RideForum.NET

Riding with these guys makes me feel young.

stimmer6253472 wrote:Ophir Pass today with my dad.

Edit: just noticed the picture was from Lost Dollar not Ophir.

Was just browsing the internet while the wife watches some cop drama on TV and ran across this old post. Enjoy life while you can. My dad died last week so looks like no Colorado ride for us this summer.
Jim

Sorry to hear about it. I'm guessing he lived a great life. My dad passed away coming up on 2 years. He passed on Christmas Day so now Christmas will always be a little different.

Since Photobucket changed up their terms of service, I've switched to SmugMug and hopefully these pics will show up.

At the end of February I crashed my dirt bike fracturing my right fibula and slightly dislocating my foot, doc said it was impressive including the cracks on the tibia, during my downtime I decided to work on a track from Eagleville MO down to Blue Eye MO, a connecting track if you will from the southwest corner of the Trans Iowa Trail to the Trans Arkansas Trail. I'm thinking of calling it TMOT Central as there are now several other TMOTs but mostly dedicated to the eastern portion of the state. Yesterday I attempted to ride the first section from Eagleville MO to Union Covered Bridge State Historical site.

On the west side of the Eagleville square I found this artwork



Outside of town a number of the gravel roads got narrower, and the gravel was a bit thin



Some roads had no gravel at all



Which eventually became two track trail and another reroute. I was riding solo and felt that I may as well play it safe.



I lost track of how many plank bridges I crossed



Stopped in at Crowder State Park, which was completely empty.



Willis Chapel Church est. 1887



Locust Creek Covered Bridge, not many covered bridges left in MO



It is a 1/4 mile walk from the parking area to the bridge, although I'm sure I could have rode the 690 down the trail to the bridge no problem, it wouldn't be right so here I am with the bridge in the background. Apologies in advance LOL



I also stopped in at Pershing State Park, again completely empty, no one fishing the river, no one camping that I could see.



The title of the artwork on the Pedestal is Motherhood. Donated by the Missouri State Chapter of American War Mothers



Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make my goal of Union Covered Bridge in one day, too many reroutes and track editing to do. Almost 450 miles and 12 hours of riding. A great day of riding though.

In preparation for the apoceclipse, I set out on my motorcycle to scout possible eclipse viewing locations. I was looking for a spot that offered 2+ minutes of totality, parking for 3 cars--even if just roadside, and some kind of view to the horizon to see the "sunset colors" where the sun hits the earth outside the totality.

I mostly failed, but enjoyed about 200 miles of riding. The main problem I ran into is simply the popularity of the event. Even the tiniest towns have rumors of 25,000 people showing up on Monday. Another event-killer is the forecast now calls for cloudy weather during the 3 hour window.

If it were just me, I'd sit on a high point on a remote dirt road. BUT, I'll have 3 cars full of 3 generations of family and need of bathrooms if at all possible. In other words, it's going to be a disaster!

Anywho...some pics from my ride...

Probably the best eclipse viewing spot I found was this church cemetery overlook in Napolean, MO.


It will have 2 minutes and 5 seconds of totality and offers a fantastic view to the N horizon. It has some parking, but most likely will have 5,000 people trying to squeeze onto that platform. Yikes!

The day before heading out, I spent a few hours pouring over topo maps and satellite imagery and used the NASA eclipse map to find probably viewing spots. I was looking for high ground without too many trees to block the view. Here is one of my spots along a 2 track in the middle of a soybean field. It had long-distance views.



Unfortunately, the 2 track was rutted and muddy, and with rain in the forecast combined with the fact I'd have 2 cars of family following me...well, no-go. Oh, and I might have been trespassing--no signs or gates, and while the road was on my maps, it was not labelled.

I "discovered" a really nice general store in Dover, MO. I took this motorcycle for a test ride. It felt really "planted". Get it?!



The nice folks at the general store were offering eclipse parking for $20 per car, but they were located down in a low spot--not great viewing in my opinion.

Another unobstructed high ground spot I found is the Ebenezer Church Cemetery off MO Hwy H just SE of Buckner, but the gates were closed. I assume the gates will be closed on Mon, too. It was on a relatively dramatic hill with a wonderful view to the East.


By mid afternoon, I was getting really hungry, so stopped at Misty's Cafe in Buckner, MO. It's a terrible place, but they did have an item I'd never seen before. I didn't try it, but it is tempting.



Yum!

I FINALLY made it out to Colorado to ride! The camping was just as exciting as the riding. It was an awesome experience!

https://youtu.be/LOkD9b5sK9U

Great video, Savage! Glad you finally got out to ride and camp the mountains!

Thanks Troy! I'm working on Episode IV now. Trying to cut hours of riding video down to a few minutes isn't easy.

Here's a pic from last weekend.

Awesome pics Ed. Bike looking really nice. Thanks for sharing.

Cool stuff! Who is the guy on the blue bike? He's got some skeelz!

Matt. One of the many local riders. He's a cool guy!

I thought you were riding with Graham Jarvis there for a second. He made those obstacles look easy and they weren't.

Agreed! It's funny how we all are a little better than others at certain aspects. So when we hook up with others and ride we all pick up pointers from others. There are certain things I would have never tried before, but when I see someone else do it successfully it lets me know if I want to attempt it or not.

I've been having a blast!!!

From last Saturday before the snow moved in. Great day to ride!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28y_lVi03Fc

Looked like a perfect day of riding! Love your sweet log ride! Nice skeelz!