| Author | Message | ||
     Mikej |
Ram, Tell Santa to get him a Ram Mount: http://www.ram-mount.com/ http://www.ram-mount.com/products/motorcycles.htm  | ||
| Court |
Jim: I watched the video twice . . . sitting here in the library at Columbia it attracted a couple other parasite viewers. After we watched it, we held a bit of a group discussion. I convinced them "yeah, I really know the guy". They are Ph.D candidates in physics and want to know "how's he ride like that". . . I told them "he's REALLY good". You may be the next featured speaker here on campus!  Ride safe, ride upright and enjoy! Court | ||
| Jb2 |
Good call on the gas. I know of a few stories but they were all tested by other folks who can attest to my 100 mile rule. Ferris... | ||
| Mikej |
100 mile rule????? I have to wait until I'm in the part-time office this evening to view the video, but Court's post tells me it will be good. | ||
| Jb2 |
Mike, When traveling out west I never pass a gas station with less than 100 miles of gas left in the tank. Might sound over cautious but one night while crossing Kansas we followed that rule. It ended up being almost 140 miles to the next open gas station. When we got there my buddy(on an S3) ran out of gas on the off ramp. We pushed his bike into the station which was also closed but ah, the electronic age, we were able to fill on a credit card even though they weren't open. Ferris... JB2 | ||
| Court |
Wait? . . . a "Ram Mount" is for a camera? This changes everything I learned about dating when I was in college! JB2 . . wise move! | ||
| Ram |
Wait? . . . a "Ram Mount" is for a camera? Not always. Sometimes I just call it "Jim." Skillz, baby. Mad skillz.  } I keep forgetting this is badweb, not advrider | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
Bueller? Bueller? | ||
| Mikej |
When I posted that I sort of bit my tongue, but decided to let it ride. (What, is advrider a bit, uh, free-er?) Thanks for the 100 mile rule definition. | ||
| Ram |
(What is advrider a but, uh, free-er?) Yes. I sometimes call it motoporn. It's not really porn, but it's not "good, clean fun" either. Note that Nance supports both. | ||
| Jimrich |
Cool Vid, but be careful man, it didn't look like a place to need an ambulance! Did you get my PM? | ||
| Reindog |
What is the condition of your tires? What kind of skins are you riding on and did you start off with fresh ones? Saw the vid. I didn't know Ulys could fly straight up and completely upside down. Most triumphant! Great story and greater adventure. Thanks. BTW: looks like you work for Synopsys? If so what is your job? I am an ASIC (A Sick Designer) down in San Diego spinning my stuff through Design Compiler and Formality. (Message edited by reindog on October 30, 2007) | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
GO NANCE GO!! FB&D | ||
| Jlnance |
Well here I sit in a Best Western. What you say? Jim, why did you abandon your proclivity for lodging de budget? Well I saw a Super 8 in Abiline, TX and I like Super 8s because they have internet access. So I spun around and went to check in. Closed for remodeling  No problem I think. I'll just get the next motel down the road. Well this is Texas. The next hotel was 68 miles down the road. I'm in Coleman, TX. I've washed the gunk out of my hair, put on my cleaner dirty clothes (the ones I can't smell,) and brushed my teeth before the Home Land Security people declare it a germ warfare site. I'm gonna walk down to the pizza hut and grab some dinner. I'll be back later. | ||
| Jlnance |
Reindog - I'm about to PM you the gory details. | ||
| Jlnance |
Reindog - I put new Conti Road Attacks on the bike before I left. This morning I had 6074 miles on them. The front is in excellent shape. The tires have Conti Attack engraved on them, and you can still read it perfectly on the front. The rear is a little more worn. You can only read "ck" on the rear. But it will get me home. Its not down to the wearbars yet. | ||
| Unibear12r |
Your welcome Jim, just wait til the next time you roll through!  | ||
| Jlnance |
I haven't been keeping track of day to day mileage as I don't have enough trip meters on the bike. Mapquest says I did 615 miles today. I'm surprised it's that much, I blew a good hour and a half at lunch. Coming into Abilene is quite a sight. As soon as you get to Sweetwater, you see a forest of windmills on a distant ridge, and they run all the way into Abilene and down 84. Thats at least 20 miles of windmills. I guess windpower is here to stay. I almost stopped to take a shot of a field full of oil wells and windmills. It was a neat contrast. | ||
| Ulywife |
Jim - good to talk to you today! Hope you get some rest for your ride tomorrow. Can't wait to see your next set of pictures. GO NANCE GO!   | ||
| Jlnance |
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| Jlnance |
Blue_eyed_buell_girl's Uncle Tom:  | ||
| Jlnance |
On Monday I woke up in Vegas at about 0430. Why stick around, I thought. I was on the bike by 0515. As I was leaving, I saw this couple on the sidewalk. A limo pulls up and the guy goes to talk to them while the girl walks a little ways down the street. I'm thinking "no, could it really be?" I pull away and drive down the street and the limo has pulled up and is engaging a different girl in a conversation. Wow, a prostitute! I'm sure they exist in Raleigh too, but I've never actually seen one walking the street. Perhaps I'm a little wet behind the ears. I leave Vegas, more or less hoping I find the right road. I know I want to get on I-40 via Boulder City but I've no idea where in Vegas I am. It turns out I guess right, and am soon on my way to Boulder City. It quickly becomes apparent that I'm going to be driving over the Hoover dam. Cool! I've always wanted to see it, but never have. I get there at 0600. It's still dark so you can't really see too much except the top of the Dam itself, but it's still cool. They have a lot of security, presumably for terrorists. I wonder why. Can you imagine how much explosive it would take damage something made of that much cement? After we cross the dam, we are running through the desert of AZ. I'm following this SUV which wants to run between 80 and 90. This is great. It's still dark so the SUV can clear the deer and LEOs, and I can follow it's taillights. The road isn't straight, at least not at first, so it's nice to have something to watch. I run that way all the way down to I-40, then get on that and run east. The sun comes up and I stop for breakfast. Cracker Barrel, my first of this trip. Then on down the road toward Flagstaff. If you're going to the Canyon from the west, you don't actually make it all the way to Flagstaff. Instead, you start going north when you reach Willows. I turn off I-40 and head north. I see a sign: 51 miles to the Grand Canyon. I'm thinking this is a 100 mile detour, I hope it's worth it. I get to the park an hour later. $25 to get in.  But only $12.50 if you're on a bike! I drive into the park and there are lots of places I can go. I follow my nose out there and end up in a parking lot. If you come in this way you really don't see the Canyon as you approach. I get off the bike, walk over to the overlook and WOW. It's worth the 100 miles, it's worth the admission fee, it's just spectacular, even if you just had one glance. The pictures I posted don't really convey the feeling of "bigness" you get when you look into the canyon. I walked around a while looking at it, and went to the visitors center and read some stuff. When I left, I took 64E which is the road I would have come in on if I had come from Flagstaff. This road runs parallel to the Canyon, so you get some views before you actually get there. I'm glad I didn't come in that way as I enjoyed the surprise. But it was a great way to leave. I stopped a couple times and took pictures from overlooks.    The little green dots in the last picture are of course trees. I'm tired. More tomorrow. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
cool stuff! | ||
| Diablobrian |
Great pictures Jim, The video got a laugh out of me because my wife came up behind me just as I hit play. She wanted to know "what the hell was that?" to which I said "It's just Jim's video of a part of his trip." She knows I've been riding vicariously through you so she got it. | ||
| Mikethebike72 |
Awesome pics Jim. GO NANCE GO | ||
| Jlnance |
wow, it's almost 7:00. I slept well last night. My plans for the day are Austin and Houston. | ||
| Jlnance |
BTW - I don't mind your hijacking at all Ferris. If you have any pictures of the places I've been, please post them. I do remember the spot you took that picture in. As I remember it was a pulloff right as you climbed up the canyon wall, overlooking the road you had just climbed. | ||
| Jerry_haughton |
BTW - I don't mind your hijacking at all Ferris. well, i hoped i WASN'T hijacking... part of my problem (of which i have many) is that following your journey here on the board gets me all excited about big rides i've done in the past (and a few i hope to take in the future), then one thing leads to another and pretty soon i'm jabbering on and on...well, kinda like i'm doing now. If you have any pictures of the places I've been, please post them. you have NO idea what you're getting yourself into. I do remember the spot you took that picture in. As I remember it was a pulloff right as you climbed up the canyon wall, overlooking the road you had just climbed. yep, that's the spot! i remember the very first time i ever stopped there. i prolly sat there for a good 20 minutes, absolutely mesmerized by the grandness of it all. in a bit i heard several jets, and it took me the longest time to see them. i kept looking UP. finally, i looked DOWN, and way down on the valley floor were two or three playing tag with each other. from that overlook, they were so far below me that they were little more than specks, and it was quite a vivid illustration of how big and vast (and empty) the Panamint Valley truly is. it's great that you're finding the time to post your thoughts and pix, partly because it's so damn entertaining for all of us following along, and partly because it means you're stopping to get some rest now and then. thx for being you. GO NANCE GO!! FB&D | ||
| Ulywife |
WOW! Great pictures. Be safe and we look forward to your update tonight. GO NANCE GO! | ||
| Rubberdown |
Thanks for bringing us along for the ride Jim. I look forward to seeing you on the 18th. |
