Brilliant report as usual Mike really enjoy your writings
The Longest Day
- Thread starter MikeO
- Start date
24th June 2015
I sleep well – this time uninterrupted by musicians needing to practice in the early hours. I decide to have a slow start and shuffle about for a bit before deciding to drop into Denny’s next door for the Cardiac Surgeon's Skillet…
I make my way back to the hotel and finish packing the bike - it's going to be very hot today, and the forecast is for a heat wave by the weekend with temperatures just about everywhere over 100F.
I have booked a room in the Hampton Inn at Spokane Valley today - I don't want to be finishing too late because of the forecast temperature. It's already hot when I press the starter button at exactly 1100 and follow Doris's "winding Roads" route...
...which initially takes me on a divided highway (dual carriageway) heading vaguely east...
This is a fruit growing area - cherries mostly (by the signs) - my route is lined by miles of these trained bushes - anybody know what they might be?
I am turned off onto a normal highway, although I feel that the accuracy of the Winding Roads description might not bear much scrutiny...
In fairness, there's probably little choice in this part of the world...
I'm wearing dark glasses, behind a dark visor and the glare still makes me squint - and it's hot, despite having all the vents in my helmet and suit open, and travelling using the 55mph limit as more of a guideline than a rule...
Doris tells me to turn left and I am faced with this, despite this...
...being on the GPS mapping. Hey-ho
Did I mention it was hot?
Anywhere that isn't serviced by irrigators is just a sandy brown colour - all green bleached out by the sun...
This made me laugh (I have a schoolboy's sense of humour) - funnier still was that every sign I saw had the C of canal painted out...
I spotted this venerable old lady sitting halfway up someone's driveway, so this is the best picture I could get. I'll be really impressed if someone can identify it...
Onwards!
I ride a long time without seeing any green - too far from the canal to pump the water I suppose...
I then find these cousins sat together in the sun...
Different years of the same model I reckon...
Anybody like to guess make, model and year?
I take a breather for a few minutes and drink the bottle of 7Up I bought in the hotel - in a couple of hours it has gone from ice cold to luke warm in my tank bag...
You can see the circular track of the irrigator in this picture.
Still hot, by the way...
Did a couple of miles on recently gravelled road, then came across this place - a breaker's yard in the middle of nowhere...
I would have loved to have a wander about, as he seemed to have some interesting old cars, but it was shut...
This is where girls from Chelsea go, when they've been drinking a lot of elcahol...
The fuel light comes on and I have no idea where the next station will be. After 30 miles or so I crack and ask Doris - to find there's a service station three miles ahead...
Bloody card didn't work AGAIN
Suitably fuelled (and having had an ice cream sandwich - sadly without company today), I set off and almost immediately I'm turned down a gravel road...
...which quite quickly becomes a dirt road, with deep troughs of bull dust, which makes the front end wash out alarmingly. I get as far as the top of the rise in the pic above and see that there's a fairly steep slope down the other side. If I needed to turn back (and let's face it, Doris has not got a good track record on this) I don't think I could get the Adv back up that slope.
I decide that discretion is the better part of valour and retrace my steps...
In - appropriately - the town of Steptoe, I find a couple of old cars soaking up the sun...
My goodness that is ugly...
This is more to my taste...
Although it has clearly seen better days...
Anyone care to guess make, model and year?
It's still hot - so I set off on the final leg, which takes me onto the freeway...
...into Spokane Valley...
...and the air-conditioned comfort of the Hampton Inn...
Where to tomorrow?
I sleep well – this time uninterrupted by musicians needing to practice in the early hours. I decide to have a slow start and shuffle about for a bit before deciding to drop into Denny’s next door for the Cardiac Surgeon's Skillet…
I make my way back to the hotel and finish packing the bike - it's going to be very hot today, and the forecast is for a heat wave by the weekend with temperatures just about everywhere over 100F.
I have booked a room in the Hampton Inn at Spokane Valley today - I don't want to be finishing too late because of the forecast temperature. It's already hot when I press the starter button at exactly 1100 and follow Doris's "winding Roads" route...
...which initially takes me on a divided highway (dual carriageway) heading vaguely east...
This is a fruit growing area - cherries mostly (by the signs) - my route is lined by miles of these trained bushes - anybody know what they might be?
I am turned off onto a normal highway, although I feel that the accuracy of the Winding Roads description might not bear much scrutiny...
In fairness, there's probably little choice in this part of the world...
I'm wearing dark glasses, behind a dark visor and the glare still makes me squint - and it's hot, despite having all the vents in my helmet and suit open, and travelling using the 55mph limit as more of a guideline than a rule...
Doris tells me to turn left and I am faced with this, despite this...
...being on the GPS mapping. Hey-ho
Did I mention it was hot?
Anywhere that isn't serviced by irrigators is just a sandy brown colour - all green bleached out by the sun...
This made me laugh (I have a schoolboy's sense of humour) - funnier still was that every sign I saw had the C of canal painted out...
I spotted this venerable old lady sitting halfway up someone's driveway, so this is the best picture I could get. I'll be really impressed if someone can identify it...
Onwards!
I ride a long time without seeing any green - too far from the canal to pump the water I suppose...
I then find these cousins sat together in the sun...
Different years of the same model I reckon...
Anybody like to guess make, model and year?
I take a breather for a few minutes and drink the bottle of 7Up I bought in the hotel - in a couple of hours it has gone from ice cold to luke warm in my tank bag...
You can see the circular track of the irrigator in this picture.
Still hot, by the way...
Did a couple of miles on recently gravelled road, then came across this place - a breaker's yard in the middle of nowhere...
I would have loved to have a wander about, as he seemed to have some interesting old cars, but it was shut...
This is where girls from Chelsea go, when they've been drinking a lot of elcahol...
The fuel light comes on and I have no idea where the next station will be. After 30 miles or so I crack and ask Doris - to find there's a service station three miles ahead...
Bloody card didn't work AGAIN
Suitably fuelled (and having had an ice cream sandwich - sadly without company today
), I set off and almost immediately I'm turned down a gravel road...
...which quite quickly becomes a dirt road, with deep troughs of bull dust, which makes the front end wash out alarmingly. I get as far as the top of the rise in the pic above and see that there's a fairly steep slope down the other side. If I needed to turn back (and let's face it, Doris has not got a good track record on this) I don't think I could get the Adv back up that slope.
I decide that discretion is the better part of valour and retrace my steps...
In - appropriately - the town of Steptoe, I find a couple of old cars soaking up the sun...
My goodness that is ugly...
This is more to my taste...
Although it has clearly seen better days...
Anyone care to guess make, model and year?
It's still hot - so I set off on the final leg, which takes me onto the freeway...
...into Spokane Valley...
...and the air-conditioned comfort of the Hampton Inn...
Where to tomorrow?
The mystery cars:
The only thing I can think of for a truck of that vintage is a Dodge Brothers, c. 1927 but the grille doesn't look quite right so it may well not be.
The "cousins" are Chryslers. The one with the roof rack is a '50 Chrysler Traveler [sic]. The other is a '47 (?) Chrysler, probably a Windsor. It reminds me of the Dodge which my old flatmate, Robbie Coltrane left to rot in a lane in Edinburgh when he went to London to seek his fame and fortune in '77. He claimed that one had been Éamon de Valera's staff car. It wasn't.
The blue and black fastback is a '66 AMC Marlin.
The blue, white, red primer and rust is an iconic Tri Five - a '56 Chevrolet Bel Air, 4 door sedan.
The only thing I can think of for a truck of that vintage is a Dodge Brothers, c. 1927 but the grille doesn't look quite right so it may well not be.
The "cousins" are Chryslers. The one with the roof rack is a '50 Chrysler Traveler [sic]. The other is a '47 (?) Chrysler, probably a Windsor. It reminds me of the Dodge which my old flatmate, Robbie Coltrane left to rot in a lane in Edinburgh when he went to London to seek his fame and fortune in '77. He claimed that one had been Éamon de Valera's staff car. It wasn't.
The blue and black fastback is a '66 AMC Marlin.
The blue, white, red primer and rust is an iconic Tri Five - a '56 Chevrolet Bel Air, 4 door sedan.
Brilliant. Enjoying your photos.
Tuning in for the next instalment.
25th June 2015
At last – a good night’s sleep. I wake at 0700 feeling well rested for the first time this trip, deal with some emails and then ablute and wander downstairs for breakfast.
I spend ten minutes packing, then load everything onto the luggage trolley and wheel it out to the bike, safely ensconced under the canopy…
On the way past the front desk I swipe a 'go-bag' - that'll do for lunch...
I have booked a room tonight at the Hilton Garden Inn at Kalispell, Montana, and Doris has a four and a half hour winding roads route for me to follow.
So Chris (the builder) came around to estimate the bathroom work. I mentioned to him (thinking if he knew more work was in the offing he'd be more competitive with his quote) that I would want to get my kitchen and dining room knocked into one room and fitted out, probably later in the year. He offered to have a look at the job, whilst he was here. I then got a kitchen designer involved and, before I knew it, Chris had quoted competitively for both jobs - and said he could complete them both in the three weeks I was away...
With the bike packed, I check the oil and tyre pressures and then set off at about 1025. It's a beautiful cloudless day, already warm, but not unpleasantly so...
Doris steers me along State Highway 27 - it's a nice road - good surface and little traffic, although it is governed by a 55mph limit...
Most cereal crops seem to have been harvested here. It's very green...
...making a pleasant change from yesterday's parched landscape.
I take a wrong turn (misread Doris's screen) and am flagged down by Mary-Anne "call me Micky" Tee...
We chat for a couple of minutes. That is to say she speaks and I listen
I learn that she is 92 (she tells me this at least three times), her late husband Don was a gunner on B17s during the war, she has visited seven foreign countries - including England - and one of her two sons is a motorcycle cop. She's as mad as a box of frogs and absolutely delightful with it...
I tear myself away and Micky goes beetling off down the road taking her morning constitutional.
Meanwhile, back on the road...
...Doris has chosen a great route for me.
At around midday, I stop at the side of a lake and have my snaffled lunch. It's completely quiet, except for the occasional drone of a dragonfly and the intermittent tick and click of the bike's engine cooling...
Large wood-cutting chap on the front lawn of a school in Saint Maries, where I stop and fill up with petrol - and my card actually WORKS!
Onward!
From Saint Maries, Doris steers me down the St Joe River Road, which...
...as it name suggests, follows the St Joe river. It's a beautiful bit of countryside, there's enough shade to make the temperature perfect for riding...
I pass this chap on an old Honda with a Vetter fairing...
...and just enjoy the ride...
Doris turns me right onto about twelve miles of good quality gravel road...
I stop for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet...
But soon get going again - Kalispell isn't getting any closer...
We cross the river again and re-join the paved highway. It's well surfaced, virtually empty and is just a continuous stream of sweeping bends and turns - it reminds me very much of the Lo Lo Pass in Idaho...
It's an area popular with fly-fishermen and I catch sight of them once in a while - focussed completely on their pursuit...
Onward!
At about 80 miles from Saint Maries, the road leaves the river and starts to climb into the Idaho Panhandle National Forest...
I climb for miles, the air getting slightly cooler with altitude. Quite abruptly, there is a "Pavement Ends" sign on the right and this one on the left...
...and I enter a long downhill stretch on a gravel and dirt road...
It's well built and clearly well maintained, so I'm able to keep up a reasonable speed for the 20 or so miles it lasts for...
Doris then has one of her turns again. She tells me to go down this road (clearly marked Forest Loop - as well as the no unauthorised vehicle malarkey), saying it's called Tin Can Road. I just mark it as blocked and she redirects me to MT Highway 200...
Spotted this brightly coloured offering - any guesses on make/model/year?
MT 200 is a great road - just surfaced and with a speed limit of 70mph...
This chap in a huge Cadillac barge held me up for a while - lots of no-passing lines - but I eventually found a gap...
It's still not oppressively hot - I'm hoping that heading north might get me out of the worst of it over the next few days...
...but I'm feeling ready for something to eat - the Hampton Inn's cereal bar and apple can only take a chap so far...
The miles tick by, the scenery is just gorgeous...
I turn left and cross the Flathead River near Plains...
...and found these old boys sitting in the sun...
Identical twins, I reckon...
Onward!
I had forgotten how beautiful Montana is...
...and what the locals are like...
At last, Flathead Lake comes into view...
...and, in the originally named town of Lakeside...
...I stop at the Homestead Café - and notice that it has undergone some changes since I used to stop here for breakfast a few years back. It is now a bar and casino - and antique shop...
Never mind - is the food still good?
Yes
A Montana beef melt ensures I survive for the rest of the day...
I have a slow ride to Kalispell...
...and check into my room.
Great day...
At last – a good night’s sleep. I wake at 0700 feeling well rested for the first time this trip, deal with some emails and then ablute and wander downstairs for breakfast.
I spend ten minutes packing, then load everything onto the luggage trolley and wheel it out to the bike, safely ensconced under the canopy…
On the way past the front desk I swipe a 'go-bag' - that'll do for lunch...
I have booked a room tonight at the Hilton Garden Inn at Kalispell, Montana, and Doris has a four and a half hour winding roads route for me to follow.
So Chris (the builder) came around to estimate the bathroom work. I mentioned to him (thinking if he knew more work was in the offing he'd be more competitive with his quote
) that I would want to get my kitchen and dining room knocked into one room and fitted out, probably later in the year. He offered to have a look at the job, whilst he was here. I then got a kitchen designer involved and, before I knew it, Chris had quoted competitively for both jobs - and said he could complete them both in the three weeks I was away...With the bike packed, I check the oil and tyre pressures and then set off at about 1025. It's a beautiful cloudless day, already warm, but not unpleasantly so...
Doris steers me along State Highway 27 - it's a nice road - good surface and little traffic, although it is governed by a 55mph limit...
Most cereal crops seem to have been harvested here. It's very green...
...making a pleasant change from yesterday's parched landscape.
I take a wrong turn (misread Doris's screen) and am flagged down by Mary-Anne "call me Micky" Tee...
We chat for a couple of minutes. That is to say she speaks and I listen
I learn that she is 92 (she tells me this at least three times), her late husband Don was a gunner on B17s during the war, she has visited seven foreign countries - including England - and one of her two sons is a motorcycle cop. She's as mad as a box of frogs and absolutely delightful with it...
I tear myself away and Micky goes beetling off down the road taking her morning constitutional.
Meanwhile, back on the road...
...Doris has chosen a great route for me.
At around midday, I stop at the side of a lake and have my snaffled lunch. It's completely quiet, except for the occasional drone of a dragonfly and the intermittent tick and click of the bike's engine cooling...
Large wood-cutting chap on the front lawn of a school in Saint Maries, where I stop and fill up with petrol - and my card actually WORKS!
Onward!
From Saint Maries, Doris steers me down the St Joe River Road, which...
...as it name suggests, follows the St Joe river. It's a beautiful bit of countryside, there's enough shade to make the temperature perfect for riding...
I pass this chap on an old Honda with a Vetter fairing...
...and just enjoy the ride...
Doris turns me right onto about twelve miles of good quality gravel road...
I stop for a while to enjoy the peace and quiet...
But soon get going again - Kalispell isn't getting any closer...
We cross the river again and re-join the paved highway. It's well surfaced, virtually empty and is just a continuous stream of sweeping bends and turns - it reminds me very much of the Lo Lo Pass in Idaho...
It's an area popular with fly-fishermen and I catch sight of them once in a while - focussed completely on their pursuit...
Onward!
At about 80 miles from Saint Maries, the road leaves the river and starts to climb into the Idaho Panhandle National Forest...
I climb for miles, the air getting slightly cooler with altitude. Quite abruptly, there is a "Pavement Ends" sign on the right and this one on the left...
...and I enter a long downhill stretch on a gravel and dirt road...
It's well built and clearly well maintained, so I'm able to keep up a reasonable speed for the 20 or so miles it lasts for...
Doris then has one of her turns again. She tells me to go down this road (clearly marked Forest Loop - as well as the no unauthorised vehicle malarkey), saying it's called Tin Can Road. I just mark it as blocked and she redirects me to MT Highway 200...
Spotted this brightly coloured offering - any guesses on make/model/year?
MT 200 is a great road - just surfaced and with a speed limit of 70mph...
This chap in a huge Cadillac barge held me up for a while - lots of no-passing lines - but I eventually found a gap...
It's still not oppressively hot - I'm hoping that heading north might get me out of the worst of it over the next few days...
...but I'm feeling ready for something to eat - the Hampton Inn's cereal bar and apple can only take a chap so far...
The miles tick by, the scenery is just gorgeous...
I turn left and cross the Flathead River near Plains...
...and found these old boys sitting in the sun...
Identical twins, I reckon...
Onward!
I had forgotten how beautiful Montana is...
...and what the locals are like...
At last, Flathead Lake comes into view...
...and, in the originally named town of Lakeside...
...I stop at the Homestead Café - and notice that it has undergone some changes since I used to stop here for breakfast a few years back. It is now a bar and casino - and antique shop...
Never mind - is the food still good?
Yes
A Montana beef melt ensures I survive for the rest of the day...
I have a slow ride to Kalispell...
...and check into my room.
Great day...
Wonderful 
The blue and black fastback is a '66 AMC Marlin.
I like that, but then I have had 28 mk1 capri's!
I like that, but then I have had 28 mk1 capri's!
26th June 2015
Another good night’s sleep. I find that I crossed into Mountain Time at some stage yesterday, so everything is an hour later. This means I miss breakfast as I stumble about the room packing – Hey-ho.
I get the luggage trolley out to the bike and load up. It’s already really warm – over 90F at 1030…
I'm soon riding up Kalispell's main street and heading for Glacier National Park...
I stop and take a quick snap of this huge truck, which they were revving up in the car park...
...but I'm soon heading out of town towards Hungry Horse...
This device used to be used to clear a path through woodland, being towed by a team of horses.
How did the horses make any headway if there wasn't a path in the first place?
Out of town now, and the landscape is getting prettier by the mile...
A helicopter (you can just see it in line with the mountains) takes off from a pad on the left...
...where the second one is being pre-flighted. Helicopter tours of Glacier are a popular way to see the park...
I stop for a spot of brunch at West Glacier...
...then ride into the Park, where Ranger Jan Hardesty...
...gives me an effusive welcome and I buy an Annual Parks Pass...
...for $80. This will give me free access to all US National Parks for the next 12 months - it will probably pay for itself during the course of this trip (depending on where I end up) - it's one of the best value purchases if you are planning a tour of the USA...
I set off along Going to the Sun Road...
...passing one of the Park's Jammers - tour buses that also run a shuttle service. They were built in the 1930s and have been extensively modified (to run on propane, for example). Each bus has done in excess of 800,000 miles...
I ride on towards Logan Pass...
...there are lots of bikes coming in the other direction...
It's a pretty clear day and the views are breath taking...
It's a little cooler at this altitude, but only if you are out of direct sun...
Onward!
I try to get a repeat of my avatar picture, taken as I rode past the Weeping Wall in 2006...
Nah - not the same, is it?
Nearly at the top now...
You can see the road, cut into the side of the mountains...
Building Going to the Sun Road was an enormous undertaking, completed in 1932 - and maintaining it is a major task. This year it has opened early, as the weather has been unseasonably warm, but I think I recall GSgal telling me that they were struggling to open it for 4th July weekend recently...
I crest the top of the Pass, where there is a visitor centre with a packed car park, and start the descent towards St Marys on the northern side. I get stopped in traffic at road works for a couple of minutes and then I'm out of the Park, turning left towards Canada...
It's warm and I'm glad to be able to open the bike up to 70 or so and get some air moving around me...
Having ridden this road before, I know I am leaving any decent scenery in my rear view mirror and heading for a tedious ride...
I'm soon approaching the border crossing and the Canadian Immigration Officer asks me what I'm doing and why, then stamps my passport and tells me not to get into trouble...
I change Doris's settings so that I have a kph speedometer displayed (I will be speeding in metric from now on) and then settle down to a steady 100kph or so heading straight north...
It really is this plain - as flat as a desktop and as featureless as - well - something with no features...
I stop at Cardston to refuel, then continue north...
I decide to avoid visiting the disarmingly named 'Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump', as I went there in 2004. It commemorates a method of buffalo hunting the native Indians used to use - they would stampede a herd of buffalo towards a cliff, then butcher the dead animals at the bottom.
The 'Head Smashed In' part commemorates an early winner of the Darwin Awards, who wondered what it would be like to witness this scene from the bottom of the cliff. He was found with his head smashed in and is now immortalised...
I notice this sign. Apparently it refers to laws governing the use of cell phones and text messaging whilst driving.
Can't get the song out of my head for ages after crossing...
Eventually, you are so bored, you'll take a picture of anything, just to pass the time...
Calgary appears, like Oz on the horizon, and I'm soon being directed through the rush hour traffic to the Hampton Inn...
...where I am booked in for two nights - I will be taking a day off the bike tomorrow.
Another good night’s sleep. I find that I crossed into Mountain Time at some stage yesterday, so everything is an hour later. This means I miss breakfast as I stumble about the room packing – Hey-ho.
I get the luggage trolley out to the bike and load up. It’s already really warm – over 90F at 1030…
I'm soon riding up Kalispell's main street and heading for Glacier National Park...
I stop and take a quick snap of this huge truck, which they were revving up in the car park...
...but I'm soon heading out of town towards Hungry Horse...
This device used to be used to clear a path through woodland, being towed by a team of horses.
How did the horses make any headway if there wasn't a path in the first place?
Out of town now, and the landscape is getting prettier by the mile...
A helicopter (you can just see it in line with the mountains) takes off from a pad on the left...
...where the second one is being pre-flighted. Helicopter tours of Glacier are a popular way to see the park...
I stop for a spot of brunch at West Glacier...
...then ride into the Park, where Ranger Jan Hardesty...
...gives me an effusive welcome and I buy an Annual Parks Pass...
...for $80. This will give me free access to all US National Parks for the next 12 months - it will probably pay for itself during the course of this trip (depending on where I end up
) - it's one of the best value purchases if you are planning a tour of the USA...
I set off along Going to the Sun Road...
...passing one of the Park's Jammers - tour buses that also run a shuttle service. They were built in the 1930s and have been extensively modified (to run on propane, for example). Each bus has done in excess of 800,000 miles...
I ride on towards Logan Pass...
...there are lots of bikes coming in the other direction...
It's a pretty clear day and the views are breath taking...
It's a little cooler at this altitude, but only if you are out of direct sun...
Onward!
I try to get a repeat of my avatar picture, taken as I rode past the Weeping Wall in 2006...
Nah - not the same, is it?
Nearly at the top now...
You can see the road, cut into the side of the mountains...
Building Going to the Sun Road was an enormous undertaking, completed in 1932 - and maintaining it is a major task. This year it has opened early, as the weather has been unseasonably warm, but I think I recall GSgal telling me that they were struggling to open it for 4th July weekend recently...
I crest the top of the Pass, where there is a visitor centre with a packed car park, and start the descent towards St Marys on the northern side. I get stopped in traffic at road works for a couple of minutes and then I'm out of the Park, turning left towards Canada...
It's warm and I'm glad to be able to open the bike up to 70 or so and get some air moving around me...
Having ridden this road before, I know I am leaving any decent scenery in my rear view mirror and heading for a tedious ride...
I'm soon approaching the border crossing and the Canadian Immigration Officer asks me what I'm doing and why, then stamps my passport and tells me not to get into trouble...
I change Doris's settings so that I have a kph speedometer displayed (I will be speeding in metric from now on) and then settle down to a steady 100kph or so heading straight north...
It really is this plain - as flat as a desktop and as featureless as - well - something with no features...
I stop at Cardston to refuel, then continue north...
I decide to avoid visiting the disarmingly named 'Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump', as I went there in 2004. It commemorates a method of buffalo hunting the native Indians used to use - they would stampede a herd of buffalo towards a cliff, then butcher the dead animals at the bottom.
The 'Head Smashed In' part commemorates an early winner of the Darwin Awards, who wondered what it would be like to witness this scene from the bottom of the cliff. He was found with his head smashed in and is now immortalised...
I notice this sign. Apparently it refers to laws governing the use of cell phones and text messaging whilst driving.
Can't get the song out of my head for ages after crossing...
Eventually, you are so bored, you'll take a picture of anything, just to pass the time...
Calgary appears, like Oz on the horizon, and I'm soon being directed through the rush hour traffic to the Hampton Inn...
...where I am booked in for two nights - I will be taking a day off the bike tomorrow.
Great read,enjoying this
Safe riding.
Safe riding.
Always a good read - have a good trip Mike.
29th June 2015
So, it was slightly longer then a day off the bike...
My plan was to do some personal admin, laundry etc - and avoid the heat wave, which was hitting the western US for the next few days. Calgary was forecast to be a maximum of 84F, which sounded a lot better than Kalispell's 100+F...
So, after unpacking at the hotel, I went and filled the Adv up - and bought a litre of oil, as the sight-glass showed just a smidgen of oil this morning. The garage gave me a disposable funnel - excellent idea (and probably saves a lot of oil spillages on their forecourt)...
Then did some general shopping and rode back to the hotel. Treated myself to a vegetarian pizza (no - I've not turned veggie - just fancied something different)...
About three hours after I'd eaten it, I started feeling unwell - cue a stomach upset that lasted until the early hours of this morning (causing me to extend my stay by a night)...
On the plus side, I probably needn't worry about any weight gain on the trip so far...
So - the heat wave having largely dissipated, I wake this morning to a dull overcast day. I nervously breakfast on some porridge, then wander outside to the bike. It's a very humid atmosphere and in the high 70s F already.
I load the bike up and snaffle a couple of Go-bags from the charming Anita at the front desk...
...and then set off into the Calgary urban freeway system...
There are rainstorms wandering the countryside and I shall be very lucky to avoid a soaking today, as I retrace my steps towards Fort MacLeod...
This Abnormal Load heading north was doing so at about 60mph - overtaking vehicles...
How about a bit of aircraft recognition? Any guesses?
No prizes for this Lancaster. This is Nanton Air Museum, home to the RCAF Bomber Command Memorial...
I believe only U-Boats had a higher casualty rate than night bomber crews during WW2.
They were never given so much as a campaign medal.
As the son of an RAF Lancaster pilot I think it's a disgrace - but there are far worse things happening in the world...
How about this one then?
A little further down the road in Nanton I see this rather unusual old girl up for sale...
Presumably a delivery van - any guesses on make/model/year?
Onward!
Near this car dealership at Claresholm, I decide to sample a Canadian institution...
Tim Horton's sells doughnuts...
OK DONUTS - sheesh...
I decide to test my still fragile constitution with a couple and a cup of coffee...
Well, a chap needs to keep his strength up...
Sufficiently recaffeinated, I set off south again...
I really liked this, apart from the weird headlamps...
...should be an easy one...
I turn off towards Lethbridge on Highway 319...
I've not planned a long route today - just over the US border. This will prove to be a wise move...
I saw this little car across the other side of the freeway and turned at the next exit to go back and take some pics...
I remember there being one of these in my neighbourhood when I was a small child - it looks like a dodgem car...
Anybody like to guess make/model/year?
Nearby is a much older lady...
...with very few clues as to her identity...
...in fact the only badge I can find anywhere...
...is what looks like a stylised "DB" on one of the wheel hubs...
Any ideas?
Onwards!
I am now approaching the US Border...
...and I join the queue of southbound vehicles...
...they have two lanes open and seem to be getting people cleared through quite quickly. You are not permitted to photograph the actual border operation, so I put the camera back in the pouch on my belt.
I get called forward and present my passport, explaining that this is a borrowed bike. The border chap tells me to park in the car park and come inside...
This I do - it's actually a pleasure to be inside in a cool air-conditioned environment, as it's now very warm and humid outside. The very polite and efficient officer asks me about my trip and my previous visits to the USA. He asks to see the documentation for the vehicle and I produce it. He then asks if I have any form of written authorisation from Jorge to let me use the vehicle. I don't - but as soon as he asks I wonder why I didn't think of it before setting off (of course I had no original intention of travelling to Canada, but it still seems like such an obvious thing to have missed).
No problem, he says, just get him to fax us a letter to that effect and take a seat while we wait for it to come in.
Now there's a snag - Jorge and I exchanged texts when I was in Tim Horton's - he was airborne half an hour out of Seattle at the time. He's likely not home yet.
Plus there is no Wi-Fi at all at the border post and only Canadian cell coverage, so my phone, email and texts don't work. The border chap lets me use their 'phone and I leave a voicemail for Jorge. An hour or so later the fax turns up and I'm charged $6 for an entry visa and wished a safe journey.
I have a feeling I will owe Jorge a very large beer...
I climb aboard the Adv again and head into the USA...
It has been a two and a quarter-hour delay - but my own stupid fault...
I manage to dodge the remaining squalls as I ride the 37 miles to Shelby and my room at the Comfort Inn...
I notice that it seems to have movie related appliances...
I turn the air conditioner up to eleven...
So, it was slightly longer then a day off the bike...
My plan was to do some personal admin, laundry etc - and avoid the heat wave, which was hitting the western US for the next few days. Calgary was forecast to be a maximum of 84F, which sounded a lot better than Kalispell's 100+F...
So, after unpacking at the hotel, I went and filled the Adv up - and bought a litre of oil, as the sight-glass showed just a smidgen of oil this morning. The garage gave me a disposable funnel - excellent idea (and probably saves a lot of oil spillages on their forecourt)...
Then did some general shopping and rode back to the hotel. Treated myself to a vegetarian pizza (no - I've not turned veggie - just fancied something different)...
About three hours after I'd eaten it, I started feeling unwell - cue a stomach upset that lasted until the early hours of this morning (causing me to extend my stay by a night)...
On the plus side, I probably needn't worry about any weight gain on the trip so far...
So - the heat wave having largely dissipated, I wake this morning to a dull overcast day. I nervously breakfast on some porridge, then wander outside to the bike. It's a very humid atmosphere and in the high 70s F already.
I load the bike up and snaffle a couple of Go-bags from the charming Anita at the front desk...
...and then set off into the Calgary urban freeway system...
There are rainstorms wandering the countryside and I shall be very lucky to avoid a soaking today, as I retrace my steps towards Fort MacLeod...
This Abnormal Load heading north was doing so at about 60mph - overtaking vehicles...
How about a bit of aircraft recognition? Any guesses?
No prizes for this Lancaster. This is Nanton Air Museum, home to the RCAF Bomber Command Memorial...
I believe only U-Boats had a higher casualty rate than night bomber crews during WW2.
They were never given so much as a campaign medal.
As the son of an RAF Lancaster pilot I think it's a disgrace - but there are far worse things happening in the world...
How about this one then?
A little further down the road in Nanton I see this rather unusual old girl up for sale...
Presumably a delivery van - any guesses on make/model/year?
Onward!
Near this car dealership at Claresholm, I decide to sample a Canadian institution...
Tim Horton's sells doughnuts...
OK DONUTS - sheesh...
I decide to test my still fragile constitution with a couple and a cup of coffee...
Well, a chap needs to keep his strength up...
Sufficiently recaffeinated, I set off south again...
I really liked this, apart from the weird headlamps...
...should be an easy one...
I turn off towards Lethbridge on Highway 319...
I've not planned a long route today - just over the US border. This will prove to be a wise move...
I saw this little car across the other side of the freeway and turned at the next exit to go back and take some pics...
I remember there being one of these in my neighbourhood when I was a small child - it looks like a dodgem car...
Anybody like to guess make/model/year?
Nearby is a much older lady...
...with very few clues as to her identity...
...in fact the only badge I can find anywhere...
...is what looks like a stylised "DB" on one of the wheel hubs...
Any ideas?
Onwards!
I am now approaching the US Border...
...and I join the queue of southbound vehicles...
...they have two lanes open and seem to be getting people cleared through quite quickly. You are not permitted to photograph the actual border operation, so I put the camera back in the pouch on my belt.
I get called forward and present my passport, explaining that this is a borrowed bike. The border chap tells me to park in the car park and come inside...
This I do - it's actually a pleasure to be inside in a cool air-conditioned environment, as it's now very warm and humid outside. The very polite and efficient officer asks me about my trip and my previous visits to the USA. He asks to see the documentation for the vehicle and I produce it. He then asks if I have any form of written authorisation from Jorge to let me use the vehicle. I don't - but as soon as he asks I wonder why I didn't think of it before setting off (of course I had no original intention of travelling to Canada, but it still seems like such an obvious thing to have missed).
No problem, he says, just get him to fax us a letter to that effect and take a seat while we wait for it to come in.
Now there's a snag - Jorge and I exchanged texts when I was in Tim Horton's - he was airborne half an hour out of Seattle at the time. He's likely not home yet.
Plus there is no Wi-Fi at all at the border post and only Canadian cell coverage, so my phone, email and texts don't work. The border chap lets me use their 'phone and I leave a voicemail for Jorge. An hour or so later the fax turns up and I'm charged $6 for an entry visa and wished a safe journey.
I have a feeling I will owe Jorge a very large beer...
I climb aboard the Adv again and head into the USA...
It has been a two and a quarter-hour delay - but my own stupid fault...
I manage to dodge the remaining squalls as I ride the 37 miles to Shelby and my room at the Comfort Inn...
I notice that it seems to have movie related appliances...
I turn the air conditioner up to eleven...
ahebron
Registered user
The little cutie is a Nash Metropolitan from late 50s early 60s.
The DB badge stands for Dodge Brothers so the car must be a Brothers........sorry Dodge.
Adrian
The DB badge stands for Dodge Brothers so the car must be a Brothers........sorry Dodge.
Adrian
Yep - Nash Metropolitan
- the one in my neighbourhood was a convertible I think...
So - an early Dodge - anybody up for a challenge and see if they can identify how early?
EDIT - how about 1928?
30th June 2015
I sleep relatively well and I’m up and about at 0800 – or 0900 – I think I’m on Mountain Time…
I load the luggage trolley up and strap it all to the Adv, waiting under the canopy in some heavyweight company…
…I stop for fuel at the Exxon by the railway lines and then set off onto the Freeway (US15 South) – I have a long way to go today and it is forecast to be warm…
The Freeway has a 75mph limit and very little traffic. The Adv is singing along at this sort of speed, as smooth as silk. Well, cotton. Perhaps burlap…
Anyway – smooth.
There’s an unpleasant gusty wind from the right, but I hunker down and find a riding position that makes it acceptable…
I’m booked into a motel in Red Lodge today – which means I’m effectively covering the entire North/South span of Montana…
I eventually come into Great Falls and Doris directs me through the town – a seemingly endless line of car dealerships…
Back in the country again, I come across several sets of roadworks, which hold me up for a little while.
At around 1130 (or 1230) I stop at Candell’s Café…
…not the most promising looking exterior, but the car park was full, and that is the best advert there is. I get a splendid bacon cheeseburger, fries and lemonade for about $12 – excellent value…
I take the precaution of refilling my CamelBack with ice and water and get on my way. I still have just under four hours riding according to Doris…
The wind is now at my back, which makes life much more pleasant, but it’s a hot day and the slipstream has little cooling effect, despite all the vents and zips being open on my jacket and helmet…
In the middle of nowhere I spot two Humvees stopped on the right – perhaps the zombie apocalypse has started and I’ve missed it?
Well no wonder there’s a wind – these things were turning like mad…
More roadworks – this time there are traffic lights and a Pilot Car…
Which is great – bikes always get waved to the front so they aren’t choking on everyone else’s dust.
I stop for fuel again at Harlowton…
…and then spot three old gents parked in the sun…
…any guesses for make/model year?
Onward!
The countryside is getting hillier now and the wind has died a little…
I manage to take a quick snap on the hoof of this old lady on a car transporter – much to the amusement of the truck driver…
Mr Git might consider a change of name if he intends to expand into the UK…
Doris turns me off the Red Lodge road toward Joliet…
…it’s a fantastic road, with long sweeping bends and great sight lines – I make a lot of progress (despite my arse complaining at the length of time it has been sat on the instrument of torture that is the standard BMW 1150 Adv seat)
I come across this message written on a building – can any of my US readers shed light on what it might mean?
At long last I ride into Red Lodge…
It’s clearly well prepared for the upcoming 4th July weekend…
This improbable looking monster swings into the road in front of me…
When he stops to park I stop and take a quick snap and ask him what engine he has fitted…
“350 Chevy – but we’ve done a thing or two to it…”
After an interminable wait in roadworks within Red Lodge, I at last reach my hotel…
84F – it feels warmer…
When checking in, the receptionist tells me to be sure not to leave any food in my bike – there are bears in the car park at night…
I’m given a room with a wheezy air conditioner and find I am completely unable to connect with any of my devices to the internet – the Wi-Fi is clearly OK, as one of the guests is surfing on the channel I am trying to join…
I have a couple of cold drinks and sit very close to the air conditioner…
I sleep relatively well and I’m up and about at 0800 – or 0900 – I think I’m on Mountain Time…
I load the luggage trolley up and strap it all to the Adv, waiting under the canopy in some heavyweight company…
…I stop for fuel at the Exxon by the railway lines and then set off onto the Freeway (US15 South) – I have a long way to go today and it is forecast to be warm…
The Freeway has a 75mph limit and very little traffic. The Adv is singing along at this sort of speed, as smooth as silk. Well, cotton. Perhaps burlap…
Anyway – smooth.
There’s an unpleasant gusty wind from the right, but I hunker down and find a riding position that makes it acceptable…
I’m booked into a motel in Red Lodge today – which means I’m effectively covering the entire North/South span of Montana…
I eventually come into Great Falls and Doris directs me through the town – a seemingly endless line of car dealerships…
Back in the country again, I come across several sets of roadworks, which hold me up for a little while.
At around 1130 (or 1230) I stop at Candell’s Café…
…not the most promising looking exterior, but the car park was full, and that is the best advert there is. I get a splendid bacon cheeseburger, fries and lemonade for about $12 – excellent value…
I take the precaution of refilling my CamelBack with ice and water and get on my way. I still have just under four hours riding according to Doris…
The wind is now at my back, which makes life much more pleasant, but it’s a hot day and the slipstream has little cooling effect, despite all the vents and zips being open on my jacket and helmet…
In the middle of nowhere I spot two Humvees stopped on the right – perhaps the zombie apocalypse has started and I’ve missed it?
Well no wonder there’s a wind – these things were turning like mad…
More roadworks – this time there are traffic lights and a Pilot Car…
Which is great – bikes always get waved to the front so they aren’t choking on everyone else’s dust.
I stop for fuel again at Harlowton…
…and then spot three old gents parked in the sun…
…any guesses for make/model year?
Onward!
The countryside is getting hillier now and the wind has died a little…
I manage to take a quick snap on the hoof of this old lady on a car transporter – much to the amusement of the truck driver…
Mr Git might consider a change of name if he intends to expand into the UK…
Doris turns me off the Red Lodge road toward Joliet…
…it’s a fantastic road, with long sweeping bends and great sight lines – I make a lot of progress (despite my arse complaining at the length of time it has been sat on the instrument of torture that is the standard BMW 1150 Adv seat)
I come across this message written on a building – can any of my US readers shed light on what it might mean?
At long last I ride into Red Lodge…
It’s clearly well prepared for the upcoming 4th July weekend…
This improbable looking monster swings into the road in front of me…
When he stops to park I stop and take a quick snap and ask him what engine he has fitted…
“350 Chevy – but we’ve done a thing or two to it…”
After an interminable wait in roadworks within Red Lodge, I at last reach my hotel…
84F – it feels warmer…
When checking in, the receptionist tells me to be sure not to leave any food in my bike – there are bears in the car park at night…
I’m given a room with a wheezy air conditioner and find I am completely unable to connect with any of my devices to the internet – the Wi-Fi is clearly OK, as one of the guests is surfing on the channel I am trying to join…
I have a couple of cold drinks and sit very close to the air conditioner…
If it's not too late, you might consider eating at the Carbon County Steakhouse, the mussels and/or the rack of ribs were unbelievable last time I was there
I was never particularly interested in motorcycling through the States (Canada and South America maybe) but not the US of A, until you started this report Mike 
Ya bugger
Ya bugger
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