Endless Roads 2016 - Our new adventure

[Mark H]

In 2014 we travelled to the US from Australia with two BMW motorcycles and rode around the western side of North America and Canada. The roads in this part of the world offer an unparalleled riding experience, so I guess you could say it was inevitable........

In a few days we step on board a Qantas A380 that will take us from Sydney to Los Angeles where we will meet up with our bikes to do it all again. A new route and new motorcycles, 35 days and almost 16,000 km (10,000 mi). In total we will ride farther than the distance between the two countries and the equivalent of 40% of the circumference of the planet. It will be exclusively in the US this time, across 10 states, and we will each ride 2015 model BMW R1200GS.





However, before we embark on our journey we would like to acknowledge and thank the MOA. Even having done this once before, local knowledge is a home field advantage we don’t have, but advice on which roads to ride and which to avoid was shared freely by the MOA members along with countless insights and a wealth of experience. Then, in addition to this camaraderie is the reassurance that we have roadside assistance and the anonymous book in case of emergencies or simply when things don’t quite go to plan. The BMW MOA and the community on this forum has helped fine-tune and empower us as we prepared for this new adventure and we are very, very grateful.

In 2014 we documented our journey along the way via an online blog entitled Endless Roads and we will do that again on this ride. Endless Roads 2016 will capture each day of our adventure and we would love to share this with you. Posting photos, the occasional video and a few words or thoughts as two Australians weave their way up, over, around and along some of the most amazing motorcycle roads on earth is our small way of saying thank you. Although this adventure is a meal best served for two, Ros and I believe it is enriched by sharing it with those who clearly share our passion for motorcycling.

We won’t be posting daily to the forum, so if you would like to, please check in with us on the blog via this LINK, and by all means leave comments. We fly to the US on the 20th of May and then ride out of LA on Sunday 22nd, but if you want to see in advance where we are going or perhaps get a little more background to all of this, just visit the blog and then feel free to ride with us in spirit. Who knows, we may even see you along the road somewhere.


Mark and Ros Hubble

www.endlessroads2016.blogspot.com

 

[Mark H]

Back with our bikes now and ready for the first day of riding on Sunday, starting with the Angeles Crest Highway and a run around Big Bear Lake before sweeping south through Idyllwild to Palm Desert.

www.endlessroads2016.blogspot.com

 

[Omega Man]

Very nice
Ride safe.
Gary

 

[terham]

Good luck and ride safe.

 

[jek_ict]

Don't forget, we drive on the right side of the road up here (which is the correct side of the road).

 

[pauls1150]

Welcome to California!

 

[Mark H]

Riding on the right is right.

It's amazing how natural it feels to ride on the opposite side of the road to the one you have grown up with. City and large towns can be more challenging, particularly large interchanges, but other than that, it is very natural.
What we do love, is the ability to acknowledge another rider by dropping the left hand for a casual wave. Riding on the opposite (left side) of the road means we still wave with the left hand, but it is a more deliberate above the bars action. We tend to defer to a nod of the head in preference.

Bottom line is, ride on the side for the country you are in, and don't cross that centre line.

 

[Mark H]

For those who like such things, here is a short video clip from part of todays ride, starting at Newcomb's Ranch on the Angeles Crest Highway, CA - LINK
Time was against us this evening, so the video is a little raw.

And there's some more information on the complete days ride on the blog.

 

[Mark H]

.
Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.



Valley of Fire State Park, NV.

www.endlessroads2016.blogspot.com

 

[pauls1150]

Just want to say THANKS! I'm enjoying your blog and the vids & music.
Paul S

 

[Mark H]

It's great to hear that you are enjoying the blog. Internet connection can be challenging, so uploading video can be slow. We try to find music to suit the content, but not all of the tracks we like are available to use on YouTube. I say we, but it's Ros who handles all of the video editing. My job is downloading the content from the Drift HD Cameras to the laptop, and then it's over to her.

Sorry we don't have time to upload more to this forum. Time is short at the end of the day.


Mark

 

[Mark H]

Today we realised a dream to ride the Shafer Trail in Utah's Canyonlands National Park.





We made a short video that some of you on the forum may like to see - YouTube LINK
And if you are interested in reading a little more you can see the full post at - http://endlessroads2016.blogspot.com/2016/05/overcoming-fears.html


www.endlessroads2016.blogspot.com

 

[Mark H]

There's an expression that talks to the metaphorical process of placing all your eggs in one basket. We knew we were doing just that with respect to our bikes and this trip. The bikes are the single, or should that be double, element in our adventure that could break and bring us unstuck. We have a great deal of faith in our machines, but also appreciate that they are at the cutting-edge of motorcycle technology. As such, when they break, they can break in very serious ways.

Well, my bike broke last night. It was considerate enough to do it right outside our hotel room, rather than in the middle of a desert with no cell phone coverage. Nonetheless, it was dead.

Our roadside assistance through the MOA kicked in and they arranged to have the bike collected from Glenwood Springs and delivered it to Grand Junction. This is the location of the nearest BMW dealer and some 85 miles away.

The pickup was a little less than prompt. Five hours rather than two, and when the vehicle arrived it was, well, unique. We had used motorcycle transport a few times in the past, and they were always purpose built vans, trailers or open top trucks. Specialist motorcycle handling with a person who made strapping a bike down, look as simple as making a bed.
This was none of that, although to be fair, the guy doing the driving was a lovely person with a good heart and the best of intentions.

He did however, turn up driving a five ton flat bed truck, on the back of which was a 9x5 foot box trailer. Excessive was the expression I used when it pulled into the hotel car park. He had been towing the trailer behind his truck, but that had been bouncing around so much, he decided to put it on the truck's flatbed.

Rolling the trailer off the truck, I ran the bike onto the back of it. It was then a very, very, tense experience watching the driver attempt to tie the bike down. He had no idea where to attach the straps, but more importantly seems to have no idea about the physics of securing and 250 kg (550 lb) motorcycle with long travel suspension. In the end, the bike looked like an advertisement for webbing. I think there must have been seven straps pulling the bike from every direction and still not leaving me with the most secure feeling. No pun intended.
Ironically, when I was waiting the five hours for him to arrive, I had called the breakdown service and listened to their recorded message which said, "If the operator asks for your assistance loading the bike, please report this to us immediately". There was no way I was going to let this well-intentioned novice practice on my bike.
Adequately lashed to the box trailer, he then pulled this onto the back of the truck once more. And there it was. An R1200GS sitting high and not so proud on the back of this massive truck.

Ros rode her bike in convoy behind the truck. I rode in the cab and both cooked. It was 32 degrees (90F) in the air and well over 40 (100) in the only truck in Colorado with no air conditioning. The 85 miles went by quickly though, and we were at the Grand Junction BMW dealer in just over an hour. The workshop manager wasn't at all surprised to see how the bike was transported. I think he used the expression, "That's how it's done in the country". She was here in one piece, and other than the extreme embarrassment of being crippled on the back of a truck, the bike was no worse for the experience.

They rolled the bike into triage, and we were asked to wait outside.
Rather than sit nervously in the waiting room, we walked up the road for some lunch and a cold drink while we awaited the prognosis.

When we could wait no longer, we scurried back to the dealership to get the news. Good or bad. And the news was, drum roll, bad.
My bike had suffered a complete failure of the ignition system. An unheard of issue on this model, but being the first was little satisfaction. Not only responsible for starting and stopping the bike's systems, the ignition is also the cornerstone of the bike's security,. For this reason, it is exclusively coded to the bike and the bike to it. And that was the hurdle we couldn't get over. The replacement assembly would need to come from Germany and be coded to match my bike before being shipped. Eight working days plus shipping and possible delays in customs, with the order not being placed until Monday.

It is decision time, and we have decided to pull the pin. We have had two weeks of amazing riding, and although this is not how we planned it, this will be the end of this two wheeled adventure.

Thank you to everyone who came along for the ride. I hope we have managed to share a little of the excitement and some of the more amazing experiences.


Regards


Ros and Mark