House keeping ...

Sat talking with a guy in Glasgow (Montana) who had ridden his RT1200 up from Louisiana to see his new grandson, well that was his excuse for a ride. As he said, ' .. in this country you have to ride 2-3 days to get to decent bike roads'. He told me there was construction on the 'to the sun road' and some doubt they had cleared the top of snow/ice. I figured it was a good enough reason to get into some housekeeping, it was time to take a 'left' and head to Great Falls for a few days, the RT man had just come up from there..

It is amazing riding in North Dakota and Montana, massive views and huge skies. No corners. You get those classic long straights where you can see the road going on for miles, only a few small towns on the way. The exception was Williston which seems to be at the centre of a new oil and gas boom, mostly fracking.

Williston .. it's booming

On a water break at Fort Belknap an old guy came up to ask about the bike, he wanted to me to know I was on a Indian reservation, it was good just to talk and take sometime, one of those 'this is what it's all about moments'.

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, Casino (one of many in these parts)

The route I was taking to Great Falls seemed to pick up both the Missouri River (catch all those western movies ?) and the path taken by the Lewis and Clark Expedition which was tasked to map this area (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition). By the side of the road you get these signs pointing out historical events, some not as benign as this one.

Maria's River, on the 87

So, into Great Falls and a Motel downtown with secure parking, even a 'proper' coffee house around the corner.

Civilisation

Lots to be done, wanted to sort through all my gear, it was packed in Halifax so was due a review. Clothes washing, exciting heh ? and for the bike a clean and a new back tyre. The Harley 'bikers' can often be seen cleaning and polishing beside the road, this motel knows it's client group, it provides not a car wash area but a 'Bike wash', quality crew them HOGs.

Nothing else to add .. really

I found the local bike dealer (http://www.stevessportscenter.com/index.htm) and went over to see what they had in the way of tyres. They were great but had limited choice, even so we sourced a new back tyre and they cleaned up the back of the bike when they fitted it. We spent sometime in the workshop setting up the drive chain and getting the tyre inflation right to better manage the load I'm carrying, Steve, the owner, was a great help. It seems that man/motorbikist Nick Sanders got re-shod here on his way through during his 'north to south America' record breaking attempt, can't get away from that man. Just riding around town getting things done showed a real improvement in the handling of the bike, will be great to see what it's like when fully loaded again.

Crisp rubber and shiny hub

It's been a really successful stay in Great Falls, spending a few days in one place really helps to get a much better feel for the people and place, as has been the case so far, everyone has been very helpful.

Other news, Michael and I have now gone solo, my decision and I think a good one, we've now got a much better chance of getting 'the' trip we each want. I've updated the blog to reflect this, gone is the sponsored gear and no more 'riders and bikes' just 'rider and bike'. A couple of obvious benefits to riding solo, firstly you can get more involved with people as you go along and secondly, you can wake up and choose to go exactly where you want .... so

Music to listen to, new Daft Punk and Tony's Bonobo et al mix (many thanks Tone)

Elvis, he live in Great Falls.