The Cheese Weasels Do Big Bend, Texas

[Acrobat_imp]

Amazing Stichill! Thank you. This is real motorcycling. Just wonder how it would be if you were on your CB....

[Stichill_imp]

Amazing Stichill! Thank you. This is real motorcycling. Just wonder how it would be if you were on your CB....

I think a CB would handle this road very well! A CB is still in my future. Although I admire the CB...I didn't buy one yet!

[Acrobat_imp]

Yet.. I wish you soon..

[Stichill_imp]

Day 04 - Monday 26 March 2018 - Study Butte-Terlingua through Big Bend State Park

The long day of riding and hiking though Big Bend National Park left us rolling into the Big Bend Resort & Adventures Motel & RV Park well after dark, so it was interesting to come outside at daybreak and take a look at our surroundings.


The ride through Big Bend National Park left us at the intersection of TX 118 and TX 170, near Study Butte-Terlingua.









We checked the bikes for any unseen damage from the rough ride over the washboard gravel road. Other than being dirty, the bikes appeared to be in complete condition. I have to give a tip of the hat to Harley Davidson. No longer can it be said that someone needs to ride behind a Harley to pick up any parts that fall off. These bikes were put together right and took a beating while holding together just fine.


Note the oil cooler mounted low right behind the front tire.

Owing to the late arrival the night before, we rose a bit later than usual and didn't hit the road until 8:40 am.


Packing up and getting ready to roll.

[Stichill_imp]

Day 04 - Monday 26 March 2018 - Study Butte-Terlingua through Big Bend State Park

The long day of riding and hiking though Big Bend National Park left us rolling into the Big Bend Resort & Adventures Motel & RV Park well after dark, so it was interesting to come outside at daybreak and take a look at our surroundings.


The ride through Big Bend National Park left us at the intersection of TX 118 and TX 170, near Study Butte-Terlingua.









We checked the bikes for any unseen damage from the rough ride over the washboard gravel road. Other than being dirty, the bikes appeared to be in complete condition. I have to give a tip of the hat to Harley Davidson. No longer can it be said that someone needs to ride behind a Harley to pick up any parts that fall off. These bikes were put together right and took a beating while holding together just fine.


Note the oil cooler mounted low right behind the front tire.

Owing to the late arrival the night before, we rose a bit later than usual and didn't hit the road until 8:40 am.


Packing up and getting ready to roll.

Yikes! No wonder you were worried about riding a dirt/gravel road. It would be hard to find a worse place to mount that oil cooler. Even on paved roads it would see occasional pebbles thrown off the tire.

Loving the ride report!

Absolutely. I have to think there are aftermarket guards for it, and thanks!

No doubt there's more reports to come so I am chiming early ... loving the write up Mr Stichill, the pictures are amazing, the bikes look awesome, makes me want to write a bucket list and put your tour at the top.

BTW a novelty for us Aussies is seeing Harley riders wearing something other than black. In fact cruising past the local cafe on a Road King wearing hi-vis jackets and full face helmets might even stir up the Harley riding marketing executives to put down their lattes and throw a Sons of Anarchy tee shirt at you.

Looking forward to your next installment.
Safe travels.

Glad you're enjoying the report! Yes, we were riding Harleys but we are not Harley riders...we just rented what was available! Definitely looked like fish out of water, lol.

You might enjoy these prior rides if you haven't already seen them (reported on another forum):[ul] [li][url=http://f800riders.org/forum/showthread.php/265818-Georgia-Bound]Georgia Bound[/li] [li][url=http://f800riders.org/forum/showthread.php/285057-The-Cheese-Weasels-Do-Death-Valley]The Cheese Weasels Do Death Valley
[/li][/ul]

Very cool ride. I must ride this area some day. From the looks, I might enjoy it more if I ride the KLR650.

Thank you. I agree, you'd be able to see a lot more of the park on a KLR650. There are many miles more unpaved than paved roads from what we could tell.

[Stichill_imp]

Must extend the courtesy to THANK YOU! For this wonderfully timely visual/prose ride report... as I cleaned the "April Fool's" three inches of snow storm off my porch steps this morning in west-central Illinois and waiting out for the first ride of season... your Big Bend adventure report pumps renewed anticipation for getting started on the rides of 2018!...Great prose/pics!

You bet! We all need inspiration as this endless winter keeps dragging on! I live near ferret and it was a shock coming back to reality! I'm looking forward to warmer, sunnier weather too!
Day 4 - Monday 26 March 2018 - Texas 170 Big Bend State Park

We left Big Bend Motel & RV Park and headed straight west onto TX 170. 170 winds through the town of Terlingua and then passed through the town of Lajitas right on the border of Big Bend State Park. During my search for lodging in the area, I completely missed [url=https://www.lajitasgolfresort.com/default.aspx?pg=accommodations]Lajitas Resort / Badlands Hotel. It looks pretty nice if you're interested in high-end accommodations.

As we exited Lajitas, we entered the park and were quickly entertained by marvelous landscape views and a challenging road to ride. My advice would be to take it easy on this highway, enjoy the scenery but pay close attention to the road. It has a lot of blind hills and curves, and there are areas where gigantic boulders and rocks could fall onto the road in front of you.

I don't have a lot of narration to offer here...the photos speak to the scenes we enjoyed.

[Inhouse Bob]

Lovely! The weather seems to have treated y'all well.

[Stichill_imp]

Yes, we were fortunate to have clear skies and comfortable temperatures during the best parts of the trip.

[the Ferret]

Really impressed with the beauty of Texas that you've shown us. Going to have to add that trip to my list of places to go.

[redbirds_imp]

Thanks Stichell for this ride report. Beautiful photos and story telling.