Mike's New Bike

Big Mike has a new Dual Sport bike:

No, it's not an XR 80, Mike just makes it look like one.  It's an 86 Honda XR600.....a big motorcycle.

Yesterday we did a little test ride to see how it worked.  Since it was sold as a pure dirt bike, Mike will have to modify it to make it street legal, so yesterday we had to stay on state forest roads which do not require street legal motorcycles.  We rode in the local dirt bike riding area of Jones Creek, where I spent many hours riding and working on trails.  I'm amazed at how much the area has changed due to the extensive logging going on.  Here are some examples:

After we rode about 35 miles and pretty much exhausted all the roads he could legally ride on, Mike decided to call it a day.  It was a really nice day, though, so on my way home I did a little exploring of some of the forest roads I hadn't been on yet.  Having my Garmin Zumo on the bike really helps when doing this because you can always find your way back out of an area by following your track back.  Without the Zumo and with my fading short term memory, I have a tendency to forget which way to turn at intersections I come to.  I ended the day with almost exactly 100 miles. 

I took the obligatory mountain view pics on the way:

Mt St. Helens

I think this will be my winter schedule:   If it's a nice day, get out and ride.  If it's raining, work on the Mustang.  God, I love retirement.