The Striking Viking

The Striking Viking
Around the World Twice

May I introduce you to Glen Heggstad, a.k.a. The Striking Viking. This guy rocks. Glen first traveled around the world on his motorcycle just after the 9/11 bombings. He left from Palm Springs and was captured by the ELN, “Colombia’s deadliest rebel army”. His tell-all book is titled Two Wheels Through Terror. I encourage everyone to buy his book as it is quite and read and all proceeds will be given to the Red Cross. Glen has witnessed first hand famine, torture, and day-to-day survival of many cultures throughout our world. His choice to make this donation is more than a gift, it is necessary. Terry and I were fortunate enough to be invited to Ventura BMW where Glen was giving his very first presentation fresh from his latest travels (2 weeks fresh). His slideshow seemed shorter than its 2 hours. Each picture held a story, some good, some bad, all beautiful. He puts his entire being through situations that none of us would even entertain. But the gift of knowledge and spiritual growth has proven more than fulfilling, so much so that he plans to head to China within the next year. Glen will spend upwords of 6 months in a Chinese language immersion program. You see, this guy can speak 10 LANGUAGES! Impressive? Yes. Attainable by the rest of us? Only if you're open and sincere...and ready.

Read Glen's book. Learn from him as Terry and I have. Life lesson - take your experiences and LEARN from them. There is no growth to be had unless you open your eyes and shut your mouth.

Visit Glen's website at www.strikingviking.net.

"Do one thing that scares you every day."
Eleanor Roosevelt

Meet David. David decided that airplanes were getting too dangerous so he decided to buy a motorcycle...at age 65. He claims that it's too slow as he can only go up to 150 MPH. We like David. He's planning to take a 2 week venture in Europe with some other riders, one of them being Hans. You'll meet Hans in a moment. David is a fan of the Adventure Trio site, "except that foul language." But after meeting me, I think he understands who I am and what I'm about, right dad ;-) And David, YOU'RE FUCKING GORGEOUS!!!!

Meet Hans. We originally met Hans at the Rawhyde rally in March. Hans is from Germany and will be riding with David and a few other chaps in Europe very soon. Hans is a crack up with his old jokes and wild stories. We like Hans. Wish them all a safe and fun trip. And Hans, YOU'RE FUCKING GORGEOUS, TOO!!!

A pic of some of the bikes from the Ventura BMW Open House in April. Terry rode his bike down and picked me up at Burbank Airport. We rode in L.A. traffic to get to Thousand Oaks. Ick. But we did see many friends at the open house and got a chance to reconnect and swap riding stories.

You remember Austen! Austen was able to join us for Easter a week prior to the open house. A group photo is always en vogue for us. A very cool guy. Hoping to get south again very soon to check in on the Ventura gang.

Captured Austen getting his book autographed by Glen before he had to ride off to another locale for another presentation. Like I said, we were ALL impressed with Glen's voyages and ALL inspired to take off and ride.

This is Jim Hyde of Rawhyde Adventures. You may remember his face from earlier riding entries. He had a booth at the open house and was giving some pointers and demonstrations using Pete's totally awesome bike. Jim gave some VERY good advice for riding in the dirt and had our attention for quite some time. Interested? Visit www.rawhyde-offroad.com and check out all he has to offer. Totally worth it.

We also ran into Jeff Clark, one of the dudes we rode with in Death Valley. Jeff took some awesome pics of Terry and I along the way. He's a pro photographer and does some excellent work. Interested? Visit www.jeffclarkphoto.com to view some of his work. It was very cool running into him and catching up.

We decided to leave Thousand Oaks and make our way north to shave off some time for our Sunday ride home. Pismo Beach was our chosen destination. Alas, it was some sort of parent's weekend at Cal Poly and ALL rooms were booked. We were told by one front desk dude, "You could drive up to north to _________ (insert the name of some town 1 hour away in BFE). They might have a room." It's getting dark, it's been raining, and we're on a motorcycle. Thanks asshole. And guess what, asshole! We ended up FINDING a room down the road with a room overlooking the ocean, right on the cliff, right in time for sunset. Awesome. They even had a free full breakfast in the morning complete with make-it-yourself waffles. Golden.

Our fresh ride parked up on the No Parking sidewalk. Gotta get the shot quick as the cops are aplenty. Doesn't this make you want to take off on an adventure?

One final shot before we head home to Mr. Jack. We REALLY dig getting outta the house and by ourselves, and we REALLY dig getting back to our family. It was an awesome trip, one that will be repeated many, many times.

Now get out there and travel, dammit!!!

Spain Part 8

Spain
Part 8:
Wrapping it Up
The Final Entry

I know, I know, I’ve disappointed those of you who have been following closely. But those who have a life, a home and a family know that time is short, and precious, and crammed full of laundry, etc. And those of you who write know that it takes a looooooong time and the pictures take even longer to format. I apologize for not getting back here sooner.

My final thoughts on Spain…

After a very, VERY grueling trip home (delays, missed flights, up for over 24 hours but got kicked back $1400 for our troubles – thanks!), we want to travel again. Soon. Our final days in San Sebastian were awesome. Our day on the beach was priceless. And the people we met along the way only reaffirmed our desire to explore this planet, though I am DONE with the Dutch language. Damnmit, people! Either spit out that loogie you keep hacking up or swallow! No joke – the language is a little much.

Would we return to the same cities? Barcelona, totally! San Sebastian, definitely. Madrid, ya, don’t think so. Barcelona is waaaaay too much fun and San Sebastian is so gorgeous. Just a jaunt on the soft, sandy beaches is enough to make you buy another plane ticket as soon as you get home. And the food? Well, raw funny lookin’ fish is not usually on my menu. Sushi yes, tapas no. Paella? Yes – watch out for eyeballs. And watch out for food that “isn’t but should be” refrigerated, a.k.a. milk, eggs, etc. No eggs for me thanks, I’m driving.

But I KNOW you are just DYING to hear my take on the fashion scene. Am I right or am I right? Right?!? The Spaniards definitely know how to use their Bedazzler. Rhinestones are aplenty as are colorful designs. A lot of black? Nope. Color reigns, the brighter the better. But where, you may ask, can you find European style shoes in the U.S.? Aldo is going to be your best bet, www.zappos.com is also a definite hit. I didn’t buy any shoes while I was there. SHOCKER!! To be honest, I was already sportin’ my black pointy toe boots and knew I had several euro styles at home. This trip just reaffirmed my need for MORE euro shoes. Wink.

But what about doing the motorcycle thing in Spain? (Many have asked.) Trust me. Terry was fogging up the window in the train as he stared at endless open roads. I think he’s already planning his trip. You know that when Jack gets of age it’s going to be "Adventure Trio Conquers Europe on Two Wheels". Nice. Need to start saving now.

The best part? Being with each other. Wouldn't trade our experience for any amount of money. My family rocks. My husband is the most awesome person I know. And Jack, he is loved more and more each day. He continues to amaze us. He's so cool. When we were at SFO waiting to see if our backpacks made it through the maze of plane changes, Jack turned to me and said, "I really had a great time in Spain." Nuff said.

Northern Spain countryside on our train ride to San Sebastian. Totally awesome.

Squid ink. SQUID INK?!?!?!?

Our day on the beach. Priceless.

Hey Jack, is the water cold?

Diggin' the scene.

Watching the waves roll in...and out...

He asked to be buried in sand...I swear!

A view of our hotel right from where we played.

We HAD to do laundry at some point. We were startin' to get a lil' stanky.

How could we NOT dine at such a fine establishment?

Came upon this shirt while shopping at Zara. I think there was a little something lost in translation. I looked like a fool taking a pic of a shirt, but it had to be done. Anyone willing to where it?!?

A little gelato, some pigeon chasing, it was all good.

Too cute not to post.

Up at 4AM to catch the train back to Madrid. One backpacker...

...two backpackers...

...and this gung-ho backpacker number three.

Jack totally dug our last hotel, complete with bunkbeds. OF COURSE we let him fall asleep on the top bunk that didn't have any rails...then gently placed him on the bottom bunk. A short nights sleep was had by all as we were up by 3AM to catch our 6AM flight to Amsterdam. Like I said earlier, we had missed flights, delayed flights, you name it. We didn't get into SFO till 7:30PM, very little sleep on the plane. How many hours were we awake? You do the math, I'm going back to bed.