Kluts, who mentioned that he was riding to Montana to see his friend Gurdon (Murph), lit a fire under me. I had to go. I just had to! Following on the shirt tales of my awesome ride in Spain, I figured nothing could compare to those glorious days spent riding southern Espana, that is until I mounted my trusty steed taking the scenic route to Montana. I deem the Bandito trustworthy as it got me home even after some testy moments of feeling some “aging” pains.

Jim or forever known on this thread as Kluts, left the route to me having not ever ridden that area of the country. I just had to show him the “real” roads of central OR, Rattlesnake Canyon, Lolo Pass, I mean how can you miss any of those!!

We tried to leave early, but fate had a different time in mind. When Kluts arrived, I was saying goodbye to my daughter in law and grandsons. Lots of hugs later, we were off!

Now are those handsome grandboys or what??

Riding out of Sacramento can be trying and purging and seriously difficult to avoid a performance award. We headed to Grassvalley and then 49 to Sierraville boring ol’ 395 to Susanville and there is where the fun began. 139 to 266 then back on 395 where no one cares what speed you run!! Woohoo!!!

Nice pirate look Kluts and Wilson just doesn’t wipe that smile off his face!

Bikes ready for 2 glorious weeks of travel!

And packed in with my plethora of BS was this little “kick” for those chilly nights, boring nights, midnight swims, snipe hunts, or whatever. The Stanley flask quickly became my new favorite riding accessory. ; )

Love that overlook and thanks for the nice photo, Kluts!

Imagine following that insipid smile for miles…ya, new meaning to “miles of smiles.” I had to pass him periodically, just to show that Wilson that I wasn’t letting him “grin me down!”

It was difficult to get a clear shot when railing around Lake Abert.