Kisatchie National Forest, Louisiana

Today we towed out bikes to Kisatchie National Forest for the day. It was about a two hour drive from where we were staying with Mike‘s friends. There are a few Kisatchie forests in Louisiana, and this one was even further away than others but we wanted to ride the Kisatchie district in particular.

Kisatchie Ranger District is locally known as the "Little Grand Canyon" because of the sandstone bluffs and panoramic vistas. Because this district has some elevation changes, it’s not only fun to ride but it’s also unique for Louisiana, which is mostly flat.




After yesterdays rain, a cold front moved through. Today’s high temperature was only going to be 49 degrees. The dirt roads were nicely packed from the rain.



The XT ready to roll with the new M21 rear tire







Curves everywhere

Some of these roads had some sand, but today it was moist not dry, so riding was fun even on the sandy portions.



You can’t see it through the dense trees, but there is a bayou running next to the road



Some of the dirt was wet enough to stick to my tires



Sweet orange dirt

Some of the main dirt roads in the forest were made up of this hard orange dirt. It wasn't clay either, it was pretty loose. This was the best dirt surface I've ever been on (so far) the rain made it just right, tacky but not too sticky. Horses travel these forest roads as well, see the hoof marks?



The scenic Longleaf Trail is a paved road, but it had some twisties





Would you believe there was no one out here on there roads today?

We had the whole place to ourselves :)






The day started out chilly, but once we got riding it wasn't so bad. I had all liners zipped in but because this bike has no windscreen and I have no hook-up to use my electric gear, I get more cold riding dirt thean I do riding street at the same temperatures.



When I get cold, it's usually nice to look for tighter and slower roads, and that's what we did to warm up for a bit.



These smaller roads were very fun but not too technical



It's nice to take a break and take a closer look at your surroundings once in a while





Sun now getting low on the horizon, time to get back to the truck and trailer



The main main parking lot with some nice scenery






With the bikes back on the trailer we walked to the scenic overlook nearby






It was chilly now that the sun had almost set




The the scenic over look from the parking lot was a bit of a walk, that's the truck over there



There were a tons of holly shrubs up here in the forest



Moon rising over Kisatchie forest

In absolute silence with no one around, we watched the moon rise right over the scenic overlook. We could have sat here for an hour or two, it was so beautiful and peaceful here, but we had to get going to catch dinner with Mike’s friends tonight.

Over all it was an absolutely great day for riding. Yea, it was cold but not too bad once we got moving and riding some slower roads. The Kisatchie District is a pretty amazing place for sure. We probably could have camped out here for a few days and not run out of things to see and roads to ride. But that will have to wait for another time, we have many other places to see on this trip.

This was the first ride on my new rear tire. The Pirelli M21 120/80-18 handled way better than the fatter Pirelli M21 120/90R-18 we took off yesterday. The thinner tire was definitely a better choice for this bike. I’m glad I got rid of the fatty. Makes me think of all the times I had problems riding this past summer, maybe it wasn’t the roads, maybe it was my fat tire?

A better fitting Pirelli MT21 back tire for my XT

Back in June I replaced the stock tires on my XT with Pirelli M21, but unfortunately the back tire I chose was just a tad bit too big for this bike and during my Michigan trip I realized that the knobbies were rubbing on the frame when I let some air out of tire to ride dirt. That was the Pirelli M21 120/90R-18.

I’ve kept using that tire on the XT since. Once the middle knobbies got rubbed off, the frame wasn’t rubbing on the tire anymore. It was a shame to throw a new tire out. This tire was still technically OK to ride with and had less than 1,000 miles on it.

But I never really liked the way this tire felt and was told that putting a better fitting and narrower tire on the back would make the bike ride better. So I went ahead and bought another new back tire for the XT, another Pirelli M1, this time I went with a 120/80-18.

It was too cold at home to get that tire mounted before this trip. With no heat in the garage, the temps in the garage were in the 20’s. So we brought the tire with us to get it mounted at Chris’s house, one of Mike’s friends who we were staying with for a couple of days.

So basically, we left Chicago yesterday afternoon, drove straight through about a 1000miles, only pulling over for 4 hours to nap at a rest stop, and arrived in south Louisiana just in time to grab some lunch at Cane’s. Best chicken fingers in the world.



Louisiana is LSU Tigers and Raising Cane's chicken fingers



We arrived at Chris’s house around 1PM, sat around for a bit, then in the afternoon got to work on the tire changing. Well, actually I just took pictures, Mike and Chris did the tire changing. They kept saying how much easier it is having two people to change a tire. They looked like they were having fun.



Winter rain in Louisiana

We got my bike off the trailer just minutes before it started raining. It would rain, all afternoon and almost of the night. Good timing.



The XT didn't like the stand, there is no flat surface for the stand



Chris's Gas Gas and his sweet work area



Breaking the bead on this fat tire was not easy, even with two people



Working on the bike is so much nicer when it's 60 degrees, not 30 degrees



They make a good team



My new tire, I can't wait to try it out tomorrow

Heading south for the Holidays

The truck is all packed, the bikes are on the trailer. Just putting some snow in the cooler to keep our food cold. How is that for using natural resources? In a few minutes we’re going to head south, where we will be bouncing around for the next 11 days.



We have a few National Forests picked out where we want to ride and/or camp. Kisatchie in Louisiana, De Soto in Mississippi, Conecuh and Talladega in Alabama and Apalachicola in Florida.

The weather will be the final deciding factor where we will actually end up going and how much riding we will actually get to do. Winter is not my favorite time to travel and ride motorcycles since weather can be iffy this time of year all over the country, but the company I work for closes for the holidays so I have no choice but use my days off doing something I enjoy, which is traveling and riding motorcycles.

Visiting friends and family is also on the list to do for this trip, and no matter what, we’re going to check out the Barber Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham, AL. I’ve seen many pictures from that place but I have never been there.

The need for speed

Chicagoland doesn’t usually get frequent snowfalls in the winter time. This winter has definitely been unique with new snow falling almost weekly. With a fresh batch of snow on the ground since last night and no motorcycle riding anytime soon, we decided to get our fix for speed some other way. We got one of those cheap saucer snow sleds at Wal-mart and went sledding today just on the other side of town.

The day was a beautiful one, which is also rare around here in the winter time, usually winter days are overcast and depressing. But today the sun was shining and there was not even a cloud in the sky. It was a cold day though, about 20 degrees and a bit windy.



The big hill is waiting for us



I'm waiting for my turn to slide



Almost a crash, but I actually ended up saving it



These kids better get out of the way, I'm a newbie at this



Mike waiting for his turn



Mike in emergency braking mode



Another turn for Mike down the hill





The big hill got very crowded so we moved to a smaller hill that we didn't have to share with anyone



A snow blanket for me



My pretty snow angel



This was a lot of fun, better then sitting at home for sure

Parked Motorcycle Syndrome (PMS)

It’s been 1 month and 4 days since I’ve ridden my motorcycle and I‘m definitely suffering from PMS right now.

(PMS) Parked Motorcycle Syndrome is a collection of physical, psychological, and emotional symptoms related to a person’s lack of motorcycle riding during the winter months. The further north a rider resides the more PMS symptoms a person may exhibits. Temperatures below freezing, ice, snow and salt on the roads may keep motorcycles parked for months on end in the northern climates.

PMS symptoms are usually predictable and occur regularly, starting with the first snowfall or cold spell and continue through the end winter. The symptoms may vanish temporarily if a person is able to get out for a few rides during the Winter months. Rides during Winter months may occur if the weather turns warmer and the temps climb above freezing or if rain washes away the salt and snow from the roads.

Studies have shown, that even a very short cold ride around the block during Winter months helps alleviate many PMS symptoms. The forecast is not showing any warm ups any time soon, as a matter of a fact, more snow is on the way. I don’t think there is going to be any riding for us this month.

I guess Winter kind of sneaked up on me. Back in November I for sure thought that I’d be riding at last a couple more times this December, therefore I wasn’t concerned about filling up my gas tank before parking the bikes after each ride and now it seems that all of our bikes have to be topped off with gas if they are going to sit for a while plugged in to the trickle chargers. But with so much snow and ice in the driveway, there is no way to ride all the bikes to get them filled up with gas, so gas had to come to the bikes.



Mike filling up all of the bikes with a gas can, his Tiger is first



My ST3 is next



My 954RR also needed some gas



And some gas for my XT225 is also needed

Outside the garage Winter is pushing on in the Midwest with new snow coming down from the sky. This may be a long Winter with very little riding.

More snow on the way today