Earache

Had to hit the ubiquitous QT Mart as soon as I crossed into Missouri.......

Fueling up the truck near home - Thanks Joe !

It was cold and raining - hard - all the way across Kansas. 42F /5C in the rain would not have been a fun ride at all. 500 miles of suck. Glad I was in the truck!

11 hours later and I'm at Todd's house in Columbia, Missouri. I'll have a day to rest up here and we're off to Indianapolis (350 miles east of here) on Thursday. Hoping to get out for a nice dinner and beers tonight - pics to follow........

Day 1 -up at 2:30 am to get ready and the power is out. Heavy snow must have snapped a tree which fell into a powerline somewhere. So I get ready to go in the dark. Nice. I get out to the truck only to be greeted by 6" of new snow. Quick shovel of the steps and I load up and head out.......

Good thing I'm in the truck tomorrow - getting another 4-6 inches tonight....

Not sure yet; either to Hays, Kansas or Columbia, Missouri and then dump the truck. I'll stop along the way, get the bike out of the truck, snap a pic and then reload it. Or I might just use someone else's pics.....

Loaded and ready to roll early tomorrow morning. Going to leave in the dark so the neighbors don't see me driving a truck with a bike in the back. They'll think I'm a Harley rider or something....

Nice chunk of wood - walnut is one of my favorite species of wood to work with as it looks so rich when nicely finished. Made a dining table for my wife out of walnut.

I like smallish office / computer desks like that - mine at my shop is similar. But I need to get big at home for my music stuff.

Looks tidy and if it works for you then you're all set. Anyone else?

Kind of set up I'd like to make, bringing my guitars together along with recording gear....

I'm thinking about making a custom desk for my PC. Anyone else have a cool set up that works well for them? Or are you still using an old door spread atop some old crates? Post up some pics and some ideas on what you'd like to have on your desk. I need to get off my ass and make something cool. Current set up:

"Whore" by In This Moment A classic from about 10 years ago....

I'm aware of their reputation - might not be the best choice for me as I tend to ride a lot on short periods of time. That's what sold me on the S10 as you can ride it all day and just put it away - then do the same thing the next day...for months on end. It really has been a great bike as you just can't fuck it up.

Emissions? We ain't got no emissions! It's still available in the USA (see: https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/adventure-touring/models/super-tenere-es ) but it's basically the same old bike with no updates other than color changes. But you can get them for below MSRP as well. Still a great bike. I'm thinking the Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200 is the way to go.

Dunno, really. Maybe a KTM? I really hate to fuck around with chain s though and would like a driveshaft. BMW's are out for me so there's not a lot of options left. Maybe another Super Tenere? I'd also consider the HD Pan and maybe the new Tiger.

I didn't. Assumed the coyotes and mountain lions would have eaten them by now had there been any in there. Same for the ginger dagos.

Around 50,000 miles - gonna have to start looking for a new bike b y next year.

Well let's hope for a nice summer for all of us then with lots of great riding. Have a July trip to Canada and the West Coast planned as well. Tried to get into Canuckistan last year but they had their panties in a bunch over Covid so we couldn't. They recently relaxed their requirements to get in so we'll attempt it again in July.

So I just swung past the old gold mines and headed back to town. 10 mile shakedown ride completed - ready for Maine!

Roads above 12,.000' were still closed due to snowpack and I'm sure it's much worse now. So it was hard to really go anywhere...

Cruised some dirt for a bit....

Stopped and talked to some of the locals...

I did get out on Thursday before swapping my tires out. Just rode around the neighborhood for a bit. Thought I should at least ride 10 miles before setting off on a long trip. Bike felt pretty much like I remember it from last year....