Today was one with time pressures. Because it was Saturday, Grizzly Harley-Davidson would be closed for the next two days and my front tire did not have many kilometres left on it, it was necessary to race to Missoula to get the tire replaced, or sit in a hotel room until Tuesday.
As we were packing our bikes, the group of guys that we met yesterday were getting ready to leave for their day's ride. It is quite an experience to hear ten motorcycles firing up and leaving for a ride. One of the guys was riding an almost 50 year-old BMW which was a bit balky to start, but the Harleys and Indians had no trouble.
I found out that this whole group originally got together with two of the men met when one was stationed with the US Air Force in England. The two became fast friends and have continued the friendship for many years. Every year they try to do an event, and over the years new members have been added to the group. The guys come from a variety of backgrounds but they all seem to like each other and get along well. It is great to see this kind of friendship that has endured over the years.
The group is ready to head out to Kootenai Falls.
Garry and I departed shortly afterwards with 193 miles to ride to Missoula heading back east to turn onto to the highway taking us south to Highway 200 to Ravalli, then south on Highway 93 to Missoula, On the way we stopped for coffee at a truck stop combination gas station, grocery store, casino. This is a real slice of what I imagine rural America must be like. Real country music was on the sound system with Fox News on the TV. I have seen Fox News in many of these places. Not surprisingly, many of these places elect Republican politicians. So what came first? Fox or the political persuasion?
Along the way we saw wildlife. As we were separated a bit, we both saw different animals, but only deer and wild turkeys. I saw a fawn in the middle of the road, so I slowed to a crawl as it decided to scramble back into the tall grass on the side of the highway. Yesterday I saw a turkey hen with five or six chicks. Traffic stopped both ways to let them cross. It was a statement on the good side of human nature that people who were driving at 70 miles per hour would stop to let birds cross the highway. Both wild turkeys and deer are common here. This morning we met a young construction worker who had been heading to West Glacier but decided to stop and get a room because he had had four close call with deer on the way to Libby.
We arrive at Grizzly Harley-Davidson where the service guy was able to get my bike in to change the tire. I found out that while the front tire was done at 35 000 kilometres, the rear time was also close to being done at 14 000 kilometres. It had about 1000 mile (1600 kilometres) left on it, but considering the distances we had to travel and the long distance between H-D dealers, and the fact that my bike was already in the shop, it seemed simpler to sacrifice the remaining miles on the tire rather than to have to find a dealership that would be able to do the work. Now I don't have to worry about tires for a while. It wasn't a cheap fix though. Replacing both tires cost me US $901.00 (CDN $1250). That was the first big hit of the day.
Grizzly H-D, Missoula, MT
The Grizzly H-D showroom floor.
The next shock came with the cost of our hotel room. For two nights in a room with a king sized bed and a pullout couch/bed the cost for two nights was CDN $632.00!!! But it was what we had to pay to stay here, I hope that this will be the most expensive day of the trip because I am having sticker shock today.
Today we rode 320 kilometres. The total for this trip so far after four days' riding is 1805 kilometres. Tomorrow it's off to Glacier Park to ride the Highway to the sun.
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