during the summers I worked at a few bicycle shops and learned maintenance.

It felt inevitable that I’d graduate to motorized two wheel transit once I was 18.
In 2015 I took the MSF class, got my license, and got a Kawasaki Versys 650.


I spent the next month researching theory and doing 2hr/day of parking lot and highway practice after work. I then packed two Amazon bargain panniers + tent, and set off cross-country from SF to NYC. The pace of all this caused some anxiety to my parents, but they were releived to see me arrive safely two weeks later.

I’ve gone on to motorbike ~30,000mi every year since. I compete occasionally, but I’m nowhere near pro-level riding yet and I still have a lot to learn. If I want to live and ride healthily for 70+ years I have to stay humble when assessing risk, continuously self-improve, and stay accountable to myself. I strive to cover as wide a variety of terrain as possible as safely as possible.

This document serves as a personal journal of my motorbiking and outdoor adventures, and as entertainment for everyone else.







Motorbiking Photo Journal


2015 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🇹🇷 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 (~35,000mi)

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2015-11 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇮🇱 🇹🇷 North-America Cross-Country Round-Trip (SF 🏍️ PDX 🏍️ Denver 🏍️ NYC 🏍️ MTL 🏍️ Toronto 🏍️ SF)

A ~7,000mi oddysey I took a month after passing the MSF course and getting my motorbike license at age 18. Went amazingly well and I got to see lots of the US and Canada from a new perspective.


2015-10 🇺🇸 Armstrong Redwoods Camping Trip (SF -> Austin Creek State Recreation Area -> SF)

A quick out-and-back camping trip from the SF Bay Area to the Armstrong Redwoods forest with some friends from work.


2015-11 🇺🇸 Portland Thanksgiving Trip (SF 🏍️ Eugene 🏍️ Portland 🏍️ SF)

Rode below freezing in both directions with torrential rain. Almost got frostbite on the way up. This was my first experience where I realized how truly, unbearably, bone-chillingly-cold one can get while riding highway speeds in wet/low temperatures. My chain snapped on the way back but I managed to limp it the last 200mi back to SF with half a link missing!



2016 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 (~28,000mi)


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2016-05 🇺🇸 Portland Road Trip (SF 🏍️ Crater Lake 🏍️ Portland 🏍️ SF)

Rode with a friend 2-up to from the SF Bay Area to Portland, OR to visit friends. Stopped at Crater Lake on the way up.


2016-06 🇺🇸 Mt. Shasta Mountaineering (SF 🚗 … 🥾 Mt. Shasta 🏔️ … 🚗 SF)

Went on a mountaineering trip up Mt. Shasta (just crampons and ice axes, no ropes/climbing on the route we took).


2016-07 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 North-America Cross-Country Trip (SF 🏍️ PDX 🏍️ Vancouver 🏍️ Banff 🏍️ Toronto 🏍️ NYC 🏍️ Montreal)

I moved from SF to Montreal to start a company with my friend, so I rode my Versys 650 cross-country to get it to Canada.


2016-09 🇨🇦 La Mauricie Ntnl. Park Camping Trip (Montreal 🏍️ Mauricie 🏍️ Montreal)


2016-10 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 Montreal-NYC Round-Trip (Montreal 🏍️ NYC 🏍️ Montreal)


2016-11 🇺🇸 Santa Cruz Camping Trip (Montreal ✈️ SF 🏍️ Soquel Forest 🏍️ SF ✈️ Montreal)

Went camping with some friends near Soquel, South of the SF Bay Area. I borrowed my friend’s Ninja 300 and rode down from SF and back. At the campsite I taught some friends with it, and got it stuck in a muddy patch on a steep hill. Luckily my friend and I were able to push it up without dropping it.



2017 🇨🇴 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 (~25,000mi)


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2017-04 🇨🇴 Medellin to Bogota Rount-Trip (Medellin 🏍️ Bogota 🏍️ Medellin)

Bought a cheap AKT TTR 180 enduro motorcycle in Medellin and rode it to Bogota and back. The engine case cracked around the crankshaft bearing just as I was pulling into Bogota at the end of the trip. It necessitated a mad-dash 3-day repair by 5 guys before my next trip to the desert. They ended up having to braze the engine case back together and re-machine the crankshaft bearing journal (because engine cases are unique to the VIN and aren’t legally replacable in Colombia).


2017-06 🇨🇴 Medellin Tatacoa Desert Camping Trip (Medellin 🏍️ Bogota 🏍️ Tatacoa 🏍️ Bogota 🏍️ Medellin)

Rode my AKT TTR 180 to Medellin and the Tatacoa observatory in the desert South West of Bogota, Colombia. Was one of the first times I had a chance to do real desert off-roading on an enduro bike.


2017-06 🇨🇴 Colombia Guatape Trip (Medellin -> Guatape -> Medellin)

Motorbiked from Medellin to Guatape and back, got to jetski and paraglide on the way, ran out of gas by accident coming back.


2017-08 🇨🇦 La Mauricie Camping Trip (Montreal -> Mauricie -> Montreal)

Fun trip but snapped a chain on the way back at 2am. I managed to limp it a few kilometers further by zip-tying and lockwiring the chain back together before it snapped again. Ended up having to knock on a police station window late at night with grease-covered hands to get help, they had quite a scare because they thought I was a blood-stained crazy person trying to break in.


2017-10 🇨🇴 Paramo Del Sol Trip (Medellin -> Paramo Del Sol -> Medellin)

I rode from Medellin to the base of the mountain, then solo hiked this ~14,000ft mountain (the highest point in Antioquia) and rode back. Got rained on a lot, had to hop a barbed wire fence near the summit, got lost hiking in the dark several times becaue I followed animal trails instead of the real trail, and got chased by dogs on the way back. All in all a very fun trip.



2017-11 🇨🇴 Medellin Hills Explorations (… 🏍️ Medellin 🏍️ …)

Did 1,000km+ of street and off-road riding exploring the hills surrounding Medellin.


2017-11 🇨🇦 Quebec Winter Camping Trip (Medellin ✈️ NYC 🚊 Montreal 🚗 Ottowa ⛺️ Montreal 🚊 NYC ✈️ Medellin)

Did a winter camping challenge trip with my friends where we each allowed ourselves to only bring 10 items and no lighters or matches. (e.g. a pair of socks = 1 item, a nalgene = 1 item, a jacket = 1 item, etc.). Also did minor surgery on myself to embed a magent in my finger so I could feel magnetic fields.


2017-12 🇨🇴 Manizales Christmas Trip (Medellin 🏍️ Manizales 🏍️ Cocora 🏍️ Medellin)

Motorbiked down to a finca we Airbnb’d in Manizales to celebrat Christmas. Ended up taking a detour to Cocora on a treasure hunt but returned empty-handed. Snapped yet another chain on the way back (3 snapped chains in 2 years for those keeping count)!



2018 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 🇩🇪 🇮🇲 🇧🇪 🇬🇧 🇩🇰 (~22,000mi)


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2018-01 🇺🇸 Santa Cruz Road Trip (SF 🏍️ Santa Cruz 🏍️ SF)

Was in SF for fundraising and borrowed my friend’s Ninja 300 to ride with a friend 2-up to Santa Cruz and back. Stopped by Alice’s Restaurant and had a great time.


2018-02 🇺🇸 Sequoia National Park Camping Trip (SF -> Sequoia -> SF)

Went camping with a bunch of friends who ended up forming the FMC Burning Man camp I joined years later.


2018-07 🇩🇪 🇮🇲 🇧🇪 🇬🇧 🇩🇰 Europe Tour

2018-11 🇲🇹 Malta Business Trip (Montreal ✈️ Malta ✈️ Isle of Man ✈️ Montreal)



2019 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 (~35,000mi)


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2019-02 🇨🇴 PyCon Bogota Trip (Montreal ✈️ NYC ✈️ Bogota 🏍️ Track 🏍️ Bogota ✈️ NYC)

Flew down to Bogota to give a talk at PyCon.Co 2019, managed to get some motocross track riding in with my friend Harvey on the outskirts of Bogota.


2019-05 🇺🇸 NYC Visit (Montreal 🏍️ NYC 🏍️ Montreal)


2019-06 🇨🇦 Quebec Backcountry Off-roading (Montreal 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ Montreal)

2019-07 🇨🇦 Algonquin Park Canoe Camping Trip (Montreal 🏍️ Algonquin 🛶 🏍️ Montreal)

2019-07 🇨🇦 Squamish Trip (Montreal ✈️ Vancouver 🚗 Squamish 🚵‍♀️ 🚗 Vancouver 🚌 Seattle 🚌 Portland 🚊 San Francisco)


2019-08 🇺🇸 Burning Man (SF 🏍️ BRC 🏍️ SF)

Rode my friend’s 2014 Kawasaki Ninja 300 to burning man and back with my partner as pillion. We both wore full gear with big backpacks, and crammed onto a tiny 300CC Ninja.

We barely avoided snapping the worn-out chain while driving there, and driving back took us hours in traffic with sweltering desert heat. At one point we pulled over, laid down in a field, and slept 5hr in full gear (helmets still on). Made it back with no trouble in the end.


2019-09 🇨🇴 Company Retreat Trip (SF ✈️ Medellin 🏍️ Guatape 🏍️ Medellin ✈️ Bogota ✈️ Montreal)


2019-10 🇨🇦 Mt. Megantic Camping Trip (Montreal 🏍️ Megantic 🏍️ Montreal)



2020 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 (~37,000mi)


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2020-02 PyCon Medellin Trip (Montreal ✈️ Medellin 🏍️ ✈️ Montreal)


2020-04 🇨🇦 Quebec FQMHR Offroading Exploration (Montreal 🏍️ St. Michel Des Saints 🏍️ Montreal)

2020-06 🇨🇦 Casey Air Strip Camping Trips (Montreal 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ Casey Air Strip 🏍️ Parent 🏍️ Montreal)

2020-07 🇨🇦 Quebec Kanawata + Mont Diablo Trip (Montreal 🏍️ Mont Laurier 🏍️ Kanawata 🏍️ Montreal)

2020-07 🇨🇦 Mauricie Off-Roading Trip (Montreal 🏍️ St. Michel Des Saints 🏍️ Mastigouche 🏍️ Mauricie 🏍️ Montreal)

2020-08 🇨🇦 Montcalm Moto-Camping + Climbing Trips (Montreal 🏍️ St. Michel Des Saints 🏍️ Montcalm 🏍️ Montreal)


2020-08 🇨🇦 Saguenay + Tadousac Tour (Montreal 🏍️ Quebec City 🏍️ Saguenay 🏍️ Tadousac 🏍️ Montreal)


2020-08 🇨🇦 Tremblant Park Camping Trip (Montreal 🏍️ Tremblant 🏍️ Montreal)


2020-08 🇨🇦 Quebec Gaspesie Tour (Montreal 🏍️ …Gaspe FQMHR Loop… 🏍️ Montreal)


2020-09 🇨🇦 Casey Air Strip Camping Trip (Montreal 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ Casey Air Strip 🏍️ Parent 🏍️ Montreal)

(WIP: Pictures coming soon…)


2020-09 🇨🇦 Saguenay + Tadousac Trip (MTL 🏍️ Casey Air Strip 🏍️ Saguenay 🏍️ Tadousac 🏍️ Quebec City 🏍️ MTL)


2020-09 🇨🇦 Wemotaci FQMHR Tour (MTL 🏍️ Lac Adonis 🏍️ Parent 🏍️ Wemotaci 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ Montreal)


2020-10 🇨🇦 Charlevoix + Tadousac Camping + Climbing Trip (MTL 🏍️ Charlevoix 🏍️ Tadousac 🏍️ MTL)

(WIP: Pictures coming soon…)


2020-11 🇺🇸 NYC Trip (MTL 🚊 NYC 🏍️ Kingston 🏍️ NYC)

Rented a Triumph Speed Triple and had to go back to the owner to get the tire swapped because I put 500mi on it and got down to the threads. Saw all of NYC erupt in celebration at the Biden election victory.



2021 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇨🇴 🇿🇦 🇵🇹 🇩🇰 (~40,000mi)


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2021-01 🇿🇦 South Africa (Cape Town 🏍️ Afrikaburn 🏍️ Cape Town)


2021-03 🇨🇦 Snow Biking Trips on DRZ-400 (MTL 🏍️ Rue Scotch 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ MTL)

(WIP: Pictures coming soon…)


2021-04 🇨🇦 Quebec Parent Camping Trips (MTL 🏍️ Parent 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ MTL)

Did tons of offroading during COVID lockdown, here are just some of the trips:


2021-06 🇨🇦 St. Côme Cabin Trip w/ Paramedic Friends (MTL 🏍️ St. Zenon 🏍️ St. Côme 🏍️ MTL)

(WIP: Pictures coming soon…)


2021-07 🇨🇦 Quebec Senneterre / Abittibi Offroading Group Trip (Montreal 🏍️ Abbitibi 🏍️ Montreal)

Did a group moto-camping trip up to Valdor, Quebec with ~18 guys from the Ridaventure.ca and Quebec motorbiking groups. It was lots of epic riding around vast uninhabited forest. One guy unfortunately suffered a broken ankle on the way back.


2021-07 🇨🇦 Quebec Gaspesie (Montreal 🏍️ Matane 🏍️ …Gaspe FQMHR Loop… 🏍️ Montreal)

Rode 2-up overnight on my DRZ-400 to buy a new Tenere 700 in Matane, then rode it the rest of the way around Gaspe with my partner. Read the full store here…


2021-08 🇨🇦🇺🇸 Cross-Crountry Trip (Montreal 🏍️ NYC 🏍️ …cross-country … 🏍️ Tahoe 🏍️ SF)

(WIP: pictures coming soon…)


2021-08 🇺🇸 Carmel / Monterey Airbnb House Trip w/ Dreamteam (SF 🏍️ Carmel 🏍️ SF)

(WIP: pictures coming soon…)


2021-08 🇺🇸 Renegade Burn (SF 🏍️ Reno 🏍️ Black Rock City 🏍️ Elko 🏍️ Reno 🏍️ SF)


2021-10 🇵🇹🇩🇰 Portugal & Denmark Trip (SF ✈️ Lisbon 🏍️ Spanish border 🏍️ …N222… 🏍️ Porto 🏍️ Lisbon ✈️ Denmark ✈️ SF)

I rented a BMW F750 GS in Lisbon and rode up through the Andes to the N222, then east to the border with Spain, west to Porto, then back through the Andes to Lisbon. The N222 lived up to its reputation as one of the best riding roads in the world.


2021-11 🇺🇸 PURR + WA,OR,ID,NV,CA BDR + Death Valley Trip (SF -> Seattle -> …BDRs… -> Death Valley -> SF)



2022 🇲🇽 🇨🇴 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇩🇪 🇦🇹 🇭🇷 🇸🇮 🇮🇹 (~35,000mi)


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2022-01 🇲🇽 Mexico Peninsula Tour (Playa Del Carmen 🏍️ Tulum 🏍️ Valladolid 🏍️ Chichen Iza 🏍️ Tulum)


🇨🇴 2022-01 Colombia Tour (Bogota 🏍️ Medellin 🏍️ Manizales 🏍️ Pereira 🏍️ Cocora 🏍️ Bogota)


2022-02 🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Cross-country move (New Jersey 🚐 NYC 🚐 Montreal 🚐 Ottowa 🚐 Denver 🏂 🏍️ MOAB 🚐 SF)

I bought a RAM ProMaster 2500 van in NJ, drove it up to Montreal and packed in all my worldly possessions (including the KTM 790 Adv and DRZ 400). Then I set out cross-country, starting off in the midst of blizzards in Quebec and Ontario! I stopped occasionally to see friends in Ottowa/Dever, snowboard in Quebec/Colorado, and off-road in MOAB.


2022-03 🇺🇸 Carnegie OHV Trips (SF 🏍️ Tracy 🏍️ SF)

Took the Tenere 700, KTM 790 Adv, and DRZ-400 out to Carnegie in the van and trained + taught people how to ride offroad.


2022-04 Wilbur Hot Springs + Knoxville OHV (SF 🏍️ Wilbur 🏍️ Knoxville 🏍️ SF)

Rode the Tenere 700 from the SF Bay Area to Wilbur Hot Springs, then went to the Knoxville OHV area on the way back and did some pretty difficult offroading. There were copious water crossings and steep, off-camber baby-head hills.


2022-05 🇨🇦 North America Cross-Country Tour (SF 🏍️ Salt Lake City 🏍️ Omaha 🏍️ Ohio 🏍️ NYC)

Rode the Tenere 700 from the SF Bay Area to NYC to compete in a few rallies on the east coast. Stopped in Salt Lake City to see a friend and their partner on the way.


2022-05 🇨🇦 La Classique Rally (NYC 🏍️ Montreal 🏍️ Hawkesbury 🏍️ Mastigouche 🏍️ Montreal 🏍️ Boston 🏍️ NYC)

Rode the Tenere 700 to Montreal to do the Classique rally, then did some off-roading on my own on the FQMHR trails before heading back to NYC. I got to help validate the Extreme course for the rally the thursday ahead of the event, and then rode it officially with a team on Satuday. A tornado hit the area just as we were crossing the finish line, knocking out power and sending everyones tents flying! They ended up cancelling the second day of the event. I stopped in Boston on the way back to NYC and hung out with some friends.


2022-06 🇺🇸 Pillsbury Lake Event + South Cow Riding (SF 🏍️ Pillsbury Lake 🏍️ South Cow OHV 🏍️ SF)

Rode 2-up with a friend on the DRZ-400 to a small party on Pillbury lake, then hit up South Cow OHV for some hard off-roading on the way back to SF. Joined up with a random crew of strangers at South Cow and had a ton of fun exploring the trails and doing hill-climbs.


2022-07 🇺🇸 Juplaya (SF 🏍️ Black Rock City 🚐 Reno ✈️ NYC)


2022-07 🇨🇦 The Dacre Rally + Abitibi Rally (NYC 🏍️ Montreal 🏍️ Dacre 🏍️ Toronto 🏍️ Abitibi 🏍️ Montreal 🏍️ NYC)


2022-08 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 North-America Cross-Country Trip (NYC 🏍️ Omaha 🏍️ Denver 🏍️ MOAB 🏍️ SF)

Rode the Tenere 700 back from the East Coast to the West Coast after the Dacre rally.


2022-08 🇺🇸 Burning Man (SF 🚐 Black Rock City 🚐 Fernley 🚐 Elko 🚐 SF)


2022-09 🇺🇸 Ruby Mountains Wilderness Camping Trip (SF 🏍️ Fernley, NV, 🏍️ Ruby Mountains, NV 🏍️ SF)

Rode the KTM 790 Adventure R to the Ruby Mountains in Nevada to camp with a friend who recently moved West from NYC.


2022-12 🇩🇪 🇦🇹 🇭🇷 🇸🇮 🇮🇹 Europe Tour (Munich 🏍️ Vienna 🏍️ Zagreb 🏍️ Venice 🏍️ Munich)

Rented a 2016 BMW R1200 GSA and did a circle from Munich to Vienna, Zagreb, Venice, Bolzano, and back. The highlight of the trip was definitely Bolzano in the Italian Alps, with Venice as a close second. Got to see the brother of a friend in Zagreb too.



2023 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 🇨🇦 🇨🇱 🇦🇷 🇨🇴 (~36,000mi)


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2023-01 🇺🇸 Joshua Tree New Years Party Vanlife (SF 🚐 Miracle Hot Springs 🚐 Joshua Tree 🚐 Sequoia 🚐 SF)

Drove the van down to Joshua Tree with my partner to meet up with some friends for hiking and a New Years Eve party.


2023-01 🇺🇸 California Mendocino Enduro Rides (SF 🏍️ Clear Lake 🏍️ Lake Pillsbury 🏍️ Fort Bragg 🏍️ SF 🚗 Pillsbury 🚗 SF)

Took the KTM 500 on a solo expedition deep into the Mendocino forests. Due to recent storms the road was wrecked by fallen trees every 100 feet. It took hours to jump or lift my bike over each log, and I ended up having to turn around due to a wash-out 50mi into the forest. Almost drowned the bike twice doing a ~3ft deep ice-cold river crossing. Definnitely forced me to get better at log-jumping. Managed avoid wet-gear hypothermia by finding a motel on the outskirts of the park at 3am.

The next weekend I did the same trip again but with my partner to car-camp in one of the areas I found.


2023-03 🇲🇽 Mexico City Hot Springs Tour (SF ✈️ Mexico City 🏍️ Tolantongo 🏍️ Mexico City ✈️ SF)

Short ~600km multi-day trip on a rented GS 310 (smaller adventure bike). Rode from Mexico City to some hot springs and back. Also rented an even smaller ~150cc moto for around-town riding in Mexico City.

(WIP: Pictures will be added soon…)



2023-04 🇺🇸 California New Idria Adventure Ride (SF 🏍️ Pinnacles 🏍️ New Idria 🏍️ SF)



2023-05 🇺🇸 Frank Raines OHV Ride (Oakland 🏍️ San Jose 🏍️ Frank Raines 🏍️ Oakland)



2023-06 🇺🇸 California Motocross Training (Lawrence, CA)




2023-07 🇺🇸🇨🇦 Cross-Country Trip (SF 🚐 PDF 🚐 Seattle 🚐 Vancouver 🚐 Banff 🚐 Calgary 🚐 Montana 🚐 Montreal 🏍️ Parent 🏍️ Casey Air Strip 🏍️ La Tuque 🏍️ Montreal 🏍️ Tadousac 🏍️ Montreal 🚐 NYC 🚐 Raleigh 🚐 Atlanta 🚐 Austin 🚐 Santa Fe 🚐 SF)

Took the Tenere 700 in the van on a 1-month cross-country tour. Proposed to my girlfriend just outside Banff! It was an epic adventure with very few hiccups, and I finally got to go through the US. South on the way back.

(WIP: Pictures will be added soon…)



2023-08 🇺🇸 Clearlake Camping Trip (Oakland 🏍️ Clear Lake 🏍️ Knoxville OHV 🏍️ Fort Bragg 🏍️ Oakland)

Group camping trip where my friend mounted his boat on top of his prius and took it to Clear Lake! We rode behind him on the highway up, did some offroading and boating there, and then did a gorgeous ride down highway 1 on the way back.

2023-11 🇺🇸 Pinnacles Dreamteam Camping Trip (Oakland 🚐+🏍️ Pinnacles 🚐 Tahoe 🚐 Oakland)

(WIP: Pictures will be added soon…)

2023-11 🇨🇱🇦🇷 Patagonia Motorcycle Tour (Santiago ✈️ Temuco 🏍️ …5000km… 🏍️ Ushuaia 🏍️ Punto Arenas ✈️ Santiago)

~5,000km motorcycle tour starting from around Pucon in Chile, crossing through Argentina many times down to the souther tip of the continent (Ushuaia). Saw lots of mountains, desert, jungle, and penguins!

Rode in all weather conditions, from rain, sleep, hail, snow, and up to 80mph crosswinds on all surfaces: dirt, gravel, mud, asphalt.

Rented a CF Moto IBEX 800 (GS-styled bike that uses the 790 Adventure engine), ran out of gas once, adjusted the rear preload, and blew a front fork seal, but didn’t break down or have any major issues.

(WIP: Pictures will be added soon…)

2023-12 🇨🇴 Colombia Motorcycle Tour (Cali ✈️ Bogota 🏍️ Salento 🏍️ Pereira 🏍️ Medellin 🏍️ + 🚖 Bogota ✈️ Oakland)

~2,000km motorcycle tour starting in Bogota and doing a circuit around the country, through Medellin, and back.

Rented a KTM 890 Adventure R from MotoRaid Colombia and had a battery failure on the way back to Bogota that ended up requiring an extra night of hotel stay and a 5hr tow (covered by insurance).

(WIP: Pictures will be added soon…)


2024 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 (~6,000mi)


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2024-03 🇺🇸 2x Georgetown OHV trail riding (SF 🚐 Georgetown 🏍️ … ⛰️ … 🚐 SF)


Adventure Planning


🔠 Riding Tips


Some non-obvious lessons I’ve learned the hard way:



How to find, edit, and navigate using GPX route/track files.

🧳 Adventure Gear & Packing Lists →

A list of what I pack for off-road/outdoor adventures, including tools, medkit, tire kit, winch kit, and more.

🏍️ Motorbikes I’ve Owned & Rented + Maintenance Logs →

A list of the motorbikes I’ve used, what I like/don’t like about them, and stories of how I got them w/ photos.

🔠 How to Ride a Bicycle: Advanced Tips & Tricks →

A guide I’ve written to explain the trickiest parts of mastering riding on two wheels.

Riding Log


🧮 Stats Summary

Tallies I use to keep track of my lifetime-cumulative riding stats:

🌎 ~14 countries motorbiked and 20+ countries bicycled in 5 continents
↔️ ~9x cross-country America rides, ~3,000mi coast-to-coast in ~50hr
🗿 ~9 Iron Butt rides (>1,000mi in 20hr), and 2x >1,250mi in 24hr

🏍️ ~260,000mi of street and off-road motorbiking (~8 years)
🚴‍♂️ ~15,000mi of road cycling and mountain biking (~21 years)
📅 ~10yr without going more than 6 weeks between rides on 2 wheels


🏆 3x podium finishes in enduro / adventure motorbiking rallies/races (4 entered)
🚲 2x podium finishes in Alleycat bicycle messenger races (2 entered)

🏥 0 broken bones, 1 sprained ankle, 1 cartilege injury, and a few minor scrapes
👯 0 incidents on street or dirt while carrying a passenger on the back (>45,000mi)
📡 0 Garmin InReach SOS emergency rescues needed, I’ve always been able to get home


Ethos:



📍 Riding GPS Logs

An excerpt of some of my GPS track recordings over the last few years exploring the Americas, South Africa, and Europe.


I averaged ~1,000mi/week of riding on FQMHR dirt trails for most of COVID lockdown, kept me happy as a clam 😎


🔠 Teaching Record

The lesson I learned is to catch myself mistaking quick learning progress + high expectations for mastery. If I’m close to someone I have to be especially careful to not to allow my mental expectation of their overall badassery to rush important milestones and checkpoints in their learning process.



🦺 Safety Record


➕ I try to wear All The Gear All The Time, ride quietly + responsibly, and reduce risk exposure wherever possible.

🏥 I’ve never gotten more than minor road-rash/sprain injuries (healed fully in <6wk)



✅ 0 incidents in ~45,000mi of pillion riding (not once gone down with a passenger on back)


💥 I’ve only had 1 major accident on the road in 8 years of riding (in my 1st month riding).

2015 road accident: I was in my first month of riding when I exited the 280 highway near San Mateo. the setting sun blinded me as I was going around a decreasing radius highway exit ramp, causing me to go slightly wide and hit a patch of gravel. I slid off into a median and got some minor road rash and a small puncture wound in my knee. I’ve since learned to always anticipate extreme lighting conditions and immediately raise my visor to reduce glare if visibility is impaired.


🤕 I’ve had a few other minor incidents, mostly while doing hard enduro training for in controlled conditions where I’m specifically choosing situations to push the limits slightly, knowing that it’s not the end of the world if I get a minor injury.

2016 road close call: In my first year of riding I followed another car passing a slow car on the mountain ridge by Alice’s Restaurant in the Bay Area. A car pulled out a hidden driveway into the oncoming lane we were passing in, causing both the lead overtaking car any myself to have to swerve drastically to avoid hitting it. I rode the centerline and grazed the narrow gap between both cars, causing minor bruising on my shins from impacting bumpers on either side.

2021 enduro training injury: I was braking hard on mud while practicing in low-traction ice+mud (on the versys 650) on a Quebec FQMHR trail in spring. As my locked front wheel slid over a large rock it gripped momentairily and disloged the rock from the mud, rotating it upwards into my skidplate. It taco’ed the skidplate and ramped the bike into the air, and making the end of the handlebars hit me in the chest. I’ve since learned to always release the brakes a split second before impact with any obstacle so that the front wheel rolls over the obstacle instead of trying to slide over it with the brakes locked.

2022 flat-track training injury: I was repetitive drifting exercise around a specific dirt corner with a wide dirt landing area. I was trying to push my lean angle further in a controlled environment where sliding out wouldn’t be catastrophic. I did end up sliding out on run #20 while capturing this epic photo and spraining an ankle, worth it 😉.

2023 motocross training injury: I was learning how to ride motocross at a track on my KTM 500 with a coach. After a few hours of warming up and working body positioning, I finally started landing jumps. I got excited and started pushing higher and higher, and after a few laps of succesful jumps keeping pace with the other riders I landed one jump particularly hard. The landing felt solid, but the rebound caught me by surprise, leading to losing my grip and whisky throttling the bike off the track. I slid off the back and tumbled down an embankment, getting some minor scrapes and a hip pointer blunt impact injury in the process. I called it a day and rode home painfully on the highway for an hour to get home. I had fiery back/hip/nerve pain for a few days but no serious complications, it took a few weeks to heal with rest and Advil. Unfortunately I later re-injured it & got a slipped disk, but that was caused by carrying a large table down Potrero hill.


Some Fun Whoopsie Photos




More Photos & Videos

USA & Canada Videos



Colombia Videos



See more motorbiking videos on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@theSquashSH/videos



🚲 Bicycling Journal →

🚐 Vanlife Journal →

🧗‍♀️ Climbing Journal →

🏁 Racing & Rally Journal →


🏂 Winter Sports Journal →

🌊 Water Sports Journal →

🪂 Air Sports Journal →

🚁 Drone Flying Journal →


🗺️ Guide: Off-Road Route Finding & Navigation With GPX Tracks →

🧳 Guide: Adventure Gear & Packing Lists for Off-Road Moto-Camping →

🏍️ Listicle: Motorbikes I’ve Owned and Enjoyed Using →