Motorcycle Trips

I decided that after a trip like this, it would be necessary to do a short summary of insights and stats.

Stats: (From the time I left home - May 26)

Days away ............................................................................................................................. 37
Kilometers travelled ................................................................................................................ 15,760
MIles travelled ........................................................................................................................ 9,793
Gas consumed .......................................................................................................... (US Gals) 214.3
Avg. MPG (US) ......................................................................................................................... 45.70
States visited .......................................................................................................................... 25

Insights:

A trip like this takes alot of perseverence. Allen and I talked initially about places we would like to visit, and I started a detailed plan. However, after reading an article on too much planning, we decided in a general direction for the first few days, and then winging it a few days at a time, afterwards. The perseverance part was trying to maintain a general direction and timing, when there is so much to see and do. Like realizing after a week or so, that Florida wasn't going to happen if we kept to our proposed overall time frame of 5 to 6 weeks.

We had planned (obsessed really) about where we would need to get new tires along the way, keeping in mind we both felt we had about 3000 miles left on the existing ones. This is where the planning goes out the window. After the first day out of Bend, we realized my tires were not going to last 3000 miles. Also, I had put on an additional 500 miles travelling to Bend. Finding tires in stock can be an issue, and trying to order from a warehouse, on a long weekend, is pretty iffy. I would also like to thank the bike shops in Provo and Ithica, for accomodating us during your busy season. That is another issue on the road. On a big trip like this, tires and oil changes are inevitable, and it is hard to get into some shops. I know we had been turned down twice to get an oil change, due to shops being booked for three weeks in advance. We got lucky with these great people who recognized our situation, and really did accomodate our needs.

We both took too much clothing, although it is hard to decide when you are leaving early in the season and riding through some very warm areas. Not sure what the answer is, except pack once, then cut it in half. Ha Ha!

My worst day riding? Had to be the third day out for me - the ride from Mountain Home, Idaho to Provo, Utah. The section across to Elko, Nevada was probably the coldest I have ever been, and I have ridden in snow before. But this one was bone depth cold and wet.

My best day riding? Had to be the day we did the Tail of the Dragon. From the time we left Athens, through all the small roads that Earl had told us about, the Cherohala Skyway, the Tail of the Dragon, and finishing with Hwy 28 to Cherokee, it was a fantastic day of twisties and fun.

Although I enjoyed doing the blog, and almost always keep a diary of my bike trips anyway, it did take a considerable amount of time each day. Part of the time was due to having a new netbook. My regular computer crashed just before the trip, and I had to purchase the new one. It hasn't been user friendly for me, as my hands are way too big for the small keyboard.

As I close off this blog, I again want to thank all of you who followed us and gave feedback. It was encouraging to know all my efforts were being appreciated by you.

And thanks to Allen for putting up with my quirks....it was a slice.

Oh yeah, would I do it again??? ........................... You bet I would!!!!

Up early this morning and got packed up, as breakfast here is not until 7 am. Had a light breakfast and was on the road around 7:45. I put my rain jacket on at the beginning, as a windbreak, because it is 53 degrees and overccast. The weather forcast for West of the Cascades calls for showers all day.

Made good time going West on Hwy 2. Lots of nice curves running along side the Wenatchee River, and very little traffic. About 20 miles out, I started to climb into the hills. It was so nice to see the Pacific Northwest scenery again - lots of creeks and rivers, which are filled to capacity; hills of evergreens; and snow capped mountains. Nice to be home again. Just after Stevens Pass it started to sprinkle on and off. But by the time I got to Gold Bar, it was raining steady - not hard, but steady. There was also lots of road and utility work from Gold Bar to just outside Monroe.

I stopped for gas in Monroe and then continued on Hwy 2 all the way to I-5. Because of the weather, I decided to just burn up some road on I-5. Traffic was quite heavy and it was slow going, even on the interstate.

I finally got to Bellingham and stopped at the UPS to mail Allen's spare keys back to him. We each took a spare set of keys to give to the other person, in case we lost our original set. We tried to remember to return them before we split, but it didn't happen. After the UPS, I stopped at Wendy's for a burger and coffee. This is the coldest I've been since DAY 2, in the snow.

Rode up the Guide Meridian to the Duty Free at the Aldergrove border crossing, and picked up a bottle. It took all of 5 minutes to get across the border and was home about 30 minutes later. They must have been expecting a rush at the border, going south, as they had lots of extra police around, and up the road there was a concession stand someone had put up.

The trip is now officially over, and I got Ina to take a picture of the returned traveller.

Within a few days, I will do a bit of a summary of the whole trip. I just have to crunch some numbers, etc.

I want to thank all of you who took time out of your busy schedules, to read about our adventures. I do hope you enjoyed it. Also, thanks to those who gave feedback - especially "rocketrod" who gave feedback every day. Thanks Rod.

We had a light breakfast at the motel and then hit the road about 7:40, Mountain Time.

We headed North on Hwy 95 under clear blue skies, although it was a bit cooler than what we have been used to. It was actually very windy as well. The road was straight and flat, similar to what we rode yesterday afternoon. We stopped at a rest area about 25 miles from Ontario, and I took a couple pictures. The first is of Allen talking to an older gentleman - which happens frequently at our stops. The second is of me in front of a sign saying; "caution - snake area". Perfect for a rest area with a pet run on that side of the road.

Back onto Hwy 95 to Cambridge, where we took a left turn onto Hwy 71. This is a great road!! 55 mph speed limit, with wild 20 and 25 mph twisties. About 35 miles down the road, we came to another rest area at the Brownlee Reservoir. It is a huge recreation area behind the Brownlee Dam. I took a picture of Allen and the bikes at the rest area, and then one at the bottom side of the dam.

Both the Brownlee and Oxbow dams are on the Snake River, which is also a big recreation area. As you could see in the picture of the dam, there are fisherman in their boats, on the river, below the dam. We crossed the Snake and followed Hwy 71 along the river, which is in the Devil's Canyon. There were all kinds of boats on the river, and lots of RV's along the bank. I also got a few pictures of this area. People fishing at the mouth of a large creek flowing into the Snake; Allen riding toward me on Hwy 71; and Allen riding away from me on Hwy 71 along the Snake River.

We got to the junction of Hwy 86 and turned West toward Baker City. The plan was to take the turn onto Forest Service Road 39, which runs through the Devil's Canyon NRA, and the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, to Joseph and Enterprise to have lunch. However, the road was closed off, so we continued along Hwy 86 to Baker City. The road was great, full of twisties and sweeping curves. The road followed the Power River and was very picturesque.

We stopped at the Oregan Trail Cafe for lunch, even though we lost an hour, and it was only 10:30 local time. After our meal, we said our goodbyes. I filled up the tank and headed West on I-84, while Allen headed toward home on Hwy 20. I changed my mind several times, about where I would spend the night. I started out heading to Walla Walla. Because I was making good time on I-84, I decided to go to Wenatchee for the night. It was very windy on the freeway, and I thought it might be windy through the Columbia Gorge, so I changed my mind again, and decided to go to Leavenworth via I-90 and Hwy 97.

I got to Leavenworth around 5:15 and checked into the Fairbridge Inn and Suites, which used to be a Quality Inn. I unpacked and worked on the blog, then I called Ina to update her on my progress. Told her I should be home by early afternoon tomorrow. They are calling for rain, but hopefully won't be too hard.

Around 7 I went across the street for fish and chips, then back to the room to finish the blog.

We headed for breakfast in the morning and they had a woman making omeoletts to order. I ordered one with cheese and mushrooms - it was terrible, undercooked. We sat with Kim from Langley and talked biking and trips all through breakfast.

We got on the road around 8:00 under blue skies, but a bit cooler this morning. GPS read - turn right on Broadway for 66 miles - pretty easy.

After a few miles of 45 mph, we hit the edge of town and it got up to 65 mph. About 10 miles down the road, Hwy 30 West, I looked up to see the skies getting black and dotted with thunderheads, up ahead.

We were lucky to avoid the rain, as there were signs of rain on the highway as we drove. We got to Arco, Idaho at the junction of highways 20, 22, and 93, where we filled with gas. We turned onto Hwy 20 West and rode to the "Crator of the Moon". It is a large outcrop of lava rock, from a pre-historic eruption. It became a park in 1924.

We continued West on Hwy 20 to Picabo where we stopped at a gas station/convenience store, to see if they served meals. They said they don't, but could make some scrambled eggs and toast if we liked. Allen wasn't sure what he wanted, so we thanked them for the offer, but moved on. As I was leaving, the owner said the next town, going West, with a restaurant, was Fairfield. We moved on to Fairfield, about 35 miles West, and stopped at the "Sawtooth Grill".

This was the highlight of our day. We went inside and sat down in a booth, and were greeted by Rebecca. She is a young woman who displays her art on her body. She does her own tattoo work. She told us they close off breakfast at 11:00 sharp. They had a good lunch menu and Rebecca said they cook everything fresh daily, including their pies. The place is owned by Doug and Debbie Willis, and Doug does most of the cooking.

We both ordered a hot turkey sandwich, made with real fresh turkey. The meal was excellent, as was the service. I would highly recommend the Sawtooth Grill, if you are travelling Hwy 20 in Idaho. I took a picture of Allen and Rebecca.

We got back on Hwy 20 West and made good time, as the road was straight and flat, with a 65 mph speed limit. About 30 miles East of Mountain Home, we got into some nice rolling hills with sweeping curves. There were even a few 45 mph curves. This continued for about 20 miles, to the outskirts of Mountain Home. We were now at the same spot we spent the first night out of Bend, back on May 27.

We jumped onto I-84 West toward Boise. There was a long stretch of construction right at Boise, but we still made it to Ontario, Oregon by 2:00. We got gas and then found branches of our respective banks, and did our banking. We worked our way back to the intersection of I-84 and Hwy 30. It was very warm now, in the high 80"s, so checked into the Best Western here in Ontario. I worked on the blog, and we watched some of the baseball game, and worked on our respective routes home, as we will be parting ways tomorrow. We will ride the Devil's Canyon to Enterprise, then out to Elgin, where Allen will turn South and I will continue North.

Around 6 we walked over to the Country Kitchen about a block away. The skies were getting dark again, and by the time we left, there was a big thunderstorm going on. Back to the room to get ready for tomorrow.

For breakfast at the hotel, you had a vouch to take to the restaurant, and you picked an entree and beverages. A bit different than what we are used to, but at least you get to use real dishes and cutlery. I had cereal, toast, coffee and juice.

When I got back to the room, I called the boys in Bozeman and just caught Bill as he was heading out to the bikes. They are heading west to Hwy 93 and then North to Hamilton or Missoula. He wasn't sure where they are going from there, but said he would leave us a message. We loaded the bikes and were late getting started - 8:20.

It was sunny and warm as we headed West on I-80 and got a glimpse of some of the local hills, so I took a picture.

After about 30 miles on I-80, we took Hwy 30 West through flat country dotted with oil wells and cattle ranches. There seems to be lots of drilling and oil field activity in the area. We continued on to Diamondville, where we stopped for gas. When we were leaving Diamondville on Hwy 30 West again, there was a very large Coal Fired Power Plant, so I took a picture. What do you expect from a retired Hydro worker??

We stopped in Montpelier for a break. I had a shake and Allen had a coffee. When we left, we took Hwy 89 North toward Idaho Falls. As we were leaving Montpelier, the road got narrow and started climbing into the hills, through nice sweeping curves. For the first few miles the speed limit was 55 mph, but then jumped to 65 mph.

The trip North to Alpine Junction was great. Love those curves after all those miles of straight and flat roads across the prairies. We stopped for gas in Alpine Junction and when I tried to restart the bike, it was dead - no juice. We started checking out the wiring and then I remembered having this problem at home, in early May. It turned out to be the battery connection on the positive side. I took the seat off and played with the connections, and it finally worked. I cleaned the connections and put it back together, and it seems to be ok now. After this excitement, we went into a local grocery store, which had a deli. They made us fresh bunwiches and a plate of fruit. Was good.

Alpine Junction, just like it sounds, is the junction of Hwy 89 going to Jackson Hole, and Hwy 26 going to Idaho Falls. We jumped onto Hwy 26 and it was a dream, if a bit slow to start with, due to traffic. Finally got through it all and wasted no time getting to Idaho Falls. Had about 5 miles of construction coming into town, but arrived at the Best Western around 3:30.

While we were unloading the bikes, I noticed three bikes in front of a room two down from us. I told Allen I thought the Honda Goldwing, looked like Bruce Moen's, so I checked the license plates - all from B.C. While we were looking, the guys came out of their room and we had a long conversation. It turned out they are all from Langley, B.C. - small world indeed.

I went and picked up some snacks and beverages at the store, while Allen got cleaned up. When I got back I worked on the blog, while Allen did some cleanup on his bike. We then walked a couple blocks to the local Chili's restaurant. I had chicken wings and salad, and Allen had a sandwich and salad. Then we went back to the room to play on the computer and watch tv.