Welcome to the Two Wheeled Texans community! 
Feel free to hang out and lurk as long as you like. However, we would like to encourage you to 
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2008
- Messages
- 154
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- King George Virginia
- First Name
- Kelly
- Last Name
- Coyer
My wife and I had originally planned for the last two weeks of June to ride to Indiana for her annual family reunion, but she works for the State of Montana as a CPS worker, and things went sideways at the last minute and she wasn’t able to take the time she had scheduled off. I don’t sit still very well and the thought of sitting at home for two weeks didn’t sound like fun, so I decided to take off for a few days. I asked our 16 year old daughter- our last kid at home –if she wanted to go and she was all over it.
So! We’re off like a hoid of toitles. Or something.
As I planned this new trip, I wanted to ride to the National Motorcycle Museum in Iowa and add some new states to my map, but bad weather and flooding helped me to decide to head south first, to see my boys in Phoenix.
Day 1, Monday June 20
I had spent the previous weekend getting La Bandita packed; loading, unloading, rearranging, sorting, swearing, jumping up and down, and loading again. I tried to get our gear down to the bare minimum of what I thought would be necessary for a 10 day trip, but the poor bike weighed slightly less than the space shuttle at take-off, and as I paddled our way out of the driveway and wobbled down the street, I worried if this top-heavy barge would make the trip.
Rachael scrubbing the 'newness' off her boots!
I had reserved a cabin for our first night on the road at the KOA in Provo Utah, and as we began our trip at the crack of noon, I felt we were already running behind and should make some time to get there; so I, naturally, took the long way down. South from Missoula down Hwy 93, over Lost Trail Pass into Idaho, stopping for lunch in Salmon, then east on Hwy 26 through the Lemhi Valley to Hwy 15 where we would continue south into Utah. We christened the Lemhi Valley ‘The Never-Ending Valley’; although only 122 miles long, it kept going and going and going. Maybe it was because we were amped up to get the trip really underway.
Previews:
Lunch in Salmon Idaho
Snack break in Mud Lake Idaho
We had Granny in her rocking chair perched on top but I think she fell off near North Fork
The shadows were getting long as we joined Hwy 15 and the possibility of wandering creatures on the freeway kept me alert and scanning the shoulders carefully. We stopped for fast food somewhere near Brigham City then hauled for Provo. I installed driving lights that I bought at WalMarche a few days prior, and surprisingly they lit up the road really well. They would save our butts several times over the next several days, all for $18.00.
We rolled into Provo, unloaded the barge and were asleep almost as soon as we hit the pillows.
Day 1 total- 560 miles.
A note about the bike:
She’s a 2007 1250 Bandit, and she answers to ‘Jamie’. Yes, I name my bikes. Deal with it.
I purchased her on ebay, totaled, in April 2008. There were only 116 miles on the odo at the time I got her and she turned 21,000 miles on this trip. I put out a feeler on TWT (Texas bike) to see if I could learn how she was wrecked (wheelied over backwards) but I never found out. To date we have two SS1000’s, one BBG1500/24, one Utah 1088, and dozens of trips all over everywhere. Wonderful bike!
Mods are few. She’s completely stock, with the exception of an Airhawk seat, driving lights, GPS, and XM.
I’m very satisfied with Dunlop Roadsmart tires and installed a new set in Arizona.
Tomorrow- Day 2
Bryce Canyon Utah, Grand Canyon Arizona!
So! We’re off like a hoid of toitles. Or something.
As I planned this new trip, I wanted to ride to the National Motorcycle Museum in Iowa and add some new states to my map, but bad weather and flooding helped me to decide to head south first, to see my boys in Phoenix.
Day 1, Monday June 20
I had spent the previous weekend getting La Bandita packed; loading, unloading, rearranging, sorting, swearing, jumping up and down, and loading again. I tried to get our gear down to the bare minimum of what I thought would be necessary for a 10 day trip, but the poor bike weighed slightly less than the space shuttle at take-off, and as I paddled our way out of the driveway and wobbled down the street, I worried if this top-heavy barge would make the trip.
Rachael scrubbing the 'newness' off her boots!
I had reserved a cabin for our first night on the road at the KOA in Provo Utah, and as we began our trip at the crack of noon, I felt we were already running behind and should make some time to get there; so I, naturally, took the long way down. South from Missoula down Hwy 93, over Lost Trail Pass into Idaho, stopping for lunch in Salmon, then east on Hwy 26 through the Lemhi Valley to Hwy 15 where we would continue south into Utah. We christened the Lemhi Valley ‘The Never-Ending Valley’; although only 122 miles long, it kept going and going and going. Maybe it was because we were amped up to get the trip really underway.
Previews:
Lunch in Salmon Idaho
Snack break in Mud Lake Idaho
We had Granny in her rocking chair perched on top but I think she fell off near North Fork
The shadows were getting long as we joined Hwy 15 and the possibility of wandering creatures on the freeway kept me alert and scanning the shoulders carefully. We stopped for fast food somewhere near Brigham City then hauled for Provo. I installed driving lights that I bought at WalMarche a few days prior, and surprisingly they lit up the road really well. They would save our butts several times over the next several days, all for $18.00.
We rolled into Provo, unloaded the barge and were asleep almost as soon as we hit the pillows.
Day 1 total- 560 miles.
A note about the bike:
She’s a 2007 1250 Bandit, and she answers to ‘Jamie’. Yes, I name my bikes. Deal with it.
I purchased her on ebay, totaled, in April 2008. There were only 116 miles on the odo at the time I got her and she turned 21,000 miles on this trip. I put out a feeler on TWT (Texas bike) to see if I could learn how she was wrecked (wheelied over backwards) but I never found out. To date we have two SS1000’s, one BBG1500/24, one Utah 1088, and dozens of trips all over everywhere. Wonderful bike!
Mods are few. She’s completely stock, with the exception of an Airhawk seat, driving lights, GPS, and XM.
I’m very satisfied with Dunlop Roadsmart tires and installed a new set in Arizona.
Tomorrow- Day 2
Bryce Canyon Utah, Grand Canyon Arizona!
thanks for sharing!!! cant wait to read the rest!!! I need to talk my dad into a road trip soon =)
