Just outside Marfa there were these steel posts (?) erected –there were 11 of them and each had a different symbol on them. From the looks of them, I think they light up at night. I dubbed them UFO-henge. Apologies to my brothers and sisters in the UK. The 240 mile loop was a long and fun ride. We got back to the hotel about 6 hours after we started –we stopped a lot and didn’t try to break any speed records through the scenic areas as I was trying to sight see and keep Clyde between the lines at the same time. We did manage to ton up a few times once we got back onto the desolate part of the highway. Sunday we took a different route back to the interstate so we could ride the mountain roads and enjoy that thrill just one more time. It’s been a long time since we were able to take a weekend trip on a bike together, so we were tired when we got home having averaged about 5 hours of riding time each day for three days –a total of about 750 miles (I didn’t track it exactly). But our butts never ached and we weren’t sore –that’s a testament to why the Goldwing is the king of touring in many people’s view and I can’t argue with it.
Great pic's and write up @JtC its a great place to visit, I must admit when I saw the Rio Grande I expected something a spectacular instead of the trickle of pee it was then, but I was told that a lot off the water was being drained off for the New Mexico vin yards
Me too. There are places you could literally step on over without getting wet, for sure, and there are places that will drown you if you try to swim it. Folks have been fighting over that water for a long time, I suppose.
So . . . the pics of Elephant Mountain and the brisket finally dropped out of cyberspace . . . This photo has nothing to do with the trip. It’s a gratuitous pic of my bass collection. My brother just sent me the tiny Michael Anthony replica Jack Daniels display “bass” and I immediately thought of dilli.
What wonderful photos and a great write up about your weekend adventures, @JtC! It was truly a fun and interesting read… and view. Thanks for taking the time to snap pics and share stories, geography, and a bit of history with us!
I rode my non-Triumph H-D Street Glide Special on back to back days this weekend! Yesterday a riding buddy and I rode to Tucson H-D to see what was going on there. I ordered a Klock Werks "Flare" windshield and some LED turn signals/brake lights. It was fairly quiet for a Saturday and the inventory is looking pretty sparse sadly. Evidently Harley is focusing production on fewer models to streamline and dealerships are pretty much getting whatever they get sent. After that we rode to our local Triumph dealership. My friend used to have a 2013 Speedmaster which he traded last winter as part of a two-bike trade for his current 2020 H-D Street Glide Special--like mine only all black. He had mentioned that he was sort of missing that Speedmaster and it seems that he's jonesing for the 2020 version. He's in the same boat as me--had three bikes, traded two for one, and now has that empty garage space calling his name. Anyway, our dealership had one Speedmaster on the floor and my buddy was all over it--literally and figuratively. I found myself drawn to the bike, too, but not as much as the Rocket 3 GT I have to say. Today that same riding buddy joined Mr. Sandi and me and another friend for a ride to Coyote Pause for breakfast. I've shared some stories and pics of that place on the forum before as it's one of our favorites and the ride to and from it (Gates Pass and Saguaro National Park) are spectacular. @Don the Don, you'll be sad to learn that Old Tucson Studios has closed for good. There were big CLOSED signs posted over the top of the Old Tucson signs that I saw as we rode past. I had read in the newspaper recently that they were struggling and now thanks to COVID have closed for good. I'm hopeful that at some point someone will be able to reopen it again by including some innovative uses (concerts and other events, perhaps?). We had a lovely outdoor breakfast and some great conversation. The starting temps were the nicest since summer hit. And we were entertained by a couple of puppies who were out on the patio with their owners, too! The one in the photo is Shiela whose owner asked Mr. Sandi if he'd watch her for a moment. Today was a totally non-Triumph day although our larger ride group contains several Triumph owners. This ride had three Harleys, all Street Glides, and one BMW R1250RS ridden by our friend in "the outfit". Mr. Sandi has known him for decades and loves to give him polite sh*t about this "outfit" and a lot of other things, too. They also play guitars and ride bicycles together and are great friends. I recently bought the perfect helmet to match my bike, a Shoei RF SR! It truly looks like it was custom painted but is a stock color. I've had Shoei's before but not this particular model. I already had a Transition shield on another helmet that works on this one which is great. After today's ride I can unequivocally say it's one of best fitting and feeling helmets I've had right out of the box. I forgot to put my ear plugs in after breakfast so didn't have them in for the bulk off the ride. I don't know whether it's the bike (probably not!) but it's a very quiet helmet. I'll have to do a proper comparison on this bike with my RF1200 but I think this helmet is the more quiet of the two. And the fit for me is spot on. It's touted as being designed in the wind tunnel for a more upright riding position which also works great with this motorcycle. A view into our nice little breakfast courtyard. We always hope this table is open because it's shady and is next to a lovely bubbling fountain. The guy on the left is the friend with whom I did the dealer-to-dealer ride yesterday. This is Mr. Sandi with Sheila, an 11-week-old Australian Shepherd. She was pretty interested in his helmet. Actually, she was pretty curious an interested in EVERYTHING! I noticed this sign on the door that goes out to the patio from inside the restaurant. Yikes! While we didn't see any snakes, it's always a good reminder to be on the lookout. Not a sign you typically see in most restaurants. And, yes, that is a photo of a rattlesnake. Today's ride was a lovely 50+ miler. While it was cool-ish starting out, it was pretty hot by the time we arrived back home so it was just long enough. Maybe we lingered a bit too long over breakfast....nah. My odometer reading at day's end. The first time I rode this bike it had 167 miles on it between dealership tech rides and Mr. Sandi's rides on it. So I've another ride to go before I've put more miles on "my" bike than have others! My Speed Triple RS is next up in the ride queue. I think he's been feeling rather neglected since I did my first ride on my Street Glide last weekend and now he's not been out on the road for two weeks.
Swapped my 765 RS track bike for something with a fairing and a little more power for the straight bits.
Great write up and pic's @Sandi T. as always , sad to hear about the old studios there was a lot of history there like here covid has played a part in the demise of some institutions, take care and keep up the posts
Fitted one of these to my Gixxer today. An optimate usb charger which is a 3.3 amp fast charge one. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/193303158149 Had to lift the tank to run the wire but seems to work great. Got an automatic cut off if the battery gets too low and switches off after an hour of no use. Hopefully no more dead iPhone for me!! !!
Took my four wheeled non-Triumph out since it was going to pi$$ down all day.I started out with a proper breakfast at a little cafe called Old Town Pancake House in Jonesborough, Tn. The lemon blueberry pancakes were amazing! I then headed to an area called Linville Gorge Wilderness, about an hour from home. There is a lot of hiking, rock climbing, and wilderness hiking in the area. The Linville River runs through it, 2000 feet down in the valley. This is near the towns of Boone and Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina. These pics are from an area called Wisemans View. After some hiking and getting drenched in a downpour that would end up lasting most of the rest of the day I headed out to explore some of the mountain roads in the area. Once back on pavement I found myself near the Blue Ridge Parkway and a favorite spot called Little Switzerland. It is a tiny community of just over 40 permanent residents, but gets a ton of tourist traffic. The Switzerland Cafe has some great food. I finished off this smoked trout BLT with a nice beverage. All in all, it was a great day out even with the rain. I travelled about 200 miles of some nice curvy roads that I will be returning to with two wheels. The gravel roads will definitely have me considering a Tiger or Scrambler added to the garage in the future. I do have a question. Is it appropriate to post a long thread like this here considering the title, or would everyone rather see it as a separate thread? I really don’t know. After some thought added this as a new thread in general discussion.
Great write up and pictures @OsteKuste Doesn't matter where the thread is if it's interesting. I have to ask though, WTF is on the left hand plate in the first photo? If its bacon it looks like the pig died of ill health!
Great pic's and write up @OsteKuste , like the jeep mate fill your boots with scenery like that and anything that contains bacon it will be a sure hit here mate
We took the Winnie and the Wrangler out to Lost Dutchman State Park near Phoenix, AZ. It was a nice 11 hours on the road, but worth it -the 11 hours back home so we could come to work today, not as joyful. Thank God for a good and safe journey, though. We have been here several times before and we really love it. To us, desert scenery is beautiful and we just can't get enough. No matter which way we look it's gorgeous. We did some off-roading and it was fun -Hannah enjoyed it but it wore her out.
There was a super car rally at Tortilla Flat -we didn't get out because Hannah doesn't do well in crowds. There were McLarens, Mazarrattis, Porsches, and even a beautiful Ford GT (?). Of course, I'm the designated cook and enjoy cooking out-doors -I rarely use the kitchen in the RV. Me and the Missus also had a great time in the local adult candy store, it's called Total Wine and More -more booze than I've ever seen in one place! Of course, I've never been to dilli's house. Depending on where the sun is in the sky, the same mountain can look vastly different. And there is even a lake!
