Part 4 the rest of the Story

After two nights in South Dakota we said goodbye to the family and headed west to Montana. We passed an area where all the trees were snapped off about five feet above the ground not sure how or why but it was interesting. As we approached the Wyoming state line we passed about 100 bikes going the other way – very cool. After a few hours of very nice roads we arrived at Devils Tower National Monument (think Close Encounters of the Third Kind) it is a spectacular view standing in the middle of a green valley, just amazing. We stopped for lunch about a mile away and then continued went to Hardin, MT near the Little Bighorn battlefield. Shortly after lunch we encountered a problem, Ray was having problems holding speed and line when we checked with him he realized he didn’t take his insulin with lunch and needed to rest so we stopped at the B & J Convenience store located near the edge of nowhere. As Ray rested Scott, Phil and I visited and wrote in our journals. We also learned from the lady running the store that our next few hundred miles were through an Indian reservation with an added warning to not breakdown, stop or eat anything along the way. Phil then shared an Arizona motorcycle store involving stopping uninvited on reservation land he and a friend had – suffice it to say we were motivated to avoid a repeat of that adventure. After Rays rest we were on the road again and found that our route was on a stretch of road that due to construction was dirt and gravel road for about 12 miles. Not knowing the area and seeing that backtracking would add hundreds of miles we pressed on. About 100 yards in we encountered a blind dip that shot Scott’s T-Bag so high in the air it cleared his head. Since no one was hurt it was easy to laugh about it and thankfully the road was much smoother after that. We ended the day in Hardin, MT and a camp ground that spent more on the website than the property – It was a total dive and overrun with Mosquitoes. To round out the sleepless night was the trains that passed through the town blowing a horn at every cross street all night long. We woke the next day tired and cranky and for the first time on the trip needing to ride two days in a row. This leg of the trip should have been our best day… Bear tooth Pass and Yellowstone, but the lack of sleep and miles took a toll and the first 1/3 of the day was boring riding and a hot day. When we stopped before the beginning of Bear Tooth Pass we had a disagreement as to the plan to ride it together at a pace comfortable for the slowest rider or split-up and meet at the entrance of Yellowstone. Frustrations and disagreements aside, Bear Tooth is a spectacular ride and well worth going out of the way if you are ever near north western Wyoming. When we joined up at the entrance to Yellowstone I thought we all had stopped for Gas because I saw Scott pulling out of a station as I pulled in and I saw Phil and Ray stop, turns out Scott stopped for the restroom and didn’t get gas because he had ½ a tank and didn’t know how far the next town was. So our relaxing ride through Yellowstone turned into Scott drafting 6” off the back of my bike while Phil and Ray were trying to figure out why Scott had abandoned the staggered riding formation. We found gas, no body died and at tribal council no one was voted off the trip. By the time we reached Jackson, WY we were tired and it was good that we didn’t need to ride anywhere for the next four days. I was planning to take a side trip the next day and go to Nevada and back because I had never ridden in that state so I skipped dinner and went to bed. The KOA at Jackson was great, the tent sites are separated from the RV sites and we were 20 feet from the Snake River, the lack of sleep and stress of the ride and the soothing sounds of the river conspired and I slept way past the 6:00am planned departure time. So I joined the boys for breakfast only to discover my clutch lever was not engaging the clutch properly. We stopped and found that the master cylinder was almost empty. After topping it off all was well so we all headed off in different directions, my ride was cut short when after about 15 miles the clutch lever want soft again. I checked it and the reservoir was full but the new fluid was very dirty, clearly it had sucked air into the line so I went back to camp. Later that afternoon when it had cooled down Scott and Phil helped me bleed the system and it has been fine since that time. The next day we went on a rafting trip and it was great. The four of us were joined by a family from Poland. On the trip we saw a Bald Eagle and it was amazing, we also had the chance to get out of the boat on a long calm section of the river. I initially didn’t get out because I was concerned about getting my 6”2” 290lb body back in the boat but Phil who jumped in pulled me in from behind. After the initial shock from the cold water it was the best part of the trip. It reminded me of God’s Grace like the River we don’t know where it will take us but we are none the less held safe and can if we choose not to fight for control float peacefully along enjoying the moment. When the time came to get back in the boat it was as ugly as I thought but thankfully we have no photographic evidence of that event. We ended the river trip and relived it all on the bus ride back to camp; we were hungry and exhilarated so we went to Bubba’s BBQ in Jackson for a great meal and then a good night sleep. I took a side ride to Idaho and had a huckleberry shake and enjoyed and mountain road with a 12 percent grade which is as steep and paved road I have ridden, It had one fast left hand corner that had an optical illusion making the road appear to end and having you fly into a valley thousands of feet below (Can you say pucker factor?) Since I am writing this you can rest assured that I survived that corner.

After four nights we were sad to say goodbye to Jackson and the Snake River but it was time to go. The ride south to Utah started beautifully but became a flat boring challenge match to stay awake for mile after mile of sameness. The only distraction came with a traffic stop for road construction where Phil and I each listening to different music on our I-Pods were dancing in the street while we waited for our turn to ride the one lane road to nowhere. Not sure who gave us stranger looks Scott and Ray or the drivers of the cars around us. Let’s face it sometimes you just have to dance!

Quick stop for Fireworks and lunch and Ray told us that this was going to be his last day, he needed to go back to TX because of family issues and was going to get a hotel in UT to get a better night sleep before the two very long days of riding he had coming.

We went through something called the Valley of Fire (Sounds inviting doesn’t it?) and after miles of stark beauty came to a dam and a lake with boats and stopped to get wet and cool off. As it turns out after a very hot day I got wet only to then drive into a storm and a cold front you never know what is around the next corner. Before long we came out of the small storm and arrived at the KOA in Vernal, UT Too much to eat at a buffet and out to a movie before a great night under the stars, no tent needed that night.

From Utah the plan was for two days of riding in the Colorado Rockies but when we woke up we missed home more than we wanted to tour our home state. Part of the planned fun was showing Ray the Rockies but he was gone and the three of ride these mountains all the time (I know we are spoiled) so we cut a day off and headed for Denver. It was a full day ride avoiding the major highways and enjoying riding and views that are not possible anywhere else with the possible exception of the Alps. Climbing and falling thousands of feet and spending a good part of the day above 10,000’ is something every motorcycle rider should experience at least once.

When I ride I get a strange reverse altitude sickness where it doesn’t seem like a ride unless I can get above 10,000’ for a while.

Wrap-up

The riding was great and the memories will last a lifetime. I was put in a position to face my fears about leading and like all human endeavors that was filled with both success and failure. The best part is the failing is I got to feel the fear of not being enough so God could remind me that I was never intended to be enough and to lean on Him.

Last week I asked the company to create a position leading a team and to be responsible for a federally mandated program and told then I wanted that job. This would have never happened if the conflict of the ride hadn’t happened first, and I thought we were just going for a motorcycle ride.

Wrap-up