Ride report June 2012: Day 14

Butte, MT to Grangeville, ID

I slept good, then ate breakfast in the adjoining Perkins restaurant. I had fueled up the day before so I was on the highway by 7:50 AM.

It was a 120 mile slog on I-90 once again to get to Missoula where I turned west on highway 12 to Lolo. I gassed up there, alongside two guys from Alberta, Canada riding Suzukis. One was a DL100 and the other was a Bandit. I smiled at them but they ignored me. I ate a snack, then continued on 12 up and over Lolo Pass.

I had to go around some really slow cars, all with Idaho license plates, then over the pass and down the other side. The road surface at the top of the pass was rough, but it smoothed out soon enough. The sun was out and it was a pleasant riding temperature, so the rest of the ride was very comfortable.

I stopped at the small Apgar campground to eat an energy bar and drink some water, then continued on. The 50 mph speed limit on highway 12 in Idaho is needlessly slow. The road is in great shape, the curves seldom get below a posted 40 mph, and the sight lines are more than adequate. I guess they just hate speed in Idaho.

Just past Lowell a group of six BMW riders come up behind me and soon they zoomed past, all with Alberta license plates. They all rode a different model of BMW, with a big R1200GS leading the pack. They were going at least 20 mph over the limit and were passing car after car over a solid no-passing line. I tried to keep up with them for a little while but their aggressive pace was a bit more than I wanted to risk from a speeding ticket standpoint.

Eventually they pulled off into a small park and I rode past and into Grangeville. I stopped at the first gas station and filled up my tank, and after coming back outside from a bio break, I saw the Alberta BMW Club pull into the station. They stopped, one rider got off her bike, they smiled at each other, then mounted up and took off again without getting any gas at all. I had no clue what that was about.

I checked into the Super 8 in Grangeville, a place I've stayed at before. The staff is very friendly and the value is excellent. I ran a load of laundry and after a shower, I walked to Palenques a few blocks away for a great dinner of Mexican food.

Back in my room, The Weather channel had that nasty warning tone, then a red ticker across the bottom saying there were dangerous thunderstorms in the area with quarter-sized hail and possible tornadoes. I went to the front desk to see if there was room for me to park my bike under the front overhang, but it was filled with Harley baggers. I left my bike exposed in the regular parking lot and took my chances. The storms apparently stayed 60 miles away in Washington state and avoided Grangeville altogether.

Ride report June 2012: Day 15

Grangeville, ID to John Day, OR

I ate a muffin and bowl of cereal in the hotel lobby, chased down with a cup of coffee, before packing up and heading into town for breakfast at Oscar's. The sign on the back door said they wouldn't open until 8 AM, a 45 minute wait, so I headed down the highway about 45 miles to Riggins.

I stopped at the Summerville Cafe for breakfast. The inside of the restaurant smelled like someone's damp, musky basement. My breakfast burrito was the size of a small child, but was adequately tasty. I overheard a few patrons make some seriously racist comments about President Obama and what would happen to him if he ever visited their town. I decided I'd better leave before the locals started playing banjo music.

Back on the road, I continued south through New Meadows and then into Cambridge where I fueled up. I then took highway 17 across the Snake River at Brownlee Reservoir and back into Oregon before hitting highway 86 to Baker City. That is a fast road with great sweepers and excellent site lines. The road surface is in pretty good shape, too, with very little gravel in the corners.

In Baker, I stopped once again at Subway for lunch. An older gentleman came up to me as I was eating and said, "You look like a biker." We chatted for several minutes, and he told me he had been riding for over 65 years. He wished me a safe trip and left.

I then gassed up at the Chevron in town and got on highway 7 heading southwest past Sumpter, then at Austin Junction I got on highway 26 and headed west into John Day.

I pulled into the John Day Best Western and got a room. The gal at the front desk was super friendly and gave me the same room I get every time I stay there.

Again, my usual routine of unpacking, taking a short nap, and showering preceded dinner in the lounge of The Outpost restaurant a block away.

Ride report June 2012: Day 16

Grangeville, ID to Sandy, OR

Breakfast was at The Outpost a few minutes after they opened at 6 AM. The food is always good there, especially their breakfast.

Eager to get home, I didn't waste time. I was on the road shortly after 7 AM. I topped off my tank in Dayville, then got on highway 19 through Kimberly and into the tiny town of Spray. I then worked my way to Fossil where I headed west on my favorite road in Oregon, highway 218, to Antelope.

218 is a lot of fun. There is a variety of curves, all banked perfectly, there are very few blind corners and sight lines are far, and the road surface is in fantastic shape. The road can bite you if you're not on your game, but if you get into the zone it's a thrill to run it.

I rode through Antelope, Shaniko, over Bakeoven road into Maupin, through Tygh Valley and into Wamic where I gassed up and ate a snack. I then took FS48 west, but had to detour onto FS43 to get to highway 26 as the rest of 48 to highway 35 remained closed, presumably due to late season snow (they don't plow it).

I was soon up and over the pass at Government Camp and back at home in Sandy by 12:30 pm.

Ride report June 2012: Summary

I had ridden 4,945 miles in 16 days (one of those days was just local riding and doesn't really count). I had ridden from sea level on the Oregon Coast to 14,110 feet atop Pikes Peak in Colorado. The southernmost point was Kaibito, Arizona, the eastern most was Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, and the northernmost was Missoula, Montana.

My bike performed without issue or complaint as did my riding gear. I wore t-shirts, underwear, and pants from ExOfficio, a combination that worked wonderfully in the heat, all of which could be washed in a motel sink and dried by morning.

While riding, I had a GoPro HD camera with waterproof housing sitting in my tank bag. I would often unzip the tank bag with my left hand, pull out the camera, press and hold the ON button, then film several seconds up to two minutes of the ride and scenery as it passed by before shutting it off and putting it back into my tank bag (all with my left hand).

I used an iPad and the free WiFi in my motels each night to check weather forecasts, review the next day's route, and keep in touch with family via email. I even used Facetime to video chat with my wife during the evenings.

The heat was probably the most challenging part of the trip, but even that is straightforward enough; it's really just mind over matter: "If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

5,000 miles in 16 days

I just returned from a solo 5,000 mile trip around ten western states that took 16 days to complete. I left Oregon, went south to California, then across Nevada, Utah, and northern Arizona into Colorado. I then turned north into Wyoming and spent a night in South Dakota before turning west back across Wyoming, into southern Montana, across Idaho and back into Oregon.

The trip ranged from sea level (the Oregon coast) to 14,115 feet (Pikes Peak) and saw temperature extremes from the upper 30's (Beartooth Pass, Montana) to 120 degrees (Zion National Park). The farthest south was Kaibito, Arizona, the farthest east was Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota, and the farthest north was Missoula, Montana.

From a gear standpoint, my bike -- a 2007 Suzuki V-Strom 650 -- ran without complaint. In the 5,000 mile journey it used up about 3/4 of quart of oil (which is pretty normal for modern bikes). The odometer rolled over 50,000 miles during the trip. My Garmin Zumo 450 GPS half-died about 1,000 miles into the journey. It's 5 years old so that's a pretty good lifespan for an electronic gadget that gets exposed to the elements. The standout gear of the ride, however, were my ExOfficio convertible pants. I wore them under my Firstgear Kathmandu riding pants and made the trip a lot more comfortable, especially when riding in high desert heat. They retain zero odor, and I could wash them in my motel sink, ring them out (roll them up in a towel and step on it) and they'd be dry in a few hours. Plus they are super light and pack really small, which is a huge bonus when traveling by motorcycle.

The standout scenery was Beartooth Pass in southern Montana, just northeast of Yellowstone Park. The low point in terms of interest was probably Laramie, Wyoming. The town has the character of day-old dry toast.

I met some really cool people (Jeff in Fortuna, CA; Pam in Deadwood, SD; and Myles and John in Greybull, WY) and saw some shameful racism in many rural areas toward our President.

The trip went without a hitch, basically. There were no pucker moments or involuntary get-offs and no run-ins with law enforcement. It barely even rained -- a few drops while visiting Mt. Rushmore.

Speaking of Mt. Rushmore, it was probably the biggest disappointment of all the big-name places I visited. It's much smaller in person than I thought it was from all the pictures and video I've seen of it on TV. In fact, the rock formations surrounding the monument are far more interesting. Devil's Tower in northeastern Wyoming was kind of a 'meh' moment, too, not because it isn't cool -- it is -- but because it's exactly like I've seen in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. It was a kind of "Been there, done that" sort of moment.

I hadn't planned to visit Zion National Park but had to detour that way because of a road closure. Wow, what a place! I realize it's cliche to say so but pictures can't begin to do it justice. It's as if Mother Nature consulted some big-name Hollywood filmmakers when designing it.

One thing that kept crossing my mind was the viewpoint that several fundamentalist Christians hold concerning the age of the earth. I'm all for the freedom to hold personal religious beliefs, but anyone that thinks the planet is only 7,000 years old is exhibiting a willful denial of reality bordering on malignant ignorance. Just travel around the west and look at the mountains that were built up, eroded away, and built up again and see if that kind of geological activity could happen in a few thousand years ... or even in a few million. Wake up. It's okay if the planet is 4 billion years old. Really. It won't make you any farther from God to acknowledge what is obvious. If it makes you feel any better, remember what an old friend of mine used to say when asked about his view on dinosaur fossils vs. the Bible, "I don't know how it happened, I just believe God was involved."

When I go on these trips, I am often admonished by friends and family to takes lots of pictures. I took some, and I even took some video. In my tank bag was a GoPro HD camera and while riding I would often take it out and hold it with my left hand, filming various angles of the action. I've reviewed some of the footage and it worked pretty well. I plan to turn my photos and live footage into a produced video, with distribution to select individuals. Some photos will be posted here, but don't expect too much. Philosophically, I have been taking the attitude that these places aren't going anywhere; if you want to see them, go there yourself. I put in a lot of time, money, and sweat riding there and I feel somewhat reluctant to let others vicariously enjoy the benefits of that journey without paying some dues for the privilege. Sorry, but that's just how I feel.

Meanwhile, my bike is filthy and needs an oil change. My chain is also in dire need of replacement and my Aerostich Darien jacket looks like it's been to the moon and back (I love that jacket!) I also have 7 GB worth of video to edit. I'll report back when I have something to report.

That first long day

My friend, Brutus (not his real name), got his motorcycle endorsement and first bike, a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 250, a few months ago and has racked up about 2,000 miles commuting to work. So far, the bulk of his riding experience has been on urban freeways during rush hour. What a way to cut your teeth on a motorcycle! One of his goals is to ride with me on some multi-day trips, so we decided to spend a sunny Saturday on a long local ride to simulate the kind of riding typical of longer trips.

We met at the parking lot of Steigerwald Lake, an animal preserve on SR14 in Washington, just east of Camas. The sun was rising, the air was slightly cool, and there was very little wind. Brutus showed up on a yellow bike and wearing neon yellow jacket and helmet. Only his pants were black. He likes to be noticed! We chatted for several minutes about bikes and the day ahead, then set off. I took the lead at first with Brutus following but lagging slowly behind. I pulled over and waited for him to catch up. Since it was his first major ride on curvy roads, we decided it was best for him to set the pace, so he took off first and I followed.

He showed remarkably smooth form and had excellent body position for a beginning rider. We navigated the curves of SR14 and after 20 miles we pulled over at a gas station in North Bonneville for a snack break. The Columbia River Gorge is notoriously windy but fortunately we only had to contend with a slight breeze. Coupled with the sunshine and moderate temperature, it was turning out to be a fantastic riding day. Since Brutus was doing well in the lead, we pulled back onto SR14 and maintained that pattern as we continued east.

As we neared the bridge to Hood River, I passed Brutus and then pulled into a rest stop for another quick rest and discussion about the route ahead. The next stop would be a private game preserve that offers public access, but it was easy to miss, so I led the way. The forests of the cascades were soon behind us and we entered the grassland of the eastern slope. Just before reaching the junction with SR14 and Highway 197, I pulled to the left into a paved driveway up the hill to the north. The lane was bordered on both sides with high wire fences and it soon became clear why. To our right were dromedary camels and to our left were zebras. In the distance we spotted llamas and bison, and high atop a rocky crag some kind of exotic goat, perhaps an ibex. We turned around at the top and slowly rolled back down the hill, stopping several times to see what other kind of exotic animals might be seen.

It was getting time for lunch and gas. We crossed the pink metal bridge just below The Dalles Dam and fueled up at the Chevron, then crossed the highway for lunch at McDonalds. When both the riders and bikes fueled up, we got back onto Highway 197 and continued south. The road is surrounded by rolling hills covered in green wheat and tan native grasses, with hardly a tree to be seen. The topography and open skies makes for a surprisingly dramatic view, and later on Brutus told me he was blown away by how scenic it was. We eventually descended down into Tygh Valley before climbing back up the hill, and after a few more miles, met the junction with Highway 216. We turned west and began the fourth and final leg of our route. The road is long and straight for several miles before we passed through the hamlet of Pine Grove and entered the forested eastern slope of the Cascades.

Soon we were climbing the last slope up to Government Camp and after passing some slow RVs, we were heading down the western side toward Sandy. Fortunately traffic was very light and we practically had the road to ourselves. I pulled over in Rhododendron and discussed with Brutus the remaining route, and after agreeing to stop in Sandy for a quick fuel fill-up, we continued on.

Our ride into Sandy was uneventful and once our tanks were filled up, we said our goodbyes and rode on our separate ways. By the end of the day Brutus had racked up 275 miles, which was by far his longest ride to date. He showed excellent form and his bike ran like a champ. Later on he told me that he experience both great fear and delight during the day. The excitement of the ride, the wonder of the scenery, and the wonderful tired feeling you have after surviving a long day's ride.

Touring Tips: How to Ride Long Distance Like a Pro

I ride an average of 9,000 miles per year, more than half of which is during long-distance trips. Those miles have occurred without a single get-off and took place during all types of weather and road conditions. During that time and over those miles I've learned a few things, some of which are included below. Most of these tips pertain to long-distance touring rather than short single-day trips or commuting.

1. Take classes and practice specific skills. Take the Basic Rider's Course from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to get your endorsement, then after 5-10,000 miles, take a more advanced course. I suggest Lee Park's Total Control.

2. Don't buy cheap gear. Quality is a higher priority than price. Quality gear is usually more comfortable, making the ride more enjoyable.

3. When buying gear, get pants and a jacket that is waterproof via the outer layer. Gear that uses a removable waterproof inner liner is a waste of time and money.

4. Rub Pledge furniture polish on the outside of your face shield to make rain bead up and run off. Rub shaving cream on the inside of your face shield to prevent fogging.

5. Keep some kind of tool kit on your bike. My suggestion for its contents are: flat repair kit, DC air compressor, electrical tape, adjustable wrench, allen wrenches, multi-tool, small can of WD40, rubber gloves, paper shop rags, and one large black plastic bag.

6. Keep a bottle of water and a power bar in your tank bag. It's also a good idea to keep a half-roll of toilet paper in a ziplock bag.

7. Wear earplugs.

8. Look down at your side stand when you put it down. Be sure of the surface before resting your bike's weight on it. Crush a pop can and put that under the side stand foot to give it more stability on loose surfaces like gravel or sand.

9. Leave cotton clothes at home. Use merino wool socks, even in the summer, and wear synthetic wicking underwear and t-shirts as your base layer, especially during warmer rides. In colder weather, use polar fleece as an insulating layer under your jacket and pants; bonus points if your polar fleece is the wind blocker variety.

10. When it's hot, wear a vented or mesh jacket and get your t-shirt wet underneath. You'll actually get a better evaporative cooling effect this way than riding without the jacket at all (warm air compresses against your chest and is actually warmer than the ambient air temperature).

11. This is a tip about riding in general rather than specific to long-distance touring: look ahead, don't look at the road right in front of your bike. Your cornering will be a lot smoother and more efficient, and you'll even be able to take the same corner faster than you would otherwise.

These are some rules I live by:

Riding is optional. Never ride when it isn't safe to do so, either because of weather conditions, the mechanical condition of your bike, your physical health or mental state (don't ride stressed or distracted, etc.)

Never drink and ride. Ever. No exceptions.

Your ability + current conditions = riding safety margin. Never exceed this.

Take care of your bike. Pay attention to maintenance items like fluid levels, tire wear and pressure, chain cleanliness, etc.

Ride respectfully. Be courteous to other riders regardless of their brand of bike. Be respectful of the communities you ride through. Be a positive reflection of motorcyclists and never leave a negative impression of riders upon those you meet.

Some people consider All The Gear, All The Time (ATGATT) to be a flexible matter of personal choice. I don't. I consider it a basic rule that should never be broken. I value my health and safety too much to violate the rule or even bend it, regardless of conditions.

Always wear a helmet, even if one is not required by law. Keeping your brain contained inside your skull is more important than keeping the wind on your face.

Never buy a used helmet. If you drop your helmet, replace it. They suffer internal damage that is not visible or detectable and you need it to be factory-fresh in case of an accident.

Looking good is nice, but never sacrifice safety for the sake of fashion.

If another rider needs assistance, do what you can to help. You may need help someday and good karma is a handy thing.