Destination Echo Canyon CO

[JeffH]

It would be great to get some Pics and Trip Reports from the riders and LD Riders headed to the XS Colorado Rally

A convergence on US50 - Canyon City Colorado..

Jeff

[JeffH]

Expected skies (in GA, AL, southern TN) to produce some Boom-Boom again today. Very glad to see this weeks enroute forecast to be looming much better than last weeks torrents across the middle.

Need to make my way from 33-38N / 84-25W out to 37-17N / 104-30W. So that's a bit of north and quite a lot of west.

I'm in Signal Mountain TN right now. In an hour I should have any T-Storms behind me.
Bike is running OK. Looks like 39mpg so far, but time will tell.

Heading for the "the 50" but not sure where on 50 this sign is.


In any case, I've got a LONG ride ahead of me. Riding TN111 & TN64 & 264 I think it is. Rain to west so will us my North points to get to Bowling Green KY tonight.

Jeff

[3Phase]

I love the XS sign, keep the shiny side up, Jeff!

.

[MaximPhil]

Expected skies (in GA, AL, southern TN) to produce some Boom-Boom again today. Very glad to see this weeks enroute forecast to be looming much better than last weeks torrents across the middle.

Need to make my way from 33-38N / 84-25W out to 37-17N / 104-30W. So that's a bit of north and quite a lot of west.

I'm in Signal Mountain TN right now. In an hour I should have any T-Storms behind me.
Bike is running OK. Looks like 39mpg so far, but time will tell.

Heading for the "the 50" but not sure where on 50 this sign is.


In any case, I've got a LONG ride ahead of me. Riding TN111 & TN64 & 264 I think it is. Rain to west so will us my North points to get to Bowling Green KY tonight.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,
Nice sign I wish I were riding with you. Have a great trip and keep posting pictures.
Phil

[madmax-im]

Howdy Jeff...we're riding alongside vicariously ofc...Wishing you well and many happy miles...be safe...Also love that sign...

[Bonz]

Sweet! Safe travels, JeffH. Throw in a few reports of mpg along the way!

[JeffH]

great 1st day

........ Consistently getting 39 MPG. (which is what I've always gotten). More on that in a different thread.

Got on some pretty back roads yesterday in TN & KY. Stuff I hadn't ridden before. Got behind a Funeral procession on a narrow 2 lane. Must have been at least 1/2 mile or more (maybe 3/4 mi) of cars in the procession. Quite moving. And they were rolling along pretty good. But I was behind it for like 12 miles. Interesting stuff you see when riding.

Now in Bowling Green KY. Slept like a rock after week of stress. Good to be riding. Great its on the XS and not the Wing. (Thanks Kurt for the bailout) -or- I would be on Wing.

So time to get rolling. Will post pics tonight.

Hope to get some Calif pics from the contingent riding fast as I ride west. Also from motomans pre-rally rally.

Ben & Mike, yep should be here. Maybe next time.

Jeff

[XJOK2PLAY]

Cool, Jeff!

Looking forward to seeing you again by the end of the week!

So glad your bike's running great, (and looking great!)

Good friends with skills and a willingness to help are a real blessing, aren't they?

I also look forward to meeting Kurt and riding with him one day, soon!

FYI, as you get close to the campgrounds, I'm hearing about wildfires along hwy 50 between Salida and Cotopaxi... lots of heavy smoke, moving north east. I hear the smoke last night was really bad, and spread as far north as Monument and as far east as Pueblo, including Canon City! Last night they had hwy 50 shut down in that area. Howard says the fire is way back up in the forest, and lightning started it, due to massive underbrush and pine needles everywhere, because of policies to leave everything undisturbed. Mother Nature has to take care of it in her own way... Hopefully it'll be gone and better by the time you ride through. The last 50 miles or so along 50 might be smokey smelling, though!

Ride safe, Jeff! See ya soon and look forward to hearing more about your trip.
Bob

[JeffH]

wildfires along hwy 50 between Salida and Cotopaxi... lots of heavy smoke, moving north east. I hear the smoke bad .... because of policies to leave everything undisturbed. Mother Nature has to take care of it in her own way... Hopefully it'll be gone and better by the time you ride through. The last 50 miles or so along 50 might be smokey smelling, though!
Bob

Yep, dealt with those failed Smoky the Bear policies all the years I lived in California. Why have just a fire when you can have an inferno sort of thing. BLM controls the land and the land policies.

So bad I'd ride to Nevada or Utah and still be choked out by smoke hundreds of miles away. Throw in an inversion layer and it was too awful to even do anything outside. Hope its not too bad a blaze.

Rolling in 10.

Jeff

[Bonz]

Safe travels today, JeffH! Some pretty sure contra you will be riding!

For the fire, it's going to get worse before it's better. 5000 acres as of last night and unfortunately perfect conditions for it to continue to grow. I would look for it to double by the end of today if not more based on what I know from experience and what I am reading.

[Bonz]

...some pretty scenic country... Last post auto corrected me.

[JeffH]

Southern Humidity, gonzo

Since February I had been lamenting going 'across the middle' in nasty humidity. Good news..... the southern oppressive humidity disappeared in northern TN and into KY as I got north of a little cold front. So enjoyable to get away from the southern stickies.

Today its just great sunny day. Like 87 degree and no humidity. Yippie .......

Very enjoyable roads and scenery in Kentucky. People so friendly. Fun to drive miles & miles of cattails, queen Anne's leave and brown eyed susans. Very calming. And I'm driving slow so I can enjoy things. No sense spending all the $money just to speed by and see nothing.

So going good. Bike running good. I'm having fun. Too bad this portion wasn't a rolling rally like we do for Key West with a dozen bikes in the conga.

Jeff

[JeffH]

Ride west is going well. Had another great weather day. Just beautiful.

I've been on US50 and made progress. Route looks like; West on US50 for more 921 miles, then turn left into Echo Canyon Campground.

Figured I better get off these fun but winding narrow roads if I was ever to make Colorado



Lunch Stop for Thai Chili potato. Using the 'cup holder' today, never tried that before.



Riding US50 West (not to be confused with US30, the Lincoln Highway)


WiFi not too speedy so that's about it for now.

Jeff

[JeffH]

Bike is still running fine at speed. I've been in & out of some towns today so MPG is like 37 for the last tank. No leaks or drips at all. Instant startup whether cold or hot. Really rolls along nice. A pleasure to ride.

HOWEVER, it has picked up a low rpm skip. The "stumble". Around town, taking off from a stop light, rolling on the throttle under lower rpm like merging on an on-ramp it does that ah - ah stumble.

I just pulled the cover to check the pickup coil wires but it is getting to dark and that will have to wait till morning. I cleaned the carbs before the Key West ride in February and it ran fine. It is now backfiring on decel a bit. pop-pop-pop which it didn't do when leaving home.

Carbs should be fine for this trip as long as pickup coil wire hasn't developed a new gremlin. btw: stumble never happens above say 3,000 rpm. At 4 or 4,500 it just purrs along. Just happens at lower rpm under load.

Jeff

[BA80]

Mine does that sometimes when it's heated up after riding for a while on the highway. Remember you are using different fuel mixtures from the pump state to state also.