cowpuc

Starts on the Saturday of the first full week of August each year and runs thru the week.. This years start date is the 4th of August..

Treasures abound on the floor of a really good Wyoming Gun Range and this one clearly proved this to be so!! A few days later and my Grandsons and Son In Law would be sitting around at a table in California taking their best shot (pun intended) at guessing the Caliber of each of these treasures as they dismantled them.. Even later than that, after we returned to Michigan the only child that I have that has real interest in the art of shooting, my youngest daughter, would give me a "high five" and a huge AWESOME DAD as it became clear to her just exactly what my twisted creative mind had come home with this time = SHE LOVED THIS TREASURE!! See if you recognize the caliber any of these empties!!!!

While the area where our tent would soon reside and sleepy eyes would soon meet with the sweet dreams that only a long hard day in the saddle can produce did not produce and cowpuc for me to step it, it did produce a lop eared varmint for me to yak with just before bedtime..

Having gotten caught in the mountains during a healthy rain in the past,, we pretty much knew it wasnt something we were looking forward to.. That said, the search for somewhere or something to hide our little blue motel under for the night was on!! There are no abandoned gas station overhangs, no bridges or barns up here - only miles and miles of twisty, slippery roads to contend with.. Then,, all of sudden,, out of nowhere appears the PERFECT mountain camping spot!!

Mean while,, back in the Wyoming part of the Flaming Gorge,,,, you better run and hide ya lop eared varmint = here comes the mountain rain!! WHERE YA GONNA CAMP NOW MR. SMARTY PANTS?

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW was our new friend Glen Miller's advice on CTFW thru the Flaming Gorge SPOT ON!!

and the bottom of her iron skillet rust free

Back in '14 Tip went on and on and on about Tweeks and I finding her some Elk... We search all over the country - from Michigan to the west coast.. Then, suddenly, out of no where out on the Loneliest Hi Way In America (50) up on a place called Connors Pass a group of Cow Elks brought Tweeks to a near halt as they crossed in front of her - then a great big Bull Elk CHARGED us and came so close Tip could have reached out and touched his horns.. Because of that experience, when Tip started with the "I HAVE to see Antelope on this ride" I told her to never mind with the hoping to see animals routine = to late,, like her sister, Tweeksis picked right up on Tips wishes and POOF!! These strange animal encounters have GOT to cease!!!

Bonding with new friends the age old biker way!!! Out here in the real touring world - it doesnt matter what kind of scoot you ride,, we all wave at each other enthusiastically = its the Code!!

Making new friends is ALWAYS the greatest treasure of all when it comes to CTFW!! We met Glen at the Independence Rock and really enjoyed our instant comaradity.. After this recording, Glen told us about a ride that he knew of down in the south west corner of Wyoming that would lead us into Colorado and Utah before returning us back into Wyoming - known as the Flaming Gorge area. A ride suggestion that we would follow up on = resulting in us making another friendship with another person we would meet after we slept in a lean-to on a gun range who would tell us of another ride that we ended up taking advantage of.. Sorry,, getting ahead of myself,,,, WOW,, what an AMAZING trip = hard not to!!!

No problem to big, no problem to small to overcome!! The modern way of maintaining your water supply when out CTFW in the hot, dry, arrid regions of our great west!!

The sunshine is so intense out west that you can get sunburned even in the shade of the Independence Rock... Can you imagine what it was like for those early settlers who set out to set up new lives in these areas? WOW = JUST AMAZING!!:usa:

The hows n whys.... Want to learn how to be an effective motorcycle tent camper? Its easy,, just do the complete opposite of what I do

Searching for that lost hat in the middle of the night in the middle of the State of Wyoming was exhausting!! After relocating the lost treasure, I told Tip that I thought it was time to toss the tent down and look for that perfect spot to camp.. I no sooner got the words out of my mouth than there,, off in the distance I spotted the soothing, gentle flashing lights of yet another Cowboy Campground:

Awe,,thanks Jack!!! You sound like my Grandson out in California.. I dont get to see him very much but this trip he and I were sitting in Leatherby's eating ice cream after playing around looking at the new Aprilla's and Guzzis at the shop in Elk Grove and he was telling how much my youtube videos meant to him.. I promised him I would keep em going just for him.. Now I find out that my buddy Condor is right there too!! Been CTFW around upper Michigan the last couple days here, finishing off that #3 tire I spooned on out there in Wilton California just before we left so I fell behind on getting the vids up,, hope you enjoy this next batch brother!! By the way,, there are some coming that I KNOW you will LOVE!! Involving sleeping in gun ranges, shopping at place called "Scheels" (WOW!!!!) and all that... Keep a weathered eye out brother!! THANKS BOB = RIGHT BACK AT CHA MY BROTHER!! BUSTED!!!!!!!!!!! I gotta hunch that only YOU noticed that - YOU got an attention to detail like no other!! ROCK N ROLL BONGO!!:dancefool:

RIGHT BACK AT CHA MY BROTHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup: Was just telling Tip that,, ohhhh how I wish you was hitting the big Rally again this year = spoof has it that the new one is gonna be there for test riding,,, I got GREAT plans for doing the research there that I couldnt/didnt do in New York back in June!! Knowing the rally,, I gotta hunch that the Yam Shop lot will be pretty vacant of riders as, as both of us know, most of those attendees wont even acknowledge a metric,, much less be caught test riding one.. My twisted way of thinking says that THIS rally will be the place to do some real research! Gonna haul my heat gauge along and, of course, my CAMERA to record my findings.. Having high hopes of doggin that great big coffee can piston v-twin down to say,, 35 mph in top gear and then wick er up and see what happens.. Then go back to the same location with Tweeks loaded up fully and Tip on the back and do the same thing to compare.... Ya know what,, thinking about this,, maybe I should just wait and hook up with your new neighbor.. Come camp in your front yard for a couple days and get some REAL research done PLUS get to meet this neighbor of yourn!! Can ya tell your ol buddy is feeling a little better? Love ya Neil!! Puc

Personally I still think someone,, Arlen Ness?, from Polaris jumped ship and sprinkled some Victory pixie dust on Mom Yam or something... That thing sure looks more Victoryish than Yamaha to these ol Cowpuc eyes!! I am hoping to do EXACTLY what @CMCOFFEY suggested and gonna take Tweeksis in all her glory and park er right out front of the Yam Shop in Sturgis during the Rally,, again, and go climb on one of those new ones to do a little shadow boxing!! This will be the second time Tweeksis has chased this this thang - first one out in New York didnt fair so well (no test riding) but I gotta hunch this time will be different!!

God Bless you my brother as you stand by your family member during his time of great need - PLEASE know that you are in our prayers as you and your family work thru this trying time.. Also know that Tip and I continue to lift Terry up in our thoughts and prayers Don.. Not long ago when I was much younger I was in Upper Management (Plant Superintendent) and in the process of opening my own Bike Shop = many longggg hours... I found the need for consistency in my alone time with the Lord to be increased tremendously during that period of my life - at least in my case this helped a lot for getting me/us through it all.. I hope I dont come off as "a friend of Job" in that comment my friend and mean it only as a possible help... Just a few extra minutes alone with God each morning seemed to help in my/our case... Something else,, I know that those "Go Fund Me" things have helped a lot of folks.. Is there any chance you may have something like that happening on Terrys behalf? Maybe that would give folks a chance to help financially if they chose to? If there is something like that already out there - could you please post up a link = THANKS!! Prayers Up!! Puc

WOWZY Rosey,, this is sooooo compelling!! First off,, CONGRATS on having the wisdom to know when its time - DEFINITELY not an easy thing to face but DEFINITELY wise to face it and do what needs to be done = move on to the next phase and keep on enjoying life!! The real compelling part of your story - for us anyway, is Tip and I have been discussing this A LOT lately.. I am still pretty weak from dealing with the removal of my Prostate, Bladder sections and other parts due to cancer and am still testing the waters of how far my recovery of major fatigue is gonna go.. I am definitely not close to where I was a couple years ago when I could ride 16 hours straight no problem - tiredness now just comes out of no where.. Problem with touring on a scoot like that is ya just cant stop and lay down and sleep during the middle of day when its 105 degrees outside.. Triking is certainly no way shape or form in our destiny so,, whats the answer.. For us I think a small 4x4 pickup with a bed in the back under a topper, window A.C. with a Genny mounted on hitch mounted deck on the front of the truck (so its not right next to our heads) may be the answer... We LOVE the West and, although we have done a TON of off roading on our Venture's, would LOVE to find out what is over the mountains in places like Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Arizona and New Mexico on all those two tracks we were unable to tour on our bike.. It is becoming apparent that being able to lie down and sleep at any given moment is probably going to be a way of life for us and thinking the little 4x4 may just foot the bill for being able to do so and not loose track of the love Tip and I share for our great countries western states.. I/we,, like you folks,, are somewhat familiar with the waters on which we are about to tread as I had to give up a lifetime of dirt bike riding a number of years ago due to a spinal cord injury and turn my focus strickly to CTFW on the street.. From that experience I can assure you folks that, IMHO, it really does not matter what you ride/drive in your excursions, what matters most is that the two of you continue to enjoy sharing moments of time doing something you both love and continue writing your life story together.. We sure plan to!! Please stay in touch here on VR and keep us updated with stories and pictures of what ever that amounts to in your case and we will too! Tip, Tweeksis and Puc Oh yea,, P.S. = all the very best in selling that GORGEOUS machine of yours - WOWZY is that PRETTY!!!

I spooned on a new Kenda Challenger just before we headed out to tour the east coast and hit the unveiling in New York back in June, then #2 was a Shinko during the first week of July just before heading to the west coast ,, #3 another Shinko while out in California (one there and one back = standard procedure when hitting that hot desert tarmac) and now this one will be #4 .. Ya know,, thinking about it here,, you may be correct - it has only been a week or so since I spooned on #3 ,,,,,,, sheesh I gotta slow down - I am suppose to be retired now Might wanna keep an eye on my video reports Snype (getting ready to post a few more to that thread),, thinking I may have some video of the bead breaking routine out in Cali = didnt have my bead breaker out there,,,, cant remember for sure but I think I do have some vid of that fiasco...

The flavor and sweetness of deep friendships can be sweeter then the very purest of fine honey and those pictures are living proof of what I am trying to say = AWESOME YOU GUYS - just flat out AWESOME!!!!!! THANK YOU for sharing those precious moments with us Annie!! Puc

Had enough tread left on tire #3 to hit Northern Michigan,, got in today and LOOK what was waiting = WOWZY those varmints at Chaparall in California have FAST shipping!! Good thing too cause rear tire #3 since we headed for the east coast back in June and then to the west coast in July is all done at 5089 miles = very good mileage for our history with rear tires!! Also,, to any who attended this years International Rally in Wisconsin and had part in the signing of and sending me this AWESOME shirt I wanna THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart = BEAUTIFUL = you lop eared touring varmints are awesome!! Thank you too to @OrlinEngh for his hard work and part in all that = THANKS OR!! I will wear it with pride!! Also,, for anyone crazy enough to try and be following my video reports on our latest Chasing of The Front Wheel westwardly = if you caught the little video about "the hat"? I am wearing it in these pics = SCREAMIN EAGLE HD HAT = GORGEOUS!! Ok,, nuff nonsense!! Heres a couple pics!! Gotta get #4 mounted and balanced now = planning on being in Sturgis on opening day so I can give those Mom Yam reps the business on this new hot rod,, might wanna stick with Tweeksis and I on this one = could get interesting!! V-Twin? The old girl tormented a pair of new Harleys (one I KNOW was a CVO 110 inch with a single rider on it) today on the way home - Tweeks fully loaded as seen in pics = :checkeredflag:,, she's a nasty ol thing when she smells those V-Twins in front of er.. Plan is to do some low speed launches in high gear on the new ones and record it and then retrace the test route on Tweeks and redo it with her at the same speed in top gear and see if there really is something to all this torque vs hp stuff.. Also planning on doing some temp readings to compare - fully recorded of course... Thinking this rally may be a REALLY good place to get some of this done because historically - the Mom Yam shop in Sturgis NEVER has anyone there during the rally as its allllllllllllll about HD - perfect time for doing a LOT of research if my thinking is correct!!!! New York was absolutely NOT the time or place BUT Sturgis? Ohhh yea,, totally different creatures out there!! Going hunting = wish us luck!! Puc

WOWZY WOW WOW WOW,, PM sent!!!!!! Send that puppy to its loaner home here in Muskegon Mi to the REAL Superman and I will DEFINITELY get you that video brother!!!!!! PLEASE read that PM carefully though cause it is time sensitive - what ever you think brother!! Tip, Tweeksis and I been out sucking the last breath out of all this AWESOME riding weather we have been having here PLUS enjoying my early retirement to its fullest - tiring BUT awesome!! Gotta spoon on our 4th new tire for the season (see pic,, also notice International Rally 2017 that Orlin and the gang sent me - BEEEAAAUUUUTIFUL!!! and my "new" Harley hat I found out in Wyoming when we were headed to California a week or so ago) tomorrow and yet another oil change then off we go to Sturgis to FLYYYYYY the cape down main street if it can get here by Wednesday!! This Superman thing could be a TON of fun,,, hopefully they have phone booths out there cause I think changing into that puppy behind Hay bales on the prairie may be illegal.. Puc

Good on ya and ROCK N ROLL on getting your hands grubby on doing your own tires Riv - besides saving the bucks like we both love doing, hope you KNOW that is ol school cool right?? Found out on this last trip west that the Cancer bug took a lot more from me than I may have anticipated.. Used to be I could snap a bead loose with clamps and my 16 inch channel locks quicker then quick - seems I lost some upper body strength to go with those body pieces and parts they kept.. Oh well,, back to the creative drawing board.. I got one of those little HF bead breakers I use here at home.. Thinking of figuring out a way to bolt it on, even if its in pieces - to my scoot.. Another thought is to fab up something even smaller out of existing bike parts.. Ever heard of anyone selling such a contraption? I was still able to use my bike tie downs and the tree in her front yard to hang and balance my new tire out there - no problem lifting the tire up and all that - just that stupid bead breaking routine... Thoughts if any?

Believe it or not personally I LOVE the stock grips.. I LOVE the little xtra length they add and the flexible end on them that I can twist downward when I wanna rest my hands on my knees when I am all stretched out and enjoying the day.. Problem is (if you consider it a problem - personally never really minded) as those stock grips get old they tend to grub up the hands pretty good with black rubber - same token,, NOTHING has the feel of those originals either.. Right now I am running some pretty fancy aft markets that are bigger in diameter than stock with a soft foamie grip between the end pieces and the chrome pieces that mate the perches.. Definite bling put on by a previous owner but wayyy beyond what I really like.. Only electronic cruise I have had on one was my first one - an 84 that I grabbed out of an estate in 87.. All the rest, including this one I too have been snapping down the friction cruise when the need arises.. Those things work great.. Matter of fact,, I just removed one off one of my parts scoots and stuck in on my R1 - I probably got one of the few liter super bikes with cruise:big-grin-emoticon: Really handy there cause I can be putzing along at 70 on it, lock er down and sit up to give my poor old stiff retired back a rest while I ride no handed in a sit up position - creativity has its advantages.. All the best setting your cruise up Ty..