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The Bill Ferran Experience


TEWKS

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Ok, I know the title sounds a little bit like a rock band which is actually appropriate and let me tell you why. There were plenty of rocks and a few band-aids. :grin:

 

Seriously though, I got to spend some time following Bill through & over some of the most beautiful places this country has to offer. Without his assistance, I would have only seen a fraction of what I saw, so thank you very much for that, Bill! :thumbsup:

 

Also wanted to mention here Larry & Louise and their gracious hospitality at their home. It was above and beyond in every aspect. Thank you! :clap:

 

Ok, the pics! Video will follow when the fog clears.

 

The first of the passes.

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More later, I have to go unload the truck.

 

Pat

 

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Wow. Is it doable on a large GS?

Yes, only because I saw it with my own two eyes. I say it like that because some of these passes got really rocky & steep in places, In other words, gnarly as hell! :eek: I wouldn't want to be on anything larger than a 650. Bill could probably point you to the ones that a big GS would be manageable on.

 

It was all about the infamous Black Bear Pass. Check! :thumbsup:

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This was to be the last photo if we didn't survive the steps going down into Telluride. :grin:

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Pat

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Mike, the little 250 and the GS make pretty good roommates! :grin:

 

Looking over at Black Bear from Imogene.

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We had lunch here.

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Pat

 

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Which way did u go up Engineer? I don't remember that fancy sign at the bottom the way we headed up last year, just outside of Ouray.

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Bill's satellite rig parked between Ouray & Ridgway.

 

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In the AM Bill sent me looking for the Last Dollar Ranch and Ophir pass which I successfully found. :thumbsup:

 

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co 145 will have you smiling in the morning! :grin:

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Pat

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Which way did u go up Engineer? I don't remember that fancy sign at the bottom the way we headed up last year, just outside of Ouray.

Doug, I came up from Lake City. 'Twas a bit nasty on the Ouray side, glad to have been descending on that side of the pass. :thumbsup:

 

Pat

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roadscholar
Ok, I know the title sounds a little bit like a rock band which is actually appropriate and let me tell you why. There were plenty of rocks and a few band-aids. :grin:

 

Seriously though, I got to spend some time following Bill through & over some of the most beautiful places this country has to offer. Without his assistance, I would have only seen a fraction of what I saw, so thank you very much for that, Bill! :thumbsup:

 

Pat

 

I think I'd have called it Bill and Pat's Excellent Adventure, it was more a 50/50 deal than Pat let's on. Black Bear had been on my bucket list the last few years and I knew Tewks was the perfect companion having done a few other big dirt rides with him. Symbiotic, more like Lewis and Clark, Butch and Sundance, or Flat and Scruggs. There sure was plenty of pickin an fiddlin goin on. :grin:

 

Still in a black hole internet-wise, but nice work Pat, I'll add some when I can.

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Hats off to both of you. One day I'll fly over those passes cuz I'll never be able to ride them like you do. :thumbsup:

Edited by Marty Hill
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Corkscrew I believe, I'll probably need to get out there again just to confirm. :)

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I don't think I look badass but man, I sure do feel like one! :rofl:

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Pat

 

 

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An old Willys in Ouray. I sent this pic to a buddy back home who's an old Jeep nut. Yeah, he lost his shit! :grin:

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Just to prove you won't have to follow in Alfred Packer's footsteps! ;)

 

A burger in Lake City.

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A breakfast Burrito in Poncha Springs.

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Pat

 

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Wish I could have tagged along this time. Maybe next time......cause I know you will be back :)

 

Keith, usually takes me a month or two just to forget about the missable ride (which actually wasn't that bad) but, I'm already planning for next July! :thumbsup:

 

Pat

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Wish I could have tagged along this time. Maybe next time......cause I know you will be back :)

 

Keith, usually takes me a month or two just to forget about the missable ride (which actually wasn't that bad) but, I'm already planning for next July! :thumbsup:

 

Pat

 

Noted :thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Bill chugging his KTM up Hurricane. Torque is your friend at 12,000 ft. :thumbsup:

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Took a minute to get this adventurous looking pic. ;) The joke, we had to wait for the family in their SUV that was hogging the sign. :grin:

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Pat

 

 

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Thanks Dave, it was an awesome week of riding! :thumbsup: I looked at the GoPro vid I have and it was better than I thought, with the rain on Black Bear and all.

 

A few swear words may need editing out, though! :grin:

 

Pat

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This is where we parted ways for the afternoon. Bill went back to get his vehicle & I headed for the Los Pinos Pass for a shortcut back to the main camp. I failed to find it & had to motor up 149 to 50. It wasn't terrible because I got to ring out the little 250 for all she was worth on 149. $92.00 ;)

 

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Leaving Cinnamon heading towards Lake City.

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Pat

 

 

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During Friday nights dinner at Whips, the word was put out that Bill had a spare bike or two to lend to anyone with interest in the dirty side of two wheels. Larry, Bob, Miko, Chris & Mr. Olsen didn't step back in time and were chosen. :grin:

 

Bill had the guys with little dirt experience follow him around the campground for a bit just to familiarize themselves with the bikes and try different positions they could use in certain situations they may find on the ride.

 

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Bill

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Bob

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Larry

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Miko

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Being one of the sweeps, you get dirty! :grin: That's about it on pics, time to work on the vids. :thumbsup:

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Pat

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roadscholar

Probably can't post any pics till next week, I feel like an innocent bystander. :)

 

Pretty much the same stuff anyways. Carry on Pat, look forward to the vids.

Edited by roadscholar
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Remember to click on the cogwheel to upgrade the picture quality. It's twenty plus minutes long so, your call.

 

Pat

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Good stuff. :clap: I'm glad it wasn't raining when my group did it years ago. Also the switch backs after the steps look more beat up than I remember. At the time I thought they were no big deal.

 

Bill really did good especially since he was new to riding a Rekluse downhill. :rofl: I think he is ready for another bucket trail. Going up "Schofield" from the Marble side. The 400 would be great for picking thru one nasty section. :thumbsup:

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Yup. Definitely think it'd be much easier on something a bit smaller than a 1200GS. Nice video and I really like your music!

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roadscholar

Great job on the video Pat. :thumbsup: I need to work on that editing thing..

 

Headin out.. it's so dang humid the lens is fogging up. :dopeslap:

 

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Le petite toyhauler, 5x10 : )

 

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Big Muddy

 

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You know yer bored when you're photographing stuff like this. :grin:

 

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Finally, New Mexico (only two and a half days) : )

 

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Getting acclimated near camp

 

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Pat rode the WR over Engineer Pass to get to Ouray, I drove the rig. We were on a mission..

 

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Lots of adventure bikes about

 

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Picking up lunch in town

 

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On top of the world

 

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I didn't think Yamaha's could run at that altitude. :Cool:

 

 

:wave:

 

It ran better than the 400 jetted for sea level, it spit, popped, and on/off transitions were nerve wracking. Bit of a KTM snob all of a sudden there are ya.. :grin:

 

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Telluride Water Works

 

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We got so immersed in the ride forgot to eat lunch, but we did stop at a view of where we'd been.

 

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I think we're both glad we got that one checked off. :clap::grin:

 

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This is Bill leading a few BMWSTouring guys over old Monarch and a few other off the beaten path places. Great Day!! :thumbsup:

 

 

Thanks guys, sorry for the length of the vids but I'd have to chop the crap out of them to the point that the ride wouldn't be recognizable to the peeps involved.

 

Don't forget the cogwheel, 720 it. ;)

 

PS.. Bill great pics! :clap:

 

Pat

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roadscholar

It was a good day, and impressive how quick the dirt newbies picked it up, like ducks to water..

 

Here's the crossing unedited/no tunes, plus I sort of missed a few : ) (starts at about 4:00)

 

Co. bike wash

 

 

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roadscholar

Meanwhile back at camp..and closer to Ridgeway as all the Ouray campgrounds were full because of an FJ Cruiser convention.

 

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Pat was still going strong, keep in mind he'd already ridden from Salida to Lake City on half dirt, over Engineer Pass to Ouray then Ridgeway to meet me, THEN we rode over Black Bear to Telluride and back over Imogene, all in the same day. He's an iron man I tell ya : )

 

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Only fitting that we had dinner at The True Grit Cafe, that's Matt Dillon, Chester, Miss Kitty, and Doc in the background, possibly a little before Pat's time. :grin:

 

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The next day we rode up Corkscrew, Hurricane, California, and Cinnamon passes before we temporarily parted ways.

 

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roadscholar

It was fun guys, no doubt about it!

 

A few more shots from the Salida "let's see if we can lure some RT and GT riders onto dirt" Saturday ride. :grin:

 

This turned out better than I expected, three of these guys had little or no dirt experience (for Bob it was 40 some years) and basically looked like veterans after the first 15 minutes, it was great.

 

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Love the vids Bill, because they're *starring* ME! :rofl:

 

I don't know if it's possible but next time we should see if we can combine the footage into one video. Front and rear facing views mixed together would be cool! :thumbsup:

 

I do doubt the GoPro's editing program would accept another camera's footage but, we could try it.

 

 

Pat

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roadscholar

We were taking it pretty easy in the wet with knobbies but yeah it added another layer of concentration. I was actually trying to get somewhat close to the edge to show as much of the canyon as possible but if you noticed I never really did : )

 

Thanks Marty, yes..

 

Pat, if you have plenty of free time on your hands I could gladly send you a bunch of videos to mess with : )

 

Edited by roadscholar
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Let's see, a gnarly adventure seeking dirt-biker one week! :Cool: The next, a not so gnarly ice-cream fetcher. Ok ok, a hopscotch player too! :grin:

 

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Bill, thanks for the Vids! Thought I had it, they will upload into the GoPro editing program but I can't chop them into smaller segments to mix with mine. Just playing with your full length rearward facing clip and mixing it in with my forward view does make for a much more interesting video. :thumbsup: Too bad it didn't work, I think it would of looked great. Like you said, Colorado is always there next year. Or September! :grin:

 

Pat

 

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roadscholar

Or both. Hey is that the picnic table with the "weak" 2x6? :grin:

 

Great shot, nothin wrong with ice cream or hopscoth but yeah too bad the vids didn't co-operate, I may have to learn something new..

 

In the meantime here's a cheesy way to get some music. Click the link then the video, should come out about the same.

 

 

goin down BB

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Nice videos, guys. Enjoyed the ride from home. If I get another dirt bike it will be 400cc or less for sure.

 

Pat indeed did ride a bunch of stuff the first day, but hey he was on a mission!

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This is where we parted ways for the afternoon. Bill went back to get his vehicle & I headed for the Los Pinos Pass for a shortcut back to the main camp. I failed to find it & had to motor up 149 to 50. It wasn't terrible because I got to ring out the little 250 for all she was worth on 149. $92.00 ;)

 

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Leaving Cinnamon heading towards Lake City.

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Pat

 

 

Years ago when I was a younger and much thinner man, I took a group of kids on Bicycles up that pass. About killed me! :P I remember wishing I'd been on a dirt bike instead of a mountain bike!

 

Great pics and rides! Thanks for bringing us along.

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Thanks again guys! Dave we passed a guy riding a bicycle on Black Bear (in vid at the 8:20 mark) who had to be in his seventies! Now, I don't know if he pedaled the entire pass but, impressive in any case! :thumbsup:

 

Sorry, I need a motor. :grin:

 

Pat

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