Last night I watched a documentary on PBS about hiking the Continental Divide. The group took six months to walk from the Mexican Border to the Canadian Border all along the Continental Divide. The photos and scenery were nothing short of spectacular. When they got to Glacier National Park I was really paying attention. Glacier is a place I have wanted to visit since my days as a young lad learning about the world through the lens of a "ViewMaster". My desire has heightened even more. If we could leave this morning I would be ready. I wonder if we should try to figure out how to adapt to the the high altitudes prior to getting out there. Maybe we should all go to New York and camp out in Bob McManus' office to acclimate ourselves. Any of you other guys ever been at 14,000 feet with your feet still on the ground? How about you, Ralph? You must have taken that 18 wheeler through some of those high passes. What can we expect? Should we get a few 02 bottles for our geriatric group of riders? With another milestone (Christmas) having passed I am really getting back in the mode of spending all my free time thinking/planning for this trip. It will be the most thought out "spontaneous" thing I have ever done.
On another note; I received a recall notice from Harley this week to have a modification done on my fuel tank. Good thing the bike is in storage at the shop so I won't lose any riding time for them to do the repairs. Seems minor but I'll get it done. Which reminds me I hope all of you riders will get all your scheduled maintenance completed before we leave. Don't forget to check your tires and make arrangements to get a replacement set while we are on the road if you're going to go over 10K on the current set.
That's enough for today;
Found this website that has some amazing photos along our planned route. This guy did it on a bicycle; makes for some interesting reading. McManus should pay close attention to the descriptions of the "lions, bears and buffalo". You can view it in the "other rides" section on the blog.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Those high passes do suck away horse power in both man and machine. As for any hiking at 14,000 ft...I'll leave that to you young studs. I'll sit back at base camp and have a few suds and then look at the pictures y'all bring back.
ReplyDeleteGood idea about the maint.. I've done brakes and shocks on the truck. Next is a new set of tires.
I hope all had a Merry Christmas and you got what you wanted and wanted what you got.
Cheers!!!
I just got back from the Harley store and ordered a polycarbonate full modular helmet (keep the hail off my noggin) and a rider back rest. Now the bike is fully equipped. I also turned in my paperwork for the recall to add the fuel tank braces that are now required. I am good to go as soon as the snow melts.
ReplyDeleteYou mean to say, you expect someone to ride with you???? Oh, Lord have mercy! :<)))
ReplyDeleteNah; the rider backrest is for me; makes long distance riding a little easier. You're thinking of a "passenger backrest" aka "sissybar". The sissybar supports my Nelson-Rigg tour pack which will contain all my personal possessions. Kind of like a "bag lady" on big iron.
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