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Greetings from Alamogordo!

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Crusty Demon

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I know, NOT Texas, but I have relatives there, lol, and I meet riders from West Texas on the trails here in the Sacramento Mountains. This is gonna be a brief introduction, since my neighbor and I are about to fire up my BBQ and grill some steaks, brats, chicken, etc. Heaps of leftovers for manana, so I'm not cooking while I par-tay and watch championship football, lol. :trust:

I have a funky modified KLR (lighter than the average KLR by 30 lbs. or so), and I'm currently experiencing the "stuttering problem" mentioned in at least one site thread, aye? So I'll get into that later, I'm racing the clock (and a nice sunset) prior to loading up my grill, lol. Gonna eat well all weekend, that's for sure... :eat:

Here are shots of what the previous owner called "The Big Ugly!" Moi, I call it "Porky Pig" due to its still-porky weight, lol. And NO, this is NOT the first bike I ever owned, the others were ALL better, lol. Dang, sometimes I slay myself. This cold beer and the black hash I just smoked probably have something to do with it. :help:

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Don't sweat the AZ plate, it's long gone, lol... but those shots were taken near Cochise Stronghold, back when I lived in Benson, AZ. More on that later, and more on the bike, I gotta get rollin' on this BBQ, lol. This cold beer tastes pretty darned good for a Saturday afternoon! CHEERS!!! :bbq:
 
Yeah, I like the Stronghold and the Dragoon Mountains, that's a cool area for more than one reason, as seen in these pics, lol... :shock:

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Awesome climbing venue, the rock is really good on certain routes... the whole Stronghold complex has a lot going for it, lol. My home in Benson had a beautiful hillside view of Cochise Stronghold and the Dragoon Mountains, it was cool to BBQ and party with that view across the San Pedro (River) Valley. Lots of good memories of hiking & climbing there, after riding out on the bike on a day trip. I'd bring a picnic lunch and choose a rock outcrop to sit atop while I ate my lunch. Heller views in every direction... could be worse, ya know? :sun:
 
Welcome, Crusty, from the resident Arizonan!

My sister and BIL lived in Benson for a long time - they owned the Express Lube and Car Wash on 4th next to the former Reb's Cafe - they are now retired and living in Show Low. She ran the annual Shop With A Cop program until they retired and moved.

I'm a native Tucsonan that is retired and living up in the Phoenix area for the winters and Show Low for the summers.

I have a very good friend that lives in Alamogordo who was the founder of San Jose BMW; raced at Daytona and Bonneville and lots of other places in between. He's forgotten more about motorcycles than I will ever know. He still has a little BMW 310, and a Kaw W800, and a new Can-Am Spyder that he's really enjoying. Now that he's 80 it's getting harder for him to hold up the larger bikes which is why he went with the Spyder. I think he's about 15 minutes from the Lincoln Natl Forest and he enjoys riding the mountain roads when it's a bit warmer than it is right now.

Small world, huh? ;-)
 
Holy Cow! I lived in Show Low for 2+ years when I first arrived in Arizona... spent 3.5 years in Benson. Great riding in both locations, the White Mountains have a better trail system but the Stronghold area has epic views and heaps of history. I had smaller dirt bikes for the White Mountains, not this KLR. Pics later, I'm too full o' beer & BBQ to do anything but crash, lol... maybe read a Western from the library before I catch some ZZZs. Manana, I gots championship football, but maybe I drop by before the first game starts, lol. Those games should be good too, I'm going with the Ravens & the Lions in the Super Bowl, yeah? Lions all the way, after a tough battle against the Ravens! I hope those Lions don't prove me wrong this weekend... I was born in the 'Year of the Tiger' (Oriental Zodiac), so I'm partial to big cats, lol. 🐯 🦁 🐯

Cue the Boris Karloff video as I stagger toward the rack: "Ugh... must... get... horizontal!" 😴

Edit: More riding pics tomorrow, maybe some links to photo threads with pics already posted, lol. Here's a trial link so y'all can see how I roll in the field, lol... :rider:

Random outdoor adventure shots...

There are some cool shots on both pages of that short thread, lotsa good memories there. Okay, time for me to crash for real, I'm heller beat tired, lol... :help:
 
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Man, that was some good BBQ yesterday evening, and today I have plenty of leftovers waiting in the fridge, so I don't have to cook while watching championship football, lol. Should be some good games today, I'm not even gonna mess with the bike until tomorrow, I'm just gonna kick back and enjoy the ballgames. I wrote off football for several years after they dragged politics into it, and I wouldn't even be watching it today if it weren't for the fact that I rigged a coax cable & RCA antenna to pull in digital TV signals for free, no stupid football app required. No way I PAY to watch something that used to be free anyway... but I'll watch it for free, lol. :trust:
 
Texas T said:
Welcome, Crusty, from the resident Arizonan!

My sister and BIL lived in Benson for a long time - they owned the Express Lube and Car Wash on 4th next to the former Reb's Cafe - they are now retired and living in Show Low. She ran the annual Shop With A Cop program until they retired and moved.

I'm a native Tucsonan that is retired and living up in the Phoenix area for the winters and Show Low for the summers.

I have a very good friend that lives in Alamogordo who was the founder of San Jose BMW; raced at Daytona and Bonneville and lots of other places in between. He's forgotten more about motorcycles than I will ever know. He still has a little BMW 310, and a Kaw W800, and a new Can-Am Spyder that he's really enjoying. Now that he's 80 it's getting harder for him to hold up the larger bikes which is why he went with the Spyder. I think he's about 15 minutes from the Lincoln Natl Forest and he enjoys riding the mountain roads when it's a bit warmer than it is right now.

Small world, huh? ;-)
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I probably knew your friend at SJ BMW. They worked on my bikes into the mid 80s and I rode to Canada and all over with their long time sales manager Peter, who was also an instructor for Reg Pridmores "Class" school.
 
Crusty Demon said:
I know, NOT Texas, but I have relatives there, lol, and I meet riders from West Texas on the trails here in the Sacramento Mountains. This is gonna be a brief introduction, since my neighbor and I are about to fire up my BBQ and grill some steaks, brats, chicken, etc. Heaps of leftovers for manana, so I'm not cooking while I par-tay and watch championship football, lol. :trust:

I have a funky modified KLR (lighter than the average KLR by 30 lbs. or so), and I'm currently experiencing the "stuttering problem" mentioned in at least one site thread, aye? So I'll get into that later, I'm racing the clock (and a nice sunset) prior to loading up my grill, lol. Gonna eat well all weekend, that's for sure... :eat:

Here are shots of what the previous owner called "The Big Ugly!" Moi, I call it "Porky Pig" due to its still-porky weight, lol. And NO, this is NOT the first bike I ever owned, the others were ALL better, lol. Dang, sometimes I slay myself. This cold beer and the black hash I just smoked probably have something to do with it. :help:

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Don't sweat the AZ plate, it's long gone, lol... but those shots were taken near Cochise Stronghold, back when I lived in Benson, AZ. More on that later, and more on the bike, I gotta get rollin' on this BBQ, lol. This cold beer tastes pretty darned good for a Saturday afternoon! CHEERS!!! :bbq:
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Careful, you mention black hash and beer and half of these old boys with bikes from Texas will be coming to visit. But on the flip side, you will be offered plenty of places to stay in TX :-)
 
Well, I'm more of a "beer man" who occasionally takes shots of whiskey or tequila, my pothead days are long gone, but I still take an occasional bong hit for pain relief when my permanent injuries act up, lol. Not into Big Pharma, you understand. My neighbor (also an ex-Army vet) has friends who own a cannabis nursery, and they not only experiment with various strains & hybrids, but they also make hash, and I think they're branching into mushroom cultivation, lol. The black hash my neighbor brought over yesterday is really good, reminds me of party days in the '70s, lol. We used a pipe for that, not the bong, as the hash is mighty tasty... 😀

But I'll mostly drink beer today while watching football, might take a few shots of that Evan Williams whiskey on my bar... over the holidays, I discovered that eggnog makes a pretty good chaser for whiskey, lol. I used to mix eggnog with vanilla rum, and that's a good combo, but with eggnog prices soaring this past holiday season, I "stretched it out" by using eggnog as a chaser instead, lol. Call me a cheap b@stard, just don't call me late for dinner, lol. I have a fridge full o' beer for the championship games today, so that's a good start, lol... as soon as my breakfast settles a bit more, I'll probably crack one of those cold beers. 😉

Hmm, I reckon I should add another link to a riding thread I created at another site... some Texas hands may recognize their bikes in a couple shots, I met some Texan riders on the trails up there in the Sacramento Mountains, and as always we stopped to chat and compare trail-riding experiences. I think quite a few hands from West Texas come up here in summer to escape the heat, the Sacramentos rise to roughly 9600' in elevation, with plenty of trails between 7000' and the higher peaks. I know West Texas has some high ranges, I've climbed Guadalupe Peak and part of Mt. Livermore, but trails in Guadalupe Mtns. Nat'l Park are protected. 😒

Riding Thread

I'm not averse to letting riders crash here, as long as they contribute toward beer & BBQ, lol... I'm sitting on a half-acre lot with 30 pine trees and other trees too, and I have a nice BBQ setup on paver pads. I built a stone fire ring for campfires under the stars, and I also have a primo Pawleys Island hammock for kicking it and watching the wild birds, lol. Got a nice front porch which I put to good use on a regular basis, and two large metal sheds on clean concrete slabs, not to mention a large dual carport made of metal, it matches the larger metal shed and was built by the same outfit. I'll have to post some shots of the ol' hacienda when I get around to it. 😎

I even have a wider gate for RVs and whatnot, where was that gate during my "trucking daze?" I could park several big rigs on my property, no worries, but I like the natural parkland effect I've created with the trees and other flora. I was in the Infantry (USA INF), so I keep my property clean too, I don't wanna see piece o' trash one on my property, lol. Back when my friends & I went remote camping & riding in SoCal, we would police the area where we camped so we didn't have to see any trash left by litter pigs and slobs, aye? 'Valley of the Moon' is a good example, too bad it ultimately got ruined by wankers, illegals and the whole BP presence... 😕

Well, I'd better get crackin' here, I need to grab a shower before the games start... got some serious partying to do this afternoon and evening, at least the choice BBQ leftovers are ready to go, lol. I invited my neighbor to watch the games here, since I have a kick@$$ home theater set up at the ol' hacienda. It's a 65" Samsung curved screen with soundbar & subwoofer, and I have a leather motorized reclining sofa opposite the screen, which is elevated atop a large shelf unit so it feels like I'm in a movie theater, lol. Pregame show is on already, and the countdown clock is ticking away... hope alla youse football fans in cyberspace enjoy today's games! CHEERS! 🏈

P.S. Nearby Sierra Blanca rises to roughly 12,000' elevation... this is NOT the town of Sierra Blanca in West Texas, lol. I think I have a pic I took yesterday which shows the peak with a nice mantle of snow atop it. There's a ski resort up there, I haven't been to that yet, though I rode my bike up there to approximately 9500' elevation. 🏔️

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Note rush-hour traffic on US-54, lol... hate it when that happens! From this location on the road, Sierra Blanca is approximately 30-35 miles away... 🙄
 
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The 49ers actually won, I was expecting a Lions win... and what was up with the Ravens, they storm all season and into the postseason, then they play like THIS? Really? Makes me wonder if it's all rigged... somebody probably made a killing at those wagering websites, lol. Oh, well, my interest in the Super Bowl wanes, but there's always NASCAR on the horizon, lol. Maybe I can pick up some rodeo reruns, there's a sport that's still relatively honest, lol. Honest enough if you're the one riding that bull or bronc... a young man's sport, I reckon, though I once saw a hand in Show Low (who was in his 40s) top a bronc, but he was a former state champion so that may have had something to do with it, lol. I'll tell y'all straight up, it hurt MY back just to watch that hand take some abuse, and I was in the bleachers drinking shots of tequila, lol. Ah, those rodeos were the bomb, some serious rodeo action there... :sun:

Edit: Gotta throw in a shot of my rodeo flask, this hip flask works great for rodeo events, lol... 😉

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Okey-dokey, today we have a special treat, dunno where else to put it and I don't wanna start a new thread just for this link, aye? Y'all don't know me from Adam, but I hail from a military family---2 CDRs, USN Submarine Service, multiple enlisted personnel, I chose the USA INF, go figure---and we have a USAF colonel in the mix, but the submarine commanders take precedence in my naval family, lol. Anyway, my family lived in or near Athens, Greece from 1968-1973, and they were some of the best years of my young life. Some relatives still live in Europe to this day, my brother Pete now lives in Germany and he took a vacation in Greece early last year, in springtime before the crowds appeared... in recent months he has been sending pics of his vacation to the rest of my large family, who are scattered across the globe. I'm gonna share a link to those photos, and that link has another link to the start of the Greek Tour, which began at some site where I was banned for bashing libtards, go figure, lol. 🤣

My brother's big fat Greek vacation...

Now, many of these pics are nostalgic for me, since I've been to the featured sites, and we have some primo Greek island pics still on the way... so that my friends who live in colder climes can enjoy the springtime photos and warm Mediterranean sunshine, lol. I just posted some awesome photos of a Venetian castle in Methoni, on the southwestern peninsula of the Peloponnese... you'll find tips to locate these places in the posts, or you can just Google each location. That castle posted in pics today is some prime waterfront real estate, lol, and I was thinking how cool it would be to build a big ol' MX track inside the castle walls! With berms built up inside the walls so you could get vertical, lol. Check the latest two rounds of pics in the link and you'll see what I mean, lol. Talk about a HUGE friggin' castle, the place could literally hold an entire army back in the day, and it would be difficult to storm today... I say that as a former USA INF soldier, lol. Anyway, enjoy the link and the photos! They are primo... 😎

P.S. Despite the name, there is no meth problem in Methoni, lol... there might be a cold beer or umbrella drink problem, given those views and all that sunshine! 😉
 
Crusty Demon said:
Okey-dokey, today we have a special treat, dunno where else to put it and I don't wanna start a new thread just for this link, aye? Y'all don't know me from Adam, but I hail from a military family---2 CDRs, USN Submarine Service, multiple enlisted personnel, I chose the USA INF, go figure---and we have a USAF colonel in the mix, but the submarine commanders take precedence in my naval family,
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If you're not already a member, you might want to consider joining the Tour Of Honor www.tourofhonor.com

I think we're going into our 13th or 14th year. Our primary mission is to support veteran and first responder charities and a portion of your annual rally fee goes to this. It will give you a good reason to ride to locations you may have been to before, and to others that are new to you.

Window Rock, AZ
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El Paso, TX
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Taos, NM
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Whoa, that looks cool! But I'm not sure I'm going ANYWHERE anytime SOON, lol... I'm working my way through a minor financial crisis at this end. The rest of my family, the surviving six brothers & one sister, well, they're all BETTER OFF than I am, though I DO own my home free & clear, lol. Meh, I don't wanna get into personal finances here, I'm sure some of youse hee-roes gots me beat in THAT department, lol. But otherwise, I'm still (somewhat) hale & healthy... still ABOVE GROUND, anyway, LOL. 😉
 
Not a Texan? We've had members here from Australia, France, South Africa, and Vietnam. New Mexico is right next door.

Me, I'm a Texan born in San Antonio, and currently living in Colorado, but they haven't kicked me out over that faux pas. By the way, I spent my college & Army years in El Paso about half a century ago, so Alamogordo is part of my old stomping grounds. It's also the gateway to that fantastic 4,000 climb up to Cloudcroft - one of my favorite roads anywhere.
 
Yeah, that's a SWEET ****** CLIMB to Cloudcroft, Timberon, etc... and a SCENIC RIDE too! 🤔

Y'ALL BE GOOD, I'M HEADING TOWARD YE OLDE RACK HERE PRONTO, LOL... 😳
 
Hey, I've been to Plano! Lol... truck driving, of course. Uh-oh, looking at my last post, I must have been snockered last night, lol. But I have a question for y'all, and I'm not sure if a thread already exists for my intended purpose. You see, I'm not averse to other riders camping out on my half-acre lot, especially if they're in the middle of some epic ride... I always like hearing about epic rides, lol. The lot itself is nice, I've got 30 pine trees and some other trees too, and I built a stone fire ring, park bench, paver pad for the BBQ, etc. I even have a primo Pawleys Island hammock, great for kicking back and watching the wild birds in the trees... we have a truckload of wild birds here, lol. My four cats & I like watching the birds, I feed the birds cracked corn and other treats every morning... it's like an expense, but to me it's worth it. I put up hummer feeders in the warmer months, there'll be a ton of hummers here when spring & summer arrive. What, no hummer emoji? Guess I'll use the parrot...🦜

Anyway, rules here are simple: no tweekin' crackerheads, no leftist libtards, no "good buddies"---I guess that sums up the rules, lol. I have field gear here, but my tent isn't that large. I have plenty of sleeping bags though, might be short on sleeping pads. Good-looking gals can have the room at the northern end of my home, lol. Anybody who camps here has to contribute to beer & BBQ (don't want folks eating & drinking mine, lol). The good news is that I'm not charging anybody to camp, lol. I even have room on the lot for RVs and trailers and whatnot, there's a wide chain-link gate on the southern end of the property, you do all the opening and closing of said gate, lol. It's not that I'm a lazy sod, but hey, it's YOUR vehicle, lol. Bikes can be ridden right into the shed or parked under the large carport, no worries. This offer is good for RIDERS ONLY, no traveling salesmen or scumbag politicians need apply, lol... actually, some of those tree limbs (and a rope, which I have) might come in handy for the politicians! 🤣

Dang, sometimes I slay myself... oh, ****, it's almost sunset, I gotta go out and swap the water in the birdbaths, a task I do every afternoon in the winter, that way I just have to add hot water in the morning to get rid of the ice, and the water stays fairly clean overnight, no birds crappin' in the baths, lol. So let me go do that, right after I finish this cold beer I've been NURSING like some sort of hospital patient, lol. Half an hour to drink a beer, that has to be some sort of record here at the ol' hacienda! Looks like some folks have replied to earlier posts, I'd better check those replies too as soon as I'm done with the birdbaths. Man, I've been moving slowly today, like peanut butter in the wintertime, or a snail through molasses, lol. But I wanted to throw this offer out there so other riders know they can hang out here overnight... doesn't mean you can move in, lol, but you're welcome to camp out. It's not a bad place, this ol' hacienda... beats lookin' at Compton, North Philly or the Lower Bronx, lol. 😉

P.S. I'll post a few pics in a bit, gotta deal with the task I mentioned and also finish this goldurned beer... I'm actually LAGGIN' in that department, which is a first! 😳
 
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I'm digging up some pics of my property so y'all can see what it's like here in the boondocks a few miles south of Alamogordo... 😎

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See what I mean? Plenty o' room to park vehicles, lol... if I still had my mini, I'd build a mini MX track around the house, lol. That donkey greets visitors at the front door, looks like he's somewhere else on the front porch here, the porch which I have yet to rehab, lol. I'm still fixing up my home, hope to repaint the exterior this spring. Redo the porch after that, most likely, I can always repaint stuff, lol. Anyway, that's the ol' hacienda... not a bad deal, $40K cash for a 3BR/2BA home, 14' x 80', on a half-acre treed lot with primo metal shed on a concrete slab, matching dual carport, and another metal-sided shed where I keep the bike, as the doors open wider. A brand-new septic system too, since the old one failed state-mandated inspection... the seller had to pony up for that, lol. Some pics here are dated, most of that wood in the yard has already been burned off in the pit, I have one stack o' branches and trunk sections to go, lol. The inside of my home is nice now too, though I still have to replace some cracked or broken windows. That one broken window in front is particularly offensive, a friend of mine told me that it was like a sign loudly proclaiming: 'METH SOLD HERE!!!' 🤣

My response: "Thanks, dude." 😒
 
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Here are shots of equipment used to install my brand-new septic system... well, brand-new about two years ago, lol. The old concrete tank was simply crushed and buried in place with the backhoe... out of sight, out of mind, lol. But notice all the room to park RVs or put up camping tents here, lol, it's a pretty nice lot too with all those trees. Pines that smell good in the summer! The only thing I don't like so far about my home is the fact that annual property taxes recently DOUBLED from $100 to $200! 🤣

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Last shot just shows the front porch, the BBQ is actually down on a paver pad in the yard now, and has been for some time, lol. When I get around to redoing the porch, I'm just gonna make it smooth and lay down some maple plywood right on top of the existing ply, yeah? Coat it with urethane or polyurethane, I reckon, and use metal flashing to button up the corners. That should look pretty nice... paint scheme for the home exterior will be white or off-white for the upper walls and porch posts, forest green for the skirting, window trim, etc. The metal roof is already white, so that's good, and I replaced the leaky roof vents when I moved in, so the really minor water damage to a few spots on the interior ceilings came to a grinding halt, lol. Those ceilings have all been repainted by yours truly... I don't pay ANYBODY to do stuff I can do myself, lol. Call me a cheap *******, it's okay, all my friends do, lol. Meh, just my philosophy in life, ya know? 😎

P.S. That was awesome, getting a new septic system as a bonus, even if it is plastic, lol... meh, it's supposed to be some special heavy-duty plastic designed for the purpose, so I'm okay with it. Might actually last LONGER than a concrete tank, ya never know about these things... as long as fierce high desert sunlight isn't hitting it, it should be good to go, and I've been really careful about what I put into my septic system too, I wanna take care of that system so it takes care of me, lol. I don't wanna hafta crap out under the trees... probably wouldn't make a good impression with the neighbors either, not that I actually care, lol. 😉
 
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Ya know, the way I look at it, that larger metal shed and the matching dual carport (built by the same outfit) gotta be worth, what? $20K? So it's like I only paid another $20K for the HOME, lol... pretty good real estate deal, I reckon. 😎

Better than buying some shotgun shack in Compton, North Philly or the Lower Bronx... 🤣
 
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