Images and Words, Scenes From a Memorable Tour

Icefield Parkway

I found these wild beasts being held captive and transported through their own habitat. Sad...








I make it as far north as the town of Jasper. The sun is shining and it's a very warm 85 degrees. I have just enough time to buy a few souvenirs for my family and scarf down a footlong Subway sandwich. There appears to be a booming tourist trade here with one souvenir shop after another.

I must turn around and ride the same 150 miles of the Icefields Parkway again.

I left Jasper at 5 PM. This Morning I was riding behind long lines of RVs and other tourists. Now it seems like I'm almost the only one on the road. I still heed the speed limits, which are very low everywhere I went in Canada.

I get to Hector Lake a few miles from Lake Louise before I stop to put get waterproofed. There was a group of cruiser riders doing the same, except their rain gear seemed to consist mainly of leather chaps. Good thing they had only 10 miles to go until their hotel. One of the female pillion riders looked at me and remarked, "Hey, now that's a good idea. He has a snow suit".





I stop in Lake Louise for gas and to take one more shot before putting away the camera for the day. I don't have time to visit Lake Louise or Banff. I have about 100 miles to ride through Kootenay NP in the rain and it's getting late. The last 45 minutes of riding today was in the dark. I was passing herds of deer everywhere. I had to keep my speed in check and stay extra vigilant. It was pretty late when I dropped down the mountain into Radium Hot Springs. After a cold wet ride I was really jealous when I got a view of the hot spring pools full of people staying at the resorts. I found the ironically named Dry Gulch Provincial Park Campground and set up in the rain.



Tomorrow, Back to the USA!

WOW! I don't know what else to say, amazing pictures, beautiful scenery, thanks for sharing!

Chris

I did almost the exact same trip ten years ago on an XJ650. Memorable indeed.

Great pics.

Thanks Cyclebabble. Cool handle BTW.



Day 7, 646 miles, Camp to Camp Time 15:00 Hours.

I pack up my wet tent at Dry Gulch then snap a photo of the site. The rain has stopped. It's a cool foggy morning.

I was a little afraid I might not find much to photograph today after leaving yesterdays scenery.











This big dog just stood in the road. I slowed to pass and he just stood there watching me ride away. Good thing he was a happy dog.



Another painless border crossing. Flashed passport, answered a few questions, and was welcomed home.







Next up, Glacier NP and "The Going to the Sun Road".

The construction delays were expected. Not a bad place to hang out for 20 minutes. I'm lucky the road was open. It remained closed this year until July 2nd.

Stone masons were busy fitting new rock railings.











Weeping Wall













The BMW K bike and Ducati Multistrada riders stopped and we chatted a few minutes before running down the mountain together.

Thanks axelwik.

The handling of the Futura was nice in the twisties, but I didn't use all the power on this trip. I rarely did more than the speed limit preferring to ride at a more casual rate to stay out of trouble and enjoy the ride. I guess what I'm saying is, this trip would have been just as enjoyable on an older and smaller bike. This was definitely the ride of my life, so far...

Fantastico!!!



Some of those pictures are simply outstanding. 'Not a good photographer' - who are you trying to kid?

Thanks for sharing.



PS That Aprilia looks real nice.

Fatigue, Little Belt, Big Bear, Sluice Box Terror, and Long Shadows

After leaving Glacier I ride south on th US 89. The highlight of the day now completed I settle in for a long boring day in the saddle. I hadn't given much thought to the rest of the day. The landscape quickly begins to look like Oklahoma, except for the Rockies on the horizon.





I've ridden well over 200,000 miles on a motorcycle in the past 10-11 years. Often riding until 3 or 4 am with little sleep the night before. I always thought I would never get sleepy on a bike. Although I will get sleepy driving a car, riding has always been invigorating enough to never get that feeling of fighting off sleep. Now for the first time ever I'm hit with a mid-day fatigue and I can't even focus on the bumper of the car ahead. I realize I need to get off the bike NOW, but it's hot and I see no shade (and my judgement was skewed). I see a sign, Choteau is 5 miles ahead. I do everything I can to stay awake for those last miles. I scream and yell at myself inside the helmet. That only lasts until I stop yelling. I stand up on the pegs and then try skimming my feet over the pavement at 65 mph. I'm not sure how, but I make it to a gas station in Choteau.

I get off the bike and load up on candy and caffeine. A pickup parks next to me. An overall wearing guy in his 30's gets out. He's excited to see my bike and starts firing off questions. After the first few questions I realize I'm dealing with the town simpleton. Nice guy, just not very bright. Everyone walking by seems to know him by name and all stop to tell him hi. His wife was sitting in the truck still. He yells at her enough demanding she get out to look at my bike. She wasn't excited as him about looking at a bike, but she gets out. He tells her he needs a bike like mine. She seems as simple-minded as him, but I don't think she was giving him permission. He tells me he wants to hear the bike run. I start it up and rev the engine a few times to amuse him. I turn off the bike and start gearing up to ride. The guy was still standing there waiting. I chat with him for a little longer, wondering when I could leave without being rude. He's not going anywhere. Finally he says he's waiting because he wants to watch me ride away. I oblige...

Back on the road I realize that strange encounter with a local woke me up enough to make it to Great Falls. The road into Great Falls was boring and hot. I began to dread the rest of todays ride assuming it would continue to be the same.

After eating and gassing up in Great Falls I head south again on the US 89. Not far from town the same grassy plains exist until I climb a hill and suddenly see a box canyon cutting through the landscape.

I'm entering a gentle curve at about 65 mph. I set the proper lean angle then look to my right to check out the scenic view pullouts for the Sluice Boxes State Park. I was looking to see if it was worth stopping for a photo when all of a sudden I loose the front! I knew immediately what had happened. My front tire had drifted onto a fresh tar snake. The bike is shooting out to the right and going down. My left foot come off the controls and my heart jumped out of my chest. This is going to suck. Thankfully the tar snake ended. The front tire grabbed, the bike shook a couple times and it was over. I was alive! This was the only scary moment of the entire trip. I was awake now.

Today was not the last day I would get hit by the mid-day fatigue. Once past it though, I felt like I could ride the rest of the evening with no problems.

As soon as the road dropped into the canyon I left the grassy plains behind for awhile. The next section was riding through a beautiful canyon with tall green forests following a nice creek through the Little Belt Mountains. The road was curvy and there was no other traffic. This road was surprisingly fun!

I had just ridden through a small town (Neihart I think) when I rounded a corner and saw a huge black bear. He was a couple hundred feet ahead of me as he lumbered across the roadway.

I fumble with the camera and slow down. I'm hoping to get a photo as I pass, but there was no way I would stop to do it. The bear had disappeared into the brush at the edge of the road. No photo.

About 100 feet up the road I was shocked to see a teenaged Indian girl walking alone on the road. She was armed only with an iPod. She was so close to the bear I decided to stop next to her on the road. She was frantically pulling the speakers out of her ears and looked very frightened. She asked breathlessly, "Did you see that? I just saw a bear"! She said this was only the second time she has ever seen one. I ask if she was going to be okay. She said she would be fine, but hoped she didn't see another bear. I'm thinking, Another bear?! What about that one?!

I hated leaving that girl alone on the road with a bear so close, but I figured she was probably more afraid of the strange motorcyclist about now. In retrospect, I should had given her my can of bear spray since she needed it more at that point. I didn't think of it at the time. I sure hope she made it home alive.



US 89 Through the Little Belt Mountains





Once on the plains again, I only had the camera and long shadows to break the boredom. These shots were made more exciting by a squared-off front tire caused by all the hard braking way back on the California 190 on day 1.

Thanks for all the nice comments MaddBrit.

Day 8, 618 miles, Camp to Motel Time 14:50



Last night I stayed at the Big Timber KOA, which is actually found off the Greycliff exit of I-90 (not the 2 Big Timber exits). I got there after dark again and the office was closed. If I did the self check-in I couldn't use the bathroom and shower because they lock the doors and issue pass keys to registered guests. I was contemplating another night at a rest area when the manager showed up. She was very nice and opened up the office to check me in. Getting to camp after dark is getting old.

I stop at McDonalds for breakfast and chat with some old bikers while I eat in the parking lot. (I often take my food to go and eat while standing since I sit on the bike all day.) For Harley riders they were nice guys, because many won't wave or say hello to a motorcyclist on a sport tourer.

The guy on the white Harley starts setting his tent up in the parking lot. I give him a hard time saying I could've saved some money if I knew we could camp at McDonalds. Actually he left his cell phone in the tent when he packed up this morning, and was anxious to show me nudie pics he had on his phone. He seems to prefer the kind of biker rallies that include lots of naked chicks.



I rode south on the 78 towards Red Lodge. I was anxious to get to Beartooth Pass. I was in an area with large ranches when I notice a bear just on the other side of a fence in the open field.

Traffic was light and the bear trotted a little further away as a pickup passed. I stopped in the middle of the road to get the following shots. The bear looks at me posing for a shot. He then trots a little further away and stops again. I zoom out to get a shot showing his proximity to the road and the bear stands erects to pose again. By time I get zoomed back in he is running away in the tall grass.





See the standing bear?

As others have said here, Beartooth Pass is an absolute must-ride for any motorcyclist.

I stop on Beartooth Pass Road to get eaten alive by mosquitos and snap a few photos...










...then enjoyed the ride down.

I should've ridden around Yellowstone to the east. I really liked Yellowstone when I visited there with my family this June. We hiked to nearly all the featured spots and took tons of photos. I really wasn't in the mood to see the same places again and the slow tourist traffic, construction delays, and bear jams were not enjoyed.





A bear jam. After seeing 2 large bears in the wild already, I was not excited about seeing one in the amusement park atmosphere of Yellowstone.



I'll share one photo here that I like of the Grand Prismatic Pool taken in June.

I see more KTM Orange!