Back to school ride, 2000 miles

[norcalwelder]

Well I'll be taking off to head from NorCal to Dallas for another school year. Since I really want my bike at school with me, I'm going to ride down. What I've been thinking is the scenic route through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and so forth. Somebody brought up the point of since there are alot of remote stretches, I might get into trouble if I break down. The bike is at 47000 miles, and I've put 6K on this summer. I have a new set of tires, fresh oil, and my chain and sprocket seem to be fine. The bike hasn't let me down yet, and I really want to camp out along the way and turn the trip into more of an adventure ride. The alternative would be to slabside it across the interstates through LA, Tucson (both places I know people) and across Texas. I've driven this route in a car, and its terrible in August. (98 degrees at 2am!!!) Anybody care to weigh in?

Here is a link to the route I was planning on taking.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=213587483517847389845.0004c55d6ddd5dd37277e&msa=0&ll=36.137875,-104.018555&spn=15.168895,28.54248

 

[Red Wazp]

Nice route to Espanola Nm. That's as far east I have been in NM.

I would suggest riding Hwy 722 in Nevada between Eastgate and Austin, it's a section of the old hwy 50 and is more fun as it climbs through the mountains instead of going the boring route around them.

You turn onto 722 just after the Middlegate Junction on hwy 50. I have shared this road with may a two wheeled traveler on Hwy 50 and they all liked it.

An alternate but longer scenic route is going down to Cedar City, UT. after Ely and riding the Grand Staircase and Hells Backbone (Hwy 12) to Torrey and Capital Reef

 

[Cali rider]

Fill up your tank in Fallon and Blanding! Try to ride at least a portion of the route in full darkness to truly experience the stars in the sky. And take pics.

 

[DefyInertia]

Do it. Camp. Stay off the highway...take back roads. Take as long as possible. Enjoy.

 

[rsw81]

I agree with the above... and find another rider who wants to join you for the ride.

 

[norcalwelder]

Here is a link to all the pictures from the trip. Its quite the job to post them, so hopefully just putting up a link to another site will work.
Back to school or "ending the summer with a bang" - ADVrider

 

[DefyInertia]

Here is a link to all the pictures from the trip. Its quite the job to post them, so hopefully just putting up a link to another site will work.
Back to school or "ending the summer with a bang" - ADVrider

Cool man...next time just click on the edit button, copy your post, and paste it here. Most all forums use the same photo posting code

Just read the report and those are some awesome pictures!

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Here is a link to all the pictures from the trip. Its quite the job to post them, so hopefully just putting up a link to another site will work.
Back to school or "ending the summer with a bang" - ADVrider

That's one hell of a trip report. Great pictures too! You're a brave young man, that's all I got to say. You weren't kidding when you wanted to take the beaten path.

Only mistake you made was that you did not post that great trip report here on this forum. Yeah, the link is there, but this is the real forum when it comes to the Fizzers.

Have a great semester in college! Texas? Please wear your helmet. You can't regrow a new brain.

VR

 

[norcalwelder]

Well unfortunately advrider turns the img link directly to a picture so you can't go back and copy the link.

 

[Cali rider]

Wow. That was an awesome trip, and the choice of dirt roads sure made it intriguing. Lots of respect to you doing this solo journey with minimal problems, and thanks for posting the link.

 

[DefyInertia]

Well unfortunately advrider turns the img link directly to a picture so you can't go back and copy the link.

Oh yeah, good point! Ok ok, next time post here first, then copy there! Or not...

Serious though, looks like a great time.

 

[TheRabbi]

Wow! That's an amazing trip! If you want company on the way back, I've been looking for an excuse to make it out to Cali and ride from San Diego to Seattle. opcorn: Good luck at school!

Have you found any good rides out in East Texas? My only experiences around here are flatness and riding Hill Country takes up a weekend and football season is upcoming, so I won't have any free weekends!

 

[rsw81]

That's pretty incredible bro, and I'm glad to hear the FZ held up perfectly for the ride. I agree with John that was pretty brave with the choice in dirt and/or muddy roads. I got stuck, literally stuck with tires spinning, in the mud just a couple weeks ago. Was not pleasant AT ALL. But to survive an adventure like this and tell the story is just amazing, and one you won't forget anytime soon. Congrats dude.:thumbup:

 

[norcalwelder]

Wow! That's an amazing trip! If you want company on the way back, I've been looking for an excuse to make it out to Cali and ride from San Diego to Seattle. opcorn: Good luck at school!

Have you found any good rides out in East Texas? My only experiences around here are flatness and riding Hill Country takes up a weekend and football season is upcoming, so I won't have any free weekends!

I haven't really ridden in East Texas much but it looks like there are some awesome roads around Lake of the Pines that I'll check out on the weekend. Dunno when I'll head back to Cali, but I'd definitely go for some company.

 

[norcalwelder]

That's one hell of a trip report. Great pictures too! You're a brave young man, that's all I got to say. You weren't kidding when you wanted to take the beaten path.

Only mistake you made was that you did not post that great trip report here on this forum. Yeah, the link is there, but this is the real forum when it comes to the Fizzers.

Have a great semester in college! Texas? Please wear your helmet. You can't regrow a new brain.

VR

Yeah that was my bad with the pictures. :spank: No worries on the helmet, I won't get on a bike without one. Too much to lose.

I went back and added up the mileage of the dirt roads and it came out to right around 100 miles for the trip. My front fairing is pretty beat up, but I added a broken screw mount or two that I'll need to crazy glue. The rough roads are pretty slow on the front end. Better shocks on the front would probaby help that alot, but I think its important to note that this isn't a dirt bike.

 

[Ohendo]

Amazing trip and report, great job taking all those beautiful pics. This is an adventure you'll remember the rest of your life!
I hope to one day have the cajones to do something similar over here on the Eastern side.
Best of luck at school.

 

[bogey72]

Fantastic ride report and pictures. I could almost smell the smoke in one of your pictures! I'm glad you made the trip OK and the FZ worked well for you. I have very few regrets in my life but I wish I had taken these types of trips when I was young and only responsible for myself. I'm going to encourage my boys to be more adventuresome than I was. Hopefully, they'll let the old man tag along on some of their adventures.

Good luck at school.

 

[norcalwelder]

Looking back on the trip, I can't believe I got to do it... Its been a dream of mine to ride all over the country on a motorcycle, and I ended up with a dinged up FZ6 that has been perfect to learn on, yet is fun, and can haul me thousands of miles. The trip was a heady mix of emotions (fear, stress, a few regrets) that gave way to a sense of freedom and love for being on the road. It took me a few days to really get into the groove, but when I did, there is no feeling like it on earth.