2009 Texas Adventure Ride Report

[Coolhand]

Re: Route from Junction to Austin to the best of my memory

I was asked to chart the route we took from Junction to Austin. I tried to combine "The Roads of Texas", Google Maps and Yahoo Maps to get the correct road names. Because "The Road of Texas" map is what Richard recommends I tried really hard to make sure I gave all road names to try and match what is in "The Roads of Texas" Maps.


Happy Trails!!

Now what would be really awesome is if someone reversed the directions so we can take it next year to the 2010 TAR!!

Holy mackeral Tom! Now I'm glad my GPS was broken and I could just follow you guys Nice

 

[TWTim]

Come on dude...............scratch it! You know you wanna.

There is no question.

 

[tjrockit]

Re: Route from Junction to Austin to the best of my memory

It is obvious you put a lot of effort into reconstructing the route.
Thanks, I am going to try and translate your route into a Garmin data base.
Once into MapSource, it will be available for next year.
Thanks again.

Very Cool - Thanks!!

 

[IronWombat]

You have to realize that civil servants like that don't care about tourist dollars. They like their nice quiet jobs where they can eat at the diner and chat with the locals, nap in the car and go home. The worst they expect is that the two Higgins brothers got into another fight on Saturday night. He may also have been getting some fourth hand RUMINT that is 10 years old that some motorcycle gang ran trough some property somewhere and tore up some ranchers fence and scared his cattle. So, all motorcycles are bad and should be run out of town.
I'm not excusing the behavior of the deputy, it sounds like he was an *****hat. I've just lived in enough small towns to know the Type.

I know I should let this slide, but let's do the math for a second. Say 175 people showed up and by Junction's own estimation we spend $250 - $300 each, right? And who knows how much (if any?) they charged Richard for the banquet hall, etc. I'd say we easily dropped $45k - $50k in that town over one weekend, and I don't know about you, but I'd say we left the place as clean or cleaner than when we got there. We probably paid that guy's salary for the next 6 months. Give me a break. Somebody should right a polite letter to their newspaper and explain things to him. Maybe next year I'll stay in Rocksprings

Ok I feel better now.

 

[RacerJohn]

Praying to the bump gate gods? Or waiting to scare the next group of riders?

Rusty actually knows exactly what I was doing in that pic. He is simply baiting me to tell the story. So, here goes.

I was actually placing my ear against the Bump Gate and listening for the vibration of distant slamming Bump Gates, to determine how far away the next group was.

Among many things, I am a old west historian. I learned from reading old books that, before the GPS, texting and cell phones (even VCR’s), settlers of the old west would use Bump Gates to determine when hostile Indians were approaching.

It’s a long lost art/ skill. But here’s how it works: They would put their ear on the Bump Gate and listen. Approaching packs of Indians would open and close the Bump Gates, the Settlers could hear the vibration of the distant Bump Gate. The Settlers had maps showing the distance between each Bump Gate and would time the number of minutes between each bump gate slamming shut.

They also had charts recording the distinctive signature sound of each Bump Gate so they could tell which Bump Gate they were hearing.

Knowing the time between each Bump Gate of course they could estimate the rate of travel, and have a good idea of when the Indians would arrive. The Settler’s would then be ready for them(!), with either Smith & Wesson – or a scotch whisky, depending on which Indians arrived.

The Settlers were so good at this they could estimate how many were traveling in the group by how long the Bump Gate was opened.

The Indians, of course, got smarter. Much smarter. Some would use old tires to cushion the sound of the closing Bump Gate, making them harder to hear from a distance. They even learned many tactics to fool the Settlers, such as setting up decoy Bump Gates, moving and switching Bump Gates at night, and building rubber Bump Gates. Even propping open the Bump Gates. it was a cat and mouse game.

As different parts of the Interior of the US were explored, one of the first things they’d do is chart all of the Bump Gates. Then have a beer.

Later, once the threat of hostile Indians had subsided, Bump Gate listening skills were still used. Settlers could gain warning of other approaching parties that they wanted to avoid (such as in-laws, or Amway or Fuller Brush salesman), and take quick evasive action.

Even, in more modern times, before cell phone tower and satellites, settlers would use this technique to know when the pizza delivery person was about to approach.

Some even started to use their Texas Instrument calculators and digital watches to do quicker calculations. Of course, the purists eschewed this introduction of technology that, in their mind, degraded the art of Bump Gate Listening Skills.

Alas, like many great tools, traditions and skills, that helped to establish the West, such skills have been lost to the never-ending, relentless advance of technology.

I learned all of this in the “Richard Underscore Bump Gate University”. This is an advanced course, available by correspondence only, actually developed by two men: I owe a great debt of gratitude to Richard Underscore and Sir WoodButcher for helping me to learn about and foster these older traditions. And I don’t own a GPS, or a FaceBook. Yet.

 

[Gilk51]

I was actually placing my ear against the Bump Gate and listening for the vibration of distant slamming Bump Gates, to determine how far away the next group was.

That was great!

---

Now, somebody call Richard Underscore on a land line.
He has left us hanging!

 

[WoodButcher]

Racer John has real skills when out on the ranches like that. He is El Matador that Richard Underscore spoke of, but only in passing so far. Hopefully the rest of the story will come out.

A teaser, someone familar with bovines was standing next to me and saying "oh, don't do that...no, don't do that"

 

[primate]

I have a good picture of the "alleged event", but let's see Richard comes up with.............

 

[Trail Boss]

Okay, it looks like the computer issues I've been having are now solved, so let's get back to the story.

With Woodbutcher in the lead, the next group arrives. But, Woodbutcher spots the bull blocking the road and wisely comes to a stop. The entire group surveys the situation and nobody is moving. It's a Mexican stand-off.

With camera in hand, I suggest that Rusty need not stop. "Rusty, just ride on past the bull. He's tame. Heck he's a family pet. You can pet him on the nose."
"Yeah, right.", Rusty replies.

For a few long moments all is still. The bull is eyeing us but not giving any ground. The group silently watches the bull.

Then, from the back of the group comes John "El Matador" Murphy, formerly a world famous matador and now a steely-eyed adventure rider. What are the odds there would be a matador in the group at the exact moment we had to face down a 3000lb bull?

If you were a matador adventure rider, what would you ride? Exactly! Me, too! And that's what El Matador rides - a red 2008 KLR.

"What's the problem, fellows?", he asks in a suave, sophisticated voice reminiscent of Omar Sharif.

Without any further hesitation or discussion, El Matador accelerates toward the bull, while the rest of us watched, knowing something amazing was about to happen. Amazing good or amazing bad? We weren't completely sure at this point but we knew it was going to be something amazing.

As El Matador approaches the bull, the bull shifts position to meet this new danger. The bull warily moves toward the other side of the road.

Then the bull stops, decides to hold his new position, and turns and faces El Matador.

El Matador stops the bike and the 2 face off in the middle of the street. All is silent. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

At this point, I'm still trying to figure out El Matador's strategy. If the bull charges, I'm thinking El Matador won't have enough time to maneuver out of the way. His bike is stopped and he has a foot on the ground. The bull is so close there doesn't appear there will be enough time for El Matador to get the bike moving again. But, what do I know? I've never faced off against a 3000 lb bull capable of mangling or killing me with a single blow from his head or of launching me 50 feet in the air with a kick from just one of his hind legs.

Maybe El Matador is thinking of simply dropping the RED KLR on its right side and jumping over the fence on the side of the road. That's what I would do - go for the fence and hope the enraged animal attacks the RED bike instead of me.

At this point, the crowd gets worried. With the bull now off to the side of the road couldn't we just ride by? But El Matador is not just riding by, he has turned to face the bull. Then, El Matador further menaces the bull by doing the motorcycle equivalent of a bull pawing the ground with his forefoot. El Matador slightly pops the clutch making the bike surge forward slightly. He repeats the move a 2nd time. The bull is getting increasingly concerned and alarmed at the menacing behavior of El Matador and dips his head in a aggressive way.

"That's a bad idea! Don't do that" voices from the watching group shout to El Matador.

The bull appears ready to attack.

Meanwhile, unknown to us, there is an adventure rider rodeo clown in the group. He's also a friend of El Matador and he is now officially worried for El Matador's safety.

He sees the bull in a "ready to charge" mode and, like me, believes El Matador won't have sufficient time to ride out of harms way. Luckily, he knows what to do. He dumps the clutch on his KTM dirt bike and charges down the road. His strategy? Ride in-between the 2 like a Bat out of Hades, drawing the bull away from El Matador.

I'm stunned at this new development and, like a dummy, didn't get any good pics of this crucial development in the story. Others, however, did get pics of this particular scene. Perhaps they will post one or two for us to see.

Anyway, he goes flying down the road and zips in-between the El Matador and the bull.

The bull doesn't know what to make of this second challenge. So, in typical bull fashion, he snorts, leaps 2 feet in the air and then looks for something to knock down and gore.

The adventure rider rodeo clown makes a quick u-turn and heads back toward the bull for a 2nd pass. El Matador starts moving to and now the two riders begin riding around to confuse the animal.

On his third pass, the adventure rodeo clown pops a massive wheelie, administering the croup de grace move in this little drama.

The bull, overwhelmed by the 2 adventure riders, calls "no mas", whirls around, kicks both feet in the air, and then hauls bull hocks off into the pasture.

Wow! Talk about putting the "adventure" in adventure riding.

So, now you know of the Infamous Bull Incident of 2009. We haven't seen anything like this since the Helsinki Incident of 1919 and I think we all know how that turned out!

Here's our hero of the day, John "El Matador" Murphy.

Thanks for saving us, John, and for a memorable incident, the likes of which we haven't seen in 90 years.

 

[Trail Boss]

A little while after the Infamous Bull Incident of 2009 we ran into the El Matador Gang at a little lunch spot in Rocksprings. Apparently, bull fighting really works up an appetite.

At the Angora Inn Restaurant in Rocksprings

Tourmeister ambushed via telephoto lens.

After several more hours of playing in the dirt, we headed back to Junction for the evenings festivities. Rusty was giving a GPS class at 7 p.m. and I was drinking beer on the grassy knoll.

We did pay a visit to the Toughest Dual Sport Road in Texas. Well, it was the toughest until Big Bend Ranch State Park opened to motorcyclists, so now this road is the 2nd Toughest Dual Sport Road in Texas. The reason for the difficulty is that the road is washed out and the creek bed is now the road. Fun stuff.

Traction Galore. Rocky pavement on the 3 Twisted Sisters.

Rusty giving his GPS class. Thank you Rusty!

Sometimes adventure riders fall down. Then they have to fix their bikes. Here is a short pictoral lesson on fixing your bike after you fall down. Remember, be creative and use the stuff you find lying around.

Field expedient foot peg repair of a Wee-Strom

How to fix a blinker

In the excitement of adventure riding, don't forget to stop every now and then and smell the burning oil from a KLR. Dirtbike Dave in repose.

 

[Trail Boss]

The City of Junction welcomed us again this year. For 3 years now they have been very happy to be the host city for TAR.

Saturday was the Grand Finale. It was a riding day with a banquet at the end.

Several of us took a few hours on Saturday afternoon to set up the banquet hall. We finished a little early, so Connie and I headed back to the hotel room to get ready for the evening fun.

Connie, hurry up, we are late. We are supposed to be at the banquet hall at 6 and it's already 5:84.

Banquet check in operations by Connie

I didn't get a lot of banquet shots since I was working. Here's the few I did get.

After the banquet a small group of us retired to the grassy knoll for a bit more drinking and story telling. A fine end to a fine weekend.



On Sunday morning Connie and I woke at 7:Y1 a.m. Obviously, it must be time to got home. We packed up, had breakfast, and then headed back to Austin.

Well, that's my TAR 2009 story. Hope you enjoyed it.

 

[tricepilot]

I've been fighting off the KLR itch nicely so far, but these kinds of ride report do not help in the slightest.

I had the same itch, here's how I scratched it.

Just a tad too late for the Texas Adventure Ride, I finally completed painting and mods on this 2009 650:

Before:

After:

And I painted it with this:

Richard's Texas Adventure Company and all of his rides inspired me to get an aggressive bike for the back country in and around our state and northern Mexico. I'm not selling the R1200GS, just adding a different dimension. I still prefer the GS for long trips into Mexico. But for high up in the mountains around Galeana, or the real-deal Class 3 dirt, I'll be taking the KLR.

Blame it all on Richard.

 

[Trail Boss]

Blame it all on Richard.

 

[Rick M]

Looks good Tricepilot , I like those side cases ,let me know where you got them,what size and what kind of brackets you used if you dont mind .
Black KLRs Rule
Rick M

 

[tricepilot]

let me know where you got them,what size and what kind of brackets you used if you dont mind .
Black KLRs Rule
Rick M

They're 1550s. I'll have to dig up the paperwork to remember the vendor I used, but I do remember I was totally pleased with the transaction and the price/speed of shipping, etc.

If you go this route, I can save you tons of time with installation. A few photographs of how it went down beats the well-intentioned but sometimes confusing instructions.

Stickfigure (advrider guy) used these cases on his multi-month tour south of the border. The cases took a beating and held up nicely. Can't say the same for the aluminum box I smashed in Mexico.

I also have your subframe bolt upgrade kit waiting.

 

[BIG A]

Very nicely done Bob another good looking black KLR

 

[jredford]

Enjoy! Here is a video of our ride set to music. I have included some pics as well

 

[TJ1776]

J,

VERY nice video. I particularly liked the part with the dog .

Jeff

 

[primate]

Wow, another great looking black KLR.At this rate, when we pull up to an event, it'll be like the movies where all the bikers are riding black MX bikes...with a Harley sound track.

 

[DFW_Dakar]

Hi Guys.. This is Charles (aka the Dakar guy..)

Had a great time at the ride in Junction, and managed to meet some really cool people.

Martin, Jim, Brandon, Scott, Justin, Ken, Richard, Tom, Rich - well.. at least those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.

 

[jredford]

J,

VERY nice video. I particularly liked the part with the dog .

Jeff

Thanks. I was surprised how old the dog was given its behavior!

 

[brianh]

When I came back to the campground from my Friday ride, I noticed the site next to me had a small backpacking tent set up on it. There was no rider or bike around, so I figure I’ll run into him later. I heard a bike pull up an hour or so after I hit the sack, but I was just too tired to get up and say hello.

The next morning I get up and saw the bike that pulled up last night. To my untrained eye, it looked like an old BMW GS, but it was just a little bit off. I didn’t have time to stop and take a closer look as I had some people waiting for me at the Hills.

After the day’s ride and the banquet, I grabbed a couple of beers from the store and headed back to camp. Not too long afterward, the BMW rider showed up. After he changed out of his gear and cracked open a beer, I thought I’d be a good neighbor and go over and say hello. Besides, I just had to know what the deal was with that bike.

His name is Dana. He showed up to TAR last year on his cruiser and really wished he had a dual sport so he could actually go on some of the rides. He wanted to sell his bike and get a KLR, but he never found a buyer, so he all but forgot about it.

A while later, someone offered him a free BMW R75 /6. He figured he could fix it up and have another knock-around bike. Then he got the idea to turn it into a dual sport, but didn’t really have a whole lot of money to put into it. Some of his friends and neighbors heard about his predicament and started offering him old bikes they had in barns, fields, sheds, etc.

This is what he came up with:

You have to appreciate his ingenuity. The middle is obviously a '70's BMW R75 /6. The front forks are from a '70's Honda CR125 Elsinore. He had to order some sealed bearings that would fit into the headstock of the BMW frame. The ID was just a tad too small for the steering bolt from the CR, so he bored it open a little bit with a Dremel. The rear subframe and suspension is from a '70's Yamaha IT250.

He said it handled surprisingly well. One of the fork seals blew out, though. Not surprising... BMW 750's probably weigh just a little bit more than CR125's.

He’s a brave dude riding this thing around with that itty-bitty 125 drum brake up front:

All in all, I really like what he did. So Dana, if you’re on this site, please speak up and tell us a little bit more about this beast, because I’m sure I’m missing a lot of details.

 

[tjrockit]

His name is Dana. He showed up to TAR last year on his cruiser and really wished he had a dual sport so he could actually go on some of the rides. He wanted to sell his bike and get a KLR, but he never found a buyer, so he all but forgot about it.

A while later, someone offered him a free BMW R75 /6. He figured he could fix it up and have another knock-around bike. Then he got the idea to turn it into a dual sport, but didn’t really have a whole lot of money to put into it. Some of his friends and neighbors heard about his predicament and started offering him old bikes they had in barns, fields, sheds, etc.

You have to appreciate his ingenuity. The middle is obviously a '70's BMW R75 /6. The front forks are from a '70's Honda CR125 Elsinore. He had to order some sealed bearings that would fit into the headstock of the BMW frame. The ID was just a tad too small for the steering bolt from the CR, so he bored it open a little bit with a Dremel. The rear subframe and suspension is from a '70's Yamaha IT250.

Love it!! It is always very cool to me to see folks do this type of work.

 

[Tourmeister]

Tricepilot, what kind of surface prep, if any, did you have to do before painting? It looks great!

 

[BigD]

Hey brianh you rock man! Thanks for posting the pics.
I was asked by some new friends (3) after a full day of riding " How long have you had this Thing running", I hated to tell them "O' just since yesterday afternoon".
The heart and soul of my machine is a Bayerische Motorenwerke R75/6. This bike was given to me by a good friend of mine who hadn't ridden it since 1984. The bike was taken apart and laying in a shed out in the middle of a pasture at his ranch in Sisterdale, Texas.
I have been working on this bike off and on for about a year but the last week before TAR was the real push. I llitteraly had a 20 mi. test run on this bike before heading out on Friday for TAR 2009.
Thursday the evening of sign in, when the bike wasn't ready, my buddy was telling me" Why don't you just wait and go on next years ride" I said %#*!!! No MAN I'm going for it! I have been wanting to do this ride for three years now. So after getting Title and Registration done Friday morning, I finished turn signals and a niffty cigarette lighter to plug in my air compressor, I loaded my gear and left for TAR.
After 2 nights in a tent, 436 mi., many new friends, and lots and lots of laughs later, the old girl brought me home safe and sound.
WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!!
THANKS, Dana (BigD)

PS: I finally got around to setting the ignition timing this last Saturday, boy what a difference!