Uncle's Around The Bend #17 2024 Ride Report

[Mextrekadv]

Riders, please post up your best pics, videos, and stories from Uncle's Around the Bend #17 here!

 

[Mextrekadv]

Saturday night Selena cover band was quite the party.

Always the fun vehicles are present in Terlingua

A cherry c140 just waitiin to make a contrabando run

The coolest brothers in law, Mitja and Victor

Domingo leading our group to lunch Saturday

Uncle's place, historic, but not that historic

A very happy Richard having been the first and only to finish the Inaugural Desert 400

And all he got was this shirt

My latest purchase to add to my vw collection

Steve in the model t runabout

Best ridden Honda Grom. Period.

Snappy snapback at Top of the World new rider ride on Thursday.

A happy and accomplished Big Bend newbie! Nice riding Mr. Peterman.

Just wow. Its definitely not home.

Like Wow.

We are clowns.

After my ktm wheel bearings exploded this little wr250r proved to be an amazing bike. I am truy impressed. Time for a rotopack.

Straightest road you'll find.

Every ride starts at the Alon!!

It doesn't matter how you come. Its that you show up!

Nightly bonfire at Peter's Place (my campsite) was a highlight for me. Thanks to al who joined me for camping.

If you can't bring a bike, well, that'll do pig! Hey Charles and Dawn!

Till next year.....

 

[sweatmachine]

Brief report:

(My photos attached out of order, and for some reason the site keeps flipping one of them upside down. Apologies also for the copy/pasta from the other thread.)

This was my second time attending Around the Bend.

Thankfully the rain didn’t affect our experience, aside from reducing the dust factor. The weather was perfect and we had a great 3 days with no major issues. A few folks had spills but the few injuries in our small group were minimal and minor. We had neither mechanical nor tire issues. All of that in itself is a success. Everything else is a bonus IMO!

Day 1: Top of the World then Santa Elena Canyon. Super fun, challenging and scenic.

Day 2: Glenn Springs, Black Gap, River Road East, Rio Grande Village, Chisos Basin. Glenn Springs and Black Gap were more difficult than we remembered, but we still had lots of fun despite mucho grumbling in the helmet comms about tired muscles etc.

Day 3: I did a solo run on 170 to Pinto Canyon, then Marfa, then cut back via 169/Casa Piedra through BBRSP, then 170 back to Terlingua. It was great riding by myself in remote new to me areas. It ended up being about a 300 mile day, and I didn’t get back until nearly 7pm. I finished this ride very satisfied with the whole trip.

There’s much more I’d have liked to have done, but that will keep me excited for next year. It was great meeting and riding with y'all! Thanks Peter for organizing and running damage control on the Terlingua Karens!

 

[jredford]

Great times, thanks for putting this together Peter.

 

[Stuart]

Was my first time down to BB and had a fantastic 3 days riding. Being new to TWTex and to Texas (from UK) had no idea what the level of riders were. There were loads of T7’s so wondered if I made a mistake leaving mine at home and bring the KTM 500. Day 1, joined the TOTW ride, the last climb was great fun and knew then that I made the right choice with the 500. Day 2, set off on the Desert Challenge 200. Apart from thinking I was going to run out of gas the route was excellent. Had a blast on river road and old ore. Will be returning to run those again! Day 3 was a chilled day before setting back off for DFW.

Thanks Peter for putting on the ride! Look forward to seeing and riding with some familiar faces next year!

 

[copb8]

Thanks for posting @Stuart. Glad you joined TWTex as it's a great venue to meet like-minded folks. The 500 is definitely a perfect bike for BB. And thanks again for helping me get mine analyzed and fixed.

 

[MarkyMark]

Big bend was great as usual, and this year the weather was fantastic, minus the day of arrival. That desert mud is pretty sticky

But that meant almost no dust for the next day, which coincided with the intro ride, that was a fantastic blessing. I think I ended up with ~25 riders in my group, I had a great time leading through the meandering trails, with only a couple mishaps

We reached a decision point at the north end of the Top of the World loop, and the riders that wanted a little more scenery chose to take Hen Egg Rd

As this is my sixth or seventh trip to Big Bend, I've been around most of the dirt in the area, so I decided to switch it up and go on a couple hikes. The evening after the intro ride, some friends and I hiked to some secret-ish Native American petroglyphs.

Next day followed the same theme, with more difficulty. We went in along Dog Canyon, and out via Devil's Den. We brought straps and plenty of water

About halfway through, Ilias decided to whip out his drone to scout the route ahead. We all patiently waited until he said "Something has it". Which is....not something you want to hear a drone operator say. And indeed, we took a look at his screen to see a falcon tea-bagging his now broken $1k drone. Absolutely nuts

We eventually used the last known coordinates to track down the drone, it was pretty messed up. We continued onto Devil's Den...

To finish out the day, we loaded up in the truck and headed out to Chisos Basin to catch the sunset. I hopped in the bed to get some photo opportunities

Then, the last "official" day was some riding around Terlingua ranch with Peter's group and some DR650 problems, nothing too interesting. I forgot how terrible I am at riding sand

I did stay another day, but those videos are a secret project...for now Thanks to all for making this another fun rally!

And some final fancy photos

 

[Mextrekadv]

Great photos Mark!

 

[Mextrekadv]

Video from starlight, Tony Lehrhaupt's camera

 

[Tbucket]

I took some newbies, but top notch riders to the Adventure. They enjoy it and they said they will come back. Sorry for some reason can’t upload the pictures

 

[TwoWheelFury]

Some pics from an epic weekend. Didn't take many. Having to much fun!

 

[TwoWheelFury]

 

[Mextrekadv]

Wait, Vinny was there? Lolol

 

[TwoWheelFury]

Ya we had. Great time!

 

[Dirtglide22]

Thanks again Peter for helping this newbie out. Mitja and Victor were the right guides. I'll be installing a proper skid plate soon.

 

[DFW_Warrior]

Big bend was great as usual, and this year the weather was fantastic, minus the day of arrival. That desert mud is pretty sticky
View attachment 375877

But that meant almost no dust for the next day, which coincided with the intro ride, that was a fantastic blessing. I think I ended up with ~25 riders in my group, I had a great time leading through the meandering trails, with only a couple mishaps
View attachment 375883

View attachment 375887

View attachment 375894

We reached a decision point at the north end of the Top of the World loop, and the riders that wanted a little more scenery chose to take Hen Egg Rd

View attachment 375906

View attachment 375897

View attachment 375899

As this is my sixth or seventh trip to Big Bend, I've been around most of the dirt in the area, so I decided to switch it up and go on a couple hikes. The evening after the intro ride, some friends and I hiked to some secret-ish Native American petroglyphs.
View attachment 375900

View attachment 375902

View attachment 375903

View attachment 375904

View attachment 375905

Next day followed the same theme, with more difficulty. We went in along Dog Canyon, and out via Devil's Den. We brought straps and plenty of water
View attachment 375907

View attachment 375908

View attachment 375911

View attachment 375913

About halfway through, Ilias decided to whip out his drone to scout the route ahead. We all patiently waited until he said "Something has it". Which is....not something you want to hear a drone operator say. And indeed, we took a look at his screen to see a falcon tea-bagging his now broken $1k drone. Absolutely nuts
View attachment 375914

We eventually used the last known coordinates to track down the drone, it was pretty messed up. We continued onto Devil's Den...

View attachment 375916

View attachment 375917

To finish out the day, we loaded up in the truck and headed out to Chisos Basin to catch the sunset. I hopped in the bed to get some photo opportunities
View attachment 375918

View attachment 375919

View attachment 375920

Then, the last "official" day was some riding around Terlingua ranch with Peter's group and some DR650 problems, nothing too interesting. I forgot how terrible I am at riding sand
View attachment 375921

View attachment 375922

I did stay another day, but those videos are a secret project...for now Thanks to all for making this another fun rally!

And some final fancy photos

View attachment 375925

View attachment 375930

Thank you for posting the hiking photos. I haven't done Dog Canyon yet, but it is still on the list.

 

[collin228]

Can anyone direct me forwards a GPX file for Top of The World? I’ve ridden it a few times, but never know where I am going. Also, any other rides in the area besides pinto canyon, old ore, black gap, river road you would recommend middle weight bike friendly?

 

[Fang]

I showed up with an injured hand and still managed to have a blast.
I've been riding an off-road electric unicycle, and last photo is out near "Top of The World" on it. It has about 40 miles range at 35 miles an hour on this terrain.

 

[JT]

Can anyone direct me forwards a GPX file for Top of The World? I’ve ridden it a few times, but never know where I am going. Also, any other rides in the area besides pinto canyon, old ore, black gap, river road you would recommend middle weight bike friendly?

GPX viewer

 

[Jeff S]

One good one is Casa Piedra from near Presidio up to Marfa, thru part of the state park. A good loop if you combine that with Pinto Canyon on the return trip from Marfa, which also makes it a good lunch stop.

 

[kubotamiketx]

Did this loop a few years ago with Gina, JT, Monica and two up with my wife, Pinto Canyon was well worth the trip!

 

[kubotamiketx]

This year we took my wife's old CJ5 and did Black Gap and Old River, forgot how much slower 4x4s are compared to motorcycles, but it was fun, and the old gal did great. I mean the Jeep

Had to plan my line with a stock height jeep...

The picture doesn't do it justice.

JT and I wondered down the highway towards Presideo looking for Crow Town

Almost looks like a crow's head

Maybe could be fixed up as a B&B

 

[MarkyMark]

View attachment 376035

Had to plan my line with a stock height jeep...

Finally, someone has a picture that shows how big those hill steps are

 

[Vinny]

Big bend was great as usual, and this year the weather was fantastic, minus the day of arrival. That desert mud is pretty sticky
View attachment 375877

But that meant almost no dust for the next day, which coincided with the intro ride, that was a fantastic blessing. I think I ended up with ~25 riders in my group, I had a great time leading through the meandering trails, with only a couple mishaps
View attachment 375883

View attachment 375887

View attachment 375894

We reached a decision point at the north end of the Top of the World loop, and the riders that wanted a little more scenery chose to take Hen Egg Rd

View attachment 375906

View attachment 375897

View attachment 375899

As this is my sixth or seventh trip to Big Bend, I've been around most of the dirt in the area, so I decided to switch it up and go on a couple hikes. The evening after the intro ride, some friends and I hiked to some secret-ish Native American petroglyphs.
View attachment 375900

View attachment 375902

View attachment 375903

View attachment 375904

View attachment 375905

Next day followed the same theme, with more difficulty. We went in along Dog Canyon, and out via Devil's Den. We brought straps and plenty of water
View attachment 375907

View attachment 375908

View attachment 375911

View attachment 375913

About halfway through, Ilias decided to whip out his drone to scout the route ahead. We all patiently waited until he said "Something has it". Which is....not something you want to hear a drone operator say. And indeed, we took a look at his screen to see a falcon tea-bagging his now broken $1k drone. Absolutely nuts
View attachment 375914

We eventually used the last known coordinates to track down the drone, it was pretty messed up. We continued onto Devil's Den...

View attachment 375916

View attachment 375917

To finish out the day, we loaded up in the truck and headed out to Chisos Basin to catch the sunset. I hopped in the bed to get some photo opportunities
View attachment 375918

View attachment 375919

View attachment 375920

Then, the last "official" day was some riding around Terlingua ranch with Peter's group and some DR650 problems, nothing too interesting. I forgot how terrible I am at riding sand
View attachment 375921

View attachment 375922

I did stay another day, but those videos are a secret project...for now Thanks to all for making this another fun rally!

And some final fancy photos

View attachment 375925

View attachment 375930

Great group to like both hiking and riding. I would love to make those hikes b ext time.

 

[Irishcoffee]

Good thread, thanks.