DOC

This blog wouldn't be complete without me thanking Doc. Doc is one of those unique individuals that possesses an ability to be friends with everyone, or at least strike up conversations with anyone who will listen. This makes trips with him so much fun. I don't tend to talk to complete strangers too often, but Doc can be best friends with someone after a quick cup of coffee. I will never forget how he wrangled down the kid who ended up welding my luggage rack for me. He just has this confident, friendly demeanor that not many folks have these days, but that people respond to.



He also demonstrates patience with me every single time we take a trip. He waits patiently on his bike, while I struggle to find the way. Not once in Rawlins, WY did he get frustrated or upset as I tried for three hours, without success, to get the GPS going. He just sat at the table and was so cool about the whole thing, even after realizing that I had left my bike on and was in need of a new battery.



If we got lost or off the route, Doc just went with the flow. Not many people do that anymore. People tend to get irritated or upset and want to keep moving. Not Doc though. He kept his cool at all times and I really appreciated it. He was so understanding of me having to get my work done in the evenings and supported the fact that we had to stay where I could use the Internet to keep up with school.



Doc is one of the smartest guys I know. He is the kind of person that can figure out any situation and find the solution to any problem. There are plenty of people in this world that don't have a clue about life. Doc has this life figured out and that makes him a complete genius in my book. Thanks for the great trip Doc, I appreciated your friendship and support on this journey.

Oh Canada

Passing through the border is much more challenging than it used to be. I can remember as a kid when my dad would take us up to Canada, while visiting friends in LaConner, WA. We just drove through the border, without any real questions being asked, or passports being checked. My how things have changed. We had to first pass an inspection from the US border guards before going into Canada. Then we were questioned by the Canadian guards. It wasn't a huge deal, but it was sure different than what I remembered.


After apparently answering all the questions right, we continued our journey north. There aren't many accounts of the Canadian section of the Continental Divide ride by other motorcyclists. It turns out that the route itself is impassable by motorized vehicles at a certain point south of Banff. So, we took the advice of the first Canadian (other than the border guard) that we came into contact with. He took the time to show us on the map which route to take to get the Banff, with promises of amazing scenery along the way, eh. He was spot on.


Before we hit the section of beauty, as described by our Canadian friend, we had to first get to the turnoff. He had told us that the ride would be great up to the suggested road, and once again, he was spot on. The road meandered through the prettiest valleys I have ever ridden in. The road eventually led us to Sparwood, BC. We landed at probably the best campsite of the whole trip. The couple who ran it were fantastic and set us up at the premier camping spot.

The next morning was cold. The beautiful valleys didn't let much sun reach the floor, so we bundled up and continued our trek north. At about seven or so, we entered into Alberta. The road provided us with some lovely scenery as we made our way over Crowsnest Pass. When we hit Cowley, Alberta, we started looking for the 940 road that would take us due north and up to Highway 1. We eventually found it after asking some more helpful Canadians. They warned us that it was gravel the almost the entire way to Highway 1. I found this funny, considering all the different roads that we had ridden so far.


Once on the road, it was like a super-highway. The gravel was perfect, the road was wide and the sun finally started to peak up from the horizon. I say "peak", because it was still FREEZING! We had to stop a few times to regain feeling in our hands. That is the problem with high-speed gravel. You can go so fast, but it just makes it that much colder. I didn't take any pictures of the gravel road, as it was just too damn cold. I did however, snuggle my muffler and engine to warm up a bit.

It was about two hours or so of this gravel road, until it turned into pavement. A few miles after the switch, I noticed a big brown spot moving on the hillside to my left. Knowing for sure that it wasn't Doc, I pulled over to take a closer look. Doc sped off, but I was glad I stopped. The brown spot was a grizzly bear digging up things and eating them. Sadly, my pictures don't do the beast justice.





Eventually Doc came back and we proceeded to taunt the bear, in an attempt to get a better picture. He or She didn't give us a second glance. I even honked my air horn, but nothing. Oh well, I guess it's better to get a shot of a bear from a safe distance than it would be to have a fantastic close-up.


Shortly after the bear, we hit the Canadian Highway 1. It is by far the most scenic paved road I have ever had the pleasure of being on. The mountains are amazing. The views are incredible. Banff is situated right in the middle of the mountains and it seems like a great place to spend some time. I would like to go back with more time. Unfortunately, I only took pictures with my phone. It has since quit working and I have yet to figure out why the pictures aren't on my mini SD card. Oh well, the pictures didn't do the place justice anyway. Just go there. You will not be disappointed.


After finding the perfect sticker, Doc and I hit the road again. Again the ride was amazingly scenic. We stayed in Sicamous, BC that night at a KOA riddled with little, screaming brats. I ate a Kipper and vowed never to do it again. How does Doc eat those things?


The next morning we made a turn and headed south for the first time in a long time. I was both saddened and excited about getting home, having been gone for a month total. For those that know me, you could have predicted that I would make a v-line for home and get there in one day. I don't know what it is, but once I get started, I can't stop. Doc was a real trooper and we rode together the whole way.



Coming home is always bittersweet. On the one hand, I get to see my amazing wife and sleep in my own bed. On the other hand though, it is the end of an amazing journey. This end is always sad. No matter how tired or difficult a ride might be at times, it is the ride that often helps define who you are and what you value. Motorcycling offers me the opportunity to reflect, make plans, dream, think and feel. There is a sticker on my bike that says, "My bike takes me places that school never could". This couldn't be more true. I tell my students every year that school is just a part of their lives and that life is best lived doing things, meeting people, and dreaming up things and then doing them. I hope that I can continue doing the things that I dream about doing for the rest of my life and sharing them with the people around me for years to come.

Idaho-Montana

Since I have officially lost track of the time and days from this trip, I have decided to just post pictures and videos and hope that I can accurately explain both them and where we were.

After leaving Ashton, ID, we were off on some super quick roads north the Montana. I am not actually sure if this is in the area, but it was a fast road none-the-less.

Along the way, we ran into some riders from Louisiana going the other way. They were fun to talk to and warned us of some parts of the route ahead. After talking for a bit longer, we continued north and made a pit stop in Dell, MT. There was a cool little store that sold a little of everything. The lady who ran the place was fun to talk to and we rested a bit before taking off again.

We saw this sign along the route:

After Dell, we rode up this great narrow valley with a river running through it. It turned out that we were on the Old Bannack Road for a ways. It was fantastic.

We stopped at the Grasshopper Junction for some fuel and refreshments. Doc brought up a very good point. He said, "we were born at the wrong time", referring to not being around when the country was unsettled and undiscovered. I couldn't agree more. There is something about these trips that take you back to the time when life wasn't so busy, there weren't highways, and dirt roads were the only roads. Of course, I happen to hate horses, so I guess there is a trade off for being born when we were. I understood what he meant though and appreciate the fact that we are in agreement about the situation.

Continuing on the Bannack Road was a blast. It was so beautiful and peaceful. The route runs through some remote and amazing country in Montana, albeit busier than other parts of the ride. We eventually came to a recently opened mine of some kind (I was told, but it escapes me), which prevented us from continuing on the actual ride. It was frustrating, as it was just a three or four mile section to the other road that would have taken us into Helena for the night, but there were no roads around it. We cruised back down the canyon we had come up and hitI-15 for a fast ride into the Capital for a Super 8.

Early the next day we were off again, heading north for what would be the last time in the United State. We made great time on some crowded gravel roads just outside of Kalispell. Rather than continue on these busy, dangerous (just because of all the crazy cars) we decided to take the pavement the last thirty or so miles into Kalispell. Once we were there, we had a decision to make. We could flirt with the Glacier National Park boundary (with more cars), or just hit the road into Canada. Having dealt with cars for too long, we chose the latter option. So we made a break for the border. Hello Canada!

Today

You may have noticed that the posts are titled with very vague headings. This is due to the fact that I can't remember what day it is, what month it is, or what year it is. I only know that we are heading north.





Today was crazy fast. We left Lender, WY and headed for Grand Tetons National Park. To get there, we took some super fast (65 mph) gravel roads, with the occasional cow in the middle. It was fun.





Apparently, the video I was trying to upload isn't going to work, so you'll just have to take my word for the cows. They must be the dumbest animals alive. They wait until you are right on top of them and then turn right in front of you. Makes for some interesting riding at times.

After a quick stop in the Grand Tetons National Park, we quickly made our way to Idaho, via what would end up being the scariest road of the entire trip. The road itself was a great single lane dirt road that would have been a blast, had there not been so many cars speeding at us from the other direction. I was personally almost killed by a white Subaru wagon "drifting" around a corner. It was not a fun forty miles into Idaho. We ended up staying in Ashton, ID for the night.

The other day

The other day we left Gunnison at around ten or so, after I had my prescriptions filled at the local Walmart. We might get an early start one of these days, just not today. Once I had my drugs, we set off on the route.

The route took us over some of the cool mountain passes that we have come to expect in Colorado. So much fun racing along on these old dirt and gravel roads! We rode through some of the prettiest country that we have seen so far, including aspen trees. Very beautiful.

At about five or so, we had a decision to make. We could either go on and try to make it to Steamboat Springs, or we could stay in Kremmlin, CO for the night. Feeling good, we kept right on going. It was a fun section of road, with steep mountain roads and fast, smooth gravel.

We ended up staying in a hotel in Steamboat Springs, CO, after 300+ miles of dirt for the day. It poured when we entered town, so camping was out. The name of the hotel escapes me, but the man behind the counter will be forever embedded in my brain. He was an older Swiss gentleman who owned the hotel with his wife. His accent was so thick that I could only understand every other word, but his laugh was infectious. I am sure he was probably making fun of us and then laughing like he had just told a joke, but it was hard to say for sure. Either way, I was laughing.

The next day we took off for Wyoming. The first twenty miles or so were spent on the mindless pavement, but after that, things got interesting. The dirt roads were fine at the beginning, but then we got to sections that had been rained on and they were super slick. I rode a bit tentatively, but Doc was an animal. He simply twisted the throttle harder as he approached the mud. It was fun to watch.

Eventually, we crossed the border into Wyoming. We took a break in Rawlins(?) that ended up being quite a break. In all, we sat there for three hours. Let me explain. First of all, I tried to get my GPS to work, and in doing so, I ruined it and lost all of my maps and routes. This is not good, considering that without them, the trip is done. After several hours of messing around with it, I figured out a very time-consuming way to fix the problem.

After the problem was solved, I went to get on my bike and it wouldn't start. Apparently, you can't leave the key on for three hours and expect the battery to last. Once we figured out that I am an idiot, I went off on Doc's bike to find a replacement battery (brave of Doc to let me take his BMW, considering what I had just done). Three shops later, I had a new battery in hand and headed back to the truck stop where I am sure we were being watched. We threw the battery in and fired up the bike. It felt good to actually be moving again.

Using a somewhat handicapped GPS, we set out on the route. The roads were fast desert roads, that were incredibly slick when wet. On this section, the bracket for one of my boxes snapped apart. I had to strap the box to the bag on the back of the bike.

During this section, I may have ridden through cow crap, that may or may not hit Doc in the face. He says it did, I say that there were a lot of cows on the scene. Here is his evidence:

We made it to Lender, WY for the night at a great RV park. A nice guy named Justin welded up my bracket for me and I was good to go another day.

Day...?

So I have officially lost count of the number of days that we have been on the ride. This is pathetic. Oh well, chalk it up to being drugged up.

Today was an amazing day on the bikes. Beautiful country, fun roads, perfect weather. What more could you ask for? We road for nine hours and ended our day in Steamboat Springs, CO. We are making great time.

Yesterday, I didn't post the following video of the storm that we rode through. In it, you will see a close up of Doc. He and I are kneeling under a gigantic rock overhang to stay dry. Too funny. If you listen closely, you can hear the thunder cracking. It was very scary.

Coughing

Today was an interesting day on the bikes. We started off in the desert of southern Colorado, once again battling the sun. The route meandered through this horribly sandy section, where I proceeded to fall several times. Luckily, no injuries, other than the one to my pride.

After a couple of hours, we climbed up into the mountains on some super fast gravel roads. We crossed over some high mountain passes and the day was going well. Then it happened, as it always does in the Rockies in the summertime. The clouds rolled in, the thunder roared and the lightning lit up the gray sky. I have never heard such loud thunder nor witnessed lightning so close. I was very nervous. We were climbing higher and higher and right in the direction of the storm. Before we knew it, hail was pounding us and the rain was drenching every thing we had. We made a v-line for a rock outcropping with an overhang and took shelter from the amazing storm. I shot some video that I will attempt to post tomorrow sometime.

After the rain and hail finally quit, we hit the road fast and hard to make it to Gunnison, Colorado for the night. I went to the emergency room to get some advice on how to deal with my cough. They drew my blood, took chest x-rays, hooked me up to a defibulator (I think), and then gave me some drugs. I am hopeful that my cough will eventually stop. We will see.