Date: Friday, August 27, 2010
Start: 1000 (0630 wake-up)
Finish: 1700
Travel Time: 7 hrs
Distance: 289 miles
Total Distance Covered: 3017 miles
This morning was a little different than previous mornings as we weren't quite sure where we were headed and how we were going to get there. The possibility of bad weather was in the forecast and Yobo was still not feeling 100%. The route remained remote, so if anything were to happen, we were kinda out of touch. To top it all off, the satellite phone was acting all wonky and we couldn't make calls. I had a couple mini repairs to make on my saddle rack and headed outside while Yobo suffered with the sat phone company. After some discussion, we decided it made the most sense to put in some road miles and get to Steamboat. This would allow us to make up some ground, catch up on some rest, and evaluate how we felt real time in the comfort of civilization.
We left Lander and took Rt 287 to Rawlins for a lunch stop. Before we strolled out of town, we passed a Kawasaki dealer and Yobo stocked up on a tube and an air filter kit. We were rolling through town and found a biker-looking bar right on main street and parked out front. When we got in, two dudes all geared up for a moto adventure, were getting ready to leave. Turns out they were northbound on the trail with some major cc's. The one was rocking a VStrom and the other a 1200GS. Yobo and I had been chatting this whole time about the ideal bike for this trip. I felt mine could have used a smidge more on the highways and it would have been nice to have something a lil lighter for the technical stuff. Overall, I think the 650's were a great compromise and both bikes were performing admirably. I'm personally fond the the F800 with a similar weight to my 650 with a bit more punch. The 1200GS seemed excessive, but the riders said they were managing. They were having a blast and warned of some muddy sections in northern NM. We wished each other good luck as they left and we polished off our burgers and fries.
The remaining roads to Steamboat were windy and rain was threatening. I was starting to get pretty tired and needed to pop an emergency Red Bull. We arrived at Steamboat in the late afternoon. Definitely our earliest arrival on the trip. We were scanning the town for a good place to stay when we spotted a dinosaur statue conveniently placed in the corner of a gas station lot. Yobo and I are not one to pass up a photo-op, so we pulled in, gassed up, and hopped on "Saddlesaurus Rex." After one trip down main street, we decided on the rustic looking Alpinier motel. We took advantage of the early arrival and gave our bikes a good once over. The plan was to hit the trails again tomorrow and we'd be all set for an early start by working on the bikes now. While going over the bikes, another biker on a yellow 1200GS checked in. "Wild Bill" as we called him made his way over and we chatted for a bit. He was from Colorado and out for an extended weekend trip to get away from things.
We freshened up and walked down town to scope out some grub. Here's a little secret about Goda. I like candy...and really like gummy candy. Well, we happened upon a candy shop and i couldn't resist. I picked up about a pound of gummy colas, blue sharks, and all kinds of sugar-coated goodness. On the way out, I noticed a squeaky rubber chicken and decided my bike was a little lonely, so I brought it with. We enjoyed some good smoke house barbecue for dinner and made our way back to the Alpinier. On the way, Yobo introduced me to the viral internet video "Double Rainbow" and we just about lost our shite spoofing it on the walk home.
Spirits were good as we hit the sack. We enjoyed a few "Man vs. Wild" episodes and chatted about our adventure. We were charged up and ready to hit the trails again. Today was also a big milestone in the trip. We are officially half-way complete and broke the 3000 mile barrier. To think we still had another 9 days remaining really put the trip into perspective. It was as if we'd already crammed a months worth of madness in the first 9 days. Cheers to the next 9.
/s/ Goda
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