Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126610
· ~ topping up the oil , replacing a blownout instrument panel light, repairing a tire puncture or replacing a leaking seal on the roadside. One maintenance conscious individual wanted to do his own work on the bike he was using. "T he only thing you should worry about is putting gas in the bike," said Tim. " I' ll r about everything else." erhaps you 're thinking, "wh y should 1 go with a group?" Perhaps you 're a loner and would rather do things by you rself. Fine. Go for it . I wasn 't overly fond of group riding or group tours, either , yet I never felt restricted by the fact that we d id ride as organized groups (one with eight b ikes, one with nine) wit h a designated lea der and a rotating last place rider -fro m th ose in the group .. who made sure nobody Kot lost or had trou ble. This group was co m posed of 15 Ge rmans. five Swiss, on e Britisher and myself, plus Volker a nd T im on bikes . (Steve Durgia, Volker's next door neighbor, got drafted .into driving EI Gringo on this trip and loved it .) Of the group . five rode double with wives/girlfriends . In a rare accident . one German got off the road in a tum .. on the first day out , no less . . and cracked a bone in his lower right leg . H e rented a car and continued the tri p . We did meet more than our share of riders on the road and most were in groups of two or th ree. (It seems fu n ny, but in the 1,500 miles I rode between picking up a Kawasaki GPz550 in Los Angeles and my arrival in Denver, I never really met another rider going my way .) There were three · who stand out and will probably draw wistful sighs from some readers. Two German riders . mounted on Yamaha XT500s. had been at it for 45 ,000 cp ..... ..... l-o 0. < The Garden of the Gods Park near Manitou Springs, Colorado was little more than a stone's throw from a major population area. sometimes more if the situation demands it . Many people don't see the behind the scenes work going on to keep the bikes in tip -top shape. I . 40 watched 11 tires be ing replaced with new ones even though the wear did not seem bad at all . That alone is no fun. Then th ere 's the little things like miles throughout Nonh and South America .. and looked it. They lamented the fact they only had two months left before heading back home. Another rider, who seemed to have everything strapped or attached to his Yamaha 750 had been to every state in the U .S. and was headed for Mexico to see some more country before his extended vacation was up. C'r" he itinerary you receive contains 1 . a detailed sketch of each day's destination and activities in addition to a suggested list of what clothing. riding gear, luggage and miscellaneous items to bring. Temperatures and weather are always a b it hard to p roje ct so the list recommends a rider be prepared for temperature ex trem es from freezing to 100 degrees . On this tour .. September 6-20 .. we ra n close to both extremes of th e thermomete r . Mother N a tu re took an unusual d islike to us it seemed. Although rain is commonplace while in Colorado, it seemed the downpours followed us nearly the entire distance. These were the type of showers that you spot as dark cloud formations at about 3 p.m. .. the kind that seem to be hovering right about where your destination is. .W e got very fr iendly with our rain gear. Granted, the rain was an inconvenience, yet if you take a long trip sooner or later Mother Nature is going to get you . It's a simple fact of traveling. You can't get down in the dumps when each day seems to top the previous one. You think you 've seen everything and then, bingo. the next vista blows you away. There was one day when Mother Nature decided to be unusually cruel. The morning of the trip from Durango to Telluride. Colorado had been