OSO LOCO!! KTM 990s attack Colorado, Utah, and the best of the TAT

Noisy neighbors in San Francisquito?

OK, looks like *maybe* I was a little premature in teasing the report...



But, it was Valentine's Day and I was lonely...

Aw, you guys...
I have to tell you that this won't be a "Wan" report in the traditional sense.
That is, I won't be the one telling the story...



This is going to be all on BigWan.


Because I didn't get to go on this ride. :huh





^^^^ (that's me, upset because I didn't get to go...
not because matt is doing the report)






cdndog totally called it.








I was not.

yeah, there was a lot stuff that might have been challenging on a 650. And the Osos were all on 990s.





So, the reason I didn't get to go:
Matt had a bunch of single track and deep sand and dunes that he wanted to check out.
Too tough for 2up.


Mad Panda






I was kinda pissed at Matt for a while (like 2 and a half months!), but I'm over it now.










The emails he was sending and the SPOT tracks I was watching made me feel better.
I was missing some pretty tough stuff.
Matt said I would have been taking a walking tour of Baja.




Um. No thanks.
I ended up hurting my foot before he left (stupid burpees. )
so I might not have been able to go anyway.

Hey.



Yes, I did get a new camera, but this old nut doesn't get "credit" for that photo
(see, you're not gonna miss me and my stupid videos)
That one was a phone pic, taken by either Lica or Osito...

Well, originally, I challenged the guys to double the number of tacos from the Baja Wan-Thousand...
Matt said, "Pffft. We can do three times that..."

Then, we did the math - 3 x 117 = 351. :huh

Um. Okay.
Let's go with twice as many tacos. Which is still 234!






but, to be honest - I don't even know if they tied the old record... it sure sounded like they missed a lot of meals....

Poor hungry Bartek.










Anyway, I know some of you might be disappointed that I'm not doing the report
(only because I post my ass off and you were counting on guaranteed cubicle entertainment on a regular basis - yeah, you know who you are...)




BUT, I have offered Matt my services as secretary, tech support, editor (print, photo and video),
research assistant, whip cracker, etc...

From what I understand, there should be lots of video and a fair number of photos.
Maybe not the hundreds per day that I take, but that's a GOOD thing.
(see the camera wisecracks above )




All of that, coupled with riding that's too brutal for 2 up? :eek1
This report is gonna be off the hook.






The guys aren't even back yet. They're on I-5 right now and won't be home until after midnight.

But I've been hard at work, doing screen captures of the SPOT tracks and gathering map-type thingies.
Matt got a dictation app for his phone and emailed me the recordings.
I transcribed them into handy-dandy notes and organized files for each day...





(I wonder if BigWan came up with a good title yet....)





So, when he's ready, I'll post up a linkie for the new report.





SFMCjohn, redog1, Skyclad, JoeMongo, everyone else up there ...
Thanks for the enthusiasm you guys!
Matt has no idea how much work is ahead of him... he'll need all the support he can get.

Yaaaaaaah! Osoooooooooo!







Oh, hey - a new comment...

Hi oldxr!
Yeah, I heard that I missed my chance to meet you and Kustomizing Kid!
Did you guys love that puppy at San Francisquito, too?
Stay tuned for the report link, I'm sure you're going to enjoy the upcoming pics.

You tell a better story than all of us, blurry photos and all!

Can't wait for the report!

Sorry there won't be any LittleWan in it.

David

Yeah, some people can ride like the wind but not many can tell a great story!
LW, you rock!

it's still gonna be good. Matt does a fine job.

"Matt got a dictation app for his phone and emailed me the recordings."

Hola Lil Wan, looks like Big Wan did a little, ok a lot of headlight riding:eek1.

Since I got a sneak peek at a few days of tracks all I can say is it would be interesting to hear the raw recordings though they may have to be slightly edited for public consumption.

LittleWan-the puppy walked into our cabin(the hamburgler suite) about 8:30 pm.But he didnt want to sleep so we kicked him out.Big Wan and the KTM 990 wrecking crew rode in at about 9:15 pm after completing the green door trail-in the dark.Kustomizing Kid and I were making our way back to the states.I wll be starting on my RR today.I spent 3 weeks in baja- -being a slacker

oooooooh surely a Dramatic Gopher is needed here! :eek1

I will gladly support a Big Wan report because my new boot looks like this


ok, so I would support ANY ride report when I'm trapped in something almost worse than a cubicle...

LittleWan, I sure hope your hurt foot doesn't have a new boot like mine!

cheers

Who, me?

And, oh yeah, those aren't "burpees", they're 'squat thrusts' developed by the USMC in late '60s boot camp, and used as punishment for such non-mc behavior as blinking or breathing. They were meted out accompanied by the admonition that "the more we sweat in peace, the less we bleed in war. Yeah, punishment is what they are. Don't do those by choice.

Hey guys,

Sorry to leave you hanging...Matt got home late that night and we didn't get to bed until after 4am.
The last few days have been pretty hectic.
Thanks for all the supportive comments, I know Matt appreciates it!

Oh no- sorry about your foot! Hope you heal up soon.
nope, I have one of those cool boots from a couple of years ago,
but this time I only had to wear a rigid shoe for a week.

but, dickie - haven't you learned by now that I'm a glutton for punishment?
(matt said they were called "up downs" in football)









So, back to the Baja report teaser...
Us Wans have been together for almost 23 years, and during that time we've rarely been apart.
Fifteen days was our longest separation yet, so this ride was a big deal...

Now that they're back - it's Matt's turn to be pissed at me...
"WHY the hell did you tell everyone I was going to do a ride report???"











Matt was worried about gathering enough RR material,
but he and the guys did an awesome job of taking pics and video, I'm so proud!
One of the main things I told Matt was to make sure that he synched ALL the cameras at the start of the trip.
This was going to save him hours (days?) of headache down the line.
It worked!


As soon as he got home, Matt and I put all the photos together into one slideshow and it was over 4 hrs long.
I don't know of too many wives who would watch a 4 hr slideshow from their husband's moto vacation...

but I loved it.



We've only gone through a fraction of the video, so there hasn't been much time for ADV.
Matt's a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that he's facing.
Don't worry, though. He's going to do a great job.




So, for those of you who haven't already found it...

BigWan's report is up and running:

OSO LOCO!! Baja Edition: Oso Tired - Sand and Singletrack. And Rocks. And Snow.




Osooooooooo!

Go check it out!

rigid shoe + one week = not so bad
Not going to Baja = horrible

Not just anyone can do a fabulous RR but I'm positive that anyWan can!

On it like Bar--well, you know...

I'm sure this has been covered in the past.... Has LittleWan ever considered riding her own bike? Maybe a lowered 500exc?



.

Yes, it has been talked about, ad nauseam.

haha, oh that.
I went all bitchcakes on a guy who asked that earlier (page 26). post 383
I got a little carried away, but it *is* a little 205 at this point.
You can go read what I said in that post, just subtract some caffeine and ride report rage...



Yes, one of these days I'm going to focus on my riding. We need to move to someplace with better riding first.
There isn't much dirt in the bay area, which sucks.
Matt has some ideas for a bike for me (he just said if anyone is getting a f**king 500 exc, it's him. :ddog)



But, anyway - even if I had my own awesome bike and better-than-I-have-now-skills, I couldn't have gone on the latest Oso Tired Ride...
I couldn't have kept up with the Osos on 990s. Those bikes are kickass (as are the riders).
They had some really tough days - long slogs into the night.
I'm just not good enough.


Oh well.


p.s. Hi tilliejacques!

My bad



.

sounds like a bad case of excuse-itis

you'd be better off on the 350 anyway

or even better yet, one of these: http://www.fxbikes.com/

You make me laugh, LittleWan!

The humor and personality you put into your reports are without peer; I really enjoy them.

Cheers,
Lance

You Osos are amazing. I have just started reading your Loco report. The thing I was amazed at was the group endurance riding at night and through the rain at pretty steady high speed. The Schofield ride at night is my favorite so far. I tried to do Schofiled 2up on my DR650 with wife but we only came up both sides to the near crux two different times. I am impressed by your riding and entertainment skills.

Little Wan you do an awesome job with your unique narrative and pillion perspective.

To Matt and Radek you my friends have some mad skills on those big machines.

Those passes you filmed Schofield, Pearl etc. are quite familiar for me. That is how we connect the hundreds of miles of single track stretching from Aspen to Telluride. Your videos bring back fond memories of my former playground. I lived in Aspen for ten years and this is my bike used for the single track light and agile enough to get over all the fallen trees blocking the trails.

I've ridden my GS to the top of Taylor but wouldn't choose it for the stuff you guys rode. Oso Loco definitely is a great fit for your style. Thanks for sharing.

I've ridden with a whole bunch of Pro's, A, and AA riders of the Colorado 500 crew just trying to follow their dust trails. After watching your videos I was once again humbled by the skills and speed that you guys ride those bikes 2up to boot. With no previous trail knowledge. Especially cause I rode those trails daily once the snow drifts were manageable to cross.

Found a GS for you!