Steve Rossier said his stay in Death Valley was the most memorable part of his trip, where he said he “hit his head on the stars.” Shown is Red Cathedral, where iron oxide in the rock makes it rust and contrast with the surrounding stone and sky.
Posted on 12/07/2004 12:29:39 PM PST by martin_fierro
Steve Rossier rides his motorcycle across continent
By Karl Chalabala
Steve Rossier rode through Alaska with a shotgun strapped to the front of his motorcycle, on the lookout for bears.
“I felt much more comfortable because of it [the shotgun] when I was in the bush,” he said. “People were telling me to watch out for bears. I was just pulling off dirt roads and camping. But there was only one night I heard anything. It could have been a bear or a moose. I always slept in my clothes so I wouldn’t have to roll out of bed in my skivvies.”
Rossier, in celebration of his 50th birthday, rode his 2003 Triumph Bonneville America motorcycle, which his girlfriend Pam found on eBay, to the Arctic Circle and back in a trip he titled “My 17,000 Mile Pub Crawl” in his journal. His trip took him through 29 states and three Canadian provinces in 10 weeks during the end of summer that ended with his “record day” when he left New Orleans and pulled in his driveway in Rehoboth Beach 26 hours later.
He moved to Sussex County two years ago to set up the Home Depot. He liked the area and decided to stay and work as an independent contractor.
Rossier is a tall man with a long frame and a handlebar mustache who spoke very plainly about his journey. He did not have a mid-life crisis and try to escape his troubles. His girlfriend even met him in Las Vegas, where they celebrated their anniversary with wine and a prime cut of beef at the Luxor Steak House.
No, Rossier just wanted to see his country, which happened to take him through Canada when he went to Alaska. Rossier, who lives in Camelot, said everywhere he went, the people were friendly and the beers kept coming.
“I couldn’t even tell you how many drinks people bought for me,” he said. “The natives, in particular, were very friendly, the Native Americans, the native Canadians, the native Alaskans.”
Rossier said he didn’t have any bike trouble. He did go through two sets of tires, one-and-a-half sets of brakes and four oil changes. The bike’s tail light went out in the only “break down” of the trip.
“My Triumph dealer was really happy to hear that,” he said.
While his bike ran well, the journey did present some difficulties. Rossier said he saw smoke 500 miles away from Fairbanks, Alaska – where devastating wildfires burned a record 5 million acres in a fire that lasted all summer. His book of pictures from the trip, a medley of stunning landscapes and people he met on the way, shows what he saw when he finally reached the fires. It looks like a black-and-white photo from another planet.
“There were trees burning on the side of the road as I drove by,” he said. “It was spooky.”
The westernmost portion of trip ended at the edge of the Arctic Circle. Rossier said up to that point the trip was fairly comfortable, but even in the summer the Arctic Circle can get cold.
“I camped out under the stars in the Arctic Circle,” he said.
“I didn’t have a thermometer but it had to be in the single digits. I had my riding mittens on my feet. That morning I had to start a fire to thaw out. Between that and the smoke Alaska wasn’t an easy ride.”
He did thaw out on the ride home though. He did not come straight back. Instead Rossier took a circuitous route through the American southwest, after spending his anniversary in Vegas. He went from one of the coldest places in the world to one of the hottest.
“I camped out in Death Valley,” he said. “I’m not a spiritual guy at all but that night I had my Zen night. It was such an awesome experience. That night really stands out. I got out of my tent that night and hit my head on the stars.”
Rossier described all the landscapes he saw as gorgeous. And he saw a few famous ones - Banff-Jaspers National Park in Canada, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming and Homer, Alaska.
He drank a few beers with new friends in bars where patrons checked their firearms with the bartender. He slept on a few couches. He rode through a hailstorm and a few rainstorms.
But he fulfilled his dream and got to do everything he wanted.
“I couldn’t have done this without my girlfriend Pamela Ivins, my best friend Holly Lane and my daughter Danyelle Rossier,” he said. “Without those three girls, this trip wouldn’t have been possible.”
Rossier said the trip did not completely satisfy his wanderlust, but his next one probably won’t be so extensive.
Steve Rossier said his stay in Death Valley was the most memorable part of his trip, where he said he “hit his head on the stars.” Shown is Red Cathedral, where iron oxide in the rock makes it rust and contrast with the surrounding stone and sky.
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Lucky is right. That's cool. I've logged way over 100,000 scootmiles but haven't done anything that cool.
I would like to drive cross-continent in a motorhome one day.
What a ride. What a dream. Thanks for the ping.
Cool guy. I'd love to do something like that one day.
Is it ok to hate?
I was tooling along on US 1 today deciding if I should bother going home or just head west for ever. Now, after I'm home, I get pinged to read about this puke!
The lucky bestid.
I did see a Russian "Uro" with a sidecar today. The big fat guy who had it said it was a Russian copy of a Guzzi. Perfect shape. Left / right 90degree 2 cyl. Don't know what year, but he said he paid $4500 for it and the guy had more!! :-)
Someone is making trumpets again?
Man, am I ever out of the loop.
(Somewhere north of 250K on an 850 Commando..)
No, Rossier just wanted to see his country, which happened to take him through Canada when he went to Alaska. Rossier, who lives in Camelot, said everywhere he went, the people were friendly and the beers kept coming.
http://www.imz-ural.com/
Check 'em out. :-) Retro!
Taking all those tight twisties with a sidecar musta been Fresh Hell.
Good story ~ the only way to travel!
They've been making the new models since the early 90's, check out this link:
http://www.ianchadwick.com/motorcycles/triumph/
Check post # 7.
Wow, I'm totally envious. I would love to be a "free spirit" with a cool partner to be able to do things like this before shedding this mortal coil. It really does illustrate how life is not a dress rehearsal. OK, back to the cubicle for work...
~ Blue Jays ~
Roger that ~ Blue Jays ~ this is not a rehearsal; this is it, this is all we get.
Favorite quote:
"We cannot put off living until we are ready.
The most salient characteristic of life is its coerciveness;
it's always urgent, "here and now," without any possible postponement.
Life is fired at us point blank." -- Ortega y Gasset
Would love a sidecar bike for occasional trips with my dog, though.
I want to do this!
Guys, I need help wearing the old lady down . . .
A Ural, not a Uro. Its a copy of the Nazi WWII BMW sidecar. The Ruskies took the factory home with them after they invaded.
I drove one from Moscow to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
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