And He's Off and Running

My first goal was to capture one of every letter on my first outing. This would give me a bonus 10 points, and I would have a good trial run on how the logistics of finding the towns and snapping the shots would be. Using the Microsoft Street and trips program I mapped out 11 cities within the southern LA area and headed out.

Hawaiian Gardens was my first stop. I was interested in finding exactly what spot the mapping program would take me to in each city. It plots out the civic center or town hall, but as I found as went along, not every building has the city name prominately displayed in an area I can take the picture with my bike.  The rules stipulate that any kind of signage with the city name can qualify, so I get creative as I go along.

I captured everything from churches to vet clinics, all the while making onlookers wonder what the heck was going on.

I was successful in gathering the 11 cities this first day, and I learned that finding a photo op with the city name will be the ongoing challenge.

Who is Mad Max?

Strap on a mask, slip into a cape, a set of Spandex and there you are, the newest super hero. Wouldn't it be great to soar over the tallest skyscrapers, slink up the sides of buildings. Slip past the nosey neighbors with your cloak of invisiblity. We can't really do that, but the escapist in us wants to find a way. So we develop alter egos. Mine is "Mad Max."

I don't dream of life in a post-nuclear war world, but I dream of adventure. Moto-adventure more specifically. And yes, like the Mel Gibson character it usually has something to do with motor-cycles.  My alter ego didn't really have a name until I showed up at my Dad's with my head shaved, full leathers on, ready to take on an adventure we planned with my brother and his sons into the wilds of Eastern Oregon. The way I rode the quad earned me that title, and it stuck. Mike "Mad Max" Daley.

Each year I try to find some adventure centered around a motorcycle trip. Some years back I took a solo trip across the northern plains of America to Lake Superior and back. Closer to home sent me up the California coast and down the back side of the Sierras. Trips to bike rallies like Laughlin, or more sedate rallies with other Kawasaki riders.

This year, I'll be all over the map.  Seems I have a challenge, get my household, family, and motorcycle to Alabama. I'll get my ride in alright, as once stated in the movies, "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do!"  

It's called a "Grand Tour". An excuse really, to ride long and often. Often themed, more often laid out for the individual rider or rider with passenger. Choices this year included the "I've Been Everywhere" ride, points given for motorcycle visits to as many spots mentioned in the Johnny Cash song as possible. Or the "KOAst to KOAst" Grand Tour, points there for visiting as many KOA campgrounds as possible. My challenge, "The Political Tour". Using the letters to "WASHINGTOn DC"  find cities and towns that start with one of those letters.  As I move the bike around this year, first to Oregon to stay for a few months, then finally ride it out to Alabama, I'll be looking for city names that match a letter.

Follow me as I blog my way up and down the country snapping the required pictures along the way. First stop, easy...

H for Huntington Beach.

Keeping the shiny side up, and the rubber down,

Mike "Mad Max"