Tenere Across the USA

This weekend, my wife Elsa flew into Key West Florida just as I reached corner number 3 on my journey.  We were able to get a room at the Navy lodge on the Truman Annex of NAS Key West. The cool thing about this place is it’s actually more south than the “Southernmost marker buoy” that all the tourists  get their picture  taken at.  Unbeknownst to us, it was also Ernest Hemmingway’s birthday weekend and the entire Key is awash with look-a-likes for the annual competition. I’ve only had 5 or 6 locals tell me “I thought you were dead” lol.  Elsa even had a little fun photo shopping my face over this years winner. I gotta say there is a resemblance.

Its Elsa’s birthday soon(the big five-zero) and I’ll be somewhere near Maine then so this is her birthday weekend for us on the tropical beach.

I’ll start my journey north tomorrow from mile marker ZERO on US 1  as I head up the east coast to Madawaska Maine by the end of August.

Enjoy the slide show

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

My stats as of 17 July 2016
17 states
2 corners
10900 miles
2 months, 3 days(65 days)
2 oil changes
2 new tires
2 new rear wheel bearings
850 photos taken
(www.tenerescrosstheusa.com)
29 blog posts
2300 visitors
8000 views
(Facebook blog)
408 likes
254 photos posted

We had a great week of family,food and fun. I was nervous about putting my Klim pants back on, but it was ok ;-). I flew in my teenage daughters Emily(16) and Madison(19) to Lafayette for the week to hang out with mom and I. It was one of the agreements we had made for me to take this trip.

The girls and I  have a usual list of places to eat at when they get to moms, Canes chicken, Chris’s Poyboys and Deno’s pizza are at the top. Mom also makes crawfish etoufee and beef brisket.Emily was actively helping and taking notes as mom cooked. It’s good that the traditions are continuing.

It’s also great to hang out with the friends and family when we are home. Katy and Doris invited me over for boiled crabs and later I the week we had a family diner with 25 of our closest cousins at Deno’s for great pizza.

Madi and Emily have taken on the Pokemon go ap and we spend the better part of one day looking for those things, We found out that all of the decorative Pelicans around town are a stop so we went around looking for as many as we can find.

 

Here is a slide show of the family, food and fun

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My time is Arkansas is done and it’s been a blast! 

I got to spend about a week in Arkansas revisiting the roads and friends I made while stationed there and during my time in the Air Force. I had entered the state on the Winding stare case from Okalhoma. A great ride if you can make it. I then headed to my real good friend Jesse Baileys place in Sourhern Arkansas in the town of Waldo. Where’s Waldo, you ask? 😉  It’s not far off the Louisiana border between the town of Hope( home town of Bill Clinton) and Magnolia. It’s very rural where most of the streets are red clay dirt and gravel. Jesse retired last year and lives in the house he grew up in on 250 acres.

 

I then headed north up through the small town of Delight Arkansas. It’s claim to fame is sit the hometown of singer Glen Campbell. My parents always joked that I was named after him, not sure if it’s a joke or not… Lol

This was my day north.

I stayed the night at “The Hub”   It’s been the site of the National Tenere Rally in 2014 and 2015. The curious thing about The Hub is it’s on the site of “Dogpatch USA”. It was a Theme park in the 60’s and 70’s based on tha comic book Li’ll Abner.  What I will say about the area it has so much excellent riding in the area!

My day south from the Ozarks was to meet Jason Diamond for lunch and ride Ar 341  “Push Mountain Rd”  Jason worked for me when he was fresh out of Basic Training 22 years ago and now he’s retired( yes, it makes me feel old) He lives on 341 and tells me that’s it’s extremely popular with the motorcycle guys. After riding it, I’ll whole heartedly agree!  It had just finished raining and the stream was rising on the road as the humidity climbed. I scared about 5 or 6 wild turkeys off the road, in fact I passed more turkeys than cars on that stretch of super twisty road.

I ended the day in Cabot Arkansas  just outside Little Rock AFB where I stayed with retired CMSgt Dave Salsbury and his wife Lori. Dave and I worked together at LRAFB but now he’s a hard riding Harley rider that doesn’t miss a Sturgis or Daytona rally.

I ended my Arkansas time at the state line town of Junction City before heading into my home state of Louisiana. All I can say now is “Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!!”

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.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

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.