Z50 monkeybike with a few mods...

Holbrook is 40-45 minutes away from Show Low, I drove through that burg recently on my way to the Petrified Forest & Painted Desert... I used to drive through Holbrook all the time while trucking on I-40, and it hasn't changed much over the years, LOL. To be fair, there are some cool shops and museums and dive bars and whatnot in Holbrook, once ya get off the interstate... part of ol' Route 66, don'tcha know? Like just about every other "larger" town in this area, Holbrook has an annual rodeo... don't be fooled by the arenas, there are some good riders in these rodeos, many of them Navajo or Apache riders who grew up around livestock.

Cheers Sidewinder for the offer, that made my day! Unfortunately i doubt i will be able to afford any travel for quite a while, had an unexpected health scare about 6 weeks ago, had a few hospital visits and haven't worked since. After weeks of wrong diagnoses, the docs have worked out what wrong with me and have dosed me up with drugs to speed my recovery. Lets just say it is not curable, but can be 100% managed by making a few lifestyle changes, regular medical monitoring and the right medications.
I have only just got to the point where i have maybe 50% energy so i can tinker an hour or two a day on bike projects while the kids are at school to stop me turning into a daytime tv zombie. I have a few on the go now, just using parts i been hoarding over the years so expect a build thread or two in the next few weeks once i have something to show.
Though if i ever are on your side of the world i will definitely take you up on your offer, keep up the good work brother!

Sorry to hear it, I'm leery of doctors and Big Pharma meds nowadays, the pills they gave me after I nearly broke my knee were worthless... but the clinical X-rays (no ER) were worth the price, just for peace of mind. I try to look after myself no matter what I do, seems like nobody else gives a $h!t in this day & age, LOL. As for the offer, no worries, the world may change and ya might find yourself in a better situation... just keep it in mind, this area IS cool, even though it's inland. When I knew I had to relocate and retrench, I wanted to be free & clear, since I expected Clinton to win a rigged election... being free & clear was most important to me, I didn't want any kind of mortgage, as I'm not big on banksters, I'd rather just pay as I go and live within my means. This may be a humble home under the tall pines, but it's the first I ever owned, so to me it's f#%g beautiful, aye?

Bulletproof Red69, I meant to also say that Holbrook lies at a lower elevation and looks NOTHING like Show Low, which has forests and green meadows and amazing wildlife, I'm talking herds of deer & elk, there are many hunters up here because the wildlife is rampant. It's a completely different scene from Holbrook, and yet the two towns are not far apart, the change in elevation makes all the difference. I kinda like it, because I can go from mountain greenery to high desert scenery in no time at all... and the greenery up here is nice, as you can see from my pics, I believe my "lawn" is the only thing that isn't green up here, LOL. Meh, these monsoon rains are starting to turn things around, I noticed some new grass coming up today, so maybe I'll have my lawn back soon enough. I think I may have added too much fertilizer when I added topsoil, compost, etc., and that brutal heat wave we had a while back didn't help.

Got a few more videos from my Birthday Ride, LOL... again, the Hero cam makes foot-deep ruts look like sand ripples, while softball-sized rocks look like pebbles, PFFFFFFFT. Maybe there's a different setting I can use to bring these ruts & rocks into view, otherwise I reckon I'll remove the Hero cam from my helmet and place it at ground level to get the real view, AYE??? Meh, here we go with the rest of the video clips from that ride, bitchin' & whinin' included, LOL.





Alright, that's it for the Birthday Ride, next I'll post some killer footage from a different venue here in the White Mountains. Got some serious home rehab done today, so I'm ready for another cold beer... took awhile to upload these videos, since technology is NOT my friend, LOL. Meh, maybe that NK zipperhead will launch some missiles soon (under globalist orders, of course), and we can get this party started... 10-4???

Losing the visual impact of terrain is unavoidable, regardless of the camera. I've noticed the very thing you mentioned...the world appears much smoother than it actually is. Also looks like it's mostly downhill, with a wide-angle lens gathering the visual info. FWIW, even 3-4 footdeep ruts look anything but imposing...even in 8x10 stills. You're taking something life-sized then shrinking it down by like 99.9%.

Mounting the camera close to ground height, OTOH, will go a long way toward your goal of capturing at least some of the drama.

Lovin the commentary as you ride, dont know how you do it, I mustn't be able to do 2 things at once (talk and ride). When I'm riding and really hookin into it on a zed in the bush for some reason i hear OZZY's "Over the Mountain" as my own personal soundtrack in my head, I dont know why. Everytime i hear it i wanna ride my 87 z50r

HaHa, my Ozzy soundtrack would be "CRAZY TRAIN" or "FLYIN' HIGH AGAIN"---though I'm not doing any chronic lately, gotta think about a drug test for employment in the near future, unless I won the Mega Millions jackpot last night (haven't checked my ticket yet). Boy, that'd be nice, I'd buy a big ol' extended-hood rig, rip the fifth wheel assembly off the frame, install a diamond-plate BBQ deck (complete with railings and recessed tie-down points), load the boat & bikes, swing through Sin City and pick up a Vegas Hooker or two, then tour the West like there's no tomorrow, boating and riding in multiple venues... BBQing and partying every night under a million stars, WOOHOO!!! Well, that's the trucker's dream, anyway... the reality will be slow starvation and downsizing under more scumbag politicians, my '02 Camry traded in for a '73 Ford Pinto (scorch marks across the entire rear end). Meh, hopefully this globalist-orchestrated nuke war will begin soon, that way I can CAP prospective employers instead of suckin' up to 'em, LOL. I'm thinking they'll make pretty good targets, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Damn... okay, I'm back to "THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES" on late-night TV, plus a big ol' greasy cheeseburger in short order. I went to bed early last night after a long day of home rehab (got a lot done), so now I'm wide awake at 0300 and ready for some action. No beer this early, I'm working on a stiff Stolichnaya Bloody Mary, LOL... probably grab another in a few minutes before I start cooking that cheeseburger, 10-4???

P.S. Wait, I mentioned Stolichnaya, I need some idiot liberal democrats to squawk about "Russian collusion"---maybe initiate an "investigation" to "verify" or "fact-check" my Stoli bottle, PFFFFFFFFT. Stoooooo-pid globalist-suckin' liberal democrat trash... the scourge of the nation, along with all the leeches and Epic Darwin Failures they support (while slurping at the public trough and wasting money that doesn't belong to them).

Well, Boyz, I may sell my bikes and all associated gear if someone gives me a decent offer... my knee has been acting up again lately and I'm beginning to think that I've joined the ranks of the old men, 10-4??? Same goes for cartopping & extreme small craft sailing, this bum knee is ruling all that $h!t out, go figure... I'm about ready to saw off the goddam leg and collect disability, AYE??? Maybe get one o' those stumpy wooden legs the pirates use, "ARRRRRRRRR!!!" I don't much like the thought, but then again, I've ridden hard for decades and I've occasionally THRASHED myself... maybe the damage is cumulative and finally gives ya enough grief to make ya abandon all that ya once held dear. Never thought I'd see the day, but this knee has really been giving me $h!t to the point where just limping around is f#%g difficult. Anybody here who lives in or near Arizona, you make a decent offer and you'll score two bad@$$ bikes, along with all associated gear and a few boxes of spare parts. Enough said, I don't like even considering this move, but that's the way it is right now, and I just don't give a flyin' f#% anymore...

Knee injuries can take for f*****g ever to heal. Last one I sustained turned into an 18 month "adventure". The injury was nowhere near as dramatic as yours and it occurred almost 20 years ago.

I hear what you're saying, priorities change with age. Maybe you're right and it's time to move on. That said, it might just be the voice of frustration...telling you to "throw more toys out of the pram". Decisions made in a negative frame of mind are usually the ones that tend to bring the most regrets. In that case, putting those activities on hiatus, then revisiting them once life settles down a bit and thinking becomes clearer. Going forward, a saner pace of riding, sans alcohol, might be good idea too.

Well, the bikes will probably sit for awhile as this knee settles down... I learned yesterday that I'm still in the running for that job, but the gal who handles all that went on vacation. I've been worried about my bank reserves getting low, and this knee injury has NOT helped matters in trying to get back to work. Feels better today, though, and if I get that job it'll solve the money problem. I had hoped to find a decent lodger months ago, and that hasn't happened yet, but I'm still looking... having a roommate would stop the bleeding as far as the bank reserves go. Anyway, I'm watching college ballgames on the curved screen, which brings a sense of normalcy to this crazy life.

Well, Boyz, I sold those bikes today, between the knee injury and needing money to carry on here, I felt it was the right thing to do. I wouldn't have done it if I didn't need the money... finances kinda crept up on me while my knee was thrashed, 10-4? Doesn't mean I've written off dirt biking altogether, but after some reflection, I reckon I'd be better off on a quad, especially if I stay up here in the White Mountains where the trails are rugged and rocky as hell. No shortage of secondhand quads up here, you see 'em along the road with "For Sale" signs on 'em. If I'm forced to flip this house and retrench in the Ozarks (where I can still afford to buy another home), I might just give up thrashing in the dirt and buy a road bike to ride all those scenic roads that wind through those hills, there are some primo rides to be had in the Ozarks, as I know from experience.

I have some breathing space here, a few months to see whether things will turn my way, but that one outfit did NOT come through, even though they sent me to a drug screen (which I passed). Another local trucking outfit may take me on, they're still running their ad in the paper... and of course I've applied elsewhere, but if I can't find steady work AND at least one roommate to share this home, I may have to bite the bullet, flip the house & relocate yet again, something I do NOT wanna do since I like it up here, yeah? Worst part of that scenario is relinquishing the cats, I don't think I can handle another road trip with pets involved. It'd break my heart to do it, but sometimes the hard choices have to be made... I've given these cats some good living, and maybe things will turn my way after all, we'll see in due time, no point fretting about it when I'm doing everything I can to establish myself here.

If the worst happens and I'm forced to relocate, I'll be thankful for the time I spent in this mountain paradise... unfortunately, the economy is indeed seasonal up here, everything slows down in the winter, which means less work UNLESS one is with a year-round operation. That stupid knee injury really messed up my timing when it came to looking for a job, I had planned to kickstart the job search right about the time the injury occurred. Meh, won't be the first case of bad timing in my life, but I gotta rethink this whole "reliving my youth" number, I can't afford to have this sort of serious injury sideline me again. If things turn my way and I DO plane out here in the White Mountains as originally planned, I reckon I'll wind up buying a quad, it'd be SAFER than the bikes I just sold, LOL. I kept pads, helmet, and Hero Cam just in case, AYE??? Ya never know what might happen...

Monkeybiking will still go on forever, even if I bow out and wind up buying a quad or a friggin' rice rocket, LOL... I had some damned good times aboard my FrankenBike and pit bike, and I'm sure the next owner will also have a blast. I guess I started this thread about two-and-a-half years ago, but I swear it feels like a decade... probably longer for some of youse heroes, LOL. Quite the adventure, and some kick@$$ memories to boot... and of course the bike(s) will live on, funny to think how some bikes have a life that goes on from owner to owner, and who knows what each owner has done in the way of wilderness exploration? Who knows what future owners will do? Perhaps the FrankenBike will wind up in Antarctica, ice spikes or studs in the tires and a rooster tail of snow and ice behind it as the rider twists the throttle wide open, LOL... THAT would be pretty cool, and I mean LITERALLY COOL at fifty below or whatever.

Anyway, I bought a little time today so we'll see what develops here in Show Low, keeping the kittehs together under this roof is my highest priority. But just in case things don't pan out, I've decided to unload some other stuff too, like the boat and some of the furniture I brought with me from Coronado. If I retrench yet again, I'm only gonna take the best things and travel relatively light... drive a smaller rental truck and put the car on a tow dolly. Let the pool table and appliances convey with the house, buy what I need at the other end, including another pool table and a friggin' rice rocket, LOL. But that's only if I'm forced to relocate, frankly I'd rather stay here if I can swing it, even though some of those back roads through the Ozarks are mighty pretty. I thought about New Mexico, but I don't think the economy is that good there, and the demographics are better in the Ozarks (wid all dem hillbillies). Joel Skousen likes the Ozarks too, there are hidden caves & pockets of country there that offer refuge during nuclear war, LOL.

HEY, IF I WIN THE MEGA JACKPOT TONIGHT, NONE OF THIS BULL$H!T WILL MATTER... I'LL FINALLY BE ABLE TO AFFORD OBAMACARE AND I'LL BUY A WHOLE GOLDURNED FLEET OF MONKEYBIKES!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! DAMN.

OKAY, TIME FOR A COLD ONE (MY FIRST), THAT WAS A LONG DRIVE DOWN TO SCOTTSDALE EARLIER, AS MY SLEEP WAS INTERRUPTED LAST NIGHT. NOW I CAN RELAX AND DRINK A FEW BEERS, MAYBE WATCH SOME TV, I THINK WE GOTS COLLEGE BALLGAMES ON THIS EVENING...

Sorry to hear you had to sell the bikes but you gotta do what you gotta do, and you can always buy again when your finances are good again.
I don't know about a quad though, doesn't seem dangerous enough. The best thing about riding murdercycles is they aren't safe, i reckon you should get yourself a trike, a cool 80s 2 stroke trike, for some reason i can see you thrashing through the woods, keeping it in band with the front wheel reaching for the sky whilst your fighting to keep it rubber side down.
Good luck with the job hunt, hopefully the right job is just around the corner.

Now I'm gettin' feedback from multiple outfits about work, go figure... meh, we'll see what happens, this CDL-A might see me through yet, despite the washed-up OTR career, LOL. Ya already know what's gonna happen, and so do I, since I've been through it before: half a dozen jackholes will simultaneously call to offer me a friggin' job, and I'll hafta figure out which job to take.

Whaddup, Hee-roes?!?!? I think I FINALLY scored a JOB up here in the White Mountains... "Call CNN!!!" PFFFFFT, can't stand that globalist tool outfit, LOL. Anyway, I went to a trucking yard today to talk to the hands in charge, seemed like classic good ol' boys, certified rednecks and I wouldn't have it any other way, WAHOOOOOO!!!

As y'all know, I had a "false start" when a different outfit sent me for a drug screen... passed that no problem, but then the company told me they were laying off drivers, 10-4? Some operations up here are seasonal, even though the winters are NOT really that severe. Hell, the worst storm we had last winter only dumped 11 inches, barely enough for me to make my first snowman in... what... 45 years???

Anyway, this gig may prove to be solid, we'll just hafta wait and see... but I DID hit it off with the hands in charge, they were down-to-earth and asked all the right questions, LOL. Such as: "DO YOU OWN ANY FIREARMS?!?!?" BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Damn, that's just wrong by all greaseball D.O.T. standards, but I can't fault the boyz for askin', AYE???

Meh, youse knucklehaids---er, I mean Monkeybiking Hee-roes & Crusty Mini Demons o' Dirt---hang loose and carry on with your mini adventures, "10-DASH-ROGER???" Pretty soon I'll be posting Hero Cam video (helmet cam, no less) of trash truck operation here in the White Mountains, LOL. Might be a bit slower than my former videos of mini & pit bike action... but I'll be sure to get some good close-up footage of front-loading & side-loading action, WOOHOO!!!

LATER, THE QUAD VIDEO!!! HELL, YEAH!!! I'M GONNA PUT A BIG OL' COW-CATCHER ON MY QUAD TO RAKE UP MONKEYBIKERS, LOL...

Congrats on your new gig.

Should be safer since it's a lot harder to pull

Sidewinder said:

a crazy John Wayne combat roll

Click to expand...

on 4 wheels.

Dont'cha know the ground gets lower & harder every year?

10-4, I copy the "lower & harder"---that's why the severe knee injury was such a wake-up call, LOL. I still miss my FrankenBike, but I have other priorities right now... life crept up on me while I was laid up with a bum knee. Meh, these guys look legit and I can use the goldurned money, so can the kittehs if they wanna eat, LOL. Guess we won't hafta stand on a corner with cardboard signs after all... that gig gets rough in the White Mountains when Ol' Man Winter makes an appearance. Hafta buy some North Face parkas for the kittehs if they're gonna stand on a corner...

Congrats on the gig SW

Good news, Boyz!!! I FINALLY found a lodger for that back room, WOOHOO!!! Cool laid-back dude too, and a rider to boot... has a good job right here in Show Low, digs the par-tay pad I set up, at long last I get some street cred (or home cred, LOL). Timely move-in too, with my accounts running low and those last @$$clowns never actually coming through with an employment offer, go figure. They talked big story, but no dice, could be that fake felony holding me back, even though it was nothing but lies on paper. No worries, I'm still in the running for two good full-time positions, plus I think I've lined up another lodger for that fourth and last room in the house. WTF, there's plenty of room in this house for three people, and the three kittehs as well, LOL. The extra $$$ will help bridge the employment gap, no worries... and the lodgers I allow in here will all be cool drama-free hands, so I'm a HAPPY CAMPER tonight, watching football and having a cold beer with the kittehs, WOOHOO!!!

I went hiking again yesterday in an ongoing effort to fully rehab this thrashed knee o' mine, and I discovered a whole new outdoor offroad playground right near my house, LOL. It's so cool, having the trailhead to this HUGE wilderness playground a scant mile from my forest home, might even be 3/4 of a mile away... found a radical quad trail too, and I WILL be buying a quad in due time, quads are the best choice for these rugged, rutted & rocky AZ trails, ya know??? I suppose it's a sure sign that I'm turning into an old fogey (or is that fogie?), this wussified racing quad idea, LOL. But no worries, I'm gonna post some bad@$$ quad videos once that whole scene ramps up again, and I mean it when I say I want a racing quad, those clunky utility quads are no good for my style of riding. I'll wear full pads too, quad or no quad, some dude just got whacked earlier this year when he ate $h!t and his quad rolled over him.

ANYWAY, Y'ALL BE GOOD, I'M BACK TO MY BEER & MY BALLGAME, LOL... ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD, WOOHOO!!!

Roommate situation going well, hoping to find another roommate pronto... just placed new ads for that purpose, maybe they'll pay off this time. Had a blast on Halloween, and I just cooked a big ol' roast turkey (19+ lbs.) yesterday, so we have PLENTY of leftovers for this football weekend, LOL. Been thinking of quads lately... when I get around to buying one, I reckon it'll be a Banshee or a Raptor or some such similar quad, I want something lean & mean, a racing quad and not some bulky utility quad, 10-4? I can always add a beer rack later, LOL... got another rider here in the form of my roomie, he's a younger hand but he knows a bit about bikes. Hell, if I can find one more rider for that last room, we'll be STYLIN', LOL...

I'M OFF TO DRINK BEER & WATCH COLLEGE FOOTBALL, MAYBE SHOOT SOME STICK WHILE WE WATCH THE GAME... I KNEW I PUT THAT 8' TABLE AND BIG OL' FLATSCREEN TV IN THE 'POOL ROOM' FOR A REASON, LOL.

P.S. Google "White Mountain Independent" and check the paper's website for news of the latest 31-lb. meth bust, LOL... it always makes my day to read about meth busts, can't stand that nasty cr@p and I love seeing it taken off the streets so it can't ruin more lives.

Sidewinder said:

Been thinking of quads lately... when I get around to buying one, I reckon it'll be a Banshee or a Raptor or some such similar quad, I want something lean & mean, a racing quad and not some bulky utility quad, 10-4?

Click to expand...

Let's just say that I'm somewhat familiar with the Banshee. Imagine putting a horse saddle on 400 HP. Disrespect that BIOTCH and it wont leave you with a bummed knee, but a bummed BODY. LOL. I've had a few 4wheelers before, but my favorite was a "run of the mill" 86 Honda 250 utility with the racks and all. It was always reliable. The detachable headlight w/12foot cord was great and the oversized(not factory) tires practically made it float in deep water. The shaft drive was a big plus too.

Good to hear the roomate thing is working out. If your cats "hisss" at them, take it as a warning.lol