The Dell City Off Road Kinetics, D.O.R.K, rally was spectacular! This D.O.R.K was able to meet the Honorable Frostbit, his wife and their best friends. Frostbit, one of RDS's very earliest members, was a major motivating force in my desire to make something special of the RideDualSport Forum.
His humor, contributions, and encouragement adds a personal touch to the RDS experience and reminds me that motorcycling is really about the people you meet and the friends you make. Frostbit and company came from Alaska to Texas to attend the RDS B.U.T.T rally that was hosted by DoctorDR, then headed up to Dell City to make my D.O.R.K event less dorky.
The finest Alaskan Ambassadors you could ever meet: Mary Lee, Tracy (Frostbit), Angie and Scott.
We did a bit of bike preparation, the morning of the ride.
The clouds were ominous and we hoped to dodge any bad weather that came our way.
We headed towards the Guadalupe Mountains National Park, on smooth dirt that was easily handled.....when dry!
Frostbit and Scott traded bikes for the first part of the ride. Temperatures were in the mid-30s but surprisingly
comfortable in the good riding gear we had on.
We turned off the county road and started to climb into the foot hills at the base of the Guadalupes. This was section that
Mapsource does not have a name for, other than "Road".
It got more interesting here, the sides of the hills were peppered with tiny caves, and we crossed several creek beds.
ohhhhhh... yeaaa..... the snow starts! Were gaining elevation, going into some dark clouds!
At this point I am studying my GPS tracks carefully, so we can debate weather to continue or not.
We were on a dead-end road, that had a turn-off that would take us to the valley floor.
So we decided to continue, despite the fact we had to climb to 5500 ft. to make the turn-off.
The snow did not let up!
We pressed on... it was pretty tricky, slow speed riding. Under the snow we would slide on the treacherous mud, the Mighty Tiger
was quite a handful, with all that horsepower, and Scott's tires were not as knobby as ours. But we managed to engine break on the
down-hills, be gentle on the throttle and all was well!
We were relieved to make the turn-off, and start the descent into the valley, however the snow was melting
and we were learning more slippery lessons!
This was a spectacular view of the Guadalupes. Leading out of a Ranch. It was an incredible reward for
our efforts through the snow.
We took a snack break before jetting down the valley floor and I had a chance to try the Mighty Tiger.
Even though I did not go fast on it due to the slick conditions, I could tell the motor was a gem.
It would pull smoothly from low rpms with endless torque. Its true, that the exhaust note is intoxicating too!
The Tiger is really high on my list, and it will be a steamer for sure!
From here on it was easy motoring back to the cabin.
The next morning we were pretty surprised to see the snow, I thought the front had blown through.
Getting out from the cabin to the main paved road, was stressful but made easier by loading their luggage
and passengers into my truck.
Once this last dirt was cleared, we gathered at the gas station where the weather was checked, bikes loaded,
and final good byes said. The mighty fine Alaskans continued their trek into New Mexico and I D.O.R.Ked my way home to Austin.
