| Author | Message | ||
     Okc99 |
I was on some state road near the border of OK and NM, and I had just realized it had been more than 1 hr since I had seen a car or a house. Honestly....I had never felt more weird in my life. I unique type of fear...like, "if I hit an armadillo and rolled the bike, no one would find me for days!". Let's hear your most surreal,isolated, prolific moment while riding | ||
| Ft_bstrd |
Natchez Trace Parkway between Kosciusko, MS and Nashville. I went for 2 hours one night and didn't see another soul. It was pitch black with low ditches. I could have rolled into the ditch and no one would have known where the hell I was. | ||
| Florida_lime |
Somewhere in the Sierra Nevada mountains -- hadn't seen anyone for several hours. Road was closed, with barricades and 4 feet of snow. Didn't have enough gas to turn back, so I pushed the bike through until I eventually made my way back to civilization. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
Wenatchee back woods scrub, following a DRZ400 down a rail way cause way. If I got hit by a train, it I felt it wouldnt even make the news... Later that afternoon, fried the clutch and got buzzed by a Sheriff Helicopter looking for Bud Fields. I am sure they radiod BNRR cops about our antics.... Lesson learned, Easy for DRZ is a work out for the CityX | ||
| Choyashi |
We would ride our motorcycles through this underground storm drain that ran for about a quarter mile under this shopping center. It was back when you could still turn your lights on and off. We would all turn our lights off except the leader. The walls felt like they were closing in on you. Half way through the floor went up about a foot and your helmet would be just inches from the ceiling. The echo from the motors was terrible, and we would do this stoned!! The place is still there if anyone comes through Dallas I'll take you there. Except, I can't smoke anymore because my company drug tests! OH, Sorry, you said on a ULY....My Bad...! (Message edited by choyashi on December 24, 2008) | ||
| Choyashi |
Ok, heres ULY surreal...... My wreck this Summer. I remember the loud crashing noise as my helmet slammed into the pavement. Then the next thing I remember is I'm standing wiggling my foot and moving my arm to see if I had broken anything. I don't remember sliding, stopping, or getting up!! That's weird......... (Message edited by choyashi on December 24, 2008) (Message edited by choyashi on December 24, 2008) | ||
| Jre |
Ride Alaska, brings a new meaning to isolation. Last summer I did a trip up to the 66.33 mark(Arctic Circle). Man you talk about nothing! from Camp Yukon River to the AC...NOTHING! Any and all directions. Beautiful Country, truly seeing the Works of God! It was early Fall/ late Summer and the Fireweed's were displaying their brilliant red as far as the eye can see. Just space. In all the openness, I never had any ill feelings about anything. Rolling across the mighty Yukon on a wooden plank bridge. to walking out to Finger Rock, just room to breath. For any of you guys that have the means, this is a 'life list' state to ride. (The military got me up here) I've tried to post pix,but they keep getting denied by the BW server. | ||
| Jphish |
Trip through the NWT & Yukon. Riding the undulating Canadian shield landscape, avoiding bears, woods buffalo and other large antlered or fanged creatures. You're in their back yard, and they're higher up on the foodchain, better learn how to peacefully share it. 150+ mi between fuel stops and only 87 gas available, very few vehicles...wonderfully mesmerizing zen experience. | ||
| Babired |
Riding home from work on 95 on 9-11-2001 It was scary the traffic was very light. I'll never forget that day. K | ||
| Dnveloman |
This one may suck compared the stories riding in the wide open West... I do most of my riding in VT and NH... There have been a couple of times that I've been traveling on Rt 100 in VT that ended up being epic rides. Rt 100 is mostly dense forest and ravines. My brother and I were headed through this high portion of Moose country when this nasty T-Storm crept over the ridge and let micro bursts loose on us. The water in the road was quickly 4" deep as trees were blowing down around us- lightning striking every where. The only choice was to keep riding- no where to turn off, no where to hide. Probably the most tense riding ever-- but exhilarating... Fast forward a year later when I was two up with my wife on the same stretch of highway and DARK clouds started moving in-- I'm like, "Not again!" I don't know about you, but when my wife is on he back I don't relax quite as much-- always worried about her safety. So, we were chased by these clouds for about 5 miles. Finally, we came to a little town. I asked a farmer on his porch, "Any way to go straight East?"... (we would have been stuck on 100N for another 25 miles) He said, "Not on that!" "Try me," I said. He pointed to a little dirt road that disappeared into the woods on a ridge about a mile away. Well... let’s do it! I start heading up this road that climbed and climbed and narrowed and narrowed... Remember-- this is two up... Next think I know, I'm about 1K' higher and looking West and down as this T-Storm obliterates the valley. We kept going.. now down... and now on a jeep road (not dirt- JEEP). Then the skies started getting bluer and the rode wider... then pavement... then another highway. That ride was one of my best "Adventures." For those that say the Uly doesn't do everything... and well... B@#$ me. | ||
| Thunderbox |
This one time at Band Camp....... | ||
| Glen |
ive been in isolation on my DRZ so many times i dont even think think about it anymore...middle of nowere on a snowmobile trail in the middle of summer gets a fella thinkin lol.  | ||
| Johnnylunchbox |
I'm not a particularly religious chap, but in 2005 I was riding up in Nova Scotia. It was around Lunenberg and it was a Christmas tree forest. Christmas trees as far as the eye could see in every direction. I was giving thanks in my head to experience such beauty. Then a random thought popped into my head "God giveth and God taketh away." I called my parents that evening. They'd had been stopping by my house and feeding the cats. My favorite tabby never made it home that evening, and I never saw him again. I'm 95% sure a coyote got him. | ||
| Skinstains |
I can't wait to do my North American loop this summer. I want to meet this Zen guy too. | ||
| Okc99 |
Keep them coming.....more surreal moments | ||
| Hooper |
Tons of great adventures, especially on random dirt roads that I see and say, "wonder where THAT goes." But I'm with Choyashi...it has to be my deer crash (which could also count as my most surreal moment OFF the Uly): I'm just cruising along, fingertips are freezing. I see a "flock" of deer dash out of some trees and into the road. Everything gets weird in my head at this point, but I do remember thinking that I wouldn't be surprised if I just BARELY missed them - zipping in between - coming out safe the other side with a great story to tell later (I have a pretty good lucky streak in general). But then the one slipped and fell on its stomach. I saw the tire hit the body, then nothing. All of that was in about one second - no chance to brake. Then, I regain awareness, feeling myself slowing down, sliding on my back, head first. Then, once stopped, telling myself to stand up and deny any possibility that I was injured (which I basically was not, so maybe it worked - dumb, I know). Turning around as everything started to become real-time again, seeing the deer on the side of the road up from me, and seeing my Uly down from me, also on the side. And then the frustration and disbelief that I could have hit a DEER! An accident so early in my riding career?!?! I was so...ANNOYED. It's so odd how your brain shuts down and keeps you from remembering traumatic events. Hope everyone gets a relaxing day off with family, friends, and bikes tomorrow, wherever you are - US, Europe, Iraq, Afghanistan, Down Under... (Message edited by Hooper on December 24, 2008) | ||
| Paul56 |
25 or so years ago my buddy and I were on an organized weekend ride put on by Hutchins H-D of 29 Palms, Ca. We had been riding all day and passed through N Las Vegas around sunset. He never wanted to stop anywhere that he had to pay to stay, so we kept going N on Nev95 toward Beatty. Seems like we rode for hours. Our universe was reduced down to a pale yellow pool of light shining on the pavement ahead of us, the only measure of progress was the steady march of broken white lines. So black and featureless (no man-made lights, no moon, no traffic) it was eerie. Finally on the horizon an oasis of light came into view. There was gas, a restaraunt and what I now think was a brothel! We got gas (only) and pressed on for a while before pulling off the road in the middle of nowhere. We spread a tarp across the bikes to make a lean-to against the wind then sacked out in our sleeping bags. Woke a few hours later to the sound of motorcycles on the ride roaring past on the highway about a hundred feet away. Surreal ride. | ||
| Jlnance |
Making it through Wyoming was one. Even though it was interstate, it felt like a tremendous accomplishment. Surviving Kansas and riding into Colorado was another. Riding into Death Valley was probably the most alone I've ever been. It was beautiful in a scary sort of way. But the most surreal was probably riding out of Death Valley into Las Vegas. There is absolutely nothing on that road. You are truly alone. And you can't see Vegas, because it's in a valley. Then all of a sudden you cross over the top of a mountain and there is Vegas spread out before you. You go from totally alone and isolated to huge city. It's a cool feeling. | ||
| Nutsosane |
Surprising my Dad with my new Uly on my first visit to Deals Gap. Jinance and I pulled up on two black Uly's and it took an hour to convince my Pop it wasn't a rental. I also met Ferris the day before and hauled two tires to give to TankBueller on the Uly Tripletail. Helluva 24 hours! NUTS | ||
| Tootal |
I've had a few surreal moments while riding but the thread says, "on a Uly" so the only one on the Uly that I can think of is while riding a jeep trail from Ouray Colorado to Lake City over Engineer Pass. I was going into a hairpin in first gear at over 10,000 feet. I went high through the berm where the bike was parallel with gravity. I had twisted the throttle for all it was worth but I was below 3000 rpm's which means no power. I could feel the bike starting to fall over,(not a good thing considering the reason I went high on the berm was because of the large rocks below me), and everything went into slow motion. When I realized the severity of the situation my dirt bike reflexes kicked in and I feathered the clutch and pulled a sideways wheelie and completed the turn unscathed. That slow motion feeling always stays with you almost like Deja Vu. | ||
| Conchop |
Today - the perfect wheelie- right in front of the Harley shop. Perfect control, high, and long. Not quite, but almost as good as a good horse. | ||
| Tootal |
Wow, a perfect wheelie story, I like it. I would have included one of those but it was on a Cagiva and not the Uly. Ok, too bad, I'm telling it anyway. At a bar to meet a friend. Couple of beers later I leave. Outside is two rows of people with Harleys doing burnouts right between the two rows. I jumped on the Cagiva and got in line. When it was my turn everybody started laughing. I took off slowly, to more boo's and then feathered the clutch and cranked the throttle and lofted a big wheelie right down the row. For some reason I tried shifting to second and it kept going so I shifted to third and kept going right out of the parking lot. I had never done that before and have never done it since but it was COOL! | ||
| Jammin_joules |
Picture? Thousand words?  | ||
| Conchop |
Wheeies can be akin to a religious experience, that is, unless, you flip out. | ||
| Conchop |
Excuse me - WHEELIES | ||
| Tootal |
Nice shot Dave, looks like Old Monarch Pass in Colorado. Wheelies are like BB guns, it's all fun and games till somebody looses an eye, or the skin off their keester!  | ||
| Etennuly |
I was riding at night on a back road not too far from home. I saw a bright light from above. Next thing I know I am at home in bed and my butt feels wrong. S'pose it was an alien adventure?  Maybe it was really late getting home from a really long ride and the last thing I recall was hi beams from a truck coming towards me as I neared my driveway, and I was just so tired that is all I could remember.  | ||
| Jre |
I checked my house thermometer, it read's -21. So I pushed the Uly out started her, and let her sit for a short spell, then I remembered, I can't ride till late April, maybe even May, and the 2+ feet of snow standing in my yard, and the ice covered roads. To all who can ride year round, enjoy it. As for motorcycles, AK winter's SUCK B@LLS. African Proverb 'All sunshine makes a desert'. | ||
| Okc99 |
Jammin, where was that pic taken? |
