Sarge rides again!

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

I was just thinking of your need for a pistol in NOLA when you provided the wonderful support to folks down there. If you are flying make sure you have a lockable pistol case and declare it when checking in. The only problem is how much luggage can you carry on that bike? Unless you are towing a trailer the checked bag would have to be mailed home. Please let us know when you are headed out so we can keep you in our prayers. I am sure your son is looking down wishing he could ride along.

 

[reuben]

so ya like scenery, and it looks like the good bike is built for less than perfect roads, if it twas me I'd get some of those state topo maps with all the backroads on them and do some mountain back roads on the way through. I've done that with a fancy SUV taking a friend (retired doctor) sightseeing through such places. I dream of doing it on my own terms with a nice old truck and a horse or 2 along to get out beyond the roads. Getting way up on those mountains is the most inspiring thing I've ever done.

 

[Djfreema]

Congrats Sarge, Disregard my previous post on the other thread, I didnt realize you already made arrangements to pick her up. Its going to be a great trip for you. You'll probably pass by me on the 395 as I head home. If you hear a motorhome honking crazily at you , pull over, it will be me! Have a safe trip.

 

[superburban]

OH MAN! THIS IS THE COOLEST TRIP EVER!

If you get up towards Utah and need a hot meal, or a cool bed, drop me a line. (I'll kick my brother out of my spare bedroom and let you lie down in air conditioned comfort for a night or two!)

 

[Pawnshop]

The Very Large Array Visitors Center is 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico on U.S. Highway 60. From U.S. 60, turn South on NM 52, then West on the VLA access road, which is well marked. Signs will point you to the Visitor Center. NM 52 continues south, unpaved, through the Gila Wilderness and ends up somewhere near Silver City, should be extra beautiful this time of the year (read: you can go north from the Silver City area to find the VLA as well) The VLA is a stunning sight and almost completely deserted! I was there last July and saw only one other person! Self guided tour, and some MVs out there (it IS a Gov instalation).

I have no MC experience but my .01 is bring lots of pain meds, take short runs, watch out for rabbits and coyotes, lots of cell phone batts, lots of photos, mabey a flare gun?? BTW, cell communication is spotty out there, but I am sure you knew that already

 

[swbradley1]

I thought my cross country trip on a Yamaha 500 twin was cool except for the 1,200 miles of rain. No rain gear and no front windshield.
I did take a M1 Carbine with me and had strapped in my backpack. I suggest a prodigious amount of Tylenol to help you sleep and syringes of injectable coffee to keep you awake.

I do recall pulling over in a little town in Missouri and laying down in a parking lot of a big box store to sleep a few hours and the police drove up and shined a light on me and just kept on going. Must have felt sorry for me.



I would love to have the time to do a back country trip that long. Be safe and have a great trip.

 

[pa.rich]

Sarge , be safe, and it sounds like fun! Perhaps we should refer to you as Evel Kineeval the 2nd?

 

[poppop]

Sarge, sounds like a he?? of a ride. You know better than me how to stay safe, so be CAREFULL and have a ball!!!

 

[emr]

wear a back brace... ...and bring some 5 hour energy drinks... ...Glad to see ya hitting it hard... ...God Bless and have fun!!! ...Randy

 

[Green_gator]

Sarge,
I did a seven day road trip on my Enfield a couple of years back. One thing that will save you is a throttle boss. This is a small lever that straps on to the throttle of the bike. This will allow you to hold the throttle down without having to grip it with your hand. I look at this as an absolute necessity for long rides. Here is a link to a company that sells them but you can pick them up at almost any motorcycle shop. Other things are the camel back for water, back support and a good riding jacket and gloves.

Ride safe and take a lot of pictures.

http://www.texascyclechrome.com/universalthrottleboss.aspx

 

[Offroadfabworks]

green gator. I have one of them and they are great for long trips

 

[ARMYMAN30YearsPlus]

Man if you were not leaving so soon I would priority mail you a camelback. They are great on hot days fill them with crushed ice and it keeps your core cool. It worked for me time and again in Iraq and the even hotter days in Kuwait.

I hope you have a good pair of goggles to go along because I love riding without a helmet but the bug in the eye is no fun especially at top speed. I would send you a pair of them too if it was not such a short suspense.

What type of tools are you taking? If it is a two stroke make sure and take a few spare plugs and a spare quart of oil in case they do not have two stoke oil out in the boonies.

 

[Sarge]

Well, it’s been almost a week since I got the M1030 on E-bay and announced my plan for a crazy 2,000 mile return to Texas.
I asked SS members for tips for the trip, I could not have expected the dozens of answers with good (and funny) replies. I am going to attempt to answer every single message, but it’s going to take hours, so please bear with me. Oh, that’s right, you should be able to read this in a few minutes. D’oh!
Especially thank you to all of the guys who PM’ed me with their private telephone numbers so that I could call them in an emergency. The funny thing was that most of these guys live on the other side of the planet, New York, and similar exotic foreign locales.
Then I realized that they were offering me a lifeline, if I called them, they could organize a rescue in my area. Thanks guys! I will take a little notebook with your names and numbers with me.
A lot of guys gave me the tip to carry a cell phone, one of those new fangled communication devices. Sort of like a Dick Tracy watch but real. When I’m out in the middle of the desert with two broken legs, I can flip my Star Trek communicator open “Beam me up, Scotty, I’m in deep doo-doo”.
Well guys, it took me five years to figure out the self-timer on my digital camera, so there will be no space age transmogrifier going in my Alice pack. I still don’t know how to use the alarm function on my watch, how am I going to operate a cell phone?
The most frightening thing is that I used to program the flight path of GLCM nuclear cruise missiles back in the 80’s. Think about that! Ooops…. Close enough!
One thing on this trip I do promise, I will take notes daily and there will be lots of photo’s.
So without further ado, I am going to start writing replies to everyone….
-Sarge

 

[Sarge]

Here are a bunch of replies to peoples post’s about this M1030 and my trip:
Doghead; I saved you from a long ride to NY!
M1075; It’s likely to cost $5,200 + airfare
Sarge: Well, you couldn’t wait until the last 3 seconds, you bid at 11 seconds!
FMJ; I’m glad you quit at $2K!
SteelSoldiers; I promise a good trip report with lots of photo’s! (If I make it back)
Rattlewagon; Your grandfather was right! “You aint livin, unless your grinning!”
Djfreema; It would be great to run into you and your motor home! No wait, that does not sound great. There will be a lot of motor homes in the Yosemite area, so honk if you see a USMC bike with a grinning lunatic perched precariously on top.
ArmyMan30yearsplus; Thanks for all the advice, I respect you greatly, even if you are commissioned! Yes, Mr. Heckler and Mr. Koch will be along for the ride. Same loadout as NOLA. The VA gives me LOTS of good stuff, 2400mg of motrin a day, Horse pills, Ranger Candy. My luggage? A medium ALICE pack, bed roll and sleeping bag in a waterproof laundry bag. I still have my old Camelback and it’s going with me. Crushed ice is the ticket. I also have two pairs of ‘Goggles, sun and wind’, one pair with the clear shield and one pair with the dark shield. My helmet looks just like the basic military open face ¾ helmet. Tools? Duct tape and a leatherman. Am I forgetting something?
My son? I will be thinking about him all the way, all the time. I used to take him on Jeep trips to the Pacific, he loved camping with Daddy.
Bozor1000; You are not supposed to wish me good luck, you should say something like “Break a leg”. Actually, I prefer “Good Luck”.
Stretch44875: “Ur nuts!” What is that supposed to mean? (Kinda hits the nail on the head)
No.2Diesel; Thanks for the route recommendations, some of them sound really good!
Saddamsnightmare; I gave up biting rattlers, they give me a rash.
Barrman; North rim? Never done that one, good idea.
Hndrsonj; No more surplus stores!!!
Recovry4x4; Thanks for reminding me of my last crash! My first aid kit is a roll of duct tape. In 2001 I was shot in the forehead in Canada, lots of duct tape, no problem! Except taking it off 3 days later, ow-ee, ow-ee, ow-ee!
Wreckerman893; Preparation H? You’ve done this before!
Davidkroberts; Thanks for the trip recommendations!
UglyRanger; Yeah, Route 66 is a must. My son was conceived on Route 66, that’s enough about that subject.
Chuck500cc; Your idea of putting gas in a camelback is not feasible, can’t you see all the horrible ways that scenario could end? Do you want me to die?
M813rc; You’ll be listening by the phone? I wish I had one! Hee-hee
Yorkgulch2; Thanks for the lots of route recommendations, I’ll try to take some.
E02NMCB; Thanks!
Rockman; As I told Armyman30, Mr. Heckler and Mr. Koch will be with me. Believe it or not, that was the weapon that we carried in the military, old Pietro Beretta didn’t have the knock down.
Pistolnut; I will be taking short trips, I’m too old for the 1,000 mile marathons anymore.
Reuben; Although I do love just taking off up the mountain trails, at my age, that might just be the end of me. I’ll probably do it anyway, what the heck!
Superburban; Coolest trip ever? Maybe if I survive it! Hee-hee!
Pawnshop; (Hey Sam!) I’ve seen the VLA, it is cool. Thanks also for trip recommendations. Bring pain meds? Who are you kidding? The pharmacy is going with me!
Swbradley1; It’s not going to rain on this trip. That’s the power of positive thinking! I never sleep inside of city limits, too many people. I’m safer out in nature, less wild beasts than in the city.
Pa.rich; Evel Kineeval the 2nd? How about “Sarge the 1st?”
Poppop; Have a ball? You bet!
Emr; (Randy!) Wear a back brace? Thank you! I would forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on!
Green_Gator; Throttle boss? Yeah, my old Harley had one of those, it did work on long trips.
Well, I think that I’ve now replied to everyone, let me know if I missed you. Gotta go pack!
-Sarge

 

[hndrsonj]

Sarge,
Sorry for the confusion but Jacks Govt Surplus isn't a normal surplus store it's the MV mecca located in Tucson. Check this thread out. http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=12157&highlight=tucson

 

[M813rc]

Sarge, ya silly bugger, you need neither own nor know how to operate a cell phone to flag someone down and get THEM to call me! Most passing folks will have them...

 

[Pawnshop]

Be careful with those H&K hi-cap mags in Kalifornia, you may have some s'planin to do!

 

[Somemedic]

Dont recall reading your stuff previously but I would sell my mother to do that trip. Those will be 8 'man days', meaning shaving and hygene are left at ones descretion. I havent seen the mountains since I was about 5 but remember them well. Not a huge deal for some but a big deal for a kid growing up in the flats of indiana.

That bike rocks too. Really rocks.

 

[Sarge]

Zero hour

Well, it's Thursday 23:50, gotta get up in 3 hours to catch the flight out West.
I promised photo's and so here's a couple.
This is my load out for the trip.
I'll actually be wearing 80% of the gear in the photo's.
Socks and undies are throwaways, wear one day, toss in trash can.
My tool kit is a Leatherman (Schrade, really), a Gerber knife and a roll of duct tape.
My medical kit is a Leatherman, a Gerber knife and a roll of duct tape. Hee-hee!
I'm too old to sleep naked on the ground anymore, hence the big bed roll (self-inflatable, unlike my girlfriend) and the new issue sleeping bag.
No GPS but lots of laminated maps, notice the states.
Rory thinks I need an M4, kind of hard to conceal though.
Any questions/observations about the gear? Too late! I'm outta here!
Talk to you all in about 8 days!
-Sarge

 

[M813rc]

Godspeed brother.