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My Ride Into Oblivion.
- Thread starter DFW_Warrior
- Start date
Soozy
0
Where is Oblivion, anyway?
I can't find it on my GPS...
I found a reference to Oblivion, Nebraska.
Turns out it is a short film about a young fellow who retreats into an imaginary world to escape his real one.
Hmmmmmmmm........................
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Glad you made it back safely. 
Looking forward to reading more of your trials when you get time. 
Looking forward to reading more of your trials when you get time. 
Hey, welcome home, big little brother 
I'm glad you're safe, and I hope the journey and rideabout were eventful, in the right way.
I'm glad you're safe, and I hope the journey and rideabout were eventful, in the right way.
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might I recommend machacado, its dry shredded beef, and it is awesome in breakfast tacos. good report so far.
Day 3 (10-10-07)
Today is going to be boring to most of you all. It was a family day with very few pictures taken.
The morning started with us getting up and making breakfast (eggs, hash browns, and bacon). Then we basically hung out for a couple hours just sitting back talking and trying to catch up on a lifetime of memories and experiences. But once it warmed up it was time to go sight-seeing.
Off to the Royal Gorge Bridge for some photo ops for the little Strom. For those that don’t know, the Royal Gorge is the tallest suspension bridge built over water. It is a little over 1000 ft. above the Arkansas River and was completed in 1929. I must tell you; riding over the bridge is a bit leery. It creaks, sways, moves in ways that I’m not used to roads moving in, and the boards have a little bit of give and bounce to them. All this combined to make it a very interesting ride across.
What you don’t see is that the bike almost fell over while sitting on its center stand due to the bridge rocking in the wind. Kind of fun if you ask me. Thanks goes out to my cousin Kristen that rode across with me and took this shot.
After riding the Skycoaster, the ride that is like a giant swing except on the edge of the canyon. And a pleasant ride back to the other side via the tram it was time to head over to where my Mom and her family grew up a long time ago….. Yes, it’s boring to you but I really don’t care all too much. It’s my story and not yours….
And yes, there was a group family photo taken… I’m the one on the right…. (aka, the fat one.)
After that, it was time to retire back to the house for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner made so my relatives could experience their first ever home cooked American meal. Sorry, no pics of that but trust me, it was an awesome dinner.
After that, it was time for me to spend some quality time with my journal, and then off to bed for my last warm night. Tomorrow, I would be off on my own again, to destinations unknown as of yet. In fact, my Uncle and I stayed up and chatted about which route that I should take. West to Utah, or Southwest to the San Juan mountains. Hmmmm, I guess I’ll decide when I get to that fork in the road.
Nighty, night.
Today is going to be boring to most of you all. It was a family day with very few pictures taken.
The morning started with us getting up and making breakfast (eggs, hash browns, and bacon). Then we basically hung out for a couple hours just sitting back talking and trying to catch up on a lifetime of memories and experiences. But once it warmed up it was time to go sight-seeing.
Off to the Royal Gorge Bridge for some photo ops for the little Strom. For those that don’t know, the Royal Gorge is the tallest suspension bridge built over water. It is a little over 1000 ft. above the Arkansas River and was completed in 1929. I must tell you; riding over the bridge is a bit leery. It creaks, sways, moves in ways that I’m not used to roads moving in, and the boards have a little bit of give and bounce to them. All this combined to make it a very interesting ride across.
What you don’t see is that the bike almost fell over while sitting on its center stand due to the bridge rocking in the wind. Kind of fun if you ask me. Thanks goes out to my cousin Kristen that rode across with me and took this shot.
After riding the Skycoaster, the ride that is like a giant swing except on the edge of the canyon. And a pleasant ride back to the other side via the tram it was time to head over to where my Mom and her family grew up a long time ago….. Yes, it’s boring to you but I really don’t care all too much. It’s my story and not yours….
And yes, there was a group family photo taken… I’m the one on the right…. (aka, the fat one.)
After that, it was time to retire back to the house for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner made so my relatives could experience their first ever home cooked American meal. Sorry, no pics of that but trust me, it was an awesome dinner.
After that, it was time for me to spend some quality time with my journal, and then off to bed for my last warm night. Tomorrow, I would be off on my own again, to destinations unknown as of yet. In fact, my Uncle and I stayed up and chatted about which route that I should take. West to Utah, or Southwest to the San Juan mountains. Hmmmm, I guess I’ll decide when I get to that fork in the road.
Nighty, night.
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Dude, was the Deals Gap shirt worn the ENTIRE trip? 
flb_78
0
yeah, but he got rained on and that's as good as washing it.
Dude, was the Deals Gap shirt worn the ENTIRE trip?
No... I have two or three of them. Oh wait.... two of them. The third got cut off of me while I was laying on the pavement in Arkansas. So yep... two of them.
And Forrest is right, after riding in 300 miles of rain, that is every bit as good as a washing machine....
Day 4 (10-11-07)
After a quick breakfast with the family at “Patio Pancake” it was time to give hugs and part ways with each other. I had some ground to cover today. I still didn’t know exactly where I was going, but I knew I had a long day ahead of me.
First stop, Monarch Pass (aka the Continental Divide). An interesting fact about the Continental Divide is that water and other fluids run to the East on one side of the sign, and to the West on the other side of the sign. Hmmmmm, go figure. Don’t ask how I found this out, and man did I get some strange looks from that school bus. But….. I got rid of that orange juice I had for breakfast that morning so I was ready to roll!!!
And yes, in case you were wondering, the bike felt like a V-Strom 650 at 11000+ feet above sea level. I would roll on the throttle like normal and presto, nothing at all would happen. That was one thing that I didn’t miss about Texas. Plenty of nice thick air to make good horsepower.
From there it was off on Highway 50 until I reached my fork where I needed to decide where to go. I decided on a new route that we hadn’t even thought of last night and that was to go up 92. It was the scenic byway that took me up to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness.
But first, time for a stop at a dam, for some dam pictures.
One thing that peaked my interest when I got here was just the immense size of the Blue Mesa Reservoir. It is close to 15 miles long and seems to contain more water than I’d care to drink in a single sitting. But while standing there looking at the sign I wanted to figure out just how much water was in there.
Now I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know off the top of my head what was a good conversion of Acre-Foot to gallon was so I whooped out my pocket Encyclopedia and looked that baby up. It turns out that one Acre-Foot of water is equal to just under 326,000 gallons. So that would bring the total capacity of the Reservoir to 306,766,000,000 gallons of water (give or take a tablespoon or so). Man, that’s a lot of dam water.
Alright, enough of that nonsense, it’s time to ride and enjoy the views.
The Aspen’s were just turning and it was truly a beautiful sight to see.
After making it to a great scenic overlook I decided this was the perfect time to stop and eat some lunch. I had a turkey sandwich that was made from yesterday’s leftovers and it was awesome. That’s my favorite part about Thanksgiving, the leftovers!!! Then while I was in this picturesque setting what else is the first thing that comes to mind to do…….
Yep, you guessed it… lube up a chain for the next thousand miles or so…..
After lunch, it was time to boogie and make up some time. I had decided that I wanted to camp somewhere near Moab and enjoy the Colorado River and the canyons a little.
Ahhhhh Utah, finally the place that has been in my dreams for so long. I must apologize to you all. These pictures, and for that matter, any pictures of the Canyons in Utah just do not do it justice. I’ve searched and searched for photos that capture the true spirit of Utah and to this day I can’t find a single one. I honestly believe that it is something that must be felt to truly enjoy to its fullest. But this is as close as I could get to bringing it home. I tried my best.
And now time to find a camp site along the river. Most were taken by groups of mountain bikers since I came to find out that there was a big event in town that week. But I did manage to find a campground with one site left. If you ask me it was a beauty.
I made some dinner, and sat out staring up at the stars until it was time for bed. Tonight was a fairly warm night, with the temps only getting into the low 40’s, so I was excited for my seemingly good fortune. I was also less than 30 feet from the river and the gentle sound of water creeping by soothed me off to sleep in no time flat.
See you tomorrow for the Valley of Monuments, crazy Indians, strangers for dinner, and a really cold night ahead......
After a quick breakfast with the family at “Patio Pancake” it was time to give hugs and part ways with each other. I had some ground to cover today. I still didn’t know exactly where I was going, but I knew I had a long day ahead of me.
First stop, Monarch Pass (aka the Continental Divide). An interesting fact about the Continental Divide is that water and other fluids run to the East on one side of the sign, and to the West on the other side of the sign. Hmmmmm, go figure. Don’t ask how I found this out, and man did I get some strange looks from that school bus. But….. I got rid of that orange juice I had for breakfast that morning so I was ready to roll!!!
And yes, in case you were wondering, the bike felt like a V-Strom 650 at 11000+ feet above sea level. I would roll on the throttle like normal and presto, nothing at all would happen. That was one thing that I didn’t miss about Texas. Plenty of nice thick air to make good horsepower.
From there it was off on Highway 50 until I reached my fork where I needed to decide where to go. I decided on a new route that we hadn’t even thought of last night and that was to go up 92. It was the scenic byway that took me up to see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison Wilderness.
But first, time for a stop at a dam, for some dam pictures.
One thing that peaked my interest when I got here was just the immense size of the Blue Mesa Reservoir. It is close to 15 miles long and seems to contain more water than I’d care to drink in a single sitting. But while standing there looking at the sign I wanted to figure out just how much water was in there.
Now I don’t know about you, but I didn’t know off the top of my head what was a good conversion of Acre-Foot to gallon was so I whooped out my pocket Encyclopedia and looked that baby up. It turns out that one Acre-Foot of water is equal to just under 326,000 gallons. So that would bring the total capacity of the Reservoir to 306,766,000,000 gallons of water (give or take a tablespoon or so). Man, that’s a lot of dam water.
Alright, enough of that nonsense, it’s time to ride and enjoy the views.
The Aspen’s were just turning and it was truly a beautiful sight to see.
After making it to a great scenic overlook I decided this was the perfect time to stop and eat some lunch. I had a turkey sandwich that was made from yesterday’s leftovers and it was awesome. That’s my favorite part about Thanksgiving, the leftovers!!! Then while I was in this picturesque setting what else is the first thing that comes to mind to do…….
Yep, you guessed it… lube up a chain for the next thousand miles or so…..
After lunch, it was time to boogie and make up some time. I had decided that I wanted to camp somewhere near Moab and enjoy the Colorado River and the canyons a little.
Ahhhhh Utah, finally the place that has been in my dreams for so long. I must apologize to you all. These pictures, and for that matter, any pictures of the Canyons in Utah just do not do it justice. I’ve searched and searched for photos that capture the true spirit of Utah and to this day I can’t find a single one. I honestly believe that it is something that must be felt to truly enjoy to its fullest. But this is as close as I could get to bringing it home. I tried my best.
And now time to find a camp site along the river. Most were taken by groups of mountain bikers since I came to find out that there was a big event in town that week. But I did manage to find a campground with one site left. If you ask me it was a beauty.
I made some dinner, and sat out staring up at the stars until it was time for bed. Tonight was a fairly warm night, with the temps only getting into the low 40’s, so I was excited for my seemingly good fortune. I was also less than 30 feet from the river and the gentle sound of water creeping by soothed me off to sleep in no time flat.
See you tomorrow for the Valley of Monuments, crazy Indians, strangers for dinner, and a really cold night ahead......
Bravo! Heading out to the Harvest Classic in the morning, so I'm sure there will be lots more of the story posted when I get back Sunday night...right? 
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And Forrest is right, after riding in 300 miles of rain, that is every bit as good as a washing machine....
Simmons1
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Looks like you had a great trip!
Aren't you glad you came to your senses and left the trailer at home?
Aren't you glad you came to your senses and left the trailer at home?
Aren't you glad you came to your senses and left the trailer at home?
Well yes and no, about coming to my senses. On solo trips, or trips with just me and one other bike I'll just ride. But on trips with quite a few people going, I will trailer still. Like Big Bend I will be bringing a trailer just because of the number of people going. It's nice to have an option for if something goes wrong.
Plus it will let me bring my smoker and smoke some brisket while cruising down to the Park.
RedPill
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Great report and awesome pictures. I know what you mean about pictures not capturing the canyons. This was most noticeable to me in Sequoia N. P. Pictures just cannot convey the immensity of those trees.
Hey, the old homestead isn't boring! It's history!
Hey, the old homestead isn't boring! It's history!
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Heh. Excellent report so far. Thanks for the shout outs 
//I totally agree with you on Utah. Unless you've been there, pictures don't do it justice.
//I totally agree with you on Utah. Unless you've been there, pictures don't do it justice.
Last edited:
"Plus it will let me bring my smoker and smoke some brisket while cruising down to the Park."
A man of means to say the least!!
The Royal Gorge Bridge must have been dead that day. Back in the '70s there was a line of cars waiting to cross it and there was a thousand rubberneckers standing around. How much $ did it cost you?
A man of means to say the least!!
The Royal Gorge Bridge must have been dead that day. Back in the '70s there was a line of cars waiting to cross it and there was a thousand rubberneckers standing around. How much $ did it cost you?
Admission is $23 to get into the place. And then you can walk or drive across the bridge as many times as you please. It was actually pretty dead that day. The tourist season is over for the most part in Colorado. Right now they are catering to the hunters and in a few months it will be ski season time.
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Ok, ok... enough Q&A - get the story told already! 
Oops. As you were Sir!
Are you experienced?
I'm deprived.
I'm deprived.
??? Me ???? at what??? Somethings no, but others.... well YEAH!!!
- Joined
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He knows nothing. He thinks never. He merely follows the instructions given to him by the collective.... 