Styx In The Mud - Adventure Rider

Our second day kicks off at around 7am. It takes little more than an hour to pack, make a cup of "instant" joe, mount up and take a short drive across the Texas-New Mexico border to the nearest town of Clayton. We fill up on fuel where and locate a small cafe with a drive-thru (the only places open at the moment) to grab a quick bite. With COVID having closed all but the essential businesses we resort to sitting curb-side and chomp down our chow only to realize that one breakfast sandwich wasn't enough. Chris heads back to the drive-thru for a second round while I load the day's route into my GPS. Before long our bellies are full and bladders are empty so we turn the bikes north and head for the first real section of gravel road. The path we travel skirts alongside Clayton Lake which, while closed for camping, provides an early morning photo-op and a restroom break.  The Tiger 800 alongside Clayton Lake After the obligatory photo of the bikes sitting lakeside we head

It's finally time! After months and months of prep work, reviewing equipment,  spending thousands on gear, planning routes and training for off road riding it's finally time to set off on our very first adventure! My riding partner trailered down his rig the night before and spent the day loading gear and making final preparations. Unfortunately I don't get enough time off from work (as if there was such a thing) so I carefully meter my time by working a half-day. This should afford plenty of time to make our intended destination and setup camp for the first night. My riding partner pairs up our intercoms, we check and re-check our gear, saddle up, hit the road and, shortly after 12-noon, start the trek westbound. Range until empty: 4 While we could have opted for the interstate we instead headed for the nearest backroads and strung a network of county roads and highways together as we wove our way towards our waypoint. As we leave the confines of home the central Oklahoma

With the inaugural trip just a week away I'm starting to scramble to get everything ready. I have most of the gear and equipment yet still have a laundry list of tasks to complete before the trip. The overnight test-trip taught me a few things and the bike isn't quite ready yet. The first project that needs completion is the swap-out of my rubber. I had previously purchased a bead-breaker (for my shop) and a set of tire irons (for use on the trails in an emergency) and, much like testing of my camping gear, I could benefit from using these in a more-or-less controlled environment to gain a little practice. I select a Sunday morning to make an attempt one week before the actual trip and get to work setting up the bead-breaker and gathering the other tools needed: flat tire irons, curved tire iron, rim protectors, valve stem core removal tool, tire bead lubricant and the miscellaneous hand tools needed to pluck the wheels from underneath the bike. Rim removal is a snap and b

As mentioned in an earlier post it's important to do some controlled training before diving head-long into  your first adventure ride and in late April I was finally ready for an overnight trial-run with all my newly acquired gear. To be honest, this trip probably wouldn't have happened if not for my wife who continued to "suggest" an overnight trip. Once the weather warmed up a little we selected a Friday night to take the test. Being the very first overnight with all my gear she packed up the SUV with all her stuff and a bag of backup gear for me to use should things come completely off the rails. The site we picked is one we frequent often with kayaks but this would be our first use of their campground: a small state part about 10 minutes from our house. The thinking is that if the whole thing turns into a SNAFU we can pack up and head for home. The route to get there is also a good one with gravel backroads the entire way so it will help give my equipment a chance