Home yesterday from Epic Journey 2016 - 19 Days, 5,495 miles. Here are teaser pics. Great trip and let's just say there was some adventure!

http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm.../teaser%20pics

Route, pics, and trip log in a few days.

Rolled over 100K miles! I've put 94,415 on since I bought it on 5/29/2008.

 

Love those shots! What an awesome trip! Glad you had fun and made it home safe!

 

Taggage!!!! I so want to do a trip like that while I am still able!

 

First installment.

Epic Journey 2014 - west
5/25/2016 through 6/12/2016
19 days - 5,495 miles

Here is the route:
http://*******/1Y1dx6z

Day 1 - Allen, TX to Brownfield, TX 360 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2001
(recycled these pics from another trip. US380 still looks the same)

On the road about 8:30am. Pretty easy ride to Loy's in Brownfield. About 30 mins into the trip the back brake didn't feel right, heavy pedal pressure and not working very well. Stopped at a stop light and smelled oil. Looked down and oil was all down the side of the bike and brake. I didn't think I overfilled the other day. The dip stick has an occasional problem with sealing up even after I added orings to it. It wouldn't stay seated. I think the rubber part shrinks with age. Anyways, back home to clean up the mess. That took an hour. Finally got the dip stick to seat most of the way, still have a dribble, wiping oil off stuff at each gas stop. It's just like the old Harley days! I call it "marking it's territory". Into the 90's today and not bad while riding. A little toasty when stopped. This is TX after all. Nice ride today in spite of the bumpy start. Got to Loy's and Jana's about 7:30. Went out to eat, chit-chat, and out about 10. Always great to see these guys!

Day 2 - Brownfield, TX to Trinidad, CO 406 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2002

Up about 6am. Loy left about 5:30 for state trooper duty. Jana and I went to breakfast at a place they frequent. Sat with some folks she knew, nice guys. Small town stuff like this is great. On the road about 7am. Detoured to HD in Lubbock to get a new dip stick and stop the oil dribble. They had one. 20 bucks and problem solved although it's no longer marking it's territory. Nice day today but the cross winds were tough. US385 is pretty nice north of Vega, TX but there was a lot of truck traffic today. Got to Dalhart, TX and the road through the middle of town was under construction. Took 20 mins to get through town and with the feed lots and/or oil/gas field smells I was ready to move on. US87 is a pretty nice ride once you get into NM but the cross winds were still tough. Got on NM325 at De Moines, NM. Nice road, no traffic. I missed a turn at Folsom for NM72 and came to the Capulin Volcano. Decided to ride to the top. I got a senior lifetime national park pass there for 10 bucks. It would be a bargain at ten times the price! Nice ride up and great views from the top! Unplanned detours like this are great! Had planned on camping at the KOA in Raton but dark clouds were moving in and temps were dropping. Thought about a cheap motel there but after seeing it, nope. The clouds broke up so I decided to go on to Trinidad. It's still pretty early in afternoon. Got a hotel in Trinidad since there is rain expected. Rode into town and had dinner at Tony's Diner. Greasy spoon, excellent! Back to hotel, checked in with Tonya's Travel Services. Rain tonight and tomorrow morning on the original route. No big deal. Decided to ride around northeast NM and southeast CO tomorrow toward Taos, NM then stop in Walsenburg, CO tomorrow night. Weather should be gone by then.


Day 3 - Trinidad, CO to Walsenburg, CO 220 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2003

Rain over night and this morning. Packed up stuff and waited on rain to stop which it finally did about 10am. Getting ready to ride, I put my ear plugs in as usual and one of them wasn't right. I pulled it and the plastic tip came off and left the rubber part in my ear. I couldn't get a grip on it with my fingers so I got a pair of needle nose pliers to pull it out. If anyone was watching they got a show! What the heck is that guy doing jamming a pair of pliers in his ear? lol. Anyways... Nice riding today on US64 from Raton to Eagle Nest and Questa. Temps from about 50-65. Big bike rally in Red River. I'm not a fan of bike rallies like this. Too many people and vendors hawking their wares. It's like a portable strip mall with guys doing stupid things on motorcycles. At one point past Red River I looked up to the mountains and I'm pretty sure it was snowing. Getting a few sprinkles in the valleys. The terrain flattened out north of Questa and I could see the rain moving in from the west. This is pretty long north/south road. Got a few sprinkles. Just before San Luis, CO the road turns east for a few miles. What a great view of the Sangre de Cristo range, lots of snow still on the mountains! Beautiful. Once I got to Ft Garland, CO I was going east away from the rain. Lots of bikes on the road today going to Red River. There are going to be a lot of sad bikers when they ride into that rain. Got to Walsenburg about 4:30. Started raining as I pulled into the hotel. Then it stopped and the sun came out. Today is laundry day and one of the main reasons I ride. Like the saying "Live to ride, ride to live", I "Wash to ride, ride to wash".

Day 4 - Walsenburg, CO to Laramie, WY 427 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2004

Up early, breakfast at hotel. Breakfast burritos made to order! On the road about 7am. What a great ride today! Temps were low 40's to 60's. One of my favorite roads is CO69 from Walsenburg to near Cotopaxi. It's in a valley with Sangre de Cristo range on the left and the Wet range on the right. Lots of snow on the mountains, absolutely stunning! Had another unplanned detour at Salida, CO. Missed the turn for US24 and stayed on US50. This took me across Monarch Pass at about 11K feet. LOTS of snow and I was well above the snow line. Beautiful. And I got to do it again when I turned around to go back! These detours are sometimes the best parts of a trip. Stopped in Leadville for lunch at the Golden Burrow. Talking to a guy outside and it started snowing. Only lasted for a few minutes and the sun was shining. Headed north on CO91 which is part of the Top of the Rockies Drive. Nice road and above the snow line again. Headed north from Silverthorne on CO9, also a nice road. Getting a little rain so stop to put on rain gear. Ran into road construction where the road was down to hard packed dirt. Rain picked up. Having some fun now! Two cars passed me on this dirt. I guess they need to get to a cell phone signal to check in with BookFace. I get to Kremmling and they are a couple of cars in front of me at a stop light. Idiots. The rain cleared out and made a really nice afternoon. Going through Walden, CO, a town of about 600 people, I see a Heritage Springer sitting at a bar. It's a 2003 model and looks brand new. I went into the bar and found the owner. Nice guy. He had bought it new. We talked a little and crabbed about the cost of HD accessories. HD = Hundred Dollars everytime you go to the dealer but we knew that when we bought it. Back on the road and stopped along CO14 for pics. I stood there for a minute looking at the mountains and snow. There was no sound except for a little wind and a bird singing. Life's little pleasures.

Rolled into Laramie, WY and got a cabin at the KOA then dinner at a bar/grill. Food was good. Rain in the forecast for tonight. There was a really nice sunset.

 

what a blast!

 

Loving riding along! Thanks for sharing this!

 

You're not helping my itch to do this lol

 

Second installment.

Day 5 - Laramie, WY to Cody, WY 355 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2005

Up about 6:30 and pack up stuff and figure out a route for today. On road about 9am. Nice day! Rode WY487 from Medicine Bow to Cody, great ride! Stop at a rest area on WY487 - great high desert scenery, no cars, no sounds except wind and birds singing. Another of life's little pleasures. Might sound kinda sappy but it's pretty nice. Stopped in Casper for a break and figure out how far I want to go today. Cody is far enough. Temps in the upper 80's in Casper. US20 and WY120 from Shoshoni to Cody is a really nice ride. I'll have to see the Wind River Canyon for the fourth time - pretty cool riding through it. Got to Cody about 4:30. Cabin at the KOA since there is rain in the forecast. Into town for food, back to camp and out early.

Day 6 - Cody, WY to Jackson, WY 220 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2006

Up about 6am. Free pancakes at the KOA! On road about 9am. Scratched the Beartooth Highway from the route. It will be too cold and high chances of rain there today. High temp in Cooke City, MT today is 47. Beartooth Pass is about 11K feet. It would be brisk to say the least and the rain would make it dangerous to ride. I've been there twice and the road is not going anywhere. Headed to Yellowstone on US20. This is a really nice ride and scenery except for when this hawk flew up from the side of the road and scared the bejesus out of me. Hokey smokes! Stop for breakfast at a lodge just outside the park. Biscuits and gravy - breakfast of champions! I get into Yellowstone and I'm above the snow line again. Temps in the upper 40's. Lots of snow still on the mountains. Had rain off and on and a little sleet. Didn't see much of the hot spots (pun intended) in the park. Memorial Day weekend and jammed with tourists so this was pretty much a ride through. I've been here twice and the park is not going anywhere unless there is a mass eruption. Courtesy appears to be low on the list for some folks. Trying to take a pic at the falls and a guy just steps in front of me. Idiot. I still say the parks would be really nice if it weren't for the damn tourists. I found a couple of RTF* places to stop and gawk at the scenery. Headed south out of Yellowstone to the Tetons. Freaking wow. Third time to see them and it still takes my breath away. At one place I just stood there crying like a baby. Absolutely amazing.


At one stop there were about 200 bison in a field next to the road. That's a pretty amazing sight, too, if you keep your distance. That's why we have zoom lenses on cameras. There was one guy who walked right up to the heard to take pics. Pretty dangerous move. You're on their turf. That's asking for a trip to the emergency room or the morgue. Idiot.


After spending about two hours looking at Tetons I headed south to Jackson. Stopped at a small deli north of town and had my favorite deli sandwich - roast beef with swiss and mustard on rye. Tent camped at the KOA south of Jackson. Nice folks that run the place. Meet a guy named Bill. He rides, too. I asked if they provided any services like setting up a tent for you - No. How about doing laundry - No. I told him I'll keep asking questions until I get a yes which is probably something like "are you happy I'm leaving - Yes". The KOA is right on the Snake River, pretty cool. Speaking of cool, supposed to be in the 40's tonight. I have a thermal blanket bivvy sack thing to keep warm. We'll see how well it works. Laundry day, too. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

*RTF - Relatively Tourist Free


Day 7 - Jackson, WY to Challis, ID 243 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2007

EBR1 pics and website:
http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...ey%202016/EBR1
http://www4vip.inl.gov/ebr/

Cold last night, frost on everything this morning. The bivvy sack thing works but felt like a burrito inside it. Then used it as a blanket over the sleeping bag, works but not wide enough. I'll cut it open to make it into a blanket. Didn't sleep well, had a weird dream about Perry Como and his albums. I have no idea where that came from. Packed up and back into Jackson for breakfast. Biscuits, gravy, and eggs. Pretty good stuff! On road about 10am. Crossed over Teton Pass and above the snow line again. Stopped at the EBR1 nuclear reactor near Arco, ID. It went online in 1951 and was decomissioned in 1964 and now serves as a museum. Pretty cool to see and to bring out your inner nerd. Wind was a little tough on US93 in ID. Called it a day at Challis, ID and got a hotel about 4pm. Not many miles today with the late start and the EBR1 tour. Doesn't matter, stuff will still be there tomorrow. Hotel was inexpensive but clean and neat and a restaurant next door. I had fried shrimp. I knew it would be frozen but sometimes that's okay. This particular entree didn't have much flavor and was overpriced for what it was. The hotel gave me a coupon for breakfast. Surely they can get that right. Tired and out early.

Day 8 - Challis, ID to Kamiah, ID 328 miles
Pics: http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...02016/day%2008

Used the coupon for breakfast. It was pretty good. Meet a marine vet during breakfast and shared a table. Nice guy. Taught firearms in the Marines for 6 years. He said he almost lost his life during a helicopter firing exercise. His safety harness came loose and he started falling out. His buddy grabbed him by the waist of his pants and pulled him back in. Geez...

On the road about 8am and a nice day with sun! US93 is a nice scenic ride up to Lolo, MT. Above the snow line again crossing the continental divide on the Bitteroot range. Temps in the low 50's. Got to Lolo about 12:30 and had lunch. Took US12 west. What a great road! I had ridden this road a couple of years ago and wanted to do it again, sans wildfires from back then. There is a warning sign just outside Lolo saying "winding road next 99 miles". That's an invitation to motorcyclists! Seems like every road in ID follows a river and this was no exception. Love it! Temps into 80's this afternoon. I was cooking a little since I still had the long johns on from the morning. Stopped in Kooskia and came out of them. Wasn't sure where I would spend the night. I had crossed into the Pac time zone which gave me an extra hour but I was ready to call it a day and decided to tent camp at the KOA in Kamiah, ID. They had a food there, too. Had a hungry day today. Ate three times which I usually don't do. Out early as usual, nice night for camping.

Bonus pics - where I lived for part of the trip.
http://s471.photobucket.com/user/gtm...%20the%20range

 

Great ride report, ty for posting this!


Rax

 

Wow! Thanks for sharing this amazing adventure for some of us who may not get the chance!