EVENT PAGE ... 03-05-26 ... UPDATED today!
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TEN MILES OUT ...
Hello, Viewer/Friend/Fssnocer ... I'm sure you recognize the bike above, that is if you've visited this site in the past.
This bike is to me like my favorite pair of slippers, or maybe my ole Pickup truck, or my favorite chair in the evenings, or my morning coffee in a dirty cup ... You?
It's just comfortable and unassuming, always puts a grin on my face (if I make it back to the house), and when I go into the shed and ask, "Okay, who wants to get dirty today?"
Up goes its handlebar!
"Take me", it often says...
Anyone have sand in your riding area?
Okay, let's talk about this in the first person ... "I" .
Sand is very strange, it is never the same, from one day to another ... one day, it is firm. My bike tracks straight and true. That day, I can trust it ... maybe.
Next time out, totally different set of rules. The same bike, the same trail, the same goal, of course, is to stay upright and to transverse the next section without mishap ... maybe, and maybe not. And I trust it ... not!
Sand gets everywhere, that is its character. The first thing to meet this shifty character, Mr. Sand, is my front wheel. Being round, knobbed, and rotating, its natural function is to elevate little dibits of sand outward and upward ... then I ride through this sand, only this time it is suspended momentarily in the air, one grain at a time X 10,000 ... awaiting me and the Himalayan ... then after I've past, it returns to the earth in innocent repose, in wait of the next traveler. Anyone agree?
In effect, I am riding through a fresh cloud of sand with every rotation of the front wheel ... the featured Himalayan in the photo has a flush gas cap. Yeah, nice, particularly if one uses a tank bag. A good design, yes? Well? Anyone?
Not ... for riding in the sand, at least that is my view. Early on, I discovered that sand was compacting around this flush cap and when the cap was opened to fuel the bike, VIOLA! That sand went into the tank!! Not good, right?
The next time I tried to blow the sand out of the crack around the cap, but no, that didn't work either. The solution?
Okay, it's NOT a solution so I do not recommend this for anyone else; it's kinda like putting a rusty bucket under a leaky roof, but hey ... I got out my ever-present duct tape; mine is bright red in color, then I procured a large plastic ziplock bag out of my stash, a used one, of course. I taped the bag to the tank immediately behind the steeringhead and ahead of the flush gas cap, the ziplock portion went left to right across the front part of the top of the tank, the clear portion of the plastic bag now is placed smoothly over the flush cap area, then the tank bag goes atop the plastic bag, and I'm off.
Next time out, at refuel time, I lifted my tank bag (Wolfman brand - strap on type) then I lifted the plastic bag ... it appears to be clean to my eye ... awesome! I fuel and carefully reposition the plastic bag and the tank bag, and off I ride. Repeat...
Anyone remember the rubber "mud" flaps that racers and dirt-riders ran back in the day ... on the protruding front portion of the front high-mounted fender? Maybe Preston Petty came up with these with his plastic fenders? I dunno.
Anyway, I fashioned my own version of this idea out of the red duct tape on the front of my high-mounted fender (the Himalayan has two front fenders, a high and a low mount), plus I taped some openings around the steeringhead area to block-off some of the wayward sand particles ... not sure any of this helped but I figured it didn't hurt and was worth a try. Later, I peeled off the remains of the front "flap" as you may note in the photo. I may try to locate a real flap made of rubber in the future...
I, again, do not consider the above actions much of a true fix ... I guess the true fix would be to get rid of the flush-design style gas cap/gas tank but that'd be expensive, for sure.
The photo above is as stated, "Ten Miles Out" ... I've done my loop through the woods and the sandy two-tracks. You may have observed the soft rays of the sinking sun in the pic.
So why did I stop now? I'm only a few minutes out from a nice snack, maybe an evening meal, a warm home, my beautiful and always sweet wife, Carrie (grin) ... why did I stop ten miles out?
Anyone?
[email protected]
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( Last week's content is below ... going, going, ???? )
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
1776-2026 - 250 YEARS!
FSSNOC MEMBERS ... YOU ARE INVITED TO SEND US A PHOTO OF YOUR THUMPER WITH OUR FLAG, THE STARS AND STRIPES, WITHIN THE SHOT?
DO THIS TO REMEMBER OUR COUNTRY AND TO CELEBRATE THE OCCASION WITH FELLOW FSSNOC FRIENDS AND MEMBERS...
PREFACE YOUR EMAIL WITH THE WORDS ABOVE:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!
INCLUDE A FEW WORDS OF COMMENT ABOUT THE PHOTO SCENE, YOUR THUMPER, ETC ?
EMAIL TO:
[email protected]
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That's it for this week! Thank You for tuning-in and Thumpin' by ... it's always a pleasure!
We'd love to see you up the road and on a THUMPER...
Jack, FSSNOC #000 and Carrie, FSSNOC #000.5