Monday, February 25, 2008
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Some words to go with the pictures below.
A few months ago, I ran across a website, KLR650.net, that is dedicated to the awesome dual sport motorcycle, the KLR 650 ( and to a lesser extent, the KLR 250 and the Versys).
The group was planinng the third annual Tour de Apalachicola , which is a regional meeting of KLR enthusiasts for some off road riding, camping, wrenching and general fun. I asked if it would be ok for me to ride down on my scooter and hang out with the cool kids. Of course it was and Glynn and I rode down on Friday.
We made it down with no problem, except it wasa bit chilly in my riding jacket and light sweater. We pulled into the campground, Camp Indian Springs, and saw a couple of KLR's. A local guy we met a week earlier was there but he decided not to camp.
We walked around and talked for a while and then decided to find a bunk. In the picture below, you can see our bunkhouse that we stayed in. Not bad for $10 a night, huh?
Later that evening, Glynn and headed into Crawfordville for dinner. We hit El Jalisco and had a decent meal but took a different route on the way home, since I was freezing by the time we got to the restaurant.
Little did we know that the road we took went from nicely paved to dirt road a few miles down. And it was dark. And it was still cold.
It was funny, actually. I was following Glynn at a good pace when suddenly, he slams on his brakes and stops. I do likewise and see that the road is dirt in front of him. Before we can even talk about it, some guy in a big SUV pulls up and asks if we were lost. We weren't but we asked how long the dirt road was and what condition it was in. He said it wasa couple of miles and was in good condition so we said 'What the heck, we are at a Dual Sport camp out, let's go off road!'. And we did.
Both scooters did fine, although the road was a bit washboardish. But we made good time on it, doing about 25 mph. After only one wrong turn, we made it back to camp where there was a nice bonfire burning.
We spent a couple of hours there before turning in and it was a blast talking to everyone there.
The rain hit sometime during the night and it poured. It also poured the entire day so we spent the day hanging out at the tech area, drinking coffee and talking KLR's. I started to question whether I wanted to stay another night when all that would mean was a night spent in much colder weather and a ride home the next day in even colder weather.
The rain finally stopped and I decided to ride into Crawfordville and see if I could find something to keep me warm while riding. Glynn and I rode into town and we stopped at Walmart.
I found a rain coat with a fleece lining for $11 and a fleece sleeping bag for $10. The jacket lets no wind in so it kept me toasty, in 30 degree weather so that was a definite score.
The fleece sleeping bag was also well worth it. I had a cheap sleeping bag that is ok if the temp is higher than 50 but I put the fleece bag inside it and was warm all night. The temp did get down into low low 30's but I was toasty.
So, that being decided, we headed back to the camp ground.
There was a big buffet at the site so we headed over. We grabbed the last seats and were lucky enough to sit next to Jake, who we had met the night before. He was in the midst of a story so we sat there and listened.
Have you ever met a guy and just knew he had more interesting stuff to say than you did, so you shut up and listen? well, thats the feeling I got so I sat there and shut up and listened.
He told some cool long distance riding stories and other accounts of some rallies he has riden and really got me to thinking of trying one...but not quite yet.
Anyway, the next morning, after seeing the masses of KLR riders head off for a variety of rides, Glynn and I loaded up the scooters and headed back to Tallahassee. The return trip was fine, except my gloves suck and my hands were freezing.
Stay turned for a few more pictures tomorrow.
The group was planinng the third annual Tour de Apalachicola , which is a regional meeting of KLR enthusiasts for some off road riding, camping, wrenching and general fun. I asked if it would be ok for me to ride down on my scooter and hang out with the cool kids. Of course it was and Glynn and I rode down on Friday.
We made it down with no problem, except it wasa bit chilly in my riding jacket and light sweater. We pulled into the campground, Camp Indian Springs, and saw a couple of KLR's. A local guy we met a week earlier was there but he decided not to camp.
We walked around and talked for a while and then decided to find a bunk. In the picture below, you can see our bunkhouse that we stayed in. Not bad for $10 a night, huh?
Later that evening, Glynn and headed into Crawfordville for dinner. We hit El Jalisco and had a decent meal but took a different route on the way home, since I was freezing by the time we got to the restaurant.
Little did we know that the road we took went from nicely paved to dirt road a few miles down. And it was dark. And it was still cold.
It was funny, actually. I was following Glynn at a good pace when suddenly, he slams on his brakes and stops. I do likewise and see that the road is dirt in front of him. Before we can even talk about it, some guy in a big SUV pulls up and asks if we were lost. We weren't but we asked how long the dirt road was and what condition it was in. He said it wasa couple of miles and was in good condition so we said 'What the heck, we are at a Dual Sport camp out, let's go off road!'. And we did.
Both scooters did fine, although the road was a bit washboardish. But we made good time on it, doing about 25 mph. After only one wrong turn, we made it back to camp where there was a nice bonfire burning.
We spent a couple of hours there before turning in and it was a blast talking to everyone there.
The rain hit sometime during the night and it poured. It also poured the entire day so we spent the day hanging out at the tech area, drinking coffee and talking KLR's. I started to question whether I wanted to stay another night when all that would mean was a night spent in much colder weather and a ride home the next day in even colder weather.
The rain finally stopped and I decided to ride into Crawfordville and see if I could find something to keep me warm while riding. Glynn and I rode into town and we stopped at Walmart.
I found a rain coat with a fleece lining for $11 and a fleece sleeping bag for $10. The jacket lets no wind in so it kept me toasty, in 30 degree weather so that was a definite score.
The fleece sleeping bag was also well worth it. I had a cheap sleeping bag that is ok if the temp is higher than 50 but I put the fleece bag inside it and was warm all night. The temp did get down into low low 30's but I was toasty.
So, that being decided, we headed back to the camp ground.
There was a big buffet at the site so we headed over. We grabbed the last seats and were lucky enough to sit next to Jake, who we had met the night before. He was in the midst of a story so we sat there and listened.
Have you ever met a guy and just knew he had more interesting stuff to say than you did, so you shut up and listen? well, thats the feeling I got so I sat there and shut up and listened.
He told some cool long distance riding stories and other accounts of some rallies he has riden and really got me to thinking of trying one...but not quite yet.
Anyway, the next morning, after seeing the masses of KLR riders head off for a variety of rides, Glynn and I loaded up the scooters and headed back to Tallahassee. The return trip was fine, except my gloves suck and my hands were freezing.
Stay turned for a few more pictures tomorrow.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Wow! I'm buying this Roketa!!!
Well, some of you know I am sort of looking for a dual sport motorcycle. I like the Kawasaki KLR 650 and 250 and even went to a KLR camp out a few weeks ago in Crawfordville (look for that post and pictures soon).
I'm also kicking around the idea of buying a Chinese dual sport. Crawling around the web, it seems as if these Chinese Dual Sports are actually ok, if you understand what they are for and what their limitations are.
Tonight I was slumming around on the Roketa site, since they have inexpensive ds machines and came across this:
Wow, that is a seriously awesome bike, in my opinion. To me it looks great. Something else some of you know, I think the Kawasaki Versys is the best looking bike ever made:
I do drool over the Versys, it looks even better in person so every time I happen to walk by one in ashop, I leave a small puddle on the floor near by. But, for 1/3 the price, that Roketa looks really nice.......
I bet it would draw some looks at bike nights.
I'm also kicking around the idea of buying a Chinese dual sport. Crawling around the web, it seems as if these Chinese Dual Sports are actually ok, if you understand what they are for and what their limitations are.
Tonight I was slumming around on the Roketa site, since they have inexpensive ds machines and came across this:
Wow, that is a seriously awesome bike, in my opinion. To me it looks great. Something else some of you know, I think the Kawasaki Versys is the best looking bike ever made:
I do drool over the Versys, it looks even better in person so every time I happen to walk by one in ashop, I leave a small puddle on the floor near by. But, for 1/3 the price, that Roketa looks really nice.......
I bet it would draw some looks at bike nights.
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