I left Champaign, IL on Friday, May 7, 2010.  I gave away almost an entire house full of stuff, including furniture, TV’s, home theater stereo systems, etc.  Everything I didn’t give away I packed in my trailer, here’s a pic:

I spent couple of days with my parents, conveniently including Mother’s Day and my Dad’s birthday.  I bought my Dad a SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger for his birthday with a year subscription and rescue insurance.  Now, if he happens to get into deep shit, he can press a button and be saved.  Plus, now Mom and I know where he is at.

Then I spent a couple of days with my uncle Blaine in Lawrence, KS.  We enjoyed hanging out and playing with our iPads.  We saw Iron Man 2 and it wasn’t as bad as the reviews, the Audi R8 in the movie is cooler than mine (the Iron Man 1 version).

I’m not sure when I decided to move to Durango, CO, probably on May 7, the day I left Champaign.  I arrived in Durango on May 13th, 2010, spent four days living in a hotel and decided I needed a place to call home – I really don’t like living out of a hotel.  By Monday morning I was fed up with hotel living and by Monday night I was moving into a condo I rented in downtown Durango.  Here’s the view from my terrace:

You can see the Durango Silverton train from my terrace.  It’s a narrow gauge railroad.  Every morning the steam locomotive wakes me up with it’s signature “woo woo” like in old western movies – I love it!

Check out this thread on AdvRider.com. My Dad and I are attending this weekend, my first ride with him in like 10 years.

It’s been about 10 years since I adventure traveled with my Dad. He bought all my gear originally (thanks Dad, that cost more than I realized), none of it fits anymore thanks to my belly, or the gear is nasty (my old helmet smells like a cat shit in it). So now I have to buy everything. The good news is that I have one of the best adventure travelers in the world giving me advice on what to buy. My Dad (BigDog) has 3 of everything that I could’ve borrowed except pants that fit me, so pants are a must, but I bought everything else anyways. Here are his recommendations:

GPS – Garmin 276C – Dad purchased through AdvRider.com for me

Pants – Klim Dakar Pants, unavailable I bought Klim Mojave Pants (both over the boots design, Dad recommends and I’ll try but I’m a little skeptical)

Body Armor – SixSixOne Vapor

Knee Protection – SixSixOne Moto Long Knee/Shin

Helmet – Arai XD’3 Motard Dual Sport, too expensive so I bought an Arai XD’3 Lust Dual Sport on closeout

Boots – Sidi Adventure Rain Boots, unavailable so I bought Sidi Crossfire TA Boots

Gloves – Fox Bomber Gloves

Weasel Squeezers – SixSixOne Bomber Shorts, unavailable so I bought Moose XCR Riding Skins Padded Shorts

Camelback – Camelback MULE Hydration Backpack

Gear Bag – Moose Racing Roller Bag

Front Tire and Rear Tires – Pirelli MT21

Crossbar to mount Garmin 276C – Handlebar Crossbar

Spare-Tube Fenderbag

Saddlebags – DirtBagz Ranger Set and Panniers X-Duffle (Dad didn’t know about duffle)

Tankbag- Wolfman Enduro Tank Bag and Rain Cover

I picked out the following:

Goggles – Scott 87 OTG (in case I didn’t like the shield on the Arai)

Jerseys – Moose Sahara 2009, Moose XCR 2009, Moose M1 2009 (need more than one right?)

Dad also recommended Moose Monarch Pass Waterproof Pants, but I’m not going to buy them yet, hopefully my waist size will change dramatically and I can buy a smaller pair.

And for my bike, the headlight is pitiful and one turn signal is broken so I’m replacing them all with LED lights from Baja Designs

Headlight

Taillight

Turn Signals (2 sets)

That’s a good start.

So I bought a 2008 Husky TE610 with 2,400 miles for $5,300. I am tickled pink to find it.

It came with a skid plate, White Brothers LX3 exhaust (nice sound, not too loud), aluminum speedometer guard, raised handlebars (I’m going to leave them for now even though I’m 8″ shorter than the previous owner), different handlebars without cross bar, and Dirt Bagz mounts. Here are some pics:

I really wanted a fuel-injected Husky TE610 to adventure travel on with my Dad. I had a hard time finding a used bike and almost purchased a new TE630 but damn they cost $9K and I knew how much resale value it would lose the second I bought it. My Dad helped me out, he posted on AdvRider.com that I was looking for one. A guy in Ingleside, IL responded with the perfect TE610 for the perfect price. Here it is in the back of my truck on it’s way home!

I needed an closed trailer to store all my stuff. I decided to give away or sell anything that does not fit in this trailer. It has been more cathartic than I would’ve thought. It feels really good to get rid of stuff. Eventually I may use this trailer to haul my Husky and other adventure toys.

I bought a Lightning 7′ x 14′ all aluminum trailer from Trailers Midwest, Inc. I highly recommend these guys in Elkhart, IN. They are across the street from the manufacturer and the owner is extremely nice and gave me a great deal. Here’s a pic when I picked it up.

I resigned as Director of Information Technology from one of the greatest companies on the planet.  It was a very difficult decision. My corporate job was as good as a corporate job could be, and I had many successes. It was a dream job.

I realized that even though the dream job provided all the dream stuff I wanted, it was not making me happy, so I took a leap of faith to pursue doing stuff instead of having stuff. Specifically I intend to adventure travel on motorcycles with my Dad to catch up on lost time. Also, I intend to go some place warm for several months to focus on nothing but getting fit and chilling out. After that I’ll start my own company that will allow me to continue being an adventurer and living life on my terms.

I’m extremely lucky, I saved some money, I’m 32 years old and single, I have no debt, and I get to design a life most only get to dream about.

Below is my resignation letter.

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Please accept this letter as formal notification that I am resigning from *****.

I deeply appreciate all that I have experienced at *****.

I continue to find the job challenging and rewarding.  However, this job does not allow the flexibility for time off I desire.  My best memories in life are growing up traveling with him.  He is getting older and I have to seize the opportunity now to travel with him or I may never get the chance again.

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