Hitting the Road With Michael

It is early Friday morning and I'm out in the garage. I couldn't sleep anymore. I'm too excited. On Sunday afternoon, as soon as we get home from church and eat a little something, my son, Michael, and I are heading out to a western adventure. I'm calling it, for clarity and due to lack of imagination on my part, "The Father's Day Ride."

Somewhere along the way, my son picked up my love for all things motorcycle. What he didn't get was my good fortune not to wreck very often. Michael has wrecked almost every bike he has had. He has also had his fair share of just bad luck.

He ran a little Kawasaki through a corner into a grassy ditch. Nothing got hurt. He got hit by a car on a city street while riding a Yamaha cruiser. He didn't get hurt but the bike got dinged. He bought a Triumph Triple and ran into the back of a car on his way home from making the purchase. They both got hurt on that one. He really bought it when he hit a road divider on that same Triumph at 65 mph on the highway. Then he bought a Kawasaki crotch rocket that he loved...until it was stolen off his driveway. He spent quite a bit of time making payments on a bike he no longer had.

Here's Michael on his way home from his last trip to the hospital after a bike accident. Poor kid!

BUT...

I find Michael to be an absolutely excellent riding partner. He even seems less susceptible to biker road rage than I am, which is an admirable quality.  I think we will do just fine. Besides, I love to ride with him. He's the reason why I like to have more than one motorcycle. We don't get to ride together very often but every time is special to me. This trip will be the best! I'll be riding Beauty, my Harley Road Glide Special, and Michael will be on the Beast, the KTM 1290 Super Adventure. An added benefit will be our ability to trade bikes from time to time.

The longest trip we've taken together was a ride out to the Tail of the Dragon, the infamous US 129, which we did over Thanksgiving weekend several years ago. I had a Victory Vision and a Harley Ultra Classic back then and Michael rode the Victory. It was a hard ride - cold and rainy - but it was a grand adventure and we came through just fine.

Now that we are older, wiser, and better equipped, we're ready to do it again.

Of course, there are always preparations that need to be made. Every trip requires something, and every something makes the trip even better. I've added several somethings to the list for this one.

• I'm taking an extra camera. The Olympus Stylus TG-870. I'll let Michael use the Go Pro to capture whatever he finds noteworthy and I'll be the point and click guy. I'm not much into taking pictures on rides but this one is special.
• I bought my very first Selfie Stick and little tripod. See above. Special.
• Later today I hope to install a set of Sena 20S communicators in our helmets. I have long resisted wanting a Bluetooth anything when I'm on a long ride. Not being able to answer the telephone is one of the reasons I do what I do. But I want Michael and I to be able to talk beyond the old arm waving thing and I trust that these will do the trick.
• Since we'll be doing quite a bit of camping, I got Michael a nice chair - watching the campfire in a comfortable chair IS the point of camping - and we'll each be bringing our own tent.
• And I got an extra Camelbak so he will have one too. Drinking water while riding is an absolute requirement for health and safety reasons, especially since we'll be in the desert for part of the ride.

The ride plan is appropriately ambitious. The idea behind it came last fall when my dearest and most beloved mentors, Pastor Marlin Wogstad, passed away. He was a real father figure to me, especially during my early years of ministry and through some of the struggles I have had (and caused) along the way. In his last years, he and his wife, Susan, were members of my congregation. As painful as it was, I had the honor of walking with him to the end and officiating at his funeral. When his family told me that Marlin's wish was that his ashes be scattered in the waters of Puget Sound off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, I immediately knew that I would be there. And I hoped Michael would be there too.

My Dad died in 2006. He is buried in a cemetery in Poulsbo, WA. Which just happens to be on the way to where Marlin will be scattered. So the plan is to visit my Dad's grave on Friday, be with Marlin's family for the scattering on Saturday, and then spend Father's Day with my sisters and their families. 

Here's a shot from the last time I was able to have a conversation with my Dad.

Those times will be the heart of the trip but, of course, there IS the getting there and back. We'll see how things go but this trip will take us down some roads I have been to and I want Michael to experience (like Durango to Ouray), some places that Michael wants to go to (Yosemite and Las Vegas), and some bucket list rides for me (Lolo Pass.) Camping will slow us down to we might end up having to take more interstate than I would like but what is life if not trade-offs?

I know that there is a value in writing up daily reports but my experience has been that, while I do take notes and write along the way, it is just easier to write it up at the end so that is my plan for this one. We don't get to leave until Sunday!

New Kid In Town

So there’s a new kid on the block at my house. After months of watching YouTube videos and salivating on my keyboard, caught in the throes of “should I or shouldn’t I?” knowing that “I shouldn’t” won every time, I couldn’t help myself. I bought another motorcycle. A 2015 Suzuki DR 650. Ain’t she cute?

In my own defense, I almost bought a brand new Honda XR650. That would have been much more expensive both to buy and to set up. But the day before I was to go sign the paperwork and trailer the bike home, I stopped at Stubb’s Motorcycles in Houston to check out used bikes. They just happened to have both the other alternatives I had been thinking about.

I wanted something smaller, cheaper, less complicated, easy to work on, that I can ride on trails in the Sam Houston Forest or trailer to Big Bend. Even though I’m not as big as I used to be, I’m still a big guy so I wasn’t considering anything smaller than a 450cc bike. The Honda XR 650 is a classic - but so are the other bikes in that category of affordable Enduro motorcycles. (The KTM 690 Enduro is NOT affordable either to buy or to maintain even though it is the best bike in the class.)

Everything I read said that the Honda was the best in the dirt but no so good on the highway. The Kawasaki KLR 650 is great on the road but a bit of a pig in the dirt. And right down the middle runs the Suzuki DR 650. I saw both the KLR and the Suzuki at Stubb’s. I wasn’t the least bit interested in the KLR and I immediately fell for the Suzuki.

It is a 2015 but that hardly matters as there haven’t been many changes made to these bikes for the past 20 years. It is simple. A single cylinder carbureted bike that requires cleaning and adjusting the chain, oil changes every 2000 miles or so, and valve adjustments after about 9000 miles. They run forever. Mine already has 7000 miles on it so it was ridden. And it came with just about everything I would have added except taller handlebars and risers. It had everything else. Even a luggage rack, a set of Wolfman Expedition softbags, and an extra 4 gallon Ascerbis gas tank. I offered them $500 less than they were asking and they took it. So I did too.

I also wanted a trail bike because I’ve really gotten into camping and I want my son to come with me sometimes. I think I can fit two bikes on the trailer or I could just ride the Beast (KTM 1290 Super Adventure) and he could follow with the trailer. We’ll see. I’m hopeful. So I got the Suzuki and it was cheap enough that I can give it a try and resell it if I don’t like it. Time to take it home.

Let’s just say that riding it home down the Houston freeway was a different experience than my Harley. And that was exactly what I was looking for. 650cc’s is enough to go plenty fast and yet the bike is small enough (366 lbs wet) that it should work on a trail. (I did take it rooting around in a vacant lot on my test drive and that was fun.)

I was originally going to name it “Kelley’s Bike” because I had a secret hope that she might want to learn how to ride it…but bikes like this feature 11 inches of ground clearance and let’s just say that Kelley isn’t interested in riding a bike where her feet can’t touch the ground. So its new name is “The Little Bike.” Works for me.

I brought it home on a Friday. The next day I headed out on it to the west side of town where I had heard you can ride off-road along the bayous. That sounded good and it would also allow me to say hi to the grandkids so I hit the road.

I was going about 75 mph on I-10, just past Beltway 8, keeping up with traffic just fine in the fast lane, when I suddenly felt the rear end swerving in a way that it isn’t supposed to. I knew right away that I just had the first flat tire I have ever had while riding down the highway on a motorcycle. I’ve been lucky. Fortunately, I have been riding long enough not to freak out. Gradually slowed down, made my way to the slow lane, took the first exit I got to, and limped into a gas station.

I’m not sure why it happened but my best guess is that the tire was underinflated for those speeds on the highway. It had 22 lbs of pressure in it. That - according to what I read - should be fine. But I’m big. I’m thinking 25 lbs would be better for me. Lesson learned.

Kelley came and rescued me and I went back with the trailer to pick the poor Little Bike up. Which then gave me the opportunity to fix the first motorcycle flat I have ever fixed. A call to Murf for advice, a few YouTube videos, a couple of new things for the garage, and I had the tire good to go in no time.

Part of the fun of fixing the tire was discovering that my Dad’s old overalls fit me now. I wish he was here to fix the tire for me. But I got it done. Not because I’m good but because it really is easy.

I couldn’t wait for Friday.

Friday is my “day off.” I say it with quotes because I don’t have anything against doing work on Fridays. In my job I do whatever needs to be done when it needs to be done. It all balances out. But it is nice to have an official day off because then I can have fun without feeling guilty. Sometimes I play golf with a group of friends from church…but more often than not a motorcycle calls my name and I CANNOT RESIST.

So today - even though it looked like rain - was my first day to ride the Suzuki on a trail. I got my stuff together, bringing my highway protective gear because it is all I have, some water, stuff to fix another flat - arghhh - loaded up the trailer and headed 70 miles or so north to the Sam Houston Forest. I did a recon trip there last Saturday on the Beast so I knew what to expect.

Here’s what I was thinking along the way:

I stopped at the ranger station on the way and bought my annual pass for $25. This must be the greatest deal in the world. The staging area and trailhead I was heading for is called “Kelly’s Pond Campground.” It has plenty of room for turning around with a trailer and eight campsites that I can camp at any time I want to for FREE. And one of the 85 miles of trails in the forest leaves from right there.

As soon as I stopped the Jeep and got out to offload the bike a guy drove in, parked, and headed toward me. Antone was on his own recon trip. He asked me the same questions that I asked the guys I talked to on Saturday. But I did explain that I was a total newbie and I didn’t really know anything about the trails…but I was soon to learn.

I thought I would capture the first few minutes of my very first trail ride on The Little Bike. Here goes 8:50 worth…

Believe me, I wasn’t going nearly as fast as that video makes it seem. And the trail wasn’t nearly as friendly either. Sand, tree roots, and mud each have their own challenges. To say I was nervous would be very polite. I was terrified. So I just plodded along in first gear, hoping against hope that I wouldn’t meet some young speed demons on motocross bikes.

It was scary! But it was also my first time. And after awhile I thought that someday I might even have the guts to bring the Beast down the same trail. But it would clearly need some new tires. It’s always something with these boys and their toys. The Dunlop 606’s (also something I would have added if it didn’t come with it) on the Suzuki worked just fine. I felt in control and stable, even through the sand.

So there’s a new kid on the block - an extra bike in the garage and ME in the forest. The next step is to make some new friends so I have someone I can learn from. There’s always something new around the next corner.