So, where did you ride your F800 today? :)

[XR1000]

Took advantage of some cooler weather today and rode up north to Molson WA. Molson is an abandoned mining town that the Okanogan Historical Society has been cleaning up, organizing and putting back to historical accuracy for many years. Molsons boom years were around the mid to later 1800's so it's not Scotland Castle old, but old for this area. Cool remote area with nice scenery.

[Daboo]

I need to catch up a bit. Wednesday, August 12th, I headed out to Index, WA with James (jtvisions) and his wife, Brandi. Just a short ride with lunch along the river bank of the North Fork Skykomish River.



The clouds stayed pretty dark up there, but elsewhere it was sunny.







It was just a nice relaxing ride with good friends.


Chris

[Daboo]

I went to Sisters, OR last weekend for the "Lava Run", an event held by the Concours Owners Group (COG) each year.

I looked at the temperatures and decided to do the "return" leg of the trip on Friday, instead of Sunday. Even at that, on the way home, it was over 100F on the west (cooler) side of the mountains.

So my route took me across I-90, then down through the Yakima River Canyon on the east side of the Cascades. I really enjoy this short stretch of highway that is bypassed by the interstate to the east. Twisty curves that beg to be ridden about 20 mph faster than the speed limit...and is often set up with multiple speed traps because of it.

This was my lunch break location.
















A break along the way. The park was open, but the restrooms were closed.



Mt. Hood at the White River.



On Saturday, the group took off on the actual "Lava Run" ride. Here we are at the first break.




Another rest stop at the Green Peter Lake.





We saw thousands of these on the ride. They are the California Tortiseshell Butterfly.



It amazes me that plants can find a way to live out in these lava fields.





Obligatory motorcycle pic.



Had a great time. This group has some riders who think nothing of crossing a couple states to attend one of these rallies. And in the evening when the riding is done, they like to have a good time swapping stories of what they have done...or would like you to believe they have done.

Chris

[Richard230]

What is it about the pandemic allowing parks to be open but the restrooms need to be kept closed? Many of the open space and county parks that I like to hike at have remained open and have been very crowded lately, but keep their restrooms closed. What do they think their visitors are supposed to do while on a hike? I know that men have no problem irrigating the woods, but it must be a lot tougher and more embarrassing for the fairer sex to relieve themselves.

[SteveT]

Just one picture today, taken at the back gate of Ballindalloch Caslte, on my way home from test riding a nice red thing . . .





SteveT

[Buzzz]

On Sunday, I made a very nice 550km trip to the Bodensee and the Rhine falls :

[Big Ger]

I had a epic weekend on my first big ride on the GS. My buddy & I clocked 1084 miles on a 3 day trek headed East from the Puget Sound to Lewiston Idaho, then south down the Snake river basin to Hells Caynon. It was 95 degrees over there couldn’t wait to get in the river & have a few adult beverages !! We saw some beautiful country staying off the main highways. Followed the Columbia River on the Washington side then north up and around Mt Saint Helens to get back home.
All I can say is the F800GSA is an amazing motorcycle!!
Looking forward to the next adventure!!

“For some reason I can’t post pics??”

[Richard230]

I had a epic weekend on my first big ride on the GS. My buddy & I clocked 1084 miles on a 3 day trek headed East from the Puget Sound to Lewiston Idaho, then south down the Snake river basin to Hells Caynon. It was 95 degrees over there couldn’t wait to get in the river & have a few adult beverages !! We saw some beautiful country staying off the main highways. Followed the Columbia River on the Washington side then north up and around Mt Saint Helens to get back home.
All I can say is the F800GSA is an amazing motorcycle!!
Looking forward to the next adventure!!

“For some reason I can’t post pics??”

Did you click on the "Go Advanced" button, below? If you do that and select the paper clip icon, you should be able to download pictures from your computer's files.

[Joepi5]

Germany, Sauerland. Today I visited the Edersee and the Mohnsee dams. The Edersee dam in particular is worth it for the history! Sauerland in general has been a great place to visit! Now including the required bike pic 😉

[XR1000]

[QUOTE=Big Ger;2858335]I had a epic weekend on my first big ride on the GS. My buddy & I clocked 1084 miles on a 3 day trek headed East from the Puget Sound to Lewiston Idaho, then south down the Snake river basin to Hells Caynon.

Cool trip, good choice for your first GS adventure. I just got back today from a ride to Stanley Idaho and went through central WA and the Hells Canyon area on my way over. Does this look familiar? Keep up the miles.....

[Big Ger]

Sure does. Beautiful country over there!!
Still can’t upload my pics??
Thanks for sharing yours.

[Fearfas]

I went for a short ride around Barcelona mountains, with enough bad luck, that a rock hit my frontal abs sensor and totally disabled my frontal brake.

[Richard230]

I went for a short ride around Barcelona mountains, with enough bad luck, that a rock hit my frontal abs sensor and totally disabled my frontal brake.

Tough luck. I was going to say that I liked your post but then decided that would not have been appropriate, under the circumstances. But I did like your pictures and story.

[Rev Ken]

I went for a short ride around Barcelona mountains, with enough bad luck, that a rock hit my frontal abs sensor and totally disabled my frontal brake.

I would have thought that if the ABS was kaput you would still have 'ordinary' braking, the sort we had for many years. Unless it gave a signal that the front wheel was skidding??

[Fearfas]

Hey. I would of thought the same, but for some reason the brake system went totally crazy. I the very beginning, every time I tried to brake with the frontal brake, I had the felling like a bumping in my hand. After a few mins, all the error lights went on and the brake handle became totally unresponsive.
When I got home I plugged the motoscan in and was able to clear the error, and manually disable the front abs. Now I can still brake, until I replace the part ( already got the spare). I find this a very bad design flaw.

[Daboo]

It's been a week or so, but I went with a group of Kawasaki riders on a "Volcano Run". We rode up to Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. Good time with some great people.

Mt. Rainier in the background at one of our stops.








A break at White Pass


On the way in to Mt. St. Helens. When I first went there years ago, I was passing through thick green forest. Then I turned a corner and saw total devastation. It's been decades now, and you can see it growing back.


Mt. St. Helens


Mt. Adams





Back when I climbed it, pre-eruption, it looked like this picture below. We went across the crater to the summit and I was thinking to myself that this is supposed to be an active volcano. I wonder what would happen if it erupted.



Chris

[Daboo]

Took the long way home from the in-laws place. Headed over to Duvall and then back to home on the High Bridge Road. Normally, the sights are soothing on the eyes with lots of green and some water. Today...not so much...at all.
​​​​







On the other hand, no one else was on the road ahead of me, once I got to the end of the road above. Free and clear. Dry pavement. Speed limit...there was one, but it was beautiful just dropping into one corner after another without limit.


Sweet.


Chris

[ccramerusc]

It's been a few weeks, but I figured I'd share a short trip I enjoyed. I have a local friend fairly new to riding who bought an 07 F800ST. He and a friend of his went up to Road America for a track day. They invited me to join them but the timing wasn't right for me (brakes, tires, etc, all past half life). Anyway I took the long scenic route up the kettle moraine scenic trail (Wisconsin) to meet up the night before. We camped at the track that night and I served as pit crew help during an their runs. We had perfect 75 degree weather and sunny skies.

Maybe next time I'll ride the track too. Wish I had taken pictures.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

[Norfolk UK]

Not today but earlier in the week (I had swapped the SD card into my wife's phone by mistake so didn't have a picture).

Went out with two friends on a purposely short trip due to one of the group having an afternoon commitment. Best day of the week with temps. running at 25C - 27C according to the bike's gauge. Went from the east side of Norwich on an anti-clockwise trip into South Norfolk with (what was meant to be) a touch into Suffolk then back. Almost exactly 110 miles in all.

Buzzed around the Norwich Southern by-pass then west to Watton. Turned south from there to pick up the B1111 down close to East Harling but turned before so we could have a ride through part of Thetford Forest. East and up to Banham then through the Pulhams toward Harleston and the Suffolk border. We had a stop at a Starston cafe for a quick lunch before one of the group headed back.

Pic of the bikes at the cafe: -


From here the two of us crossed the Suffolk border and hit our first unplanned issue. The road was closed and the diversion took us further south. We turned across country to find a different route back, only a few miles further on to hit another closed road where the detour took us even further south !

Managed to find our way back up toward Bungay and onto Beccles then turned north back across the border into Norfolk. Took the unclassified roads to Reedham Ferry and ran the last 10 miles home.

I have a Go-Pro type camera which I hope to get set up on the bike before the next ride.
Ian

[Daboo]

There was a delightful back country road between Thetford and Mildenhall when I was there back in the 80s. I remember following a 700 series BMW in my Buick and thought to myself that either the BMW was really a far better car than my 1980 Buick Skylark, or the other driver was crazier than I was.

Chris

[Norfolk UK]

There was a delightful back country road between Thetford and Mildenhall when I was there back in the 80s. I remember following a 700 series BMW in my Buick and thought to myself that either the BMW was really a far better car than my 1980 Buick Skylark, or the other driver was crazier than I was.

Probably the road via Brandon and past the gates of Lakenheath. If you were keeping up with a BMW in your Buick then maybe you were the crazier one!

Some nice biking roads in that area.
Ian

[Daboo]

Both James (jtvisions) and I were feeling a bit stir-crazy from being locked down because of the fire smoke in the area being so unhealthy. Plus, we're watching as the days went by as the weather is getting cooler and wetter...knowing that the change means the riding season is slipping away. So we both wanted to go to Artist Point to see the change in colours and see it before the first snows come.

So we headed north up Hwy 9.





This valley is just so pretty. I love the view and never get tired of it each time I pass this way. I think one of the cool things about it, is it gives you a glimpse of where you're headed.


Obligatory motorcycle pic.


James with Mt. Baker in the background. As James pointed out, the cloud to the right of Mt. Baker's peak is being formed by the peak itself. The wind is coming from the south (left) and going over the glaciers, cooling and forming the cloud.




As luck would have it, the girl who left the painted rock came back.








The natural beauty is one reason to ride to Artist Point. The other is the road.


I see so many motorcyclists and bicyclists come up here, circle the parking lot ...and ride off thinking they saw all there was in less than five minutes.










Social distancing doesn't prevent socializing.


A memento I found when I parked the bike. I wonder how many miles that leaf stayed on.



The fall colours were starting, but not that bright quite yet. So this means James and I will have to go see it all again.

Chris

[SteveT]

Took a wander out once the rain had eased and caught some of the colour changes going on as the frosts start to bite . . .

Strath Dearn






Glen Kyllachy


Dulsie Bridge


SteveT

[Daboo]

Beautiful!

Chris

[SteveT]

Beautiful!

Thank You

[Daboo]

You have such beautiful country there. I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall for five years and one of our vacations was up toward your area.

I rode my GT to church this morning as usual, and was thinking how great it was. The temp was cool, but still a nice 52F (11C). There was just a bit of a mist in the air. Some riders would put the bike away in those conditions, but if you can dress for it, there's still good riding days ahead...and beautiful colours to enjoy.

Chris

[Daboo]

James (jtvisions) got the same itch I had, except he invited me to join him before I could invite him to join me. But actually, it is far more fun to follow him, than for me to do so. He's explored the back roads between Everett and the Canadian border more than anyone else probably has. And so as usual, we went off on a delightful day's ride.

I have to admit the thought crossed my mind to call him up and ask if it would be okay if I showed up in my Subaru with heated seats instead of my F800GT. One place was down to 37F. I think I'm becoming a wimp in my old age.

So here's some pics from the day's ride.

We headed north on Hwy 9 and then turned off to some side roads James is familiar with. This was a delightful place to just sit back and each lunch.



We skirted the south side of Bellingham and spent some time hiking at Waterfall Park.



This waterfall fascinated me. Why are those irregular black shapes there on the waterfall? Normally, you'll see something like the right half, but that left half was very unique.



The tour guide.



Some kids doing what kids do best. Playing next to the water and showing adults how to enjoy life.



A bit of autumn colour.



We headed south along Chuckanut Drive.





James wanted to take a detour and head over to the Swinhomish Indian Tribal Community. I hadn't seen it before, so I followed along. (This is why I want him to lead, and not me. )





A great day. A little cool, but heated gear helps keep things enjoyable.

Chris

[XR1000]

Great photos, love the boats! I'm already jealous, 25 degrees and 3" of snow on the east side of the mountains. jtvisions - black diamond, I use the same...

[SteveT]

Remembrance Sunday ride





200+ miles on wet roads, with the return run home accompanied by much falling wetness.

SteveT

[RoniRider]

Just did 65 miles on the Shenandoah Skyline Drive in Virginia on my 2016 F800GT. First chance to try out my new installed HyperPro progressive suspension. Nice sunny and cool day. Bike handles great now and feels so much better in the turns. I have had this bike just a couple of months and haven’t been able to ride much due to work and weather. Trying to determine if I want to replace the tires or not. They are the original tires with 4,500 miles on it. Date stamp puts them at mid 2015, but I dont have much confidence in their extreme lean ability due to untouched edges from previous owner.

Next ride will be a more twisty road through the West Virginia mountains.

[Buzzz]

Went to the supermarket wiith the bike on saturday. Never enjoyed it so much (the supermarket)...

[Daboo]

I took a "Sanity Ride" on Saturday. By the time I got moving, it was 2pm so I didn't have much time. It gets dark here at 5pm.

I headed north to Lake Cavanaugh, taking a back route through Granite Falls.





It was a nice road. Lots of twists and turns. The leaves were past their prime, but still colourfull.



















Chris

[Daboo]

The weather forecast yesterday showed 10 days of rain, with one bright spot...today. James (jtvisions) invited me to come along and get out of the house while we could enjoy it without liquid sunshine coming down on us.

So I put on two pairs of socks, long johns (top and bottom), my heated gear and riding gear and set out going north to meet up with James in Arlington.

I didn't show the route below, but this is the area we headed to.



It was foggy this morning, and fairly cold. The low I saw was 34F. We didn't see any grand vistas, but we saw some nice roads and farmland.










Our first stop at the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community and Pioneer Park in La Conner.



From there, we headed to Washington Park. This is looking out to Burrows Island and Burrows Bay.



And yes, the water looked that green.







Rosario Beach





I have to admit that when I woke up this morning, I didn't want to go. But I also knew that if I could get myself out there, it would be a wonderful day.

And now, let the rain begin...

Chris

[Richard230]

Very nice, Daboo. You seem to have taken enough pictures of your travels recently to keep you occupied looking at them until the rain ends. How about sending some of your rain down to central California. It is getting pretty dry down here. I think the last time we saw any significant rain was in March.

[Daboo]

...How about sending some of your rain down to central California. It is getting pretty dry down here. I think the last time we saw any significant rain was in March.

I thought your rain was in lockdown?

Chris

[Daboo]

Very nice, Daboo. You seem to have taken enough pictures of your travels recently to keep you occupied looking at them until the rain ends. How about sending some of your rain down to central California. It is getting pretty dry down here. I think the last time we saw any significant rain was in March.

The Accuweather report says it is a "Beast of a storm".









I'm glad I got out when I did.

Chris

[Richard230]

Ouch! Sounds rough.

[Daboo]

I got out of church today, and the rain hadn't started yet. In fact, it looked pretty good, even if it was cloudy. I checked my weather app, and it looked like I'd get caught in it at some point if I took a ride, but I decided to anyway.


I headed out to High Bridge Road. It's close by, goes through some farmland and woods. Has lots of twists and turns. And it is good enough to ride, that many people would go quite a ways to ride it...and it is in my back yard.











That's an interesting pattern.








Chris

[Daboo]

James (jtvisions) and I looked at the weather, and after a long spell of rain, we saw our chance. So with promises of dry weather and sunny skies, I headed north to James' house to meet up with him.

Unfortunately, before I could get there the Puget Sound Convergence Zone reared its ugly head.



Once I got north of Everett, the bad weather was behind me, and beautiful skies lay ahead.



Deception Pass and the bridge. If you have time, read the description on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deception_Pass It's a place worth spending a couple hours at, though we didn't this time.

Currents[edit]

Deception Pass is a dramatic seascape where the tidal flow and whirlpools beneath the twin bridges connecting Fidalgo Island to Whidbey Island move quickly. During ebb and flood tide current speed reaches about 8 knots (9.2 mph), flowing in opposite directions between ebb and flood.^[7] This swift current can lead to standing waves, large whirlpools, and roiling eddies. This swift current phenomenon can be viewed from the twin bridges' pedestrian walkways or from the trail leading below the larger south bridge from the parking lot on the Whidbey Island side. Boats can be seen waiting on either side of the pass for the current to stop or change direction before going through. Thrill-seeking kayakers go there during large tide changes to surf the standing waves and brave the class 2 and 3 rapid conditions.

One of the beaches we passed along the way.





Libby Beach. There's virtually no "beach" here. Still a nice place for a stop.

(Courtesy of jtvisions)




Bowman Cove



(Courtesy of jtvisions) That's me in the bright yellow.



On the other side of that passage, is Deception Pass.







Chris

[SteveT]

No BMWs in this post

Out for a wander yesterday afternoon, in between rain showers.


Don’t touch the stuff myself, but many I know really enjoy a dram from this place – the new Macallan distillery & visitors center (more Telly-Tubby land than a whisky connoisseurs must visit destination if you ask me)


SteveT

[SteveT]

Same as my last post (the F8GS is in a temporary hibernation - tis easier to keep one bike clean at this time of year )







SteveT