Clegg78 Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) Hey everyone, I posted a blog post about a trip I am doing coming up in a couple weeks around CO, NM and AZ. Not a big trip but about 2000mi, over 7 days. I am located in Denver, and am going to ride down to Winslow, AZ to check out Meteor Crater, and the Petrified Forest, then over to Los Alamos, NM (some fun roads it looks like to get there off the main freeway), then back up around CO for a bit. I've ridden all over UT/AZ/CO in the past but its been about 5 years and this will be my first long ride on the Tracer since I got it last year (besides the purchase of it flying into SLC and riding it to Denver the next day which was 600mi. Left the dealer with "0" miles on the Odo, got it home with like 625, it was nice to get the majority of the engine break-in done just on the ride home!). Seems like there is a call for some snow in the coming weeks around the higher elevations, so I just ordered some Pirelli Scorpion Trail II's to swap onto the bike before the trip as I've read the D222s are less than awesome in cold/wet weather. And I personally love riding in the rain/cold weather! Any tips around Northern NM/Winslow AZ for things I should check out... being a pandemic year I am not going in or doing a whole lot other than seeing what I can that is outside. My blog post and trip details and planning is here: Motorcycle Trip – Pandemic Edition – Interwebs of Joe Well, 2020 is what it is… it conclusively sucks. Camping is a crap... Edited September 2, 2020 by Clegg78 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted September 2, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted September 2, 2020 @Clegg78 - I don't have any insight or knowledge to share of Arizona or New Mexico but it sounds like a fun trip. I made it to Colorado for the first time a year ago with a buddy, we only rode a small portion of the SW corner of the state (Durango, Telluride and Rangely area) but it definitely made me want to return and explore further East. 😎👍 1 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member knyte Posted September 2, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Clegg78 said: And I personally love riding in the rain/cold weather! My MAN!! I find it refreshing. People look at me funny when I say this! Also...sounds like a fantastic trip you have planned. Take lots of pics! EDIT: OK just watched (most of) one of your vids (as much as work time will allow...). I guess 'take lots of pics' isn't something that I needed to say, lol. Those are some great edits there, I look forward to seeing more. Great choices in soundtrack, too. Question for you. I've done some GoPro stop motion too, with excellent results. I'm curious to know how you managed both storage and camera battery levels while on the highway. I mean, it's easy in a car, just connect the camera to a USB port. Bit more difficult on a bike. And yet, you seem to have different angles, as well as different media. Just curious as to your flow and data management. Edited September 2, 2020 by knyte 1 2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts: Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 3 minutes ago, knyte said: My MAN!! I find it refreshing. People look at me funny when I say this! Also...sounds like a fantastic trip you have planned. Take lots of pics! Yeah! I've had the same where people look at me like I am insane. Some of the best rides I've had have been in just epic downpours over mountain passes. I would take rain and cold over baking 110F riding in northern AZ any day 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, knyte said: My MAN!! I find it refreshing. People look at me funny when I say this! Also...sounds like a fantastic trip you have planned. Take lots of pics! EDIT: OK just watched (most of) one of your vids (as much as work time will allow...). I guess 'take lots of pics' isn't something that I needed to say, lol. Those are some great edits there, I look forward to seeing more. Great choices in soundtrack, too. Question for you. I've done some GoPro stop motion too, with excellent results. I'm curious to know how you managed both storage and camera battery levels while on the highway. I mean, it's easy in a car, just connect the camera to a USB port. Bit more difficult on a bike. And yet, you seem to have different angles, as well as different media. Just curious as to your flow and data management. Yeah about the camera! So I spent a long time trying to refine my GoPro game (and check out the other videos, the one going to Jerome AZ, and the One going around Grand Mesa are my favorite ones I've put together - the grand mesa one from 2015 specifically) I wrote up a few posts about hard wiring gopros on the bike, it really evolved over the years, and even involved me soldering up some controls/power to a camera in a hotel room on one of the trips! My Tracer, I have an Innovv K2 setup installed which is a dashcam style DVR with 2 cameras that record all the time while riding. Makes it a little less nuanced in terms of being able to turn the recording on and off when it makes sense, but works all the time. And the video quality/bitrate is higher than my GoPro Hero2's were. (which I still have but no use for right now). The latest iteration of what I used on my last bike: (I actually have this setup complete with the switch wiring harness, camera, case, etc... just sitting in a box). GoPro Camera hard wired charger and trigger V3 – Interwebs of Joe Finally hammering through a project I started earlier this year, but... Hotel room hacking: More GoPro hacking – wireless remote trigger – Interwebs of Joe In September 2012 I went on a motorcycle trip around the South... And the first GoPro Hack I did to power the camera from the bike: Interwebs of Joe My GoPro hard wire setup and remote trigger. I wanted a way to... And here is my new Innovv K2 setup with mounts and such I designed myself: 3D Printed Dashcam mount and Motorcycle parts – Interwebs of Joe So last fall I sold my trusty 2005 Triumph Sprint ST... Enjoy!! Edited September 2, 2020 by Clegg78 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angrygirafe Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Payson is nice if you want something a little cooler than Winslow. Payson to Camp Verde is from ~0:20 to 0:54 in this vid. Pretty pleasant. If you wanted to go farther south though, I’d go from Payson to the Roosevelt dam, then Globe, and then 60 back up to Show Low 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member knyte Posted September 2, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted September 2, 2020 (edited) @Clegg78 ah HAH I knew there was something custom in there haha thanks for that. I'm not surprised to hear that a moto-dashcam is part of it. Been looking at some, but it's hard to know what's too good and what's good enough. Funny how the Innovv K2 demo video shows it being installed onto a Tracer / FJ... Thanks for the abundance of info. Exactly what I was after. Really appreciate how you blogged it all in such great detail. Edited September 2, 2020 by knyte 2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts: Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tango Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 Sound like a great trip Joe... Nice website and great videos. Looking forward to seeing some Tracer GT videos. Ride safe. 2 Blue Lives Matter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 2, 2020 Author Share Posted September 2, 2020 51 minutes ago, angrygirafe said: Payson is nice if you want something a little cooler than Winslow. Payson to Camp Verde is from ~0:20 to 0:54 in this vid. Pretty pleasant. If you wanted to go farther south though, I’d go from Payson to the Roosevelt dam, then Globe, and then 60 back up to Show Low Already been down there! I love that area on the bike, and driving down that way. Winslow is just close to Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest NP which are 2 things I wanted to check out, Winslow itself is FAR from a destination I thought I would head toward for any other reason I would go to Camp Verde/Jerome/Prescott again if it wasn't a pandemic. But I agree, that area is legit awesome, 89A is a fantastic highway! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angrygirafe Posted September 2, 2020 Share Posted September 2, 2020 11 minutes ago, Clegg78 said: Already been down there! I love that area on the bike, and driving down that way. Winslow is just close to Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest NP which are 2 things I wanted to check out, Winslow itself is FAR from a destination I thought I would head toward for any other reason I would go to Camp Verde/Jerome/Prescott again if it wasn't a pandemic. But I agree, that area is legit awesome, 89A is a fantastic highway! I love your Los Alamos idea. I’ve only been through Santa Fe into Southwestern CO once on the bike, but I think I could spend some time tooling around that NW New Mexico, SW Colorado area. Curves for days! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 13, 2020 Author Share Posted September 13, 2020 I posted an update to my blog on this trip. The weather last week kind of concerned me. But new tires on on the bike and packing is almost done. I leave in 36 hours or so. Final Plans and Packing the bike – Interwebs of Joe In the last week or so I’ve been doing more passive planning than anything... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted September 13, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted September 13, 2020 8 hours ago, Clegg78 said: I posted an update to my blog on this trip. The weather last week kind of concerned me. But new tires on on the bike and packing is almost done. I leave in 36 hours or so. Final Plans and Packing the bike – Interwebs of Joe In the last week or so I’ve been doing more passive planning than anything... I love the anticipation right before a big trip. Have fun and stay safe. 👍 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 14, 2020 Author Share Posted September 14, 2020 Bike is all loaded up, and ready to rock. Its got dat Tracer lean going on I'll share some updates over the next 7 or 8 days on the ride here and on my blog @ Motorcycle Travel – Interwebs of Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clegg78 Posted September 15, 2020 Author Share Posted September 15, 2020 Day one in the bag, ~ 380 miles, and so far so good. A little rain over Red Mountain Pass (which makes it 3 for 3 for me riding over that pass and getting rained on), but overall a great day. Taking me a little bit to shake the dust off doing long distance riding on trips like this, and I need to remember to drink more water, and snack a bit more. (ohh and stop to take pictures more... I was 280 miles in before I took my first picture (The Innovv K2 took 115GB of video though!) Tomorrow down to Flagstaff and stop at the Petrified Forest National Park. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhchris Posted September 15, 2020 Share Posted September 15, 2020 Good for you!!! That pic is wonderful and 380 miles on day 1 is energetic to say the least. Take it easy and I hope you get a chance to stop n smell the roses along the way. You live in a GREAT area for riding. 1 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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