Vic Van 2013 To Badlands

[BCmcrider]

Well, we're at it again, starting in Victoria/Vancouver area and ending in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

So far there are four of us committed but we're opening this up to others if they want to join us for part or all of the run. We will be staying in Hotels and camping alternately as our schedule allows.

Trip statistics: Total Miles 1857(36H) + 1518(29H) = 3375Miles 65Hours 65/9 = 7.22 Hours(375Miles) / Day average. The ride goes from Marysville South to John Day Oregon, then turns East through Jackson Wyoming, and on to Mount Rushmore, Minuteman missile silo, and Sturgis with loop or two in the Black Hills. The return trip includes Devils Tower, Beartooth pass, Lolo pass, and back through Leavenworth to Marysville.

Our first day riding is September 2nd from Marysville, Wa and our last day riding is September 10th, returning to the start location.

We know there will be much adventure and a few brews (for most of us) along the way, but primarily, good times and good company. As this is now the third annual, we're posting to invite anyone else who's interested. This topic will be a run-up to the event and event report when we're done.

I have to say, I've been planning for this mentally since I got off the bike last September when I got home and can't wait to get started again.

We hope to see some of you out on the road.

Last year's participants were, from left to right, BCmcrider, Digitallyhip, V-fore, Squamishvfr, and Eboro.

[Lorne]

Have you decided which direction over Beartooth Pass? It is fantastically scenic either direction but I think riding from the south is more fun. If it fits your plans, take Chief Joseph scenic byway (Wyo296) from Cody to Beartooth Pass. There you can decide to ride on to Red Bluff and west. If so, might I also suggest taking SR78 from Red Lodge to I-90?

Alternatively, ride lookout at the north end of the pass then backtrack through Yellowstone NP and either north through Gardiner or west through West Yellowstone. The $20/bike is a fair price I think.

Any of them lead you towards Lolo.

Sorry if this is old hat to you.

[BCmcrider]

Have you decided which direction over Beartooth Pass? It is fantastically scenic either direction but I think riding from the south is more fun. If it fits your plans, take Chief Joseph scenic byway (Wyo296) from Cody to Beartooth Pass. There you can decide to ride on to Red Bluff and west. If so, might I also suggest taking SR78 from Red Lodge to I-90?

Alternatively, ride lookout at the north end of the pass then backtrack through Yellowstone NP and either north through Gardiner or west through West Yellowstone. The $20/bike is a fair price I think.

Any of them lead you towards Lolo.

Sorry if this is old hat to you.

We're doing exactly what you described in the first part so glad to have your vote that we've made the right choice. Any other suggestions are welcome as it's not too late to make changes.

[V-FORE]

What Changes....I've already printed the maps.... I am so looking forward to this! Keep the suggestions coming!

[Cogswell]

If I understand this correctly, you'll be approaching Beartooth from East to West on your return. If not, this won't make sense.

Depending upon how you plan to get to Cody, there is the Bighorn Scenic byway which runs between Ranchester, WY on I-90 and Greybull, WY.

http://goo.gl/maps/rgeix

http://byways.org/explore/byways/2053/photos.html?id=75764

Cody would be the next stop west from Greybull. (beats grinding away on the interstate), but to get to Beartooth from there you'd have to route north from Greybull. I rode this the other direction last year as I came off Beartooth pass from West to East and really enjoyed it. There's also camping along the way at the Owen Creek Campground . . . http://goo.gl/maps/XVmmI

Red Lodge, MT is a really cool town. I wish I'd had time to stay there, but I was on a schedule and had to keep going. It's a biker town.

That may not fit your plans - there's no going wrong with anything that involves Beartooth - fantastic ride, though I did find the endless parade of Harleys going about 25 mph frustrating . . . passing them became like squashing ants at a picnic - there was just no end to it.

Once you get to Cooke City, MT, if you gas up at the Exxon there, you can wave at your friends on their webcam . . .

http://www.cookecity.com/netcam.htm

The place was jammed with bikes - the whole town is crammed with them on a weekend.

I wish I had known about the SR78 cutoff from I-90 to Red Lodge - 212 is boring . . .

Sounds like a great trip - please post up pics when you can.

[Squamishvfr]

I for one am overdue for some fun.

[V-FORE]

Only 8 days to launch!!!

[BCmcrider]

If I understand this correctly, you'll be approaching Beartooth from East to West on your return. If not, this won't make sense.

Depending upon how you plan to get to Cody, there is the Bighorn Scenic byway which runs between Ranchester, WY on I-90 and Greybull, WY.

http://goo.gl/maps/rgeix

http://byways.org/explore/byways/2053/photos.html?id=75764

Cody would be the next stop west from Greybull. (beats grinding away on the interstate), but to get to Beartooth from there you'd have to route north from Greybull. I rode this the other direction last year as I came off Beartooth pass from West to East and really enjoyed it. There's also camping along the way at the Owen Creek Campground . . . http://goo.gl/maps/XVmmI

Red Lodge, MT is a really cool town. I wish I'd had time to stay there, but I was on a schedule and had to keep going. It's a biker town.

That may not fit your plans - there's no going wrong with anything that involves Beartooth - fantastic ride, though I did find the endless parade of Harleys going about 25 mph frustrating . . . passing them became like squashing ants at a picnic - there was just no end to it.

Once you get to Cooke City, MT, if you gas up at the Exxon there, you can wave at your friends on their webcam . . .

http://www.cookecity.com/netcam.htm

The place was jammed with bikes - the whole town is crammed with them on a weekend.

I wish I had known about the SR78 cutoff from I-90 to Red Lodge - 212 is boring . . .

Sounds like a great trip - please post up pics when you can.

You nailed our route for the most part, as we're going from Greybull West to Cody, then North to Chief Joseph and Beartooth, ending up in Red Lodge. Not the shortest way back but likely one of the hopefully many highlights. Just looking at the Google map of Dead Indian Hill road is inspiring.

We don't plan to go through Cooke City Mt as we're heading North to Red Lodge. We kind of have to make a compromise to avoid turning around at Red Lodge, and that would also put us through Yellowstone again which, although scenic, is likely to be very slow. That being said, Red Lodge to Missoula where Lolo pass starts may be a little dry. Anyone with any suggestions for side roads on Red Lodge to Missoula portion of the return?

[BCmcrider]

Well, it's almost time folks. I'm off to the meeting point tomorrow afternoon and then it's onto many glorious miles with great folks.

Always fun to collect all the stuff you used for touring last, decide what to bring, and try to remember where you put it. Couldn't find my chain oil travel size and was about to go buy a new one when I realized it was stowed in my trials MC kit. I updated my list from last year and realized that it's longer that the list of stuff for getting the truck and camper ready with the wife and kid. Amazing it all fits but all of the stuff is much smaller than the camper variety, ie air mattress is about the size of a 1litre pop bottle whereas the camper mattress... not like I remove it from the camper anyway.

I thought I'd post my travel list and see if anyone can point out anything I forgot.

To Bring: Wallet Cash 2 credit cards Cell phone and charger Micro usb cable Bluetooth Xmitter 2 Regular glasses Camera & Batt & chg Cold weather gloves USB lighter charger Ear plugs Gold Bond Maps Itinerary Water/Gatorade Glasses cleaner/cloth GPS and cable Water bottle Toilet paper in ziplok Snacks MP3 and batteries Padlock Flashlight and headlight Plastic bag Garmin GPS? AAA batteries Ear buds Enhanced DL.

Clothes: 1 Jeans Swim trunks Shorts 2 t-shirts Shirts Long T Bathroom kit Cycle shorts Runners? Rain Jacket 5 socks 5 Underwear Baseball cap Comb MC Coat MC Liner Sandals

Tools/Bike: Chain Oil Tire plug kit Spark plug socket Glass cleaner small Rag Tire guage Pump Multimeter Tape Wire Zipties Velcro straps Windex and rags Tools Insurance Manual

Camping: Tent Dry bag Sleeping bag Slp bag liner Air mattress 12v pump Chair

To do: Wash Bike Air filter Chain Oil Check tires Install Saddlebags Tank Bag Put waypts in gps Charge camera bats Pack To Bring: Pack Clothes: Pack Tools: Pre-trip Purchases: Music on mp3 Call credit card company and let them know your traveling so they don't shut your card off mid trip.

Are we ready yet?

[V-FORE]

Your list looks like the stuff I threw together...I think you have it covered...I can help you with the music on mp3 I have 8,886 songs on my iTunes that you are welcome to pilfer Looking forward to this years Vic Van...is it Monday morning yet?

Let the S miles begin

[gmtech94]

Sturgis is empty now but be sure to ride Iron Mountain rd and if you get the chance ride the Badlands park just outside Rapid City as it is a great ride lots of nice corners . Also 58 south to Hot Springs is also a great road but only in the day as buffalo are usually about.

[Dutchy]

Pink Hello Kitty crown????? ;-)

[V-FORE]

Thanks for the reminder....The Tiara is now in the topbox

[BCmcrider]

Pink Hello Kitty crown????? ;-)

Just what we need. Thanks a lot Dutchy, I thought we'd finally buried that thing in the moon craters somewhere last year.

Thanks for the reminder....The Tiara is now in the topbox

If I find any more damn stickers on the back of my bike this year, I'm going to put Dutchy's plate on the pic and post it up.

[Dutchy]

Feel free to photoshop my plate on your condom adorned bike!

[BCmcrider]

Feel free to photoshop my plate on your condom adorned bike!

Trust me, a condom on my bike would be better than the sticker Gary supplied.

[BCmcrider]

Well, now that we're all back and settling into our regular lives I think it's time to put a bit of this into words and pictures so that we can re-live some of it and the rest of you can come along for a virtual trip.

To recall the trip plan, it was to be 9 days of travel starting in the Pacific Northwest, some of us from Canada, and one from Northwest Washington state, making our way down through the coastal mountains to a point roughly due East of the Black Hills of South Dakota, then winding Eastward through what we hoped would be both interesting and exciting riding. There was a good mix of terrain which we found kept the interest up but also gave sections of relaxed cruising at somewhat elevated speeds through the flatlands.

Day 0 - Getting to the start point.

To start with, I had to make my way to Washington as did the two other Canadians. This amounted to a ferry trip and a border crossing, always a relaxing way to get going, but perhaps a little too relaxing after you've been on a ferry 50 times over the last 30 years.

Somehow I never get tired of the sunsets.

Day 1 - Washington to John Day

After running through mount Rainier and our first initiation to some real curves,

, our first stop for lunch along the way, lined up and eagerly anticipating the next leg.

After a very hot afternoon, we have V-Fore trying to figure out where we are and Eboro doing his best "Smith from the Matrix" impression.

The windmill farms in Washington are becoming a bit like a drone army and have an interesting effect when they cast a moving shadow that overtakes you on the road. We hear varying figures as to the cost of each windmill from the folks we talked to. One person was sure that they were $2,000,000 each and figures that each 8 of them could replace a medium sized hydro dam, what ever size that may be.

Squamish sets up a group shot while wondering why he's standing still in the heat instead of cooling off in the admittedly still hot wind.

Our day ends in Fossil where they roll up the streets at 6:30pm but as luck would have it, we caught the staff of the Firehouse Deli as they were preparing to go home for the day. They cooked us up some interesting fare while we jawed with the locals.

When I say interesting fare, I mean this in the not so appealing way. Check out the $1.00 options on the menu.

[BCmcrider]

Day 2 John Day to Idaho Falls

After an hour of riding before breakfast, Eboro expressed his interest in a special pancake which we ordered for him while he was on a bathroom break.

The Squeeze-In restaurant proved to be a worthy breakfast place. Fueled up and fueled up, we were on the road again.

only to be held up shortly after that for a cattle drive.

Soon the road was clear and we were on our way, the next evening's destination being Craters of the Moon. As we'd stayed there last year, we knew there were no services so we stocked up with take-out Chinese and beer before making the last leg. The food proved to be only moderately edible, having much of the flavor and consistency of the volcanic cinder our tents were set up on and our beer didn't fare much better, apparently being the victim of a pothole or other bump in the road.

It actually looks a lot worse than it is as there was only one broken and the rest is the melted ice.

The campsite.

[superfunkomatic]

Great post. Looks like a good trip. I'll keep reading as you add content. Who knew that a silly quirky thing like giving Gary a Hello Kitty tiara would change his life. Haha.

[BCmcrider]

Day 3 Idaho Falls to Casper Wyoming.

As can be seen from my previous post, we didn't quite make it to Idaho Falls the previous day so we started out with a 67 mile run prior to breakfast to end up in Arco at Pickle's Place for breakfast. Not sure if it's the sky or what but the landscape around here can really make one feel insignificant.

If you get a chance to see Craters of the moon, don't pass it up as it is such a desolate, unforgiving place, you'll be left with a sense of awe. Craters of the moon is formed by the same hotspot that currently feeds Yellowstone, just at an earlier time before the tectonic plates had shifted through the ages.

Next stop, Jackson, Wyoming where it was hot hot, much like the rest of the trip. We took turns in the shade of the tree.

Here's where the scenery changed from Volcanic to tectonic as the Teton's reared up seeming out of nowhere.

A late afternoon run into Casper and camping at the local museum campground in mills followed.

The FJR was feeling decidedly segregated by this point.

[Switchblade]

FJR's I have a lot of fun with them on 129. Great post !!!!

[BCmcrider]

Day 4 Casper to Rushmore

Noticing temps of 32C at 8AM, we tried to put on a few miles before breakfast again, ending up at a roadside stop where the decor decidedly matched most of the clientele but not the food as it was excellent. Note the drooping ceiling tiles and painted wrought iron chairs from the turn of the century previous century.

An hour or so later after some flatlanding at flatland century speeds, we stopped for a break at the intersection waiting for the others to show up. The soon joined us in the only shade to be found beside a belly dumper, while trying not to get the random chunks of loose rebar stuck in our spokes or tires.

A short while later and we're pulling into Custer, Wyoming. We couldn't help notice the imposing looking cloud overhead while gassing up.

and the same one a short while later, having finally arrived at the black hills where our first stop was the crazy horse memorial. We noticed on the way from the parking lot to the entrance that there were piles of broken window glass in several locations and became a little concerned about the safety of leaving our bikes parked there. It didn't make a lot of sense however, as there were people everywhere and there would be little opportunity for a smash and grab. When we got to the entrance, we were met by staff looking up at the cloud formation and bordering on panic, actually recommending that we just get on our bikes and leave, and ride as far Southwest as we could to escape the impending doom. Apparently they'd had a massive hail storm the day before at about the same time after a similar looking cloud had approached from the same direction, which proceeded to smash windows and destroy both bikes and cars, and they were sure this was going to be a repeat performance. We decided lightening wouldn't likely strike the same spot twice and ignored the advice, eventually proving ourselves correct as the cloud passed without incident.

Crazy horse is a sight in the making but impressive for both it's size, and the tenacity of it's creators, having been a work in progress for over 60 years at this point. It is 180 feet tall as compared to 60 feet tall for the faces of Rushmore.

The finished sculpture should end up looking like this some time in the next 20-30 years, at least from the other side.

We had a native dancer / comedian entertain us after a dinner of buffalo stew.

The sculpture is roughed out with dynamite and finished with a supersonic torch that seals the granite against water entry.

Rushmore is equally impressive in it's own right. Compliments to squamishvfr for the close ups (plus many other photos) in these posts.

Squamish thought that as we'd paid $11 each to park at Rushmore, that we should at least document the deluxe parking arrangements. Not sure why they directed us to the bottom floor so we could walk up instead of the empty top floor.

[Lorne]

Great trip & pics so far, I'm looking forward to the rest of the story.

Day 3 Idaho Falls to Casper Wyoming.

Here's where the scenery changed from Volcanic to tectonic as the Teton's reared up seeming out of nowhere.

[BCmcrider]

Day 5 Rushmore to Minuteman (or so we thought)

Day 5 started much the same as the other days, with the promise of heat. Having immersed ourselves in a 100mph blowdryer for the last 4 days, we decided in a moment of weakness (aka sensibility) to skip the ride out to the minuteman missile silo. The fact that it was closed due to a broken down elevator hardly figured into the equation. Instead, we planned a replacement route for the day that would take us through the needles highway, out through some back roads of the black hills, and end up at Deadwood City and Sturgis.

We couldn't resist trading bikes on the way as it's always nice to see how the other guy experiences the day.

With that under our belt, we needed to slow down and relax as we made our way past Rushmore from the campsite. One dropped bike later, we were at the side of Rushmore where the pics are free and the parking doesn't require a stair climb.

Somehow we missed the turn for needles highway but with the help of mapping and (no gps due to 3 of them failing on this trip), dead reckoning, we were back on track.... or were we? Seriously, gravel? Yes, but only about 10 miles. Actually we knew it was coming and added it in to be able to connect the dots on a couple of fun back roads on the way to Deadwood city.

As we re-found pavement, nearly at Deadwood city, we stopped for a refreshment. Gary's eyes perked up at another chance to try a different ride.

Deadwood city proved to be one of the more interesting stops of the day, at least from the architecture standpoint.

Somehow we stumbled into the back alley only to see the beer cans from the night before.

V-fore sported his best riding attire, that being SOTGATT. In fairness, I believe this was only for walking around town.

Sturgis was.. well, it was Sturgis, what can I say. Without the rally, it's just a town with some really big empty bars.

At least we got one more chance to switch the rides up.

While we'd been at Crazy Horse the day before, we were informed that the next evening was one of the two yearly night blasts and that this was the proprietors birthday, so we made our way back there from Sturgis and were rewarded with a lazer show, inspirational speeches, and finally, the night blast we'd all been waiting for. I have to say the whole thing was rather well done and I would recommend it to anyone.

Amusing to see sponsorship advertising at the start of the show. Once again, thanks to Squamish for the long range and night photography.

We figured the night blasts were somewhat embellished with ie gasoline or propane. Regardless, they were fun to watch.

[BCmcrider]

FJR's I have a lot of fun with them on 129. Great post !!!!

This wouldn't happen to be the area you're talking about by any chance?

https://maps.google.ca/maps?saddr=U.S.+129,+Marble,+NC,+United+States&hl=en&ll=35.494709,-83.954258&spn=0.056254,0.130377&sll=54.112352,-126.555646&sspn=20.829955,66.75293&oq=hwy+129&t=h&mra=ls&z=14