2009 26
Home Sweet Home
Today I had to do some work online in the morning then slab it home to be back in time for a meeting. Definitely the least interesting day of the trip – all part of the wind down I suppose.
I covered about 1650 miles, most of which were in the dirt.
A dirty bike is a happy bike.
When I got back I chained it up in the carport, took a shower, and the trip was done.
Thanks for following.
I’ll be giving the bike a thorough pampering and will be off to Baja again very soon. Ferrying to Mazatlan, then down through Central America. I’d like to go as far as Argentina, I’ll see how that pans out.
Cheers! :freaky
-Evan
Home Stretch! Desert Blasting!
I had to take some pavement today to make up a few miles. I have a meeting in LA tomorrow and have to be back in time.
Still managed to find some fun dirt riding though.
Saved by Some Good ol’ Boys
My eyes opened when I heard the rumble of an engine.
I jumped up and looked out the window. Coming down from the hill in the east.. . . salvation?
I threw everything in my bag so if it was a truck willing to help the driver wouldn’t have to wait for me to pack.
The headlights turned into 2 sets, which turned into 3, and then 4. A caravan! My spirits were boosted.
It was a group of utility vehicles coming down the mountain about 1/2 mile apart. I stood in the road by my bike and tried to flag the first vehicle down. He drove right by. . . . . seriously?!
Getting Intimate with Mt. Trumball
What was odd was that the checkpoint was at a fork in the road. The map in the checkpoint didn’t show any sort of fork. I realized I had gone way too far south. I also realized I didn’t have enough fuel to get to any gas station, so my objective became to get somewhere I would find other people. The fork off to the right curved north and went up through the canyon. It looked like the best way of making progress in the right direction.
I went up a few miles and the trail vaporized into a riverbed. I went up and down the riverbed in both directions looking for where the trail crossed. There were several feeding rivers that might have been covering the tracks, so I went up a couple. No luck, the trail was gone. The tank reserve went dry and I threw in the towel. Here:
I sat down and thought about my options. I opened up my bag and pulled out my spare gallon, good for 40-50 miles.
Valleys, Canyons, and Other Amazing Scenery
Yesterday I rode 14 hours and covered 65 miles as the crow flies.
I packed up early and headed out.
I found some dirt right away and headed west.
I Finally Found the Grand Canyon! The Back Side
I left Tuba City early today. The weather is much nicer now, and there was only a light chill in the morning hours.
West of town the dirt starts immediately.
Heading west in search of the Grand Canyon. I don’t have any maps or directions, but figure it can’t be hard to find.
Crossing Navajo Reservations
Today I just winged it. I don’t have a map of Arizona, and I don’t have any particular place to be. I just headed west based on the sun and hoped to find some good riding.
It didn’t take long.
New Bike – And Another Cross Country Adventure!
I flew out to Denver last weekend and picked up an XR650R to try and squeeze in some late season riding in the rockies. Then 1500 miles offroad back to Los Angeles.
Took it out for a 100 mile shakedown immediately. Had some minor jetting issues and needs a little grease here and there, but a very solid bike. The previous owner let me keep the license plate so I don’t look too suspicious.
A day later I headed out on a 300 mile dirt route to Alamosa.
1972 Honda C70 Super Cub
I picked up this 1972 Honda Super Cub 70cc bike/scooter/moped/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. These little bikes have been in production for over 50 years. This particular scoot popped up locally for a mere $100 so I drove out and picked it up.
This bike has sat for at least 15 years along side the owners home. The last registered user of this bike was an older gentleman who passed away in the early 90’s. His widow gave the bike to their neighbor who kept it outside all those years. I bought it from the neighbor and brought it home to fix up.
These little bikes are extremely reliable and will run forever, even when neglected. The trouble with this one is more aesthetic than anything else. The desert sun has faded all the paint badly and made the plastics very brittle. Most of the chrome should clean right up.
Fortunately EVERY part for these bikes is very easy to find and relatively inexpensive. The Honda Cubs have many part importers around the United States, so anything you need is never more than a call away. Just be aware, there are genuine Japanese reproduction parts, and there are Korean reproduction parts from a variety of manufacturers. The Korean parts are often lower grade and not great fit and finish. If you browse eBay you can see hundreds of Korean parts for sale at any given time ready to be shipped from Korea, or from an importer in the USA for much more money.
The original Honda Cub hit the dealers in 1958 in a 50cc variety. The 50cc model is still available today. However, over the years they have produced many slight variations of the model – 70cc’s, 100cc’s, and Honda Passports.
For cheap transportation these Honda C70’s can’t be beat.
Mancation
The sailing trip (aka ‘Mancation’) – was a whole adventure which I might relive on this blog at some point. But for now, just enjoy this….