Westward Ollie, Westward Young Man.........

[Ollie]

Hoping to meet some of you guys as I head this way.......... Let's share beers and friendship along the way......... I spend a week in NYC till July 2 and head out on the 4th of July from Louisville.........

 

[Jakeboy]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

That looks like a great trip! Have fun, young man!

 

[HoebSTer]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Ollie, you will have to look me up when you get to the Seattle area. If you need tires in these parts, let me know, there are a couple places near here that will be stocking Tenere sizes (although it is a Suzuki Dealer). I even have plenty of garage space to do an oil change in you want. (I will have a motorcycle lift by then!!)

 

[Ollie]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Ollie, you will have to look me up when you get to the Seattle area. If you need tires in these parts, let me know, there are a couple places near here that will be stocking Tenere sizes (although it is a Suzuki Dealer). I even have plenty of garage space to do an oil change in you want. (I will have a motorcycle lift by then!!)

Thanks Hoeb, that's a sweet offer. A lift? Wow, now I'm envious. Pics when you get it.

I'm gonna need an oil change right around Glacier Park, MT but I'm not sure about the tires. I've got 2000mi on the Pirelli Scorps so far, so we'll see how it goes.

 

[colorider]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Looks like you will be coming right through Loveland on US 34, so give me a shout when you get close and hopefully we can hook up. The coffee pot is always on (and I'm sure I can find some beer in the fridge) and would enjoy kicking tires with you. What will you be riding?

 

[Ollie]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Looks like you will be coming right through Loveland on US 34, so give me a shout when you get close and hopefully we can hook up. The coffee pot is always on (and I'm sure I can find some beer in the fridge) and would enjoy kicking tires with you. What will you be riding?

Sounds like a plan. I'll be on the KTM 990 ADV if it makes it that far. ;D If all goes according to plan I should be in Rocky Mountain National Park around the last week of July. I've got 30 days to do the whole trip, with extended stays in a few places.

 

[HoebSTer]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Ollie,
My longest trip on shortest amount of days was Toledo, Ohio, to Bend, OR round trip 10 days 7500 miles. Other than that, when i went to Alaska in 2001 from Ohio it was a month long trip and 10,500 miles. I think you should be able to do what you want in that amount of time. Will you be camping along the way some?

 

[colorider]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Ollie,
Toledo, Ohio, to Bend, OR round trip 10 days 7500 miles.

Looks to be about 4500 miles RT, where did you ride for the other 3K????

 

[colorider]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Sounds like a plan. I'll be on the KTM 990 ADV if it makes it that far. ;D If all goes according to plan I should be in Rocky Mountain National Park around the last week of July. I've got 30 days to do the whole trip, with extended stays in a few places.

Cool!!! Hopefully by then they will have the Fall River Road open - GREAT ride to the top of Trail Ridge!!

 

[Ollie]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Ollie,
My longest trip on shortest amount of days was Toledo, Ohio, to Bend, OR round trip 10 days 7500 miles. Other than that, when i went to Alaska in 2001 from Ohio it was a month long trip and 10,500 miles. I think you should be able to do what you want in that amount of time. Will you be camping along the way some?

Yeah, I was a little worried that I might not have left enough time to get off the bike and do a little exploring in certain places, let alone bad weather, or mechanical problems. I just can't be bothered to worry about it at this point. I'm just gonna go and whatever happens is what happens. If I need to I can cut the trip short or I can add another 10-15 days.

Yep, I'll be camping most of the time, with stays in hotels when I really need to get some serious rest. Camping has always been my favorite way to do a road trip. You meet the best people when you camp.

 

[Ollie]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Cool!!! Hopefully by then they will have the Fall River Road open - GREAT ride to the top of Trail Ridge!!

I'm going to look up that road. Is that the main route through the park or a scenic route to another part of the park? I'm hoping that the Going to the Sun Road will be mostly open in Glacier when I get there as well.

 

[HoebSTer]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Looks to be about 4500 miles RT, where did you ride for the other 3K????

Rod, at the time, i hadn't ridden through Kansas, so i did on I-70 into Denver, met up with Whit, rode to Rigby, ID with Beckley to visit relatives, then on towards Bend. When we got to Bend, the next morning at 6 am we went for a day trip of 700 miles arriving back at 9pm just to catch the last of the BBQ. Then on way home, up through Missoula over Lolo, then straight over through Minn, Wi, Ill, and home.

 

[colorider]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

Rod, at the time, i hadn't ridden through Kansas, so i did on I-70 into Denver, met up with Whit, rode to Rigby, ID with Beckley to visit relatives, then on towards Bend. When we got to Bend, the next morning at 6 am we went for a day trip of 700 miles arriving back at 9pm just to catch the last of the BBQ. Then on way home, up through Missoula over Lolo, then straight over through Minn, Wi, Ill, and home.

Oh, you did WeSTOC in Bend then! I missed that one, and also the first in Taos and the first in Moscow. Made all the rest of them though.

 

[colorider]

Re: Westward Olie, Westward Young Man.........

I'm going to look up that road. Is that the main route through the park or a scenic route to another part of the park? I'm hoping that the Going to the Sun Road will be mostly open in Glacier when I get there as well.

The main road (US34) is paved and goes over the top and into Grand Lake. The other entrance is US36 and meets up with US34 in the park. OLD Fall River Road is a one-way (up) gravel road that takes off from US34 part way into the park (near the Alluvial Fan, which is worth seeing). The road ends near the Visitor Center at the top of Trail Ridge.

 

[Ollie]

Got my Caribou luggage and Hepco Becker rack yesterday and spent the evening putting it on the bike. What should have been a 2 beer job turned into 4 because part of the rack was slotted for an M 6 bolt, when it should have been fit for an M 8. Well, that and the fact that the instructions were in German and I was thirsty. I thought I was planning ahead when I took a year of Mandarin in college. Apparently not. All things considered, it went together pretty well.

Yesterday, I assembled the luggage (instructions in English) and awaited the UPS truck for a new sleeping bag and Sealine duffel bag. It’s now all together and my thoughts are……1. I over did it on the Caribou luggage. At 40 L each, it’s more than I need. 2. My bike just changed into something not unlike Godzilla, or similar beast from Japanese B movie lore. 3. All that orange is intended to make the bike visible, but may lead to target fixation. 8)

 

[toompine]

Too far north to see us unless you want to swing down through California and hit Sacramento before you turn east to Lake Tahoe. PM if your plans change and you head further south near us

 

[Ollie]

Too far north to see us unless you want to swing down through California and hit Sacramento before you turn east to Lake Tahoe. PM if your plans change and you head further south near us

Thanks Toompine. I'll definitely let you know if I head down that way.

I bought all the MRE's and Cliff bars, oatmeal packets and sundry other dehydrated food stuffs that I'll need for 30 days. Those were the last things on the list, so I was able to fully load the bike and get the panniers and load balanced. I loaded the bike up today as it will be when I take off July 4th and went for a 100mi jaunt to see how it felt. I can definitely feel all that weight back there at parking lot speeds but once I'm up to speed I couldn't really feel it.

Not sure what to do with the MSR fuel bottle. Bad idea to keep it in my luggage, anyone?

Elephant in the wilds of south Louisville.

 

[EricV]

I bought all the MRE's and Cliff bars, oatmeal packets and sundry other dehydrated food stuffs that I'll need for 30 days.

Err, Ollie, they do have stores out West. I hope you eat lite, because 30 days of dehydrated food still must take up some space. ???

Have an awesome trip. Looks like a fun route with plenty of time to see stuff and enjoy your days.

 

[Ollie]

Err, Ollie, they do have stores out West. I hope you eat lite, because 30 days of dehydrated food still must take up some space. ???

Have an awesome trip. Looks like a fun route with plenty of time to see stuff and enjoy your days.

Ahem, yes, I'm a bit of an over planner. Lunch is where I'll hit the grocery. I'm also trying to pre budget as much as possible and avoid wasting time shopping for stuff everyday. Also, I don't know where I'll be sleeping any given night, so if I have to ride several more miles into the evening because a campsite is full I don't want to also go shopping for grub in the process. What may really happen is that, after the first week, I start handing out MRE's to strangers along the way. "No. Here, have one. Honestly, they're really good." ;D

 

[EricV]

I've eaten my share of MREs, C-rats, Aussie issue and some brown, hard as hell, tasteless emergency rations over the years. The MREs are ok, but I could do more with the C-rats. ^-^ Perhaps this will help your on the road re-supply needs - http://www.cabelas.com/retail-stores.shtml