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Pablo’s Ride Highlights

• Having our bikes named by a Navajo Indian when we stopped for gas:
  • Blue Horse – Eric’s Yamaha FJR1300
  • Angel Horse – Grady’s BMW R1150GS
  • Sky Horse – Pablo’s BMW R1200GS
• Bringing along a new ODMC candidate and watching that person absolutely loving ODMC adventure touring.
• Initiating a new ODMC member while camping in a mountain pass about Redstone, CO.
• My R 1200 GS is a great bike for adventure touring. (I hope I keep it for more than a year!)
• Riding up to 12,630 feet on dirt roads on the same bike I rode on paved roads to Colorado!
• Uncle Dan is always good for a few laughs.
• Getting to ride with my brothers which I didn’t think that was going to happen this year.
• Starting the planning on the ODMC NE 2007 ride and the 2010 ODMC Alps ride. (more information to follow)
• Rainy weather and cool temperatures; good things for a desert rat!
• Where were Joe, Vince and Pork Chop? They were sorely missed!

Road Dog’s “Things I Learned On My Summer Trip”

• I will never wear my rain pants again. They will be ceremonially burned at the Golden Gardens Park in Seattle in a bonfire on the beach.
• I am done with the single-wall tent. I got my money’s worth out of it, and will have a new one…with a fly… on the next trip.
• WA state has the worst drivers I’ve encountered in all trips (with OR being a close second). Can someone please point out the signs that read “Keep Right Except To Pass” please?!
• Colorado riding should be planned to be inside by 4pm to avoid the daily thunderstorms.
• The Nevada Desert is as hot as the Sahara, from my experience. I had not felt heat that bad (in the area between Mesquite and Vegas) since I was in Egypt.
• Rockstar Juiced is a biker’s best friend!
• I will not take a carbureted bike to high elevation again. Although, the backfires through the Eisenhower Tunnel were quite fun!
• Every single Chevron I stopped at over 6 states would not accept my debit card at the pump. All other chains were fine.
• Plans were made for next year’s trip: New England. More details to come….
• 4,200+ miles in 12 days was quite enjoyable!

Return to Ride Summary

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Scott’s Trip Assessment

Well, I would categorize it as follows:

• Camaraderie: Top notch
• Riding in Colorado: Top notch
• Getting to see my brothers plus my Aunt and Uncle at their home in Breckenridge: Superb
• Riding & hanging out with Trev and Grady: Most excellent!
• Four days and 2,300 miles of nothing but Interstate riding: Extremely bogus! I suspect that Trev has sworn off all future Interstate riding. I know I have. Trev and I rode to Moab in two days which was grueling. Then I rode from Breckenridge to Burien in two days by traveling 650 miles each day. Thank God for my Throttlemeister (thanks Eric!) and my iPod, AirClick & Etymotics earphones!

Other highlights:

• Trev got to test drive both the ST and FJR. As predicted, he’s sold on the FJR. His verdict, and Eric’s as well: The ST is a sporty touring bike while the FJR is a touring sport bike.
• We had multiple adventure touring days: heavy rain, lightning storms, hail and intense cross winds. The latter occurred during my ride North out of Yakima and more than once I thought I was heading for the ditch alongside the Interstate.
• My Aerostich Roadcrafter suit: Wish I had bought one years ago. It held up to cold, hail, intense heat, you name it. Very comfortable and very versatile.
• Listening to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance on my iPod while riding home across Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Oregon & Washington.
• Diet Rockstar is a biker’s best friend. It lets you ride like a rockstar!

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