Went on two rides, back to back in June. Here is a link to the first one: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=990488 This one is the next 6 days with some other Oregon/Washington friends starting near Fields, OR. We all trucked our machines and stashed the rigs with permission of the gracious owners of Fields Station. This ride came about because of my life-long friend T and I had taken a trip back in 2006 (before I even knew how to post photos!?) At the end of that mind blowingly fun ride, the T asked if I would take hiim and a select group of his friends on a ride someday. Of course set the date and well do it Set the date he did and we made a plan. Ill get it started and T will add his comments that should help my meager photos make sense chronologically. At the end of my first 6 days out there, I split up with the original group and jumped in a hot spring waiting for T and the rest of the crew to arrive. We had a loose plan for this rendezvous with a back up in case I didnt meet them here. T was camped around the back of a nearby butte and I didnt see his bike so I just jumped in the spring for a well-deserved soak. I have everything I need to spend the night and actually enjoyed being alone for the first time in a week but then heard the thump of a Honda putt putting up to the spring. Yes! The T arrives and is sort of surprised to see me bobbing around in the water. He had the pleasure of watching 7 bikes coming down the road at 80 mph earlier but didnt realize it was us. After a super relaxing soak, we rode back to his campsite, I set up my kit just in time to see the crew arrive before sunset. The next day I had to ride to Fields for bike maintenance - oil/air filter change, chain, spokes, etc.. Those guys had a day ride planned and will meet me back in Fields. Well have some grub and head back over the low hills to camp by the hot spring. It was a welcome break to take an easy day, work on the bike and hang out in the thick shade of Fields, OR. I did about 900 or so miles the week before and even though my bike rode through very little dust, the air filter looked horrible and my oil wasnt so honey-like anymore either. Changed all that out. Wheels and bearings are fine, chain is holding up and the rear tire looks good enough for another 500 or 600 miles at least. I brought along a 50% used set of Motoz but didnt really want to spoon them on so decided to risk running the first set out. As planned, they show up in the early afternoon. I wrapped up my project and gathered up all my gear back on the bike. Those guys had lunch and we headed back over the hills towards hot spring camp. I do not have a group portrait to introduce the riders but it went like this: T - Honda XRL 650 w/ (5?) gallon tank. T has ridden quite a bit off road but also has a bitchin Triumph Scrambler, Scotty on a brand spankin new, pimped out KTM 500 EXC with 6 (?) gallon tank., has lots of on and off-road and trail riding experience. Sammy bought his new-to-him XR650R just for this trip. Hes ridden a bunch but hasnt done one of these kinds of trips before. Hotch is on a KLR and has riding experience but hasnt done a trip like this. Charlie borrowed an older KLR, has thousands of on-road miles and is scared to death that he signed up for a nightmarish, challenging, off road torture trip. Dont worry Chuck, by the end of the week youll be poppin one-handed wheelies and flashing the peace sign! Scotty has quite the fashion sense! T on the right. We all agreed that an easy power line towards the hot spring would be a good route to see where everyone lined up skill-wise. I took off first and made as much dust as possible. The silt isnt too bad yet but as each vehicle crosses it, the crust becomes broken and the fluff gets deeper and deeper. Scotty and I both knew this could be a great photo op , parked the bikes to walk back and watch the carnage. Sammy was doing fine and Scott was trying to show him the easy line but might have been too much information. I still cant tell what this is - man or machine!? Later in the summer this stuff will be a foot deep in places. Its not exactly dirt - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatomaceous_earth Probably dont want to be breathing a lot of it and it can be very slippery. Heres some more dust for ya Sammy! more . . .
Jumping in while I can. Wachs and I go way way back and I was lucky enough to be part of one of his rides years ago. The idea of life long friends joining for this type of riding seemed like a good experiment. Can't thank Wachs enough for taking this "tour" on. Quite the opposite of his week prior. I was early to the base camp so I perched myself up on this hill. I was lucky enough to hear and see Wachs and his crew. They came out of nowhere from behind that outcropping in the distance. I knew these guys were serious when the lead rider (Wachs) hit the 90 degree corner at speed. Met Wachs at the springs and we proceeded to kill a bottle of something horrible. I was glad my tent was already set up. Hotch, Scotty, Sammy and Charlie show up and get set up just in time for a perfect sunset. Hotch is talking: The next morning we decide to take a little warm up ride without the weight of our full gear. We head past Whitehorse and pick a line to Coyote Lake. Sammy standing tall: Charlie named his KLR Marshawn. Partly because of the Seahawk colors but mostly because it's an entirely different beast than what he used to riding. Charlie and Marshawn crashed somewhere between Whitehorse and Coyote and the impact blew all the water out of his camelbak. So now when he bums a swig off of Hotch it looks like they're sharing some form of intimacy. Between Scotty's clown suit and these fellas kissing, I'm beginning to doubt we'll get served at Fields: Charlie relieved to be standing on the solid pack of Coyote: We tore around the playa silly, keeping our distance from each other of course: Posed like idiots (Scotty, T, Sammy, Hotch, Charlie) Weather was great, little breeze keeping the dust at bay. Hotch: Hit the Alvord and Charlie was questioning this whole idea, plotting his escape route. Met up with Wachs at Fields. Wachs in flip flops, Charlie in deep exhale: Hotch blowing through the site of the Sammy explosion: Made it back to base camp and our friend Brian from Seattle had found us in his VW Syncro. He made pulled pork tacos and brought his hand made bow and arrows: Marshawn needed some fixing: So we ate drank and packed for the next few days. Tomorrow was goodbye to base camp and cold beer: More...
I don't want to screw up the flow of this report as T is out until monday but will share my views of the second day or really, the first day we all rode together. Saw this funny lizard earlier in the day and a 4 foot long bull snake. In the interest of saving whats left of my tires, the fellows trucked my bike back to Fields and I took my first spin on a KLR - big fat cruisy bike. Now I see why theyre so popular with some guys (no photos of that). Those guys parked behind the motel and we headed south towards Denio. Its really dusty now so we split up sending the KLRs down the pavement while T, Scott, Sammy and I rode a dirt byway that takes big chunk of pavement off the list. Fresh oil and filter in my XR made a huge difference, didnt realize how choked up it was. Denio has seen better times, still no gas here which will affect our routing in the coming days. The shade is still there though. We did the same separation thing sending the KLRs down the pavement south on hwy 140 while I proceeded to get us lost up in the foothills to the east of the hwy. It was super fun though and we rode a buch of cow trails parallel to the hwy south. My shots are not so inspired on this part as I was a little nervous about giving these guys a lite Woxing on the first real day of the trip. We got suckered into riding an old firebreak through barren, rock-free foothills back to the highway. As agreed the KLRs were at the turn off that will take us up into the Pine Forest Range of N. Nevada. Most of these fellows have known each other since college and a couple cases, since grade school. T and I worked together in the city back in the 80s and have stayed in touch ever since. Its fun for me as I know exactly where were going and can give them a heads up about what to expect. Scotty making dust out of the valley. We have a nice breeze scattering the dust and everyone knows to wait at any intersection for the rider behind to signal, OK I see ya! The clouds are beautiful today as we continue to climb into the mountains headed south. Scot has a Go-Pro mounted on that armature and set to snap a pic every minute or two. Very curious to see how all that came out. The faint mountain on the horizon is an 8000 butte north in Oregon. T is stoked on his XRL and riding well. Sammy is digging his new XRR and getting his legs with the gear on the bike. Charlie is scared to death but getting used to the KLR and riding off the pavement. Hotch looks totally comfortable on his KLR and is motoring upwards into some of the coolest mountain roads hes ever seen. he light is not great for photos and Im a bit pre-occupied making sure everyone is OK with the route, track conditions and their bikes. You can see the road off on the hillside ahead. It goes through some glades of aspens that are electric green with new leaves and significantly cooler temperature wise than the air just a few yards outside their shade. This was a short day to the Boy Scout table parked on a ridge above Onion Resv. in the Pine Forest Range. Brian drove his VW van to meet us again and provided another fantastic meal so I havent cooked for two nights now - Thanks Brian! Ive camped here before because there are very few bugs and the sunset is usually amazing from this ridge. We scrounged up some sage and mountain mahogany for a fire but then some random guy named Will rolled up on a qwad to give us more - thanks Will! ts summer solstice and the sun hung on the horizon till 9:15. We all had good laughs around the fire and talked about what lay ahead for the next days route. For myself, this is becoming a relaxing tour that is rewarding for me and T - to see these guys explore this part of the country for the first time. No crashes, flats or mishaps. Including the KLR ride to Fields, I got about 115 miles today. more . . .
Wachs, Both ScottPDX and SuperD did the silt dance splat at the same location as your boys! I forgot to take pictures, laughing to hard, oops! I took the high road as I have seen this twice before! That was a Woxing sort of though! Keep it coming!
OK, sorry I'm on a road trip so I'm sure I'm what's holding this tread up. DAY 02. Like Wachs said, we high tailed it over to Fields in the morning to stash the rigs. After the usual amount Hotch dilly dallying, we hit the dust. I should mention we're kicking with new AltRider Hemisphere bags design by Wachs. They're freaking amazing. I own his previous design as well and love this new design's ability to cram loose clothing way deep with the piece of mind of being complete waterproof. My current suspension is actually tracking better with it on. Anyway, right before Denio, we lost Sammy. Wachs radioed from Denio, we told him to stay put as we searched for Sammy's dust out here: Found him (signals crossed) and continued to Denio. From there Wachs got a bit crossed up but had fun riding the craziest cow trails as the KLRs traveled a bit of pavement. We meet up with them to find Charlie freelancing a bit of shade: Travel up Cow Canyon and things get beautiful and cooler. Hotch way out there: I stop and wait for the KLRs at this corner for a beauty shot of the XRL with gear. You can just make out Wachs, Scotty and Sammy waiting at the corner right before the aspens: I'm reaching them at that corner with Charlie coming down in the back: We chill at Onion Resv. I was reminded I need to drink more water at this elevation. Camp is quite picturesque: Wachs says the light is nice here. He was not wrong: More...
Looks like fun stuff to breathe, I'm sure the air filter is loving it too! I need to get to that part of NV--the part with the green stuff growing
Day 2 - Slept great, no bugs, not too hot or cold, had breakfast and drank one of those VIA coffee things that T gave me. Holy shit man - Im shaking like a meth addict as I gave up coffee years ago and this stuff is turbo. We say goodbye to Brian and get rolling about 8:30. There are other routes off this mountain but I want to show these guys another lake and stay up high as long as possible. The stones up in this mountain range are comically cool - they look like cartoon rocks. Most accidents happen at the beginning of the ride or near the end so we take it easy until everyone has their groove going. Well, most of us did. We were camped up high on that mountain last night First little mini-challenge of the day was this sort of tricky corner. Looks like nothing but Im curious about the KLRs You dont get to see it until you come around the corner and there are some good sized holes and stones in there. (my photos dont really illustrate very well) Charlie hasnt really done anything like this and went a bit heavy on the throttle (?). :eek1 This shot cracks me up with the T just standing there taking a shot of Chucks head in the bushes. Hes fine and got that out of the way. Hotch comes up and takes the worst line possible But handles it no problem. Onward to Knott Reservoir. The water is certainly down but the fishing looks good. Shouldve taken more shots but . . . This road would be a blast to roost but its very quiet this morning and with 6 bikes thumping around the small basin, we didnt want to disturb the people camping and fishing. We begin the descent out of this range and to an intersection where we choose to head back up into the next mountain range south. Ive been up here in the rain and this stuff looks all gravelly but its got a lot of clay in it and can be very slippery - not today! We are having a relaxing, mellow tour upwards back into some cooler air but I can see that theres quite a delay in the line up. There was some steep and loose trail down in the canyon and also a crap load of cows. T has been here before and knows where to go, Ill wait for the rest to gather up. Later, I heard Charlie had a problem down in there. We hadnt come very far but its so nice and cool up here, Im reluctant to go down into the heat of the desert until we have to and we only have to get to Soldier Meadows. Were in no hurry so a side trip to see this structure is worth it. Shouldve taken a pic of the official Paiute signage. A few years ago, there was word around here that the Summit Lake Paiute were going to regulate through traffic and charge a toll. Maybe that was just a rumor. The biggest word on the sign was WELCOME so I rode right past it to wait for the group. Been really trying to take better care of my eyeballs and had a new mirrored lens for these goggles but it became fouled riding in the snow the week prior so now that were dropping into the desert, Im wishing I had saved them for this week in the bright desert sun. Summit Lake from the moving bike. Unusually rocky road down to Soldier Meadows Ranch but the pay off is the bottom few miles. Had the XR tapped to the ranch gate and waited for the next guy. Eventually everyone gathers in the shade of the ranch and we meet the new operators. Asked them about fuel and they were out sorather implementing my plan to lazily hang around in the shade, take a soak in the springs and tinker with my motorcycle Im suddenly riding a KLR 65 miles one-way to Gerlach for gas and beer. Its not that hot out and I had these cheap ass sunglasses that fit in the goggles, sort of. It was a kind of torture riding someones elses bike but the KLR is what it is and you just roll with that. Scotty rode Marshawn - at least mine was red! Its probably 90 degrees or so. Back on the Black Rock Playa for the 65 mile, 1.5 hour return. Scotty out there. The further north you travel on the playa, the softer and fluffier it is right now so Im steering the mighty KLR on the packed road. The restful day I had planned turned into a day consisting of 170 miles (total) of mountain and desert riding. 130 of it on a KLR! That one right there. It all worked out just fine as the ranch gave us a bucket of ice for the brews, cooked us a nice dinner and were soakin' the miles off. No wind, no bugs and glorious weather this evening. more . . .
I'm calling this Day 03 from Onion Resv. to Soldier Meadows (counting the day ride as Day 01). We woke and said goodbye to Brian and his VW full of food, booze and an awesome 70's soundtrack. We splashed in this little stream while awaiting the others: We stopped and gathered at this rough little corner, cameras ready: Charlie navigating Marshawn: Now for the record, I wasn't actually taking a picture of Charlie's helmet nap here. I was getting ready to take a shot of Hotch. But either way, this is the best photo ever: Hotch don't care! He'll just navigate the absolute worst line: We came down that squiggly road between the smiling frog's eyeballs: Wachs keeps an eye out for the rest while we continue onto the bulldozer: Gather at the dozer: We all freak out at the cool air and the view: While Wachs gives Charlie a pep talk in the dozer bucket: Sammy's XRR and my XRL needed gas and the nice people at Soldier Meadows were willing to sell us some. But we soon realized they were bone dry. There's been some good hearted fun being poked at the KLR Krew so it was fitting that Scotty and Wachs mounted the KLRs up for a gas/beer mission to Gerlach. Kidding aside, it was heroic of these guys to buzz 130 miles while I sat on my backside in the shade. Have a good ride fellas: I used the time to go over the bike. So here's what's left of my front fender reinforcement that is supposed to handle my fender pack: I unscrewed that worthless fender holding thingy. Then I cut the straps off of the Moose fender pack and it's a perfect fit into the lower "Hidey Hole" of the Altrider Hemisphere. Quick access. Here's the contents: And my toolkit in the other Hidey Hole: The fellas are back with beer. What took you so long? Dinner, a soak, ridiculous comedy, and even a little campfire. "Who likes melons?" More...