Wilsons Sandbox

This past summer my son and I travelled the Northern part of the Continental Divide Ride. We rode our KLR650 s from St. Paul, MN to the Canadian border at Rooseville, knobby tires and all. On the way we were lucky enough to find a patch of dirt in Southeastern Montana and ride up through Ekalaka towards Miles City. This stretch really wet our appetite for the CDR trail. Once on the trial we didn t skip any parts of the trail it until Pinedale, Wyoming where we had run out of time and began the slab run home. Hopefully we can do the Southern half next summer. In the stretch that we did ride the book Cycling the Great Divide, by Michael McCoy warns of some serious areas. There were three areas that were extremely challenging and even scary in a couple places. We met three CDR riders who shipped their bikes out from NY, flew out to ride the trail and then skipped every part that sounded the least bit challenging. My son and I felt proud that we didn t skip any of the trail, however, if I were doing it again I would skip one part. The stretch from Holland Lake to Seeley Lake contains the most overgrown part of the entire route. Small evergreen trees are growing up so close together that we had much difficulty getting through. My son tore a hole in one of his saddlebags and I tore a strap off of one of mine. At one point during this part of the ride I had to get out a saw and cut through downed trees to clear the path. This area was a very narrow singe track. This is the part I would skip. Between Helena and Basin there is a stretch of extremely rough two-track that is steep and full of rocks and roots to the point of making it very slow going. Most riders will be able to navigate this area. My son is a novice biker and, although he tipped his bike over several times in this stretch, no harm was caused to his bike or him. South of Butte in an area that completely typifies Big Sky Country we encountered a trail going off the side of a mountain. This part of the trail is out in the open, through a grassy side of a mountain and it just goes down steeper and steeper until I began to believe that if we continued much further we wouldn t be able to turn around even if we wanted to. So we parked the bikes and walked for about a mile down the ever increasing incline. This became so steep that I began to worry about hiking my old body back up to our bikes. So my son went on ahead to scout out the rest of the trail. He returned about half an hour later and said that he thought we could make it. We did make it. But it became so incredibly steep I was amazed that the bikes didn t just begin to slide the rest of the way down. The book warns of this steep area and recommends getting off the trail and using a switchback design to reach the bottom. We didn t do that. We just went straight down, however, our bikes were shut off and we navigated much of it inch by inch. The next day in Wise River we were eating breakfast when two riders from Illinois came in for breakfast. They described some tire tracks that they had seen the day before that went over the steep part of the trail. They couldn t believe the two riders could have made it all the way down and they decided to turn around. The tracks they were describing, one V pattern and one knobby, were ours. Over all, this was the best motorcycle trip of my life. I've been taking one or two motorcycle trips every year for most of my adult life. I would do this trip again any time. The scenery is indescribable and spending so much time totally surrounded by Nature was nurturing to both of us. We hope to go back next summer and complete the lower half of the Divide Ride. Here is a photo of one of the easier parts of that stretch that I would skip if I were doing it again. Enjoy, Greg _________________________________________________________________ See how Windows connects the people, information, and fun that are part of your life. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093175mrt/direct/01/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This past summer my son and I travelled the Northern part of the Continental Divide Ride. We rode our KLR650 s from St. Paul, MN to the Canadian border at Rooseville, knobby tires and all. On the way we were lucky enough to find a patch of dirt in Southeastern Montana and ride up through Ekalaka towards Miles City. This stretch really wet our appetite for the CDR trail. Once on the trial we didn t skip any parts of the trail it until Pinedale, Wyoming where we had run out of time and began the slab run home. Hopefully we can do the Southern half next summer. In the stretch that we did ride the book Cycling the Great Divide, by Michael McCoy warns of some serious areas. There were three areas that were extremely challenging and even scary in a couple places. We met three CDR riders who shipped their bikes out from NY, flew out to ride the trail and then skipped every part that sounded the least bit challenging. My son and I felt proud that we didn t skip any of the trail, however, if I were doing it again I would skip one part. The stretch from Holland Lake to Seeley Lake contains the most overgrown part of the entire route. Small evergreen trees are growing up so close together that we had much difficulty getting through. My son tore a hole in one of his saddlebags and I tore a strap off of one of mine. At one point during this part of the ride I had to get out a saw and cut through downed trees to clear the path. This area was a very narrow singe track. This is the part I would skip. Between Helena and Basin there is a stretch of extremely rough two-track that is steep and full of rocks and roots to the point of making it very slow going. Most riders will be able to navigate this area. My son is a novice biker and, although he tipped his bike over several times in this stretch, no harm was caused to his bike or him. South of Butte in an area that completely typifies Big Sky Country we encountered a trail going off the side of a mountain. This part of the trail is out in the open, through a grassy side of a mountain and it just goes down steeper and steeper until I began to believe that if we continued much further we wouldn t be able to turn around even if we wanted to. So we parked the bikes and walked for about a mile down the ever increasing incline. This became so steep that I began to worry about hiking my old body back up to our bikes. So my son went on ahead to scout out the rest of the trail. He returned about half an hour later and said that he thought we could make it. We did make it. But it became so incredibly steep I was amazed that the bikes didn t just begin to slide the rest of the way down. The book warns of this steep area and recommends getting off the trail and using a switchback design to reach the bottom. We didn t do that. We just went straight down, however, our bikes were shut off and we navigated much of it inch by inch. The next day in Wise River we were eating breakfast when two riders from Illinois came in for breakfast. They described some tire tracks that they had seen the day before that went over the steep part of the trail. They couldn t believe the two riders could have made it all the way down and they decided to turn around. The tracks they were describing, one V pattern and one knobby, were ours. Over all this was the best motorcycle trip of my life. I m old and I take one or two trips every year and have most of my adult life. I would do this trip again any time. The scenery is indescribable and spending so much time totally surrounded by Nature was nurturing to both of us. We hope to go back next summer and complete the lower half of the Divide Ride.Greg _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Mon, 8 Sep 2008 01:30:37 +0000 greg saunders writes:

> > This past summer my son and I travelled the Northern part of the > Continental Divide Ride.

SNIP

> Over all this was the best motorcycle trip of my life. I m old and > I take one or two trips every year and have most of my adult life. > I would do this trip again any time. The scenery is indescribable > and spending so much time totally surrounded by Nature was nurturing > to both of us. > > We hope to go back next summer and complete the lower half of the > Divide Ride.Greg

<><><><><><><><> <><><><><><><><> Greg, Thanks for sharing a description of your ride. I did the GDR in 2004 and know much of what you talk about. I did skip a few sections based on group decisions, sections closed to motorized traffic and trail conditions so poor it wasn't/wouldn't be fun riding. I talked with Martin Earl late Friday afternoon. He was at a NAPA store near Seeley Lake getting a new headlight plug for one of his group's bike. He needed the NAPA part number for the replacement. I think he got it from Jud Jones a few minutes before I returned his call. He said his group had hit every turn and road and trail perfectly so far. They did have to detour for about 10 miles because a section was closed to motorized vehicles. It sounds like the section you describe as steep. : ) I remember the book suggested folks walk their bikes down that section. From a picture I saw earlier this year I wouldn't even consider taking a touring loaded KLR on it. Just doesn't seem like fun to me. I'm really glad you were able to have a wonderful ride with your son. Martin is planning the same type of adventure with his son for 2010 when his son is legal to ride on pavement at the ripe age of 14. Best, Jeff Saline ABC # 4412 South Dakota Airmarshal Airheads Beemer Club www.airheads.org The Beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota 75 R90/6, 03 KLR650, 79 R100RT ____________________________________________________________ Great salary and outstanding benefits. Click here to become a Police officer. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/fc/Ioyw6i3mAL8EDugOAAYZaGhvkA6uxgjenjqJu7K5uXs0xTVaTaAgSI/

Very nice story. Thanks. db ----- Original Message ---- From: greg saunders To: John Biccum ; ftw1956 ; dsn_klr650@yahoogroups.com Sent: Sunday, September 7, 2008 8:30:37 PM Subject: [DSN_KLR650] RE: CDR This past summer my son and I travelled the Northern part of the Continental Divide Ride. We rode our KLR650 s from St. Paul, MN to the Canadian border at Rooseville, knobby tires and all. On the way we were lucky enough to find a patch of dirt in Southeastern Montana and ride up through Ekalaka towards Miles City. This stretch really wet our appetite for the CDR trail. Once on the trial we didn t skip any parts of the trail it until Pinedale, Wyoming where we had run out of time and began the slab run home. Hopefully we can do the Southern half next summer. In the stretch that we did ride the book Cycling the Great Divide, by Michael McCoy warns of some serious areas. There were three areas that were extremely challenging and even scary in a couple places. We met three CDR riders who shipped their bikes out from NY, flew out to ride the trail and then skipped every part that sounded the least bit challenging. My son and I felt proud that we didn t skip any of the trail, however, if I were doing it again I would skip one part. The stretch from Holland Lake to Seeley Lake contains the most overgrown part of the entire route. Small evergreen trees are growing up so close together that we had much difficulty getting through. My son tore a hole in one of his saddlebags and I tore a strap off of one of mine. At one point during this part of the ride I had to get out a saw and cut through downed trees to clear the path. This area was a very narrow singe track. This is the part I would skip. Between Helena and Basin there is a stretch of extremely rough two-track that is steep and full of rocks and roots to the point of making it very slow going. Most riders will be able to navigate this area. My son is a novice biker and, although he tipped his bike over several times in this stretch, no harm was caused to his bike or him. South of Butte in an area that completely typifies Big Sky Country we encountered a trail going off the side of a mountain. This part of the trail is out in the open, through a grassy side of a mountain and it just goes down steeper and steeper until I began to believe that if we continued much further we wouldn t be able to turn around even if we wanted to. So we parked the bikes and walked for about a mile down the ever increasing incline. This became so steep that I began to worry about hiking my old body back up to our bikes. So my son went on ahead to scout out the rest of the trail. He returned about half an hour later and said that he thought we could make it. We did make it. But it became so incredibly steep I was amazed that the bikes didn t just begin to slide the rest of the way down. The book warns of this steep area and recommends getting off the trail and using a switchback design to reach the bottom. We didn t do that. We just went straight down, however, our bikes were shut off and we navigated much of it inch by inch. The next day in Wise River we were eating breakfast when two riders from Illinois came in for breakfast. They described some tire tracks that they had seen the day before that went over the steep part of the trail. They couldn t believe the two riders could have made it all the way down and they decided to turn around. The tracks they were describing, one V pattern and one knobby, were ours. Over all this was the best motorcycle trip of my life. I m old and I take one or two trips every year and have most of my adult life. I would do this trip again any time. The scenery is indescribable and spending so much time totally surrounded by Nature was nurturing to both of us. We hope to go back next summer and complete the lower half of the Divide Ride.Greg _________________________________________________________________ Stay up to date on your PC, the Web, and your mobile phone with Windows Live. http://clk.atdmt.com/MRT/go/msnnkwxp1020093185mrt/direct/01/ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ List sponsored by Dual Sport News at: www.dualsportnews.com List FAQ courtesy of Chris Krok at: www.bigcee.com/klr650faq.html Member Map at: http://www.frappr.com/dsnklr650Yahoo! Groups Links

Bless You !! Dooden A15 Green Ape ( The Really Fastest Green and Silver one ) --- In DSN_KLR650@yahoogroups.com, "Stuart Mumford" wrote:

> > >

______________________________________________________________________ __

> > Exactly right. Except for his annual Kansas help out this is

Fred s first

> > real vacation in a long time. He ll be back on September 22; at

that point

> > my time as substitute teacher moderator will end. So far-knock on

wood-

> > class behavior has been tolerable. > > > > Bogdan > > > > *fart noise* > > *spitwad* > > Thanks > CA Stu A13 >