Coyote Chris
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Did somebody say "Adult Beverages?" I am on my way! I love riding the west.....never get enough of it....
Dreams
- Thread starter karl
- Start date
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karl
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At home 90 mph sweepers are go to jail do not pass go. Love being able to see the rain coming. Even better where you will come back out. Spent more time than planned at Little Bighorn Battlefield. Today is Rushmore and Crazy Horse.
So far on the trip, only once did I have a reservation, yesterday. Only once do I not want to stay again, Chicago. Only once did I get turned away. The least expensive place was booked solid with a school graduation. The first choice was the Bavarian Inn, Ride thru town half the restaurants closed. Early in the season? Came back to the Best western. New Modern and $71 for the night with a triple A discount.
The room in Spokane may have been a bit scruffy. The sent of all the trees in full boom stayed with me. The dual USB wall charger and the booster battery got left behind.
Having a place to plug in my stuff gets important.
Took a wrong turn yesterday. Realized it about 45 miles into it. Option one, retrace my path. Two strike out crops the unknown to pick f2f 16 that I thought I had been on. Must have gone more than 40 miles and other than two big rigs and some ranch gates Jezabell and I were all alone. Have I mentioned how dang lucky I have been.
So far on the trip, only once did I have a reservation, yesterday. Only once do I not want to stay again, Chicago. Only once did I get turned away. The least expensive place was booked solid with a school graduation. The first choice was the Bavarian Inn, Ride thru town half the restaurants closed. Early in the season? Came back to the Best western. New Modern and $71 for the night with a triple A discount.
The room in Spokane may have been a bit scruffy. The sent of all the trees in full boom stayed with me. The dual USB wall charger and the booster battery got left behind.
Having a place to plug in my stuff gets important.
Took a wrong turn yesterday. Realized it about 45 miles into it. Option one, retrace my path. Two strike out crops the unknown to pick f2f 16 that I thought I had been on. Must have gone more than 40 miles and other than two big rigs and some ranch gates Jezabell and I were all alone. Have I mentioned how dang lucky I have been.
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Coyote Chris
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The Custer battlefield is interesting and its a great story. The Smithsonian this year published some new information about the event which was very enlightening.... did you find any of the .223 cartridge cases I spread around the battlefield?
Watch out for those winds and rain storms on the prairie!
( When you get home, there is a neat free app called "CoPilot" a number of us use that will show you exactly where you are that uses no data...just needs GPS. It will show you
how far you are lost.
Here is a great read about Custer and can be had used very cheeply....
Watch out for those winds and rain storms on the prairie!
( When you get home, there is a neat free app called "CoPilot" a number of us use that will show you exactly where you are that uses no data...just needs GPS. It will show you
how far you are lost.
Here is a great read about Custer and can be had used very cheeply....
junglejim
Site Supporter
Careful Chris, the US Park Service doesn't think things like that are funny (even if they are). It takes amazing little to get in trouble these days.
I, too, had a great time at Little Bighorn and at Big Hole.
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karl
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Leaving the Crazy Horse Memorial the rain started. Before Ellsworth the wind got ferocious. Thinking to myself what a jerk I was for not pulling in for shelter. Convinced myself to backtrack from the next exit and then passed a big motherhood spread all over the westbound lanes and decided to ride it out. Wanted to make Sioux Falls to recreate a long ago phone call, "you will never guess where I am..." Saw rain there and pulled in In Hartford, SD. More rain in the forecast but will be moving on with spirits undampenend.
Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
Undaunted Courage! I was wrong, karl. Forget about MyRadar to check for storms and CoPilot....just get out there and ride! (I dont think Lewis and Clark had cell phones, but I could be wrong.....)
Anyone remember "Then Came Bronsen"?
Coyote Chris
Site Supporter
Stop me if I told you this but its still funny. Whenever a period cartridge case is found in the many battle sites , it is carefully catalogued, identified, and GPSed. We had a guy show up to Quigey for years that was a docent for the Battlefields along the Little Big Horn.
He said when they were kids, probably early to middle 50s, they would go to the battle sites and throw cartridge cases at each other for fun.....(there is a really good gif on the movement of the US troops during the battle at this website. You can only imagine how many rounds were fired by both sides...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn
Maybe I will start saving up old cases again for the site of the Fetterman fight....
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karl
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Motherhood should read Motorhome. My Kindle doesn't like the way I spell it. Sitting in the Super 8 in Sparta, Wisconsin. Room is almost oppressive warm and the bathroom fan is running. Was squeezing water out of the sleeves of my coat. Had stopped for fuel with the intent of reaching Madison, WI. As I was pumping fuel the heavens opened up with a real frog strangeler.
More rain forecast for tomorrow morning. Few min after I came in a real nice BHW 1600 came in. Being a smart A. I ask. "Let me guess, it stopped being fun." "Just couldn't see he said."
So far the Besteem headliners have kept my stuff dry for the last two days there has been a puddle in the right hand pannier. Just in the thing latch. The
The Nelson Rigg Survivor bag that I have strapped to my back seat us also kept my kit dry in some of the worst wet conditions I have seen in a long time.
My fingers slipped into my gloves again. Still have my pass (notch) gloves. Held dual chamber. Google tells me 9 hours + 578sometimg miles bet I don't go that way.
Train sound with a few whistle blasts mix with the sound outside. Reminds me of my Grandpa. Good night.
More rain forecast for tomorrow morning. Few min after I came in a real nice BHW 1600 came in. Being a smart A. I ask. "Let me guess, it stopped being fun." "Just couldn't see he said."
So far the Besteem headliners have kept my stuff dry for the last two days there has been a puddle in the right hand pannier. Just in the thing latch. The
The Nelson Rigg Survivor bag that I have strapped to my back seat us also kept my kit dry in some of the worst wet conditions I have seen in a long time.
My fingers slipped into my gloves again. Still have my pass (notch) gloves. Held dual chamber. Google tells me 9 hours + 578sometimg miles bet I don't go that way.
Train sound with a few whistle blasts mix with the sound outside. Reminds me of my Grandpa. Good night.
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Coyote Chris
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Would you please come back? 40 acre wildfire north of Levenworth and high winds expected tomarrow.....
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karl
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I would love to. Water is still dripping off the eaves but the sky is turning a lighter shade of grey. The fellow on the BMW has been eating miles for an hour already. Still need to pull the newspaper out of my boots and load the bike. Time to burn some fuel.
junglejim
Site Supporter
Karl, too bad you didn't take a more notherly route. It isn't raining up here and the ride across the UP of MI is much better than Chicago. Plus I'd live to meet you.
Oh well, maybe next time.
Oh well, maybe next time.
I have to admit it - this is one of the best threads I've seen in the NT Forum. Love keeping up with Karl.
Karl,
Thanks for the updates and photos on your trip. It is helping me get through boring periods at work. Are you staying at hotels every night? Did you pack a tent and sleeping stuff?
Thanks for the updates and photos on your trip. It is helping me get through boring periods at work. Are you staying at hotels every night? Did you pack a tent and sleeping stuff?
I don't know if he has camp gear along but with the weather he has encountered I for one would have shipped it home rather than packing it. //////when I did the extreme 4 corners in 2005 in may and June I had planned and budgeted for moteling the whole trip, if only making a night stop camping wasts too much time I my opinion. I was pushing long miles thoughtbasicly dawn to duskon a gl1800 and running a 4.5 gallon aux fuel cellso most of my time was spent riding or stopped to visit friends. I was out for almost two months and if I had been trying to camp it would have been 3 months. But if I were going to di it camping a Kwick Kamp trailer would be the way to go, only about 5 minuts to set up even in rain storm and about the same to break dow , but still damp & cold & misserableIMHO.
Eldon
Eldon
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karl
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From the watersheds of the Mississippi in Sparta Wisconsin to the outskirts of Columbus Ohio. Was misting when I got on the bike. There were heavy rain interludes followed by some blow dry time. 90 thru Chicago looks much different than 20. I did come to see America. Missed a turn there got pulled onto 94/80 wall to wall semi trucks feel free to skip that. Knew that there was a connection coming for 90/80 again and Walla there it was and it was closed. Pulled off at the next exit where I found some overhead cover and asked Google drive about my destination and it told me four hours. Took me down some little roads that would have been real fun without the heavy rain. Down thru Indiana into Lima Ohio. Took me cross country thru Marysville. Saw a trooper in the mirror just past there and checked up a bit. He gave me the no,no,no finger wave and a smile and kept on going. Finally punched in the code to open the garage door and it started to two little girls ran out, "Your here already Grandpa" wet hugs. Priceless.
What a way to end a ride! How many miles? How many smiles? It's been fun riding along. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your pictures and hearing more about your highlights!
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karl
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Day two in Ohio. Called Iron Pony yesterday they had a variety of rear tires in stock. Rode there dropped the bike and they called an hour and a half later. New Dunlop Roadsmart 2 installed for less than 300 bucks and they gave me a couple of tee shirts.
The new at trip start T3 was showing a few bits of cord every few inches in the center. If you ever come anywhere close to Columbus the place is well worth a visit.
The new at trip start T3 was showing a few bits of cord every few inches in the center. If you ever come anywhere close to Columbus the place is well worth a visit.
How many miles did you get out of that T3, Karl? I only got 8200 miles out of the rear T3 (or was it a T30?) that I had on before I mounted the current PR4s.
junglejim
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I got 8,500 miles on my rear T30 and 13,000 on the front T30. They have both since been replaced.
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karl
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I have the mileage recorded at home when they went on. Leaving the shop the bike is at 50099. Driving home from here typically takes me 11 hours. Don't see me don't that on the bike. The next decent weather window is Monday. May just wait it out with a stop at when I have had enough.
The fun thing is I can do what I want.
The fun thing is I can do what I want.