HighAdventureTour 2012: From Insanity and Beyond....

This man speaks the truth.

I'm excited to see the NewFoundland ride report.
That is an area I would like to explore in the future.

Wow Jim that property looks SWEET! I can throught there last summer and that part of the country is just beautiful. The smell of the pines and great roads. Now I will have to get back out that way to visit

I stumbled on to this report a few days ago as it was linked to another report I was following. Heck, my old brain done forgot which one by now. Amazing report and terrain you guys went though with the KLR's. Been though a lot of that country over the years on different bikes but could not get too crazy being a solo rider.
Thanks for the time and work to share this fabulous journey with us.

Jim, if you come through Wisconsin, I'm close to I-90, would love to talk to you again!

Hahaha I hear ya ol' buddy... come on ever!

Come on up ya filthy Nomad! Be good ta see ya AL!
Hows Oreeeeegone?!?!?!?

Yes yes!!! Your gonna like it! :eek1

Exactly... all of the above and more!^)- Come on by brother... the place will be a sanctuary for all who want to get outta the squirrel cage!

Thanx for checking it out dude!!!! And your welcome, much enjoyed sharing all the beauty with ya all:)

Hey brother... may stay south on I-80 till Wyoming Utah??? (Much prefer Northern route, but logistics along the way may dictate a southernish route)
Soooo prop miss ya until near Christmas when I plan another trip across.

Peace to all you FFF's

Jim, Diggin this report bro.
This is my stopping grounds.
Had to tell you, sadly, the Wildwood Cafe has BURNED TO THE GROUND.
I have pics, cant really find them now, but happed very soon after you were there.
Peace
Jeff

It was so saddened by his departure that it spontaneously combusted.

Every fuckin time...

Hey Jeff,
Aaah Maaaaan! Daaaaamn... really sorry to hear about this. I truly enjoyed their love of the Motorcycle Life and hope like heck they were insured and got a decent break from the Insurance company!!!

It was a landmark stop for sooo many. If we're lucky they'll rebuild it

Thanx for checking out the RR, I'm back from the PNW and plan to start posting the final leg of the journey today! It's been long overdue....





As for you others it may have been the smoldering D606 rubber that started it...:eek1

Ok sooo where are we?!?!??? Yup yup back in PA for a wonderful visit with Sherri and a short break in the action.
I get to doing some maintenance on Des' such as new wheel bearings and fresh tubes and tires... then a compression check shows that the 9-12,000mi old big bore with cams and other mods has cylinder leakage somewhere around 28%.
I had felt a drop off of power even though she'd still wheelie at will and pulled hard, yet for this ride which would put me a few miles off the beaten path at times on the Trans-Lab, I decided to swap in the old 705 which I had ridden out to Moab with back in May of this ride. It had the stock higher geared tranny in it (which would be nice in the long open spaces) and had about 17,000 miles on it total, it only leaked about 7-8%. I had re rung it about 4,500mi ago and felt it would be the best choice for this ride.

So this finds me in this familiar position again... Sorry phone pics.

Old new kickstart 705cc coming out...




New old 705cc back in...


After all is done I prepare for re-launch. I have been in touch with Esther (NomadGal) and she's coming this way on trip to the Northeast heading to Key West, she's up north of me and we learn that there is a KLRWorld gathering of sorts going on in the Northwestern part of PA. She will attend that ride/campout and I will meet her as well as some fellow Forum members on there way there... I talk to Terry (Gunny) and we all arranged to meet up, just under the PA/ New York line, near Mansfield I believe. Cool Beans a chance to put faces to names, see Esther again, and my 5yr plan to ride Newfie comes to pass.
~ A disclaimer to any who might take offence at the usage of Newfie... it's a shortened namesake with all good intention and NO negative meanings implied or intended! I will use it as it was spoke to me by the KIND folks of the Beautiful Island of Newfoundland, always with love and a smile. So please don't be offended by it, I mean no disrespect.~

Another send off by my Angelical wife Sherri Lynn... the look in her eyes haunts me now everytime I try to leave her side.


I can only wonder what was going through her mind?!?!?!?!!??


We can never truly know what another person's perception of us, an event, or reality itself... really is!!!??? It takes a deep connection to ourselves and our world/ worlds to even glimpse a bit of that truth... even then it occurs to us... that we really haven't a clue.

As I wean my gaze from the world in her eyes, I take to the road as a bird takes to the air... and am instantly gone from her reality.

The images of other worlds start to fill my lense...






These are the rolling farm lands of this region and they are... beautiful.


Nothing especially special here, but this is sometimes how I ride about... looking onto people and places, intrigued by how they exist. In this case noticing the stone in the structure and wondering of the quarry's location. If the stone looks more rounded I look for river bottom lands, sand and/ or glacial movement. Also the structural and chimney damage... how did it occur, cause, if repairs are scheduled and perhaps when . Of course only a fraction of this information is registering in my conscious mind at the moment of the picture, it's more of an interest or awareness and an opening up to possibilities. A way to feel where I am in space and time compared to other objects in this space and time. I suspect we all find ourselves doing this at some level.


Shortly Des' and I find ourselves near the Mansfield Walmart and await the rest of the group... Shortly they arrive and I get to see Pete-(Pwest) again as well as Esther and Gunny, then meet new to me Glenn-(Oldstove) and Lynn all on KLR's.


For some reason they wouldn't park within' a mile of Des' and I


We mosey across the street to Grandma's Diner to fuel the bodies and enjoy sharing some great stories...
At this point they let me park with the gang... I enjoy seeing 40% of the bikes sporting Britannia Fairings!


Gunny straight across, Pete on his right, Glenn on his right, Lynnn with her back to us and Esther filling out the circle.


I think Esther did most of the story telling:)


Sure looks like she's got the guy's attention at this point...


Soon it's time to suit up and let everyone go their own ways, The gang heading Southwest to camp in the Allegheny National forest... me heading to the Northeast to crash with friends in the Daks. Gunny gives Esther and I a couple of his new sticker creations... I love them. "The only Destination... is Self Discovery".


A video of the exodus...
<IFRAME height=315 src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YGYMm2jwo24?list=UUFXePX7-SvYbbaHrsdNSnWg" frameBorder=0 width=560 allowfullscreen></IFRAME>

A shit brown KLR.... interesting.

Good observation,it is brown eh!

Sweet,I've been waiting for this part of the ride report !!!

No offense taken because Newfie is being used as a term of respect.
Those of us that have read your report thus far know it is not your way to show anything but good vibes.

I start to diagonal my way across the farmlands just south of the Finger lakes region and onward into the Upstate area of the Adirondack Park.
As I go down a stretch of backroad I come to a road closed sign and piles of dirt... being on an enduro I go off into the field following a quad track to see if I can continue?
The road ends near/ where a bridge used to be... washed out by one of the recent 100yr floods, two within the last 5yrs.


It's shallow as all get out that's a plus, I'm fully loaded that's a minus, the far bank is kinda steep... another minus, it's a short bank... another plus, rocks are slick a minus, rocks are ALWAYS slick.. ok a plus. Won't get much of a run in the water that's a minus, too much speed would probably kick us waaaay to high anyway ok then another plus, entry is very gradual, the final plus, well they seem to balance out, or even be in our favor, soooo we go for it.



Looking down the ledge after a successful crossing... yup it was STEEP!






Cool beans loving my bike and one of the many reasons I don't ride heavy Adventure, Sport, or Cruiser bikes.
Onward...
A boulder with a plaque piques my interest... then causes my to take the dirt road next to it.




Glad it caught my attention...


Rural America...




A homemade Equestrian course LOL... I just love it!






I go around a moped rider and give a friendly wave as Des' speeds past... I hope he is enjoying the scenery as well.


It's one of those days where the clouds and sky contrast sooo beautifully with the land...




Beauty around Lake Como...








I miss the frame of this cool VW bus, do to not stopping. It's painted in a style reminisce of the Haight Ashbury Flower Power theme, yet perhaps more of a graffit style...




At one point as I round a left hander cruising at about 60mph with my shield fully up and glasses on, I take a bee into the left of my helmet!!! As I instantly unlatch the helmet, and start to take it off, hoping to avoid pinching/ pissing off the bee (all while bringing Des' to a stop) the bee stings me in the temple!!! I scrub speed SO FAST that your mind would warp ( stopped in about 60 ft I bet, all the while riding with one hand, no hands and finally she stalls in gear) and have my helmet off and my Oakleys bouncing down the road, all before the bike comes to a complete stop! Yes you can do this kind of stuff when you engage your timeless consciousness... time seems to stop or stand still as you move at a speed that defies earthly rational.
I walk back to recover my shades while scraping my temple with my credit card to try and remove the stinger... the only failure in this little maneuver is that I dropped the shades. Otherwise a pretty amazing/ cool save. Another thing is that the helmet removal may have also caused the sting... it will take more calm in the future to resist that urge and move more slowly, trusting that nothing bad will happen.

Knowing that I was allergic to bees as a kid, I go down the road a bit and find a nice grass patch to lay down in. Just to be on the safe side and examine my senses... since it was delivered direct to the temple.

I resume the ride albeit a good bit tireder than before... I notice this effect sometimes after the sting and adrenaline my body produces to thwart the poison.


As I pull over an hour later to rest for a 15min. power nap I see the poor victim of the impact laying on my seat...




Between the Sting and my destination I come into small town America and can't get through... seems the Central Square Homecoming Parade is marching down the main street and highway... ok I'm sure I could have, buuut who would wanna miss this?!?
I later remember passing this town almost every weekend heading to Sandy Pond to Salmon fish in my earlier hell raiser days.
I decide to decelerate a bit and soak it all in!^)-

Soon I'm in Old Forge saying hello to old friends and enjoying the Chain of Lakes...




Take a ride down the driveway of the house we used to rent on 4th Lake, leave a note, and look across the lake from the front yard... we used to ride our sleds right onto the lake and hit the trail systems. Great years!




As I pass Kirsty's Red Dog Tavern I look on with FOND memories of years and years of good times... not yet realizing that in less than an hour I will hear about her death two days before as she was riding her bike to work!


Death....hmmmm (a word used in our culture to explain a time when someone is no longer here with us, in the bigger picture death is purely an illusion, it does not exist as an ending to life, just an end to our human form, as far as this worldly plane goes and to most peoples understanding, it's a truth, but in reality only the death of a form exist as energy cannot be destroyed, it only changes form, and all matter visible and not, including light is made of energy) Man we still here on earth often can and do feel sorrow for the loss of a friend or loved one, because we often times long for their company. We come to attach ourselves to each other and things quite strongly don't we, and that's alright, it is what it is. But then at some point a person may finally decide to let go of that memory (in a sad or negative/ loss sense) and live their own lives again... touching on the memories (now in a positive sense) of those moved on as rather a celebration of the time shared.
If a person decides to wrap their mind around the fact that they, as the core being that they are, are in fact infinite, enjoying life after life... it can go along way toward enjoying ~this~ life to the fullest. WoooHooo!^)-
Anyway this topic is still fresh in mind, since last night I spent 5hrs talking to a friend whose uncle (another friend of mine) had just past on the night before. The shock caused him to really re examine his life here and the choices he was making day to day...

OooKay back to the story...

I pull into the Northwoods Inn for dinner and to see my buddy Brian for the first time in ages and also to see about crashing at his place tonight. He tells me about he and Alexis's new baby Morgan. He then tells me of Kirsty's accident... I realize of course there are no accidents... trying to wrap your mind around that one is another paradox of this reality. Morgan comes in and Kirsty moves on.
A new waitress Heather works with Brian now and we connect talking about rocks, crystals and such, Citrine and Emerald. She was on the road for 3yrs touring around with her pooch, a Pitbull named "LittleMan". She gives me a couple stones as gifts, I bid her Namaste and I eat.


The sky is starting to darken and I deliberate another 30min ride over to the Stillwater Reservoir to visit the owners Joe and Marion... Yup it'll be perfect. I have time to burn as Brian is working till close anyhow.


The Three mile cutoff trail where we jump off and ride our sleds, when the ice is on the "Flow" in the winter months. It takes us out across the reservoir letting us save time on the road as well as wick 'em up to over a 100mph out on the ice...




Here I meet some new folks blowing off steam, make some new friends...




Then back to over to Old Forge to Slickers and then into Thendara to visit friends at Tote's Tea House where I run into my cutest new friend...




At the end of it all I walk over to the water... gaze in... look up into the stars and say... Thank you.


Good night.

Happy new year Jim !!!
I was hoping for another post of this ride to read today, but you are probably recovering today !!!

Hey Thanx and a Happy 2014 to you too!!!
Nope I'm sober as a church mouse today... last night was out with Jenny having a calm couple drinks, a puff or two and a reunion with a few old friends.... a couple who were verrry puuurty WoooHooo, good energy! Then barely kept the eyes open to see the ball drop back home with Sherri and her Grammy, the last two pretty girls I saw in 2013.

Working on the next post right now

I've gotta tell a quick story about a cool ol' dude I met on the way back from visiting "Gunny" about the same time frame as the Trans-Lab ride.
I pulled into the Green Shingles Restaurant just off Rt 15 in Lindley, NY for a bite one dark night on my way back into PA. As I'm talking to the older pretty lady who owned the place name of Denise, asking if there is maybe some soup or other chow left laying around, since it's after the kitchen had closed for the day. A guy named David Westover sitting next to me chimes in asking about Desiree' sitting outside. He cooks for and leases the restaurant from Denise. His girlfriend gets up and goes into the kitchen to prepare me some food (talk about nice people). As she's doing this he starts talking about racing bikes back in the 60's and 70's...

Well I just sooo happened to start riding in 1971 and had owned a couple 60's bikes, it was a fabulous time in American Motocross history, it's heyday so to speak! This gave Dave, a former Pro from SoCal a platform to start reveling in old racing stories... the stories he tole me were to numerous for me to remember... and repeat here, Saddleback Park, Carlsbad, Glenn Helen etc... but I do remember a couple pieces. He said he used to hold "Corki" Moore's throttle at the starting line as Dave was kind of a mentor to some of these young racers. I believe Corki won the First Superbowl of Motocross at the LA Coliseum in the 125cc class back in 1975.

Dave had been kicking ass on SoCal tracks and caught the attention of a certain mother (Jacqueline) who ask if he'd teach her son how to ride a bit better.
The son was David Moates... yup brother of the legend Marty Moates. Turns out Marty was a bit hungrier to learn and took the sport to a bit higher level. So it ends up that this stranger Dave, that I meet in a NY restaurant winds up coaching them both.



Marty was the first American to win the USGP at Carlsbad back in 1980 in an Upset victory, as the pic above shows... as a privater and at the tender age of 23, he became a national Hero. No American had defeated the more experience European riders in the 10yrs of the U.S. round in the 500cc class. He was also a Co-Founder and VP of No Fear Gear and FMF International soft goods.

Dave also tells me about Bobby "Evil" Knievel dying while still owing him $175- lol. I ask if he was as tough a guy as we may think or just crazy sumbitch... basing on my view of David being Pro Motocrosser feeling that he was no puss, and my own pretty damn fearless life.
He said that Bobby had bigger balls than us both put together!!! I took it that the man TRULY was a badass and nodded my head in respect.
As far as the $175-... he said they were partying in the "Corporation" Bar in Ensenada, CA as Dave worked with Evil on some of his stunts including the Hells Canyon jump, and Evil ran up a tab saying he'd take care of it later on... well at nights end everyone was super FUBAR and Bobby had skipped out on the bill! Dave laughed and told me that Evil would do that to friends sometimes as a joke.

Anyhow I love how being open to people and a bit of a talker myself get's me into some magnificent conversations as I ride around the Earth just taking it all in!

I forgot to say that I'm try'n a new tire combo on Des' this trip, a T-63 Front which I've come to love for road and moderate offroad, getting nearly 8,000mi on them after swapping them around once, and a K-60 Rear. It's new to me, kind of a 70/30 leaning toward the street, it's supposed to wear really well. I know the T-63 will make the whole loop up and around the TransLab, and I hope this new rear will do well also?!?!?

Sometime in the morning I had got a contact from Feike "MotoMedic" saying that he was in Maine on a private Island with a friend from Santa Cruz. He was leaving for Key West later in the week but that he'd be around if I wanted to say high, and a free bed awaited! Yup yup I'll be over as soon as I can.

With this it's goodbye to friends and hello to the Beautiful ADK Park! It's late September and the leaves are looking goooood.


Raquette Lake...


Others enjoying the scenery at a slower pace...




Some Turkey's skidaddle'n it outta the way... still 2 months till turkey day.


The colors a com'n on...


Aaaaah....












Starting to roll down onto Lake Champlain now...


Alotta cruisers in the region this time of year...


Some not having as good a day as they'd like...


Cool bridge going into Vermont, lighthouse and nice flat rich farmland on the other side...










I get hungry for a snack and some coffee and find Pratt's Store complete with a pretty girl working inside...




It's here that I meet Greg Sands a musician traveling with his wife Amanda, son Kalib and pooch named "Brute" We spend a good 45 minutes discussing life, energy spirit and the universe...


It's an amazing conversation that as usual I wasn't expecting to have... Turns out his father was a Physicist so he had an early interest in the Universe. When it all ended I gave Greg a link to this ride report, he gave me a Myspace link, then we all motored on.

Capturing the sun, more farms, and more regional architecture...




















I have to laugh when he number 14 pops up again...


Later in the day real hunger grabs me and I pull into a Greek bistro...


I meet Dominica, enjoy great food and spend... you guessed it, some time talking about life.




It's funny there were a few groups in the place, families, children, couples etc... and one group of four adults had noo problem belching and cussing like they were in their own kitchen. I found it a bit odd really, yet they seemed pretty comfortable and not really unruly about it. Hmmm interesting.

As the shadows lengthened I found my way to meet Feike and Phil on the enchanted Isle...










I was introduced, we smoked, had a few beers and I was shown to my 100+ year old bedroom.


Phil is an 11th generation Mainer and I was a guest in a house on an island, that had been in the family for over a 100 years, cooool!
A great way to end a day...