Am I alone? Why are there so few ride reports?!?

[BCNewell]

First m/c road trip ever made for either my new-ish wife or myself. It was in 1996 or ‘97, and we were right about 30 years old and B.C. (before children). A weekend getaway from the southern tip of Texas to tent camping in Schreiner State Park in Kerrville, TX. About 350 miles distant. We were on two of the finest touring bikes made - me on a ‘95 Yamaha VMX12 VMax and she on a ‘95 Yamaha Virago 535!!! Loaded down with tents, sleeping bags, pillows, clothes, etc. Neither bike had a windscreen or any kind of storage bags - hard or otherwise. We looked like the traveling circus had come to town! Now, everyone knows the VMax has gobs of power, but very few know that it was also blessed with one of the motorcycle world’s most uncomfortable seats. I’m pretty tough, but after about 100 miles I wanted the #@%* off that thing. Plus, the small-framed Virago’s little V-twin topped out about 85mph, and it was really buzzy above about 65mph. We made it there, all in one piece, and even still had all the stuff we packed upon arrival. Our goal was camping, via motorcycles. And that’s what we did. Pretty much stayed at the park exploring, or in town for a meal. Had no idea until several years later that I was at the front door of Texas’ best motorcycle roads - the Three Twisted Sisters (Ranch Roads 335, 336, and 337). Oh, the fun my young, stupid self could have had on those roads with that bike …. Oh well, probably one less ambulance ride for me!!

Sunday morning rolled around, and we managed to somehow get everything mounted up once again and started for home. About 40 miles in, I was hit by a ~12” long Boat-Tailed Grackel that was flying across the road. I think we both saw each other about a second before impact, but both mistakenly figured the other would yield. Hitting a couple pounds of bird while travelling at 65mph, taking it just below your collarbone, will definitely get your attention!! We pulled the two bikes over, and I took my leather jacket off to see if there was any visible damage to me or the jacket. There was none. Only mental anguish, and an unseen bruise that would grow quite large before I got home. After a 10min roadside break to regain my composure (no towns nearby), we headed south again. About 20min later, the combination of that bird and that seat got the best of me. I talked my wife into switching bikes. Mind you, she’d only ridden the VMax solo twice before, and those rides were just a few blocks around the house. So now she climbed astride my bike with gear stacked up on the pillion almost to her shoulder blades. I assured her it was alright, because there’s no stop signs and such on these desolate back roads, not until we get to our gas stop, so no worries about trying to keep a top-heavy bike upright except in front of the gas pump. All went as planned, with no incidents. Reclaimed my bike after gassing up, but the “monkey-butt” returned, and I had to swap again after about 20 miles. And so on and so forth.

Learned a ton from that adventure. Kept the VMax a couple years, but never again traveled much past 100 miles away from the house. Later bikes would be properly outfitted for distance riding, and even later again, to the point of completing several IBA SaddleSore 1000’s and a BunBurner 1500. My wife and I completed our second distance ride together just this past fall - a ~975-mile (each way) backroads journey to 'Spyders in the Ozarks 2023' on the two F3-S’s. Packed everything we needed for 7 days into two duffel bags and the frunks. And, this time, I ‘did’ get to partake of the excellent Missouri and Arkansas roads - sometimes at well above posted speeds! And no ambulance was necessary!!!

[baxter]

Map speaks for itself.

[BamaJohn]

[2dogs]

Map speaks for itself.

Nice job baxter. When do you plan on hitting Nunavut and Hawaii?

[Calimusjohn]

Wow! Stories are popping up.
I'm enjoying every one of them.
Okay, you there, sitting on the end of the log, what's your best memory? How'd you get that mark on your . . .?
Do all jails feature bologna sandwiches?
Three days of balogna sandwiches convinced me that speeding wasn't a good idea in Century, Florida.
John

[Lew L]

.


We ryde to eat!! Going the Fat Cat bar and grill in Tahoe City, then a ryde around Lake Tahoe. Storm coming in tomorrow..... is winter over yet??? Battle Born Spyders is a small group in Northern Nevada. 70 members, but only 10 or 15 active.

Lew L

[Poppie65]

Ever wonder what a baseball looks like after 29,000 coats of paint?

My wife and I took a ride into NE Indiana last weekend, but before we left she checked one of her favorite websites to find somewhere unique to visit.

There she found the story of Michael Carmichael, who began applying coats of paint to a baseball back in 1977, and so far it has accumulated over 29,000. The day we visited there were 5 coats added, one of them by us.

I was very much surprised at how much we enjoyed our visit with Mr. Carmichael. If you're in the area, it's worth the time to stop in and add another coat of paint yourself.

http://https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9792

20240428_150824.jpg

[pegasus1300]

Part 2 of #16: After returning from Puerto Rico, a friend of mine helped me get a job at USS Geneva Steel in April of 1973, a fully integrated steel mill in Orem, Utah. I went to work as a laborer in the Blast Furnace Dept cleaning runners on the blast furnace, I was soon able to transfer to the Sintering Plant working shift work. As July approached, I realized I was really missing my bike. It was still down at my mother's house in New Orleans. The schedule clerk was a good friend of mine, so I told him about my plight, and he agreed to scheduled me for an 88hr change (end of one shift to the start of another). I phoned my mom and told her I was coming and why and that I was on short time to get back for my next shift. I got off work at 8:00 am had my wife drive me to the airport and caught an 11:00AM flight for N.O.

I don't remember how long the flight was, but I got to Mom's in the late afternoon. I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening getting the bike ready for the quick trip back to Pleasant Grove (Home). I went to bed, got up early and headed up US61. I was flying low and somewhere North of Alexandria, La, a Firebird wanted to race, and I was able to stay ahead of him for a few miles, but then I thought I really did want to make it home, so I backed off and let them go. I did continue on at higher then allowed speeds and stopped for the night the far side of Tyler, Tx.

Again, starting early in the morning, I flew low across Texas on those beautiful Texas roads, taking 275 North out of Childress until picking up I40, US 66 out of Amarillo, Tx. I stopped for a break and to change the BMW oil at a roadside rest area. The R75/5 only carried 2qts in its sump, and I knew it was coming on 3,000 miles since the last change. As I was finishing up, a trucker pulled into the rest area and asked me if I wanted a beer. As I don't drink any alcohol, I declined but I did ask for some water, but all he had was the melted ice in the cooler, so I drank that, and boy, did it feel good.

I pushed on, as I needed to make Mancos, CO before the end of the day. As time was rolling on, I passed up a chance to stop at Clines Corners, and gassed in Albuquerque, then headed North on 666 towards Ship Rock and Gallup. A little way outside of Albuquerque a truck load (cab and bed) full of Navajo passed me going over 80MPH. I know they were going that fast because I was going 70MPH and they very quickly disappeared. Soon a big Impala likewise loaded passed me going a similar speed, so I bumped the BeeMer up to 80 MPH. Then two more cars passed me, so I went to 90MPH. They were still passing me. 100, still passing me, and scaring me to death. When the BMW topped out at 110 and I was still getting passed, I quit! That road was like a roller coaster, and I was leaving the ground at the top of the little hills, so enough was enough. Oh, did I say it was Saturday evening and since they all had a beer in their hands, you can guess what condition they were in. I got to Gallup well after dark and crashed for the night.

Leaving a little later than I wanted the next morning, I headed for Cortez. Just outside of Cortez, I spotted a Green Norton and its rider parked on the side of the road. I was in a hurry, but I stopped anyway. I saw he was messing with the ignition side of the Norton and asked him what was wrong. He said it isn't running right and I saw that the auto advance was in his hand, so I asked him why. He said he didn't think the timing was right and he was trying to reset the advance. Being an Ex-Norton dealer and mechanic, I saw right away he was in trouble. I asked him if he had his factory tool kit with him, and the owner's manual. He did and he gave them to me, so I sat down on the side of the road and redid his ignition, and along the way taught him how to do it himself. When I was done, he started it up and it sounded great.

We rode into Cortez, now late afternoon, I hadn't eaten since breakfast and my newfound friend needed to stop for food too. Riding down Main Street, we spotted the proverbial "hole in the wall" restaurant. Somebody had literally put a roof and a floor over an alley and made a restaurant out of it. It was a Mexican restaurant and when we went in, nobody spoke English, so we knew we had chosen well. Fortunately, I speak Spanish well, so we were treated well. I was going to push on and sleep somewhere on the side of the road when I got tired, and I was running low on money. My new friend offered to pay for the motel for helping him get his bike straightened out, so I said yes.

The next morning, we went in search of breakfast and ended up back at the same restaurant. Ordered Huevos Rancheros, and the waitress asked us if we wanted chips and salsa or biscuits and gravy. We chose biscuits and gravy. The food gods must have been with us that morning. When she brought our food, the biscuits were piled 3 layers high on a big dinner plate and the gravy came in bowl as big as a soup tureen. There was enough food there for 4 people. Last gas stop was in Green River, Ut, and I motored into my home driveway 2 hours too late for starting my afternoon shift. I called in sick and slept the sleep of the dead. I made it in the next night. The man who filled in for me was a friend of mine, and I agreed to work a double for him when he needed it. I'd made the trip from Pleasant Grove to New Orleans to Pleasant Grove in 96 Hours. Never again!

[BamaJohn]

Part 2 of #16: After returning from Puerto Rico, a friend of mine helped me get a job at USS Geneva Steel in April of 1973, a fully integrated steel mill in Orem, Utah. I went to work as a laborer in the Blast Furnace Dept cleaning runners on the blast furnace, I was soon able to transfer to the Sintering Plant working shift work. As July approached, I realized I was really missing my bike. It was still down at my mother's house in New Orleans. The schedule clerk was a good friend of mine, so I told him about my plight, and he agreed to scheduled me for an 88hr change (end of one shift to the start of another). I phoned my mom and told her I was coming and why and that I was on short time to get back for my next shift. I got off work at 8:00 am had my wife drive me to the airport and caught an 11:00AM flight for N.O.

I don't remember how long the flight was, but I got to Mom's in the late afternoon. I spent the rest of the afternoon/evening getting the bike ready for the quick trip back to Pleasant Grove (Home). I went to bed, got up early and headed up US61. I was flying low and somewhere North of Alexandria, La, a Firebird wanted to race, and I was able to stay ahead of him for a few miles, but then I thought I really did want to make it home, so I backed off and let them go. I did continue on at higher then allowed speeds and stopped for the night the far side of Tyler, Tx.

Again, starting early in the morning, I flew low across Texas on those beautiful Texas roads, taking 275 North out of Childress until picking up I40, US 66 out of Amarillo, Tx. I stopped for a break and to change the BMW oil at a roadside rest area. The R75/5 only carried 2qts in its sump, and I knew it was coming on 3,000 miles since the last change. As I was finishing up, a trucker pulled into the rest area and asked me if I wanted a beer. As I don't drink any alcohol, I declined but I did ask for some water, but all he had was the melted ice in the cooler, so I drank that, and boy, did it feel good.

I pushed on, as I needed to make Mancos, CO before the end of the day. As time was rolling on, I passed up a chance to stop at Clines Corners, and gassed in Albuquerque, then headed North on 666 towards Ship Rock and Gallup. A little way outside of Albuquerque a truck load (cab and bed) full of Navajo passed me going over 80MPH. I know they were going that fast because I was going 70MPH and they very quickly disappeared. Soon a big Impala likewise loaded passed me going a similar speed, so I bumped the BeeMer up to 80 MPH. Then two more cars passed me, so I went to 90MPH. They were still passing me. 100, still passing me, and scaring me to death. When the BMW topped out at 110 and I was still getting passed, I quit! That road was like a roller coaster, and I was leaving the ground at the top of the little hills, so enough was enough. Oh, did I say it was Saturday evening and since they all had a beer in their hands, you can guess what condition they were in. I got to Gallup well after dark and crashed for the night.

Leaving a little later than I wanted the next morning, I headed for Cortez. Just outside of Cortez, I spotted a Green Norton and its rider parked on the side of the road. I was in a hurry, but I stopped anyway. I saw he was messing with the ignition side of the Norton and asked him what was wrong. He said it isn't running right and I saw that the auto advance was in his hand, so I asked him why. He said he didn't think the timing was right and he was trying to reset the advance. Being an Ex-Norton dealer and mechanic, I saw right away he was in trouble. I asked him if he had his factory tool kit with him, and the owner's manual. He did and he gave them to me, so I sat down on the side of the road and redid his ignition, and along the way taught him how to do it himself. When I was done, he started it up and it sounded great.

We rode into Cortez, now late afternoon, I hadn't eaten since breakfast and my newfound friend needed to stop for food too. Riding down Main Street, we spotted the proverbial "hole in the wall" restaurant. Somebody had literally put a roof and a floor over an alley and made a restaurant out of it. It was a Mexican restaurant and when we went in, nobody spoke English, so we knew we had chosen well. Fortunately, I speak Spanish well, so we were treated well. I was going to push on and sleep somewhere on the side of the road when I got tired, and I was running low on money. My new friend offered to pay for the motel for helping him get his bike straightened out, so I said yes.

The next morning, we went in search of breakfast and ended up back at the same restaurant. Ordered Huevos Rancheros, and the waitress asked us if we wanted chips and salsa or biscuits and gravy. We chose biscuits and gravy. The food gods must have been with us that morning. When she brought our food, the biscuits were piled 3 layers high on a big dinner plate and the gravy came in bowl as big as a soup tureen. There was enough food there for 4 people. Last gas stop was in Green River, Ut, and I motored into my home driveway 2 hours too late for starting my afternoon shift. I called in sick and slept the sleep of the dead. I made it in the next night. The man who filled in for me was a friend of mine, and I agreed to work a double for him when he needed it. I'd made the trip from Pleasant Grove to New Orleans to Pleasant Grove in 96 Hours. Never again!

Great story Paul! Thanks for sharing.