I raced the 2013 Mexican 1000!
For the race report, check here.
I raced the 2013 Mexican 500!
For the race report, check here.
For info on my race bike preparation, check here.
Next Races:
2015 Mexican 1000
My teen years were all about motorcycles!
My younger brother and I received a Kawasaki G3TR as a Christmas present when I was about 13. I think my Dad bought it just for us to trailride out in the desert (my grandfather had a cabin out in Landers, CA). But my Dad had been a previous motorcycle racer in the '50s; and in fact was the monkey on the two-time National Hare and Hound Championship Sidehack team. So it wasn't long before competitive juices were flowing and we started entering desert races, enduros, and motocross races. Later my older brother got bit by the bug as well, and was a Baja and professional motocross racer.
I went through a variety of bikes, and turned into a pretty good desert racer finally reaching the AMA District 37 expert class on my Kawasaki KDX175. But then life took over - career, marriage, kids, etc. and I stopped riding in about 1981.
Spring of 2006 - I've got the itch to buy a motorcycle and start riding on a regular basis again. I'm thinking about getting a bike that I can do some touring and cruising with. About the time I'm pondering this, however, my friend Bob invited me to go dirt bike riding with him (he had a couple of Honda dirt bikes - XR650 and XR400), and I then started thinking about getting a bike to meet the needs of both street and dirt.
The result - a 2006 BMW R1200GS
Now, at the time that this is occurring, I have a home and family in Camas, Washington but working up in Edmonton, Canada. I'm planning on keeping the bike up in Canada from late Spring to Fall while I'm working in Edmonton, and then riding it back to Camas to keep it there in the winter where I might have a chance to take it out for a few rides on trips home.
The first decision, once I had made up my mind on the 1200GS, was where to buy the bike. I had already decided to buy in the US, as the Canada work is temporary and I wanted to register the bike in Washington. As it turns out, I was attending a conference in Las Vegas in June; and had already made plans to take a 3 to 4 day ride around northern Arizona after the conference with another friend of mine (Pete). My original plan was to rent a Harley Softtail for that ride, but the plans changed to instead buy the 1200GS in Vegas, and use our planned ride as a shakedown ride for the new bike. I would then ride the new bike back to Edmonton.
Upon arriving in Vegas for the conference, I made my way over to Las Vegas BMW, purchased the 1200GS and made plans to pick it up later in the week. After the conference, Pete and I then took off for a quick 2-1/2 day ride (I had to cut it a little short, as I now needed to take some additional time to ride it back to Edmonton). Also due to fires around the Sedona area at that time, we decided to ride through southern Utah instead. We left early on Sunday morning, and I got back to Vegas by noon on Tuesday so that Las Vegas BMW could take care of the first service on the bike. I then left the next morning, Wednesday, and arrived in Edmonton on Friday morning after about 1500 miles.
The BMW turned out to be an excellent motorcycle in the dirt, and probably the vast majority of the mile I've ridden with it have been on dirt roads and trails. But it wasn't long before I wanted a smaller and more offroad-oriented dualsport bike for more serious offroading. Starting with a Husky TE310 and now with two Husabergs.
Anyways, the plan is to document many of my rides and adventures on this website. I hope that you enjoy the pictures and stories.
| Ride Safe!!! |
Last Update: 2014-11-23
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