I rode to Gerlach, NV for a three day bit of fun. Some photos of the partially Terra-fied Strada:
Friday morning after a long and cold ride through the night I found a nice sunrise near Fields, Oregon. Snow level was just a few hundred feet above this picture and tires were slippery in the fresh morning frost.
Meeting up with George Swetland in the middle of nowhere....to be specific the center of the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe's land....32 miles from the nearest paved road. George's IBA number is #005...which means he was 5th place in the very first Iron Butt Rally in 1984. I'm #332 having finished first in 2007...and they're up to about #500 these days. His KTM is SERIOUSLY pimp.
About 30 miles later I found Double Hole Hot Springs, parked the motorcycle and soaked in remote beauty.
After the hot springs I rode 25 miles on the playa to Twelve Mile entrance. That means the left lobe of the
Black Rock Desert Playa is 37 miles long! This is the general area they broke the speed of sound with a car and where Burning Man happens annually. Picture is from a fish eye lens to force perspective.
The next day I went out on the playa with friends for a little target practice (Barbie is ziptied to a post) with pistols ranging from .38 to .45 in caliber and a variety of .223 rifles. It should be noted that passing cyclists (even TR650 riders like myself) RARELY actually hit the target.
My cycle amongst a variety of others including FJRs, GSs, a Tiger, multiple Tenere, a DR650, STs, and who knows what.
Shortly after our little shooting competition (I estimate $500+ of ammo was expended) I rode the playa for a bit. My iPhone is not the best choice, but it does give you a glimpse into the surreal nature of skating across a Euclidian flat plane, what it's like to ding your brand new AltRider skid plate on railroad tracks (about the 6:22 mark), and to have an impromptu adventure through some seriously slick mud, sand dunes, and to navigate a bit of the mythical "Jungo Road".
Visit rail road track initially by myself at 0:00.
High speed by the breaking up shooting group at 3:20.
On tail of friend on DR650 at 4:15
Railroad tracks 2nd time at 6:00
Riding through some wet playa and washes 11:45
Jungo Road at 15:30
Arrive in Gerlach at 25:55
Commence to drinking at 27:00
And while the Strada is not in the picture...this photo is important because it's the Iron Butt Association Memorial Monument with the Black Rock Playa in the distance. It's an incredible location and sight. And also on the post is a list of IBR winners since 1984. We had three attending this year's event..plus Swetland from the first event. I bagged 5th place in this year's IBR on my FJR.
If I had to pick my favorite picture of the weekend...it's probably this one. 6400 miles on the TR since I bought it in May. Only thing left to put on is a front Woody's spoked rim that will be finished sometime this winter.
I should also report that while I didn't drag race every bike out there....there seemed to be two others that were interested for high speed runs given the slightly sketchy playa conditions (I would NOT have taken my FJR anywhere near its speed capabilities this year). There was definite resistance as you broke through the first 1/2" of surface and some areas of the playa were slower than others. It's a surreal place the playa......wicked fast on some spots and like running slo-mo others.
I caught up to a GS1200 that was ahead of me and watched him lean down and flick the throttle. But, I think he rightfully rethought playa conditions and bailed out at about 90. I went by him at about 95.
The second bike was the KTM 990 I talked about earlier and knew George would run WFO. (Wide Flippin' Open to those that don't know what that means) As I angled up on him on a parallel course at about 75 mph whacked the throttle and quickly overtook me. I whacked mine too and gained some ground back as he settled in on 95 or so. When he saw me coming whacked the throttle more as I settled in on terminal velocity of 103 indicated MPH (I did not have a GPS with me and sure it was a lower speed due to wheel spin). I doubt he was at terminal velocity himself, but he definitely had 5 mph and won the drag race as he let off and turned around.
Coming back the best I could muster against the wind was about 85 indicated and he was clearly doing 95 or more....so the 990 KTM will beat a Husky...as it should for double the price.
