This trip proved once again that it's best to work with what mother nature provides. It would have been a bonus to travel the amazing roads of South Dakota and Colorado but the enjoyment would have been lost in pounding rain. I will remember Washington State as one of the most surprising encounters of my biking travels....the views and roads were spectacularly unique. Thanks to those who kept track of our daily progress...pretty comforting at the end of long days so far from home. Thanks to Ian who did a great job of setting up the blog on his "nut book". Glenn provided his usual unwavering lead while suffering with nary a peep through a bad cold...an amazing man in my books! It's a blessing to be back with those we know and love, but It should come as no surprise to y'all (hint) that I'm thinking of my vote for a 2010 trip. Hopefully our friend Eric will be up to joining us to make our special foursome complete...just like 5-hour, we're not sure why...the mix just works! Neil

Random Thoughts from the trip... Ian

I prefer to measure speed and distance in miles.

Old farm implements - combines, tractors, etc. - sitting on the edge of properties... on display for travellers.

Oil well pumps on properties in MT and ND. Almost all of them looked like they had just been installed. Every drop counts.

Bumper stickers... 'Idaho's No. 1 Poacher - Canadian Wolves'... I removed my toque and walked away with a hayseed 'tude.

Bitch Creek Beer... that would be Bitch Crick Beer.

I need to start doing back stretching exercises.

Montana is the state I would want to re-visit soon.

Day time running lights... c'mom America, get that going!

The U.S. have far more roads than they need... but it works well for travellers like us.

Ontario has good roads... well designed... but it's shameful that Hwy. 17 and 69 are not 4 lane from the Sault east and south. Yeah, they're working on it but come on... it should have been completed 40 years ago.

Speed limits in the U.S. are posted realistically. In non-urban areas, most cars travel at the posted speed or slightly below. In Ontario, everyone travels at least 10 kms/hour above posted.

Wildlife sightings - Bear, Bald Eagle, Coyote, Elk, Bison, Deer

The boys in MT and ND drive big pick-ups.

If you think you live in the middle of nowhere, visit Montana.

Deer don't look both ways.

I really enjoy riding mountain passes (tight and twisty) but me and my bike prefer roads that follow rivers and lakes (faster and sweeping).

Electric vest and heated hand grips... I couldn't have survived without them. They are an absolute must for distance riding on a bike like mine.

My bike ran really well. Thanks to Vance, Melanie and the boys in the back at Precision Cycle Works.

We had a great trip... met a bunch of really nice people everywhere... ate some great food in places I wouldn't normally step foot in...

Best Western Motels were great value for the money. We stayed in 3 over the two weeks. Always clean and comfortable and included a conny in the morning. Just enough to get us through to a lunch stop.

Energy drinks work well... honourable mention to 5 Hour Energy shots to eliminate the early afternoon yawns... no side effects or crash later. And what's wrong with a sugar-free Red Bull after breakfast.

Maintaining facial hair is a PIA! The goat is gone.

No hockey fans in the north plains... all Red Wing fans in Michigan. Boohoo for them.

The new net-book was great on the road. Having easy access to the Internet made next day ride planning much easier and allowed for regular communications with home... web-cams are cool!

Neil and Glenn. Thank you!

See you soon Eric. I have a few photos to show you.

That's all for now.

Thank you for following along. As Ann, our favorite cook, reminded us... 'it's all about the journey, not the destination'

Ian

Oshawa, Ontario - We made it home last night at 7:00 pm... just in time to ride through rain in Port Perry.

My lower back is killing me! The GPS shows a total distance of 8883 kms. Not bad for 15 days. I'm still working on a final thoughts post... it should be up sometime today or tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who followed.

Ian

The Venture turned 100K today! That deserves a suitable tribute....Every biker can relate to the special bond that exists between bike and rider. A biker takes care of their bike because the bike takes care of you. Bikers think the best of their machine because it brings out the best in them. There is nothing more wasteful than a bike trapped in a garage. A bike and rider are meant to roam proud and free. The Venture has carried me over mountains in BC and Montana that touch the sky; through the grand valleys of the Applications and South Dakota where the contours of the land give shape to roads that seem to exist for bikers alone. We have ridden the great plains of Canada and felt the cool winds of oceans, lakes and streams. The readiness of the Venture to press on through 100K of heat and storm and deliver me safely to still more amazing lands is a privilege recieved. We are one in the brotherhood, shared in each passing wave and the treasured memories that await all bikers around every turn. Neil

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan - 680 kms today... uneventful and almost boring... a final update will be posted over the weekend. It's been a fantastic trip... more than I could have imagined. We will do the final push tomorrow to get home. A special thanks to Michelle, tonights BT, at Applebees. Ian

Thank you to Jamie, our BT tonight.

Superior, Wisconsin - 715 kms today... it was a flyer on I-94 this morning to Fargo (I hear a wood chipper!)... then on to secondary roads. Not much to report other than we crossed the Mississippi. Ian

Meagan - We need a joke.... please!

Bismarck, ND - Another great day... and heading home. We had a fun night at Red Lobster... the biggest Tequila shots yet... thank you Lacy!

What a surprising day. The first surprise was our choice to continue north due to heavy weather in South Dakota. What I thought would be a cold and uneventful ride through the plains turned warm at noon and interesting from that point on with colourful sedimentary rock formations along Hwy 94 in lower Montana, the Badlands in N. Dakota (complete with several roaming bison) and generally fairly warm riding conditions. We all seem to be solidly in return home mode and no doubt we'll be pulling some heavy miles in the days ahead. Looking forward to seeing my Pamy, Rachel and Miko! Neil

Hey! Plans changed again. Heavy rain to the south and east pushed us north into southern North Dakota. Cold morning turned into a cool afternoon. Crossing into North Dakota, I must have missed the sign that says "Welcome to Nowhere - there's nothing here, there's never been anything here, and there never will be anything here ....... enjoy". It was still a good day - I'm always happy when I'm ridin'. Managed to find some treats along the way. I'm starting to get a few whiffs of home ........ won't be long now. Till then ........... Glenn/Dad/Papa/Benny

GO PENS GO!!!!!!!

Hardin, Montana - 530 kms today! We rode through a wide range of roads today... 7400 ft elevation in Yellowstone with snow covered mountains to foothills east of Bozeman to plains east of Billings. We managed to stay ahead of the rain today but it was chasing us to the southwest. It's nice travelling east with a tail wind! Ian

Hey! Ended another day safe and sound. Wasn't so sure earlier. Very cold this morning (plus 2 degrees) with snow in the mountains. We ran a road north along a river to avoid the higher elevations and managed to make our way around the mountains. This route added a couple of hundred miles to the trip but the appearance of black ice on the road first thing in the morning made the decision easy. Should be in the Badlands of South Dakota tomorrow. Yellowtone Park will have to wait for another day. Till then.................. Glenn/Dad/Papa/Benny

Not much to add today... but we did end up in a nice place... thanks to wind, rain and hail. Ian

Name the species of duck (common name) and win a shot of Patron tequila.

We were fortunate to avoid an ugly storm cell that followed us on our left flank throughout a fair-weather morning ride. The pace on I94 helped us move down and around the storm front near Salt Lake City where we turned to the northeast toward Yellowstone Park in Wyoming. Off I15 on Hwy 20 E we perched our bikes on a high point and took stock of a large weather system that was in the process of bunging itself up against the mountain ridge that we would need to cross en route to Yellowstone. Posted pictures don't do justice to the threatening but beautiful sky that featured a wall of water, covered by a layer of black swirling storm, under a topping of puffy white clouds under deep blue sky...sufficiently intense that we decided to call it a day in Island Park, Idaho after a late lunch. Hail was the deciding factor in our decision to park the bikes. We are staying at the Anglers Lodge and the sun has just come out revealing a very tranquil mountain community complete with rushing river, log homes on lots carved from deep bush...snow peaks in the distance. Glenn and Ian are happy in the bar. Looking forward to riding some of the excellent roads from our 2007 trip to South Dakota.....love to family and friends at home. Neil

Spent the last couple of days playing in the mountains and dodging raindrops. Severe weather to the south and east will push us north today to Yellowstone park and east through northern Wyoming. The 30 degree days of the northwest are behind us and the woolies are back out of the bag. Till later ......... Glenn/Dad/Papa/Benny

Jerome, Idaho - Great day of riding... again. 600 kms. We rode through some rain this afternoon but not enough to slow us down. Neil has a great post below so I won't repeat. An observation of this part of Idaho... lots of cattle farms and it reeks of poo! The weather forecast has us reconsidering our route home. Depending on what happens over the next couple of days, we may return through the Sault rather than Detroit as we had planned. Too early to say yet though. Ian

A technical review for the motorcycle followers... Day 7: Coulee Dam to Soap Lake, Wash. - Hwy 156 (A+ for unique views & mix of gentle sweepers and tight twisties) follows Banks Lake through never-ending sweeping turns, featuring ups and downs and rock face turns on new pavement....large bolder rock formations poking through the lake.....very prehistoric looking. Hwy 17 - (A+ for scenery) - runs the path of a massive glacial flow that has marked the land with the spectacle of a dry waterfall that spanned the horizon. Coulees the size of small cities that rise from the canyon floor in majestic cylinders of rock...road conditions a mix and tight twisties through ups and downs on the canyon floor....rise and falls from rich agricultural high plateau areas. Day 8: Lewiston to Enterprise, Oregon. Hwy 129 (A+ for scenery & road) ups and downs through high elevations, switchbacks in the rain, rolling turns on the canyons floors. Hwy 3 - Climb through Elk Mountain Pass (5200 ft.) got the heart pounding,..slow and easy riding required with a keen eye for deer in the ditches and roadside forest....Ian saw a bear cross the road. Day 9: (A+ for technical riding) Up and down over 3 Mountain Passes (7000 ft.) in the Willowa Mountains...through Hells Canyon along the course of a large section of the Snake River Valley (remember Evil Kinevil? "Edge of wetness" switchbacks with fallen rocks in blind turns around high cliff faces, fallen trees on the road.....our riding skills and experience challenged to the max! Neil

Great scenery day! Road conditions were excellent so rubber-necking was the order of the day. The day included mountain passes, man-made wonders (Grand Coulee Dam) and natures wonders ( Steamboat Rocks, Dry Falls, desert terrain). Can't wait to see what treats are in store for tomorrow. Till then ......... Glenn/Dad/Papa/Benny

JUST SAY NO!!!!!

Ritzville, Washington - This must be sounding a bit repetitive but we had another great day... 400 kms through the most diverse geological features you could imagine. I had no idea that WA would offer so much in such a small area. Hot again... 30 deg. C most of the day. We had an encounter with the Ferry County Sheriff (Officer POS) today... they must be having a fund rising event that we were required to contribute to... ask about it later. Thank you everyone for following along. We look forward to logging on at the end of the day. Ian

So what if I forgot my cell at the motel and we had to travel an extra 100 miles to go back for it! It's not as though Ian and the big brother never made a small mental blunder.....it's so unlike me to forget things like that!
Question: Name 2 things that gain 5 times as much red in 4 days?
Answer: The thermometer between Seney, Minnesota and Colville, Washington.......and my face! Burn baby burn! Neil

6 days and 4000km later ........ It was an exciting day today - I was able to check 2 more states of the list. Just 3 more to go and I've visited all 50. Lots of twistys and hi-speed sweepers were on the menu today. How many pictures do I need to take of pristine lakes with snow crested mountains in the background before I have enough! Plan to visit Grand Coulee Dam tomorrow and head south to Oregon. Then there will be only 2 states left. I'm trying to give Ian a lesson in how to grow a goat. So far he's not listening. Till next time ........... Glenn/Dad/Papa/Benny

For the mapheads... my GPS showed a positional accuracy today of 6 ft... at 65 mph... that's the best I've seen so far... in Montana (big sky, no trees) it was 7 ft at best and normally in the low teens with every available satellite. Ian

Colville, Washington - Hello all... we just got off the road... 10 hours and 573 kms. What a day! We left Eureka at 8:00 am and again at 11:00... Neil can explain. Most of our riding was beside lakes and rivers with plenty of twisties and elevation changes. It started out cool but the temps soared into the lows 30's. Hot and not a cloud in the sky. We've had two great meals so far today and in the most unlikely looking places. The rum is going down nice after a day in the heat. BTW, I kinda wish Neil hadn't mentioned my goiter... Ian