Impassible is Nothing...for the Fast, Furious and Oblivious!

The Furious Basterds are at it again. Revelstoker, Big Paul, GRock and myself are embarking on a nine-day journey through Idaho's purgatory - a combination of heavenly views accessed via hellish routes.

Revelstoker, the intrepid tour planner, cartographer and novice surveyor has designed a route encompassing the myth of the Tour of Idaho, the reality of pounding miles and the beauty of Idaho's incredible terrain.

Big Paul is the muscle of the trip. This guy man-handles his 990 like it's some sort of toy. Beyond being a skilled dirt-biker who is doing some crazy one week African dirt-bike ride with KTM he's also a hell of a guy to have around.

GRock, goes by a variety of variations to his name - most are not suitable for such a family forum. Nonetheless, this is a guy who rides his 640 ADV in street-riding boots which only makes sense once you see him ride - and never put a foot down.

Me, I'm not sure what to call myself. My wife would describe me as a chronically late and organizationally challenged charmer and my daughter would probably call me the Tickle-Master - if she could say that. I think that's what she means when she calls me 'Dadee'.

We leave on Sept 9 but until then we'll post about preparation, answer random questions and give away as much good Karma as we can - we'll need all the return-Karma we can get for this adventure.

Will the Basterds conquer Gospel Hill? Will we survive Massacre Mountain on the big-ish bikes? Will T1 kick our asses as forecasted?

Stay tuned.

The Fast, Furious & Oblivious are as follows. It's up to the reader to decide who is which...or which is who.

Here's Big Paul stealing marked gas from GRock's bike. GRock only uses marked fuel because it kind of matches his paint job. More on GRock later. Big Paul is a chronic gas stealer though as his 990 has a very tiny tank and he likes to keep the rev's up which doesn't help his fuel economy.


Bartron's parents sent him to karate when he was a kid and he never lets us forget that he could render us unconscious if he wanted. You may wonder what is around his waist...that's the drive belt from a Buell Ulysses. The one's that are apparently snap-proof. Hey, there's GRock in the background.


Me. I quite enjoy the ADV Salute.


GRock. He's MIA at the moment - said he was going to work two weeks ago and never came back, but I'm sure when he reappears he'll be all over this trip. Gary is my mechanic and a damn good one at that. He's also great to have around because it is entirely entertaining to watch him try to set his tent up.

I'll be watching this with anticipation. We are hitting the GDR from Pinedale to Salida, TAT from Salida to Salina and first day of the Tour of Idaho about a week after you. Please post a report on Oxford Ridge... that's the one I'm a bit worried about.

Have a great ride.

Sounds like the makings for a great trip... I will be heading across Idaho the first week of September and will be interested in finding some dirt roads and hot springs. Looking forward to seeing the route.

Thanks for the well-wishes Gents.

The preparations for our crew continue. My bike is half-apart in the garage while Revelstoker's bike is falling-apart in GRock's garage. The only problem is that GRock is MIA and his garage is locked. So, Revelstoker's forks are leaking a slow death as he prays for GRock's return.

Of course, Revelstoker also has a well-stroked X-Challenge in the shed that could do the tour were it called upon. With no luggage options and minimal creature comforts it would be an interesting ride for Revelstoker. These bikes are ass-numbing enough without carrying all your gear in a large backpack.

Will GRock materialize? Will he have time to fix ol' Orange to her former glory? Will the Furious Basterd balance shift to BMW? Shize!

Stay tuned.

Aww man! Another Idaho report! Awesome. I can't wait to see what happens. I'm subscribed.

It's all coming together. The long-term weather forecast for Idaho over the coming week is killer, Gary has returned from the depths of the Port Alberni pulp mill to work on my forks, my Wolfman Bags & Giant Loop have arrived to replace my leaky/cracked/bent/misshapen/ Happy Trails panniers, my 606 front just arrived and has been installed...and most important; the limited edition stainless steel Furious Basterds mug is ready!


The beloved 640 getting her suspenders redone. GRock is doing the job for the second time since I've owned the bike - he does a wonderful job of getting the most out of the WP's.


Between changing wheels & tires of logging trucks, Trevor balanced the new 606.


Back on the triple clamps...just need to throw the wheel on.


Off to see how the Wolfbags and the Coyotebag all fit together...and more importantly if I can stuff all the crap I used to carry in the Happy Trails in!

I am in.

Redpillar, I know you have ulterior motives for a successful ride! I''ll keep you in the loop - actually I'll PM my SPOT link so you can 'watch' us pick up the tools.

That would be cool.
Watch out for the wildlife. There were deer and bear dancing in the woods in Idaho, especially in the Lo Lo pass area.

In typical fashion, I'm supposed to be on the road to meet Revelstoker but I've got a ton of errands to run before I leave. Oh, minor stuff like travel medical insurance and scraping up some cash for a travel budget. Did I mention the bike is still in pieces in the garage?

Sadly, Big Paul and GRock are out and will be surely missed....or is that 'sorely missed'.

Spent the weekend picking up specialized supplies of mystery - to be uncovered soon.

Subscribed!!!

Bike assembled, loading GPS tracks right now. Gosh, those Wolfman bags sure don't fit much. There will be recycling of clothing...numerous times. Good thing there are no chicks going.

Adventure beard? Hell yeah....although most Italians I went to high-school with would scoff at my half-week effort as a five-o'clock shadow.

So we hit the road. Probably won't be able to update much from the road but will have some stories for y'all when we're back.

Stopping in Calgary at Big Paul's so he can fit me with some KTM Fork Air Bleeders - yesssssssssssssss!

Bartron.... how did Oxford Ridge treat you? We chickened out about 100 yds from the top. Something about Martin's dire warnings on what we'd encounter on the other side had us turning tail.

Bart has locked himself in a room and has been furiously transcribing every moment of the trip since we returned home. We actually didn't hit Oxford Ridge - instead chose to blend T2 heading East into a smooth transition into T1 heading North after a quick visit to the Tour Mecca (aka 'the flagpole'). Timing was an issue for us as we had 8 days to pack as much of T2 & T1 into as possible - not only was Oxford Ridge slightly out of our way...but I'm sure that we too would have frightened ourselves!

In!

I have been waiting for this one....

Ok - take it away!