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[ST] western rallye 2002 report and pics



Well, I got back from the Western rallye on Thursday evening, having
taken a somewhat circuitous route home.  I was surprised to see not many
trip reports, so thought I'd add mine and a link to some of the pictures
I took.

Pictures are at http://sprintst.home.attbi.com/ if you'd rather just
skip my rambling.

I had a great time getting to Montrose.  I left Wednesday and made it
from Ft. Worth to Red River, NM, 707 miles, where I camped for the
night.  As with any ride, the first day was the easiest.  I actually ran
a full tank without stopping, which I'm not usually able to do.

Thursday morning I wanted to check out some of the roads around Taos.  I
spent too much time doing that and didn't get into Montrose until 8 or
so that night.  

Friday and Saturday I had a great time riding some excellent roads with
a couple of left coast riders.  Thanks, Keith and Blake, for letting
me tag along with you guys.  I also enjoyed meeting everyone there and
hanging out in the evenings, as well as the banquet.

Sunday I spent checking out Black Canyon Natnl Park near Montrose and
doing some hiking, which was really neat, and riding around there and up
to and around Grand Junction.

Monday I headed into Utah via I-70, a terribly boring ride.  Then I went
down 191 and check out Arches Natnl Park, which was amazing.  191 S of
that was a pretty neat road with lots of hills and fast sweepers, and I
made good time down past Monticello, UT and camped at Devil's Canyon.

Tuesday morning I got an early start, and was hoping to make it into
El Paso by evening, but there was too much I wanted to see, even after
I vetoed stopping at 4 Corners.  On the advice of a couple of Arizona
rallye attendees, I went through Monument Valley, which was awesome,
and then down 191 through NE Arizona, which was anything but.  They
warned me it wouldn't be good till down by Springerville or Alpine, but
I didn't think it would be that bad.  This was some of the flattest,
hottest, most boring road I've ridden, and it went on for 200+ miles
until I finally got into Alpine, AZ.  The only good thing I can say
about the northern part of 191 in AZ is that I was able to do triple
digits a good part of the way due to lack of LEO (or anything for that
matter).  Then again, I may have been extra pissy this day due to
dehydration.  I didn't do a good job of drinking often enough.

The 2nd half of the day made it all worth it, though.  191 through
Apache National Forest was 70 miles of good luvin'.  It was smoky, but
the good part was nearly 0 traffic, since the forest was closed.  That
took a lot longer than I had planned, since the avg speed was maybe
30mph, and I was nowhere near El Paso.  So, I crossed over into New
Mexico on hwy 78, which was also a very fun road through the mountains.
I made it into Silver City, NM that night and splurged by camping at
KOA.

Wednesday I got up and rode the triangle loop out of Silver City
through the Gila Natnl forest, 15 to 35 to 152, then 61 down south.
This was also a great ride through the forest with countless twisties
and mountain passes.  It was not as good as the Apache Forest in
AZ, however because the road was narrower and there was no center
stripe through a part of it.  Throw that in with a few dump trucks
travelling the area to a construction site, and it made for some slow,
inside-of-the-turn-hugging riding.  Then I got to US180, which was
incredibly flat, straight, and boring, and did some more Ludicrous Speed
travel down to Deming, NM.  Then I slabbed it into El Paso where I
visited and stayed with my wife's aunt.

I couldn't sleep well, which was a theme for this trip due to the
extreme lack of humidity, so I got up and left at 5am.  Hopped on I10, a
couple hundred miles later veered off on I20, and by 4pm I was home.  

All in all a great trip with no serious incidents.  I got 2 warnings for
speeding, one in NM and one on Friday's rallye ride; got followed real
damn close by LEO's once in TX and once in NM (he came out of "nowhere"
and filled both my mirrors); got stung by a bee while riding the High
Road into Taos; hit one prairie dog on 550 coming into Montrose on
Saturday, almost dumped the fully-loaded bike once at a roadside picture
stop as my right foot lost traction in gravel, but managed to save it.

I took a lot of new goodies on this trip, and they all worked great:

Most importantly was the Aquaduck (camelbak wannabe personal hydration
system), I rode many days in 100+ degree temps, verified by my keyring
thermometer I put on my tankbag zipper, and it wasn't a big deal since I
kept hydrated.

Sigma BC800 computer, worked like a charm, and I'm a stats junkie, so I
probably spent too much time watching it and not the road.  Total trip
dist: 3451.2 miles, avg speed: 60.48mph, trip time on the move: 56:59,
max speed 125mph (with top box, soft pannniers, tent, sleeping bag, and
groundpad--don't try this at home).

Draggin Jeans + knee armor.  Relatively cool.  I had some problems with
chafing around the back of the knees until the armor broke in and
migrated to a comfy position.  Definitely made me feel safer than just
riding in Levis.  No better than regular jeans at keeping heat off your
legs at stoplights or slow speeds.

Triumph Soft panniers.  Don't know how I would have made the trip
withouth them.  I would have only been able to take 1 change of clothes,
instead of the week's worth that I did.  I'm only sorry I didn't buy
these sooner.  They worked great, hold lots of stuff, held on up to
125mph (actual).  

Olympia Gloves with gel pads.  Love them, I could go much longer without
getting vibration numbness, and my wrists seemed happier, as well.

Highest mileage I got was 64mpg!  This was around Montrose.  I guess
leaning out the fuel mixture to compensate for lack of air molecules is
a big help, or maybe the thin air makes for less wind resistance. :b
Lowest: 39mpg slabbing home from El Paso.

Thanks to Lisa and Richard for all their hard work, as well as the other
officers.  My wife is so jealous that she's insisting we both go to the
Eastern Rallye.  Do I have a rough life, or what? :)

Laters,
Brian
- -- 
'99 ST (black)
Dallas, TX

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