...and the radio played...Alaska

[Wayne Weber]

Just read it Antware. Fantastic. I'm stealing the shot of Ricky on my RallyTwin, thanks for getting one. You quoted his comments on my bars, almost exactly.


Ouray really was a blur, looking back. Nothing to do with alcohol, it was just so ...



OK, maybe something to do with alcohol.

[ilmostro]

Originally Posted by Ant Ware

Awesome shot of "Uncle Fester the Molester"

Keep it coming Aye Dubya!

[AntWare]

Originally Posted by Fighter

Antdubya ... Where's the rest of the story??? Anxiously awaiting your comments and pics of/from Alaska. Enjoyed our conversation at the mercentile in Denali Park... How did the rest of the trip go? Are you still favoring the Katoomer over the BM?

Was great to meet you mate, it's a small world isn't it. I met a few other riders associated with the 'Gruvers on my travels and all had great things to say about you...go figure

I had some very generous offers from Legion and the like offsite before I left...you fella's have a pretty sound group of riders up there

All the trip pics are stored HERE if you want to a self guided tour.

[AntWare]

Originally Posted by Wayne Weber

Just read it Antware. Fantastic. I'm stealing the shot of Ricky on my RallyTwin, thanks for getting one. You quoted his comments on my bars, almost exactly.


Ouray really was a blur, looking back. Nothing to do with alcohol, it was just so ...



OK, maybe something to do with alcohol.

hey, haven't you got a trip report to finish

After Ouray I was wondering where Coloradians (?) went on vacation

[AntWare]

Originally Posted by ilmostro

Awesome shot of "Uncle Fester the Molester"

Keep it coming Aye Dubya!

There's enough shots of those two it probably deserves it own thread...he's such an attention whore

[DarkRider]

You ever take 287 north from Amarillo and cut across to Raton?...then zig-zag to 160 and across to Durango that way? Might make that late start continue to be a 1-day affair...I just did CO Springs/DFW last wkend...left CO @ 1:30pm...as long as your V1 is loud, 287 is a quick route to CO...much better than I-40.

And where's that little town on 287? I'm on the road all the time and haven't seen that one...must've forgotten to slow down? Tell me where so I can make sure the bladder is full when I get there...

[Fighter]

[QUOTE=Ant Ware]Was great to meet you mate, it's a small world isn't it. I met a few other riders associated with the 'Gruvers on my travels and all had great things to say about you...go figure

I had some very generous offers from Legion and the like offsite before I left...you fella's have a pretty sound group of riders up there

All the trip pics are stored HERE if you want to a self guided tour.[/QUOTE

Adubya, great shots.
None of what you may have heard is true. Every bit of it is an illusion.

Glad to hear you made contact with Legion, he's a good dude. Yet another convert to go from BM to KTM. You two might be on to something.
Any chance of making the Dawson Run next year?

[Meathead]

Originally Posted by Ant Ware

All the trip pics are stored HERE if you want to a self guided tour.

Unbelievable pics, Ant. The 950 is very photogenic. The pic of the speedo at 100 and the odo at 10000 didn't have anything to do with the blue light special, did it? :uhhuh

[BWalker]

Originally Posted by DarkRider

You ever take 287 north from Amarillo and cut across to Raton?...then zig-zag to 160 and across to Durango that way? Might make that late start continue to be a 1-day affair...I just did CO Springs/DFW last wkend...left CO @ 1:30pm...as long as your V1 is loud, 287 is a quick route to CO...much better than I-40.

And where's that little town on 287? I'm on the road all the time and haven't seen that one...must've forgotten to slow down? Tell me where so I can make sure the bladder is full when I get there...

That's the way we go to Angel Fire,NM all the time. A couple of years ago we did Dallas to Salida in one day...about 775 miles.
Estelline is about half way between Childress and Memphis, SE of Amarillo about 80 miles or so.

[AntWare]

Sunday 25/07/04

After another late night drinking 'round the fire, or where the fire was Sunday arrived.

The early birds were breaking camp, and while the rest of us were sniffing for the telling signs that the kitchen was open, the Weber boys rolled out of their tents, scratched their balls, looked at the empty space where their bikes had been parked...then continued scratching their balls while searching for a beer without skipping a beat.

VF, having two lovely ladies to keep an eye on, wasn't taking any chances and was holed up in Chateau Fitz, waiting for the riff-raff to leave before making a run in the bat mobile for the airport.



(Thanks to VF & DG for gracing us with their presence and allowing us to spend time with the lovely KaTieM
I pity the fools that try to date her in years to come under the watchful eye of the ADVRider family )


Fishing For A Sucker

Flashback to May. I get rained out from work and decide to take a ride to the local KTM dealer to eye up the 950. I'm really just kicking tyres, thinking I'll sell one of my other bikes in a month or so and maybe buy the KTM, when the dealer suggests "wanna take it for a spin?"

"Oh no, I don't think so, I've been down this road before." I'm experienced right...wrong.

"So has anybody test rode one and not bought it?"

"Not that I can think of"

And so with a scratch of his head, he gives me an evil grin and walks away...hook, line & sinker.

Fast forward to Sunday morning in Ouray. A group of long time friends who don't know each other from Adam, are slowly deflating tents and reminiscing on the weekend that was. Out of the corner of my eye I keep catching Neduro's attention being summoned by the 9.

"Wanna take it for a spin?"

Caught offguard, by my interruption of his thoughts, he turns slowly.

"No..no thanks, I don't think so"

"You sure"

"No"

"No you don't want to take it or no your not sure"

"No I don't wanna take it for a spin...you got a helmet handy"

So after a scratch of me 'ead and an evil grin, Ned takes off through the KOA campground...on one wheel...with my bike and helmet



Ned rounds the corner and takes the bike out of sight...but not out of sound and returns about 15 minutes later. He park's the bike, pulls off the helmet, and starts gibbering at about 90 per...

....my god...it's so this...

....dude...it's so that...

...man, I looked down at the speedo, my god, I was doing this...

...the powers soooooooo this...

...It power slides so that...



...and oh yeah...I dropped it


On The Road Again

I need to be in Bellingham, Washington by Tuesday afternoon, the good ship Malaspina leaves port at 6pm...sharp.

Todays gonna be a short day. I stay way too long at the KOA saying goodbyes, it's as though, subconsciously, I didn't want to leave. I don't get rolling until 11:30am...which much to Lone Riders chagrin, is not that unusual for me

As I travel Hwy 55 towards Grand Junction and watch the mountains getting smaller and smaller in the mirror, I can't help but ponder all the time and effort that went into O.S.C.A.R.

Now it's over, 150+ people are making their own way back to wherever they came from. Some are hooking up and riding part of the way with brothers & sisters they couldn't pick out of a line up a few days ago. Others are taking the long way round to visit family they haven't seen in a while, and others, like me, are leaving the way they came.

Just a suggestion, and I hope it's not out of place, We need an advrider map...a big laminated mofo...we can post it at the entrance to each event and have people put in pins from their home towns...d'ya think there was a state in the lower 48 that wasn't represented? I don't think so. Then maybe the head of the steering committee could keep it as a thank you for all their efforts...just thinking out loud...it helps keep you on the road ya know



I crossed the Utah border on I-70...



...then busted a u'ey to grab the Colorado sign I missed due to the weather on the way up from NM.

Thank you Colorado, it was, errr...colourful




One more just to prove I was there...




After 100 miles of slab I peel off and take Hwy 6 following the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad towards Soldier Summit.

After spending the last few hours entertaining myself having dogfights with RV's, semi's and traffic trains, I pull over to put on some rain/cold weather gear and let them all pass me again...bugger




Of course, as I descend the back of Soldier Summit, the rain dissipates, the weather warms to a balmy 95, and I'm sweating like Richard Symons in my Goretex.

I stop for a bite to eat at a no name restaurant in Provo, Utah, before heading for a campground on the outskirts of town. For some strange reason the people of Provo strike me as pretty redneck.




450 miles for the day.





...and the radio played...One By One - Wilco

One by one my hair is turning gray
One by one my dreams are fading fast away
One by one I read your letters over
One by one I lay them all away

One by one the days are slipping up behind you
One by one the sweetest days of life go by
One by one the moments stealing out behind you
One by one she'll come and find not you or I


...thanks for listening.

[neduro]

Fuck you, Ant, You're an asshole. You're little game is going to cost me the better part of $15,000, and you knew it in advance.

Fucker.




















Thanks!

[AntWare]

Originally Posted by Meathead

Unbelievable pics, Ant. The 950 is very photogenic. The pic of the speedo at 100 and the odo at 10000 didn't have anything to do with the blue light special, did it? :uhhuh

Thanks MH.

I wish, the speedo shot was in MPH, the ticket was in KPH

What we need is Canadian speed limits...US unit's of measure

[AntWare]

Originally Posted by neduro

Fuck you, Ant, You're an asshole. You're little game is going to cost me the better part of $15,000, and you knew it in advance.

Fucker.

...one born every minute mate, one born every minute...

Look on the brightside...you'll be in good company

[AntWare]

Monday 26/07/04

I need a fairly good day today to leave me with a short run tomorrow.

I head out through rush hour traffic in Salt Lake City ...please, you wouldn't know rush hour traffic if it jumped up and bit you on the arse

...and hit the Idaho state line before needing to fuel up.



Idaho? Idaho? eh err, U'da'ho



I thought I'd left the high temps behind in Texas but temps all across Idaho have been hovering in the high 90's.
So far I've managed to skirt most of the rains...lets keep it that way.




Trying to eat miles, I continue on IH-84 through Boise and wind up in Oregon as I cross the Snake River just south of Ontario. That Colorado mud sure has stayin' power.




Looking for anything to break the monotony I stop and grab a shot as I cross the 45th just south of North Powder...either the sign or my GPS was off about 100'




Slabbin' it is killin' me. Fortunately there are quite a few twisty scenic routes with great elevation changes that parallel the highway and take you through some quaint little farming towns like Hwy 237 through Sago, Telocaset, Crooks, Union, Bryan & Hot Lake.

Unfortunately I cross into Washington as I cross Lake Wallula so, as with Oregon, there's no sign to add to the collection

I spend the night camped just outside of Kennewick after a hot, sticky 700 miler.




...and the radio played...Moses (live) - Coldplay

come on now, don't you want to see
this thing that's happening to me
like moses has power over sea
so you've got power over me

come on now don't you want to know
you're a refuge, somewhere i can go
you're air that, air that i can breathe
you're my golden opportunity


...thanks for listening.

[Meathead]

Damn good read and again, great pics.