I slept last night in a good hotel. I went shopping today for jewels.
–Joni Mitchell

Credits to Joni, I did sleep last night in a good hotel, though I did not go shopping today for jewels. Fact is, I found a jewel last night when I rolled into Casper, WY.

I had been in Sturgis for four days for the rally, and then went to Yellowstone to meet up with my wife and her family for a family get-together. I headed home to Denver yesterday, not knowing what my route would be, where I would stop for the night, or whether I just might go all the way home, about 600 miles.

Pulling into Casper, a bit more than halfway home, I hit a Starbucks to use their WiFi. I hoped there might be a Motorcycle Travel Network person close who could put me up for the night, but checking the MTN site I found there are no members in Wyoming at all. I also thought about going on to Wheatland and staying there, but I knew there were only two motels there and a quick check showed that they were both way out of my price range.

So it was going to be Casper or all the way home, another five hours of riding. And as far as I was concerned it was going to depend on price. If I could find a decently priced motel I’d stay in Casper.

Coming into town on the old U.S. 20, I figured I’d find some old (read: cheap) motels. Just before I reached the river and the bridge that takes you into downtown I saw a sign a block off the highway for the Sage and Sand Motel (901 W Yellowstone Hwy, Casper, WY 82601).

Now, this caught my attention because we have stayed at the Sage and Sand Motel in Saratoga, WY, many times. Were they connected? No they weren’t, the manager said, and he was asking $50 plus tax for a night. That was beyond my limit so I thanked him and turned to go. Making some money is better than making no money, however, so he offered me a price reduction and I checked in.

But before all this, he had showed me the room. I was blown away. This is a nondescript older motel in an industrial area and the room was beautifully decorated. (See the picture.) Underneath the shabby exterior, this was a classy place. So when he dropped the price I was ready to go for it. And for the first night in eight, I slept in a bed, rather than on an air mattress. Nice.

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Sturgis rally 2010: Trikes at the rally (with photos)

Biker Quote for Today

For some there is therapy; for the rest of us there are motorcycles.

Oh man, did we ride a great road today. Of course we rode some pretty nice stretches yesterday, too.

Yesterday we came across Montana, mostly on I-90, but when you’re riding through gorgeous country even the interstate is good. We got off I-90 at U.S. 212, right there at the Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument, and after visiting the monument we headed east. This was some great country and well worth riding. A good day.

We ended up last night in Broadus, MT, split between a couple motels, neither of which was particularly nice, but both of which were extremely cheap. And if you’re staying in Broadus you’re not going to do much better.

Today we continued east on U.S. 212 until we reached the tiny community of Alzada, which is just about 3 miles from the stateline between Montana and Wyoming. Right there is a turn for MT 367, which, at the state line, becomes WY 112 in Wyoming, running down to Hulett. Hulett, of course, is the town closest to Devil’s Tower.

We rode south and the country was very pretty but it just kept getting better. And better. And even better. We swept through some gorgeous valleys, over some great hills on windy roads, and crested a big pass that gave us an awesome view ahead, plus, over to the west, of Devil’s Tower, rising above it all. Yahoo!

From there the road winds down into Hulett, which is a very nice little town. So nice in fact, that once we left Deadwood headed somewhere further west, reached Hulett after just 50 miles or so, and decided to stop for the night because we liked it so much.

No stopping for the night tonight, however, so we ate and then pushed on along WY 24, which reached U.S. 85 just south of Belle Fourche. That road was fabulous, too, although you knew instantly once you reached South Dakota because the terrain was totally different. I’ve seen that so many times I have to believe that when they decided where to draw state lines they looked for radical changes in topography.

Anyway, from Belle Fourche it was south to Spearfish, up Spearfish Canyon, and on to Deadwood, where we now remain for the night. What can I say? This is just another great motorcycle trip.

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Biker Quote for Today

Real bikers ride beyond the coffee shop

These next few weeks are shaping up to be some of the busiest I’ve ever had, all relating to riding motorcycles. Let me give you an idea of what’s in store.

Today I take off on a two-day ride to shoot photos for a story I’m working on for Rider magazine. I did this ride once last fall but then found out my camera didn’t shoot in high enough resolution to meet their needs so I’ll do it again with my new camera.

Then next week I’m taking off for a four or five day ride with my friend John. We’re heading for New Mexico, hoping to spend some time there before the blazing hot weather hits.

On June 12, Judy and I are heading for the Black Hills on vacation. This will coincide, not by accident, with the Cushman Club of America’s 2010 national rally in Sturgis, SD. Their theme this year is “Come play where the big boys play,” and the visuals of Sturgis engulfed in scooters will be just too good to miss.

The following week I’ve been planning to do some coverage of the run-up to the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, culminating with the race itself on June 27. I’ve been connecting with contestants so I can cover that event through the eyes of someone actually involved.

While I absolutely will do some hill climb coverage, I received a call today from the editor of a motorcycle sport touring magazine asking me to go with him to Taos that same week for the Motorcycle Sport Touring Association’s annual gathering. If I can manage to squeeze it in I guess I’ll try to run down to Taos in the middle of the week.

Then there’s other stuff like the Hoka Hey Challenge and the latest Motomarathon event that, if I do any reporting on them, will have to be done secondhand. Hey, I’m only one guy.

So what have you got going on in June? I hope you’re going to get out and have some fun, too. Get on that bike and ride!

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Biker Quote for Today

Life is an adventure, and I refuse to live a boring one.

Riding home from the Laughlin River Run a few days ago I was struck by how many motorcycle travelers I saw. These were not people going to or from the rally, but they were clearly traveling. They were in groups and each bike was loaded with gear.

Route 66 signs for sale in Laughlin

The reason this struck me as surprising is that my group, the OFMC, takes its trips in the summer. That’s when the weather is cooperative. Heck, in Colorado, April is frequently our snowiest month. If you plan a motorcycle trip in Colorado in April you’d better be prepared to change or abort your plans altogether.

Of course, the result of this is that we have taken trips to Las Vegas and Laughlin and other places in Nevada, and in Arizona, and we have roasted. Last time we hit Laughlin it was 115 degrees. Yow! In contrast, when I was there a few days ago it was in the 70s. At night it even got chilly sometimes. BIG difference. And more than that, the desert was actually green. I never knew the desert ever got green. But I’d never been there in April.

So it occurs to me that these people I saw are smart. They’re taking motorcycle trips through the Southwest and they’re doing it in April. I’m sure that even in Nevada and Arizona, if you’re at a high enough altitude, you could still run into snow in April, but it’s probably not too big a threat. So I’m already pushing some of the more flexible OFMC guys to consider doing one of these southern trips next year that we’ve discussed but avoided. All we have to do is go at the right time of year. And that ain’t August.

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Laughlin River Run finale and exodus in pictures

Biker Quote for Today

Ride fast and take chances!

OK, I’m a pretty rugged guy, and I don’t mind sleeping on the ground or in less than comfortable conditions. But I met my match here in Laughlin, where I came to report on the Laughlin River Run.

Let’s face it, motorcycle rallies are expensive events. If you have buddies with you to split the hotel room rate that is quadruple what it normally is you can get by. Alone, as I am, you figure out something different. I figured I would camp.

Getting on the Web I found an RV park that offered “dry camping” for $10 per person per night. Great! I can do that. Well, I had no idea that “dry camping” is a known term for RVers who understand it means a place to park the rig with no electric or water hook-ups. And in this case, it meant a piece of dirt scraped semi-level by a bulldozer, with nothing but dirt and rocks.

OK, I’m game, I figured I’d give it a try. Of course, the wind was blowing like a banshee and by the time I got the tent up everything I had, especially the inside of the tent, was covered in a quarter inch of dirt. I’m talking serious filth.

So I slept there my first night and actually slept well, but the dirt was too much for me so I grabbed a motel room for $30 for the next night, the last night before the rates went up to $160.

Where to sleep the next day and the rest of the rally? Hmmm.

Well, as luck would have it, I found out about a state park just south of Laughlin and went to check it out. It’s beautiful! And the campground is gorgeous. And they had lots of spaces. I checked in and that’s my new home. The pictures will give you a bit of an idea of the difference between my first camping site and the new one. I don’t mind a little dirt but when you’re talking a heck of a lot of dirt, even I rebel.

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Laughlin River Run 2010: Forget Laughlin, the action is in Oatman

Biker Quote for Today

The best alarm clock is sunshine on chrome.

Biker Quote for Today

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a flat tire and dead battery.

So I put this quote at the beginning of this post, rather than at the end where it would normally go. Logic probably tells you there’s a reason for that, and it’s not too hard a guess.

There I was yesterday, ready to ride off to the Laughlin River Run, all geared up, and I pushed the starter button and the bike wouldn’t start. What’s with this timing?

Clearly the battery was dead, so I needed to charge. I recently bought a connector so I can hook my batter up to the charger without having to dig to the battery, so this seemed like the perfect time to set it up. Disconnecting the cables I found significant corrosion on the negative post and I’m sure that was my problem. So I charged for an hour and took off, bringing the charger with me just in case.

My only possible concern crossing western Colorado on I-70 was the two passes I needed to cross and sure enough, on Vail Pass the road was wet but not icy. Earlier or later in the day and it could have been ice, and that would have been treacherous. As it was, I made good time and arrived in Grand Junction around 6:30.

This photo, by the way, is of a road in the area where I’m headed now. Today I ride to the end of I-70 and turn south on I-15 to Cedar City, where I have arranged accommodations with a member of the Motorcycle Travel Network. This will be my first experience with this situation. I had also hoped to stay in Kanab, UT, on my way home with an MTN member but they are going to be gone, to a BMW rally in Moab.

So it’s on to Laughlin.

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Laughlin River Run welcomes spring in the West

I need desperately to get away from this computer and the Laughlin River Run is my salvation. I’ve never been to it but this rally, April 21-25, is said to be the West Coast’s biggest motorcycle event. I’ll take three mostly leisurely days getting there, spend probably four days there, and then another three not-necessarily-leisurely days getting home.

It’s going to be an interesting trip in a lot of ways. Two of my overnights will be, I hope, arranged via the Motorcycle Travel Network. This is an organization that bills itself as “The Only Bed and Breakfast Network for the Traveling Motorcycle Enthusiast.” I mentioned it once before, and now I have joined. There are members in both Cedar City, UT, and Kanab, UT, and I’m hoping to stay with one on the way out and the other on the way back. I’ll certainly report back on my experience with this.

The rally itself is kind of an unknown. There is an official site but when you click on the link for the event schedule all you get is a note that says “2010 Events Schedule coming soon!” Well, considering the rally starts in 5 days, just how soon can we expect something?

From what I can tell, a different casino has some rock band each night, and they’re all the usual washed-up old timers still beating that same dying horse they’ve been on for years. I don’t guess I’ll be hitting any of those shows.

The only scheduled events I can find anything out about are on Saturday, April 24, which appears to be the real day for the rally. These two events are a custom bike show at one casino and the actual ride that was the genesis for the rally. I guess the rest of the time is just “come relax, spend money in our casinos, and hand out with a lot of other bikers.”

We’ll see. Whatever it turns out to be I’ll certainly be reporting back on that, too.

Update on site hack

Of course, the reason I so desperately need a break from the computer is all the hours I’ve spent trying to undo the damage caused by the asshole who hacked this site. While all the malicious code has been neutralized, the jerk also created thousands of spammy links on other, presumably hacked, sites pointing to my site to dynamic .php pages their code created. This has overwhelmed my legitimate incoming links so search engines are now convinced that this site is all about this stupid drug.

This crap is killing my traffic. If it weren’t for the many legitimate links that people have created to the site over the years there would be little, if any, traffic. So if you would like to do me a huge favor, put up as many links as you can on motorcycle forums or any motorcycle-related website. The more new links I can get the more chance I have of diminishing the effect of the hack. Thanks.

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Biker Quote for Today

For some there is therapy; for the rest of us there are motorcycles.

I know I’m a bit behind the times but I still don’t have a GPS unit. I know a lot of people do, and I have been asked several times if the maps on the Passes and Canyons site are available in GPS. Up till now I’ve had to say no.

Well, the answer now is “Yes.” Thanks go to Gord Ripley, who has been using the site to plan his Colorado trip. He plotted the routes for the rides I’ve highlighted on the site and then sent me his GPS file. You can download it here.

Now, it won’t look like this map here; I just put that up for illustration purposes. Fact is, I can’t really say what it will look like because I don’t do GPS. But I suspect that for those of you who do, you know all about it so I’m not going to worry about it.

I really want to thank Gord for this. I have always welcomed any efforts you folks out there make to make this a better site for everyone using it. And I’ll take this opportunity to put in a plug for riding stories. If you make a trip to Colorado and have a great time, send me an email telling me about it and I’ll post it on the Riding Stories page. And if you’ll tell me about the places you stayed, good, bad, or indifferent, I’ll put that info up on the Motels and Hotels page. That way other people can benefit from your experience.

Thanks.

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MotoAdventureGal update: To the Darien Gap, then the hop to Colombia

Biker Quote for Today

Be a biker–kick start your day.

You’ve probably seen on the news that a rockslide has closed Glenwood Canyon, and repairs will take quite awhile. The latest news is that they do hope to get two lanes open as soon as today.

What this means for anyone traveling I-70 between Debeque and Glenwood Springs in the next couple months will be facing delays, assuming they can get through at all. This is not generally a good thing.

But let’s look on the bright side. It may be interstate but Glenwood Canyon is a stretch of road that I include on this website as well worth riding if you’re coming to Colorado on your motorcycle. The problem is that you’re on the interstate and through most of the canyon you can’t stop to get a good look at the gorgeous rock walls or shoot pictures.

Well, now maybe you’ll be able to. Consider this image. You’ve got thousands of cars all bottle-necked at one spot, and the driving is stop and go as you move east through the canyon. The slowdown for westbound traffic will mostly be just before you enter the canyon, so that may not work as well for you.

But if you’re eastbound you could find yourself creeping through the canyon. And that will give you lots of time to take a good look and I’ll bet you can even get some shots.

I definitely want to go over there during this period just to test out this theory. I’ve been frustrated for years over my inability to get photos that really do the canyon justice. Maybe this is my chance. I’ll let you know how it goes, and if I do get those great shots I want I’ll definitely be posting them on the site.

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MotoAdventureGal halfway to goal, but running out of time

Biker Quote for Today

From hell hot days to cold blue skies, thru moonless nights with headlight eyes.

The streets of Sturgis, SD, are lined with two-wheelers–more of them than most people have ever seen in one place. Only these two-wheelers are not motorcycles, they’re scooters. Cushman scooters to be exact. Welcome to the rally in mid June.

That’s right, the Cushman Club of America (CCA), which has a rally every year, is coming to Sturgis this year, from June 14 to June 18. It’s going to be just a bit different from what Sturgis is accustomed to.

“Come Play Where the Big Boys Play,” is the promo line the CCA is using and they’re looking for it to be the largest of their gatherings ever. Events will include a “Rough Rider Ride” that will be limited to 100 scoots, taking a route that will be challenging on a Cushman. And there will be other organized rides through the Black Hills. The Knuckle Saloon in Sturgis will be ground zero for rally activities.

I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to drop in on this rally–on my Kawi, of course–just because it’s going to be so totally different from the usual Sturgis rally scene. And my calendar looks clear in mid-June. We’ll see. It could be fun. At the very least, I’m sure it would make for some great pictures.

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Biker Quote for Today

It’s more fun to ride a slow bike fast, than a fast bike slow.