Day 3, Missoula MT, Renton, WA - 507 miles

30 June 2015

If every day is going to be some degrees hotter than the day before, than we will soon be riding a blob of plastic, rubber, and metal!

The day started out nicely until the cruise control quit.  Bummer!  We have been having issues with the cruise control since we acquired the Spyder.  No worries, we'll continue on with a stronger right wrist.

Knowing that we are a bit behind schedule we push on to Couer D' Alene, ID. without stopping.  However, we do stop to see the lake (I mean we are here, right?):

Couer D' Alene lake

Timely artwork found at the lake park:

Freedom Statue

While in the area we visited Allsport Polaris/Honda in Liberty Lake, WA to see if they could check out the cruise control problem.  The guy with the spools in his earlobes (Service manager?) said he could fit is in on Thursday.  This didn't really fit in with our plans since we would be up in Canada by then.  However, their parts guy did well to help us to find some parts like a new antenna (which I broke in Laramie, WY) in Vancouver, BC.

Allsport service NOT RECOMMENDED
Allsport parts RECOMMENDED

So riding westward, we encountered a landscape not unlike that of Eastern Colorado, only MUCH hotter!

Looks like Limon

All across Washington on I-90 the thermometer read 96..98..99..100..105.. until the Columbia River where the thermometer read 107 for some time.

Where I-90 crosses Columbia River

We continued on west to Reston, WA where we found a motel room for the night. With showers!  and a Laundry!

The ride into the the Seattle area is fantastic!  Dramatic landscapes.  It seems like one drives steeply downward forever.  (Video footage will be added later).    

All in all, another brutal 3-state day.

Things to remember:

* 85 degrees in the morning seems MUCH hotter than 85 degrees in the evening (after hours of 100+ degrees riding).

* Is it better to shed the jacket and risk sunburn?  Or to keep the jacket on and simply sweat?

* The Spyder doesn't like Exxon gasoline.

* There are plenty of campsites available until you need one.

Day 2, Dubois, WY to (nearly) Missoula MT., 479.4 mi

29 June 2015

This was another brutally hot day, about 100degF across most of Idaho from Jackson, WY to Salmon, ID when we stopped for gasoline and immediately a deluge came down while we were sheltered under the gas pump island!  The temperature dropped 25 degrees in just a few minutes.

The wind river valley into Jackson  is gorgeous, but I expect that everyone has seen that on their travels through the Tetons.

We took a few pictures of the Tetons and the foreboding weather, but we may have to post some of them later, when we can read the SD cards from the spousal unit's camera.

We weren't planning on traveling route 28 through Salmon, but in Jackson we met a local bicyclist who told us it was a nicer route than Interstate 15.  He said it would be a stretch of desert followed by some nice twisties with good scenery.  He was right.

From Salmon we worked our way up US 83 towards Misoula, MT. over Lost Trail pass.  The pine smell over this pass was wonderful.  Mixed with rain it was the perfect combination of Balsam Fir and rain.

At 400 miles we decided to call it a day and look for a camping spot.  After 4 unsuccessful attempts, we finally found a very nice spot away from the highway which served us quite well.

A few things we learned today:
* At high speed I can direct air flow through the sleeves of my jacket to function like an air conditioner (evaporative cooling)

*  The dry bag we use to keep our tent and sleeping bag dry on the back of the bike also works well as a bucket for washing clothes, and for washing feet.  This was a wonderful discovery as the accompanying pictures will show.

Instant washing machine

Who needs a creek to soak feet when we have this?

At least dinner was a little better than last night's, as it was deli chicken and cool salads from a market only about 5 miles away.

Things to remember
* team of 4 draft horses hitched to a disk harrow in a field, driver not seen
* Sign for 45th parallel - half way between north pole and equator
* The Spyder likes fuel w/o ethanol, available in Idaho.
* 3 states in one day: WY, ID, MT

Day 1, Longmont to Dubois, WY - 409 miles

28 June 2015

We are on the road, the adventure begins!

Today was all about traveling through Wyoming.  98 deg F.  Many antelope (ooh look there is another one!).  After a late start, the goal was to reach proximity to the Tetons/Yellowstone.

What can I say about traveling through Wyoming?  We have all done it, and we just wanted to make some distance, so we didn't take pictures today, although the Landers area is gorgeous.

No need to dwell in Yellowstone this time, as we are just passing through.  Since one has to pay to travel through Yellowstone on 287, we will bypass the park and go through Jackson, WY.

Today's campsite is the Longhorn Lodge near Dubous,WY, complete with WiFi and showers.

Dinner: generic canned stew (cheap!).

Our campsite

The Gear

Since we have been camping for many years, the Spousal Unit and I have accumulated most of the required gear for this trip.  However, we did feel the need to acquire a few new things.  Specifically new riding outfits.  I really struggled with replacing my old Vanson leather jacket with a new textile item from BMG (nee Belstaff) one.  She picked up a versatile unit from Tour Master.

She also acquired a new sleeping bag (the red one).  This is a good thing because it is down like mine (the green one) which packs small.  The intention is to pack both sleeping bags and the tent into the blue dry bag and heave the whole package onto the luggage  rack.

The picture below shows almost everything that we will need to pack on/into the Spyder. 

Of course, the camera making the photo has to be added as well.  Oh, and I see we didn't have The Milepost in the picture.  Passports?

The utility of all of this stuff should be bourn out in future posts, which will be made using the Galaxy tablet with folding keyboard and mouse shown in the right of the photo.

The Mods

We made a few changes to the stock machine...

Luggage Rack

Since we will be camping, we need a luggage rack:

Footrests

This will be a long ride, alternate locations for feet would be nice.  Hence these aluminum rests that mount to the existing plastic deflectors.  They won't take full weight, but they should be good for resting our feet.

Skidplate/bumper

The front of the Spyder is nothing but some flimsy plastic, so I thought that a little protection would be in order, especially in the event that we wind up hitting any rocks or small animals.  The skidplate bumper is a sturdy piece of plastic that mounts on the underside of the vehicle and protrudes a little out front so that it function as a bumper.  I've already tested it against a parking stop and didn't break any flimsy plastic.

 

Backrest

This is something the spousal unit wanted.  It doesn't do much for me, but one must make concessions for spousal comfort.

Plastic Skin

Knowing that we would be encountering many bugs, flying gravel, and the occasional beer can, we elected to add some of the 3M plastic skin stuff to much of the front of the Spyder, as well as a number of places that we expect to abuse the paint with our shoes.  Hopefully this will keep the paint nice.

Little Pouches

I really miss the voluminous stashes of my old Vetter Windjammer fairing.  The little 'glove box' provided by Can-Am just isn't much of a stash location.  So we got a couple of small pouches for incidentals like glasses, mosquito repellent, cell phones, etc.

The Machine

We needed a new machine because our ancient Moto Guzzis are not up to the task of carrying two full-fledged adults that kind of distance.  We also didn't want to ride two bikes.  Nor did we want to tow a trailer. 

At some point we noticed those weird 3-wheeled things from Canada and thought "hmm...".  So we did a little research and decided that would be the way to go.

It has cruise control!
It has power steering!
It has only one brake pedal (I still grab for a front brake though)!
It has traction control!
It has stability control (it doesn't like lifting the inboard wheel on fast turns - I tried)!
It has both front and rear trunks to carry lots of stuff!

Can-Am made a large number of changes to the RT model for 2014.  So many changes in fact, that we thought it would make sense to get the new model rather than a previous year's model (which is what I usually do, 'cause I'm cheap!).

Nifty improvements include:
New 1330cc engine which has more power, better fuel economy, and longer service intervals-hydraulic lifters!.
New frame with larger, 15-inch tires.
Updated transmission.
Relocated radiators to direct hot air away from riders.

We chose the manual 6-speed transmission model because we are already used to shifting motorcycles (well, really 'cause I'm cheap - it's considerably cheaper than the automatic).

For a full description of this machine, check it out on the web (that's what the web is for).

The Route

There are a number of routes suggested by The Milepost.  If you are planning a trip to Alaska, you already know what The Milepost is. If you want to plan a trip to Alaska, then you will want to know what The Milepost is.

The route we have selected is known as 'Basic Itinerary #1'.  This is an inland route that starts at Seattle, WA and takes us through the following:

• Vancouver
• Cache Creek
• Prince George
• Dawson Creek
• Fort Nelson
• Watson Lake
• Whitehorse
• Tok
• Delta Junction
• Fairbanks
• Anchorage

The return route is from Anchorage to Haines over land, and from Haines to Bellingham, WA over water.  That is, via ferry.  Our plan is to live in the lap of luxury by pitching our tent on the deck of the ferry.  What could be more luxurious?  Unobstructed views!  Our own private space!  Cocktails at 5:00 pm!

Of course, we have to get ourselves from Longmont, CO to Seattle and back too, but that is a niggling detail.  We have allowed four weeks for this trip, most of which should be 'free form', as we have only a couple of hard dates:  ferry departure date, train/glacier cruise, and back to work.