Anticipating Our Trip to Canada and the Northeastern United States

Heading north with my wife, Jo.  A few months ago a couple we know said they were planning a bike trip to Maine, so we decided to tag along--heading to the Northeast has always been a goal of ours.  With careful consideration, I have decided to take the Beemer rather than the Harley, just so I can have a little more leg room.  This trip is most assuredly a trip for couples, and said friend and I will be considerate of the fact that the girls want to do some sight seeing when we stop in the evenings.  That being said, we plan around 350 miles each day and some time to eat a good meal and stay in a hotel each night.

More Random Pics from the road and trail

Waiting for parts

Well here we are in Canon City, Colorado waiting for a fuel pump assembly.  Joe has been dealing with loss of power since we got off of the trail a few days ago.  His bike was beginning to labor more and more at highway speed.  Finally we decided we could go no further.  Our options were few.  Who would have the fuel pump?  Were there any dealers close? No one is open because it is Sunday afternoon.  Would anyone be open tomorrow?  Many motorcycle shops are closed on Monday because they are always open on Saturday.  That way their employees can have a "weekend".

  After thinking about it for a while Doc decided we should call his buddy Scott Shaffer.  Scott owns Morgantown Powersports in Morgantown, WV.  Scott being the great guy that he is decides he will take a pump assembly from a new bike off of the showroom floor!  Can't ask for any better service than that.  Scott had his guys pull the pump then takes it to Fed Ex so we can have it overnight.  All this from a guy that probably wanted to take the day off after crashing hard while racing his motorcycle  on Sunday at Pyramid Valley.

So now everyone is loaded, bikes cleaned a bit, teeth brushed, helmets cleaned, laundry done, etc.  Just drumming our fingers and waiting for a Fed Ex truck to come in to view...........

More Random Pics

aa A few more pics and maybe some narrative.

Ever try to pick one of these up?

Group photo before Bill left

From left to right.  Joe, Schoo, Jack, Bill and Lloyd (Doc)

And then there were four.....

Well I'm sad to report that our eldest trip companion has elected to leave the party.  Bill has decided to depart for Rapid City, SD and spend a couple days with his brother.  Bill fell hard while on the trail and hurt a previously injured shoulder.  No shame in tapping out though.  I know plenty of guys that aren't nearly as tough at half his age.  By the way Bill is 78 years young.  We all wished him happy trails and sent him on his way.

  We left Billing Montana yesterday and rode thru Bear Tooth Pass and toured the loop of Yellowstone National Park.  Very scenic ride across Bear Tooth pass.  We climbed to nearly 11 thousand feet!  My GPS showed the highest elevation of 10,938 ft.  Very cool and very cold.  Got caught in the rain on the far side.  Brrrrrrrr

First Day on the Trail

Got up this morning in Kalispell, Montana and left at 6 for the first day on the Continental Divivde Trail.  Got on the trail and traveled south getting to Butte, Montana around 7 pm.  Very long day to be riding off-road.  We covered around 404 miles today.  I'm reluctant to say we were lost today but we certainly were misoriented a great deal.  We turned and twisted, and turned around over and over.  We allowed ourselves to try to navigate with the gps and didn't check the map often enough.  We finally did find our way out of the maze of fire roads, trails, and access roads.  We drug our tired, dusty asses into Wendy's in Butte and had some dinner just before the sun set.  Very glad we didn't have to find our way out after dark!
  We stopped along the way for lunch at a place called "The Stray Bullet Cafe". Very neat and clean place with great food.  Jack and Bill had cheesburger chowder and both agreed it was awesome. I'm trying to attach a picture of the place.  It is located in Ovando, Montana.