de tour ** jeff's ride home ** 1st day **

[Jeff Saline]

Listers, OK Heads, Paonia, CO plus 15 miles to Rapid City, SD Travel time: 10 hrs 42 mins Distance: 574 miles My alarm goes off when it's supposed to and I'm amazed the boogie man didn't get me and that I didn't hear any vehicles on the road last night. It's light enough to see pretty well and I quickly strike camp. My air mattress is still holding air and that makes the sleeping even better. I'm quickly packed and decide to wait until I'm at Glenwood Springs to have breakfast. That's about an hour away if I recall correctly. The temperature is 42 degrees and all I have with me are my summer gloves. I think how that will allow me to really test the grip heater installation I did before this trip. I remembered last night to put my liners in my First Gear Kilimanjaro Air Jacket and my First Gear Air Overpants. The bike is fully loaded and I start the engine and let it idle for a minute or two. I don't normally do that but the first 200 yards of riding may be a bit tricky and I don't want to have to try to preform with a touchy engine. The GPS is on and I'm ready to go. I gently turn the bike around and can easily tell the gearing is higher than what I've been using in the dirt for the last few weeks. I approach the bottom of the ascent through the trees and brush and stop for a second to make sure I pick a good line. I can't see for more than 20 feet and decide I recall there was a boulder in what will be the right track. I pick the right side with a planned transition to the left track and go for it. I stay in 1st gear and think that if something bad happens now I'll never get found. The bike has plenty of power and I weave my way past the boulder and up the track. As I make the hard uphill right hand turn I add a bit of power and the bike carries me to the top without issue. The road is clear and I resume my journey north. I ride for about 20 miles and top out on McClure Pass. Elevation here is just shy of 9,000 feet and the sun isn't over the mountain tops yet. The grip heaters are on low and are working too well. I have to turn them off as my palms can't take the roasting. The descent from McClure Pass is fun as the road is in great shape and the views are very nice. This is a wonderful way to start my day. About 6 miles from the pass I come to Hayes Creek Falls and stop for a quick picture. It feels good to get off the bike for a minute or two and stretch. The temperature hasn't started getting any warmer yet and I still can't see the sun although it is light. I ride into Carbondale wait to turn towards Glenwood Springs for what seems like an excessively long time. There are two left turn lanes and I'm at the front of the left one. The light changes and I ride off. I'm quicker than all the vehicles but I don't want to ride with them around me. I pull into the right lane and allow everyone to pass. Now I'm feeling a bit more relaxed. They're on their way and I'm enjoying my ride without them near me. I pull into a McDonald's in Glenwood Springs and warm up a bit and have breakfast. Then I'm off to get fuel and continue. I've made a choice here to ride the interstate for about 30 miles. It just makes sense to do that as they're aren't a lot of roads going to where I'd like to be going. This section of I-70 is in good shape and runs next to and over the mighty Colorado river. Traffic is heavy for what I'm used to but folks give me plenty of room and speeds aren't excessive. I mosey along at about 60-65 mph actual. For an interstate this has to be one of the most scenic sections I've ever been on. I ride about 35 miles to Wolcott and turn north on 131 towards Toponas. The road is in good shape and I have good memories from riding this section a few times in the past 5 years. I get to the intersection of 134 and turn east. This is a very fun remote section that isn't well traveled and I enjoy the views of snow covered peaks while riding in and out of high alpine meadows. At 40 I turn north heading towards Steamboat Springs. The traffic is a bit heavier here but I know I'll get out of it in about 20 miles when I turn on 14 towards Walden. And heavier is relative as it's only heavy to me. I probably see another vehicle every 10 minutes or so. I really enjoy the high country and these roads are fun and relaxing at the same time. I don't feel very challenged by them but enjoy the way they take me through the countryside. On 14 I only have about 30 miles till I get to Walden and I'm still cool to cold as I have been all morning. If the sun would come out and shine on me that would really help a bit. I've been using the grip heaters most of the morning but they work so well I can only have them on for a few minutes and then have to turn them off. I think about options to make them more useable and realize they'll probably work better if I have thicker gloves on. I think about a Heat Troller and remind myself to look into one when I get home. (Three weeks later and I still haven't checked into them.) In Walden I pull into a fuel station and try to use my credit card to pay at the pump. The pump won't accept my credit card and I get a message I have to talk to the lady inside. I tell her I've been having a bit of problem the last few days and that I'm traveling. She says not to worry we'll just run it inside when I get done and if we need to we can call the company to make it happen. I fill my tank and she runs my card. It works fine. She even asks for my ID like I've requested on the back of the card next to my signature. I think that's the first time I've been carded on this trip. We chat for a few minutes and then I head north. The ride out of Walden is ok but nothing spectacular compared to the last couple of weeks. I follow CO 127 until it turns into WY 230 at the border. In to Laramie and I get to experience a bunch of traffic. I follow the GPS map and I'm soon out of town and heading almost due north. After 18 miles of nothing but prairie I get to my right turn onto 34 at Bosler Junction. This is a great road and is marked no services for 54 miles. A few years ago I broke 11 spokes on my rear wheel on this road while it was still under repair. My buddy Mark Adam and I were on our way to Paonia for the rally and I missed the sign that said motorcycle travel not recommended. He saw it and asked me if I really wanted to go this way. I didn't catch on and said yes. About 35 miles up the road we got to some heavy construction. It looked like they had just run a dozer through the prairie and then pulled off to let us pass. We rode for 3 miles in that and even though we took our time my BMW R90/6 rear wheel couldn't take the beating. I had laced that wheel myself and it was my first try. I think I probably had the spokes too tight. I didn't realize I'd broken so many spokes until the next day at Wolcott. We had to pull my rear wheel to get the spoke heads out of my rear brakeshoes. I rode that wheel for about 1,500 miles before I could get home and fix it. And although I wouldn't recommend folks do that I could never tell it was missing over 25% of the spokes. Mark's 1984 R100RS has cast wheels and did fine in the rough stuff. Today this road is in great shape with a lot of new pavement and beautiful curves and vistas. It's a real breath of fresh air to ride here after a bunch of prairie riding. Somewhere on this road I finally drop below 7,000 feet for, I think, the first time since leaving camp this morning. About 1/2 way along the road is a Wyoming Research Center for their Game Fish and Parks or whatever they call that department. I've stopped there before and had a great talk with the lady running the display area. This time I don't stop at the displays but just past that building and then see some elk near the road. So I stop for a picture. The brush is pretty thick next to the fence and I take a picture but know it isn't going to be very good. And it isn't. I get back on the bike and ride maybe 300 yards. That's when I see the buffalo. Not just one or two but at least six. I pull over and think I'll get a picture of one also. I walk to the fence and watch as one starts to roll in a dusting wallow. They can stir up quite a mess. I put my camera up to the fence and take a picture. I whistle once or twice and they know I'm there. One of the ones laying down decides to get up and starts to wander toward me. The one in the wallow begins to wander my way too. I'm only about 50 yards from them. I back up a few feet and take a look at the bike and the road and the fence. I've been around buffalo a very little bit and the fence gives me more courage than is wise. I decide to stay there and see what I can do for pictures. The buffalo come closer and closer and I'm trying to take some good pictures. Then the one that was in the wallow gets right next to the fence. And me. I'm talking we're 3 inches apart. I put my camera on macro and take a close up of it's eye. It's sniffing the air and I'm talking quietly to it. Then since it seems relaxed enough I touch it's nose. Just a light touch, and I have my gloves on still. It takes in a good sniff and starts to slobber. I'm not gonna let that nasty tongue lick me. I pluck a few strands of grass from my side of the fence and it takes them and chews for a few seconds. This buffalo just seems to be happy next to the fence and slowly walks back and forth. I take a few more pictures and get another close up of the other eye. I was thinking about how it would feel to be in a small boat and have a whale surface next to the boat and take a good look. I've heard of them looking at a person and that's got to kind of be an weird feeling since both a whale and a buffalo could cause way too much excitement if they wanted to. I decide I've taken enough pictures and get on the bike and ride on. The buffalo stay near the fence even when I start the bike. In another 30 minutes I'm at my next section of interstate. I take I-25 north for about 7 miles to get to Wheatland and my next fuel stop. This is a real quick stop, top and go. I'm back on the bike and ride I-25 north for another 12 or 13 miles. While riding I take a look northeast as that's where I'm heading. I can see smoke on the horizon. I'm thinking that it's right in the area I'm heading too. I'll be able to work my way around it if I have to but hope it's nothing big. I turn right on 26 toward Guernsey. This is an easy prairie road with a little but not a lot of traffic. As I approach Guernsey I can tell the smoke is much more pronounced and is near where I'm heading. I pass the National Guard Training Center and see lots of activity. Just on the other side of Guernsey I turn north on 270 toward Manville. This is a nice road not frequented like the east west roads. It has some turns in it and nicely breaks up a tough area to ride through. That's tough in that there isn't a lot of change of scenery or road direction out here on many of the roads. You can stop at historical markers and read what they have to tell you for a quick break. I'll never forget the marker at Rawhide Butte on 85 north of Lingle. The short story is a solider rapes an Indian woman. The indians surround the platoon and tell them to either give up the guy that did it or all die. You can imagine the rawhide part of it and what the platoon heard that night. A few miles up the road I come to the stop sign at Hartville. I turn left as right is a dead end and there is no straight ahead. Not much further up the road the smoke is getting pretty thick and the I can see the flames from the fire. I stop to get a couple of quick pictures and think about the impact this will have on the ranchers out here. After another mile or so I see an Air Guard helicopter with a bucket. It circles me and drops to a pond about 3/4 mile away. Another chopper comes in and follows it loading it's bucket too. I'm betting these are 500 gallon buckets and start to do the math in my head. A gallon of water weighs about 6 pounds. Six times 500 is 3,000 pounds. A solider in combat gear is probably established at 250 pounds. A squad is probably 12 soldiers. Twelve times 250 is 3,000. Yup I bet those are 500 gallon buckets. They fly away to drop some water and I ride north and hope the cross wind stays light for the fire fighter's sake. I soon get to Manville and turn right to get to Lusk. Lusk will be my last required fuel stop for the day. I pop into the station and it's crowded. Then I remember this is June and tourist season. I get fuel, eat a breakfast bar and clean my face shield. I think I'm done and gone in about 4 minutes. Riding north on 85 I have about 50 miles to Mule Creek Junction where I'll turn right on 18 for about 35 miles. The riding is ok and I can feel the pull to get home. I keep the speed at about 60 mph and wave vehicles past in safe areas. I don't care that it's a no passing zone. I just get over to the side of the road and slow and wave them on if I can't see anything approaching. I get lots of thank you waves and everybody is happy. I slow at Mule Creek Junction just enough to make the 90 degree turn. I'm alone it seems as I ride on 18 past Edgemont and then begin to get into some of the southern Black Hills. At 89 I turn north and know I'm only about an hour from home. I relax a bit but can feel how tired I am. The cold from the high country for all morning and the early afternoon has really taken some energy from me. I get to Pringle, the Elk Capitol of South Dakota, and turn left on Highway 385. This road is a great ride and back in the 80's I remember it was voted by one motorcycling magazine as one of the top ten rides in America. It's in some ways been made even better as the pavement is in excellent shape and it is a quick road. I ride to Custer and realize how many tourists are visiting the hills right now. Welcome! North out of Custer on 16 and 385 and I pass the Crazy Horse Monument. Then I soon come to the turn to the Needles Highway in Custer State Park and then the turn on 244 to Mount Rushmore. I continue straight to Hill City. I take the back way through Hill City past the 1880s train and continue to the Hwy 16/385 intersection. A left turn on 385 and I'm soon riding past Sheridan Lake. This is a great road and easy when you're tired. It's only about 6:30 now but I'm watching closely for deer. At the northern end of Sheridan Lake I turn right on Sheridan Lake Road. I've been riding this road off and on since 1985 and it's fun, small and full of twists. I move right along without going too awful fast. And I have some nice memories along the way of fishing in Spring Creek which parallels the road for a few miles. When I pass deadman's curve I look up and see where I hiked the flume trail and hit my head on a beam in one of the tunnels. Further along I remember that night I walked so far downstream it was dark before I could make it back. But I also remember that trout under the old trestle framework that took about six casts to finally catch. I continue into town and turn left on West Main. A mile further I decide I should fill up on fuel and then I won't be wondering how many gallons the trip took. Three or four minutes at the pumps and I'm back on the bike and only 2 1/2 miles from home. As I approach my place I can see the shop is still standing and then I can make out the house. Life is good, nothing burned down while I was gone. I turn off my fuel while about 1/4 mile from home and then swing into the driveway. The grass is knee high and the tree that died the weekend before we left is still standing. It looks like I've got a few days of yard work in my near future. I pull up to the shop and shut the bike off. Opening the shop reminds me I'm a pretty lucky guy. I turn on power to the well and get the bike parked and my riding gear off. It's good to be home. End of the Ride Home. Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote:

> > Listers, OK Heads, > > Paonia, CO plus 15 miles to Rapid City, SD > > Travel time: 10 hrs 42 mins Distance: 574 miles >

SNIP I'll never forget the marker at Rawhide Butte on 85 north of Lingle. The short story is a solider rapes an Indian woman. The indians surround the platoon and tell them to either give up the guy that did it or all die. You can imagine the rawhide part of it and what the platoon heard that night. SNIP

> > End of the Ride Home. > > Jeff Saline

So what happened? Did the platoon give up the soldier, or did the entire platoon die? revmaaatin.

[Jeff Saline]

On Wed, 05 Jul 2006 02:36:43 -0000 "revmaaatin" writes:

> --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote: > > > > Listers, OK Heads, > > > > Paonia, CO plus 15 miles to Rapid City, SD > > > > Travel time: 10 hrs 42 mins Distance: 574 miles > > > SNIP > > I'll never forget the marker at Rawhide > Butte on 85 north of Lingle. The short story is a solider rapes an > Indian woman. The indians surround the platoon and tell them to > either > give up the guy that did it or all die. You can imagine the rawhide > > part > of it and what the platoon heard that night. > > SNIP > > > > End of the Ride Home. > > > > Jeff Saline > > So what happened? Did the platoon give up the soldier, or did the > entire platoon die? > > revmaaatin.

<><><><><> <><><><><> Martin, They gave the guy up and the indians skinned him alive. Jeff

[revmaaatin]

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote:

> > On Wed, 05 Jul 2006 02:36:43 -0000 "revmaaatin" > writes: > > So what happened? Did the platoon give up the soldier, or did the > > entire platoon die? > > > > revmaaatin. > <><><><><> > <><><><><> > > Martin, > > They gave the guy up and the indians skinned him alive. > > Jeff >

An interesting sense of justice. We only want to punish the offender. revmaaatin.

[Don S]

Skinned alive? That's got to hurt! Was it done with a knife of by dragging behind a horse over shale? That's kind of harsh justice. Maybe skinning his d*ck would have sufficed. No? Then again, who'd want that job? Don revmaaatin wrote:

--- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, Jeff Saline wrote: > > On Wed, 05 Jul 2006 02:36:43 -0000 "revmaaatin" > writes: > > So what happened? Did the platoon give up the soldier, or did the > > entire platoon die? > > > > revmaaatin. > <><><><><> > <><><><><> > > Martin, > > They gave the guy up and the indians skinned him alive. > > Jeff > An interesting sense of justice. We only want to punish the offender. revmaaatin. --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger s low PC-to-Phone call rates. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[W.V. Doran]

Jeff...I finally found the time to read your outstanding De Tour adventure report. It's simply the most interesting and fascinating ride report I've had the pleasure of reading. Your attention to detail had me sitting on the edge of my chair over and over. I know that on my rides in the future I'll see things I've missed in the past and I'll thank you opening my eyes. I've been a member of this list since 1999 and generous members like yourself who give sound advice and share their adventures with all of us are real treasures. Thank you very much! WVDoran Scottsdale, AZ Jeff Saline wrote: Listers, OK Heads, Paonia, CO plus 15 miles to Rapid City, SD Travel time: 10 hrs 42 mins Distance: 574 miles My alarm goes off when it's supposed to and I'm amazed the boogie man didn't get me and that I didn't hear any vehicles on the road last night. It's light enough to see pretty well and I quickly strike camp. My air mattress is still holding air and that makes the sleeping even better. I'm quickly packed and decide to wait until I'm at Glenwood Springs to have breakfast. That's about an hour away if I recall correctly. The temperature is 42 degrees and all I have with me are my summer gloves. I think how that will allow me to really test the grip heater installation I did before this trip. I remembered last night to put my liners in my First Gear Kilimanjaro Air Jacket and my First Gear Air Overpants. The bike is fully loaded and I start the engine and let it idle for a minute or two. I don't normally do that but the first 200 yards of riding may be a bit tricky and I don't want to have to try to preform with a touchy engine. The GPS is on and I'm ready to go. I gently turn the bike around and can easily tell the gearing is higher than what I've been using in the dirt for the last few weeks. I approach the bottom of the ascent through the trees and brush and stop for a second to make sure I pick a good line. I can't see for more than 20 feet and decide I recall there was a boulder in what will be the right track. I pick the right side with a planned transition to the left track and go for it. I stay in 1st gear and think that if something bad happens now I'll never get found. The bike has plenty of power and I weave my way past the boulder and up the track. As I make the hard uphill right hand turn I add a bit of power and the bike carries me to the top without issue. The road is clear and I resume my journey north. I ride for about 20 miles and top out on McClure Pass. Elevation here is just shy of 9,000 feet and the sun isn't over the mountain tops yet. The grip heaters are on low and are working too well. I have to turn them off as my palms can't take the roasting. The descent from McClure Pass is fun as the road is in great shape and the views are very nice. This is a wonderful way to start my day. About 6 miles from the pass I come to Hayes Creek Falls and stop for a quick picture. It feels good to get off the bike for a minute or two and stretch. The temperature hasn't started getting any warmer yet and I still can't see the sun although it is light. I ride into Carbondale wait to turn towards Glenwood Springs for what seems like an excessively long time. There are two left turn lanes and I'm at the front of the left one. The light changes and I ride off. I'm quicker than all the vehicles but I don't want to ride with them around me. I pull into the right lane and allow everyone to pass. Now I'm feeling a bit more relaxed. They're on their way and I'm enjoying my ride without them near me. I pull into a McDonald's in Glenwood Springs and warm up a bit and have breakfast. Then I'm off to get fuel and continue. I've made a choice here to ride the interstate for about 30 miles. It just makes sense to do that as they're aren't a lot of roads going to where I'd like to be going. This section of I-70 is in good shape and runs next to and over the mighty Colorado river. Traffic is heavy for what I'm used to but folks give me plenty of room and speeds aren't excessive. I mosey along at about 60-65 mph actual. For an interstate this has to be one of the most scenic sections I've ever been on. I ride about 35 miles to Wolcott and turn north on 131 towards Toponas. The road is in good shape and I have good memories from riding this section a few times in the past 5 years. I get to the intersection of 134 and turn east. This is a very fun remote section that isn't well traveled and I enjoy the views of snow covered peaks while riding in and out of high alpine meadows. At 40 I turn north heading towards Steamboat Springs. The traffic is a bit heavier here but I know I'll get out of it in about 20 miles when I turn on 14 towards Walden. And heavier is relative as it's only heavy to me. I probably see another vehicle every 10 minutes or so. I really enjoy the high country and these roads are fun and relaxing at the same time. I don't feel very challenged by them but enjoy the way they take me through the countryside. On 14 I only have about 30 miles till I get to Walden and I'm still cool to cold as I have been all morning. If the sun would come out and shine on me that would really help a bit. I've been using the grip heaters most of the morning but they work so well I can only have them on for a few minutes and then have to turn them off. I think about options to make them more useable and realize they'll probably work better if I have thicker gloves on. I think about a Heat Troller and remind myself to look into one when I get home. (Three weeks later and I still haven't checked into them.) In Walden I pull into a fuel station and try to use my credit card to pay at the pump. The pump won't accept my credit card and I get a message I have to talk to the lady inside. I tell her I've been having a bit of problem the last few days and that I'm traveling. She says not to worry we'll just run it inside when I get done and if we need to we can call the company to make it happen. I fill my tank and she runs my card. It works fine. She even asks for my ID like I've requested on the back of the card next to my signature. I think that's the first time I've been carded on this trip. We chat for a few minutes and then I head north. The ride out of Walden is ok but nothing spectacular compared to the last couple of weeks. I follow CO 127 until it turns into WY 230 at the border. In to Laramie and I get to experience a bunch of traffic. I follow the GPS map and I'm soon out of town and heading almost due north. After 18 miles of nothing but prairie I get to my right turn onto 34 at Bosler Junction. This is a great road and is marked no services for 54 miles. A few years ago I broke 11 spokes on my rear wheel on this road while it was still under repair. My buddy Mark Adam and I were on our way to Paonia for the rally and I missed the sign that said motorcycle travel not recommended. He saw it and asked me if I really wanted to go this way. I didn't catch on and said yes. About 35 miles up the road we got to some heavy construction. It looked like they had just run a dozer through the prairie and then pulled off to let us pass. We rode for 3 miles in that and even though we took our time my BMW R90/6 rear wheel couldn't take the beating. I had laced that wheel myself and it was my first try. I think I probably had the spokes too tight. I didn't realize I'd broken so many spokes until the next day at Wolcott. We had to pull my rear wheel to get the spoke heads out of my rear brakeshoes. I rode that wheel for about 1,500 miles before I could get home and fix it. And although I wouldn't recommend folks do that I could never tell it was missing over 25% of the spokes. Mark's 1984 R100RS has cast wheels and did fine in the rough stuff. Today this road is in great shape with a lot of new pavement and beautiful curves and vistas. It's a real breath of fresh air to ride here after a bunch of prairie riding. Somewhere on this road I finally drop below 7,000 feet for, I think, the first time since leaving camp this morning. About 1/2 way along the road is a Wyoming Research Center for their Game Fish and Parks or whatever they call that department. I've stopped there before and had a great talk with the lady running the display area. This time I don't stop at the displays but just past that building and then see some elk near the road. So I stop for a picture. The brush is pretty thick next to the fence and I take a picture but know it isn't going to be very good. And it isn't. I get back on the bike and ride maybe 300 yards. That's when I see the buffalo. Not just one or two but at least six. I pull over and think I'll get a picture of one also. I walk to the fence and watch as one starts to roll in a dusting wallow. They can stir up quite a mess. I put my camera up to the fence and take a picture. I whistle once or twice and they know I'm there. One of the ones laying down decides to get up and starts to wander toward me. The one in the wallow begins to wander my way too. I'm only about 50 yards from them. I back up a few feet and take a look at the bike and the road and the fence. I've been around buffalo a very little bit and the fence gives me more courage than is wise. I decide to stay there and see what I can do for pictures. The buffalo come closer and closer and I'm trying to take some good pictures. Then the one that was in the wallow gets right next to the fence. And me. I'm talking we're 3 inches apart. I put my camera on macro and take a close up of it's eye. It's sniffing the air and I'm talking quietly to it. Then since it seems relaxed enough I touch it's nose. Just a light touch, and I have my gloves on still. It takes in a good sniff and starts to slobber. I'm not gonna let that nasty tongue lick me. I pluck a few strands of grass from my side of the fence and it takes them and chews for a few seconds. This buffalo just seems to be happy next to the fence and slowly walks back and forth. I take a few more pictures and get another close up of the other eye. I was thinking about how it would feel to be in a small boat and have a whale surface next to the boat and take a good look. I've heard of them looking at a person and that's got to kind of be an weird feeling since both a whale and a buffalo could cause way too much excitement if they wanted to. I decide I've taken enough pictures and get on the bike and ride on. The buffalo stay near the fence even when I start the bike. In another 30 minutes I'm at my next section of interstate. I take I-25 north for about 7 miles to get to Wheatland and my next fuel stop. This is a real quick stop, top and go. I'm back on the bike and ride I-25 north for another 12 or 13 miles. While riding I take a look northeast as that's where I'm heading. I can see smoke on the horizon. I'm thinking that it's right in the area I'm heading too. I'll be able to work my way around it if I have to but hope it's nothing big. I turn right on 26 toward Guernsey. This is an easy prairie road with a little but not a lot of traffic. As I approach Guernsey I can tell the smoke is much more pronounced and is near where I'm heading. I pass the National Guard Training Center and see lots of activity. Just on the other side of Guernsey I turn north on 270 toward Manville. This is a nice road not frequented like the east west roads. It has some turns in it and nicely breaks up a tough area to ride through. That's tough in that there isn't a lot of change of scenery or road direction out here on many of the roads. You can stop at historical markers and read what they have to tell you for a quick break. I'll never forget the marker at Rawhide Butte on 85 north of Lingle. The short story is a solider rapes an Indian woman. The indians surround the platoon and tell them to either give up the guy that did it or all die. You can imagine the rawhide part of it and what the platoon heard that night. A few miles up the road I come to the stop sign at Hartville. I turn left as right is a dead end and there is no straight ahead. Not much further up the road the smoke is getting pretty thick and the I can see the flames from the fire. I stop to get a couple of quick pictures and think about the impact this will have on the ranchers out here. After another mile or so I see an Air Guard helicopter with a bucket. It circles me and drops to a pond about 3/4 mile away. Another chopper comes in and follows it loading it's bucket too. I'm betting these are 500 gallon buckets and start to do the math in my head. A gallon of water weighs about 6 pounds. Six times 500 is 3,000 pounds. A solider in combat gear is probably established at 250 pounds. A squad is probably 12 soldiers. Twelve times 250 is 3,000. Yup I bet those are 500 gallon buckets. They fly away to drop some water and I ride north and hope the cross wind stays light for the fire fighter's sake. I soon get to Manville and turn right to get to Lusk. Lusk will be my last required fuel stop for the day. I pop into the station and it's crowded. Then I remember this is June and tourist season. I get fuel, eat a breakfast bar and clean my face shield. I think I'm done and gone in about 4 minutes. Riding north on 85 I have about 50 miles to Mule Creek Junction where I'll turn right on 18 for about 35 miles. The riding is ok and I can feel the pull to get home. I keep the speed at about 60 mph and wave vehicles past in safe areas. I don't care that it's a no passing zone. I just get over to the side of the road and slow and wave them on if I can't see anything approaching. I get lots of thank you waves and everybody is happy. I slow at Mule Creek Junction just enough to make the 90 degree turn. I'm alone it seems as I ride on 18 past Edgemont and then begin to get into some of the southern Black Hills. At 89 I turn north and know I'm only about an hour from home. I relax a bit but can feel how tired I am. The cold from the high country for all morning and the early afternoon has really taken some energy from me. I get to Pringle, the Elk Capitol of South Dakota, and turn left on Highway 385. This road is a great ride and back in the 80's I remember it was voted by one motorcycling magazine as one of the top ten rides in America. It's in some ways been made even better as the pavement is in excellent shape and it is a quick road. I ride to Custer and realize how many tourists are visiting the hills right now. Welcome! North out of Custer on 16 and 385 and I pass the Crazy Horse Monument. Then I soon come to the turn to the Needles Highway in Custer State Park and then the turn on 244 to Mount Rushmore. I continue straight to Hill City. I take the back way through Hill City past the 1880s train and continue to the Hwy 16/385 intersection. A left turn on 385 and I'm soon riding past Sheridan Lake. This is a great road and easy when you're tired. It's only about 6:30 now but I'm watching closely for deer. At the northern end of Sheridan Lake I turn right on Sheridan Lake Road. I've been riding this road off and on since 1985 and it's fun, small and full of twists. I move right along without going too awful fast. And I have some nice memories along the way of fishing in Spring Creek which parallels the road for a few miles. When I pass deadman's curve I look up and see where I hiked the flume trail and hit my head on a beam in one of the tunnels. Further along I remember that night I walked so far downstream it was dark before I could make it back. But I also remember that trout under the old trestle framework that took about six casts to finally catch. I continue into town and turn left on West Main. A mile further I decide I should fill up on fuel and then I won't be wondering how many gallons the trip took. Three or four minutes at the pumps and I'm back on the bike and only 2 1/2 miles from home. As I approach my place I can see the shop is still standing and then I can make out the house. Life is good, nothing burned down while I was gone. I turn off my fuel while about 1/4 mile from home and then swing into the driveway. The grass is knee high and the tree that died the weekend before we left is still standing. It looks like I've got a few days of yard work in my near future. I pull up to the shop and shut the bike off. Opening the shop reminds me I'm a pretty lucky guy. I turn on power to the well and get the bike parked and my riding gear off. It's good to be home. End of the Ride Home. Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] WVDoran Scottsdale, AZ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jeff Saline]

Listers, Paonia, CO plus 15 miles to Rapid City, SD Travel time: 10 hrs 42 mins Distance: 574 miles My alarm goes off when it's supposed to and I'm amazed the boogie man didn't get me and that I didn't hear any vehicles on the road last night. It's light enough to see pretty well and I quickly strike camp. My air mattress is still holding air and that makes the sleeping even better. I'm quickly packed and decide to wait until I'm at Glenwood Springs to have breakfast. That's about an hour away if I recall correctly. The temperature is 42 degrees and all I have with me are my summer gloves. I think how that will allow me to really test the grip heater installation I did before this trip. I remembered last night to put my liners in my First Gear Kilimanjaro Air Jacket and my First Gear Air Overpants. The bike is fully loaded and I start the engine and let it idle for a minute or two. I don't normally do that but the first 200 yards of riding may be a bit tricky and I don't want to have to try to preform with a touchy engine. The GPS is on and I'm ready to go. I gently turn the bike around and can easily tell the gearing is higher than what I've been using in the dirt for the last few weeks. I approach the bottom of the ascent through the trees and brush and stop for a second to make sure I pick a good line. I can't see for more than 20 feet and decide I recall there was a boulder in what will be the right track. I pick the right side with a planned transition to the left track and go for it. I stay in 1st gear and think that if something bad happens now I'll never get found. The bike has plenty of power and I weave my way past the boulder and up the track. As I make the hard uphill right hand turn I add a bit of power and the bike carries me to the top without issue. The road is clear and I resume my journey north. I ride for about 20 miles and top out on McClure Pass. Elevation here is just shy of 9,000 feet and the sun isn't over the mountain tops yet. The grip heaters are on low and are working too well. I have to turn them off as my palms can't take the roasting. The descent from McClure Pass is fun as the road is in great shape and the views are very nice. This is a wonderful way to start my day. About 6 miles from the pass I come to Hayes Creek Falls and stop for a quick picture. It feels good to get off the bike for a minute or two and stretch. The temperature hasn't started getting any warmer yet and I still can't see the sun although it is light. I ride into Carbondale wait to turn towards Glenwood Springs for what seems like an excessively long time. There are two left turn lanes and I'm at the front of the left one. The light changes and I ride off. I'm quicker than all the vehicles but I don't want to ride with them around me. I pull into the right lane and allow everyone to pass. Now I'm feeling a bit more relaxed. They're on their way and I'm enjoying my ride without them near me. I pull into a McDonald's in Glenwood Springs and warm up a bit and have breakfast. Then I'm off to get fuel and continue. I've made a choice here to ride the interstate for about 30 miles. It just makes sense to do that as they're aren't a lot of roads going to where I'd like to be going. This section of I-70 is in good shape and runs next to and over the mighty Colorado river. Traffic is heavy for what I'm used to but folks give me plenty of room and speeds aren't excessive. I mosey along at about 60-65 mph actual. For an interstate this has to be one of the most scenic sections I've ever been on. I ride about 35 miles to Wolcott and turn north on 131 towards Toponas. The road is in good shape and I have good memories from riding this section a few times in the past 5 years. I get to the intersection of 134 and turn east. This is a very fun remote section that isn't well traveled and I enjoy the views of snow covered peaks while riding in and out of high alpine meadows. At 40 I turn north heading towards Steamboat Springs. The traffic is a bit heavier here but I know I'll get out of it in about 20 miles when I turn on 14 towards Walden. And heavier is relative as it's only heavy to me. I probably see another vehicle every 10 minutes or so. I really enjoy the high country and these roads are fun and relaxing at the same time. I don't feel very challenged by them but enjoy the way they take me through the countryside. On 14 I only have about 30 miles till I get to Walden and I'm still cool to cold as I have been all morning. If the sun would come out and shine on me that would really help a bit. I've been using the grip heaters most of the morning but they work so well I can only have them on for a few minutes and then have to turn them off. I think about options to make them more useable and realize they'll probably work better if I have thicker gloves on. I think about a Heat Troller and remind myself to look into one when I get home. (Three weeks later and I still haven't checked into them.) In Walden I pull into a fuel station and try to use my credit card to pay at the pump. The pump won't accept my credit card and I get a message I have to talk to the lady inside. I tell her I've been having a bit of problem the last few days and that I'm traveling. She says not to worry we'll just run it inside when I get done and if we need to we can call the company to make it happen. I fill my tank and she runs my card. It works fine. She even asks for my ID like I've requested on the back of the card next to my signature. I think that's the first time I've been carded on this trip. We chat for a few minutes and then I head north. The ride out of Walden is ok but nothing spectacular compared to the last couple of weeks. I follow CO 127 until it turns into WY 230 at the border. In to Laramie and I get to experience a bunch of traffic. I follow the GPS map and I'm soon out of town and heading almost due north. After 18 miles of nothing but prairie I get to my right turn onto 34 at Bosler Junction. This is a great road and is marked no services for 54 miles. A few years ago I broke 11 spokes on my rear wheel on this road while it was still under repair. My buddy Mark Adam and I were on our way to Paonia for the rally and I missed the sign that said motorcycle travel not recommended. He saw it and asked me if I really wanted to go this way. I didn't catch on and said yes. About 35 miles up the road we got to some heavy construction. It looked like they had just run a dozer through the prairie and then pulled off to let us pass. We rode for 3 miles in that and even though we took our time my BMW R90/6 rear wheel couldn't take the beating. I had laced that wheel myself and it was my first try. I think I probably had the spokes too tight. I didn't realize I'd broken so many spokes until the next day at Wolcott. We had to pull my rear wheel to get the spoke heads out of my rear brakeshoes. I rode that wheel for about 1,500 miles before I could get home and fix it. And although I wouldn't recommend folks do that I could never tell it was missing over 25% of the spokes. Mark's 1984 R100RS has cast wheels and did fine in the rough stuff. Today this road is in great shape with a lot of new pavement and beautiful curves and vistas. It's a real breath of fresh air to ride here after a bunch of prairie riding. Somewhere on this road I finally drop below 7,000 feet for, I think, the first time since leaving camp this morning. About 1/2 way along the road is a Wyoming Research Center for their Game Fish and Parks or whatever they call that department. I've stopped there before and had a great talk with the lady running the display area. This time I don't stop at the displays but just past that building and then see some elk near the road. So I stop for a picture. The brush is pretty thick next to the fence and I take a picture but know it isn't going to be very good. And it isn't. I get back on the bike and ride maybe 300 yards. That's when I see the buffalo. Not just one or two but at least six. I pull over and think I'll get a picture of one also. I walk to the fence and watch as one starts to roll in a dusting wallow. They can stir up quite a mess. I put my camera up to the fence and take a picture. I whistle once or twice and they know I'm there. One of the ones laying down decides to get up and starts to wander toward me. The one in the wallow begins to wander my way too. I'm only about 50 yards from them. I back up a few feet and take a look at the bike and the road and the fence. I've been around buffalo a very little bit and the fence gives me more courage than is wise. I decide to stay there and see what I can do for pictures. The buffalo come closer and closer and I'm trying to take some good pictures. Then the one that was in the wallow gets right next to the fence. And me. I'm talking we're 3 inches apart. I put my camera on macro and take a close up of it's eye. It's sniffing the air and I'm talking quietly to it. Then since it seems relaxed enough I touch it's nose. Just a light touch, and I have my gloves on still. It takes in a good sniff and starts to slobber. I'm not gonna let that nasty tongue lick me. I pluck a few strands of grass from my side of the fence and it takes them and chews for a few seconds. This buffalo just seems to be happy next to the fence and slowly walks back and forth. I take a few more pictures and get another close up of the other eye. I was thinking about how it would feel to be in a small boat and have a whale surface next to the boat and take a good look. I've heard of them looking at a person and that's got to kind of be an weird feeling since both a whale and a buffalo could cause way too much excitement if they wanted to. I decide I've taken enough pictures and get on the bike and ride on. The buffalo stay near the fence even when I start the bike. In another 30 minutes I'm at my next section of interstate. I take I-25 north for about 7 miles to get to Wheatland and my next fuel stop. This is a real quick stop, top and go. I'm back on the bike and ride I-25 north for another 12 or 13 miles. While riding I take a look northeast as that's where I'm heading. I can see smoke on the horizon. I'm thinking that it's right in the area I'm heading too. I'll be able to work my way around it if I have to but hope it's nothing big. I turn right on 26 toward Guernsey. This is an easy prairie road with a little but not a lot of traffic. As I approach Guernsey I can tell the smoke is much more pronounced and is near where I'm heading. I pass the National Guard Training Center and see lots of activity. Just on the other side of Guernsey I turn north on 270 toward Manville. This is a nice road not frequented like the east west roads. It has some turns in it and nicely breaks up a tough area to ride through. That's tough in that there isn't a lot of change of scenery or road direction out here on many of the roads. You can stop at historical markers and read what they have to tell you for a quick break. I'll never forget the marker at Rawhide Butte on 85 north of Lingle. The short story is a solider rapes an Indian woman. The indians surround the platoon and tell them to either give up the guy that did it or all die. You can imagine the rawhide part of it and what the platoon heard that night. A few miles up the road I come to the stop sign at Hartville. I turn left as right is a dead end and there is no straight ahead. Not much further up the road the smoke is getting pretty thick and the I can see the flames from the fire. I stop to get a couple of quick pictures and think about the impact this will have on the ranchers out here. After another mile or so I see an Air Guard helicopter with a bucket. It circles me and drops to a pond about 3/4 mile away. Another chopper comes in and follows it loading it's bucket too. I'm betting these are 500 gallon buckets and start to do the math in my head. A gallon of water weighs about 6 pounds. Six times 500 is 3,000 pounds. A solider in combat gear is probably established at 250 pounds. A squad is probably 12 soldiers. Twelve times 250 is 3,000. Yup I bet those are 500 gallon buckets. They fly away to drop some water and I ride north and hope the cross wind stays light for the fire fighter's sake. I soon get to Manville and turn right to get to Lusk. Lusk will be my last required fuel stop for the day. I pop into the station and it's crowded. Then I remember this is June and tourist season. I get fuel, eat a breakfast bar and clean my face shield. I think I'm done and gone in about 4 minutes. Riding north on 85 I have about 50 miles to Mule Creek Junction where I'll turn right on 18 for about 35 miles. The riding is ok and I can feel the pull to get home. I keep the speed at about 60 mph and wave vehicles past in safe areas. I don't care that it's a no passing zone. I just get over to the side of the road and slow and wave them on if I can't see anything approaching. I get lots of thank you waves and everybody is happy. I slow at Mule Creek Junction just enough to make the 90 degree turn. I'm alone it seems as I ride on 18 past Edgemont and then begin to get into some of the southern Black Hills. At 89 I turn north and know I'm only about an hour from home. I relax a bit but can feel how tired I am. The cold from the high country for all morning and the early afternoon has really taken some energy from me. I get to Pringle, the Elk Capitol of South Dakota, and turn left on Highway 385. This road is a great ride and back in the 80's I remember it was voted by one motorcycling magazine as one of the top ten rides in America. It's in some ways been made even better as the pavement is in excellent shape and it is a quick road. I ride to Custer and realize how many tourists are visiting the hills right now. Welcome! North out of Custer on 16 and 385 and I pass the Crazy Horse Monument. Then I soon come to the turn to the Needles Highway in Custer State Park and then the turn on 244 to Mount Rushmore. I continue straight to Hill City. I take the back way through Hill City past the 1880s train and continue to the Hwy 16/385 intersection. A left turn on 385 and I'm soon riding past Sheridan Lake. This is a great road and easy when you're tired. It's only about 6:30 now but I'm watching closely for deer. At the northern end of Sheridan Lake I turn right on Sheridan Lake Road. I've been riding this road off and on since 1985 and it's fun, small and full of twists. I move right along without going too awful fast. And I have some nice memories along the way of fishing in Spring Creek which parallels the road for a few miles. When I pass deadman's curve I look up and see where I hiked the flume trail and hit my head on a beam in one of the tunnels. Further along I remember that night I walked so far downstream it was dark before I could make it back. But I also remember that trout under the old trestle framework that took about six casts to finally catch. I continue into town and turn left on West Main. A mile further I decide I should fill up on fuel and then I won't be wondering how many gallons the trip took. Three or four minutes at the pumps and I'm back on the bike and only 2 1/2 miles from home. As I approach my place I can see the shop is still standing and then I can make out the house. Life is good, nothing burned down while I was gone. I turn off my fuel while about 1/4 mile from home and then swing into the driveway. The grass is knee high and the tree that died the weekend before we left is still standing. It looks like I've got a few days of yard work in my near future. I pull up to the shop and shut the bike off. Opening the shop reminds me I'm a pretty lucky guy. I turn on power to the well and get the bike parked and my riding gear off. It's good to be home. End of the Ride Home. Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Charlie Ashmore]

Hi Jeff, It's neat that you are taking the time to share your experiences. But I will not read a long block of text like that with no breaks for paragraphs or anything. It is just too hard to follow. I just skip it and go on the next post. Try hitting the Enter key twice every 3 or 4 sentences, or at the end of a thought. That will insert a blank line and make it much, much easier to follow. Take care, Charlie [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Samuel Hudson]

Why would that deter you from reading? Books aren't full of 3 line paragraphs? --sam hudson, san antonio tx.

[Jeff Saline]

On Sun, 04 Feb 2007 16:17:48 -0800 Charlie Ashmore writes:

> Hi Jeff, > > It's neat that you are taking the time to share your experiences. > But I will > not read a long block of text like that with no breaks for > paragraphs or > anything. It is just too hard to follow. I just skip it and go on > the next > post. > > Try hitting the Enter key twice every 3 or 4 sentences, or at the > end of a > thought. That will insert a blank line and make it much, much easier > to > follow. > > Take care, > Charlie

<><><><><><> <><><><><><> Charlie, Thanks for taking the time to send your comments. I'll keep your suggestion in mind if I do another trip report sometime. Sorry you weren't along for the ride. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT