VOLUME 58 ISSUE 1 JANUARY 5, 2021 P83
I
'm trying really hard not to draw
comparisons between my favor-
ite mid-summer adventure ride
and the seized top-end that was
2020. But I can't help it. Shortly
after this ride, firestorms ripped
through the forest. So, it's kind of
hard not to relate the two.
You see, an adventure ride is just
what we all needed last year. To get
out of the walls and ride sounds
amazing, right? It's solitary enough to
be "safe" during a pandemic as you
and your buddies eat under the stars
and camp. The small towns you visit
for essentials like fuel and food ap-
preciate the cashflow and, if you're
respectful and considerate, you can
be a careful patron, not an infectious
one. Motorcycles are absolutely per-
fect here. And this ride was as close
to perfect as you can get.
Days after unpacking from this
adventure 12,000 lightning strikes
from a dry thunderstorm system
sparked hundreds of fires in Cali-
fornia's grandest forests—many of
which we had just ridden through
and camped in—igniting fires that
would combine to redefine the
scale at which wildfire can grow,
spread, explode and behave.
In one moment, we were hav-
ing the times of our lives on simple
bikes with a simple plan. Shortly
after it was all on fire. Crazy.
The California fire situation late
last summer was so out of hand and
unpredictable that forest visitors
were evacuated from campground
areas by military helicopters as they
fled truck-flipping and tree up-root-
ing fire tornadoes. That's hardly an
exaggeration!
Just what the
doctor ordered:
A couple of
KTM 390
Adventures, a
couple of friends
and a couple
days to get
from it all.
Thanks, doc.
ADV A N T I D O T E
BY JESSE ZIEGLER I PHOTOGRAPHY BY JESSE ZIEGLER AND QUINN CODY
KTM's 390 Adventure
thinks it's a full-size ADV
steed and has proven
itself as a big country
companion.
