LowAndSilent
Well-known member
I finally did it. I bagged the last couple of dams to become a finisher of this year’s Dam Tour. Yeah, took me long enough, eh? I had 15 dams done and another five to go…with three of them being bonus dams in other states. Overall, the trip took me four days and had me travel through five states and one Canadian province, covering 2300 miles. It's not like the due date is September 30th or anything...
Preparation for the trip began Friday evening after I got off my last day at my job (unemployment = more riding time?). I got home and stripped off the front wheel, as the front tire had definitely had it. With that off, I finished putting together my gear and other travel supplies. Saturday morning I took the wheel and new tire over to the local stealer for a swap…in at 9:00 and out by 9:40 AM. Then it was back home to get it mounted back on the bike. With that done, the rest of the bike prep was easy.
With the bike loaded, I was able to hit the road at 11:00 AM. A little late, but Day 1 would be easy. I wanted to make it across the state to reach my first destination, Sullivan Lake Dam. Located in the northeastern corner of Washington, it was as simple as bombing down I-90 and turning left upon reaching Spokane. Easy-peasy.
Once that was done, I headed even farther north, into Canada. Why? To get to Idaho, of course. That night I was going to be staying with Tyler (FJR forum member SQUEAL) and his wife Sherri, and their two kids. I met Tyler and his crew during the GBU Rally a few months ago, and they offered to put me up for the night. How cool is that? Due to not resetting my GPS to the correct time zone, I had informed Tyler of a 8 PM arrival time, when in reality, I arrived there a little after 6:15 PM. I accidently rode by their house, but managed to go down the road enough to get a signal (too close to Canada, so my phone wanted to connect to the Rogers network) so I could call Tyler for directions. Sure enough, his place was the house I thought it was. Tyler and Sherri were awesome hosts and it was nice to get a good home cooked meal while out on the road.
The start of Day 2 was also a little late. I got a good breakfast burrito prepared for me by Sherri, and it hit the spot. Once I had geared up and headed to the bike, I saw the LD fairy had visited me during the night. Water and snacks were piled ontop of the FJR. While I packed everything away, Tyler and his son helped me remove the copious amounts of dead insects that had caked the front of the FJR and my helmet. With that done, it was time to hit the road. This day was going to be a straightforward day as well. Only one dam to bag. Tyler had given me some directions, which Garmin Basecamp had agreed with, so I set off down the road…ever mindful of those Montana deer.
Once I was on I-90 again, it was straightforward. Head to Butte, turn south, and get to the dam.
From there, it was just an easy interstate blast to my one hotel stay of the trip, in Twin Falls, ID. US-15 to US-86, with a brief stop in Idaho Falls for dinner. The weather until this point had been clear and dry, but the storm clouds on the horizon towards Twin Falls did not look all that nice. Thankfully, the clouds only looked mean, so all I got was a drizzle as I rolled into the hotel. Day 2 down.
Typical of most of my hotel stays during trips, I have a system. Gear is packed away the night before so all I have to do is get up early, shower, eat, load the bike, and go. This was the case on the start of Day 3. A breakfast of peanut butter bagels would help sustain me today, and I’d need it. Now, 820 miles isn’t that many miles for most of the people around here, but it can be quite tiresome especially if there is nothing to help break-up the day or a clock to be against. Thankfully today there would be two dams (well…technically, six dams) that would help to keep me focused.
On the road by 7, I turned my bike east. The temperature was 56 when I rolled out of the hotel, but as soon as I left the city limits it plunged to 46 degrees. I'm in a desert, aren't I? Not the warmest stretch ever, but I didn’t want to pull over to don a fleece liner. Oh well. Getting off the superslab and onto Highway 78, the sun was starting to rise now. Soon the turn for Highway 56 came up and I made my way south towards the first dam of the day. This is where the fun would begin. A sign informing me of construction for the next 16 miles immediately greeted me. Lovely. Oddly enough, there was no construction work going on. Once that was dealt with, I there was another sign proclaiming construction work for the next 21 miles. And the speedlimit was now 45…not the posted 65. Oh pooh.
21 miles of construction at 45 mph is bad enough, but even worse was that there was almost no apparent construction going on. Much of the road was freshly paved, and somewhat marked…but, no construction and no traffic. In Idaho. In the desert. After quite a few miles, I finally did reach some construction cones and people actually doing work…for about a whole solid mile. After that, it returned to just freshly paved tarmac and straight open road. Let’s just say that the 45 mph limit became a distant memory.
Finally, I reached the dam, which is through a rather nice canyon. As it was open range country, I didn’t so much have to worry about Bambi as I did about Betsy. There were quite a lot of cows standing on the shoulder of the road, and in a few places I could see the dead carcasses of cows that were not quite fast enough to get out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.
With that done, it was time to retrace my route back through the canyon and north. Travel through the construction zone went a little quicker this time than last. Back on Highway 78, it was time to head towards the cluster of dams in Nampa, ID. I was able to get there right around 1:00 PM PST.
Having GPS coordinates to the individual spots was so so so helpful in finding these locations. 35 minutes to drive around and snag each location, plus a short snack and rehydration break at the last photo location was all that I needed. From there, all I had to do was sit back and cruise from Nampa to Portland, where I would be staying with the in-laws for the night. 13 and a half hours after I had hit the road, I rolled up to their house.
Day 4 was another late day…mainly because it was a weekday and I wanted to left the rush hour traffic in Portland clear out as much as possible. Showered and fed, I set off back on the road at 10:00 AM. Only one more dam was needed, and then I’d be all done with this years tour. My GPS was giving me some fits, as it did not want to navigate to the dam coordinates, or anywhere in that general area. Figuring out the exit I needed, I ended up just going in on memory. Surprisingly, it worked.
Now, the coordinates show that you can go down a road towards the dam, but that was not going to happen today.
Oh well. Up the road a little ways there was a turnoff, so I positioned the bike in the one place there I could get it and the dam in the shot and did the best I could.
I-5 is one of the aggravating roads to ride, so I instead opted for NF-25 up to Randle. Most riders in the PNW have taken this road before, but this was my first time. Probably wasn’t the wisest decision to do it when it was raining and following a storm. Tree droppings and damp roads are not known for their assistance with grip, so let’s just say it was not the most spirited ride…but it was still fun. I also got to give my rear a bit of a rest, as a good portion of the road was done while standing on the pegs. Those who have ridden the road before will understand.
From there, it was Highway 7 up to 167, then into HOV on the 405 to take me on towards home, arriving around 3:30 PM.
Overall, a good trip. I had fun and got to see some new country I hadn’t seen before.
Preparation for the trip began Friday evening after I got off my last day at my job (unemployment = more riding time?). I got home and stripped off the front wheel, as the front tire had definitely had it. With that off, I finished putting together my gear and other travel supplies. Saturday morning I took the wheel and new tire over to the local stealer for a swap…in at 9:00 and out by 9:40 AM. Then it was back home to get it mounted back on the bike. With that done, the rest of the bike prep was easy.
With the bike loaded, I was able to hit the road at 11:00 AM. A little late, but Day 1 would be easy. I wanted to make it across the state to reach my first destination, Sullivan Lake Dam. Located in the northeastern corner of Washington, it was as simple as bombing down I-90 and turning left upon reaching Spokane. Easy-peasy.
Once that was done, I headed even farther north, into Canada. Why? To get to Idaho, of course. That night I was going to be staying with Tyler (FJR forum member SQUEAL) and his wife Sherri, and their two kids. I met Tyler and his crew during the GBU Rally a few months ago, and they offered to put me up for the night. How cool is that? Due to not resetting my GPS to the correct time zone, I had informed Tyler of a 8 PM arrival time, when in reality, I arrived there a little after 6:15 PM. I accidently rode by their house, but managed to go down the road enough to get a signal (too close to Canada, so my phone wanted to connect to the Rogers network) so I could call Tyler for directions. Sure enough, his place was the house I thought it was. Tyler and Sherri were awesome hosts and it was nice to get a good home cooked meal while out on the road.
The start of Day 2 was also a little late. I got a good breakfast burrito prepared for me by Sherri, and it hit the spot. Once I had geared up and headed to the bike, I saw the LD fairy had visited me during the night. Water and snacks were piled ontop of the FJR. While I packed everything away, Tyler and his son helped me remove the copious amounts of dead insects that had caked the front of the FJR and my helmet. With that done, it was time to hit the road. This day was going to be a straightforward day as well. Only one dam to bag. Tyler had given me some directions, which Garmin Basecamp had agreed with, so I set off down the road…ever mindful of those Montana deer.
Once I was on I-90 again, it was straightforward. Head to Butte, turn south, and get to the dam.
From there, it was just an easy interstate blast to my one hotel stay of the trip, in Twin Falls, ID. US-15 to US-86, with a brief stop in Idaho Falls for dinner. The weather until this point had been clear and dry, but the storm clouds on the horizon towards Twin Falls did not look all that nice. Thankfully, the clouds only looked mean, so all I got was a drizzle as I rolled into the hotel. Day 2 down.
Typical of most of my hotel stays during trips, I have a system. Gear is packed away the night before so all I have to do is get up early, shower, eat, load the bike, and go. This was the case on the start of Day 3. A breakfast of peanut butter bagels would help sustain me today, and I’d need it. Now, 820 miles isn’t that many miles for most of the people around here, but it can be quite tiresome especially if there is nothing to help break-up the day or a clock to be against. Thankfully today there would be two dams (well…technically, six dams) that would help to keep me focused.
On the road by 7, I turned my bike east. The temperature was 56 when I rolled out of the hotel, but as soon as I left the city limits it plunged to 46 degrees. I'm in a desert, aren't I? Not the warmest stretch ever, but I didn’t want to pull over to don a fleece liner. Oh well. Getting off the superslab and onto Highway 78, the sun was starting to rise now. Soon the turn for Highway 56 came up and I made my way south towards the first dam of the day. This is where the fun would begin. A sign informing me of construction for the next 16 miles immediately greeted me. Lovely. Oddly enough, there was no construction work going on. Once that was dealt with, I there was another sign proclaiming construction work for the next 21 miles. And the speedlimit was now 45…not the posted 65. Oh pooh.
21 miles of construction at 45 mph is bad enough, but even worse was that there was almost no apparent construction going on. Much of the road was freshly paved, and somewhat marked…but, no construction and no traffic. In Idaho. In the desert. After quite a few miles, I finally did reach some construction cones and people actually doing work…for about a whole solid mile. After that, it returned to just freshly paved tarmac and straight open road. Let’s just say that the 45 mph limit became a distant memory.
Finally, I reached the dam, which is through a rather nice canyon. As it was open range country, I didn’t so much have to worry about Bambi as I did about Betsy. There were quite a lot of cows standing on the shoulder of the road, and in a few places I could see the dead carcasses of cows that were not quite fast enough to get out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.
With that done, it was time to retrace my route back through the canyon and north. Travel through the construction zone went a little quicker this time than last. Back on Highway 78, it was time to head towards the cluster of dams in Nampa, ID. I was able to get there right around 1:00 PM PST.
Having GPS coordinates to the individual spots was so so so helpful in finding these locations. 35 minutes to drive around and snag each location, plus a short snack and rehydration break at the last photo location was all that I needed. From there, all I had to do was sit back and cruise from Nampa to Portland, where I would be staying with the in-laws for the night. 13 and a half hours after I had hit the road, I rolled up to their house.
Day 4 was another late day…mainly because it was a weekday and I wanted to left the rush hour traffic in Portland clear out as much as possible. Showered and fed, I set off back on the road at 10:00 AM. Only one more dam was needed, and then I’d be all done with this years tour. My GPS was giving me some fits, as it did not want to navigate to the dam coordinates, or anywhere in that general area. Figuring out the exit I needed, I ended up just going in on memory. Surprisingly, it worked.
Now, the coordinates show that you can go down a road towards the dam, but that was not going to happen today.
Oh well. Up the road a little ways there was a turnoff, so I positioned the bike in the one place there I could get it and the dam in the shot and did the best I could.
I-5 is one of the aggravating roads to ride, so I instead opted for NF-25 up to Randle. Most riders in the PNW have taken this road before, but this was my first time. Probably wasn’t the wisest decision to do it when it was raining and following a storm. Tree droppings and damp roads are not known for their assistance with grip, so let’s just say it was not the most spirited ride…but it was still fun. I also got to give my rear a bit of a rest, as a good portion of the road was done while standing on the pegs. Those who have ridden the road before will understand.
From there, it was Highway 7 up to 167, then into HOV on the 405 to take me on towards home, arriving around 3:30 PM.
Overall, a good trip. I had fun and got to see some new country I hadn’t seen before.
