A tradition since...well, yesterday.

The Thanksgiving Day ride. There are many things to be thankful for and many to give thanks to.
Health, family, friends. Yesterday I was thankful that there was no snow and ice so I could still ride and thankful that I have a couple of friends who are crazy enough to brave the cold and hit the road. So Gary and Claw, I hope the turkey was great. I loved the ride.

On another note, I posted two poems today on Songs of the Open Road, these from Sorez The Scribe and Chopper Kate.

I'm behind, A ride, a poem, and more.

Computer was down for about a week and that put me somewhat behind. I could have used my computer at work, but I don't really like to do that so now I'm a bit behind. But I'm back now an I will get caught up.

Or maybe I won't. The 'indian summer" weather is holding, temps in the fifties, sunny and I love to ride in weather like this. Bundle up a bit and hit the road. The only thing that really keeps me off the bike is ice and snow and The Old Farmers Almanac says we're going to have a dry winter. My ski-bum friends and farmers will hate me for this but, I hope that forecast is accurate. I want to keep riding.

Speaking of which, I had a great ride yesterday, rumbling down some curving local backroads. Sunshine, cool temps, a nice ride which, not surprisingly, inspired a poem which I posted this morning on Songs of the Open Road for your enjoyment and my own therapy.

I ran across a guy on this ride who has just purchased a new Fat Boy and he was really enjoying himself; big grin on his face, his young son on the pillion, less than a hundred miles on the new bike. I still have a grin like that on my face and I hope you do too. I hope we don't lose it. That would be a pity; to start riding just for the transportation. You ride for the joy, and even a hard ride can be joyful. Get out there and put the wheels to the road. Ride for enlightenment. Ride for your soul.

Great resource for those who love to ride

Check out Motorcycle Roads US . Info on great rides for motorcyclists provided by riders , sorted out by state and within the states, by regions. You could plan a fabulous ride across the whole country just using this info. Click on an intriguing highway and a map comes up along with rider supplied review of the ride and links to other sources of info for that particular highway. Also tells you by color-code what kind of ride it is . If you don't see your favorite ride you can submit the info and add to the growing list. If you've enjoyed some of these rides you can add comments about your own experiences. This is a cool site. Check it out.

Where Is Maggie Mae?

Stumbled across a great web page, Where Is Maggie Mae? , a page by and about the travels of young Floridian who rides a Buell Blast all over the country and then writes about her travels and adventures on the web. Lots of great pictures from her journey here and I really like her spirit. She would be a lot of fun to have on a ride. Stop by and sign her guestbook.

Grandkids, helicopters,Kalispell, Forest Fires, Poetry

I'm back at work now but before I had to report, I put in the last long ride of the Summer. I left on a Friday morn and pointed the Road King north to Missoula, MT, home of my daughter, her husband Brian, and most importantly, my two grand-children, pictured here.












It was a great ride . I spent all day Saturday with family in Missoula, a great town, and on Sunday I rode north to Kalispell, Whitefish and Flathead lake. Over the whole trip, both up to Missoula on Friday and then up to Kalispell on Sunday, hung a cloud of smoke. Both Montana and Idaho were on fire in various spots, particularly Montana. On Friday as I rode up along the Salmon River, a helicopter dipped down to within twenty yards of me as I rode. It dropped a large hose into the river, sucked up a load of water and flew away to drop it's load on nearby fire. I rode most of the day Friday and all day Sunday with a wet bandanna tied around my face to fight the smoke and ash. On Sunday just outside of Missoula, I passed through the "Blackcat" fire, with flames just a few feet off the highway. This is amazingly beautiful country to ride in but most of that beauty was obscured by smoke as I passed through. Still, it was a fun ride.




























On Monday, I rose early and headed back towards home, the long scenic route. At Drummond, I left the Interstate and took the Pintler Scenic Route which winds up into the mountains past Georgetown and beautiful Georgetown Lake and then back down into the old smelter town of Anaconda. The back onto the interstate for the twenty mile ride to Butte Harley Davidson and from there south to Twin Bridges, the historic old mining camp of Virginia City and on to the ranching community of Ennis in the beautiful Madison Valley, home of some of the best fly-fishing waters in the west. On to West Yellowstone MT, Island Park, ID and home to Pocatello. With an easy 1100 miles under my belt, I was off to work again on Tuesday. It was clear all the way home on Monday. Most of the smoke was gone and the weather was pleasantly mild. Here are some pictures from the Monday ride.

The smoky ride inspired a poem, Riding Through The Fire , which I've posted on Songs of the Open Road

I think you'll enjoy it.

Keep On Keepin' On

Tincup/Jackson Ride

Rode with my Brother and Sister PV HOGsters through the mountains to Jackson, Wyoming and it was a heck of a good ride. These rides are always as much about the companionship as about the riding, but the riding is spectacular. We are fortunate to live here in the Northern Rockies where good rides lay just outside our door and and half hour on the road can put us into some of the most beautiful country imaginable. No major population centers immediately at hand either, so you can usually ride without the distraction of traffic.
Here's a picture taken on Teton Pass by a nice young couple from Massachusetts, also pictured here. To them, a thank you.


Like I said, the camaraderie can be just as important as the ride and I always enjoy riding with this group. They are real Brothers and Sisters of the Road. We mad one mistake on this trip. We picked up stray and our ride leader decided to allow him ride with us. This guy was all tats, attitude, and bullshit. He regaled us with stories of his biking prowess at every stop, but he wore a Big DOG vest and rode a Yo-mama Venture with bad pipes. Now I have nothing against Yamaha's but he managed to tell us several times why he wouldn't ride a Harley and cussed "rich yuppies" on several occasions. I rode tail-gunner and I take my responsibilities seriously so I couldn't run him off the road, although the thought occurred to me more than once.
The kicker came up on Teton Pass with the nice young couple who helped us out by taking our group picture. As we pulled away the young man was snapping his own pictures our group and Mr.Yamaha biker flipped him the bird. What an ass! To the folks from Massachusetts, if you read this, my apologies.

So Mr.Yo-mama, your tattoos, your bullshit, and your smart-ass attitude don't make you a biker. I'd much rather ride across the country with a pack of rich yuppie's who treat other people with respect and try to honor the code of the road, than ride one hundred yards with an asshole like you. Your wife was nice though. Go figure?

.

Thursday, 7/19

Hope you all had a happy "Ride to Work Day." Since I'm not working right now, I thought the least I could do was go on a nice ride for those of you who were on the job.

My friend Steve facilitated this by contacting me yesterday morning to see if I wanted to go for a ride.Off we went on a nice, seven hour, three-hundred mile cruise through the mountains that took usp up over 7400 feet and into another state. Great ride, great companionship made for a great day.

Hot clear weather and beautiful scenery did not allay my concerns about our lack of rain and the high fire danger in our part of the country. Several range fires burning hereabouts with no relief in sight from the "hot and dry" forecast.

HOG meeting tonight and then on Saturday the HOG ride to Jackson. Looking forward to that one. Always love a chance to ride to that beautiful part of the world.

Today's Ride

Sitting around in my underwear this morning when Bro Rocky called and said, "We're leaving for a ride in fifteen minutes. Want to go?"

Well of course I wanted to go. Does a bear shit in the woods? Is Dick Cheney an asshole? Of course I wanted to go. I asked for twenty minutes and hustled to get ready.

We stopped for gas in McCammon and we were off for the day. Rode through the Bear River Valley over by Grace and then rode up Immigrant Pass (over 7200ft) then down into Montpelier where stopped for a long leisurely lunch. Then we worked our way back home with a couple of side trips and rest stops. Hit some rain jjust outside of town and arrived at my back door wet and happy. About 240 miles or so. I'd never ridden Immigrant Pass before but I will do so again. A really nice ride with great scenery. I only took a couple of pictures but I'll get them posted soon.
Keep on Keepin' on

Back Home Again

Returned Sunday evening from three days of camping and riding up in the West Yellowstone,MT/Island Park,ID country. Had an absolute blast. Only four of us went up early and camped and it was a very relaxing and rejuvinating experience. Already making plans for next year. On Sunday we were joined by about a dozen friends and together we rode to Quake Lake ( a lake created on the Madison River by a 1959 earthquake in the Yelowstone area--28 people died in the flooding) and other points of beauty and interest and then back home again.

On Wednesday I will ride to Boise for a gathering of my fellow teachers and writers from the 2005 Boise State writing project. Its 230 miles by interstate and 300+ by the scenic route through Sun Valley. I'll be taking the scenic route.

Sunday Ride--Pocatello to Montpelier

You can follow this ride report by simply scroling down to the previous post. There are four posts.

Last Sunday, July 1, I went on a ride which took me on a loop down into Logan, Utah and home again. I started by headng out to Inkom, McCammon and beyond. This first picture from Marsh Creek Road above Inkom.


(Passsed throught the scenec town of Lava Hot Springs and snapped this shot of the Hot Pools there.


On over Fish Creek Summit on US 30 east. US 30 is a good road but carries a lot of truck traffic. Trucks heading for Montana and the Pacific Northwest leave I-80 near Little America, Wy, and cut across to catch I-15. They are making improvements on this route but you'l still run into a lot of truck traffic so be careful out there.

This road through Idaho folows the Oregon and California trails and there are many historical sites along the way.


Soon you'll arrive at the historic town of Soda Springs. On another trip you can turn here and head up to Gray's Lake, Star Valley, WY, and Jackson Hole.


But today we'll just head on down 30 to Montpelier. Stop here for a rest, a cold drink, and a chat with another Roadk King rider at the convenience store. You've come the first ninety miles and you're about to turn south.

(scroll down)

My Sweet Ride

Is is possible to be in love with a motorcycle? The flowing, sensuous curves placed between my legs, responding with a powerful thrust to my touch, my command. I do love my ride.

Keep on keepin' on

The Three Legged HOG

Several riders and I left Friday afternoon to Ride the first Three Legged HOG Challenge. The three legs come from the three Eastern Idaho chapters that were involved. The Magic Valley Chapter from Twin Falls, the Grand Teton Chapter from Idaho Falls, and my group, the Portneuf Valley Chapter. We all gathered for a meet-and-greet at the Challis Hot Springs resort on the Yankee Fork of the Salmon River. Some camped at the Hot Springs campground while others took advantage of more luxurious accomodations in the nearby town of Challis. My daughter Andrea and I shared a tent.

Saturday Morning after breakfast, about forty bikes staged in Challis and then broke into two riding groups. The Magic Valley crew rode north to Salmon and on up into Montana and then returned. The other two chapters headed west and followed the river down to the Beautiful Stanley Basin below the Sawtooth Range. The is amazing country, equal in beauty in my opinion to the Tetons and Jackson Hole in Wyoming and, while it's not exactly empty, the Stanley Basin does not suffer the heavy tourist traffic of Jackson. After a rest stop in the small town of Stanley ($4.06 for premium) we rode on for a brief stop at beautiful Redfish Lake, then to Smiley Creek Trading Post for lunch. (highly reccomended--good inexpensive food and excellent service). From Smiley Creek we rooled up to Galena Summit where we stopped to enjoy the view. You can see the headwaters of the Salmon from Galena Summit. We then rode down to Ketchum,Idaho and Sun Valley where we mingled with the super-rich for a couple of hours. Then back along the same route to Challis. All of this ride, about 240 miles round trip, rolls through some of the most scenic country in the U.S. with enough curving, winding road to satisfy any rider.

That evening we all gathered at the Hot Springs campground for socializing, cold drinks and a feast of barbecued beef brisket, chicken, and all the trimmings. Needless to say we all had a good time.

Sunday morning we were up and after saying goodbyes, our group went to breakfast in Challis and then took the beautiful ride north to Salmon where we cut back east to Leadore and then across the Northern end of the Arco desert (only bad part of the ride--horrible crosswinds in ugly country) after passing through appropriately named Mud Lake, we jumped on I-15 and headed south for Home. Late lunch in Idaho Falls, then back in Pocatello around six. Altogether we rode about 716 miles. We made many new friends, saw some great country and enjoyed the freedom of the open road, and that friends, is what it's all about. I'm posting a few pictures here.

I Rode the Three-Legged HOG

Just returned from a 720 mile ride with a few of my friends and bros in the mountains of central Idaho. It was a fantastic weekend of fun. I'll offer more details later. Right now I'm still absorbing and recuperating. I'm a bit tired. Here's couple of pictures of some of my friends against the backdrop of the remarkable Sawtooth Mountains.

Let's Ride!

I'm riding off this afternoon with some friends to Challis, Idaho. We're going to spend tomorrow and most of Sunday riding in the beautiful Salmon River country and mountains of central Idaho. I'm excited to go. My daughter Andrea is going along and she's excited too. I'll certainly post about it when I return. Might even find the inspiration for some poetry.

Keep on Keepin' On

Carhenge?

Out on the prairie near the central Nebraska panhandle town of Alliance, stands a monument quite unlike any other in the world. On a couple of occasions, I've paused my ride at Carhenge, a rather whimsical reproduction of the Stonehenge site in England, using old American cars rather than stones.



In 2006, Discovery Channel's Biker Build Off did a shoot at Carhenge. The Bikes were then ridden on to Sturgis for the unveiling. Some of you may have seen that.

I mention this for a couple of reasons. First, yesterday was the Solstice, the longest day of sunshine each year and traditionally the first day of Summer. Solstice celebrations are always held at Stonehenge by modern day Druids, Pagans, and folks just looking for good party. (I don't know if they do that at Carhenge, although I have attended a party or two in Alliance.)
Second, Carhenge is a great place to stop and take a few pics on your way to or from Sturgis. Check your maps. It's about 180mi due south. If you go, check the guestbook at the site. Signatures here by travelers from all over the world. You can thank me later.

Keep on keepin' on!

Sonic Night

Last night was Sonic night for PV HOG. The usual suspects met for food, conversation, unofficial bike inspections, etc. These weekly social gatherings are a big part of HOG for many of us. After about an hour and a half some of us saddled up and rode the Mink Creek/Arbon Valley loop. It was in the nineties yesterday, but by this time it had cooled and we had a beautiful ride. A big cat crossed the road in front of us at one point. Although there are plenty of mountain lions around here, this wasn't big enough. Probably a bobcat.

Tonight our monthly HOG general membership meeting takes place. We will finalize plans for this weekend's Three Legged Challenge ride up to Challis Hot Springs. My daughter Andrea is going to take the pillion seat for this one and we're going to share the tent. I'm happy to have her along. This will be her first longer ride. Also on tonight's agenda, planning for our part in the annual POW*MIA awareness rally in July. Also coming up, the Mountain Man Run, an all male ride and three-day camping excursion to Island Park, West Yellowstone, and Quake Lake.

Keep on keepin' on!

Pebble Creek

I Rode up to the top of Pebble Creek today, an easy and fun ride from here. Justride out to Inkom, however you might, then catch old Highway 91 headed to McCammon. A couple of miles outside of Inkom you'll see the Pebble Creek turnoff, and from there just follow the signs. The road winds up the mountain to the ski area, finally ending just below the lodge. The views from up here are spectacular. This picture is looking North towards Pocatello. Thats Inkom lower right and the Portneuf Gap to he left. Pocatello spreads out along the river beyond the gap.


This "ski sculpture" sits beside the Pebble Creek road at a private driveway near the top.


A short yet enjoyable evening ride close to home.

Keep on keepin' on

A Day Ride to Jackson- Swan Valley to Victor

In the Beginning,I went out to the Harley Shop on Saturday and waited around for a pick up ride. Sometimes people show and we take off. Not to be this Saturday. After about an hour I decided to ride over to Jackson, Wyoming for lunch. Here are some pictures and a description of the ride. Since I can only add about 4-5 pictures per post, there are six posts here. I put them up in reverse order so that you can start here, then scroll down to the previous post and so on, getting the whole story in correct order from top to bottom. Let's kick the tires and light the fires.
******

You resolve to not take the interstate at any point on the trip, so you leave Pocatello and ride to Idaho Falls on the old highway. Not exactly a challenging ride, but more interesting. In I.F. you pick up U.S. 26 East and head for Swan Valley, where your ride really starts. The closer you get to Swan valley, the better the scenery and the more interesting the road.



You're not alone on the road. These two intriguing ladies are astride a Heritage Softail. They also are heading to Jackson.



You round a curve, drop down a hill and Swan Valley lies before you. The bridge across the Snake River beckons. The road contiues to twist and turn into the small town of Swan Valley where you turn north on Idaho 32.



Idaho 32 is a wonderful motorcycle road with lots of twisties and esses. Road conditions and scenery can combine to reduce your speed. (This picture was taken along this route by accident but I like it.)



Eventually, as you head on towards Victor, you'll catch you first glimpse of the Tetons through the trees.



Continued

The Mink Creek/Arbon Valley Loop

"Honey, I'm going to put the bike in the garage..."

My wife smiled as I walked past. She knows me all too well.

I had ridden some this morning the parked the Road King out front and attended to some yard work and other things. Now, I fired up and headed down to Main. Turning right I headed out south Main toward Inkom, past the golf courses and Johny Creek and onto Mink Creek Road. This would lead me up into the Caribou National Forest, over the mountain and eventually down into the Arbon valley. I was on one of my favorite short rides.



Looking back down Mink Creek. The weather was nearly perfect, high seventies with no wind.


Looking up Mink Creek from the same spot as above. Beautiful road, little traffic and the only potential problem; wandering cows on the open range and the cow flops they leave on the road.


Two cowboys in a pickup pased by and waved as I was taking this picture. Theirs would be the last vehicle I would encounter for nearly twenty miles.


On some segements of the road through the Arbon Valley you ride with mountains ahead and behind, big sweeping curves followed by long straights and nothing but fields of winter-wheat or pasture on either side. The road is well maintained and in great condition. You can really roll.


The conjunction of Mink Creek Road and Arbon Valley Road. At this point, I had not encountered another vehicle for almost twenty miles. It would be another three or four before I would. At times along this stretch you wind through hills covered with sage brush and juniper trees and their essence fills the air. It is a fabulous place to be in that moment.
I'm now traveling on the Shoshone/Bannock Indian reservation.
Eventually, Arbon Valley Road intersects with the interstate about five miles West of Pocatello. You can either roll up onto the interstate or, as I do,turn onto county 30 and head back into west Pocatello, down Garrett way, turn onto North Main and then home.

"Did you put your bike away Honey?"

"Yes,I replied, "It's in the garage."


Distance from from front of house to garage: 62.5 miles (In about 50 miles of this, I likely encountered fewer than a dozen other vehicles.)
E.T. for putting bike in garage: 1hr,40m.
Things of note encountered along the way: One beautiful Blue Heron; a small Prairie rattler sunning itself on the warm asphalt; my soul.
Estimated E.T. to do same task tomorrow: It takes what it takes.

Keep on keepin' on

Another Great Riding Day

I went out and rode down to Lava Hot Springs today. About as perfect a riding day as you could ask for; partly cloudy, eighty degrees, no wind. I am blessed to have such great country for day rides. While I was out I thought about how I might share those rides with you. Tomorrow I'll bring my camera and take a couple of pictures of some of my favorite spots on these rides and post the pictures and a description. We can ride together, you and I.

Keep on keepin' on