Earache

If the dirt roads around here are smooth enough - and most are - I do around 60 mph on them. Slower on rough or more technical dirt roads. Two lane paved I usually do around 80 mph, highways a bit more. But we have greater distances to cover to get anywhere as well. Can't go too slow or you'll never get there!

I've been to several races there - it's a nice track but the facilities are kinda shitty.

Next year they're gonna race lawn mowers....

Howdy!

You certainly picked the right sound track for Dark Motorcycling.

Yes - Same hill I was on when I was near Telluride. But the 4X4 I saw flip was near Silverton - 30 miles or so away from Telluriude. Most of the mountains out here have the same kind of trails on them. Numptys in Jeeps that have no idea what they are doing are usually the ones that fall down the hills.

I think about this almost constantly.

Looks kinda fuzzy to me.

Well I named my dog, uh, erm.... Longer valve adjustment intervals is a win no matter what - but I'd miss the clatter, the "Hey mister - ya got oil in that thing?" comments, etc. Be amazing if they put a shaft on it. The only reason I bought the Tenere over the Africa Twin and Multi was the shaft.

Springs???? Do I see springs?!?!?!?!?

No, they stay outside. Pretty low key animals until they get pissed off, then they can stomp you to death but that's pretty rare. Still, anything that big get a wide berth from me.

Cold and 60 mph winds on the mountain today - so I'm staying inside. This big girl just walked through the front yard, munching on the Aspen trees...

My go slow boots are Alpinestars Corozal and my go fast boots are Alpinestars SMX Plus. Dunno what they look like when they're clean - it's been too long. I like them as they fit well and I can wear them all day with no issues. The Corozals are waterproof - although I don't think I've ever ridden in rain with them.

It might be a novelty for you, but for some of us it's an hourly occurrence.

Sorry about that - forgot you were on here.

I only have one friend that rides much and he's already on here. So I'm tapped out as far as bring more members to the fold. I suck. But I like the Forum in that we don't have a bunch of wankers on here and it's fairly small.

Getting back to the topic; we could also do a ride in Colorado only and just camp out at our house for a week - day rides mostly and maybe 1-32 overnights away. Wouldn't get much cheaper than that.

I always heard that Minnesota blows, now it's confirmed.

It's not far off the Route 66 portion in Illinois !

Iowa? Used to live there - never thought of it as a motorcycle destination though. What's there that you wanna see?

Some artist did it - dunno why. Also called Cadillac Ranch, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Ranch There are usually a bunch of spray paint cans there in a box so you can paint the cars a bit yourself.

Some Route 66 pics - this was around Tucumcari area. Lots of old, bombed out gas stations, motels, etc., with 200 miles of flat, featureless riding in between towns. The CarHenge pics are obviously from Amarillo...

That makes sense. But you'd be sick of it after the first day and would re-route to find something interesting. Most of the road from Chicago to Amarillo, TX has been dug up and replaced with interstate highway. Off the highway in Texas, some of the original road still exists. I took a guy from Scotland over parts of it once as he was dying to see it. I'll see if I can dig up the pics for you.

That and it's the worst possible route across the USA. It was laid out when vehicles weren't capable of going across mountain ranges, etc - so it follows the path of least resistance - if that makes sense. Can't understand the fascination of it. Portions from around Santa Fe, New Mexico and westward aren't too bad, but anything east of there is complete shit. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66#/map/0 It routes through the busiest part of each city along the way .... places I usually try to avoid. A better route would be Route 50 - The Loneliest Road - if you wanted to a cross USA trip on 2 lane roads. But even that is going to be pretty boring for 1,000's of miles. But, if it's been a life long dream, then ya oughtta do it.

I'm so bored that I'm thinking about next summer's rides already. Now that my bud Craigster (DesmoDog) is on board and has a new scooter, time to think about a nice cruise for next summer. And should any of you Europeans or persons from anywhere else want to come along with us, we'd love to have you! It'd be the cheapest guided tour of the US that you'll ever have. The bad news is, Craig and I are the tour guides - so there's that. So, where would you like to go? I'm thinkin Rocky Mountains to Northern California and back - see route in pic. About 3,000 miles - easily done in 7-10 days...or longer if you wish. Any other ideas?