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Suffering through the dog days and thoughts on upcoming adventures


One of the toughest things about motorcycling in West Texas is August. The constant 100-plus-degree temperatures and strong south wind usually dictate a short break –– at least for me –– from riding bikes with any consistency until cooler weather returns in September. My August riding typically gets relegated to nighttime only, when temps are a bit cooler and the beating sun is at rest, and such rides through the darkness make filming new episodes of Tim Kreitz Adventures mostly impractical. GoPros hate the darkness. So do DSLRs for the most part. I did a few nighttime episodes last summer, but was displeased with the video quality and ultimately decided to only do daytime filming.

That said (and in the interest of not going a month without any new episodes), I've decided to suffer through at least one more ultra-hot August ride. My longtime friend and bandmate Matt, whom you've seen in a previous episode of Tim Kreitz Adventures, has invited me to make a motorcycle trip with him to his private astronomical observatory, located about 100 miles east of the Midland-Odessa area, where we will observe the stars, drink beers, and philosophize about the ways of the world. I've been there with him before, but never took cameras. I'm working out the particulars as to how I will get good footage in near-total darkness. But we will be doing some astro-photography that night and the dome is equipped with redlighting, so I should hopefully end up with some interesting content either way. Fingers crossed. That'll likely put a cap on August, as we wait for the infernal temperatures of late summer to subside.

As the mercury drops going into fall, several more road trips are tentatively planned, including a few overnight stays in semi-distant locales. Those may possibly include (but will not be limited to) the Davis Mountains of far West Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park on the Texas-New Mexico border, and Big Bend National Park near the US-Mexico border. There are a host of ghost towns yet to be explored near the Mexican border as well, including the famous Terlingua and a few others. Along the way, a side-trip to observe the legendary Marfa lights and perhaps enjoy some craft beer in Alpine is also being considered. Britt plans to go on all these rides with me, and I also hope to include some of the other faces you see from time to time on the channel, including Matt, Clif, Rodger, and the rest of the gang.

In a recent conversation with my younger brother Eric, he remarked that with close to 60 episodes of Tim Kreitz Adventures in the can, I must surely be running out of ideas for content. Sure, a lot of ground and many locations have been covered thus far, but the truth is that we have not yet begun to discover all the secrets of West Texas. The channel continues to grow, and that's a constant inspiration to make each new installment bigger and better than the one before it.

Until the next episode, cheers and God bless.


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