The Chronic Rider: March 2007

South Texas International Motorcycle Show

I just got back from the South Texas International Motorcycle Show in San Antonio, Texas. I've been wanting to go since I moved here, yet each year I've put it off or found something else to do. This year I had no good excuse not to go.

There wasn't any single vendor that simply wowed me. Nor was I impressed with the $15 ($10 with a readily available coupon) entrance fee and $5 parking (though bikes parked free). But I got to see a number of regionally-built custom bikes, see a few new products and talk to the local Scorpion rep about the new EXO 1000 which is due out sometime this summer.

I went with two other people (hence the parking fee) but next time (if I go) I'll ask someone else to go before me on Friday or Saturday and tell me how good it is. Then I'll ride down, visit and go for a ride afterwards.

The Girls

The GirlsRiding.com ladies posing with me:

The Copenhagen girls:

The Aggressive Edge girls sporting Akuma shirts:

The Sportbikes

One of the independent, not-for-sale bikes vying
for the "people's choice" award:

Laredo Choppers entered a sportbike:

Aggressive Edge (from San Antonio)
had four bikes on display:

Cruisers and Choppers

Some other entrants that caught my eye:

This bike from Texas Custom Choppers from Austin,
Tx won the people's choice award. It struck me
as the most impressive bike at the show. The engine
seemed to disappear as one giant block of shiny
chrome. The LED-light pitchfork on the suicide shifter
caught everyone's eye.

The Texas Ranger motorcycle was another excellent,
well thought out and themed bike. From the custom
wheels to the Colt .45 levers and the effortless clutch
this bike used integrated its theme very well. I was told
it would soon be auctioned off on ebay.

Grand Canyon 2006 (Part 5)

Our last full day in Arizona found us driving off to Monument Valley and Four Corners. It was a lot of driving, but we enjoyed that part of the trip. Both locations were run by Native Americans, each requiring entrance fees to drive in. A few days ago, this entire area had been blanketed by snow; now only those areas not affected by direct sunlight harbored patches of fugitive unmelted snow.

The monuments started well outside Monument Valley:

...but the monuments became more spectacular
inside the visiting area:

My father and brother soaking in Monument Valley:

Monument Valley at a glance:

Dad's gratuitous "I'm in four states at once" shot
in Four Corners:

We had a beautiful sunset that evening:

We spent one more night in Flagstaff and drove the two vehicles down to Pheonix. Dad caught a flight back to Florida there. My brother and I drove all night to arrive in San Antonio the next day. We did pass a curious spot (I don't remember where) on I-10 that was littered with white rabbits. (Remember the Matrix?) Well, a few of them had met an untimely fate. We also saw some weird cloud formations in Texas the next day. (The small pictures I have available right now don't do them any justice).

Maybe the next time I hike the Grand Canyon it will be after spring break and a bit warmer...

My sunburn from hiking the Grand Canyon:

My brother's sunburn was worse!

Grand Canyon 2006 (Part 4)

I spent some time wandering around Horseshoe Mesa. After spending over an hour that night coughing intensely, I was able to get some sleep. My sleeping touched the end of my tent, which filled with condensation - that froze to my sleeping bag. So my toes were very cold the next morning.

Note the higher elevations of the Southern Rim
still had snow.

Above and below: looking across the Grand Canyon
from Horseshoe Mesa.

Looking North following the Colorado River
to the horizon.

We debating staying on Horseshoe Mesa one more night. The previous afternoon after establishing camp, I wandered around the Mesa and had pretty much seen all there was to do there. I wanted to hike, but dad was opposed to going down either of the adjacent trails. We were all a little disappointed, but we decided that the best option was to hike out of the Grand Canyon that day.

Looking south following the Colorado River to the horizon.

A full moon provided plenty of light
all night long.

The morning was exceptionally cold.
Below: I donned every bit of warm clothing I had
with me and I was still cold. Nothing like lugging
a heavy pack up a steep trail to warm you up!

The Grand Canyon as we left it - with a lot less
snow than the day before!

We broke camp, packed up and began hiking back to the rim. We encountered some park rangers who were very helpful and considerate of our situation, though they frowned quite readily at diverging from out itinerary. Having explained our reasoning - and they agreed - they were willing to write us a warning instead of a citation and change our itinerary for us (which we declined).

The hike up was quick and uneventful. Much of the snow began melting. By the time we approached the rim, we were hiking on mud and rocks. The last hundred vertical feet of the hike out I began feeling unwell. This seemed strange as I outpaced the other two yesterday and much of today. By the time we were off the trail and back in the parking lot (where there was much less snow) I was feeling very tired, irritable and generally unwell. (I made my excuse to get away from the tourists wanting pictures of the "Real Grand Canyon Hikers" with as little rudeness as possible. The backpack came off. Then I became light-headed. I started coughing, a little at first and intensifying quickly. Dad got worried, but I was breathing mostly okay. I wheezed a quite bit during intense coughing for the next hour and a half. I stayed in the van while my brother and father visited some of the other overlooks. I thought to myself what a predicament I would have been had this episode happened down by the river, far away from any kind of help. The cold/flu I had about two weeks ago still had its claws in me; stressing my body this way allowed it to attack me one last time. The coughing/wheezing attacks settled down and we made our way back to Flagstaff.