Prairies To Penguins Alberta to Argentina

The Big Day is finally here. Me and my DR650 are leaving today from the Northern latitude of 53 degrees in the prairies of Canada and headed to 54 degrees South at Ushuaia.

A TON of planning and reading fantastic Ride Reports here has brought me this day. My friends and family are meeting at the local Suzuki dealer (Riverside Motosports in St. Albert) to see me off in a big way. We've invited the public to join us and bikers are going to follow me out of town in a convoy.

Inspired by my Brother in Law who suffered a Spinal Cord Injury and also by the story of Ozymandias The trip is also a fund raiser for charity (not me )
I hope to be disciplined enough to produce a Ride Report worthy of the asylum. Here we go...!



Thanks Kedji for inspiring the name of my ride

Keep it coming, buena suerte!!

All the best for a safe and amazing journey

Cheers,

DR650
South America
:

I'm in
Hope to see you down here

Your bike is almost a twin of mine. It will be fun watching it move south on your trip. Best of luck.

Thanks for the love guys!
I'm in a low end hotel in Bonners Ferry Idaho with sketchy WiFi. I'll attempt to make a post....post haste!!

Good luck!

Day 1 August 24, 2013-08-24
St.Albert to Goldeye Lake Campground 358km 6.5 hours


Photos H. Yates



The Group ride started after a cheque presentation and a few speeches.





We had about 20 bikes along for the 45 minute ride to Onoway where the group disbanded.




I said an emotional farewell to my wonderful wife of 25 years. Not a good-bye but a “see you soon”.



An uneventful ride ensued on roads I have driven or ridden many times so few stops and no photos. I needed to make some miles before dark.
I’m sitting in a great campground Called Goldeye Lake near Nordegg Alberta on Hwy 11. As I’m typing this into my laptop a fellow approaches me and asks if I’d like a plate of food. Taken by surprise, I say yes! He must have seen me munching on trail mix and took pity on me. He brings over a plate with a huge BBQ’d chicken breast, campfire potatoes and onions, and pickled beets. Thanks Dean and family!!


Tomorrow will be the Icefield Parkway!

Oh, and yes my bumb is sore!

Goldeye Lake to Bonners Ferry 568km 8 hours

I was awakened early by rain and noisy neighbors. I really can’t complain since I was making a racket tearing down a wet campsite but I’m sure there were others in the campground annoyed by the noisy group.
By 7:30 I was moving in the chilly 10 degree (Canadian degrees) morning. I just love riding in the early morning. Today was a day about putting on miles to make up some lost time. Even though I have 6 months to do this trip, the first 6 weeks are on a schedule. So once again few photos except for the obligatory.



Border Security dude tried to tell me I should be carrying a spare tire. Seriously?? One tire won't make it to Argentina? come on now.

Staying in Bonners Ferry at the Klondyke Vally Motel. 50 bucks!
Dinner: Subway BMT and a 24oz Tecate

Great stuff,keep it coming!

Day 3 Bonners Ferry to Ukhia Dale State Park 574.8km 8.4 hours

Left Bonners Ferry at 8:00 am and just made miles today. Stopped twice for photos and 3 times for fuel.









I decided to ride past Pendleton because there was still plenty of light and perfect riding weather. I came across a great little stretch of road called Battle Mountain Pass. It was a fantastic twisty way to end the day.



I Camped in a quiet little park with 3 other bikers in the campground.



Kevin was riding his brand new Victory around the North West for a month. I was staring longingly at the nice comfy saddle his bike has. There was also a fellow from Portland and his friend, both just on a two day ride. Then there was Carl, the campground host who was also a rider. His Harley has 100,000km on it. He pulls a 300 pound (empty) trailer and has his wife as passenger most of the time. He says this is his 5th HD. He thinks I'm crazy riding the DR to Argentina and tells me I should ditch my tent and just sleep on the ground under a tarp! I'm getting all kinds of reactions when I tell folks where I am going. It's great when people look shocked and say, "oh, you don't want to go there, it's dangerous".
Tomorrow Alturas.

as a fellow Albertan, I wish you bon voyage and good luck...

ps, to save the butt get someone to order you an alaska leather sheepskin cover and get it sent to a post office along your route..

Safe travels sir

Have one but left it at home...may have my wife bring it with her when she meets me in Belize

Day 4 Ukhia State Park to Alturas California 550km 8.0 hours
I got rolling really early to get a good run in today. Most of the day was like a huge flashback to my Mobius 9 trip.





I rode through the vast desert of the Great Basin in Oregon. Unlike the Mobius trip, this was all pavement. The wind was ever present all day and a headwind too. I’m exhausted after fighting it for 8 hours. Although the roads are straight and sometimes boring, I enjoyed the day as always.











Hmmm....looking like I could lose a few lbs up front. Central America should fix that
Tonight I’m in the Hacienda Hotel in Alturas California







Road side repair (Actually in a Rite Aid parking lot)


Tomorrow Reno and Lake Tahoe

Come on, Dave !!! I am sitting here having breakfast in Guatemala and I thought you might have caught up by now !!

Seriously though, you seem to be making good time so enjoy it all and look forward to the border crossings. I lost more weight in Canada & Alaska than I have down here so don't bank on it.

Best wishes, Dave.

Keep an eye on your mirrors

Day 5 Alturas California to Lake Tahoe California 375km 7.0 hours

Today I slept in a bit and got started at about 8:30. Knowing that there was some more high desert riding ahead of me I opted for a more westerly scenic route.




I rode west on route 299 to Canby and then turned south on 139 to Susanville and eventually on to Reno. There was noticeable smoke in the air as I left Alturas. The fires in Yosemite are massive and the smoke is all blowing north. By the time I got to Reno the smoke was burning my eyes and throat.





In Reno I found a spring that will suffice to repair my brake pedal but I didn’t install it because my tools were buried and it was darn hot in the parking lot.



cool rig at the bike shop



Once I had the spring I called Chris in Tahoe Vista where I was going to spend the night. Chris offered up a bed after I contacted him through ADV Riders tent space thread. After riding up the fantastic Mt Rose highway I found Chris’s house at about 3:30. Chris helped install the spring and supplied an extra one for the road.



After a short walk and a great Italian dinner at Lanza's, Chris gave me a little tour of the area.













Thanks Chris! It was great meeting you

This looks like it is going to be a Great Adventure.

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