Questor rides the WABDR with CJ designs and friends

Sorry LittleWan. That's what I get for getting distracted by the pictures and skipping the comments.

Some roads are not meant to be ...

waves to Jeff and Craig,

Another great nights sleep.
The thunderstorm had blown though overnight and the air was fresh and quite a bit colder.
We made a small breakfast, some coffee, and packed up camp and hit the trail towards Ellensburg.
The trail took up back up the ridge, and we were treated to wonderful views.


But in the distance we could see that the storm the night before had started a few forest fires to the north where we had come from.


Fortunately we were headed south and the sun was drying out the trail nicely... No dust.


Just easy forest roads and great views all morning.


Eventually the trail took us down off the ridge and into some deep forests.
Being from the high desert of Idaho, this is a treat.
Soon we came to this famous cabin, and stopped to shed some layers.




Back on the bikes we rode though more deep forest. With the sunlight beaming down through the trees the effect was hypnotic.


Eventually the trail took us back up onto an exposed ridge line and the views returned.
We could see Mt. Shasta.


Just great views everywhere.


KTM prOn.


We were all hungry, and raced to the next town for gas and breakfast.


In Ellensburg, we found the diner. (Looking at other peoples Ride Reports, we all seem to find the same place.)


I remember it was really windy, and we thought the bikes might get blown over.


Inside the diner was a history lesson in American automotive past.




Monster breakfast burrito for me please!


I'm missing a few pictures of the next section, but it was the climb up to Bethel Ridge. There was a small stream crossing, and some steep loose boulder strewn roads that got us up the ridge where there was a massive Microwave relay station.

But once on the ridge, the views were epic.
A totally exposed ridge line that went of for about 5 miles.




Jeff stops to get rid of some fluids, and take in the view.



And then... all hell broke loose.
Dropping down off the ridge was misery.
There was a super steep section of nothing but softball sized rocks.
(Other ride Reports have pictures of this. It was too steep to stop and take pictures.)
The bottom was several miles of steep washed out boulders and eroded trenches.
Just creeping along trying to pick the best line... Dropping onto holes, working the brakes and clutch for what seemed like forever. By the time we got to the bottom I had such forearm pump and my neck and shoulders were aching. I was tired and really pissed off.
So tired in fact, and almost angry, I didn't take pictures for the rest of the day...
Bu the trail went on. After the Bethel Ridge section, was another climb, to another ridge. I was pissed and angry. So I just threw caution to the wind, stood up on the pegs, opened up the throttle, but my trust in my animal brain and the KTM's suspension and ripped the mountain a new _________.

By the end of the day the result was this.




Yeup. I blew up the Super Enduro's rear shock. :eek1
We stopped at a small general store, picked up a few beers and rode into the nearby forest and decided to call it a day.
The storm front the night before had brought crisp cool air and fairly high winds.
We set up the tents.


Found a sunny spot to watch the sun go down, and I drank my beers and tried to stop my arms from shaking.


It was another tough day, but Craig and CJ were still smiling...
What good guys.

Stats for the day:
140 miles. Moving Average 26.1
Moving Time 5:21 Stopped 3:30 Total 8:40

Q~

I thought you'd just parked in the same place a Harley did.

When I had my SE I learned that when you saw the red mist and were riding in anger you had to be aware of two things:

1) you were going really frickin' fast, faster than you thought, and if you crashed it was going to hurt

2) if you hit something hard, I mean really hard, something on the bike was going to break. Not because it was not designed properly but because the bike weighs so much. Physics is a harsh mistress.

Day 6: Friday September 9th, 2013

If it's September 9th 2013 then I'm there too, but I'm not there. Seriously loving this RR. I did the UTBDR solo last year in September and I'm in the planning stage for the WABDR this September. Since I'll be solo again I like to do as much research as I can in an effort to avoid any known pitfalls. Your RR has been a great source of info. I'm going to try and link up WABDR with some tracks in Idaho on the way out and maybe Oregon on the way back. You guys rock.

If you need info about riding in Idaho I'd like to help.
Also if you need "Tent Space" in Idaho Falls, Casa Questor is a good destination.

Q~

Thanks for the heads up. I have the GPS tracks for Idaho T1, T2 &T3, but I don't think I'll be doing T2 solo on the Wee. The main goal is to do all of the WABDR including some additional stuff over on the coast. But Idaho T1 works into that plan pretty well. Tent space at Casa Questor sounds good. I'll hit you up again after I get my dates nailed down.

++1
Satisfied Casa Questor Customer !!

enjoying every pic and word.

someday I will ride out west and those two handsome blokes sure do look familiar.

I can vouch for Q's hospitality. It is THE place for ADVers to hang. And he can vouch for my sprinkler system ...

Wisconsin here. Man, I just can't wait for spring rains to wash off some of the salt.

Gotta get out there this Summer/Fall.

Enjoying your RR.

Thanks for posting.

Seriously. I love Wisconsin and our winters here, but it's about this time of year I start itching to ride big time.

My sister moved to Boise about four years ago. I've not taken the bike out there yet and every time I go to visit I wonder why. Just went out there for xmas and we snowshoed out to a yurt and did some back country snowboarding. Then hit up some hot springs on the way home.

I know there is a reason I am so attached to Wisconsin...

Great RR! Keep it coming!

Ah! Boise ... Those people have a long, long riding season. Like all darned year. As for WI ... Hey, it's where I took my first breath. Gotta be a great place then.

It was a really cold morning. The wind had stopped, but it was still cold.
We skipped breakfast and just packed up camp.
I put on extra layers of clothing, turned the heated vest on high, turned the heated grips on high, and we rolled out.
The road took us along the edge of a nice lake, and then the GPS told us to take a left.
About a two miles later the road got rough, and soon it came to an end.


It appears that the river flooded and washed out the road.
We got off the bikes and went to see if we could get through.


No way.


We were forced to re-route onto paved roads.


While scenic, they took us up over a mountain pass, and the temperatures were in the 20's. Combined with a windchill. we all froze our off.
An hour or so later, we came to a town and stopped to warm up and get something to eat.
My omelette was 90% cheese.


We didn't care. We were happy to have food and be warm.


After our feeding session, the followed the tracks designated by the GPS which led over some more forested roads.


But the roads were VERY washboarded, and the poor Super Enduro was having a terrible time due to the blown rear shock.

But we had to press on...


We had been seeing some other motorcycle tracks ahead of us...


And eventually we caught up with them. It was AppleJam.
This is a great coincidence since we were going to meet up with him this evening anyway for his ADV gathering a few days before the KTM event.

He was out riding and we met up with him at an intersection.
We explained my broken shock problem, and he told me I could follow him to his place and we would see what we could do to get the shock fixed.

So at this time, CJ and Jeff took off and continued their ride and I nursed the Super Enduro to Applejams place.

An hour or so later I was at his place and started calling around local shops to see what could be done.
None of the local shops could help, but we did get a lead on a shop in Bend Oregon that could help. So we ordered the parts and made an appointment to stop by on Wednesday. That worked out pretty good considering that was when and where the KTM Rally was going to be.
Lucky Questor!

So I set up Camp Snuggly in Applejams' back yard, and waited for the rest of the group to arrive.



That evening we helped him strip down his KTM.
Not only did he need a new rear tire...


:eek1


But he also had broken his rear sub-frame.


Bummer...


Later that evening CJ and Jeff arrived as well.


Here's the view from my tent.


We went shopping for "necessities".


And then CJ decided to check his bike out again. The new clutch had been getting a workout and he wanted to make sure it was doing OK.


We check for a heartbeat...

The AWD 950 is doing fine!

That night we all hang out and party!

Stats for the Day:
154 miles Moving Average 38.3
Moving Time 4:02 Stopped 3:30 Total 7.33

Q~

Whatever camera you have that can see Mt Shasta from central Washington: I want one

AppleJam doesn't live in Central Washington...

No, but they were still up by Mt. Rainier at that point.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Regarding geographies...

I think it was Mount Ranshastahood, or perhaps Everest...
(Details.. pheh.)

Q~

Today was going to be a rest and maintenance day.
I'd been riding for over a week and the bike needed some love.
Fortunately it was a beautiful day.


Mount Everest was perfectly clear in the distance.


Everyone else took off to do some riding, and I pushed the Super Enduro into the garage to get some maintenance done.
After many hundred miles of dirt trails, the air per-filter needed a good cleaning.


I also changed the oil and cleaned all the screens and filters.

I had a lot of road miles to do in the next few days before the KTM Rally.
I had an appointment in Eastern Oregon with the Sheriffs department in Vale Oregon on Tuesday morning that I had to attend to, and then back to Bend for my rear shock to be rebuilt on Wednesday. That's 570 miles in two days with a blow rear shock. So Applejam donated a new Scorpion front tire so I would not wear out what was left of my Dunlop 606.
So I timed verything carefully, set the mood, and feigned incompetence in front of CJ and...


I knew he couldn't resist.
Um, CJ, while you're at it, could you also adjust the muffler bearings.
(Thanks CJ.)

Over the course of the afternoon, the rest of the "Gang" arrived.
Lots of folks from all over, including Canada, were gathering to ride with Applejam and do a section of the Oregon Backcountry Route down to Bend for the KTM event.

Lots of bikes!


CJ and Jeff got back from their ride to the coast for a seafood lunch, and CJ helps Applejam adjust his Rekluse clutch.


The evening unfolds and the beer and food consumption begins.


As the evening party gets into full swing, and more and more alcohol is consumed, I take pictures of those in attendance.

Maybe I'd had too much to drink, but they all kind of look related...
























and we spend the night working on and fixing motorcycles...


It was a fun evening.

Stats for the day:
Many beers were injured...

Q~