Back finally from the MOA and Ride West, Yeehaw!!!

[suecanada]

Hi, everyone...I've sure missed you all! After 6,885 miles of riding, my butt is a bit sore, but it is good to be home. I sure saw some pretty awesome sights and this was the first time I had had the opportunity to see the mid-west of America. There sure are some huge contrasts with the east, at least to my eyes.  It was a delight to actually see all those wonderful landforms i learned about in my long physical geography career.

So when I get the photos in some semblance of order and David has the best photos I'm sure, I will share some highlights. After leaving home and going up and around Lake Huron and across at the Sault Ste. Marie International bridge into MI and onto West Bend and the rally, David and I continued through Wisconsin west through Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, south through Wyoming (Beartooth Pass!), Colorado where we attended the Top of the Rockies Rally, into Utah to the Grand Canyon and home via Arizona, New Mexico, Texas panhandle, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and back to MI and Ontario home.

Highlight had to be meeting Mike (nhmaf) and his very nice cousin Dean! Grand Canyon was pretty good too  Thanks to Mike for posting those good photos he took at the rally. Gee I look small compared to Mike and Dean!!!

Anyway, I just wanted you to know I am home safe and sound as of Thursday night and am still unpacking the "stuff". Will try to write down my thoughts about the trip when I get more energy. F650GS ran like a top but could use more top end on those super fast western interstates. Almost got smucked for the first time in my riding career in Jackson, WY.!!!!

[NC Steve]

Welcome back, Sue! Wow, nearly 7000 miles, that was quite a trip!
Please do post as many pics as possible asap, ok?

I believe we're all very envious of your adventures, and, is it just me, or is it a tad bit ironic that you've probably seen a lot more of this country than most of us have?

Ride safe, and don't forget those pics...[smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[SCJJR65]

Geez, Sue, you are indeed "living the good life"!  How have you managed to stay gone on the road this summer as long as you have?  Independently wealthy, perhaps?  

Can't wait to see some of these photos taken by you and David of this trip.  I can at least live vicariously through your exploits!  

[Ed Miller]

What's "smucked?"

Wow, what a trip.  You rode more miles than most people do in a whole year, and saw lots of good stuff; I'm jealous but congratulations anyway!

[nhmaf]

Hi Sue,

Very Glad that you all made it back home safe and sound !   That was quite a long adventure you
ended up taking after the Wisconsin rally !    Dean and I were talking about how much we'd like to have tagged
along for a while, but alas, my business needed tending to and Dean had to come back to address some family medical
issues.   We certainly enjoyed meeting you and David and your friends, and hope to see you again at another rally sometime !

I'm looking forward to seeing your photos, especially of your trip going south through the Rocky Mountains - what routes did you take ?

Dean and I figured that you might have gotten some more mileage from your old chain and sprocket, but seeing how MANY more miles
you rode before returning home, it was probably a very good thing that you decided to change them in wisconsin before continuing !

Don't worry about appearing "short" next to us - I'm 6' 2" and when I am at a family gathering with Dean's side of the family, I am one of the
shortest guys there !

 

[msbuck]

Welcome back, Sue!  You're right, the west is definitely different from the east.  It's like going to another planet!  Glad you had a successful trip with no mishaps and have LOTS of memories to share.  Looking forward to the pics and write-up!

[Bob_Roller]

WOW Sue 6,900 miles, how many days were you on the road ? Glad to hear you had minimal problems on your journey. The American west is quite a spectacular sight, from a former mid west 'flat land' resident perspective. I can imagine that on these high speed interstate highways, that your F650 was not quite in it's element, and those 18 wheel trucks can be intimidating on a bike.

[suecanada]

Thank you again for all the welcome homes!!!

Yeah, the F650GS isn't meant for Interstates, that is for sure. The speedo may say 80 mph but the GPS David has says I'm really doing 73 mph and that seemed too fast at times when the trucks started to buffet me around or I was against a strong wind. The tach was at 5300 rpm which seemed to be screaming. What I lacked was that extra oomph that gets ya by the rucks in a hurry. With all those tire chunks lying on the sides of the highway, I kept wondering when one would blow off just when I was passing. Ya can't follow the trucks and ya daren't stay where they are close behind....and ya have to stay well back to get away from the buffeting...there IS no place for me there and there are trucks galore. I like the secondary roads so much better to see and get the feel of a place. We did more of these sec. roads in Wyoming, Colorado and Utah and then we rode them from St. Louis to South Bend on the way home. There were more roads to choose from in the east of course.  May have to get an F800 in some form if I want more punch and lighness too!  F800GS...hmmmmm with lowered seat. They are on the design tables I hear.

I can hardly believe i saw all those great places where the westerns I watched as a kid were filmed.   Monument Valley....dry gulches where ombre's lurked everywhere....I could almost hear the rattle of the rattler as the good guy was shootin' away only to turn and see the snake, 2 feet away in the gulch!! Pow! No rattle!  Or how about the tops of hills where all of a sudden a single line of 10,000 Indians would magically appear..lookin' down on those poor settlers...if only we knew as kids what side to be on!!!

Anyway, Derek has set me up to amalgamate David's and my pics on a CD. The I will try to get chosen pics onto that site i put Beemerville, 2 years ago. Then I'll have an album and an internet site for you guys to go to if you want. David took lots of pics riding along...I did it during the latter part of the trip.

Oh yes, I am retired but not independently wealthy..just panicking as I reached 60 and who knows how long I have to see and travel these places. Also, I read a book years ago about how to live free in an unfree world and it said to not sweat spending $100.00.  So I just keep NOT sweating it!!!!  10 times over!!  Gas mileage is so good on the F650 that one can hardly NOT ride it somewhere!! 65 to 70 miles per US gallon! I spent about $325.00 on gas. And most of all I have Derek at home willing to keep the home fires burning. He gave david and I a fine welcome home BBQ too. As Rob V. says...I'm a lucky person to have a guy like Derek.

Oh...both my new IPF 6314 lights broke off the Terra Nova lightbar....they are being replaced under guarantee from Bestrestproducts but unless reinforced and buffered from vibrations, the new ones will most certainly break off as well. I will keep you posted on this product and my luck and success at getting them back on and working. The light was great from them but they gotta be stronger in design. They were $150.00 USD and are comparable to the 510 PIAA's. They need to be made of metal..I think PIAA's are, aren't they?? I may have to do some jerry rigging on them.

[Bob_Roller]

I personally prefer the 2 lane roads on a bike or in the cage. A bit more relaxed than an Interstate highway, the road less traveled. You need to get your riding in while you are able to do so, I don't know how many co-workers that have retired over the last 30 years, and have had  their health go bad in just a year or two after-wards, and not really enjoy the 'golden years'. So get out there and ride .

[Semper Gumby]

Hi Sue.  Congrats on completing your trip.  Yes my 520 PIAAs are made of metal.  I heard a rumor of a Liter F-bike so wait a bit longer....

I'm itching to get on the road again like that.  The west is something else.  <sigh>

TTFN,

[Melena]

Sue,
What a wonderful trip!  You got to see some of the most wonderful parts of this country.  And you almost made it to California.    You spent only $325 on gas for that trip?  Wow!  That's great for the miles you put in.  But then you didn't have to pay California gas prices.  

Now if I could just get enough time off work I'd meet you out there somewhere on the road.  

Congrats on getting that trip in.   [smiley=thumbsup.gif]