SOUTH TO REDMOND
By Charlie
Bishop
"Pea
soup" is what she said. "It's up on the cascade pass near Mt. St.
Helens." She was right, near the top we encountered a dense fog so thick I
needed to raise my face shield. It only lasted 5 minutes but then turned to
rain. Not an Arkansas toad strangler, but cold and steady none the less. As is
the nature of roads in mountainous regions, straights are almost non existent.
The middle patch of our tires worked only briefly during transitions. Warning
signs advised 20 to 35 mph. As I was deep into one of the 20 mph curves at my
limit on wet pavement, Andreas roars around me, accelerating on the K11RS which
is a twin to the one I am riding. His tank is topped off with confidence.
Andreas rides a R11RS back home in Munich. He had to replace the valve covers
because he wore them down on curves in the Alps.
Rolf
leads the way on a K12RS. He also owns the twin K11RS. We left Puyallup late
Tuesday morning and cleared urban traffic in a few minutes claiming our
two-wheel superiority in the mountains. Rolf lead us down curvy secondary roads
with no numbers so I won't be able to bore you with "south on 13, then
east on 306". Late in the afternoon we dove into the Columbia River Canyon.
The river has labored its way through relatively recent lava flows to create
steep black basaltic walls.
We
have time to rip up the Klickitat river road. Actually Rolf and Andreas
"rip". I just push along as best I can. There are beautiful rapids
and waterfalls to my left but my eyes have a death grip on the next curve. When
we unload our gear in the hotel room in Cottondale, it seems impossible that
all this could fit on 3 bikes. Then we take more time deciding where to eat
than to eat. You know what I'm referring to. After a huge cinnamon roll for
breakfast we roll back down Klickitat canyon at photo opt speed. Now we are
headed upstream beside the Columbia. Off to my right, wind surfers speed across
the bow of an eastbound barge. Surely these guys will never have to worry about
geriatric or even middle age maladies.
The
climate seems to become dryer as we cross the river into Oregon. We use a main
US highway up out of the canyon, but it gives us nice high-speed sweepers.
However it is not long before Rolf has us leaning into the forest service corridors.
The temperature variances in this area amaze me. When the clouds are absent or
the altitude is low, warmth permeates my riding gear. When radiant energy is
interrupted or we climb to several thousand feet the weak areas in my
protection become evident and the heated grips assert their worthiness. We
travel through the Warm Springs Indian reservation and manage to bypass the
"mandatory" casino. The reservation gas station advertises tax-free
gas prices but is closed for paving.
The
rally site is on the south side of Redmond and we enter through the vendor gate
a little after noon Wednesday. I help set up the booth for Red Baron Tours (www.red-barron-motorcycle-tours.com),
a new group started by Rolf and Andreas for M/C tours out of Munich. A beer
tour to the Czech republic is first then a trip to the Intermot in Milan is
next for this fall. We also sold ROK straps, a new hookless bungee system.
Check mine out next time you seem me at a rally. Rolf and Andreas like the
booth run "just so" which leaves me nothing to do except bag a few
passes or follow a desert canyon. Edelweiss tours offered free area excursions
with a lunch fit for royalty. I made their first bunch and rode directly behind
a tour guide who had only catered to Harley groups in the past. He was leading
at a leisurely pace so I "pushed". Before it was over we were running
70. When we stopped the guide had a huge grin and said, "you guys are a
lot more fun to ride with. I can't get the Harley riders to even do the speed
limit." It was Friday before I found a few of the Arkansas riders. Rod and
Harlan were wisely camped in the quiet area. Greg was there hoping to win
another tour. Ken from England and Mr. Chaney from North Little Rock were also
there. I was told Doug was there and I hope he does a write up of his bigger
tour. I was very impressed with this part of the country. The summer weather
was grand, the people friendly and the terrain very scenic and suitable for
even wear on your scooter tires.
Sunday
morning Andreas rode south for a business meeting so it was just Rolf and I
looking for new indirect routes north. We managed well thankyou. The wind was
more of a factor as we crossed the Columbia and headed north. The leaned over
position for a RS bike was also a factor. We took Chinook pass over the
Cascades near Mt. Ranier. Over 30 miles of up! Just over the pass the surface
turned to gravel but the K11 handled it well for the 2 miles it lasted (as long
as I didn't look down and to the right). We were home easily before the sun was
extinguished by the Pacific.
Monday dawns with Rolf and I on parole
from responsibilities. Deep in the bowels of his garage we find 2 dirt bikes. A
Suzuki DR350 fits his inseam and a Yamaha 225 fits mine. We pack a picnic and
ride to the foothills of Ranier where logging roads present me with just the
right challenge and beautiful vistas of the semi dormant volcano beg for
photos. This was the best national rally ever for me. Think its just cause it is
the most recent?
Top of the Rockies and Redmond
By Rod Kilduff
The
sky was dark and threatening and lightning was flashing to the west and
south. Just as we got into Vernal,
Utah, it started raining and as we turned northbound toward Wyoming it began to
hail. The hailstones were about pea
sized and seemed to be soft and a little mushy. Later inspection showed no damage to the front of the
motorcycles. There was nothing else we
could do but press on and attempt to run out of it. Within about 10 minutes we
were clear of the hail but still in the rain.
We continued north through the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area
and through Green River to Rock Springs, WY, which was our planned stop for the
night after leaving the Top of the Rockies Rally in Paonia, CO.
Harlan
Brown and I had left Arkansas on the Tuesday evening before, in an attempt to
miss some of the heat. We rode late
until about 1:30 am and found a motel in Oklahoma City. The next day we had
temperatures of around 110 degrees, according to my dash mounted thermometer,
as we pushed on through Oklahoma and Texas and into New Mexico. When we climbed up into the higher
elevations it finally started to cool down a bit. In fact when we stopped for the night in Eagles Nest, NM, it was
threatening rain. We got another motel
there and just got settled when the first of what would become almost daily
storms finally hit us. By then we were
comfortably eating supper in a nearby restaurant.
The
next day we headed into Colorado by way of Wolf Creek Pass, Slumgullion Pass,
and Black Canyon of the Gunnison and on into Paonia for the rally. We were in and out of the rain all day.
We
met up with Fred and Carolyn Counts, Frank and Debbie Floyd and Charlie and
Debbie Parsons, at the rally. We rested
on Friday but on Saturday Harlan and I made the run south through Silverton and
almost to Durango. When we saw
civilization begin to appear we turned around and headed back. (about 20 miles
short of Durango) We ran into a lot of
construction and heavy traffic on the way down, as in 5 mph behind a concrete
truck for too long a ways and a couple of construction delays. We also ran into our usual afternoon
thunderstorms over the mountains. The
trip back was much faster and more fun.
We managed to hit all of the construction just right so as not to be
stopped and managed to pass anything slow in front of us. I’m not going to try to describe the
scenery, it was spectacular and you need to see it yourself.
One
thing I did discover, my K1100 really likes the mountains. It ran like a dream and I found I was
getting some unusually high gas mileage.
It must be those long coasts down the backside of the passes.
Frank & Debbie Floyd, Me, Carolyn and Fred Counts and Harlan at Top of the Rockies
The
rally itself was well run and a good location, although I didn’t like having to
park my bike away form my campsite.
With so many going on the National there was quite a large turnout. I had a set of custom fitted ear plugs made
which I wore the rest of the trip, they really work and are much better than
the foam throwaway kind.
Sunday
we said goodbye and headed out again to the north through McClure Pass, in the
rain. We road out of it about Glenwood
Springs and continued north toward Wyoming.
At Maybell I took the wrong fork and we went farther south than we had
intended but it took us through Dinosaur where I had wanted to go anyway. Can
you say ‘Freudian Slip’? We stopped at the visitor Center at the Dinosaur
National Monument, but didn’t have time to visit the dig sites. From there went on into Utah to Vernal and
we arrive back at the beginning of this story.
This
is the first time I have gone to a MOA National Rally where I have encountered
other BMW’s all along the route. I
guess there are only a few ways to get there from here and someone took each
one of them. It was funny, we would
meet them going our way and also going in opposite direction as people
attempted to get the maximum amount of mountain riding out of their trips. Also interesting was the fact that so many
passed us at relatively high speed. We
made a point of going at or very near the local speed limits and we maximized
our scenic viewing potential. I guess
some folks had been there or are just naturally in a bigger hurry.
Somewhere in Wyoming
Leaving
Rock Springs we headed north through Jackson Hole, no we didn’t stop and build
a fire. We continued on into Idaho to Idaho Falls where we stopped for the
night at a KOA. This was our first
Laundry stop. This is the first KOA
I’ve been to where they served supper and breakfast. While we were there a fellow pulled in with a Gold Wing and
pulling the biggest camping trailer I have ever seen. We went to talk to him
and watched him set up. The thing
opened up to two queen sized beds. It
seemed a bit much to me. I spent much
of my rally time looking for the smallest possible camping trailer, and I think
I found it. Unfortunately it is out of
production and has been for some time.
Idaho
fooled me. I don’t know where I got it,
but I had the impression that it was a relatively flat farming state, you know
– Potatoes. That is only along the
Snake River Plain in the south. Most of
the state is mountainous, and rather impressive.
We
stopped and visited the Craters of the Moon National Monument. This is Major Volcanic, with huge lava flows
and Basalt rock Lava Formations. From
there we hit the mountains going up through the Sun Valley Ski area and the
Sawtooth Range. Once again awesome to
see, impossible to describe. We spend
that night at a campsite in the Boise National Forrest.
The
next day we went north again through McCall and Tamarack and cut across the
Seven Devils Mountains and Oxbow Dam into Oregon. We spent that night in a log
cabin in Sumpter. The following day we
continued to Redmond with a stop at the John Day Fossil Beds Visitor
Center. The first sighting of the
Cascade Range is once again magnificent. During the Rally Charlie Bishop took
us up into what I think was the Mt. Washington Wilderness Area. There are some roads there that I firmly
believe will put the famous ‘Dragon’ of Deals Gap to shame.
The
Rally site was one of the better ones I have been to, as far as facilities
go. I thought camping was a bit
crowded, but everyone seemed to fit.
There was very little shade so I am glad I brought along my
AeroTarp. It was a bit interesting to
put up in that thunderstorm, but worth it afterwards. As I mentioned we hooked up with Charlie and also found Ken
Fisher and his friend Carol Cheney, as well as Doug Hines. Then on Friday I looked over the main
concourse and saw a guy with a Naturally Beemers shirt on. It was Greg Parish
and he was camped only about a hundred and fifty feet from us. Everyone had
arrived by a different route and all were planning different routes home.
I
just heard that a friend of Jerry Ragin, Cromwell who some of you have met, was
the guy who won the R1150RT. I guess
that almost counts for us.
Harlan
and I planned to go home by way of Glacier National Park, so we headed out of
Redmond northbound. We hit the Washington
border and turned east along the Columbia River Gorge. Not too far along we visited a full sized
replica of the Stonhenge Monument. You
know the Standing Stone Circle in England on Salisbury Plain. This one is restored to what scholars think
it actually looked like in its heyday.
Very impressive. We continued on
toward the west and picked up Hwy 12.
At Clarkston I decided it time to stop and eat, spotted a nice
restaurant and pulled into the lot. I
spotted about 8 BMW’s parked there; the restaurant shared a parking lot with a
motel. We decided it must be a good
place to stay and got a room too.
Before the evening was over a couple more bikes pulled in. Everyone was headed for Glacier too. Everyone kept saying that we had to take hwy
12 across Lolo Pass to Missoula, MT. We
hadn’t planned that route but we decided to go ahead and run it. It turned out to be one of the most scenic
roads we ran on whole trip. The road
goes through the Nezperce Indian Reservation and then becomes the Lewis and
Clark Hwy – Wild and Scenic River Corridor.
Get the picture? For most of the
rest of way in Idaho the road follows the Lochsa River, you are in a narrow
river valley or canyon and there are some really breathtaking views.
Stonehenge
From
Missoula we headed north towards Glacier, stopping for the night in a state
park near Flathead Lake. The lake is
very scenic and very developed and on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Some of these Indians seem to be doing very
well. They are still scalping the pale
faces, but now they do it in Casinos!
There
is only one road through Glacier National Park and we had planned to just pass
through, since we did not have a lot time.
We entered on the East Side and initially it wasn’t too bad but as the
morning wore on we encountered more and more people, actually their vehicles.
By the time we got to the top of Logan Pass and to the visitor center there it
was really getting busy. The sign at
the center said “Parking Lot Full, 30 Minute Wait”, but since we were on bikes,
the guard motioned for us to come on it.
The place was densely packed with people, and just as we got there a
storm did too. So everyone tried to get
into shelter. I don’t do crowds very
well so all I wanted at that time to get away.
We did get some interesting pictures of Cumulo Granite Clouds. You know, clouds with rocks in them. We rode the rest of the way down in the
storm. It didn’t let up until we were
clear of the park. The park was really
magnificent, just too full of people for my taste.
The
next stop was Beartooth Pass, all the way across the state to the south. We just turned south and rode. We stopped for the night in Big Timber off
of I-90. Three motels in town and all
had agreed to scalp the traveler. But
it was late and we were tired, so we took a room in the second place, over $70
for two-bed room! All three motels had
the same pricing. Don’t go there. We had a better room for half the price in
Oklahoma City.
W
went through Beartooth the next morning and cut over to Cody where Harlan
wanted to go to the Buffalo Bill Museum to see the gun collection.
After
that it was just the fastest route home, time was catching up with us and we
were running out of funds. We got home
Saturday afternoon, July 28th.
By my calculations 6,165 miles in two and a half weeks. We had no mechanical problems with the
machines and I think I actually used just about everything I took. I have a lot of pictures to go through and a
lot of good memories.
Northwest
Arkansas News
By Gwen Rakes
Summer has arrived in N. W.
Arkansas. June was really nice up here
in the hills, we were able to keep our windows open and use only the ceiling
fans. We are lucky to have tall shade
trees all around our house and Doyle keeps the underbrush mowed down so we
catch the cool breeze; but July set in with hot weather and the A/C came
on. The heat forecast for Sunday 8th
of July and the early start of 7:30 am may have contributed to the smaller
turnout. We had ten bikes and fifteen
people who met for a pleasant ride to Grove, OK, to eat a late breakfast. Wayne Ackerman planned an interesting back
roads twisty ride around Benton County to cover 70 miles before we stopped to
eat at the Lakeside Cafe overlooking Grand Lake. We returned home via a more
direct route and were back by noon before the intense heat set in. The next ride will be Sunday 12th
of August starting at 7:30 am. Don’t
forget to check the website: www.bentonville.com, and pull up Sunday Rides to see where we go
and eat!!
WORDS TO SURVIVE BY
With
the passing of the vernal equinox, comes this annual reminder to the seasonal
riders, from the BMW Owners of Nova Scotia. Feel free to reprint and
redistribute these words. BMWONS would appreciate credit for them.
1.
KNOW AND BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE INVISIBLE TO ALL OTHER DRIVERS.
2.
When approaching any intersection, assume cars travelling in the opposite
direction are going to turn left and run over you. Be prepared to take evasive
action.
3.
ALWAYS-ALWAYS have an escape route out of a situation to avoid the consequences
of other peoples' mistakes. Keep looking for the gap that you can use when
someone else screws up.
4.
Adjust your speed to your reaction time. At the end of a tiring day it will be
much longer than it was on the way to work at 8:00AM, so ride with bigger
safety margins.
5.
Check BOTH directions when the light turns green. Someone will run the red
light, sooner or later.
6.
Drivers that are using their car phones are not using their brains. Watch out
for them.
7.
Mirrors are important. If they don't show anything but your elbows, buy some
that do. Always use your mirrors.
8.
Use other people's mirrors, too. Look into the mirror of the car in front of
you. That way you can see where they are looking, and how attentive they are.
If you can see them, chances are better that they can see you.
9.
Trucks and vans often have a hard time checking their right side blind spot. If
you can't see their mirrors, they can't see you behind them.
10.
Slippery oil, antifreeze, and ATF look like water, particularly in low light.
Try to avoid all wet spots, but if you can't, ride over them smoothly.
11.
Check under (behind) parked cars. Those legs you see belong to a child who may
run out in front of you.
12.
Anticipate the moves of other vehicles. Drivers don't always use their turn
signals in traffic, but you MAY be able to tell where they are going by
watching their heads turn just before they change lanes.
13.
Treat all metal surfaces - train rails, bridge gratings, manhole covers - with
the utmost respect. They offer very little traction when dry, and almost none
when wet. Ride over them as smoothly as possible.
14.
Ride in a gear that will allow you to accelerate quickly if you need to get out
of a tight spot.
15.
Never lose your temper when riding....If you do, STOP, take a breather, then
resume your ride.
16.
Always be on the lookout for, and expect, the unexpected.
17.
Avoid racing with other motorists.
18.
IF YOU'RE NOT SURE, DON'T!
Courtesy of
BMWONS Motorcycle Club
From the Editor’s Desk
by Rod Kilduff
New Members –
Welcome to the Club!
Joyce
Bond, Mena, AR
Gene
Dalton, Shelbyville, TN
2001 Dues
There
are still a few folks who have not paid their 2001 dues. I have started dropping people who are more
than two years behind.
Your
address label shows the month and year that you are paid up to. If it doesn’t say “01/02” you still owe. The
dues are $10 for an individual or $15 for a family membership.
Wanted
Newsletter Material: Always
I am still soliciting for newsletter
articles. With this issue I have used
up everything that I have. Send that
article you have always intended to write. Many thanks to those of you; who
have submitted material already. You are allowed to send in more.
Club Campout at Elmers
Sveda Terrapin
Ranch
Arkadelphia,
AR
(870) 246-2067
Sept 20,
Thursday – Camping early “Welcome” on your own
Sept 21,
Friday – 17:00 – 18:30 – Hot Dogs & Chili
20:00 – Movie Patton or Forrest Gump
Sept 22,
Saturday – 17:00 – 18:30 – Sausage & Saurkrout Movie – Forest Gump or Patton
Sept 23,
Sunday – Break Camp
Firewod, Ladies
Shower, Mens Shower
BYOB
Restaurants =
Chinese, Mexican, Itallian, all
Fastfood
Bowens Buffet
(3) meals, Fish Net, and Bar-B-Q within minutes.
See MAP
Activities
Naturally
Beemers
The BMW M/C
Club of Arkansas
BMWMOA CLUB #181
Chartered 2/88
BMWRA CLUB #74
Chartered 4/91
Steering
Committee
Donnie
Rice....................President
Otto
Ising.................Vice President
Elmer
Sveda.........................Activities
Rod
Kilduff.....Secretary / Treasurer / Newsletter
Annual
Membership Dues:
$10.00 for Solo
$15.00 for Family
Send
correspondence to:
Rod Kilduff
822 Donaghey Ave.
Conway, AR. 72032
rod.kilduff@conwaycorp.net
Here’s some additional Rules to Live by
Saddlebags
can never hold everything you want, but they can hold everything you need
NEVER
argue with a woman holding a torque wrench
Routine
maintenance should never be neglected
Only
bikers understand why dogs love to stick their heads out car windows
Never
ask a biker for directions if you're in a hurry to get there
If
it takes more than 3 bolts to hold it on, it's probably crucial
Don't
ride so late into the night that you sleep through the sunrise
Pie
and Coffee are as important as gasoline
A
good rider has balance, judgment, and good timing. So does a good lover
A
cold hamburger can be reheated quite nicely by strapping it to an exhaust pipe
and riding forty miles
Never
do less then forty miles before breakfast
If
you don't ride in the rain, you don't ride
A
bike on the road is worth 2 in the shop
Young
riders pick a destination and go... Old riders pick a direction and go
ADVICE
IS FREE AND WORTH EVERY PENNY!
Sometimes
the fastest way to get there is to stop for the night.