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Ride West Young Man, SD, MT,WY, & CO
Did my first motorcycle trip out west last summer with two friends. Had a great time and Jon was an awsome guide to the area. The trip started off with a scare though as I put my wallet into my pants pocket without zipping them up. Lucky me found it with the contents scattered across the highway. Everything of value was recovered and I continued into Iowa to meet my friends for the trip west.
We made the badlands after a day and a half of travel. The only interesting sceenery I saw till then was when we crossed the Missouri river on 90.
So Day three we entered the park and did a two hour tour.
It was hard for me to get meaningful shots of the horizon and vistas there without including the road or our bikes as indicators of size.
being an Right coast boy I've never had to deal with expanses as large as those out west. So a lot of my photos lack a "grand" feeling that some pictures have.:(:
From there we traveled to Mnt Rushmore. I liked the view from the road more than the view from the mall simply because the perspective is diffrent from the one most shots give you.:wink
To this day I kick myself for not getting more pictures of rt16 heading through Cody National park into Needles NP. But it took me that long to prop my jaw back up and get the camera out.:D
Our last stop for the day was the uncompleted Crazy Horse monument. We decided that $10 each was not worth getting closer.
It was getting late and we had yet to stop for food so we b-lined it to Sturgis for dinner and a place to camp. Being off season Sturgis was dead so no great photos of bikes rolling up and down packed roads.:rolleyes
Day 4 was less about sight seeing and more about making tracks to Livingstone Montana. We ended up spending way more time at devils tower than we expected, but I think it was worth it.
I really like getting perspectives on things that "popular" photos don't show. So getting pictures of the tower as we were riding to and from the park are actually my favorites.:lust
I know this is suposed to be photos but this video worked out really well. By mounting the camera on the bike and having Jon video me from the road I was able to get two perspective of this corner in the Powder River pass canyon.
Riding to Livingstone was an adventure in itself. But much of that adventure was riding dirt roads at night trying not to hit a Elk or Pronghorn.:uhoh
:andy TBC
We made the badlands after a day and a half of travel. The only interesting sceenery I saw till then was when we crossed the Missouri river on 90.
So Day three we entered the park and did a two hour tour.
It was hard for me to get meaningful shots of the horizon and vistas there without including the road or our bikes as indicators of size.
being an Right coast boy I've never had to deal with expanses as large as those out west. So a lot of my photos lack a "grand" feeling that some pictures have.:(:
From there we traveled to Mnt Rushmore. I liked the view from the road more than the view from the mall simply because the perspective is diffrent from the one most shots give you.:wink
To this day I kick myself for not getting more pictures of rt16 heading through Cody National park into Needles NP. But it took me that long to prop my jaw back up and get the camera out.:D
Our last stop for the day was the uncompleted Crazy Horse monument. We decided that $10 each was not worth getting closer.
It was getting late and we had yet to stop for food so we b-lined it to Sturgis for dinner and a place to camp. Being off season Sturgis was dead so no great photos of bikes rolling up and down packed roads.:rolleyes
Day 4 was less about sight seeing and more about making tracks to Livingstone Montana. We ended up spending way more time at devils tower than we expected, but I think it was worth it.
I really like getting perspectives on things that "popular" photos don't show. So getting pictures of the tower as we were riding to and from the park are actually my favorites.:lust
I know this is suposed to be photos but this video worked out really well. By mounting the camera on the bike and having Jon video me from the road I was able to get two perspective of this corner in the Powder River pass canyon.
Riding to Livingstone was an adventure in itself. But much of that adventure was riding dirt roads at night trying not to hit a Elk or Pronghorn.:uhoh
:andy TBC
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The park itself is huge even if you never leave the main roads. But this was a motorcycle trip and I jot to see so much from the bike.
So day 5 was touring the Western half of the park to Old Faithfull. I was least impressed by Old Faithfull mostly because it is so well documented.
Day 6 Was our Chance to see the Eastern half of the park as we made our way towards CO.
Traffic was lighter the second day we went so I was able to stop and get a shot of the origional entrance to the park.
The weather did not cooperate with us as we headed South into the Tetons. We ran into a hail and tornado storm that temporarily closed the roads further delaying us and obscuring the great views.
As a result we only made it as far as I-80 before we had to stop and get a hotel for the night.
Day7 we completed our ride into Steamboat from I-80 again dodging pronghorns as we went.
The weather was bitterly cold for August but the empty roads gave me a chance to play with taking photos as I rode along.
The view from Jons' friends house (John) was beautifull.
Day8 was a day for R&R so Tom and I decided to give the two Jo(h)n's a chance to catch up while we rode to Steamboat Lake.
Day 9 was my time to head back to Ohio. Jon and Tom had another 6 days to stay so I was heading back alone.
They tried to inform me about all the interesting off road areas I should adventure through as I headed East. But I missed every single one and simply enjoyed the view from I-40 heading into Denver.
Once through Denver I was back onto long straight boring roads that lasted forever.
As I made it into Ohio I passed a this bus that really made me laugh. Some thought and imagination really went into it.
I'm hoping that I get a chance to do more great tours like that to places I've never been. The motorcycle gives you so much more freedom to see and experience an area than a car. I highly recommend touring this way if you can.
Been to a few of those places myself
sweet.
Thanks for the accolade. Jon will be happy to hear his goofing around is so well appreciated.
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Looks like you had a good time.
Dale
I love it!!
Is that a XR 650L??
How did it do?
Im looking to get myself somthing similiar.
Your photos insipire me to get out and adventure ride!
http://slinky0390.smugmug.com
5D2/1D MkII N/40D and a couple bits of glass.
Have a look here.
Here's the nutshell version. Annette learned to drive in Denmark at age 31
and on a motorcycle. Armed with a license and a dream, she quit her job
as a lawyer and left for Buenos Aires where she bought a motorcycle and
lived for 8 months prior to leaving for Mexico (yes, she rode the motorcycle
to Mexico) and finally here to the States. I met her at a motorcycle rally
last month and listened to her speak about her trip last night.
Live your dream.
While the logisics of doing a motorcycle trip for the first time can be a little intimidating I believe your first step is getting involved in the community that rides, try diffrent bikes, and don't limit yourself to the marketing stereotypes.
Recent shot of a trip with some other V-strom riders.
This summer I hope to make a trip through the Adirondacks to Mnt Washington and back on the KLR with the same two guys.
Yes it is an Honda XR650. It putted right along but had a small tank which limited our road time to 100 miles at a fill up. I would honestly say the KLR was the ride of the day for all terrain and great distance. But My Vstrom had the comfort, speed and hauling factor.