I've just heard a news report on the radio about a bear attacking campers in Yellowstone National Park- one person was killed and two were injured. Oh great, just as I am about to hit the road again with plans to camp, I hear that sort of news. I'm already very wary about bears after my close encounters in Alaska. 

Trying to get more information via the Internet I came across the following info on Wikipedia, a morbidly fascinating list of fatal bear attacks over the years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America

I headed out at the weekend with the South Park posse - no not THAT South Park, but the ones from South Seattle. We went camping in the Cascades where there are some great rough camping spots, we had a nice one next to a creek (picking up Americanisms there) not far from a lake/reservoir where we could swim. Some passing hikers said they had seen a cougar near our camp but unfortunately I didn't manage to find one. All I spotted was a small squashed snake that I found on the dirt track and brought back to camp to be identified- it turned out to only be a garter snake.

I'm in the city of coffee and rain, or at least that seems to be the general consensus, though it's been sunny so far I can confirm it can be a bit tricky to track down a decent cup of tea. I was looking at my GPS tracking page yesterday and noticed that the main features are long stops at the George and Dragon followed by a stop at the Market Arms - both of which are English pubs here in Seattle. 

BMW Motorrad USA have announced they will cover my parts and repair costs whilst I'm here in America. I think they were impressed by the large number of poeple crowding round to ask questions and get photos of Thelma at the Rally.

Many, many thanks to Laurence and the crew at BMW.

Although to quote my Dad when he heard the news:

"Bloody hell, had they seen the bike when they offered that?"

A longish ride to the BMW MOA Rally at Redmond in Oregon and it was worth it. A huge gathering of over 5000 BMW riders from around North America. I met up with old friends and made many new ones. They wouldn't allow me to enter the furthest travelled to get here (17 820 miles) as I had set off before 1st January 2010.

Getting over the fact that Holland lost the Final, but hey, Spain played a great game. I'm also socialising, catching up with friends old and new and getting to grips with American roads. Just why do they have so many words painted on the road? It feels like I can't get a few miles without:

ped xing

slow ahead

painted on the road amongst other things. I've also noticed that they are definitely driving faster than they used to when I was here previously.

I'm not sure how I have now managed to be in the States for a second World Cup Final (previously the 2002 Finals) - a country that patently seems to have no interest in the sport which has had much of the rest of the world gripped for the past month. I've tracked down Babycakes Zachary and we'll be installing ourselves on the sofa watching the big game. I'll be supporting Holland as I drew them in the sweepstake at work so there's 15 pounds riding on the result for me.

I have to be quick as it's cocktail hour and I'm expected upstairs for drinks. I'm in San Francisco, staying with friends having had a great ride up here from LA. On the way I stopped at Bill Mayer Saddles (www.billmayersaddles.com/) in Ojai (the Totnes of America). Where I was duly measured up and put in the saddle as Adrian and the team hand crafted the perfect saddle for me. Wow is all I can say- what a huge difference.

It's a huge city and getting lost is easily done - I got the title for the blog from Rufus aged six who was reading it off the world globe while looking at the route for my travels last week in England.

I've had a hectic final couple of weeks spent doing everything except preparing for a long trans-continental journey, and I now find myself in Los Angeles reunited with Thelma who is looking a bit battered but just about good to go. Meanwhile, I am fairly unprepared- no thermal long johns, a tent that is well and truly on its last legs, no guidebook and, more seriously, no map. As a certified mapaholic this is a major omission and one that I need to get sorted.