Father’s Day and a few favorite photos…

Here we are, Father’s Day, 2016.   Wow.

First, our best wishes to all of you Dads out there.  Today is a special day.  It’s one of my favorites.  It’s been close to 35 years since I lost my Dad, and I still think about him every day.  I’m a Dad, and now I’m also a Grandfather.   It’s a good feeling.  I have two daughters and one granddaughter.   One of my daughters (the local one) is coming over for lunch later today, and Sue and I (and my little girl) are going to go to Bass Pro for lunch.   I love walking around in that place, and their fish tacos are good, too.

I thought I would do something a little bit different today and share with you what some of my favorite photos have been in the 6½ years I’ve been writing the CSC blog (yep, that’s 6½ years and more than 1800 blog entries).  I’ll be adding to the list of photos in the next two months.   As you know, I’m headed to China next week for a 37-day romp through the Old Kingdom, and you can bet I’ll be getting a ton of great photos on that ride.  You’ll be able to see them right here on the blog, but I’ll be saving the best ones for the book I’m going to write about the China adventure.   I haven’t thought of a title for the China book yet, but I’ll have 37 days and 3,500 miles to think of one.

So, on to the favorites.   Some of these you’ve never seen before, and some have been on the blog and in either 5000 Miles at 8000 RPM or Moto Colombia!   The first favorite is a photo that is appearing here for the first time.   It’s the Zongshen GY200.

The reason I like the photo you see above is that it is the seed that started what ultimately became the CSC TT250.   The GY was on display in Zongshen’s office area when I was over there finalizing details on the original RX3 contract back in December 2014.

That GY200 glistened, and my eye kept returning to it during our discussions.  I showed the photo to Steve and his reaction was the same as mine…the GY would be great if we could get it as a 250 and add our signature CSC upgrades (inverted forks, 300-watt alternator, improved switchgear, adjustable suspension, and more).   And that’s exactly what happened.   It all started with the bike you see above.   It was a brilliant move on Zongshen’s part to display it right next to their conference room.   And, as mentioned above, all this led directly to the CSC TT250, which brings me to another favorite photo…

Many of my favorite photos came from our motorcycle adventure rides.   The rides are a big deal for us.  Nobody (none of the other motorcycle manufacturers or importers) do what we do with our adventure rides, which is to offer real adventure at no charge to our riders.   It’s been a hoot for me, and the folks who have been on our rides tell me they feel the same way.

Here’s one from the most recent Baja ride, with my good buddy J enjoying a brewski in Ensenada…

From that same trip, here’s a shot I particularly like of my good buddy Keith when we were motoring out to see the whales, and another one of Doina photographing the whales…

Turning back the clock a solid year, I have a few favorites from our first CSC Baja run, too.   Here’s one of my good buddy Tucson Greg.   It’s on the road in Baja’s Sierra San Francisco Mountains, en route to the ancient cave paintings…

Here’s another one from that same trip…this is good buddy and intrepid adventurer Justin on the San Ignacio Mission steps…

On that same ride, here’s a first Sea of Cortez view through my RX3’s windshield while descending through La Cuesta del Infierno.   Trust me, that’s a ride you want to have on your bucket list…

Of course, the Western America Adventure Ride was a solid 18 days of nonstop riding with tons of great photos and stories.   I’d say I could write a book about that one, but hey, you know I already did!   From that ride, here’s a photo of good buddy Joe Gresh I shot in Idaho, with Lester (aka Yul Brynner) in the background.  I’m going be riding with all of these guys in China next week…

Another shot of Gresh at the Grand Canyon.   It looks like it’s been Photoshopped, but it is untouched…you see it the way it came out of the camera.

And, of course, there was the adventure of a lifetime…my ride through Colombia’s Andes Mountains with good buddies Juan and Carlos.   That’s the Volcan Nevado del Ruiz, an active volcano that killed something north of 20,000 people when it erupted in the 1980s, you see steaming in the background.

The Cauca River Valley in Colombia…

Andean twisties, with chicken strips to match…

Here’s a photo I like of Carlos and Juan at the edge of the world, just outside of Barichara en route to Guane…

And a few shots of a great pizza dinner and an evening in Mompos after an exciting ferry ride down the Magdalena River…

And there are a few photos from the earlier days on the CSC 150 Mustang replicas.    We had a lot of fun with those bikes!

I like this photo from the saddle of my CSC 150 (the Baja Blaster) chasing Arlene and TK into Death Valley on the Hell’s Loop Endurance Rally…

Here’s one of Simon Gandolfi, the world famous novelist and adventure rider, somewhere in Baja.   Yep, we rode our CSC 150s all the way to Cabo San Lucas and back…

And one last photo…this one is one of the very first Mustangs we built with a 250cc engine.   We called it the P-51, and Steve did it up in a World War II aviation motif…

Steve originally planned to keep that bike, but after I posted the above photo here on the blog, the offers started pouring in.   You wouldn’t believe how high they were…we scarcely could, either.   The bike sold within a day of our posting it!

I guess that’s enough for now.   Enjoy the day, folks.