Motorcycle ride from California to bottom of ArgentinaHablas espaƱol?

I'm riding my motorcycle on the largest expedition I've ever done; a one year ride from California to the very bottom of South America. I spend several years learning spanish solo and in immersion programs in Central America, as well as left my job in order to properly accomplish this one.

a side shot of a 1994 KLR650 in a driveway fully loaded with 3 metal panniers, ready to be taken on an adventure
Burning Man 2023Playing in the mud

For many years I hadn't thought much about Burning Man; I'd met a handful of people that made me think most burners were self-interested hippies trying to get instagram pictures and not much else. A few key experiences made me have second thoughts on that impression, and when I was offered a spot at a camp I took it and went to see what the hype was about.

a large burning wooden statue known as 'The Man' at Burning Man festival
Climbing Mt. ShastaSearching for Telos (not really)

I solo climbed Mt. Shasta over 2 days, ascending the Avalanche Gulch route, and took my snowboarding gear with me to back-country snowboard down after reaching the summit.

Blake Williams victoriously standing at the summit of Mount Shasta holding a paper sign showing the date
Hiking the Sahara DesertNo, we didn't ride the camels

In the early spring of 2023 I solo traveled to Mauritania, west Africa for 2 weeks to hike through a portion of the Sahara desert and freight-hop the worlds longest freight train.

Two camel drivers leading two camels towards the horizon on foot across undulating sand dunes in the sahara desert
Motorcycle ride from San Francisco to the Arctic OceanAbout as remote as you can get

I rode my motorcycle from the SF Bay Area up the California coast, Oregon coast, Washington coast, took a ferry to Vancouver island, took another ferry back to Prince Rupert BC, rode to the Yukon, then rode the Dempster Highway to the town of Tuktoyaktuk, Northwest Territories of Canada to see the Arctic Ocean.

Blake Williams sitting on top of his motorcycle next to the Arctic Circle landmark sign
Hiking Half DomePlaying the permit lottery

After several years of playing the permit lottery, I finally found luck in daily lotteries and had the chance to summit Half Dome. I got the email for a permit valid for the next morning so after work I packed my car, drove out to Yosemite in the evening, slept in my car the best I could, then started the hike about an hour before sunrise.

Half dome mountain from the perspective of sub dome
Motorcycle ride along the Pony ExpressGiddy up!

I rode my motorcycle long the original overland trail that is the Pony Express, from Sacramento to Salt Lake City Utah. This covered ~700 miles of dirt road and many stops along the way at historic stations used by the original Pony Express business.

A 2005 KLR650 motorcycle on a sandy desert trail in the Utah backcountry