OSO LOCO!! KTM 990s attack Colorado, Utah, and the best of the TAT

3 words for u:

Ad Block Plus

Hee, I don't know how you can steer like that, but great idea!

Have fun!

There was some early talk of Radek or Scott going to the rally, but I'm pretty sure we got our fill of Colorado...




I want to say that they're running the Squadron LED lights , but I'm not sure what configuration.
It looks like Radek has a Squadron LED wide-cornering, on one side?




Maybe they will sign in and let us know for sure...
Radek?
Osito?

Oh yeah. I've tried Ad block plus, but I got rid of it for some reason.
Can't remember why.
Does it block the ads that are at the beginning of the videos? the ones you can skip after 5 seconds?

I think you nailed it. Those are very nice lights. 4300 lumens for the BD Squadrons vs. 2600 for the Rigid D2s and they weigh less. I may sell my Rigids and upgrade to these after seeing a side by side comparison of the two:

http://www.ktmtwins.com/baja-designs-ktm-950-990-adventure-squadron-light-kit

Looking forward to reading the rest of the report

oh, I forgot to do the casualty list for Day 2 -


1 blown rear shock - us Wans.




Day 3: 8/3/13
St. George to Salina, UT 182 miles






So, yesterday I also forgot to talk about our camping spot...
We were exhausted when we got to the campground.
It was dark and getting late.
The place was mostly set up for RVs, with some car camping tent sites.
there might have been 1 site open, but it was all gravel.





Bartek spied a picnic table with a grassy area and said,
we can just camp right here!
Um. OK.
(here's a photo taken the next morning)





I was worried that it was the pet area - there was a fire hydrant, a dumpster, and it didn't smell that great...:huh

But, beggars can't be choosers.






The guys were planning to just throw their sleeping bags on the grass.
Matt asked how I felt about that.
Sigh.

Myself, I like a tent (I was already getting mosquito bites just standing there).
But I didn't want to be a girl about it.





Okay. I can be one of the boys tonight.
We had a small tarp and our sleeping pads too.





We stayed up for a while, drinking beer and BSing
and then crawled into "bed"
(right where you see the orange square)




Matt and I were probably the first to lie down.
I put in my earplugs and tried to ignore the distinct smell of dog poop...
At least I wasn't worried about Prophecy tonight!
(hey, he looks like our Oso Loco sticker! )







Everyone was so tired, sleep was not a problem.




Until 2:45am, that is.






I woke up to Matt shaking me - "Kel! sprinklers!!"

Oh, sh*t!!




Complete pandemonium!

We jumped up and grabbed our stuff as fast as we could.
Carrying it in our arms, we ran over to the bike and tried to pile our stuff on it.
Scott, Osito, Bartek - they soon joined us.
We were barefoot in the muddy gravel, miserable and confused.



What a freaking mess!
At least Matt had heard the sprinklers gear up before they started spraying.
We got a little wet, but were up and running before they went full force.




These were the most stealth sprinkler heads we had ever seen (or rather, not seen).
Completely flush to the ground unless they were spraying.




Poor Bartek - soaked!
He was right next to a sprinkler head - in this photo he's got it covered with his shoes, trying to keep it from spraying.






Everyone had draped gear and clothing along the rail,
which was now being sprayed with water.
I think Scott tried to cover a couple of sprinkler heads with rocks,
and we stepped on some of the others and held them down...


It was awesome.






3:00 am
Oso tired and wet.







We sat around for a while, trying to figure out what to do.
Even if we wanted to leave, all our stuff was wet.






Matt said, "F**k it - we have another tarp - it's waterproof." (our tent footprint)
He put it down on the soaked grass and we went back to sleep.





At 4am, it was groundhog day...
"KEL! sprinklers!!"



I jumped up and grabbed my stuff again.



Oh my god!!
I have had it with these monkey-fighting sprinklers in this monday-to-friday campground!
Who the hell runs the sprinklers TWICE in one night??







We ended up sleeping on the sidewalk next to the dumpster.




And, we were happy about it!





Until, that is, Matt heard a funny noise.
Ten inches from his head, another sprinkler head popped up!
Mother brother!
He reached his hand out of his sleeping bag and turned the sprinkler head away from his face.
Then went back to sleep.







The water pooled up on the sidewalk and ran under our tarp,
Matt's sleeping pad kept him high and dry.
To add insult to injury, mine had a leak. I ended up on the ground.








At one point, I rolled over and saw that Scott was lying in the parking lot, with his head on the curb.
He had his boots lined up as a warning, so no cars would run him over.
And sprinklers were going off on either side of him.


I wanted to take a photo, but couldn't find my camera!


Here's my artist's rendering...





I didn't see Osito, but apparently he was sleeping in the tan bark next to the swings.







Bartek had put his sleeping pad directly over a sprinkler head,
so he didn't even wake up when the sprinklers went off the second time!








It was good for laughs the next morning.







Radek and Lica had set up in the dirt, so they were safe from the spray.



Radek said he woke up and heard everyone freaking out,
but he just rolled over and went back to sleep.

Lucky bastard!






Instead of sitting around in St. George all day,
Scott decided to do some riding.
His dad lives in Delta, CO and Scott said he would meet back up with us in Grand Junction.

Somewhere during Day 2, Scott had managed to erase all the tracks from his GPS.
So, Lica went to ride with Scott.
Lica had the tracks and now we could meet up in the dirt on Day 4.


They were gone before I got up.






The rest of us would be going to Fineline Suspension.
But, first - breakfast.







Mmmmm.















Tom of Fineline told Matt not to call before 9:30 or 10am (it was saturday, after all).
So, our next stop was Rocky Mountain ATV







Bartek noticed that his TKC80 was melting away...







So, he bought himself a real tire. D908.









Here we are - Fineline Suspension.














We were still a little early, so the guys prepared their bikes.







Radek and Osito were going to try and figure out his overheating problem.




















And Matt needed to get the shock ready for Tom.







Bartek took the opportunity to set up his office and do some work.
Buy! sell! buy! sell!








Here's the shock...







and here's Tom.







Our spring was too big to fit in Tom's press,
so he had to compress it manually.










Eventually, I had to help - it was tough!
There was so much tension, it felt like the spring wanted to jump out of the vise.
Scary.





It's big. Some kind of car spring.







Tom was pretty cool about Matt watching him work.
















Actually, Tom discovered something frightening about our shock...

He said the clevis end was working itself off. It was coming unscrewed.
It only took 6 turns before it fell off!











This really freaked Tom out - apparently if they had come apart while we were riding,
the rear end would have collapsed and we would have had a catastrophic accident.
2up, with all that weight in the back?? :eek1



If we were on the highway - it probably would have been fatal.

Good thing we didn't try and ride to Colorado Springs to try and find that suspension shop!






We left Tom to work his magic and went outside to check on the guys.
The only thing that Radek had learned from switching radiator caps with Lica,
was that his cap was fine and Lica's was messed up.


Now Osito was using his camp stove to boil some water.







They were going to check and make sure Radek's thermostat was working properly.






It opened. It was working.







Checking the pump impeller housing.







Impeller looked okay, too.







Look at this huge bug that landed on Osito!













Tom's wife, Ginger, stopped by.
She was super nice. Here she is, showing us around the shop.

Later, she drove me to the store to pick up Engine Ice (coolant) for Radek (2 times!)







Some of the neat stuff in the Fineline shop.
Fineline pogo stick







Autographed photo from Chuck Miller...







and, hey - we met that guy! Top Jimmy (Jimmy Lewis).






Tom and Ginger used to live in So Cal and spent a lot of time with Jimmy and his wife.
I'm pretty sure they know everyone cool from racing.





Thinking about a trade-in, Osito?






Oso Silly!

Awesome guys - keep it goin!

MZ

wow....that's one interesting update kel.

consider yourselves very lucky and got the rear shock fixed. that will be good for one more wan report. thank you to point that out. i don't realize that gets undone, could it be from having a constant passenger..... j/k


keep them coming.

Hey Matt and Kelly,
Those Blown shocks really are the PITS!!!!!.......That was Fantastic you found Help close by!!!! Looking Forward to the rest of the RR!!!!!
It was GREAT to meet you guys there in Monticello!!!!
Scott

"Our spring was too big to fit in Tom’s press,
so he had to compress it manually"

Love it...Atom...

The Prophecy clip made me LOL.

What a camping night from hell!

Sprinkler stuff is way too funny. Looks like you are going to successfully escape St. George.

Thanks, zeegman!
Hope you get some inspiration for your Colorado trip.

Hi Joel!
Hey! blaming the passenger! :huh
Not a chance. (I hope not)

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!
Thanks for joining us!!

Hi Scott!
Yeah, it sucked, but just for a little while :)
It was GREAT to meet you, too!!
I wish we could have hung out a little.
Some day!

Heh. I thought there might be a "That's what she said..." joke in there, but I took the high road.

Glad you liked the prophecy clip!
I think of it every time I zip up my mummy bag...

Hi RRR,
Yeah, no offense, but we couldn't wait!

Day 3: 8/3/13
St. George to Salina, UT 182 miles, continued






Bartek was so sweet, he wanted to buy everyone lunch.
That should have been our department, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.
Gracias, Smartek!






Ginger offered to drive and we went to pick up the food and some ice and water.
While we were out, we stopped and got Engine Ice for Radek.
Ginger made sure we got the Fineline Suspension discount from the shop...



Thank you, Ginger!





When we got back, Radek was still hard at work...







And, Tom was about to put our shock back together...








Ginger and I had picked up a couple bags of ice and gallons of water.
It was still 100°F in St. George.








After lunch, everyone chipped in.
It was tough to compress the spring enough to get the collar back on...








That sucker needed some persuasion...








Whew! Done.

Thank you, Tom!
Thank you, everyone!








Now it was time to focus on Radek's bike...
Coolant was drained and system was flushed.








Time for new coolant and a burping...








Once Radek's radiator was full, and our shock was back in,
it was time to hit the road.








Ginger was so kind - while the 2 of us were driving around, she offered to let all of us stay at their place.
She said they were already planning a spaghetti dinner - with wine** - but, the more the merrier.
They even had a pool!
**They had to drive out of state to get good wine, so this was a big deal!




It was such a generous offer! And sooooo tempting!
Tom and Ginger were so nice, they made us forget all about the previous night's camping
If we hadn't been pressed for time and planning to meet Lica and Scott,
we totally would have said Yes!





Thank you, Fineline Suspension!
Without your help, we would have been dead in the water.
Tom and Ginger, you're the best!





Matt and I had been lucky beyond belief.
Tom and Ginger aren't normally around on the weekends.
They were supposed to be in California, actually,
but had canceled their trip because they didn't want to make that drive through the desert in this heat.



And, our good fortune continued -
not only did we get our shock repaired, post-haste (and could now continue on to Colorado)...

Bonus - we didn't die from our shock exploding!
Yay!





We thanked Tom and Ginger and packed up our stuff.
Filled our camelbaks with the rest of the ice and water,
and got ready to ride.





As we were driving away, Radek clicked in and spoke to us through our Senas...



He said he was feeling strange and something was wrong.
Uh oh.
OK, we'll stop as soon as possible.






He wasn't looking good and it sounded like he felt even worse.
It was probably heatstroke from working outside in the sun.
Even inside with the swamp cooler, the shop had been pretty warm.
That, coupled with dehydration (it was pretty late when Ginger and I got that water)...yikes.



We stopped at a gas station and sat in the A/C for a while.
Drinking lots of fluids and trying to cool off.





After about 90 minutes, Radek was feeling better and it seemed all right to continue.
At least we were just going to slab to our next stop.














Blurry, but this part of Utah slab is kinda pretty.








We got to Salina and got a room at the Super 8.
Dropped our stuff and walked over to El Mexicano Restaurant.







Osito ordered a shrimp cocktail.
Wait, aren't we like 750 miles from the nearest ocean??



He survived.




I got veggie fajitas and the rest of the guys opted for a Meat Tornado.






Or something like that.








Ah, Matt and I had spent so much time in this motel (Gettin' Dirty ride),
it was like coming home...

Well, our slab ride was sad.



But, the important thing was that the shock was fixed and we were back in business!


Woooo hooo!!






OK, guys - Let's see what Scott and Lica were up to on Day 3!

We never really talked about it, but looking at Lica's photos,
I recognize some scenic Highway 12...






Hell's Backbone?





Wow, nice!
























And, looks like they did the Burr Trail, too.






Great shot!






Look at this cool rainbow!










Nice job, guys!
Sorry we messed up Day 3 for everyone,

Glad you two made the best of it.







OK, whew.
it took a while, but we're finally going to get to the good stuff!!



Day 4 is a big one -
416 miles, including a Colorado spa treatment
and Schofield Pass. The UP direction (marble to crested butte). In the dark...

...amusing sprinkler episode. Glad the blown rear shock didn't blow your trip.

Up Schofield... In the Dark? :eek1

Are you guys crazy?
Now I'm glad I didn't go with you guys.

Standing by...

Q~

Up Schofield----In the Dark!!:eek1:eek1:eek1:eek1

WOW!!!!!!

Scott

I've been down it in the daylight and now I've officially decided that y'all are nuts! In a good way of course

John

Thanks, redog - me too!

Hi guys -
I know, I know - pretty stupid, right?

But at least we weren't planning to do Schofield in the dark - it just happened that way.
It was still kind of light when we started...


And we didn't intend to go the hard way - we just didn't pay attention when we were doing tracks.


The biggest problem was having it at the end of a long (long) day.
Everyone was already pretty tired by the time we found the right trail...

Good times!



the start of Day 4, coming up...

Day 4: 8/4/13
Salina, UT to Gunnison, CO 416 miles






We had a lot of miles to cover, so everyone was up at 5am.
The day started with a walk (across the parking lot) to Denny's













They had coffee, just didn't get to drink it yet.







Poor Radek. He was a good sport...
waiting patiently until I took my photo






I promised my sister I would use this Ron Swanson eating bacon GIF in the next ride report...
at Denny's for breakfast seems like a good time...








We fueled up and headed to Grand Junction.







Pretty sunrise.







It was a chilly morning. I had all my vents open and was freezing.
After some brutally hot days in the desert, it felt good to be cold!








We were on I-70 - here comes the famous overpass...








Eagle Canyon, looking down at the trail...







This time, there was no traffic behind us, so Matt pulled over to the other lane.
Here's the other bridge!
We'll be riding down there in a week (on the way home)
Exciting.








We thought the guys might enjoy the Spotted Wolf rest stop.
(also, it has a restroom )

Oso Negro







Torito y Osito







Might as well check out some tires...
Bartek







Radek







Osito







us Wans







Go, little bear!







We stopped in Green River to gas up.
There was a bus full of tourists at the gas station and these girls went nuts over the 990s!
"Oooh - so cool! so BIG!"
It was hilarious.







They wanted photos with the bike. I half expected them to turn into old men, though.
(there's a 15 sec ad for that video, but watch it anyway - it's cute)




My favorite part was, the girls didn't give a crap about the harleys, just the ADV bikes.





Hola, Colorado!







Bartek, your dream is coming true! Oso Happy?








Scott and Lica were in Grand Junction somewhere.
Our first meetup didn't work out, so we were going to try for the dirt.
The GPS tracks looked like they went to a private gate.
We didn't want Scott and Lica to think we had gone through,
so Matt scratched a message in the dirt...







Hope that works!






Now, we wait. At least there was some shade.







It worked!






They totally saw the "OSO" and kept going.






It was nice to be back on the tracks again.







Especially in this state!



































It was a beautiful day.







Sunny, yet cool.







Everyone was so stoked to be in Colorado, finally!







Blue sky.






Beautiful lake.






Um. Ignore those clouds...







Crap.







Before we left, I sent out a group email with the weather forecasts for Silverton, CO.
There was a chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain every day, and lows in the 40s at night.
We had planned to camp in Colorado and I wanted them to be prepared.

(this is today's forecast, it just happens to be similar to last month's)





Apparently, no one took me seriously. :huh
They were all surprised that it was raining - "it never rains in Colorado, right?"
Radek said he thought I was kidding - he almost didn't bring a jacket!

you guys!








Good thing it never rains in Colorado.















With rain comes mud.







At least Lica didn't mind. He loves everything!







We ran into this friendly guy on a quad. He said the road got worse up ahead.







It doesn't just rain in Colorado, it hails too.


























A lot of my photos are pretty blurry with all the water on the lens... you get them anyway.







It was still beautiful out there.















We had a couple water crossings in this section.









Here's Radek on the first one. Woo!








Then he took video at the second one...
Lica was on the sidelines, getting stoked for everyone!
Scott, then Bartek, then us.








It was downright soggy out there.








Still dreamy?







Aw, it's just Colorado giving us a big, wet, sloppy kiss "hello!"







Bartek got a big smack!
Everyone was yelling at me to take a photo of Bartek's bike -
OK, Scott - I'm on my way!







Here we go...








That was some nasty mud!








I accidentally snapped this shot of the mud as I was falling...







Photos don't really capture the experience as well as video does...
(sorry, no HD for some reason)





Heh.

I think Scott got an extra special kiss "hello"...

pics or vids....that is funny......

good thing you guys enjoy punishment

Well if you're going on an oso hunt...
Oh oh!
Mud,
Thick, oozy mud.
We can't go over it,
We can't go under it,
We've gotta go through it!
Squelch squelch, squelch squelch