Hand warming:

Yup... any surface that gets hot (but not TOO hot) will work! I like to stuff the actual gloves being used between the frame and muffler. While those are warming up, I dawn lighter weight gloves I carry in my jacket pocket, and wearing those I warm my hands/fingers by gripping the underside of the WR's muffler. Great hand/finger warmer... just wish it lasted longer once riding again!

This coming summer, I'm considering fitting both the WR and XT225 with a set of lever protectors and then using these removable mitts (see link) in the seriously colder weather.

https://obradvgear.com/enduro-grip-mitt/

V-man

Monday, the wife and I went on a dual sport jaunt.

It was a beautiful day and a great ride. We did a 75 mile "loop" that I had put together. Here we are after climbing over Walker Mountain and out on one of the forest roads for the day:



We popped out of the forest roads at the halfway point to hit our current favorite burger joint in Waldron, AR. After a "deelish" burger n' curly Q fries, we headed back for the truck via The Ridge. Here's a pic taken at the upper switchback while descending off the long ridge ride:



Rode again yesterday. This time I was by my lonesome and on the WR, so I hit some light weight trails and such, ending up at the burger joint, this time opting for chili n' crackers!

Rain today and tomorrow, but nice and cool on Friday at 52 degrees for a high and partly cloudy. Friday the wife will be in NW AR visiting her aging mother and spending the night, so I'm aiming to load up the XT225 Friday morning and go ride much more technical stuff, which was the original reason for purchasing the XT! The fact that it got the wife riding again was frosting!

All fer now.

V-man

Good looking country and pleasant weather makes for a great ride. Thanks for the report and photos. Glad you guys enjoyed yourselves and the ride together went well!..

Hi Az:

We don't have spectacular mountains such as can be found in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and other states... but we're sure glad to live where we live. If I want, I can ride out of the garage and access those mountains with a 30 min ride. OR, I/we can load up and haul about 30 min to be more centrally located among the roads/trails.

OR, we can haul about 50 min to 1:15 hours (depending) and access the Ozarks to the NE.

Certainly better than the couple short years I lived out in OK's rolling hills "red dirt country". Yuk.

V-man

Nice! I'd say you're in great riding country all things considered, and that's what counts!..

So it was in the lower 30s when I left the house. Still in the 30s when I headed up into the mountains. In fact, I don't think it got out of the 30s up in the mountains for the duration of my ride.

It was a genuinely spectacular day in regards to sun n' sky... but the two days of rain (stopped last night) had turned many sections of the old clay-based roads into a sort of gummy mess and slick. You know, the kind of clay that cakes on the underside of the bike.

However, I rode stuff I haven't seen in years, and frankly, the years have been kind: Ma Nature is reclaiming! Some of the roads that used to be open enough for pick ups to travel are now covered in pine needles and grown up! I was really finding some neat stuff. To wit:





Hard to believe a log track could get over this road a few years ago!

Though our autumn foliage was mostly sunk by the hot and dry September we had, there was still some nice color to be seen where I was at.



Here I am making a junction with another road (on the right) that used to be wide open and traveled a lot by gas rig trucks and some logging trucks.



In all, I was finding that these mountains I haven't really ridden in several years has roads that are reverting back to being some GOOD STUFF. Here's another example:



Of course, there's always places where a view can be seen, some mores so than others. This particular stop had a great vista, but a marginal viewpoint with nearly maximum obstruction... but you get the idea:



I thought this kind of neat the way the trees were reflecting in this supply pond:



In spite of several stops to warm the gloves and hands via the hot muffler, the combination of the mud, the cold, and the water holes (constant battle to keep the boots dry) helped me decide to cut the day short and head back to the truck.

I got back out of the mountains after lunch time, so I made a beeline to "Mammaw B's Kitchen" and had a bowl of homemade chili, topped with a pile of cheese and chopped red onions.



Chili consumed, I headed for home. Even being down off the mountains and in the full sunlight, it had only made it to 44 degrees, so I'm sure the mountains were well down into the 30s all morning.

As for the XT225: Did great (as always). It's quite confidence inspiring for exploring/etc. Absolutely no biggie to stop at any time, even in rutted conditions, for the low seat height makes footing great. Also, it's light weight means you can literally lift the rear end with one of the grab handles and sling it back around and head out of a dead end. Wise purchase, this XT!

All fer now!

V-man

Wow, beautiful Fall weather you're having. And no snow! Perfect for riding. We're also having nice Fall weather but prior two snow storms pretty much finished off any alpine high country road access. Unless you have a vehicle for it. It's icy and slippery now. During the day snow melts and creates mud. All in all not rider friendly. Thanks for posting your RR. Be safe.

Gorgeous colors, pretty weather, great ride report! Thanks for the photos so we could 'tag along' after the fact!..

We did it!

I had the bikes loaded onto the trailer, and my long time friend and former riding bud, Bill, arrived this morning bright and early.

We spent some time having coffee and beginning the process of getting caught up on life while we waited for the tempt to warm up a bit before heading off to Bates, AR to unload.

Once underway, I could tell Bill was rusty and was being tentative, so I immediately lowered the speeds on the dirt roads.

Even using smooth forest roads and some back roads, I figured correctly that Bill wouldn't be up for a ride similar to the length of miles we used to ride way back some 30 years ago. So, I kept the route short, picturesque, and smooth.

We popped out of the east end of the mountains and headed for for the Charbroiler Restaurant at Waldron, AR for lunch. Finishing lunch, we started back to the truck at Bates, AR, on the same route, only reversed. Bill was settling-in nicely on the XT225 by ride's end.

We had a great time and Bill wants to do it again, and is even talking about finding/purchasing a suitable scooter! If a scooter purchase comes to pass, we can all go on a forest road dual sport rides together! (Bill, Sharon, and I.)

At the our (wife and I) pleading, Bill stayed for supper and we all dined on Mexican cuisine at a local dive here in Poteau, OK. In all, it was a fantastic day.

Here's a pic I took today of Bill at 77 years old, riding a bike for the first time in 20-25 years!



SO, if Bill follows through and starts riding some (even if on my/our XT225)... that would be TWO former riders the XT225 has got back into riding!

V-man

Good for you guys! An old truism would seem to apply. "You can take the kid out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the kid!" Another ride and Bill should be fully in tune aboard a bike. Hope your weather continues to cooperate and snowfall holds off so you can get out and about another time or two before winter sets in..