I've been doing motorcycle trips for the last several years, and not much else. Granted, I have enjoyed short walks often, but it's been nine years since my last thru-hike. I miss the deeper Connection with Nature, which you don't get on a motorcycle. Riding is fun and adventurous, yes - but a Connection with Nature, not really. Well, this year I'm planning a month long hike in Europe. I'm still on my 100% plant-based eating plan, SOS-free; and it's helped me get back down to thru-hiking weight. And I've been going on 8 mile long training hikes pretty much every day. I'm really looking forward to my trip. I wish Jenny was going with me, but she has decided to stay home and tend to her Ray-Way business, and take care of the dogs and chickens.

This is our wild pet raven "Bonjour" sitting in the top of our Grandfather tree. The tree we estimate to be 800 years old. Its huge, and so is the bird. We have been feeding Bonjour and his mate pretty much every morning for the last six years. He's wild and untameable because the former owner of the property used to shoot at him. And these birds never forget. But here he is, waiting for his morning treat.

Here, I'm installing a new TPMS (Tire-Pressure Monitoring System) in the front tire. I've been working on the bike for a month, and it's just about ready to go.

The weather has turned cold so I have done a long fast. 32 days this time. It felt so good to be on this quest, knowing that it's helping the body. I wasn't quite ready to stop, but Jenny strongly suggested I quit the fast and get busy training for my upcoming hike. I resumed eating and put myself on a whole plant-based, SOS free diet, which I'm still on today. The fast was to clean out the body, and the diet was/is to keep it that way.

Jan 1: My new-to-me bike in our living room, striped down and ready to be worked on. My shop is unheated and the weather has turned cold, so working inside is much more comfortable. I'm adding a bunch of farkels taken off my old bike (D7 Driving Lights, CANsmart, HyperLites and bracket, Voltmeter, 2nd GPS, Zoleo Mount, new TPMS in both tires, etc), then doing the scheduled maintenance (Final Drive Oil Change, Lube Drive Shaft, Valve Check, Brake Bleed, ACF-50, etc). Link

Ray's Iron Butt Rides

2024-10-02 Training ride, 89.9 miles. The bike used 1-1/8 gallons and got 80 mpg. Map

2024-09-23 Training ride on Luna Rd; 115 miles. The bike got 80 mpg - mostly off road but also a bunch of high-speed highway.

We have fifteen chickens and they are all pets. The money from selling the eggs doesn't even begin to cover the expenses because they are spoiled rotten and get lots of fresh produce.

Jenny spent three weeks in the Pyrenees. Here she is hiking with her legs wrapped to cover the dogs bites.

The first two dog bites sent her to the hospital. A week later, the third dog bite sent her home.

Jenny's garden

This is one of my two motorcycles: my BMW G650 X-Challenge, aka "Ray's Hot-Rod." (I sold the K-bike last year, and my beloved F650 Dakar wore-out, so I'm parting it out.) The X-Challenge has become pretty much a cult bike with a small but ardent following. It's so lightweight and powerful that it's more for the advanced rider; but it's so reliable. When I first bought the bike, years ago, it was customized to the hilt with farkles. But I removed and sold all the accessories and returned the bike to factory specs. However, I kept the Wilbers rear shock, but I also completely re-did the wiring. I just put a new rear tire on it (new rear TCK-80, and a well-used front Dunlop D606), and here I'm cleaning the chain. Not many like the 606 but it's my favorite front tire. It wanders all over the place in sand, but its just trying to find the best line; so it requires a loose grip. Give that and it flies. Note: I don't like my bikes to shout out for attention; I make them look more plain Jane.

Ray's Cannonball Run
Coast to Coast in 42.5 hrs

A Quick Rundown of Ray's Books

(2023-05, Still going strong after 30 years in business, Jenny takes another batch of packages to the PO. Thank you - one and all - for your support!

Northern Paddling Adventures

We have eighteen chickens. They are all pets. Each one has a different personalty, and they are so much fun!

Tarp Pitching

On Sale Trail Life and Tarp Book Essential (both books purchased together for less than $15 each).

Trail-Life Now Shipping! This is the original version, not a revised one. Same size, same great information, same photos but the photos are grayscale this time, not color (The cover is still color).

Trail Life history

We had fun revamping Trail Life for this printing. We didn't want to print the book in color this time because of the expense. A person might think that taking the color out of the pages would be easy, but every photo had to be reworked, and every illustration. And the new book is 1/4 inch shorter, so we had to give the book a slightly new layout.

We adhered to the original text, tempting though it was to revise. For after all, we have hiked many thousands of miles since we wrote the fist edition in 2008. But original text is still pretty good, we think. The basic concepts have not changed. And some of these concepts in Trail Life are still pretty advanced for most readers, even today.

As such, we recommend everybody read this new printing. It has a new feel to it; its easier to read; and a person could still learn a lot.