Riding the Rockies

[tomm]

Well, it's been simmering for almost two years, but it's now just 6 months away and we're starting to really get into the planning details. This is what I bought the Nomad for. Never done anything even close to this in the past, so looking for advice from anyone familiar with these routes and long-distance riding in general. Here's the plan:

Leave early July and trailer the bike from NH to Missoula, Montana. Find a place to leave the car and trailer.
1: Ride to Whitefish, either going up 93 by Fishhead Lake, or up 83.
2: Do the Going to the Sun Road through Glacier, and back to Whitefish via Rt 2.
3: Take 93 to Eureka, down 37 and 56 to 200, and 200 back to Missoula (2 days).
4: Take Rt 12 (Lewis and Clark Highway) to 95 and 55 towards Boise, across 24, 21, and 75 through the Sawtooth Mountains to 93, and back up 93 to Missoula (3 days). --- Would a side trip to Hell's Canyon be worth it?

Pack the bike back on the trailer and drive down 90 and 15 to Jackson, Wyoming. Find a place to leave the car and trailer.
5: Ride north into Yellowstone.
6: Ride through Yellowstone across the Beartooth Highway to Red Lodge.
7: Ride back across the Beartooth Highway to the Chief Joseph Highway to Cody.
8: Ride west from Cody back to Yellowstone.
9: Ride back to Jackson. (In total, 4 - 5 days)

Pack the bike back on the trailer and drive down 287 to 90 to 25 to Denver and Georgetown. Find a place to leave the car and trailer.
10: Take 72 and 7 north to Estes Park, 34 through Rocky Mountain National Park, and 40 back to Georgetown.
11: Summit of Mount Evans.
12: ... and the grand finale ... Guanella Pass to 285, up 9, and down 70 and 91 to Leadville.
South on 24 and 285 to 50.
Across 50 to Gunnison and down 149 to 160. 160 west to Durango.
North on 550 (Million Dollar Highway) to Silverton, Ouray and Montrose.
50, 92 and 133 to Carbondale.
East on 82 through Aspen and back to 24.
North on 24 to Minturn, Rt 6 and I70.
East on 70 back to Georgetown, taking Route 6 around the Eisenhower Tunnel

(In total for section 12, 7 days)

Pack the bike on the trailer and drive back to New Hampshire from Denver.

Total trip: About 4 weeks, including a week total to get out there and back again. Trip will take up most of July, maybe into early August. Oldest son's getting married early September and wife says we have to be home for that. Personally, I think he'd understand.

Anyway, hoping this really works out. Still a couple things that could get in the way and push this out one more year, but at this point, things are still on track.

Again, any comments from anyone familiar with these areas / routes would be greatly appreciated.
Tom

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Sounds like a great trip. What would be even better would be to leave the car at home and ride the bike out. Heck that is what bikes are for. Get to see a lot more sites that way.

[Netnorske]

A few thoughts....

With a whole month.....why in the world take a car and trailer? Just ride the bike, that's what it's made for. Your bike as shown is a touring dream....no need for a trailer! Besides, that's one less thing to worry about and leaves you free to ride wherever you want. If you can pack enough gear for 3-4 days you are set, as you can wash the stuff at a motel. With your trunk and luggage rack you are well set up for the long haul. My wife and I could ride for a month easy and have that very same setup!

We each get one saddlebag for clothes. The extra gloves and drinks and scarfs and other BS goes in the trunk. The rain gear and pullovers go in the Dekker Supreme bag on the trunk's luggage rack.

Anywhere in western Montana is awesome riding! I've ridden Hwy 93 from Whitefish to southern Idaho. It's all good, but the best part of it is from Missoula to Arco, ID.....spectacular!

Glacier National Park and the Going to the Sun Road is way cool! The Million Dollar Hwy in Colorado is an awesome ride! The Beartooth Pass from Red Lodge, MT into east Yellowstone is a bucket list ride for sure!

If you are going to ride Hwy 12....start in Missoula and ride it west through Lolo Pass to Orofino, ID. One of the finest motorcycle rides in the world! From the summit of Lolo Pass....its almost 100 miles of lazy sweepers....all downhill....along the Lochsa River!

When riding long haul....keep it to about 350-400 miles a day tops unless you are riding a superslab. This will help you stay fresh and alert and not get too saddlesore, but with your Russell seats....you have no worries. Stop for butt breaks about every 75 miles...at least once between every fuel stop.

Make sure you have AAA....the RV Plan. Don't leave home without it! Keep some chapstick in your pocket and use it liberally. Once your lips get wind-burned it's too late. Same with sun screen. Pack some rain gear and get it on before it is too late. Stop for lunch and keep hydrated. There is always some good mom and pop cafes to check out!

A good GPS is another thing not to leave home without!

Lastly.....try to keep from smiling too much if you can. Your face won't hurt so much that way! Geez......what I could do with a whole month.... ! Good luck and I hope you can pull it off. It will be the one of the coolest things you have ever done!

[tomm]

Originally Posted by AlabamaNomadRider

Sounds like a great trip. What would be even better would be to leave the car at home and ride the bike out. Heck that is what bikes are for. Get to see a lot more sites that way.

If it was just me, in a heartbeat. But frankly, I think I'm pretty lucky that my wife is willing to do the trip we have planned. It'll be a long enough ride for her as is.

[AlabamaNomadRider]

Yep, you are right. It should be a great trip and you will get to see a lot of sights.

Kris, thanks for the great pictures.

[cactusjack]

Trailer? I thought you had a Nomad, not a Harley!

[tomm]

I've given a lot of thought to doing the whole thing on the bike, but it's the time to ride out and back that I'm wrestling with. About 2700 miles from NH to Missoula, and about 2000 miles from Denver back to NH again. Even at 600 miles a day, that's 8 days. At 400 miles a day, that's a full two weeks. At least with the trailer, my wife and I can share the driving. Still not out of the question, but I want as much time as possible out west.

Other thoughts are renting (rejected - I didn't buy a Nomad to turn around and rent a Harley), shipping the bike out and back (rejected - Don't want to deal with the logistics of it.), having one of my kids trailer the bike out and we'd ride it back (possible), trailer it out to say Denver and do everything else from there on the bike (possible), what I outlined earlier with three hubs (Missoula, Jackson and Georgetown) - current plan, and driving the bike out and back myself and having my wife fly (possible).

So Kris - from those pictures ( those are great shots, and thanks for the comments), it looks like you've been all over both the northwest and the southwest. If we were to start and end in Denver, is covering everything I had outlined possible on the bike in say 3 weeks, or would I need a full 4 to keep things sane? Maybe something like Denver to Jackson and Yellowstone, then north to Glacier, south through Idaho, south to Salt Lake and over to Durango, and back to Denver.

I've done the southwest in a car a couple of times, and a lot of time was spent ground-pounding on the superslab. Those are big states compared to New England. I grew up in RI . . . 39 x 48 miles.
Tom

[rank]

Looks like some of your ride will be right in my back yard. Let me know as the time gets closer and maybe the wife and I can ride a day or two with you. Might be able to show you a few "hidden gems" around here that most people wouldn't know about. Sounds like a great trip!

[Netnorske]

Originally Posted by tomm

I've given a lot of thought to doing the whole thing on the bike, but it's the time to ride out and back that I'm wrestling with. About 2700 miles from NH to Missoula, and about 2000 miles from Denver back to NH again. Even at 600 miles a day, that's 8 days. At 400 miles a day, that's a full two weeks. At least with the trailer, my wife and I can share the driving. Still not out of the question, but I want as much time as possible out west.

Other thoughts are renting (rejected - I didn't buy a Nomad to turn around and rent a Harley), shipping the bike out and back (rejected - Don't want to deal with the logistics of it.), having one of my kids trailer the bike out and we'd ride it back (possible), trailer it out to say Denver and do everything else from there on the bike (possible), what I outlined earlier with three hubs (Missoula, Jackson and Georgetown) - current plan, and driving the bike out and back myself and having my wife fly (possible).

So Kris - from those pictures ( those are great shots, and thanks for the comments), it looks like you've been all over both the northwest and the southwest. If we were to start and end in Denver, is covering everything I had outlined possible on the bike in say 3 weeks, or would I need a full 4 to keep things sane? Maybe something like Denver to Jackson and Yellowstone, then north to Glacier, south through Idaho, south to Salt Lake and over to Durango, and back to Denver.

I've done the southwest in a car a couple of times, and a lot of time was spent ground-pounding on the superslab. Those are big states compared to New England. I grew up in RI . . . 39 x 48 miles.
Tom

Tomm,
My longest trip has been ten days.....so I'm not really sure how much you could cover in three weeks time....but I have to believe you could cover most of the west! You are right about the western states....they are much larger than out east. I have ridden my Nomad in twelve western states and two Canadian Provinces....larger still....and am always looking for more.

If I had a month....I would ride to the southern states and cover as much of that as I could as I have never been there.

[tomm]

Originally Posted by rank

Looks like some of your ride will be right in my back yard. Let me know as the time gets closer and maybe the wife and I can ride a day or two with you. Might be able to show you a few "hidden gems" around here that most people wouldn't know about. Sounds like a great trip!

That would be great and something we will definitely look forward to. I'll PM you with additional details as the date gets closer and we finalize our plans and schedule.
Tom

[tomm]

Originally Posted by Netnorske

[quote author=tomm board=trips thread=21523 post=323145 time=1294664278]

Tomm,
My longest trip has been ten days.....so I'm not really sure how much you could cover in three weeks time....but I have to believe you could cover most of the west! You are right about the western states....they are much larger than out east. I have ridden my Nomad in twelve western states and two Canadian Provinces....larger still....and am always looking for more.

If I had a month....I would ride to the southern states and cover as much of that as I could as I have never been there.

Hi Kris - I was thinking that 200 - 250 miles a day over 20 days (not including getting there and back) would be doing good on average due to traffic, tourists, mountain roads, and just stopping to see things and enjoying the scenery. I understand that in some areas of Idaho and Montana, that won't be the case, but for planning purposes, I was figuring 200 (maybe I'm being too conservative.) And up to 400 miles a day between hubs, like between Missoula and Jackson or Jackson and Georgetown. That would add up to about 4000 miles total. I haven't totaled up the trip yet, but thinking it's probably somewhere between 3000 and 4000 miles, again, not including getting out there and back.

So your numbers make sense. Covering the whole thing on the bike in the time I have sounds more than reasonable without turning it into an Iron Butt. Thanks.

When you mention the southern states, does that mean southwest or southeast? Or maybe both And if you ever get to New England, you could increase your state count by 50% in just a few hours :)
Tom

[cactusjack]

Originally Posted by tomm

That would be great and something we will definitely look forward to. I'll PM you with additional details as the date gets closer and we finalize our plans and schedule.
Tom

That's a nice looking bike, Tom. All you need now is a fairing!

[waterman]

Originally Posted by tomm

10: Take 72 and 7 north to Estes Park, 34 through Rocky Mountain National Park, and 40 back to Georgetown.
11: Summit of Mount Evans.
12: ... and the grand finale ... Guanella Pass to 285, up 9, and down 70 and 91 to Leadville.
South on 24 and 285 to 50.
Across 50 to Gunnison and down 149 to 160. 160 west to Durango.
North on 550 (Million Dollar Highway) to Silverton, Ouray and Montrose.
50, 92 and 133 to Carbondale.
East on 82 through Aspen and back to 24.
North on 24 to Minturn, Rt 6 and I70.
East on 70 back to Georgetown, taking Route 6 around the Eisenhower Tunnel

(In total for section 12, 7 days)

Pack the bike on the trailer and drive back to New Hampshire from Denver.

Tom

Tom,

I can tell you this, I have driven most of those roads. Only one I haven't is 149. All of them are very good roads. Another road to look at is after you hit Delta, hop on 65 and drive over the Grand Mesa. Just absolutely amazing. But then, most of those roads are the same.

[tomm]

Originally Posted by cactusjack

That's a nice looking bike, Tom. All you need now is a fairing!

Thanks Scott. Definitely considering the fairing. Been reading up a lot on the various 'fairing' threads, and the Reckless fairing looks really nice. But I also like the way it looks now. I do have Phat II risers though, so would have to decide what to do about that, along with the instrumentation (tach, gps, . . . ), light bar, auxiliary high beams, etc. Decisions!!! Decisions!!!

[ringadingh]

Kris; it seems youve travelled some great highways and seen some beautiful sights. Your right in saying thats what the bike is meant for, I didn't plan on saving my bike as a low mileage garage queen either.

And Tomm your bike looks just about perfect for some long distance touring, all you should add is a fairing with a stereo and youll have it made. 500 mile days shouldn't be a problem, Ive done many, and I don't have the nice seats like you do. I agree with Kris that you should leave the trailer at home and just use the bike. Thats part of the experience.