Thanks for sharing the great photos, Bruce. It was a pleasure meeting you (twice) . When I introduced myself to Combo on Tuesday, he reminded me that we had met on Sunday ;D. It was a pleasure meeting several forum members, although I didn't always get their forum names, but that's ok.
I just wanted to say thanks to Karson and Jaxon. I have been in their position of organizing events several times in the HSTA and I know how much time, work and worry are involved, so I really appreciate it.
I had one of the best weeks I have had in a long time at this event. The location was perfect for our bikes, as it offered an opportunity to experience the incredible versatility of the Super Tenere. Some world class twisties, some off road ranging from entertaining dirt roads to some more difficult trails were available and I came away with a greater appreciation of these amazing bikes.
I was fortunate to have two great travelling buddies for the trip from IL to the rally and the return trip home. My friend Chuck Mayfield rode my previously owned 2012 S10 from his home in VA to my home in IL. We left on Friday, the 17th and met up with William42 in Farmington, MO, the site of our Sept Super Tenere ride. From there I mapped out some entertaining Ozark back roads to Mountain Home, AR for Saturday, and then another back road route from there to the Hub. The Hub is 350 miles from my home, but it took us over 700 miles to get there and we had fun the whole way. On Sunday, we found out a bit about the range of our bikes as the gas station that my Zumo lead us to was closed and two of us were already on reserve. We rode at 50 mph for the next 38 miles to the next gas station and by the time we got there I had 19 miles on reserve, Chuck had 39 and William had 51 miles on reserve. Whew!
We hooked up with Brennan for the rest of the week of riding and experienced many of those incredible twisty roads. William and I had ridden with Brennan at the two southern MO Super Tenere rides and it was great to get to ride with him again. He is a good rider and in addition always had us in stitches with his humor.
I got to use the edge of the tread pattern on my tires, something I don't get to use in IL. On one ride we decided to take a short cut from route 74 near Fayetteville to route 16 on what was called a "local road" on the map. This was a twisty, hilly dirt, rock, and gravel road for about 15 miles. While Chuck and I have done a lot of off road racing on our Bultacos, neither of us had taken our Super Ten's on much of anything besides pavement. We were both amazed at the stability, traction and just plain fun these bikes are in such conditions. We quickly found out how easy they were to ride in those conditions and increased the pace. I saw 60+ mph several times as I rolled on the throttle in TC2 and was laughing the whole way. Chuck and I both have Scala G9 headsets and both could hear each other hooping and hollering as we were blasting down that "road". We both agreed that our futures include some more sturdy bash plates so that we can enjoy more of this.
On Wed. we rode into MO and I showed the group some of my favorite roads, including route 125, north of 160. This road has a 12 mile section that is like a private race track with perfect pavement, continuous curves, great banking, and great site lines. We ran it north, then turned around and rode it back south. On the return trip, I was leading, with Chuck close behind. This road is tight enough that both of us ran the whole thing in 4th gear, winding them out and having a blast. Chuck was taking video of the whole thing and in watching it you can see a moment when we had a bit of excitement. A small deer ran out of the woods to my right and across the road in front of me. Then, seconds later another ran out of the woods from right to left in back of me and in front of Chuck. The video shows that they weren't very big, but it surely would have ruined our day if the timing was just a few seconds different.
On Thursday we were joined by Scott123007 and when we rode route 123, he and Chuck showed us how two very good riders on very good bikes can handle such a technical road. It was fun watching them flow thru the curves in perfect rhythm.
We took two days to get back to IL and I showed William and Chuck more of my favorite MO roads and scenery. We again stayed in Farmington, MO on Friday night and had a wind up dinner and drinks at our favorite motel/restaurant there. I made it home on Saturday about noon and am now going thru my typical depression period as I return to the land of straight, flat, boring roads. ;D.
I will say this though. While I loved my 2012 Super Tenere that Chuck now has, my 14 ES now has a special place in my heart. This bike showed me that it can cruise comfortably when I just have to take the slab, just engage the cruise control and relax in comfort. When we got to the twisties, I was amazed, as it handled like a sport bike and is without a doubt the most confidence inspiring bike I have ever ridden in those conditions and I started riding 48 years ago. Then the little taste of unpaved roads showed me that it is totally amazing in those conditions. The 14 engine has had some upgrades that result in very good power, with a bit more auditory feedback that is enticing to me. I have had a lot of bikes, but have never had a bike that stirred my soul like this one does. I am totally in lust with it. ;D
Thanks to everyone involved in organizing this rally and to all that attended. It has been a long time since I had so much fun, both riding those roads and visiting with some old and new friends. When I wasn't having a blast riding, I was having a blast laughing at all the good humor that was abundant in visiting with everyone. I think that Brennan and Patrick could both make a living as stand up comics. ;D
Here are a few of my pics:
http://s632.photobucket.com/user/fredz43photobucket/library/2014%20Supe%20Tenere%20rally