I am not a big fan of either being cold or wet, especially when riding a motorcycle. Last night the wet part happened less than five kilometres from the end of a 560 kilometre ride. This morning began with the temperature around eight degrees C and it never warmed up. We left Idaho Falls under threatening skies heading north to what the Weather Channel promised would be partly sunny skies and warmer temperatures to the north of the small town of Dillon, MT, about 125 miles north of Idaho Falls. The way it turned out this was more like a working day.
Kerry riding north to Butte, MT
By that I mean that we rode to get from Point A to Point B, with Point B being anyplace that was warmer than the weather we have had for the past two days. And we decided to do it in the most workmanlike manner possible. We hit I-15 and pointed our motorcycles north toward Butte, MT, 325 kilometres distant. The speed limit in I-15 in Idaho is 80 mph but we kept it to a more manageable 70 mph. With that speed and a temperature of around ten degrees C, the wind chill factor was considerable and it wasn't long before my hands, despite wearing leather gloves, began to get cold. And even a beard doesn't keep a face very warm at 70 mph.
It was as cold as it looks.
I wonder if it ever gets warm here.
Rest stop
As we rode north we gained altitude from the 4700 feet of Idaho Falls to the summit of Monida Pass which tops out at just under 7000 feet. Kerry's motorcycle has temperature read out on its screen and at the summit the temperature was 5C (40F) and it rose to 6C as we descended to Lima, MT where we stopped at Jan's Cafe which advertised 'Home-Cooked Grub'. At 6200 feet it was still quite cold so, after a round of coffee, we ordered breakfast. Kerry as is his habit, ordered deluxe oatmeal which came with peaches on the side. The rest of us had more palatable fare.
Jan's Café, Lima, MT
Jan's Café, Lima, MT
On a book display I notice a very apropos book entitled, 'Geezerhood: What to expect from life now that you're older than dirt'. I didn't read much of it but with a title like that I didn't need to. It sort of made my day just to see something like that. Although, I have begun to spread the word that instead of 'geezers' we should use the words 'vintage gentlemen'. I've done that in several places this trip, the most memorable being the Starbucks in Boise.
Greatest book title -Ever!
Why you need this book
Our next stop was a Safeway Starbucks in Dillon, MT where we were able to sit and get warmed up in the guise of having coffee. Now, I'm not one for stereotypes, but in this store I saw what surely must have been a real cowboy. He was about five feet eight inches tall, and he was wearing a beige cowboy hat, black vest and checked shirt, blue jeans and a beat up pair of plain black cowboy boots. He was a bit stooped, but he was what I imagine that an old cowboy should look like. And if he wasn't, he gave me the chance to imagine that it was so.
On the way into Dillon we passed a large plant with a railway siding. A Union Pacific locomotive was shunting railway cars in front of the plant so it looked like a very busy operation. While we were at Starbucks I asked the barista about the plant. A woman who was behind me told me that it was a talc plant that was owned by Barrett Minerals and that they used the talc as a substrate in catalytic converters (I have no idea what a substrate is) and that the talc is used for baby powder, industrial paints, and even in Tums. When I asked her if their talc was in the Tums I occasionally have for an acid stomach, she told me that it was. Cool! She also went on to tell me that there are two kinds of talc: fibrous and plateous? and that that plateous is suitable for human consumption but fibrous is not. And, talc is the softest mineral being 1 on the Mohs scale where diamond at 10 is the hardest mineral. That was more than I had ever imagined that I would know about talc but the lady was obviously interested and knowledgeable about the subject.
The ride to Butte was under still threatening skies and as we pulled in to Copper Canyon Harley-Davidson it was still cold. One of the guys at the dealership told us that this morning the temperature had dropped to 33F and that it was going to be close to that tonight. We spent some time checking out the dealership and made some purchases. Even with the difference between the Canadian and US dollars, not having to pay twelve percent tax takes some of the sting out of the prices. Tom bought an H-D hat while Jim, Garry, and purchased warmer gloves. We have had enough of cold hands on this trip. Garry and I also bought T-shirts with Garry scoring his prized griffin design.
This dealership has a tremendous inventory of new and used motorcycles and the background of snow-capped mountains does the bikes justice. The new bikes have some pretty spectacular colours, in contrast to some of the nasty colours that Harley has put on some of their bikes in the past.
We finally checked in at a motel on the east side of Butte. The room is quite good but their internet service is extremely poor. It is fortunate that I have been able to post this entry. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to change and we will try to ride to Kalispell, MT tomorrow. The temperature there is projected to be about 75F tomorrow, although it is expected to be 3-4C here tomorrow morning. But, NO rain! Things are definitely set to improve on the weather front tomorrow.
The ride to Butte was under still threatening skies and as we pulled in to Copper Canyon Harley-Davidson it was still cold. One of the guys at the dealership told us that this morning the temperature had dropped to 33F and that it was going to be close to that tonight. We spent some time checking out the dealership and made some purchases. Even with the difference between the Canadian and US dollars, not having to pay twelve percent tax takes some of the sting out of the prices. Tom bought an H-D hat while Jim, Garry, and purchased warmer gloves. We have had enough of cold hands on this trip. Garry and I also bought T-shirts with Garry scoring his prized griffin design.
A row of awesome at Copper Canyon H-D, Butte, MT
More bikes on display at Copper Canyon H-D, Butte, MT
Great background for great bikes
This dealership has a tremendous inventory of new and used motorcycles and the background of snow-capped mountains does the bikes justice. The new bikes have some pretty spectacular colours, in contrast to some of the nasty colours that Harley has put on some of their bikes in the past.
We finally checked in at a motel on the east side of Butte. The room is quite good but their internet service is extremely poor. It is fortunate that I have been able to post this entry. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to change and we will try to ride to Kalispell, MT tomorrow. The temperature there is projected to be about 75F tomorrow, although it is expected to be 3-4C here tomorrow morning. But, NO rain! Things are definitely set to improve on the weather front tomorrow.
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