"15" tear-down, getting ready to sell it, but doing a bunch of work so the new owner doesn't have to take to the dealer for scheduled maintenance. Whoever buys this bike will get a real gem.

New Fork Seals for the "15"

Spending so much time outdoors, I have seen lots of UFOs in the nighttime sky. And during my last ride "Recycled Roadrunner" I saw another one. It was football-shaped and bright blue with a dull white aurora around it. Size very large and moving only slowly. I don't think it was alien, but rather human made with advanced technology perhaps. It didn't look like a meteor, because of the slow speed. And it wasn't high in the sky, but maybe 15 degrees above the horizon - and bright enough to catch my attention from the left side of the bike.

Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird

I'm pretty certain that humans have made some astounding spacecraft not yet revealed to the public. The SR-71 Blackbird was designed and built in the late 1950s by Lockheed's Skunk Works at Area 51; and I doubt that those engineers and their successors have been sitting on their laurels over the past sixty years. I'm an ex-aerospace engineer myself, and I know that those people were pretty driven - not for personal gain but mainly to advance the technology. Witness what Space-X engineers have accomplished over the last decade. These people are driven. It's pure pandemonium at the company during every Starship launch.

Space-X engineers

Note: I'm leading up to what I think the current drone sightings are, and why I think they have become more active. More to come . . .

I received a letter from BMW Motorrad advising a warranty recall on the drive shaft of my 2025 R1200GSA. I will be selling the bike, but figured I'll have that job done, so the buyer doesn't have to deal with it. Besides, I was itching to go for a ride. So yesterday (2024-12-13) I rode the bike 3.5 hours in the freezing cold (22° F) to the Sandia BMW in Albuquerque. I hadn't been in a motorcycle shop for the last ten years - to save money; and I like to do the work myself. But this job was free, and needed to be done. (They install a vent on the drive shaft tunnel, and install a new drive shaft with new U-joints)

The staff was very friendly and welcoming (I had made an appointment) and the job took about 1.5 hours. That that done, the shop workers actually washed the bike (!) while the Customer Service Clerk advised me of three problems they had found. The main one was that one of the front forks was leaking. He offered in a rather urgent tone that forks needed replacing, and that they could do the job for about $3,000 (plus labor).

That is why I don't like to go into BMW motorcycle shops, but this time I'm glad I did because the Service Clerk also said that my rear brake pads had less than 1 mm of meat on them. Oops!! I had neglected to check. So back home I replaced the pads in 10 minutes of work. I use these Chinese aftermarket brake pads because I've found that they work just as good and last about as long.

The leaking front fork? Trivial. I will do the job in 1.5 hours using aftermarket seals at a cost of $20 plus a quart of fork oil.

The third problem was a mismatch of tires - with an off road tire on the front, and a highway tire on the rear. Not good, he said - and yes, he offered to sell me new tires. I don't consider my Heidenau K60 Scout front an off0road tire, and with the type of riding I do - with a very conservative approach - that sort of mismatch makes no difference. And I save money by buying tires online and mounting them myself.

I'm glad I went to the BMW dealer, for the work they did and the advice they gave. But as always, I think for myself rather than let the experts do the bulk of my thinking.

"Hey, Ray and Jenny— Here is my piece (Backpacker magazine) on your lives and our day together in late January. I wish we would have had more time to speak and to fact-check it together, but I certainly understand reaching an endpoint with questions from a pesky reporter. I have tried to make it as accurate and as possible after reading most everything about you two that exists. I hope it is clear from this piece that I am profoundly inspired by your individual and shared adventures and the work that you have done to make climbing and hiking better and more accessible for so many. You two are about the coolest couple I know. Thanks for the time together. It was my pleasure. Take care and speak in the future, I hope. All my best" — Grayson Haver Currin

I was perusing the want adds and found what looked like a great deal - a 2016 BMW R1200 GSA, one year newer than my current 2015 R1200, with far less mileage, at a very low price. Right away I emailed the seller, then made arrangements to travel to his house and have a look. Early next morning found Jenny and me driving 4.5 hours to meet the sellers. The people were very nice, and the bike looked good. So I bought it and rode it 4.5 hours back home, in the freezing cold, with Jenny following along in her car. In the next few days I plan to remove all the farkles from my current bike "15", install them on this new-to-me bike "16", and put the "15" up for sale. Then I plan an extensive go through on the "16" and preform its much needed maintenance.

The bike switch is matter of economics. I log so much mileage on my bikes, but can't afford to put too much mileage on any one - because the higher the mileage, the lower the resale value.

Kudos to Jenny for driving me around so much. She's the best wife ever!

The "16" and "15" in my shop. (Jenny named the bikes)

My most recent Ride: Nov 25, 2024 - "Recycled Roadrunner"

Ray's Iron Butt Rides

Jenny making bolsters for Ray-Way Kife Kits. The knife kits are a popular item. They make good gifts, and we sell lots during the Christmas holidays.

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.

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.

Ray's Cannonball Run
Coast to Coast in 42.5 hrs

Parting out the Dakar

A Quick Rundown of Ray's Books

(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!

Northern Paddling Adventures

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 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.