Bart Simson
Last week was the final ride of the year, before winter sets in.
#motorcycle #klr650
Tristan DudleyTook a 100 mile ride the other night in near freezing weather for a charity ride. Surprisingly comfy with my new gear and had some good company in my dad and his Tiger. Reminded me why I love this hobby. Edited to correct “ear freezing (which was technically correct, but not my intent) to “near freezing”. #klr650 #Kawasaki #motorcycle #motorcycles
dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️
electragicianOh man... it's an end to two glorious days on the motorcycle.
Lots of backroads, lots of dirt roads, lots of heat, lots of bikes taking dirt naps, though the only time the KLR hit the ground this time, I wasn’t on it. I’d parked it precariously, in a hurry to help a downed rider, and it fell due to everything in that part of the world being sand 😂
I left Valdosta in a pack of 5 riders on Friday morning. We had all just met that morning as part of a larger ride put on by Dixie Dual Sports, called the Florida Traverse. It consisted of two separate but intertwining routes, on a mixture of dirt and backroads labeled as the ADV route, and another that was pure paved backroads.
Rider 5 bailed after the 2nd sandy road and took the street route the rest of the way on his Super Tenere. Rider 3 went down in a sandbed on an Africa Twin, Rider 4 was following too closely on a Desert-X and ran over him. Rider 3 tried to walk it off, but wound up riding back to Ocala to go to the emergency room (he was a local).
He later found out that both bones were broken in his lower left leg, and I know from experience you can’t walk that kind of stuff off. Rider 2 and I (both on KLRs) continued on until I got a flat tire.
Crazy luck, but I got a flat within eyesight of a friends place in Fairfield, Fl. They helped me out with a safe place to pull the rear tire and a ride to the dealership for a new tube. It was so much easier than doing it on the side of the road, and I sure appreciated it.
Saturday, I ran solo. I made sure to have some riders behind me so I’d eventually have help if I had issues, but there were none. It was just a bunch of neat sights and great adv riding, all the way to Everglades City.
Florida is a beautiful state, and running dirt and backroads through the “breadbasket” is an amazing experience. Orange groves, farmland, and lots and lots of sand :D
My final odometer tally after the weekend of riding and coming and going, to and fro was nearly 1100 miles.
#motorcycles
#florida
#klr650
#adventurebiking
Lots of backroads, lots of dirt roads, lots of heat, lots of bikes taking dirt naps, though the only time the KLR hit the ground this time, I wasn’t on it. I’d parked it precariously, in a hurry to help a downed rider, and it fell due to everything in that part of the world being sand 😂
I left Valdosta in a pack of 5 riders on Friday morning. We had all just met that morning as part of a larger ride put on by Dixie Dual Sports, called the Florida Traverse. It consisted of two separate but intertwining routes, on a mixture of dirt and backroads labeled as the ADV route, and another that was pure paved backroads.
Rider 5 bailed after the 2nd sandy road and took the street route the rest of the way on his Super Tenere. Rider 3 went down in a sandbed on an Africa Twin, Rider 4 was following too closely on a Desert-X and ran over him. Rider 3 tried to walk it off, but wound up riding back to Ocala to go to the emergency room (he was a local).
He later found out that both bones were broken in his lower left leg, and I know from experience you can’t walk that kind of stuff off. Rider 2 and I (both on KLRs) continued on until I got a flat tire.
Crazy luck, but I got a flat within eyesight of a friends place in Fairfield, Fl. They helped me out with a safe place to pull the rear tire and a ride to the dealership for a new tube. It was so much easier than doing it on the side of the road, and I sure appreciated it.
Saturday, I ran solo. I made sure to have some riders behind me so I’d eventually have help if I had issues, but there were none. It was just a bunch of neat sights and great adv riding, all the way to Everglades City.
Florida is a beautiful state, and running dirt and backroads through the “breadbasket” is an amazing experience. Orange groves, farmland, and lots and lots of sand :D
My final odometer tally after the weekend of riding and coming and going, to and fro was nearly 1100 miles.
#motorcycles
#florida
#klr650
#adventurebiking
I'll ride up to Valdosta, GA on Thursday evening to meet up at a hotel with some other riders for the inaugural run of the "Florida Traverse". There's a rider meeting early Friday morning, and then I hope to be on the road by 8AM.
I received the routes on Sunday, and imported them into Gaia GPS. I made the "ADV" or Adventure route red, and the "street" route blue, and brought them up together. The Adventure route will incorporate a fair amount of dirt roads, and just in case that gets to be too much for my recovering leg, I'll pop out onto the street route to continue on my journey. I'm still dealing with swelling in my lower leg and foot, since I fractured my right leg in few spots in an accident in December, so there's that.
I don't expect much trouble, but it will be a couple of long days. I do expect a lot of fun and some comradery, beginning in Valdosta, GA on Friday and ending on Saturday night in Everglades City. Day one should be about 10 hours in the saddle, with most of the dirt roads front-loaded in the earlier part of the day. Day two is maybe 8 or 9 hours, and then 5 or so hours back home via the interstate on Sunday.
I'm pretty stoked... and I expect a great time wandering through "Old Florida".
#motorcycles
#florida
#klr650
I received the routes on Sunday, and imported them into Gaia GPS. I made the "ADV" or Adventure route red, and the "street" route blue, and brought them up together. The Adventure route will incorporate a fair amount of dirt roads, and just in case that gets to be too much for my recovering leg, I'll pop out onto the street route to continue on my journey. I'm still dealing with swelling in my lower leg and foot, since I fractured my right leg in few spots in an accident in December, so there's that.
I don't expect much trouble, but it will be a couple of long days. I do expect a lot of fun and some comradery, beginning in Valdosta, GA on Friday and ending on Saturday night in Everglades City. Day one should be about 10 hours in the saddle, with most of the dirt roads front-loaded in the earlier part of the day. Day two is maybe 8 or 9 hours, and then 5 or so hours back home via the interstate on Sunday.
I'm pretty stoked... and I expect a great time wandering through "Old Florida".
#motorcycles
#florida
#klr650
Bart SimsonMy personal highlights from the Montreal Motorcycle show this weekend: a piece of pure art which will probably not ride more than 20 000km in its life, and a piece of pure engineering which gave its owner more than 120 000km of joy while traveling the Silk Road and all over Central and South America. If you're interested in the travels, the guy is on facebook at riderXamericas.
electragician62 days later, and I finally feel whole enough to get the bike out and go over it from end to end.
The accident that broke my leg didn’t hurt the #klr650 but earlier that morning I had managed to wedge a tree limb up through the centerstand and between the wheel and swingarm so tightly that it locked the engine up under heavy throttle. At the time we laid the bike on its side and performed a trailside limbectomy, did a cursory inspection, and took off again.
As expected, it’s unharmed.
Aidan Bellhttps://buff.ly/40Kp9TO #klr650 #dr650 a fun adventure bike ride into rural Quebec that goes a little off the rails... and into the Gatineau river
