BigDog/HighFive--Fall Colors In Missouri

I've been making my annual pilgrimage to Potosi, Missouri to the Falling Leaf BMW rally for I don't know
how many years-------20 or more ???? I rode BMW's for probably 15 years but that was way before BigDogAdventures.

This time would be very different---as I met up with a friend Scott Williams from Oklahoma----he's better known as
"HighFive On AdvRider". And we would leave the rally and poke around Southern Missouri for the weekend looking at the scenery, finding some springs and run across so much interesting stuff.

Here is me and Scott---Scott's on his one year old BMW 800GS which he bought at the rally last year.
It's so funny---he took it for a 3 hour test ride and when he came back the dealer said "well I guess you know you bought that bike" !!! He replied with "I guess you know you just traded for a KLR" ????? Pretty funny sale I thought.

I was on my 2005 KTM 950 Adventure which I bought new in 2005.

Stay tuned as me and Scott tell of our travels for the weekend as we stopped a lot to
"Smell The Roses"

Another BigDog RR, Hell yes I'm in!!!!!

IN

Wouldn't miss it.

I wished I had rode my KLR to the rally and went with you guys dual sportin'.
Roger

That 800 sure is a fine lookin' scooter!

Big Dog:
The man
The myth
The legend!

Me 2.

She's Mobile....Agile....& Hostile!

HF

Welcome aboard people----it's just a weekend ride ---but the fall colors, great weather and finding the stuff we did made it a stellar weekend.

Hey---Studad---thanks for putting us up---and the Brats were awesome.

On the way from my home in Southern Illinois I was on the T road West out of Perryville, Missouri.
A road I've ridden before that has almost no traffic and has not subcumbed to road straightening or
flattening out of the road---it follows the hilly terrain and is awesome.

I can't believe I'd ridden down this road so many times and didn't see this covered bridge by the road.
It was a pre-face of stopping and smelling the roses that would last the weekend.

I would meet meet many old friends at the rally and then me and Scott would head out on our
own and head farther West.
I would also be on a quest to find some more springs I have marked in my gps in Missouri.



This creek and waterfalls were right before the covered bridge.





This is the same creek that runs under the covered bridge---but across the road.



The weather was better than ever at the rally and Me and Scott camped there for one night
and headed out the next morning as the GS ride headed out with about 40 riders running nose to tail
eating each others dust----we really didn't want any part of that.
Me and Scott wanted to ride----and we both came to terms with stopping to smell the roses the next 2 days.

It really took me awhile to get accustomed to riding my 950 again----I had just returned from riding my Yamaha WR250R to Alaska and back---so it was a different world.
The biggest thing I have to get used is stopping the bigger heavier bike----the WR stops on a dime offroad--the 950 stops on a half dollar !!!!! :huh

My trip to Postosi started a little earlier than BigDog's.....I departed Rancho Highfive Thursday morning. But reckon, it really started a full year earlier. When, I explored my way up there on my KLR and somehow came home on a BMW. Here's the moment I was switching my gear over.





Say what you want, but I loved my KLR. We had been through an awful lot together....thick & thin, fast & slow, deep & wide, far & near. I put a lot of glorious miles on that bike, and had no intentions whatsoever of letting it go. I really just came to the rally to hook up with the BigDog for our first ride together. I had broken Momma's rules and talked to a stranger on the internet......that's how BD & I become acquainted. But, I had never yet met The Man, The Myth, The Legend in person. He we were circling & sniffing each other out in 2010:





However, the ride never happened. I kind of stood Mark up. Not intentionally, mind you, duty called. I was actually standing next to my KLR, ready to roll bright and early, parked next to Gateway BMW. That's when Honz shows up (the dealer) to get bikes ready for the day. And he says, "why don't you take this F800 out and get it dirty for me!" Not wanting to be a KLR snob at a BMW rally, I simply had to oblige.....figured I could squeeze in 15 minutes or so (never ridden one before).

It was love at first ride. I just kept going and going and going. The world stopped turning and I lost all sense of time. Put that demo through the paces in the paved twisties, dirt roads, two track, and even some muddy single track. I definitely brought it back dirty a LOT later. And, you know the rest of the story.

So, here's my friend & I this year, somewhere in Arkansas, "winging it" on Thursday.....while the BigDog was still at home in the recliner scratching JoJo.





Kevin rode up with me last year on his Ducati Monster, and discovered he just couldn't keep up with my KLR! He couldn't do dirt roads. So, he came better prepared on a new Multistrada this year. It is a VERY cool bike! We stopped in Fayetteville for the sacred lunch at AQ Chicken House, where my college son was able to join us between classes.





Then, we chased some forgotten, heavenly twisty road into a dark canyon for a long ways. Until Kevin says, "hey stupid, do you know we've been going Southeast for the last hour? We were supposed to be going North!" I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "Aaahh....who cares!" I'd never seen this road, and it was really good, and better yet, went to absolutely nowhere important. I never even turned on my GPS all day. Besides, we had two days to get to Potosi.....with No Plan, No Route, & No Schedule!

Eventually....because of my "No Plan" plan......we had to find somewhere to camp in the dark. We stumbled upon a campsite on some dirt road hilltop in the forest. Wasn't till the next day, we figured out it was somewhere important (I guess).








Man, do I ever sleep good in my hammock. Most comfortable thing I've ever slept in. Takes a little getting used to at first, but sweet dreams after that.

Here is the wonderful sunrise view we enjoyed! This is the moment Sir Kevin stopped doubting my internal compass forever.





Get your boots on cowboy, its time to ride! You can see a hammock makes a great chair too.



And, here is why he needs a Multistrada with 150hp: nuff said




We're out of here:





Next stop....Potosi or bust!

HF

Dang it----I'm still wishin' I bought your KLR instead of letting you trade it in. My ole' KLR is very tattered---high miles and it's been thru hell. But for me it's one of the best bikes ever made---and best I've ever owned.
Oh well----it still does run like a top---and like one guy on AdvRider says----------
"After the world ends---only 2 things will be moving---KLR's and cockroaches.

My old group I hang with at the rally was devastated when we got there.
Our campsite had been molested--the one we had for 20 years----completely gone.
Our old firepit was gone and they cut down the huge trees right by it and we wandered around
like blind people trying to find a place to camp----------it just wasn't the same.
I hate change (Grumpy Old Men)

I had decided to take off in the morning and leave the rally the next morning and do some riding West of Potosi and informed my old riding buddies that was what I was going to do.
But that was a new one--we always rode around there and stayed at the rally---and no one wanted to join me.

So--the next morning me and High Five roared off West---just the 2 of us.



For you people who have never ridden in Southern Missouri----I'm telling you it is pure heaven. Stay South of I-44 and you are good to go. So many dirt and gravel roads--and nice paved ones that follow the natural terrain. It is very hilly and they are literally hundreds----I guess thousands of creeks crossings and fords to be made.
I've also ridden dirt bikes over here since the early 70's---and know lots of trails and even quite a bit of single track the quadtards hadn't found yet.



I had my gps navigating to an old railroad culvert that I had seen picture of and heard about on AdvRider----we meandered all
over the place following every dirt and gravel road we could find that led kind of toward the culvert----kind of !!!!
I don't really let a gps tell me where to go---but take suggestions.--sometimes.

It's located Here:

N37 50.704
W91 10.548

I recommend yo don't go down the road going North of the Culvert----it's a dead end---there are some really nice people living at the end---and I bet they are getting tired of bikes coming down there.







This old railroad tressel is just West of the Culvert at a low water crossing.



And this is the river going under it.

We didn't really know where we end up tonight---but it was awesome.
I had an invite to camp at StuDad's (Stuart) ranch---we'd didn't know if we'd get there or not as
we were wandering around so much.

I'm still snickering at the Dumb Ass at the Trail Of Tears BMW rally a few weeks ago who strolled past my little 250 trying not to acknowledge it was even there.

He stopped long enough to say "You couldn't ride that thing very far"

Thinking he had impressed all by-standers he quickly disappeared.
But not before my buddy Tom Huff who was standing there informed him I had rode it to Alaska and back this year.:huh

+100 on riding in central Missouri in the fall. Its one of my all time most favorite places in the whole USA. Amazing rolling twisty immaculate roads thru incredible forests, but with one thing missing: traffic. Its a place that recharges my emotional battery every time I visit. Next year, I'm gonna stay in those woods for an entire week! The dirt road, two-track, and trail options are just endless throughout the Mark Twain Nat'l. Forest.

We made a lot of nice spring-fed creek crossings on our way up to Potosi, as well....





....and rolled into the rally grounds about 3:00pm on Friday. After staking claim to a campsite, I headed on over to the Gateway BMW tent for a reunion. I must tell you how impressed I am with these fine folks at Gateway BMW. They have restored the meaning of value in a dealership (at least to me). Their support has been stellar.....even though I live far away from them, in another state. Bob Honz runs a top notch operation and goes beyond the expected, to make sure I'm a happy customer. Honestly, its quite refreshing. Thanks Honz!

I was anxious to see what new demo bikes Gateway had brought for me to "get dirty" this year. Without missing a beat, Honz says, "why don't you take this one out.....and come back in about 3 hours or so." He didn't have to ask twice.





This is the new Husky 511. A street legal barrel of fun. I had never ridden one of these new-millenium Huskys. Man, I was looking forward to this, and quickly found a nice secluded back-road that led to some fantastic rough single track in the mountains. WOWeewee was I ever impressed with this bike. I thought it would be way over powered for tight single track. All the 450+ woods bikes I've owned &/or ever ridden were like nitro rockets when you hit the power band.

But THIS bike was different.....in a very good way. The motor was velvet smooth with linear power delivery, which I find very useful. To be sure, it has more power than I would ever need. Fortunately, they designed this motor to make all of the power actually useful....on demand. This was the lightest feeling big-bore Thumper I've ridden to date. Very nimble and stable.....had the feel of a 250 on the trails. The ergos fit me great, and even the seat felt comfy. The brakes were awesome. But it was the superior Traction which was the highlight. Unless you get crazy stupid with it, you just can't break the rear-end loose. It sticks like glue to everything. They've got something special going on down below in the linkage system....I don't know what it is, but it just plain works awesome!

I was not expecting to like the bike, but I did....and a whole lot. The six-speed gearbox was plenty long to run down the pavement at 65 mph. While the motor was comfortable doing so, the rider was not. There was just too much vibration in the bars to ride long distances like that. So, it wouldn't make a DS touring bike for me......but Husky has definitely moved onto my radar screen for a plated woods bike in the future. Its on my short list now.

Next up, I had to do something I've never done before (I know....again): ride one of these:





This was the brand spanking new full-on Adventure model. And now, I finally know what all the hub-bub is about.....why this is the best selling model in their lineup. Ho-chi-momma nice! Endless smooth power in a BIG way. Very comfy. Everything fit. Really didn't feel as large and bulky as I thought it would, especially after all the "whale" comments I've read. I don't think I'd have any problem riding this bike in the usual off-pavement places (like rough Nat'l Forest roads and two-track). But that's just me. To be certain, its not as nimble as my F800. However, If I ever got me another predominantly "road" bike, I think this would be it.

Since I liked the Husky 511 so much, Honz called for reinforcements from St. Louis......he ordered down the new 310 (?) for me to "break-in" on Saturday. But I unexpectedly stood him up. That seems to be a consistent theme for me on Saturdays at this Falling Leaf Rally. For the first time ever at this event, I had a horrible night of sleep. Some Jellyhead brought his boom box and played Marty Robbins songs all night long directly behind my hammock....while he & his misfits drank beer and partied till 3:00 am. I got NO sleep at all, and was repressing the urge to ride my bike right through his tent Saturday morning. I don't think I'll ever like Marty Robbins again. Just sayin.

So, there I am zombie-like eating an early breakfast in the rally hall, when the BigDog plops down at my table across from me. I didn't really know if he was coming....we never spoke about it or made any plans. Figured he wrote me off after bailing on him (unannounced) last year. I felt badly about that. Anyway, not being one to mince words, he says "Let's get the heck out of here!" Goodbye rally friends...two's company, three's a crowd.



HF

p.s. I had to notify Mr. Ducati that he was now officially on his own. Said "see you back in Okiehoma some day. Don't know where I'm going...don't care as long as its away from here." Figured he could find someone to ride with in a crowd of 400 bikes, and even find his way home to OKC. I knew there would be no way he could follow us on his Multi. I was counting on going deep.

Holy Majoly! Two of my favoright ADV journalists in one RR?!?! I'm sooooooooo in!

...........Bring it on boyz........great story...serendipty at its Best.....

Subscribed.

Looks great so far. I am going to have to make it to Missouri soon.

Cool!!! It seems you'd a lot of fun