Bandit Alley
RALLIES, RIDES & EVENTS => Events/Rides/Trips/Trackdays/Schools => Topic started by: ZenMan on April 29, 2007, 01:58:15 AM
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Some folks have been tossing the idea around in another thread... the possibility of an Autumn rally in or around the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains for sometime in late August or early September. Like say Montana or Wyoming... close enough for our Western Canadian members to make a border crossing and meet up for some mountain riding.
There's so many good roads and parks like Glacier and Yellowstone just to name a couple. Yeah, it's a little late in the summer, but I'd still like to do some tent camping... and I'm sure others would prefer motels or cabins too.
So, this is just to see if anyone else would be into it. There's no plans yet except for the general area and time of year. Any suggestions about more specifically where or when, roads, parks, campgrounds, lodging or whatever are welcome.
If it catches on great, if it fizzles then nothing is lost. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? :motorsmile:
So what ya'll think?
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Well, I'll say the same thing I said in the other thread. I'm game, as long as certain chips fall where I need them too. And before schools starts again in the fall works the best for me.
Whether or not I can come, I don't mind helping with the planning.
I've never been there, but I've heard "Going to the Sun" in West Glacier park is something to behold...
And if I'm coming that far, I'm gonna need a time out for a shopping trip to Missoula or Great Falls. ;)
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Wow,.. 500mile days? I don't know that I've ever -driven- that far in a day...
I guess my longest two-wheel day was about 15 miles short of that, but I've done the 17-hours behind the wheel thing several times. You get a little spacey when you stop at McDonald's to offload a little fluid and pick up some more, and it has the same decor/theme as the one two states back.
Geez!! What's with you and offloading fluid?? :stickpoke:
Hmm,.. my longest ride so far has been a mere 300kms. And I took a -lot- of photo breaks. I may have to build up some endurance before this...
Thought I'd drag the remnants from the other thread over to continue the conversation here...
I would ride my F4i from Edmonton AB to Port Albernie BC in a day...thats about 1300kms (800mi)...now that I have the B12 couch I should be able to cruise a few more kilometers than that in a day :motorsmile:
Maybe we should list where everyone would be riding from so that we can find a somewhat central place to hold this event...I'll start:
Edmonton
Next
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The summer bike trip Bobcat & I took in the summer of '05 took us thru Glacier NP & the Going to the Sun road. It's a nice road, but in the summer, don't expect it to move quickly. LOTS of tourist traffic and few opportunities to pass... but the scenery IS great. Here's some pics for ya in case you need your appetite whetted!
These were taken just short of Logan Pass when you enter the park from the west side.
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/018.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/017.jpg)
Logan Pass is the low spot in the middle of this pic:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/016.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/015.jpg)
Looking back on Logan Pass after we crossed it:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/014.jpg)
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A couple more shots from the east side of Logan Pass:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/020c.jpg)
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/019f.jpg)
Summer is Road Construction Season. Waiting here in a one-way stretch near "The Loop":
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/013.jpg)
Just inside the West Entrance, along the shore of Lake MacDonald:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/012d.jpg)
Lake MacDonald:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/012c.jpg)
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Nice pics, Paul!
That is incredible country up there.
Is that your mug in the rear-view? :bandit:
I'd be coming from south-central Missouri,,, I guess the closest big city is Springfield about 100 miles to the west of here.
We don't have kids and I work for myself, so the dates are flexible for me except for how long the healing process takes from this shoulder surgery. I'm doing my PT exercises religiously and It's looking on schedule so far, but I think the earliest I could go would be mid-August.
Next?
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Better put one up of the Border crossing where MT17 becomes AB6 and Glacier NP becomes Waterton Lakes NP:
(http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d35/paulweit/2005%20Bike%20trip/022a.jpg)
My first crossing into Canada when they didn't ask me if I had a gun. :lol:
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Did U.S. Customs ask if you had a gun on the way back in? Getting into Canada is easy, getting back can be a real hassle.
Looking at the map just now, that's a long way to go for me! I'd be more for meeting somewhere in mid or southern Wyoming... anybody from Canada or the PNW could always do Glacier on the way down or back.
Medicine Bow, Shoshone, or Flaming Gorge are all within reach for me....
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I don't recall US Customs ever asking specifically about a gun. They ask a lot of questions - like why were you there, how long, do you have any contraband, anything to declare, etc. I guess they aren't too worried about a gun if the Canadians let you in with it - and they will let you bring one in if you do the right paperwork and have the right reasons. One of my co-workers used to do competitive shooting and would take handguns into BC for meets. Funny thing was he was less restricted in Canada than a Canadian with a handgun.
Whatever you do, if you do have a gun and hit the border, be sure to declare it. If you don't and they find it, you're charged with International Arms Smuggling. This happened to one of my 4-wheeling buddies when he forgot about the pistol he had in the console of his rig. Had he declared it, Canadian Customs would have just shipped his pistol to his County Sheriff and he could have picked it up when he got home. Luckily, he just had to pay a $500 (CDN) fine, surrender his gun and it's high capacity magazines and was released... but he can never go back to Canada.
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And if I'm coming that far, I'm gonna need a time out for a shopping trip to Missoula or Great Falls. ;)
Now there's a phrase I never expected to hear!
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You know,.. if we could get a few people together, we could have a little Bandit meet, and ride "Going to the sun" (West Glacier NP). Montana may be doable for me this year, if a couple of cards fall into place when they're supposed to.
OK...now we're talking, and right in my backyard. Going to the Sun has GREAT scenery, but as Red01 says, terrible traffic/road conditions. The Lolo Pass between Montana and Idaho is great. Almost 150 miles of continuous, 45 mph (posted) corners. We had to stop 1/2 way to regroup!
For those who haven't done it, the Bear Tooth Pass NE of Yellowstone is a great road with outstanding scenery @ 11,000 ft, as well the Chief Joseph Hwy to Cody, Wyoming is absolutely excellent. Supposed to be some excellent roads on the East side of Wyoming as well. I'd go back there.
Let me know when and where, and I'll be there. I can likely take some additional time in early Sept. A 5 day weekend is always do-able for me.
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And if I'm coming that far, I'm gonna need a time out for a shopping trip to Missoula or Great Falls. ;)
Now there's a phrase I never expected to hear!
Me shopping, or doing it in Missoula or Great Falls? :stickpoke:
There are a number of places even "hicksville" US towns have, that canucks don't. And I don't think we need to discuss the price of motorcycle gear here vs there.
edit:
Oh,.. and as an aside, it's looking like my plans for this month, that were going to take me out of commission for a early summer ride, have been postponed. The new date is (ready for it?) Somewhere between the first couple of weeks of june, to hopefully before the end of August.
What this is going to mean is one of two things. Either stormi can't commit to the ride until a couple of days before, OR, she'll be making the trip in the Mustang (if it ever gets out of the shop.)
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this sounds awesome. I've never been there and have always wanted to go. Since I am in Okla, probably would trailer my bike. Since my summer is taken with a work project late summer & early fall mght be possible.
will keep an eye on this thread.
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Since I am in Okla, probably would trailer my bike.
We were thinking the same,... especially with a B4. The old girl is not -that- reliable, and there's a lot to go wrong with both of them in that sort of distance.
At least as far as Calgary, possibly further. Does anyone know the rules about trailering across the border?
Geez I hope some of these chips fall into place in time.
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I'd hope that U-Haul would cross borders. I know that RVs can cross.
Hopwfully the group can settle ona meet up sight whether camping or motels and ride from there.
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Well, personally, I'm hoping the meet-up site can be farther down in southern Wyoming, say like Flaming Gorge or even Medicine Bow.
Those folks coming from Canada or the PNW can hit Glacier on the way down, but I doubt I'll be able to go that far north... that's twice as far for me as everyone else!
But whatever way it works out, that's ok. There's always next year for me. As long as this turns into a cool rally, we can do it every year! :bigok:
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It's not our fault you decided to move to Missouri. :stickpoke:
Not as far if you're coming from Minnesota... Weren't you taking about visiting some friends there?
As it is,... at my current 300km (190mi) maximum ride, I'm looking at a 9 day trip to Billings. Just to go there and back.:shock:
Hey,,... which reminds me,.. what sort of time frame would we be looking at? A gathering spanning the weekend? Longer?
Is there a long weekend to center it around, or do we want to make it a non-long weekend, to avoid the extra traffic?
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Does anyone know the rules about trailering across the border?
Have the registration or whatever paperwork your province requires for the trailer and any registered vehicles on board. Besides that, should be a piece of cake. It's a little tougher for us to take one into Canada - or BC anyway - they require trailers to have brakes. In WA, only trailers above a certain weight have to have them. My boss got turned around at the border with his boat because the boat trailer had no brakes. I've been across the border with trailered Jeeps before with no hassles, but car hauling trailers have brakes.
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Perfect. For some reason I heard something once ( but I can't recall the source, or if it was reputable) about if it's motorized, it must be unloaded and driven across the border. Sounded a little like :bs: to me, but I thought I'd ask. Now I just have to look into this new passport rule, and see if I've screwed us both over by not applying for it last year ( wait times are excessive right now)
Have we got a count of how many people would want to meet up? How many to camp, how many to hotel it? And what dates work best for everyone?
I likely can't commit til a week before, but I'm happy to help plan regardless of whether I make the gathering or not. ( despite my response time, I -am- paying attention, just juggling -way- too many things right now. )
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Hey Stormi,
Apply for your passport online, then go down to Canada Place and do your two hours in the line-up...three weeks later you will have your passport delivered...I just went through the process :wink:
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Perfect. For some reason I heard something once ( but I can't recall the source, or if it was reputable) about if it's motorized, it must be unloaded and driven across the border. Sounded a little like :bs: to me, but I thought I'd ask.
One of my buddies did unhitch his flat-towed Jeep when we went to Vancouver Island on the Washington Ferry, but that was because it was cheaper for him to pay two separate fares for his Jeep and tow rig than it was to pay for the extra length as a trailer if he left it hitched. He hooked the two back together while we were waiting in the Customs Q though, because his partner didn't have a drivers license. When we came back, we took a BC Ferry and drove thru US Customs on the mainland. None of the towed or trailered vehicles had to come thru on their own power. In fact, my Jeep ended up coming home on a trailer because I'd torn one of the lower control arm mounts off the frame... that would have been a problem if they would have made me drive it across!
(http://wagoneers.com/XJ/rigs/Paul-Weitlauf/images/irc98carnage.jpg)
That idea seems a little silly - what would they do for trailered vehicles that aren't street-legal?
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Hey Stormi,
Apply for your passport online, then go down to Canada Place and do your two hours in the line-up...three weeks later you will have your passport delivered...I just went through the process :wink:
Awesome,.. I'll do that. Can I take the other half's passport down there too, or does he have to be there? ( I think he does) I've read something in one of the local papers that we'll need passports to go to the states now? Do you know when that comes in? I can't recall, and I can't find the article...
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In fact, my Jeep ended up coming home on a trailer because I'd torn one of the lower control arm mounts off the frame... that would have been a problem if they would have made me drive it across!
Yeowch! How did you manage that?
That idea seems a little silly - what would they do for trailered vehicles that aren't street-legal?
I think the implication was that they only did this for street legal vehicles, but it could have been an ancient law, it could have been one person's run in with a border guard in a pissy mood, or total :bs: Like I said, it smelled a little, so I figured it wasn't likely true, but stupider things are on the books....
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Awesome,.. I'll do that. Can I take the other half's passport down there too, or does he have to be there? ( I think he does) I've read something in one of the local papers that we'll need passports to go to the states now? Do you know when that comes in? I can't recall, and I can't find the article...
I recall there was somewhere that you could endorse your spouse to submit their passport application (you print them, complete then sign them). I only had to go in because I did not sign my daughter's application. I signed the application and it was submitted right then.
You only require a passport if flying into the States this year but next year you will require a passport even at border crossings.
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:thanks:
Excellent. I'll try to get that taken care of, and if I don't manage it before the ride, it won't matter too much.
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You will need a drivers license and birth certificate (or other record of Canadian Citizenship) to get into the states in 2007, by LAND
The schedule is for ALL travel to need a Passport in Jan 08.
You need a passport now for Air or Sea entry to the US.
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That's no problem whatsoever for me, that's in my wallet at all times. I'm not sure if the other half has his BC though,... I'll check.
For the moment, I'm most concerned with this summer. Next year, we'll possibly be flying into the the states, so it'll need to be done, sooner is better than later too, but will depend on free time to stand in line.
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In fact, my Jeep ended up coming home on a trailer because I'd torn one of the lower control arm mounts off the frame... that would have been a problem if they would have made me drive it across!
Yeowch! How did you manage that?
Just playing too hard I guess. I don't know exactly when it broke, but when I pulled out onto a gravel road from a trail, I noticed it was handling strange, so I got out to look and that's what I found.
On the brighter side, it was on the last day we were gonna be there anyway, so I only ended up missing out on about a half a day's worth of fun.
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Well, in that case, it could have been way worse. :)