An Emotional Day In Normandy
The latest entry of our Planet Ramble has just been posted. For us it was an emotional day on the beaches of Normandy, France. You can read and see what happened by clicking HERE: or cut and paste the below link into your browser.
Ride2ADV Starts Phase 2 Of Our World Ramble
We are ready to start Phase 2 of our Planet Ramble. We’re off and riding Saturday June 3 for a few months. This trip will mostly be on pavement, so were doing a bit of an experiment and will be riding two modified Ducati Scramblers. Kim will be on a Scrambler Icon and Mike will be on a Scrambler Desert Sled. We’ve had to make some modifications to make the bikes suitable for our intended riding. The bikes now have aluminum panniers and top boxes. Kim’s bike has both upper and lower “case guards”, while Mike’s Desert Sled has only uppers. There is now weather protection for our hands, heated grips, oil cooler protection and some very bright led lighting. The last significant change is the addition of some larger and more sure footed footpegs.
There are some additional minor changes like a headlight guard on the Desert Sled and oversize sidestand feet. When we return, we’ll be looking at adding a bash plate (when we can find a quality one), or fabricate one ourselves if need be. Since this trip is to be mostly on road, this really shouldn’t be an issue. We are also running on OEM tires and will likely change to Continental TKC-80s for our trip to Morocco next Spring.
So what do they look like now? Here are a few pics.
If you’d like to see a brief video on the changes made to the Desert Sled, click the below video or on the link below the video.
Ride2ADV Nearly Ready for Phase 2 of Our Planet Ramble
We’re getting excited to start Phase 2 of our Planet Ramble. Last year we rode across North America from Vermont, USA to Alaska, USA. For Phase 2 will we be shipping our bikes (both Ducati Scramblers) to London to start a large clockwise circular route. Although subject to change depending what we find and see along the way, we should be traveling through England, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Switzerland and France. We’ll return to England and fly back to the USA.
We will be storing the bikes in England until March, 2018 when we’ll return to London and complete counter-clockwise journey through Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Once leaving southern Morocco, we will head north and once back into Europe, head east, ultimately spending some time in Italy, before returning ourselves and bikes to London for return to the US. This part of the journey is exciting and we’ll be posting about what we’ve seen and done as we travel.
Once again, we will have a satellite tracking capability so you can see us in real time as we travel. We’ll post link and additional info soon.
Until later!!!
Rain, Bright Green Buildings, High Speed Cats, Fog & Barns
The latest episode of our Planet Ramble has been posted. This time we ride in rain, park in front of bright green buildings, jump a Cat, play in the fog, and stand in front of a barn. You can find it by clicking HERE or by cutting and pasting the link below into your browser.
We hope you enjoy it.
Bulging Trees, More Cable Ferries & Shrimp Factory Ships
The latest episode of our Planet Ramble has been posted. This time we find bulging trees, more cable ferries, shrimp factory ships and more rain. You can find it by clicking HERE or by cutting and pasting the link below into your browser. We hope you enjoy it.
We Visit With Friends, Have Dinner and Entertain Mice
The latest episode of our Planet Ramble has been posted. Riding the remainder of the Cabot Trail, we stop to visit some old friends and make new ones we hadn’t planned on. You can find it by CLICKING HERE, or by cutting and pasting the link below:
We hope you enjoy the latest.
Crossing Into Canada We Find Craft Beer, A Very Large Bird, Thoroughbred Race Horses, Wind Turbines And Gravel Roads Along The Ocean
The latest episode of our Planet Ramble has been posted. This time we travel from Maine into Canada and find interesting craft beers, a very large bird, thoroughbred race horses, wind turbines and deserted gravel roads alongside the ocean. You can find it by clicking HERE or by cutting and pasting the link below:
We hope you enjoy the latest!
Riding Into The Heart of Maine, We Find Rain, A Mill and Teddy Roosevelt
The latest episode of Stage 1A to our Planet Ramble has been posted. We ride into the heart of Maine in darkness, but miss hitting any moose. We end up exploring a state park where I walk on water and we hole up in an “old mill”. The following day we ride in rain and very bright sun. Then, in a very small town, we find relics from America’s 26th president, Teddy Roosevelt and Suffolk, England’s red communications technology.
You can find it by clicking HERE or cutting and pasting the link below into your browser.
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Stage 1A Of Our Planet Ramble Begins; We Go North!
The latest edition of our Planet Ramble has been posted. Instead of heading south to warmer weather, we do the opposite and head north. We prep two brand new machines for this adventure. Kim rides a Ducati Scrambler and Mike rides a Honda Africa Twin. At the beginning of this portion of our journey, we get lost in Maine, ride in the dark in moose country and head for the Canadian border.
You can find the latest by clicking HERE.
Or you can cut and paste the below link into your browser.
Hope you enjoy our latest!
The Final Days Of Stage 1 Of Our Planet Ramble
The latest edition of our Planet Ramble has been posted. Today we ride from Glennallen, and Eagle River Alaska and end up at the airport for our flight home to Vermont. On the way, we pass some amazing glaciers, take the time to smell the flowers, ride great twisty roads and have a special guest send us off.
You can find the latest by clicking HERE or cutting and pasting the link below:
Destruction Bay, Crossing the Border, A Failing Bike And Kim Gets Sick
The latest edition of our Planet Ramble has been posted. We leave Destruction Bay and ride the final miles back to the US border, where my lack of attention to maintenance rears its ugly head and Kim gets sick.
You can find this update by clicking HERE or cutting and pasting the link below:
Building the ALCAN Highway, The RCMP and Finding Destruction (Bay)
The latest edition of our Planet Ramble has been posted. Today we travel more of the ALCAN, have a quick visit with the RCMP and find Destruction (Bay) along the way. You can see it by clicking HERE or by clicking/cutting and pasting the link below:
We hope you enjoy it!
Mountains, Glaciers, Mirror Like Lakes And A Signpost Forest
Long overdue, here is the latest update to our Planet Ramble. In this post, we travel a lot of miles, riding from Idaho, to the top of British Columbia and ending up in the Canadian Yukon. Along the way, we see some awesome sights along the Icefields Parkway with mountains and glaciers surrounding us. We then continue deeper and further north to Iskut, British Columbia and see the most amazing mirror lake we have ever seen. Ultimately we end up at Watson Lake in the Canadian Yukon and find a Signpost Forest. You don’t want to miss this chapter! Join the ride by clicking HERE or clicking on the link below. Safe travels!!!
The Gold Rush, A Prostitute and Coeur d’ Alene
The latest update to our Planet Ramble has been posted. This time we visit a Sprag Pole, and ride the Coeur d’ Alene Idaho state forest fire roads. You can find it by CLICKING HERE and starting with reply #89 or cut and past the below link
A Road To The Sun With Mountain Goats
The latest update to our Planet Ramble has been posted. This time we ride the “Going To The Sun Road” in Glacier National Park. While there, we meet some of the local residents. Check it out by CLICKING HERE or by using the link below and start with Reply #86…
Riding To The Sun Road
Gorgeous and high up.
Disinterested local resident. (Note the radio collar)
Kim Teaches Her DR A Lesson Or Was It The Other Way Around
A gorgeous day of riding today, nice temperature but once again the wind was up. Amazing scenery was everywhere. So it was near the end of the day when we decided to take a brief respite next to a river. I took a short walk and when I returned, found this.
Apparently the DR gave Kim some lip and she showed him who was boss. Or so we thought. When we retrieved Kim’s helmet, the DR had done its work on her communicator and I ended up making supremely tidy field repairs. The end result…
Awesome eh?
More details when the Planet Ramble thread is updated. I’ll let you know when that happens.
Ride2ADV’s World Ramble
We are about to head out on a long ride that may encompass many places and countries. We are very excited and will be leaving tomorrow, June 6, 2016. We will be chronicling our journey here on Ride2ADV.com as well as ADVRider. For the complete story and pictures from our travels, click HERE and you will be re-directed to ADVRider where we will be posting all the details of our journey complete with pictures.
We will also have a Spot satellite tracker that will update our position in real time. So if you want to see where we are 24/7, all you have to do is come to this page and click HERE or copy and paste this link
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=10ff55750ac5fbe899
into your browser to see where we are.
We will also be posting Facebook CLICK HERE and via Twitter CLICK HERE (@Ride2ADV)
We hope you’ll come along for the ride!
Honda Rolls Out New Africa Twin “Adventure Sports” Concept Bike
In a group of new introductions, Honda rolled out yet another adventure machine at the Osaka Motorcycle Show. Called the Africa Twin Adventure Sports Concept, this Africa Twin proposes to be a more adventure oriented and ready bike with a higher level of off road capability. The bike is still a concept at this time, but if the current Africa Twin and prototype CRF250 Rally are any indication, this up-rated Africa Twin just might make it to production.
Sporting a larger looking fuel tank, wide rear body panels that hint of perhaps more under seat fuel storage, a flat single piece seat, large, wide aluminum bashplate, bar risers, grippy billet platform footpegs, small frame, engine and rear brake protection bits, tubular luggage rack and upswept Termignoni exhaust,this version of the CRF1000L Africa Twin certainly looks the role of a much more sporty rally bike.
Missing in action are the bike’s turn signals, rear fender and mirrors, so it’s apparent that this bike is still a concept at this time. However, if a similarly equipped machine makes it into production, we are predicting that this bike will become more of an enduro model and a significant competitor to more off road worthy machines like the big KTM 1190. Time will tell.
Here are a few pictures to get your mouth-watering and your wallet burning.
The Finish Line Is Just The Start – The Shakedown Cruise
Well Kim and I have finally reached what has been our goal for over 40 years. On the 4th of July 2015, we retired from the corporate world. No more suits, no more ties, no more deadlines. After spending decades doing what others wanted us to do, it’s finally our turn to go out and play. I’ve even started the beard that I’ve always wanted.
To mark our new found freedom, we’ve decided to try an around the world journey. For now, we’re just going to do a little shakedown run to ease into the retirement waters. We’re heading north from our home and will take a route that will take us from NH, through VT, Quebec via the Gaspe Peninsula, Labrador via the Trans Labrador Highway, Newfoundland via parts of the Trailway, Nova Scotia and ME.
Then we’ll take some time off to sell our home and many belongings so that we can make our way around the rest of the world.
I’ll be on a 2011 KTM 990 Adventure and Kim will be on a 2013 Suzuki DR650.
Although both have been somewhat farkelized I can’t leave good enough alone. Kim’s DR needs something more to make it worthy. So I’ve added some Barkbusters, a 5 gallon Acerbis tank, a swoopy high mount front fender and relocated her well used windshield lower.
For a detailed ride report with pictures, please click here:
The Finish Line Is Just The Start
We’ll also have a Spot satellite tracker so you can watch us as we make our way and you can find it here:
We’ll update our ride report with pictures and text constantly, so remember to come back often. Please note that there are multiple pages at this ride report, so click on the page number at the bottom or top of the page as the ride report gets longer (you’ll see a block at the top or bottom of the page that says Page X of Y).
Rumors of KTM 390 Adventure Production Gaining Momentum
Multiple websites are reporting that the long-awaited KTM 390 Adventure lightweight adventure bike is making steps towards production. It is being reported that according to import documents, KTM has imported two test mules into India for “R&D purposes” under the code name KT22. The 390 Adventure is purported to be based on the KTM Duke 390 and RC390. As such, the sites are saying that the 390 Adventure will be the recipient of some of the components from the street siblings above.
Some of the sites are quite detailed about the components and details of the 390 Adventure which potentially makes these reports subject to increased scrutiny. If they “know” these things, why don’t they affirmatively say that the bike has received the production nod from KTM? Nonetheless, they are reporting that the 390 Adventure will likely share the Duke/RC390 engine. If this is the case, we can expect a 373 cc single cylinder, fuel injected engine that makes 43 horsepower and approximately 26 ft/lbs of torque. This will not put the bike on similar power footing with the KTM 690 Enduro, but hopefully could add to the range capability of the machine. It will reportedly have a six speed gearbox with the engine tweeked for application to a light adventure bike.
KTM 390 Adventure Mock Up
It is also reported that the 390 Adventure will get heavier suspension with longer travel, higher ground clearance, disk brakes on both ends and more off road oriented tires. This definitely makes sense and would likely be necessary for the bike to be a success. It it is being reported that the 390 Adventure will come with luggage mounts, a larger windshield and bark busters. Lastly, there will be some styling changes (obviously) with redesigned lights, a more comfortable seat and a side mounted exhaust.
Given that the test mule “R&D” bikes have been imported to India, it makes sense that the bike may be produced in the Bajaj plant in Chakan. Time will tell…
Click here, here, and here for three of the sites providing the info for this article.
If You Love Adventure Riding, Pay Attention!
Those of us who ride off road and enjoy using the land for responsible recreation are a giving, caring, protective, volunteering lot. We do more for trail maintenance, upkeep and responsible use than most. Unfortunately, there are a few of us who do not fall into this category and abuse the land without thought. Because of this, governmental agencies seeking to “protect the land from misuse” often “fix” the issue by imposing user restrictions and charging user fees. They believe that they know what’s best for all of us, and that their methodologies are the only way to do so.
We know that governmental agencies while good intentioned, governmental solutions often utilize bureaucratic and administrative means to “save the environment” by onerous methods. One of the most recent in the USA is the National Park Service’s plan to limit access to these important recreational areas. The NPS is presently taking comments to their proposed action in limiting access to a well loved and important recreational area in Utah called “White Rim Trail”. This beautiful trail travels long the rim of the Canyonlands National Park Canyon and is an amazing beautiful natural resource that should be available to all.
To “protect” White Rim and the general area, NPS is proposing the following:
The National Park Service is seeking public comment on a proposal to require permits for all motor vehicle and bicycle day use on the White Rim and Elephant Hill roads in Canyonlands National Park. Requiring permits for day use on these increasingly popular roads will help the park better protect resources and the visitor experience in these wild and remote locations.
For the White Rim road, a total of 50 day use vehicle permits (including motorcycles) and 50 day use bicycle permits will be issued each day. Group size will be limited to three vehicles and 15 bicycles.
A total of 24 day use vehicle permits (including motorcycles) and 12 day use bicycle permits will be issued each day for the Elephant Hill road. Group size will be limited to three vehicles and 12 bicycles.
While we support the preservation of important recreational lands, the NPS’s proposal is not the means to accomplish it. Their plan will limit access to 50 day use vehicles (which includes motorcycles) and 50 bicycle permits. Each vehicle and bicycle must obtain a permit prior to using the land. Even more ominously, NPS will be limiting group size to 3 vehicles (and 15 bicycles). NPS indicates that no fee will be charged for the 2015 – 2016 season, but they make no such assertions for the period beyond.
We can’t sit idly by while the Government continues to encroach on our land. It’s not the Government’s land, it’s your land and my land. So please, pay attention to land grabs like this and the many others that occur not only in the USA, but around the world. Speak up and make your voice heard. Write your legislators and tell them what you think and want. Email, snail mail, call. Do Something! Otherwise, what was once your land and my land will become the land of the government.
So, start now. Even if you do not use White Rim, or ever plan to use White Rim and the surrounding areas, take the time now to have your voice heard by those who would limit your access. Click here and let the Government know what you think. If you need some fodder for your comment, you can cut, paste and edit the below:
I am are quite concerned about the additional restrictions the National Park Service continues to impose upon law abiding land users. While the National Park Service’s goals may be well intentioned, the users themselves should be responsible for the appropriate and safe use of the land. Additional user fees and restrictions on usage do not improve the land or the overall use of the land. Responsible User Groups in concert with public education provide more appropriate oversight of our important natural and recreational resources.
NPS’s proposed actions continue to restrict access and impose fees which do not support the rights of the users. I consider NPS’s proposal to restrict access to 50 motorized vehicles per day and no more than 3 vehicles to a group is overly restrictive and does not further the goals of protecting the land. Please do not restrict access to the lands that belong to the people. NPS’s proposal, while well intentioned, restricts and reduces access to the lands that ALL citizens are entitled to enjoy.
If you don’t take action now, your right to ride will continue to shrink. Thanks for taking the time to read this and more importantly, make your voice heard by commenting using the link above. For a brief look of what it is like at Canyonlands National Park, check out the video below. Don’t lose your access!
The Women Riders of Dakar
With the 2015 Dakar Rally recently completed and the final results published, I could do little more than marvel at the skills, endurance and mental strength of the riders that had completed the entire rally. One hundred sixty-one motorcycle competitors left Buenos Aires on the 4th of January 2015 and only seventy-nine arrived at the finish line once again in Buenos Aires nearly two weeks later. That’s means that more than half the field of highly skilled, motivated and driven riders were not able to make it to the finish line.
Of the 161 riders that entered the event, only two were women. Both were able to finish meaning for the women, there was a 100% success rate. Finishing 9th overall, Laia Sanz was the highest woman’s finisher in the history of the Dakar. As you can imagine, Laia is not new to the off road world and her racing resume is impressive. She is a thirteen time Women’s Trial World Champion and ten time Women’s Trial European Champion in Outdoor Motorcycle Trials. She has also formed part of the Spanish Female Team in the Trial des Nations, winning it five times (2000, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2011).
In 2010 competed in the Women’s Enduro World Championship for the first time. And also in 2011 participated, for the first time, in the Dakar Rally winning the Female motorcycle category and finished 39th overall, position that she managed to better this year.
The other female motorcycle competitor was Spanish rider Rosa Romero Font. Wife of Dakar winner Nani Roma (A Dakar champion on bike cars) Rosa finished 52nd overall at the age of 45. This was her 4th Dakar and her first finish.
In this intensely physical and mental challenge, these two women riders were able to compete with the men and finish better than most of the starting field. Yet they drew very little attention from the media on their accomplishments. You have to wonder why. They compete on the same level as men, often on “inferior” non-factory machines. This year Laia was on a factory sponsored Honda and was able to provide the highest women’s finish in the history of the Dakar.
Her result may beg a question. “Should there be separate divisions for men in women in the Dakar, or is it better to leave the Dakar as it is?” Would having separate dedicated divisions bring more attention to the women of the sport and perhaps more female competitors for the future. Would creating separate divisions create an unnecessary rift between the men and women competitors and over inflate the women’s finishers performance in light of the current small female fields?
I don’t have the answer, but would like to hear what you think.
Ride2Adventure – Shrink The Planet One Ride At A Time
Ride2ADV On The Cover Of The Manchester Union Leader
If you’d like to know a little more about us, check out the article in today’s Sunday Manchester Union Leader. It was fun to be interviewed and even more fun to see it printed!
Bait And Switch?
Forgive me everyone, but I’ve got to tell it like it is and at the same time make a confession. Each month I receive several opportunities to take a brief vacation from the day to day grind. This short diversion arrives in the form of bound and stapled glossy paper, complete with photos delivered come rain, snow or gloom of night by the United States Postal Service. Yes, each month I am filled with the anticipation of the arrival of a pile of freshly printed motorcycle magazines. Like a kid waiting for his/her once a year present from a distant family member, the anticipation builds with each passing week until the next edition of the magazine arrives.
First days, then weeks, pass and suddenly it happens. With a rattling stop of a blue and white beat up right side drive delivery truck and the squeak of the mailbox door, the excitement is repeated. Upon the opening of the mailbox door, smooth glossy paper and sexy bright colors assault my senses and stimulate my mind. It’s like a paper version of the anticipation of an overnight date with that supermodel you’ve been dreaming about for years.
Ride2ADV 