Aug. 16 - Day 2

Okay, so the guys want to give me a new name -- "U-turn Tony". The GPS lady has sent me on 3 little misshaps. I figured out real quick why, we had a little talk (the GPS lady) and we are on good speaking terms not.

Departed from Orofino at 6:30 AM, stopping in Syringa for breakfast around 8:30. The Lolo pass has some road repair going on but nothing too major - what a wonderful road. Long sweeping curves the whole way, following along a the Clearwater River with lush mountians on all sides. At the exit we took another long break as we had to wait for one of our team to deal with the local sherriff. He mistook the truck with a canopy as a tourist and decided to pass on a double solid. The officer asked, "so, are you having a case of the stupids?". $140 later and he caught up with us for gas, liquid and a snack.

Leaving Lolo we headed up the highway and were on a mission to hit a brewpub for lunch. Along the way, I made the decision to stop and dawn the rain gear. Now some of the team grumbled and if it was for not I'd be buying beer. Well, for not more than 2 miles and we dealt with 6 hours of rain. Landing in Helena for lunch we ate quick and watched the rain come down. I was soaked from the next 2 hours of rainy highways. Hitting the top of the pass the temp gauge was at 7. Again, hockey player weather.

As we came down the other side, with more than 150 miles to go, slowly the temp came up and the miles counted down. Beautiful back country with black top to match, even with the storm system it was still something to behold. Pictures were limited due to the massive amount of rain and cold.

Arrived in Columbus, MT around 8:30PM (12 hours of riding / 2 hours of stopping), checked in and began drying out the baggage and doing some laundry. Another 2 riders (Alberta & Saskatchewan) have joined us so we'll be 11 bikes leaving in the morning. It'll be another early day with around 321 miles (460 km) over the Bearclaw pass, which had previous reports of fresh snow! Hope to arrive in Riverton much earlier allowing for a little more leisure time.

As I was riding along, through the cold rain, I couldn't help but think that this is pure joy. How do you come across such a group of outstanding people, who from all over the country will travel thousands of miles to meet, ride together, share laughs and form such strong bonds - all brought together through ownership of a motorcycle. This is worth everything.

Life is good. I am blessed, but I am tired and will do it all again in 7 hours.
Until tomorrow