CheapSTOC 2010
Junction, TX
June 4-6, 2010
Junction, TX
June 4-6, 2010
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Below is my SPOT Track for the trip.
So as I always say the best laid plans NEVER survive initial contact with the enemy. This ride report is no different. But hey, that is what makes for a good story... right?
Well I got the bike all packed up and ready to go. I did my best to only take the bare necessities. I am not sure how I would ever be able to take a two-up trip that includes camping. The left pannier had my clothing for the weekend, the right pannier had my kitchen (mess kit, jet-boil stove & fuel), my food, tennis shoes, spare gloves, rain gear, yada-yada-yada. The top box had all of my tools and the like. In the tank bag I had all of my electronics and things that I wanted to be able to get to in a hurry like food. On the pillion seat I had my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, and Camel Bak. I could not have fit a passenger on the bike if I wanted to. I am proud of myself however, I did not have to use my large tank bag in addition to my small one.
So the big day of June 3rd arrived. I hardly slept and was up bright and early ready to hit the road. I pop a few pieces of Ranger candy to combat the many miles that I am planning to put on. I stopped and topped off with gas and then hit the super-slab down I70 to C470, then onto the road that I would spend the majority of the next two days on... US 285.
It was a beautiful day to ride the Colorado twisties. It was a crisp cool morning with next to no traffic.
The smell of mountain air is just what the doctor ordered. The Rockies were snow capped and the skies were a nice clear blue. I stop just after 8:00 am in Buena Vista to fill up. It is a cool 34 degrees. The coldest I saw was coming over Konish Pass where the my thermometer on the bike dipped to 31 degrees. I was in my mess jacket at the time so at the gas fill up I put on my jacket liner to help myself warm up a bit.
I head on down the road and soon learn that US 285 turns flat, real flat, and real quick. My next stop around 11:20 am was the New Mexico boulder.
I water the bushes while there is no traffic, call my lovely bride and press on to Santa Fe for lunch. The day is warming up nicely but my riding pants are starting to get real warm. After I left Santa Fe I swear someone cranked up the heat on me! I pushed on to Roswell in the heat. About 100 miles out I stopped at a gas station to top off and to down a few bottles of vitamin water. It is not a frosty 108 degrees. I am still in my full riding gear as I refuse to ride without it. My thinking on the matter is that I would rather sweat then bleed. At this point I am downing a 2 liter Camel-Bak between gas fill ups. That is two liters of water about every three hundred miles!
After my short break I knock out the last stretch to Roswell. The road is straight as an arrow or so I thought. Those sneaky Bastards would trick you by tossing in a curve every 25-40 miles just to see if you were paying attention. Upon rolling in to Roswell I saw a beacon of relief, a Sonic. Coconut Cream Pie Shake Here I Come!!!!!!!!!! NOT SO FAST!!!!! Apparently the Sonics in New Mexico have never heard of such an animal. I had to settle for a plan ol' chocolate and the biggest water they could find. After enjoying the air conditioning for a bit and sucking down the cool relief of the shake I decided to head out and find my campsite for the night. According to Google it was right off the road just a bit on the edge of town. Sure Bottomless Lakes State Park was just off the road but the campground was pretty far off the beaten path. As a matter of fact the roads in the park to get there was the most twisty roads I had seen in the last few hundred miles.
The park was very pretty if you like the whole desert thing. The lakes were very clear and much bigger than I expected. I really regretted not having a swim suit with me because a dip in that water would sure have been nice. Instead I decided to take a cold shower. I should have waited until after I got camp set up since I was all sweaty again as soon as I started setting up my tent.
This is the first moto-camping trip I have taken. I opted for a cheap $35 Ozark Trails tent from Walley World. It backs down to next to nothing, fits in my T-bag along with my sleeping pad and can be set up easily by myself. The biggest draw was that it has a 8' x 9' foot print. At 6' 4" it is hard to find a small packing tent that I do not have to sleep in the fetal position. This one gave me plenty of room with room to spare for my riding gear. I would recommend this tent to anyone who is starting out with moto-camping.
While at the park I met a great young lady named Beth. She was about 75 years young and we spent a lot of time talking about the motorcycle trips she took in her prime. She had a "I am glad I did" instead of a "I wish I had" attitude.
The thing I really found odd about the park was that they lock you in from 9 pm until 7 am. I do not think I have ever stayed at a State Park that was a gated community before. I do not know if they were trying to keep the aliens in or out. I woke up early and headed for the gate at about a quarter to seven and was happy to find that they had already opened them. I had to meet up with "Texican Jim" for chow about 70 miles south so I was very happy to get an early start.
Next stop was Chaos Cafe in Artesia, NM where I met my new riding partners for the first time. Jim and Katie. Katie is a Parmerian puppy that loves to ride. She has her own little spot in a barrel bag on the pillion seat of Jim's bike.
The food and service was great and I would recommend Chaos to anyone who is traveling in the area. Well worth the cost of admission if you ask me.
After I toss back some fried eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and coffee it is time to hit the road. I can already tell that it is going to be another hot one and I check to make sure that the Camel-Bak is full. I ask Jim to take the lead since I was tired of navigating and just wanted to follow for awhile. It did not take us long to cross into Texas.
After cruising down 285 for a bit and a few stops to rehydrate we picked up I10. It was nice to have an 80 mph speed limit. I hope Jim does not mind me saying this and if he does I am very sorry but I want it to serve as a warning to others... I could see that the heat was wearing Jim down fast and he also was not drinking very much water during our stops in my opinion. I noticed that he was taking longer and longer breaks which in the heat is not a bad thing. I was watching very closely for signs of heat shock. Jim said he had a Camel-Bak but did not bring it on the trip. Please if you are going to be riding in that kind of heat drink water!! Jim ended up laying under a shade tree all day Saturday pushing water because he was seriously dehydrated. I do not want to hear of this happening to anyone else.
Now that the speech is over back to the regularly scheduled program....
So I make it to the Hills Motel in Junction, TX right around dinner time. This place is a far stretch from the Marriott. I knew it was a bad sign when I walked into my room and saw that the air conditioner was not plugged into the outlet under it but was plugged into a extension cord and ran to the other side of the room. It was plugged into the only working outlet in the room. Charging my video camera and cell phone was out so I was not able to get the video I wanted. I spend a week wiring up cameras on my ride just to have a dead battery upon arrival and no way to charge it. I put that behind me and decided to just have fun.
There was a lot of bikes that came down. Here is a few shots of the parking lot on Friday night.
Saturday we hit the Three Twisted Sisters. These are Texas Ranch Roads 335, 336, and 337. Honestly, I went down wondering what kind of roads could Texas offer a Colorado boy like me. Oh my goodness those were some great roads. I pushed my ST1300 harder then I have ever pushed her and I still could not hang with the locals. I learned a full things about my skills (or the lack there of) and my bike abilities. Trust me the bike has a lot more in her then I do.
Here is the two videos I was able to take during that ride.
Below is my SPOT Track for the trip.
So as I always say the best laid plans NEVER survive initial contact with the enemy. This ride report is no different. But hey, that is what makes for a good story... right?
Well I got the bike all packed up and ready to go. I did my best to only take the bare necessities. I am not sure how I would ever be able to take a two-up trip that includes camping. The left pannier had my clothing for the weekend, the right pannier had my kitchen (mess kit, jet-boil stove & fuel), my food, tennis shoes, spare gloves, rain gear, yada-yada-yada. The top box had all of my tools and the like. In the tank bag I had all of my electronics and things that I wanted to be able to get to in a hurry like food. On the pillion seat I had my sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent, and Camel Bak. I could not have fit a passenger on the bike if I wanted to. I am proud of myself however, I did not have to use my large tank bag in addition to my small one.
So the big day of June 3rd arrived. I hardly slept and was up bright and early ready to hit the road. I pop a few pieces of Ranger candy to combat the many miles that I am planning to put on. I stopped and topped off with gas and then hit the super-slab down I70 to C470, then onto the road that I would spend the majority of the next two days on... US 285.
It was a beautiful day to ride the Colorado twisties. It was a crisp cool morning with next to no traffic.
The smell of mountain air is just what the doctor ordered. The Rockies were snow capped and the skies were a nice clear blue. I stop just after 8:00 am in Buena Vista to fill up. It is a cool 34 degrees. The coldest I saw was coming over Konish Pass where the my thermometer on the bike dipped to 31 degrees. I was in my mess jacket at the time so at the gas fill up I put on my jacket liner to help myself warm up a bit.
I head on down the road and soon learn that US 285 turns flat, real flat, and real quick. My next stop around 11:20 am was the New Mexico boulder.
I water the bushes while there is no traffic, call my lovely bride and press on to Santa Fe for lunch. The day is warming up nicely but my riding pants are starting to get real warm. After I left Santa Fe I swear someone cranked up the heat on me! I pushed on to Roswell in the heat. About 100 miles out I stopped at a gas station to top off and to down a few bottles of vitamin water. It is not a frosty 108 degrees. I am still in my full riding gear as I refuse to ride without it. My thinking on the matter is that I would rather sweat then bleed. At this point I am downing a 2 liter Camel-Bak between gas fill ups. That is two liters of water about every three hundred miles!
After my short break I knock out the last stretch to Roswell. The road is straight as an arrow or so I thought. Those sneaky Bastards would trick you by tossing in a curve every 25-40 miles just to see if you were paying attention. Upon rolling in to Roswell I saw a beacon of relief, a Sonic. Coconut Cream Pie Shake Here I Come!!!!!!!!!! NOT SO FAST!!!!! Apparently the Sonics in New Mexico have never heard of such an animal. I had to settle for a plan ol' chocolate and the biggest water they could find. After enjoying the air conditioning for a bit and sucking down the cool relief of the shake I decided to head out and find my campsite for the night. According to Google it was right off the road just a bit on the edge of town. Sure Bottomless Lakes State Park was just off the road but the campground was pretty far off the beaten path. As a matter of fact the roads in the park to get there was the most twisty roads I had seen in the last few hundred miles.
The park was very pretty if you like the whole desert thing. The lakes were very clear and much bigger than I expected. I really regretted not having a swim suit with me because a dip in that water would sure have been nice. Instead I decided to take a cold shower. I should have waited until after I got camp set up since I was all sweaty again as soon as I started setting up my tent.
This is the first moto-camping trip I have taken. I opted for a cheap $35 Ozark Trails tent from Walley World. It backs down to next to nothing, fits in my T-bag along with my sleeping pad and can be set up easily by myself. The biggest draw was that it has a 8' x 9' foot print. At 6' 4" it is hard to find a small packing tent that I do not have to sleep in the fetal position. This one gave me plenty of room with room to spare for my riding gear. I would recommend this tent to anyone who is starting out with moto-camping.
While at the park I met a great young lady named Beth. She was about 75 years young and we spent a lot of time talking about the motorcycle trips she took in her prime. She had a "I am glad I did" instead of a "I wish I had" attitude.
The thing I really found odd about the park was that they lock you in from 9 pm until 7 am. I do not think I have ever stayed at a State Park that was a gated community before. I do not know if they were trying to keep the aliens in or out. I woke up early and headed for the gate at about a quarter to seven and was happy to find that they had already opened them. I had to meet up with "Texican Jim" for chow about 70 miles south so I was very happy to get an early start.
Next stop was Chaos Cafe in Artesia, NM where I met my new riding partners for the first time. Jim and Katie. Katie is a Parmerian puppy that loves to ride. She has her own little spot in a barrel bag on the pillion seat of Jim's bike.
The food and service was great and I would recommend Chaos to anyone who is traveling in the area. Well worth the cost of admission if you ask me.
After I toss back some fried eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and coffee it is time to hit the road. I can already tell that it is going to be another hot one and I check to make sure that the Camel-Bak is full. I ask Jim to take the lead since I was tired of navigating and just wanted to follow for awhile. It did not take us long to cross into Texas.
After cruising down 285 for a bit and a few stops to rehydrate we picked up I10. It was nice to have an 80 mph speed limit. I hope Jim does not mind me saying this and if he does I am very sorry but I want it to serve as a warning to others... I could see that the heat was wearing Jim down fast and he also was not drinking very much water during our stops in my opinion. I noticed that he was taking longer and longer breaks which in the heat is not a bad thing. I was watching very closely for signs of heat shock. Jim said he had a Camel-Bak but did not bring it on the trip. Please if you are going to be riding in that kind of heat drink water!! Jim ended up laying under a shade tree all day Saturday pushing water because he was seriously dehydrated. I do not want to hear of this happening to anyone else.
Now that the speech is over back to the regularly scheduled program....
So I make it to the Hills Motel in Junction, TX right around dinner time. This place is a far stretch from the Marriott. I knew it was a bad sign when I walked into my room and saw that the air conditioner was not plugged into the outlet under it but was plugged into a extension cord and ran to the other side of the room. It was plugged into the only working outlet in the room. Charging my video camera and cell phone was out so I was not able to get the video I wanted. I spend a week wiring up cameras on my ride just to have a dead battery upon arrival and no way to charge it. I put that behind me and decided to just have fun.
There was a lot of bikes that came down. Here is a few shots of the parking lot on Friday night.
Saturday we hit the Three Twisted Sisters. These are Texas Ranch Roads 335, 336, and 337. Honestly, I went down wondering what kind of roads could Texas offer a Colorado boy like me. Oh my goodness those were some great roads. I pushed my ST1300 harder then I have ever pushed her and I still could not hang with the locals. I learned a full things about my skills (or the lack there of) and my bike abilities. Trust me the bike has a lot more in her then I do.
Here is the two videos I was able to take during that ride.
And now video number 2.
I even won an award for being the high mileage rider this year. Remember, that this is CHEAPSTOC...
I know I said there was no ride t-shirts but I had to buy this one.
Sunday I had planned to ride home via an eastern route that would have taken me across Oklahoma. I realized however that I totally forgot to buy my kids the stuffed aliens in Roswell that they asked for, so I rerouted back that way adding 200+ miles to the trip so I could get them.
By routing back into New Mexico I was able to ride about 50 miles of historic route 66 which was a very nice ride. I then headed to Colorado. My home state decide to greet me and give me a break from the 100 degree heat. Just as I saw the sign that said welcome to colorful Colorado the sky opened up and hit me with 50 miles of pouring rain, thunder and lightning. I thought about getting a room for the night but I was already wet and I could see clear skies ahead so I decided to push on. After the rain came to a stop I was hit with very strong cross winds. By the time I made it to Pueblo my legs were jello from gripping the tank and I was not sure if I would be able to hold the bike up. I topped off with gas and grabbed a bite to eat while I gave my legs a rest. Once I was all rested up I pushed on via super-slab I25 to the house. I arrived at about 9:30 pm. I was 60 miles short of doing a saddle sore 1000 on the way home with a total of 940 miles ridden in about 16 hours. If I would have thought about grabbing receipts I might have added a few miles and certified the ride with the IBA but I did not.
All in all it was a great trip and I had a great time. I did ~2300 miles in four days. Now time to start planning the next trip
Stay Tuned for Moonshine 2011!!!
OK folks it is time for another wacky long distance ride plan. Since I was unable to attend Moonshine this year I needed to find something to get my riding fix. After searching the forums over at st-owners.com I came across CheapSTOC. So you may be asking yourself what the heck is CheapSTOC? Well Cheap... cheap hotel, no event t-shirts, no ride pins, no sticker, and no whining.
I plan to leave Denver on Thursday, June 3rd early in the morning sometime around 4:00 AM and ride to Roswell, NM where I will camp over night with the Aliens. According to Google it is 514 miles and about 8 1/2 hours to Roswell. I will leave Roswell on Friday morning and ride the remaining 413 miles to Junction. Then it will be time to rest and relax at the hotel and visit with some other fine motorcyclist. Saturday we will spend the day exploring the hill country around the area on the bikes. Sunday I will leave and ride the 804 miles back to Denver and hopefully be home by dinner time. Not counting the miles riding the hills I am looking at a short 1700+ miles round trip.
This is my planned route for the trip.
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