KZR North American Relay Ride North West Leg

OK, and yet another handoff has taken place today - from Motor Head (Daryl) to me, for a ride from John Day Oregon down to Dayville Oregon - then back to Daryl to continue with him to Bend Oregon. Sorry for the poor cell phone quality pic of Daryl - hopefully Daryl will have a better one later from his camera.

Great to meet and ride with Daryl, especially since he went so MANY extra miles to make connections these last few days! Should be a pic and writeup in the local John Day paper, if so, I'll post it later.

Way to Go Daryl AND Gary! :woohoo: Really glad you were both able to make it happen. I passed the flag to Jon. He then passed it in spite of some challenges to Daryl. Now on to you! All you guys rock! No rush just plan the next hand-off and make it happen.

Great job!! So here's the map as I understand it; the flag has been in the green states. Ed

Here are the pics that I finally got downloaded off the camera.











OOPS






THE HAND OFF

Just to note I made it back to Bend and have the Flag. Toolmaker is up next, this coming weekend on Sunday. We need to set up a meet right?
So I rode 1300+ miles round trip,in three days, but 800 on Sunday. With an average of 40 MPG, not bad considering. I did get the Finger from one Harley rider. He was in a group of 5 I think, just going the opposite direction, I gave the usual hand signal wave, peace down low, and the front riders didn't return anything but the last guy flipped me off. So after that it was Blood Sport for those Harley's. I passed everyone I saw, at a buck and change. Might have something to do with the 40MPG. :evil:
Otherwise, it was real nice of Mike in Bend to ride up on Saturday night to tell me of Kaw-a-holic's crash. Let me know he was ok, but the bike smashed up. So I started to wonder if I could still meet up for a Hand-off. I had 0 cell reception out in any of this ride, don't use Virgin Mobile, so I asked the camp host, he has Verizon which worked. So I started leaving messages on Kaw-a-holic's phone about a meet still. Then on Sunday, I broke camp before the first Sparrows Fart, and rode. Keep trying to get reception, in the direction of Montana. When I got to Cambridge, ID on the 95, I was at a gas station that was closed, and an old retired 93 year old rancher drives up to me and asks me if i need gas. I said no I need a phone, and he offered his, also offered use of his computer back at his ranch. Nicest guy you'll ever meet. So that way I left a message here on KZR, also a PM to Kaw-a-holic, and also called him again. Then kept riding in his direction in hope this would work. Finally got a hold of him about 11:00am Pacific time,and I was about 25 miles from where he dodged the Deer. Then he agreed to come part way back to Idaho from Montana. Well there was some confusion, I went to far, in fact into Montana, turned around and went back. He was waiting, thankfully, as there is no cell service out there along that gorge. So once we made the hand-off and talked a bit, I turned and burned, riding all the way back to Cambridge that night. Then from there through Hell's Canyon up through Baker, onto the 7 SW to the 26 into John Day to meet up with Gary.
So while I rode my ass off, I didn't stop and smell the flowers or take pictures. I rode alone for all but the period with Gary. But it was worth it. I got to meet Mike and his friend on Saturday night. Then Jon (Kaw-a-holic) and his wife on Sunday, then Gary today/ Monday. Sure wish we could have ridden together guys. But it looks like it just wasn't in the cards.
The main thing is that Jon is OK. Just his bike, and his pride hurt.

I'll post a map link here:
This should be pretty close: goo.gl/maps/prKNp
And the Few photos Here:





In a bit.

800 miles on Sunday - now THAT's what I call going for a Sunday ride! Ed

Motor Head wrote: Just to note I made it back to Bend and have the Flag. Toolmaker is up next, this coming weekend on Sunday. We need to set up a meet right?

Um, no, not Sunday.....I have a wedding to go to. Saturday is a go though, or wait until I can ride up to Seattle Labor Day weekend. Either way is good for me.

toolmaker wrote:

Motor Head wrote: Just to note I made it back to Bend and have the Flag. Toolmaker is up next, this coming weekend on Sunday. We need to set up a meet right?

Um, no, not Sunday.....I have a wedding to go to. Saturday is a go though, or wait until I can ride up to Seattle Labor Day weekend. Either way is good for me.

Thats right, I got it mixed up last night. Saturday is fine. That way like you said, it will give you some time to read the log book and such. Looks like a lot of info in there, I'm going to read it tonight. Started writing some myself, but Gary said he didn't need to add to it.
Looking forward to another meet up, and a ride with some other riders.

Schuss and Killman, are you guys still up for a ride on the Labor Day weekend? Killman, did you get your passport re-newed? Or does someone from the US need to cross up into Canada?

Killman wrote: Not to butt in, but...

So, spent the afternoon yesterday working on the gf's bike.

Turned out we had the exhaust pipes in the right order in the first place, just a bent rim of a split collar making one pipe sit uneven. Problem solved.
Showed her how to install a new fuel line complete with inline fuel filter. No more fuel leaks. Problem solved.
I had strong signs of life a few weeks ago, then added fresh gas and now the bastard won't start. Nothing at all from the starter. Petcock on Prime, kill switch set to "RUN", clutch in, kickstand up, choke out, quarter tank of gas. I get running lights on the front left only. Hazards work all around, no blinkers on the right hand side. Brake lights, hi and low beams and horn all check out. Everything on the dash lights up as it should, no evil lights. Battery says fully charged on the smart charger, (supposedly a brand new battery from the PO).
I noticed that one lead for the fuel level sensor isn't connected, I'll square that away tonight, would that kill the bike? I'm wondering if I managed to knock something loose for the turn signals installing the battery, could that kill the bike? I'm not the most electrically savvy dude, maybe a fuse, but then why would almost everything light up okay? Maybe a turn signal relay, would that kill the bike?
I'll be spending some quality time with the FSM, but I'm hoping one of the KZ gurus will have an easy fix, maybe one of you guys can armchair diagnose from these symptoms.

If the tires for my bike don't get here in time, the 750 is going to have to be my fallback for the relay, could really use some help here. I already work 2 jobs and I start a US tax law course on Monday, time is not my friend right now. :sick:

I'm just on my way out the door to my night job, but I've found a bare wire with cracked insulation under the seat, looks like it could be a possible cause...

Did you get it sorted? GF's bike fired up running?
Still need help with it?
Sorry to here time is tight. Let us know if the Labor Day weekend will work, if not Schuss can hold it till your ready/ able.

650ed wrote: 800 miles on Sunday - now THAT's what I call going for a Sunday ride! Ed

Your Idea from the Start Ed, this relay. I think there has been Several huge efforts for this relay. Look at Topper, doing all the T-shirt orders. Also doesn't he update the Relay Website? There is a lot of effort to bring it all to reality.
Out here in the west, the states are Big, so it takes many miles of riding to make a transfer. No where near the number of people active on the Pin Map this summer. So the gaps have to be closed up by long rides. Cheers! I love to ride!

Motor Head wrote: So I rode 1300+ miles round trip,in three days, but 800 on Sunday. With an average of 40 MPG, not bad considering. I did get the Finger from one Harley rider.

I doff my hat to you sir. 800 miles in a day is one hell of a long ride on a 35 year old muscle bike. Do you think you could have/would have done it without the Windjammer? You've made an epic ride, truly deserving of a toast of the finest beverage of your choice. I'll have a belt of Kentuckys finest from Bourbon County, and a beer. Bottoms up.

As for the rude behavior of the H-D riders, they are puffing their chests out a little more than usual around here. The 110th anniversary party is about to begin in Milwaukee and the locals are getting pumped up about it. Maybe that guy you saw is coming my way in a week or so. Probably he's just a jerk.

Once again, congradulations on a fine ride and thank you for making the extra effort to keep the flag moving. See you at the Four Corners.