big-t Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Day 6 Liberal Ks to Trinidad Co Trying to outrun the morning sun. Wildlife started appearing,I had seen plenty so far,but this section had an overabundance.Ringneck pheasants were all over the road,As I approached they would take off in a flurry of wings and then glide into the neighboring fields,out of camera range.Lots of jack rabbits and other birds for many miles. Pronghorns started showing up,but usually were out of my camera range,but I caught a few. At one point I felt like I was being watched... Glad I'm not going that direction Nothing out here.........I love it Somewhere in one of the Okla sections I ran into sand dunes,just a small section,much like you see on the shoreline at Cape Hatteras.They look to be only 12 feet high and all at odd angles.This is where I came as close to losing it as anywhere on the trip.I was in two track just bopping along, enjoying the day when I hit this dune.All of a sudden I'm in a horrific tankslapper in a foot deep sand rut. Out of control and being thrown about the bike.I think I came very close to pulling the muscles in my right arm as it hurt like the devil afterwards.Clutch in resolved the problem,the sand was so deep it just stopped the bike instantly.What a relief,a bit of clutch smoke and dog paddling I was over it. Sand dunes in the middle of Oka....what the....sorry no pics My boots were nice and shiny by the time I cleared this section. Dinner was excellent,in case you want to make the run... Housing is cheap.. and the road goes on... FINALLY..........out of Okla. The scenery starts to change.. Masked stranger and the road goes on... Housing has changed Wow...now we have hills and now different colors in the hills but the road goes on... Now,another question why is this little piece of road paved,out here in the middle of nowhere and no visible signs of any buildings or people. Probably the result of another porkbarrel project And then out of nowhere a steep climb with sharp switchbacks........hoo..ray finally some real excitement The view from the top,wondering how long that road has been there.Maybe the early pioneers cut it to get their wagons thru.......... Or maybe some guy with a bulldozer needed a short cut.... I traveled this section for close to 120 miles without seeing another person or vehicle.Not a great place to break something. The obligatory restored jail pic. More later Link to comment
Bob Palin Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Great story - keep repeating to self, "I do not need to leave Torrey, I do not need..." Now,another question why is this little piece of road paved,out here in the middle of nowhere and no visible signs of any buildings or people. Probably the result of another porkbarrel project It's in the low spot, I bet it gets flooded every year and they got tired of the road being washed out. There's also that muddy are to the left of the road, maybe they load cattle at that point and that was destroying the dirt road. Link to comment
Charles Elms Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 I'd love to see a map of your trip. Tracklog will do just fine! Link to comment
sebjones906 Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 What was the first day, the date, you left????????? Link to comment
big-t Posted October 3, 2008 Author Share Posted October 3, 2008 What was the first day, the date, you left????????? Firstt day on the trail was Sept.19 It's in the low spot, I bet it gets flooded every year and they got tired of the road being washed out. There's also that muddy are to the left of the road, maybe they load cattle at that point and that was destroying the dirt road. Maybe,I don't remember seeing any gates thru the fence,but there is a stock watering tank in that area. I'll see if I can come up with something that shows my route. Link to comment
Crazy_Canuck Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 Cool ride tale...Thanks for sharing. Link to comment
questrider Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 This ride tale has been excellent! I have read about and drooled over this "trail" for years. Thanks for letting me vicariously tag along on a virtual journey. Now,another question why is this little piece of road paved,out here in the middle of nowhere and no visible signs of any buildings or people. Probably the result of another porkbarrel project It's in the low spot, I bet it gets flooded every year and they got tired of the road being washed out. There's also that muddy are to the left of the road, maybe they load cattle at that point and that was destroying the dirt road. That's a perfectly rational and functional reason, however, why paint lines on it? I guess it's so when it does get flooded, you can still see the road under the water a little bit by following the lines? I had to do that a few times a few weeks ago when our area was severly flooded from Ike heading north. If I could still see the lines then I knew it wasn't deep enough to tempt a stall. Link to comment
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