TotR Rally link

I'm heading out on the 16th of July for this one, riding with a mate who enjoys the twisty roads as much as I do. The basic route is Washington state, dipping into either eastern Oregon or eastward to Idaho, then Montana, Utah, the corner of Wyoming then Colorado. I'll leave with NEW tyres this time. 


I am taking at least eight days on this ride, mainly camping, with the occasional motel room if the pong gets too stanky for even me to stand. This one is a fun one, with camping right in the middle of town, beneath towering cottonwoods and aspen trees. In the 'old days' a 90+ year old local woman would climb onto the back of a large touring Beemer and sit proudly in an informal parade of some of the bikes through town. She did it into her 100s, last I knew. The local fire department played the rally-goers in a friendly game of softball, and the ladies' auxiliary cooked brekky for everyone. It's also one the least expensive rallies around, at just $55 for three nights' camping and Friday/Saturday dinner, with live bands and a beer tent. The altitude is about 5,700' (1730m), and the town has a sparse population of about 1,500 souls. The nearby Rockies sit at over 11,000' (3,500m) and the region is often referred to as the 'banana belt' because the growing season is better than most areas of Colorado due to its proximity to the west of the main stretch of the Rocky Mountains. Until his untimely death, rocker Joe Cocker had his Mad Dog ranch and a successful restaurant called the Fountain Cafe, in nearby Crawford, with his American wife.

I remember riding up to Crested Butte with a group of other riders, fifty miles away via gravel roads, back in about '99. I had my tiny Italian girlfriend Maria on the back of my Airhead RS. We all enjoyed a mug of cold beer and a game of pool at a crustic miners' bar, at 10,000' of altitude where the air is thin and the alcohol goes to your head quicker, then fired up our bikes to head back to the rally site. My old Airhead would start but only fire on one cylinder. it felt like a carb diaphragm had split. I swapped plug leads (dual spark heads) one side to the other, no change, but I never swapped plugs. I rode that one-cylindered beast all the way down the mountain. At the rally site, after tearing into the most complicated part of the systems first, I discovered a new set of NGK plugs beneath the seat in the rear tool tray. In they went. Boy, didn't that simple fix become the definitive one?! One bad plug, it had failed-dead-flat-defunct-kaput, on the spot, way up there. Always go for the basics first.

The 2009 K1300GT on a 20 mile test ride through Lakewood, Steilacoom & Dupont, Washington today.

The K13 is ready for the approximately 3,000 mile (4,800km) return trip to Colorado & back. On this ride, the bike has new tyres, a fresh set of Pirellis. I recently serviced it, also replacing the air filter which had insects smashed into it from the ride to Mexico back in February, as well as cleaning the radiator fins and changing the oil filter, and engine/final drive oils, lubing linkages, and checking/re-torquing every major fastener and screw on the bike.

The sting of the recent "heat dome" where the daytime temps got near 100f/38c for three days - much greater than that south into Oregon, California & Nevada - has diminished a bit. We are seeing very dry temps of 82/28 lately. I expect to head in to Idaho & Utah close to the "hundy" mark again, however. The soakable cool-vest, mesh jacket and mesh gloves are ready to go.

If I get any good photos I'll be sure to post 'em. Tho' I do prefer to ride distance alone, I'm heading out with a local riding buddy, early on Monday next, or Tuesday if my pal Mark isn't ready. He's on a sweet, very low mileage 2007 K1200GT which he bought a year ago from an estate. The bike has now had a major service, new tyres and outstanding factory recalls done, as it was in storage for a decade, and has a whopping 6,000 miles (9,700 km) on the odometer. My red GT isn't so young, having rolled over 98,000 miles (158,000 km) on my last ride to central Washington a week ago. It will easily break the 100K mark (161,000 km) on this next ride.

I'm ready for some more horizon chasing. Good riding to everyone.

In eastern Oregon atop Emigrant Pass near Deadmans Hill - no joke - it is 32°. Down the bottom of the hill near Umatilla it was 36°/98.6°. Wildfire smoke obscures the sky. Tomorrow we will be riding in 40°/104° across southern Idaho to the SW corner of Wyoming at Flaming Gorge. I hope she's had that looked at. 

Ready to go, rugged up, before 6AM this morning, sun popping into view. Little did we know then just what a temperature shift it would be.

We are now stopped in Ontario, the Oregon version, right on the border with Idaho and the Snake River. It is 104.9° in those Fahrenheits. Set the room's AC to 62°, also F, and turned that fan to high. An easy sub-500 mile day today. Tomorrow, the twisty roads wherever we can find them.

Update: 9PM Mountain Daylight Time, sun still bright, and it's only dropped a few degrees to 37/99.

104° to 108° (40 - 42) is forecast across Idaho to the Utah/Wyoming border. It's a good thing the riding gear's got mesh throughout.

The roads chosen today were some of the finest I've ridden in the greater NW US, much of it following roughly the original Oregon Trail - in many places you can view the ruts caused by countless wagon wheels in the silty loam/clay terrain, which hardened over time.

The temps varied from 80° to 99° just briefly, but it was mainly dry, not at all humid. The bikes hummed on 91 octane (AKI not RON) at altitudes from below 3,000 feet to mountain passes above 6,000 feet. We saw endless golden wheat fields, bubbling trout streams, tall stands of pine forests, thousands of free grazing cattle (open range), and row after row of low, jagged mountains in the distance. Flying fast and low, we managed 500+ miles across Idaho, into Wyoming, then Utah and back to Wyoming. 

Craters of the Moon National Monument is not to be missed.




Tomorrow, 375 miles to go across Wyoming's SW corner near Flaming Gorge, into Colorado through Grand Mesa, and our destination of picturesque Paonia.

Dazz,

once more 'thank you' for sharing your ride and all these pictures of places I've never heard of, never been to and most probably, never be to.
I've never seen landscapes like these in my entire life. And I've been to most of Europe as of today.

Wishing the two of you a happy and safe ride.

I'm glad there's an armchair tourer (or two) out there who enjoy(s) my perspective.

It is truly a beautiful part of the world to explore.

:tu1:or three TWB!

Oh, count me in, definately. I have a really comfortable armchair here just begging to be used.

We arrived in Paonia at two o'clock. The run down from Flaming Gorge was fast, hot (up to 99°), about 250 miles, a total of 375 today. I'm setting up my tent beneath the shady trees. Cooling off with a coldie and conversation with old friends. Here's pix of our route today. More maybe later. 

Various roads in Wyoming.


Two Ks (of several spotted), both for sale.

This is the last morning on the road. Ill be home in about three hours. My riding partner opted for the interstate slab over the mountains while I'm taking the Cascade routes of highways 12 & 410. It's been an eventful ride. A lot has happened, with many fine rural highways and canyons strafed. We came upon a dramatic road accident on Lolo Pass in Idaho which I'll get into detail on later. For now, a selection of piccies to peruse. Oh, and it's a comfortable 20/68° after a week of near 40/100+ in many places, topping out at 104.9° F in Colorado several daze ago.



Washington's section of the Snake River in the Palouse.

Which came first, Starbuck the dusty,  remote village or $tarbux, home of burnt coffee beans!? 

Time to ride.

BTW, the bike's odo rolled over 100,000 miles on this ride.

It's always a bit of a thrill to see that figure come up. I've done it on three bikes now - two Guzzis and LFB. One of the Guzzis (the G5) went on to roll the needle round again.