Sunday 30 June 2013

Day 16

After a great night of sleep, I was ready to get back on the road this morning. No matter how tired I am at the end of a day, by morning the blacktop is once again calling. I've wondered many times why I have such a desire to see new places, and it must just be the human instinct to see what's around the next corner, over the next hill. Riding a motorcycle has been a great way to experience this journey, there are no distractions from electronics. Just me and the open road, all the sights and smells, nothing standing between me and the elements. 

The day started in Grand Junction, a sunny and warm morning. For some reason, I had it in my head the Utah would be boring, thinking the only scenic parts were in the south. I don't know why I have these preconceived notions in my head, but they seem to always be wrong. The heat of the day was coming quickly, but I was ready for it. Riding today, I once again thought of the early travellers through these lands. What must have been going through their minds. It must have felt like they were at the end of the earth. The rock formations are magnificent works of creation, and once again I didn't even see the best of the state. There is much here left to see, and I will be back. 

The route today had me on some interstates and some two-lane highway. Shortly after Green River, I turned north on US-6. The interstate system is awesome, and when the traffic is light it's easy travelling. Traffic was very steady today, but there are plenty of passing lanes on US-6 to keep it flowing nicely. There were two times today where I thought I was getting pulled over, both times the trooper passed me and stopped someone else. The way the bike is geared, 65mph is the worst speed to try and stay at. I don't like the high RPM in fifth gear, and feel like I'm lugging the engine in sixth. 75mph is the perfect speed, and it's where I get the best fuel mileage. Another interesting thing I've noticed, even with my full load, the uphill stretches don't hurt the fuel mileage as much as the downhill sections help.

All throughout the journey so far I've thought often how different the places feel compared to home. Yet everywhere I travel people are right at home. A quote by Crazy Horse has lingered in my head, and it carries so much truth. "My lands are where my dead lie buried". 

One thing that has stood out to me has been the friendliness of everyone I've met. I've had great chats with complete strangers, and a lot of friendly small talk. I've been treated very well everywhere I've gone, even like family by some. Bikers of every type are friendly, and it's a comfort to know that they all would seem come to my aid if needed. 

Here's a few pics from today, quite a few of which were taken while riding (safely of course). 


This picture almost doesn't look real, the blacktop was really black here. 







Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honour depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge Psalm 62:6-7

Saturday 29 June 2013

Day 15

I started off the day in Fort Collins, getting on the road later than I wanted once again. I had a destination in mind, and it would keep me on the interstates all day. I was okay with that, as I had heard that as far as interstate highways go, I-70 from the Denver area to Grand Junction was quite nice. 

The trip south on I-25 to where it meets I-76 was pretty crazy, it confirmed to me that I could never live in a big city or even too close to one. I certainly want to come to Colorado again some day though, might even be brave enough for a return to Denver. Traffic was bad today, or it felt like it, maybe it was normal. It got backed up more than once until we got past the Eisenhower Tunnel. It's the longest tunnel I've ever been through, 2.72km long. The elevation was actually higher than Beartooth Pass a week ago, at over 11,000 feet. There are numerous engineering feats along the path I travelled today, and seeing them was neat. When I come back in the future it will be to further explore the roads in the mountains, as there are supposed to be many. As it was, I very much enjoyed the Colorado Rockies. They are beautiful, and the country from Vail to Grand Junction is unreal. Even though I've been in the mountains so much on this trip, they vary a lot in appearance. I feel quite blessed to have this opportunity. Many times I've felt like a cowboy in a western novel, except on a steel horse:)

It seems as though I'm travelling west into a heat wave now, which had taught me a few more things again. Skin left exposed all day, even with sunscreen, is getting burned so its crucial to cover up with long sleeves. Some mesh riding gear that lets the wind through would be great, and I will buy it for the next trip. Having lockable bags on the bike would be nice too, and then just one bag to take in every night. It's becomes a little annoying to take in stuff I know I won't need. I packed light, but would find a way to pack even light next time. It has been good to take this trip, I've learned a lot about travelling on a motorcycle. 

One thing that annoys me is that now I'm far enough south where it's impossible to use my credit card to get gas by paying at the pump. Most places require a zip code to be entered, and being from Canada we don't have those. It was so much nicer to just fill up and go, usually didn't even have to get off the bike. It will be nice to get to where that's not an issue anymore. 

The odometer on the bike turned over 20,000 today, a little over half way through the ride. I only put on 10,889 last year, so I'll be matching that in the coming week. It wasn't a long day as far as mileage goes, but it took a while due to traffic. There wasn't much as far as towns go further west, or at least not within a reasonable distance. I will be looking to get to northern Utah tomorrow, and then taking a few days of sightseeing again. From there it's off to Washington to celebrate Independence Day with friends. 

I once again didn't get nearly enough pictures, mostly due to the interstate travel. A GoPro camera, or something similar, is a must on future trips. 


Just exited the Eisenhower Tunnel
Shortly after leaving Dillon
Made and emergency stop on the freeway for this pic




What I look like after a day on the road. The beard has been tough to contain at times, it's long enough now where it gets behind my goggles and right into my eyes if it don't put a tie in it

Many, many more photo ops were missed today, and it makes me sad:)

Friday 28 June 2013

Day 14

Today it was time to hit the road again, starting to head west now. I am really looking forward to a few days in Washington with friends! It will be fantastic to see familiar faces after all this solo travel. 

It was sweltering from the start today, and I kind of wished I had gotten off to an earlier start, not that it would have been much cooler. I headed south into Nebraska from Rapid City, taking a slightly longer route than I would have had to. The small part of Nebraska I saw seemed to be quite diverse as far as scenery goes. After all I've seen it was a pretty boring ride today, I will be honest. 

At Bridgeport, I took highway 88 right through the middle of nowhere back into Wyoming. The portion of Nebraska 88 from Bridgeport to where it hits highway 71 was some of the loneliest highway I've been on this trip. After highway 71 it was a little more populated. 

It felt like it was getting hotter as I went west, and for the most part it was a cloudless sky. My nose is the most exposed part of my body, and it was pretty tender by the days end. I may have to start wearing a bandana, the sunscreen is not enough. 

I got gas in Cheyenne, and the set off on the final leg of the day. Traffic was heavier than I've seen so far, but it makes sense I guess as it is a Friday. The days all seem to blend together on a vacation. I was beginning to regret the decision to get so close to a major city like Denver. I've mostly been in smaller cities, and much prefer that. 

I got here in time to eat before a major thunderstorm rolled through. Hail, high winds, pouring rain, and lightning were much better seen from the comfort of the hotel room!

With 5 or 6 days left now before spending a long weekend with friends in Washington, I've left myself with a bit of a tough decision now. I originally planned to see southern Colorado and Utah, and also the west coast. Doing both won't work, so I will have to decide before I set out tomorrow. Either way, I will be leaving a lot of great destinations for a future trip. 

Shortly after reaching Nebraska today I turned over 6,000km since leaving home. It's not a lot when averaged out, less than I had originally expected, but I've never done something like this before. I knew bike travel was different than in a car, but it's way different. On days this hot one has to drink a lot of water, and the bike is much more tiring. I might have to test ride an Ultra the next time I can:)

Not far from Chadron, NE
Heading south from Chadron, towards Alliance
Right side of highway 88, heading west
Left side, taken at the exact same spot
A little over 50 miles from Cheyenne
Home for the night 

Thursday 27 June 2013

Day 13

Well today was my last day here, and all I had on the agenda was to ride all the great roads here on more time. I started by pounding pavement to Spearfish, where I headed down the Spearfish Canyon road. I figured it would be nice to ride the roads in the opposite direction, just to give me all the different views.

I tried to avoid the construction zone between Lead and Hill City, but ended up running out of pavement road. Not knowing how long the stretch of gravel would be, and not having cell service to check on the map, I turned around. It did give me a look at some new country I guess. 

The day before yesterday I didn't take the time to visit the Crazy Horse memorial site, so today I included that. It's incredible to think work has been taking place since 1947, but it is a big project. It was very interesting to walk around and look at all the old photos and all the different items on display. From there I headed down to Custer, hoping to take the Sylvan Lake road up to Needles highway. It was closed due to construction, so I back tracked up the way I came. 

The Needles highway, and then Iron Mountain road are my favorites from this area, great country to ride through with lots of corners. Riding through the tunnels in this direction was great, especially on Iron Mountain, where I got my last looks at Rushmore. 

It was after dinner by the time I got back to the hotel, but I had to pack up once again. Tomorrow I'm back on the road, and even though I know it's time to turn west again, I don't know what route I'm going to take. I will probably drop down into Colorado and across to Utah. I would like to see the Tetons on the way back, so I will see how to fit that in. 

Time to do a little more packing so I can have a relaxing start to the morning. Not many pictures today, as most of it was a repeat from Tuesday. 

Cool bike in the Crazy Horse building
It's a start, but at the rate they're going, it won't get done in my lifetime
That's what it's eventually supposed to look like
Cathedral Spires 
Looking west from Iron mountain

Wednesday 26 June 2013

Day 12

On the to-do list today was taking a ride out to the Badlands National Park. It was a lot further than I had thought, but it was  worth it. It was hot out today, the hottest day on the vacation so far. Riding on the Loop Road, highway 240, was a great way to experience the park. What surprised me a little was how green the grass was in the park. I had expected the entire park to be a wasteland. 

After taking my time there, I returned to Rapid City. I stopped at Black Hills HD, and enjoyed walking around in there looking at all the bikes in the showroom. Thankfully they can't sell me a new bike, just pre-owned, and they can't take a Canadian bike in trade. I was tired and had a headache by the time I left, and decided to take a few pills and relax in my hotel room. 

After a couple hours I was feeling a little more rejuvenated. I went for a nice steak dinner, the first time in a week that I've had a real dinner. Seems I've been too busy to take the time. After the meal I spent a couple hours cooling off riding the back roads of the Black Hills. It was a perfect summer evening, and there was little traffic on the roads. 





Tuesday 25 June 2013

Day 11

The Black Hills are alive with the sound of thousands of thundering Harley's! What a great day it was for riding today, the sun was out and it was hot. So relaxing to put the leathers away and just cruise the roads of the area, and are they ever awesome! It literally felt like I spent more time leaning into corners than I did riding upright, a riders dream come true. 

I started the day out by riding to Mount Rushmore to finally see that monument in person, and it didn't disappoint. Walking along the Presidential Trail and looking at it from many different angles really impressed upon me the amount of work that must have gone into the sculpting. I spent close to an hour there, and by the time I left I was itching to check out the famed roads. It was a thrill to crack my throttle in the parking garage, and I heard at least two car alarms go off. Not nice of me I know, but I'm supposed to be a bad, mean biker right?

 I want to personally thank the many members of HD Forums for posting their experiences, without that site my entire trip would probably have sucked! All the really great roads that I've ridden today, in addition to the ones from previous days came from suggestions on that message board. Thanks guys!

After Rushmore, I doubled back to Iron Mountain Road/16A. I had never heard of a pigtail bridge, and I found out that they're pretty cool. They basically spiral up, gaining altitude quickly in a very small amount of space. There was a fair amount of traffic, but most cars were quick to let me by them, which was appreciated. It's unfortunate that cars are allowed on these roads;). The views were incredible, as they would be for the rest of the day. 

From 16A I turned onto S Playhouse road, and followed that until reaching the Needles Highway/87. The rock "needles" that one rides through here are pretty strange looking, although very easy on the eyes. And yeah, I got my cheap thrills by blipping my throttle in the tunnels! I stopped at the Sylvan Lake recreation area for a light lunch, and then I was back on the bike. 

When I hit 385, I took that through Hill City and on to Lead and Deadwood. Construction crews had stripped the highway, and riding on the grooved pavement got old real quick. I will avoid that road for the rest of my time here, although the scenery was still nice.  I rode through Deadwood, and didn't feel like stopping today, so I headed south on 14 to the Spearfish Canyon road/US 14 Scenic Byway. Traffic wasn't heavy at all, and for most of the way I was not stuck behind any cars, so I could get on it a bit. I ground off a lot of chrome on the highway pegs today! I just can't say enough about the scenery and the awesome roads, I'm not sure how I will survive once I get back home, where its just straight and flat. 

At Spearfish I got back on the I-90 and headed for Sturgis. I spent about an hour in the store, now way was I going home without a shirt. Of course I bought 2, so I'm guessing one of my old shirts from home is going to lose its home in my bags. The people in this area are the most accommodating towards bikers that I've ever seen, but I suppose a lot of their economy comes from us biking tourists. 

I was not taking the I-90 back to Rapid City, so Vanocker Canyon road, and then Nemo road was the route back. They seriously don't build a road here with more than a quarter mile of straight stretch, the engineers must have been bikers. All the roads today were "must rides", so if you ever come here do them all. I will be spending an extra day here, as tomorrow would not be enough time in my opinion. There's a few more a I want to ride, as well as repeating some of the ones again just because they're so awesome!

After eating in Rapid City, I finally washed my bike. Almost 5000km after leaving home it was high time, and the forecast isn't calling for rain. Anyway, this entry got a little long-winded, so time to wrap it up. Here's a few pictures from today, not that picture taking was a priority today. 



This picture didn't turn out, I will try again before I leave. The tunnel is supposed to frame the faces of Rushmore

On the Needles highway
More needles


Can't take it away from me, I have proof!
To me, that's pretty clean, although some would look closer and say I missed a few spots;)

Monday 24 June 2013

Day 10

After a great night of sleep, and a little relaxation in the morning I pointed my front wheel to the east and twisted the throttle. Crossing the Bighorn mountain range was fantastic, just another highlight in an amazing journey so far! The scenery is western Wyoming is second to none, much better than I had anticipated. The skies were overcast, but it was warm. I also hadn't realized that the elevation would be over 9000 feet on the plateau at the top. It looked like great ATV country up there, and it would have been fun to ride the trails. Just passing through, it looked like a popular destination for outdoor adventure vacationers. 

Coming down on the east side was a thrill, miles of switchbacks with the familiar hairpin curves. Not much in the world beats riding a road like that, listening to the compression braking of the engine rumble through the pipes. I could see for miles as I came down, something that's always kind of cool. 

I stopped in Sheridan to get gas and to sit down for a real meal. I haven't done that in the last few days, just packing light lunches of veggies, fruit, and some trail mix. After I got back on the road the temperatures climbed steadily, it must have been 30 Celsius by time I hit Gillette. It's the first time on the trip that it got that warm, not something I'm used to at all. 

A little way down the road, in Moorcroft, I turned north of the interstate and headed for the Devils Tower monument. That is an impressive geological formation, the way it comes up out of the ground in such a symmetrical fashion. I've seen the pictures many times, but it really is so much better in person. 

After seeing that it was back to highway 14, heading east to where it joins back up with I-90. After getting back on the interstate I really started wishing I had cruise control on the bike, it would make travelling so much more comfortable. I've learned already that if I do another trip like this I will be doing it with a touring bike. The thought of trading the Heritage in for an Ultra Limited keeps haunting my thoughts. My bike has been running like an absolute champ so far, the only issue I have had was the burned out passing lamp. 

I got to the hotel a little early today, which was perfect, because I needed to do some laundry for the first time on the trip. I ordered a pizza in to the room and watched the final two periods of the hockey game. It was nice to see Chicago win, as I'm a pretty big Toews fan. It was the first time I had turned on a TV in four days. Now it's time for a little reading and figuring out a game plan for tomorrow. Should be spending the day riding some amazing roads in the Black Hills!

A little east of Greybull, just before getting into the Bighorn mountains
The eastern sun really makes the red in that rock come alive 
Somewhere on the way up the western side
Up on the plateau of the Bighorn mountains. Elevation here was a little over 9000 feet
Just starting the descent. Miles of switchbacks later I will be down there somewhere
They like bikers at this restaurant in Sheridan, getting the royal treatment
Devils tower from the distance

Devils Tower, with a little perspective from the vehicles.