Rode the Rio and then some.......

[flashstromer]

Ride report.
in spanish
http://www.motoaventuras.net/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=698

Alright... a picture of me made it into a mexican ride report.

Okay Antonio... If I say I'm headed to Montclova are you gonna say... sorry we've moved? I mean I ain't asking to stay with you or anything... I can handle that end. I just like to know someone at the end of my trip to have a brew with or give me pointers on what to do and not to do.

I mean that is only 1175 miles. That's like two days easy riding.

 

[Butte]

Back safe here, too. This was a wonderful trip!!! I enjoyed meeting new friends, riding with Rachel-Boom, and those curves into the Basin! I am working on a report idea, but I have no pictures of my own...so I will be borrowing some.

I had fun riding with you, too

as soon as I figure out how to get some of my pics resized, I'll put them up. I've got some for you, Soozy.

 

[Antonio Zerrweck]

No, no, no, EX-esposo!
El habite en Nueva York ahora.

Sorry, didn´t know

 

[Antonio Zerrweck]

Alright... a picture of me made it into a mexican ride report.

Okay Antonio... If I say I'm headed to Montclova are you gonna say... sorry we've moved? I mean I ain't asking to stay with you or anything... I can handle that end. I just like to know someone at the end of my trip to have a brew with or give me pointers on what to do and not to do.

I mean that is only 1175 miles. That's like two days easy riding.

Mi casa es tu casa!
Hope to see you here sometime, and no, I wont be movin in the future

 

[Soozy]

I had fun riding with you, too

as soon as I figure out how to get some of my pics resized, I'll put them up. I've got some for you, Soozy.

I can't wait! I have been trying to come up with a witty come back for your post that said "You CRACK me up" heheheheh

 

[TexasShadow]

Sing to the tune of 'Streets of Laredo':

"As I rode out on the roads of Terlingua.
As I rode out in Terlingua one day,
I spied a poor rider on a white and blue bike,
Saddled on a white and blue bike as cold as the clay.

"I can see by your outfit that you are a bike rider."
These words he did say as I boldly rode by.
" Come an' park here beside me an' hear my sad story.
" I've snot in my nose an' I know not why."

"It was once in the saddle, I used to go dashing.
" Once in the saddle, I used to go gay.
" First to the pie-house and then down for ice cream.
" But I've snot in my nose and I'm sneezing today."

The day didn't start well for two of the foursome: I had a pinched nerve in my neck and couldn't turn my head, Bill had a bad cold. But come You-know-where or high water, we were going to ride anyway.

I was excited about sharing the Terlingua desert with Bill and Graeme: the back roads and the desert itself. Although our physical discomfort put a bit of a damper on things that day, we both were adamant on riding. Full of drugs.

Ed led the way based on memory and a map I had. I was happy just to follow. We got lost a few times but we eventually found our way along the Double Secret Dual Sport route. I wasn't into taking photos that day (I hurt too much), so I only took a few. Until Ed and I returned later in the day to the Desert Rats' secret base camp site.

Of course, the inevitable, and almost obligatory stop north of Terlingua town is the Desert Hilton. I think a few others took photos there. I opted to just stand in the shade and grunt while chugging water and watching Graeme test the tin outhouse. I guess it worked; all I saw were his boots and head.

After discovering that South Country Rd doesn't continue on to North Country Rd, we got back on track. As they say in Maine "Ya can't get theyah from heyah." The maps and GPS show that North County Rd runs by Two Bar Ranch. It used to. Back in the '50's. Now that section is washed out with 3 to 4 foot-deep gullies.

Ed rode up to the ranch headquarters and asked about the road. The county closed that section of it back in the '50's. I thought the route didn't seem quite right, and that we turned right when we should have turned left. So back track we did.

We took another wrong turn or two, but feeling adventurous none of us minded. Soon enough we were in the wide dry bed of Terlingua creek. Instead of the mudhole being in front of the far bank this time, it was in front of the bank on the entry. It made going up the far bank easy this time.

On we went heading towards North County Road. The scenery changed all the time and it was nice to actually look around this time rather than at the terrain in front of me all the time. A section between the creek and N County Road reminds of Moon Valley; it's awesome.

Riding up the well-packed and maintained road, we rounded a bend and I saw Ten Bits Ranch. This place and the setting intrigued me the first time we passed. This time I stopped to take some photos. The spires behind the buildings are like being on some other planet. They are like dark bony fingers reaching up into the sky.

Our group split into twos at the junction of 118 and N Country Rd: Graeme and Bill rode south, Ed and I rode north to stop in at Terlingua Ranch office. On our way back to Terlingua, we decided to head back up into the desert and to the proposed site for the Desert Rats' base camp. We needed to do more exploring there.

The bikes parked on the edge of the gravel road, we got off, shed some of the hot gear and walked around exploring. Something about that place just eased the pain in my neck and head and I felt like I was on home ground. I could have easily taken a nap there. I don't know why that spot has me captivated, but it does. The views are awesome; it's quiet, peaceful, serene, and just..... zen-like. It's a perfect spot for Rats and their Ratmobiles.

Clouds in the sky played hide and seek with the setting sun. The changing colors and shadows were so inviting I shot too many photos again.

The sun threatened to go down behind the ridge; soon it was time to head back.

We rode the ridge behind Terlingua Ghost town and down into the town itself. Only a few bikes were there then but they started coming in to reside in front of the store and the Starlight Theater.

Dark descended quickly and the moon rose big and orange over the Chisos. Its ascent into the sky was phenomenal!!! It was like a giant blood orange peaking over the Chisos range, hiding in thin wisps of clouds, then making a grand entrance hanging above the Big Bend.

Night time on the porch is a delight. I captured a few participants:

Soon it was time to head back and hit the bags. After a brief visit with the crew at Roger's, I wandered down to my tent which was set up away from the central core where it was quiet and dark. Leaving the fly flaps open, I fell asleep to the stars as they were chased by the moon, and, as expected, a chorus of coyotes nearby. My buddies.

"When thus he had spoken, the hot sun was setting.
The roads of Terlingua grew cold as the clay.
We took the dirty bikes back to our desert camps,
And there we made memories, we still have to this day."

 

[Danny]

So what happend with the police and the crash?

 

[Wasabi]

Had a great three days riding . Met up with Uncle (Roger) on Thursday at Kathys and headed north off 170 near the Terlingua ghost town with six other riders, Dan and Dan and Mike and Mike , Bob from Illinois and Uncle. I am sorry guys but I could not remember who was Dan and who was Mike.

Here is the GPS route I recorded.

Here are some pics from Uncles Thursday route.

Bob on his new (less than one week old) KLR 250

Sorry guys, I am not sure if this is Mike or Mike or Dan or Dan.

Took a little break , Mike or Mike or Dan or Dan decided to lay his bike down cause it was tired.

The rest of the guys were sitting in the shade

Either Mike or Dan wanted to sit in the shade , but there was no room.

Now this is Dan, making his way through the sand on our way to moon valley.

That all the pics I have for the Thursday Uncle route ride.

 

[Danny]

This is what makes me wanna get a 250 over a 650, but im 6'1 180lbs!

Nice pics, I can imagine that im actually there. lol

 

[Squeaky]

Preface...

It was Wednesday already. We were scheduled to head out at 5am Thursday morning, but the morning would arrive too soon. Too many things were still not done – my last minute oil change was only partially completed (but my front tire sufficiently oiled), my new brake light was not wired in yet, and I didn't get to the store for road trip snacks and drinks. I'd have to manage with what I could get on a quick lunch-break WalMart run. Propel water for me and Coke for Scott (Tourmeister), who'd be staying at my house overnight to be closer to the early meet-up.

I was lacking the rest I'd need to tackle a rough unpaved weekend on the XR, but I would make up for some of that in the comfy back seat of Carl's (cdc1) truck on the way out. BIG thank you to Carl's wife Colette for convincing him to buy the Mega cab instead of the standard 4-door!

Day 1: Thursday Feb 21

I skipped the morning caffeine ritual at home, loaded the truck with gear, equipment, and what-not, then got Scott out the door and on the road close to on time.

It was still misting lightly as we headed for Katy to meet our caravan crew. We had to add an unwanted stop at my office to pick up my drivers license that I'd so carelessly left behind, so we were late getting to Gary's (DrBlackbird) where the trailer awaited.

We were on the road before the sun peeked up over the horizon. Carl is quiet, Gary goes along with the flow of conversation, and Scott is all talk. Lots of stories of rides gone by, some of which I was present for. I can't believe it was so long ago when I had the SV and started riding with groups and going on trips. Scott and I share some of the same travel memories, but from different perspectives, which are always fun to relive.

I was tired, but not quite ready for a nap. I tucked my pillow between my head and the door and dozed off before long...

Luckily, my truckmates woke me in time for lunch in Fort Stockton at the local DQ. It was nothing fancy, but filled our bellies for the continuation of our journey.

If you've ever had a face-to-face conversation with Scott, you know talks with his hands. He seems to have found his match in Carl.

The wind was noticeably stronger out here in the west, and the truck was being pushed around despite its loaded weight. We stopped in Alpine to top off the gas tanks on the bikes and to pick up some snacks and beverages for the campsite. The guys made a choice from the adult beverage section while I went for Pop Tarts and avocados.

Look - we must be there - it’s Uncle’s!

We rolled into Terlingua and stopped first at Kathy's Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe, where Robert (GSer) was enjoying the setting sun on his BMW X Challenge. He graciously geared up and led us to Uncle's hacienda four miles down the road.

We were offered different options for camping on Uncle's land, but ultimately set up “tent city” on the adjacent property. It had an outhouse available, flat areas large enough to hold all of our tents, gear, and parking space for the trucks and bikes up at the roadway.

Setting up camp was easy, and the rubber mallet I'd packed made quick work of pounding the tent stakes into the hard desert ground. We unloaded the bikes just as Rusty (Woodbutcher) and Bob (chopperbob) came by to see what we wanted to do for dinner. They helped me relocate my license plate so it would stay with me all weekend, then we headed off on our bikes to the El Dorado Hotel across the street. It has a small restaurant in the lobby with only four tables, but it held our group while we ate, talked out plans for the morning ride, and were serenaded by a local musician.

As we were settling our tabs, Bill (DFW_Warrior) came in and proclaimed he'd “found me”. Uh, I didn't realize I was lost. He'd gone to Uncle's, checked tent city, and went by the front porch of the Starlight looking for me before seeing my bike parked out front of the El Dorado. He needed to let me know that in order to make up time for a slow(er) rider like me and still complete the proposed route we'd be leaving Kathy's in the morning before the “official” ride meeting at 9. Sounds like a plan.

We mounted our steeds in the dark and headed back to Uncle's to sit around and chat for a while, then made our way back to tent city to stare at the moon and stars. The moon was bright, and as it rose up beyond the horizon it drowned out most of the smaller stars in the sky. It was bright enough to eliminate the need for a headlamp while walking around the campsite, but once tucked inside my tent it wasn't bothersome. I could hear the noise of passing cars on the nearby roadway, but as the night grew long they became fewer and farther between. The snoring from most (if not all) of the area campers was almost as loud as the last thumper to ride away from Uncle's place.

(to be continued)

 

[chopperbob]

Good write-up Rebecca. To everyone that saw my Husky with the tore up trials tire I have the rest of the story. I bought it at Cycle Gear and Doc told me that they had a good return policy. When I got home I looked on the web site and they do indeed have a 100% customer satisfaction policy.
I took it back in and they are giving me 100% credit for the tire and mounting.
Needless to say I am a happy camper. That tire was about $120. Plus $15 mounting. I like Cycle Gear and will continue to shop there.
Had a great time riding BB and am looking foreword to the next trip.
Bob

 

[DrBlackbird]

Good write-up Rebecca. To everyone that saw my Husky with the tore up trials tire I have the rest of the story. I bought it at Cycle Gear and Doc told me that they had a good return policy. When I got home I looked on the web site and they do indeed have a 100% customer satisfaction policy.
I took it back in and they are giving me 100% credit for the tire and mounting.
Needless to say I am a happy camper. That tire was about $120. Plus $15 mounting. I like Cycle Gear and will continue to shop there.
Had a great time riding BB and am looking foreword to the next trip.
Bob

.
While you're exchanging things,.... you should exchange that Husky for a real bike.....( An Army Green KLR )

 

[Squeaky]

(continuation)

Day 2: Friday, Feb 22

The sunlight was gaining strength and I awoke thinking I’d have to get moving quickly to make the 8am meet-up, only to discover it was still only 5:15. This fresh air must have played tricks on me. I quickly put myself back to sleep and woke up to greet the world at 7.

David (Cagiva549) boiled up some water for coffee and offered me a cup. It was yuuuum, and exactly what I needed to open my eyes and get geared up. My stomach was tied in knots - nervous about what lay ahead of me that day. River Road is not a difficult road by dual sport standards, but it was a big deal for me. I’d have to deal with sand, rocks, sand, cactus, pea gravel, and SAND! With the threat of a get-off high, I went with full MX boots, knee guards, elbow/forearm guards, MX helmet and goggles. Topping it all of with a rain jacket to protect me from the morning chill, I was set.

I carried a backpack outfitted with a water bladder, extra bottled water, and Power Bars that would have to feed and nourish me, while an extra MSR fuel bottle would offer a backup to the 2.6 gallon fuel tank on the XR. The tank panniers and tailbag would hold the fuel, tools, extra tire tube, first aid kit, and personal effects.

I left camp and rushed down to Kathy’s to meet my riding companions for the day, but had left less than ten minutes of leeway before we’d be rolling - not nearly enough time to get around and meet all the folks that were gathering.

L to R: Rachel (Echo Boom), Mollie (BMW Babe), Bill (DFW_Warrior), someone with their head in the **** end of a bike, and Graeme (CalgaryYogi)

Rachel would be riding her Ninja on the street with Soozy while the rest of us took off for the unpaved fun of Old Maverick Road, River Road, and beyond.

I was glad I brought my National Parks Pass along - it saved me the $10 BBNP admission and will likely work out to be a real money saver on more trips this year around the country.

I was riding second in our group of four and following Bill’s dust cloud as best I could when we stopped for a break near the Jackyls den - a small stone structure that once housed a man out in the shadows of the nearby canyons. Bill and I shut off the bikes and waited for Graeme and Mollie to appear, but they didn’t. After a few minutes, we didn’t hear the noise of a running bike so Bill mounted up, told me to stay put, and took off from whence we came.

I used the down time to take some pictures and remove my rain jacket, as the day was warming up nicely. I stowed it away in the backpack and heard the sound of bikes - but these were big bikes, not the thumpers I was riding with.

It was Flash on his Strom, along with another Strom, a KTM, and a - what’s that - out here - on the rocky, washed out road - a Burgman scooter! I asked if they’d seen my group, and they had - all the bikes were still upright and everyone appeared to be Ok. Whew.

A short while later, Bill and Graeme returned to my resting point and explained that Mollie had decided this wasn’t what she wanted to do - the rocks and sand just weren’t fun for her. I commend her honesty and ability to speak up when she changed her mind. She was headed back to Kathy’s to find some street riders to pair up with for the day. With the early start we‘d gotten, it wasn’t a problem.

I was motoring along, standing on my pegs most of the way after learning that it was the fastest way over the loose stuff. I’d occasionally sit on the seat to rest my legs or in areas of uncertainty, but it didn’t feel nearly as smooth. It’s instinctive for me to sit down when the going gets tough, but that’s the exact opposite response I should have. It doesn’t allow the bike to move around as much, and it slows me down. I’d done this section before on the Strom in November, but it wasn’t the right bike for the job. The XR was clearly the right way to do this.

We got to the start of River Road, and I needed my photo op. I was reminded again to maintain a pace that I was comfortable with, and Bill led while Graeme followed from a distance.

It wasn’t as well maintained as Old Maverick, but I was doing Ok, until I came up on this. A sandy, pebbled wash.

I could navigate it easy enough, but with my focus on the wash, I failed to see the change in terrain directly after it. Rocks. Big rocks. There was only a slight left bend in the roadway, but my bike and I went straight. I have no idea how, but I narrowly avoided the largest of the boulders while bouncing up, over, and through it, finally coming to rest with the bike leaned over, the handlebar jammed into my left hip. I’d held on long enough to not let it (or me) go down, but as I flailed to a stop all I could think was “this is gonna hurt”. Graeme was quick to come help get the bike up and off me, otherwise I’d have had to step away and let it fall. I’d slipped far enough forward onto the tank that my hip was banged up pretty good.

My path of travel

Where the bike ended up. Had I hit that larger rock, there’s no doubt I’d have launched myself off the bike. I must be riding slow enough for my guardian angel.

This was as good a time as any for a break. I was a little shaken, and needed a minute to get my heart rate back down. I stretched my hip and thigh, drank some water, and thought about what I’d done to find myself in that predicament. I certainly didn’t want to repeat it.

After a while, we agreed it was time to continue on. My pace was admittedly slower because I was trying to be cautious, but there was also more sand to deal with. For some sections, I’d actually talk to myself in my helmet, “stay on it - Stay On IT!”, fighting the urge to get off the throttle when the back end started to slip out. About ten miles in (what, that was only ten miles?!?!) we found a rare shady spot to take another break.

Before too long, a group of riders appeared - it was Gary and his gang. Running sweep was Rusty; he’d taken the Trans Alp down here to see how it would fare. It was doing fine, but he wasn’t able to keep pace with the KLRs with as little suspension travel as it offered.

(more of day 2 still to come)

 

[Wasabi]

Friday day 2

I hooked up with Bob from Illinois who just retired four months ago. He has been living at the Longhorn Ranch motel in Terlingua since December with his wife Gloria. He rides a Ulyses Buel which he brought from Illinois to Texas. He had just bought the KLR 250 800 miles ago. Most of the 800 miles were riding the dirt in the Terlingua area. Albie (Hood Ornament) on his KTM and Shawn on a Suzuki WZ 450 joined us.

The four of us left Kathy’s about 9:30 and Bob lead the way. We ended up doing a 120 mile day.

Here is our GPS track. Some on the road was the same as the Uncle route the day before.

Another view

First stop

Our goal was to head north west . We came across this near the hill top on the map.

This is the hill top. We couldn't see how to get to the other side of this mountain so we headed east for the Agua Fria mountains. Bob had done exploring there and wanted to venture further while he had some more riders.

from the hill top looking west

Later as we headed East we came across Roger with a group. Ablie and Shawn decided they wanted to see the Moon Valley so they went with Rogers group. Bob and I headed on to the Aqua Fria. After we explored the Aqua Fria Bob wanted to show me the Amenty (sp) Lake. I don't know why it was called lake , there was no water. But the road was great. We came out to 118 from gate 9, on map.

The next day we were going to explore more west of the hill top.

 

[Danny]

.
While you're exchanging things,.... you should exchange that Husky for a real bike.....( An Army Green KLR )

 

[Wasabi]

Day 3 Saturday

Once again Bob and I met at Kathys around 9am. We met Luis Vargas and decided the three of us were going to do the roads north west of the hill top. Luis was riding a Honda XR 650 which he had used to ride Baja several times.

This is our GPS track for the day. Note the small track with the red circle. This was our attempt to get around to the west side of the hill top. It took four hours to do this five mile track. When we decided to backtrack we were out of water, exhausted and dreding the ride back. I can't recommed this track for the unprepared.

These pictures don't do the track justice.

After we got back to a reasonable road surface we fast tracked over henegg to the Longhorn ranch for water and a short rest. From there we headed for Aqua Fria.

Luis getting some valley shots

Sunday I headed back home. Can't wait till next time.

 

[Jerry]

What a fun time! Great days with friends both new and old.
For a slideshow click here: http://papawheelie.smugmug.com/photos/sspopup.mg?AlbumID=4413577&AlbumKey=aqKXh

And for 2009? I'm in!!

FYI... Rumor has it that there may be a Copper Canyon run following next years ride - just sayin'

 

[Iceman Jack]

Ok, my short and to the point ride report. I have no pictures,I was too busy having fun. Me,my buddy Jim Stovall, and my old Army buddy Snag, from my Vietnam days, who hasn't ridden in 30 years or so arrived on Thursday, and set up camp at the rv park. Thursday evening we rode down to Terlingua, and hung out on the porch for awhile,which was very interesting. Met some really nice locals,which I believe is a good thing.
Friday I took those guy on a little 100 mile desert ride out through the Terlingua Ranch property. The guy that hadn't ridden in 30 years did really great, I'm proud of him. Not bad for a Yankee boy. He only feel twice, once in the parking lot, and once in a dry stream bed.
Friday I took them on another 90 mile ride,in a different place on the ranch property. I would have done the stuff in the park, but one of the bikes wasn't street legal, and I didn't want anyone getting a ticket.
Meet some of the TWTEX folks at Study Butte. What a nice group of people.
Headed home Saturday evening,got home around midnight. Tired,smelly,dirty,tired,but man did I have fun. Thank you Uncle. I can't wait until next year.

 

[Tourmeister]

I enjoyed meeting a TON of folks. Unfortunately, I am pathetic with names So when I get around to the ride report and pics, please feel free to chime in with your name I'll try to start uploading pics this evening and start the report in the next few days.

 

[chadleys1]

Good work, y'all !!!
Thanks for sharing all these great pictures!
I wish I could have been out there.
Hopefully, next time, I will.
-Chadley

 

[KenH]

... He only feel twice, once in the parking lot, and once in a dry stream bed.
...

Maybe he should hook up with Squeeky. They have a lot in common.

 

[KenH]

Soozy and I set out from Arlington late Wednesday night. The old minivan took her own sweet time with the headwinds that beat on us most of the trip. Sometime in the wee hours of Thursday morning, somewhere pulling onto I20 after stopping for a break:

Yup, that's 199,999.9 miles on the odometer. Turning over 200,000 miles on the rolling shoebox:

The sight of rugged mountains on the horizon carried promise of good riding.

Soozy was almost giddy with excitment even though she says she'd been awake for over 24 hours. I'll be polite and NOT tell how I know she slept during the ride. It is a long way from I20 at Kent to Terlingua.

First stop was at Kathy's Kosmic Kafe. Business was slow, so Kathy came over and visited with us a bit. She and Soozy are a hoot when their wry humors feed off each other.

We used the rest of the afternoon to check in at the Easter Egg Valley Motel, unload the bikes, and visit with Uncle and the crew at his place. We ended our day sitting on the porch at the Starlight meeting people watching the brilliant moonrise. I didn't bother with moonrise pictures because my camera doesn't do well in the dark. I hope one of the folks with a better camera can post a picture.

 

[WoodButcher]

Day 1

I decided to take both my Transalp and my WR250F. I figured that I might find the TA too much of a handful offroad and also wanted to test the WR on the pavement. So I loaded the gear the night before and just had to load both bikes in the morning. I headed out from my house around 7am to go get chopperbob and his bike. He's on the southside of Austin and I'm on the north side so it took about an hour to get there. I didn't even think to get pictures of the truck loaded or the trip out. We hit some winds about Ft. Stockton and gas comsumption went way up. Got stuck waiting at a train crossing in Alpine, but after 20 minutes we found a way around. Got to the Chisos Mining Co. hotel around 4pm and unloaded. I had the GPS coordinates for Uncle's place and we headed out, but didn't even get 100 yards before I save Dave (cagivia 549) at Kathy's Kosmic Kowgirl. He knew the way so we followed him over. Met a bunch of folks there and while we were shooting the breeze, Richard_, Connie and Jeff showed up, followed by Squeaky and the rest of her group from Houston.

Here's a look at a double room at the Chisos Mining Company/Easter Egg Motel.

As the Houston group set up their camps, I helped Squeaky with a stealth upgrade/reattachment of her license plate so Bill (DFW_Warrior) wouldn't know there was a problem...oops did I let the cat out of the bag? Oh well, that sucker isn't coming off now. Eventually we went to dinner at the High Sierra Bar and grill. Finally a picture, here's part of my Tacos Alambre:

Day 2

Met up with folks over breakfast at Kathy's. There are lots of other pictures already posted of that, but I never did see this rig offroad.

I headed out for Old Maverick road with Gary (DrBlackbird), Chopperbob, Carl (on a DRZ), Darrin (KTM 950) and another guy whose name escapes me on a KTM 525. I was definitely the slower of the bunch on my Transalp, but I wanted to get used to it offroad. We did a driveby of the parking area by Santa Elena canyon. None of us wanted to hike out there so we kept moving. However, just down the road is the takeout area for some of the rafting trips so we rode right down to the river. Gary debated about riding right over to Mexico, but decided just dipping the tires in the Rio Grande was sufficient.

Here's the crew on River Road about two minutes before KenH came past on his TW200.

Before this picture I had one drop of the TA in the sand. I had figured out how to ride the beast in the sand. It involved almost sitting on the passenger portion of the corbin seat and squeezing the tank with my knees. Doing that and giving it throttle is was actually quite comfortable. Unfortunately the unnamed rider on the KTM525 was slower than I was in the loose stuff and I would catch up with him in longer sections. He got wobbly one time and stopped. I stopped too, then decided to go around him. At slow speed I was not successful in swapping to the other track and dropped the TA in the middle pile of sand.

Later the group headed down a false track along a creek bed. I knew it met back up with the road just a little ways up so I just stayed on the road. Right around the corner from that split I ran into Squeaky, DFW_warrior and Calgary-Yogi. I had a brief conversation, then kept rolling. I felt very comfortable at that point because I had the three of them behind me and my group out in front. Here's a picture of the Mule Ears on along the way:

Along the way I passed a pickup with a guy and his black lab. About 5 minutes later I got stuck on a hill. Literally stuck. I got off line, then got too slow. In giving it gas to get going again in some loose rocks, I dug a hole. The bike almost, but not quite was standing on its own. So I was supporting it with the topbox and using my foot to dig a trench behind it so I could roll it back a couple of feet to make another run at it. Fortunately the afore mentioned pickup showed up and the driver helped my roll it forward out of the hole. I managed to ride it the rest of the way up the hill, but discovered that one of the bolt holes on the front fender was cracked an the fender had shifted. While fixing that, Squeaky and crew showed up and I decided to hang with them until I could meet up with my group again. Which turned out to be only moments away.

We decided that I'd ride sweep behind Squeaky so the other two could pick the pace a little. As we started rolling I got going before Squeaky, but expected her to go by. However the ground was soft so I had shifted my weight and gotten on the gas a little. She didn't want to pass in the loose stuff. This lead right into a loose uphill with a turn at the top. I just happened to be in the good line and she was to my left in a not so good one. I made it up, but she got stopped halfway. As I slowed down and kept looking back to see if she was going to get going again, I managed to ease to a stop in a berm of soft stuff on the side of the road (read this as slow speed drop). Tried to pick up the TA quickly but couldn't. So I started back to help the Squeaker and of course Bill and Graeme showed up along with Darrin and Gary from my original group. Perfect timing. Two bikes down and we get an audience. Anyway that was the end of my dirt naps for the TA. I had one other funny incident with an audience a few miles later. I was pacing Squeaky and we went into a ravine moving along at a comfortable speed. It had a little errosion dip at the bottom. Because we were moving along, my suspension was already partially compressed and I hit the dip pretty hard. This caused the latch on my Jesse topbox to release and eject a couple of items. Just as I started to walk back for them, another group of rides came along. Hope they got a good laugh out of that.

The rest of the day was uneventful and here's a shot of our bikes near the end of River Road:

After a cool down, refueling and a snack at Rio Grande Village, we went to Boquillas Canyon for a couple of pics, then back to Terlingua.

Side Note. Chopperbob was using a trials tire on the back of his Husqvarna TE510. My brother in law loves using one on his XR400 and it has worked well for him. On Bob's bike though it didn't work out too well.

I don't know whether it was the rocks, the pavement, or the 510's power that did it in, but it was toast. I've also notice that knobbies last longer if you take it easy on them when they are new. This one got ridden normally from the get go.

On my way back to the hotel from Roger's that evening I tried to capture the moon over the Transalp. Moon sure seemed bigger when I was trying to take the picture.

Day 3

Having ridden the TA on River Road, I was ready for something less challenging. To ride that is. So the WR was loaded up my gear. I briefly switched some stuff over to the TA when I thought I was heading out for a search party, but the missing rider showed up and I moved everything back and we headed out for Glenn Springs road and Black Gap road. This time I was with Scott (Tourmeister), Bill and Graeme. Oh yeah, Elzi (TexasShadow) and Ed (Ed29) were sort of with us. We started off together and tooks a couple of breaks together, but split off at Black Gap then reunited at River Road.

We met another rider heading north on Glenn Springs who warned us there was a Honda Ridgeline that lost its oilpan on Black Gap. So we kept that in mind, but it had been moved off by the time we got there. Ed and Elzi saw it get towed past them while they were waiting for us at River Road and Glenn Springs.

Black Gap was uneventful. Having now ridden Black Gap road in both directions, I will say going south to north is much easier. Keep that in mind if you decide to try it sometime and you aren't sure you about it. All the bikes made it through fine, but it was getting hot. We kept moving and eventually met up with Ed and Elzi. However, not too long after leaving Black Gap road, Scott's footpeg started to loosen up. This was the same one that got damaged on his Arizona adventure. It appeared that the threads were damaged.

He chose to leave it on and loose and keep riding. This turned out to be a bad idea. However I did enjoy following him through a deep sandy area where the National Guard and Border Patrol were working on the road. Can't stand with only one footpeg. Sorry, no pictures of that.

After meeting up, Scott headed for the end of the River road a couple minutes in front of us. Graeme gave Bill and I permission to make better time since he had Ed and Elzi behind him for support. Great, game on. Bill took off and started to leave me, but I got to riding more smoothly and wasn't loosing much ground. He noticed me still back there and picked up the pace. We basically ran at the speed limit, but that was faster than we had been going earlier. Somehow one legged Scott still beat us to the end of the road.

Just before we reached the pavement we saw a dusty Honda Ridgeline parked with some construction vehicles by the side of the road. This is what we saw:

Check out the airbags:

I suspect they got something with the bumper too when they took out the oilpan.

At Rio Grande Village, we found Soozy and echo_boom (Rachel) and they finished the day riding with us on the pavement. Also we ran into Robert (GSer) and Chris. They had done what we had, but on a BMW X-challenge (good choice) and a 1150 GS (I thought it was tough on the TA). We decided the heat was too much to try Old Ore Road and it was alreay midafternoon. So a quick side trip to Boquillas canyon for another bike photo:

Then up to the Chisos Basin to cool off.

Then some Pecan cobbler with some ice cream:

After showing up, I wandered over to the Front Porch at the Starlight. I had one of Richard's beers (thanks Richard) and joined the coversations under the porch cover. This is local hangout and this is normal behavior. I just point that out before I launch into the interesting events to follow. As we are shooting the beeze and telling riding stories, a guy on a Hayabusa (no gear) came roaring into the parking lot, stopped in front of the Starlight, semi-burned out/wheelied towards us then did a fast stop right by a shack in the parking lot. Got off and walked into the Starlight. Kind of squidly behavior and we kind of mumbled to ourselves about that. Within 5 minutes a deputy sherrif's vehicle rolls through the parking lot and we all wondered if that was more than a coincidence, but he kept going and was quickly forgotten. Unfortunately for me that is. I noticed Soozy and a young man (Jason?) eyeing a Buell Ullyses in the parking lot. Since I had just been talking to the owner I wandered off the porch with my beer to tell them who the owner was and...yep, I hear the sudden voice of authority telling me no beer outside of the building. Well, that makes sense, keep it on the porch and I should have know better to I quickly comply. However he decides that the porch is not part the building and tells all twenty or so of us to loose the beer. So we all do. This puts a damper on the evening and people start to wander back to Roger's. About this time, Hayabusa man wanders back out, climbs on the bike, spins the tire in the parking lot, then once he hits the pavement area, lofts his tire. Dave has already said something about the guy in a previous post, but that definitely didn't help our image out there. And no, he was not one of the folks that went out there for the Ride the Rio.

Day 4

Packed up and went home. Sorry, but that's pretty much the best way to describe the trip back.

Had a great time and enjoyed talking with everybody and meeting new folks. Good to get some faces with screens names too.

 

[Tourmeister]

I didn't actually leave the peg loose. I snugged up both bolts. Unfortunately, the threads in the nuts were toast and the bolts soon vibrated out. In retrospect, had I stood on the peg, I probably would have been fine. I doubt my weight would shear the bolts, but it would likely have kept them from sliding out. Live and learn... Anyway, thanks to the sharp eyes of Skychicken, the peg and bracket should be on their way here to Huntsville in short order As for riding without the peg... well, I got a lot of experience with that in Arizona

 

[Trailace]

Ride the Rio Adventure​

Thursday 2/21/08
First I need to start this report with a Big Thanks to Uncle & Richard for setting up this great non-event and also a big thanks to all the other people who helped me along the way.

The plan was to load my bike and Mike’s into the truck and drive to Big Bend but Mike had to bail due to work issues so I would be on my own. Since it would just be me going I decided to give the G650 X Challenge a little test ride. So far I love this bike and it a better bike than I am a rider.

I took off Thursday morning around 5:00 in a misty rain but knew I would be driving out of it in a few hours.

After a quick stop to fill up the big 2.6 gal tank the X and I were on the road.

A lot of riders think the ride west to Big Bend is boring and long but I always seem to have fun. However today it would be an adventure but still better than work. I would be taking 90 all the way out to BB and once you get passed Del Rio its a very scenic road but you have to make it past Del Rio. That would not happen today.
In front of me

In back of me.

I had plenty of time and was just enjoying the nice 65 mph pace and stopping for gas every 100 miles. (A new add-on tank will be here soon I hope) About 10 miles west of Brackettville the bike started missing out and died. I coasted off the road through the ditch and up to the dirt road that runs along 90 in places. I tried to restart the bike and it fired right up but rather than just getting back on the road I decided to check oil and water and they were ok.

Back across the ditch and on the road everything seemed to be ok but I knew better. It was another 10 or so miles and it starts missing out again but does not die, it’s just bucking like a Bronco. I could not take much of that so it’s back off the road into the grass this time. I would dig deeper and check wires and plugs. I unplugged and plugged everything I could find. The bike started right up and I was back on the road again.

This time it started dieing and missing out right away so I turned around and started heading for Uvalde. Not sure why I did not head for Del Rio but maybe because Uvalde is in the direction of home. Here is where I make a small mistake, I get all the way to Brackettville and the bike did not miss a beat for over 20 miles so I start thinking maybe I just got some bad gas and I should turn back around and head for Big Bend anyhow. When you’re out on the road and want to get somewhere fun it’s hard to turn back. So I did what any other rider would do and I turned around and head west. Well you know the story about 10 miles out of Brackettville it’s deja vues all over again. I do a quick u-turn and I’m dead set on getting to Uvalde. Here is where I get a little lucky if you can get lucky with this happening to ya. About a hundred yards from the one lane bridge that crosses Nueces River the bike just dies. The only thing that was working was my GPS and if I hit the start button that would go off. The only thing that could cause this is the battery and now I’m not happy. There have been other GX owners that had their batteries fail and I told my wife I would order a new Odyssey drycell battery when I get back. Missed it by that much.

The waiting game: Here I am just 7 miles west of Uvalde with a dead bike but at least the cell phone works. I know that Wal-Mart does not have a battery that will fit the GX and that my best bet would be Alamo BMW in San Antonio. A quick call to see if they had one and the answer was not good. However Chris said he would order one right then and should be there by 11 on Friday. The next call was to the BMW roadside service to see what they could do to help. After a few minutes of hold a nice guy helped me and said I would receive an automated message with the towing information. I’m thinking sure and the check is in the mail, after all I’m out here in the middle of nowhere. In less than 5 minutes my phone rings and it’s the automated message saying a tow truck is on the way and that the driver will be calling. Before I could listen to the complete message the other line is beeping in. It was the driver and he tells me he has good and bad news for me. He said the good news is that 100% of the tow is covered but the bad news is he is 2 hours away from me on a job. What can I do but wait.

I was lying in the grass about 10 yards off the road and I must have fallen a sleep when a big truck blew by and scared me from my slumber. At that point I moved down the hill under some trees and tried to take a real nap.

Time fly’s when your having fun but true to his word Marvin the tow truck man calls 2 hours later and let’s me know he in now in Uvalde and should be there in 10 minutes. We get the bike loaded and head for San Antonio. I will not go into detail of Marvin and my 3-hour ride to San Antonio but he was an interesting individual.

At the Shop: When we pulled into shop parking lot they were outside waiting for us. It took just a few minutes to unload the bike and do the paper work. The guys at Alamo BMW were so nice. There was one younger guy, I forgot his name, even checked again that night to see if they stocked the battery I needed. The other man’s name was Richard. He offered to take me to a Roadway Inn just down the road and told me to call in the morning and someone would come pick me up. I wanted to camp out in back of the shop but he did not think the owner would be too happy with that and I understood.

Hotel: I hate them and that is all I will say about that.

Friday 2/22/08
Since the battery would not be in till 11:00 I hoped to sleep in as long as I could but I was up and ready to go by 8 o’clock. All dressed up with no where to go so I started thinking rather than waiting for them to come get me I could just walk back to the shop. This made perfect sense to me and it would help pass the time. Boy I’m glad I packed light and about 30 minutes in I realize the shop was a lot further away than I thought. Two hours later I make it to the shop, about 11:05.

The UPS/FedX truck should be arriving anytime now so I take a seat and wait. Around 12:00’clock they let me know the battery was not in and would not be delivered until Monday. However this nameless young guy starts calling around to different shops to see if anyone has a battery to fit it. I’m sitting in the waiting area making plans for my wife to come pick me up and I see it. There sitting right in front of me is an X moto and it uses the same battery. I ask Richard if we can take the battery out of the Xmoto and he said sure if it will fit.
Nice young guy? & Richard

Cid looks it up sure enough they are the same. Pete the mechanic installed it and ten minutes later the bike is up and running. I complete the paper work and thank everyone in the shop, make a few calls and repack the bike and I’m back on the road before 1.

Big Bend or Bust: Back on the road and feeling good it’s time to get my butt to Terlingua and join in on the fun. I wanted to try and get to Big Bend before dark but knew it was just wishful thinking.

However by picking up the pace a little I would reach Marathon a little before dark.

If you have ever ridden down 385 to BB at night then you know how I’m feeling at this point. The first 20 miles it was still light and as the sun slowly set in the west the sky was just stunning.

During the next 75 miles I had to take it slow because there were a few dear but hundreds of Javelina. One pack was just standing in the road and would not move. I went between and around them but they still did not move. In Study Butte I’m thinking man I made it and I just need to find Uncle’s place. Being dark it was a little harder than I hope and after a few miles of wrong dirt roads I came across a familiar face. (Dr. Blackbird) He led me over to Uncle’s but it looked like everyone was gone so he invited me to camp in Tent City. Gary thanks man!

Tent City: I find a spot and set up my tent, there are 7 other tents and Dave fills me in on who is staying in each. It’s not much longer and everyone returns to camp and I get to tell everyone why I’m a day late. There was Dave, Gary, Carl, Rebecca, Scott, Gordon, and Darin. I could not pick a better bunch to hang out with. Gordon thanks for the beer I needed it.

Saturday 2/23/08

Time to have some fun: I was up and ready to get some riding on this beautiful Saturday morning. I head over to Kathy's Kosmic Kowgirl Kafe to make some plans for todays ride. However there is a rider missing so I join the search and rescue teams and get ready to do what everyone to a man/woman planned to do this day.

Not long after we were given an area to search the missing rider returned. We just decided to go ride in the area we were supposed to search. The upper left quarter of this map was where we did our riding.

We had a small group, just Gary, Carl, Darin and myself. These guys can ride and I felt like I was slowing them down at times but boy did we have fun.
Darin, Carl & Gary

Gary

There was a lot of this going on. I think it's this way. No it's this way.
Darin & Carl

We also did a little of 170.

Rick

Long Day! Darin & Gary

Darin

The last Night: This was the last night and you could feel the sadness in the air but in Tent City we made the best of it. Darin scored some firewood and again Thanks Uncle!
We all sat around the fire enjoying the great desert night and telling stories about the great times we had

One by one we all drifted off to our tents. With all the snoring going on I had to sleep with my earplugs in, man Tent City can get noisy. Around 3:00AM our neighbor to the northeast about a 100 yards starts playing a guitar and singing. He was good but we all wanted and needed was sleep. Not sure when the show was over but thank god for earplugs.

Sunday 2/24/08
Time to Go Home: Most riders in Tent City planned to get up early and head for home. I was planning to do a little more riding with Dave and take 2 days to get home. However when I started packing I decided to just take off on my own. Sorry Dave but I did not want to hold you up and just wanted to ride my ride.

Dave in his tent

Rebecca???

When I took off Tent City was sill only about 50% ready to go and Scott was bragging about seeing a sunrise. I take it he’s not a morning person. Since it was dark the night I arrived, a ride through the park was in order and I still need to get a picture of the GX in front of the BB sign. I sure like Big Bend and know I will be back soon.

The Ride Home: No plans for the ride home, just head east on 90 and take my time. The GX will run 75/80mph effortlessly but on the road it’s more enjoyable around 65/70 mph so that’s what I did.

In Langtry I debated on taking the Pandale road to Pandale that Dave told me about. I wanted to do it so I called my wife and let her know my plans. I’d never done this in the past but after the BB missing rider issue it just seemed like the right thing to do. Dave that was a cool road and all the cattle guards were fun. Thanks!

The only bad thing was now I was on I10 and to me that is a boring road. When I stopped for lunch in Junction I got off I10 and took 290 across and back to home. I planned to ride only until dark but I was so close to home I could not get the GX to stop.

Time for a new tire.

I know I left out some good stories that happened in Big Bend but what happens in Tent City stays in Tent City. Besides if you want to know more just make sure you show up for the next Ride the Rio.
Rick/Trailace


PS: Other than the battery issue the G650X was fantastic and is a keeper.
Total miles 1,600

All the Pic's