This ride actually happened last year but I thought I'd go ahead and share it here. At the time I only shared this on our local forums.
I'll also use this as a sort of introduction post so I'll start with some background on me, I started riding way back in 2003 (can I call that way back now?) when I turned eighteen and never stopped. I'm sure most readers can figure out why the riding started at eighteen.
Other than a CBR and my current FJR all my rides have been dual sports. Anyway, this was my first, and so far only, attempt at a certified ride. Going into this I had quite a few 500+ mile days under my belt and many days spent riding from sun up to well past sun down so I felt pretty confident going in. To this point most of my riding had always been dual sport or ADV oriented so while the days might have been long I wasn't always covering that many miles. This would be a real change of pace for me and I ended up even enjoying the interstate part of the ride... sort of.
This was something I always wanted to do and always envisioned I'd do it on my 1150GSA but last July an FJR fell into my lap and I knew what I had to do. On August 28th I headed South. ... And then West, and then North, and then East. The next part is copy and pasted straight from the report I wrote at the time.
I got started a little late but it's all good. Actually, leaving a little behind schedule meant less time riding in the fog that was cloaking the Brazos River Valley. In my helmet as I made my way towards Glen Rose and my first time riding “on the clock” was Brass Against's cover of War Pigs. I found the title oddly fitting since I frequently refer to the FJR as the Rocket Pig.
In front of me was... fog and deer. Three of the things in the first 5 miles.
I made it safely into Glen Rose without shishkabobbing a critter and grabbed that first reciept. I should have gotten one from the new 7-11 that's open 24 hours a day in hind sight but I knew this station had a good receipt.
https://new.spotwalla.com/track/18d5-21cdc765-2e84/view
I was unable to get live tracking to work on Spotwalla but at least it recorded it. I wasn't sure it was doing that at the time.
The orignal plan was to take 377 to Junction and then to Del Rio but along the way Google decided Sonora was a better option. Not sure about why unless it was just weekend traffic. I think all my mapping of this route had happened on a weekday and, indeed, I had planned on doing it on a weekday but then this Saturday came open. Anyway, I'm glad it rerouted me because the scenery was pretty good and I'd never ridden through here before.
After turning west at Brady the common enemy became flocks of buzzards. Yes - flocks. I had to slow for three big 'uns with at least 30 birds per flock. Fort McKavett looked really interesting from the road and may be a future day trip location with the family.
I took a short break in Sonora to figure out exactly what my GPS was up to. All was well.
After Sonora I encountered six troopers before Del Rio. It was beautiful country until just before the BP checkpoint where it flattened out a bit so it was a good place to take it easy and enjoy the view.
Coming into Del Rio I had Leo Moracchiolo's version of Cover Me In Sunshine playing in my helmet. This was good because the next leg really covered me in good times and scenery despite the little bit of rain. Hmmm... I guess there is a metaphor in there somewhere.
I turned on some Cory Wong for a change of pace as I picked up US90 West but between Langtry and Dryden my phone decided I needed to listen to Mark Lettieri Stoplight Loosejaw. No complaints here. I followed a Game Warden for a while at this point because we had happened to leave the gas station in Del Rio at the same time. Eventually he flipped a U and headed back towards town. I cleared the Border Patrol checkpoint and it was smooth sailing and gorgeous desert landscapes for miles. And more miles. This was my first time through here and I found the rock gorges to be really pretty. Made me want to go hiking with the kids again... in an area not crawling with Border Patrol and the potential threats they were looking for.
I put the Cardo away to charge in Sanderson because I wanted to be sure it was charged up for the sprint home on I20 that evening. It fits in the FJR's little glove box nicely and I new I wouldn't be caring about listening to anyone or anything for this next section.
Temperatures in the Alpine and Marfa area were in 70s and 80s. I saw 73 as I came into Marfa but that's also when it was raining on me. I'd been narrowly dodging showers for a few hours so I guess it was only a matter of time before one caught me. No big deal but I did put the rain cover on the tail bag to double up on the protection for my receipts.
West Texas was very green. This was the first time I've seen it like that and it was very stunning. I may take a trip back with the family soon so they can see it too. I was planning a winter trip with them in the near future but this green version is pretty neat and the temperatures have been mild this year.
I turned on some Lake Street Drive as I pulled out of Marfa (in an attempt to ward off, or maybe pay homage to, any spontaneous desert lakes that might have appeared with the recent rains). There was only one and it wasn't over the road. Then I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Ft. Stockton while listening to Rachael Price singing Hypotheticals from their latest release. That stand up base gets me every time.
On the North Side of Ft. Stockton I came across my 4th and final deer of the trip (that I saw!). She appeared to be a Mule deer and was very smart. She stared at me as I stopped then waited for me to creep past before crossing the road.
Once I picked up I-20 in Pecos I was met with a line of trucks to the horizon but I eventually got past them only to be met with a 51 minute delay in Odessa. Google provided me with an alternate route through town that might have added 15 minutes to my original time. When I got to where the wreck was I was able to spot a semi rig with its front wheels pushed all the way back under the cab level with the sleeper. I hope everyone was okay but I'm skeptical if the rig hit a car that hard.
As the sun set my low fuel like came on and, not being real familiar with this bikes actual range yet, I took advantage of having the phone and a real GPS in front of me. The Garmin, that I'd been using as just a fancy trip computer to this point, found me fuel 7.5 miles away in Colorado City with just a few taps of the finger. I put in five gallons almost on the nose. I should have had at least another gallon and a half left according to Yamaha. Looks like I need to do some testing....
Shortly after leaving Colorado City I stumbled across another semi trying to slow down traffic. This one seemed to have missed his exit and decided to cut across the grass. Bad idea. The tractor and trailer were making an obtuse "V" over there in the ditch with the drive wheels off the ground.
From there the ride was pretty uneventful event of sit there, twist that, and get gas when appropriate. I slowed the pace after turning off Interstate 20 in Santo, TX to watch for deer and pigs. The FJR has decent headlights (for a motorcycle) but they could be better. An upgrade is in order.
The Doobie Brothers song South of border played as I got my final receipt.
I'm currently looking forward to and planning a BBG or BBS for later this year. We'll see what fate has in store for that one
I'll also use this as a sort of introduction post so I'll start with some background on me, I started riding way back in 2003 (can I call that way back now?) when I turned eighteen and never stopped. I'm sure most readers can figure out why the riding started at eighteen.
Other than a CBR and my current FJR all my rides have been dual sports. Anyway, this was my first, and so far only, attempt at a certified ride. Going into this I had quite a few 500+ mile days under my belt and many days spent riding from sun up to well past sun down so I felt pretty confident going in. To this point most of my riding had always been dual sport or ADV oriented so while the days might have been long I wasn't always covering that many miles. This would be a real change of pace for me and I ended up even enjoying the interstate part of the ride... sort of. This was something I always wanted to do and always envisioned I'd do it on my 1150GSA but last July an FJR fell into my lap and I knew what I had to do. On August 28th I headed South. ... And then West, and then North, and then East. The next part is copy and pasted straight from the report I wrote at the time.
I got started a little late but it's all good. Actually, leaving a little behind schedule meant less time riding in the fog that was cloaking the Brazos River Valley. In my helmet as I made my way towards Glen Rose and my first time riding “on the clock” was Brass Against's cover of War Pigs. I found the title oddly fitting since I frequently refer to the FJR as the Rocket Pig.
I made it safely into Glen Rose without shishkabobbing a critter and grabbed that first reciept. I should have gotten one from the new 7-11 that's open 24 hours a day in hind sight but I knew this station had a good receipt.
https://new.spotwalla.com/track/18d5-21cdc765-2e84/view
I was unable to get live tracking to work on Spotwalla but at least it recorded it. I wasn't sure it was doing that at the time.
The orignal plan was to take 377 to Junction and then to Del Rio but along the way Google decided Sonora was a better option. Not sure about why unless it was just weekend traffic. I think all my mapping of this route had happened on a weekday and, indeed, I had planned on doing it on a weekday but then this Saturday came open. Anyway, I'm glad it rerouted me because the scenery was pretty good and I'd never ridden through here before.
After turning west at Brady the common enemy became flocks of buzzards. Yes - flocks. I had to slow for three big 'uns with at least 30 birds per flock. Fort McKavett looked really interesting from the road and may be a future day trip location with the family.
I took a short break in Sonora to figure out exactly what my GPS was up to. All was well.
After Sonora I encountered six troopers before Del Rio. It was beautiful country until just before the BP checkpoint where it flattened out a bit so it was a good place to take it easy and enjoy the view.
Coming into Del Rio I had Leo Moracchiolo's version of Cover Me In Sunshine playing in my helmet. This was good because the next leg really covered me in good times and scenery despite the little bit of rain. Hmmm... I guess there is a metaphor in there somewhere.
I turned on some Cory Wong for a change of pace as I picked up US90 West but between Langtry and Dryden my phone decided I needed to listen to Mark Lettieri Stoplight Loosejaw. No complaints here. I followed a Game Warden for a while at this point because we had happened to leave the gas station in Del Rio at the same time. Eventually he flipped a U and headed back towards town. I cleared the Border Patrol checkpoint and it was smooth sailing and gorgeous desert landscapes for miles. And more miles. This was my first time through here and I found the rock gorges to be really pretty. Made me want to go hiking with the kids again... in an area not crawling with Border Patrol and the potential threats they were looking for.
I put the Cardo away to charge in Sanderson because I wanted to be sure it was charged up for the sprint home on I20 that evening. It fits in the FJR's little glove box nicely and I new I wouldn't be caring about listening to anyone or anything for this next section.
Temperatures in the Alpine and Marfa area were in 70s and 80s. I saw 73 as I came into Marfa but that's also when it was raining on me. I'd been narrowly dodging showers for a few hours so I guess it was only a matter of time before one caught me. No big deal but I did put the rain cover on the tail bag to double up on the protection for my receipts.
West Texas was very green. This was the first time I've seen it like that and it was very stunning. I may take a trip back with the family soon so they can see it too. I was planning a winter trip with them in the near future but this green version is pretty neat and the temperatures have been mild this year.
I turned on some Lake Street Drive as I pulled out of Marfa (in an attempt to ward off, or maybe pay homage to, any spontaneous desert lakes that might have appeared with the recent rains). There was only one and it wasn't over the road. Then I enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Ft. Stockton while listening to Rachael Price singing Hypotheticals from their latest release. That stand up base gets me every time.
On the North Side of Ft. Stockton I came across my 4th and final deer of the trip (that I saw!). She appeared to be a Mule deer and was very smart. She stared at me as I stopped then waited for me to creep past before crossing the road.
Once I picked up I-20 in Pecos I was met with a line of trucks to the horizon but I eventually got past them only to be met with a 51 minute delay in Odessa. Google provided me with an alternate route through town that might have added 15 minutes to my original time. When I got to where the wreck was I was able to spot a semi rig with its front wheels pushed all the way back under the cab level with the sleeper. I hope everyone was okay but I'm skeptical if the rig hit a car that hard.
As the sun set my low fuel like came on and, not being real familiar with this bikes actual range yet, I took advantage of having the phone and a real GPS in front of me. The Garmin, that I'd been using as just a fancy trip computer to this point, found me fuel 7.5 miles away in Colorado City with just a few taps of the finger. I put in five gallons almost on the nose. I should have had at least another gallon and a half left according to Yamaha. Looks like I need to do some testing....
Shortly after leaving Colorado City I stumbled across another semi trying to slow down traffic. This one seemed to have missed his exit and decided to cut across the grass. Bad idea. The tractor and trailer were making an obtuse "V" over there in the ditch with the drive wheels off the ground.
From there the ride was pretty uneventful event of sit there, twist that, and get gas when appropriate. I slowed the pace after turning off Interstate 20 in Santo, TX to watch for deer and pigs. The FJR has decent headlights (for a motorcycle) but they could be better. An upgrade is in order.
The Doobie Brothers song South of border played as I got my final receipt.
I'm currently looking forward to and planning a BBG or BBS for later this year. We'll see what fate has in store for that one