I somehow scheduled my trip to Los Angeles to start the day the Palisades fire broke out. My plane landed at 5:30 pm Tuesday, January 7th. I was staying with a good friend that lives 2 miles away from the mountain side.

All pics and videos were taken on my phone and are all listed out in chronological order throughout the trip (except the cover pic).

Just over 3 months ago, I woke up and witnessed the largest natural disaster I`ve ever lived through here in Asheville, NC. Hurricane Helene took about 24-48 hours to change the face of this town forever. Our little mountain town will bounce back over time but will never be the same.

This fire felt frighteningly similar to me although I haven`t spent much time in LA. My heart goes out to all those in the LA area. To the pets, the people, the fire fighters, the historic homes, the hard work, the classic cars, and so much more that was lost to these fires.

Unfortunately, natural disasters like this are no doubt here for the long haul and might only get worse as time goes on. Be safe out there, learn everything you can, make friends with strangers, explore the world, go on adventures, and help out whenever and however you can.

#lafires #losangeles #losangelescalifornia #boomsasstravels

Part 5 of 4... Final Chapter - WSA 2024 International Slingshot Tournament in Shanghai, China.

Three weeks traveling in India and China will wrap up with the 2024 World Slingshot Association International Tournament. The opportunity to shoot in this tournament is actually what sparked the entire trip for me months ago. The idea of shooting slingshots on this level with the best of the best from all over the world and doing it with my two best friends by my side is definitely one of the best experiences of my life.

I`ll go ahead and say it, No, we did not place very high in the tournament rankings. The caliber of shooters (specifically Chinese shooters) is beyond anything I can explain. We did our best and Nathan actually shot two perfect rounds in the traditional (wooden) division, which got him into the semi-finals. @danielrock managed to pull off three 10 point shots on his final shots for each round and placed ahead of me... Not mad at all...

We watched the best in the world compete head to head until there was only one man standing. It was wild to experience how this event was run and even crazier to think that we got to shoot alongside these bad ass shooters on an international level.

Team USA consisted of @danielrock, Nathan Masters from @simpleshotslingshots and myself. 2026 will be in Spain and you better believe we`ll be there with bells on!

#slingshots #slinglife #boomsasstravels #wsa2024

Part 4 of 4 - Ningbo, China - The Plastic Empire

We left Suzhou and drove south to Ningbo which is nicknamed "the plastic empire" because the majority of injection molded parts come from this region. We got to tour the plastic manufacturing shop where @simpleshotslingshots have a number of slingshots produced. The city of Yuyao where we stayed has bridges over 2,000 years old, an amazing canal through town and wild restaurants.

Most of the restaurants are set up with a big lazy Susan and about 10+ different dishes get dropped in front of you. I`ve never had so many food options and most were new dishes for me. The highlights were probably the Mamba King Snake and the Eel.

We spent three days eating our way through town doing the tourist thing and it was spectacular. Next, we head back to Shanghai for the WSA Slingshot tournament where Me, @danielrock and Nathan will represent team USA. Spoiler alert, we didn`t do great...

#boomsasstravels #ningbochina #yuyao #plasticempire #mambasnake

Part 3 of 4 - Suzhou, China

A very long overdue visit to a best friend who moved away 17 years ago. Although Michael`s not able to be on Instagram because of the Chinese social media restrictions, we picked up right where we left off. It was also amazing to watch him and @danielrock meet for the first time and hit it off as if they`ve known each other for years.

He toured us around this amazing city and we packed more into 3 days than I knew was possible. Massive malls, unbelievable dinners, beers comparable to those we find in Asheville, and I finally got to meet his wife and daughter Rebecca.

For those of you that know Michael, I can say he hasn`t changed a bit and seems as happy as I`ve ever seen him. My biggest hope is that my visit over to Suzhou planted a seed for him to plan a trip back to the USA sometime soon to visit with all of his old crew.

Next up - Ningbo to visit the "plastic empire" where most of the world`s slingshots are manufactured and on to Shanghai for the WSA World Cup.

Onward!

#boomsasstravels #oldfriends #suzhou

Part 2 of 4 - Goa, India

Lessons learned along the way.

- Cows do whatever they want and go anywhere they want
- Indian TSA does not understand "fused ankle" unless you show scars
- The colors and smells change every 50 feet
- Nobody gives a shit about warning signs
- A SAT phone will make them think you`re up to no good. Had to smash it with a piece of steel to be allowed on the plane.
- Most street dogs do not like being approached
- I need to step up my artistic metal motorcycle game
- You can photographically squish people`s heads all over the world and it never gets old.
- Naps are extremely important

#boomsasstravels #goaindia #streetcowsforthewin #sassmannthesatdestroyer

Part 1 of 4 - Mumbai, India

It`s hard to put this trip into words or capture in a single post. The first leg of this journey took me to Mumbai, India, to meet one of my web developers. We`ve worked closely together for five years, but this is the first time we`ve met in person.

I love to travel, but a 14-hour flight is never easy, at least not for me. The extreme density of people, predominantly vegetarian diet, concerns about getting sick from the water, not speaking Hindi, and other factors make visiting India a challenge for many people, myself included. However, I`m so glad I made this my first stop on the way to China.

Traveling to foreign and faraway places, and experiencing the culture firsthand, is the only way to gain a true perspective. Some stereotypes are true but most are not, and blindly trusting what others say is rarely wise. Meeting the people, visiting the landscapes, tasting the food, and forming your own opinions is the only way (at least for me) to have a genuine perspective, good or bad.

This 7-day visit was life-changing in many ways, but I`m still in the midst of the trip, so it’s hard to have a complete perspective until I get back home. Strangely, I`ll be returning to Asheville, where the power, water, internet, and cell service are all worse than in India right now due to the recent hurricane. This contrast has certainly shifted my perspective, especially after leaving what felt like a war zone back home.

Next up: Goa, India for a few days, followed by Suzhou, Ningbo, and Shanghai, China, for a mix of work and vacation. This journey will conclude with three days of competition at the World Cup Slingshot Tournament in Shanghai, where I will undoubtedly be outmatched by the Chinese, Spanish, and many other competitors from around the world.

Go do the big things, because if you don`t, someone else will and you`ll just have to hear about it later instead of experiencing it yourself.

#boomsasstravels #exploremumbai #allthespices

It`s been one crazy week! One week of non-stop sirens, logistics, damage control, recovery, health checks, and so many emotions. This storm has definitely left its mark on my little mountain town and Western North Carolina forever.

Normally I drive or ride for hundreds of miles to disconnect into the woods and get away from the constant chirps of my cell phone. This was different... this time the tech silence came to me. Although it was impossible to feel any bit of relaxation or disconnect with round the clock chainsaws, fire trucks, helicopters, and other first aid vehicles filling the streets.

The photos and videos filling social media are extremely hard to look at but the lack of connection for over a week kept most of us isolated from the pics. I spent the week driving and riding around Asheville, Marshall, Trust, Hot Springs, Burnsville, Haw Creek, and Leicester where I live. I dropped in on friends, cut trees, hauled water, worked on generators, and helped however I could. It was painful to see all this devastation first hand but amazing to see how everyone stepped up and helped out. I was lucky enough to get through the storm with minimal damage to my home, shop, property and vehicles. All my friends and family are accounted for and safe which was unclear until just a day or two ago. Thanks to everyone both near and far that reached out to touch base and offer support.

It`ll be a very very long road ahead to get back to something that feels like the Asheville I`ve known and loved for almost two decades now but the rebuilding has already begun. The sense of loss is large but so is the optimism.

Stay strong Asheville!

#hurricanehelene #asheville #ashevillestrong

The #GSTrophy kicks off this week in Namibia, Africa so it felt appropriate to make a post about my involvement in the qualifier this past October. I obviously didn`t make team USA but had one of the most amazing motorcycle experiences of my life.

The GS Trophy is BMW`s international competition to find the best adventure motorcycle riders in the world. I managed to get through every obstacle but not without some tumbles. Maneuvering a 600lb bike as slow as possible around obstacles is as difficult as you might think.

#spiritofgs #bmwmotorrad #bmw1200gs #makelifearide #gstrophy2024

A collection of still shots from the first 5 days in #puertorico. This is a mixture of Google Pixel, GoPro and Drone shots from the North and West side of the island. The heat is a bit much at times but the cold cervezas are helping out.
#boomsasstravels #sanjuan #rincón #laparguera

*The dark color in the water is from the tannins.

I`ve always loved wintertime and especially a big snowfall but those big snows don`t seem to happen like they used to. So we decided to go searching where we knew we`d find a true winter, Fairbanks Alaska. This is my 4th trip to Alaska but my first winter visit and it did not disappoint. It`s been between -5 and -30 for almost a week now with snow showers on and off. We`ve done most of the typical Alaskan winter activities including beer drinking, dog sledding, hot spring dips, snowmobiling and we stayed up super late on a mountain top to watch the #northernlights (Audra`s main reason for the visit). 

This state continues to amaze me more and more with each trip and it just keeps pulling me back for more. If you`re a fan of the mountains and haven`t made the trip north to the #lastfrontier, make it happen, you won`t regret it.

#exploremore #explorealaska #chenahotsprings #boomsasstravels

Visiting an abandoned silver mine in Montana. Super remote location up a twisty gravel road halfway between Bozeman and Missoula.

This was the richest silver mine on earth at the time. It was almost overlooked but due to a delayed telegram that was intended to pull the plug on the operation, the workers continued digging and blasting and on the last shift of the last day they uncovered $40,000,000 in silver!

#exploremore #exploremontana #montanagold #bmwmotorrad #boomsasstravels #silvermine #dji3minipro

I spent years thinking about and prepping for this journey from Asheville, NC to Alaska and back. About two weeks ago I rolled back into my driveway just shy of 13,000 miles roundtrip. It was a total of 46 days on the bike, which took me through 20+ states, all of British Columbia and parts of the Yukon.

I visited old friends along the way, had countless near collisions with animals, explored caves and coastlines, hiked some seriously sketchy terrain and drank some really bad beer. It was a trip of a lifetime that I`ll never forget.

I`ve got countless pictures and videos that I`ll be working my way through over the next couple months and hope to share some highlights with anyone who cares to follow along.

Big thanks to everyone that hosted this stinky moto traveler along the way, my family and friends for their encouragement, and my team and clients for their continued support while I was away.

#boomsasstravels #exploremore #tripofalifetime #bmwmotorrad #explorebritishcolumbia #explorealaska #ridemotorcycleshavefun #bmwmotorcycle #r1200gs #makelifearide #aerostichfamily

1. Full route mapped with GaiaGPS and RealTimeTrackerGPS
2. Salmon Glacier in Hyder Alaska
3. Basalt rockface in Telegraph Creek B.C. Canada
4. Dusted out by some giant quarry trucks
5. Entering the Yukon
6. Happy traveler suiting back up for the next stretch
7. Playing on the beach in Haines AK
8. 70 Kilometer of gravel heading out to Telegraph Creek
9. Mount Baker Washington
10. Spectacular campsite at Little Arsenic Springs New Mexico

Today is my final day on the road so I thought I`d share a couple highlights from this wild ride.

1. A big black bear in B.C. Canada just before crossing over into Alaska. Spotted just across from the pull off on the side of the road eating blueberries.

2. Double rainbow with lightning strikes just outside of Devil`s Tower in South Dakota. One of the worst rain storms I`ve ever ridden through turned into this crazy sight.

3. A herd of bison headed straight at me in Yellowstone. You might not be able to tell from the video but I was in a complete state of panic when I turned around and realized I was directly in their path. I was scrambling to get my gear back on and get the bike started. You can see as soon as the bike starts they change course a bit to avoid me.

*Posted earlier today but had spotty Internet so I had to repost.

#exploremore #boomsasstravels #explorebritishcolumbia #devilstower #yellowstone #doublerainbow #alaska #wildlifephotography #bisonstampede

Welcome to Telegraph Creek. This tiny little town is 85+ miles down a gravel road in the middle of absolutely nowhere British Columbia, Canada. It`s the confluence of the Stikine River and Telegraph Creek and is called Canada`s Grand Canyon. A long damn ride in questionable weather but worth the journey out and back.

Third clip is the actual mixing of the river and the creek.

The final clip is from 16 mile cabin just west of Dease Lake which was the jump off point for this out and back. Would highly recommend if you`re in the area but make sure to bring a mosquito hat or you`ll be eaten alive within minutes.

#telegraphcreek #explorebritishcolumbia #deaselake #boomsasstravels #16milecabins #djimini3pro

Tā Ch`ilā Park "a.k.a. Boya Lake Park"

No filters used on any of these pics. An amazing lake just south of "The T" as the locals call it. South West of Watson Lake by about an hour but worth the trip. Probably the most spectacular lake along the trip.

#boyalake #boyalakeprovincialpark #tachilaprovincialpark

The Icefield Parkway and Glacier between Jasper B.C. and Banff B.C. The weather wasn`t the best but the views were still spectacular along the 120 mile out and back from Jasper south.

I prepped and planned for a ton of potential issues going into this trip, but Canadian Forest Fires were not something on my radar.

The first big fire section was around 100 Mile House and the smoke made the sunset look like a scene from Ghostbusters.

A few days later the next big fire was east of Helmcken Falls. The time lapse is 4 minutes pushed into about 7 seconds.

The final video is a stretch of road where it rained ash down from the Williams Lake fire and created a muddy rain substance I`ve never experienced.

#canadianwildfires #ashrain #apocalypserain

Helmcken Falls B.C. is Canada`s 4th largest waterfall at 436 feet (or 141 meters as they say) Located in the Wells Gray Provincial Park.

#helmckenfalls #explorebritishcolumbia #boomsasstravels #drinkitin #djimini3pro

The Salmon Glacier just North of Hyder, AK. This place is impossible to explain through pictures. The scale of this glacier is mind blowing when you see it up close.

This was also one of the best dual sport rides I`ve done on this trip so far. It`s about an hour up a gravel road but offers views of the glacier from multiple vantage points along the way.

#salmonglacier #boomsasstravels #exploremore #dualsportadv

Back to Bellingham WA to continue north into B.C. Canada towards Alaska.

#mtrainier #vancouverconventioncentre #bellinghamwashington #aslanbrewery

A collection of shots from California, Oregon and Washington. The waterfalls and circular building are all along the Columbia River Gorge in OR. I`m still digging my way through all this footage from the first 30 days of the trip.

#boomsasstravels #bmwadeventurebike #adventuretime #exploremore #chasingwaterfalls @acmemoto2

A few highlight drone shots from the California coast line last week.

The video at the end was the furthest I`d flown the drone over water at that point. The wind on the coastline kept pulling it further out to sea as it circled around the rock formation. Obviously it made it back to shore in one piece.

More shots and videos to come as I find downtime to dig back through footage.

#dronephotography #californiacoastline #djimavicpro3

I normally do a big collection of pics covering a few days and a number of locations but this one deserves its own post.

I stayed at Pinnacles State Park in central/southern California about a week ago. After setting up my tent and getting dinner ready I noticed a gang of trash pandas checking out my sweet campsite from the tree above. They seemed a little curious but kept their distance. I made sure to clean up camp and pack everything away before heading to bed.

I woke up around 5:45 a.m. to what sounded like someone rummaging through my motorcycle bags. I quietly unzipped my tent and flung open the flap only to find 3 raccoons on my bike. They managed to unzip one of my non-locked (but fully zipped) front panniers. In a panic they grabbed what probably seemed like a bag of food but was actually my extra gloves and socks that I keep for a rainy day. I managed to snag this last photo as they scampered off with my belongings up a tree and into their home. I can only imagine they needed my gloves and socks in order to pull off some future heists. Looking back at the video I took the night before I should have realized at that time they were casing the joint for an early morning B&E.

#trashpandas #gloveheist

California, you big beautiful state you. I spent the last week riding up the west coast from LA into OR. It was magical to say the least. I met some amazing and bizarre people along the way that I`ll never forget. I rolled into Portland yesterday afternoon to finally take a few rest days with @audra_gaiziunas for our 8 year anniversary. #solomototrip #lifechanging #californiaadventure

#boomsasstravels #bigsur #goldengatebridge #johnmuirwilderness #beargulchcave #pointreyeslighthouse