Bama Rides

Archive for the ‘adventure riding’ Category

Early morning ride across Deals Gap – The Dragon, May 31, 2019 before all the traffic descended upon this magnificent road. I would recommend anyone that rides a motorcycle make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once, just be prepared when you get there, it may be your last trip.

Moto-camping in Appalachians around the Nantahala and Smoky Mountains. Camping off a motorcycle is not as easy when you go off-road.

A quick afternoon trip up into the Bankhead forest, testing out a cheap Wal-Marx fishing rod. Overall a very successful trip, I failed to bag an edible fish but it was a great day riding.

Just playing with a concept, and a way to make this interesting for myself and others – combining motorcycle riding and exploring history and fire towers. Might be fun, might be something interesting that I continue. Tell me what you think?

Motorcyclist and journalist Davey Johnson has been missing since June 5th after crossing Sonoma Pass on a CB1000R on a test ride. He checked in by test, next to a waterway, and has not been heard from since. His motorcycle, gloves and helmet were discovered close by, and later his backpack, and phone were also discovered. Searchers are looking near the river he was last known to be at.

Nice weekend on the ridge

A first attempt to downsize my motocamping gear and setup.

I have always been fascinated by the idea of “the wrong bike”. Ever since I started taking the wrong bike to the wrong place, I have enjoyed watching other people do the same thing. It also brings up the idea – what makes the “right” bike? Why can’t you ride a cruiser or sportbike down a dirt road, or a trail? Why do you have special bikes for certain types of riding? What makes one bike better than the other? I think the video below illustrates suspension issues that limit the sportbike dramatically, but the guys is STILL have fun on the wrong bike, and it rarely should limit you from taking the wrong bike down the wrong path too maybe?

So after the first ride after suspension repair, I noticed a hole in the radiator, which I ignored too long and blew the head gasket.  After repairing the radiator, I also ignored a few signs – discolored water in the radiator, until I noticed water in the oil – game over.  I needed a head gasket.  So after a month of struggling with parts, and head removal, I finally was able to swap out the thin, Teflon-coated aluminum membrane that separates the head from the block.