My bike BROKE!!

So no crap there I was, just about to pull into the lot where I store my bike when I loose all power from the engine and it shuts off. Just before I was on even throttle and it began lurching back like it was loosing power. I came off the throttle but when I came back on the whole operation was grounded. So as I curse and swear while leaning to the shoulder I try starting it again. The engine tries to turn but just isn't taking off. Give it a little gas, try again. No dice.

START YOU BLASTED CONTRAPTION!!!!

So defeat comes over me and the first thing that comes to mind is that I won't be able to make videos until I figure out what's wrong with it. I remove my gloves, unzip my jacket and begin pushing down the street since the parking lot isn't far off. That was humiliating to be pushing that brick down the road in the bike lane while people are passing by.

I push it down the road for a few minutes and in desperation think "I'll just try it again and maybe it fixed itself" just as many desperate men have said before me when trying to fix things. So I put the kickstand down and I must have switched into automatic mode to start the bike cause I check the fuel switch down below and noticed SOMEONE HAD SWITCHED IT OFF! Can you believe that!? While I was in the convenience store someone went by and switched the fuel switch just to spite me. . . . now that I think about it maybe I turned it off when I parked and didn't switch it back on. It was just down the street from the store.

Well never you mind, Taquache is back on the road with zero problems! Videos a plenty shall be had by all.

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where else you would like me to ride. Whether they're scenic roads or particular trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up. Remember to like my facebook page to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.

ADVhero, out here.

Alder Lake sunset ride

1 mile of twisties to break up the straight aways

Took an evening ride out towards Mt Rainier. Just for a little therapy. Was not dissapointed. Took myself down through Roy, past Enumclaw, to Lake Alder and past Elbe. There was some excellent vistas around Lake Alder and the forest towering up around the roads was something I have missed for many years. Up in Alaska, where I've been living for the last 12 years, the trees just aren't the same. No evergreens where I am and the forests just aren't as dense up there.

Coming from Roy to Lake Alder there wasn't much to sneeze at but soon as I got near the lake the evergreens started taking over. Oh, they were beautiful. Much more so than any building or skyscraper you can find in the city. The way the road cuts through the middle of the forest and is completely surrounded makes you feel as if you are a small intruder in the vastness of the forest. Fortunately I'm not seen as a threat and allowed passage.

I stopped at the Lake Alder park and parked at the swimming beach in time to see the sun glancing over the water just above the tree line. About at my turn around point there was a pasture that opened up on one side of the road giving a great view of the hills around me.

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where else you would like me to ride. Whether they're scenic roads or particular trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up. Remember to like my facebook page to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.

First ride in the rain

I had a bit of a ride in the rain yesterday. As I was heading South through Puyallup and it started sprinkling. But the further South I got the harder it rained. There were a few things I found that got difficult while I was on the road. As long as I was on the interstate the rain just slid past across my face shield, around my waterproof jacket and down my goretex pants. My boots on the other hand, I find out more each ride how waterproof they are not. I got them pretty used though. Obviously one of my first gear upgrades will be boots. When I slowed down my visor started fogging big time. I need to get some anti-fog spray on it. And some rain-X on the front of it would probably help too.

It was pretty nerve racking riding in, what turned out to be, a heavy rain like that. I always think of what keeps me on top of my bike and my bike upright is traction. I think of traction as a finite resource. There are certain things that will use up some of that resource like turning, braking, accelerating, tire wear and type. But the base of how much traction you start with comes from your riding surface. When it's less than optimal (ex. wet, gravel, dirt, or wet gravel dirt) you have less traction to work with. Less cornering before you've spent all your traction. Less braking before it's all used up.

So when you've never pushed your traction to that limit it can be nerve racking to experiment at 60 mph. Just know that many riders have done this before you and if you just keep going and keep your movements nice and slow, allow lots of room to change lanes and follow, you should do just fine.

Let me know in the comments what types of riding you're worried about, water, dirt, loose debris in the road, snow?

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where else you would like me to ride. Whether they're scenic roads or particular trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up. Remember to like my facebook page to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.

How much research should I be doing?

I love a ride after it just rained

You may have read earlier that I want to start a YouTube channel with my adventures. I've got all the equipment I need, I have some content, I've been doing research, but when should I actually post something? I wonder if its fear of not starting it right or just feeling like I haven't figured it out yet. I'm starting to get tired of the researching and preparing and just want to get something off the ground.

I've been watching and reading out of a few different places but the advice is neverending. Of course why would it be? They wouldn't have a lasting channel or blog if it did end. So at some point in time you just have to say "Lets do it! No more waiting." It will not turn out perfect but changes can be made later. So keep an eye out for ADVhero on YouTube. Should be starting soon. I'll get a couple videos up, see how it goes.

If you have experienced this kind of stuff or are stuck in the same position please leave a comment about your experience. I'd love to hear about it as would everyone else.

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where else you would like me to ride. Whether they're scenic roads or particular trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up. Don't forget to like my facebook page at www.facebook.com/dsadvhero to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.

Your wet ADVhero

I can't find any bueno on the gravel roads

I went out to Capitol state park today. Lots of gravel on the roads from the rock candy mt rd entrance. Deep gravel. Make my bars wobble and induce panic mode gravel. I want DIRT dang it. I suppose if there's no gravel the whole road washes away when it rains though. It's not fun feeling like you're going to biff it, but I certainly feel like a man's man when I don't do it.

I've watched many adv videos and always thought, "the sand doesn't look that bad" and "why don't they just turn tighter when they want to turn around?". I take it all back now. Quite a few awkward turn around and a great appreciation for loose surfaces.

But this is what I found helped me:

Stand the heck up and lean forward

I found I wobbled and slipped way less when I was standing and got that center of gravity nice and low. Most of the time I wobbled into panic mode it was after sitting down.

Use your feet and knees to turn

The more I tried to lean the bike with my handlebar movements the more tired I got. I found myself often trying to pull up on one handle and push on the other. Takes a lot of effort. Instead try taking your weight off of the peg on the outside of the turn and use that knee to push the gas tank to the inside of the corner.

Keep your speed up

The physics of how the bike stays upright work best when those wheels are turning. If you're standing up and the tires slide out from center the rest of the bike will follow if you have your speed up. If you're sitting down your center of gravity will be high up and you'll experience that wobble a little more. Obviously there is a situation where the bike could slide just too much and there's no recovery but when you're just going down the road and not on a sharp corner at a high speed let physics worry about keeping you up. Newton, Einstein, and Gallileo will praise you for trusting it.

If you wonder where I get my knowledge of the mechanics/physics of it all its from a book called proficient motorcycling and the basic MSF course. Great knowledge to have when you're starting out so you can predict how the bike is going to behave. The book is also filled with a plethora of techniques and tips on how to manage obstacles and potentially dangerous situations on the road. Written by a seasoned MSF instructor it's been a great book to read when preparing to ride. It won't tell you how to ride in the dirt but some of the stuff applies no matter what surface you're on.

Check out this video on the tube of you with some other quick tips on riding in/through gravel.
Watch "Motorcycle Experience Shifting Gears: Riding on Gravel" https://youtu.be/YEGhw_xPWq8

As far as the park goes I barely even scratched what's in there. There are multiple entrances to the north part of the park where motorized vehicles are allowed. Also I didn't go down many of the roads or any of the singletrak trails (not that much of a hero yet). Looks like there's a lot back there and it's pretty well maintained. Washington parks are always gorgeous. I found quite a few dead ends and a lot of garbage. People are horrible sometimes. But I hear there's a few clubs that try and maintain the place to keep it from being closed down.

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where else you would like me to ride. Whether they're scenic roads or particular trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up. Remember to like my facebook page to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.

ADV Gallery is up

Posted some pictures in my Gallery. Go check out a smidgen of the places I've been. This was basically the best of what I have on this computer. I'll add more as it comes. I also updated the my gear page with some adjusted comments for the helmet and gloves. Gonna add blurbs about my camera and microphone as well so keep an eye out for that also.

Please leave a comment down below or send me an email about where else you would like me to ride. Whether they're scenic roads or particular trails I'm willing to go take a look and post it up. Remember to like my facebook page to get notifications of when I post up here. Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there.