After postponing my Lolo Pass crossing by one day, I finally get over the pass and wander across southeastern Washington state.
Continue reading 2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 5 – Where’d the Smoke Go?Category Archives: Road Tales
In a fast-paced world where most long journeys are viewed from 20,000+ feet in a jet airliner, we miss out on the detail afforded by the low viewing angle of a motorcycle saddle. In this category I have stored a collection of interesting experiences gleaned from years of motorcycle touring. Each tale may describe a multi-week trip, a single day, or one sublime instant. Some tales even have photographic evidence. While I post these tales largely for my own amusement, I have been told they have inspired some to try motorcycle touring. If so, then that seems like a useful purpose. May they help you realize that the universe still holds many thoughts to consider, humor to be enjoyed, and wonders to behold.
2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 4 – Minor Derailment
Bad luck prevents me from getting a reasonable start down Montana highway 200. By the time I get to Missoula, the remaining route is drowning in rain and wind. Decisions…
Continue reading 2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 4 – Minor Derailment2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 3 – Smokey Scenic Route
Why take the direct Slab route from Sheridan, Wyoming to Great Falls, Montana when you can scale several mountain ranges, tangle with a thunderstorm, and dodge deer? All it takes is a few hundred extra miles. Who’s in?
Continue reading 2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 3 – Smokey Scenic Route2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 2 – Impromptu Iron Butt
I’m feeling more human today, but running waaaay behind. I guess it’s time to just haul ass.
Continue reading 2021 Snarl Par-Tay Day 2 – Impromptu Iron Butt2021 Snarl Par-Tay day 1 – Life with Crohns
I’m already leaving a day later than intended and I’m not feeling my best. I’m just going to start down the road and see what happens. What could go wrong?
Continue reading 2021 Snarl Par-Tay day 1 – Life with CrohnsRedbeard Cruise – Day 16
The last day of this trip. All I have to do is dodge a few rainclouds between Des Moines, Iowa and Ann Arbor, Michigan. What could go wrong?
Continue reading Redbeard Cruise – Day 16Redbeard Cruise – Day 15
After yesterday’s two-day novella of a trip report, this one is blessedly short (foreshadowing; I lied). I leave the beauty of the Colorado Rockies behind and start to make my way home across the plains.
Continue reading Redbeard Cruise – Day 15Redbeard Cruise – Days 13 & 14 – The Labors of Hercules
Every now and then, a motorcycle tour goes sideways. Not in a physical sliding and wrecking kind of way (though that can happen too), but in perfect storm of one logistical nightmare after another. Days 13 and 14 of my Redbeard Cruise were sideways kind of days. The whole sordid story starts pleasantly enough in Durango, Colorado, peaks in its second act conflict in Carbondale, Colorado, and ends on day 14 in Leadville, Colorado.
Continue reading Redbeard Cruise – Days 13 & 14 – The Labors of HerculesRedbeard Cruise – Day 12
I ride through Monument Valley, up the Moki Dugway, and end up in Durango, Colorado.
Continue reading Redbeard Cruise – Day 12Redbeard Cruise – Day 11
The is the second day of the ride home and covers a fairly lonely crossing of the rest of Nevada. One in Utah, I revisit a national park and dodge just over the Arizona state border.
Continue reading Redbeard Cruise – Day 11