Mounting Mountaina...

[GatorTiger]

Well folks, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it... 8)



A rather large project of my company (road construction software) is going on in Montana and I was told to go up there for two weeks for work. The PM is a biker (cool guy - even if he rides a road king...  :roll: ) and agreed of sponsoring miles ridden up there financially 8). So what other enticements did I need? NONE!!!! :D



Since it is 2150 miles from my home to Helena, MT, a SaddleSore 2000 was the plan. Here is the route with my actual stops on it:







And with that, which I assume will get your jiuces flowing, I withdraw, to satisfy my juices and get some dinner on the expense account...



Life is swell!!!!!  8)



To be continueth...

[jmoonx14]

That's quite a journey! And to have it funded by work...you're a luck guy indeed. You make that in 48 hours and I will buy you a beer if you swing  thru Tulsa on your way back. I might even buy you two.



Good luck and ride safe!

[GatorTiger]

Oooooh yeah!!!! Nothing like a good meal and to wash it down with a nice brew:







8)

That's quite a journey! And to have it funded by work...you're a luck guy indeed.

Well, I don't get the mileage rate one usually gets when travelling by car or bike, since that distance is usually done by plane, but I get the plane ticket price refunded, which does cover gas and lodging on the way plus some maintenance as well. So I'm not complaining at all!!! 8)

You make that in 48 hours and I will buy you a beer if you swing  thru Tulsa on your way back. I might even buy you two.

Good luck and ride safe!

Actually, I made spot 19 (Livingston, MT - 2014 miles) in 44 hours. Spent the night there, and got to Helena the next day at noon. Tomorrow I'm getting my rear changed (tire, that is!!  8) ) and will go on a ride with guys from the shop that will do the swap (Outdoor Motor Sports here in Helena).



I haven't set the route back in stone yet. Probably via Denver. We'll see... This weekend I'm planning on doing at least Glacier NP on day. If time permits Yellowstone as well. But more about that later...



Lemme se if I can get this report going. I'm posting it here first, and later on advrider.com as well to get some more Tiger exposure out there.



To be continueth...

[GatorTiger]

The plan was to leave Saturday early (like around 6am) to beat the garage sale traffic. So I packed the night before:





Guess my trusty steed felt more like an ass with all the jerry-rigged luggage, made water-'proof' with garbage bags. 8) Yet it didn't let me down at all!!!!



Did I say I wanted to get out early to beat the garage-sale-shoppers? Well, I didn't quite make it and got into this in Clarksville:





I was actually stopped when I took this pic. The sign (reduced speed ahead) had me chuckle because of this...  :lol: Anyway, after loosing about 45 mins because of that resurfacing work I pressed on.



Shortly after this pic my speedometer started acting up again (see other thread in the tech section). So I tried to at least keep the reading somewhat accurate since I WAS trying for a SS 2000 after all. But each stop takes about a loss of 1 minute, and those minutes started adding up. The thing would quit quite often and I cannot find any pattern in that (still!!) Gotta loock at that when I get back home...



Made it through Nashville:

.



I even saw another Tiger on the way (forgot which state it was in...  :? - 885i Girly in silver (??)).  Good deal!! :smt006



It was an incredibly hot day! I had to stop once an hour to guld down an entire 20oz bottle of - you guessed it - GATOR_AID!!!!  :smt030



So I wasn't making time at all. Still I took 15 mins to stop at the building where Ronald got half of the idea for his company logo:











After the heat in the plains the downpour in STL was quite a relief!! :lol: I mean that!!!  :lol:



My plan was to make it to Omaha, NE that night around 11pm. Well, I was in Kansas City at that time! Tired and in need of sleep. So I stopped the night, promising myself to press on early the next morning.



Weeeeeeeeeeell, I guess you can guess how that turned out...  :smt015



7:30 EDT I was on the bike again, heading north...

[GatorTiger]

Early morning sun makes for some nice pics:







So now it is Sunday, the weather was nicer and I was making good time. And than came Siuox Falls, where I turned left and went on a 300 mile strip of this (I-90):







and this:







Only to stop at one of the rest areas along the way to replenish some fluids:







I took one of my sons' camel backs with me just filled with ice, put the back in the tankbag with the hose mooning. I guess it looked a bit strange when I was using it to get a ding while I'm riding, because some cagers looked at me as if I was from another world. But then again, it might have been my tiger that caused that... :smt005



What is the most annoying thing along the interstates in most places? Billboards!!! There are not many in this neck of the woods:







And, believe it or not, it gives the area a certain appeal... No, really! It's windy as hell, flat as female vegetarian before a boob job (that was my politically incorrect contribution for tonight!!  :twisted: ), but yet: there is something. Can't really place it...yet!

And lemme tell ya: wind is destructive:







To be continueth...

[GatorTiger]

In Rapid City, SD, I finished the first milestone: SS1500 with one hour to spare after being over 2 hours behind the day before! I-90 be thanks!!! 75mph speed limit and - I think - only 2 troopers in 300 miles made it possible!!!  :smt025

Everyone wanting to fo a IBA ride of sorts should consider I-90!!!! Little traffic, high speed limit, hardly any cities. And even if they go through built-up areas it's still 65!!! :smt023



After RC the scenery changed. It got more scenic:















Well, it had to get dark, right? That's when things started to happen...



First off, what is with all those deer north of Kansas City? I'm talking about the decomposing ones at the side of the road... Is there nobody in charge of cleaning them up? I saw 'whole' animals, parts (new and used...), all kinds of stuff. You're buzzing along, suddenly smelling something. Crap, another skunk... Wait! That ain't no skunk!!! And then you see the cadaver (or what is left of it) on the side of the road...  :smt107 Puzzling...



Then there are the alive counterparts that are all over the place! Think FL armadillos, tripple that number (at least) and you have half of the deer in the grass! Not a good incredient when it is dark and you want to make time. So I would have a car in front of me about 100m and keep steady distance. Kinda like my secret confidential deer plough...  :smt068



But deer is not the only thing. Sun gone = temps down!!! So it is dark, I'm freezing and need to stop to put some more layers on. I pull out at some exit. Total darkness. Not a single light!!! I stop, put my foor down, and almost put the bike down because my foot tripped on gravel.  :smt091  Well, lucked out!! I put some more layers on, get on the bike again, start it up, wanna get going, don't give enough push on the throttle, the bike stalls, and starts tipping over...  :smt092  No way I can catch it this time. And dooooooooooown she goes! Middle of nowhere, no cell phone reception, total darkness, heavy bike!  :smt093  Fortunately the Givi side bags create a nice pivot point and you can start lifting the bike past that point where it is extremely heavy. So now it is only very heavy  8-[  and if you are full of anger and adrenalin you can lift the bike. I could... phew!!!



Back on the bike again, no stall this time, and off I zip again @ 90 mph... Smooth as silk!! Stock screen with Laminar Lip! Top notch!!!  :smt023



It was freezing ass cold! Kept me awake to reach Livingston, MT, at 1:15 local (Mountain) time. 44 hours after I left! 2014 miles! YEAH!!!!



Off I go into the hotel with no alarm set this time!!!!



To be continueth...

[GatorTiger]

After a good night's rest I got an awesome ultimate omlette at the local mom and pop restaurant and left for Helena, MT. The last 70 miles I had to go on US-287. They were doing construction there. One of the many places that DID NOT show up in M$ Streets and Trips with the most 'up-2-date' construction info. It looked like this:







Now I don't mind gravel! I just mind gravel on a loaded bike with a rear tire that looks like this:







I made it through fine and without any (major) hassel. And then came the wind! Oh man!!! Did I get blown nicely!!!  :shock:

When going straight my left lean angle was more than the bike stiing on the kick stand!!!! Gusty! Mixed with some more rain when I got into town.



But I made it safe and sound and when I got to my hotel a new tire was already waiting for me:  :smt023







Tomorrow it's off to get it changed and then participate in a local ride.



Should be fun!!!



He needeth to sleepeth now... Too much drool...  :smt030  :smt030  :smt030



To be continueth...

[Mudhen]

:smt038



Awesome!  And to think it's part of your job!  Insanely jealous...and I'll be even more so once I sit down in my 7x7 cube to work for the day... :roll:

[GatorTiger]

And to think it's part of your job!  Insanely jealous...and I'll be even more so once I sit down in my 7x7 cube to work for the day... :roll:

Nova Scotia is coming on the horizon for next year... So I might even pass through your neck of the woods some time...  



Just came back from a nice little dirt ride. Went through a nice canyon and climbed up to almost 8000ft on dirt roads... N-ice!!!!!  8)



But my Forster's Bitter is moving my eyes closed... So the report will have to wait until tomorrow....



Buena notte!!!!



To be continueth...

[BULLman]

Nice report!  



Keep checking in.

[GatorTiger]

I had to change my rear tire. Or better: Have it changed... And this was done by Chris from Outdoors Motorsports in Helena. Found them in the phone book and gave them a call. I got there just about lunch time, Chris stopped what he was doing, took my tiger away from me, and got to it. And since he had just ordered pizza he told me to take some so that I wouldn't starve... He changed the tire, cleaned the rim, brake disc, and spokes, lubed the chain... Man did I feel pampered! What a guy!!! Awesome job and customer service! Guess where I'm going next time I need ANYTHING done while in Helena!!



When I first called I talked to Bill (advrider.com handle cheap ryder) who told me about this ride that night and asked if I wanted to come along. Heck yes!!!!



So summer has officially started! What better reason to observe the latest sunset of the year from almost 8000 ft altitude?



We met at Bob's Valley Market on the north side of Helena:







FLTR advrider handles: MTNBRIDER, Cheap Ryder, and harleytj (who had never in his life had seen a Girly tiger!!!!  :shock:  He loved it!!!!    



We went through York and headed for Hog Back mountain, where one view was better than the next:







We stopped where the gravel started







and started the ascent:











all the way to the top of Hog Back:







The view is stunning!! The following pics go fromleft to the right. Maybe someone with more time than me right now can stitch them together (just replace the M with an O (not zero!) in the link and you will get the original) to make a panorama:















The four amigos dirty, but happy:





The last 1/2 mile of the road up was quite a challenge. Not just because the road was washed out a lot (which it was!!!!), but because the sun was right smack in your face and I couldn't see A THING!!!! Black!!! Blind!!!! Arrrgh!!! But I made it without accident. Gravity did not pull that orange down this time...  :roll:



One cannot capture the effect the view has on the observer in pix like that:







We the returned down to earth, had a very nice burger at O'Malley's (sp?), and parted ways... Thanks again for dinner, Terry!!!!  :smt023  :smt023  :smt023



Bill did all that on his early model Gold Wing (4 cyl model - don't know the year). Rides that thing like if he his grown onto it. Respect!!!!!



And I'm off for AYCE crab legs!!!!! Life sucks!!!!!  :twisted:  8)  

[Mudhen]

:smt041  :smt041  :smt041

[GatorTiger]

Well, it's Friday and not much riding has been done. Tomorrow I'm off to Glacier NP. The opened the Going To The Sun Highway this afternoon!! :P  :P



In the meantime, some stuff from my sparetime!  8) Time for some local entertainment and: BEER AND FOOD!!!  :D



When I got here last Monday I went to have a late lunch at the Brewhouse, the restaurant of one of many microbreweries in the area:





I had the hottest wings so far in my life! Man!!! And not just hot: tasty!!! Dayammn! Along with them a couple of Dark Scottish Ales... Dayammn, dayammn!!! Who needs Miller or Bud anyway! You guys know what these two and sex on the beach have in common? It's all f*cking close to water!!  :twisted:



And now for a real lunch! Staggering Ox! A place where the owner has donated some of his duplicate vinyls



and decorated the place in a rather unusual fashion:



The bread for sandwiches you can get is made in coffee cans with a hole drilled in the middle of it, which then gets filled with whatever stuff you order. I had a "Slam Saddam with Camel Spit". Delicious!!  :)



And now for dinner...



Anyone heard of Maryville, Mt? Old gold mine town go ghost town go ski town... Tugged away neatly in the northeast of Helena it takes a bit of a gravel road drive to get there. I chose to be driven so I could enjoy some drool of a moose





Parking of the Maryville Haus is non-supervised:





The place itself:





There is an entrance fee for women:



 8)



Specialty: King Crab!!! Oooooooooooh maaaaaaan was it good! And to wash it all down with some drool from the tab: heaven!





Horseshoe is always enjoyable 8)



and some more smores round up a nice dinner





But  make sure the fire stays in the pit. I have little faith in the local fire brigade:  :roll:





And now I'm gonna catch some ZZZZZZZZs... I went to the Brewhouse again tonight and had too many Ales... Iiiiii feeeeeal sho shleepie...  :)



To be continueth...

[Patrick the Scot]

So when are you moving to Montana?





Great trip and excellent report.

[GatorTiger]

So when are you moving to Montana?

Not happening...  :roll: I could never sell that to my family... The last time I went somewhere (Atlanta, GA) for work from where we lived at the time (Gainesville, FL) we ended up moving there. So my son already asked if we were going to move to Montana now...  :lol: But there is more to living somewhere than just a beautiful state. And Montana is beautiful, that much is for certain!!!! Speaking of which: I went to Glacier National Park yesterday and still have to write the report for that!



...after breakfast...  



Cheers,

HG