Mother of All Mexico Dirt Bike Rides - March in 2015!

[beemerdons]

So on FB I saw that Don got in a crash. Is he alright? What happen?

https://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc198/beemerdons/February%202015/get-attachmentaspx-100.jpeg

 

[beemerdons]

So on FB I saw that Don got in a crash. Is he alright? What happen?

Don is just dramatically trying to get out of this ride.

Don was on a dirt bike that face planted him off the edge of the road. He ripped a major hole in his right knee and pretty much destroyed his right shoulder joint. It earned him a helicopter ride, more staples than an average couch cover and gave him an opportunity to replace his shoulder joint with something else. It'll be a while before he is hoisting Steinkrugs with his right hand or chasing down burros.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Don,

Get well soon!!

 

[yamafitter]

From what I remember from the Copper Canyon trip the local banks in Mexico did not like to do currency conversions due to money laundry issues involving US cash. There are ATM's in the larger towns but as Chris mentioned make sure you contact your bank to let them know that you will be using your card in Mexico.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Awful quiet here..... Especially with only a week left before the trip.

So are we down to a total of 8 riders with Don out of commission ??

 

[yamafitter]

I cleared out enough space in the garage and cleaned out the trailer. I need to do some Bendology on my right side bark buster to correct an earlier oops.

I'm planning on rolling out of the Great White North this Tuesday and start heading for warmer climes. I'm even thinking of going really crazy and get a haircut before I leave.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Haircut!! You're getting crazy!

I'm mounting a Kenda Big Block front tire this weekend and the beast will be ready to go. I'm heading out next Saturday morning and taking my time getting to TX. The 10 day weather so far looks good down to TX.

 

[russperry]

I'm pretty much set to go. I'm not leaving until Saturday morning with a 2000 mile drive to McAllen. The bike's in pretty good shape - rejetted the carbs last summer, brand new tubes and Michelin T63 tires, and a new USB power supply to drive the iPhone I'm gonna use for nav and comms. I also added a couple of Wolfman bags for carrying some essentials. Once I get everything assembled I'll send out a pic or two.

 

[CHRIS_D]

Russ,

Looking forward to seeing the pic!!

 

[Fontanaman]

I am ready to go. I need to print out the files sent by MotoDiscovery read them to figure out want to bring and what not to bring.

I have a motorcycle waiting for me in McAllen thanks to Don. Damn shame he will not make the trip of his own design.

 

[yamafitter]

I will be packing the trailer tomorrow and am on schedule for a Tuesday AM departure. I am hoping to miss most of the snowstorms coming up the Ohio Valley. Once past Ohio the weather looks OK.

 

[BackRoadBob]

Safe travels, Bill

 

[yamafitter]

Tuesday was pretty messy with an ice storm coming through the area so I postponed until today. The first major stop was at the Duty Free in Windsor to pick up supplies....

I made good time but started hitting bad weather just as I entered Kentucky on I75. My route took me west on I71 over to Louisville and then down I65. I found out I was not the only fool dragging a bike for parts south....

You can ignore the tire pressure warning. I'm too cheap to put the sensors in the snow tires and have the system reprogrammed.

I made it to the outskirts of Nashville and as it was getting dark I'm parked for the night. There is a big winter storm in the area and I don't have much confidence in Tennessee's snow removal abilities but I don't have far to go tomorrow. The "A" Plan is to make it to Leeds, Alabama and check out the Barber Motorcycle Museum. On Fridays they have a guided tour that includes the restoration shops in the basement that I am very keen to have a close look at. I have my Nikon all warmed up.

The route today...... thank goodness I'm was in the truck with the dirtbike stored all cozy in the trailer......

Time for a nightcap.....

For the stalkers in the group I have a Spotwalla Link running during this trip.

Later....

 

[Fontanaman]

Safe travels Bill. Looking forward to meeting you and everybody else on Monday!

Jim

 

[CHRIS_D]

Tuesday was pretty messy with an ice storm coming through the area so I postponed until today. The first major stop was at the Duty Free in Windsor to pick up supplies....

Darn Bill at first I was getting excited thinking this was a view of the inside of your trailer!!

I replaced my K60 front with Kenda Big block tire on Sunday. Now I have what feels like a really bad balance problem that happens from 30 to 40 mph. Removed the rim and re-balanced with no resolve. Yesterday took 5 hours of leave from work and replaced the Kenda with my other new Kenda thinking maybe it was a faulty tire. Still have the same symptoms!

Now I know it's most likely not a tire problem, which surprises me because I really didn't notice this with the K60 mounted, As a last ditch effort I added Ride-On tire sealant/balancer and adjusted my rebound and damping. It's now a little better, but not much.

I'm not proficient on trueing a rim, so I'm begrudgingly going to attempt to bring the bike to one of the shops around here even though I really don't trust them or imagine they even know how to true a rim.

Either way I'm leaving Saturday and If worse comes to worse I will just have to deal with this for 3K + miles..........

 

[yamafitter]

This morning in Nashville had 2" of snow overnight and the local FOX channel thinks it's snowmageddon and has 10 reporters doing live updates. If they just gave all the reporters snow shovels they would have had it all cleaned up by now.

Being Canadian the thing I noticed was the pool in the bottom right of the photo appears to be open.

 

[russperry]

I'm in the Albany NY area until tomorrow morning so am surrounded by similar looking terrain. All the hotels here that have swimming arrangements keep them indoors so there's no chance to do the polar bear routine.....

 

[CHRIS_D]

I'm in the Albany NY area until tomorrow morning so am surrounded by similar looking terrain. All the hotels here that have swimming arrangements keep them indoors so there's no chance to do the polar bear routine.....

Cool that's were I grew up!!

Bill,

That's just crazy weather you're showing there!!

 

[yamafitter]

The one snowplow in all of Tennessee had not made it to I65 south of Nashville. I was not the only one looking for some warm spot to ride however.

I'll never have nothing to say about the snowplows in Ontario again after today. I did make it to Leeds, Alabama in spite of it all and will be going over to the Barber Motorcycle Museum tomorrow. The girl on the hotel desk said that they are closing I65 and the Bass Pro Shop was closing early due to weather and there is not a flake on the ground. The girl on the desk was terribly confused about Canadian Postal Codes and asked if Canada was part of the USA. I then showed her a Canadian $20 bill to see if that would clue her in a bit.

Had I stayed in Nashville I could have gone to a NHL Predators game. $35 for a ticket in the lower bowl, a T-Shirt and a coupon for Jack in the Box. It was $40 if you don't take the ticket for the game. That same ticket in Toronto at the ACC would be $200 and the T-Shirt would be and extra $40. We don't have Jack in the Box in Canada but the Leafs have never given away free Tim Horton's Cards. This just sends me to the moon....

A replica of a Saturn V-1B at the visitor center as you cross into Alabama. The entire parking lot was coated with about an inch of ice. It was a very good thing I left the snow tires on the tow vehicle for this trip as there were lots of vehicles shunting off into the wild blue yonder.

 

[Old Michael]

Had I stayed in Nashville I could have gone to a NHL Predators game. $35 for a ticket in the lower bowl, a T-Shirt and a coupon for Jack in the Box. It was $40 if you don't take the ticket for the game. That same ticket in Toronto at the ACC would be $200 and the T-Shirt would be and extra $40. We don't have Jack in the Box in Canada but the Leafs have never given away free Tim Horton's Cards.

You get what you pay for.

HISTORY and TRADITION are expensive.

Go Leafs.

This just sends me to the moon....

....and then to Mexico?