California Coast: An artist's dream come true..

April was bringing another opportunity to explore the California coast, and the chance to explore some new friendships and rejuvenate the ties to old friends, lest they fray given the rigors of lapsed time whilst tending to the many distractions of a busy life.

The opportunity was a RTE (Ride To Eat) in gorgeously scenic Big Sur, a gathering of FJR (and other) riders from Northern California and Southern California, to socialize and revel in the joys of a shared hobby and their love for what's arguably the best super sport touring machine known to man. The FJR. ;)

It was dark clouds and a steady drizzle when we first pulled up and it continued while we were there, so the camera stayed under wraps.
It did clear up a smidge when we were gearing up to ride out, I am generally not good at taking pictures of people, so I don't, but I did take a picture of my photography heroine - shown here atop her Can-Am Spyder she has affectionately named Clifford ( as in the big red dog)!

(Mostly) End of Days in Southern California.

A few words and a few more pictures from my stay in Southern California, the end week of 2011. Not a whole lot of riding involved, just to and from the beaches. I would sleep in late, go out to lunch at some restaurants by the beach and then just be a beach bum for the rest of the afternoon, run on the beach and check out and flirt with the "ahem" scenery - the kind which would talk to me anyway.. ;)

Cardiff-by-the-Sea State Beach was my more often than not hang out spot. Great restaurants right across from the beach, not crowded and it is a pretty flat beach to run on and one could run for miles on the beach with the cliffs of Solano Beach on your left and the Pacific Ocean on your right at low tide. Just don't take a nap along the cliffs before high tide, or it might become a permanent nap.. :)

These "birds" I didn't need permission to take pictures of..

Because I can: A ride down the California coast...to eat!

It was 4:30AM, as I opened the garage door, to be greeted by a dark and cold winter morning. It was the morning of the annual Ride to Eat (RTE) organized by a venerable Dutchman called Ninjaboy. I was going to ride some 390 odd miles (with detours) to Guadalupe, CA for their famous Rib-eye steaks today and socialize with fellow riders and then ride a little beyond into Santa Barbara.


Sunrise wasn't until 7:23AM. I was wearing a couple layers, with my winter windscreen on the FJR, but after riding an hour and half in the cold darkness at 77 mph and above, I was chilled right down to my bones. It was time to whip out the electrics for the first time since I have owned an FJR.
Temperatures were in the low 30s, I had ridden in the low 30s several times before without the need for electrics, I think no warmth from the sunlight and the new Firstgear Rainier jacket had something to do with this.

Looking to the east on Hwy 152, the sun was painting the sky amber, portending it's arrival over the horizon. There was no stopping to watch the sunrise, I wasn't stopping because I was heading west straight for the ocean. Couldn't see the fireball rising behind me from the east, but I could still see it's handiwork in the early morning light sky canvas.

Of Volcanoes, Lakes, Rain and a Custom Suspension.

I was planning a trip to the Southwest this October. Southern Utah, Northern Arizona and maybe even Southwestern Colorado. Best laid plans and stuff. A routine tire change drew my attention to what would throw the wrench of fate in those plans. A leaky fork. 
Now, I could have just had them disassembled to put new seals and fork oil in, but at 44K miles the front suspension was getting long in the tooth, made even more so evident by the upgraded rear shock. It was time to bite the bullet and make the pilgrimage to GP Suspension in the Pacific North Wet for a custom tuned suspension to my weight and riding style. :)


A leaky front fork didn't mean I still couldn't have some fun on my way North. I had originally planned to visit a couple of National Parks in the Southwest, as it happened there were also a couple of National Parks beckoning me on my journey North. Here I am presenting some selected shots, as usual I took many, but I am only sharing those few which tell the story I want to tell, the gloomy bad weather shots - well I won't bore you with those. Let's look on the bright side shall we? :)


Day 1: Beautiful Sisters.


I rode out Saturday morning and headed towards the scenic Feather River Canyon also known as Hwy 70. I hadn't ridden this road all year and whenever I do - it always makes me grin from ear to ear. Such tempting curves and such smooth silky pavement - the FJR just loves to ride this road..


One of several tunnels bored through the canyon.. 

Motorcycle Cop Skills Competition.

Just a Slideshow of pictures from the event. Went there with a few friends and watched the cops play on the motorcycles for a couple hours. It was nice - some of these guys do have some good low speed skills! You could however, smell the burning clutches and there were a lot more dropped bikes than I captured. The Harleys just layed over - the BMW's scraped the asphalt pretty good! No problemo - just taxpayer money. :)

Slideshow: Motorcycle Cop Skills Competition.

Enjoy! :)

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Rally, Big Sky, Montana.

This is the report which was supposed to be inserted in between the ride reports to and from Big Sky, Montana. It was a beautiful and breathtaking ride through Idaho and Montana to get to Big Sky. That report here - Enroute to Big Sky. 
I have finally gotten around to writing about my experiences in the rally itself, but as the saying goes - "You save the best for the last!".

I look back and muse that this rally almost didn't happen for me. Other than the fact that I got very sick just a couple days before we were to leave for the rally, for the longest time I was not really sure riding 1000+ miles in a day was something I was ready to do. Add to that riding 1000+ miles in a day while hunting and collecting bonuses - Ha! Yea that was happening all right!

I will readily admit that I am a touring and stop for pictures kind of rider, although I have done many 700+ miles days. Do you know the find the best sights, the best angle, the best light and take dozens of pictures per stop and stop often for pictures type? Yea - that's me! Having said that, doing a Saddlesore 1000 was something I had been wanting to do, riding in an endurance rally was also on the long list of things to do (call it a bucket list). I never thought I was going to do both in one day!

It all started unfolding on June 1st as I exchanged a few words with the Rally Master, Bob Torter on his birthday and he invited me to come on up to Montana and have some fun! I then started scouring the LD Forums for information on how to condition myself mentally and physically for endurance rallies, also talked to my mentor Brian R. for his advice and we figured we could ride together and pick one of the "Good" routes and modify it to suit what we wanted to do. Since the bonus listings were emailed a week in advance, we already had a route planned before we left home, the goal in mind being to finish a successful SS1K and get a ride certificate from and photo op with IBA President Mike Kneebone. :)


Arriving at Big Sky it was great to see the smiling faces of friends and to get handshakes and hugs from some great people I only get to see a couple times a year. It was also such a beautiful location. From what I heard from everyone it was the most upscale and gorgeous locations for an endurance rally ever and I believed it.

View of Lone Mountain from my room. Big Sky, MT.

Exploring Idaho and Montana Enroute to the Big Sky Rally.

Introduction:

The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly Rally was a 32 hour endurance rally organized by the famous IBR veterans Bob & Sylvie Torter (aka V-Twins) as a celebration and a thank you to the several years of motorcycling fun, friendships and camaraderie they have enjoyed with the great people in the LD rider community. No one could have said it better as the V-Twins did when they introduced the rally to friends..

Introduction to GBU Rally by the V-Twins.

I had always been hesitant to run LD rallies. Honestly, I have always doubted I had what it took to go a 1000+ miles in 24 hours (Saddle Sore 1000). I used to see what these riders did routinely and be in awe (I still am). One 1000+ mile day is just the bare minimum required to be considered one of their ranks. These guys have accomplished so much more than just the bare minimum, such as 1500+ miles in 36 hours (Bum Burner 1500 - BB1500), 1500+ miles in 24 hours (Bum Burner Gold - BBG). The toughest among them run or have run in what is called the Iron Butt Rally. An endurance armageddon of 11,000+ miles in 11 days.

Here, I relate the story of the journey to the GBU rally, and the journey home! The story of the rally itself, I will save for a separate blog post. The report is split up into two parts for the journey to Big Sky. The return home is an epilogue to the rally itself which is a separate blog post.

Part 1: The road to Stanley, Idaho.
July 20th, 2011.

I was riding with my mentor Brian R. We were going to take the scenic route to Big Sky, through some of Idaho's beautiful roads and sceneries. The plans was to get to Stanley Idaho, approx 520 miles away and the destination for the day by 4:30pm on Wednesday evening, (remember, we lose 1 hour going to Mountain Time from Pacific Time), just in time for the 15 minute Eucalyptus steam sauna and the 45 minute full body massages we had scheduled for ourselves at the Meadow Creek Inn and Spa in Stanley. We were going to rough it out enough while running the rally - so we decided to pamper ourselves a little on the way there!

This was to be the first day of running against the clock - the stops were minimal and all photography was on the move until we reached the destination. So please pardon the composition and the existence of some speed blur.

Wednesday morning brought us a sunrise start. We were supposed to be on the road as the sun rose, but here we were still in Brian's driveway as the sun first peeked out. We left 30 seconds after this shot was taken.