Sin City Rollin'!!!

Some people might say that starting a ride west across the mountains of New Mexico and Nevada at the end of October would be a risky proposition…some of those people were our wives and friends. But what do they know???? More than we thought, apparently.

We took off anyway from San Antonio early morning October 26^th…or at least as early as we could after waiting for a huge cold front to pass through….bringing with it a torrential downpour that would last the first 5 hours of day one – which is why there are no pictures of the first part of this adventure. Something about stopping and setting up a shot of one or the other of us shooting through a low water crossing wasn’t all that appealing at the time…woulda made a cool picture, but we said that more than once on this trip.

So the first picture taken on this report would be in Junction, TX….where we stopped at Lance’s (aka AyeWon) mother’s house for him to “dehydrate”…he wasn’t completely set up for riding under water.

Man, that's a mean case of helmet-head I've got there!!!

So, the story behind this ride – Lance (AyeWon) is on the right – he’s on his Honda Shadow Sabre – and wearing chaps – not friendly attire when it’s raining like a sum’ bitch!

Me, on the left (White Noize), on my DL1000 V-Strom – prepared for the rain and dropping temps.

Our ride plan is to travel to Las Vegas in 3 days from San Antonio…we're in the sports television business and need to be in Vegas by the end of the day on the 28^th in order to report for work first thing on the 29^th at the Pro Bull Riding World Championships where we will cover the event on CBS, Versus and NBC.

Blah, blah, work stuff….let’s get on to the riding.

We head out of Junction after an awesome quick breakfast provided by AyeWon’s mom – and after his clothes get a tumble in her dryer. We were anxious to get out towards west Texas where at least the scenery is worth looking at. Our plan for day one was just to put away some miles of mid-west Texas on the interstate and make it to Las Cruces, NM where we would get off the interstate and head west thru the mountains on some worthy roads.

That was the plan, at least…some 40 miles short of Fort Stockton, TX, this fun insued….

[IMG]http://i188.photobucket.com/albums/z155/MarkHarrier/PA260006.jpg[/IMG]

Thank god for the Cycle Pump Combo Kit – saved our ass! Not a soul stopped to see if we needed any assistance – some honyok on a big Harley even soared by without even a glance! We did run into him later at a gas stop and he was surprised to see us....we gave him the "hey, thanks a buttload for stopping and checking on us back there" look.

After the tire delay, we headed on – only to make it into El Paso for the day – but we were happy to have a warm room to settle into. We stayed at Hampton Inns the whole way and they were all very accommodating with parking for the bikes.

Notice the gas can tied on to AyeWon’s Shadow – he brought it along since his tank capacity is only 4 gallons and mine is 5.8 – just in case. Well, his unsafe manner of transporting this fuel earned him the trip’s first nickname – “Clampitt”.

Day two we rise early to make up for some lost time and to finally reach some roads worth riding – and worth getting the camera out for.

We cross into New Mexico,

turn north on I-25, and then per the suggestion of ADV’er Frenchy750, we head west on Hwy152 just south of Truth or Consequences….we can’t thanks Frenchy enough for this suggestion!!!! What a road!!!! Highly suggested to anyone that gets the chance to grace it’s wonderful twisties, switchbacks and un-guardrailed mountain routes!

We enjoy 152 thoroughly and then hit Hwy180 to head north and west over into Arizona.

This is where mother nature throws her next gauntlet at us – wind….wind like no wind you want to ride in….wind like a friggin’ hurricane….apparently, somewhere short of Show Low, AZ we are informed that we had been experiencing 60mph cross gusts. If you ride, you know how much this sucks. A Parks & Wildlife officer, who are normally fine people, informed us that “in these parts, some wicked snow usually follows this kind of windfest”….or something like that. This would have normally been appreciated information....except this guy delivered the news like he was enjoying the visions in his head of us re-enacting the scooter scene from "Dumb & Dumber".

That said, the wind and rapidly dropping temps kept us in Show Low, AZ for the evening. The wind battle of the day required some mini-bottle therapy.

After settling into our room, the sound of the wind called us to the window…..

Yippee…..yeah…..we are so happy…..can you feel the sarcasm?

We awake the next day to this (we’re told it’s the earliest snowfall on record in Show Low…..of course it is!!!!!):

And have to ride north out of Show Low on Hwy77 to I-40 to head west….in 22 degree temps!

We ride thru intermittent bursts of wind and snow all the way from Flagstaff to Kingman…..they thin out as we drop out of elevation…..and then we get to enjoy just the wind again – not as bad as the day before, but bad enough to make the riding a chore.

The looks of the other travelers on the roadways that day were priceless – every car we passed or that passed us, looked at us like we were completely out of our minds...maybe we are.

The new bridge being built at the Hoover Damn was awesome….and I was amazed at how low the water was at the damn.

More to come…..we had a couple days off in Vegas and rode out to the Grand Canyon and Zion Nat’l Park (with some great pix!)…..and then there’s the ride home….we picked up another rider for that leg.

My first "official" ride report...the Catskills!

Well, once again work took me to New York City....specifically Garden City for the Belmont. You know, the one where Big Brown crapped out....get it???? "Crapped out....Big BROWN....???? Whatever.

The TV truck compound.....

The audio panel on our main truck.....zoinks!!!!!!

Shaq is a pony guy....???? I pity the horse.

That crap taken care of, it is time to hook up with a fellow audio guy/good buddy, Mike Zadroga, for a 3 day ride in the Catskills....sweeeeeeet.....tight twisties in and out of the heights.....perfect.

"Z", as we affectionately call Mike, saddled up his Honda CBR....

and he offered up his Honda ST1300 for me to attempt to keep up with him on.

We check oil, tire pressure, etc., etc. and we prepare for 3 days of riding bliss.

The trip begins, as I get accustomed to the smooth-revving ST's 4 cylinder, as beautiful as can be. A first on our agenda is the Woodstock Museum...oddly enough, not actually in Woodstock. Apparently, there were last minute squabbles about the venue location and the concert, and coincidentally the museum, were and aren't in Woodstock. Either way, we arrived with beautiful blue skies and warm breezes.

And we return from the museum to what can only be described as a torential assault by raindrops that I swear were the size of my fist. What's THAT all about?!?!?!

This assault continued on and off all day and kept us hopping from covered stopping spot to whatever old bridge we could find for temporary reprieve. This one should do.

Notice the blue sign to the right of the bridge???...check out the inflation rate on bridge work over the past 154 years!!!!

But it was pretty cool on the inside....amazing what they can do with a bunch of wood!

Day 1 of the Catskills ride was a success, even though we didn't cover the ground we had hoped due to the scattered hydration offerings from above.

Upon our arrival back at Casa Zadroga after day 1, we had an unexpected visitor for dinner...and she was eating whether she was invited or not! Her head is a little blurry in the second shot as she is shaking the hummingbird feeder to pieces!

Day 2's ride was rain free....just beautiful....if not a bit warm, but I live in San Antonio, so I try not to complain about that much.
One thing about "Z"...he likes corners...he likes speed....he likes to put the two together. According to him, I did a fine job keeping up on a bike that wasn't as suited for it as his is. However, this continuous barage of down-shifting, strategic braking, accelerating through the apex of a tight corner and then hammering it again when completely upright doesn't allow for much picture taking. It seems that "Z" appreciates the scenery...as long as it is passing so fast that it is impossible to focus on...much less notice. It is a fine balance of coordination, skill, concentration, luck and insanity that keeps you in your lanes....and it doesn't provide for the opportunity often to reach into your jacket pocket to grab the camera. Don't get me wrong....it is DAMN fun. But I like to throw in a little environmental appreciation along the way.

That said, I did get some pretty cool pictures at an old (did I say old?) cemetary that we stopped at to grab a sitdown and some H2O that wasn't pelting us from the heavens.
It was a real nostalgic stop...really made me think about what's been done, and is still being done, by soldiers that bring us the freedom to be able to even ride around like we were.

I still get a bit choked up when I look at the pictures...it was surreal just walking around the graves of these heros.

And speaking of history, we ran across this guy riding around just like we were....except on a piece of history.

I also got to practice my deer-dodging skills out on day 2...for obvious reasons, there are no pictures of said practice....but I assure you, it was the best (read "scariest") practice I have had in the evasive manuevers involved in missing a 200 lb. deer as it frantically scratches it's way across the still slightly damp pavement. It's amazing that the human heart can go from "high-speed-cornering rate" to "shit-I-almost-just-drove-through-a-large-mammal" rate in micro-seconds! The second of three occurances was most definitely the closest I've ever come to hitting a deer on a motorcycle, and the closest I've come to dying in quite a long time.

Day 3 was much less eventful, but much warmer also. So we dedicated the day to searching for a few nice spots to stop to cool off in the many creeks still flowing quite freely with the runoff of snow from the winter.

Well, the glorious 3 day ride ended with the gravel road jaunt up to "Z's" cabin in the mountains...and another awesome meal cooked by Chef Z.

THANKS, "Z" for my first real opportunity for a ride report, the great home-cooked meals, a great cabin in the woods and for all your hospitality!!!!! I owe ya, BIG TIME!!!!!

Devil's River 2008

The Devil's River calls.....as it often does. Rarely we get to answer its' call. However, this past May 26th - 29th, seven of us were able to heed the call, hit the road and brave the river and everything it throws at us, which this year included some new wildlife, 2 "newbies" and some out-of-control rapid riding by one of the river veterans. This year's group was the largest we've gotten out there yet - at seven - Myself, Lance, Dave, Troy, Dano, and the 2 newbies, Frank and Dano (aka "Otto"). Here we are in anxious anticipation, minus me - behind the camera.

The drive up alone provided ample entertainment....first of all seeing as I kick-started my liver before we even hit the road at 5am. Then, the misunderstanding on where all parties were to meet to hit the road led to some schenannigans and the first "un-policed" roadside stop of the trip.

Once we were all on the same page, and on the road, our rapid transport to the river was halted by the Texas Highway Patrol....we had all agreed that 85 miles per hour was a completely adequate speed for the journey.....and not only did one of the badged patrolmen think not of our velocity, but a second one shortly after also delayed our public intoxication on the Devil's River. Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the pigs (the first wildlife we encountered), but while we waited for the oinker to finish with Lance (heh....."waited for the oinker to finish with Lance"....bet that's not the first time THAT's ever been said.....heh.), I did get a shot of a roadside tarantula.

We finally make it to the promised land....and lots of THIS begins (Frank demonstrates):

And that's not an energy drink, I assure you.

Besides that, Dave, as usual, did a fine job cooking gourmet meals.....

Troy spent hours fishing.....

Dano drank his Michelob Gay.....

John captured video.....

Lance chummed the water with his own flesh.....

And I renamed my canoe...."Discovery 169" seemed boring.....

For reasons we have yet to confirm, on day 2, a sheep came into camp and seemed right at home in the doorway of Troy's tent.....Troy did have an odd smile on his face when he woke up that morning.

The REAL reasons we visit the Devil and his river......

A good time (and a hangover or two....or three) was had by all......there were no drownings, or even close calls, which is a plus.......this year's crew of River Rats & Devil's Doctors welcomed its' 2 new members on another successful trip in west Texas.....we already look forward to next year.