Cyclerides.com Weekly
Update
8/8/12
Greetings Riders,
Well, I trust you are all enjoying what will hopefully be our
last major heat wave of the summer here in Phoenix. I saw as high as 119 on my car mirror yesterday before it settled on 117. That is HOT! The
good news is that when it cools down to 105 next week we will all be feeling
like that isn’t so bad any more. Good news is September is not that far away and
moderation in our high temps should come with that.
Last week I gave you Day 3 of our Road Trip 2012 that covered
Feather River Scenic Byway
and surprise of the trip Lassen Volcanic
National Park. If you missed that letter and the pictures, Click Here to
View.
This week I will be covering Days 4 & 5 from Road Trip 2012.
As with any road trip that you do, it is not awesome scenery the
entire way, there are always what I call travel days to get you from one
destination to the next. You just try and pick some back roads that will make
the transition a little more interesting. That would be the case on Day 4 as we
left the Shasta Motel and small town of Burney, CA. Our destination this day was
to be Boise, ID so that we could launch on Hwy. 21, the Ponderosa Scenic Byway
through the Boise National Forest on Day 5. The first 140 miles leaving Burney
took us through some pine trees to start and then farm land with views of Lassen
Peak and Mt. Shasta for several miles along the way on Hwy. 299. Here is a cool
picture I took with Mt. Shasta in my rear view mirror and Lassen Peak over the
top of the mirror. Click Here to view.
Our first gas stop was 140 miles away in Lakeview, OR
on Hwy. 395 just North of Goose Lake. One of the things that we do on
these trips is to mail dirty clothes back to ourselves every 3 days to lighten
the load in the saddle bags and to make room for the new shirts we pick up along
the way. The post
office at Lakeview was the perfect place to do this. A medium Flat
Rate box from the P.O. holds everything we need to ship and only costs $11.50.
Not bad to clear out the bags a bit.
From Lakeview we followed Hwy. 395 past Lake Albert to Burns,
OR. This has to be one of the loneliest and desolate roads
that we
have ever been on. Landscape looks a lot like the moon and I don’t think we
passed more than 20 cars in 100 miles on this section. Amazing there is even a
road there at all. But roads like that do make for adding more miles in a
shorter amount of time. Just don’t take this road for the scenic value. The next
stop was after another 140 miles in Burns before taking Hwy. 20 for another 130
miles to the Idaho border at Ontario. Just for the record, Hwy. 20 is actually a
pretty enjoyable road to ride on. Much better than the tire eating 395. After
gas again at Ontario, we headed South on I-84 to find a motel for the night
after taking a quick ride through downtown Boise. This is a beautiful old town
with one of the more majestic capital buildings that I have ever personally
seen. Click
Here to View.
After a 480 mile day we were finally checking into our Best
Western Timber lodge at exit 57 of I-84, the start of Hwy. 21.
Idaho State Highway 21 is the Ponderosa Pine Scenic Byway, primarily a two-lane
highway from Boise to Stanley. It passes by historic Idaho City and the village
of Lowman to the western edge of the Sawtooth Mountain Range, part of the Rocky
Mountains, then along their northern boundary to Stanley. The road is designated
as one of Idaho's scenic byways and provides access to Sawtooth National
Recreation Area from Boise. It starts at 3000 feet in elevation primarily
following the Boise River and its tributary Mores Creek to the Boise Basin and
beyond, and then the upper South Fork of the Payette River and a tributary from
Lowman to its highest point at Banner Creek Summit, elevation 7056 feet. At this
point you enter the Challis National Forest.
Idaho State Hwy. 21 is 125 miles of an absolutely great
motorcycle ride and is a “must do” if you are in Idaho,
or to even
make it a destination ride. The road is in great condition, beautiful scenery through the pines and a visit
to the old town of Idaho City is well worth the stop to absorb the history that
it has to offer. Idaho City was founded in 1862 amidst the Boise Basin Gold Rush
during the Civil War. At its peak during the mid-1860's, there were more than
200 businesses in town, including three dozen saloons and two dozen law offices.
Its 1864 population of 7,000 made it the largest city in the Northwest, bigger
than Portland. Wood was the prime source of both shelter and heat, which caused
Idaho City to burn four times: 1865, 1867, 1868, and 1871. You can see some
pictures of Idaho City in the photo gallery below.
The last 15 miles heading South into Stanley will give you
outstanding
views of the snow covered Sawtooth Mountain Range
which is
where we got our beautiful photo op of the trip.
In Stanley, Hwy. 21 terminates at 6250 feet at the junction with Hwy. 75. This
is where you will begin the Sawtooth Scenic Byway that will take you over the
Galena Summit at 8700 feet and then into the beautiful towns of Ketchum and the
famous Sun Valley, ID. Sun Valley is famous for their ski resorts, Robert
Redford’s film festivals and homes to several famous people including Mark
Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett, Clint Eastwood, Bruce Willis, Opera Winfrey and Bill
Gates to just name a few. It is worth a stop in Ketchum and Sun Valley to take a
ride around to explore this beautiful area.
We even ran into a couple of Cyclerides fans while we were
there.
I have always said if you see us out on one of our road
trips, and stop to say Hi, you will get your picture in the newsletter. Mike and
Laura Rogers did just that in Ketchum, ID. They are from the Phoenix area and
were on their way to Yellowstone. In fact they had printed off some of our
routes on Cyclerides.com. Laura recognized me in the restaurant while we were
getting our drinks. We ended up eating lunch with them and sharing ride stories.
Here is
our Group Shot. Thanks to Mike and Laura. Glad
you had a safe trip.
After about 2 1/2 hours in the Ketchum/Sun Valley area, we
headed on South to Hwy. 93 to Arco. Our original plan was to go to
Jackson, WY for the night. But by the time we got to Arco it was already 5:30 PM
and we had 170 miles to go to get there and a lot of it would have been through
major deer country in the evening hours, so we decided to go North from Arco on
Hwy. 93 and head toward Missoula, MT where we would prepare to ride the famous
Lolo Pass. After 220 miles of riding from Ketchum, we found a really nice motel
on the Salmon River in Salmon, ID. It was the perfect place to stop to cap off a
420 mile day. Hwy. 93 is a really nice ride from Arco to Missoula, especially
past Challis. It gets better the farther North you go.
Next week I will review our eventful ride down LoLo Pass in
Idaho.
Click Here for
Map of Day
4 & 5
Click Here for
Photos of Day 4 & 5.
Useful Links:
This Week
Month of August!
For the month of August, Harley-Davidson of Scottsdale is offering a
special financing rate as low as 2.74% with approved credit.
This
rate is only at Harley-Davidson of Scottsdale. Call 480-905-1903 for details.
Also, celebrate the Dog Days of Summer with all Sirius/XM Radio’s as well as
Garmin/GPS on Sale. See flyer for details.
Harley-Davidson of Scottsdale is located at 15600 N. Hayden
Rd. in Scottsdale, AZ. 480-905-1903.
Next Week
Arrowhead
Harley-Davidson “Hot August Nights”. Don’t miss what has become a very
popular and well attended event. Arrowhead HD Hot August Nights Car and Bike
Show and Bikini Contest.
Ride in, Drive in or bring the family to
one of the best Car and Bike Shows in the West Valley. It all takes place
Friday, August 17th from 5 PM – 9 PM. There will be Live Music, Free T-Shirts
for the first 100 Car or Bike entries, Trophies for various categories including
Best of Show for Car, Bike and Bikini. Register NOW to display your Car, Bike or
Bikini. Email Mhains@ridenow.com or call 623-247-5542 to enter.
Arrowhead HD is located at 16130 N. Arrowhead Ftn. Blvd. in Peoria, AZ, just
South of 83rd Ave. and Bell Rd. See you there!
Saturday, August 18th
Buddy
Stubbs Anthem Hogs & Dogs. Ride up to Buddy Stubbs Anthem
Harley-Davidson on Saturday, August 18th,
where they are serving up
a healthy dose of SAVINGS along with FREE food and drinks! Enjoy up to huge
savings off select hats, gloves, hydration vests and functional riding jackets
from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.! Enjoy these great discounts and relax on their misted
patio while the bikini bike wash girls give your motorcycle a much needed
cleaning. These deals won’t last, so be sure to stop in and grab them before
they are gone! For more information regarding this event go to www.anthemhd.com
or call (623) 465-1122. Buddy Stubbs Anthem H-D is located at 41715 N. 41st
Drive, Anthem, AZ.
Saturday, August 18th
Omega Academy Fundraiser.
Omega Academy is a k-12 non-profit charter school that had their A/C units
stolen over Christmas break.
They have very little funds for
anything especially A/C units. Instant Barter is sponsoring a charity event to
bring public awareness to their plight and help raise funds to pay for A/C.
Their biggest need right now is the fact that teachers will be in their
classrooms this coming Monday and school starts on Aug 20th. We are working
diligently to find anyone willing to donate or help us pay for 25 portable
1200sq' capacity A/C units for the classrooms to make it through the rest of the
summer until we can get the entire A/C job completed. Fundraising event
Saturday, August 18th, 10 AM - 4 PM, 8632 W. Northern Ave., Glendale, AZ. Please
contact laurashorb@instantbarter.com for more
information.
Extras
Mid Week Updates will be made on
the Cyclerides.com Facebook. New
Easy to remember Facebook address. Go to
Cyclerides.com
Facebook. Over 3900 FANS! Take a look at all the new photos posted on the wall.
If you are not on Facebook, you can still view the
page, but
you will not be able to post. There will be a link there for you to sign up for
Facebook if you are inclined. Click the LIKE button!
Check out this hovercraft plane. Great little
invention. Click Here to
View
Video of the Week: Here is a great animal story that shows a man
helping ducklings from a building. Good one.
Click Here to
View. Click on the Video of the Week graphic on the
page.
If you would like to sign up for the Cyclerides.com Weekly
Update Click
Here.
Until Next Week,
Blessings and Safe Riding To
All,
Barry Caraway
"The Road Is Yours - Take The Ride"
www.cyclerides.com
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