DougD
03-10-2006, 10:50 AM
I live in the McKinney/Plano/Allen area but I grew up in the Big Bend. I am new to the V-Strom after riding a Kawasaki Vulcan that I sold about 2 years ago. For the last couple of months I have been reading everything I can about the V-Strom. While I liked riding my Kawasaki, I was looking for a more versatile bike that I could also ride on dirt roads.
After riding exclusively on cruiser-style bikes for the last 13 years, I am really looking forward to riding on the roads the Texas map shows as dotted lines. There are plenty of very rideable dirt roads in Texas that connect between various paved roadways.
I sold my Kawaski after watching two different guys on motorcycles get completely wiped out by SUV’s right in front of me. The two incidents occurred within days of each other in Plano. It kinda freaked me out a little bit; especially because the riders did nothing wrong and there was nothing those guys could have done to keep the Plano soccer moms from smearing them with their Escalades and Navigators. Nasty scenes but both guys lived. Don’t know if they will ever walk right again. I thought I could live without motorcycling but I guess I was wrong. The stress of my job, kids, and having to pretend to be an adult add up sometimes and I get a powerful urge to ride off for a few days. I’ll just have to avoid areas of heavy traffic full of oblivious SUV drivers.
Some of the best moments of my life have been times when it was just me on my bike in some far away place. Had to explain that to my wife and finally convinced her that I "needed" another bike. The purchase was finalized yesterday with Cycle Center of Denton and I should be able to pick the bike up in about a week with all of the accessories installed.
These forums were a huge help for me during the selection of my bike, bags, and crash bars. I truly appreciate the good information on this site.
I am very interested in hearing about some good places to ride anywhere in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; especially places that are accessible by dirt or gravel roads off the main highways. I will post some rides I know about from my own experiences.
Anyway, glad to be here and thanks for all the help.
Doug
After riding exclusively on cruiser-style bikes for the last 13 years, I am really looking forward to riding on the roads the Texas map shows as dotted lines. There are plenty of very rideable dirt roads in Texas that connect between various paved roadways.
I sold my Kawaski after watching two different guys on motorcycles get completely wiped out by SUV’s right in front of me. The two incidents occurred within days of each other in Plano. It kinda freaked me out a little bit; especially because the riders did nothing wrong and there was nothing those guys could have done to keep the Plano soccer moms from smearing them with their Escalades and Navigators. Nasty scenes but both guys lived. Don’t know if they will ever walk right again. I thought I could live without motorcycling but I guess I was wrong. The stress of my job, kids, and having to pretend to be an adult add up sometimes and I get a powerful urge to ride off for a few days. I’ll just have to avoid areas of heavy traffic full of oblivious SUV drivers.
Some of the best moments of my life have been times when it was just me on my bike in some far away place. Had to explain that to my wife and finally convinced her that I "needed" another bike. The purchase was finalized yesterday with Cycle Center of Denton and I should be able to pick the bike up in about a week with all of the accessories installed.
These forums were a huge help for me during the selection of my bike, bags, and crash bars. I truly appreciate the good information on this site.
I am very interested in hearing about some good places to ride anywhere in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; especially places that are accessible by dirt or gravel roads off the main highways. I will post some rides I know about from my own experiences.
Anyway, glad to be here and thanks for all the help.
Doug