Another Day in the WInd

First thing every morning... ok the second thing... but that other first... well... we'll just keep that private :-P so the second First thing is Sunrise Coffee.

 Which is a slight problem... when you've left your cup a few hundred miles away... well, it tastes just as good and hot in the cool of the morning when you drink it out of a bowl so no complaints.

Then it was time to load camp back up and head on down that ribbon of asphalt.

Independence Pass was on the map for today. I'd not been on it in 15 years or so. Makes it damn near a first time experience... and a sweet ride it is. Lots of twisties, and decent pavement...

Buuuuut... you might want to keep a leash on the throttle... that dozen plus big horn sheep that were on the road when I leaned around one bend can mess up your whole day if you're really pushing it. :)

I'd have a pic of that... 'cept there wasn't a single place for a half mile to pull over and put a sidestand down.

No matter... there were a few spots available for other pics as I climbed to the top.

From down in the bottom of the valley... and then way up on the pass...

You come down the west side of the pass through equally gorgeous country... right up until you roll into Aspen...

Yeah... I've got this idea I might not be a welcome addition to the citizenry of that lil' burg... leastways if the look I got from one 40something "Lady" is any testimony. Bwahahahaha...

Now I never noticed just my presence to be an offensive thing before... buuuuuut... 

That long legged gal strutted across the crosswalk past my scooter, with a look on her face that purt near said it all, as I waited on a light. Dayum... if looks could kill I'd be one of them Ghost writers right now! :) ha ha ha... yup... you'd a thought when she glanced at that leathered up biker that she'd stepped in somethin' unpleasant.

Buuuuuut... just down the road is a place, Glenwood Springs, where they treat such as me a mite friendlier :) So I got my lunch there before I turned east and rode on to a camp on the other side of a certain pass...

*Ha! They named a pass after me!*

I've tried on occasion to get myself tied in by blood to this fella. I don't know that it'd be good to have his... let's say... careless reputation ;) buuuut... inheriting a small bit of his money would sure make drifting on a scooter a lot easier deal :)

Yes sir. I could stay in Snooty Hotels where the waiters in the restaurant hang them clean towels over their arms? and you sip wine with your lil' finger in the air... and get room service and massages with fancy perfumed oils and such... WhooYa... the life of a Royal Biker huh? ;-D 

Yeah... since THAT ain't happenin'... I set my tent on a nice roomy patch of grass with one other tent over in Kremmling... We had a ramada with a table to use and fine facilities with hot showers... all for $13 bucks. Which makes it 'bout half of a KOA to get a shower... wifi too... beer and breakfast burritos just down the road a mile... all the comforts. Red Mountain RV park in Kremmling Colorado. I'll be keeping that one on my list.

Got up in the morning and crossed over Rocky Mountain National Park to get back to the rig... and all the chores that stack up in just four days of splittin' off...

Grab Your Handles and Ride... (It beats those damned chores every time!)

A Pass Baggin', Figure Eight'n, Continental Divide Crossin' Wander Through Colorado

I left out of Fort Collins bound up the Poudre River Canyon for Walden and North Park.

Before I'd gotten even three miles I got stopped for quite some little while waiting for the boys with their trains to move their toys out of the way and clear the road...

... Thennnnn... as soon as I entered the canyon... six and a half miles of chip and seal road work. I was getting a lil' nervous how this ride was starting out!

Buuuut once I broke out past those obstacles it was open road!

I crossed over six good tall passes on the 750 some miles I rolled in the four days... starting at the west end of Poudre canyon with the often crossed Cameron Pass...

Rolled down the west side of the pass which brought me down into North Park and Walden...

 I do believe North Park might be one of the nicest bits of cow country in Colorado... even if the winters are brutal... and the summers... at maybe 46 growing days is damned short!

I was coming near to my planned camp for the night about the time the clouds were piling up fast.

I raced over Muddy Pass and a few seconds later... Rabbit ears trying to beat the threatening storm.

I wasted no time and had my camp set in under ten minutes. ;) The thunder was booming and the lightning flashing as I hustled to get a dry camp set... and then with only a light shower it passed on by.

Climbed back on the scooter to run on the last 19 miles into Steamboat to pick up the fixin's for supper... and a brew to wash it down.

Now... I'm no cook so I've come up with some quick and easy ways to have a decent meal at the end of day... cook or not.

The best and easiest to have some tasty and good food I've found is this; I stop at the last town, if there is one! (Walden ain't got a grocery any more, hence the run into Steamboat from my camp east of town) ... anyway...

I stop and pick up a "Healthy Choice" Cafe Steamer!

Yeah they're made for the microwave or a regular oven... buuuuut...

I just open 'em up, and peel that celophane stuff off. Scrape the sauce out of the bowl into my pan... often it's still froze even if it's been in a saddlebag for a couple hours!...

... and then dump in the rest of the goodies... and heat it up on my stove. one pan... they provide the bowl so fewer dishes to do! ... or I often just eat it right out of my pan...

When you've been on the road, especially if conditions are tough, either cold or real hot, windy, rainy... anything that saps your strength and energy...

... it's critical that you take care of yourself. Decent food, not gas station coffee and three muskateers bars is a gotta have.

This makes it quick and easy for a non-cook to eat well.

and simple as hell for the guy on a bike with limited places to carry hardware. Eat supper and doing the dishes is largely... throwing them away! :)

It also deals with the problem of riding through BIG bear country up north. You pick up your food just before you eat it... and it's that much less to deal with for safety... Bear Bags hung in trees and such...

Anyhoo, after supper, while you savor that fancy brew you just kick back and contemplate the nice country you rode through and into.

*Dumont lake east of Steamboat*

Yeah... and laugh at the looks on everyone's faces when you walked out of the grocery store in a frog strangler downpour there in Steamboat... climbed on your scooter... and rode off into the storm! :)

... To have your supper in the sunshine that came along after that second storm passed!

Got up to a soft and quiet sunrise...

... and then dawdled around and visited with some folks in the camp... while I waited for last nights rain and the HEAVY morning dew to dry off enough to pack up camp.

It's kinda nice to not be in a rush to get somewhere.

My plan for the day was to head south on U.S. 40 past Kremmling turn onto Hwy 9, cross Hoosier Pass and on to Fairplay.

I'd choose my direction once I'd got there... and when I did... that lil' voice inside my head said; Swing around and turn back north on U.S. 24 To Buena Vista...

City Market in Buena Vista supplied my second nights Cafe steamer and another fine brew... That I enjoyed at the Diamond Point Campground near Twin Lakes... Just below the eastern approach to Independence Pass...

You can't see it in these... but there was a pretty constant breeze across that like... that kept the skeeters blown away... and made for a pleasant camp... just soaking up Far Country.

It was fairly cool... and that rectangular $29 walmart Coleman Bag I recently got because I can't stand the confines of a high dollar North Face mummy bag any more did an awesome job of keeping me toasty along with plenty of room to wiggle around. ;)

Shortly after the sun set... I crawled into my bag and zoned out for the night... though I left the door open so I could see the moonlight on the lake when I'd wake during the night. :)

In the morning I headed west again on Hwy 82, to climb Independence Pass... but that's another post.

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Sometimes When it Comes to Motorcycle Maintenance... Cheap Don't Pay

Sometimes a guy just walks along shakin' his head... He's walkin'... cuz the bozo is too cheap for his own good.

Got the forks torn down with very little trouble really. Turned out I needed to enlist a buddy with an impact wrench to provide enough "ooomph" to pop the bolts that hold the forks together. To get them back together I've got to fabricate a "Damper tube holder".

Not a big deal... just one of the "lil' details" nobody seems to mention in their "Easy Job" write ups. ;)

I also need to break down and pick up at least a cheapie impact wrench...

The MAIN obtructification standing in my way is that bit of mush that slops around between my ears. A couple of weeks back when I ordered the fork seals... I was trying to be frugal, conservative... penny wise... yeah lots of fine sounding words that mostly mean tight wad dumb ass to cheap for his own good! ;)

What I DIDN'T order were fresh bushings. Dumb move. When I got the forks apart it was clear and plain they were worn way to much to leave... so they've been ordered now and I wait again for new parts.

In the mean time I decided to make an "Old School" modification to protect those fork seals in the future.

I started hunting around for fork boots.

Only... near as I can tell, Nobody builds any that fit the forks of a Yamaha Raider...

Most of my life, spent on the ranches, has been figgerin' ways to make what you HAVE, do the job you need it to do. So I've developed a pretty good ability to find new parts that were mistakenly believed to be something else!

Like Rancho Truck Shock Boots. Those aren't shock boots! Them there are Yamaha Raider Fork Boots! :)

Yup... their nice rubber boots fit like a freakin' glove. Takes a good bit of effort to get that skinny end started but once you do it fits like it was designed for the purpose.

I'll zip tie the ends with black ties (which will be nigh on to invisible) and dirt getting to the fork seals will not be a problem in the future!

Suh-Wheet!

Now I know... Rubber boots are not gonna appeal to folks that are all into chrome and polish, and I understand that, and that's fine.

But me? I'm into snoopin' around back roads. Signs that say "Pavement ends" don't turn me back like they tend to do for the spit and polish boys...

The only problem with that is, my ride tends to experience a bit more grit and grime than the average big red cruiser..

*Up in the Yukon*

This bike is gonna take me back to Alaska again... it's gonna take me hopefully to the Maritimes... and lots of other places in between... and lots and lots of Places and visions those riders that have to fret about their chrome will never see...except in the pictures made by nut jobs like me. :)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Itchty and Antsy... I'm Ready For The Road...

Wednesday morning I'll swing a leg, twist the throttle and put it in the wind.

Yesterday Sonja got her fresh oil to ready her for the road. I hope she appreciates it. At better than $10 a quart and needing better than five quarts (more than my old 390 cubic inch V8 Hot rod from years ago!!)...

... Oil changes are a pricy bit of maintenance!

Especially when you move away from Dino oil and go full synthetic... This is my first full syn run... buuut it's supposed to be better on your machine. Since I seem to be a lil' hard on 'em... I finally decided I should go with some of the more modern technology.

That's not an easy task with a Raider neither!

That bike has THREE drain plugs! and of course, they're set right where the jack needs to be to lift the bike high enough off the ground so you can swing a wrench... since two of 'em are on the side tucked in between the crankcase and the frame...

So... you have a bit of a balancing act to get the bike up straight... and just high enough to clear for the drain pan and wrench access... which puts it kinda far back...

It be a bit spooky workin' under near 800 lbs as it teeters and wiggles balanced up on that jack. :) Her tires are barely touching the ground. Only lift a couple inches... But I got her done with no great excitement so she's ready to roll!

Finished up checking and rechecking my gear... almost couldn't stop just swinging a leg and leaving early!!!

*Sonja be like; "Le's go dude!"

Though I'm only rolling for a week... That load is actually sufficient for a run to Alaska! ;) I've distilled it again after all these years... I carried too damn much clothes to the Yukon... Three/Four days of changes is plenty... you just hit a laundry a lil oftener. ;)

Oh yeah... I found a bit of special gear that is, so far, pretty cool.

I was watching a movie just last week; "Lone Survivor"... The tale of Marcus Lutrell and what I think is a pretty awesome movie. One lil' thing caught my eye... which has nothing to do with that story...

All of those guys, Warriors in the Finest Sense of the word, were all wearing Mechanix  brand gloves. I did a lil snooping and discovered they have a style that they call "Tactical"... that has good finger and knuckle protection for soldiers/sportsmen etc.

Then being textile, they should be a lot more comfortable in summer weather. You can find 'em in cammo prints too, not just black.

I've seen MECHANIX gloves many times before... made for mechanics... but those were bright blue and such... never gave 'em a thought...

But these... they call the M-pact style.

Fit like a "Glove" :) are comfortable and even have a vibration absorbing pad material on the palms...

The two pads are a "Poron" material under the synthetic "leather" that are supposed to soak up vibration and impact...

... and it don't hurt that they look Bad Ass ;) and are priced at Sportsman's Warehouse at just $25 bucks.

Even us poor boys can afford that!

... So now it's watch the clock... watch the calendar... and get ready to put my knees in the wind again.

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

Trailer Queen She Ain't... She's Also Not a Dirt Bike...

So... You're camped and Sonja your Raider remains sitting in her nest behind the cab of the truck for three days... un-unloaded... because it's freaking Raining.

Yup... raining... something on the order of 5" of that beer without the good parts falling on the roof 24/7 for two days...

And then... and THEN... and THEN... it stopped! HooYa! now I can ride... right?

Uh... Nope...

Two days later... the sun shining brightly... the breeze blowing lightly... and it's time! Right?

Nope...

*48 hours after the cessation of rainfall... and things are still a mite gooey*

It's warm... and it's dry everywhere but the ground underneath. The legs of the rig sank two inches into the ground... the tires on one side wallowed deeper into the once hardpan... now softpan... The rig (our home) starting to lean out of level like a modern wheeled tower of Pizza... uh... Pisa.

And the bike... That lovely red headed, big bootied, lusty two wheeled seductress rolled down the ramp... into the muck and mire...

She didn't roll... push... wallow far before she whispered to the wishful thinker straddling her back; "It ain't gonna happen today cowboy... it's three hundred yards to the road... and four miles to the pavement... we'd best give it another day..."

So he flipped the switch and shut down the rumbling V-twin resting in her frame and lumbered through the clinging clay...cussing... to wait for another day.

Grab Your Handles and Ride.
Brian

Well Crap... What An Escape THIS is...

So... the whole Idea is... live in a rig... so I can park the sucker where EVER the weather is Motorcycle Weather... right?

Yup... north in the summer time... south in the winter... Keep it in the wind year round...

So... Arizona sounds purty damn fine for the winter... Don't it? I mean... got out of Montana... juuuuuuust 'fore the first big blow of the winter... and then only had to work a week at NASCAR in another generally futile effort to stay ahead of the machinations of the man to suck my meager wallet dry...

and then... Just ride...

Right?

Uh Huh... Buuuuut, ya'll diiiiiiiiiint tell me 'bout that weather fella and his Murphy like inclination to pee all over a fella's careful architecting of winter riding plans!

So... camped here on the Prescott National Forest just a part of a gallon or so below a place called Camp Verde...

Been here before. Not so shabby for a place where the Rent is ZERO...

The neighbors leave a lil' to be desired on occasion...

But again... with views like these... who can truly complain?

Who? Welllllll... how 'bout me?! Ya see... take a look at that last picture... that was taken... oh, about 27 hours ago. See that big dark cloud hangin' low? Well... that sucker opened up about 24 hours ago and hasn't truly let up since.

I just stepped outside to shut off the generator... since the solar power system doesn't produce well when it only receives the liquid sunshine variety... and damn near vanished in the Arizona hard pan... that ain't quite so hard anymore after a full night and a day of rain.

Yeah... this escapin' lifestyle ain't Always what the songwriters crack it up to be. ;)

Sometimes it's a whole lot of coffee sittin' in the cold with a lap blanket, trying to sort out the outline of a new western book I'm writing... cuz I'm too cheap to buy enough propane to keep the heater runnin' all the time.

Oh yeah, almost forgot... and then, just to keep your mind active... how about finding the remains of a partially detonated IED on your last walk out from  camp... just before the deluge started???

Yup the poorly executed soda can version of an Ammonium  Nitrate Bomb... talk about questionable neighbors...

Yeah I know... Quit my Bitchin'... Instead of being trapped for a couple days inside a worn out plastic box parked in the Arizona desert... I could be back standing in the aisle of an Ace Hardware dreamin' of sunny slopes and selling plumbing parts to overweight matrons with purple hair who want to make imaginative centerpieces out of 'em for their knitting club luncheon!

... and lookin' at a 15 degree ride to get home... ;)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian

A Raider 4th of July

The 4th of July 2013 for us was in Florence, Oregon... or... at least that's where it started and ended.

We dawdled around the rig, parked at the Three Rivers Casino for too long and let the wind catch up with us. Though the day had started off clear sky and calm, and the clear sky remained... the calm blew away.

Mid morning we climbed on Sonja... the Raider... and headed north along the PCH from Florence, buffeted by a stiff Ocean breeze.  :)

North of town a ways are the Sea Lion caves. We dropped the coin a few years back and took the elevator down in to see the place. It was ok... maybe do it again some day... today... I just rolled on by to pull in just a short way further north at the view point for the Haceda Head Lighthouse.

We'd stopped here in the truck, one stormy morning, on a trip a few years back to try and photograph what's claimed to be the most photographed lighthouse in Oregon...

That day it was raining, foggy, and the surf was huge... Over the sound of the crashing surf I could hear this sound that... sounded like barking... but couldn't for a bit figure out where it was coming from...

I finally realized that the beach, there on the right... was an odd color...

It was Covered... by Sea Lions... making it a rich, brown color... Covered, nose to flipper, shoulder to shoulder, with Sea Lions. Hundreds, thousands even.

There were rafts of 'em, 20 and 30 in a bunch going out to hunt and coming in to rest on their "haul out" beach.  In the rain and wind that day I failed to capture any photograph... except the one in my head. Altogether is was Pretty awesome.

On farther north on our run toward Newport, we found another wide spot to pull off and walk...

A grassy trail led down to the beach below a small river that dumped into the sea at this spot just a few miles below Yachats.

The beach itself is narrow, and pretty rocky in spots...

 ... a few small tide pools are hidden in the rocks...

More of those "Rock Pilers" we followed in Arizona and Utah... have visited the Oregon coast...

Couldn't go too far up the beach though... a short convo with a guy playing with his dog on the windy beach used up the time I had available... (that's shorthand for ~ I BADLY needed a lil' boys room!)

... it's a cold wind... morning coffee thing...

So, we walked back to the bike and continued on up the PCH to the Fishing Port of Newport.

Parked Sonja backed into the curb... and strolled non-nonchalantly down the street... trying desperately to NOT look like an old guy with something in his boot....  while I stood in line for the Grandmother and her 18 or 20 year old granddaughter??? to come out of the "one holer" public restroom after an 8 or 10 minute get-together... :-/

Then... it was find a nice lil' cafe along the bay for lunch... and make the run back to Florence in time to find up close parking for the riverside 4th of July fireworks display the Siuslaw Fire Dept put on in the Florence Marina.

All in all a real nice hundred+ mile 4th of July along the Pacific Coast Highway (U.S. Hwy 101)

Grab Your Handles and Ride
Brian