I haven't posted in quite a while, but I am back now, in the midst of planning another bike trip. This one is a month long ride from Vermont out to Portland, Oregon by way of a lot of great countryside. My last post, in which I showed off some Multistrada touring gear was a tip off that something was changing. I converted the Ducati back to its primary role - that being a great sport bike for those who don't like crotch rocket ergonomics. I still ride that bike around Vermont, including a wonderful two Gap (Brandon and Appalachian) ride to Rochester VT for lunch last weekend.
But for the x country ride I picked up a lightly used '09 R1200 RT BMW, with such touring comforts as cruise control, great wind protection, etc etc. I rode a rented R1200RT for a week in Arizona last October, and it seemed to be just the thing for a 9,000+ mile trip. I have the trip laid out on a spreadsheet and have planned an approximate route. I plan to camp about half the nights, and stay in B&B/motels, or with friends and family for the other half.
Basically, I will ride solo to Ketchum, Idaho where I will meet two great friends from b-school, one who lives there, and one who will ride in from Portland to join me for the next leg of the ride. The route out will avoid the I- 80/90 mess through Ohio- Illinois by going up into Ontario, across to Sault Ste Marie, down through Michigan's Upper Peninsula to Duluth. From there a sprint across Minnesota and North Dakota, dropping down to the Black Hills to Buffalo, Wyoming.
Then, a few days riding the fabled canyon and mountain passes of western Wyoming - Ten Sleep Canyon, over the Bighorn Mts on Rt 14 and 14A, a run up the Chief Joseph Trail to the Beartooth Highway into Montana. From there I'll make my way over to Ketchum via West Yellowstone.
From Ketchum, Mike and I head north to Glacier Park, then into southern BC and over to the Okanagon Valley, then down through North Cascades National Park, down by Mt Rainier/St Helens into Portland.
I'll get the bike serviced there, rest, then head east through western Idaho over to Lander, Wyoming to visit my daughter, then down to Aspen, Colorado to see my cousin, over to Vail via Independence Pass to see an old friend. From there it's head east through Rocky Mountain National Park, across the northern Nebraska Sand Hills, back up through Sault Ste. Marie and on home, across Georgian Bay at Tobermory if I have time.
Here's a picture of me and Mike in Arizona last October.
