Ride Report from Martin Little, Rider #17:
My expectations about what sort of riding
and rallying I thought I would encounter on Buttlite VIII were shaped from my
experiences on Buttlite VII, well I couldn’t have been more wrong. I expected
lots of Interstate riding blah blah blah, instead I did more canyon carving,
gravel surfing and Fire Trail/Country Road riding bonus hunting than I would do
in a typical LD ride Down Under. How good were these Rally Masters? Simply
awesome that’s how!
The scene was set on Day 1 of Leg 1,
heading north from Denver I breezed up to Nebraska to pick up the SUMMIT bonus,
with the awesome corners on the climb up and down! Once this was in the bag I headed
west to collect FEATHER in Wyoming. When my # 2 GPS brought up a shortcut on
“Ranch Road” I thought why not? 30 miles of gravel surfing later and with this
Bonus in the bag my smile couldn’t have been bigger. Back on sealed roads, I
headed north to North Dakota to pick up MARMTH arriving at the same time as
Giel on his Harley. A quick chat and we went our separate ways (actually Giel
was far more efficient in his turnaround time and left before me. Mental note
to myself must be quicker on these Bonus Points)
Next up was JERSEY in Ingomar, Montana.
Arrived there to find a small group of Buttlite riders departing. Collected the
bonus while chatting with the barman. This was his/their BIG day with so many
riders (visitors) to their remote part of Montana and boy were they happy to
see us. Continuing westward into the dusk I ran the tank down to fumes as I
coasted into Roundup Montana right on dark. Phew that was good planning, not.
Fuelled up and then considered my options, another 2 hrs to the next bonus or
pull stumps and sleep now? Having clocked up 900 miles for the day I erred on
the side of first day caution and took a room at the IBA motel while enjoying
the 4 July eve fireworks until well after midnight. Listening to the fireworks
I ruminated on the route options. I had planned to continue heading westward to
Oregon but had also wanted to visit Yellowstone. I fell asleep undecided.
Day 2 began at 3:30am and having slept on
the route options (well actually I slept on concrete) I decided Yellowstone, so
rode south to Billings where I took over a few tables at Starbucks at 4:30am to
check/finalise the route for Day 2. Yellowstone beckoned and what a choice!
The ride up to MEDWHL in the early morning
light was sublime. The view was panoramic with lots and lots of corners. At the
Bonus Point Brian Walters joined me while we took photos. Brian departed ahead
of me (I’m slow again on these Bonuses! what the?) but it didn’t take long for
me to re-join him on the good Wyoming gravel road on our way out. Back on the
main road and heading downhill I left Brian to his own pace while I enjoyed
those sensational corners. Things took a turn for the worse in Cody where I got
caught up in the detours in place for the 4th July street parade. I
spent 45 minutes “navigating” my way through this mess before finally finding
my way out to the other side of town into Yellowstone. By now I was dreading
what the Park traffic was going to be like and silently rueing my decision to
head this way. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. The traffic was moderately
heavy but flowing and I managed to maintain a reasonable pace.
At the top of Mt Washburn I had phone
signal so I rang Rebecca, she answered the phone with a “You went to
Yellowstone without me?” greeting. The
wonders of Spotwalla. Her envy was not helped by my vivid descriptions of how
good the scenery and riding was. Exiting Yellowstone by way of the western road
there was a serious rain storm and the temperatures plummeted which was a
relief. It didn’t last long and by the time I rode into Idaho the sun was out
again.
I had planned to stop in Idaho Falls but with
no beds available due to the 4th July fireworks I kept heading south
to Blackfoot. I grabbed a real motel bed there and enjoyed a few hours’ sleep:
Luxury! Another awesome day of riding with 90% of it off Interstates.
Day 3 was head-to-Reno day, so I plodded my
way south west through Idaho and then Utah on Highway 30 (what a great
backroad!) and into Nevada to take I80 to Reno. Bonus points collected were SODA
in Idaho, RubyV, CLOWN in Nevada and CAVE at Lake Tahoe, a very beautiful
location and well worth the ride over the hill. Riding through the southern
part of Utah I stopped on a quiet back road to take some photos of the salt
lakes and mountains when a truckie stopped his huge truck to check that I was
OK. Jeremy the truckie was a local Utah lad doing his weekly run to California
and he gladly gave me his time and knowledge of the local area. The run across
Nevada to Reno was the most boring of the rally to date and hot! Checked into
the Boomtown Resort 8:00pm to take my 8 hr Rest Bonus.
Day 4 I was up early to check in at 4:00am,
(feeling very refreshed after a decent night’s sleep). Got the odo check
completed and then headed in for scoring. One of my objectives for this Rally
was to not leave any points on the table during scoring (after leaving all my
points there on leg 1 of BL7) and this box was ticked as I walked away with all
my points intact!
With rider briefing completed and extra
BP’s handed out, the 2,000 points at Gerlach confirmed which route I was taking
for leg 2 (I had prepared 2 routes, a northern and a southern one) and I joined
the mass exodus out to Gerlach. Some Rally camaraderie ensued on the side of
the road while a large group of riders waited for roadworks!
The Gerlach Bonus Point was collected and from
a very special location! I will come back here and spend some time soaking up
the beauty of this place at another time. Heading north to California I tagged
along with fellow Aussie Olaf. He had completed a marathon ride back from Kansas
overnight (check out his story of the contaminated fuel!) arriving at the
check-in with only 15 minutes to spare and with very little rest or sleep. At
Cedarville, California we took an hour while Ollie kipped, and I kept an eye on
the bikes while enjoying some Peach Cobbler in the local café. Getting going
again we pressed on into northern California aiming initially for OLDSTA then
MITCH. OLDSTA was discarded as being too far out of the way but was substituted
with TULE, the WWII detention camp.
Once this was collected we rode further
north into Oregon arriving at MITCH early evening. This Bonus was up in the
forests and it felt very peaceful in the warm sunshine and shady forest. From
here a quick check of the GPS said straight ahead, which surprised me slightly
as I had assumed there was no through road the Freemont National Forest. A
cross check on the other GPS and also Olaf’s confirmed that it was indeed
straight ahead so off I set, leaving Ollie to follow at his own pace. Well we
were on a Fire Trail that continued deeper into the woods, which was fun to say
the least: lots of corners with gravel and potholes to keep you on your toes,
plus free range cattle and the odd deer (including one with a decent head of
antlers as surprised to see me as I was to see him on the road). Right on dusk
I came to a fork in the road, “turn right” said the GPS, but this road turned
to gravel while the road to the left was sealed. Hmmm, what to do? (I have a
rule of no gravel surfing in the dark) It was tempting to take the gravel road
as it was “only” 12 miles to the highway. In the meantime Ollie pulled up beside
me and said, “did you see that bear back there?” “Yeah, sure mate, there’s no
bear there, well I certainly didn’t see it” was my response. Next second the
bear let out one of those blood curdling screams that makes the hairs stand up
on the back of your neck. Well that decided the route, it was the left fork
(the sealed one), and right now! Needless to say neither Ollie nor I were
hanging around to see “the bear”.
Back on a decent highway (US 31) at Silver
Lake we both headed towards La Pine at the junction of US31 and US97. I was
happy to chug away at a slower pace enjoying the cool night air under the stars
while Ollie went ahead. Took a motel at La Pine just on midnight and had no
problem falling asleep.
Day 5 started at 4:00am and boy was it
cold! Put the thermal liner back into the jacket and on went the heated grips
on the road north to Bend. First Bonus Point for the day was PAINTH, the
Painted Hills in Oregon, and they were spectacular in the morning light. An added
bonus was a few miles of gravel surfing! These Rally Masters think of everything!
On the way back to the highway another rider heading in waved hello, and I felt
strangely reassured I wasn’t lost out here on my ownsome. Next up was BOOT in
Canyon City, Oregon. Took a little while to find the wooden sign at the top of
the hill but I got it eventually and continued on to Baker City for INTERP.
There was a bike show or something on in the town and the main street was
closed plus plenty of other non-rally bikes moving around. I found the Center
on the hill overlooking the town and snapped the bonus point with the help of
the local ladies manning the desk. On the way out, I had a short conference
with a few other Rally Riders about the issue of the Hells Canyon bonus being
restricted hours due to maintenance works. Decided to discard this and keep
moving east.
Crossed the State Line into Idaho heading
for Emmett and the FREEZE bonus. Boy was it hot now! Kept up the hydration but
riding was getting decidedly uncomfortable. At the bonus point up on the hill
there was no shade or shelter and by the time I had collected the bonus and
written up the log I was drenched in sweat. Got going again but feeling very
sluggish so I took things slowly as I rode across to Stanley Idaho for the
PLOUGH bonus. Actually these words don’t do this section of Idaho justice at
all. I lost count of the canyons I rode through and the number of mountains,
lakes and jaw-dropping views I passed over/through/around. Wow this place has
some of the best scenery I’ve ever ridden through.
Heading down US 21 with the mountains (Sun
Valley) on my right was something else, but I was starting to feel off colour
(unwell) and couldn’t figure out why. I collected the bonus at Stanley and
decided to take 5 minutes to regather myself and decide whether to take my 8hrs
Rest Bonus here. Olaf pulled up for this bonus too and upon hearing my symptoms
he suggested I may have altitude sickness or something similar. Erring on the
side of caution I made the decision to grab a motel room in Stanley, even
thought it was still only 6:30pm. All going well it would mean I would get a
2:00am start in the morning. My day 6 route back to Denver was checked and
finalised over dinner and I had no problem falling to sleep.
I had agreed with Ollie that we would both
meet again at the servo to ensure we could get the required receipt, my credit
card hadn’t been working at all gas stations but as it turned out my card
worked well, and the receipt was provided, although the time stamp was not MT
as it should have been but rather PT. In my fogged state of mind I couldn’t
work this out at the gas station and as I was still feeling off colour I told
Olaf I would take some more time collect myself and if needed to I’d get some
more sleep.
After 30 minutes of no further sleep, I
decided there was nothing further to be gained by not riding so I got back on
the highway heading for the first of the Day 6 bonuses: FONT in Wyoming. It was
a lonely ride on US 75 heading east. It was a lonely and eerie ride in the
darkness that seemed to last for hours and it took a while to shake off the
feeling of being unwell. (Not helped by passing signs suggesting I visit Custer
Ghost Town and Bonanza Ghost Town) After collecting the FONT bonus, (in what
felt like the middle of nowhere!) again with a few miles of gravel surfing in
and out off the highway, it was on to SOUTHP, SHIPS and AMES all in Wyoming,
before crossing the state line back into Colorado early evening to collect
BIGT. I’m not normally a big fan of Interstates but after 2 glorious days of
back roads/canyons etc. it was a relief to get onto I80 and then I25.
Coming off I25 westward to Drake to collect
the BIGT bonus the sun was setting and it was a perfect summer’s evening to be
out on the bike. Riding up into the Big Thompson Canyon (another canyon!) was a
delight with wonderful scenery and more great corners. Bonus collected it was
time to ride back down the canyon and I was blessed to have no traffic until I popped
out of the canyon and back into rural townships. Back on I25 it was welcome back to reality
with Friday night traffic getting heavier and heavier until it was again bumper
to bumper, but all flowing quite seamlessly at 70 miles an hour as it does here
in the US (not like home, mate!).
Rolled into the parking lot at Rally HQ
right on 9:30pm, kicked the side stand and quietly congratulated myself on
achieving 2 out of 3 Rally objectives so far: return home safe and have fun! Objective # 3 was not to leave any points on
the table and I walked away from scoring 8 hours later with that box ticked
also. Mission accomplished!
And thanks to so many who made this Rally
such fun:
·
the Rally Masters, Lisa, David
and Bart (and their many many helpers) deserve the highest accolades for
sending us out to the most beautiful locations imaginable;
·
My fellow Rally Riders who
share that camaraderie of the open road while on Rally;
·
My fellow Aussies on the Rally
plus the Aussies back home sharing and cheering us on;
·
And last but not least my
partner Rebecca who followed my every step (and wrong turn) of the journey, now
if I can only convince her to join me on the pillion seat for Buttlite IX….just
saying.
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