Month: June 2016

I spent yesterday morning on a detour between my Aunt and Uncles in Dallas and my old friend Jesse and his family in SW Arkansas. It was a suggestion from PNWSTOG member Dan Mancini that once lived in the greater Dallas area. He said this was a “must do”. Well, he was right!

The road is Ok 1 and heads east from the sleepy little town of Talimena across the state line to Mena Arkansas. Its about 50 or so miles long that runs the ridge line of the Staircase mountains. Both sides of the road have numerous pull outs for vista views cause it’s the tallest ridge around. On that Monday morning, in those 54 miles, I passed 2 cars, 1 truck, a dozen Harleys and 1 RV (the last mile just outside Mena). The 20 and 30mph  curves were glorious.  I was later told by my friend Jesse that the Staircase mountains was the setting  for the 1969 and 2010 movies  “Rooster Cockburn”.  As I make my way east, I’ll be hitting more civil war sights and this area has it. Enjoy the pics and if you are in the area, ride it, you won’t be disappointed!

 

 

So, I wanted/needed longer brake and clutch lines on the Tenere and was already headed to see my aunt and uncles in Dallas. Just my luck there so happens to be the only guy in the US ( that I know of) that has custom made longer lines, that also is in the greater DFW area.

Jaxon Fyffe started his motorcycle building career as a custom chopper builder here in Texas at Wildcard customs. Here are a few samples of his work.

He is now the owner of Ride On ADV after catching the ADV bug and is the builder of  bad ass Super Teneres. His bike was even featured in ADVMoto magazine! Jaxon’s specialty is longer brake lines and the most robust skid plate to ever be built for our bikes. Check this thing out! Here

He’s also known on the Tenere forum as “Tobasco” and is regular at all of the National  Tenere rally’s the last few years. I’d go so far to say he’s one of the most well known Tenere guys in the US. It was an honor to hang out for the day with him.

I now have longer brake and clutch lines so I can move my mirrors back to where they are supposed to be and I can adjust my handlebars for a better fit.

Thank you Jaxon for a great day!

With the tempatures at or above 100 out here in New Mexico this week, I’ve taken precautions to make sure I stay cool and hydrated.

STAYING COOL:

Before I left Washington I stopped to see Mario Winkleman at his LD Comfort factory in Hoquium,Wa. to pick up a few sets of his “magic underwear” base layers. This stuff is amazing! All you do is fill the sink  about 1/4 full of water and soak the shirt( or shorts) , ring it out to remove the access water  then put it on.  The “magic” part is that the material is a two layer synthetic in which the inside layer against your skin  wicks water away so you stay dry. The outer layer is absorbent and holds onto the water. When you are in your gear and riding, all that needs to be open is your sleeves and your collar. Just that little amount of air moving inside your suit over the moisture will keep you cool.  Trust me, IT WORKS!!!  Depending how much water you fill your shirt with and the humidity outside, you’ll be good for 2-3 hours or about a tank of gas if you are on a long trip. I’m told affects of this type of cooling do work better when the humidity is low like out here n the desert southwest. I’ll find out how well it works in the swamps of Louisiana and Florida next month.

 

STAYING HYDRATED:

When I was in St Geroge Utah a couple weeks ago, I met up with fellow Tenere owner David Guymon. David  is an LA County fireman that commutes 300 miles to work weekly across the California desert and wanted to stay hydrated so he designed this very simple and extremely practical system. His company is called Motojug and he sells them on line. It’s a holder for a 1 gallon igloo water jug with a long hose that can be attached to either your jacket pocket or tank bag. Simple yet very affective! I’ve used it for more than 1000 miles on and off road so far and I can say it’s a life saver!  The only drawback I’ve found so far is needing to pee twice as much than filling up with gas 😉

When riding out this summer, please take of yourself and stay cool and hydrated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

While in Denver, I had a few things to get done:

1. Get the leaky engine block taken care of Thursday at Tri-cities Cycle(done).

2. Get new tires mounted at Woody’s on Friday

3.  Go back to “Woody stock” on Saturday to meet up with Ron Grace from “Lost For a Reason”, Brad Barker from “The Ride of My Life”,George Furko from the Northern Colorado Adventure riders group and several other Adventure riders from all over the world.

I pulled into Woody’s Friday and they got right to getting my tires swapped out then they found this when they pulled off my rear wheel….. ;-/

 

Not good to have ball bearings falling out, but if it was to happen anywhere, I’m so glad it was at the best wheel shop in the US. When that’s all you do, you get pretty good at it 😉

It took Mike a couple hours getting everything out, cleaned up and replaced.

 

While I waited, I watched Jerod lace an ( English)triumph tiger hub with a ( German)Excel rim. No small feat but again, when that’s all you do all day, it doesn’t take long. He then showed off a new KTM wheel he had just finished.

 

He even took time to take me upstairs to show me a set of Tenere wheels they are trying to sell.  21″ front on a custom extra lite front hub and stock rear hub with blue rims. If you want the price, you’ll have to call Woody but man are they pretty!

I didn’t get out of there till a bit after 4:30 but I was super happy with the level of Customer service I received. Good as new!

On Saturday I went back for the “Woody stock” I followed Brad and George the last few blocks to Woody’s house that’s along the Platte river right behind the shop. The rest of adventure riders were starting to pull in also. Here is a slide show of the jam session that was started while I flipped burgers feeding the crowd. I had a blast meeting riders from Africa, England and all over the US.

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I need to send out a huge shout out to the crew at Tri-city Yamaha in Loveland Co.  I had a “weeping” gasket from when my Cam Chain Tensioner was replaced last year. It wasn’t a full blown leak but did make a mess that I just didn’t want to deal with anymore. I asked a few of my friends at Yamaha on where to go in the Denver area and the answer came back “Tri City Cycles” . I contacted their PR Mgr. Hailey Carson there and she hooked me up with an appointment. The service writer Neil had everything waiting when I arrived.  Owner, Brady Welton has built a fine dealership. It’s HUGE! The waiting lounge hand just about everything you need to keep you comfortable. They also have something that I’ve never seen in a motorcycle dealership. A full service hairstyling shop!  So while I waited, I got a great haircut and beard trim from Amy Amen, how cool is that?!

 

Hearing  horror stories from other members of the group, I know that removing and replacing the Cam Chain Tensioner is a very tricky procedure. I poked my nose in the shop to see how the work was going and saw two technicians working away on my motor.

Levi is the shops best Tech and the other just happened to be the Yamaha Western region Field Support Manager, Mark Brozina.  After chatting with Mark for a bit, I knew I couldn’t be in better hands. The support I’ve been receiving just keeps getting better.

The one thing I could have done without is them washing my bike 😉 I’ll loose all my ADV credibility when I show up at Woody’s Wheel Works tomorrow to meet Nigerian Toyin Adebola as he rides around the world. I’ll also get to hang out with Geroge Furko, my host from the other night, Ron Grace from “Lost For a Reason” and Brad Barker from “The ride of my life”. I also hear that Dakar winner Simon Peavy might show up too!  Wanting to empress that caliber of ADV royalty, I might just have to go find a muddy hole to play around in today! LOL!   But seriously, it really needed a bath after the 7800 miles since leaving Roy Wa a month ago.

Well, a month on the road and it’s been amazing so far. The sights I’ve seen, the great people I’ve met. It’s all been wonderful.  When I was planning this trip, Wyoming was my mental turn around point if I wanted to bale out and head home as It was the closest I’d be to the PNW, but it’s all good and I’m in Colorado now and heading south again. Here is my route so far.

I also rolled 50,000 miles on my 2012 Super Tenere 🙂 

 

I’m  looking forward to seeing my girls and family in Louisiana in a couple weeks, but first there may be a section or two of The New Mexico BDR with fellow Tenere rider Steve Gunn from Texas. I hope we can connect out on the trail.

I want to say thanks to my old friend Jennifer Holmes and her daughter Mel for hosting me in Wyoming.

It was wonderful to catch up and thanks for showing me “The Hole”. Teton NP was spectacular even if the weather didn’t fully cooperate.

On my day in Southern Wyoming, I tracked down two of the old Air Mail directional Arrows that are still visible from the 1920’s and 1930’s. You can read about its history here ->  http://sometimes-interesting.com/2013/12/04/concrete-arrows-and-the-u-s-airmail-beacon-system/

 

On my day from Torrey to Salt Lake City, It was nice and cool most of the day until I hit the big valley. Being a few hours till my hosts were off work, I headed back up into the mountains to cool off.  Park City was my destination. It sort of reminds me of Leavenworth Wa. but without the Baverian theme.

I then headed down to go see Nate and Amber. They are frequent hosts to motorcycle trailers. Their 1st was  Mirko and Claudia that are traveling the world to raise money for EBM International, it’s  a missionary organization that build schools, clinics and orphanages.

Another person they have hosted frequently is a good friend of the PNWSTOG, John Colyer.  John is a retired Canadian Army veteran that travels the world on his BMW GS.

Nate is a  Super Tenere owner that was one of the 1st to complete the Idaho BDR, his partner Amber is also a beginner adventure rider on her Triumph Tiger.

Heading north up along the Logan river valley up to Bear lake was nice, I actually had to turn on the heated grips because of the morning chill.

 

I made my way into the lower eastern corner of Idaho then into Wyoming. Pulling into Freedom, Wyoming was impressive as you are faced with a mountain range right in your face. Awe inspiring!

Over the next few days, I’ll be catching up with an old friend from High School that now lives in Pinedale Wyoming.  We will be exploring Jackson, the Teton NP and the ranges of western Wyoming.

 

 

The more states I’m traveling to, the more beautiful it’s getting. I’ve only covered a narrow swath of Utah over the last couple days and I know there are parts I missed that are even better. This is one amazing state. To many people watching,  this trip looks like a “bucket list” kind of thing, which it sort of is, but I’m also filling a bigger bucket with places I want to go back to and explore in depth with Elsa. I know I won’t be able to see it all in the few days I’ll be in each state. Just southern Utah would need a week to 10 days.

Back on Tuesday (7/6/16) I went 400+ miles in 10 hours from Las Vegas Nv. back through Duck Creek Village Ut. where I rode with Luke and on to Utah Highway 12. It’s 120 miles long and starts near the Bryce Canyon NP and ends near the Capitol Reef NP in Torrey Ut. There is even a sign that warns motorcyclist of 100 miles of curves. 🙂 What they should warn of are the tar strips that like to pick your line for you in those hundreds of 20 and 30 mph corners.  One of it’s passes is even at 9700 ft elevation , that’s the highest I’ve been on a bike…. so far.  Ut 12 should be given a full day and an empty SD card for the camera to explore it correctly. It’s truley spectacular! I know of at least one great dirt road called the Burr Trail, it was recommended to me by several of my friends but there just wasn’t enough hours in the day. I didn’t even get to explore Bryce and Capitol Reef like I wanted, so the few photos from there are pulled off google.

This September will be the National Super Tenere rally just east of Zion NP, I know the guys that make it will be in for a real treat!

Here is the slide show, enjoy!

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