Wilsons Sandbox

> From: billmonahan > To: DSN_klr650@egroups.com > Subject: [DSN_klr650] Idaho Backroad Ride Report > Date: Tuesday, August 15, 2000 11:10 PM > > Amigos. > > As reported earlier I was readying my machine and myself for a backroad

> of Idaho, the Nez Perce Ride with the BMW club of Idaho. > > After installing new chain, sprockets, front tire, and fixing the

> cable I was off on the 5th of August, a Saturday. I got out of the house > about ten o'clock Saturday morning, only to discover about ten miles out > that I hadn't remembered to bring my extra master link. Knowing Murphy's > Law about such things, I returned to pick it up and so prevented any > disasters related to master links. Crossing California via Highway 20, > then on to 49, I stopped for lunch in Downieville. Over Yuba Pass, on to > Beckwourth, where I dropped over the east side of the Sierra on a little > known road, the Milford Grade. It is all dirt, and has some terrific > switchbacks overlooking Honey Lake. Not passable in winter, obviously.

> to 395 and headed north to Susanville, where I stopped at the Safeway

> and got beer (St Pauli Girl was on sale) and some chicken wings and

> salad, to take with me to Eagle Lake, where I ate dinner and camped out

> the supreme peace and quiet. I don't get much of that in Santa Rosa,

> lots and lots of noise. Sirens, boom boxes, car alarms, et cetera. > > I slept well at Eagle Lake, woke up and had some coffee and a grapefruit, > and was off......first I tried cutting across to 395 on South Grasshopper > Road, only to find myself almost dumping my fully loaded bike in some

> silt about five miles in on this road. Relieved that I hadn't dropped

> bike, I turned around and headed for pavement, heading north on 139, > figuring I would have to go to Adin and then take 299 to get to Alturas. > But about another fifteen miles north on 139 I found that North

> Road was paved and took me the quick way to 395. Not even stopping in > Alturas, I rode hard for Lakeview OR and gassed up there. Two guys

> for Sturgis on a FJ1200 and a Suzuki Katana 1100 asked me if the KLR was > beating me up bad. I told them no, and was able to show them several > hundred miles later the evidence of my comfy ride as they were showing > obvious signs of serious fatigue as we crossed the OR/ID border together.

> had caught up with them after crossing the Oregon desert, they were

> out of Lakeview as I was pulling in. They were bushed, I made it another > fifty miles or so, to get a motel that night in Weiser ID. I just needed > some air conditioning and a shower, and I tried out one of those

> fruit and yogurt parfaits I had seen advertised so many times....mmmmmm, > they are really good, especially when it's really hot like it was that

> in Weiser. > > Waking up in Weiser, I made coffee on my stove in my motel room, and took > another shower.....never know when you'll get one, you know. Hitting the > pavement about 10, (Rocky Mtn Time) I made it up 95 to New Meadows, then > headed east on 55 to McCall, where I met and older feller named Tom who

> riding a very nice 97 KLR and had ridden it all over the place, up to > Alaska, and had bicycled across the US several times as well. He gave me > directions up to Upper Payette Lake, where the initial meeting place for

> Nez Perce Ride was scheduled to occur. After stopping at the grocery for > beer, salami, cheese, and bread, I beat it up the Warren-Wagon road to

> Payette Lake, a short ride of about 30 minutes, maybe 20 miles or so.

> were a few beemer guys there, no one I knew, and no other bikes. I took

> really nice swim in the lake, the water was surprisingly warm. I

> swum in that lake all day. Fulton, the GS guy from San Diego pulled in.

> knew him, he was the beer meister at the San Diego BMW club rally, where

> go to camp every year because it is near the Del Mar Bike show the same > weekend. Fulton had brought his wife Susan who had left her F650 in

> ID, about a hundred mile ride to the east. They were going to travel two

> on the fully loaded 1100 GS, which I didn't think was a good idea. I did > mention to Fulton that I thought he was going to have his hands full.

> a while more riders pulled in, including several fellows with whom I rode > last year on this ride. Dave, Mike, and Terry all from Boise, on GSs.

> friend Brad Young showed up the next morning on his KLR....he rode all

> to get there from Elko, having just gotten off work about 9 the night > before. All tolled, when it was time to head out on the first leg of the > ride, we had about 35 or so riders...about two and a half times as many

> last year. > > In the morning we got up and packed our gear, eating bagels furnished by > Mike Howard, the ride organizer, club president, and sales manager for

> Twin BMW in Boise. We headed off to McCall, to get breakfast and

> watching the security men around, lots of them in blacked-out > Suburbans....Pres Clinton was visiting McCall that morning, to helicopter

> to Burgdorf to view the big fires. Undercover dudes everywhere, no shit. > Oh well, we headed up the road to Yellow Pine, a small town with nothing

> dirt roads leading to it. It was on the road to Yellow Pine that a

> of the GSs crashed in the fine summer silt laying in the turns of the

> My KLR felt like it wanted to go down a couple of times, but I managed to > keep it up, and was having fun to boot. The hard part of the day had not > come yet. We had beers and sandwiches in the bar in Yellow Pine, then > headed south on Johnson Creek Road, where myself and several others

> to take the "expert rider" section of the day's itinerary. Others had

> discouraged by the big GS dumping going on that morning on the way to

> Pine. Not us. We headed up Trout Creek Road, and had been told there

> be a water crossing. There was....I dumped my bike in it. Then there

> steep and gnarly mile of large granite boulders mixed with deep ruts,

> your choice. I was amazed that the KLR clawed its way up and didn't dump > its rider. My friend Brad flew his KLR up there ahead of anyone, he's a

> of an expert. Several GSs bit the dust, in the same water hole as I did, > and then up the steep rocky rutted section. One busted a hole in his

> cover, and fixed it up at the summit with JB Weld. The downhill over the > summit was equally gnarly. You had to ease it on down in first gear and > hope for the best. The water crossings numbered roughly twenty all

> Some easy , some not so easy. After building a bridge over a fallen tree

> was first to it and high centered myself on it) we all got on down the

> and rode for more hours down narrow winding dirt roads while navigating > ourselves to Silver Creek Plunge, where we would meet up with the others, > and have a dinner of brats and chili. And lots of beer. I was tired.

> was 180 miles of tough dirt roads and not-quite-roads. Sooner or later > everyone made it into camp. Many were having difficulties navigating

> forest roads. But everyone showed up. > > The next morning we packed up again, and were off to Crouch, where we > stopped for coffee, then took New Centerville Road into Idaho City. > Crossing 21 and turning off on Rabbit Creek Road, we (Brad, me, Eric from > Sandpoint and Chris from Denver) stopped on the Middle Fork of the

> River to dring some beers and take a swim (bath, really). Then we > barrelled up FS 327 (high speed gravel with lots of sliding turns in

> and third gear) to Atlanta......you have got to see Atlanta, ID. It is > something else. It is a historic old mining town, but without any money

> pretense. It backs up to the exact back side of the Sawtooth Range, and

> a spectacular view across the river. In the river, there is a fabulous

> spring. We camped at Powerhouse, which is where the hot spring is, and

> Howard had nice sirloin steaks on the grill with Idaho bakers. Yum.

> a soak in the spring, I couldn't do much else but crawl back to my tent

> sleep. > > After coffee and breakfast in Atlanta, we were off in whatever groups we

> formed, back down 327, up to Highway 21 for the great stretch of twisties > south of Lowman (pavement) then on to Bear Valley Road, which took us on

> fantastic ride over 60 miles through alpine meadows and fast narrow two > track through aspen forest.....leading us the back way into Stanley for

> Stanley Stomp. During this stretch if I had a video helmet cam I could > have made footage equal to On Any Sunday......or at least that's what it > felt like. It was an awesome ride. > > At this point the Nez Perce Ride was over.....and I'm tired, having just

> home tonite. There's still the Stanley Stomp to report on, and my ride > home......but that will come later. The KLR ran withouth so much as a

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