The Big Ride III

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
Preface:
Rick and I have ridden together almost since I started riding back in 2000. He got me into camping and that has expanded my touring fun exponentially. A few years later we added Steve to the mix and did The Big Ride and then a couple years later Khris as well and did the 4 States, 4 Fools trip aka The Big Ride II. Khris couldn’t make this one as he moved to CA and busy becoming a pilot so it was back to the 3 Stooges for this ride.

However, a late addition to the trip is Andrew aka Trosty from the UK. He’s been living in the states for about a year and was between jobs. Instead of staying home crying about not being employed, he decided to go to the Sturgis MC Rally and when I mentioned our routes he was intrigued... So, I invited him, we’ll see if he’s all that interested after a couple more days.

The purpose of this ride are 3 fold: 1) Attend the MotoCampers event, 2) Scope out campgrounds for future MotoCamper or ST-Owners/NT-Owners events and 3) Have a blast.

DAY 1 (8/1 - Thursday) - Get to Eureka Springs (Kettle Campground)

Joe and Andrew:
Pretty easy ride for us, just 400-ish miles. We stopped about half way to meet my parents so I could give my mom some spices from Dallas that she can't easily get in that part of OK, well, and to see mom again.



Andrew and I hit the AR sign on the way:




Rick:

Rick had about 600+ miles to Eureka Springs. Oddly enough, he had the longest to get there and was the 1st to arrive - if you know Rick, that's not really a surprise.

Even his dog wanted to come along:



Here's Rick grabbing the AR sign on his way:



Steve:

Well, Steve is a lawyer so it took him the longest time to go the shortest distance - this wouldn't be the 1st time we picked on him.

At the Campground:

Rick was having a strange issue with his boot - it was leaking oil:



So, we found a loose bolt on his GS and I just happened to have the right hex key that would fit it, all good for the bike with 180,000+ miles on it.



This wasn't the only technical issue we had to deal with on this trip - Andrew was having a problem with his gloves, gladly, we figured that one out.



Dinner was courtesy of Subway - for which I think Steve is sick of by now:

 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 2 (8/2 - Friday) - Eureka Springs to Interlochen, MI (Cycle Moore Campground)

Andrew’s previous long-day was 570 miles, we chuckled and said we’ll beat that today.



He only slept about an hour due to the tree frogs or crickets or whatever was making the noise in the area, he also had a 1" self-inflating mattress that was not helping but he was up and bright-eyed with the rest of us and we headed out.

The Missouri sign:



I stated previously, this is deer country so we need to take it easy - I may have fibbed a little.



We stopped after a tank of gas for breakfast at McDonald's and Andrew walked over to the nearby Walmart to get a better air mattress.



... then, back on the road.



We had to make some time so it was interstate at this point for a while - St Louis is always 'interesting' to get through.



Here's the Illinois sign, not real easy to pull over for a pic.



At the ? way point we had a gas/rest stop and as we were leaving Andrew got rear-ended by at 15 year old kid. The kid saw Rick and myself pull out together, then when Steve pulled out he was thinking Andrew would go as well and moved forward but Andrew was waiting on the traffic for a better space to pull into. The small SUV tagged his left saddlebag and caused the handlebars to turn so the bike tipped over on the right side. Andrew landed on his right elbow - ATGATT - and it was swollen but the armor made it so he could continue his ride albeit in discomfort.



Steve, being a Lawyer, had to document the ‘incident’.







Apparently, it's illegal in IL to have a British Accent or as the police officer stated 'You aren't from around here are you?"



Steve - again - trying to reenact the incident in case it needed to go to court.





"No Officer, you say it Toe-mah-toe, not tomato"



"oooh... that tickles".



Andrew did great!.. He was disappointed as most of us would be but it didn't let it spoil his riding plans.

Always inspirational to pass by this:



We couldn't find a good Indiana sign so stopped at a rest stop and we also wanted to see how Andrew was doing.



Indiana was a really nice state to ride through - it was strange but looked like everyone mowed their lawns on the same day for several cities. Do they have a state-wide lawn mowing day?

It was late when we hit the Michigan sign.



We hit a nice thunderstorm cell just about 100 miles out from the campground and I found out that the Bell Photochromaic shield which automatically darkens and lightens with light levels but not great when it rains is 0% useful when it rains and is dark out. I had to pull over and told Rick I'd just set up my tent right there in a field be cause it was too dangerous to ride with that shield in those conditions - I've ridden in many similar conditions with other faceshields and never had issues. He had the bright idea to switch helmets with me. His bike shield has a flip to it so he can open the helmet shield up a bit and peek through it to see whereas I would get pelted with rain and my eyeglasses would be an issue then. It was enough to get us past the storm and back on our way - 1st thing to order is a regular dark shield - oh, yeah the clear shield was at home sitting in the garage - I didn't think I needed it.. LOL

I think our miles for the day was 1,037 so Andrew now has a new big-day and the following day was a rest day.

Also, we found out today Steve's CB does not transmit but he can at least hear Rick and I.
 

dduelin

Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Site Supporter
Joined
Feb 11, 2006
Messages
9,641
Location
Jacksonville
Bike
GL1800 R1200RT NC700
2024 Miles
006739
STOC #
6651
Great photos and commentary. Glad to see the Wee eating the miles under you.
 

Gerhard

Site Supporter
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
1,882
Location
Ontario
Bike
2012 R1200RT
Looks like you had a great time even with the little accident, glad he wasn't hurt too badly.

Gerhard
 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 3 (8/3 - Saturday) - Hang Out at the MotoCampers.com North Woods Camp Out III (Cycle Moore Campground)

This was a rest day and reserved for being at the event and just taking it easy.

The event was great with lots of folks I've met in the past and many more new friends we got to meet.









We decided to take Steve's bike apart while we had the chance and see if his transmit issues were due to a loose connector. He kept saying we were messing with him the whole time. A little history - on our 1st Big Ride he had a handheld CB he threw together at the last minute and it kept having issues so he wadded it up and tossed it in his saddlebag after day 1. On the 2nd Big Ride we messed with him on the 1st day 'til the 1st gas stop pretending we didn't' hear him when we could, and he had just gotten a new J&M CB installed... LOL So, he probably still things we're messing with him.





Well, as you can see in this picture, Steve got me back at the very last moment - it still hurts - that's okay though, his CB still didn't work LOL.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 4 (8/4 - Sunday) - Interlochen, MI to to Buffalo River SP

Today was going to be a grind to just get across the country toward the best riding of the trip in Montana.



We left around 8am and came across a draw bridge on our way towards the Mackinac bridge.



The Mackinac Bridge was very cool.









Just after the bridge, we stopped at the Country Girl Diner





The lady that runs the place was hilarious. Andrew asked what could we have and she said "anything you want'. Then, gave him 'the look' when he asked for beans and A1 steak sauce with his breakfast. The rest of us just shut up and ordered what was on the menu.



The Wisconsin sign:



and Minnesota:



We stayed at Buffalo River State Park just before the North Dakota border.



Just under 800 miles for this leg and Steve's CB still isn't transmitting. He's also reporting some crackling - so he's wrapping it around his camelbak straps to get a better connection.
 

gmast1100

Gettin old sux
Joined
Dec 26, 2008
Messages
1,554
Age
76
Location
Blairsville, GA
Bike
2016 Kawasaki Versys
STOC #
297
My guess for the little bridge up b/4 you got to Big Mac, was in Charlevoix, MI??? Been across it many times. Still trying to figure out where the Country Girl Diner is??
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
929
Age
63
Location
Louisiana
Bike
2019 GL1800
STOC #
8659
Nice ride report, happy faces having fun except for the accident it looks like a great ride. I am curious about the CB, I have a J&M that works great. Being a bit of a radio kind of guy I wonder why so many install a fiberglass antenna ? A stainless steel transmits and receives waaaay better and easier to adjust SWR.
 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
My guess for the little bridge up b/4 you got to Big Mac, was in Charlevoix, MI??? Been across it many times. Still trying to figure out where the Country Girl Diner is??
Yup, that must have been Charlevoix.

The Country Girl Diner here:

[GMAP]<iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=Country+Girl+Diner,+Naubinway,+MI&amp;aq=0&amp;oq=country+girl+&amp;sll=45.927991,-84.872475&amp;sspn=0.195818,0.445976&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=Country+Girl+Diner,&amp;hnear=Naubinway,+Mackinac,+Michigan&amp;ll=46.1003,-85.4348&amp;spn=0.017168,0.028153&amp;t=h&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=46.094566,-85.447564&amp;panoid=wB80e9vfBP3u0k2OkUkNjw&amp;cbp=12,219.21,,0,12.89&amp;output=svembed"></iframe><br /><small><a href="https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&amp;source=embed&amp;hl=en&amp;geocode=&amp;q=Country+Girl+Diner,+Naubinway,+MI&amp;aq=0&amp;oq=country+girl+&amp;sll=45.927991,-84.872475&amp;sspn=0.195818,0.445976&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=Country+Girl+Diner,&amp;hnear=Naubinway,+Mackinac,+Michigan&amp;ll=46.1003,-85.4348&amp;spn=0.017168,0.028153&amp;t=h&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=46.094566,-85.447564&amp;panoid=wB80e9vfBP3u0k2OkUkNjw&amp;cbp=12,219.21,,0,12.89" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small>[/GMAP]
 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
Nice ride report, happy faces having fun except for the accident it looks like a great ride. I am curious about the CB, I have a J&M that works great. Being a bit of a radio kind of guy I wonder why so many install a fiberglass antenna ? A stainless steel transmits and receives waaaay better and easier to adjust SWR.
Funny you say that.. Rick and I have Firestik antenna and Steve has a thin metal/steel one. Actually, the CB could have been damaged after the Big Ride II crash - we'll revisit the site later as part of this trip report.
 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 5 (8/5 - Monday) - Buffalo River SP to Red Lodge, MT - KOA

Another grind today to get to Red Lodge, MT.



Andrew split off from us this morning - he was headed for the Sturgis MC Rally but had family there so had a place to stay. His elbow was still a little sore but it never seemed to dampen his enthusiasm. Not sure if he'll ever go back to the Rally but I suppose some have to try it at least once.. LOL

The remainder of the report is just the 3 Stooges at this point.

We missed the North Dakota sign.... not sure how we did that - maybe we were all asleep... going across ND is Booooorrrriiiinnngggggzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. But, none of us had ever ridden in ND so we could mark that one off our list.

The Montana Sign.



Just ignore this pic, the routing was flawless - since I did them.



LUCK!!!!

After all the miles today, we pull into the KOA and stop at the office - we get off our bikes and Rick says "Do you hear that?" - I thought it was a water pump for a small pond but it was air - then I figured he picked up a nail coming into the campground - nope - his valve stem picked the last second of the ride to give up - you just can't get any luckier than that.

So, we get a campsite and start figuring out what to do - 1st off - both Rick and Steve have spare valve stems with them... LOL More luck.

Rick pulled out the bad stem, pulls the wheel, we use Steve's sidestand to pop the bead at 'luckily' the perfect spot then install the new valve stem and use a small compressor to pop the bead back on - all this in about 15 mins.











We head into Red Lodge for dinner - amazing how many bikes are in the area on a Monday.





After dinner, we head to the gas station to fuel up for the next day and Rick goes inside to get a drink - big gulp size. He comes out and Steve asks him where he's going to put that on the way back to the campground. Rick says "don't worry about it" then admits that he already dropped one inside the store before getting the one he had. He places it on his bike and guess what?

it falls off:



So, back into the store for the 3rd one - this one actually made it back.

At the campground, Steve makes and interesting observation about top box organizational skills - here's Mine:



Here's Rick's:



The bikes are lined up for the best part of the entire trip, like race horses before the gates open - the gates open tomorrow at 7am...



Kinda funny how the whole trip folks kept asking us if we were going to Sturgis and all we said was Nooooooooo.

Just under 700 miles for this leg and Steve's CB still isn't transmitting - the crackling noise is increasing so even listening to music is difficult.
 

Gerhard

Site Supporter
Joined
Apr 1, 2012
Messages
1,882
Location
Ontario
Bike
2012 R1200RT
Like the road sign at least there is doubt about which road to take.

Gerhard

here's Mine:



Looks like a sign of a psychological disorder

Here's Rick's:



Looks like the owner has a healthy mind ;)
 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 6 (8/6 - Tuesday) - Red Lodge, MT - KOA to Colter Bay Campground - Grand Tetons

Release the Hounds!!!!



We already knew this was going to be a great day and really the one we all anticipated as the real 1st day of the trip.

Note to self: When your GPS looks like this, enjoy every second of it.





The Wyoming sign:















After Beartooth Pass, we continued through Chief Joseph Hwy.



Then we headed towards Boysen Res - Hwy 120 to US 20.





I was able to document my 1st 10,000 miles on the Wee.



It was starting to heat up a little so we'd stop for water more often and even drink some of it.



We stopped at the Cowboy Cafe in Dubois, WY for pie...





We reached the Grand Teton area in good time.



We were originally going to camp at Jenny Lake but that campground was full.... in hindsight, if you aren't going to hike or boat or explore the area, it makes no sense to pay an entrance fee and campground fee just to stay the night then ride out - that was my mistake and it won't happen again but we still considered it an adventure and a lesson. We ended up further up the road at the Colter Bay campground.

Here, you see why Rick just doesn't understand why bear boxes are so small - you can only get one person in there - I suppose the fastest person wins.





About 434 miles for the day.

Steve's CB cord is crackling more and more.....
 
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 7 (8/7 - Wednesday) - Colter Bay Campground to Stagecoach SP, CO



We got this pic on the way out of the park.



Once out of the park it's a bit of a grind to get to Colorado, especially after you've ridden Beartooth Pass and Chief Joseph Hwy.

So, you have to chat on the CB a little - oops, Steve can't - but at least he can listen to music, sorta - except for the crackling sound.

Anyway, we kept seeing fence post sections with dirt built up around them and an opening to walk through the top but there was a drop off on the other side, never figured out why they built them that way, Rick had to look but it didn't help.





We also kept seeing small rectangular green signs on some road posts but could not understand the positioning or reasoning. Some were oriented up / down or two on one post... just found them on the web, it was driving us crazy(er) trying to understand them.



At some point today, Steve catches up with Rick and shows him his CB cord - the upper cord that connects to the CB lower cord - it's broken off completely. It's never to be seen again.

However, now we have another problem - Rick's is having an issue with his helmet.



We're not sure how to fix that one....

We finally hit Utah and it's warming up nicely.



Just before Colorado, we ride through the Flaming Gorge NRA - beautiful stuff.





The Colorado sign.



I hit another mileage milestone on this leg.



We decided to eat in town and then head to the campground.





It was a nice campground except for the kids that showed up a little later and stayed up the entire time until we woke up - we still don't know why they even set up tents.

About 529 miles for the day.
 

8-BALL

GeriatricMutantNinja Norwegian
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
229
Age
80
Location
Des Moines, IA
Bike
ST1300 - NT700
STOC #
7344
Thanks!

Very nice report and pictures!

There are some guys reporting a similar trip on the NT site...... oops... Never mind. :eek::



:cool:
 

BakerBoy

It's all small stuff.
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
5,454
Location
Golden, Colorado
STOC #
1408
DAY 7 (8/7 - Wednesday) - Colter Bay Campground to Stagecoach SP, CO

...
Anyway, we kept seeing fence post sections with dirt built up around them and an opening to walk through the top but there was a drop off on the other side, never figured out why they built them that way, Rick had to look but it didn't help.




...
Those are wildlife diverters (one way gates). If the deer/elk/antelope are on the highway side of the fence, they'll run the fenceline looking for a way 'out'... they run into such diverters and naturally jump off the edge and back into the open space (away from the road). They work great.


Fun read so far ... don't you work?! LOL :D
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
Mellow

Mellow

Joe
Admin
Joined
Dec 1, 2004
Messages
18,826
Age
59
Bike
'21 BMW R1250RT
2024 Miles
000540
DAY 8 (8/8 - Thursday) - Stagecoach SP to Mueller SP



The original plan was to do Rocky Mtn National Park AND Pikes Peak... well, you Coloradonians know that's easier said than done. So, today ended up being just RMNP.

Heading out of Stagecoach SP we spied a balloon taking off.



Rick is leading this morning and I hear 'Moose!' over the CB... Rick and Steve go past them but I slow down and get a couple good pics before they trot off.





A few nice roads before the park.





You aren't going to make any time into or out of the park so you just sit back and crawl through the traffic with everyone else.

But, we manage to make it... LOL











We parked and went in to get some souvenirs.



When we came out it was training and then some hail, lol, always an adventure.





We did a search for campground and came up with Mueller SP since it was pretty close to Pikes Peak. It's a VERY nice campground with excellent facilities. There are two offices, one is at the entrance to tell you to keep going another mile or so in for the office you pay for camping. The place is big and very modern and the campsite are nice, a bit small for tents but still good enough.



This was our first and only campfire of the trip - excluding the one at the motocampers event.





About 460 miles for the day.

PS: Steve is now using his corded ear buds w/Zumo for music since the CB is just there for looks.
 
Top Bottom