Leaf Peep 2006

October 14 2006

Riders in New England, and I'm sure elsewhere, go on a "leaf peep" ride in the fall to view the changing foliage. I decided to go on my own leaf peep today.

Here is the photo album.

I rode down to Kendrick, then to Orofino, through Kamiah and Kooskia, up onto the Camas Prairie at Grangeville, and now I'm sitting in a dinner called the Cadillac Ranch.



I stopped to take a picture of the Cadillac, complete with bull horns on the grill, hoisted atop a thick pole. A combination truck stop / cafe, this is as good of a place as any to step inside to stretch my legs and use the restroom.

Above the toilet was a sign stating that if I wasn't a customer I don't get to use their johns. The claim was that 15 to 20 people use their toilets each day without buying anything. Well, too late to stop now... I picked up a candy bar to purchase so I wouldn't make any enemies.

Another sign at the cash register warned of a minimum $5.00 purchase for all debit and credit cards. I added some fries, a peanut butter shake, and some crackers to just get over the minimum purchase requirement. No worries if it would have been just under $5; to-go orders are an extra twenty cents. The grub is good, but I wasn't hungry. Maybe I'll use the bathroom one more time before I leave to get my money's worth..

I hope they don't charge for the entertainment. As I've been sitting here under a dead bear's head, I've been watching the local colors do their shopping. A boy of about 10 grabs a box of Q-tips off of the shelve and shows his enormous mother. Acting exasperated, she growls that she had already bought Q-tips. He puts them away with a look on his face that he's tired of trying.



I just ate a fried dirt clod that somehow got mixed in with my freshly cut fries. Perhaps the gas station attendant / short order cook forgot to rinse off the russet before slicing it in their stainless-steel french (or perhaps freedom) fry machine.

Near my table is a glass case full of knives and belt buckles. Next to a two foot long knife with an antler for a handle is a belt buckle that says "Wichita Kansas - 1985". Where else but Craigmont, Idaho can I get a Kansas belt buckle for five bucks? Maybe I should have sprung for that instead of the treats.

A pickup pulls up next to the window at my table with a dead elk in the bed. It's tongue is hanging out of it's stiff mouth as if it's dying wish was a glass of water. The driver and his son enter the store to purchase sodas. They are congratulated on their prize by the owner of the shop.

As I leave the diner, there's a 5 year old girl playing in the landscaping with what looks like an eight foot rattlesnake. A better look reveals the snake is just a toy, but looks real enough.



I love to ride. I read books and Internet message boards about other rider's adventures around the world through interesting places like Mongolia and Africa. I hope to someday soon take on those adventures and experience the people of the World. Today's ride reminds me that there are interesting, if not a bit bizarre, experiences to be had not far from home.

David and Teri's ride to Kendrick

Teri's afraid to ride.

It's understandable. She passed the MSF basic course using a Honda Rebel 250. We own an 800 cc Shadow and a 500 cc Ninja. Both bikes are faster than the Rebel, the Ninja is taller (she can't flat foot on it) and the Shadow is a lot heavier.

Shortly after she got her endorsement, we rode past Potlatch and to the end of White Pine drive. The day was windy and there was (as always) moderate traffic on Highway 95. She also mistook a gravel pit for a gravel road and dropped the Shadow. This particular ride did not help with her riding confidence.

On September 30, several months later, we got a babysitter and planned another ride. This time she took the Ninja, which is lighter and easier to control than the Shadow. Even a day before the ride she was getting nervous. I tried to comfort her and remind her she always has the option to back out. I also told her that she needed to go her own pace and not worry about me or any other traffic. We picked an easier path too, Moscow to Troy on Highway 8, then South to Kendrick (which includes a neat little canyon road that has very little traffic).

Teri never got any faster than 5 miles per hour under the speed limit all the way to Troy. We had a bit of a parade going, but I stayed close behind her and towards the center lane in an effort to hide the traffic and keep her from worrying about it. She did pretty good, though I could tell she really needed to learn to trust the lean in corners.

When we stopped in Troy she told me that she still thought the bike would tip over if it leaned much at all (which isn't true). She also suggested that she get on the Shadow with me and we ride two-up the rest of the trip, picking up the Ninja on the way home. I did not like the idea of leaving the Ninja alone like that and offered to just head home. She decided to ride the rest of the way. Her body language revealed that she was pretty wound up and stressed.

The traffic, though not bad on 8, was even lighter on the highway between Troy and Kendrick. I think this made things easier on her because she brought her speed up a little. Her corners were still incorrect - she would slow down in the middle of a turn rather than lean a little harder. She took the canyon road at the end of the stretch into Kendrick surprisingly well. I could tell she was learning to trust the bike and her skills. She even tried a small swerve.

We stopped at a park in Kendrick to rest and talk. Teri said she was still nervous and I don't think she realized that she was doing just fine. I tried not to give too much advice; I thought she just needed time in the saddle to get confident. After a short rest and drink, we took off for home.

I watched a completely changed rider in front of me this time. Teri kept her speed up, took corners at a proper speed, and rode with much more confidence. I pulled up next to here at a stop sign in Troy and gave her the thumbs up. She had a big smile on her face.

From Troy to Moscow was even better. Teri even safely passed a slow motorcycle.

Both of us were really excited about the progress she made when we got home. It was great to see her start to believe in the skills she gained while taking the motorcycle training course. I hope to do it again soon and often.

selkirk2006

Sept 10 2006

I took a week off of work with the intention of riding the Selkirk scenic loop - taking my time to stop and visit anythging that looked interesting.

Here is the album.

This morning, as I prepared to go, I kept finding reasons to bail on the trip. First of all, I just had a bad feeling about it - can't say why. I also found that I had been reading my service manual wrong and missed my 7500 mile service (though I did a full lube job yesterday). By the time I packed everything on the bike, it just looked way too top heavy. I removed some things even though I did not feel I had packed anything unnecessary.

Teri and the boys got home from church at noon, and were surprised to see I had not left. I told Teri about my apprehension with leaving, and she said to just take off and if I felt like it, turn around and come home.

I am now a few miles North of Bonners Ferry along side a logging road, and have had a very good ride.

I took Highway 95 to Potlatch, where I had to fill up. The White Pine scenic byway leaves Potlatch to St. Maries and includes the wonderful White Pine drive - a twisty corridor of trees and little traffic. From St. Maries, I went along the St. Joe river and Lake Benewah to Plummer. Back on Highway 95, I headed North to Coeur d'Alene. Just south of CdA is an elaborate tribal casino, which was just a tent when Teri and I moved here in 1997.



There's a long bridge that takes highway 95 across Lake Pend Orreille; parallel to a train track bridge. It was an exceptional view riding alongside a three engine train atop the beautiful lake. I raced tha train from Sandpoint to Pend Oreille (the city) where we parted paths.

Although it was just 6 pm when I arrived in Bonners Ferry, the sun was dropping below the mountains and I decided to begin looking for a camping sport. But first I needed to fuel up. I found a 24/7 conoco whose credit card reader slots at the pumps were duct taped over. A sign said to pay inside. I went to the doors, and there was a sign hung that said "Closed Sunday for church and restock." Luckily Bonner's Ferry is NOT a one gas station town.

About 6 miles north of Bonner's Ferry, I saw a camping sign and turned off. I followed a gravel road for about three miles before picking a spot to set cammp. Along the way, I saw a large black bear. I really need to figure out a way to get to my camera fastyer. The bear made me decide to skip dinner tonight.


Woke up at 6am after a chilly night.


By the time I packed and started to roll out, the sun was just peaking over the mountains.

Riding in the cold towards the border, I thought of the things I did right and wrong so far on the trip:
right: packing my winter riding gloves and helmet liner.
wrong: leaving my sweats (no packing space)
right: bringing long johns
wrong: bringing an old tarp with paint on it (should have sprung for a new one)

I hit the northern end of US highway 95 at about 8:00 am. I spent a bit of time taking pictures before crossing the border. Crossing was no hassle, I just had to answer a few simple questions and show my drivers license. A family of wild turkeys welcomed me as I entered British Columbia.


I filled up and had breakfast in Creston. From Creston I head north along highway 3a.

I arrived at the Kootenay Bay at 11:30, and boarded the Osprey 2000 at 12:15. The loader told me to pull up right next to a Harley Softail in front; the riders weren't too pleased about that nor was the guy in the car adjacent to me who was trying to get out just as I pulled up. The ferry ride is supposed to be the largest free ferry in N. America, and runs just over 30 minutes. The scenery across Kootenay Lake is wonderful - the type of clean blue mountain air that makes you take a deep breath and clear mountain water that makes you thirsty.

There's a real friendly local guy who asked what type of bike I had. I told him it was a Kawasaki Ninja. "Crotch rocket, eh?" He rides a Yamaha V-star himself. We talked bikes for a bit. Later he saw me typing and said "Boy you just bring yer computer right with ya hey?"

Another guy came up to ask where in the States I was from. I told him Moscow, ID and he said he had heard that there was a "Testy Festy" near there in Montana. I told him I had seen the signs but never attended. He'd heard it was a real party and was going to look it up on the internet. One of these days I might ride to the famous Testical Festival - might even try a nut.

While debarking, I apologized to the harley rider for crowding him. He smiled and said that's ok. He said he just likes to watch over his bike because sometimes when he parks it but doesn't put it in gear it likes to walk off while on the ferry.



From Balfour it's on to Nelson.

Update Sept 21 2006
The rest of the ride was beautiful - so much so that I didn't even stop to write.

On my way back to the border at Nelway BC & Metaline, WA, I had a desire to cut across Highway 3 instead. The only problem was that it was getting late in the day and I needed to find a camping spot. I flipped a mental coin and went to Highway 3. I'm sure glad I did because it is one of the more scenic roads I have been on. The highway is closed during the winter, and features nice rocky cliffs and unspoiled forested valleys.



Crossing the border at Rykerts / Porthill was interseting. I took pictures, but got into trouble because of it with the border guard. He told me it was a risky thing to do on 9/11, and asked to examine my pictures. He said he wouldn't make me delete them (I didn't care if he would have..). Although he said there was a sign posted that said no photos, I didn't see it. He then proceeded to lecture me on the risk of hitting animals I was taking by riding a motorcycle. I was in a foul mood by the time he finally let me go.

As I rode south, I was keeping an eye open for a camping spot. Something drove me to keep riding. I got as far as Sandpoint and it was still light. I began calculating how late it would be when I got home, and this combined with whatever was making me want to keep at it made me decide to just return home. This was Monday night, the beginning of what was supposed to be my week long vacation.

Riding South of Coeur d'Alene, Highway 95 is narrow and under construction with a 45 mph speed limit. It was dark, and a guy was tailgaiting me real bad. I usually pull over and let these clowns move on out of my life in this type of situation, but there is nowhere to pull over on this stretch of road. He finally passed me on a double yellow line, driving me to the edge of the road. The shoulder there was steep gravel, so I dared not go onto it. I couldn't see it due to the tailgater's bright headlights, but immediately behind him was a semi truck pulling a trailer. I don't know if the driver didn't see me or was just being a jerk, but he passed on the double yellow as well. Since I did not see the truck, I was starting to pull back onto the highway. I saw the truck just barely in time and swerved over. As the trucker passed, he laid on his horn (it was too late for the sound to have warned me). I was glad when that stretch ended at the casino.

I made it home just after 10 pm. Shortly after that I broke out in a fever and spent the rest of the week in bed with a terrible flu. I'm glad I wasn't in a tent when the bug hit me.

The trip was good. I learned I can be awake and aware and ready to react to aggressive drivers late at night on narrow roads.

Group Ride

Yesterday I went on a group ride with 5 other people I know from work and the pnwriders.com message board. All of us were on sportsbikes.

The plan was to ride Spiral Highway, then Rattlesnake and back.

Spiral was fun. Although I tell myself I won't let others in a group push me beyond my comfort riding level, if I was completely honest I'd admit that I also wanted the others in the group to be impressed by me. I think I may have pushed it a little bit because of this, but not by much. This, to me, is one of the dangers of riding in a group and one of the reasons I prefer to ride alone. I took off first from the top of spiral, partly in hopes of being able to get to a good corner to take some pictures. It only took a few seconds for three of the other riders to pass me. I didn't even see the first one come up behind me. I took most of the curves at 50mph after that, so it was pretty easy going.

The Asotin grade was fun as well. I scraped a peg in one of the final corners, but was still one of the slower riders.

Rattlesnake is where things got interesting. I fell behind on the flat highway before Anatone; my ex500 just couldn't keep up with the others, except for one other which was also an ex500. We met up at the campground near Rattleskale, and I elected to take up the rear (I thought I'd probably be stopping for pictures and didn't want to slow anyone down). After approximately three miles, the bikes in front of me suddenly slowed down. Around the corner I saw that one of the bikes had gone down. It was wedged wheel first into the guard rail, If I hadn't been thinking about making sure everyone was OK, I would have thought to get some pictures. Except for being quite shaken up by the experience and some minor scratches, the rider was fine.

It appears that he may have fixated or took the corner too fast and rode into the rail. All he remembers is flying ahead of his bike. The bike took a pretty bad beating. It's forks were broke, front upper and lower fairing cracked, gas tank punctured, and most things that stick out like blinkers and pedals were snapped off. Past the guard rail was a 200 foot drop – everyone commented that it was a good thing the rail was there.

As we were waiting for a pickup, some guys in the group commented on how many wrecks they had seen and been in. One guy has either seen or been in a wreck on eveery group ride this summer. This is the one that passed me first on Spiral. I've been riding for about two years now, and this is the first wreck I have seen.

I can't help but wonder, if they see and experience so many accidents, why ride so aggressively? Maybe a sense of self-preservation is something that comes with age, or with having a family. I know of some people who would quit riding after seeing one wreck. I certainly cannot give up riding yet, but I have kept my speed in check since seeing the accident yesterday.

I have also been thinking a lot about riding alone versus with a group. I have always been a loaner. At times I wish I could be more social; it's dificult for me to initiate communications, and I often feel akward around others. When it comes to riding, I do enjoy rides with small groups, and have been in one large one that was pretty fun, but I enjoy myself much more when riding alone. I like the freedom of selecting a speed I comfortable with, having my choice of when to stop for whatever reason, and many times what path to take or explore without a specific destination. There is one thing I would change – I'd like Teri to be with me more often on my lonesome rides. I think riding with her would have all the benefits of riding solo, but with the pleasure of sharing the experience with her.

Hells Canyon

On a whim, I asked for Friday and Monday off. I had been building up a lot of comp time and was really getting burned out from work. I've been reading other people's accounts of their motorcycle adventures at places like advriders.com, and have really been wanting to hit the road. I ran across someone's description of their ride to Hell's Canyon, and decided to take it on.

Here is the photo album

I left this afternoon at 1pm. Since my Shadow is down, I brought the ninja. I can't pack nearly as much on the ninja as I can on the shadow, but I managed to get everything I need for four days.

From Moscow, I went into Clarkston via the Spiral Highway. Through Clarkston and up the Asotin Grade, then across the plains to Rattlesnake Summit. I love the road that winds down Rattlesnake to the Grande Ronde river. The road coming back up the other side of the canyon towards Enterprise, OR is great as well.

Along highway 3, I passed Joseph Canyon (I thought it was my first glimpse of Hell's Canyon, but it is too far West). A woman who had also stopped there told me that there were fires near Enterprise. I hoped that the roads were open.

I stopped in Enterprise to fill up (err, have a gas station attendant fill up, this is Oregon don't forget) and buy a map. Past Enterprise is Joseph, named after Chief Old Joseph (as opposed to Chief Young Joseph, his son). This is a neat resort town, and I'd like to come back here to walk around sometime soon.

Just outside of Joseph is the grave site of Chief Joseph. People have placed all sorts of trinkets at the tombstone and hung in the tree next to it. Among McDonald's Happy Meal toys and pennies were some bead and feather crafts and a dreamcatcher. I was led to believe, from the description of the site, that it was an Indian graveyard. The only Native American headstone I could find was Chief Joseph's; the others engraved with European names with a disclaimer that so and so was allowed to be buried here due to their friendship with the Nez Perce.

I noticed campground icons on my map at Lake Wallowa, not far from Joseph. It was getting later in the day so I decided to stop there to camp. The problem with traveling and camping in unfamiliar territory is that you are sometimes forced to take what lodging you can get. The only place I could find was the Lake Wallowa State park campground, where tent sites are $17 per night. I did not want to spend that much to sleep, but was out of options. The campground is very nice and includes KOA style commodities such as general stores and showers. There are a couple of deer, including a buck that wander amond the campers. Some girls were picking something out of a tree and feeding the buck.

So far I've ridden 143 miles, and have been getting around 50 miles per gallon (rough estimate). I roder for about 5 hours today, including quite a few stops for photos.

August 5 2006

I woke up at 7am and took off at 8am this morning. It took me two passes through Joseph to find the road that leads up to the Hell's Canyon Overlook. This road winds through the Hell's Canyon Recreation area in Oregon, is part of the Hell's Canyone Scenic Byway (again, Oregon side), and connects Josphe to highway 86. A few miles up the road, I came acorss a sign that said it was closed past a certain point. This was the low point of the trip, but I decided I'd get as far as I could. I'm glad I did, because the closed road was actually a part I did not need to use (it was closed due to the fires).

My first glimpse of the canyon, peaking through a break in the trees and hills to the East of Canyon Ridge Road, was quite exciting. Shortly after that I arrived at the lookout. From this point, you get a view of just how deep the canyon is. I easily imagine giant prehistoric mammals grazing the massive hills along the top.

I rode down to highway 86 and turned West to fuel up in Halfway. I was able to see the aftermath of the wild fires caused by lightning on this road. The hills were scorched and the few trees that were left standing among the ash were dried and yellow. I passed the firefighter's base camps, scattered with hellicopters, commands posts, and dome tents.

The only gas station I found in Halfway was an older one with a dirt lot. In Oregon, the stationa ttendants control the pumps for you. This morning, the attendent gave me the impression that he was in no mood for me to take my time, so I put my magnetic tank bag on the ground without thhinking carefully so I could fuel up. I misjudged the attendant – he was quite friendly and told me a bit about the fires (he was a volunteer firefighter himself and had first hand experience with it). Once the tank was full, I placed my tank bag on the tank and heard a sickening scratching sound. The magnets had grabbed a bunch of rocks and dirt filled with iron filings, which were now being pressed to and dragged across the paint on my bike. I cleaned up as well as I could – and learned a lesson. Hopefully I can paint the scratches out.

I backtracked along highway 86, and followed it across the Snake River into Idaho. Idaho Power Company maintains a road up to the Hell's Canyon dam. This is a wonderful destination highway, with gorgeous views of the canyon, good pavement, and very little traffic. Each turn brought a more magnificent vista, and it got so that I had to fight the temptation to pull over for pictures because I expected something better to be just around the corner. At the dam, I saw some big horn sheep. Big horn's were reintroduced to the area in the 1990's, and these specimens had tags in their ears and wore radio collars. Something about this cheapened the experience for me a bit – but I'm glad that an effort is being made to repopulate the species. I also saw very large trout swimming at the edge of the river below the dam. I can't help but wonder what the area would look like if man hadn't changed it by building the dams and hunting and fishing the native animals out of the area. Then again, if man hadn't built the dam, I would not have been able to ride here.

The ride out was fun, but HOT. The road is too twisty and you can't predict when a large rock will be in the road around a corner, so I kept my speed down. Both me and the bike were feeling it too. It was nice to hit highway 86 again and head down to highway 71 across Brownlee dam.

Brownlee resorvoir ... neat road, the area look like Idaho. I grew up in Southeast idaho with a lot of lava, sage, and brown grassy hills. The lake of beauty here was actually a good thing, because an SUV with California plates was riding my ass and I needed to concentrate on riding. I let the creep pass me as soon as the opportunity presented itself, and the guy slowed way down. I was riding 10 mph or more slower than before and still had to brake at every corner to keep far enough behind him. At this point I decided to pull over and stretch and lete the SUV move on.

I got gas and water in Cambridge, Idaho. Sitting at a table outside the station was a ~300 pound woman, I'd guess in her 40's or 50's, with a shock of pink dyed hair holding a large can of beer and occasionally reaching for a bottle wrapped in a brown bag under her bench. As I was drinking my water, she asked if was alone. When I told her that I was, she asked if I wanted company.

“On the bike?”
“yeah”
“uhh, I don't think there is room...”
“OK, drive safe” (takes a swig)

I wonder what my excuse would have been if I had a Goldwing.

I also met a couple of biker in Cambridge (who actually passed me up the road while I was stretching). One had a KTM Adventure, the other a Yamaha FJR. The had left Baker, OR that morning and were going to Kooskia, ID. I told them i was familiar with that trip and it was lovely. They asked if I wanted to join them, but I didn't want to slow them down with my picture taking so I declined. Another time, it sounds fun!

I had been riding for about 7 hours at this point and I was sore and tired. I began looking for places to camp, though a part of me wanted to get home as well. I turned off onto a paved road to Seven Devils Recreation Area. This followed a really nice little canyon, if it weren't for the fences. Just like almost everywhere else, fences litter every yard along both sides of the road. The land doesn't even appear to be used for anything either, except to border the very large houses in the distance. I came toa sign that said a campground was 17 miles from here. I began calculating mileage and remaining fuel and decided it might be tight but I should be fine. I got about 10 miles in when the pavement ended. Waste of time, waste of fuel. I was in a bad mood, pissed at the waste tired of seeing beautiful country fenced of for the exclusive use of rich people, tired of buzzing hands...

Back on highway 95, and stopped in Riggins to get some food and a drink. I splurged and bought a piece of pepperoni and some chocolate. This was just what I needed, because my spirits were brought right up and I was once again enjoying my trip (but still thinking a lot about the need for people to fence off every bit of country). It also helped that a teenager boy told me I had a “real seet bike”. His girlfiren asked what kind it was, and I told them it was a Kawasaki Ninja (I left off the 500 part..). The first boy asked if they were as fast as they say they were, and I said problably not this one since it is so loaded down. He said he could see that, but heard that Ninjas were “two steps below a ducati” - whatever that meant. I was just happy to have the attention :)

Everytime I pass Whitebird and go up the grade, I look over at the old highway as it zig zags up the mountain and wonder how it is to ride. This time, I decided to try it. It was great fun until the pavement ended. Another waste of 10 miles. I tunred around and went up the normal grade, and stopped at the rest stop that overlooks Whitebird. With my binoculars, it appears to me that the road is paved all the way to the top, though there are parts I can't see. It was very windy up there, and I thought I heard the wind make a peculiar howl. Then it died down and I relized it was the high pitched howls from coyotees. At the top of the grade, I turned onto old highway 95, which is the top half of what I started eariler. It was paved for as far is I went (it was getting late and I didn't want to waste too much time on whyat I knew would be a dead end). I was also scanning for places to stop and set up camp – but everywhere there were more fences. I'm very irritated at this. Everything has to be owned and shut off from everyone but the owner. There are no tresspassing signs and barbed wire everywhere! As I ride past a pile of Keystone Light cans and brown shattered glass, I see the other side of this coin. If people treat it like this, maybe it's better to shut them out.

All of Northern Idaho and Eastern Oregon is rich with Native American history, and here at Whitebrid is no exception. I've been readin Historical Site boards and thinking a lot about how the Indians were forced into smaller and smaller reservations, forbidden to return to their homelands. These homelands were then fenced off for private use, and the wildlife that lived there hunted to extinction. Sometimes I believe in karma, sometimes I don't. If it exists, then white man is screwed for what they did to the Nez Perce in this area. On the other hand, while I feel bad that it happened I don't feel guilt or like I owe any retribution, as I had nothing to do with it. How's that for taking the easy way out? Well – this is what goes through my mind as I ride.

The rest of my trip was peaceful. I rode, I thought, and I pulled over for some pictures of a sunset. I pulled into my driveway at 10pm.; 14 hours on the road today, and 593 miles after I left yesterday. I saw Hell's Canyon, and rode farther and longer than I thought I could. The ninja held up wonderfully and is a very impressive bike, especially for being an old design. I held up pretty good as well, and hope to be doing another trip soon

July 23 ride and new tire

July 23 2006

It's supposed to get to 100 degrees today; what better time to put on a black leather coat and be in the sun all day?

Here is the album

I bought a new rear tire for my ex500 from Jimmy G's in Moscow. The tire and mounting fee were a good price ($78 for everything), so I went for it. I was extra pleased that they were going to be able to do the work that same day.

The first item of concern I saw after getting the ninja back was that there were no weights on the rear tire. I suppose it is possible that the tire is perfectly balanced, and I really have not noticed any vibration from it. The bigger concern was that every once in a while my rear break would pop. On Saturday, while running an errand, I found out why this was – the slave cylinder of my rear brake was not tightened enough where the hose connects and brake fluid was leaking out. Usually when fluid leaks out, air leaks in so I knew I was in for more than just tightening the hose.

I got home and set the bike on the center stand. When I went to tighten the hose two things looked wrong: the bolt was slightly stripped and you could not get a wrench around it because the rear wheel alignment bolt was in the way. Looks like the mechanic at Jimmy G's put the read brake assembly on too low and decided to leave it there, stipping my brake fluid hose bolt trying to tighten it at an angle rather than undoing the mess and putting the brake assembly back where it should go.

To put the brake assembly where it need to go and to tighten the hose bolt, I had to loosen my rear wheel. In doing this I noticed that the mechanic had scratched a mark in the alignment lines. This would be fine, except it was a whole notch from where it should be, so the rear tire was way out of alignment.

In any case, was was able to tighten the hose, bleed the brake, and get the brake assembly back to where it should go. I was very happy with Jimmy G's when I picked up the bike because of the price and speed of service. It's too bad I had to deal with all the rest of this crap. I'll be ordering a tire mounting tool kit as soon as I can afford it.

Another trial I went through on Saturday was all my fault. I had read on the ex500riders.com forum that you can put bb's (for an airgun) into the handlebars to reduce vibration. My hands get real buzzy after a few minutes of riding so I thought this would be a great way to fix that. I filled both handlebars and proceeded to try things out. My starter switch would not go in. I immediately knew that a BB had found it's way into the right switch assembly. It turns out that there is a slightly larger than BB sized hole in each handlebar under the switch assemblies. Getting the BBs out was much harder than getting them in because I had to disassssemble the switch assemblies, including the throttle cable housing (never fun on any bike I have worked on). So now I'm back to buzzy handlebars.

Today's ride has been going great though. My first stop was in St Mary's to enjoy a rootbeer float at 11am. I left Moscow at 9:30am and the temperautre was already 88 degrees. The most pleasant part of the ride so far had been my ride through White Pine road. I was not paying attention to my speed, just watching the road and keeping myself comfortable through the twistys. I noticed that the first part of the road went by a bit faster than I had expected, so on the next 25 MPH turn I looked down at my speedometer: 50 MPH. So my new tires may have caused some initial problem (well, the mechanic who mounted them did anyway), but they perform wonderfully! With the stock excedera's I never felt comfortable doing more than 40 in a 25 mph corner, usually sticking to 35.

I made it to the end of the paved road that goes past Avery, ID up towards the Montana boarder. On my way back to St. Mary's I spoted a moose eating water vegitation in a creek at the side of the road. I pulled over to take some pictures, and noticed a funny thing: a sign stating the name of the creek is “Moose Creek”.

The day was hot, the road was rough, and my muscles are SORE! The ride has been beautiful though. The St. Joe river is shallow and slow most of the way. I saw hundreds of people riding small rafts and inner tubes. I also passed a cruiser on the side of the road. A man was at the engine working on something and a woman, clad in a leather bra and leather short shorts under a pair of chaps was waving traffic past. I gave them the “ok?” signal and she signaled back they were fine.

As I pulled into the drive-in to get some dinner, my rear brake popped like it was yesterday. I couldn't detect any leaking, so maybe it was a heat thing. I figured out a few days later that the mechanic actually failed to line the notch in the rear brake assembly with the matching groove in the swing arm, leaving the whole assembly to freelyrotate about 10 degrees.

Total Miles: 315
Total Hours: 9
Total Cost: $22.53 for gas + $9.98 for food = $32.51

Teri's riding now

Teri took and passed the MSF beginner's course weekend before last. It was really exciting for me to see her take the class, because when I took it I had such a great feeling of accomplishment afterward.

From her report, the students were being rushed through the class by a training manager overseeing this particular session. It's too bad, because there is a lot of uncertainty and nervousness in these classes; a teacher willing to spend time with the students can make the difference.

Teri passed though. I'm really proud of her.

We went on a nice ride last last weekend. I took her up highway 95, into Potlatch, and up to White Pine Drive - part of the White Pine Scenic Byway and one of my favorite roads around here. She did real well! The wind was blowing pretty hard and I think that shook her confidence a little. On the way back from the ride, we saw a turtle crossing the road :)

I woke up terribly depressed this morning

I woke up terribly depressed this morning. I've known it was coming on; earler this week a guy from church got after me a bit for not coming to church (right after saying he'd never want to offend me). I told him I'm happy the way I am now; then he proceeded to say he wasn't as "charismatic as bishop Clark..." (Ken Clark was a bishop of a ward I used to attend, and later left the church). I'm not sure what he was getting at, but it was clear that the people at church believe I am a victim of Ken's negative influence or some other nonsense. I put forth a lot of effort to make sure that Teri and the boys are happy and taken care of, and then I concentrate on my own mental well-being. I happen to be much more at peace with myself when I am not trying to live up to the expectations of religious people. I am at peace because I know I am now being honest in my beliefs. I don't try to change other people's minds about their faith because I strongly feel that if they receive comfort in their faith their lives are better for it. I wish this respect was reciprocated.

In any case, I don't want to write about religion right now, I just wanted to write down what triggered today's depression. Last night I had the types of dreams where it takes a while to shake off when I awake. It took me a good hour or so to differentiate between what is real and what happened in my sleep. Whenever I awake in this way, I get very sentimental and begin thinking about the past way more than is healthy. I get sad that things did not turn out the way I thought they would as I grew up. I miss old friends, and dwell on decisions I should have made differently. I do this at the expense of my present happiness, which of course leads to deeper depression that starts to affect the lives of my family in a bad way.

I've learned to be aware of this behavior and do something about it while I have some control. The most effective thing for me is to ride. Riding gives me trafic to think about, potholes to swerve aound, mechanical nuances to be aware of, and things to see. As I ride, the unhealthy thoughts are slowly replaced by feelings of peace, and wonder at how beautiful natue can be. I gain confidence as I maintain control of the bike in hazerdous conditions, survive wavering SUV's driven by soccer-moms with cel phones glued to their ears or wildlife bursting from the shadows. I forget about the past mistakes and think about my wife and kids and how much I love them.

Depression will always be with me. I think it is a part of many people's lives. Some people may get relief from it with faith and religion. With me, those things just make it worse. I've found an activity that keep me in a mentally healthy state, which in turn makes the lives of Teri and the boys better. I cannot apologise to the men in our ward for not being what they expect a good father and husband to be; but I do know that I am doing my best, and that Teri, Jarid, and Jaremy have better lives because of the efforts I make to be a positive part of their lives.

EX500 mirror extenders

I ordered a pair of mirror extenders for my ninja 500 a few weeks ago, and they arrived today. The slowness in shipping is due to the fact that they are manufactured (maybe even on demand) in Germany. I ordered mine from a Web store named Twisted Throttle for $59.99 + $12.95 UPS ground shipping. Click here for a direct link to the product. $72.94 is pretty steep for what comes in the tiny package, but I really could not see behind me very well while riding the ninja - a common complaint.

Installation took less than an hour, and I was going slow, taking pictures the whole time (click here for the photo album).

The instructions were straightforward, but there is one thing printed incorrectly. The instructions suggest using the original hex bolt to attach the mirror to the extender, and use the new hex bolt that came in the kit to attach the extender to the fairing. The hex bolt that came in the kit has a thicker head and would not fit down into the countersink. Swapping the bolts works much better.

I would also suggest taking care when removing the black round stickers that cover the original bolts, as you will want to reuse two of them. The plastic bolt covers that come in the kit only cover the head of the bolt, leaving the other end of the bolts showing unless you resuse your stickers.
Here's a picture of the sticker after being removed:


I only rode around the block after finishing installation. I can absoutely see much better behind me than I could before. I have yet to see if vibration will be a problem at higher speeds.

The product works as intended, and I'm glad this issue can be resolved. Another solution people have suggested is to use the mirrors from a ZX-6R (click here for an example). I planned on adding these after installing the extenders since I like the looks of the mirrors but read they didn't completely resolve the problem of not seeing behind you. Well, they bolt directly to the fairing, bypassing the kit so you can't use the ZX-6R mirrors and the extenders at the same time.

Here's how the extenders look installed:

Grand Coulee Dam

My dad has mentioned a few times that one of the places he'd like to visit while up here is Grand Coulee Dam. I decided to ride there yesterday, and here is the photo album.

I have to say, it wasn't that big of a deal. I guess I was expecting a larger dam; don't know why though. The ride was OK, but kind of cold (as are all rides this time of year). I got rained on pretty good in Sprague, WA. The roads were good, but had no breathtaking scenery.

I did have fun trying different settings on my new Canon S2 IS. I've been reading digital photagraphy tutorials and the manual that came with the camera to learn about proper exposure using different aperture and shutter speeds. The panoramic shot at the end of the photo album was really fun to create, and I think the software did a very good job of stitching the four shots together. I also used continuous shooting mode to get several shots of a marmot. I'm very happy with the camera.

Long Way Round

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman decided to bike across the world, from London to NYC by way of places like Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Siberia. Lucky for us, they also decided to keep a record of the trip with film.

Long Way Round is the name of the television series (now available on DVD) and book that brings Charley and Ewan's adventure to the rest of us. I rented the DVD last week and enjoyed it so much more than any movie I have seen for a long time.

Make no mistake, this is not about a couple of pampered actors who ride 1 out of every 100 miles while a faceless crew shuttles them to the easy spots via helicopter. Ewan and Charley (plus Claudio von Planta, the cameraman) generally meet with the production crew at borders only, to swap tapes and batteries and make sure papers are in order. The film follows the three riders on their BMW R1150 GS adventure tourers and what the riders see and experience. These guys have balls of solid steel, and I was constantly amazed at the trials they went through in very remote places of the world. How would you deal with a broken motorcycle frame in the middle of Siberia? How about hour upon hour of horrible road conditions (I use the term road very loosely here)? There were places where they'd be covered in mud, and you could tell they were tired and probably just wanted to stop and get dry; suddenly, half-way through a giant mud-filled pit in the road the bike would tip. They always pick the bike back up. The accomplishments acheived on this ride are outstanding.

They visited a couple of Unicef organizations to see the kids and give Unicef some exposure. This included some touching scenes of Russian children living in steam tunnels under the streets and Chernobyl victims in Ukraine.

I am inspired by this film. I'm inspired by the friendly willingness of strangers over the world to lend a helping hand to the travelers. I'm inspired by Charley and Ewan for following through with this dream. I'm inspired to ride longer and harder, and to keep better records of my travels.

Little Goose Dam

My wanderings took me West out of Colfax today.

I followed highway 26 to Washtucna, WA (a small town that didn't even show up on the atlas I had with me).

Out of Washtucna, I went South on highway 261 / 263. The land here went from sage covered plains to some interesting lava canyons. Some sort of critter, a badger or wolverine wobbled across the road; I was too slow getting my camera out though.

Where the highway met the Snake River, I found a huge railroad bridge. My body was a bit tired so I stopped for some photos.

I followed a turn off to Little Goose Dam and Lock. There were people catching steelhead outside the dam. I went inside to the fish observation room, which shows the fish ladder below the water level, but didn't see anything today.

Back on the highway, I went through the towns of Starbuck and Pomeroy before reaching Clarkston. By then I was frozen (again) so I stopped for a burger and fries at the 410 Drive-in.