Three Stooges Stromin' the San Juans

We're down to 4 days 'til departure for a week in Colorado and counting. I haven't checked with B-Rad recently, but I'm certain he could spit out how much longer down to minutes, both his departure from Arkansas Thursday to our group departure from Lubbock Saturday morning. Britt is like a kid before Xmas...he said so himself. The only difference is he's a big ol' kid with credit cards...a dangerous combination! We had a 2 week trip planned last Memorial Day, but unforeseen circumstances kept it from happening. I wound up doing 10 days in Colorado on a solo camping trip. Here's a link to the ride report:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=590737

This is an excerpt from post 22 of the ride report:

We're still gonna' do the BIG trip...probably next Memorial Day. We'll do an abbreviated version in September, thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law's unselfishness! To find balance between PinIt2WadIt Adventure Dude and Married Man, Brad also had a romantic getaway to Cancun planned with his wife in late September. She saw firsthand how disappointed he was when he had to cancel our spring trip for the emergency surgery. She gave up her Cancun vacation so he can run and play with me and BBB (Big Bad Britt) in September. You're so sweet, k8E!!! We'll find a way to make it up to you!

BBB is whole nuther story. He's the one that taught B-Rad how to race dirt bikes. He had to stop enduro racing because of back problems and slowly went from a top notch weekend enduro racer to Harley dude over the last 20 years, with an impressive stable of bikes in the in between. He went with us on his Harley to the Smokey Mountains last year and had to miss out on Parson's Branch because he was on his 800 pound potato bike. When he heard of our plans for Spring 2010, including Point Sublime on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, the White Rim Trail near Moab and the high dirt passes around Lake City and Ouray, he went out and bought a new vStrom 1000 and dropped some big coin on farkles! Zumo gps unit, Starcom intercom system, Happy Trails trunk and sidecases, skid plate and crashbars and everything you'd need to run the White Rim Trail on a K vStrom. Even after Brad's emergency surgery, BBB and I were still planning to go to Colorado. Fate would have none of it and exploded a 1 year old braided toilet supply line. BBB has been remodeling (I suspect to appease mama for melting a couple of credit cards on kStrom farkles) and had just put down a bunch of laminated wood flooring...say bye-bye to that!!! He was so dejected, he opted out of the trip. We both knew it wouldn't be the same without B-Rad! I'd busted my hump to free up the 2 weeks, so off i went on a solo adventure. And now you know...the rest of the story. Stay tuned for details of our upcoming September trip...it should be epic!


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As I said, Britt had a really sweet maroon Harley last year.



B-Rad quickly tagged it for him!



He wasn't impressed with the FYYFF tag...he had become Harley Dude! Here's the gang that went to Tennessee last year. On the far left is Sal, an old touring buddy of BBB's when he had a Goldwing. Sal's a Wingnut, too!



Here's another pic from that trip with Juicy front and center. Turns out Brad's 2007 WeeStrom's serial # starts with JS1, also. Jessie was taken...



I knew BBB would be a blast to take Strommin' the San Juans! So I planted a seed and let him play in the dirt on Jessie with Juicy and B-Rad...sorry Mel, it's all my fault! Lookit that grin...think he's having fun?



It worked, just like I figured! Here's some pics of his new 2009 vStrom 1000!



Anyone care to play Where's Waldo for after market farkles? A quick glance will melt credit cards!





I think he just changed the break-in oil, so this baby's brand spanking new!!! I hope that doesn't influence his willingness to go off-road? Nah...not BBB!!!! Like I said earlier, he's an experienced enduro racer.

Hey Pops,

Glad you got the ball rolling on a trip report. Hard to get much accomplished at work when I'm daydreaming about our Misty Mountain Hop! This thread won't help much, but what the hell.

K8E has been real good about wanting me to take this trip with you guys. After the smell of your riding boots and socks last year , I was trying to convince her to maintain our plans and go to Cozumel. I figure I will just make sure I pitch my tent upwind of your riding gear and I'll be fine (lub you Pops).

I'm stoked that BBB has a Strom now! Not that I have anything against Harleys, it will just be nice to ride some unpaved stuff as a group. When BBB borrowed your bike last year and we went for a 'spirited' jeep road ride (BBB raped your bike Pops ), I figured it was only a matter of time until he bought an 'adventure' bike...he was having too damn much fun. I foresee good times, the first of which begins in just a few more days!

My Wee is loaded and ready to head out as soon as I can sneak out of the office on Thursday. I'll get K8E set up with an ADV account so she can contribute while we are away...

Since we'll be leaving on Labor Day Saturday, I made reservations for a campsite at Abiquiu Reservoir North of Sante Fe. Any tips from the locals about must do/see stuff around Abiquiu? Best fishing spots from shore??



I rode through the Abiquiu area last August and remember thinking how pretty these formations would be at dusk and dawn.



They even have rock spires through there!



The forecast calls for mostly sunny all next week with highs in the low 80's and lows in the low 40's for the Curecanti National Recreation Area, location of our reserved campsite for nights 2 and 3 on Blue Mesa Reservoir. Reservations are a necessity on Labor Day weekend in Colorado!

That's the problem, I think she likes it rough??!!!

belongs in the trip planning forum, huh? Whoops...maybe the forum gods will forgive me?

If you'll notice, PinItToWadIt and I had XL drybags with EVERYTHING stuffed in them. Good for organizing, bad for coming out of hard leans when cornering!



We vowed to lower the load as much as possible before the next long trip.
Brad ran across some sweet 9l each mtb panniers designed to hook into a bicycle rack.



One will hold all the clothes I need for a long weekend.



Being a mechanical engineer makes it easier to adapt stuff like this, I guess? B-Rad made some mounts to p-clamp to our crash bars with webbing straps and clasps instead of bungee cords.



Rock solid, even at highway speeds. The 12v charger easily reaches the front pouch to keep the cell phone charged, even when searching for a signal all day. They're easy on/off too!

I bought Jessie used and she came with soft saddlebags. After last year's Smoky Mountain trip, about half the zippers were broke, so I got 2 more JCW trunks and mounted them on Givi racks like saddlebags. MISTAKE!!! They make a great trunk, but suck as saddlebags! My drybag would unlatch the right one on big bumps without a key! It got crunched when Jessie took a nap in Mills Canyon, so I upgraded...again. I already have Givi racks installed, so I bought some Givi E41's. If you look closely, I had some rain covers for my old soft saddlebags that fit the tank panniers perfectly. Also note how much smaller the drybag looks. I've since changed to a large dry bag instead of XL.



They have an extra little keyless access door with a combination lock...perfect for adding those last minute items. Especially nice for getting to the soft sided cooler to add ice or other necessities! It used to dump out when the lid opened and it even broke the inner strap, then sprung the hinges on the old JCW.



I did a trial run to Possum Kingdom in early August and it's now much better balanced when fully loaded for camping. Mission accomplished! Now if Saturday would just hurry the f'up!!!!

You two guys seem like your just talking to each other!

I'm all signed up and ready to go!!! Hope ya'll have a safe trip. I'm gonna miss my baby (B-Rad)! Take lots of pics for me.

Welcome, K8E and Britt aka BBB aka Texas Roadstar! Time for the fun to begin...for B-Rad at least! He heads out tomorrow. His trip is 1200 miles more than mine since he starts in SW Arkansas. Britt has 400 extra, 200 each way from San Angelo and will head for Lubbock Friday at 1pm. The real Stromin' begins in t-minus 60:08:09 The countdown has begun!

Love the black Strom with the red pin stripes on the rims.

Hmmm, I wonder if the wife.......

Thanks, Touring Dave. They glow in any light, too! Brad's trying to make me as visible as possible.

And no, your wife probably won't install them for you, if that's what you were about to ask!

It's an awesome feeling knowing that your leaving town for a big adventure and everybody else still has to go to work. You almost feel like your cheating. Be safe B-Rad and watch out for the Idiots!

My wee is loaded for bear and sitting outside while I knock out one more day of work. Heading to Dallas after work, Lubbock in the morning.

Started the trip off right; raining on my way to work this morning, forecast for more throughout the day and tonight in Dallas as well. I think this is a good thing...our last big trip started with heavy rain and turned out to be a great trip, hopefully the same will happen this time!

Beer's on me tomorrow guys!

I already bought a 12 pack of everyones favorite brewski for Friday evening, B-Rad...wish you'd spoke up sooner! Got some Captain Morgan, too. No tequilla shots, BBB!!!

It's much better to ride through a few cold front showers than the 100 degree temps with 90% humidity like it usually is through there this time of year. Watch out for the cagers...just ride like they're all out to get you and you'll be fine.

Well, my B-rad was all ready to go on his big journey this morning. I'm going to meet him for lunch so i can squeeze a few hugs and kisses out of him. I hope the weather will stay in his favor. Don't want my hubby getting soaked and catching a cold. Be careful on the booze guys!!!

In a couple hours B-Rad's gonna have a big o smile on his face that no one else can see! I wonder what time he'll get to Lubbock tommorrow? We better enjoy those Texas beers before we get to Colorado cause they got the weak stuff.

just don't cut it! That's what the Captain Morgan is for... Captain Pepper or Dr. Morgan. If you haven't tried it with Dr. Pepper, it's really pretty good. Not bad as a shooter, either. Better than tequilla imo, but that's just me. It doesn't give me a rip roarin' hangover like tequilla and whiskey, either.

B-Rad plans to get to Lubbock around 2 pm...he always has a pack of family and friends that want to see him when he's back in Texas. I reserved a suite so we'll have a pool to set around while catching up on old times over beers. One of his college buddies just bought Abner's Hog, a 1997 Harley Road King formerly owned by one of our local TV anchormen. A beautiful bike with about 6-8 hours worth of chrome to polish...or do you measure that in pounds of elbow grease?

BBB has already selected where we're eating supper. If beggars can't be choosers, conversely, choosers gotta' pick up the bill. You might want to step up your departure time an hour or two, BBB. We'll take it easy on the beers before we go out to eat, but if you don't show up 'til 6 or so, you def get to be designated driver and may even get to wetnurse a couple drunks through dinner! How's that for motivation to leave on time??!

Tick...tick...tick....

That's the sound of the clock on my wall as well as the term for my newly-developed medical condition: I wanna ride eh uh ur ride...my head jerking from side to side.

Not much longer now, and the rain is picking up nicely along with the thunder/lightning...yeeehaaaaw!

I should be to Lubbock around 1pm or so tomorrow if all goes as planned.

When we run out of Texas beer, we'll break out the hard stuff

Tick...tick...tick...

TouringDave,
Here's a pic to show how well they reflect.



Even if your bike isn't black...




I finally talked him into trying the blue while he had the wheels off getting new shoes. He's had them since he bought the red for my bike.



He's been undecided on whether to leave 'em or not? I like 'em! Light makes them look neon blue.

I retract my earlier statement...the wife might apply the stripes if you remove the wheels for her? Brad says wheels off is the best/easiest way to get 'em on correctly.