Texas to Vancouver, British Columbia

[LilBeaver]

Well, since I will not make it to Nelson, BC like I wanted to I figured I can still enjoy my ride to work... Both there and back.

 

I will be departing Lubbock, Texas the morning of 4/July. Heading up to Rawlins, WY for the night. The following morning I'll depart Rawlins, head north following Highway 287 through Yellowstone all the way up to Whitehall, MT, where I will likely stop for the night.

Then take the slab up to Spokane, Washington where I will have to decide whether to slab it all the way to Seattle or take US-2, 97, and Highway 20 to intersect with I-5 just north of Seattle. There will probably be an overnight stop sometime in there depending on which way I decide to go. Then the last day will land me at the Lab I will be working at in Vancouver, BC.

 

This route seems better than slabbing it the whole way up there but for you folks that live in the Yellowstone area, I am DEFINITELY up for suggestions. I am looking to see quite a bit on the way but still make reasonable time.

 

Same goes for folks in Washington, I am certainly up for route advice, and would appreciate any and all input.

 

Route advice, the essential things to see and take dorky pictures of myself and bike along the way are all appreciated and welcomed.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

 

By the way, I plan on posting pictures along the way and some updates to this thread - just in case anyone is interested.

Edited August 8, 2010 by LilBeaver
Changed title

[LilBeaver]

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=1301+Akron+Ave,+Lubbock,+Texas+79406+(Texas+Tech+University+Health+Sciences+Center:+Human+Resources)&daddr=Rawlins,+WY+to:West+Yellowstone,+MT+to:Whitehall,+MT+to:Spokane,+WA+to:Okanogan,+WA+to:Twisp,+WA+to:Triumf+Research+Centre,+British+Columbia,+Canada&hl=en&geocode=FbOQAAIdk0Dt-SHftHvXyBoG1SmbXFQ1Ww3-hjHY0ntZo5b_mA%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B&mra=ls&sll=33.588597,-101.893387&sspn=0.066066,0.154324&ie=UTF8&ll=47.383474,-116.960449&spn=6.874108,19.753418&z=6

 

 

State highways through WA:

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=1301+Akron+Ave,+Lubbock,+Texas+79406+(Texas+Tech+University+Health+Sciences+Center:+Human+Resources)&daddr=Rawlins,+WY+to:West+Yellowstone,+MT+to:Whitehall,+MT+to:Spokane,+WA+to:Okanogan,+WA+to:Twisp,+WA+to:Triumf+Research+Centre,+British+Columbia,+Canada&hl=en&geocode=FbOQAAIdk0Dt-SHftHvXyBoG1SmbXFQ1Ww3-hjHY0ntZo5b_mA%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B%3B&mra=ls&sll=33.588597,-101.893387&sspn=0.066066,0.154324&ie=UTF8&ll=47.383474,-116.960449&spn=6.874108,19.753418&z=6

Edited July 2, 2010 by LilBeaver
Corrected Link.

[LilBeaver]

I guess a real question I have is: Is it worth all of the extra time to take the highways through Yellowstone, or is the ride along I-90 across the Rockies just as scenic?

 

I am pretty sure I know the answer is 'of course Yellowstone is worth the ride' but I'd like to hear from some of you that have been through there.

 

Same question about crossing Washington state - is the ride along I90 just as nice as it would be along US-2, etc? How slow are the US-2, and associated highways really, compared to I-90?

 

Thanks!

Edited July 2, 2010 by LilBeaver

[Guest Swifty]

Same question about crossing Washington state - is the ride along I90 just as nice as it would be along US-2, etc? How slow are the US-2, and associated highways really, compared to I-90?

Thanks!

I've done both a few times. You aren't saying how much time you actually have.

The I90 would definitely be faster and is quite scenic for a flatlander as well.

However, the #2 is a great winding mountain ride if you have some more time.

Do you have time to see the Grand Coulee Dam? Check to see if they are still doing the laser show at night.

[Oldslow]

I've been on the I-90 thru Montana and Wash. a couple times.

If you've never been, it's a nice ride and fast!

[LilBeaver]

I've done both a few times. You aren't saying how much time you actually have.

The I90 would definitely be faster and is quite scenic for a flatlander as well.

However, the #2 is a great winding mountain ride if you have some more time.

Do you have time to see the Grand Coulee Dam? Check to see if they are still doing the laser show at night.

 

I did forget to mention the time thing. My plan is to overnight somewhere in Washington state. I do not have plans as to where yet, it was going to depend on which route I took and if there was anything worthwhile along the way.

Thanks for the tip about the Dam, I'll check it out.

 

I've been on the I-90 thru Montana and Wash. a couple times.

If you've never been, it's a nice ride and fast!

 

I've been down I-90 through Montana a few times. My brother went to college at University of Colorado at Boulder and I drove out to see him (from the Chicago area) so that is how I went out. I just haven't been west of there.

[LilBeaver]

Still in Lubbock, thanks to some bad luck with a tire/tire installer.

 

Should be shoving off bright and early (Thursday) 8/July. Will stop for a night in Laramie, WY (instead of Rawlins - from what I read, Rawlins was sortof a dump...). May or may not head through Yellowstone, but will end the 2nd day somewhere around Bellgrande, MT - mostly because I was able to find a place to stay for a very reasonable price. It will only be a 5-600 mile day, which I am not real crazy about, but, I'll take a shorter day to save significant money on a place to stay. I plan on enjoying the hot tub for a little while at that location. However, the reservation in Bellgrande can still be changed - so I may call an Audible and go a completely different direction. I have had some great suggestions/input from some of ya'll on here - thanks a lot for that!

 

Then, I'll still head to Washington state, as stated in the first post - originally going to overnight in Wenatchee, but that may change because the $40 room I found for the night has gone to 110 for the weekend, so, I probably won't be stopping there. Anyways, I will be taking State/US Highways through Washington, unless the weather is supposed to be horrendous, then I'll just slab it the whole way. Last day will be a short jump from wherever I stop in WA to the Lab I will be working at in Vancouver, likely with a brief stop over near Arlington.

 

I still plan on posting my progress to this thread, including pictures (I found my tripod, thanks for the reminder mini and Brian )

 

More to come later.

Hope everyone has a great week!

 

Oh yea, if you are somewhere near my route and want to ride along for some of the time, you are more than welcome to. Just give me a heads up and I will do my best to keep you posted as appropriate

[tpalshadow]

Good luck and ENJOY!

[LilBeaver]

New rubber on and so far so good with it.

 

I am packed and ready to go. All that is left is sliding my pooter into its case and dropping it in the trunk. Do the final balancing test and shift tools around as necessary, then bed.

 

So long as my final walk around in the morning checks out okay, side-stand goes up around 5AM and I am outta here.

 

:happy65:

 

Tomorrow at this time I should be kicking back in a hot tub somewhere in Wyoming... Well, actually I will probably be in bed, but AFTER the soak in the hot tub.

 

Someone keep your fingers crossed for me. At this rate, I'm going to need it.

[Scooter Bob]

Lookin forward to the pics.

 

It's been 10 years since I've been out that way, and would love to again. Yes, the Grand Coulee Dam is quite a site.

 

 

Have a safe ride, and enjoy, Scooter Bob

[SilvrT]

Someone keep your fingers crossed for me. At this rate, I'm going to need it.

 

Fingers crossed!

[Twenty7Delta]

Ride safe. Looking forward to hearing about your trip!

[silverdeer0454]

Lunch is on me when you get to the Arlington/Camano Island area. Remember to call when you get close and take your time, enjoy the sights, ride safe.

 

Larry

[iron pony boyz]

I-90 through WA is boring. Get on Hwy 20 asap, say north of Spokane.. It is some of the most awesome views and good riding roads in the country.

 

Good luck and safe riding.

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

The west coast awaits you and welcomes you. !

[silverdeer0454]

And we actually have Texas type temperatures for you. Right now it's 92 degrees just north of Seattle.

[LilBeaver]

Got into Laramie, WY a few hours ago, bike has been great (except for two tanks of fuel out of the Panhandle - yikes, 120 miles then switching to reserve...). Sat in the hot tub for a while, then grabbed some dinner. Now, finalizing a few things for tomorrow, then off to bed. Considering the overnight low is in the 40s, I think I am going to adjust my departure time by a little bit...

 

The first 600 miles was nothing but cruddy, cloudy weather that looked like it was going to dump buckets any second... Somehow, I managed to stay ahead of it for almost the entire way. I think a total of maybe 30 minutes, if that, was spent actually riding in the rain/wet roads.

 

In light of that, I don't have too many pictures, but by tomorrow night I should have a bunch.

 

That's about it for now, I am quite tired (didn't sleep last night). I will have a much more thorough update sometime in the next few days, especially if I get some reasonable pictures.

 

Fingers crossed!

 

IT WORKED. Now, don't undo them until... Well, how about the first week in August.

 

Lunch is on me when you get to the Arlington/Camano Island area. Remember to call when you get close and take your time, enjoy the sights, ride safe.

 

Larry

 

Larry: Thanks!! So far everything is running fine, but, a lot can happen in the next 1k miles. I'll keep you posted and shoot you a message Saturday night, when I get in, regarding my plans for Sunday - that way you'll have an idea of when to expect me to come through and/or we can coordinate a little bit.

 

Looking forward to meeting you.

 

- Rick

 

I-90 through WA is boring. Get on Hwy 20 asap, say north of Spokane.. It is some of the most awesome views and good riding roads in the country.

 

Good luck and safe riding.

 

Sounds like a plan, thanks for the input!!

 

And we actually have Texas type temperatures for you. Right now it's 92 degrees just north of Seattle.

 

Yea... I saw that. Gross. When I left home this morning my thermometer said 62 or something like that... But I think that whole tropical storm thing had something to do with that.

 

Okay. Off to finish decided when to get my butt up and on the road, then to bed.

 

'Night Ya'll.

Edited July 9, 2010 by LilBeaver

[LilBeaver]

Laramie, WY to Belgrade, MT today. 580 miles total (I think) 500 of which were on state highways/backroads. I have a headache from heck and it has been that way all day. I have no idea why and never get headaches, so it beats me.

 

Anyhoo, most of my ride today was good. I will give a much more detailed account with lots of pictures (took 143 today - only a handful are any good, but I'll sort through them at some point) when I have more than 6-8 hours per night stop

 

Bike has been running great. Met a guy from Sacramento on a royal star classic (?). He put Millenium venture saddlebags on it, it looked pretty nice. I've got a picture of it somewhere.

 

That's enough for tonight, goodnight.

 

By the way, how fake does this picture look?

[Dave77459]

By the way, how fake does this picture look?

It looks rather nice to me.

 

Thanks for your updates. I feel like I am riding along!

 

Dave

[silverdeer0454]

OK Canada...I met Rick today in Arlington Washington and fed him lunch and he is headed your way! Super nice guy and my fiancee Danette and I really enjoyed meeting him. One of the best things about VR.org is the number of really good people who use this site that one can have the chance to meet. I only wish I could have ridden further north with Rick, but unfortunately I had to work. Pictures will be posted tonight or first thing tomorrow.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Cool!

 

With all the beauty in that part of the world...I dont expect you to ever come back here to the flat boring plains. With this is mind I offer the following.

 

What's that gal's name and number?

 

I know you will appreciate my thoughtfulness.

 

Sincerely,

 

---Brian

 

Edited July 11, 2010 by tx2sturgis

[Squidley]

Be safe and continue enjoying the ride Rick. We'll catch up with you when you get back to Texas

[LilBeaver]

First and foremost, I have made it to my final destination. I rolled into the lab around 415 or maybe 430ish (Pacific time/Local time). I was walking down to the room where the experiment is run from and realized that the others may apprciate it if I didn't walk in to this room [that has a great A/C unit (since it is filled with very sensitive electronics) but rather poor air circulation] and smell like I just rode all day... So there we go. Worked a little, got some dinner, then tried to work a little more and now I am done for the evening. Back at it tomorrow morning.

Don't worry though, I am putting together a 'quick' daily summary complete with pictures (in fact it will mostly be pictures because I like pictures). And I'll get it posted sometime in the next couple of days.

 

 

It looks rather nice to me...

 

I am quite happy with the photo itself, I just got a chuckle out of it because I thought that it sort of looks like it is a fake backdrop or a not so great 'photoshopping' effort.

 

OK Canada...I met Rick today in Arlington Washington and fed him lunch and he is headed your way! Super nice guy and my fiancee Danette and I really enjoyed meeting him. ... I only wish I could have ridden further north with Rick, but unfortunately I had to work. ...

 

Thanks again Larry (and Danette) for taking the time to meet with me for lunch (and of course thanks for lunch!) It certainly was a great visit and I enjoyed meeting the both of you too!

If you ever make it down through my part of Texas (or where ever I am at the time) don't hesitate to give me a call (you've got my number).

 

One of the best things about VR.org is the number of really good people who use this site that one can have the chance to meet.

 

!!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!! !!!!!!

 

 

More to come later or in the next few days, I promise.

[gunboat]

hi rick

keep those pictures coming. you and gary n are making my bucket list longer. take care and be safe.

reguards

don c.

[silverdeer0454]

http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/147/l_d749c13995424403ae7b9ea2e527c1b4.jpg

 

Rick and Larry

 

 

http://c4.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/138/l_d0eb9d696ecd4bb98a301752c154093f.jpg

 

2 Very good looking machines

 

http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/135/l_698523dac7a147a992de8937e7e026a5.jpg

 

100LED vs 39LED tail lights

 

It has been so long since I uploaded pics I'm not sure I did this right! These are some pics of my meeting with Rick on 7-11-2010.