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Day One - We left Canyon Lake Friday at 6:50am headed for Glacier nat'l Park.
We rode 281 to Wichita Falls. Next we took 287 to Amarillo where we headed up to Dumas. Here went West on 87 to Raton.
We arrived in Raton at 9:00 or 10:00 pm depending onwhich time zone you want to use. Over 700 miles for the day.
Day Two - Up bright & early eager to chew up another + 700 mile day & reach Billings, MT. before bed time.
After we cleaned our bikes we were off to McDonalds for coffee & some breakfast. It was not to be as three bus loads of teenagers had arrived ahead of us and the line was backed up to the door. We decided to head up the road toward Denver & grab a coffee later.
OK, what's up now? The trip has barely started. Is it time to trade in the Wing on a new Harley? I'll let Pete tell this story.
On the road again and she's ah runnin' great.
Headed for a place to bed down for the night.
More about Day Two's ride later. I'm tired and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Oh, we only made it to Casper, Wyoming. We had to pay visit to the Harley dealer along the way. Tomorrow our target is some location near the East entrance (St Mary's) to glacier Nat'l Park.
Day 3 - Made it to Shelby, Mt. This was a good day!
Pic of Motel where we stayed last night in Casper, WY.
A drive by shooting in Wyoming
Headed for the Montana boarder
On one of our many pee stops along the roadside
Day 4 - Made it Moscow, ID today. Only got in a little over 500 miles today with a clear sky. We rode the Ride To The Sun Road out of St Mary in Glacier Nat'l Pk. It is just breath taking!
Just west of Cut Bank on the way to St Marys at the park entrance
I've never seen trees with bark like these
Getting closer to the park entrance
Several cameras were focused on this dude for a while. We were just riding along taking in all the sights in the park when a rock about the size of a cantalope fell to the ground aling the road side in front of us. When I looked up there were two of these fellas.
Also rode hwy 12 (Lewis & Clark Trail) thru the Clearwater Nat'l Forest from Missoula, MT all along the ClearWater River to Moscow.
From Missoula to ID
200 miles of this....WOW!
Bird Nest
Bird nest
Kooskia
Took our time on both rides and took in all of the sights. I will post lots of pictures when I get back home from the trip or if I decide to take a day off from riding during this trip, I'll try to post some then. Tomorrow my riding buddy will start back for Texas and I will head West to Seaside, OR. This will position me for the coast line ride on Wednesday before I start heading back to Texas on Thursday.
Day 5 - Mocow, ID to Seaside, OR. 400 to 500 miles. 61 degrees & light icy rain with strong winds in the afternoon.
I-84 into Portland from the East. About 200 hundred miles of river on the right side of the road and mountains & huge rock formations immediately to the left side of the road. A beautiful ride.
The ride from Portland to Seaside on U.S. Highway 26 is through several protected forests that remind me of pictures of rain forests I have seen. The road sides are covered in moss & ferns. There are signs posted that warn drivers to drive with their lights on because of the darkness formed by the dense forest. I didn't get to take pictures of any of this because it was dark and raining in there. This forests coveres about 50 miles or more.
Day 6 - Seaside, OR to MT Shasta, CA
I had trouble uploading pics this morning so they will come later.
The day started out wet and continued that way until around 2 in the afternoon. The ride down hwy 101 was a little disappointing because of the rain. The clouds were so thick that it nearly impossible to see any of the ocean. After 95 miles and having passed Thur many small towns all of which were tourist traps, I pulled into one of the very few convenience stores in this part of the world. It had been a cool and damp ride all morning. The Frog Toggs worked well, but I forgot and left my Gators on the seat of my P/u at home. My boots got a little wet but didn't fill up with water as I have had some do when riding in the rain. I had sprayed them with Cabela's waterproofer for leather. It seemed to do a petty good job. I stll could have used the Gators. It was then 12:00. Gee where did the morning go.
Oh, BTW, In Oregon there is no self-serve gas. If you ride a MC, the attendant will process your credit card and hand you the nozzle.
I was 150 miles behind schedule because of the rain and the fact that I miscalculated the amount of time it would take to travel Thur so many small towns. The ocean I had seen this morning didn't impress me all that much. What had impressed me the most about this area was the Rain Forest like environment, the huge trees, the ferns, & the mosses growing on everything. Riding the Bike under the huge sky-high canopies formed by 100 feet tall spruce like trees with sunlight streaming Thur was euphoric. The rain had been predicted to continue thur Thur all along the western coast. What a disappointment this was since this coastal ride was a major part of my trip.
I decided to cut & run to try to log some decent miles before the day ended. I headed East on 18 toward I-5. Good choice. 18 is like 26 as far as riding sweepers Thur rain forest goes. This was another good ride. When I got to I-5, it was 70-80 mph all the way to MT. Shasta where I bunked down for the night in a KOA cabin.
Day 7 - Mt. Shasta, CA to Ely, NV -
I am bedded down for the nite in Eureka which is about 70 miles from my target for the day of Ely pronounced Elee. My idea of 650 mile days average was too optimistic considering all the non-freeway roads I've had to take to see the good stuff. I only managed 480 miles today and 4,000 since we left Friday morning.I rode in cool forested moutains and barren desert mountains.
It was 52 degrees in Mt. Shasta this morning and stayed cool for most of the day never getting above 89.
Best Hamburger I have ever eaten. I promise.
Day 8 - Eureka, NV to Green River, Utah - 407 miles
I awoke early after a good night's sleep in a mom & pop motel (pop is gone). I walked across the street to a mom & pop restaurant for a fine breakfast of two eggs scrambled, a mountain of hash downs, two huge link breakfast sausages, wheat toast, & coffee.
After breakfast I packed the bike & headed for Duran go, CO. The day ended great but started out like I couldn't hit a groove or I thing some of you guys may say "find the line". Anyhow, I had to work every curve it seemed for about the first three hours and then I guess i relaxed and things improved.
If you have never ridden US50, Officially "The Loneliest Highway in America", you need to know that the majority of it is considered high desert. Knowing this I was prepared to stop often and refuel every chance because fuel stops are few & far between.
i only covered a little over 400 miles today.
It was cool in the desert mountains, but hot on the floor of the desert. Today I decided to use the camel back bladder I purchased for 8.99 at Academy. It is complete except for the canvas backpack. I filled it with bottled water & ice. It worked liked a charm. Only about the last 15 miles of todays trip did I start coming down and that is because I ran out of water in the bladder. It is amazing how you can avoid some of the ups & downs of dehydration just by sipping on water throughout the ride. Even hot water.
Some views in Eastern Utah. I will come back to see more of this and try to stay here in Green River as a base. There is just so much to see especially if you are into Geo formations.
Church across the street from where I am staying tonight. Oh, I am staying at a mom & pop motel in the old drag in Green River away from all the big chain motels over on the freeway. My room cost $33.00 total. It is a very clean & nice. Reminds me of the 60's.
Day 9 - Green River, Utah to Bloomsfield, NM 290 miles. Spent half a day at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah hiking up to a place called the Delicate Arch to get somrbody to take a photo of me with the window in the background. This is considered a strenous trail that is a 3 mile round trip and elevated 480 ft from the start. The picture I have is a real trophy. If any of you have made that hike then you will know what a trophy it is to have a picture of you with the window.
Eastern and South Eastern Utah really rocks. This is a come back to place for me.
The ride to Cortez and Durango were beautiful but not to be compared to the Arches Nat'l Pk as far as my liking goes.
Day 10 - Bloomsfield, NM to Merkel, Tx. Left Bloomsfielf at 7:00 under cool clear skies. New Mexico has some really pretty geo formations. The roads are fast so it was easy to rack up the miles. This ride took me thru several Indian Reservations and near some of their Pueblos. Merkel is 20 miles west of Abiline in I-20. About 680 miles.
Day 11 - Merkel, Tx to home. About 257 miles. Got an early start and pulled into the driveway before noon.
Trip Summary
-Bike riden - 2007 Honda GL1800 Goldwing
-11 Days
-5,725 miles
-520 miles avg per day
-Light rain one evening and light to moderate rain for 8 hours the next day in Oregon
-Temperatures ran from 52 to 102 degrees
-States covered: TX, NM, CO, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, NV, UT
-Landscapes - farms, ranches, rolling hills, moutains, rivers, canyons, lakes, forests, coastline, desert
High Lights
-Glacier National Park
-River Ride on US12 from Missoula, MT to Moscow, ID
-Night ride on P1, the last leg of the River Ride to Moscow
-Cherry trees in Washington so laden with ripe cherries that their limbs were hanging like the limbs of a weeping willow
-River Ride on I-84 to Portland
-Rain Forest on US26 from Portland, OR to Seaside, OR
-Wild fire in Reno stopping traffic
-Eating a hamburger at The Old Middlegate Station in Fallon, NV (ceiling is covered in one dollar bills placed there over the years since 1988)
-Southeastern Utah landscape
-New Mexico landscape
Gear
-Olympia Men’s Airglide 2 Mesh Tech Over Pant http://www.olympiamotosports.com/mensairglidepant/menairglidepant.htm
-Olympia Bushwhacker Mesh Tech 3/4 Systems Jacket http://www.olympiamotosports.com/bushwacker/Bushwhacker.htm
-Motorcycle Boots By New Rock #373c M-3 http://www.sweetboots.com/newrock/high/373Cplaning.html
-Helmet - Shoei Multitec - Light Silver http://www.shoei-helmets.com/road/helmets_road.aspx?h=13
-Gloves - fingerless Schwinn biycle- lightweight & did not produce any numbness in my thumb as most gloves do
- T shirts - Ridehide http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/features/FEB06MCNmoisture5.pdf and UnderArmor http://www.underarmour.com/ProductDetail.cfm?site_id=6&dept_id=7&coll_id=6109&pf_id=1000032 (I cut off sleeves to make it sleeveless)
- Shorts - Zyflex http://www.zyflexsportswear.com/products/powershorts.html and Wickers http://www.wickers.com/
-Socks - Cabela's Mid-Calf Polypropylene Liner Socks http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ct&cmCat=Related_IPL_821332&id=0005495821330a
Best Gadgets
-Acer Laptop with WIFI
-Clipon sunglasses
-GoldWing Navigation System and the lady who serves as guide
-Canon SD550 camera
-ilo MP3 player by Walmart. My Arcos is a piece of junk with a HDD that is too sensitive to heat.
-inexpensive 2 liter water bladder that rides on the back with mouth piece & tube
We rode 281 to Wichita Falls. Next we took 287 to Amarillo where we headed up to Dumas. Here went West on 87 to Raton.
We arrived in Raton at 9:00 or 10:00 pm depending onwhich time zone you want to use. Over 700 miles for the day.
Day Two - Up bright & early eager to chew up another + 700 mile day & reach Billings, MT. before bed time.
After we cleaned our bikes we were off to McDonalds for coffee & some breakfast. It was not to be as three bus loads of teenagers had arrived ahead of us and the line was backed up to the door. We decided to head up the road toward Denver & grab a coffee later.
OK, what's up now? The trip has barely started. Is it time to trade in the Wing on a new Harley? I'll let Pete tell this story.
On the road again and she's ah runnin' great.
Headed for a place to bed down for the night.
More about Day Two's ride later. I'm tired and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. Oh, we only made it to Casper, Wyoming. We had to pay visit to the Harley dealer along the way. Tomorrow our target is some location near the East entrance (St Mary's) to glacier Nat'l Park.
Day 3 - Made it to Shelby, Mt. This was a good day!
Pic of Motel where we stayed last night in Casper, WY.
A drive by shooting in Wyoming
Headed for the Montana boarder
On one of our many pee stops along the roadside
Day 4 - Made it Moscow, ID today. Only got in a little over 500 miles today with a clear sky. We rode the Ride To The Sun Road out of St Mary in Glacier Nat'l Pk. It is just breath taking!
Just west of Cut Bank on the way to St Marys at the park entrance
I've never seen trees with bark like these
Getting closer to the park entrance
Several cameras were focused on this dude for a while. We were just riding along taking in all the sights in the park when a rock about the size of a cantalope fell to the ground aling the road side in front of us. When I looked up there were two of these fellas.
Also rode hwy 12 (Lewis & Clark Trail) thru the Clearwater Nat'l Forest from Missoula, MT all along the ClearWater River to Moscow.
From Missoula to ID
200 miles of this....WOW!
Bird Nest
Bird nest
Kooskia
Took our time on both rides and took in all of the sights. I will post lots of pictures when I get back home from the trip or if I decide to take a day off from riding during this trip, I'll try to post some then. Tomorrow my riding buddy will start back for Texas and I will head West to Seaside, OR. This will position me for the coast line ride on Wednesday before I start heading back to Texas on Thursday.
Day 5 - Mocow, ID to Seaside, OR. 400 to 500 miles. 61 degrees & light icy rain with strong winds in the afternoon.
I-84 into Portland from the East. About 200 hundred miles of river on the right side of the road and mountains & huge rock formations immediately to the left side of the road. A beautiful ride.
The ride from Portland to Seaside on U.S. Highway 26 is through several protected forests that remind me of pictures of rain forests I have seen. The road sides are covered in moss & ferns. There are signs posted that warn drivers to drive with their lights on because of the darkness formed by the dense forest. I didn't get to take pictures of any of this because it was dark and raining in there. This forests coveres about 50 miles or more.
Day 6 - Seaside, OR to MT Shasta, CA
I had trouble uploading pics this morning so they will come later.
The day started out wet and continued that way until around 2 in the afternoon. The ride down hwy 101 was a little disappointing because of the rain. The clouds were so thick that it nearly impossible to see any of the ocean. After 95 miles and having passed Thur many small towns all of which were tourist traps, I pulled into one of the very few convenience stores in this part of the world. It had been a cool and damp ride all morning. The Frog Toggs worked well, but I forgot and left my Gators on the seat of my P/u at home. My boots got a little wet but didn't fill up with water as I have had some do when riding in the rain. I had sprayed them with Cabela's waterproofer for leather. It seemed to do a petty good job. I stll could have used the Gators. It was then 12:00. Gee where did the morning go.
Oh, BTW, In Oregon there is no self-serve gas. If you ride a MC, the attendant will process your credit card and hand you the nozzle.
I was 150 miles behind schedule because of the rain and the fact that I miscalculated the amount of time it would take to travel Thur so many small towns. The ocean I had seen this morning didn't impress me all that much. What had impressed me the most about this area was the Rain Forest like environment, the huge trees, the ferns, & the mosses growing on everything. Riding the Bike under the huge sky-high canopies formed by 100 feet tall spruce like trees with sunlight streaming Thur was euphoric. The rain had been predicted to continue thur Thur all along the western coast. What a disappointment this was since this coastal ride was a major part of my trip.
I decided to cut & run to try to log some decent miles before the day ended. I headed East on 18 toward I-5. Good choice. 18 is like 26 as far as riding sweepers Thur rain forest goes. This was another good ride. When I got to I-5, it was 70-80 mph all the way to MT. Shasta where I bunked down for the night in a KOA cabin.
Day 7 - Mt. Shasta, CA to Ely, NV -
I am bedded down for the nite in Eureka which is about 70 miles from my target for the day of Ely pronounced Elee. My idea of 650 mile days average was too optimistic considering all the non-freeway roads I've had to take to see the good stuff. I only managed 480 miles today and 4,000 since we left Friday morning.I rode in cool forested moutains and barren desert mountains.
It was 52 degrees in Mt. Shasta this morning and stayed cool for most of the day never getting above 89.
Best Hamburger I have ever eaten. I promise.
Day 8 - Eureka, NV to Green River, Utah - 407 miles
I awoke early after a good night's sleep in a mom & pop motel (pop is gone). I walked across the street to a mom & pop restaurant for a fine breakfast of two eggs scrambled, a mountain of hash downs, two huge link breakfast sausages, wheat toast, & coffee.
After breakfast I packed the bike & headed for Duran go, CO. The day ended great but started out like I couldn't hit a groove or I thing some of you guys may say "find the line". Anyhow, I had to work every curve it seemed for about the first three hours and then I guess i relaxed and things improved.
If you have never ridden US50, Officially "The Loneliest Highway in America", you need to know that the majority of it is considered high desert. Knowing this I was prepared to stop often and refuel every chance because fuel stops are few & far between.
i only covered a little over 400 miles today.
It was cool in the desert mountains, but hot on the floor of the desert. Today I decided to use the camel back bladder I purchased for 8.99 at Academy. It is complete except for the canvas backpack. I filled it with bottled water & ice. It worked liked a charm. Only about the last 15 miles of todays trip did I start coming down and that is because I ran out of water in the bladder. It is amazing how you can avoid some of the ups & downs of dehydration just by sipping on water throughout the ride. Even hot water.
Some views in Eastern Utah. I will come back to see more of this and try to stay here in Green River as a base. There is just so much to see especially if you are into Geo formations.
Church across the street from where I am staying tonight. Oh, I am staying at a mom & pop motel in the old drag in Green River away from all the big chain motels over on the freeway. My room cost $33.00 total. It is a very clean & nice. Reminds me of the 60's.
Day 9 - Green River, Utah to Bloomsfield, NM 290 miles. Spent half a day at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah hiking up to a place called the Delicate Arch to get somrbody to take a photo of me with the window in the background. This is considered a strenous trail that is a 3 mile round trip and elevated 480 ft from the start. The picture I have is a real trophy. If any of you have made that hike then you will know what a trophy it is to have a picture of you with the window.
Eastern and South Eastern Utah really rocks. This is a come back to place for me.
The ride to Cortez and Durango were beautiful but not to be compared to the Arches Nat'l Pk as far as my liking goes.
Day 10 - Bloomsfield, NM to Merkel, Tx. Left Bloomsfielf at 7:00 under cool clear skies. New Mexico has some really pretty geo formations. The roads are fast so it was easy to rack up the miles. This ride took me thru several Indian Reservations and near some of their Pueblos. Merkel is 20 miles west of Abiline in I-20. About 680 miles.
Day 11 - Merkel, Tx to home. About 257 miles. Got an early start and pulled into the driveway before noon.
Trip Summary
-Bike riden - 2007 Honda GL1800 Goldwing
-11 Days
-5,725 miles
-520 miles avg per day
-Light rain one evening and light to moderate rain for 8 hours the next day in Oregon
-Temperatures ran from 52 to 102 degrees
-States covered: TX, NM, CO, WY, MT, ID, WA, OR, CA, NV, UT
-Landscapes - farms, ranches, rolling hills, moutains, rivers, canyons, lakes, forests, coastline, desert
High Lights
-Glacier National Park
-River Ride on US12 from Missoula, MT to Moscow, ID
-Night ride on P1, the last leg of the River Ride to Moscow
-Cherry trees in Washington so laden with ripe cherries that their limbs were hanging like the limbs of a weeping willow
-River Ride on I-84 to Portland
-Rain Forest on US26 from Portland, OR to Seaside, OR
-Wild fire in Reno stopping traffic
-Eating a hamburger at The Old Middlegate Station in Fallon, NV (ceiling is covered in one dollar bills placed there over the years since 1988)
-Southeastern Utah landscape
-New Mexico landscape
Gear
-Olympia Men’s Airglide 2 Mesh Tech Over Pant http://www.olympiamotosports.com/mensairglidepant/menairglidepant.htm
-Olympia Bushwhacker Mesh Tech 3/4 Systems Jacket http://www.olympiamotosports.com/bushwacker/Bushwhacker.htm
-Motorcycle Boots By New Rock #373c M-3 http://www.sweetboots.com/newrock/high/373Cplaning.html
-Helmet - Shoei Multitec - Light Silver http://www.shoei-helmets.com/road/helmets_road.aspx?h=13
-Gloves - fingerless Schwinn biycle- lightweight & did not produce any numbness in my thumb as most gloves do
- T shirts - Ridehide http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/features/FEB06MCNmoisture5.pdf and UnderArmor http://www.underarmour.com/ProductDetail.cfm?site_id=6&dept_id=7&coll_id=6109&pf_id=1000032 (I cut off sleeves to make it sleeveless)
- Shorts - Zyflex http://www.zyflexsportswear.com/products/powershorts.html and Wickers http://www.wickers.com/
-Socks - Cabela's Mid-Calf Polypropylene Liner Socks http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ct&cmCat=Related_IPL_821332&id=0005495821330a
Best Gadgets
-Acer Laptop with WIFI
-Clipon sunglasses
-GoldWing Navigation System and the lady who serves as guide
-Canon SD550 camera
-ilo MP3 player by Walmart. My Arcos is a piece of junk with a HDD that is too sensitive to heat.
-inexpensive 2 liter water bladder that rides on the back with mouth piece & tube
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I have this ride in the plans for the not to distant future. The I84 by the Columbia River is beautiful as is riding to the coast.
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