Last camp, last day on the road

Yesterday we rode around 500 miles from Sioux Falls, ND to the outskirts of Milwaukee,  WI. We camped in this nice area  under torrential rain.  Luckily Dave's tent is a mansion,  so we hung out in the garage until the rain gave us a break.  It seems like my $20 Walmart tent is not rated for heavy rain; I had water  all over my stuff. This morning the weather was OK,  allowing us to make a fire to enjoy our cup of Joe. Now we are heading to downtown Milwaukee to catch the ferry across Lake Michigan to Muskegon, MI.

Wall Drug Store

This is a crazy place in Wall,  SD.  It started as a drug store and it grew to a big resort city,  with a street full of nick necks,  jewelry,  and food.

Long day, bed bugs and Mount Rushmore

Yesterday we rode through Yellowstone and Beartooth pass in the morning,  stopped for lunch and got the highway to start our way back home. We decided to ride as many miles as possible to make up for the slow morning. So let's ride until we can and stay the night in a motel? It seemed a good idea. I googled a few places in our way to mount Rushmore and picked one.  Shower,  dinner,  and I went to bed.  Dave was texting with Diana and I was passed out in bed until I heard Dave shouting something and the words bed bugs got into  my head. We removed our stuff from the room and went to  talk to the owner. It was after midnight,  and we proposed  to him that we set our tents in the  front lawn. We did, went to bed and then realized the motel was in front of a train maneuvering area,  so we had engine noise and loud metal to metal noise most of the night.  We got up before 6, knocked on the man's door again, got our money back and hit the road toward Mount Rushmore.  We rode  through Black Hills National Forest,  took some pictures of the monument  and got back to the highway. Now we are camping on Sioux Falls,  SD and tomorrow we should be in Madison,  WI. I am sure I will have nothing to report from this day.

Bear tooth pass

The best ride of my life. No words to describe. 11000 feet of wilderness  and curvy roads.

Tracy's gift to Dave

Nice bumper sticker

Yellowstone

We arrived to Yellowstone and the gate attendant told us it was full,  no camping available.  We back tracked a few miles and set up camp for the night.  Tomorrow we will wakeup very early to try to beat the traffic and ride in peace.

Day off and back to the road

Yesterday we took a day off to prepare to our way back.  In the morning I took my bike to the shop to replace a well-worn rear tire.  We also met with Tracy in the morning, and she invited us for dinner. In the way back we visited the hungry horse dam -  such spectacular place. Today we are heading to Yellowstone. At this moment we are in Helena, in a CVS parking lot.

Flat Head National Park

Flat Head is a park adjacent to Glacier. We rode some trails, saw some deer and had to return when our road was blocked by the remainings of an avalanche.

Going to the Sun Road

This is the most spectacular place I have ever been. Breathtaking views on  every corner. It took us about 3 hours to ride 50 miles each way including a lunch break in St Mary.

Glacier National Park

We spoted  the Rockies on the horizon 2 hours before we reached them.  One word: amazing. East Glacier is the entrance for the park on Highway 2. We rode approximately 50 miles through the mountains until we arrived on West Glacier,  the southern entrance for Going to the Sun Road. Our home for the next 2 days will be the Apgar campsite, by Lake McDonald. Today we will ride the 50 miles of Going to the Sun road and stop for sightseeing and pictures.  After 4 days of long days on the saddle we are very tired and need a day to chill.

Almost in Glacier Park

Montana has been pretty  cool.  Long straight stretches of scenic roads with 70 mph  speed limit.  We will arrive at Glacier Park this afternoon and are planning on setting camp by Lake McDonald and stay there for a couple of days to explore.

Montana

We are having a blast riding through Montana.  This is an abandoned church that we found in our way.

Bye bye North Dakota, hello Montana

East of North Dakota was cool,  with lots of flat, swampy,  and grassy fields. Approaching the west side was quite disappointing; the oil exploration on the western towns transformed a beautiful landscape in a big construction zone. But here we are now in Montana.  We still have  long way to go until we reach Glacier Park.

Long day

We rode a total of 600 miles yesterday.  We met a fellow rider named Jeff from Alberta in Michigan and we stayed together  until this morning.  The weather was crazy going through  the plains,  with strong  cross wind blowing our motorcycles all over the road. Today the day started hot and we are planning on getting to somewhere in Montana.

What is for dinner?

In our attempt to ride 700 miles we got very hungry  and tired after 10 hours of riding. We still have 220 miles to go,  so we decided to stop in a rest area and make dinner.

Morning update

Beautiful riding in the morning through Pictured Rocks and UP. Almost hit a deer and a state trooper stopped us for speeding (slightly over the limit) but he was nice and didn't give us a ticket. Now we are snacking at a random gas station in Wisconsin.

Mackinac

Quick stop just before crossing the bridge

Pictured Rocks Park

We camped the first night in a lake front soot.  The temperature dropped to own 40s over night,  but our gear kept us warm.

First stop

The trip started with 2 hours in the rain and temperature of 52. Stopped here for gas and a snack.

Ready to go

This is how my bike is looking carrying all my stuff

Magruder Corridor

One of the highlights of our trip will be riding through the Magruder Corridor. It is a 101 mile, one lane, unpaved, and  unserviced road that links Elk City, ID to Darby, MT. Heights range from 3000 ft to 8000 ft, which means snow and ice might be present. We reserved 2 days for this leg and preparation is very tricky. If we find a fallen tree in the last 5 miles and cannot go around it, we hve to go back, which might lead to fuel issues. Here is a link that better describes this road.
Magruder Corridor

Side stand Foot Enlarger

If you park your bike in soft soil and the side stand starts to sink, it is time to enlarge it. The Suzuki V-Strom has a 3 sq inch area side stand and this is my 9 sq inch solution.

Adventure riding tips

Here is a video that gives nice tips about handling your bike in dirt and trails. It is kind of long but I skipped the repetitive parts.
Riding tips

Camping in bear country

Camping in bear country can be dangerous if you are not prepared. We will be in the wilderness and places like Glacier, Lolo, and Yellowstone parks are the best place to find grizzly and black bears. Reading about these animal's behavior, how to avoid contact, what to do in case of a encounter, and tips for setting up camp are good points to start researching. Here is a link for a good introductory reading.
Camping and hiking in bear country

Glacier National Park Route

Here is the basic route for our trip. Last week we met Pat at bike night in Depot Town and he gave us valuable advice about the route. He suggested that we add Lolo Motorway and Magruder Corridor to our trip while in Idaho. I will work on a separate post about these two routes.

See it on Google Maps

Glacier National Park trip

Me and my buddy Dave McWilliam are planning a trip to Glacier National Park. We are leaving on Thursday 7/3/14 and coming back on Sunday 7/13/14. The plan is to ride north through Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and take Highway 2 all the way to Glacier National Park. There we will ride the famous Going to the Sun Road and head southeast until we hit Yellowstone. Time permitting we will try to get to Mount Rushmore and then head east toward Milwaukee, where we take the ferry across Lake Michigan to Muskegon. At this point we will be two hours from home. This is the plan. 

Check out our Glacier National Park route

Introduction

I am starting this blog to share my experiences with fellow enthusiasts. I know, I know, there are hundreds of forums and blogs about this subject, why bother writing another one?

My intention is to document long trips and local rides, share my opinion about gear, and recommend places to go and where to stay. Even I have been riding motorcycles since I was fourteen back in 1988, my experience with long distance touring is fairly recent.

I have learned a lot about riding comfortably and safely without filing for bankruptcy. Finding the right gear and/or accessory depends a lot on research, trial and error. If you are in a budget like me, reading Touratech’s catalog is similar to reading Travel & Leisure or Motor Trend: it is not going to happen. My biggest challenge is to find equipment that does the job without paying for the brand name; there are many good deals out there on eBay that are a close match to much more expensive equipment.

I hope you enjoy my blog!