Everythings bigger in Texas right?

KS- Tuesday

Normally we would alternate updating the blog,  but Chip is just slightly under the weather at the moment.  Some of it could be that we spent the day surrounded by weather.   When they say that everything is bigger in Texas, they are also talking about the raindrops.  We have endured several massive soakings today, with only brief periods of sunshine between them.  Tonight finds us just outside of Corpus Christi Texas, after riding through the town of Refugio Texas, which had taken a direct hit from Hurricane Harvey earlier this year.  Even in the pouring rain we could get a brief glimpse of the destruction there,   and it was massive. 
Our riding day was otherwise uneventful,   add gas, add oil, twist throttle, repeat.  Once again our room looks like a crazed person was throwing riding gear all around.   Jackets and pants hang from every available spot,   puddles of water grow on the floor,   various bits of electronics are sucking up electricity from every available outlet.  Tomorrow we will arrive in Pharr TX,   where we have new tires waiting for us,   and hopefully a clutch from our faithful parts supplier Harrison.  A couple pictures to finish up today. 

 Chip loading up for the day

 Crossing another bridge

Superslabing

KS-  Monday

When people think ultimate highway cruising motorcycle,   Im pretty sure the DR350 Suzuki does not come to mind anywhere near the top 100.  In our case,  they have turned out to be surprisingly capable for the dreaded interstate portion of our trip.   Even after gearing the bikes much higher than stock,  the mpg hovers around 50 at a 65mph.   On the other hand,  when you hold an air cooled single engine at 6k rpm for hours on end,  they tend to consume a touch of oil.   And by touch I mean we are nearing the gas to oil ratio I use for my chainsaws, minus the smoke.  I'm guessing this will remedy itself once we slow down to a more casual pace. 

Weather was beautiful today,  it actually got into the 70s after lunch.  Chip was on the verge of having the first fuel outage,  but it seems like it could have been some water in the tank instead. A couple minor delays and some traffic kept us to just under 400 miles today.  But with warmer weather, and increased digital dexterity, comes pictures!  These are not quite worth a thousand words, but just wanted to break things in slowly. 

Crossing the Mississippi River

 

Burning up Louisiana highway

Chip makes new friends at a gas stop

Cold and Clutch Issues

CN - Sunday

We woke up in Tennessee to temps in the 30's an drizzling rain.  When we stopped for lunch 6 hours later in Alabama it had stopped raining but the temps were still in the 30's.  Needless to say it was cold and miserable riding weather.  To add to my misery, the clutch issue I have been having seems to be getting worse - so much so that we are looking at replacing it before crossing into Mexico.  Our new friend Harrison from Seattle who saved the day with the cam chain parts also has a full clutch assembly that he can pull and send to us in Texas.  We are already planning to swap tires in Pharr, TX so might as well do the clutch as well.  I wasn't expecting this much drama in the first two days, but I guess it is what it is.  

No pics today because we couldn't feel our hands to work a camera.

Launch Day!!!!

KS-Saturday- The longest journey starts with a single step.   This one is no different, except that first step is a very high one, you forget how hard is it to swing a leg over a loaded motorbike,  I foresee one of us getting it wrong at some point and ending up in a tangled heap on the ground, and the other one reaching for a camera to capture the outcome.  I wish my first post on the blog could be something really cool,   but the reality of it is the day was a mixed bag of emotions.  The miles came easy, except for the first one.   Its always extremely hard to leave the love of your life at  home while you chase a different type of love.  Wife vs travel has me looking forward to Ecuador where she will join us for a while to explore a new country.  The rest of the day was filled with strong wind,  cloudy skies,   then eventually rain.   The bikes performed beautifully on the interstate at a comfortable 65mph.  After a couple hours of riding in the rain, with the temps dropping into the 40s,  we crossed the 300 mile mark,   and decided to call it a day.  No pictures from the road,   just imagine a very cold shower wearing a sleeping mask,    that sums it up.    Hopefully we can dry out most of our clothes before tomorrows colder trek. 

Departure Day

CN - Friday

It is now half past midnight so technically we are departing for the trip today.  The past two days have been a whirlwind trying to get everything done.  My bike has been ripped open for the better part of the week and we just sealed it up last night.  I'm still having a nagging clutch issue despite Ken's opening up the case twice to try to figure out the problem.  I'm hoping it works itself out or doesn't become a biger problem somewhere down the road.  Everything has been done short of replacing the entire clutch assembly (which seems ridiculous since it is a brand new clutch) - it is an after market 3rd party clutch put in by the previous owner which are aparently known to be problematic.  Sometimes it's best to stick with OEM parts.

It appears we will have some cold and rainy weather as early as Sunday.  They are calling for highs in the 40's in Tennessee - which is right where we will most likely be.  We will probably be remembering that day fondly next month when we are in Central America and boiling in the mid 90's.  It will takes some time to get used to basically being outside exposed to the elements for much of our existence.  In the beginning every drop of rain is an annoyance - later in the trip it just becomes another day, rain or shine.

This time around I have added Ken as an editor and he will be posting on the blog as well.  Should give a more interesting read with different thoughts and perspectives.  We will also have some viewer participation to comment opportunities when we get around to posting our over/under list - flats, drops, crashes, police encounters, extortion, etc.  We hope to be able to post every couple of days or so.  Will kind of depend on internet and wifi availability.

We did just switch our phones to T-Mobile which has unlimited international data - so we will see what that means between Mexico and north of South America.  Hoping to stay connected throughout.

I'm beyond excited to get the trip started and probably won't sleep much tonight - lets get it on!

Ken adding custom sprocket racks to the custom luggage rack.

Ken rebuilding his shock - why should he be worried about that?

The parts for my bike arrived from Seattle on Wednesday.

Me with the service manual on my laptop trying to put the thing back together.  

Spare sprocket mounted to the luggage rack.

My bike re-assembled, loaded up and ready to ride.

Slight Setback

CN - Sunday, October 22, 2017

We experienced a small setback yesterday afternoon while addressing a known problem with the dr350's - thrust washers at the clutch. With the case off the lower part of cam chain is exposed and Ken noticed a couple of parts missing - a chain tensioner on one side and a glide on the other. We had just had the valve covers open to set the valves and found two missing screws inside. It now is glaringly apparent the mechanic who rebuilt the engine for the previous owner was a hack or extremely sloppy or both. Ken posts an SOS on ADVrider and within a few hours we get a hit from a guy in Seattle who has the parts and can ship them out on Monday. Hoping to have the parts in Virginia by Tuesday or Wednesday.  Still hoping to leave on Friday or Saturday.

Trying not to lose any parts.

No glides on the left or the right of the chain.

Open heart surgery less than a week before leaving - Sheesh!

Cool fog this morning on the Showalter Farm melting away.

The cows are posing for this one.

Final Bike Prep

CN - October 20, 2017

In the past few days my dr350 has received a new chain and sprockets, heated gear controller, GPS hard wire kit, LED headlight bulb and various mounts for the electronics.  There is a leak coming from my top end that needs to be addressed while at the same time checking the valve clearances.  Starting to tackle that job today.  We also hope to have some fresh tires waiting for us at a shop in Brownsville, TX - need to make that call today too.  Outside of that, both bikes should be ready to go.  Ken's bike has been pretty much ready to go for a while.

We are planning to leave Virginia sometime between Thursday and Saturday of next week.  Can't really believe the day is almost here after months of anticipation.  I'm sure it will take a couple of weeks, as it went in 2014, for things to slow down to the enjoyable pace of day by day life on the road.  You don't get to experience this on a typical 2-week vacation - at least I never have - where perception of time moves at the perfect pace.

If we end up leaving at the later end of our target window on Saturday, that will give us 40 days to get to Panama City.  We have to arrive on December 6th to complete the necessary export and customs paperwork before the weekend when the government offices are closed.  Our boat to Columbia sails on Monday, December 11th so it must be completed by the Friday before.

We did end up booking a 4 day boat cruise in the Galapagos Islands over Christmas.  The boat is fairly small and only sleeps 16.  Marybeth is meeting us in Quito on December 23rd for the boat cruise and will be renting a motorcycle for another 5 days of moto-cruising with us around Ecuador after returning from the Galapagos.  Should be a fun 10 days exploring Ecuador!

Leaky, leaky.

New chain and sprockets.

Ken's bike ready to go.

The dr650 ready for Alaska.

Ken heading out to combine the next field of beans.