FantasticJohnR
Well-known member
On Friday, September 15, 2006 I, with three other "crazy" members of the "Mild Bunch", started off on our long-distance riding adventure to complete the Saddle Sore 1000. The four of us departed Austin at 5 a.m. CST sharp from Rudy's Country store Loop 360 South, headed north on I35 to Oklahoma City, onto I 40 west through Amarillo, TX followed by Alburquerque and then stopping at our Hotel off of I 40 in Grants, NM at 9:45 pm MST: A total mileage of 1050 miles on my 2006 FJR 1300A.
The ride was uneventful. The all highway driving was not as painful as I thought it would be. The FJR is just so rock solid on the highway even with very strong cross winds we experienced in Oklahoma. We only stopped eight times and it didn't really seem to matter much. I was very comfortable on the FJR.
My FJR has very few farkles: I was on a stock seat with a sheep wool cover. I have a throttle rocker and NEP throttle lock. I had on both side bags and a givi top box (the 46 model). Also have a medium sized tank ba that had a camel water bag with tube with a zip line attached for keeping hold of the tube (this worked great for having a drink while riding).
I think of all the add on's the under $20 NEP throttle lock was most appreciated as it performed great allowing me to move around and take all the pressure off of my hands.
At the end of the ride I still had a surprising amount of energy, and this continued through the following two days of riding! So, my summary of the ride is that is was easy and no problem- something that caught me totally off guard as even 200 mile rides in my car often make me exhausted!
The next day after the Saddle Sore 1000 ride, Saturday 9/16, our group made a huge loop through New Mexico. We left Grabts NM around 9:30 am. First we heaed through the Malpais national forest (Rt 177), then to rt 36 to 32 throught the Apache national forest (my favorite! full of wide sweeperers going downhill through huge green pine trees). We then stopped in Reserve for mexican Hamburgers (yummy) and then rt 12 throught the Hila forest on 180 to Silver city. The Hila National Park is outstanidng and quite vaired in its topography. Very beautifful hills!
From Silver City we then took 152 through another park with one after the other 15-25 mph turns on the edge of cliffs and through the mountain forests. Then rt 27 to to rt 26 to Hatch and pictures with red Chile peppers. At this time it was near 5 pm- should we stop or head to carlsbad where we had hotel reservations. A quick call around found no avaialbiliy in hotels anywhere! So on to carlsbad we go!
From Las Cruces we headed through the St. Agustine pass to Alamogordo. Driving down highway 70 we witnesses the most beautiful sunset as we crossed the dessert basin. Took a quick look at White sands and then on through the mountains towards Cloudcroft on rt 82. The air went from 77 degrees in Alamagordo to 42 degrees in Cloudcroft. It was wonderful to be dring through the mountain road in the dark with the smells of pinion wood buring in the locals fireplaces! We finally began going downhill all the way to Artesia and then on to Carlsbad via 285. We finally reached our hotel- the Execuative suites (formerly the Holiday Inn) at around 11:45 pm! Some of the guys were exhausted in our group. But I was still high with excitement and continued to clean all the nast bug stuff off of my bike until about 1 am. Our ride on this day was a mere 617 miles!
During this trip we experineced all kinds of experiences; on a few occasions we broke the speed limits (by >50 mph), we had rain, we had water crossings, we had gravel, we had sand, we had very cold weather at approximately 8,000 feet, we had spectacular views of the Malpeis region and the Gila forest.
On the third day, 9/17/06 we left Carlsbad back to Texas on a simple route. This was our shortest day of riding- only 462 miles!
So, I think I am a certified long distance rider. The most surprising thing I learned was how easy this was for me. I am ready to tackle my next long distance ride already. Yes, by the time I got home I had some bruising on my lower butt. But I was never so uncomfortable that I couldn't go on. I think it was by wednesday that the trip caught up with me as I crashed big time and took a good long early afternoon nap and dreamed of my next ride on this blue beauty of mine!
P.S. I took very few pictures during the trip for two reasons; 1) this trip was about the ride and we didn't make very many stops and 2) I bough a fancy digital SLR- these cameras are fairly big and so I kept all tucked away in my Givi top bag. This didn't allow me to quickly take pictures while still on the bike ect. I would recommend that a pocket sized digital camera is much more handy and useful for this type of trip.
So, not much to share as far as pictures go
The ride was uneventful. The all highway driving was not as painful as I thought it would be. The FJR is just so rock solid on the highway even with very strong cross winds we experienced in Oklahoma. We only stopped eight times and it didn't really seem to matter much. I was very comfortable on the FJR.
My FJR has very few farkles: I was on a stock seat with a sheep wool cover. I have a throttle rocker and NEP throttle lock. I had on both side bags and a givi top box (the 46 model). Also have a medium sized tank ba that had a camel water bag with tube with a zip line attached for keeping hold of the tube (this worked great for having a drink while riding).
I think of all the add on's the under $20 NEP throttle lock was most appreciated as it performed great allowing me to move around and take all the pressure off of my hands.
At the end of the ride I still had a surprising amount of energy, and this continued through the following two days of riding! So, my summary of the ride is that is was easy and no problem- something that caught me totally off guard as even 200 mile rides in my car often make me exhausted!
The next day after the Saddle Sore 1000 ride, Saturday 9/16, our group made a huge loop through New Mexico. We left Grabts NM around 9:30 am. First we heaed through the Malpais national forest (Rt 177), then to rt 36 to 32 throught the Apache national forest (my favorite! full of wide sweeperers going downhill through huge green pine trees). We then stopped in Reserve for mexican Hamburgers (yummy) and then rt 12 throught the Hila forest on 180 to Silver city. The Hila National Park is outstanidng and quite vaired in its topography. Very beautifful hills!
From Silver City we then took 152 through another park with one after the other 15-25 mph turns on the edge of cliffs and through the mountain forests. Then rt 27 to to rt 26 to Hatch and pictures with red Chile peppers. At this time it was near 5 pm- should we stop or head to carlsbad where we had hotel reservations. A quick call around found no avaialbiliy in hotels anywhere! So on to carlsbad we go!
From Las Cruces we headed through the St. Agustine pass to Alamogordo. Driving down highway 70 we witnesses the most beautiful sunset as we crossed the dessert basin. Took a quick look at White sands and then on through the mountains towards Cloudcroft on rt 82. The air went from 77 degrees in Alamagordo to 42 degrees in Cloudcroft. It was wonderful to be dring through the mountain road in the dark with the smells of pinion wood buring in the locals fireplaces! We finally began going downhill all the way to Artesia and then on to Carlsbad via 285. We finally reached our hotel- the Execuative suites (formerly the Holiday Inn) at around 11:45 pm! Some of the guys were exhausted in our group. But I was still high with excitement and continued to clean all the nast bug stuff off of my bike until about 1 am. Our ride on this day was a mere 617 miles!
During this trip we experineced all kinds of experiences; on a few occasions we broke the speed limits (by >50 mph), we had rain, we had water crossings, we had gravel, we had sand, we had very cold weather at approximately 8,000 feet, we had spectacular views of the Malpeis region and the Gila forest.
On the third day, 9/17/06 we left Carlsbad back to Texas on a simple route. This was our shortest day of riding- only 462 miles!
So, I think I am a certified long distance rider. The most surprising thing I learned was how easy this was for me. I am ready to tackle my next long distance ride already. Yes, by the time I got home I had some bruising on my lower butt. But I was never so uncomfortable that I couldn't go on. I think it was by wednesday that the trip caught up with me as I crashed big time and took a good long early afternoon nap and dreamed of my next ride on this blue beauty of mine!
P.S. I took very few pictures during the trip for two reasons; 1) this trip was about the ride and we didn't make very many stops and 2) I bough a fancy digital SLR- these cameras are fairly big and so I kept all tucked away in my Givi top bag. This didn't allow me to quickly take pictures while still on the bike ect. I would recommend that a pocket sized digital camera is much more handy and useful for this type of trip.
So, not much to share as far as pictures go
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