.North America, First and Second.
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Tonibe63
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Re: North America, First and Second.
Thanks for putting the effort in to the ride reports, all the details can be invaluable to those dreaming of maybe doing a trip in the future .
.Open your eyes and you see what is in front of you, open your mind and you see a bigger picture but open your heart and you see a whole new World.
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OnHellas
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Re: North America, First and Second.
I forgot to mention that at a drink stop in a town called Pampa between Elk City and Dalhart we met ourselves a real life cowboy, Spurs an’ all.
Hugh is a World Champion from the saddle quick shooter. Something like that anyway.
He started of asking if we’d heard of KTM bikes and did we know what KTM stood for.
“Kick ‘til Midnight’ of course.
Followed by Got Mechanic Coming...GMC
Fix Or Repair Daily....Ford.
He hadn’t heard of FIAT or LOTUS but found Fix It Again Tomorrow and Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious funny anyway.
He then went on about other Brits he’d met and how he traded a broken Spur for some British Currency. His daughter collects foreign money....a likely tale...and as I’ve had 25 Argentinian Pesos in my wallet since 2017 I gave him the note of 5 Pesos.
In trade we now have a used 45 calibre bullet shell.
A chance meeting at a Braum’s Ice Cream and Burger Place. Who’d have though it?
He had a Stetson hat on as well, obviously.
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
Hugh is a World Champion from the saddle quick shooter. Something like that anyway.
He started of asking if we’d heard of KTM bikes and did we know what KTM stood for.
“Kick ‘til Midnight’ of course.
Followed by Got Mechanic Coming...GMC
Fix Or Repair Daily....Ford.
He hadn’t heard of FIAT or LOTUS but found Fix It Again Tomorrow and Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious funny anyway.
He then went on about other Brits he’d met and how he traded a broken Spur for some British Currency. His daughter collects foreign money....a likely tale...and as I’ve had 25 Argentinian Pesos in my wallet since 2017 I gave him the note of 5 Pesos.
In trade we now have a used 45 calibre bullet shell.
A chance meeting at a Braum’s Ice Cream and Burger Place. Who’d have though it?
He had a Stetson hat on as well, obviously.
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
Re: North America, First and Second.
Thanks for posting!
Are you both on GS800's?
What are your main reasons for choosing a GS800 for your travels?
Have you made the right decision?
I shipped my GSA800 over to the States in 2016 and thought it was the perfect bike for my 8000 mile trip.
Just a service before I left the UK, an oil change after 6000 miles, a rear tyre, one blown bulb and one puncture.
Keep up the good work.
Are you both on GS800's?
What are your main reasons for choosing a GS800 for your travels?
Have you made the right decision?
I shipped my GSA800 over to the States in 2016 and thought it was the perfect bike for my 8000 mile trip.
Just a service before I left the UK, an oil change after 6000 miles, a rear tyre, one blown bulb and one puncture.
Keep up the good work.
-
OnHellas
- Posts: 2608
- Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:12 pm
- Location: By the sea, Kent, UK
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Re: North America, First and Second.
Thanks for the encouragement re our ongoing trip and thanks for reading.
We both have F800GS’s.
Mine is an ‘09 that I’ve had from new and currently has 109,700 miles on it.
Sarah’s bike is a later 2016 now on 27,000 miles.
Why did we choose them? We both already owned them.
Are that the right bikes? Most of the time yes. Sometimes I’ve thought that I should have started this trip with a fresh bike. It was on 86,000 when we started last June.
Sarah sometimes wishes she had something lighter.
For the riding we’re doing and the routes we choose they are just about perfect. More than enough power, I did a couple of sessions of a track day in Tasmania and wasn’t slowest out there, and they’re set up as we’d like, more or less. Jesse Luggage is fantastic and we like the fact they take all of our stuff without having to strap anything else to the bikes.
They were freshly serviced and shod with new tyres before we started. Since then we’ve had 3 services, replaced tyres twice at each end, new Chains and Sprockets.
Tyre life from Continental TKC70’s is good and they do everything that we need.
10,000 from a rear and 12,000 from the front.
Fuel consumption has been great as always.
We’ve replaced 3 headlight bulbs and had one rear puncture between us......so far.
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
We both have F800GS’s.
Mine is an ‘09 that I’ve had from new and currently has 109,700 miles on it.
Sarah’s bike is a later 2016 now on 27,000 miles.
Why did we choose them? We both already owned them.
Are that the right bikes? Most of the time yes. Sometimes I’ve thought that I should have started this trip with a fresh bike. It was on 86,000 when we started last June.
Sarah sometimes wishes she had something lighter.
For the riding we’re doing and the routes we choose they are just about perfect. More than enough power, I did a couple of sessions of a track day in Tasmania and wasn’t slowest out there, and they’re set up as we’d like, more or less. Jesse Luggage is fantastic and we like the fact they take all of our stuff without having to strap anything else to the bikes.
They were freshly serviced and shod with new tyres before we started. Since then we’ve had 3 services, replaced tyres twice at each end, new Chains and Sprockets.
Tyre life from Continental TKC70’s is good and they do everything that we need.
10,000 from a rear and 12,000 from the front.
Fuel consumption has been great as always.
We’ve replaced 3 headlight bulbs and had one rear puncture between us......so far.
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
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OnHellas
- Posts: 2608
- Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:12 pm
- Location: By the sea, Kent, UK
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Re: North America, First and Second.
Saturday morning at 9.45am we were at the BMW dealers showroom. 15 minutes early, not hard as we were staying just 0.3 of a mile away.
There was a distinct lack of two wheel machines in the showroom and surrounding forecourt....lots of shiny BMW cars though.
The nice lady at reception started giving directions to their bike showroom almost before I’d had a chance to say good morning.
In my defence they were the same company and the bikes used to be in with the cars....but not anymore.
Back in the bike and another 200 yards, still on time for our workshop booking.
There was a very laidback feel to the place, I found the service manager and the parts man. All of our specified bits were there so they took some bike details and the keys and we wandered off.
A couple of hours latter we got a call to let us know all was done so back we went.
They’d actually made a mistake on the parts I’d had to pay for over the phone at order time so a refund was forthcoming. We soon have all that back and a bit more for the labour and new inner tubes that we’d added to our request earlier that day.
Both bikes were low on coolant. A bit strange as we’d had a big service done in Wellington and all was well. Before you ask, no I hadn’t checked it myself but I do look for any puddles under the bikes when they’re parked up.
Maybe it’d been removed for airfreight as per the petrol? No one had mentioned coolant during preparations back in New Zealand but who knows.
No harm done and the workshop guy said that they would tip both bikes up for us free of charge. Happy days....and no harm done.
The next morning we rode away from Santa Fe remembering that we had new front tyres.....no heroics until they’re nicely scrubbed in....actually I doubt that there’ll be any heroics at all but you get the drift.
My bike ended up with a Heidenau Scout which isn’t a tyre I’ve used before. A bit more vibey than the Continental TKC70’s we’ve been using so far on this trip.
Sarah got a TKC but I was to mean to pay the extra $50 to get one delivered to the dealership in time for our visit.
The new Chain and Sprockets were a revelation.....so smooth and lovely compared to the end of life set that they replaced.
It was like riding a new bike, so smooth purring along with a tail wind.
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
There was a distinct lack of two wheel machines in the showroom and surrounding forecourt....lots of shiny BMW cars though.
The nice lady at reception started giving directions to their bike showroom almost before I’d had a chance to say good morning.
In my defence they were the same company and the bikes used to be in with the cars....but not anymore.
Back in the bike and another 200 yards, still on time for our workshop booking.
There was a very laidback feel to the place, I found the service manager and the parts man. All of our specified bits were there so they took some bike details and the keys and we wandered off.
A couple of hours latter we got a call to let us know all was done so back we went.
They’d actually made a mistake on the parts I’d had to pay for over the phone at order time so a refund was forthcoming. We soon have all that back and a bit more for the labour and new inner tubes that we’d added to our request earlier that day.
Both bikes were low on coolant. A bit strange as we’d had a big service done in Wellington and all was well. Before you ask, no I hadn’t checked it myself but I do look for any puddles under the bikes when they’re parked up.
Maybe it’d been removed for airfreight as per the petrol? No one had mentioned coolant during preparations back in New Zealand but who knows.
No harm done and the workshop guy said that they would tip both bikes up for us free of charge. Happy days....and no harm done.
The next morning we rode away from Santa Fe remembering that we had new front tyres.....no heroics until they’re nicely scrubbed in....actually I doubt that there’ll be any heroics at all but you get the drift.
My bike ended up with a Heidenau Scout which isn’t a tyre I’ve used before. A bit more vibey than the Continental TKC70’s we’ve been using so far on this trip.
Sarah got a TKC but I was to mean to pay the extra $50 to get one delivered to the dealership in time for our visit.
The new Chain and Sprockets were a revelation.....so smooth and lovely compared to the end of life set that they replaced.
It was like riding a new bike, so smooth purring along with a tail wind.
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
-
OnHellas
- Posts: 2608
- Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:12 pm
- Location: By the sea, Kent, UK
- Has thanked: 571 times
- Been thanked: 892 times
Re: North America, First and Second.
The route we took on Sunday wasn’t the most exciting, the first 40 or so miles being back in the Interstate. After that it was Hwy 550 north most of the way to Aztec.
The weather was on our side though so although it was mainly cloudy it didn’t rain, there wasn’t a headwind and at around 16 degC all was good.
There weren’t many towns, villages or even petrol stations. This meant that we didn’t stop until the small town of Cuba.
My eye was taken by an old fashioned Cafe sign. The arrow kind of sign. A car park full of cars also helped my decision to pull in.
Seeing lots of happy eaters sitting inside was the decision made.
What a great decision it turned out to be. A proper family owned Mexican place. All the food was prepared fresh for each order. That meant our Breakfast Burrito to share took a while but a couple of mugs of hot tea kept us happy until the food arrived.
It was huge! So glad we decided to share. Tasty, excellent value and plenty of it...perfect.
A couple of cyclists came in and I recognised there clothes from earlier. They were on the two recumbent bikes we’d overtaken back down the hill.
We didn’t ask their names but hats off to the London based Frenchman and his Oxfordshire born lady friend. They have been in the road for a couple of months now, starting out from Miami and hoping to go to San Diego, Vancouver and Montreal before peddling back to Miami. 9000 miles.
It was nice to meet them and they even helped finish our Burrito whilst their food was being prepared.
I think that the French chap is a ‘character’. He’s already done a lap of France in a self built recumbent Bamboo framed bike and risen one from London to Beijing. Respect!!
Aztec was to be our home for the night. In fact we stayed for three night as we wanted a day off but mainly because of the weather forecasts. We’ve been luck so far, dodging the storms and tornadoes.
Monday morning saw snow. A fair bit of it but not enough to lay on the wet ground. The temperature dropped to 1 degC. I’m so glad I was inside and not riding my bike.
The place was nice, Cinnamon buns for breakfast, a supermarket across the road and a Post Office to send my Aunty Bren a Route 66 thimble to add to her collection.
This won’t spoil the surprise as the using the internet isn’t one of her strengths....a fruit cake or a roast dinner however.....now I’m missing home....
Today is Wednesday. Today we left Aztec. Today it rained....a little bit. Today was a bit chilly for a while. Today we went to the four states monument. New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona all meet at one point.
Five bucks each and a muddy carpark. Slightly underwhelming as my mate Mark told us it would be when we saw him back in Oklahoma last week. We got a sticker each for the Panniers though.
The scenery has gradually changed to an absolute Wow!
High rocky bluffs, plains, different colours. Add to that some interesting cloud formations with blue patches in between albeit small blue patches and you get an absolute Wow!
Another one of those ‘it’s better on a bike’ days, despite the temperatures.
Tonight we are in Bluff, Utah. Tonight we are watching the weather forecasts with interest. Lots of snow is forecast. We booked somewhere to stay at The Grand Canyon North Rim for Friday night. We don’t often book so far in advance but there aren’t many rooms/cabins there and now it is sold out so it looks like we made the right decision.....unless they get the 5 inches of snow that has been forecast for tomorrow.
Fingers crossed.
Mexican Hat and Monument Valley tomorrow....until then...
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
The weather was on our side though so although it was mainly cloudy it didn’t rain, there wasn’t a headwind and at around 16 degC all was good.
There weren’t many towns, villages or even petrol stations. This meant that we didn’t stop until the small town of Cuba.
My eye was taken by an old fashioned Cafe sign. The arrow kind of sign. A car park full of cars also helped my decision to pull in.
Seeing lots of happy eaters sitting inside was the decision made.
What a great decision it turned out to be. A proper family owned Mexican place. All the food was prepared fresh for each order. That meant our Breakfast Burrito to share took a while but a couple of mugs of hot tea kept us happy until the food arrived.
It was huge! So glad we decided to share. Tasty, excellent value and plenty of it...perfect.
A couple of cyclists came in and I recognised there clothes from earlier. They were on the two recumbent bikes we’d overtaken back down the hill.
We didn’t ask their names but hats off to the London based Frenchman and his Oxfordshire born lady friend. They have been in the road for a couple of months now, starting out from Miami and hoping to go to San Diego, Vancouver and Montreal before peddling back to Miami. 9000 miles.
It was nice to meet them and they even helped finish our Burrito whilst their food was being prepared.
I think that the French chap is a ‘character’. He’s already done a lap of France in a self built recumbent Bamboo framed bike and risen one from London to Beijing. Respect!!
Aztec was to be our home for the night. In fact we stayed for three night as we wanted a day off but mainly because of the weather forecasts. We’ve been luck so far, dodging the storms and tornadoes.
Monday morning saw snow. A fair bit of it but not enough to lay on the wet ground. The temperature dropped to 1 degC. I’m so glad I was inside and not riding my bike.
The place was nice, Cinnamon buns for breakfast, a supermarket across the road and a Post Office to send my Aunty Bren a Route 66 thimble to add to her collection.
This won’t spoil the surprise as the using the internet isn’t one of her strengths....a fruit cake or a roast dinner however.....now I’m missing home....
Today is Wednesday. Today we left Aztec. Today it rained....a little bit. Today was a bit chilly for a while. Today we went to the four states monument. New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Arizona all meet at one point.
Five bucks each and a muddy carpark. Slightly underwhelming as my mate Mark told us it would be when we saw him back in Oklahoma last week. We got a sticker each for the Panniers though.
The scenery has gradually changed to an absolute Wow!
High rocky bluffs, plains, different colours. Add to that some interesting cloud formations with blue patches in between albeit small blue patches and you get an absolute Wow!
Another one of those ‘it’s better on a bike’ days, despite the temperatures.
Tonight we are in Bluff, Utah. Tonight we are watching the weather forecasts with interest. Lots of snow is forecast. We booked somewhere to stay at The Grand Canyon North Rim for Friday night. We don’t often book so far in advance but there aren’t many rooms/cabins there and now it is sold out so it looks like we made the right decision.....unless they get the 5 inches of snow that has been forecast for tomorrow.
Fingers crossed.
Mexican Hat and Monument Valley tomorrow....until then...
Two happy people, two happy bikes.
