Local motorcycle riders meander through Mexico on journey
January 1, 2013
Gaila Gutierrez and Tad Haas pose their motorcycles beside a small Mayan ruin in Limones, Yucatan, as they joined an End of the World rally and were happy to wake up Dec. 22 with the world still alive and kicking. By Gaila Gutierrez and Tad Haas
Sitting under a beachside palapa in the small quaint town of Mahahual, Yucatan, we’ve managed to travel through north, central and southern Mexico without losing our heads, getting robbed, bribed or landing in jail.
We’ve traveled through areas high on the State Department’s website identified for “known cartel activity, dangerous and unnecessary travel not advised.” We’ve ridden through major cities, on remote dirt mountain roads and through impoverished villages in the middle of nowhere. While we’re sure there are stories out there of people having bad experiences, we have had nothing but warm welcomes from friendly, beautiful people with an amazing culture and unique traditions.
On the other hand, riding through Mexico on motorcycles has been a crazy adventure in itself physically. If you’ve driven in Mexico, you know what we’re talking about, but if not, let’s just say you don’t have to go off-road to get white knuckles; you can find plenty of it in any of the cities.
Local riders’ motorcycle journey surpasses 17,000 miles
September 25, 2012
Gaila Gutierrez checks out an abandoned vehicle somewhere in Arkansas. By Tad Haas
Just shy of five months into our journey, we’re hunkered down and taking shelter at a cozy B&B in Gunner’s Cove, Newfoundland, keeping an eye on the news of Hurricane Leslie that has Newfoundland on an anxious watch.
Fortunately for us, we’re on the Northern Peninsula with the worst of it hitting the southeastern portion of the island. Can’t say we ever thought we’d be waiting out a hurricane, but then again this is a trip of firsts and this is just another example.
Since we left on April 15, we’ve ridden nearly 17,000 miles zig-zagging through 16 states and five Canadian provinces — Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, with Labrador being a significant milestone of our journey as it’s our northernmost destination. Talk about fantastic!
Issaquah couple embarks on transcontinental motorcycle journey
July 24, 2012
Tad Haas and Gaila Gutierrez stop in June at Taylor Park Reservoir, about 120 miles southwest of Denver, during their trip across North and Central America. Contributed
When is the last time you tried something different for the first time? Our last few weeks have been full of “first times,” but quitting our jobs and leaving behind the world as we know it to travel North and Central America for the next year has been the biggie.
We left Issaquah on April 15 on fully loaded motorcycles and took off into the wild blue. Taking a career break to travel, freeing ourselves from the stress and predictability of daily routine, and experiencing life in a different way has been unfolding much as we expected. Ten national parks, 7,300 miles, loads of new friendships, astoundingly diverse geography and magnificent (sprinkled with some not so magnificent) motorcycle riding is nothing to shake a stick at and there, in a nutshell, you have a glimpse of the first eight states of our adventure.
A question frequently asked has been, “Is the journey all you expected?” It’s hard to give a definitive answer just nine weeks into it.
Issaquah couple take a year off to blog motorcycle diaries
April 17, 2012
Tad Haas and Gaila Gutierrez have done what many probably dream of doing. They quit their jobs and hopped on these two BMW motorcycles for a year-long road trip that started April 15. By Tom Corrigan
Sitting in their nearly empty living room, the couple says they know plenty of people who would love to do what they are about to do.
Gaila Gutierrez said she has heard a lot of people offer reasons they could never take off for the year of wandering that the pair has deliberately only semi-planned out.
“If you want to do it, do it,” she said. “You can make it happen. There’s ways around everything.”
Early the morning of April 15, Gutierrez and Tad Haas set out from their Tiger Mountain home on two BMW motorcycles. Packed carefully aboard those bikes was clothing, camping gear, cameras, notebook computers and other items the two thought they might need for their yearlong trip across the United States, around the Great Lakes and up into eastern Canada, and then back cross-country into Mexico and Central America.
