Keep in mind that Valentines' Day and the Houston SX are on Feb 14th. I need to burn a week of vacation in February or March, but it needs to be the right week and avoid V.D. George's Okie buddies are planning a ride out of Presidio "mid-February" too.

George has buddies?

Where are they going to ride to from Presidio and for how long...And...What are they riding?

Steve

not of your sort! i simply gave hoop the info about the ar. guys ride. it is his conjecture about any relationships.

now I'm confused. The okies are hoteling in Presidio and making day-long loop rides into the desert on the other side of the border. They've been doing this for several years and supposedly have some good loops laid out. Sounds like some dirt-road riding, but also some serious trail riding, since it sounds like a lot of the guys don't have street-legal bikes.

If we can plan something in advance for February, I've got a shot at making it.

On a side note, there was an article in last Sunday's Chronicle about the guy who runs the d/s tours from Sanderson Tx. I didn't save it. The bottom line is spend a bunch of money for a tour guide to take you on dirt roads and feed you. One of the guys was on a BMW1150, so I know they stayed on mostly easy dirt roads. They covered 270 miles in 2 days, from Sanderson to Pandale and back.

Hey Hoop....We've riden all the Sanderson /Pandale area and it is dirt county roads....Having said that I'll go back there any time it is just great riding.
We ride from Ozona, down thru Pandale and into Sanderson, about 60% dirt. From Sanderson we ride pavement to Big Bend Park where we pick up the dirt again into Terlingua Ranch. From the ranch there are dirt roads all the way to Lajitas and over 170 miles in the National Park.
I forgot to mention the 1100 plus miles of dirt roads on the ranch.

I would not like to do any of it on a big BMW, but it's perfect for all D/S 400's and 650's. Experienced KLR riders would love it too.

Stay tuned we'll work up a trip early in the new year.

Steve Smith

Is there a map for the Big Bend area that shows the dirt county roads? And are there single track trails you experienced guys know about but don't tell the general public? I would love to get my hubby out that way some day, but he doesn't have a DS bike, and I can't get him interested. I can't ride with you fast guys, but if he can put up with me trail riding, he should be able to DS with me (at least once in my lifetime). To do a trip to Big Bend once, I would have to rent a DS bike (?) for him and have everything planned out ahead of time (hotel/cabin, restaurants, roads, gas, etc.). How legal does the DS bike have to be? He went to Cloudcroft in May with lights on his KTM, but it wasn't 100% Kosher. Any of you guys have wives/family who want to go to BIg Bend, but can't do 300 miles in one day?
On a different note, how did Cary get hurt- I read all the medical jargon, but didn't see what caused the injury/accident. BTW, Cary, best wishes for the surgery and a speedy recovery.

Here's a company that rents d/s bikes and does tours out of Sanderson.

Don Quixote Motorcycle Enduro-Tours & Rentals

Hey Lori....Welcome to this forum....

Here's what to do....

Terlingua Ranch has a couple of dozen pretty nice cabins as well as the Bad Rabitt Cafe....Prices are good for lodging and the food won't kill you. They also have a gas pump, dirt airstrip, pool and gift shop.
The ranch also has over 1100 miles of dirt roads, that are legally private but open to the public. All the land off the roads is private....That's PRIVATE....BIG TIME PRIVATE. The ranch was subdivided and not all the new owners like dirt bikers.

There really are no useable maps for the Ranch but it's hard to get lost.

You guys can ride around on non street legal bikes to your hearts content on everything from graded roads to nasty ungraded roads. You do not have to go 300 miles in a day either.

The area is truly beautiful and the night sky is perfect for star and satelite watching.

The ranch phone # is 432 371-2416 for reservations.

I'll be there at the ranch on December 26th, 27th 28th and 29th with my wife, two sons one daughter in law and two grandkids come join us and I'll get you going on West Texas riding.

See ya at the AMSA party.

Thanks, guys! My big problem is convincing Kevin this would be a fun thing to do- for me, anyway. He won't let me go by myself, and I can't drive all the way out there by myself (in the truck). If any of you D/S guys see Kevin at the banquet or a race, your allowed to tell him what a great time could be had out that'a way.
Thanks (I need all the help I can get),

Lori....Pass this on to the old stick in the mud.

A typical day in Big Bend.

After a late night star gaze and a good nights sleep we start the day with a hearty breakfast and lots of Cajun coffee. Sometimes we cook it ourselves outside our rented cabin and sometimes we go to a restaurant and let someone else do all the work.
By 9:00am we are riding, it's a little chilly some mornings. We ride on dirt County roads through the most beautiful desert mountains in Texas. Our bikes range from XR250s up to KLR and XR650's. Occasionally we have to use 2nd or 3rd gear but most of the time it's top gear and go! We always stop for a lunch around noon, typically after about 95 miles. This is always at a gas stop too. The non riding wives and girlfriends usually meet us at the pre arranged lunch spot. Depending where we're going it can be pre packaged sandwiches or a real fancy hotel.

After lunch it's off again...We know where we can find some first gear single track and some rugged 4x4 trails so we always include them. We used to cross the river into Mexico for lunch, pre 9/11 but thats not possible now.

Many of our rides take us all over the National Park so we all have 3 day passes or annual memberships. Lunch in the Chisos Basin is always fun....A bunch of geared up dirt bikers always draws some funny stares.

Late afternoon finds us back at the cabin, about 200 miles under our belt. Into the shower then get all duded up for a trip into town for dinner and drinks.....All the colorful locals are on display at night in La Kiva or at the Starlite...The food is good by any standard and the ambiance is intoxicating. With bellies full it's back to the cabin for star gazing again.....A little bench racing, plan the next days ride and a good nights sleep. This takes us back to the beginning.

It just doesn't get any better than that.....Any time we can wear out a new rear tire in a 3 day weekend you know it's a good time.

Get him geared up to go.....He will love it.

Steve Smith

Check the attachment for a very poor picture of some very happy Big Bend riders.