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As the World’s Meanest Motorcycle Event, the Big Dog Adventure Ride 2019 was the “Last, Last and Forevermore” physical gathering of the fraternity.
As promised by the 2019 event promoter, Ron Douglas, the last gathering of the fraternity of Big Dogs was “wild and wooly.”
Winning the coveted award as having traveled the furthest was Brad Wheeler. He used airplanes, subways, buses, taxis and a car from Paris, France to the Big Dog base camp in Silverthorne, Colorado where he tested a KTM 790 against the BMMWs.
The award for having traveled the furthest on the North American continent was David Hrenchir from Florida.
The “Big Dog Titanium Butt” award for having ridden his R80G/S the furthest to the event went to Nathan Mende, who wandered 4,000 miles from Georgia.
In keeping with the flavor that sets the Big Dogs Adventure Ride apart from other events, this Big Dog piloted and flogged his fully loaded Kawasaki KLR650 an arduous 700 miles to the event in one long day.
Underneath the make-up and modification to this “Boxer” was an R80 ST, piloted by Ronnie Weinzapfel from Texas.
As always, some Big Dogs wandered from the traditional BMW GS models. Others were true to the origins of the 30 year event. Jeff Alleman entered his HPN, built from a stock R80G/S, while Jeff Rowland entered his newer BMW HP2. The ever creative motorcycle builder and entrant John Odgen Jr. entered his “Modified For Extreme Adventure” R75/5.
Ron Douglas used his well-used (150,000 miles) BMW F650, which he claims suited his highly recommended “Personal Weight-To-Horsepower-To-650cc-Displacement” ratio for topping some of the highest and most difficult off-pavement passes in the 2019 event.
Some adventure motorcycle “Super Stars” avoided the paparazzi by being in disguise. Usually the event public Information Officer, Herr Woof, had been able to keep the press and media limited to serious motorcycle journalists resulting in professional coverage of the highly secretive fraternity members and the goings-on during the event. When questioned about his personal whereabouts, Herr Woof said, “I’m in the cyber world, now and forevermore.” Woof escaped a photographic capture again in 2019.
Again, some Top Secret BMW adventure motorcycles were on display and hammered on the gnarly Rocky Mountain passes above 10,000 feet.
If one looks close, and is a bit of a BMW motor head, they can see a R75/5 under the modifications.
With his helmet up and head wrap off, “Curly Dog” made an unscheduled appearance at the 2019 Last, Last and Nevermore event on a mountain narrow track when one unnamed Big Dog stepped off his teetering BMW, fell and knocked over his Big Dog riding buddy’s expensive HP2. “He he he!” Curly laughed, reminding the fraternity of the “Larry and Moe Show” (likened to the Three Stooges) during the 2013 event (see photo of Nevermore laughing after causing the crashing out two motorcycles in Past Events-2013), after which the “Larry” was later to be expelled as Nevermore (AKA Dick See Nevermore).
Famed hill climber and adventurist “Deadhorse” (left) and Big Dog founder Clem Cykowski (right) shared a nip of Maker’s Mark to salute the passing of the last Big Dog Adventure Ride.
For a professional wrap-up and R.I.P for the 2019 Big Dog Adventure Ride, go to the Home Page and look under “Articles About” for the 2019 reportage that was published in the January/February 2020 edition of the prestigious BMW Rider’s Association ON THE LEVEL magazine.
Woof and RIP BIG DOG: ADVENTURE FOREVERMORE, with no more Nevermore.
The BIG DOG RIDE can be contacted at:
Great American Motorcycle Adventures, Inc
P.O. Box 1598
Englewood, CO 80150-1598 USA
Email: bigdogbmw (a) yahoo.com
Please do not expect an immediate response when you contact BIG DOG ADV Central, as there is a high probability that the workers will be riding motorcycles somewhere on the globe when you do, sometimes even lost in a daze looping aimlessly around the world.
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