ADV motivation pics: camp spots, hot springs, views, etc.

[HadesOmega]

I did the Colorado TAT and it's my favorite along with the Utah TAT. The only section I didn't do is the California pass because of snow, they were plowing it when I went. I wound up taking a detour through Silverton I think. I also peeled off the TAT to go ride up Pike's Peak. I'd love to go back to Colorado some time. You'd just go up a bunch of mountains and down them. The biggest oh shit section was Ophir Pass. Your riding down the side of this mountain on a single lane road with 4x4s going up and down and it's hella steep and just a mountain on one side and cliff on the other.

Ophir Pass

 

[berth]

The biggest challenge for me was to do Black Bear Pass. The time I went solo on the WR250R was the only time in my life I truly thought I was going to die on a motorcycle. I was told it was difficult, I didn't know what to expect, I didn't do much research, I just went and hoped for the best...

Didn't do much research?

You do know that the song is a documentary, right?


youtu.be/GzWyZ-jM9Is

But, yes, Colorado Silverton area is really amazing.

 

[Mario]

Didn't do much research?

You do know that the song is a documentary, right?

First time I hear this song!

My first time there wasn't supposed to be a solo ride, I was going with some friends from KY and they know the place, so I relied on them to guide me. However, there was a misunderstanding with the dates and I arrived a week ahead of them. Instead of cancelling, I bought a map and went ride solo.

The biggest oh shit section was Ophir Pass.

I got the same experience first time I was there, there was a lot of traffic and I was going East uphill, squeezing between a truck and the side of the hill was a bit stressing. I did Imogene pass and that was the worst, from a cliff point of view. I do not remember if it was one way or not. If I had any vehicle coming my way, I would park it and let them do the passing

This happened a week before I arrived there last year. These guys probably thought it was the end for them... :wow

https://twitter.com/SheriffAlert/status/1164309224140075010

 

[seldredg]

Here also to learn of new places and share my favorite.

I've been to Colorado twice. I like it so much I want to go every year. In fact, if this shit virus allows it, I'll take the days off this year and go again :ride

I've been to two places: once to Breckenridge, twice to Silverton/Ouray/Lake City/Telluride. That place is heaven to me. Blue skies, amazing green scenery, great roads to ride. My first trip was a solo trip on a WR250R (stupid stupid stupid, but really worth it), second time on a KTM500, 50% solo, 50% with some friends from KY. I don't dare to do it on an ADV bike, I'm a tad small and it takes a lot of strength to pick up a heavy bike at 13,000ft elevation, though I have seen lots of people on big adventure bikes. I would consider it if I had a better ADV bike... (KTM 790 :teeth)

If anyone is interested, I got plenty of maps, GPS routes, some recommendations on where to stay. Can't wait to go there again :teeth

Stunning pictures. More places to add to the list.

 

[boney]

Campsite next to Mann Lake in the Steens:

Primitive Camping in the Forest (snowed out of Medicine Lake in June)

Somewhere in Idaho:

"I'm here for the ecplise..."

11PM sunset way north of here:

 

[paul cbr]

Does Alaska count?

 

[1962siia]

Nice shots everyone! Woot! :ride

 

[Mario]

Great pics!

I really want to ride Alaska, how different is it from your local ADV ride? Do people ride all the way there and back, or trailer, or ship, or rent? Do you have to be prepared to have no gas between hundreds and hundreds of miles? Do you have to fight bears that get on your way?

 

[SFMCjohn]

Alaska was always sort of a motorcycle-guy pilgrimage when I was a lad ... been a couple of times, on an 88 K75s and a pre-gen KLR. Think the longest stretch I had without gas was Dawson City to Eagle Plains toward Inuvik ... think it was over 200 miles, maybe 235.

Folks carry a gas can, but don't think I had to with either bike. Saw bears, but didn't have to fight any. Got chased a bit by a young wolf, ha. I rode up and back from SF both times. Some folks take a ferry up or back. It's insane how far it is ... think Fairbanks is 3500 miles from San Francisco. Had to replace my KLR TKC 80s near Anchorage.

Can't recommend an Alaska moto trip enough. just awesome.

Looking forward to paul_cbr's account. Looks like he took a cool bike, it was a long ride on a KLR, double ha.

Kenai Peninsula, Homer, AK, 2007.

Arctic Circle, above Eagle Plains ...

 

[Cincinnatus]

Reasons I got my GSA:
Alaska
Bodie
Berlin, NV Ichthyosaur State Park (went there during a Hawthorne rally)
Carrizo Plain
and anyplace else... :thumbup

 

[Mario]

I was looking at riding to Banff before venturing to a longer trip like Alaska. Anyone been around there? Anybody know if it is worth visiting? I've been to many places which I knew from pictures that they were amazing (Yosemite, Grand Canyon) and then found out it was like navigating a crowded Walmart. I figure the further away, the less chances of finding crowds... ?

 

[berth]

I was looking at riding to Banff before venturing to a longer trip like Alaska. Anyone been around there? Anybody know if it is worth visiting? ?

Banff was amazing when I went. That was in 1990.

I left job A and starting job B two weeks later, so I bought a in-dash cassette player for my truck (it only had a radio), tossed in a sleeping bag, ground cloth, mountain bike, 60 CDs, my CD player and cassette adapter, and a credit card. Grab a "trip tik" route from AAA (which I had just joined) that took me up the coast from So Cal to Victoria in Vancouver Island (via ferry from Port Angeles), across Canadia to Calgary, then south through Idaho, Montana, Jellystone, Utah, and back home though Vegas.

It was a driving trip, I drove every day (4500 miles over 10 days), camping in mostly private campgrounds using a AAA book as a guide. I did this just to get a better chance at a shower everyday. Except in Banff. I stayed two days in Banff at the local campground.

Rogers Pass, Lake Louise, all of it was beautiful. It was early August so the sun didn't go down until 10pm.

Save for lunch at that Hotel on Lake Louise, I didn't "do anything". I just meandered. I'd picked up a guy hitch hiking, his VW was busted. That was about as eventful as it got. I just wandered around, rode my bicycle. I had no agenda, I wasn't there for anything, just "Banff". Explored the town a bit. I didn't see "anything". I'm sure there's a list of "things to do in Banff", I didn't read it.

A highlight was when I went to get some ice for my cooler. There was a 10lb bag, but that was just too big (cooler was a small cooler). So I found a smaller bag, 4-5lbs. Paid twice as much for it. "Glacier ice" Oh! Well, guess I'm paying for the privilege to keep my drinks cold with million year old frozen water vs the stuff from the ice house.

No matter.

It rained when I was there. Just a bit, I toss my bed sheet on to the ground, there was wood in the campground, small logs (4-5" in diameter, but maybe, 15" long). I used some of those as legs, tied my ground cloth to those, the table, my truck. Slept underneath that, that night. Stayed dry enough.

Anyway, it was a blast, it was beautiful. Canadian Rockies in all its postcard splendor.

 

[paul cbr]

Great pics!

I really want to ride Alaska, how different is it from your local ADV ride? Do people ride all the way there and back, or trailer, or ship, or rent? Do you have to be prepared to have no gas between hundreds and hundreds of miles? Do you have to fight bears that get on your way?

Not sure if you're serious, but there's lots of ways to ride Alaska. I went in 2014 and rode 11,000 miles in 20 days. Mixture of camping, crashing with strangers and overpriced shitty motels. One of the most memorable 20 days of my life.

Way more details than you could ever dream of on ADVrider. I have a ride report somewhere.

 

[SFMCjohn]

I was looking at riding to Banff before venturing to a longer trip like Alaska. ?

nice thing about Alaska is it’s so far away that Banff is kinda on the way ... :laughing:gsxrgrl

went through Seattle once on the way to AK and after that avoided it to the east by at least 200 miles ... :toothless

I have a ride report somewhere.

:thumbup

Poor Decision Paul's Northern Tour

awesome RR and super-awesome pics! Icefields Parkway, ftw ... :ride

“RCBGD” ... :laughing
I have some mis-spent-youth stuff lurking around, so my
border crossings were extra-polite, especially heading south again ... :toothless

 

[paul cbr]

I was looking at riding to Banff before venturing to a longer trip like Alaska. Anyone been around there? Anybody know if it is worth visiting? I've been to many places which I knew from pictures that they were amazing (Yosemite, Grand Canyon) and then found out it was like navigating a crowded Walmart. I figure the further away, the less chances of finding crowds... ?

Yeah dude, Banff is sick. Go super early to avoid crowds. I was there the first week of June. Instagram ruins everything.

nice thing about Alaska is it’s so far away that Banff is kinda on the way ... :laughing:gsxrgrl

went through Seattle once on the way to AK and after that avoided it to the east by at least 200 miles ... :toothless



:thumbup

Poor Decision Paul's Northern Tour

awesome RR and super-awesome pics! Icefields Parkway, ftw ... :ride

“RCBGD” ... :laughing
I have some mis-spent-youth stuff lurking around, so my
border crossings were extra-polite, especially heading south again ... :toothless

Thanks for the shoutout!

 

[Mario]

Not sure if you're serious, but there's lots of ways to ride Alaska. I went in 2014 and rode 11,000 miles in 20 days. Mixture of camping, crashing with strangers and overpriced shitty motels. One of the most memorable 20 days of my life.

Definitely serious. I was planning with a friend of mine from out of state to ride to Banff, this was going to be a test ride to see if I can endure a longer trip to AK.

I had this loop planned: SF > Eureka/Lost Coast > Portland > Seattle > Vancouver (maybe cross to that island there) > Banff/Jasper > south to Yellowstone > Salt Lake City > back to SF

It was scheduled for this year. We didn't fully agree on the extent of the ride. I can do the entire loop on my Tiger, my friend would have to take one of my other rides, but none are as comfortable as the Tiger. So we agreed on trailering to Oregon, ride to Banff and then return back to Oregon.

Reason I ask how you get there is that many of these trips might involve lots of boring slabbing and I don't know if going to AK is worth riding all the way, or trailer to AK and be fresh to ride there. I often rather trailer and be fresh, especially if the place to ride is challenging.

The ultimate trip I want to do is Patagonia. I am from Argentina and my parents took me on vacation all over Patagonia and Chile when I was a kid. I have the best memories on those trips (on a car, of course). I've been planning a very large loop with a friend of mine to go from Buenos Aires through the east coast to Tierra del Fuego, then back up through the Andes, cross to Chile, then cut across back to Buenos Aires. Unfortunately neither of us had a month vacation available and now my friend has a kid, so this out for now...

Thanks for the imagery, this is getting me the motivation I need to get me thinking about a long trip as soon as this is over!

 

[norcalkid]

I was looking at riding to Banff before venturing to a longer trip like Alaska. Anyone been around there? Anybody know if it is worth visiting? I've been to many places which I knew from pictures that they were amazing (Yosemite, Grand Canyon) and then found out it was like navigating a crowded Walmart. I figure the further away, the less chances of finding crowds... ?

In August I rode up there through BC, up to Jasper and down through Banff and Kootney NP's and came into the East side of Glacier and then over to Yellowstone.

Jasper and Banff are totally amazing! I would recommend the trip. The only real negative was the Lake Louse area was over run with tourists. The rest of the area was manageable. There was overflow camping in Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise but other than that camping is harder to find in Canada than the US.

Don't stop at Banff. The 100 mile or so ride from Jasper to Banff was one of the highlights of the trip.

https://www.bayarearidersforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=538160

IMG20190818094340 by Norcalkid, on Flickr

 

[berth]

Definitely serious. I was planning with a friend of mine from out of state to ride to Banff, this was going to be a test ride to see if I can endure a longer trip to AK.

I had this loop planned: SF > Eureka/Lost Coast > Portland > Seattle > Vancouver (maybe cross to that island there) > Banff/Jasper > south to Yellowstone > Salt Lake City > back to SF

That was essentially my route, save I stuck to the coast the entire way and bounced off of Vancouver Island vs running through Seattle. And, obviously, I started in So Cal.

I did not hit Jasper, however.

The coast is the slow road for sure. I didn't even make Eureka my first day. And I stopped in Astoria on my second. Third day I had a lot of time on my hands as Port Angeles wasn't that far, and I had to wait until the ferry the next day. I managed to meander over to Olympia.

I spent little to no time in Vancouver, and just headed east over the One Road.

There was a moment outside of Vancouver. Saw a sign "Ft. Something" and decided to check it out. Next thing I know I'm crashing the line on some dock and on a ferry across a river. "Stupid Californians". Never saw the fort, but just seemed easier to cut the line and go forward than turn around. Whole thing was a little awkward.

 

[N4teTheGreat]

Seeing Death Valley NP for the first time bike bike was an amazing experience. Hoping to pick off part of the NVBDR this fall once things return to normal.

 

[CodyShaw]

Inspiring posts. I'm waiting for the DMV to open back up so I can finish the written portion of my license, but stuff like this is why I decided to get into moto. Already got the bike and camping gear, can't wait to just let go and get lost somewhere.