Gnats, Knobbies, Bolts, Bullets and Boulders... The Thrashing of Best Laid Plans...

[Tourmeister]

Given your description of that night without us, it seems those "barn" smells are something you are familiar with

 

[gotdurt]

Given your description of that night without us, it seems those "barn" smells are something you are familiar with

"Barn" nothing, that was more "cat box"

 

[gotdurt]

Return to day 3...

Me and Scott on our ferry ride... (photo courtesy of Drew)

 

[Tourmeister]

Friday 5/25:"Dude... here's your footpeg..."

I awake to another beautiful day. Rolling over and peeking out the tent flap, I am greeted with the drooly mug of Spike and his puppy dog sidekick. It would seem that we have attracted some visitors, a large bull terrier of some kind and a small pup of a different kind. They kind of remind me of the old cartoon with the low key bulldog strutting down the road with the hyper little yapper snipping at his heels and asking him what they are gonna do for the day... Looney Tunes? Whatever... time to get packing so we can hit the road!

There are days when you wake up and you know before you even get started that it is just gonna be one of those days in terms of feeling "right". Some days it seems to take forever to get into the groove of riding, my concentration might not be up to speed, I might feel a little off kilter, muscles might be a little sore or joints a little stiff. Well, I'm feeling pretty good. John's gourmet cooking, a few beers and a good night of sleep seem to have really hit the spot! It's gonna be a great day!

The "Sometimes General Store" at the campground

We head North up US 89 towards Sedona. My back brake is feeling really mushy and seems to be a little low on fluid. I'm hoping to find a place in town where I can top off the reservoir. Casey wants to hit the local McD's for breakfast. We stop for gas and to top of our Camel Baks, Casey heads for the McD's while John and I check out a local autoparts place. I'm thinking I need DOT 4 fluid. So I buy the smallest container they have, which is WAY too much. When I go to add it I notice it is supposed to be DOT 3 Well, John needs some DOT 4 so I top him off. Fortunately, there is an auto repair shop next door and the guy is willing to trade a tiny bit of DOT 3 for a new bottle of DOT 4. I get topped off and take off to catch up to John and Casey.

The only McD's in the world without golden arches supposedly

Sedona is a giant tourist trap. All the buildings look the same in terms of style, color, architecture, etc,... Bland is the word that comes to mind... No doubt, property prices are astronomical because it is a prime location for anyone interested in outdoor activities. After choking down some kind of greasy McMuffin sausage thing, we make one more stop at a local grocery store and then head out of town. The run up US 89 North of town is very scenic. It roughly follows Oak Creek up a narrow canyon with walls averaging over 1000 feet high. There are some seriously nice houses along this stretch of road. Were there no traffic, it would be a really nice ride. As it is, we just putt along behind a long line of cars, trucks and RV's. At the end of the canyon the road climbs up onto the bluffs above.

The creek is much lower down to the right. We are still down in the canyon at this point.

I don't know if it is the guy thing or what, but big rocks are cool!

Looking back down from the top of the climb out of the canyon

Looking South back down the canyon towards Sedona

Another gratuitous KLR shot

After stopping for pictures, Casey leads us a short ways up the road before we turn around for a missed turn. This will be the start of the unpaved stuff for the day. The road starts out a nice rough gravel and begins climbing. I am sure there is a formal name for the area we are entering, but I have no clue what it might be. Essentially, we are climbing up on to the edge of a large plateau that runs roughly East/West in this area. Once on top, the road opens up and is mostly dirt with rocks mixed in here and there. Pine trees abound. Beautiful.

We reach an intersection and Casey heads us South back towards the edge of the rim. There are some overlooks he wants to visit. The road starts a gradual descent and becomes a strange combination of silt in places and rough rock in others.

John on the way to an overlook

I love these kinds of texture shots... Yes... I am a nerd

John enjoying the shade

Casey capturing the view back down the canyon, which I think is the West Oak Creek Canyon

A small panorama - The canyon is around 1000 feet deep in the distance

Trees as far as we can see

This tree looks like some kind of squiddly sea monster...

The bikes parked a few yards back from the edge

A radical change from the low desert early in the week!

After all the picture taking and John attending to some important paper work... we get back on the bikes and back track to the main road. I think we've been on FR 536 and at some point it became 236 or we made a turn. It is hard to keep track of these things when I am not the one in charge of making sure we get where we are going Eventually though, we head South again and I think we are working our way around the Western most portion of the Oak Creek Canyon so that we can get down to the Southern edge of the rim. The road opens up and we make pretty good time and raise some serious dust.

Casey and the bug eyed bike

When we get closer to the Southern rim, the road bends to the East and runs along the top of the rim. There are occasionally smaller roads that branch off and run out to the edge of the rim with some spectacular views back South towards Sedona. The main road is mostly hard packed dirt/gravel. These little side roads are tricky buggers with some nasty deep silt!! Trying to get a heavily loaded KLR to steer is a lot of work. I know I should just relax and trust the bike but I can't get the image of me SMACKING a pine tree out of my head... Nonetheless, I manage to make it without incident and it is worth the effort!

A close up of the previous shot - the big chunk on the right is about 2 miles from us as the crow flies

Sedona is about 7-8 miles distant between the mountain and the tree

The edge of the rim is at about 6800 feet and the floor below is around 4500 feet. While we are soaking it in, we spot a TINY little speck moving among the mesas. It is a tourist helicopter that is flying around the edge of the rim. Too small to show up in a picture but it would have been cool to capture to help give a sense of the scale of the scene! We head back up to the main road and investigate a few more side tracks. After two or three more with essentially the same kind of view, I decide I have had enough of the silt and grab a shadey spot to wait for Casey and John when they backtrack on the main road.

The proverbial fork in the road... I sat in the shade on the right

The break in the shade feels great. It is nice to just sit, feel the air and listen to the wind. I can't hear Casey and John's bikes. I guess after maybe ten minutes or so, I hear the distant note of the bikes approaching. They pull up to join me for a break and to decide where our route will take us next. Casey was thinking originally that we'd backtrack to the point where we cut South. However, looking at the maps, there seems to be a road that looks interesting that kind of loops Westward and then North to almost the same place and that will get us where we want to be. Best of all, he's never been on it before so it will be a new adventure! He elects for me to lead with the GPS. So we head up FR 231 over to 538 and run 538 North to 527, the road we were originally trying to reach.

I settle into a nice rythm and enjoy the ride. The road climbs and meanders among the tall pines. I am soon lost in the experience, focusing on the riding, reading the road, dodging ruts, jumping erosion berms, dodging trees, and forgetting to stop to take any pictures at all... It is an awesome road! How I would love to have roads like this closer to home so that I could ride them much more often!! We turn West on FR 527 and it only gets better!! However, the road is starting to get really rutted and rough! The bike is really moving around under me and I am working pretty good.

Somewhere along the North end of FR 527, I am coming over one of the erosion berms. As soon as I hit it I realize I am not carrying enough speed to get the front end over so that I can ride it out on the back tire. As I crest it, I see a DEEP hole on the back side In goes the front and the forks compress for all they are worth. When the back end comes through, it hits HARD!! I am hanging on for dear life at this point and hear a loud THWACK!! As I slow to regain my senses, I notice an odd "rat-tat-tat-tat-tat...." Oddly enough, it reminds me of when I was a kid and we'd put the playing cards in the spokes of our bikes to make motor noises I slow and look around at the back of the bike but can't see anything unusual. Could it be the motor? I pull in the clutch and coast, playing with the revs of the motor. It does not change with the engine speed. I am going slow anyway so I just pull over to have a look. As I come around the back side of the bike I notice my license plate is gone! KLR's are known for losing license plates and I have already experienced this before and had raised it up considerably. Apparently though, I did not raise it enough The good news is that everything is still present, it is just bent up under the fender and sitting on top of the tire, hence the sound of the plate flapping on the knobbies. I yank everything back out and it looks not too much worse for the wear. We get back on the bikes and keep going. I pay a little closer attention to the remaining berms...

Not long after the plate incident, we come out of the woods into a plain. There is a rotted old log cabin in a nearby pasture so we stop for a break and some pictures.

I was having a hard time figuring out how to force my camera to use the flash, so the images are darker in the foreground than I was wanting

Looking back into the woods

The GPS shows that we are really close to some other roads that should lead to I-40. However, once we get up the road to the intersection, we find a sign indicating private property. Just in the distance, not even a half mile, we can see the road we want. There is an open gate, so I am thinking the road is public and just the land on each side is private. We ride on through and find another open gate on the far side and a well maintained county road that heads the direction we want to be going. It is wide and smooth... I soon lose sight of John and Casey in the ensuing dust storm A few miles later we reach I-40 and stop for gas and a break to decide what we are going to do for lunch.

Historic Route 66 just happens to pass right by the place where we stop

At this point, we decide to just scoot on down Historic Route 66 to Williams, a few miles down the road, and have lunch. Interestingly, we barely go a mile or so and the road becomes wide and flat covered in gravel. It crosses under the freeway and is paved a short distance and then goes back to being gravel until we come into the edge of town. It seems the town is getting setup for some kind of event for the weekend. We roll in past one of the town's finest and then pull into a cheesy looking 50's style cafe to look for equally cheesy burgers.

It is of course the Route 66 cafe... duh

The food is greasy and cheesy as expected. The wait staff look at us like we just beamed down from the mother ship. I guess we are a bit rough looking with all the dirt and grime of a week of riding ground into our gear and skin They are nice enough to top off my Camel Bak with ice and water though After a nice heavy meal, we mount up and head South out of town on Hwy 73. We are looking for a way to cut back over to the East a bit to pick up one of the roads that Casey wants to include on the route. Apparently, it goes by some really cool scenic over look He has me running point again with the GPS looking for FR 110. The areas on both sides of Hwy 73 are giant spaghetti balls of forest roads We soon find FR 110 and head East in to the woods...

Occasionally we pass some folks that have a nice spot picked out a bit off the road. Typically there is an RV of some sort surrounded by a fleet of ATV's!! Judging by what we see, ATV sales in this area have to be some of the highest in the country! We take FR 14 over to Davenport Hill Rd, and then head South. The roads are great. It is obvious that they see a lot of traffic. Given that it is Friday afternoon on Memorial Day weekend I am a bit surprised there isn't a ton of traffic, but we see only a few other vehicles until we reach a camping area. We experience a bit of confusion at the campground in trying to hook up with the road that continues South and this results in a little tour of the campground. It is PACKED and there are ATV's everywhere!! We get lots of strange looks, as if these ATV people have never seen a motorcycle Anyway, our little detour over with, we find ourselves heading South on FR 12.

FR 12 hits Sycamore Point Rd. This is apparently where Casey wants to go. So we head East with me leading again. This is a FUN road!! I am feeling the groove and really settle into a nice pace. The road is running mostly flat but twists through the woods, across some open areas, and then back into the woods. Eventually, after a really great ride, we reach a circular drive area where cars would normally park. We park the bikes and head to the edge for a look.

First impression... COOL!

These next five shots should be stitched left to right. IF you look REAL close, you'll see John in the far right taking a picture. I don't know how to make it so that section of the image is brighter without making it look unnatural.

That is Sycamore Creek down below, currently a dry wash

There's John!

And Casey...

His pics are prolly nicer than mine

Is that a trail along the ridge leading down to that formation? Look center left in that previous picture for this formation.

Just a few feet beyond Casey's feet is a sheer drop of several hundred feet. We are at 6200 feet and the creek is at 4600 feet.

What is it with the freaking gnats around these parts!! If I stop moving for only a moment or two, I am immediately swarmed by gnats. They are flying in my ears, up my nose, in my mouth and eyes If there is one thing that bugs me it is bugs in my face... We decide we've seen enough and this is not a good place to camp. Too many gnats. So we'll keep moving and get farther South before calling it a day. Already the shadows are starting to lengthen. The run back to FR 12 is a hoot! Shortly after the intersection at FR 12, we pick up FR 11 and run that down to FR 105, another great stretch of road!! We run 105 over to FR 354 and then start heading in a Southerly direction.

FR 354 starts getting a little rougher and more technical. The rocks are obviously volcanic and getting larger. Today I am feeling pretty relaxed on the down hill stuff for some reason. I am standing, letting the bike move around, applying the back brake as needed just to keep the speed in check, and picking my lines through the rocks. For some time, everything is going great. As they say though, when everything is going great is when you should be most paranoid After rounding a corner, I start down a long straight section that is fairly steep and littered with some good sized rocks. Everything is going fine one instant and then in the next instant, I have no left side foot peg!! Apparently, one of the rocks off to the side was just a hair higher than I thought... I manage to stay upright and bring the bike to a stop. I look down just to make sure... yep. It's gone...

Nothing to do but start looking for the peg. The bolts simply sheared right off, so I don't think I'll be able to remount it on the trail, but I still need it if we are going to make any kind of repairs. As I am walking up the hill, John comes around the corner and stops about half way down, "Dude,... there's a foot peg laying right here! And there are the bolts..." Well, there are what is left of the bolts but the peg itself seems perfectly fine. Cool. I gather up the pieces and head back down to the bike to see what can be done. The center stand mounts where the foot pegs mount and they share the same bolts. The left side of the stand is hanging down and the foot is into my chain. Hmmm... not good. The mount on the right side is bent. Looks like it will have to come off. We break out the tools and get to work.

It never looks as bad as it really is in the pictures...

Not something you like to see in the middle of nowhere with the sunlight fading...

This gives a little better idea of the roughness but does not convey the steepness... really...

The offending stone

Maybe 150-200 feet back to the bikes

John is not only a good guy to have along because he is a good camp cook, but he is pretty handy at rigging stuff up with whatever he happens to have on hand, a real McGyver We take the center stand off and soon realize that the rock did not hit the peg, but that the center stand bottomed out HARD on the rock. This made the mounting bracket slice right through the bolts! There is a good sized dent in the bottom of the stand which is made from several layers of 3/16"" thick steel plate. With the center stand removed, the bolts are too long to hold the right peg in place without it flopping loose. Earlier in the week, some light mounts John had made decided to come apart. He has the pieces in his bag. One of the pieces works perfect as a spacer so the peg will stay in place. Nothing can be done on the left side since we have no way to remove the remains of the two sheared bolts. It seems I have to get myself down off this mountain without being able to stand up on the pegs...

After some discussion, we decide that John and I are going to make for the first road that cuts West to the main Hwy and head for civilization. There is no point in me trying to continue the ride on rough roads without a foot peg. Casey still wants to head for the spot where we had planned to camp. I am not wild about splitting up the group, particularly with Casey being alone. He assures us that he will be fine and that he will be extra careful... Well... okay... but I still don't really like it. As we are getting set to go, Casey mentions that he has some really pressing matters to attend to. John donates a pack of wet wipes to the cause and we hastily make tracks

[Gotta run... I'll try to get back to it ASAP!]

 

[gotdurt]

It was a pit bull pup and a rottweiler...

I was beginning to think you gave up on the thread... almost there!

 

[Tourmeister]

I am doing good to get an hour or two to work on it once a week

 

[WoodButcher]

I am doing good to get an hour or two to work on it once a week

You need to take shorter trips. Then you can get the ride reports done faster. You only have a few months before you do Richard's Recon ride so you better hurry up and finish this one.

 

[gotdurt]

You need to take shorter trips. Then you can get the ride reports done faster. You only have a few months before you do Richard's Recon ride so you better hurry up and finish this one.

Doesn't matter, at this point he's just making stuff up

 

[Tx Rider]

Heh, just got back from running through the west again for a couple weeks, this time in my 4-runner with my little brother and his 3 boys along, and my mother and his wife and daughters following along. Yellowstone, Mesa Verde, Dinosaur Nat park, City of Rocks, Mogollon cat walk... Fun trip even if on 4 wheels.

Figured for sure Scott would be done with this by now.

I have some more pics to upload myself I guess.

The snow in the san juans is deep this year, there's a 30 foot high snow bank plowed through on Engineer pass, and Imogene pass is still snowed shut.. in July.

 

[Cagiva 549]

Just talked to a friend at Texas Creek today , Fresh snow on the Sangrie De Cristo from TC as far south as he could see . SEYA

 

[Tourmeister]

Friday 5/25: "He'll be coming 'round the mountain when he comes... when he comes..."

So now I have to ride my way down off this mountain without a footpeg... Fortunately, I do at least still have the left highway peg, the right one having been reduced to useless somewhere back there in the desert a few days back The big problem though is that I cannot stand! This makes fighting the bike down through the remaining big rocks a real challenge. It is slow going... tense... hard to control the speed... oh crap!!

As we are descending a fairly steep straight section, the front tire digs in, then slides, and before I can react, I am laying face down on the ground with the bike pinning me. The riding gear absorbs the impacts on the sharp edged rocks and I don't really even notice the impact. My wrist seems a little tweaked but not hurting. The big problem is that my right foot is totally pinned under the bike and luggage. I can't even spin over to reach the bike. It is a good thing I am wearing heavy duty boots because I can tell they are keeping my foot from over extending and possibly preventing the breaking of my ankle. I look back and see John parking his bike. He walks up and asks what I need. "Just lift it enough that I can pull my foot out..." Once on my own two feet again, I lift the bike and he holds it steady while I remount. Everything seems fine... Back to the task at hand...

By the time the road starts to level out and get smoother, it seems like it has taken forever to do the last few miles. Now though, we can crank up the pace a little bit and make some dust. I don't really need to stand anymore and just kick up the feet and cruise. Along the way I spot a few LARGE rabbits sitting on the side of the road. They scamper when I approach, but often not until the last possible second, narrowly missing getting run over In a few minutes we reach Perkinsville Rd and cut West for Hwy 73. The road widens considerably and is massively wash boarded. The sun is getting low enough now to interfere with seeing the road, but I can see well enough to crank it up to about 65 mph on the long wide straights. I have to realllly slow down for a few of the sharper corners so I can even tell where the road goes, but then I just wick it back up. The KLR sails across the wash board silky smooth...

As I am approaching another hill at the end of a long straight, I spot a few vehicles on the left side of the road. A van has its hood up... Hmmm... Don't know if I can help but I might as well pull over to see if there is anything I can offer. I pull up to some strange looks The gear must really throw people off It seems a family is heading out to the wilds for the weekend and their van is having some electrical issues. They ask if I have any electrical tape. I do... but... it is buried way down deep in my luggage. As I am pondering unloading everything, John pulls up. I tell him what they need and he has his handy. While he takes care of business, some little girls come around from the back side of the van offering us some bottled water. A sweet gesture and I thank them, but then I show them the Camel Bak and assure them that we are fine on water.

Seems only fitting to reward their generosity

She's a little unsure but seems like she's having fun, Mom got a kick out of it!

A good chunk of their wiring harness had just melted, leaving exposed wires that were shorting against each other. John has some of that super duper stretchy electrical tape and he gets down to business.

It starts on the first try but then dies after a minute. They shut it down, he wraps a bit more, and then they fire it up again. This time they are good to go. We exchange pleasantries and then go our separate ways. It is not long before we finally reach US 89 and turn South for the boring drone down to Prescott.

We stop in Chino Valley to see if there is anywhere we might spend the night. It is getting dark and we still have a ways to go to reach Prescott. We're thinking hotels will be cheaper this far out, especially since it is Memorial Day weekend and Prescott is such a touristy town. No luck. We decide to just go ahead and run on into Prescott and see what we can find. The first hotel shows No Vacancy. The second place shows Vacancy, but the owner comes out to inform us in heavily alcohol laden breath that his rooms are all taken. It seems he is waiting for a bunch of fire fighters to show up and claim them. Nice guy but he is already obviously a bit on the tipsy side...

We shoot across the road to the next place and check it out. Looks old but decent. They have a room and we get checked in. It is small, not fancy, but the AC works!!

Once we get our stuff off the bikes, it is time to think about food. The Best Western back up the road had a restaurant on site that looked like it was pretty nice. So we decide to walk down and check it out. As we are heading out of the parking lot, we notice a fireworks display in progress across the wide valley. A few folks are standing around watching it, but we have more important matters to attend.

Indeed, the restaurant is pretty nice. Mexican it is! We hit the drink menu first... Priorities you know! The margaritas are awesome. I am a light eater so I figure I'll just get a small appetizer. John gets a full blown meal and even orders a bit extra. We are not prepared for the size of their servings!!

John actually eats all of this... and even some of mine

This appetizer quesadilla is about the size of a 15" pizza and three layers deep!

Being the light weight eater that I am, I manage to eat about three pieces of my pizza and pass one off on John. Now we have the stuffed lazy feeling coming over us... Time to get back to the hotel and go comatose Once back at the hotel, it is not long before we call it a day. Gotta get up and get the KLR fixed in the morning and then hope Casey arrives in one piece

 

[Tourmeister]

Saturday 5/26: "My kingdom for a bolt extractor!!"

Knowing none of the shops are likely to be open real early, we sleep in a bit. Besides, we aren't going anywhere until Casey shows up, which may be later this afternoon. So we enjoy a slow morning and get the bikes packed. While we are packing, some interesting ladies start talking to us. One claims to have stumbled into our room last night upon returning from an evening of festivities and then wigged when she realized there were people already in the room! I never heard a thing, nor did John. But we did recall that we forgot to lock the door!! It's a good thing this lady is clueless or she might have had the presence of mind to root through my wallet, which was sitting right out in the open. As we all have a laugh, they casually toss out that it would be okay if we mistakenly found our way into their room later... Uh... sure...

My tortured center stand

We finish packing the bikes and head out to see what we can find in the way of a shop or autoparts store.

Prescott is a cool town. It is scenic. It has TONS of really cool shops and cafes. It would take weeks to do justice to exploring this place. There are quite a few cool old homes and buildings. It is PACKED for the holiday weekend. We pass by the down town area and the town square. There is something going on and people are all over the place. It looks like some kind of art fair. We head on by though because we are looking for the local bike shop, which we eventually find.

It is a NICE shop! They have TONS of bikes, including the new updated KLR 650... Hmmm... I'd have to ride it Seems much more street oriented and damage prone in the event of me riding it off road They've got a nice looking new XR650L. It is like a freaking candy store!! I head on back to the service area to see if I can find anyone to help me. I find the service guy, "Can you guys extract two bolts?" "Nope, we can't do that." "You don't have the ability to extract to broken bolts??" "Nope, we can't do that." Uh... okay... So I head back out front to find John and consider our options.

We spend the next thirty minutes or so running all around looking for auto parts stores, repair shops, etc,... They're all either closed for the holiday weekend, open but don't have extractors to sell, or offer a price so absurdly high as to make it obvious they want nothing to do with us We finally stop in a parking lot of one place and just start going down the list on the GPS for all the stores in the area, calling them. While we are doing this, a lady from inside the store comes out to check on us. They don't have what we need either but she recommends a private shop a few blocks away. She calls over there and sure enough, they are open. Off we go...

When we arrive, the owner comes out to see what our problem is. He tells us that he is far too busy to work on it himself, however, he offers us one of his bays and his tools so we can take care of it ourselves! Awesome! I guess hearing us talk desperately about going to Wal-Mart to buy a drill and extractor made him take pity on us I get the bike pulled around and he gets the tools for us.

Mr. Handyman is at it again!

John makes short work of it, the owner can't stay away though, too interesting, hehe.

All done and ready to roll! The guy even gives us new bolts!

Good as new and ready for action... well... sans the center stand

The man of the day!!

John did break a few drill bits. I try to pay for them but the owner refuses. I ask how much for the use of his bay and tools and he just says, "Whatever you like." Man... I love meeting people like this! I gave him a $20 over his protestations and assure him I am still getting a bargain since he saved me from having to scrap the last part of the dirt riding for the trip. We thank him and take our leave. It is still pretty early and we have not heard from Casey yet. Time for breakfast. So we head back towards the town square to see what we might find. I seem to recall spotting a little cafe in our wandering in search of a shop.

We find a place to park a few blocks away from the square and leave the bikes. Sure enough, there is a nice little cafe that serves breakfast. We slip in and grab a table. If you like cute waitresses, this place is DA BOMB! I remind myself that I am a very happily married man and place my order... for food... Bacon, eggs, toast and a cold coke really hits the spot. Mostly I just needed the sugar and caffeine... Yes, I know... pathetic Nonetheless, rejuvenated and full, we head out to see what we might find to occupy ourselves until Casey hits town.

Across the street is a very cool outdoor supply shop. John wants to see if he can find some zipper pull tabs to replace the ones that broke on his jacket. So we head on over. It is another toy store, hehe. There is just something in me that makes me get all goofy when I see a place full of really cool gadgets and equipment. Never mind that I will never be climbing a mountain side rock face and will thus never need most of it however,they do have this really cute little Camel Bak in pink... I wonder if Sarah might like that? At only 2-1/2 years old, would I even be able to get her to understand how to use it John finishes up before I can make up my mind and we leave to go check out the happenings on the square.

We arrive at the square and there is artwork all over the place. There are people all over the place. The smell of "Fair" food lingers in the air. Hmmm... funnel cakes? I could always use more sugar There are also bikes all over the place! In fact, one pack has several of the new Triumph 675's and the new Ducati 1098! (smack me for not taking a single picture! They were in a bad spot... really...). We wander around taking in the sites. One the back side of the courthouse, things are not so crowded and we find a nice tree under which to kick back and relax.

The backside of the court house. The grounds around it are HUGE with large old Pecan trees.

John is messing with his helmet and then all of a sudden, "Dang!" Something broke... So for the next twenty minutes he sets about doing the McGyver thing He walks around, looking in trash cans, checking the gutters, poking around some of the tents, all in effort to find something from which he can fabricate a washer.

Using my Micro Leatherman, he finally finds some relatively thick plastic and cuts it to fit

[Yeah... I know... not a lot... but I am trying and it is 3:00am... ]

 

[gotdurt]

Nice So did Casey ever show up?

 

[Tourmeister]

Saturday 5/26: Continued... "Nothing says 'RAM TOUGH' like the sound of ABS brakes cycling... "

Casey finally calls to inform us he is in town at a local Jack in the Box and getting something to eat. I give him directions to where our bikes are parked and let him know that we will start working our way back that direction. As expected, he has had quite the adventure in our absence So John and I drag our lazy bodies out of the nice shade and start the long walk to the bikes. About half way there we run into Casey coming up the sidewalk towards us. He must have really choked down the JB grub to get over here so quick!

One the way to the bikes, we have to pass by the outdoor equipment shop again. I decide I want to get the little Camel Bak for Sarah. It's just too cute to pass up I meet Casey and John back and the bikes and we discuss our plans for the rest of the day. It is late in the afternoon now and there is no way we can do the whole route we were originally planning. It is decided that we will run down the Old Senator Highway South out of town and then eventually work our way over to I-17 to end the fun part of the trip... Just realizing we are that close to the trip being over kind of puts a damper on things.

Getting set to head South on the Old Senator Highway

We gas up and top off the Camel Baks on the way out of town. Casey is already pretty tired from his adventures this morning so he wants to take it nice and easy. I take point and set a relaxed pace. Not too far South of town, the highway turns to dirt/gravel as we head into the woods and mountains. It is odd how yesterday and the day before, I was totally in the groove and feeling great on the bike, yet today it just feels all wrong I find myself tip toeing through corners, feeling like the bike is out of control, and everything is just off! I'm not relaxed or focused... If something doesn't change, this will be a longggg afternoon...

Close to town, there are a LOT of people out enjoying the beautiful day. Once again, there are ATV's everywhere! In fact, several times there are kids the come flying around the corner a wee bit out of control... That doesn't go far in helping me to relax However, as we get a few more miles behind us, the din of civilization fades and the people become farther and fewer between. Something about leaving that all behind actually does start helping me relax.

The view of my Therapist's office...

It only gets better!

Looking at the GPS, we have a LOT of miles to cover. Time to get myself into the groove and focus. The scenery is all incredible but there is just so much of it that after a few miles it all starts to become a blur. The repaired peg seems to be holding up fine and none of the bolts have come loose. It's a good thing because I have found that standing up most of the time helps me settle into relaxing and riding. As I am climbing and rounding the side of a mountain I hear an unmistakable sound...

It is hard to describe this sound, kind of a heavy grinding and sliding sound mixed with some fast "CHUG CHUG CHUG..." I'm already on the outside of the curve with little room to move when I see DODGE taking up my field of view and coming wayyy fast right at me!!! Time slows to a crawl as I lean the bike outward, notice the tops of trees just beyond the edge of the road, and the grill of a huge red Dodge truck closing on my left side. But that sound just keeps going at full speed. Looking at the truck I see the face of the driver. He doesn't look the list bit concerned or panicked, but instead mad, as if mad at me!!?? Somehow he manages to make the corner and I am suddenly pointing the right direction without having gone over the edge... :scratch" But what about Casey and John!!?? In the moment it takes me to get the bike stopped and look back, the truck is gone and Casey and John are right behind me... The idiot didn't even stop to make sure he had not killed me! : We wait for a minute, just sort of sitting here in a stunned disbelief, not really sure if what just happened really just happened I don't recall seeing my life flash in front of my eyes, but I sure seem to have some major adrenaline surging through my veins!! We wait a few more minutes and then get underway again... slowly... tensely... a bit unfocused...

It's been about fifteen minutes or so since the Dodge encounter. I reach a small intersection and pull over. I am still a little rattled and need to just stop for a few minutes and refocus. Casey is telling me he thinks the truck hit my luggage on the back of the bike, which is what got me turned and kept me from going over the edge. If that did happen, I just don't recall feeling it. However, I was a bit distracted with trying to keep the bike from leaving the road and me from becoming a hood ornament. Well, a few more minutes and I feel my heart rate coming back down to normal. Time to just put some miles under the wheels.

The road is rough. It climbs and falls, finding its way through the woods, over ridges, through narrow valleys, mile after mile... As we work our way South, the severity of the terrain starts to give way to more regular hills. The road becomes like a roller coaster. I'm still tip toeing through the corners. Casey tells me he is feeling much the same way. So the going is slow. The corners are almost all blind and I just can't get the image of that truck out of my head.

John taking in the views

Casey coming round the mountain

Miles and miles of this... up and down... round and round...

Never too busy to stop and smell the... uh... hmmm Purple flower thingies

It would appear that fire has been here in the past

These trees stand as silent witnesses to the past while watching over the new

John checking the route to see what kind of progress we are making

Yours truly

Miles still to go

We eventually reach the head of the Crown King Trail. This was originally going to be part of the adventure. Just another part of the plan lost to the clutches of the unexpected... We stop to ponder what might have been and to pay our respects. Just the first hundred feet look pretty challenging. With the day slipping away, we have to head for the freeway and make time back to Phoenix. We stop in the old mining town of Crown King just to have a look around. LOTS of tourists and ATV's. It would seem this is a really popular area, probably once only known to the die hards, but now being flooded by every Tom, Dick and Harry for miles around. While we are checking out the sites, the local paramedic fire rescue truck leaves in a wailing cloud of dust. Never a good sign...

We head on down the mountain on Crown King Rd, which heads mostly East back towards I-17. The ride down out of the mountains contains some great views! Unfortunately, it also contains a good bit of traffic. The road surface is washboard with silt and gravel. Getting stuck behind an SUV is NOT fun. We finally find a place to pass between some switch backs. Unfortunately, shortly after we pass we catch up to the fire rescue guys...

Seems an ATV rider lost it and got banged up pretty bad

They have the road closed and are not letting anyone through

Looking back up the mountain, the road goes off to the left in the distance

It does not take long for the traffic to start backing up

We wait... and wait...

According to this entertaining fellow, the ATV rider is a LARGE fellow and they are having trouble treating him...

The guy talking with us is a volunteer fire/rescue worker. According to him, this particular part of the road is known for numerous accidents. Seems odd because it is mostly straight They finally get the victim on a stretcher, which is obviously a wee bit small for a man of his stature... It takes several minutes of deliberation before the NINE people standing around him give their first attempt at lifting the stretcher in to the ambulance. They go on THREE and get him about half way up before one of the stretcher starts to dip... It's a no go and they quickly set him back on the ground. Time to reconsider... More time goes by and they finally give it another try. A few people reposition and I seem them all make sure they have their knees under them and their backs straight before they heave in unison... Almost there... almost... and they clear the ledge of the floor and slide him in! Surely it will only be a few moments now. Earlier we had asked our bud to check and see if they would let us coast by on the bikes so we would not have to choke on the Ambulance dust all the way down the mountain. No dice So what is taking so long? It seems that they are having trouble getting the IV needles through the mass on his arms to hit the veins... Wow... He's apparently got a busted hip/leg or something and he's gonna have to ride in that ambulance all the way down the mountain on this bumpy road... That won't be fun! They finally start letting traffic come through from the other side. We see the ambulance take off and then they let us through. We catch up to the ambulance pretty quick and they have pulled over to the side of the road. Hopefully, the guy is okay! We take the chance to get around and put some distance between us and the pack of cars behind us.

Leaving the accident behind, the road goes off into the distance. It is a long drop down into a sprawling valley below. The road widens and gets really fun. We set a great pace and just enjoy ourselves. The sun is out a bit and casting long shadows. I love the way this area looks late in the day.

I am hoping to get some good shots of the numerous Saguaro Cactus, but the lighting just isn't very good. This is the best I can do.

The rest of the run to the freeway is a blast. As I drift through the corners, take in the views, and inhale the dust, I am thinking of what a great trip this has been. Soon it will be over and I'll be heading back to Texas and the less than exciting roads to ride... I love Texas, but man the good riding is just so far away! Well, nothing to do but relish in the moment before it is gone...

And all too soon, it is over...

We give thanks for the great roads and wonderful riding

And like that... it all becomes just a memory to be savored until it can be refreshed sometime in the future. We hop on the freeway and begin the monotonous drone back to Phoenix to begin the monotonous drone back to Phoenix to begin the monotonous drone back to Phoenix to begin the monotonous drone back to Phoenix to begin the monotonous drone back to Phoenix ...

Finally, we get back to the truck and trailer which have been patiently waiting for us all week

Loading up for the long haul home

Once we get the bikes loaded we head back to the diving chick hotel where we started the week last Saturday. The plan is to hit a few restaurants so Casey can load up a cooler with food for his wife from a few of the their favorite restaurants they frequented when they lived out here a few years back. After a few stops, we chow down and then head back to the hotel. The events of the past week already seem like a distant memory of long ago. A hot shower, a soft bed... and it becomes the stuff of dreams.

 

[dukey33]

Whew, glad to see everyone survived. Thanks for sharing the adventure.
So......when are you going back?

Dave

 

[gotdurt]

So......when are you going back?

As soon as I can aford it and the wife will let me... but I'm not going back to these places... at least not on a bike (I'll take my son to some of these places someday). Next time I'm going to explore areas I haven't been, or at least haven't spent much time.

 

[Tourmeister]

Sunday 5/27: "Are we there yet...?? How much further...??"

I'm up once again way earlier than I'd like to be, close to the crack of dawn... I made sure last night that all I'd have to do is put my clothes on, grab my bags, and walk to the truck, and be ready to go. We pile in and head out...

Almost ready to roll

John checks the straps one last time

I should have taken a before picture so that one could truly appreciate how torn up this tire has become! In some places, entire knobs are gone...

We hit a convenience store on the way out to load up on snacks and drinks. On my way in a fellow wants to bum some money off me for food. I don't usually make a habit of handing out money. While inside I grab a drink and a few cinnamon twists for the guy in addition to my own stuff. Back outside I hand it to him and he is genuinely shocked. Seems the least I can do and he really seems to appreciate it. Before getting back in the truck I spot this...

Can anyone enlighten me on this sign? I've never seen it before. Is it trying to say this a racial safe zone or something? Am I required to hug the guy I just gave the food too? Has to be the result of some politically correct nonsense Loaded with our junk food, we hit the road... Texas or bust!

And now, images from the long haul home on I-10... Yes, we were insanely bored...

These are from Texas Canyon on I-10, still in Arizona. Basically, it looks like God lost his marbles and they got piled up here in the middle of a flat desert...

Still a LOT of miles to go

Just some random cool mountains and a LONG train

We watch this storm brew for the next couple of hundred miles, wondering if we will EVER catch up to it!?

Getting closer to it...

Raining off to the North

Rained before we got here but not raining now...

Looking North again

Starts getting really dark and ominous looking, but still no rain

Almost through to the other side

And then bright blue skies...

Very few of these were spinning even though the wind was blowing the truck all over the road

The windmills went off into the distance as far as we could see and for miles and miles along the highway. I see the blades and stands for these all the time, heading North up I-45 from Houston on reallly long 18 wheeler trailers. Occasionally, there might be two blades on the truck, but more often than not, it will be one blade. They are massive!!

Somewhere beyond the windmills we finally do catch up to some storms.

It is soon raining VERY hard...

The sun is behind us in the West and is coming in under the storm's edge and really lighting things up nicely. It is astounding how GREEN everything is out here. I don't recall EVER seeing West Texas so green!!

With the sun behind us, this was inevitable

Note the fainter second one to the left

Looks like someone hydroplaned right into the rock face... Hope they are okay...

Check out how the color of the haze changes from one side of the rainbow to the other, kind of cool.

At one point, BOTH rainbows fully extend from base to base but my camera just can't get a wide enough view to take it all in. It is pretty cool though.

We stop for a break just before dark... Gotta love the cheesy rest stops

At Junction, we hop on Hwy 377 and run up to 29 so that we will come in on the North side of Austin. The road is still wet and the rain scattered. Amazingly, we only see a handful of deer on these back roads. WE finally roll into Casey's cul-de-sac around midnight and start unloading his and John's bikes. Afterwards, I head down the road a mile or so to another bud's house where I plan to crash for the night. Will "birdwh" Bird has left the door open for me and I quickly head to the guest room and pass out on the bed...

Monday 5/28: "I don't think I'd try that if I were you..."

I get up and enjoy a good visit and breakfast with Will. Around noon or so I figure I better get to scooting on home or Beth won't be too happy with me. So I start the trek East. The roads are wet and looking at the skies, it will likely be wet all the way home. Normally, I would hit a bunch of the little FM back roads and avoid the major highways with all their little speed trap towns

So much for that plan... To the bitter end, the plans get tossed aside like so much useless garbage

Several other folks in large trucks are contemplating the water on the road when I pull up. They're locals. After a few minutes they decide caution us the order of the day. The water does not look real deep, but it is moving pretty fast. Not wanting to be the idiot on the news seen sitting on the rooftop of my vehicle in rushing water waiting to be rescued, I decide to turn around. After a few detours, I finally make my way to College Station and then on to Huntsville.

And here are a few of the reasons why I always come back...

Daniel "DualSport" Friday

Sarah "Mini me" Friday

Sarah really gets into the Camel Bak. It takes a few minutes for her to catch on to how to use it, but then she drains it in short order...

She wanted to wear it the rest of the day...

And Not pictured is my lovely wife Beth. My hands were a bit full so I could not operate the camera Ah yes... always good to get home

 

[Duke]

Hall of Fame... or is it... Tale of Fame, material. This is what adventure riding is all about. Thanks for taking us along with you.

 

[jhansen]

You drove all that way and didn't stop in Texas Canyon to see "The Thing"? Nice pics. did Sarah try to sleep with her camelback?

 

[Tourmeister]

You drove all that way and didn't stop in Texas Canyon to see "The Thing"? Nice pics. did Sarah try to sleep with her camelback?

Hehe... I have no need to be scammed by a tourist trap

Nah... we made her take it off. Don't want her to overload the diapers!!

 

[jhansen]

But there's a DQ there, you could have had a "Blizzard"...

 

[kurt]

Safe Place is an anti domestic violence and child abuse initiative. The sign indicates a a place with people coached in how to protect victims and notify the proper resources.

http://www.nationalsafeplace.org/

 

[dbdolan]

Sarah is on to something there in that one pic, the diaper and a camel back could go hand in hand. I might have to get me one for adults so I can ride all day while sipping on the water and I would never have to get off the bike.

 

[Tourmeister]

Sarah is on to something there in that one pic, the diaper and a camel back could go hand in hand. I might have to get me one for adults so I can ride all day while sipping on the water and I would never have to get off the bike.

The Iron Butt guys have been known to use Catheters that drain out the bottom of the pants leg... Don't know that I'd want to ride with any of the unless I were leading...

 

[rob-houston]

Sarah is on to something there in that one pic, the diaper and a camel back could go hand in hand. I might have to get me one for adults so I can ride all day while sipping on the water and I would never have to get off the bike.

Diapers? Drinking water through a tube? on a bike? Would that make you a low flying ASTRONAUT?