Today my wife and I are leaving Kansas City and heading towards Saratoga, Wyoming. An inmate here has volunteered some space at his home for us to park our tow vehicle for two weeks while we ride our 250s from Saratoga, Wyoming to Banff, AB, Canada. From Banff we'll make our way back to Wyoming the long way, through Washington, Oregon, Nevada, etc. We've spent a great deal of time preparing for this trip, which in our way of preparing means about two weeks. We're both on used bikes that we just bought in the first week of August. Oh and by the way, my wife just got her motorcycle license. What could go wrong? We did spend some time getting things ready though. Installing hand guards, spooning on new tires, rebuilding the forks on the Honda, building some racks for Rotopax gas cans, along with a new chain, chain slider and rear sprocket for my bike, a new shift lever for hers, along with several other maintenance items. We spent hours (well one hour) pouring over maps, planning our route. On our trips, we usually just end up making it up as we go. Here's our intended route. Here we are on a shakedown run last Sunday near Lawrence, Kansas at the old Sunflower Ammunition Plant. We did get some sad news on Wednesday of this week which I'll cover in the next post.
Sadly, on Wednesday I found out that a close friend of mine lost his battle with depression. Yesterday we went to St. Louis to say goodbye. I am sure that there will be a lot of conversation on this trip about him, this is exactly the sort of adventure he loved. Phil was my friend. Phil loved rock climbing, cameras, motorcycles and off beat movies, it’s no wonder we were fast friends. Phil made it a game to see if he could talk me into buying expensive toys. Usually I succeeded in resisting. When I bought my first motorcycle, Phil rode it home for me as I did not yet have a license. I did not always succeed in resisting. When Phil needed to work through something, we would normally go have lunch. Typically it was Winstead’s, he always got grilled cheese. In the eight years we knew each other we would frequently consult each other on life events. House purchases, computer building, relationships, etc… Nearly every major decision that has happened in the last eight years, we could bounce off each other for advice, ideas, and playing devil’s advocate. Nearly every major decision. I wish we could have had lunch. I will miss him. I hope that he has found the peace that eluded him. Phil was my friend.
I'm sorry for your loss. This trip will take on a new sense of purpose....honoring Phil. What do you have against Idaho?
Thank you all for your condolences. I'm sure we'll hit Idaho more than the map shows. That's really more of a rough itinerary.
Enjoy your ride celebrate your lost friend with this trip in his memory. BTW I think you might damage your fork seals, when your trailering the bikes the front should be snug but not over tightened. it looks like the forks are over compressed. You will know if the fork seal is blown by appearance of oil on the fork sliders.
You are absolutely correct about the seals. That photo is from when we bought the bikes a month ago and I did damage a seal, lesson learned. Notice I mentioned rebuilding the Honda forks in trip prep... This time I have the suspension blocked so the forks do not have any strain on them.
Sorry to hear about your Friend....Do not miss the Icefield Parkway above Banff and North cascades Hwy 20 in WA. Have a Great Trip...
Just back from riding my 250 from so. California to Banff and Jasper (4600 miles). Once in Banff you are so close to one of the best rides going up to Jasper. Squeeze it in if you can! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Looks like Banff is out for this trip. The weather isn't cooperating at all. We're holed up in Helena waiting for sun and planning a reroute. The ride so far has been fantastic. My wife, who has had her license for about four weeks, has been a fast learner. Pictures and reporting to come later.
FWIW, if the weather seems to be getting rough up north, you might consider re routing down here to Colorado. Weather has been spectacular. We've been riding in the mountains these past couple of weeks and wow. Anyhoo, wherever you go, be safe and I hope you have a great trip. Terry
