Category: California

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Day 18

Today started with a great ride out of Alberton and slowly went down I was looking forward to the Lolo motorway but by the time I popped out of the mountains at the top of Lolo pass I was cold and wet ,A great facility there offered free coffee and hot chocolate,a warm area and the best amenities I have ever seen

After 3 cups of hot chocolate I left to get into the Lolo motorway which is not a motorway but a high mountain track once used by the local Indians .I followed my GPS which led me to a locked gate but had a way around it I thought it a bit strange as it was just an overgrown track with no sign of any bikes been on it. The GPS can’t be WRONG! I keep going and the track starts to disappear then it stops ,I have to retrace back to the Rd and around the locked gate. That was a waste of 20km . I finally find my way to the Lolo track and there s only 160km of it. By the time I’ve done about 50k’m things had turned bad, the temperature dropped to40f , it was raining heavily with sleat and I was cold , I get onto the GPS and look for a route down I find one that takes me to Lolo pass about 20 km away and it turns out to be a very pleasant and scenic Rd and the ride down the pass on the seal following the lochsa river on what is retarded as one of the great motorcycle rds. I arrive at Lowell, and there’s a motel a cyclest arrives at the same time, and we share the only room left ,he’s a nice lad who’s cyclng to Chicago, a great thanks to dry rider fluro wet gear for.
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Day 17

Left Lincoln and straight into lolo Forest heading for seely lake and then onto alberton beside Since leaving Seely lake I’m off the GDR route and onto my own and straight away, problems ! My route takes me off a rough dirt Rd and into a track , it was great for about 12 ks then it came to an abrupt halt ,i turn around and retrace my route back to the dirt Rd

I punch in Alberton into the GPS and bingo it finds a great route to my nights destination and I set up camp beside the Clark fork river, a great days Riding
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Day 16

Great riding through Deerlodge and Selena national Forest s and small access trails called unmaintained cattle access trails also old rail routes including the 2ln the photos 1 I went through the short one The other was a mile long , look closely and you can see the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel Passed the old ghost mining town if Comet or what’s left of it

This area is covered with old mining ruins

 

Being Saturday there was a few side by side and quads out on the trails the Polaris side by side s look great on the rough terrain and make easy work of it
Had to backtrack out in one forest due to a locked gate and towards the end of the day was hit by a large downpour which turned the tracks into a dark and slippery place and made me feel a little edgy Finally arrived at the small town of Lincoln a bit damp and glad to be out if the forest ,at least the weather looks good for tomorrow
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Day 14 or 15

I’m in the town of Butte Montana ,I needed some brake shoes and decided to stay the night and have a look around

It’s a beautiful town in it’s run down way and has a lot of history mainly to do with copper mining It’s Friday night and the main Street seems deserted .
The busiest Cafe is the community Cafe ,as I walk passed someone invites me in, the food s great and it’s free he says ,I thank him and find a small Irish bar around the corner, The owner sponsors the local rugby team and said there’s quite a number of teams in the competition .he says the population is about 35000
it used to be about 100,000 but it’s starting to increase again
It’s the site if America’s biggest single mini disaster,168 killed in one incident
There’s still copper mining but it’s all open cast now
There’s some Great brick buildings here and the one that took my attention was a magnificent hotel. It looked empty but I found the door open and went in ,it was like stepping back to the 1920s,
I nearly missed the little lady behind the desk, she reminded me of Ronnie Corbett ln his big chair, she gave me the history of the place and allow me to look around .Next to the foyer was an equally stunning dining room ,all the tables were set in the 1920 s setting but the place was empty .I took a couple of photos,thanked the little lady and left
Check out the exterior fire escape
I liked Butte a lot
The riding was great all day by the way
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Day 14

Good days riding from Colter bay to Lima covering some of wyoming Idaho and into Montana Great forestry and plains riding that sometimes reminded me of molesworth and rainbow rds ,I must say that in general gravel and dirt rds are generally in poor condition with ruts , potholes and lots of protruding rocks which require a lot of concentration and helps keep you alert ,Had to wait for a digger to fill in the end of a bridge for me to continue

Followed a disused rail line (track removed) which followed a very deep ravine and a very narrow track in one place the track had in many places a narrow gate which only allowed cycles, motorcycles and quads into it , great!
The small town of Lima is a scene I have seen many times in traveling in he USA and it’s sad to see ,it’s run down with lots of buildings in a run down state of repair with vehicles and rusty machinery everywhere the railway tracks are still there but no train has come for years I had a drink in the hotel how it’s still standing I don’t know! and had a chat to some of the locals They have a lovely large high school that use to have a roll over over 500 now it’s less than 100 .I guess what I’m trying to say that to some this country is not in a good place for a lot of people, there words not mine . Photo of hotel I had a drink in and a past symbol of American automobile greatness
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Day 12 and 13

Out of steamboat springs and headed for Rawlins ,a washed it Rd had me back track for a while and then into some great forestry rds and into Wyoming with no drama . Fueled the body and bike at Rawlins Then into the red desert andgreat divide basins This brought back memories if the Simpson desert except the dunes where a lot smaller and the highest plant life was no higher than 60 cm Some of it was a challenge but all of it was great to be part of .

In some parts of this waste land oil was still being extracted and rusty nodding horses could be seen still operating and not a sole around
Because of the effort to get through this part of the route I was running late and had no chance to make pinedale but thankfully I came upon a small flowing river with a lovely spot to make camp for the night
Made pinedale for a late breakfast and headed for Grand Teton national park and Colter bay via some neat forestry rds and Union pass
It’s a pity the fires in California so far away has clouded these magnificent mountains in this park and my photos would not do them justice and in sure you can find images of them
The camp ground I’m in has these
on ever site and do you know that only 77 people have been killed by bears in the last 118 years in USA and Alaska You have 7 times more chance to be killed by lightning Maybe everyone should carry a lightning rod ,but I will be putting my food in the box
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Day 11

Left nathrop and made for Alma on mainly sealed Rd. This was a bit of my route but I wanted to have a go at getting up mnt bross said to be the highest drivable peak in Colorado

Had a coffee in the old town of Alma who’s main claim is that it is the highest certified town in the USA at 3200 m
The ride up mnt bross was great and not overly difficult bar the last 300m to the summit which had staggering views in all directions .. the ride down required more effort that the ride up due to the countless zigging and zagging
Had a late lunch in Fair play and got talking to a couple on adv bikes ,his a 690 KTM and hers a Dr 650 he had all the clim gear and shoei helmets and sidi boots and she was wearing leotards and trainers with a cloth jacket and to make things worse she was carrying all the gear including an eski on the Dr .I did point out the discrepancy
I’m camping at the trail head to Webster and red cone pass and have been advised to take Webster due to the conditions of red cone by the forest ranger so it’s off to montazuma in the morning
I have done 4300km todate and averaging almost 400km a day and now I’m going to cook my can of beef stew and boil a cup of coffee
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Day 10

Camped in Rio grande national Forest last night ,I was the only one there and the sign on the board didn’t inspire confidence so I took the precaution of locking my small food supply in the toilet well away from me and I slept well

.I headed for Sargent’s in the morning and had a great ride through Rio grande and Gunnison forests Had a big breakfast at Sargent’s and off to tomichi pass only to find out that it was closed so back to Sargent’s to work out a plan b. There. Was a couple there on KTM s (350 and500) and heading for a small village called pitcin via a great dirt Rd and pass. I left them and headed over Hancock’s pass to st Elmo this turned out to be a major challenge and of all the riding I have done in Colorado this is the closest to the awakino saddle I have come to

I did a bit of tincup pass from St Elmo but my main route was in the opposite direction
I headed for Buenavista for a motel but it was booked up so camping in a camp ground in nathrop .
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Day 9

Stayed in a nice camp ground in Chama and headed for del Norte Into a state park where my attempt to get up Bennett peak started Going up a very steep single track which zig zagged what felt like the side of a cliff and required absolute attention it occurred to me that 1 small error would be the end of my ride and when the zigging and zagging finished it got worse , the track turned into extremely Rocky narrow steep climb after dropping the bike twice and not making much progress I decided to retreat which in itself was more terrifieng than going up and having to walk it down in a lot of places

 
After about 2 hours I was back on the valley floor safe but buggered. Another lesson learned Took the standard route to Del Norte fueled up and now camping up a valley somewhere in Colorado and heading for Sargent’s in the morning
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Day 8

Finally put on the tire I’ve been carrying around ,the d606 had done a Sterling job having done half the TAT and my 3600 km Rode through a lot of forestry trails to abiquiu including 1 challenge section but because of a large fallen tree and a gully with no way round I had to back track back to the normal route

A quick bite to eat at abiquiu and into the next section through Carson national park including a neat challenge section I had just come out of the first half on to a sealed Rd when the sky’s opened up with continued rolling thunder Knowing what the dirt tracks would end up like I decided to find an alternative route to Chama
I climbed to 3460m and the temperature dropped considerably
Tomorrow I head for Del Norte which includes an attempt , weather permitting I to go up Bennett’s peak 4028m