Moto Journals
Thanksgiving Week Sport Touring 2005 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel Hienzsch   
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
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Climbing out of Zion
The idea of undertaking a longer trip, more than just a weekend, had been percolating for some time.  I wondered if I could do it; I wondered if my bike could do it.  Two days of holiday resulting in a full 8 day ride but only costing three vacation days.  The opportunity was perfect so I went to the local AAA and grabbed a slew of maps, loaded up the GPS mapping software and started planning.  This trip was every bit of the adventure it promised to be on paper and before the end, not only would I be leaving on my birthday, but I would experience running out of gas in the definition of the middle of nowhere, hypothermia, a herd of wild horses and a dubious honor.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 May 2008 )
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Morro Bay Sport Touring 2005 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel Hienzsch   
Friday, 08 June 2007
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Wildflowers and Triumph Sprint
In the previous month, I had already been on sport touring trips to Arizona and Death Valley on my 2000 Triumph Sprint ST, so taking a quick trip up the coast to Morro Bay shouldn't have been a big deal.  I'm sure that eventually, one of these trips will be uneventful, but not this one; by the end of the first day, I would find myself on a freeway at 70MPH, in sixth gear, wondering how I was going to stop the motorcycle.
Last Updated ( Sunday, 10 June 2007 )
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San Diego East Moto Sport Touring 2006 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel Hienzsch   
Thursday, 31 May 2007
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CA74 - Ortega Highway
I like telescopes, particularly the big ones.  The first one I ever was able to get up close to was the observatory complex on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawai'i and I was hooked.  I just love the shape and size of the things for some reason.  Since then I've had a chance to visit several others and it was my hope that on this trip, I would be able to visit Mt. Palomar Observatory.  I was successful in that endeavor and found a lot of other parts of the state that I didn't know existed.  The ride was decidedly not without challenges: technology, maps, weather and fatigue.  It would also be the first ride I would abandon before the full weekend was complete.  At this point though, the more challenging the ride, the more interesting it is for me.  For now, I'll leave the journal in the form that my notes took to see if that is a usable format (it certainly is easier on me!)
Last Updated ( Friday, 08 June 2007 )
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Death Valley Moto Sport Touring 2005 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel Hienzsch   
Friday, 11 May 2007

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Highway 14 Wildflowers
With all the media coverage of the "100 year bloom” at Death Valley, I and Robyn decided that we would be fools to miss out.  The Sprint had performed marvelously despite both fate and my best efforts to beat it to death the previous weekend heading through the Grand Canyon and parts Soutwestish so what the hell.  To compliment this, when I bought the bike, the previous owner (and I’m starting to use that phrase “previous owner” more as a euphemism as time goes by) had included a Corbin gunfighter and lady so it was time to see just how comfy the two of us would be touring two-up over a grander distance than just to the movie theater.  As seems to be the case, most of these tours early in my acquaintance with the Sprint are about learning how she handles under various loads and conditions.  The grand goal is to take some time later this spring and for the two of us to go to Yosemite and the Gold Country, but we don't want to commit to something of that duration without doing some sort of intermediate trip first.  We had tried riding from Irvine to San Diego on the SV650 once, using the stock saddles and not only was the bike not really up to being flogged two-up down I-5 and back in heavy wind, but both of us were mighty uncomfortable by the time it was done with all manner of bruises in unholy places.

Last Updated ( Friday, 08 June 2007 )
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Arizona Moto Sport Touring 2005 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Daniel Hienzsch   
Monday, 07 May 2007
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Middle of Nowhere
The original intent was to ride to Phoenix and back.  Mostly slab, some nice sweepers climbing out of the LA basin with desert wildflowers along the way; a great way to learn about this new ride of mine.  Having procured a trusty 2000 Triumph Sprint ST from eBay I had decided that the best way to get to know the thing was to just take it out for a quick tour.  I figured that the appropriate course of action would be to stick mostly to slab so that I can get a feel for the gearing, tires, controls, brakes etc.  A former roommate had just moved to Phoenix about 9 months prior and I had wanted to go visit him so I figured the signs were converging.  The first trip on the ST would be to Phoenix.  I had no idea what I was in for.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 31 May 2007 )
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Latest Journals

Thanksgiving Week Sport Touring 2005

The idea of undertaking a longer trip, more than just a weekend, had been percolating for some time.  I wondered if I could do it; I wondered if my bike could do it.  Two days of holiday res...

Morro Bay Sport Touring 2005

In the previous month, I had already been on sport touring trips to Arizona and Death Valley on my 2000 Triumph Sprint ST, so taking a quick trip up the coast to Morro Bay shouldn't have been a bi...

San Diego East Moto Sport Touring 2006

I like telescopes, particularly the big ones.  The first one I ever was able to get up close to was the observatory complex on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawai'i and I was hooked.  I j...

Death Valley Moto Sport Touring 2005

With all the media coverage of the "100 year bloom” at Death Valley, I and Robyn decided that we would be fools to miss out.  The Sprint had performed marvelously despite both fate a...

Germany Vacation Travelogue 2006

I hadn’t really been to Germany in a decade.  In fact, since 1991, I had only gone over for a couple of days here and there for funerals and I had never been with Robyn; this was going to...

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