At this point, it's time to get headed back to Texas. I'm using Google Maps for navigation, and have selected the "Avoid Highways" and "Avoid Tolls" options, and I used my Harley Owners Group Touring Handbook to map out some nice scenic roads, and as always I consulted RoadsideAmerica.com to see if there were any oddities along the way that I needed to stop at.
The first road was very promising. It's leading out of the Garden, and it's something like 16 miles and looks like this:
Rough road? Dirt? That's what I came here for, that's why I wanted a small ADV bike.
Note the sign on the side, there are very few pics of this section because there was no place to stop to take photos. I did get a few though.
This is not a good situation. The little tiny poky foot on the kickstand is totally not suitable for parking offroad (or even on hot asphalt, as it'll poke right through). Gotta get a footpad for that. I have one for the Harley but didn't bring it, and I should have, it would have fit fine.
Turns out my hopes of an off-road adventure here were dashed. The entire 16 miles was dirt, but it was hard-graded and well maintained. The road was a *little* rough in some spots, but it's nothing that I wouldn't have easily driven my Harley over (although, where there were some washboard sections, I was glad that it was the $2500 bike's suspension that was getting pounded rather than the big bike's). Let me put it this way -- any pretensions of being a big manly outdoor wilderness adventurer were slashed when I saw the Dodge Challenger on the same road. And the Honda Civic. And then the 50+ year old woman riding her bicycle at the peak. So, yeah, not much for the "adventure" street cred, but it was still a gorgeous ride and a magnificent way to spend an hour or two.
To be continued...