4th annual V-Strom Cache Rally

The 4th annual V-Strom Cache rally was scheduled for June 9 - 11 in Torrey, Utah.

I picked up the Cache in Harrison, Arkansas on my last trip and carried it through several states so I could have it at the rally.

While at Key West, Florida I asked this pretty lady to pose with the Cache and Beaky.

The morning of June 8th four other riders meet at my house to ride to the rally. After some scrambled eggs, Don (nvr2old) from Washington state, Phil (Sharkey) from Oregon, and Bruce (T-Ville Trooper) and Ray (Muley) both from Utah and I get ready to hit the road.

We stop in Orem to pick up Doug (Mr. Gadget).

We ride the Huntington Canyon where it gets kind of chilly....yes, that's snow you see.

A rest stop in Clawson, Utah where we walk through Vaughn Reids incredible yard.

Vaughn is very creative!

We were less than 50 miles away from the rally site, but at this point my bike started acting up. It is the clutch switch again. It was a problem on the last ride, so as soon as I got home I had ordered a new one, unfortunately it didn't arrive before I left for the rally. So...I left our little group and rode the 175 miles back home. Once home I found the new clutch switch in the mailbox and had it installed in about 5 minutes.

I left the next morning to ride to Torrey....

...Where I ran into this scary gang of bikers.... All but two on V-Stroms. We had a great weekend of riding, eating and Cache hand-offs.

Tombstone hands off to wingstrom.....

....wingstrom hands off to Quixote.....

.....Quixote hands off to thatsnoangel...

The guy on the right, mtncarver, got it next and is on his way to Nova Scotia.

One of our attendees had an accident on the way to the rally. He came from Alabama and was about 20 miles from Torrey when he rode on a dirt road. He hit some deep dust and had a tip over and injured his right ankle. Then as he continued on he hit another deep dusty area and tipped over on the other side. Unfortunately this time he was pinned under the bike which was quite heavy as he was loaded for the long trip.

He was in that position for about an hour and a half before he was finally able to get himself free. Both lower legs now badly injured he rested for a few hours then was able to walk several miles to find some help.

Once in Torrey, the rally attendees who were already there jumped into action to help him get to a clinic (in the next town) and get his bike to the rally site. The owners of the RV park we were at (Wonderland RV park) also helped immensely, letting them use vehicles and making phone calls etc. 

By the time I arrived the next day almost everything that could be done was already done. Luckily his parents live in Las Vegas, only a few hundred miles away, and they were able to get a trailer and come and pick him up.

Most of the attendees tented, a few had cabins, one was in a hotel.

Long time biker buddy Howard showed up on his Hayabusa.

Howard and I rode the paved portion of the Burr trail, then hwy 12 to Escalante, and back to Torrey.

We did a short slot canyon hike while on the Burr.

The canyon is where the shadows are in the middle of this picture.

Looking out toward the road.

And the bike line up at our second dinner.

1000 miles, and a weekend of old friends, new friends, good food, and good times.

East coast and home - I

My niece is getting married in North Carolina, and my son is in Florida. Sooo...I decide to jet over to the east coast to visit both. Bev will fly and meet me in Florida.

I pass through the Hay Capital of the World!

I also stop in Kansas to see "Big Brutus"

Big Brutus operated for 11 years strip mining coal. The bucket could hold about 150 tons of dirt....

...or about 220 lbs of hunky motorcyclist..

Big Brutus stands about 16 stories tall, which is a goodly height, but a few years ago a guy tried to BASE jump off Brutus and it wasn't quite high enough...he died.

Then its on the Harrison, Arkansas and the hotel Seville to pick up the Cache. Another strom rider, SPlank rode from Wisconsin and left the Cache at the hotel desk, I stop a couple days later and pick it up. I'll take the Cache to the V-Strom Cache rally to be held in Torrey, Utah the second weekend in June.

This nice lady stands in for SPlank to do the hand off.

A memorial for ravens..

I ride the Cherahala Skyway...and a few miles after getting off..

...I come upon kayak henge??

Then I reach Chapel Hill, North Carolina and attend Becky's very nice wedding. 

Best of luck to Becky and Greg!

After the ceremony I use the Cache to trick these two lovelies into hanging on my arms for a brief second...   :)

Aaaand on the road again to check an item off the bucket list. The 'bouy' pic in Key West.

I stop and get a room at Key Largo.

This fella was just outside my door..

The next morning I make the trek to Key West, where I find the 'bouy' crowded! 

Rather than wait for the 100 or so folks who are queued up and waiting to get a picture, I just do this;

Bucket item checked off I stop a mile or so later and take a breather....while relaxing these two ladies walk by and accept my invitation to pose with the little yellow fellow.

A few days later I arrive in Panama City for a 4 day visit with Fenton and Laurie. Bev flew in a few hours after I arrived.

This is the view from the front of their house. We spent a lot of time on the water.

And enjoyed some very nice walks on the shore.

More in part II

East coast and home - II

Another walk on the shore.

The next day we haul their kayaks to the water. Bev dares to go out to a little past knee depth....what an adventurer she is!!

Laurie and I in the boats, Fenton is snorkeling near us in the water.

Later Laurie dove to the bottom and got this beauty for Bev.

After 4 fun filled days we leave for home, Bev flying, me on the bike.

In Louisana I finally have to click on "avoid unpaved roads" on the GPS. It was fun for a while, but I had to make better time.

I've also been wanting to check this one off my bucket the list for a while. 

A very fun road!

Hmmm.... that looks interesting...I pull a U-ey and go back.

 I'm In the panhandle of Oklahoma. Once called 'No man's land' because it didn't belong to any of the surrounding territories until 1890.

Noooo.... I didn't spend the night here...

Also in Hooker, they have an experimental wind generator.

Then on a lonely road in New Mexico, I can't get my bike to start. I'm fairly certain it is the safety switch either on the kickstand or the clutch but I don't want to start cutting wires until I'm certain.
I don't have any bars showing on my phone, but I try a text to Bev and she responds..  She finds the nearest bike shop to me in Raton, which is 50 miles away.

I get the bike bump started and ride to "Hester's Motorsports" in Raton.

John and crew get my bike back and running in about 10 minutes. I ask what I owe them and John tells me "nothing, it only took a minute"...  Wow!
Thank you Hester's Motorsports!

After John fixed my bike I got a room in Raton. I'm 660 miles from home so I get an early start the next morning and arrive at home about 7:00 in the evening.

A 7000 mile ride

I really enjoyed seeing family at the wedding, and seeing Fenton and Laurie in Florida. The riding part was 'ok' too!  LOL