Why This Trip?

So why a cross country trip?  Why on motorcycle?  Why solo?  In order to best explain…let me introduce you to my original angel, Beth Seidle.

On November 13th, 2007 I came home to find that my beautiful wife and soon to be mother of our fledgling family had suddenly and without warning passed away and would no longer be an integral player on Team Camacho.  The plans that we had made and the path that our lives were supposed to take, were irreparably altered and forever shattered.  For days I could not focus on anything further away than my next breath and for months afterwards one wave of agonizing pain was crested by another wave of agonizing sorrow.  Let’s just say that it has been a tumultuous few months and I still miss her terribly and only wish that circumstances were different.

A couple of weeks after, I had started to piece my life back together and began to rediscover who I was as a singularity, instead of a pairing, I started dreaming about something that I had put on the back burner years before.  When I was about 22, I had a vision of going cross country and really discovering and experiencing America!  (Yes, Yes, it is very Motorcycle Diaryesque) but nonetheless it was something that I had envisioned and always wondered what it would be like to truly immerse myself in all the greatness that is this nation.

According to the “plan”, I was meant to be a father soon and figured that this would just have to be a fantasy that would have to wait until the children were older or perhaps once I had hit retirement…as that would have been the “responsible” thing to do.  However, seeing that I was once again on my own and very much without and strings…I figured…what the hell if not now…then when!?!?  And so the dream once again took flight and two months after I had the first flights of fantasy I purchased my very first motorcycle, a Honda VTX 1300R, the R is for retro styling, it is so bloody cool!!

 

Now the original plan, ten years ago, was to put $200.00 in my pocket and see how far I could make it…work the odd job here and there and perhaps barter skills or labor for food, lodging, and fuel.  That was then, now I really want to stop in a nice hotel if my back begins to hurt!!  Perhaps a spa, or massage if my legs or rear begin to ache after several weeks on the road.  But the spirit of the trip still lives on, an opportunity to re-examine who I am, what I have to offer, and discover what my next chapter will look like.  This is why the solitude is so very important to me, an opportunity to allow the only sounds to be my engine purring and my mind whirring.  A chance to let my thoughts wander where they may and truly see into the essence of my being.  The bike is my modern horse and like an old time explorer I will pursue my Manifest Destiny and uncover what lies beyond the very flat river of grass of Florida.