A Roadie in Motion

Worth seeing for a third time. Not just for the pretty lady but the awesomeness of the pic style. Very nice.

Not even knowing where to start replying to all the kind words.... I'll just jump right back into it.


Us riding on the Alpine Loop, Colorado.


There's not much that I can write about this route that isn't better described with photos. All I can really say is I've been quite a few places in North America, and this ride is among, if not, hands down the most dramatic and scenic rides one can do in our beautiful country.
While I had been here before, riding it with Nancy was like riding it for the first time for me, seeing the sparkle in her eyes, the fear, the amazement. Challenges overcome, mountains climbed, efforts and fears overcome with the spectacular rewards of the views earned. This was Adventure Riding at it's best and in it's purest form for us.

Life is good.

After a full day of riding, we settled into a very remote "campsite" near a river down a dirt path, down a dirt road off of a dirt road up in them there mountains. Luckily we had brought some fresh meat and essential civilized camping supplies at a nearby town. Very civilized, yet remote camping to be had in Colorado. It had been raining on and off, strong winds coming and going.... not being 100% confident I could get enough dry wood in the short time we had before dark, we also grabbed some charcoal while doing our daily shopping. Would be a shame to not be able to cook the fat local grass fed Ribeye we scored.
Meat, some kind of starch not too memorable, whisky, wine, and music all complimented my own personal experience at this campsite with my girl Nancy.
Didn't hurt we had that nifty tarp I feel like I had been foolishly carrying all this way. Until now.


























It was getting a little chilly at these altitudes, especially for a SoCal girl like Nancy once it started raining late into the evening.
A big fire and a little more drink solved that problem once the most juicy ribeye's I've ever had was jest perfectly cooked.
Once again the trusty STB was right there to share these good times.


















The rain had all passed by the morning where we were greeted with our friend the Sun, Utah here we come!





















OK, so in case none of you FF's noticed, Nancy was sporting a Japanese license plate on her new GS. Long story short, the plates didn't come yet, and we had this plate, not really caring what that meant legally Nancy had been riding through various states with her Japanese plate, with nobody really paying much attention. While getting some food in Silverton, this guy , who proclaimed himself as a fellow ADV'r and DS rider asked about the plate. We explained the situation, and he flashed his Sheriff badge. :eek1

You know it's a federal offense to do what you're doing, right?.....

Well, no, but it sure looks cool doesn't it? Funny you're the first to actually notice.


We ended up at his house, getting a tour of the pad he was building, meeting his dog and talking about bikes, and DS riding in the area. He was the head of the local recuse team so we ended up talking about various rescue/climbing gear we had and how some of it applies to MC riding. He taught me a new knot too.


Just like Steve jobs, neither of us truly believe all those silly rules to keep society in check necessarily apply to us.
I mean what cop would take Nancy in her fancy glasses, kind eyes, big smile and dirty bike to jail? We bet on that thought to just be different and see who would notice, and were right.

Needless to say we made a friend, and I will go on the record saying that maybe ALL cops aren't that bad. Just most of them, outside of Silverton.
















Time to MOVE!

Our route, which still was part of the Trans America Trail, and our own shortcuts took us onto HWY 550, another MUST RIDE road in the grand ole' USA.... yeah, it's not 4 times as hard like the Trans Siberian Super Extremeomatic, nor as 4 times as far, but for us was the best and only place we could ever want to be riding, on our own Extremely civilized yet fun American back country adventure. Extremely beautiful, Extremely delicious food, Extremely good company for me to share this ride with.

We had been on dirt roads and trails for what seemed like weeks when in reality it had been a little over a single lowly week for me, and even less for Nancy. So when we got into one of the best paved roads in the country, it was time to rail on it. Nothing like leaning hard into a turn, even more so when you take into account the sliding sideways with knobbies on pavement howling sensation, the balance between friction, gravity, and momentum all balanced perfectly in one striking moment to remember. Life is good.

After a short, but spirited ride down HWY550, we finally turned onto the much photographed and famous Ophir Pass.

What else can I say, I mean this road oozes Adventure with the promise of endless gravel roads cut into the side of ridiculously large and colorful mountains. While not a very difficult road, the height is still something to get used too. Something I learned years ago when riding my R1200R through here.

Enough talking, here's our take on Ophir Pass.
















To the left....no no no, a little to the right.....now hold the pose!






























































Nancy wasn't down with going down Black Bear Pass, so we went around and had lunch in Telluride. Got to love the local flavor colored houses.









Miles went by quickly now, the Rocky Mountains fading away in our mirrors, landscape quickly changing...
Love the local artistic interpretation of the smily face.





















Booya!!!!

There's much more to this story, but for now I shall have to skip forward to the present, with the best parts of this journey of ours yet to be shared. The grand sharp angle red landscapes that appear to have just been uprooted by a giant gardener in Utah will soon come, Nancy has a survival story of her own to tell... .



May I introduce my Swedish Mistress for those that haven't seen her, on the night before I leave to head south into Baja to join the racers who are pre-running for the Baja Score 1000 as we speak.

I know, nothing more disgusting than a dirt bike all clean, looking like it has been stroked off and doted upon too much.... good thing that will change once I hit the border.

Feel free to call me Annie, now that I have this Aussie racer's tank and am rolling with it....
Ms. Annie to you YetiGS.





















I'm going to try and do some sort of live RR once again, though I'd imagine wifi will be scarce and my posts spread out over time. Good thing I'm in no hurry.
It's been a long time since I did anything live here, but looking back throughout this thread, it's easy to see I'm better off communicating my thoughts while they are still fresh and will make every attempt to do so, more for me than you.
Well, not always am I better off thinking out loud, but I'm much more stable now.

I have much unfinished business in Baja, this time I have the right tool for the job.


"I don't need exotic places to be stimulated. Out of familiarity comes nuance. The more you revisit a subject the more you're likely to discover."

Ray K. Metzker

Man, I just LOVE your RRs!!!

Quick Q: What size/brand is that tarp you had? I did a quick peek on REI.com and couldn't find anything that looked worthwhile. Damn good idea having one.

Rob

Thank you!


The tarp I have is made by Chinook, bought on ebay years ago. I have a Kelty pole to go with it I believe, though wine has been flowing here in our home while we were reliving our ride together sharing it here and things are a little fuzzy.
Always best to start an Adventure hungover, a few Tecate's and some fish tacos will take care of that tomorrow...




Teaser for Utah, after I bang out the 2012 Baja 1000 spectacle:

I think I see Paradox Valley back there a few posts, great travels.

nice, how'd you manage to capture this action?

"I don't need exotic places to be stimulated. Out of familiarity comes nuance. The more you revisit a subject the more you're likely to discover."

Ray K. Metzker

Nice!
Ride the Baja For all of us Joe!, Looks like Poor Radek is out http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=815372

Thanks For sharing

Extraordinary good photography.

I'll differ to Nancy the photographer answer your question DC...
And thank you all for the kind words!



On the road again, dum dum dum da da da da daaa. On the road again....



It's harder departing on a journey solo these days, with Nancy unable to make it on this ride I will do my best to carry on and have some fun.
It was chilly this morning, but with plenty of sunshine already beaming by the time I took off.

Nancy saw me off, making me promise I would be safe. Of course darling.
Time to ride on a new adventure, I've never been in Baja during the race and am stoked to see what's going to happen in this uncharted for me territory.









Little traffic on the highway, 275 miles to the border.






Another I uneventful border crossing and I was in Mexicali heading south, after a stop at a bank ATM to pick up some pesos of course.
I was once again racing the sun by this time and didn't stop much, though I couldn't pass up the dunes for a quick stretch and couple of photos.
I rolled into San Philippe right at sunset, surprised to see hotels with rooms available. I figured it being Saturday night, the weekend before the big race with all the folks here prerunning it would be more of a madhouse. While I was indeed tired, having a slight hangover from yesterday, and was beat up from the strong winds most of the way here, I had figured I would eat, gas up and keep riding south following the track from the race until I decided to camp.
Getting soft in my old age, having turned 40 last week, I jumped at the hotel opportunity with no remorse.








































Ending up at the same hotel nancy and I had stayed at on the Winter Madness ride, I took my softness and laziness to the next level and didn't even unpack the bike.
I need tacos, not eating since early morning.









And of course the obligatory street photos from the first in Baja. Not too many folks around, some racers/riders milling about, with tales of whoops and silt filling the air. Families with souvenir stands all around try to make a sale, maybe on the way home, thank you.



























I had OB'd at dinner and sleep seemed very attractive.

That's Over Beefed.
Too many tacos and a few beers really slowed me down, but I wanted to get this started, not knowing when I'll have wifi again.

And that's really about it, a good start to what should be good times. Tomorrow I get on the trail and head south, not sure where I'll end up, but staying in motion with a smile is all I need.

-Finn




Mobile ADV Fix Complete

After all the beautiful, dramatic, colorful photos taken by Finn ,it was my turn to take a photo. I have to be honest it took me quite a few times to finally capture it and to be honest I believe Finn really didn't mind much repeating that jump.....

cool, you two have so many incredibly awesome pics but for some reason this one spoke to me, maybe it's the action and the frozen in time all at once, so I nominated it on the front page photos thread.

Following online and with your new tracker!

Thanks for the tarp info! I found 'em on eBay and just ordered one. Overstock (of all places) has some on there... the 14x12 model for $54.95 plus $2.95 shipping. The smaller 9'6x9'6 model is available from some other vendors for $55 shipped. I decided to get the larger one.

Have a good time in baja and be safe.. we look forward to the rest of the story!

Rob

Thank you

Yes it is... but wait till you see Utah... Its pretty ridiculous!

Thank you... Thats a huge compliment

You guy's are living life to the fullest, great reporting & picks. How do you like that rear tire? and how many miles do you expect to get out of it?

It was nice to meet Ms. Annie. I'm looking forward to her "playing" with my Little Orange Spinner for some girl-on-girl dirt time.


Looks like you're having fun, your last message was from some place without a name! :jose