HomeMeetingsHorizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers' Website, California Travellers Meeting 2009
Why Come to a Horizons Unlimited Motorcycle Travellers Meeting?
You can meet people who don't think you're crazy for wanting to ride your bike to South America or Africa or across Asia, or
even around the world! Admit it, all your 'normal' friends and most of your family fears for your sanity! So, this is
your opportunity to meet the people who will encourage you in that craziness, share their experiences and advice on how
to do it, and maybe you'll meet them again in Mongolia or Timbuktu!
The plan is simple. Show up on Thursday or at the latest
Friday afternoon, meet people and setup. Travel Presentations and Tech clinics are planned throughout the meeting, starting Thursday
night. More Detailed Schedule here.
2009 Speakers and Tech Clinics (so far, more to come):
Jupiters Travels - the start...
Ted Simon
An expanded account of the beginning of the first journey, and more on the second journey, two talks. This is an event not to be missed for Ted Simon fans!
Bad news just in from Ted (19 Sept) - he's in the hospital in England, blood clots on the brain as I understand it, and they're not letting him fly, so he won't be able to make it. :( He's going to try to send his CD of his talk, but it won't be the same without him talking!
Around the world on a V-strom
Erdem Yucel, Turkey/USA
A first long trip, and it's around the world in 6 months, ending here!
Wrong Way Round The World
Ian Moor, UK
Why I'm doing it, how I'm doing it and why I'm thinking of spending the winter in Canada!
Where there is no doctor...
Molly Martin
How to prepare for medical emergencies on your RTW motorbike trip.
Bring a helmet and a foamie!
Gabriel Bolton
A 6 month solo trip from the UK to Magadan.
From the Alps to the Atlas
Carla King
A solo ride from Austria to Morocco's Saraha Desert and back on a new(er) Ural.
Women only
a very popular session - I'm told it's a must for the ladies, so be sure to plan on being there!
Solita through Mexico
Cynthia MacKay
11,000 miles of magnificent Mexico, a woman alone, a very new rider on a very low budget and only barely mechanically inclined. But I did it... and you can too!
The Achievable Dream
Grant Johnson, Canada Learn from Horizons Unlimited's founder
and 11 year round-the-world veteran everything you need to know to ride to the next country or the next continent.
Sound scary? Get the inspiration and information so YOU can hit the road!
BRACUS-Building Relationships and Communication Using Stereotypes
Chris Brown, USA
What people (maybe you) do who are especially good at establishing trusting relationships across cultures. Communicating with - and understanding - people from another culture!
How to make a molehill out of a mountain
Michael Anderson, UK
How to pre-empt or react to an emergency
Body Mechanics for the Long Haul-- More Control, Less Stress.
"Coach" Ramey Stroud
Ergonomics! Body Mechanics! When you pickup your new bike, did they take the time to make it fit you? You'll learn the amazing
difference a properly setup bike makes to your riding fun.
Fix that flat! How to change a
tire anytime, anywhere
Grant Johnson
How to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one. The best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires. Hand's
on practical and tire changing contest for beginners to experts.
Photo Composition for Travellers, and a Critique of YOUR photos
Grant Johnson, Canada
Transform your trip photos from boring to fabulous! Bring 10 photos on a USB key or SD card for discussion - what's missing, or not quite right, or just plain BAD - and how to correct the mistakes we all make. Bring some photos on a flash drive if you'd like a critique.
Off-pavement basics.
"Coach" Ramey Stroud!
New to off-road riding, especially on a big trailie? Grant and Coach will talk about where the beginning dirt rider goes wrong and what to do about it. We will also conduct a basic training clinic - sign up on the day!
From BMWMOA magazine: "I could go on and on about what we learned, the techniques, the lessons, the close calls and Coach's wealth of knowledge he demonstrates with every breath he takes... I knew there was much more to tackle and I knew I had found my Motorcycle Guru. I highly recommend his instruction for anyone looking to take their on-road or off-road to the next level."
Off-Pavement: How Your Sphere of Movement Affects Traction
There'll be a lecture first for an hour, then a short break followed by one hour of hands-on static practice in a parking area.
It's all about getting centered
11 Years on the Road, RTW
Grant Johnson
Grant and Susan's show of their RTW trip hasn't been seen since 2000, so due to popular demand - well one or two - it's been resurrected with loads of never seen before pictures. Maybe...if there's time.
and more to come!How about you? We're all here to learn, and there's LOTS to learn! We want to do more presentations and clinics - but we need
volunteers to give them! Any topic you can contribute having to do with motorcycle travel, maintenance, planning etc, lasting
20 minutes or more, would be great. Please contact me here to volunteer.
How to change a tire, seminar in Colorado by Jim Stanley
Presentations and Tech Clinics
Just for an example, here's what we had in Colorado for 2007:
Chris and Erin Ratay, USA, 4 years around the world.
A multi-media show that's guaranteed to make you want to leave - now!
The Achievable Dream
Grant Johnson, Canada Learn from Horizons Unlimited's founder
and 11 year round-the-world veteran everything you need to know to ride to the next country or the next continent.
Sound scary? Get the inspiration and information so YOU can hit the road! FRIDAY 9-1 PM.
Tyler Dollard, USA Northern Colorado BMW / Ducati Motorcycles
Ergonomics! When you pickup your new bike, did they take the time to make it fit you? You'll learn the amazing
difference a properly setup bike makes to your riding fun.
First-Aid for Motorcyclists
Leo Lloyd, USA, RN/Paramedic
What supplies and drugs to carry in your first-aid kit, where to get first-aid training, and a hands-on demonstration on how to deal
with a classic problem: a downed bike and a broken leg.
Photo Composition for Travellers
Grant Johnson, Canada
The one everyone SHOULD take, but no one does... We all want to take great photos of our trip - so why don't we? This
easy clinic will transform your photos from boring to fabulous! There may also be an advanced class if enough interest - bring 10 photos on a USB key or SD card for discussion.
Motorcycle Filters, Who Needs 'em?
Harry Hill, USA, Basin Motorcycle Works, Durango CO
Every bike, regardless of make or model, needs a breath of fresh air, a gulp of clean fuel, and a bath of slippery oil. Learn how to choose and properly maintain all of your bike's filters.
Cold Cranking Power to Spare
Mark Stetz, USA
Batteries are those semi-mystical lead weights that store and deliver electricity when we need it. Learn about the different types of batteries, how to service them, and how to get home when your electrons have all gone south.
Take it or leave it, Packing for the road ahead
Jeremiah St. Ours, USA
Everyone's list is different. This clinic will help you decide what really matters to you, so that you'll only carry what's needed
and leave the rest behind.
Creating an outdoor office, Planning for the road ahead
Jeremiah St. Ours, USA
Getting organized and staying organized are two different things. Everyone needs an information system that's capable of enduring the
rigours of the road.
Fix that flat! How to change a
tire anytime, anywhere
Jim Stanley, USA
How to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one. The best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires. Hand's
on practical and tire changing contest for beginners to experts!
Ride Costa Rica
Eric Sargent, USA
How to crash in Costa Rica...Our Central American neighbor has two oceans, scenic vistas, tropical rainforests, exotic wildlife and great roads to ride! Eric lives part-time in New Mexico and part-time in Costa Rica and will give us a primer on saddling up and coming down.
Copper Canyon, Mexico
Arturo Macias, Mexico
Arturo's been riding in the famous Copper Canyon for some 30 years, and knows about everything there is to know. He'll
tell you why you REALLY want to go, what's there to see and give you some tips on the area.
Off-pavement basics.
Grant Johnson
New to off-road riding, especially on a big trailie? Grant will talk about where the beginning dirt rider goes wrong
and what to do about it. We will also conduct a basic training clinic - sign up on the day!
Riding and Filming the Trans-America Trail
Michael Murray
Riding 5,000-miles across the United States... without touching pavement!
How about you? We're all here to learn, and there's LOTS to learn! We want to do more presentations and clinics - but we need
volunteers to give them! Any topic you can contribute having to do with motorcycle travel, maintenance, planning etc, lasting
20 minutes or more, would be great. Please contact me here to volunteer.
There will be slide shows and tech clinics on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and all day Saturday. Come
early and make it a great weekend! We recommend riding on Thursday Friday and Sunday, and participating in the clinics evenings and
Saturday.
None so far. If you know of any travel equipment vendors who should be there, please suggest it to them! Vendors please contact me for
details.
Food
For breakfast and lunch you can cook or join the rest of us for a great meal. We have excellent meals arranged, Thursday night to Sunday morning, that we highly
recommend. It will give you lots of opportunity to meet fellow travellers, and since you're eating right there on site, you won't miss any of the after-dinner slideshows. It's a long way to other food options, so bring your own or eat with us.
An up-to-date schedule will be posted at the Meeting.
As presenters may or may not get there on time - or at all - this schedule is seriously subject to change.
Thursday morning
CHECK-IN and sign up! You MUST be registered to go on a ride or for entry to any events, clinics etc.
9:00 Ride - no scheduled guided ride, so be gassed up and ready to ride with whoever wants to go - there's always a group going somewhere. Garmin gdb file with loads of info here.
Evening dinner 6:00, then introduction and presentations.
7:00 pm
How to make a molehill out of a mountain
Michael Anderson, UK
How to pre-empt or react to an emergency
Somerset to Siberia
Gabriel Bolton
A 6 month solo trip from the UK to Magadan.
Photo Composition for Travellers, and a Critique of YOUR photos
Grant Johnson, Canada
Transform your travel photos from boring to fabulous! Bring 10 photos on a USB key or SD card for discussion - what's missing, or not quite right, or just plain BAD - and how to correct the mistakes we all make.
Friday
CHECK-IN and sign up! You MUST be registered to go on a ride or entry to any events, clinics etc.
9:00 Ride briefing. Be gassed up and ready to ride if you're going. details here
10:00 AM Grant Johnson's "The Achievable Dream" - "How to ride around the world, or just to another continent" seminar Learn from Horizons Unlimited's founder
and 11 year round-the-world veteran everything you need to know to ride to the next country or the next continent.
Sound scary? Get the inspiration and information so YOU can hit the road!
MAY also be other clinics - see schedule on the day! 10-12 and 1-4 for the Achievable Dream - yes, it's 4-5 hours!
Friday night
7:00 pm Speakers presentations start, so be sure you've eaten early! Order subject to change.
Solita through Mexico
Cynthia MacKay
11,000 miles of magnificent Mexico, a woman alone, a very new rider on a very low budget and only barely mechanically inclined. But I did it... and you can too!
From the Alps to the Atlas
Carla King
A solo ride from Austria to Morocco's Saraha Desert and back on a new(er) Ural.
BRACUS-Building Relationships and Communication Using Stereotypes
Chris Brown, USA
What people (maybe you) do who are especially good at establishing trusting relationships across cultures. Communicating with people from another culture!
"Coach" Ramey Stroud!
New to off-road riding, especially on a big trailie? Coach will talk about where the beginning dirt rider goes wrong and what to do about it. We will also conduct a basic training clinic - sign up on the day!
From BMWMOA magazine: "I could go on and on about what we learned, the techniques, the lessons, the close calls and Coach's wealth of knowledge he demonstrates with every breath he takes... I knew there was much more to tackle and I knew I had found my Motorcycle Guru. I highly recommend his instruction for anyone looking to take their on-road or off-road to the next level."
Off-Pavement: How Your Sphere of Movement Affects Traction
There'll be a lecture first for an hour, then a short break followed by one hour of hands-on static practice in a parking area.
Saturday Lunch
12:30 Lunch
Saturday afternoon,
Tech Clinics. We have a number of informative and exciting tech clinics planned, so check the schedule Friday on-site for latest details.
1:00 Fix that flat! How to change a
tire anytime, anywhere
Grant Johnson
How to prevent flats in the first place, and fix them when you get one. The best tools and how to use them for tube and tubeless tires. Hand's
on practical and tire changing contest for beginners to experts.
2:30 Your bike doesn't fit you!
"Coach" Ramey Stroud
Ergonomics! Body Mechanics! When you pickup your new bike, did they take the time to make it fit you? You'll learn the amazing
difference a properly setup bike makes to your riding fun.
3:30 Where there is no doctor...
Molly Martin
How to prepare for medical emergencies on your RTW motorbike trip.
Bring a helmet and a foamie!
5:00 Women only - a very popular session - It's a must for the ladies, so be sure to plan on being there!
Saturday evening,
7:00 pm sharp:
Speakers presentations
Around the world on a V-strom
Erdem Yucel, Turkey/USA
A first long trip, and it's around the world in 6 months, ending here!
Wrong Way Round The World
Ian Moor, UK
Why I'm doing it, how I'm doing it and why I'm thinking of spending the winter in Canada!
Head for home, hang around and chat, or head out for a last ride!
Miscellaneous notes:
Organizers will be there most of
Thursday, hopefully Wednesday too, if anyone wishes to arrive early and just hang
out or go for a ride in the area. NO camping on-site until Thursday night! There is an RV park a couple of blocks away to camp at if you're early.
Pre-Register and save $10-20!
Admission only pricing (for PAID registration):
Register and PAY before July 1 2009, admission is $35.
Register and PAY before September 15 2009, admission is $45.
At the door, admission is $55
Entry fee includes admission to the slide shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, and other events during the day Friday and Saturday. Important: On-site Camping is NOT INCLUDED with your registration! Camping is $6 per person per night. Meals are optional, book below.
Dinners: $15 each, available Thursday, Friday and Saturday night if included with advance registration. $18 ea. at the door, as available.
Registration online is now closed - there is still plenty of space available, so we'll see you there!
Just to clarify the membership situation: Currently there is no requirement to be a member to access the website, the HUBB or
to receive the monthly e-zine. For now, what you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and
knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive.
We will also upgrade your status in the HUBB to Member. In addition to recognising your contribution through your status,
this will allow you to upload a custom profile picture and custom avatar, store up to 50 private messages, upload more
pictures (10 MB maximum storage) and create polls.
Another benefit we can provide is if you decide you want a t-shirt, mug, fleece jacket or other Horizons logo product from the
Souk, you can purchase Member logo products at the basic price. Just let us know and we can arrange access to the Members
Private Store.
Top quality heavy cotton t-shirts in black, or grey if pre-ordered. We will have a range of sizes available, but
quantities will be very limited, so if you wait till the day, there might be none left in your size.
The new Synthetic t-shirts are in a beautifully made wicking material, and make great travel / riding t-shirts as well as all-round wear t-shirts. Available in black or grey at most meetings. MUST be pre-ordered.
Note that we will have a few black cotton t-shirts extra at each meeting, but anything else must be pre-ordered and paid in
advance.
[node:245]
2012 Tshirt slogan "The open road is calling, and I have a world to ride!"
Back:
(large, full back)
Front:
You can help!
If you have a few minutes, please download the posters ( Adobe pdf format) and print off a few and hand
them round your club or your local bike shop or anywhere seems like a good place.
Poster
in pdf format (900kb) full colour 2009 poster. (You may need to right click and choose "save target as...")
Thanks for the help!
The Meeting Location for 2009
The Mattole Grange, Petrolia, California
36512 Mattole Road, Petrolia, CA 95558
Climate
COOL at night so bring the warm sleeping bag! Ideal riding temperatures! :)
San Francisco- 266 miles, 5 hours 17 mins
Los Angeles- 639 miles, 10:48
Portland OR - 459 miles, 8:29
Bend OR - 403 miles, 8:50
Medford OR - 243 miles, 5:04
Salt Lake City UT - 929 miles, 15:05
Las Vegas NV - 836 miles, 13:56
Seattle WA - 634 miles, 11:11
Dazey's Supply (Yamaha 707-923-3002) in Redway about 45 min away
Most normal supplies and tires can be found at these shops. There are some additional small independents not listed here.
Local Hosts
Stephan LeBlanc is the local host for this event - we're VERY grateful to him for stepping up and really making it happen with a lot of legwork and effort, there were a lot of complications to make it happen. We could REALLY use some help on the day too - please volunteer to help out for a couple of hours!
Editors note: We accept no responsibility for any of the above
information in any way whatsoever. You are reminded to do your own research.
Any commentary is strictly a personal opinion of the person supplying the
information and is not to be construed as an endorsement of any kind.
2009
poster available! Please post it everywhere!
It's all about getting centered
