Work trip to Minnesota

[betoney]

1 hour ago, supersport said:

I'll bet you're one to have axle wrenches with.

I never leave home without them, they are always in my tank bag.

[Lone Wolf]

Travel by car is like watching a movie.

Motorcycle: You are IN the movie

[keithu]

Back on the road. I didn't leave Kalispell until about 12:30pm Mountain. I really want to get home tonight so I changed my plan and took the quickest route down US-93 and MT-200 to I-90. I'm having a shredded duck burrito for lunch in Wallace, Idaho. Indescribably delicious.

[betoney]

24 minutes ago, keithu said:

Back on the road. I didn't leave Kalispell until about 12:30pm Mountain. I really want to get home tonight so I changed my plan and took the quickest route down US-93 and MT-200 to I-90.

Too bad you are pressed for time and riding interstate, there are a few really nice 2-day routes from Kalispell.

[keithu]

7 hours ago, betoney said:

Too bad you are pressed for time and riding interstate, there are a few really nice 2-day routes from Kalispell.

I have to save something for next time. 😉

I made it home a little after 10:00pm and still managed to cram 725 miles into the day.

The wind in southeast Washington and the Columbia Gorge was brutal. The recently harvested Columbia plateau was a dust bowl, and even with ear plugs my ears are still ringing from the roar. With the cruise set at 74 mph I averaged 27.8 mpg for the 75 miles from Boardman to The Dalles, the worst fuel economy I've ever had on this bike.

[betoney]

8 hours ago, keithu said:

I have to save something for next time. 😉

I made it home a little after 10:00pm and still managed to cram 725 miles into the day.

The wind in southeast Washington and the Columbia Gorge was brutal. The recently harvested Columbia plateau was a dust bowl, and even with ear plugs my ears are still ringing from the roar. With the cruise set at 74 mph I averaged 27.8 mpg for the 75 miles from Boardman to The Dalles, the worst fuel economy I've ever had on this bike.

I have experienced those winds myself on several occasions, they can be brutal.  With that poor fuel economy it was a good thing that you had the auxiliary tank.  Glad you made it home safe.

[keithu]

Final photos.

While waiting in Kalispell to get a tire mounted I met this guy traveling around on a BMW R1200GS sidecar rig with his dog Wheels. Apparently they've had some serious adventures this summer.

I stopped for lunch in Wallace, Idaho. The elevated section of I-90 nearby was the last section of the main US Interstate system to be finished. As recently as 1991 this main street was I-90, and a traffic light a few blocks down was the last stoplight on a US Interstate.

The headwind in the Columbia River Gorge was a bit much. I wish they'd turn off some of those fans up on the hilltops, that might have helped my fuel economy.

 

I rolled into the garage with 3980 new miles on the odometer. Not a bad two weeks.