Mark's Webpage

For those new to my website---the bulk of my website chronicles the offroad adventure rides that I have taken around the U.S..
Canada, The Yukon, Alaska, Baja
and old Mexico---there are a few pictures below of my bikes and below that are the links to the trips---enjoy !!

Want some BigDog T-shirts----no ??----well scroll down.
Yes ???---here they are---my good friend Bill Asher in Missouri designed these and sent
the design to a T-shirt manufacturer and here they are. Neither me nor him make a penny off these.
A few people have been wanting stickers and the such--so now you can have a BigDog t-shirt.
Lots of colors---all sizes. I prefer not white--they'll just get looking greasy out in
my old ratty garage. Pictured is gray.
Order HERE

My last day at work---Friday May 11th, 2012 which was my birthday was a hoot.
All the guys at work wished me well and congratulated me on my retirement----it was a very heart felt day for me.
And I held back tears for what all they did for me---a huge dinner with a huge cake with a dirt bike on it.
A card that everyone signed---and they even took a collection for money for gas in my bike.
I didn't really feel comfortable with that---but they did it anyway. On the way out everybody was watching me walk to my bike----my KLR
that I had ridden to work everyday for almost 2 years---only missing a handful of icy days.
NIce to have friends---------I think !!!!!

Pic Of The Month

When I wasn't riding dirt bikes and racing---I had a few old Harleys I terrorized the country on.
It was 1982 (me on the left)----my 5 year old son Marty standing just to the right of me shivering in his furry coat.
My wife Debi is still in the sidecar of my beloved 1963 Panhead dresser---you can see her white helmet.
The other 2 guys in yellow rainsuits pulled in the overpass to get off the snowy road----one was on a bike
the other on a bicycle. We were on the top of Raton Pass in Southern Colorado and I was to ignorant to know
it could snow in March up there. It was snowing heavily and got 6" deep on the road. We pulled over and moments after this photo
a snow plow went by and buried my wife in the sidecar as me and Marty jumped over the rail. All this after surviving 2
tornadoes in tents in Kansas a few days before !!
No wonder neither one---will ride with me anymore.

Somewhere on the backroads of Southern Indiana.
After going around a road closed sign----I just had to go on..........

I made it back from British Columbia, The Yukon and Alaska and did make it all the way to Deadhorse Alaska.
7,000 miles on that trip on the WR250R which is showing over 26,000 miles now.
The bike ran perfect the whole trip and just amazed me--so glad I took a small bike for where we went.
But here' the most beautiful place I've ever been.
The Salmon Glacier---20 miles down a dead end dirt road North of Hyder, Alaska

Somewhere in the woods of Missouri----Fall 2011

Alaska 7,000 miles-----me and my buddy Scott make it all the way to the Arctic ocean---and stuff happens !!!!
2 Yamaha WR250's go the distance.

Spring----Spring Hunt ....a 2-day ride into Missouri hunting springs...this link takes you
to the short story on the AdvRider site.

Mississippi Hill Country....My ride and visit with Sam Correro......the creator of the
Trans America Trail. We ride a published route of his down in Mississippi---and some that is not available
to the public yet. This ride was done in November, 2010.

The Bridge........a solo ride in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah on my KTM 950-----how far would I ride to see a bridge ?????.............pretty dang far !!!!

East Of The Divide----A sweet solo ride on my 950 KTM heading to my son's house in Durango, Colorado.

Fall Color ride 2009----I ride my Yamaha WR250R down thru Missouri and Arkansas trying to soak up all the Fall Colors---a 1,200 miles solo ride.

Shadow Of The Rockies Trail/Colorado-----my WR250R and a KLR ride Sam Correro's Colorado portion of his Shadow Of The Rockies Trail---and then ride on in to Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and back down thru Colorado----2,476 miles on a 250.

Poncho And Lefty A Southern New Mexico and Arizona 1,700 mile unsuported adventure ride I took in January 2009 on my Yamaha WR250R with my buddy on a KLR

Missouri Mill Tour A several day ride to some really neat and beautiful stuff in the Southern Missouri Hills. There are a lot of old grist mills still standing in Missouri--and I go to several of them.

Long Way UP BigDog and The Breeze ride the Tour Of Idaho Trail---a 1,300 mile road
and trail from the Utah border---to the Canada border.

Trans Wisconsin America Trail This adventure ride starts at the
Wisconsin--Illinois border and runs mostly offroad to a bluff overlooking
Lake Superior. I rode it alone on my KLR in June of 2008.

Shadow Of The Rockies Trail --Join me as we ride Sam Correro's newest ride thru New Mexico------a 700 mile trailride which starts at the Mexican border in Texas and ends up at the Colorado border where it crosses Sam's well known Trans Am Trail.

Barrancas Del Cobre -----A Husky TE610 and Honda XR650R travel some different routes around the Mexican Canyons and beyond.

Ozark Mountain Daredevils -----Fall 2007-----a dirt ride ?? a dualsport ride ??? an adventure ride ???----Well yes--it was !!!

Taylor Park Colorado July, 2007.... 9 dirt bikers hit the trails and mountain passes----am I too old to still ride a real dirt bike ????

Little Dog Gets Off The Porch June, 2007....BigDog, GasPipe and Killer take the big bikes to the pacific Northwest--and little dog................well,.........takes the little bike. 4,500 miles of Colorado, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

200 Miles Of Bad Road BigDog and GasPipe in the Mark Twain Forest of Missouri--March 2007

The Western TAT----- or "Trans Am Trail"---Offroad ride from Arkansas to the Pacific ocean in Oregon.

Hoosier Hookey Ride It's fall in beautiful Indiana----we try to drowned a new KLR, find many new "old" bridges, and take a ride thru a live railroad tunnel--no, I still haven't growed up !!!

Arkansas Fall Color Tour 2005 We ride the Fall Color Tour Dualsport and get to hang out with Scott Harden--the man who headed the USA Paris to Dakar race team in 2005.

Homeless HoeDown The long way round'--to the adventure rider rally in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Le Tour De Divide A 2,700 mile offroad journey from Canada to Mexico--if Lance Armstrong can ride this far in the mountains--so can we !!!!!

Flag Day Adventure 3 KLR's, a KTM 950 and 1150GS ride the Missouri and Arkansas mountains-----and actually camp !!!!

It's a Bummer Snowfari

Eastern TAT Trans-America Trail----7 riders ride the Tennessee, Mississippi and Arkansas portions of the TAT.

2004 Weekend Madness Join me on just some short weekend rides to some really neat places I've went throughout the year.

Swinging Bridges Dualsport 8 riders on 650 dualsports find and ride over the old and historic swinging bridges on the backroads of Missouri.

Mexico--Copper Canyon 9 days in Mexico--much more than just copper canyon. With a little trip thru big Bid Bend National park before coming home.

2003 Arizona Adventure --------Bears, scorpions, tarantulas, rattlesnakes, and cactus needles call us to the backcountry of Arizona on a KLR650, DR650 and XR400.

2002 Fall Adventure Ride 4 adventure riders tackle the backroads of the Appalachain Mountains---BMW R1150GS, DR650, BMWF650 and BMW 650 Dakar.

2002 Moab Dualsport ride from Moab, Utah to the North rim of theGrand Canyon and back!! 1,700 miles of rocks, sand, dirt, washes, mountain passes and jeep trails--On a Suzuki DRZ400S and DR650.

2001 Colorado Mountain Pass Ride----------3 riders tackle the high mountain passes of Colorado on a several day offroad dualsport adventure--on a Suzuki DRZ400S, DR650 and Honda XR600L.

2001 Arkansas 650 Adventure --4 riders, 5 days, rain, floods, flat tires, cold--well you get the picture !!!!! On 2 BMWF650's, DR650, BMW650 Dakar.

BigDogAdventures--the early years

Honeymoon May 24th, 1974
1969 Triumph 650 tiger chopper

Bike accessories
Headlight was a fender light off of an old tractor with an 1156 bulb (yes an ordinary turn signal bulb)---front brake, none--aftermarket gas tank, 3/4 gallon---front fender, none---rear suspension, you kidding ??-----Seat, there was none, just the "old gold blanket" folded up---sleeping bag, one biggin', we were in luv, and still are---rain gear, Huh ??----mufflers, oh please-----helmets, hah !!!----GPS, I don't think so.

The bike got us 45 miles from home and blew up---spent the afternoon in Goreville, Illinois waiting for a pickup---finished the honeymoon back in our 600 sq. ft. apartment.
Our first adventure !!!!
I still luv you Debi