The Mobius Trip

[DR. Rock]

Originally Posted by rycomm

Dave, sounds like you and Francine had a nice evening. And Leo Kottke is coming this week. A lineup like that doesn't happen in around here. Maybe one or the other every year or so. But, I'm closer to Colorado.

Have you updated your "gear we use and carry" thread recently. I haven't checked, but I was curious about the photo stuff.

I assume the 4-5 shot bursts are auto bracketed for the HDR. HDR is all new to me, but something I want to try. I thought it all had to be set up on a tripod and taken very dileberatly. I've been trying different photo gear setups on my mototrips. Everything from P&S only to P&S + 2 DSLRs and three lenses. I still don't do video, but may add that soon. It seems my photo gear can outweigh my camping bike stuff.

I think I know where I need to be next fall. That area is just beautiful.
I was in SW Colorado in August, but without any motorbikes.

Thanks, Ryan

Yeah, I may need to see LK if tix are available. He's one of my uncle's and my brother's favorites, and they know their stuff. City Winery is a nice venue, we sat about 30ft from stage, unobstructed view, good sound, and had decent food and nice wine, hard to beat. LDF is the big Shawn Colvin fan, (they're facebook friends, it turns out). We had a great time, she was playing solo.

I'm still carrying the same photo gear I posted about here. The S95 LDF carries has some dust on the sensor now, the Achilles heel of the compact zoom. I'm not sure it's worth it to have it serviced. I've been eyeing one of these which would make a nice upgrade, but still pretty pricey for what is essentially a disposable camera. I'm awaiting the day someone puts a big(ger) sensor and a decent lens in a dustproof shockproof camera. On that front, I've been moderately satisfied with the Oly 820.

As for video, I need to figure out a solution for the audio on the Liquid Image gogglecam. I really like the integrated camera instead of having a tumor growth sprouting from the top of the helmet. I probably will just resign myself to not talking if I'm riding fast. I looked at the feasibility of rewiring the microphone, but that doesn't look possible like with the ContourHD.

The software for both HDR and panoramic stitching has become so sophisticated that it can compensate for minor handheld discrepancies. Photomatix pro for HDR integrates seamlessly with Lightroom. Hugin for panoramas is a little more fussy, but it's free. It still is beyond me why people allow the tiny chip in the cameras to process JPEGs and panos, etc from RAW, when nearly everyone has a computer at home with orders of magnitude more capability. The downside is that working each photo to get it to look right takes time. It's nice to hear that the effort is appreciated. The haze of the smoke from the summer's forest fires really killed the contrast in the landscape. Almost none of our photos straight out of the camera looked like how I remembered the scenes. You can hear the commentary in the one video I posted, "This is so crazy, the colors are amazing..." but out of the camera, everything looked flat and dull, and the files needed some TLC to recover that pop.

I'm not sure what gear thread you're referring to, but if you're asking about the full gear spreadsheet, that's updated, and I still get requests every so often and send it out to folks who PM me their email.

[rycomm]

Thanks for the reply. I thought there was a post or link at the beginning of this thread. Maybe I'm not remebering correctly. I still shoot Jpeg, but now I'll go to RAW. Memory cards are cheap now. I think I started using JPEG when a 1 gb microdrive was a small forturne. I always wanted a M3 or M4 back when I was in college, but I bought a 4x5 instead.

Ryan

[DR. Rock]

We were still in Arapaho N.F., not Routt yet. Somewhere between Granny's nightcap, and Granny's nipple. Headed down towards CO Route 40.





We had some grand views on the backside,



The riding was easy on the ribs , and easy on the eyes.



We'd started the morning with 5 riders, and soon we'd be down to just 3.

[DR. Rock]

flat section, Big Dog waved us to stop for a break.



He said he'd be taking off when we hit pavement up ahead, and wanted to take a group pitcher of us all jumping. So we tried to set it up, but gravity was pretty strong, and we didn't get too far off the ground.



I cropped off our feet, so you can use your imaginations. He'd ride with us on pavement over Rabbit Ear's pass (see 'em there in the center of the photo?)





We were all sad. But then again, we were also riding motorcycles, so how sad can you be, really?

[DR. Rock]

Into the Routt N.F. for sure this time. Meandering around the twisty forest service roads towards Toponas, CO for our next fuel stop.





It was another pretty section,



despite the haze.

[DockingPilot]

The colors!
Now thats what I'm talkin about !

[DingWeed]

[DR. Rock]

someone routed us onto this trail,



and the riding became a bit more technical,



but nothing too dramatic. Some washouts and such,



I stopped to take a leak, and when I turned around, my bike was doing a slow fall:



The kickstand had found its way right into a jackalope hole!

[DR. Rock]

and the three bears,



this trail wasn't too hard,



or too easy...



it was juuuussst right.

[DR. Rock]

back and forth on pavement to get gas at Toponas took us past Toponas Rock:



it really sticks out like a sore thumb, don'tcha think?



At Toponas we stopped at the nastiest messy filthy general store / gas station. It was like a store run by hoarders. And they were butchering an elk. Now, I know a little something about handling meat, and I was absolutely horrified.



Somehow we managed to pick up some provisions (not elk!), and thankfully they had gas, so we were back on our way.

[DR. Rock]

Along Rock Creek,





unfortunately I think some beavers had dammed a side creek, and the road was good and flooded.



A cowboy was herding some cattle across upstream,



but that looked like it'd be a pretty good slog for us, and besides, the go-around was pretty painless, so we doubled back.





This was a road I wasn't sure about from the maps... it wasn't listed, but I could see it on GoogleEarth. I had laid down a waypoint to check it out as an option heading south, and it was really nice.

[DR. Rock]

This sign gave us pause, but it was pretty clearly stating to stay on the road. Of course, that didn't mean we couldn't get yelled or shot at.









We were almost to Radium where there was a bridge across the Colorado River, and a campground.



That would be our destination for the night.

[DR. Rock]

We were able to see the campground, and it wasn't particularly appealing -- a flat grassy area with some parked RV's near a railroad crossing.



So we scouted out some alternatives while we were still at elevation. We figured we could ride down for water if we needed it, but it would be way cooler to stay up here with the views. The first site we saw was tucked into a small side canyon,



It was OK, but no views, and right off the road, no real flat spots for tents... not ideal. Our next options was a winner.



An empty hunter's camp, perched high above the river and the railroad tracks, plenty of firewood and flat spots for tents.


This was gonna be a winner! Except for the bones.

[DingWeed]

[Questor]

Hey!

I'm finally getting caught up on my ADV reading and am happy to see the progress of this Ride Report.

I've ridden through where you are now. I recognize the Stage Coach stop and the stream crossing. It's part of the CDT right?

Anyway.
Good to see the Mobius is still "On".

Be well Dr. and LDF.

Q~