anyone go for a ride today? Pics?

[markn]

I went for a ride around town after getting the rear brakes squared-away on my GS700ES….me and the Mrs. will be heading downtown with it tonight to watch the fireworks !

[cowboyup3371]

Don't leave us hanging from the fan blades Roger

[Rob S.]

"Dear Penthouse Forum, I never dreamed I'd be writing to you...."

Not a bad idea for a thread. Motorcycle adventures with the opposite sex. 'Does the 'kitty' magnet need to be cleaned at every oil change?'

[gtem]

Good. . . . . . . . . .

Good that you got the 1100E on the road.

Good that you got to meet up and ride with Brian.

Ah, was it you or was it Brian that got you on the gravel road.
(I have had similar experience following Brian.)

Haha it was just a tiny bit of gravel, several hundred yards at most. I'm no stranger to the stuff have always ridden my UJMs on various forest access type roads for stealthy camping etc.

[gtem]

Apologies for a total lack of any photos as we didn't really stop anywhere scenic, but I rode my new-to-me 02 Bandit 1200 and met up with a buddy on his new-to-him 2003 Super Glide on the West side of Indy and we ended up riding out towards Mooresville and then South from there towards Martinsville-ish. Totally unfamiliar area for me so I was very pleasantly surprised by the nice twisty nicely paved roads down there (Route 39, 142, some smaller twistier side roads). Ended up having lunch in Monrovia and riding back North. about 130-140ish miles total, the longest trip I've taken on my 02 Bandit 1200 so far. My butt would get pretty numb after 50 miles and my throttle hand fingers would start to fall asleep a bit but I'd say it was manageable and I could knock down 200+ mile days easily with just a sheepskin seat cover or gel pad under my butt. My buddy on the Super Glide was no slouch either (he's been riding these roads for years). Given the lack of clearance from the forward controls and wobbly mini-ape handlebars on the thing (installed by PO) I was very impressed with how he whipped that thing through the corners. He's going to be setting it up better for spirited riding (mid controls, lower bar, taller shocks, etc).

[Burque73]

Back at it. Sorry to leave you hanging. I tried to follow up a few times yesterday, but couldn't really take enough time to type on the phone. I'll edit my previous post with a few pics and try to briefly (yeah right!) continue on. Feel free to scroll away from my ramblings, if you'd like.


That little restaurant in Taos, Azteca Grill, was super busy but somehow we got a seat pretty quickly. My wife promptly excused herself to find facilities. As the servers brought tall red and yellow-green colored, condensation laden, margaritas......to tables around ours..... I patiently sipped a much needed, refreshing, glass of water. It was a long shot but I fired off a text to some friends we haven't seen in quite some time to see if they could possibly meet us for dinner.

Our friends have a "small" cabin tucked in the hills near Taos ski valley. I really didn't expect a reply since they are in the habit of tossing cellphones in the drawer while up in the hills, but to my surprise I got an immediate, now? You guys are in Taos? You should come have dinner here, they said. She's back from the necessary room now and the waitress scooted by saying she'd be with us soon. We agreed the glass of water, while being as enjoyable as it was, concluded our Azteca experience. I dropped a few bucks on the table for the waitress and we headed back to the bike.

It's nearly impossible to find the cabin so we head to the rendezvous spot a half hour away. The color of the fenders on our friend's SUV bore a striking resemblance to the adjacent mud brick structure they parked next to. I guess I neglected to mention we rode up there as they asked how this bike would handle the two mile dirt road to the cabin. Hmmm, we'll find out!

It hadn't rained up there today, so far, so we took a chance and followed them home. It was actually a pretty well graded road, with just a few ruts and low spots holding yesterday's rainwater. We pulled up to the cabin just before dark followed by a well timed thunderstorm.

In no time we were enjoying a delicious bowl of smoked ham and beans. The burn from the fire roasted green chile in the beans was appropriately put out by an ice cold Dos Equis. Surrounded by now saturated tall ponderosa pines enjoying a cold one under a big umbrella was a perfect way to wind down after the preceding six hour adventure.

Please excuse the minutia I compellingly share. It hasn't been very often, as of late, that an opportunity like this presents itself.

20220703_201248 by Roger, on Flickr

[Eli69]

So last weekend I packed up the Ugly with a six pack and a water bottle and went to a MetalShow up near Niagara Falls. In the background of the picture is the giant, man made reservoir that holds water for the Niagara Power Project. There may have been some illegal swimming. It was a very hot day. Especially after climbing up that hill.



]

"I'm with the band" parking.

[Burque73]

Yesterday we got up and rode the two ATV's in my previous pic around my friend's property and had a blast! Hiked around a bit then headed back for lunch, quesadillas with chicken and green chile.

We headed out around 2pm , but decided to come back up in three weeks. They have plumbing issues and need a few doors worked on. I'm happy to help

39242 by Roger, on Flickr

Heading down the road my wife snapped this pic.

20220704_145408 by Roger, on Flickr

A good view of the area we were in.

20220704_145851 by Roger, on Flickr

Again being chased by rain storms... We took a chance and stopped at the Taos Gorge Bridge over the Rio Grande. Rain never caught us, haha

20220704_152903 by Roger, on Flickr

Instead of heading back the way we came, we went toward Mora. Here is a cannon they make snow with for the Sipapu Ski Resort

20220704_170037 by Roger, on Flickr

Here's part of the 350,000 acre burn scar from the Calf Canyon wildfire.

20220704_173440 by Roger, on Flickr

That's about it for pics. We went through Las Vegas and ate dinner, then shot down I-25 for the last hundred miles or so just in time for fireworks in Santa Fe, Bernalillo and Albuquerque. That was cool!

Sorry for the novel I wrote. At least this chapter has more pics and fewer words, huh?
Very nice weekend ride. Can't wait to do it again.

[ddaniels]

Went out for a 45 minute jaunt last night around 9:30. There are an amazing amount of bugs in this world. Sorry no pics.

[Redman]

Y.
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Good story and pics. Can read the excitement and enjoyment in your impromptu adventure.

No need to apologies for the "details", they all added to the story.

[wyly]

A quick one hour trip to the coffee shop turned into a 4hr excursion to nowhere in particular... 67899621109--9EB54E0A-E051-480C-B50D-37DAD7839DBE.jpg

[Gorminrider]

The Foothills! Snow sure looks low for July!

[cowboyup3371]

Great story and pictures Roger; thank you for reminding me what I missed out on back there. I sure wish I had bought my bike a few years sooner.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Had time to take a short ride today and meet up with member Grishagtem (center), and his brother Vanya (left), who treated me to lunch at a great Middle-Easter/Armenian/Russian restaurant called Kavkaz. Good thing they speak fluent Russian. I wouldn’t have known what to order. Still not exactly sure what I ate, but it was delicious. Next time, my treat. I’ll definitely bring my wife here sometime for dinner. A lone Harley rider on his way from Scranton to Upper Minnesota stopped and joined us. We were the only customers. We had a nice short ride after lunch over a twisty mountain road before parting ways. Till next time, gents. Pleasure meeting you both.

[cowboyup3371]

Wow Rich, you're definitely seem to be enjoying all of the out of town visitors. When will you become one?