The 2020 riding season started in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were told to distance ourselves and race tracks didn't open until June... so in April I decided to get a dual sport. I've never even ridden a motorcycle off road before (like gravel or dirt) and thought this would be a good time to start exploring.
So in 2020 I rode track days when possible, and entered the world of Adventure riding.
Introduction 2:56 minutes
You can follow the full details of my CRF additions on my dedicated CRF250L page.
When talking about adventure riding, it will be from a perspective of a new rider that is over 55 years old and "robust"... and will include lots of photos and videos as normal. This series will go longer into 2020, since it isn't dependent on tracks being open.
Ride Videos
| 11/14/2020 - Getting Adventure Started - Part 1 of 2 |
Part 1 of 2 highlights the first days of adventure for me riding my CRF250L and features Koggs on his brand new Ducati Scrambler Desert X. You will see photos, onboard, and roadside video of our rides... as we experience and learn on gravel and trails. Both Koggs and I are in our 50's and have never ridden motorcycles off pavement until 2020.
Getting Adventure Started - Part 1 9:55 minutes
| 11/27/2020 - Getting Adventure Started - Part 2 of 2 |
Part 2 of 2 shows me riding with forum admin Lance, who rides a Vstrom 650 and CRF650L and knows great routes. He got us to some nice scenic water areas. Next, Koggs, Allen (KTM 525 EXC), and I got in to deeper woods and higher ground. I capped the season off on my first ever motorcycle overnight camping adventure with racing friends Jason (Suzuki DRZ400S) and Alex (Suzuki DRZ400SM).
Getting Adventure Started - Part 2 21:41 minutes
| 7/27/2020 - Practicing Adventure |
We are extra green riding any kind of offroad terrain, so our goal has been to stay on gravel roads and learn how to ride them first. In preparation for the Road to Adventure series, we went out to practice using our cameras offroad, rider-to-rider communications, GPS, and most of all... our riding. I mounted a camera on the top of my helmet and had my visor up and when I got home I noticed that you could glean a lot of our conversations by hearing me talking with my visor up and using the sound on the helmet camera. We don't plan on using this camera sound in the series, but because you could hear it and particularly because we got in over our heads... this video shows a portion of the ride that came out of a rookie navigation mistake.
Practicing Adventure 9:28 minutes
2020 Photos
As usual, click the photo to see higher resolution.
| 10/25/2020 - Oregon Wild Fires |
Adding to the calamities of 2020, Oregon experienced their worst wildfires ever. The biggest of those fires was directly in the area that we adventure ride the most. I was hesitant to post any of these photos, but these validate some of the true devastation of the fires.
It is sad to think of how many lost a lifetime of memories sitting in front of the fireplace in their homes.
Left behind vehicles were a part of the loss, from people having to quickly evacuate.
| 09/28/2020 - Coaching |
I don't consider myself a coach, but I did have an opportunity to ride with a friend that had been doing multiple big track days. I asked him if he had ever got a knee down (knowing how special that first time was to me and many others), and he said not yet. We spent the day on our R3's at The Mac track... he made some adjustments and managed to get his first knee touches ever.
| 9/04/2020 - Labor Day Overnight Adventure |
Labor Day weekend in 2020 was my first for many things... all wrapped into one great adventure:
- 1st over night camping trip with motorcycles;
- 1st ever camping without a camp site;
- 1st ever riding off road in the dark;
- by far, the most difficult terrain I've ridden so far... happened in the dark, and then continued the next morning.
I started at 7:30AM and met my racing pals - Jason and Alex.
We pulled into the trees in the middle of the night and setup camp in the dark.
Only showing pavement photos here, but we spent most of this ride off road.
We crossed 4 dams in one day!
Even though we had a long way to go, we pulled over for this cool photo.
| 8/25/2020 - Mill City / Detroit Lake |
| 8/22/2020 - Snow Peak 2, 8/17/2020 - Snow Peak 1, 8/15/2020 Elkhorn Lake |
| 8/1/2020 - North Fork Ride |
| 7/19/2020 - Ginger Bread Adventure Ride |
| 07/13/2020 - First Track Day |
Peter had expressed interest in doing his first ever track day last year, and we spent the day together making some great memories.
| 7/06/2020 - Mac Track |
| 7/3/2020 - Silver Falls Adventure Ride |
| 6/22/2020 - Mac Track |
| The Best of JayC Koggs |
RDR Product Videos
The PMR rear rack, expansion plate, and side racks allow me to have options to travel light on short rides and go heavy when on long rides and camping.
PMR on CRF250L Video 3:20 minutes
I made a list of the top things I wanted in an adventure helmet, and why those things were important. See and hear about my comparisons, and how the helmet does at both lower and higher speeds. I did my first vlogging in this video with the internal X-COM recording to my phone's bluetooth android app.
NEXX X.WED2 Adventure Helmet Review 15:34 minutes
In my video comparison I point out the advantages I discovered that clearly made the IMS tank worth the extra money. The IMS tank included ALL the necessary hardware, didn't require me to make modifications, had a more secure front mount method, and best of all they offered the option to use the OEM gas cap!
IMS Tank Comparison 4:34 minutes
RimWrapz decal kits protect and customize your rims. I created the official RimWrapz installation video and it covers what you will need, and then shows you how to install their kit.
RimWrapz Decal Installation 7:09 minutes
While waiting for my custom wheel decals, I decided I should freshen up my sprockets and chain to complete the look. As usual, I searched all over the web to find the best sprocket setups and found Supersprox. They minimize weight by combining an aluminum center with steel outer sprocket, and they combine them in a much better way than their competitors. If they are as good as I think, I plan on putting them on all my bikes.
Supersprox and RK Chain Installation 10:34 minutes
See closeup photos and video of the T-Rex Racing crash cage on the 2019 CRF250L. Great quality cage that mounts solid and looks good. Watch a bike hit the pavement via a wind gust... which is one of the reasons to consider a crash cage.
Crash Cage Preview 2:14 minutes
See our T-Rex Racing page for more including discount promo code
