A Tale of One Rider
Bio:
Let me introduce myself, I am Jack Sands, 59 years old, and I live in the Dallas Tx area. I am also married to my wonderful bride, Olivia, and she is a nurse, and I have really tested her professional choice with my injuries and health issues. But all is good now. I am a retired aircraft mechanic, I got hurt severely on the job which hastened my exit from the workforce in 2010. Since that time, I have logged over 150,000 miles on 2 and 3 wheels. I started riding when I was 10 years old on a Honda Passport Scooter, 50 cc's and ugly as sin. I bought it from a garage sale with my paper route money. My next door neighbor had it running in about 15 minutes. My mom hated motorcycles and I have loved them all my life. At the age of 14 years and 10 months I bought a brand new Honda XR 100, I put 37,000 miles on that thumper.
Let me introduce myself, I am Jack Sands, 59 years old, and I live in the Dallas Tx area. I am also married to my wonderful bride, Olivia, and she is a nurse, and I have really tested her professional choice with my injuries and health issues. But all is good now. I am a retired aircraft mechanic, I got hurt severely on the job which hastened my exit from the workforce in 2010. Since that time, I have logged over 150,000 miles on 2 and 3 wheels. I started riding when I was 10 years old on a Honda Passport Scooter, 50 cc's and ugly as sin. I bought it from a garage sale with my paper route money. My next door neighbor had it running in about 15 minutes. My mom hated motorcycles and I have loved them all my life. At the age of 14 years and 10 months I bought a brand new Honda XR 100, I put 37,000 miles on that thumper.
Current stable of bikes:
2008 Honda CBR 600 f4I, bought as a project/wrecked bike with 1,492 miles on it.
1994 Honda Goldwing 1500 sidecar unit, wife likes it, I needed 3 wheels as I was recovering from an on the job leg injury 2010/11.
2006 Honda 250 scooter, bought for my wife.
2004 BMW R1150GS Adventure (affectionately named "Big Bertha")
2006 Honda Goldwing 1800 (named BlackBird as it can get me there quickly and quietly)
2008 Honda CBR 600 f4I, bought as a project/wrecked bike with 1,492 miles on it.
1994 Honda Goldwing 1500 sidecar unit, wife likes it, I needed 3 wheels as I was recovering from an on the job leg injury 2010/11.
2006 Honda 250 scooter, bought for my wife.
2004 BMW R1150GS Adventure (affectionately named "Big Bertha")
2006 Honda Goldwing 1800 (named BlackBird as it can get me there quickly and quietly)
Camping equipment:
I use a "big" 9x9 tent, because I can stand up in it.
Army style cot, because the older you get, the less you like laying on the ground.
Ground cover, because it's never fun getting up to a wet floor.
Small kitchen set up, one pan for heating water, I use instant coffee, instant noodles and instant oatmeal/cream of wheat.
Small "pocket rocket" style generic one burner stove.
When I ride the Goldwing, I pull a "Roll A Home" camp trailer and have plenty of room to bring lots of extras
That includes a little port a pottie for my wife. And an A/C. And a generator for those times when roughing it.
A trailer means you just bring more crap. I am leaning back to taking less though.
I use a "big" 9x9 tent, because I can stand up in it.
Army style cot, because the older you get, the less you like laying on the ground.
Ground cover, because it's never fun getting up to a wet floor.
Small kitchen set up, one pan for heating water, I use instant coffee, instant noodles and instant oatmeal/cream of wheat.
Small "pocket rocket" style generic one burner stove.
When I ride the Goldwing, I pull a "Roll A Home" camp trailer and have plenty of room to bring lots of extras
That includes a little port a pottie for my wife. And an A/C. And a generator for those times when roughing it.
A trailer means you just bring more crap. I am leaning back to taking less though.
Riding gear:
A good water proof helmet, it's no fun riding in the rain, but with decent gear, it's a non-issue.Adventure style waterproof riding jacket, and I stress waterproof, it's no fun riding wet and cold.Waterproof overpants. You can wear shorts under them when it's hot.I use snow mobile gloves as they are wind proof and water proof, Hot weather gloves in the summer.Water proof riding boots, and a backup pair of tennis shoes, and some sandals.In the winter, I have heated gear, it's nice but I only use it a very few times a year, almost not worth the investment
A good water proof helmet, it's no fun riding in the rain, but with decent gear, it's a non-issue.Adventure style waterproof riding jacket, and I stress waterproof, it's no fun riding wet and cold.Waterproof overpants. You can wear shorts under them when it's hot.I use snow mobile gloves as they are wind proof and water proof, Hot weather gloves in the summer.Water proof riding boots, and a backup pair of tennis shoes, and some sandals.In the winter, I have heated gear, it's nice but I only use it a very few times a year, almost not worth the investment
Tools:
I have a lot of tools, but when you work on your bike at home. Only use the tool roll that you take on the bike. Tire plug kit.Tire inflator, I have a co2 kit, but those are kind of pricey, I am going back to a compact compressor.Zip Ties, wire and duct tape.Extra fuses and light bulbs if you have some odd size that are hard to get.
I have a lot of tools, but when you work on your bike at home. Only use the tool roll that you take on the bike. Tire plug kit.Tire inflator, I have a co2 kit, but those are kind of pricey, I am going back to a compact compressor.Zip Ties, wire and duct tape.Extra fuses and light bulbs if you have some odd size that are hard to get.
Places I have been:
I didn't start really doing long distance riding til after I recovered from a very bad leg injury which ended my working career as an aircraft mechanic in June of 2010. I was just 3 weeks away from my vacation on my bike to California and up the Pacific Coast Highway, that would have to wait until August of 2012. So after numerous surgeries on my leg, I got it good enough to walk on, but not work on. First long ride was on my Goldwing with a huge sidecar, and it was a honeymoon ride for me and Olivia. Olivia and I took off in August of 2012 on our honeymoon ride, it was the west coast ride that I didn't take in 2010 due to the leg injury. Camping and riding, the PCH is an amazing road, a must do. In 2013 my mom passed away and in the end I ended up with the task of scattering her ashes. My mom hated motorcycles (had a young relative die in a m/c accident), and I just packed Mom up in a box (her ashes) strapped her on the back seat of my bike and took off for North Carolina. I also took her on the Tail of the Dragon on the way, hey, she couldn't complain! I got the deed done and did an Iron Butt style ride all the way. 2014 was just short more local rides, I am part of a motorcycle ministry, so I poured my time into that area. I have been to a lot of large bike rallies. Spent some time planning for an Alaska ride in 2015.
I didn't start really doing long distance riding til after I recovered from a very bad leg injury which ended my working career as an aircraft mechanic in June of 2010. I was just 3 weeks away from my vacation on my bike to California and up the Pacific Coast Highway, that would have to wait until August of 2012. So after numerous surgeries on my leg, I got it good enough to walk on, but not work on. First long ride was on my Goldwing with a huge sidecar, and it was a honeymoon ride for me and Olivia. Olivia and I took off in August of 2012 on our honeymoon ride, it was the west coast ride that I didn't take in 2010 due to the leg injury. Camping and riding, the PCH is an amazing road, a must do. In 2013 my mom passed away and in the end I ended up with the task of scattering her ashes. My mom hated motorcycles (had a young relative die in a m/c accident), and I just packed Mom up in a box (her ashes) strapped her on the back seat of my bike and took off for North Carolina. I also took her on the Tail of the Dragon on the way, hey, she couldn't complain! I got the deed done and did an Iron Butt style ride all the way. 2014 was just short more local rides, I am part of a motorcycle ministry, so I poured my time into that area. I have been to a lot of large bike rallies. Spent some time planning for an Alaska ride in 2015.
2015 was a big year in more ways than one. I had a
friend talk me into going and renting motorcycles in Ecuador instead of
going to Alaska. What an adventure that was and to top it off, I fell
and broke my knee on the side of a mountain on the last day of riding. I
ended up riding back to Quito with a broken knee on the bike 5 1/2 hrs.
We went over one of the highest mountain passes I have ever rode over
at more than 14,000 feet. Ecuador is one of the most beautiful places I
have ever been too. I made it back to the US for surgery and I had
developed compartment syndrome from the leg injury and ended up having
major leg surgery on the same leg that was severely broken on the job in
2010. I had the muscle die in the front of my lower leg (the up-shift
muscle) and it was removed and I ended up with a incision of 24 inches
and 56 staples to close it up. It was a pretty gruesome sight. I also
bought my 2006 Goldwing in January, this was my retirement gift to
myself. It only had 11,000 miles on it. To date, I have put 106,000
miles on it in about 3 years. I put about 25,000 on it in 2015. I rode
to Georgia and Florida for my big ride of the year.
2016 consisted of
a lot of short rides, still did about 30,000 miles, all on the
Goldwing. I started planning my Alaska trip again. I rode to Ruidoso NM a
couple of times for a rally, I also attended ROT in Austin, South Padre
Island Bike week, Christian Motorcyclists State and National Rallies in
Texas and Arkansas. I also rode to the Big Bend National Park, and down
to the Rio Grand Valley a couple of times. Hey retirement has it's
perks. Eat, ride sleep and repeat.
2017 was a tremendous year for me, I logged over 50,000 miles. The Big trip of the year was Alaska, I spent 31 days on the road, logged 11,600 miles and went thru 14 states, 3 Canadian provinces/territories. Say much wildlife, bears, foxes, moose, geese, long horns, mountain sheep, a lynx and many more species too. Most beautiful road in North America was the Ice Fields Parkway in Canada (yes there are lots of beautiful roads) going up thru Banff and Jasper National Parks. Beartooth Hyw was great too. I tried to see as many National Parks as well. Yellowstone, Glacier, Yosemite, Death Valley, and Grand Canyon to mention a few. I also rode up north of Fairbanks Alaska to the Arctic Circle. I do plan to return to Alaska in 2020 and make the ride all the way up to Dead Horse Alaska, why? because it's there.
Later in the year, Thanksgiving, my wife and I flew to Mexico City so she could meet family there. My wife's story is she was born in Mexico City, and came to the USA via San Diego, her mom was murdered when she was 11 and her and her 4 younger sisters went into the foster care system and ended up in Texas. In 2017 she started finding cousins via facebook. When we went to Mexico City, and then out to the "ranch", she ended up meeting probly 200 cousins that few days. This trip down to Mexico so encouraged us to make another trip down there for Christmas, but we rode the Goldwing down there. We ended up spending 10 days way deep in Mexico, to a small town named Caracuaro in the state of Michoacán. My wife's mom and her dad were born in this small town and she is related to more than 1/2 of this town. Riding a large touring bike this deep in to Mexico has it's challenges, they are called "topes" or super sized speed bumps. We rode 800 miles south of Laredo Tx. You have to watch out for the topes, as they are large and sometimes marked and sometimes not, they can be a trip ender. Just wasn't my trip ender though. Also another word to the wise, beware of what you eat, it can come back to get you. My downfall was eating some "fresh" cilantro that had been rinsed with "so called" clean water. It wasn't and I got sick, sick and sick, but survived the revenge. The visiting with her "new" family was so good for her. We came back into the US thru west Texas just in time for the single digit cold front of the New Year 2018. The day we started home from W Texas it was 9 degrees that morning and when we got on the bike it was 12. I had packed Olivia's heated gear, but I left mine home as it took up too much room. I had all my traveling clothes on, I mean all. Only thing that got cold was my finger tips. Oh and I bought Big Bertha in November for my Adventure bike.
2018 has proved to be my most trying year. The first half until August 1 , I may have ridden only about 12,000 miles. August 1st I got stung on my right ankle (my good leg) by a hornet in my carport. The sting hurt like hell, but Tylenol and Benadryl took care of it, or so I thought...…..6 days later I thought I had the flu. Chills and fever, stayed in bed all day, but we were watching my blood pressure, which steadily fell all day. I went to the hospital when it dropped to 68/41. I was nearly dead. The hospital quickly diagnosed that I was sepsis in my blood due in fact to the sting. The stinger had some very bad bacteria on it. My lower right leg swell almost twice it's normal fat size and they were putting the strongest IV antibiotics in both arms. I won't kid you, this is the closest to dying that I have ever come, The drs finally called in an infectious disease dr and she literally saved me. I came home from the hospital and stayed on IV antibiotics for another 17 days, costing over $2500 out of pocket and then another 6 weeks of oral antibiotics. While in the hospital, they found I had 4 arteries around my heart clogged more than 90%. October 19, I had bypass surgery, and I want you to know that this was the least amount of fun that I have ever had. I woke the second day about 2:30 in the morning having an adverse reaction to a pain med called Tramadol. I was convinced that I had been in a truck accident in Saint Louis. Where that came from I'll never know, but I was in Dallas. By the time we figured out that Tramadol was not my friend, I had another episode the next night and all I know that iy had something to do with the Lottery, but I didn't win. The big take away my friends, is eat your veggies and maybe you can avoid this terrible painful surgery.
2019 is looking good, planning a trip to the Big Bend National Park at
the end of February for a dual sport rally, and taking a week to 2
weeks of just camping and riding dirt on my Big Bertha. My bride is
going to Mexico for the month of March and if she takes too long, I'll
just ride Big Bertha down there. I have plans to go to Marble Falls for
another dual sport rally. Then a couple of large biker rallies in
Austin, the South Padre Island. I'll do some riding in the Texas Hill
country. I have survived my health scares of 2018 and I feel pretty dang
good. Never quit exploring. I've done 3 Iron Butt 1,000 mile rides
So that's my story, what's your story. I go by "sandsman" on
advrider.com and twtex.com , a couple of sites where I have an online
profile. These are great sites for sourcing and planning rides.