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2013 Uncle's Around the Bend and Desert Challenge ride reports
- Thread starter Trail Boss
- Start date
More cowbell
It's a beautiful morning
Shot this one from a moving vehicle
Reality check on North County Road
Shot this one from a moving vehicle
Reality check on North County Road
Cool pics milton! 
^^^^
^^^^ Johnf3
0
Cool pics milton!
You can tell the parking lot picture was before the start of the first day. My KTM is actually blue and orange still. Very shortly after that it was dusted into a grayish-white along with the rider and we stayed like that the rest of the trip.
Bill posted this on another site f/ the Big Bend ride. I'm stealing it for all to see. I'm not sure if he plans on adding more to it.
I'm sure I've embedded this wrong, just click on the blank black box and it'll open up the video.
I'm sure I've embedded this wrong, just click on the blank black box and it'll open up the video.
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Had a blast down in Terlingua and met a bunch of great people there! This was the first organized riding event I've been to and it was an awesome experience. Big thanks to Richard, Connie, Uncle, Bob and everyone else who put this together!
Rman, you do indeed spy a T-Dub!
She handled the challenge great. Once I got used to the sand a little bit and loosened my death grip on the bars, it seemed to handle the sand very well also!
Go time!
The mighty TW and the WR
Climbed to the top of this hill to check out what was on top. Nobody was quite brave enough to attempt it but we sure wanted to!
The riding crew: Scott, Stuart, Mark, Greg, Bob, Roger. Great group of guys and thank you so much for showing us around!
Rman, you do indeed spy a T-Dub!
She handled the challenge great. Once I got used to the sand a little bit and loosened my death grip on the bars, it seemed to handle the sand very well also!Go time!
The mighty TW and the WR
Climbed to the top of this hill to check out what was on top. Nobody was quite brave enough to attempt it but we sure wanted to!
The riding crew: Scott, Stuart, Mark, Greg, Bob, Roger. Great group of guys and thank you so much for showing us around!
Here are some more photos of what began as 2 and ended up with a great many friends...notice the license plate intake before the jumble...
A couple of these to help with the ride the next day..
Did someone have one too many?
One happy participant!!
And the coolest thing ever!!
jqueen
0
Second day video:
[ame="http://youtu.be/cUYEYvQBxdg"]2013-03-10 Big Bend Ranch - YouTube[/ame]
[ame="http://youtu.be/cUYEYvQBxdg"]2013-03-10 Big Bend Ranch - YouTube[/ame]
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Two riders attending the rally, Andrew and Stephanie, volunteered their photography services during the desert challenge. During the day they strategically positioned themselves at various spots along the course and took pictures as the riders went by. They gave me the pictures to post on smugmug and on TWT. Here are some of their shots.
More to follow...
More to follow...
bigdon55
0
Hey I know a model ! 
Richard took that photo of Arnold last year on River Road in BBNP at the deep sand section.
I was just ahead of Arnold that day, looking like the sand noob I was with outriggers, and then here comes Arnold on his 690, gunning it.
I was just ahead of Arnold that day, looking like the sand noob I was with outriggers, and then here comes Arnold on his 690, gunning it.
I just received a notice from Yahoo that my email account was hacked from an IP address in Mexico. Not sure if it's related to me being near Mexico for a few days or coincidental. Just want to give everyone who was there a heads up just in case.
Also, if you receive any email from me, pete 8877 at yahoo. com, please delete it. I have not sent an email to anyone.
Also, if you receive any email from me, pete 8877 at yahoo. com, please delete it. I have not sent an email to anyone.
Anyone else sitting at work wishing they were back on a sun-drenched, dusty trail right now?
No, only because I'm not sitting at work
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Bet on it. I also get more spam messages when in the areas near the border.
No, only because I'm not sitting at work
Watching Black Gap ride videos at the "office!"
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A bit....but I'm sitting at Ken's coffee trailer sending e-mails in the shade....lovely day! Nice to have met you Philip!
hizzo3
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Were you using wifi while down there? Not that I've ever done it :sly: but you can leave a wifi (any basic network for that matter) open for others to use and sniff out passwords and crap. I never log onto personal things when using unknown wifi. If I have to, password change is the first thing when I get a secured connection again.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
JQ1.0
0
Found out about Uncle's Around the Bend while lurking on the Two Wheeled Texans site. Told my youngest, jqueen, we ought to go. He's in. He talks to oldest, he's in. So.
Had a blast in Terlingua. Tuesday Graham to Sugar Land. Wednesday Sugar Land to San Antonio. Drain gas in McKinley's bike and put in fresh. Go by Walmart pickup Berryman's. Thursday San Antonio to Fort Stockton to Alpine arrive Terlingua Thursday 1,025 miles. Arrive Chisos Mining Co Motel sometime around 4:00. Didn't know quite what to expect at the motel and was pleasantly surprised. Nice room with 2 beds, and bath was very clean and neat and smelled good and fresh towels every day. Pull carb on McKinley's bike and clean jets. Met Walt as he was riding by on his 250. We visited quite a while as we were working on the bike and saw him a few more times throughout our stay. Nice guy. Well the carb went back on the bike and fired up and ran great the rest of the time. Went to the Terlingua Trading Company to look around and I think we visited with tricepilot while there. Not sure though because if it was he doesn't look anything like his picture on Two Wheeled Texans. Headed on over to the High Sierra for registration and a very good meal.
Friday 208 miles Uncle's Desert Challenge (including detours) of gravel, dirt, rocks, sand, dust, prickly pear, Yuccas, Agave, Sotol, and Ocotillo in the National Park. The 208 miles of smiles Friday took roughly 8 1/2 hours including time to detour into Rio Grande Village to get Park passes, refuel, eat lunch ( sardines, viennas and crackers ) and stops for picture taking and snacks ( trail mix and jerky ). We did take a couple of wrong turns early in the ride and had to backtrack to get back on loop, but nothing major and very little time lost as we caught it early. Thought for a little while the guys at the table we joined for lunch were going to get up and leave when I opened the sardines. They didn't. Sardines were good. Another guy took time to photographically record the fine details of our 3 bikes with the “Extended Range High Tech Tank Bag Fuel Carriers” (ERHTTBFC). He may have an idea for some small improvements. Actual time in the saddle 6 1/2 hours ( according to Justin's Odometer ) was the challenge. Riding was an assortment with mostly not terribly difficult up to a few stretches that would certainly get your attention. Altogether not a difficult day, lots of beautiful scenery and tons of fun with some of the best riding I have ever experienced. Breakfast then riders meeting that morning at 7:00. We pulled out at about a quarter to 8 from the Starlight Theater and back in for check-in around 4:15. My thanks to the guy riding the WR250X for picking up Justin's tool belt and bringing it to us. We would not have finished Saturday in the Ranch without it. Back to the motel to load bikes and get ready for Saturday. Undecided about firm plans for riding.
Following a recommendation from Big A we went to Long Draw Pizza Friday night for Pizza and Shiner Bock. Sign on the door no cell phones. We agree. Great pizza, cold beer, nice people and good company. Back to the Starlight for a couple of pictures, pass on the entertainment and hit the sack early. No trouble going to sleep.
Several people recommended the RANCH STATE PARK and being on small bikes even with our ERHTTBFC we didn't want to ride over and not looking forward to trailering all the way in to Sauceda. Visited with Richard that morning at breakfast and decided to trailer to Fort Leaton, ( Justin rode his Versys and then swapped to the KLX450 ) park and get our permits and ride back to Bofecillos road and in to Sauceda. Glad we did. The short highway run and the gravel road in and out were great. It is 30 miles in then we did the loop to the Javelin pens and around to the main road. We did break off the loop to go over to Guale Trail-head and the campsite, where we had lunch ( sardines, viennas, crackers again?). Not sure of the mileage on the loop but it is somewhere between 30 and 40 miles I think.
So Saturday we did 90 miles total of highway (18 ), gravel, rocks, cactus, sand, rocks, hilltop vistas, rocks, cactus, rocks and beautiful scenery in the Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Did I mention rocks in the State Park? So one of the reasons we wanted to go to the Ranch was curiosity because of the comments we read about King Kong Hill. Not curious any longer.
I think total time leaving and returning to Fort Leaton was about 6 ½ hours with about 3 ¼ hours riding time. One tiny incident at the Ranch involved a get off in the deep gravel of one of the washes. McKinley picked his bike up and after kicking the 250 for 15 minutes the monster roared to life. He put er in gear and dropped the clutch and the fire went out.
Twice!
After closer inspection we found gravel between the chain and the rear sprocket. The chain wedged so tight it couldn't be backed off. Well after backing off the axle nut and beating the axle through enough we finally got enough slack to turn the wheel and get the gravel out. We were somewhere about half way through the loop when this happened. Thanks again to the guy that picked up Justin's tool belt on Friday and brought it to us. We would still be there without it.
The loop wasn't all that long but I was kinda glad to see that gravel road again. Back at Fort Leaton we loaded the bikes and headed back to the motel. Justin passed us and was out of sight shortly. Met up at the Ranch sign for pictures. Back at the motel loaded the Versys, cleaned up and headed over to the Starlight for the Banquet.
Wow the Starlight and Trading Co. porch is packed.
Not a rider in sight.
Regroup ask for help and head to the party barn. Enjoy a great meal, watch everybody else win door prizes and really enjoy the fire dancing. Turn in early for a good night sleep.
Sunday, McKinley fires up the Tundra and it starts running rough and check engine light comes on. We're already an hour late ( DST started ). Head out hoping the rough idle and running will clear itself out. It does before we get out of the park and we're headed east ( gotta love computers). Study Butte to Marathon to Del Rio to San Antonio. Unload Versys and load in Chevy, swap trailer over head to Sugar Land. Unload TTR and load in Ford. To bed and up early, load 2 grand kids out on spring break and head out. Sugar Land to Brookshire at McDonald’s grand daughter gets foot stuck between booth and wall, but that's another story. On to College Station to Waco to Hico to Stephenville to Mineral Wells to Graham. + 1000 miles, back home.
Did I mention that we found some rocks at the Big Bend Ranch State Park?
The best part was getting to spend some quality time with my 2 sons. We don't get the opportunity to do that a lot anymore. We'll be back!
AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL.
Had a blast in Terlingua. Tuesday Graham to Sugar Land. Wednesday Sugar Land to San Antonio. Drain gas in McKinley's bike and put in fresh. Go by Walmart pickup Berryman's. Thursday San Antonio to Fort Stockton to Alpine arrive Terlingua Thursday 1,025 miles. Arrive Chisos Mining Co Motel sometime around 4:00. Didn't know quite what to expect at the motel and was pleasantly surprised. Nice room with 2 beds, and bath was very clean and neat and smelled good and fresh towels every day. Pull carb on McKinley's bike and clean jets. Met Walt as he was riding by on his 250. We visited quite a while as we were working on the bike and saw him a few more times throughout our stay. Nice guy. Well the carb went back on the bike and fired up and ran great the rest of the time. Went to the Terlingua Trading Company to look around and I think we visited with tricepilot while there. Not sure though because if it was he doesn't look anything like his picture on Two Wheeled Texans. Headed on over to the High Sierra for registration and a very good meal.
Friday 208 miles Uncle's Desert Challenge (including detours) of gravel, dirt, rocks, sand, dust, prickly pear, Yuccas, Agave, Sotol, and Ocotillo in the National Park. The 208 miles of smiles Friday took roughly 8 1/2 hours including time to detour into Rio Grande Village to get Park passes, refuel, eat lunch ( sardines, viennas and crackers ) and stops for picture taking and snacks ( trail mix and jerky ). We did take a couple of wrong turns early in the ride and had to backtrack to get back on loop, but nothing major and very little time lost as we caught it early. Thought for a little while the guys at the table we joined for lunch were going to get up and leave when I opened the sardines. They didn't. Sardines were good. Another guy took time to photographically record the fine details of our 3 bikes with the “Extended Range High Tech Tank Bag Fuel Carriers” (ERHTTBFC). He may have an idea for some small improvements. Actual time in the saddle 6 1/2 hours ( according to Justin's Odometer ) was the challenge. Riding was an assortment with mostly not terribly difficult up to a few stretches that would certainly get your attention. Altogether not a difficult day, lots of beautiful scenery and tons of fun with some of the best riding I have ever experienced. Breakfast then riders meeting that morning at 7:00. We pulled out at about a quarter to 8 from the Starlight Theater and back in for check-in around 4:15. My thanks to the guy riding the WR250X for picking up Justin's tool belt and bringing it to us. We would not have finished Saturday in the Ranch without it. Back to the motel to load bikes and get ready for Saturday. Undecided about firm plans for riding.
Following a recommendation from Big A we went to Long Draw Pizza Friday night for Pizza and Shiner Bock. Sign on the door no cell phones. We agree. Great pizza, cold beer, nice people and good company. Back to the Starlight for a couple of pictures, pass on the entertainment and hit the sack early. No trouble going to sleep.
Several people recommended the RANCH STATE PARK and being on small bikes even with our ERHTTBFC we didn't want to ride over and not looking forward to trailering all the way in to Sauceda. Visited with Richard that morning at breakfast and decided to trailer to Fort Leaton, ( Justin rode his Versys and then swapped to the KLX450 ) park and get our permits and ride back to Bofecillos road and in to Sauceda. Glad we did. The short highway run and the gravel road in and out were great. It is 30 miles in then we did the loop to the Javelin pens and around to the main road. We did break off the loop to go over to Guale Trail-head and the campsite, where we had lunch ( sardines, viennas, crackers again?). Not sure of the mileage on the loop but it is somewhere between 30 and 40 miles I think.
So Saturday we did 90 miles total of highway (18 ), gravel, rocks, cactus, sand, rocks, hilltop vistas, rocks, cactus, rocks and beautiful scenery in the Big Bend Ranch State Park.
Did I mention rocks in the State Park? So one of the reasons we wanted to go to the Ranch was curiosity because of the comments we read about King Kong Hill. Not curious any longer.
I think total time leaving and returning to Fort Leaton was about 6 ½ hours with about 3 ¼ hours riding time. One tiny incident at the Ranch involved a get off in the deep gravel of one of the washes. McKinley picked his bike up and after kicking the 250 for 15 minutes the monster roared to life. He put er in gear and dropped the clutch and the fire went out.
Twice!
After closer inspection we found gravel between the chain and the rear sprocket. The chain wedged so tight it couldn't be backed off. Well after backing off the axle nut and beating the axle through enough we finally got enough slack to turn the wheel and get the gravel out. We were somewhere about half way through the loop when this happened. Thanks again to the guy that picked up Justin's tool belt on Friday and brought it to us. We would still be there without it.
The loop wasn't all that long but I was kinda glad to see that gravel road again. Back at Fort Leaton we loaded the bikes and headed back to the motel. Justin passed us and was out of sight shortly. Met up at the Ranch sign for pictures. Back at the motel loaded the Versys, cleaned up and headed over to the Starlight for the Banquet.
Wow the Starlight and Trading Co. porch is packed.
Not a rider in sight.
Regroup ask for help and head to the party barn. Enjoy a great meal, watch everybody else win door prizes and really enjoy the fire dancing. Turn in early for a good night sleep.
Sunday, McKinley fires up the Tundra and it starts running rough and check engine light comes on. We're already an hour late ( DST started ). Head out hoping the rough idle and running will clear itself out. It does before we get out of the park and we're headed east ( gotta love computers). Study Butte to Marathon to Del Rio to San Antonio. Unload Versys and load in Chevy, swap trailer over head to Sugar Land. Unload TTR and load in Ford. To bed and up early, load 2 grand kids out on spring break and head out. Sugar Land to Brookshire at McDonald’s grand daughter gets foot stuck between booth and wall, but that's another story. On to College Station to Waco to Hico to Stephenville to Mineral Wells to Graham. + 1000 miles, back home.
Did I mention that we found some rocks at the Big Bend Ranch State Park?
The best part was getting to spend some quality time with my 2 sons. We don't get the opportunity to do that a lot anymore. We'll be back!
AND A GOOD TIME WAS HAD BY ALL.
Last edited:
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