June 2005

USA
Michigan, Wisconsin,
South Dakota, Montana

- no problem -

The immigration back to the USA is quick & easy - yippiyeah, I like it!

After a fantastic day I reached the 'last' corner of Michigan. The last 20 km I follow signs which should lead me to a campground. What the signs promised I really find - a beautiful peninsula at a lake. A huge quite campground and almost no insects. I enjoy a swim - good camping food an fell happy and exhausted a sleep. The next morning I am early up, pack my gear and at 6 am I'm on the road.
I love the rides on backroads and see many animals.

The first 6 hours are good but then it starts to dribble, to rain till i'm riding in heavy shower.
My pants sock the cool 'we' to my socks and all the way to my tiptoe. The boots are flooded soon.
The gloves as well and after 400 miles and 11 long hours I reach Minneapolis.
For the next 2 nights I tell myself that I desirve a real bed, hot shower and a roof over my head. It rains cats and dogs and I am not interested to camp in this condition if there are other possebileties.
I enjoy the 'luxery' and visit at the beginning of the week the Royal Enfield main dealer of the USA.
The road is easy to find, but the office?
I do ask arround and then.... I see the sign -
Royal Enfield - thats the spot I want to go!

It is smaller than I thought - it's 'only' the office and sparepart building as I get told and shown. All the bikes are at a distributer at the east coast. First I need to find out with whom I have been in e-mail contact.

Tait (2nd from right) is the hero of the day. Mr. T. Bolten makes a good phone call to the bigboss Mr. K. Mahoney and then he opens the 'surprise box' fo me!

1. I get a 1st class accomodation in a great hotel, whirlpool, and a super king size bed in the room, pool, hot tub and sauna in the house incl. brakfast for free.
2. I do get support - hmmm what does that mean?
For little reports and some photos I do get spare parts which I need within the states for free and out of the country I pay shipping - wow!
I am courious if that for sure works if I ever need it.

I still dont know who forwarded my e-mail adress to the roadrunner magazine, but I reach the boss of this nice motorcycle magazine and we have an interesting conversation.

If I do the story writing - - - - not sure- - - - but to the offer of an interview & fotoshooting in Los Angeles I say straight away - yes!
Totaly happy and some how with a save feeling I ride further west.

I tell you - here you can see land; land as far as your eyes can see.
From farmland it goes soft over in to grassland which sometimes seems to be endless.
I LOVE IT - it gives me somehow a feeling of having this endless freedom and space. So I crouse totally happy along and enjoy the grat temperatures of arround 35 'C.

After a few hours of riding it become easy tired.

I do have a little radio which I can clip on to my helmet - but out here there are no stations - hmmmmmmmm. So I start to sing.

But as soon as I see the next gasstation (arround 1 1/2 hours later) I better stop to get some new batteries for my disc player - aaaah way better!

I reach save an happy my next destionation - The Badlands!!

It's a special feeling to stay at the edge of those 'cliffs'. It looks like a lunar landscape on a green carpet. Normaly this sandstone formations are on the same colour of underground - everything, bron grayish as I get told. But this year there was a lot of rain and thats the reason for this bright colours.

With black clouds in the sky and already some wind gusts I reach Rapid City. Riding in town and searching for a campground. An other motorcyclist on an old triumph, thumbs up and stearing at my bike is slowly passing me.

With a head moving 'sign' I signal him to the right.

We stop and I ask him for a campground. Cory and I have a great conversation and are jetting away. After a while he offers me to camp at his backyward. When we reached the house we kept talking till I pack my tent up again and move in the house. There is a spare room which I can use. As exchange I make my self useful.

We cut wood and move it arround. Massiv wood fences get build, fire places moved, picnic platform, flower and garden area built.

On a nice day I explore parts of the Black Hills - take pictures of Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse memorial - and am just right back in time to take off to the partyweekend in Sturgis.

Fr. Sa and Sunday there is an amazing athmosphere, cool people, freaky bikes and from dif. competitions, fish races to a rock band a lot of going on!

Cory's friends give me a warm welcome feeling and I suck the good vibes up like a sponge bevore I keep on riding west.

A few days later I hike arround the Grand Teton National Park. On a long (28km) hike to a lake over 9000 ft. (3000 meters) above see level I see a lot of animals.

Moose, deer, yellow bellied marmites, squirrels and chip monks. i love the views, the great hikes and fresh air.

If you belive it or not- it reminds me a lot of home. Crazy isn't it?

At home you take everything for granted and then you have to go that far to realize how beautiful it is in good old Austria.
As I can see the snow covered summits of the rockey mountains I start 'jodeling' just for fun.
(for those which understand 'jucktzen' thats the closer expression)

There is something else which I enjoy a lot . . . do you know how great it feels when you are at the open air toilet?!
It feels great when you do your business out in the pure nature, the sun shines on your ass and you can have a relaxed few at the beautiful scenery!

Thats the best toilet on earth!

At the weekend I reach the famous Yellowstone National Park.

Colourful hot pools & mud bubbeling boiling pots.

The gaisier old faithful
attracks daily several 1000 visitors. This gaisier catapults like on a regular scatual a huge steam & waterfountain in the air. The visitors are impressed and you can hear a stunning aaaaah as well as many clicks, clicks, clicks from tries to take photos.

Mostely there is nothing left then a gray shade and smeared lenses - it gives the souveneir shop a good business.

Yeah it's not easy to be a tourist. That's the reason why I pronounce all the time to be a traveler.
Sometimes it doesnt matter and worry me at all how long I am here or there. The same happens here, I enjoy this colourful boiling pots, canyon, animals and all the other highlights for some days.

As soon the sun is gone - it looks that she takes the fun with her!
The temperatures drop at night down to 3 'C. To brush my teeth I have to force the tooth paste to come out the tube and even the breakfast honey you can cut!
Still the days are flying by. Planning where to go, what to do and see, where can I get good food, where are shower at the campground. Not at all national park campgrounds there are showers. So also at Grand Teton. I ride to the next wash house where I meet nice people like Stacy & Sho!

They picked up their Ural which sidecar in Washington state and are traveling to southern California.

We spent a great day together and the funny thing is - people thought we are a crazy family on bikes- such a blast!
Oh yeah what else do I do that the time rushes by.

I do write this stories of my travels for you and hope that you have fun reading it and mabe inspire you or refresh your travel memories.

I send you the best greetings and hope to hear from you one day!