24th June
I wake early and I’m on the road at 0730. It’s a clear morning and I’m heading out of Cooke City to drive over the Beartooth Pass. I tried to get over here two months ago, but it was closed.
This is just past where I got in April…
Still on the way up…
…still climbing…
…looking back down – I see a pair of RVs stalking me – time to move on!
Near the summit…
…all downhill from here…
The valleys are clinging to some low cloud…
…which is just where I’m headed…
…it’ll take me over 5 miles by road to get to where that car is, as the road clings to the side of the mountain. This is a road that has to be done on 2 wheels - dammit!
In the little town of Red Lodge, I stop at Hank’s Place – a ‘stealth’ café – in that it doesn’t seem to advertise
. I meet up with Marty Becker (Snr – sitting on bike), who is on holiday with his kids, Marty jnr, Mitch and Vicky – and family friend Chuck…
…they live all over the USA, but get together every year for a riding holiday. They are a great bunch – only Marty Snr rides a BMW (only one old enough) – we talk for a while about my final drive – his LT is approaching 60k miles and he’s going to get his dealer to check the bearings at the next service…
As I get ready to leave, I find that Marty jnr has paid for my breakfast.
I realise I’m going to have to get my skates on. I need to be back at Jorge & Sheila’s tomorrow night and it’s over 800 miles by road. I set Betty the task of getting me there by the quickest route and set off. After several hours, I arrive in Missoula – with 400 or so miles left to do, and check into Motel 6.
Entering civilization for the first time that day, my mobile phone tells me I’ve a message – Jorge needs to contact me urgently – bugger. I ring and find out that my credit card didn’t clear or something. I ring Portland BMW Parts & Accessories and speak to Drew. I give him exactly the same details as I did 2 days ago and the payment goes through without a snag. Of course, this means that I won’t get the parts until noon on Saturday at best…
I wake early and I’m on the road at 0730. It’s a clear morning and I’m heading out of Cooke City to drive over the Beartooth Pass. I tried to get over here two months ago, but it was closed.
This is just past where I got in April…
Still on the way up…
…still climbing…
…looking back down – I see a pair of RVs stalking me – time to move on!
Near the summit…
…all downhill from here…
The valleys are clinging to some low cloud…
…which is just where I’m headed…
…it’ll take me over 5 miles by road to get to where that car is, as the road clings to the side of the mountain. This is a road that has to be done on 2 wheels - dammit!
In the little town of Red Lodge, I stop at Hank’s Place – a ‘stealth’ café – in that it doesn’t seem to advertise
. I meet up with Marty Becker (Snr – sitting on bike), who is on holiday with his kids, Marty jnr, Mitch and Vicky – and family friend Chuck…
…they live all over the USA, but get together every year for a riding holiday. They are a great bunch – only Marty Snr rides a BMW (only one old enough
) – we talk for a while about my final drive – his LT is approaching 60k miles and he’s going to get his dealer to check the bearings at the next service…As I get ready to leave, I find that Marty jnr has paid for my breakfast.
I realise I’m going to have to get my skates on. I need to be back at Jorge & Sheila’s tomorrow night and it’s over 800 miles by road. I set Betty the task of getting me there by the quickest route and set off. After several hours, I arrive in Missoula – with 400 or so miles left to do, and check into Motel 6.
Entering civilization for the first time that day, my mobile phone tells me I’ve a message – Jorge needs to contact me urgently – bugger. I ring and find out that my credit card didn’t clear or something. I ring Portland BMW Parts & Accessories and speak to Drew. I give him exactly the same details as I did 2 days ago and the payment goes through without a snag. Of course, this means that I won’t get the parts until noon on Saturday at best…
