Riding the Continental Divide and more with the SMIB's

If you all will indulge me I am going to make my first attempt at a Ride Report. Don't worry others from the group will be doing the same and I'll link them here when they get started.

It all started last year when Blaster11 started planning a CDR ride for the Summer of 2012. The planning thread is here http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=735441. After a few months of planning we split into two groups. The original group's RR is here http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=802385 and JaxObsessed has a great thread with lot's of pictures going into it from our group here http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=803267.

Our group consisted of scott P, JaxObsessed, Pomo, RenoB, Lonestar2112, Bill, and yours truly.

Jack rode out from Baltimore to Tucson AZ to meet his friend Bill and would later join the group on the trail near Grants NM. Lonestar rode from Ventura County CA and met us at Pietown NM. RenoB shipped his bike from Maryland and met us in Socorro NM at Pomo's place. Scotty and I trailered to Colorado Springs and rode to Socorro.

After working a twelve hour shift and getting off at 7am I met Scott at my place. We got everything loaded and were soon on our way.



No sleep and riding across the country with this guy.


Good times.

Good start Kevin.

Have a great trip, we have been getting daily rain showers, be on the alert for 'gumbo mud' in this NM , CO area.

We are close should you need what ever.

ciao,gale

We roll into St. Louis that evening and spend the night with Scott's parents.

In 24 years I've never left my family for more than a couple days at a time, as excited as I was to take this trip I didn't feel good about leaving them for this long and being so far from home. Of course the same day I leave I hear we were hit with a freak windstorm and my family's without power and several trees are damaged and everything is just a general mess.

Thanks to the wife for downplaying it as much as possible to keep me from freaking out at the very beginning of my trip and thanks to SLiP210 for coming over with a saw and cleaning up the mess. A big thank you to the other Cat Herders that offered to help as well.

Great pic! Is this your new desktop!?

Can't wait to see more pics. Glad you hear you guys had a good time and are back home safe & sound.

Thanks Wayne, this may be slow going, there is just so much to share.

Gale, we're back home now. Thanks for the offer and the advice non the less. We got rained on daily through NM and CO, thankfully the rain didn't come as we were traveling through the potentially muddy sections.

You got it.
Of all the beautiful sights I saw out there nothing compared to the chiseled good looks of that rugged manly man.

Saturday morning we rolled out of St. Louis. We got a call from fellow SMIB Lance he was riding back to Maryland from California and was in Missouri so we met him for lunch.


Later that evening after riding all day through Kansas we ran into a wicked thunderstorm. It would be our first dose of the weather extremes out west.





BTW, this trip had many "firsts" for me and riding through Kansas was one of those "firsts". That was one brutal stretch of interstate. We passed many billboards with religious themes, one asked "where will you be spending eternity" and it was looking like the answer was Kansas.

Before I go any farther I should mention three other guys involved in this. Lakota was with the other group and had a get off very early on and his trip ended in a hospital in El Paso. His RR http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=804566

The other two are Gastone and Michhub. Gastone and wife should be having a baby any day now so he had to bail on the trip. Good luck Garrett and Megan!

Michhub was all set to go and started having back issues. We missed you man and hope you get back to riding with us soon.

I just wanted Kevin to know he was number one in my book! Great start Kev.........

Thanks buddy, I'm still bummed and I'm sure this RR will hurt even more....I did manage to install wide pegs on the KTM
thats going nowhere...surgery scheduled for 8/9.....


Keep it coming

We arrive in Limon Co that evening to find no room at the Inn so we continue to Colorado Springs and camp at the hanger where we will be leaving the truck and trailer. We wake up the next morning and unload and ready the bikes. The morning seemed surreal to me it was hard to believe the day had finally come and we were about ready to ride the Rockies. I think at that point in my mind I went from a full grown man to the boy I was when I was 12.

Ready to roll.



My first view of the Rockies(Pike's Peak) I believe.



We set out on our 452 mile journey to Socorro NM in 110 degree heat. Between keeping slabbing on I-25 to a minimum, frequent breaks to wet ourselves down to combat the heat, and the hellacious crosswinds around Albuquerque it took us 13 hours. Brutal day but we finally made it to Socorro and met up with Pomo and RenoB.

Monday morning Pomo takes us to a canyon with DEEP SAND, I can't say I like it too much but the scenery was out of this world and the riding in sand lessons would pay off later in the ride.





I've heard of altitude sickness but I've never seen it first hand. Apparently it affects people in different ways, when Scotty got it he became hell on wheels, flying through the deep sand and passing everybody with the rear wheel kicked out around every turn, and never whining about being tired. I've never seen anything like it.

With a son living in Denver, I have made the trip from Virginia to Colorado a few times and it always cracks me up when I see the sign that says "Kansas Tour Center". Who the hell goes to Kansas to tour Then for about a 50 mile stretch of I-70 you see the signs every few miles to stop and see the largest Prairie Dog in the world. So your all psyched up to see this monster and when you get there the damn thing is dead and stuffed.

We gassed up at that exit. Glad we didn't go in, even though I did want to see the five legged cow.

oser Yeah right

Good start...

We're in; lovin' your ride report so far Kevin, keep it comin'! Oh and believe it or not, there is some sweet dual sport riding available in what most people believe to be boring and flat Kansas, check out the gallery at www.backroadstouring.org , I've been trying to get to their "Flint Hills Stampede" held in late June for years now, perhaps 2013 will be the year?

Jeff (SoPaRider) & Karen (SoPaGuider); proprietors of the "Motorcyclist Manor"

After deep sand riding school was over we left Socorro and headed for Pie Town to meet up with Lonestar. We passed the NRAO Very Large Array. Pomo can tell you more about it or you can read here. http://www.vla.nrao.edu/



Scott wanted me to take this picture, didn't seem like a good idea to me but what do I know.



After meeting Lonestar in Pie Town we officially hit the CDR. Lots of long fast stretches with just enough deep sand to jump up and bite you. The track put us back on black top and we were headed for Grants. We passes lava flows





and lots of great scenery I didn't know existed in New Mexico.





El Malpais:







Once we get to Grants NM we assess the beer situation and Scott and Steve(RenoB) head to Wal-Mart to get a soft side cooler. Once stocked up with the necessities of camp we head to Coal Mine campground where we meet Bill and Jack(JaxObsessed).