So Scott and I decided to do some Black Friday adventuring NW of OKC. We thought we'd see some of the great dirt roads between OKC and Piedmont. Unfortunately, due to development, today was actually a "Blacktop Friday". Don't you people move out there to get away from things? Regardless, we saw some cool stuff in the town we've lived in or near for 60 plus years between us. Like the neato retro Route 66 Park sign:
And the little parking places on Lake Overholser:
Not to mention the swamp we found somewhere north of Yukon:
Then we made it a little farther north: Just got ahold of some great pictures Scott took:
Breaking News! The following was discovered on my way in from church this morning... Looks like it might have missed the tube. Came out really easily, and no hissing air, but tire pressure will be checked later and it will be watched. Interestingly, it is not a nail or screw. It has vertical "gears" on one end, presumably to chuck into a tool, and is ribbed all the way down. Doesn't look like a tap or anything, just not sure.
Scott and I have been planning for a while to find, map, and ride a loop around Oklahoma City, and when all is said and done, do it without setting rubber on a paved road. Today the quest started to find some of that loop. Of course, as you can see below...a detour was taken right off the bat...RIVER ACCESS!
Apparently Scott mistook me for the paparazzi. And he mentioned something about safety while operating the motorcycle and the camera.
Whatever.
It appears that I am hung up on photographing my own shadow. Hmm.
First a short explanation...I was running a little behind to pick up my son and shuttle him to basketball practice, so I was a little spacey and focused on moving fast. While stuck at a light, a semi rolled to a stop right next to me. Well, I love the smell of burning diesel (quite similar to the smell of burning Jet-A), so I looked over to get a good whiff, and saw the BIGGEST PLATE OF CHICKEN and veggies I'd ever seen! Two feet from my face! I was starving because I ate an early lunch / late breakfast, so this was not a welcome sight.
When I realized that all of the rush hour traffic around me was watching me salivate and huff diesel, I decided I wanted to commemorate the moment with a picture. So I whipped out pinkie (the pink camera, only wife's leftovers are good enough for assignment to bike-cam role!) and snapped a quick shot before the light changed. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to hire a pro, so all I got was my goofy ass face and a pod of peas. Oh well...here it is anyway.
So Scott found a great place to putt around in the mostly sandy area around a River in an Oklahoma town. Fun stuff!
Cameras just don't do justice for a good sunset.
We could still smell the smoke or ash from this battlefield (or cigarette/exhaust induced destruction).
Our favorite local water crossing so far...
And some videos from the crossing:
After getting my first bike in years, the venerable Kawasaki KLR-650, some friends and I decided to ride across Arkansas from our homes in central and eastern Oklahoma, and make the ride back on dirt/gravel/logging roads. Here is Scott's Suzuki DR-650 along with the KiLleR as we prepared to leave for Tulsa to meet up with Gary and Jason.
The weather was great for the entire trip, except just before we found our first night's campsite. We had to find a dry spot for a while.
On to the first night's camping, although I think the tent picture is from night 2.
The next day it was some pavement, then off to the national forests for the Arkansas portion of the Trans American Trail (motorcycle version). Okay, and let's be honest...this trip was taken in mid-September, 2008. I am posting this in early November. I have no idea what the chronological order of the next few pictures are, so here:
Above you'll see Gary's bad ass KTM 990 Adventure next to Jason's CBR600 (rr?). Below, Gary negotiates a narrow section of Warloop road
Here's Scott (below) and our heavily loaded chick-magnets. I mean after a couple of days on these bad boys, it was hard to even get through the crowds of groupies to get some gas!
The scenery in northern Arkansas near the White and Buffalo Rivers is amazing! In AR, this is a creek, in OK I think we name these and call them rivers.
The ride was just chock full of great hills and rocky outcroppings. What are YOU lookin' at? Going to town on night 2. I was hot from the day's ride, so I zipped my pants into "shoinks". Then someone suggested a photo-op, so I got a little of the Captain in me.
And finally - How to Mount a Heavily Loaded KLR:
Just got ahold of some great pictures Scott took:
Breaking News!
Looks like it might have missed the tube. Came out really easily, and no hissing air, but tire pressure will be checked later and it will be watched. Interestingly, it is not a nail or screw. It has vertical "gears" on one end, presumably to chuck into a tool, and is ribbed all the way down. Doesn't look like a tap or anything, just not sure.
