Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember15
By the numbers:
1- dead bike
1 – amazing view
3 – prisons
14 – buses
So…we got a late start. My fault. I wanted to finish the previous days blog, edit a few pics, and grab breakfast downstairs. We finally get out of the hotel about 9:15am and head to Sandia Peak – I was *very* excited to go on this ride since it’s been recommended to me by numerous friends. The turquoise trail takes us from Santa Fe to the base of the impressive peak. I look my google maps to see if there’s a short cut through the mountain to ABQ and it looks like there is. Sweet!
We get to the base of the mountain and I look up to see the top and it doesn’t look that high but maybe that’s because we’re already at 6000 feet. The road is amazing – everything I’d been told. It’s perfectly maintained, banked, with good signage. Awesome. Even more awesome if the fact that there’s NO ONE on the road. I should ride on Tuesday mornings more often. We head up to the peak and we’re almost there before I realize that the “peak” I saw before was just a low pass. The looming peak just ahead of us is the real peak. I’m embarrassed I was that wrong but thrilled there’s a lot more awesome road ahead of us!
I get to the turn off before the peak to head to ABQ and not 100 feet ahead of us the road turns to gravel and mud. Damn it! Again! This time the GPS said it was a road. Hmm – I go to start my bike and it just goes dead. No power at all. Then some power but it won’t turn over. Ghen dead again. Hmm – something electric. I was the last person to touch the battery so I check the connection. It seems solid but the screw is loose so I tighten it and my problem goes away. Whew.
Off to the peak! It turned out to be another good change of route since the road got better as we climbed to over 10000 feet. The view from the top is stunning. It’s perfectly clear and we can see for close to 75 miles in any direction. I was up on Sandia Peak last year but it was at night. Glad I made it back to see it in the light. It’s very high – just climbing the stairs to the lookout point has us both outta breath. We snap a few pics and head back down the mountain to make up some lost time and even downhill is a blast.
Back down to more reasonable elevations, we head down to Hwy 40 and drone on for 150 miles to Gallup before taking a short cut Tim and I found last year. This road goes through the Navajo and Hopi reservations and really puts things into perspective. I was hit hard by it last year and this year it really had an impact on Dan. I really am fortunate to be able to take a trip like this…
We make good time through the meandering roads avoiding 14 (yes! 14!) school buses and some VERY fast moving semis. For the first time on this trip, we headed into the sun as it set….and it sucked! We roll into Tuba City a little after 6pm and it looks strange but familiar after seeing it during a power outage last year. We check in and immediately head over to the only restaurant in town conveniently attached to the hotel. Nice. We wait 15 minutes before even being acknowledged and are then told food might be out to our table in an hour or so. Uggh. Not nice. I’m moments away from going a block down the street for dinner when our water comes by to take our order. An appetizer is in front of us just a few minutes later and my thought of a big mac quickly fade away.
Tomorrow – Vegas, baby!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Day 10 - Grand Junction CO to Santa Fe NM - 483 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember14
By the numbers:
1 - delicious stout
2 - meals with delicious green chiles!
4 - passes over 10000 feet
11118 – highest elevation reached
The weather was nice when we got up – slightly cool, some high clouds, and no rain. We put on a layer to keep warm and headed south. We know the mountain passes would be colder and it was still early morning. We’re glad we did as we climbed over a variety of mountain passes in Southern Colorado. A little rain here and there but no real issues.
We stop in Ridgway for some great breakfast and to get some sorely needed caffeine. We’re high up in the pretty mountain passes and it only gets better as we climb up and down the constantly rising ranges. We pass Telluride and the road goes up. And up. And up. 8500 ft, 9500 ft, we went all the way up to 11118 feet! Our bikes had a hard time with this elevation and we noticed that breathing was a bit more challenging. As expected, it was very cold up top and the roads were wet. Not a good combination for a ride like this – high tire pressures at that elevation, slick roads, and cold temps make traction sparce. We keep our speed down and don’t have a problem.
Every time we think we’re headed down in elevation we go back up to 10000 feet. The weather gets worse as we head to lower elevations and the skies really open up a few times. We make it to Durango and the weather improves but there’s still dark clouds in front of us. This doesn’t look like fun for Los Alamos.
We decided to take a number of county roads to keep things interesting and it was a good decision. They’re pretty much empty, have a 65mph speed limit, and have lots of turns. Nice. We make it to the border of New Mexico and keep on trucking since we still have 250 miles to go. A friend of Dan’s recommended that we ride the road up to Los Alamos and we take a route so we end up in Santa Fe after. We stop for gas and I check the GPS one more time. The road I wanted to take doesn’t seem to exist. Errr. Now what. I ask a local and they say that road I want is just a dirt road…which is now mud after a day of rain. Shit. Now we need to head 30 miles south to get to the mountain road.
We make it to the foot of the mountain with just under 2 hours of daylight and head up. We pass multiple Indian towns with a slow 25-35 mph speed limit. Uggh. Just at the point I think “this isn’t worth the trouble”, the road opens up and gets awesome. The road is nice – very nice. Reminds me of Hwy 9 in Santa Cruz with great pavement and good sight lines. Again, we climb and it gets cold and the roads go from damp to wet. Luckily, there aren’t many tar snakes but it really slows us down. Well, that and the fact that we couldn’t feel our hands.
As we approach the top and head into Bandolier Park, we come to El Calderon which is a large valley at the top of the mountain. It was great to see at near sunset with the intermittent dark clouds. We climb some more and head into the park as the sun hides behind storm clouds. We make one turn and I can see Albuquerque and Sandia Peak – cool! I can’t stare too long or I won’t make it down the hill…
We make it down, enjoying the great views at sunset and head into Santa Fe. I follow the GPS to the wrong address for a cute little hotel. The lobby clerk points me down one block to the correct place and we pull in to an impressive looking hotel. My Mom would love it’s Southwest architecture and feel. We check in, shower, and head out for a meal. Well, we tried too. Most every restaurant was closed by 9pm. We get pointed to the Sleeping Dog Tavern for an excellent meal – Kobe burger with green chiles for me, and ribs and Yukon gold potatoes for Dan. Of course, I sample their beers from Marble brewery in ABQ and it’s great! I love their stout….
I’m about ready to pass out by the time we get back to the room and I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow. Tomorrow, we head over Sandia Peak and make the long straight ride to Tuba City AZ.
By the numbers:
1 - delicious stout
2 - meals with delicious green chiles!
4 - passes over 10000 feet
11118 – highest elevation reached
The weather was nice when we got up – slightly cool, some high clouds, and no rain. We put on a layer to keep warm and headed south. We know the mountain passes would be colder and it was still early morning. We’re glad we did as we climbed over a variety of mountain passes in Southern Colorado. A little rain here and there but no real issues.
We stop in Ridgway for some great breakfast and to get some sorely needed caffeine. We’re high up in the pretty mountain passes and it only gets better as we climb up and down the constantly rising ranges. We pass Telluride and the road goes up. And up. And up. 8500 ft, 9500 ft, we went all the way up to 11118 feet! Our bikes had a hard time with this elevation and we noticed that breathing was a bit more challenging. As expected, it was very cold up top and the roads were wet. Not a good combination for a ride like this – high tire pressures at that elevation, slick roads, and cold temps make traction sparce. We keep our speed down and don’t have a problem.
Every time we think we’re headed down in elevation we go back up to 10000 feet. The weather gets worse as we head to lower elevations and the skies really open up a few times. We make it to Durango and the weather improves but there’s still dark clouds in front of us. This doesn’t look like fun for Los Alamos.
We decided to take a number of county roads to keep things interesting and it was a good decision. They’re pretty much empty, have a 65mph speed limit, and have lots of turns. Nice. We make it to the border of New Mexico and keep on trucking since we still have 250 miles to go. A friend of Dan’s recommended that we ride the road up to Los Alamos and we take a route so we end up in Santa Fe after. We stop for gas and I check the GPS one more time. The road I wanted to take doesn’t seem to exist. Errr. Now what. I ask a local and they say that road I want is just a dirt road…which is now mud after a day of rain. Shit. Now we need to head 30 miles south to get to the mountain road.
We make it to the foot of the mountain with just under 2 hours of daylight and head up. We pass multiple Indian towns with a slow 25-35 mph speed limit. Uggh. Just at the point I think “this isn’t worth the trouble”, the road opens up and gets awesome. The road is nice – very nice. Reminds me of Hwy 9 in Santa Cruz with great pavement and good sight lines. Again, we climb and it gets cold and the roads go from damp to wet. Luckily, there aren’t many tar snakes but it really slows us down. Well, that and the fact that we couldn’t feel our hands.
As we approach the top and head into Bandolier Park, we come to El Calderon which is a large valley at the top of the mountain. It was great to see at near sunset with the intermittent dark clouds. We climb some more and head into the park as the sun hides behind storm clouds. We make one turn and I can see Albuquerque and Sandia Peak – cool! I can’t stare too long or I won’t make it down the hill…
We make it down, enjoying the great views at sunset and head into Santa Fe. I follow the GPS to the wrong address for a cute little hotel. The lobby clerk points me down one block to the correct place and we pull in to an impressive looking hotel. My Mom would love it’s Southwest architecture and feel. We check in, shower, and head out for a meal. Well, we tried too. Most every restaurant was closed by 9pm. We get pointed to the Sleeping Dog Tavern for an excellent meal – Kobe burger with green chiles for me, and ribs and Yukon gold potatoes for Dan. Of course, I sample their beers from Marble brewery in ABQ and it’s great! I love their stout….
I’m about ready to pass out by the time we get back to the room and I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow. Tomorrow, we head over Sandia Peak and make the long straight ride to Tuba City AZ.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 9 – Provo UT to Grand Junction CO – 371 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember13
By the numbers:
0 – people out on a Sunday in Utah
1 – rain storm
2 – busted iPods – almost
3000 + - great views of the desert
6am came WAY too early. I was beat and there was no way I was getting coffee at a Mormon Presidents house. So, we went a couple miles down the road to a Texaco for a fresh cup of joe and a chocolate donut. Just what we needed. We head south on Hwy 6 – apparently the most dangerous road in Utah according to locals. Hmm – sounds like a challenge compared to California roads. So, we head south on 6 to 89 south and are pelted with about 40 mph wind. Unfun. We make it past some large windmills and it finally clicks what that large half propeller was a couple days ago. Hmm - I must not be using my brain on this vacation.
The canyon is cold. Much colder than the 65 degree weather in Springville. My summer gloves were a bad idea. A real bad idea and my lack of layers underscores that sentiment. Ooops. We keep rolling south on some gorgeous, unpatrolled roads before I finally wuss out and pull over to get warm in the 40+ degree weather. We pause just long enough for me to look down the road an take stock of the dark clouds and rain that would tease us the rest of the day.
Sure enough, the skies opened up and we got wet but it wasn’t for long. This was good since we were both cold and we dried out quickly. We kept on truckin’ down 89 past town after town. Or shold I say ghost town after ghost town. Sunday in Utah is predictably dead. So dead that we aren’t sure if we can find a restaurant to serve us breakfast. Hmm – maybe we’ll have to wait until Colorado. That’s a long way away. Fortunately, as we go south Utah has fewer Mormon and we find a town full of heathens willing to serve us breakfast. Mom’s café is cute and has all the usual fixins for us. And it’s good – real good. Must be the fresh ingredients.
We head south the hours roll on with nothing special to see. Kinda boring. But we’re freezing so we just want to get the miles over with. We finally hit I-70 and head south to 24. Well, we were *supposed* to head to 24 but it was north on I-70 so I completely screwed that one up. I didn’t realize it until 20 miles down the road when I don’t see the turn off for 24. Oooops. We chat for a minute and decide to keep going on I-70 since we had a long day anyway. Turns out, it was a blessing in disguise. I-70 is the most picturesque interstate in America. It’s stunning. Unreal. Gorgeous. I have to put this road very close to the top of the list for this trip. It’s that good. Go and check it out – it’s worth the drive!
Dodging rain all day, we finally make it to the exit for Moab and quickly head south hoping to avoid more wet stuff. We do…but it gets hot quickly and we strip on the side of the road looking for some relief. None comes as we head into the hotter, and slower moving, section of the road. We head in to Arches to see the sights and make our way to Grand Junction. The heat was worth it - I enjoyed Arches as much, if not more, than Glacier park. I was disappointed that I didn’t actually see the arch stone…bummer. I still don’t know where I was supposed to see it. Can anyone enlighten me??
We head back to I-70 to make our way to Grand Junction and it goes by fast. We hit the state border quickly and about 45 minutes later we’re pulling into the hotel at ~5pm. Nice. I’m beat and we relax a bit, drink a little whiskey, do our laundry and watch Top Gun. Nothing else was on. Don’t judge me! We head to the Mexican place next door and eat a feast for $20 and spend more on margaritas. We go looking for a bar but all we can find is an Applebees. Boo. It’ll do and we have a beer and talk up the cute waitress before calling it a night.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Day 8 – rest day in Provo UT - 0 miles
We finally get a little sleep and wake up on time. Or so I thought. I forgot about the time difference in the central time zone and got us up an hour later than anticipated. Ooops. We head out the door to the BMW dealer for an oil change (just $40 + oil) and a new rear tire for Dan. We hang out at the shop checking out the new bikes, updating our routes, and flirting with the blonde who shouldn’t be working there. Everything was a bother for her and she didn’t know her ass from a BMW. I guess being blonde works for her.
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
Friday, September 11, 2009
Day 7 – Idaho Falls ID to Provo UT – 452 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember11
By the numbers:
1/2 – of a propeller arm that was as long as a semi
2 – Mormon churches on every block
84 – construction zones
The annoying hotel alarm came way too early but we were mostly ready to go and got packed quickly. We haul our gear down in the standard luggage cart as I walk past the coffee to our bikes – I’ll get plenty of that in a minute once I load the bike up. I’m greeted by the sound of the Idaho Falls as we load up and I can’t help but walk over and snap a few pics. It’s pretty even if it seems a little man-made since it’s right in the middle of town and the area surrounding it is set up for tourism.
I head back to the lobby to grab some coffee only to see the concierge take the pot away. It’ll be another 10+ minutes and I decide that I can just wait until our first stop in a couple hours. So, we hit the road at 7:15am hoping to make the most of our early start. As we get going over a few rolling passes and vast farm land, we’re stopped or slowed multiple times by road construction.
I want to rename this trip the “North American Road Contruction Tour – 2009.” My radio announcer would say, “Hurry – traffic is being slowed now!” or something like that. We’ve hit construction in every state including Canada. I suppose it has to do with the harsh winters a California boy like me just wouldn’t understand. It just sucks…and adds another element of danger to our daily rides.
We roll into Soda Springs ID for gas and some much needed breakfast. I ask the cute girl at the gas stop where we should go and she suggests the “old hotel” at the end of the road. Sounds creepy. We pull up to a row of old buildings with a few cars out front and walk in to a very cute little café and hotel. We get our coffees (and fancy creamers – I love ‘em) and breakfast and I go check the place out. It’s almost a century old but has been redone over the last few years with brand new wood, floors, and fixtures yet it still retains the old furniture, dead animals on the walls (a moose!), and a quaint feel. It’s pretty cool. We hit up the local drug store down the street for a few necessities and hit the road to Montpellier.
The time flies as we come to, and quickly pass, Montpellier. Didn’t seem like there was much to see there so we head south towards Bear Lake and boy were we in for a treat. The lake is a stunning shade of bright turquoise that I haven’t seen before. It was different that the gorgeous water color in Canada yet reminded me of a couple lakes in Montana. We follow the banks of the lake and make it to the pass that takes us to Logan UT. But not before taking us up to 7800 feet with great views of the lake. Awesome.
We arrive in Logan and gas up and take a needed break since the temperature jumped about 20 degrees once we got to the Salt Lake basin. We grab Gatorades, some jerky, and change out of our cold gear and start the 100 mile trek down towards Provo. It looks so small but it took a lot of time. Especially on a Friday. At the beginning of rush hour traffic. Uggh. No lane splitting here but at least the HOV lane allows motorcycles so we’re not just sitting in 90 degree heat.
Any squiggly line on a map is intriguing. So, we take a detour to Uinta National forest. We told the guard we were just passing through so he didn’t charge us. Cool. The road is twisty and great but the 25mpg seems significantly stifling but we play along until the road goes up. And up. And up. As we pick the speed up the bit the road gets very twisty. So twisty that we can barely do 25 mph. And that’s pushing it with each car running right down the middle of the narrow road. We avoid any catastrophe and make it to the summit over 8300 feet. The temperature if about 20 degrees cooler and I love it. As we come down the backside the scenery changes and it’s like we’re on another continent – really cool.
The road into Spanish Fork is fast and fun and we stop for gar to call Dan’s step-brother and head over to his house. It’s a new place with a huge detached garage in the back and we roll up to see 3 covered cars. Of course, we ask about them and he takes the covers off to reveal three awesome Dodge Chargers that have been completely restored and made to stock. One is purple and the other (his wifes) is pink. Both were factory colors and they really stand out. The cars are in great shape.
Dan’s step brothers come over to say “Hi” and we talk shop, have a few beers (limited to 5.5% alcohol – boo!), and relax a bit. Our hunger pangs and watches tell us it’s time to go so we head to Dan’s uncles for the night to crash and get some much needed sleep. We decide to take the tomorrow off and get some bike maintenance done before another 3000 miles home. My ass needs a rest anyway ;-)
Day 8 – rest day in Provo UT
We finally get a little sleep and wake up on time. Or so I thought. I forgot about the time difference in the central time zone and got us up an hour later than anticipated. Ooops. We head out the door to the BMW dealer for an oil change (just $40 + oil) and a new rear tire for Dan. We hang out at the shop checking out the new bikes, updating our routes, and flirting with the blonde who shouldn’t be working there. Everything was a bother for her and she didn’t know her ass from a BMW. I guess being blonde works for her.
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
By the numbers:
1/2 – of a propeller arm that was as long as a semi
2 – Mormon churches on every block
84 – construction zones
The annoying hotel alarm came way too early but we were mostly ready to go and got packed quickly. We haul our gear down in the standard luggage cart as I walk past the coffee to our bikes – I’ll get plenty of that in a minute once I load the bike up. I’m greeted by the sound of the Idaho Falls as we load up and I can’t help but walk over and snap a few pics. It’s pretty even if it seems a little man-made since it’s right in the middle of town and the area surrounding it is set up for tourism.
I head back to the lobby to grab some coffee only to see the concierge take the pot away. It’ll be another 10+ minutes and I decide that I can just wait until our first stop in a couple hours. So, we hit the road at 7:15am hoping to make the most of our early start. As we get going over a few rolling passes and vast farm land, we’re stopped or slowed multiple times by road construction.
I want to rename this trip the “North American Road Contruction Tour – 2009.” My radio announcer would say, “Hurry – traffic is being slowed now!” or something like that. We’ve hit construction in every state including Canada. I suppose it has to do with the harsh winters a California boy like me just wouldn’t understand. It just sucks…and adds another element of danger to our daily rides.
We roll into Soda Springs ID for gas and some much needed breakfast. I ask the cute girl at the gas stop where we should go and she suggests the “old hotel” at the end of the road. Sounds creepy. We pull up to a row of old buildings with a few cars out front and walk in to a very cute little café and hotel. We get our coffees (and fancy creamers – I love ‘em) and breakfast and I go check the place out. It’s almost a century old but has been redone over the last few years with brand new wood, floors, and fixtures yet it still retains the old furniture, dead animals on the walls (a moose!), and a quaint feel. It’s pretty cool. We hit up the local drug store down the street for a few necessities and hit the road to Montpellier.
The time flies as we come to, and quickly pass, Montpellier. Didn’t seem like there was much to see there so we head south towards Bear Lake and boy were we in for a treat. The lake is a stunning shade of bright turquoise that I haven’t seen before. It was different that the gorgeous water color in Canada yet reminded me of a couple lakes in Montana. We follow the banks of the lake and make it to the pass that takes us to Logan UT. But not before taking us up to 7800 feet with great views of the lake. Awesome.
We arrive in Logan and gas up and take a needed break since the temperature jumped about 20 degrees once we got to the Salt Lake basin. We grab Gatorades, some jerky, and change out of our cold gear and start the 100 mile trek down towards Provo. It looks so small but it took a lot of time. Especially on a Friday. At the beginning of rush hour traffic. Uggh. No lane splitting here but at least the HOV lane allows motorcycles so we’re not just sitting in 90 degree heat.
Any squiggly line on a map is intriguing. So, we take a detour to Uinta National forest. We told the guard we were just passing through so he didn’t charge us. Cool. The road is twisty and great but the 25mpg seems significantly stifling but we play along until the road goes up. And up. And up. As we pick the speed up the bit the road gets very twisty. So twisty that we can barely do 25 mph. And that’s pushing it with each car running right down the middle of the narrow road. We avoid any catastrophe and make it to the summit over 8300 feet. The temperature if about 20 degrees cooler and I love it. As we come down the backside the scenery changes and it’s like we’re on another continent – really cool.
The road into Spanish Fork is fast and fun and we stop for gar to call Dan’s step-brother and head over to his house. It’s a new place with a huge detached garage in the back and we roll up to see 3 covered cars. Of course, we ask about them and he takes the covers off to reveal three awesome Dodge Chargers that have been completely restored and made to stock. One is purple and the other (his wifes) is pink. Both were factory colors and they really stand out. The cars are in great shape.
Dan’s step brothers come over to say “Hi” and we talk shop, have a few beers (limited to 5.5% alcohol – boo!), and relax a bit. Our hunger pangs and watches tell us it’s time to go so we head to Dan’s uncles for the night to crash and get some much needed sleep. We decide to take the tomorrow off and get some bike maintenance done before another 3000 miles home. My ass needs a rest anyway ;-)
Day 8 – rest day in Provo UT
We finally get a little sleep and wake up on time. Or so I thought. I forgot about the time difference in the central time zone and got us up an hour later than anticipated. Ooops. We head out the door to the BMW dealer for an oil change (just $40 + oil) and a new rear tire for Dan. We hang out at the shop checking out the new bikes, updating our routes, and flirting with the blonde who shouldn’t be working there. Everything was a bother for her and she didn’t know her ass from a BMW. I guess being blonde works for her.
The service manager was great and knew all about my clutch problem. Described what to do to fix it if it happens again and what to tell the mechanics if they don’t know what to do (note for Brandon – PUMA). He gets our services started and asks if we want our bikes washed. I laugh, thinking he’s being a smart ass and ask him if he is, indeed, a smart ass. He laughs and says, “No – we’ll actually wash your bikes”. I decline, proud of my Canada, Glacier, and Yellowstone grime. But my sense of cleanliness overcomes me and I accept. It takes over 2 hours for the dealer gopher boy to come back from running errands to wash our bikes and we use the time to determine our next few days routes with the parts manager who knows the area well. Cool. We get a few recommendations, map it, and lock it down.
Dan takes off to hang out with his family and I head to a movie. I show up about 30 min before District 9 (great movie BTW) and wander the mall looking for a new hat to cover my impressive helmet hair. I happen to wander past a haircut joint and smile at the cute girl inside. She smiles back so I wander in and ask if she can clean up my neck line. Score one for the metrosexual.
I catch the movie and call Dan after and head back to his step-brothers house for a few beers to wait for his parents to show up. When they do, we head to Chilis for a quick dinner and head back to his uncles to crash and get ready for our ride the next day. Unfortunately, we can’t seem to figure out how to get back there! He had entered the address in my GPS the day before but used written directions to get us there. I offer to get us to the address in the GPS…but it’s completely wrong. The street naming in the Salt Lake region is retarded and hard for any GPS to figure out.
So, we all pull over so Dan can check his directions…and his registration and insurance paperwork fly away in the strong winds up in the hills. Doh! We spend a good 20 minutes searching the hillside without luck and finally follow his Dad to his uncles house. It’s 11:30 and we show up so it’s a little late to do some much needed laundry. That’s not good. So, I hand wash my Under Armor, do some packing, and call it a night. 6am will come WAY too soon…
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Day 6 - Butte MT to Idaho Falls ID - 440 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember10
By the numbers:
8749 – height of the tallest pass in Yellowstone we visited (Bear Tooth Pass is taller)
5 – elk sighted
10 – minutes late to old faithful
8 – miles of wet gravel roads to Teton Park
We were tired from our long ride the night before and didn’t get a good start. We made some instant brown water….err, coffee but that didn’t get us going any faster. About 9:30am we were finally moving and I was glad we got gas the night before despite it being after midnight. We thought we had enough time to get through everything but it was a day of bad timing…
Butte to Yellowstone was uneventful after dodging deer and horses and the weather got warmer as we approached. We met a nice couple from Texas at the last gas stop before the park and, again, we’re told we should have taken a different route! They recommended Bear Tooth Pass and we decided we’d just have to come back again soon.
We enter the park and are handed a map of the place which I quickly shove into my bag. After all, how big can this place be anyway? We head up through the northern gate and traffic isn’t bad but it’s slow. 25mph slow. We were told to expect this and decided to play nice since multiple riders warned me about how easy it is to get a ticket in the place. Bummer – the roads are awesome!
We roll past steaming sulfur geysers, expansive fields, babbling brooks, and distant peaks all in about 30 minutes. The scenery changes so fast you don’t really have a chance to put your camera down – each turn has a new sight to capture. We pull over to capture a close up of a boiling sulpher geyser and I pull out the green map that has a road closure on it. Let’s see, we’re here…and Old Faithful is here….and the road we take is…closed. Shit. Talk about bad timing.
So, how do we get around? Only 87 miles to Old Faithful. At 40 mph that’s two hours to just get there not to mention actually leave the park. We make the trek to Old Faithful and head over a pass at 8749 ft – the highest of the trip so far.
We *finally* make it to Old Faithful and the place is a zoo. There’s enough parking for a Metalica concert with 18 different bathrooms and concession stands. We wander over to the geyser and have to fight the crowds leaving it. Hmm – we must have just missed the last one. Bummer. Talk about bad timing. I make a perverted joke about asking the next good looking woman “when does it go off again”. We chuckle at my immaturity and go to check it out. The area is pretty large, much larger than I thought. Clearly, they’ve planned for this many people with a well constructed deck above (made of TREX, I think) with benches and different vantages circling the famous spout.
Sure enough, everyone has left and we indeed missed it by just 10 minutes. Damn. 87 miles for nothing. The viewing deck has cleared out quite a bit and I see two women nearby (one was just my type) so I wander up to find out when Old Faithful will be faithful again. Instead, I say “Excuse me but do you know when it goes off again?” Errr – I mean…ummm…nevermind. Luckily (or unluckily???) she wasn’t a pervert and said it would be another 3 hours. 3 hours?!? By that point we need to be well outside of the Grand Tetons. Oh well, we’ll need to come back anyway to hit up Bear Tooth Pass.
We head back to the bikes to make up the lost couple hours as best we could. As we head back, the two women I embarrassingly queried happen to be walking past us to their car. I give a short, friendly wave and they come over to check out our bikes. Hmm – maybe I should make more obscure sexual references in the immediate future. We start talking and they’re from Arkansas and one is working in Lake. She mentions that we should come by for a drink. Talk about bad timing. I comment that we need to be out of the park well before then but that we’d love to. Oh well, next time.
We head out of the park and to the Grand Tetons. I was really looking forward to seeing them – hell, any grand Tetons are OK by me! We leave Yellowstone and enter Grand Teton Park just a couple miles later. Unfortunately, just a couple miles in, we’re stopped for road construction. Talk about bad timing. We’re stopped for almost 20 minutes before they finally let us through. We start rolling through the bad road to find out it’s pretty bad – the pavement is completely gone and we’re left with wet gravel. We assumed it would be done in a few hundred feet. Wrong. Try 8 miles of the stuff. Uggh.
As the sun it setting and the views are amazing, stunning, and gorgeous. I almost can’t comprehend the size of the peaks some 7000 feet above our 6500 foot elevation. As the sun sets all I can really see if the sharp outline of each mountain top which is quite breathtaking but bad for pictures. I snapped a handful anyway.
We make it to Jackson Hole (which apparently, likes to be called just “Jackson” now) and stop for gas and a nice meal. We stop at some fancy restaurant on the main strip and ordered a steak. Delicious. Now we just have 100 miles to go to Idaho Falls. The road looks flat on the map but it’s actually just a little pass over 8300 feet. I bet it was beautiful but I won’t know until I come back through.
Idaho Falls can’t come soon enough and as we take our luggage off I can hear the falls just two lanes away. I wander over to see the illuminated falls. Pretty neat. I’ll have to snap a few pics in the morning. Our room is huge so we enjoy being able to spread out. We hit the sack as fast as possible knowing we need to be up early the next day.
By the numbers:
8749 – height of the tallest pass in Yellowstone we visited (Bear Tooth Pass is taller)
5 – elk sighted
10 – minutes late to old faithful
8 – miles of wet gravel roads to Teton Park
We were tired from our long ride the night before and didn’t get a good start. We made some instant brown water….err, coffee but that didn’t get us going any faster. About 9:30am we were finally moving and I was glad we got gas the night before despite it being after midnight. We thought we had enough time to get through everything but it was a day of bad timing…
Butte to Yellowstone was uneventful after dodging deer and horses and the weather got warmer as we approached. We met a nice couple from Texas at the last gas stop before the park and, again, we’re told we should have taken a different route! They recommended Bear Tooth Pass and we decided we’d just have to come back again soon.
We enter the park and are handed a map of the place which I quickly shove into my bag. After all, how big can this place be anyway? We head up through the northern gate and traffic isn’t bad but it’s slow. 25mph slow. We were told to expect this and decided to play nice since multiple riders warned me about how easy it is to get a ticket in the place. Bummer – the roads are awesome!
We roll past steaming sulfur geysers, expansive fields, babbling brooks, and distant peaks all in about 30 minutes. The scenery changes so fast you don’t really have a chance to put your camera down – each turn has a new sight to capture. We pull over to capture a close up of a boiling sulpher geyser and I pull out the green map that has a road closure on it. Let’s see, we’re here…and Old Faithful is here….and the road we take is…closed. Shit. Talk about bad timing.
So, how do we get around? Only 87 miles to Old Faithful. At 40 mph that’s two hours to just get there not to mention actually leave the park. We make the trek to Old Faithful and head over a pass at 8749 ft – the highest of the trip so far.
We *finally* make it to Old Faithful and the place is a zoo. There’s enough parking for a Metalica concert with 18 different bathrooms and concession stands. We wander over to the geyser and have to fight the crowds leaving it. Hmm – we must have just missed the last one. Bummer. Talk about bad timing. I make a perverted joke about asking the next good looking woman “when does it go off again”. We chuckle at my immaturity and go to check it out. The area is pretty large, much larger than I thought. Clearly, they’ve planned for this many people with a well constructed deck above (made of TREX, I think) with benches and different vantages circling the famous spout.
Sure enough, everyone has left and we indeed missed it by just 10 minutes. Damn. 87 miles for nothing. The viewing deck has cleared out quite a bit and I see two women nearby (one was just my type) so I wander up to find out when Old Faithful will be faithful again. Instead, I say “Excuse me but do you know when it goes off again?” Errr – I mean…ummm…nevermind. Luckily (or unluckily???) she wasn’t a pervert and said it would be another 3 hours. 3 hours?!? By that point we need to be well outside of the Grand Tetons. Oh well, we’ll need to come back anyway to hit up Bear Tooth Pass.
We head back to the bikes to make up the lost couple hours as best we could. As we head back, the two women I embarrassingly queried happen to be walking past us to their car. I give a short, friendly wave and they come over to check out our bikes. Hmm – maybe I should make more obscure sexual references in the immediate future. We start talking and they’re from Arkansas and one is working in Lake. She mentions that we should come by for a drink. Talk about bad timing. I comment that we need to be out of the park well before then but that we’d love to. Oh well, next time.
We head out of the park and to the Grand Tetons. I was really looking forward to seeing them – hell, any grand Tetons are OK by me! We leave Yellowstone and enter Grand Teton Park just a couple miles later. Unfortunately, just a couple miles in, we’re stopped for road construction. Talk about bad timing. We’re stopped for almost 20 minutes before they finally let us through. We start rolling through the bad road to find out it’s pretty bad – the pavement is completely gone and we’re left with wet gravel. We assumed it would be done in a few hundred feet. Wrong. Try 8 miles of the stuff. Uggh.
As the sun it setting and the views are amazing, stunning, and gorgeous. I almost can’t comprehend the size of the peaks some 7000 feet above our 6500 foot elevation. As the sun sets all I can really see if the sharp outline of each mountain top which is quite breathtaking but bad for pictures. I snapped a handful anyway.
We make it to Jackson Hole (which apparently, likes to be called just “Jackson” now) and stop for gas and a nice meal. We stop at some fancy restaurant on the main strip and ordered a steak. Delicious. Now we just have 100 miles to go to Idaho Falls. The road looks flat on the map but it’s actually just a little pass over 8300 feet. I bet it was beautiful but I won’t know until I come back through.
Idaho Falls can’t come soon enough and as we take our luggage off I can hear the falls just two lanes away. I wander over to see the illuminated falls. Pretty neat. I’ll have to snap a few pics in the morning. Our room is huge so we enjoy being able to spread out. We hit the sack as fast as possible knowing we need to be up early the next day.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Day 5 - Calgary AB to Butte MT - 634 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember9
By the numbers:
22 - mpg on my bike
65 - wind speed in Montana
1 - Super Model EMT in Glacier Park
25 - degrees through the pass to Butte
We got a decent start leaving Calgary at about 9am and we couldn't wait to get out of that shithole hotel we stayed in. Eh, you can't always pick the winners, right? So, I plug in the address of our hotel in Butte and take off south. It's cold but not too bad once the high clouds burn off a bit. We stop at a crappy diner late in the morning at Smitty's. Lots of fried delicious ness. We scan the menu and wonder if all bacon in Canada is Canadian Bacon. Looks like it's not. Bummer. Another myth busted.
We keep on trucking south and there isn't much to see. It looks a LOT like Hwy 5 in the winter. A little green, a lot flat, and very straight. I traveled to Canada to ride Hwy 5 - the antithesis of fun. Yippee. We're making good time and stop for gas about 10 miles north of the border. The gas stop is owned by one old man who's very friendly and the place is completely empty. The weather has warmed up a lot so we're drinking Gatorade and peeling off layers. We take a look at the map and Irealize that the GPS route we're following completely skips Glacier National Park. Shit! I figure we're a bit too far out to make it a reality this late in the day and move on to getting ready to head in to the US for beer, booze, and loose women. Wait - Canada has all of that already and we can't get a ticket. Why are we leaving again???
A guy rolls up to get a few things at the gas stop and starts asking us a few questions about our bikes and what direction we're headed in. He mentions that it's too bad we aren't headed to Glacier -- it's worth the drive. OK - back to the map. There's a road that runs parallel to the border for ~65 miles and drops us off just 5 miles north of the border. We gear up and take off trying to make up for my GPS gaffe.
We hit the road and I do a little math and realize we now have 10+ hours of riding if we make good time through the park. And that's a *really* bad assumption. So, I pick it up a notch. 70mph, 80, mpg, 90mph, we average about 95 for a lot of it and make it the 65 miles in just under 40 minutes. During this time, my low fuel light goes on. Note to self - flogging the piss out of your bike results in very bad mileage (~20mpg).
We head to the border crossing, wait for one car, hand over our papers. The guard asks if I have any Alcohol, Tobacco, or Firearms. I reply, "Nope - boring, huh? We meant to get some back a few towns but never quite got around to it." He cocks his head and gives me a funny look as I smile. Luckily I'm waved through instead of being subject to a cavity search.
We stop for gas and are nearly knocked over by the winds. Woah. Not fun. I ask the guy at the gas station and he says, "It's nice now that the winds have died down". Huh? This is "died down"?? "Yup", he replies, "it's only 65 mph now."
We head to the park and can't help but stare at the jagged peaks and beautiful scenery. And this is just approaching the park. We wonder what it's like inside and find out just 15 minutes later once we get through the line. Traffic is slow, as expected, but I'm too busy taking pictures to care. Wow - gorgeous. The roads cut their way through the mountains and leave little room for error. Traffic slows at one spot to see a tow truck pulling some vehicle out of a ravine. There's a slew of emergency folks around and we almost crash noticing a tall, thin, blonde EMT. Wow - what's in the water in MT???
We roll on through perfectly paved roads but are suddently stopped. And stopped again. And stopped some more by road work. 2-3 miles of the road is completely unpaved, gravelly, and wet. Needless to say, it sucked.
But the paved road appears once again and we keep on trucking past, beautiful passes, waterfalls, and the occasional glaciers. They've shrunk a lot from what I hear but it's still a sight to see. We finally get to the edge of the part and check out the GPS - 279 miles to go and just an hour and a half of sun light. The race is on! We take a highway that runs on the southern end of the park and we're instantly put into the cold shadows. We plunge on hoping for a few sections with sun so we can warm up a bit. Little did we realize, these cold sections were a Miami summer compared with what we were about to experience.
We make it to the main highway and head south. We stop for gas as the sun has just set and grab some food at "Taco John's". Finally, a mexican place that has combined cheeze whiz and tater tots! Ugh - that meal will be with me for a while.
We hit the little country highway and I make a right. I notice the road is moving on the right. I take a closer look to find that I'm just 5 feet away from about 10 large horses in a fast gallop right next to me. My heart drops as I pin the throttle and lunge ahead out of the way. This stretch will not be fun as we see constant signs of wildlife crossing the road. The road is pitch black only brightened by my high beams -- which don't so much. We can't see the horizon and it's just black everywhere. Ominous. A hazy moon appears to our left and I swear I see what appears to be a setting sun to our right. Then it's gone and I think I've just been riding too long.
About 50 miles in, our scanning the road sides has slowed and we've fallen into a pace. Bad idea. Two deer shoot across the road and I grab a fist full of brakes and start to swirl as it leaps out of the way. My heart is now 300 feet behind me and I'm WIDE awake as the adrenaline vigorously pumps through me. And the fun has just started. We slow our pace and scan closer as we head south. A few foxes and deers on the road and as we approach the main interstate. As we get a few miles away we see fires blazing on the mountain sides. They glow a deep red and must have been that "setting sun" I saw earlier.
We hit I15 south and ride CHiP's style filling both lanes to better illuminate the road. Then we start climbing the pass. It get's pretty cold and I think we've made it through the worst of it. We start falling in elevation than shoot up to 6348 feet at the top of the pass. And it's cold. Freezing cold. Literally. It was 25 degrees and we've slowed down to about 55 on a 75mph freeway to try to stay warmer. We're tucked as far into our fairings as we can get...
We finally roll into Butte at 12:15am and I make sure we get gas for a speedy getaway in the morning. I grab us a few beers, check in, and fall fast asleep. Tomorrow, Yellowstone!
By the numbers:
22 - mpg on my bike
65 - wind speed in Montana
1 - Super Model EMT in Glacier Park
25 - degrees through the pass to Butte
We got a decent start leaving Calgary at about 9am and we couldn't wait to get out of that shithole hotel we stayed in. Eh, you can't always pick the winners, right? So, I plug in the address of our hotel in Butte and take off south. It's cold but not too bad once the high clouds burn off a bit. We stop at a crappy diner late in the morning at Smitty's. Lots of fried delicious ness. We scan the menu and wonder if all bacon in Canada is Canadian Bacon. Looks like it's not. Bummer. Another myth busted.
We keep on trucking south and there isn't much to see. It looks a LOT like Hwy 5 in the winter. A little green, a lot flat, and very straight. I traveled to Canada to ride Hwy 5 - the antithesis of fun. Yippee. We're making good time and stop for gas about 10 miles north of the border. The gas stop is owned by one old man who's very friendly and the place is completely empty. The weather has warmed up a lot so we're drinking Gatorade and peeling off layers. We take a look at the map and Irealize that the GPS route we're following completely skips Glacier National Park. Shit! I figure we're a bit too far out to make it a reality this late in the day and move on to getting ready to head in to the US for beer, booze, and loose women. Wait - Canada has all of that already and we can't get a ticket. Why are we leaving again???
A guy rolls up to get a few things at the gas stop and starts asking us a few questions about our bikes and what direction we're headed in. He mentions that it's too bad we aren't headed to Glacier -- it's worth the drive. OK - back to the map. There's a road that runs parallel to the border for ~65 miles and drops us off just 5 miles north of the border. We gear up and take off trying to make up for my GPS gaffe.
We hit the road and I do a little math and realize we now have 10+ hours of riding if we make good time through the park. And that's a *really* bad assumption. So, I pick it up a notch. 70mph, 80, mpg, 90mph, we average about 95 for a lot of it and make it the 65 miles in just under 40 minutes. During this time, my low fuel light goes on. Note to self - flogging the piss out of your bike results in very bad mileage (~20mpg).
We head to the border crossing, wait for one car, hand over our papers. The guard asks if I have any Alcohol, Tobacco, or Firearms. I reply, "Nope - boring, huh? We meant to get some back a few towns but never quite got around to it." He cocks his head and gives me a funny look as I smile. Luckily I'm waved through instead of being subject to a cavity search.
We stop for gas and are nearly knocked over by the winds. Woah. Not fun. I ask the guy at the gas station and he says, "It's nice now that the winds have died down". Huh? This is "died down"?? "Yup", he replies, "it's only 65 mph now."
We head to the park and can't help but stare at the jagged peaks and beautiful scenery. And this is just approaching the park. We wonder what it's like inside and find out just 15 minutes later once we get through the line. Traffic is slow, as expected, but I'm too busy taking pictures to care. Wow - gorgeous. The roads cut their way through the mountains and leave little room for error. Traffic slows at one spot to see a tow truck pulling some vehicle out of a ravine. There's a slew of emergency folks around and we almost crash noticing a tall, thin, blonde EMT. Wow - what's in the water in MT???
We roll on through perfectly paved roads but are suddently stopped. And stopped again. And stopped some more by road work. 2-3 miles of the road is completely unpaved, gravelly, and wet. Needless to say, it sucked.
But the paved road appears once again and we keep on trucking past, beautiful passes, waterfalls, and the occasional glaciers. They've shrunk a lot from what I hear but it's still a sight to see. We finally get to the edge of the part and check out the GPS - 279 miles to go and just an hour and a half of sun light. The race is on! We take a highway that runs on the southern end of the park and we're instantly put into the cold shadows. We plunge on hoping for a few sections with sun so we can warm up a bit. Little did we realize, these cold sections were a Miami summer compared with what we were about to experience.
We make it to the main highway and head south. We stop for gas as the sun has just set and grab some food at "Taco John's". Finally, a mexican place that has combined cheeze whiz and tater tots! Ugh - that meal will be with me for a while.
We hit the little country highway and I make a right. I notice the road is moving on the right. I take a closer look to find that I'm just 5 feet away from about 10 large horses in a fast gallop right next to me. My heart drops as I pin the throttle and lunge ahead out of the way. This stretch will not be fun as we see constant signs of wildlife crossing the road. The road is pitch black only brightened by my high beams -- which don't so much. We can't see the horizon and it's just black everywhere. Ominous. A hazy moon appears to our left and I swear I see what appears to be a setting sun to our right. Then it's gone and I think I've just been riding too long.
About 50 miles in, our scanning the road sides has slowed and we've fallen into a pace. Bad idea. Two deer shoot across the road and I grab a fist full of brakes and start to swirl as it leaps out of the way. My heart is now 300 feet behind me and I'm WIDE awake as the adrenaline vigorously pumps through me. And the fun has just started. We slow our pace and scan closer as we head south. A few foxes and deers on the road and as we approach the main interstate. As we get a few miles away we see fires blazing on the mountain sides. They glow a deep red and must have been that "setting sun" I saw earlier.
We hit I15 south and ride CHiP's style filling both lanes to better illuminate the road. Then we start climbing the pass. It get's pretty cold and I think we've made it through the worst of it. We start falling in elevation than shoot up to 6348 feet at the top of the pass. And it's cold. Freezing cold. Literally. It was 25 degrees and we've slowed down to about 55 on a 75mph freeway to try to stay warmer. We're tucked as far into our fairings as we can get...
We finally roll into Butte at 12:15am and I make sure we get gas for a speedy getaway in the morning. I grab us a few beers, check in, and fall fast asleep. Tomorrow, Yellowstone!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Day 4 - Kamloops BC to Calgary AB - 376 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember8
By the numbers
1 - "Oh shit" gravel moment
2 - bicylists on Hwy 1 East
1 - Bald Eagle
1 - Drunk asshole
0 - Tickets
So, it turns out all that booze last was a bad idea. I got up early and took a much needed shower after passing out last night yet we still didn't leave Kamloops until 10am. Oooops. Oh well, it was (mostly) good beer and that's worth it. We book our room in Calgary (more on that later) and hit the road
We know it's gonna be cold and bundle up appropriately and decide to stop for breakfast in an hour or so. We make decent time and hit a few passes before stopping at a Tim Hortons (due to a recommendation from a friend). They just stopped serving breakfast (my favorite meal) so we order a couple sandwiches. I go to pay and they say, "Sorry - we don't take Visa." Huh? What? I'm sorry - that sentence doesn't make any sense. Turns out, American Visa isn't accepted. So, I ask Dan to pay for my lunch. Cool - free lunch! Visa - "It's everywhere you want to be". Except Canada.
We hit the road and the scenery starts to get interesting. And cold. I looked at the forecast and it was 3C today in some areas - that's 37 degrees. The views are spectacular. Snow starts appearing on the jutting peaks around us. Unlike yesterday, I start paying more attention to the sights instead of the road. The roads were average today - nothing even remotely comparable to yesterday's roads. I check my rear mirror to see Dan looking up. I shift my seating position and look up to see a Bald Eagle. I do a triple take just to make sure that I really just saw a large Bald Eagle circling over us. Wow…cool.
We stop in Revelstoke (cool name, huh?) to get gas and warm up a bit before heading up to Rogers Pass in Glacier Provincial Park. I go to fill up and, again, Visa isn't accepted. The only bright spot is the very cute and flirty girl in the store. She says there's snow on Rogers Pass through Glacier park. Yikes. We meet another biker on the road on his way home to Calgary. He's surprised, jealous really, to learn we are that far from home. He takes off as we get ready.
We hit the road and head up the mountain. It gets colder...and more breathtaking. The scenery helps me take my mind off of the fact that I can't feel my hands and my face is half frozen. We quickly catch up with him and follow him through the passes. Up to 5500 ft…err 9000 km (??) and down to 2200 ft we pass the RVs and redneck trucks. The road twists and turns through the valley floor as the mountains jut out of the ground 2500 ft above us. Some of the roads are cut into the rock and require a tunnel.
I’m following our biker friend as we hit the first tunnel and we see the “Loose Gravel” sign a kilometer back. I take the same line and watch our new biker friend hit a nice 2 ft x 4 ft patch of gravel and slide to the side 6 inches. By the time I realize what happened I’m in the same gravel patch and sliding as well. It’s short lived but was certainly a pucker moment for me. Turns out I shot a bunch of gravel at Dan before he hit it too. Ooops – sorry. You should really watch where you’re riding…
We ride and ride some more. Pass after pass, gorgeous peak after gorgeous peak we approach Banff. But then we get there and we’re past it. Without fanfare we passed right on through Banff. Suddenly, we’re out of the sharp peaks and on to the final stretch towards Calgary. The scenery couldn’t be more different. It reminds me a lot of I-40 through Oklahoma or Arkansas – certainly not Canada. But the views up to this last part more than made up for it.
The final stretch towards Calgary is uneventful except for a scare from the Alberta Highway Patrol who caught us at 30 km/hr over the speed limit. Luckily, we ride on without incident and check into our crappy hotel. We don’t mind paying for a decent hotel downtown but everything is a bit off in this place. The shower can’t keep the temp, the décor was stolen from the 70’s and, the Internet is less connected than Britney is with reality.
We clean up and head out for a nice steak place the concierge recommended. Unfortunately, it’s closed so we wander to Celie’s – an Irish pub and order some food (Fish and Chips and Sheppard’s pie). The waitress was hot…or maybe it was the very small plaid skirt she was wearing. I’m not sure. We make it back to the hotel and check out the joint and, luckily, find the bar. Score! We head in for a scotch and to scope the place out. Nothing to see here. Except the asshole at the end of the bar. He’s was British, even though he was born in Canada. He was #1 (or sometimes #2) in (insert sport here) in all of Canada. He starts talking to us, quite drunk, and he’s trying to start a fight. I indulge for a moment and decide that I shouldn’t see how nice the jails are in Canada so I make a few comments that leave him speechless, pay the bill, and head home for the night. Eh, you can’t win them all…
We head back to the states tomorrow – which is good, I can’t seem to figure out how to convert miles/gallon to liters/kilometer. Plus they won’t take my Visa. At least I saw a Bald Eagle in Canada!
Inapporpriate quote of the day:
"Come on - are you *really* retarded if you make $1 million a year?"
By the numbers
1 - "Oh shit" gravel moment
2 - bicylists on Hwy 1 East
1 - Bald Eagle
1 - Drunk asshole
0 - Tickets
So, it turns out all that booze last was a bad idea. I got up early and took a much needed shower after passing out last night yet we still didn't leave Kamloops until 10am. Oooops. Oh well, it was (mostly) good beer and that's worth it. We book our room in Calgary (more on that later) and hit the road
We know it's gonna be cold and bundle up appropriately and decide to stop for breakfast in an hour or so. We make decent time and hit a few passes before stopping at a Tim Hortons (due to a recommendation from a friend). They just stopped serving breakfast (my favorite meal) so we order a couple sandwiches. I go to pay and they say, "Sorry - we don't take Visa." Huh? What? I'm sorry - that sentence doesn't make any sense. Turns out, American Visa isn't accepted. So, I ask Dan to pay for my lunch. Cool - free lunch! Visa - "It's everywhere you want to be". Except Canada.
We hit the road and the scenery starts to get interesting. And cold. I looked at the forecast and it was 3C today in some areas - that's 37 degrees. The views are spectacular. Snow starts appearing on the jutting peaks around us. Unlike yesterday, I start paying more attention to the sights instead of the road. The roads were average today - nothing even remotely comparable to yesterday's roads. I check my rear mirror to see Dan looking up. I shift my seating position and look up to see a Bald Eagle. I do a triple take just to make sure that I really just saw a large Bald Eagle circling over us. Wow…cool.
We stop in Revelstoke (cool name, huh?) to get gas and warm up a bit before heading up to Rogers Pass in Glacier Provincial Park. I go to fill up and, again, Visa isn't accepted. The only bright spot is the very cute and flirty girl in the store. She says there's snow on Rogers Pass through Glacier park. Yikes. We meet another biker on the road on his way home to Calgary. He's surprised, jealous really, to learn we are that far from home. He takes off as we get ready.
We hit the road and head up the mountain. It gets colder...and more breathtaking. The scenery helps me take my mind off of the fact that I can't feel my hands and my face is half frozen. We quickly catch up with him and follow him through the passes. Up to 5500 ft…err 9000 km (??) and down to 2200 ft we pass the RVs and redneck trucks. The road twists and turns through the valley floor as the mountains jut out of the ground 2500 ft above us. Some of the roads are cut into the rock and require a tunnel.
I’m following our biker friend as we hit the first tunnel and we see the “Loose Gravel” sign a kilometer back. I take the same line and watch our new biker friend hit a nice 2 ft x 4 ft patch of gravel and slide to the side 6 inches. By the time I realize what happened I’m in the same gravel patch and sliding as well. It’s short lived but was certainly a pucker moment for me. Turns out I shot a bunch of gravel at Dan before he hit it too. Ooops – sorry. You should really watch where you’re riding…
We ride and ride some more. Pass after pass, gorgeous peak after gorgeous peak we approach Banff. But then we get there and we’re past it. Without fanfare we passed right on through Banff. Suddenly, we’re out of the sharp peaks and on to the final stretch towards Calgary. The scenery couldn’t be more different. It reminds me a lot of I-40 through Oklahoma or Arkansas – certainly not Canada. But the views up to this last part more than made up for it.
The final stretch towards Calgary is uneventful except for a scare from the Alberta Highway Patrol who caught us at 30 km/hr over the speed limit. Luckily, we ride on without incident and check into our crappy hotel. We don’t mind paying for a decent hotel downtown but everything is a bit off in this place. The shower can’t keep the temp, the décor was stolen from the 70’s and, the Internet is less connected than Britney is with reality.
We clean up and head out for a nice steak place the concierge recommended. Unfortunately, it’s closed so we wander to Celie’s – an Irish pub and order some food (Fish and Chips and Sheppard’s pie). The waitress was hot…or maybe it was the very small plaid skirt she was wearing. I’m not sure. We make it back to the hotel and check out the joint and, luckily, find the bar. Score! We head in for a scotch and to scope the place out. Nothing to see here. Except the asshole at the end of the bar. He’s was British, even though he was born in Canada. He was #1 (or sometimes #2) in (insert sport here) in all of Canada. He starts talking to us, quite drunk, and he’s trying to start a fight. I indulge for a moment and decide that I shouldn’t see how nice the jails are in Canada so I make a few comments that leave him speechless, pay the bill, and head home for the night. Eh, you can’t win them all…
We head back to the states tomorrow – which is good, I can’t seem to figure out how to convert miles/gallon to liters/kilometer. Plus they won’t take my Visa. At least I saw a Bald Eagle in Canada!
Inapporpriate quote of the day:
"Come on - are you *really* retarded if you make $1 million a year?"
Monday, September 7, 2009
Day 3 - Seattle WA to Kamloops CA - 402 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember7
By the numbers
3491 - Rain Showers
1 - meaningless speeding ticket from the Canadian Police
2 - great Canadian beers
23 - crappy Canadian beers
We got a decent start in the morning despite staying up until 2am drinking scotch and absinthe (Dan has become quite the connoisseur). Blearily, we pop open a couple Red Bulls, put our luggage on the wet bikes, and hit the road. The wet road. The raining road. But we were prepared and head north to Everett for some much needed coffee and breakfast.
We pull into an IHOP and get any water-sensitive gear off the bikes. The cute hostess walks us to our table and the place stops and they all briefly stare at us. I'm sure they're used to the rain but I don't think they expected to see two guys riding...didn' we check the forecast?? And the rain keeps on coming. All the way to the Border.
About 15 minutes before we get to the border crossing, I'm in my own world just checking out traffic as we slowly pass everyone. Gotta watch out for the police, doncha know? I'm checking out the working class folks and see the usual Mom and Dad enjoying a Monday off. I glace right a couple lanes over and I see a very cute woman emphatically giving me a thumbs up. I roll off the throttle to get a better look and do something, anything, to return the response. But, motorcycle gear fails to let me communicate, "how YOU doing?" to my new, smiling friend. Oh, well. Hopefully, all the women up here are this friendly. I noticed they sure are cute...consistently cute. Must be something to do with the rain.
We get to the border crossing and have to wait for just 2 cars to pass through before we're up for questioning. It's sunny and we have papers in hand ready to go. I'm asked the usual questions - reason for my stay, how long, whether I have guns (good thing I left the 9mm at home), and what my profession is. "Contract killer" I respond, but he only heard me say "Consultant". We gear up and I ride into Canada for the first time.
It's all farm land as we roll past corn and alfalfa fields. Hmm - not what I expected. We stop for gas in a small town just outside of Vancouver and put on some more gear since we're headed for Whistler. I'm concerned I don't have enough gear but there's not much I can do about it!
We head north and to Vancouver and it's quite a sight. Very pretty but the architecture reminds me of a large malasian city or if SF had more glass sky scrapers scattered throughout the city. We cross over the bridges and follows the signs through downtown to Whistler. This town is clean with lime green trash cans everywhere. Minutes later, we're quickly gaining elevation as we head towards the site of the 2010 winter olympics - Whistler. Clearly, they've been doing a lot of preparation as the roads are brand new and perfectly maintained.
The road gently turns through the gorgeous landscape and we pick up speed. 100mph is the speed limit. Cool. No, wait, 100kmh. That's what, 60mph?? Bah - the fun police are at it again. Dan leads since he's been up here before and we start moving. MOVING. There are no surprises on this road -- every turn has been though out and there's no "dead man's turn" that we need to look out for. Nice. I'm all too aware that the police could be around any turn...but they aren't. Sweet! This road is like a race track. It only encourages bad behavior.
Up and down we go watching the road instead of the views. But you just can't help notice the green water and steeply angled mountains that start at the water and go almost straight up. Gorgeous. The water is a shade of green I haven't seen before - more like aquamarine but milky. Makes Emerald Bay in Tahoe look cute, adorable in comparison.
Up we go, slowing down only for small towns and RVs -- lots of RVs. The road is awesome and we're enjoying every minute of it. For a while. We turn one corner and the road goes up. Coming the other direction is a police car with it's lights on. It turns around and comes right for us. Ugggh. Ticket time.
The officer comes up to me first, smiling, and says that he didn't get a radar lock on me but did get one on the guy in front of me. He asks if we're friends and I confirm. He walks up to Dan and checks his tires out before saying a word to him. Strange. Dan takes his helmet off and gives him his registration. I try to get my camera out but can't get a pic without getting caught.
The mounty goes back to his car for about 5 minutes then comes back to Dan. He's smiling and Dan's laughing as he hands him his ticket. WTF is going on here?! I wonder if it's a paper ticket verifying that he was warned - nah, that's too crazy, even for Canada. Dan puts his gear back on and we hit the road.
We stop in Whistler to rest for a bit and I get the whole story. The officer was apologetic for having to pull him over. This would NEVER happen in CA. Dan had asked how it works to get a ticket in Canada. The officer laughs and explains that nothing will happen is he doesn't pay the ticket. It's not tied to the US DMV so there's no points and if he doesn't pay it nothing happens. Sweet! This is like a free ticket to awsometown - we just have to pay the ticket(s) and keep on trucking!
We head up 99 towards Kamloops and this road is amazing. Elevation changes, great views, and lots of twists and turns. The scenery is so varied so my head is on a swivel soaking it all in. We get rained on a bit but the roads never got too wet. I'm convinced that there may not be a better day ride than from Vancouver BC to Kamloops - I highly recommend it to any motorcyclist.
We roll in to Kamloops and check in to the hotel. Nice place. We ask where we can get good beer and they point us one block over to Frick n Frack. We wander in and it's pretty dead so we sit at the bar. Zachary is tending bar and he's from Vancouver. He came out to Kamloops for a change of pace. So, did the other two waitresses. Hmm - I wonder what's here in Kamloops to draw people to it...
We order dinner and beers - lots of beers. We had some scotch before we left the room so, surely, 6 beers would do no harm. We never had the same beer twice and tried as many as we could. Literally. Most of them were bad - coors light bad. But there were a few gems in the mix. I order a fried Mars bar and can't wait. Zach brought it out and said "I had them make it special for you". He puts the plate down and I see that the frieds mars bar is in the center, flanked by two scoops of ice cream at one end and a curling line of whip cream at the other. Use your imagination and you'll figure it out. We nearly fall off our stools laughing and think that maybe Canada won't be too bad. Nice and funny folks.
We stumble back to the room and I lie down, just for a second, only to wake up at 3am still in my clothes. Hey, it's vacation. Don't judge me.
By the numbers
3491 - Rain Showers
1 - meaningless speeding ticket from the Canadian Police
2 - great Canadian beers
23 - crappy Canadian beers
We got a decent start in the morning despite staying up until 2am drinking scotch and absinthe (Dan has become quite the connoisseur). Blearily, we pop open a couple Red Bulls, put our luggage on the wet bikes, and hit the road. The wet road. The raining road. But we were prepared and head north to Everett for some much needed coffee and breakfast.
We pull into an IHOP and get any water-sensitive gear off the bikes. The cute hostess walks us to our table and the place stops and they all briefly stare at us. I'm sure they're used to the rain but I don't think they expected to see two guys riding...didn' we check the forecast?? And the rain keeps on coming. All the way to the Border.
About 15 minutes before we get to the border crossing, I'm in my own world just checking out traffic as we slowly pass everyone. Gotta watch out for the police, doncha know? I'm checking out the working class folks and see the usual Mom and Dad enjoying a Monday off. I glace right a couple lanes over and I see a very cute woman emphatically giving me a thumbs up. I roll off the throttle to get a better look and do something, anything, to return the response. But, motorcycle gear fails to let me communicate, "how YOU doing?" to my new, smiling friend. Oh, well. Hopefully, all the women up here are this friendly. I noticed they sure are cute...consistently cute. Must be something to do with the rain.
We get to the border crossing and have to wait for just 2 cars to pass through before we're up for questioning. It's sunny and we have papers in hand ready to go. I'm asked the usual questions - reason for my stay, how long, whether I have guns (good thing I left the 9mm at home), and what my profession is. "Contract killer" I respond, but he only heard me say "Consultant". We gear up and I ride into Canada for the first time.
It's all farm land as we roll past corn and alfalfa fields. Hmm - not what I expected. We stop for gas in a small town just outside of Vancouver and put on some more gear since we're headed for Whistler. I'm concerned I don't have enough gear but there's not much I can do about it!
We head north and to Vancouver and it's quite a sight. Very pretty but the architecture reminds me of a large malasian city or if SF had more glass sky scrapers scattered throughout the city. We cross over the bridges and follows the signs through downtown to Whistler. This town is clean with lime green trash cans everywhere. Minutes later, we're quickly gaining elevation as we head towards the site of the 2010 winter olympics - Whistler. Clearly, they've been doing a lot of preparation as the roads are brand new and perfectly maintained.
The road gently turns through the gorgeous landscape and we pick up speed. 100mph is the speed limit. Cool. No, wait, 100kmh. That's what, 60mph?? Bah - the fun police are at it again. Dan leads since he's been up here before and we start moving. MOVING. There are no surprises on this road -- every turn has been though out and there's no "dead man's turn" that we need to look out for. Nice. I'm all too aware that the police could be around any turn...but they aren't. Sweet! This road is like a race track. It only encourages bad behavior.
Up and down we go watching the road instead of the views. But you just can't help notice the green water and steeply angled mountains that start at the water and go almost straight up. Gorgeous. The water is a shade of green I haven't seen before - more like aquamarine but milky. Makes Emerald Bay in Tahoe look cute, adorable in comparison.
Up we go, slowing down only for small towns and RVs -- lots of RVs. The road is awesome and we're enjoying every minute of it. For a while. We turn one corner and the road goes up. Coming the other direction is a police car with it's lights on. It turns around and comes right for us. Ugggh. Ticket time.
The officer comes up to me first, smiling, and says that he didn't get a radar lock on me but did get one on the guy in front of me. He asks if we're friends and I confirm. He walks up to Dan and checks his tires out before saying a word to him. Strange. Dan takes his helmet off and gives him his registration. I try to get my camera out but can't get a pic without getting caught.
The mounty goes back to his car for about 5 minutes then comes back to Dan. He's smiling and Dan's laughing as he hands him his ticket. WTF is going on here?! I wonder if it's a paper ticket verifying that he was warned - nah, that's too crazy, even for Canada. Dan puts his gear back on and we hit the road.
We stop in Whistler to rest for a bit and I get the whole story. The officer was apologetic for having to pull him over. This would NEVER happen in CA. Dan had asked how it works to get a ticket in Canada. The officer laughs and explains that nothing will happen is he doesn't pay the ticket. It's not tied to the US DMV so there's no points and if he doesn't pay it nothing happens. Sweet! This is like a free ticket to awsometown - we just have to pay the ticket(s) and keep on trucking!
We head up 99 towards Kamloops and this road is amazing. Elevation changes, great views, and lots of twists and turns. The scenery is so varied so my head is on a swivel soaking it all in. We get rained on a bit but the roads never got too wet. I'm convinced that there may not be a better day ride than from Vancouver BC to Kamloops - I highly recommend it to any motorcyclist.
We roll in to Kamloops and check in to the hotel. Nice place. We ask where we can get good beer and they point us one block over to Frick n Frack. We wander in and it's pretty dead so we sit at the bar. Zachary is tending bar and he's from Vancouver. He came out to Kamloops for a change of pace. So, did the other two waitresses. Hmm - I wonder what's here in Kamloops to draw people to it...
We order dinner and beers - lots of beers. We had some scotch before we left the room so, surely, 6 beers would do no harm. We never had the same beer twice and tried as many as we could. Literally. Most of them were bad - coors light bad. But there were a few gems in the mix. I order a fried Mars bar and can't wait. Zach brought it out and said "I had them make it special for you". He puts the plate down and I see that the frieds mars bar is in the center, flanked by two scoops of ice cream at one end and a curling line of whip cream at the other. Use your imagination and you'll figure it out. We nearly fall off our stools laughing and think that maybe Canada won't be too bad. Nice and funny folks.
We stumble back to the room and I lie down, just for a second, only to wake up at 3am still in my clothes. Hey, it's vacation. Don't judge me.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Day 2 - Bonanza OR to Seattle WA – 525 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember6
By the numbers
3491 - Rain Showers
1 - meaningless speeding ticket from the Canadian Police
2 - great Canadian beers
23 - crappy Canadian beers
We got a decent start in the morning despite staying up until 2am drinking scotch and absinthe (Dan has become quite the connoisseur). Blearily, we pop open a couple Red Bulls, put our luggage on the wet bikes, and hit the road. The wet road. The raining road. But we were prepared and head north to Everett for some much needed coffee and breakfast.
We pull into an IHOP and get any water-sensitive gear off the bikes. The cute hostess walks us to our table and the place stops and they all briefly stare at us. I'm sure they're used to the rain but I don't think they expected to see two guys riding...didn' we check the forecast?? And the rain keeps on coming. All the way to the Border.
About 15 minutes before we get to the border crossing, I'm in my own world just checking out traffic as we slowly pass everyone. Gotta watch out for the police, doncha know? I'm checking out the working class folks and see the usual Mom and Dad enjoying a Monday off. I glace right a couple lanes over and I see a very cute woman emphatically giving me a thumbs up. I roll off the throttle to get a better look and do something, anything, to return the response. But, motorcycle gear fails to let me communicate, "how YOU doing?" to my new, smiling friend. Oh, well. Hopefully, all the women up here are this friendly. I noticed they sure are cute...consistently cute. Must be something to do with the rain.
We get to the border crossing and have to wait for just 2 cars to pass through before we're up for questioning. It's sunny and we have papers in hand ready to go. I'm asked the usual questions - reason for my stay, how long, whether I have guns (good thing I left the 9mm at home), and what my profession is. "Contract killer" I respond, but he only heard me say "Consultant". We gear up and I ride into Canada for the first time.
It's all farm land as we roll past corn and alfalfa fields. Hmm - not what I expected. But I'm not sure what, exactly, I was expecting -- Mounties and Moose? We stop for gas in a small town just outside of Vancouver and put on some more gear since we're headed for Whistler. I'm concerned I don't have enough gear but there's not much I can do about it! I quickly do a little math to figure out how many miles per gallon I'm getting. Err, let's see, there are ummm 13.987 liters in a gallon and if I carry the 2, multiply by 4, and I get 8,405 miles per liter. Wait. That's not right. Forget it...
We head north and to Vancouver and it's quite a sight. Very pretty but the architecture reminds me of a large malasian city or if SF had more glass sky scrapers scattered throughout the city. We cross over the bridges and follows the signs through downtown to Whistler. This town is clean with lime green trash cans everywhere. Minutes later, we're quickly gaining elevation as we head towards the site of the 2010 winter olympics - Whistler. Clearly, they've been doing a lot of preparation as the roads are brand new and perfectly maintained.
The road gently turns through the gorgeous landscape and we pick up speed. 100mph is the speed limit. Cool. No, wait, 100kmh. That's what, 60mph?? Bah - the fun police are at it again. Dan leads since he's been up here before and we start moving. MOVING. There are no surprises on this road -- every turn has been though out and there's no "dead man's turn" that we need to look out for. Nice. I'm all too aware that the police could be around any turn...but they aren't. Sweet! This road is like a race track. It only encourages bad behavior.
Up and down we go watching the road instead of the views. But you just can't help notice the green water and steeply angled mountains that start at the water and go almost straight up. Gorgeous. The water is a shade of green I haven't seen before - more like aquamarine but milky. Makes Emerald Bay in Tahoe look cute, adorable in comparison.
Up we go, slowing down only for small towns and RVs -- lots of RVs. The road is awesome and we're enjoying every minute of it. For a while. We turn one corner and the road goes up. Coming the other direction is a police car with it's lights on. It turns around and comes right for us. Ugggh. Ticket time.
The officer comes up to me first, smiling, and says that he didn't get a radar lock on me but did get one on the guy in front of me. He asks if we're friends and I confirm. He walks up to Dan and checks his tires out before saying a word to him. Strange. Dan takes his helmet off and gives him his registration. I try to get my camera out but can't get a pic without getting caught.
The mounty goes back to his car for about 5 minutes then comes back to Dan. He's smiling and Dan's laughing as he hands him his ticket. WTF is going on here?! I wonder if it's a paper ticket verifying that he was warned - nah, that's too crazy, even for Canada. Dan puts his gear back on and we hit the road.
We stop in Whistler to rest for a bit and I get the whole story. The officer was apologetic for having to pull him over. This would NEVER happen in CA. Dan had asked how it works to get a ticket in Canada. The officer laughs and explains that nothing will happen is he doesn't pay the ticket. It's not tied to the US DMV so there's no points and if he doesn't pay it nothing happens. Sweet! This is like a free ticket to awsometown - we just have to pay the ticket(s) and keep on trucking!
We head up 99 towards Kamloops and this road is amazing. Elevation changes, great views, and lots of twists and turns. The scenery is so varied so my head is on a swivel soaking it all in. We get rained on a bit but the roads never got too wet. I'm convinced that there may not be a better day ride than from Vancouver BC to Kamloops - I highly recommend it to any motorcyclist.
We roll in to Kamloops and check in to the hotel. Nice place. We ask where we can get good beer and they point us one block over to Frick n Frack. We wander in and it's pretty dead so we sit at the bar. Zachary is tending bar and he's from Vancouver. He came out to Kamloops for a change of pace. So, did the other two waitresses. Hmm - I wonder what's here in Kamloops to draw people to it...
We order dinner and beers - lots of beers. We had some scotch before we left the room so, surely, 6 beers would do no harm. We never had the same beer twice and tried as many as we could. Literally. Most of them were bad - coors light bad. But there were a few gems in the mix. I order a fried Mars bar and can't wait. Zach brought it out and said "I had them make it special for you". He puts the plate down and I see that the frieds mars bar is in the center, flanked by two scoops of ice cream at one end and a curling line of whip cream at the other. Use your imagination and you'll figure it out. We nearly fall off our stools laughing and think that maybe Canada won't be too bad. Nice and funny folks.
We stumble back to the room and I lie down, just for a second, only to wake up at 3am still in my clothes. Hey, it's vacation. Don't judge me. I log in this morning to see that Dan has left an inebriated message on this blog for all to see:
"Brandon is dead asleep. I hereby confiscate this appartatus for my own gain. Who know's the most about life? Your preacher, your paster, your priest, your shaman? Nobody knows what happens when the time comes. We are all minions in a farcical game of catch and mouse. I am too young to make such judgments... yet the question remains, what are we? A chance species on a chance planet, thinking there is more to life, but in actuality, we will rot, no matter what the outcome may be. Brandon is asleep, though I doubt he would object to my insubordination. We all will die. Some of us choose how. There are worse ways to die..."
I'll update pics later for you all to see! We're too busy riding and drinking...
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Day 1 - Mountain View CA to Bonanza OR - 637 miles
Pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/brandonjhuff/CanadaSeptember5
By the numbers:
By the numbers:
- 1 – Nightmare of crashing
- 1 - iPod Idiot
- 10 - beers to a sampler
- 16 - hours in the saddle
Things went so well the night before. I was feeling pretty confident that I’d have it all taken care of. And I did…for the most part. Happy hour with Jeanine was a must – who else would encourage extra margaritas the night before a big trip? I was good and made it home by 7:30pm to get the rest done – one load of laundry, clothes laid out, various toiletries in a bag, passport, etc. I was “done” by 11pm and figured I’d get a pretty good night sleep. Almost.
I woke up at 3am with a jump and my heart beating fast. Turns out my bike wasn’t running right and caused me to crash. My worst fears came true in my dream, er, nightmare. I half wanted to go back to sleep to see who the gorgeous brunette was – hubba hubba. I decided more sleep would be the best idea and try to put her, and my bike concerns, out of my mind.
I get up before my alarm and put everything in place in about 15 minutes. Sweet. I’m ahead of schedule. Or so I thought.
I get everything down on the bike and remember I wanted a few audio books on my iPod. Back up to my room to quickly download a few and slap them on my iPod. I want to add them to my playlist and check and un-check a few boxes and begin the download. I grab some breakfast, double and triple check everything and go to grab my iPod and get outta town. I unplug it and look it over only to find that all I have on my iPod is my books – and none of my music! Doh! An hour and a half later, I’m frustrated but on the road.
It’s chilly out but I figure it would warm up a bit by the time I hit Healdsburg and I was right. It’s the picturesque scene you see in the movies. It really is a pretty area…and happens to by just a few miles from one of my favorite roads. I decided that if I was headed north, I might as well ride my favorite roads. Sure, I could ride them anytime but why not ride them every chance I get?? I head from 101 to Highway 1 on the coast and it’s great. No traffic, no cops, sunny weather and not hot. Perfect. A great way to start a vacation.
I make it to the coast and the weather has turned cold and overcast but that’s nothing unusual. I look at my watch and realize it’s already noon. Shit. I’m late. Real late. I take off up Highway 1 to Fort Bragg to have lunch at one of my favorite breweries – North Coast Brewery. As I ride up, I see a full lobby and wonder if I’ll even get a seat. No worries. I slip into the last table in the bar area and order the beer sampler. Yum – 10 delicious beers to make me forget about being late. A south-western burger gives me a taste of New Mexico I’ll be repeating in a couple weeks.
I head north. No, I haul ass north. I need to make up some time. And Highway 1 agrees and let’s me make turn after turn with ease. Until I get about 60 miles north and I’m thwarted with a rain storm. I expect fog and mist on 1, but this is rain. Real rain. Shit, again. I’m slowed down to 15 mph since visibility is a few feet ahead of me and the road is snot-slick. Well, this isn’t looking good for making it to Oregon before nightfall.
Fortuna can’t come soon enough and I make a quick right to my favorite road in America – so far! Highway 36 is the most ideal road for a motorcyclist – great pavement, banked turns, elevation changes, varying scenery, and turns of every kind. It’s 140 miles of pure awesome. Awesome with a cherry on top of a sundae made by Mother Theresa blessed by the Pope. Yeah, that good. I have lots of luggage so I can haul all kinds of ass – and I do. I don’t think I’ve been moving this fast on this road before. I ‘d like to think I learned a few tricks watching the pro racers but I can’t. It’s the bike. I’m glad I took the time to set it up right. Despite all my problems, it’s perfect.
I but north on Hwy 3 to Hwy 299 to Redding. I roll into Redding as the sun sets and stop for some gas and my first fast food of the trip. It’s 8pm and I now have 200 miles to go. Uggh. I take off into the night towards Oregon and hope I make good time on the desolate roads. It’s dark and it gets to be dangerous as the deer come out and the temp drops to the high-40’s. I’m not prepared for this and hunker down for 2 hours of cold riding. I’m just trying to make it there and get some sleep. I’m beat.
I roll in at 11:30pm, 635 miles and 16 hours after starting. I take a quick shower and hit the sack. I’m asleep before my head hits the pillow.
Tomorrow will be a long day too…
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Where's Waldo...er, Brandon?
Last year, we used a SPOT tracking device and everyone loved to keep track of where we were. Some watched a bit too closely (you know who you are!) but you could easily see where we were and how much progress we made each day. Tim was nice enough to loan me his SPOT (a fair exchange for beer) so we can use it again!
You can follow our daily progress at: http://www.timothylynn.com/whereami/
Now this assumes I actually use the device correctly...which is a BIG assumption. Somehow, I'll figure it out...
You can follow our daily progress at: http://www.timothylynn.com/whereami/
Now this assumes I actually use the device correctly...which is a BIG assumption. Somehow, I'll figure it out...
Can't keep me down!
The last week has been rough but you can't keep me down!
Since I last posted, I've had the stomach flu, been told I don't have a Lemon Law case for my bike, canceled a couple dates, and have worked way too many hours getting ready to go. But I'm almost there - just one more day!
All that's left is to tidy up a few loose ends at work, do some laundry, put everything in my luggage, and hit the road! I had planned on doing most of my first day with a few friends but they all decided to get lives so I'm going it alone. It's a bit of a bummer but it's actually a bit better for me - no stress to leave at a specific time, stop when I want to, take as many pics as I want, etc. Sounds perfect - just what I need.
Now, if I can only get those last few items done before I go...back to work!
Since I last posted, I've had the stomach flu, been told I don't have a Lemon Law case for my bike, canceled a couple dates, and have worked way too many hours getting ready to go. But I'm almost there - just one more day!
All that's left is to tidy up a few loose ends at work, do some laundry, put everything in my luggage, and hit the road! I had planned on doing most of my first day with a few friends but they all decided to get lives so I'm going it alone. It's a bit of a bummer but it's actually a bit better for me - no stress to leave at a specific time, stop when I want to, take as many pics as I want, etc. Sounds perfect - just what I need.
Now, if I can only get those last few items done before I go...back to work!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
You don't get what you pay for
So, the master cylinder was replaced and all seemed right in the world. But much like Britney Spears, it's not right. Last weekend I was planning on taking the long way to Roseville for a friends birthday and hit up the twisty bits north around Lake Berryessa. Unfortunately, the bike had other plans. I made it to SF from Mountain View (~40 miles) before the same problem popped up. I call SJ BMW who last had it and they agree it's not right and that I should bring it in. Needless to say, I'm less than thrilled about being 60 miles north of it with a clutch that doesn't work right.
So, I ride down and hand the bike over. I take the owner aside and tell him I'd like to discuss how SJ BMW plans on buying the bike back. He pauses for a long time and says, "We're not in the business of buying bikes back". I start to respond with something nasty and bite my tongue. I comment that I'd like all the paperwork for any service done to the bike. He agrees and I wait 90 minutes for the service department to figure out the problem and fix it.
While I'm waiting, I chat up the sales guy who shows me 3 brand new bikes on the floor that are missing parts from the factory. Seems that BMWs quality has taken a dive. My already low opinion of the bike and the dealership slips even further. I wander around and touch everything in the place and try to not have a "HULK SMASH!" moment.
Finally, the bike is done and the owner comes back out. "We replaced the master cylinder last time and we *assumed* that fixed it. The slave cylinder is the problem and it's working fine now." "Assumed"??? Nice...
I quickly toss my paperwork in the top case and hit the road. I'm now 5 hours behind and still need to make it to Roseville! The bike makes it there and back with no noticable problems. This is good. So far.
I get home and start going through my paperwork only to realize that they didn't give me anything for the warranty work they just did. It'll have to wait until Tuesday when the dealership opens up again. I call on Tuesday and ask for the paperwork to be faxed over. I get the same paperwork from the first service. I call back and don't get any return call for the requested paperwork. Classy.
So, call Mountain View BMW and talk to the service manager to get the paperwork from the warranty work done there. I'm told that they can't log any of the work as warranty work because I didn't complete my last warranty work there. That's odd because dealers don't get paid for labor hours on warranty work unless they log it. So, I have no proof that it was in their shop for any warranty work.
I've since submitted my paperwork to a local law firm that deals with Lemon Law cases to see if there's a case. At this point, I have very little faith in the bike or the dealers ability to fix it. And the last thing I need is to have it break down a few thousand miles from home.
In the end, you don't get what you pay for. You do get a good lesson on how NOT to run a small business and to not believe the hype surrounding any product. I won't be making this mistake again with BMW motorcycles...
I know what you're thinking -- are you still gonna go on the trip?!? Hell yeah! I only get one long vacation a year and this is it. The bike will do it or it won't - either way, I'm not working and hanging out with a good friend. There are MANY worse ways to spend time ;-)
So, I ride down and hand the bike over. I take the owner aside and tell him I'd like to discuss how SJ BMW plans on buying the bike back. He pauses for a long time and says, "We're not in the business of buying bikes back". I start to respond with something nasty and bite my tongue. I comment that I'd like all the paperwork for any service done to the bike. He agrees and I wait 90 minutes for the service department to figure out the problem and fix it.
While I'm waiting, I chat up the sales guy who shows me 3 brand new bikes on the floor that are missing parts from the factory. Seems that BMWs quality has taken a dive. My already low opinion of the bike and the dealership slips even further. I wander around and touch everything in the place and try to not have a "HULK SMASH!" moment.
Finally, the bike is done and the owner comes back out. "We replaced the master cylinder last time and we *assumed* that fixed it. The slave cylinder is the problem and it's working fine now." "Assumed"??? Nice...
I quickly toss my paperwork in the top case and hit the road. I'm now 5 hours behind and still need to make it to Roseville! The bike makes it there and back with no noticable problems. This is good. So far.
I get home and start going through my paperwork only to realize that they didn't give me anything for the warranty work they just did. It'll have to wait until Tuesday when the dealership opens up again. I call on Tuesday and ask for the paperwork to be faxed over. I get the same paperwork from the first service. I call back and don't get any return call for the requested paperwork. Classy.
So, call Mountain View BMW and talk to the service manager to get the paperwork from the warranty work done there. I'm told that they can't log any of the work as warranty work because I didn't complete my last warranty work there. That's odd because dealers don't get paid for labor hours on warranty work unless they log it. So, I have no proof that it was in their shop for any warranty work.
I've since submitted my paperwork to a local law firm that deals with Lemon Law cases to see if there's a case. At this point, I have very little faith in the bike or the dealers ability to fix it. And the last thing I need is to have it break down a few thousand miles from home.
In the end, you don't get what you pay for. You do get a good lesson on how NOT to run a small business and to not believe the hype surrounding any product. I won't be making this mistake again with BMW motorcycles...
I know what you're thinking -- are you still gonna go on the trip?!? Hell yeah! I only get one long vacation a year and this is it. The bike will do it or it won't - either way, I'm not working and hanging out with a good friend. There are MANY worse ways to spend time ;-)
Monday, August 17, 2009
Does vodka and the Lemon Law and make a refreshing cocktail?
So, my bike almost left me stranded on Saturday (again) but luckily I was just a couple miles from SJ BMW. I popped in and they now have my bike and will be replacing the Master Cylinder for the clutch. I hope to get it back on Wednesday and my problems will be behind me.
If not, I'm heading down the Lemon Law path and will push to get the bike bought back ASAP so I can get another bike in time for this trip. Even if I keep the bike, I have some serious concerns about it's long term reliability and damage done to other components (gear box, clutch, etc). So much so, that I can't recommend this bike to anyone. Sure, the 1200GS has a stellar reputation out in the wild but my bike has spent more time at the dealers than in my possession. My buyers remorse couldn't be higher!
For now, I hurry up and wait...
If not, I'm heading down the Lemon Law path and will push to get the bike bought back ASAP so I can get another bike in time for this trip. Even if I keep the bike, I have some serious concerns about it's long term reliability and damage done to other components (gear box, clutch, etc). So much so, that I can't recommend this bike to anyone. Sure, the 1200GS has a stellar reputation out in the wild but my bike has spent more time at the dealers than in my possession. My buyers remorse couldn't be higher!
For now, I hurry up and wait...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Grr - still not working
Got a few of the new parts on and road the bike in today....only to find the same clutch problem. It's as expected but really pisses me off. I'm looking into lemon law lawyers to see what my options are and how the process works. This is NOT how I expected this purchase to go... Sure, you read about some problems here and there but you never expect it to happen to you -- until it does.
I'm taking it in to SJ BMW on Saturday morning and back to Mountain View BMW on Tuesday. Hopefully ONE of them will get it right.
I'm taking it in to SJ BMW on Saturday morning and back to Mountain View BMW on Tuesday. Hopefully ONE of them will get it right.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
What's the definition of insanity?
Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Well, if that's the true definition, Mountain View BMW is indeed insane. They bled my clutch the first time expecting it to fix it. It didn't work. So, rather than try a different approach, they did it again and consider it fixed again despite it not working the first time. So, they're either insane or don't have a lot of confidence in their work. Yippee.
I calmly explained that I expect a brand new $20k motorcycle to run perfectly and if it breaks down during a long trip, angry won't begin to describe how I'll feel. He then offered to look into it and get back to me. Customer service at it's finest...
On Wednesday, when I finally picked up my parts (after 5 attempts!) from SJ BMW, I talked with the master mechanic who was 99% sure that the slave cylinder would fix it and asked me to bring the bike by on Saturday am to replace it. Well, Mountain View BMW felt it was the master cylinder instead and will have the part on Tuesday. So, in the end, I'll get what I asked for a few services ago...
Unfortunately, I need to work this weekend so I won't have much of a chance to ride the bike and test it. I also have a few parts I need to install. I guess I'll just sleep when I'm dead!
I calmly explained that I expect a brand new $20k motorcycle to run perfectly and if it breaks down during a long trip, angry won't begin to describe how I'll feel. He then offered to look into it and get back to me. Customer service at it's finest...
On Wednesday, when I finally picked up my parts (after 5 attempts!) from SJ BMW, I talked with the master mechanic who was 99% sure that the slave cylinder would fix it and asked me to bring the bike by on Saturday am to replace it. Well, Mountain View BMW felt it was the master cylinder instead and will have the part on Tuesday. So, in the end, I'll get what I asked for a few services ago...
Unfortunately, I need to work this weekend so I won't have much of a chance to ride the bike and test it. I also have a few parts I need to install. I guess I'll just sleep when I'm dead!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Pre-Pre-Ride
The Pre-Pre-Ride on Saturday was a blast! I learned a lot about the bike....and what I don't like about it. It's great on the freseway if the windscreen created less wind noise and buffeting. It's great on twisty, beat up roads but I need firmer springs for the suspension to handle my ever growing weight. It's pretty quick but it gets crappy mileage when I flog it (~32mpg). I have a few new parts en route from the FedEx angels to help address the suspension and windscreen issues. It's only money, right?? I spend it like I have it...
Unfortunately, I still have the clutch problem. After talking with a few BMW mechanic friends it seems to be the slave cylinder so I'm fighting with BMW NA to fix it rather than re-bleed the hydraulics. Again. If the local dealer won't fix it, I have another dealer that will work with me to get it fixed... I just want it to work as it supposed to!!!
I hope to have the bike back by Saturday so I can take it out and put some more miles on it with my new farkles. Fingers crossed!
Unfortunately, I still have the clutch problem. After talking with a few BMW mechanic friends it seems to be the slave cylinder so I'm fighting with BMW NA to fix it rather than re-bleed the hydraulics. Again. If the local dealer won't fix it, I have another dealer that will work with me to get it fixed... I just want it to work as it supposed to!!!
I hope to have the bike back by Saturday so I can take it out and put some more miles on it with my new farkles. Fingers crossed!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
I thought I was a planner??
I got the bike back on Tuesday evening and the problem seems to be fixed. I was told it was air in the hydraulics and a high-velocity night ride confirmed that it's fixed.
I only have a few weeks to go and I still need to get all the parts for the trip and test them out. The testing is easy. Finding the right part isn't. But I've narrowed down my options and have begun "testing" :-) But I'm cutting it a bit too close. Far too close for a guy who makes a living planning things!
I'll be going for a ride this weekend to test the bike and the numerous parts I have (GPS, seat pad, luggage, etc). Unfortunately, BMW San Jose can't seem to manage their parts department. They haven't followed through on anything they said they'd do, everything was late, and, after receiving the parts they're missing one major component - a mounting bracket for my top case. Grrr. This just proves the old adage: "BMWs are expensive. And maybe they're overpriced garage jewelery". Or something like that. I haven't had any coffee yet so I can't be held responsible.
Here's the route we're taking this weekend - short, twisty, fun.
http://tinyurl.com/n7enax
Unlike last year, no overnight 800 mile trip to get ready. I have a pretty good idea what I'm in for this go around!
I only have a few weeks to go and I still need to get all the parts for the trip and test them out. The testing is easy. Finding the right part isn't. But I've narrowed down my options and have begun "testing" :-) But I'm cutting it a bit too close. Far too close for a guy who makes a living planning things!
I'll be going for a ride this weekend to test the bike and the numerous parts I have (GPS, seat pad, luggage, etc). Unfortunately, BMW San Jose can't seem to manage their parts department. They haven't followed through on anything they said they'd do, everything was late, and, after receiving the parts they're missing one major component - a mounting bracket for my top case. Grrr. This just proves the old adage: "BMWs are expensive. And maybe they're overpriced garage jewelery". Or something like that. I haven't had any coffee yet so I can't be held responsible.
Here's the route we're taking this weekend - short, twisty, fun.
http://tinyurl.com/n7enax
Unlike last year, no overnight 800 mile trip to get ready. I have a pretty good idea what I'm in for this go around!
Monday, August 3, 2009
The new bike
New trip = new bike! My KTM almost left me stranded at the Gran Canyon last year and we'll be at much higher elevations this year. So, I sold my KTM and started my search for a suitable replacement. And continued to search. And searched. And got worried I didn't have a bike yet and *finally* broke down and bought the BMW (R1200GS) I've wanted for quite some time. It was insanely expensive (cost more than my truck!) but should do everything I need it to for this trip and AK next year (or whenever I finally get around to that trip).
Here's a pic of it without the windscreen. She's not the prettiest girl at the dance but she has some great moves ;-)
I picked it up last week and it's been great...until yesterday. I'm in the process of breaking it in and took it for a spin up the local canyons (Redwood Road). Was great fun -- I kept pace with the sportbikers and the look on their faces was priceless! Unfortunately, as the day progressed, my clutch engagement got progressively worse. And by worse I mean the lever did nothing and I couldn't disengage the clutch. I had to match revs and slip it in and out of gear to get home. I even had to push it the last 2 blocks home. $20k well spent, right?? Needless to say, I'm not pleased. Not pleased at all.
BMW NA will be picking it up tomorrow am and it better be fixed quickly. I still need to break it in and will be riding to the Sierras this weekend....at least I plan on it!
Here's a pic of it without the windscreen. She's not the prettiest girl at the dance but she has some great moves ;-)
I picked it up last week and it's been great...until yesterday. I'm in the process of breaking it in and took it for a spin up the local canyons (Redwood Road). Was great fun -- I kept pace with the sportbikers and the look on their faces was priceless! Unfortunately, as the day progressed, my clutch engagement got progressively worse. And by worse I mean the lever did nothing and I couldn't disengage the clutch. I had to match revs and slip it in and out of gear to get home. I even had to push it the last 2 blocks home. $20k well spent, right?? Needless to say, I'm not pleased. Not pleased at all.
BMW NA will be picking it up tomorrow am and it better be fixed quickly. I still need to break it in and will be riding to the Sierras this weekend....at least I plan on it!
Second annual long ride - better than the first?
After my trip last year (click me to check it out!), I decided I need to take a long ride each year. I wasn't sure I was going to go this year but made sure I didn't flake on myself. I'm finally going on a long ride with a friend I've known for years (more than 15 at this point). The route is set, the first hotel is booked, and we're quickly pulling together the necessary gear for a ride to Canada and the Western US. I'm stoked and sorely need the time off...
Here's our planned route this year in early Sept. We'll get trained on. It'll be hot. It'll be fun! It's a completely different approach than last year. We're focusing on national parks and staying off the freeways as much as possible. We have some long days but no where near as bad as last year (700 mile days aren't a lot of fun).
Day 1 - 9/6/09 - 402 miles - Seattle WA to Kamloops CA through Vancouver and Ganbaldi Park
http://tinyurl.com/lhgvtr
Day 2 - 9/7/09 - 385 miles - Kamloops to Calgary through Banff Park
http://tinyurl.com/mklkk6
Day 3 - 9/8/09 - 477 miles - Calgary to Butte through Glacier Natl Park
http://tinyurl.com/m8sylt
Day 4 - 9/9/09 - 402 miles - Butte MT to Idaho Falls ID through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons
http://tinyurl.com/m3gvhk
Day 5 - 9/10/09 - 336 miles - Idaho Falls ID to Park City UT through Wasatch-Cache Natl Forrest
http://tinyurl.com/lnwtpb
Day 6 - 9/11/09 - 399 miles - Park City UT to Grand Junction CO through many UT Natl Parks
http://tinyurl.com/mgdagw
Day 7 - 9/12/09 - 299 miles - Grand Junction CO to Colorado Springs CO through Gunnison and Pike Natl Parks
http://tinyurl.com/nqlxx7
Day 8 - 9/13/09 - 349 miles - Colorado Springs CO to ABQ NM through Santa Fe
http://tinyurl.com/m28yby
Day 9 - 9/14/09 - 354 miles - ABQ NM to Tuba City AZ and Navajo Reservation
http://tinyurl.com/mw7bw5
Day 10 - 9/15/09 - 357 miles - Tuba City AZ to Las Vegas NV through Grand Canyon
http://tinyurl.com/lq6stv
Day 11 - 9/16/09 - 549 miles - Las Vegas NV to Mountain View CA through nothing worth noting
http://tinyurl.com/n7bee8
Here's our planned route this year in early Sept. We'll get trained on. It'll be hot. It'll be fun! It's a completely different approach than last year. We're focusing on national parks and staying off the freeways as much as possible. We have some long days but no where near as bad as last year (700 mile days aren't a lot of fun).
Day 1 - 9/6/09 - 402 miles - Seattle WA to Kamloops CA through Vancouver and Ganbaldi Park
http://tinyurl.com/lhgvtr
Day 2 - 9/7/09 - 385 miles - Kamloops to Calgary through Banff Park
http://tinyurl.com/mklkk6
Day 3 - 9/8/09 - 477 miles - Calgary to Butte through Glacier Natl Park
http://tinyurl.com/m8sylt
Day 4 - 9/9/09 - 402 miles - Butte MT to Idaho Falls ID through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons
http://tinyurl.com/m3gvhk
Day 5 - 9/10/09 - 336 miles - Idaho Falls ID to Park City UT through Wasatch-Cache Natl Forrest
http://tinyurl.com/lnwtpb
Day 6 - 9/11/09 - 399 miles - Park City UT to Grand Junction CO through many UT Natl Parks
http://tinyurl.com/mgdagw
Day 7 - 9/12/09 - 299 miles - Grand Junction CO to Colorado Springs CO through Gunnison and Pike Natl Parks
http://tinyurl.com/nqlxx7
Day 8 - 9/13/09 - 349 miles - Colorado Springs CO to ABQ NM through Santa Fe
http://tinyurl.com/m28yby
Day 9 - 9/14/09 - 354 miles - ABQ NM to Tuba City AZ and Navajo Reservation
http://tinyurl.com/mw7bw5
Day 10 - 9/15/09 - 357 miles - Tuba City AZ to Las Vegas NV through Grand Canyon
http://tinyurl.com/lq6stv
Day 11 - 9/16/09 - 549 miles - Las Vegas NV to Mountain View CA through nothing worth noting
http://tinyurl.com/n7bee8
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