BCA
Day
4- Monday
The
first day of BCA for me, started the night before, as I was busy making some
mechanical and electrical adjustments from the previous two days of riding the
1200GS. I found the positioning of shift and hands levers slightly more
important now than I had before. As well as access to SAE and 12v electrical
ports. It is challenging to try and make these adjustments in situ. So the
evening activities involved moving the levers and connecting power cables so
they would be easily accessible on the fly.
Repairs by headlamp around midnight
The ride out to BCA was relatively uneventful. There was a stop at Red Rock Canyon State Park, located in the Mojave/Tehachapi dessert where the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Mountains. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, drinks and sweets. Simple, yet effective. I went off for a walk out into the middle distance to shoot some landscape photos.
Face of Rad Rock Canyon bluff
Monday
morning started at 0700, woke up, dressed then to the mess hall for 0730
breakfast. At 0800 we had a mandatory group pre-departure meeting with BCA ride
leader Shawn Thomas. Topics included the route, group riding safety and
etiquette, what to expect on various highways, and what to do if there's a
problem. Afterward, Shawn ends every announcement with same closing statement,
"I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have." And with that,
it was time to hit the road.
The ride out to BCA was relatively uneventful. There was a stop at Red Rock Canyon State Park, located in the Mojave/Tehachapi dessert where the Sierra Nevada converges with the El Paso Mountains. Lunch consisted of sandwiches, chips, drinks and sweets. Simple, yet effective. I went off for a walk out into the middle distance to shoot some landscape photos.
Later
on we stopped off at the Burro Schmidt's mine, which was built by non other than Burro Schmidt, over the course
of 38 years. There's an interesting story there, but that's for another time.
Unfortunately on the way up to the mine, one of the other riders nailed a large boulder with the front wheel and put a hefty dent in the rim, which resulted in a flat.Unable to repair the wheel, the damaged bike needed to be loaded onto one of the sweeper trucks and taken back to the Ranch.
Video still of R1200GS with a damaged rim being loaded onto a truck
Unfortunately on the way up to the mine, one of the other riders nailed a large boulder with the front wheel and put a hefty dent in the rim, which resulted in a flat.Unable to repair the wheel, the damaged bike needed to be loaded onto one of the sweeper trucks and taken back to the Ranch.
Another
rider had also developed a flat on their front tire. This one was due to a puncture. A great opportunity for a demo on
how to plug a puncture with a repair kit.
BCA ride leader gives a demo on puncture repair
The rest of the day was wet. We rode through mud and rain, and more rain, arriving at BCA right around dark. Everyone proceeded to set up their tents in the annoying the type of rain that's not quite heavy enough to soak everything immediately, but just enough to make things uncomfortable. There was no fireside chats or merry sing-a longs. Just about everyone turned in for the night.
The rest of the day was wet. We rode through mud and rain, and more rain, arriving at BCA right around dark. Everyone proceeded to set up their tents in the annoying the type of rain that's not quite heavy enough to soak everything immediately, but just enough to make things uncomfortable. There was no fireside chats or merry sing-a longs. Just about everyone turned in for the night.
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