Laramie Lap Round II... an epic ride in February

[Hank]

What is the range on the XT500?   That is a great report guys.. hope to see more.

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Hank,

Speedo is broke, so hard to tell. We topped the tank in Laramie before we left. XT holds 2.38 gal. Gas can is 2.5 gal. I had about half a can left coming back into town and had probably a good half tank left on the bike. As best as I can figure without more definitive measurements, I probably got about 40-41 Mpg using approximately 2.78 gal to travel the 115 miles.

I will be doing a fuel test later and will definitely post the results. Thanks for your interest and good luck putting yours together.

Larry

[The Yeti]

We've already discussed the gps, spot (we are familiar with its cousin the avalanche beacon)

I hope not from personal experience... 

It's now my turn to string together a 2-day ride on trails/roads from RC headed west to Black Fox Campground.

Won't take you 2 days to get to Black Fox from RC, unless you take the REAL long way 'round.    Do you mean that you intend to base at BFCG and ride that area for 2 days? Whatever your intentions, you can count me in for a ride-along!

I'd like to get in touch with you later in the month or next to get your input on possible trails and go from there.

Heck, you can just wander around in that area, and you'll find some great trails....but I'm more than willing to show you a few of my favorites in that area.  Don't expect me to lead you into any rock gardens or anything too tough...for that, your gonna need Flexlarson (he's crazy, y'know).   

[Dustin]

Wow!!  Great report guys!! Good to see someone can do some riding.

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Avalanche beacon-not from personal experience! Thank goodness. We did some winter climbing on Mt. Elbert (14,433') and Quandry Peak (14,265') one year and had looked into those devices.

We were planning to stage out of BFCG and then go up and down the western boundary of the hills.

No worries about the "rock gardens", we are definitely looking at trails like the ones in the Victoria Lake, Slate Creek Dam, Castle Creek/Castle Peak, Flag Mt. and Silver City areas. Will need to get 4wheelers through the area too. Now, I wouldn't mind watching ole Flex do his stuff in such a place, but I'd have to take a long look at the specific rock garden before deciding that I needed to attempt going through it. But, like I said, I sure would be a willing observer to the mayhem visited upon, I mean technical expertise exhibited by Flex. Besides, it's never too late for an old dog to learn new tricks!

Looks like it will be "garage time" this weekend. Got a long list of things to do to the bike. Need to see what else needs to be added to the list without rushing. Replace wheel bearings, refurbish swingarm, change chain, replace clutch and brake levers, find and install suitable barkbusters, check out the electrical system, get the turn signals and mirrors put on, give some thought to building panniers for both sides, and so on and so on. Or, on the other hand, since it is Valentine's weekend...I might ought to get finished with putting the final trim on the downstairs bathroom. I hate working with trim boards in a non-square setting! Oh well, anything for domestic tranquility!

I just remembered, the other KTM we looked at was actually a 525 or 535 up at Rice's. Still waiting to see if the lottery boys bring me the big check on Saturday. I don't know why they haven't been by in the past...I leave the light on every Wednesday and Saturday nights! Then again, someone said you had to buy a ticket. That might be the hang-up right there!

Here's looking to a great weekend and bike parts arriving in today's mail! Maybe...Hopefully...Please!

[Crazy Uncle Larry]

Thanks for the comments, Dustin.

It was a good time all around!

I hope everyone understands that we approached this ride with our eyes wide open. We're not devil-may-care riders. We carefully considered all safety aspects and requirements of the trip. I guess you could say we carefully planned the ride and then road the plan. Kind of like prepping and executing a flight plan for small/personal aircraft, not that we're pilots, but our travels have led us through the company of such individuals and I guess their adherence to safety standards have rubbed off on us when we ride, kayak, rock climb, mountain climb, and in almost everything else we do. I just didn't want to leave people with the impression that we flung caution to the wind, far from it. Still, it was a great ride!

See you around.

[loingrader]

give some thought to building panniers for both sides, and so on and so on.

if you want hard panniers, versus soft bags, check out mermite cans.  cool, functional and CHEAP panniers from your local army surplus store.  i picked up 3 of them for 20 bucks (total).  more info here.

http://advwisdom.hogranch.com/Wisdom/Mermite%20side%20case%20project.html

-bret

[Entrepre-neer]

Always good to see a couple of fellas out in the "off season" mixing it up.

I'm making plans to get in on a spring/summer trip with you. When I get the logistics($$$) worked out I'll let you know.

[Number Two]

It'd be good to have you out.  Just remember that my number 2 is due June 20th.  Best to plan a ways before or after that.  I was thinking about hitting the Spring DDSR ralley if it falls after number 2's birthday by a reasonable margin.  Let me know though, we'll find some adventuRe for sure.  We could do the Colorado and Wyoming parts of the Divide trail, or hit moab, or something.

[The Yeti]

DDSR June rally is 6/18-6/21 this year.

[Number Two]

The thing is that only 5% of kids are born on their due date.  My number one was two weeks early, which would almost make it so that I could show up for a day of the June Rally.

[cman60]

Great trip report.!! Makes aperson want to go riding, even if it is a little snowy.