Mid-Life Rider

Every ride report, however brief, needs to start with pictures of the bikes, in this case, a BMW K1200GT and a K1200S, as fine a pair of long distance sports touring rigs as you’ll find (it’s my ride report, so no dissenting views required).

The S rider, Hal, and I have put in some good miles [...]

Some photos from a recent ride that went like this . . .

Kevin left from Seattle and rode to Baker City, Oregon.  Ron left from Salt Lake City with the same destination in mind but got turned back by a rain storm of biblical proportions.

Not to be deterred, we tried again the next day, this [...]

Finally.
It wasn’t warm, or even cool, but it was dry and it was clear.  After a truly interminable run of wretched weather, clearish skies and dryish roads were finally visited on lower Canadia, ne Seattle.  For weeks my spanking fresh K1200GT has sat patiently in the garage, waiting to shake a tail feather and start [...]

It had gotten to the point where my riding pals were getting worried about me.  It had been weeks, actually months since I’d ridden.  Some of it was due to the insistently cold and wet fall we’ve had in Seattle.  More of it was due to the ongoing nagging vertigo I’ve been experiencing.  Just didn’t [...]

Posted kind of with permission . . .
Dave,
So my ride from Kiev to Vilnius was long, wet and cold. I had rain 80% of the time. My feet were wet after one hour, but the good socks made a difference (thanks for those). My feet stayed warm even though they were wet. I ended up [...]

“Hal, why don’t you ride along with me to Baker City and meet Ron. You can ride along or ride home after that or whatever suits you.”
“Well, can I come along for the whole ride?”
“I was hoping you’d ask.”
Hal and Ron and I had been talking about riding the Big West since the spring but [...]

Here’s the lead on a great read in the Manchester Guardian . . .

Long way down … Mike Carter takes in the spectacular views of the Valley of the Moon in Chile from a precarious vantage point. Photograph: Julia Sanders

I watched them ride along the corniche, headlights blazing through the swirling dust and the [...]

Home, 288.8 miles
I opened my eyes at 5:45 this morning in a Holiday Inn Express, not feeling any smarter but happy to be on the last stretch to home. I pulled on my long underwear, loaded up, and left. Within a few miles I was off to the side of the road adding my electric [...]

Eugene, OR 781 Miles
For the past three hours, riding the FJR had been a test of my endurance. I mounted up at 7:00 this morning in Bishop, CA. Twelve hours later, the only good thing I could think about my aching knees is that it made me not think as much about my aching back. [...]