So much for out running the thunderstorms in Boise and getting to Moab today - the horizon looked so bright and inviting and I'm pretty sure I had the storm behind me...then the sound of percussion on my helmet and these little white pellets start bouncing around me over 100 miles from Boise...is that rain or snow? It is getting really cold, but turning the heated grips on high is keeping me warm - pretty cool how if your hands or feet are hot most of your body will still feel somewhat warm. So next exit that has more than cows and green fields I think will be the place to stop for the day.
Burley, ID - home to Thousand Springs which contains the Snake River canyon called the Grand Canyon of Idaho (I did see this riding in but didn't stop) and is 90 miles from Sun Valley or the Nevada border. I'm checked into a Best Western that is connected to a Perkins, but I chose the Best Western because if you have a HD profile setup you get a discount. I really had no plan at all to be here, but that's part of adventure.
I would describe today's ride as pretty challenging with the conditions turning to winter with foggy helmet visor when closed and stinging rain with it partially open. The borrowed GPS displayed some really funky colors and then decided to not work. Then there's the Uly hiccup issue that happened a few times today. There seems to be an issue with the fuel injection system that just decides to not provide enough fuel randomly. Not a comfy feeling when you pass a line of 5 axle trucks and then you lose power and have to get to the shoulder after jamming at 90+mph. The Uly runs but I can feel that it's off and not firing as the v2 should. These Idaho folks are friendly - as I was sitting on the shoulder letting the Uly hiccup and re-find it's groove a highway dept dude stopped and asked if I needed help. He said I was a mile from a rest stop so I could get off the road and he would follow me up there to make sure I make it. At the rest stop there was this concrete canopy area in the middle for people to stand under and he says 'ride up there and get out of the rain so you can check out your problem.' You don't have to tell me twice to ride up to a place I'm not supposed to be - I should have taken a pic :) I also learned the panniers and rack I installed on the Uly are solid as I whacked one pretty hard on some concrete that moved the whole moto over about a foot...pretty tight clearance to get up into that canopy and a good lesson to remember my arse is wider :o
So after a day like today where I'm wet, cold and not where I planned to be; I see a gas station near the Best Western (beer) and will visit the Perkins and hope to have better weather and circumstances tomorrow morning.
...but in the meantime
"I look at the world and I notice it's turning
While my guitar gently weeps
With every mistake we must surely be learning
Still my guitar gently weeps"
I learned about my fat arse the second day on the KLR. I skirted traffic all "cool" like and knocked over one of the orange plastic barrels right before my turn. Scared the crap out of me. 10,000 miles later... that was the only incident getting the feel for a big arse.
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