April 28/15
We're up at a reasonable hour for a change and have a quick breakfast in the hotel. We've got the groove going, pack-up, load-up and roll out.
Once again we worked together and plotted another cross-country ride using all the secondary roads we can find. Today's route was Lori's careful pouring over the map and determining a destination within a comfortable day's ride. Well let me tell you she outdid herself by coming up with a ride nothing short of fantastic!
First things first it's a quick scoot over to the local bike dealer and do some shopping. Lori's helmet accidently fell on the ground, cement ground that is and we all know what that means. It's toast. She finds a real nice new helmet in her colour, red and after some bargaining with the parts and accessories gal and we're good to go.
Lori's new bucket. Pretty flash!
Hwy 30 is our starting point and it takes us into Idaho through an industrial area of warehouses, truck terminals and train yards. The temperature is starting to climb and I can feel the sun's warmth through my jacket.
Soon we're off Hwy 30/95 and onto Hwy 52 which takes us to Emmett and on to Horseshoe Bend. The ride so far has been a mixture of factories, farms and forests and getting better by the minute. We grab coffee and fuel up in Horseshoe Bend, which is well named because everybody round these parts owns horses, even the folks in the mobile home park have corrals beside their double-wides.
Now it's a quick sprint north on Hwy 55 to the crossroads at Banks where we head east on the Banks-Lowman Highway. I'm no stranger to this hundred mile stretch having ridden it a couple of years ago with Don and Nick, aka Sal and Paulie on our way to Salt Lake City. This is the Boise National Forest and it's pure Idaho with all the mountainous, rivers and canyons you can handle. The day is warm, twenty-five degrees Celsius, the sky is blue and the sun is shining. The bikes are running like hares and we're zipping in and out of the turns like gates on the giant slalom. This is motorcycle heaven folks, about as good as it gets.
Boise National Forest
We pass through the village of Lowman and now continue east on Hwy 21 towards Stanley. The elevation rises to 7200' above seal level and while the road surface is clear and dry and there is still snow in the ditches and under the tress. The temperature briefly drops from twenty-five down to 18 but the cool air feels glorious as it swirls into my open jacket. The road is open and deserted; so deserted that I come around a bend and there is a goat standing in the middle of the road. I come to a stop and the goat ambles onto the side of the road and effortlessly dances up onto the rocks all the while posing for my camera.
Mile high V-Stroms.
We come flying out of the mountains dropping from 7200' to 6000' doing at times 80 mph with the sun and the smell of the pine trees. Hot pine gum has to be one of my favourite smells and it never ceases to inspire and refresh me.
Pine trees give way to meadows with herds of grazing deer and the Sawtooth Mountain Range in front of us. Soon we're in Stanley where we take a break for some lunch. Lori gets a couple of bandanas in the shop and I score a wool shirt which will be a great addition to my bike wardrobe. In the cafe I opt for the pulled pork with coleslaw and onion rings while Loris orders the turkey melt, the waitress's personal favourite and a salad. Maybe it was all the fresh air and riding but this lunch was simply delicious. A couple of cups of coffee and we were fueled and ready to roll.
Stanley, Idaho with the Sawtooth Range in the background.
Referring back to our map and planned route we see we still have another three and a half hours or two-hundred twenty miles of mountains, canyons and rolling prairie before our day is over. 'better get moving so we hunker down, Lori in the lead and we're off and running. Hwy 21 comes to a T-junction at Stanley. To the right it's Hwy 75 going south to Sun Valley and Ketchum. I did this road two years ago with Don and Nick so our itinerary is to turn left onto Hwy 75, the road less travelled.
Once again we're treated to the magnificence that is Idaho. Ranches, mountains, more rivers in fact the first few miles out of Stanley follow the Payette River, right along the edge of it's banks so it's watch where you're going and don't get caught looking the wrong way or you'll be in the drink. Hwy 75 takes us to Challis and the junction of Hwy 93. We're pounding along and the sun is low in the sky and according to the GPS calculations we're going to be riding until after 9:00 PM. Our fuel is getting low and we stop in MacKay. I grab a quick coffee and we pull out our heated vests and warm gloves as we know as soon as the sun goes down this place at over 5000' is going to get cool real fast.
All bundled up we're clipping along doing seventy, seventy-five with zero traffic on the road. Can this get any better? Once in the village of Arco we turn onto Hwy 20 and keep rolling onto to Blackfoot where we pick up I-15 for the final 20 miles into Pocatello and the Comfort Inn, our home for the night. Thanks again to Booking.com our room is waiting. It's hot showers, a little blogging and this day is coming to a close.
When it comes to Idaho I'm struggling to find the words to describe just how wonderful a motorcycle destination this place really is. To all my friends back home in B.C. I urge you, no I challenge you to get down here and see for yourself only let me know when you're going so I can come along and re-experience this beautiful state.
I'm done. Good night.
Distance for the day:
389 miles
632 kms
Steve
Pocatello, ID
No comments:
Post a Comment