Thursday, September 24, 2009

Adventure Riders



I love reading http://www.advrider.com/ I love reading and watching traveling shows. Hell I never miss a Rick Steves program. I do kind of get turned off by the Eddie Bauer types and it may be a personal thing, I live in a very rural county in Southern Indiana, I grew up in a very Hilly hard to farm and live area of Kentucky. In both places I met people who moved there who treat the place like they are moving near uncivilized tribes and treat the rural community as such. Taking down and inviting their friends from the city to safely come view the locals in the habitat. These people usually dress the Eddie Bauer, (no offence, I am sure Eddie Bauer products are fine quality products,) lifestyle...you know the type...I am sure I dont have to ellaborate. Quite a few out of town dual sporters will travel to out county because of all the gravel roads we have...but occasionally we get the full tilt BMW GS rider packed for bear, standing next to his bike viewing the locals at the non-franchise grocery store, (if he only knew how fresh the beef was they sold...and organic....) standing there hands on hips, like he discovered the 4 way stop in East Enterprise...(ignoring the illegal immigrants on Chinese scooters)...and it gets my goat.


I like real adventure bikers like the one pictured above, guys who are touring on bikes because they don't know any better, they just love to tour and work with what the love or have. Not because they read reviews of products or they read on a forum that this is the bike and gear they need. Granted I am a nut for gear, because dammit those zombies are not going to kill themselves, but Geeze...Aluminum panniers, GPS and hydration systems...to travel 50 miles west of Cincinnati...


I like to travel. I like to go on missions. I try to live by the touring philosophy of high speed low drag. I like to get in and get out with as little collateral damage as possible. I sleep in fields and rest areas when I travel alone. I live on caffeine, jerky and whatever nutrients the gas stations offer at the counter. I am not going to insult or express a disbelief about how others live in different areas. This world has been inhabited for like a billions years now...people can survive anywhere. And do! I will adapt and overcome. My adventure will be mine, but not at the expense or exploitation of others.


Sorry just ranting to myself out loud. Here is a hot picture to make up for it. (a local girl I am sure...well she has to be from somewhere...)

6 comments:

  1. the photos alone on adventure rider a damn amzing. i've had a few customers post some gnarly rides on there.

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  2. Yeah I agree, lots of good stuff on advrider.com...the ride reports and joMamma is refreshing compared to what the mainstream press represents as the mainstream motorcyclist...but there are a trend of people who are only concerned about having the right brand name of gear and not the right gear.

    Yesterday when I was taking the blacksmith tools back to the Amish farrier, while stopped at the stop light I witnessed an "adventure rider" type, BMW GS loaded for bear wearing a bright yellow riding suit stripped to his waist standing in the store parking lot with his hands on his hips examining the area like he discovered Plymouth...gawd how i wish I had stopped and gotten a picture, but there was a break in the week long rain and I had a lot of miles to cover.

    Don't misunderstand me, I love Advrider.

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  3. hahaha, yeah, i've seen more than my fair share of that shit around here too. it makes me laugh when people come into my shop bragging about there trip "up north" and they weren't even 30 minutes from a major freeway.

    the coutry mile ride that was recently featured on a few blogs i frequent had a lot more badass factor to me than some dude covered from head to toe in aerostich aboard his GS on the way to alaska.

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  4. I don't think I seen the country mile ride...I usually work weird schedule so times I have lapses in time...I Rip Van Wrinkle as Tom Rose says.

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  5. I see you have the Donut Hole linked up there now, so you must have found it on there... Thx for the b falcs blog link too by the way.

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  6. Not a problem, I am liking this blogging thing!

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