Vaquero?
.44 mag may not be what you would set out after a bear with, but it should be plenty as a just in case weapon.
Anything bigger, there's a good chance it would be so heavy you'd leave the darn thing behind rather than lug it around.
Whatever it is... it will be packed in an accessible place on the bike. So weight isn't an issue. Size is. I can't take a rifle. I am seriously investigating ways to get to tote along the SU-16 though.
Just don't melt the gun.
Zing!
Satellite phone means Iridium, at least in the US. GlobalStar is also be worth checking, and TerreStar might actually have a working product by now. Several companies rent Iridium phones, I've never done this, but I believe it's about $50 per month and about $2 per minute of airtime, that's without data transfer.
Thrane and Thrane (pronounced Tron and Tron) makes the best small, portable satellite dishes on the market. I have some experience using their Explorer 500 model, it's just a bit smaller than a typical laptop computer, and has it's own battery (the battery only allows about 4-6 hours of use).
there's a place here in nashville that rents phones and a broadband data system. The phones are 9 bucks a day for a week.. or 6 bucks a day for a month. The air time is about a buck a minute.
Completely worth it in my estimation.
I think you mean a larger rear sprocket, if you're looking for more torque with which to pop up the front wheel.
Since you will be going through part of Colorado, waterproof storage is definately a must Nate. Daughter lives in Colorado, and tells me that they are starting what they call their 'monsoon storms' season shortly. Lots of rain, so be prepared.
Already started, couple weeks ago. Huge torrents of water rushing down the streets so fast the storm drains overloaded.
Left OK yesterday noon, it was raining. Pulled into CO last night 8 hours later, it was raining. Make sure you fellas have quality raingear if your leathers aren't waterproof.
6 bucks a day for a month = $180 per month, seems kinda high, but does that include a data port? Also, the numbers I heard might be for longer term rental, I have no idea what the specific terms were, but I know it was voice only - no data. I paid about $5000 for one year usage of the Exp 500 two years ago, for fixed IP, 128kb/s streaming, unlimited data.
Oh, and if you're riding out in the brush, watch out for the gulleywashers.
we'll damned sure be in the brush boys. We're riding a trail up the divide... all dirt straight through the damned mountains.
Hey waterboy... how is the weather in mid august up there anyway? What the temperture range gonna be?
Depends on which part you're going through. Down south around Wolf Creek Pass/Pagosa Springs it'll range around 70-80 during the day but could get down into the 40's at night. Those temps drop as you go further north, and of course the higher up in elevation you go, the lower the temps. You could run into snow above the treeline -- it snowed on the Peak on the 4th of July one year I took some friends up there.
Bash plate. Don't forget the bash plate.
Our overnights will be in Trinidad, Salida, Lake City, and then Monticello, UT.
Looks like Bartleville is the first indicated overnight. 174 miles in.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&...51&z=12&
iwloc=A
We enter CO at Branson.
The 44mag. bear load i pack around is a 300gr. cast performance, flat nose,hard lead solid.I use H110 up to the 1300 fps. range. These things are rock crushers out of my 7.5in.super redhawk.
The biggest things to remember about bears is; if your on the menu, they look you right in the eyes. If you hear a cub bawl, the fights on. Bears almost always get back up after the first hit from a pistol. Go for the shoulder, not the head. And last,but most important, He who hesitates is lost.And as an aside. Can you out run JAC?
Enjoy the ride bro.
A 44 is plenty for black bears. Pepper spray is better. The 454 is even better. You should run up to Freedom and have Bob show you around the factory. Then you can order a new one from him.
Lake City is probably going to be your coldest overnight, but still looking to be in the mid-40s on the long range forecast.
At least the back-country roads are clear.
The Vaquero is probably makign the trip. If I do decide to back down to the .357... I'll bring 2... and some pepper spray.
And I admit... I can't help but wonder how a black bear would react to 1.2 million volts.
Alright I can't really stomach the thought of bringing the vaquero on the trip. I'm thinking the .357 tracker is definately the more useful firearm. 6 inch barrel... stainless.. ported... best grips in the world.
I'm just gonna find the biggest SAMI max hardball ammo I can find. We're only talking about black bear. If we were talking about browns... I'd go buy a .454.
waterproof storage is definately a must Nate.
Zip lock bags. They make them big enough for a laptop computer now.
Why not a .45 ACP? Reloads are a lot easier and multiple hits should be effective enough to drive it away. Works well on humans too. Definitely go for longer barrel length. You don't want to wait for a bear to get close.
I can't help but wonder how a black bear would react to 1.2 million volts.
I am guessing confusion. Not being exposed to electricity before, he may not be able to distinguish it from any other type of attack. You should try it at home first. Does Cabelas rent out bears?
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/con...r_bears-
606.asp
Do you ride with shin guards?
And I admit... I can't help but wonder how a black bear would react to 1.2 million volts.
I can't help but think I don't want to be close enough to find out.
I can't help but wonder how a black bear would react to 1.2 million volts.
If we're talking a standard taser/stun gun it's not the volts you need to consider, but the amperes.
Standard tasers have just enough amperes to momentarily incapacitate a human. Though I don't know for sure, I reckon a black bear might be similarly unimpressed.
huck... you're correct about amps.. but tasers aren't nearly as benign as you seem to think. Police tasers run about 60 to 70 thousand volts.
The one I normally carry is ten times that... and if I had to... there is the 1.2 million volt option.
Salida is one of my favorite places. Goodskiing and hiking in the collegiate peaks.
If you're eating at any restaurants, the Country Bounty in Salida is a winner for breakfast. Not great, just pretty good.
What about one of those Taurus Judges? You can load some chambers with .410 shells and others with a .45 colt. I think rattlesnakes would be your biggest threat and not bears.
We use full sized Motocross boots boys. Snakes aren't an issue. The boots go up to your knees and God hasn't invented the snake that could so much as scratch them.
I'm not convinced a tazer would go through a bear's hide. I'd want to try it on other critters first.
are you suggesting that bear's skin doesn't conduct electricity?
I keep saying taser.. obviously I mean stun gun. And I am talking about only as a worst case scenario. Ammo failure or some such.
Stoppin' in the home town of Phillips Petroleum. Top off at the local Conoco while your there, not many US oil companies left. I'd avoid the Frank Lloyd Wright Tower thing. Nothing wreakes of homo like a "Mod" building in a small OK town.
That trip should be canceled immediately. You are producing too much CO2.
And I have sent letters to both the UN and Judges Ginsburg and Sotomayor asking for the immediate apprehension and incarceration of Alestorm. Their brutal treatment of tavern wench Nancy is a gross violation of women's rights.
no time for sightseein' mate. we're gonna be rollin' hard.
Phillips sold the Wright designed tower before the Conoco merger. It's some sort of national historic monument thing now. Meaning there isn't any real work done inside it anymore.
are you suggesting that bear's skin doesn't conduct electricity?
Correct, probably. Most animal's skin does not conduct electricity very well, which is why electric fences are thousands of volts. Human skin is also a pretty good insulator, which is why tazers puncture the skin. Blood conducts electricity reasonably well, this is why animals often die if they get cut by an electric fence, and why barbed fences are not supposed to be electrified.
poorly conductive or not.. 1.2 million volts will get some attention.
From my experience, black bears are big pussies. Your not going to need a gun to scare them away.
Bear spray is a lot of fun on the road. If your riding in front spray a cloud behind you. Makes me laugh every single time.
Longtime lurker who grew up in Western Colorado here (Norwood, if you're googling). I've been into and out of Lake City and the San Juans on Engineer Pass, Cinnamon Pass, Ophir Pass, Imogene Pass, and other assorted jeep trails. Always in a CJ7 or F-150, though, and never on a bike. My 2 cents: 1. Hit the mountains early, because an afternoon gully-washer on the trail can be crazy. The "dirt" trails are 90% rock and become slick. 2. Unless you have a very small-scale Forest Service map of the trails, the distance can be deceptive. Large-scale maps can't show the switch-backs and twists, and may be 20% off in my experience. I don't know about google.
Thanks JMW! We have very small scale maps. We're taking Hancock pass.
Nate, what's your return route?
same as always FT... haulin' ass on I-40
Nate,
I just got home from a 2 day 1,462 mile road trip trough WYO and CO. I camped out North of I-70 last night. It was 42 when I got up this morning. I got hailed on at 10,000 feet and rained and snowed on till I made Denver this afternoon at 4 pm. I waved at everyone as I drove by, sorry no time to call or stop, I had to get home by tonight. I'd think you'd want extra water in OK and extra long johns in the mountains.
Nate,
Are you really considering a gun whose caliber doesn't start with a "4" for protection? You've got bears and cats as possible threats not to mention the occasional meth lab and Californian that you might run across. Listen close city boy, BIG SLOW HEAVY BULLETS, not little fast bullets, BIG SLOW HEAVY BULLETS are what you want. 44 MAG for animals in camp 40 or 45 for two legged critters.
Give me a call and let me know what dates you'll be around in UT, if possible I'll catch up with you in Vernal for a beer.
Word is the bears really ain't down south of Denver much. Its the kitties ya have to worry about. Sneaky bastards.
I do believe 180 grain hard balls from the .357 will do. As for the human element... I'll have my .40 with me as well. If I can rig it up.. I may even have an SU-16.
"Word is the bears really ain't down south of Denver much"
Don't believe it, Nate. They're all over the place out here, getting into people's trash over in the foothills, and even found in a downtown Springs parking garage. Note that this is just four blocks away from the brew pub we went to and about five blocks from that fountain where your boys played. And it happened less than a week before you were down there.
We get cats too, but not as often. They cornered one and put it down just a few blocks from my house.
If they're down here in the city, they're up there in the mountains, too. North and south -- they aren't just Yankee bears.
Like everything WB I took the advice with a grain of salt. I mean... they say there are no cottonmouths east of the mississippi to... that don't change the fact that someone got bit by one every couple years where I grew up... in central Kentucky.
Its the kitties ya have to worry about. Sneaky bastards.
Dat's Da Truff.
Cats is sneaky. And the opposite of bears; bears get scared and run off, cats attack. Noise keeps away bears, and attracts cats. Bears rarely hunt humans, cats often hunt humans. You can see bears stalking you, you can't see cats stalking you. The only reason there ain't lots and lots more cat attacks is that cats are seriously nocturnal.
Where we're goin' they eat a couple hippies every year. So they ain't all bad.
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