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My most recent Ride: BunBurner #8 (Gold) "Out & Back"

BunBuner #7 (Silver) "Whitewater" 2024-10-25

Ray's Iron Butt Rides

Another Iron Butt ride in the bag. This makes twelve for this year (and fifteen total - so far). 2024-10-13 "Spaceship"
2024-10-07 Training ride. The bike got 68 mpg on this five hour ride, and used 2.0 gallons of gas. Map I'm keeping track of the fuel mpg because the bike doesn't have a fuel level gauge, and want to do longer trips. These training rides use less than a full tank of gas, so no fill-ups required mid trip. Still, it's pretty amazing that I can ride five hours on one tank of gas and then some.

The Saddle Mountain loop I did today (Map) is part of the NMBDR and it's classed as "easy" but I have tried it twice before on the Dakar and haven't been able able to punch thru. So it's not so easy. Today I did, but it took all the skill I could muster. It brings to mind the differences in skill levels of different riders. Some people struggle while others flow - mainly the ones who have been riding dirt bikes and enduro motorcycles most of their lives. I'm not an advanced off-road rider by any means, but I'm working on it.

PS:Just discovered the rear wheel bearings are cooked (2 of 4). That might account for the low gas mileage on yesterdays ride. (Bearings subsequently replaced 10-16)

2024-10-02 Training ride, 89.9 miles. The bike used 1-1/8 gallons and got 80 mpg. Map
2024-10-02. I'm having a lot of fun riding around New Mexico.
2024-09-23 Traning ride on Luna Rd; 115 miles. The bike got 80 mpg - mostly off road but also a bunch of high-speed highway.
2024-09-20 Training Run. Luna Rd-Reserve-Luna East. 4.25 hours, 114 miles.
I like to work on things, so when I bought this old truck for cheap, I went to work on it.
The truck is put back together, and loaded with my daily fence building equipment. I used the 75 pound jackhammer almost every day this summer.
We drove to Colorado and picked up a motorcycle, then I started doing a bunch of Iron Butt rides. These rides lasted all spring, until Jenny left for her Pyrenees hike.
whenever I buy a vehicle, of course I have to take it apart - to fix or add things.
We live and work in the boonies, and this is my favorite photo from my trail-cam. Pronghorn standing in front of my fence.
With Jenny hiking in the Pyrenees, I worked on my fence project every day. Here I'm tightening a length of fence with a come-along tied to the truck.
We have fifteen chickens and they are all pets. The money from selling the eggs doesn't even begin to cover the expenses because they are spoiled rotten and get lots of fresh produce.
Jenny spent three weeks in the Pyrenees. Here she is hiking with her legs wrapped to cover the dogs bites.
The first two dog bites sent her to the hospital. A week later, the third dog bite sent her home.
I have to dig the post holes with the jackhammer because the ground is hard and rocky. My hat is covered with sticky fly paper to cull the biting flies.
We dug the corner posthole extra deep.
The cows had trampled the fence at the corner, so we're replacing the post with a stronger one.
Jenny's garden
This is one of my two motorcycles: my BMW G650 X-Challenge, aka "Ray's Hot-Rod." (I sold the K-bike last year, and my beloved F650 Dakar wore-out, so I'm parting it out.) The X-Challenge has become pretty much a cult bike with a small but ardent following. It's so lightweight and powerful that it's more for the advanced rider; but it's so reliable. When I first bought the bike, years ago, it was customized to the hilt with farkles. But I removed and sold all the accessories and returned the bike to factory specs. However, I kept the Wilbers rear shock, but I also completely re-did the wiring. I just put a new rear tire on it (new rear TCK-80, and a well-used front Dunlop D606), and here I'm cleaning the chain. Not many like the 606 but it's my favorite front tire. It wanders all over the place in sand, but its just trying to find the best line; so it requires a loose grip. Give that and it flies. Note: I don't like my bikes to shout out for attention; I make them look more plain Jane.

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July 2024: I just finished an interview for a Japanese magazine on the subject of thru-hiking (Long Hiking) with some photos. Here is the link.

Putting the phone down

Ray's Cannonball Run
Coast to Coast in 42.5 hrs

  Date Link Map Miles Time
#17 2024-11 BunBurner #8 (Gold) "Out & Back" Map 1,511 miles 23 hrs 38 min
#16 2024-10 BunBurner #7 (Silver) "Whitewater" Map 1,504 miles 24 hrs 30 min
#15 2024-10 SaddleSore #8 "Spaceship" Map 1,014 miles 19 hrs 6 min
#14 2024-09 SaddleSore #7 "DuckPond" Map 1,017 miles 19 hrs 48 min
#13 2024-06 BunBurner #6 (Silver) "Triceratops" Map 1,505 miles 24 hrs 17 min
#12 2024-06 SaddleSore #6: 50CC Map 1,015 miles 19 hrs 02 min
#11 2024-05 Cannonball 50CC Map 2,360 miles 42.5 hrs
#10 2024-05 BunBurner #5 (Gold) 50CC Map 1,501 miles 23 hrs 10 min
#9 2024-05 BunBurner #4 (Gold) "Route 66" Map 1,506 miles 23 hrs 4 min
#8 2024-05 SaddleSore #5 "Flying Saucer Repair" Map 1,006 miles 19 hrs 10 min
#7 2024-04 SaddleSore #4 "UFO" Map 1,043 miles 19 hrs 6 min
#6 2024-04 SaddleSore #3 "TrailBoss" Map 1,015 miles 18 hrs 37 min
#5 2024-03 BunBurner #3 (Gold) "Wapiti" Map 1,504 miles 23 hrs 19 min
#4 2024-02 BunBurner #2 (Gold) "Kingman" Map 1,504 miles 23 hrs 13 min
#3 2023-12 SaddleSore #2 "San Diego Express" Map 1,148 miles 22 hrs 50 min
#2 2023-11 BunBurner #1 (Bronze) "Holbrook" Map 1,537 miles 33 hrs 23 min
#1 2019-12 SaddleSore #1 "Winter Solace" Map 1,010 miles 17 hrs 40 min
Parting out the Dakar

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WIRED 2024, Vol 52

Interview with Ray Jardine

Ray Jardine is revered as the "father" of ultralight hiking, where equipment is reduced to the utmost lowest weight in units of 1g, and long trails in the wilderness are walked for months. His unique methodology, Ray-Way, is based on the premise of making your own equipment. In order to take a fresh look at the primordial relationship between humans, clothing, and nature, WIRED's Head of Editorial Content headed to the land of New Mexico, where Ray lived.

Story Here


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A Quick Rundown of Ray's Books

New Book
Coppermine Quest
350 new photos
Read it for free, here on my website.

(2023-05, Still going strong after 30 years in business, Jenny takes another batch of packages to the PO. Thank you - one and all - for your support!

Now for Sale: Our NEW Blood Cleaner, the BC-500

  • Circuity completely revised with new components.
  • Uses 50% of the power as the 300, so your battery lasts longer.
  • Pile-drives the current deeper into your skin, to better reach the radial artery.
  • Has a power switch (Nominal to Turbo) to increase the voltage by 200%.
  • Same size as the BC-300.
BC-500  Order your BC-500 Here 

23 BC-500 prototypes, each with different values.
BC-500 Turbo Switch

The new BC-500 is the result of months of work. I revised the circuity, completely, with new components and a brand new layout. The circuity alone took me two months, to get just right - and so that it would fit onto the same size 300 board.

I figured out how to run the Blood Cleaner on half the voltage. So that's what the new circuity is for. And the Turbo switch doubles it.

In addition, we have improved the design of the BC probes wrappers. They now have a double layer on one side (as before), and a single layer on the other side - for people with less skin resistance.

Most people will set the switch to the left, the "Normal Use" setting. That uses less power, and prolongs the battery. If you turn the dial all the way, and still can't feel the tingling, try setting the switch to the right, the "Turbo" mode. Also, the BC-500 makes nano-silver faster in the Turbo mode.

Whatever the switch setting, the idea is to turn the dial until you feel the tingling, indicating that the electrical current is penetrating the skin and going down to the nerves. Because the radial artery is so close under the skin, in that area of the wrist underside, then it's also going into the artery.

By the same token, if you don't feel the tingling, then the current is not penetrating the skin, and not going down into the nerves, and it's not cleaning the blood. However, don't set the dial too high, to a painful level; because too much current can burn the skin.

The "Normal Use" setting and the "Turbo" mode, and the single and double layers of the BC probes wrappers, are meant to accommodate a wide range of skin conductance. Some people have thicker skin. But the main factor is your body hydration. If you are well hydrated, by drinking lots of water, you will require much less current. OR, if your body hydration is low, the BC will take much more current to drive the electrical pulse into your artery.

The tingling of the Blood Cleaner is killing pathogens in the blood, and those dead pathogens are swept into the kidneys for filtration. The kidneys then excrete the dead pathogens into the urine. So that's why it's so important to drink lots of water when using the Blood Cleaner.

 

Northern Paddling Adventures
Ten Thousand Miles
Sea-Kayaking and Canoeing in the Far North

We have eighteen chickens. They are all pets. Each one has a different personalty, and they are so much fun!

Tarp Pitching

On Sale Trail Life and Tarp Book Essential (both books purchased together for less than $15 each).

Trail-Life Now Shipping! This is the original version, not a revised one. Same size, same great information, same photos but the photos are grayscale this time, not color (The cover is still color).
Trail Life  Order the book Here 

Trail Life history

We had fun revamping Trail Life for this printing. We didn't want to print the book in color this time because of the expense. A person might think that taking the color out of the pages would be easy, but every photo had to be reworked, and every illustration. And the new book is 1/4 inch shorter, so we had to give the book a slightly new layout.

We adhered to the original text, tempting though it was to revise. For after all, we have hiked many thousands of miles since we wrote the fist edition in 2008. But original text is still pretty good, we think. The basic concepts have not changed. And some of these concepts in Trail Life are still pretty advanced for most readers, even today.

As such, we recommend everybody read this new printing. It has a new feel to it; its easier to read; and a person could still learn a lot.

Ray's Books & Vids

Ray & Jenny's Life 'o Adventure

Recommended Reading

Pearl Four (AT#1) Ray's tenth book - a Blast from the Past; the story of our first thru-hike of the AT, in 1993.

Global Voyage In the early 80's Jenny and I sailed our ketch "Suka" Around the World. The three-years journey was our favorite trip of all. Story has 774 photos.

Extreme Fun Book about Skiing to the South Pole.

Flight of the Errant Torpedoes One of my favorite trip adventures.

Cruising The Cardon Coast


Adventures in Argentina 140 photos of mountain climbing, 2007.

Avoiding Ticks

Bicycling the TransAmerica Trail The TransAmerica Trail is a great trip, and for anyone looking for something to do this summer, I recommend it.

Canoeing the Coppermine River via Pikes Portage Northern Paddling Adventure #8: Yellowknife to Arctic Ocean; 39 days, 960 miles, Jul-Aug 2005. Essay has 350 photos.

Section Hiking the Appalachian Trail

Canoeing the Kazan River Northern paddling Adventure #7: Kasba Lake to Baker Lake; 25 days, 560 miles, Jul 2001. Essay has 157 photos.

Motorcycling California's Mountains & Coast

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