MotorcycleJazz - Tour of Idaho FAQ

The Tour of Idaho FAQ

We make the Tour more decipherable and user friendly - one insensitive smackdown at a time.

Warning - some useful insight may actually be gleaned between the taunts!

Got a question? Go to our reader forum and post it there for a respectful response, visit the route description page for a blow by blow description of the Tour, check out the Letters to the Editor if perusing our gigabyte-sized files on the Tour are too much or email Turbo for inclusion in the FAQ below - and gird your loins pilgrim.

Q: I am a rider of ________ experience. Can I do the Tour of Idaho (T1)?

A: Although riding experience and skills are important, they are not the most important factors in determining your odds of success. Your choice of bike and equipment, your attitude, commitment, sense of adventure and level of fitness will all play much more of a role in determining the outcome of your T1 adventure. Any rider of intermediate ability or above probably has the necessary riding skills. It's more about mental toughness, smarts and sticktoitiveness. If you are the kind of person who'll, when necessary, ride 40 miles on a flat and with your handlebars bent sideways - without looking for the first trailer to and cool drinks to ease your pain - you are a good candidate. If you are the kind of person who doesn't quit you'll be just fine.

We did not set up the Tour of Idaho (T1 anyway) to be a dual sport ride. It's an adventure for dedicated riders on dirt bikes. If you are the kind of person who is drawn the the machinery and stamina required for ironman competition in the likes of Vegas to Reno or the Baja 1000 (without pits), T1 is for you.

Q: Hey - I can't open your gpx files in my ________ program. What gives?

A: All of our gpx files were created in National Geographic TOPO, ver 4.0. The National Geographic software creates gpx files consisting of a series of waypoints that it connects together to form a route. Unfortunately ".gpx" is far from a standard file format and other proprietary GPS software platforms can't/won't interpret files created by competing vendors. What are you gonna do? There are several freeware programs available on the web that will convert various formats (we like gpsbabel) and we've had good luck with them. The files provided will, however, open in Google Earth without hassle. Most folks are able to open our gpx files in a wide variety of programs.

C: That is so uncool - everyone I know uses _______ and if you don't you must be a bunch of yokels.

A: Whoa, dood - check out the cerebellum on Geekboy! Why yes we are (yokels) and thank you very much for noticing. One thing tho - in Idaho GPS contests have two parts: the part where you blow us away with your superior knowledge of GPS tech followed by the part where we make you take the battery out of your unit and eat it.

Q: Can I do the Tour (T1) on my _____, _____, or _____ 500+ lb dual sport without messing up the wax job?

A: How the heck should we know? It ultimately depends on if you can ride the damned thing, doesn't it? In point of fact the Tour has been attempted on bikes as small as a YZ250F and as large as a DR650S dual sport (though the guy on the DR had some major cujones). It has been attempted by individuals perched atop nearly every type of knobby-shod motorcycle imaginable as well as some that are not. As for us - we think that the average pilot of a BMW R1200GS will really wish that they were on a Honda CRF450X much of the time (especially the first three days) - unless they happen to be Johnny Campbell in which case it won't matter in the least bit. You will probably get tossed from whatever you ride more than once so make sure that you can pick it up and that it doesn't break easily.

There is a variant of the Tour, T2, that is entirely dual sport friendly.

Have a look at the maps (and the photo below). Notice that the Tour of Idaho goes right to the tops of several impressively tall mountains with contour lines really close together. Beyond that technical challenges include miles of rocky trails, deep sand, numerous swift water crossings and enough snags for an episode of Axe Men. For most mortals we'd recommend large displacement dirt bikes with lights (something along the lines of an XR650R, CRF450X, KTM525, WR250F or WR450F are nearly perfect for the Tour). If in doubt small is better than large. Slap a plate on the back of whatever actual dirt bike you have and you should be good to go. Make sure that whatever you ride has a large gas tank (or invest in comfy boots). If you choose to ignore our warnings about these sections and tackle them on your KLR650 or something equally ill-suited please forget that you know us.

Just in case you haven't gotten the point yet - do not set out on T1 on a dual sport motorcycle unless it's one that you can pack on your back. A salient tidbit for those who would thumb their nose at the big wheel in the sky is the TID scorecard - which shows exactly zero complete transits of T1 by dual sport motorcycles - and not for lack of trying.

Massacre Mountain Loop

Q: Can I do the Tour (T1) two-up on my R1200GS?

A: No.

Q: OK. Can I do T2 two-up on my DRZ400?

A: No.

Q: Why can't I do the Tour (T1) on my large dual sport, two-up. What stopped everyone else? Are you guys down with dual sports?

A: Because you can't. The great energy barrier at the center of the galaxy. Down to the ground.

Q: Is the Tour a camping along the way kind of deal or can I stay in motels?

A: As long as you can make the recommended daily mileage accomodos are not a problem. If you fail to make your daily nut due to indolence, mechanical failure, getting lost or any number of other calamities you may end up sleeping under your bike with the engine running to keep warm. It's very cold, btw, everywhere along the Tour after dark even in the middle of summer. We do not recommend carrying "just in case" camping gear unless you are into self-fulfilling prophecies.

Q: Is the Tour self-supported or can we use a chase vehicle?

A: Not easily. It would be possible for the first couple of days without a lot of miles on the chase vehicle but after that it would be difficult. Consult an Idaho road map. If you do plan on having a chase vehicle shadow your entire journey be sure to factor in 2000+ miles for the round trip to and from Jenkins Hollow.

There seems to be an inverse relationship between the use of a binky, er, chase vehicle that is, and success on the Tour - with self-supported groups enjoying a much greater success rate. Probably has something to do with acquiring strength of character through withdrawal of reinforcements or some such psycho-babble.

Q: Do I need a street legal bike?

A: The short answer is yes. There is a longer, more nuanced answer but the short answer is probably the best. If you live in Idaho you know the rules. If not and your bike is licensed out of state you will be fine.

Q: What should I pack? What do you consider indispensable items?

A: Not much. Light is way better than heavy. We use Ogio Flight Vests (with 2.0 liter bladders) and very lightweight backpacks. We carry energy bars, a wilderness emergency and first aid kit, a small tool kit, survival equipment, a personal shelter, a beacon, camera gear, GPS and that's about it. Some mail changes of clothes ahead to the motels they plan on staying in (well, one of the posse does). An emergency beacon is a great idea. A WI-FI capable cell phone with a good browser is also a good idea as it will allow you to both call from motels in areas that have no cell service and download Google Maps to help you with the route ahead. Pack the minimum that you think you can get away with then chuck half of what remains. Light is right. If you carry a lot of heavy stuff you will end up needing every bit of it.

Q: What about tires and tubes?

A: We like the Dunlop D-739 A/T, Dunlop D-606, Dunlop MX-71 or Michelin AC-10 or something similar for the rear - anything that is compounded for hard terrain and has stiff sidewalls. The choice of the front tire is not as critical so any medium compound knobby will do just fine - whatever you like. Just make sure that you run knobbies and not dual sport tires (some of the steep climbs encountered during the first few days of the Tour are often so slick that they are a challenge even with aggressive knobbies). Also make sure that your tires are fresh when you hit the trail at Jenkins Hollow or else you'll be riding slicks by the time you get to Wallace (you might also consider taking it easy on the occasional paved roads you'll encounter).

We use heavy-duty tubes (inflated to around 15 psi) and carry, perhaps, one spare for every two bikes (if that). A can of fix-a-flat seems to work fine for the occasional pinch leak. Run heavy duty tubes, stiff sidewall (desert racing) knobbies, check your tire pressures daily and you should be just fine.

Q: How good are your time/distance estimates? Some days are over 300 miles. That seems like a lot.

A: They are great - for us. But your distance traveled per unit time may vary with skill, inclination or trail conditions (it should be noted that the bulk of the Tour has been done in a single day). If you like to ride at any reasonable clip and don't stop a lot you'll do just fine. If you need to commune with nature around every corner and be photographed beside every pine tree in Idaho then things will take longer - in which case we recommend that you check out Trail Tech and Ricky Stator who make the bodacious headlights you'll need.

C: I did the __________ part of the Tour and I didn't see any of the stuff you guys said to watch out for. It was also way easier than you said. Where are you guys getting your information on trail conditions? I didn't post to complain - it's just that I am way cooler than you guys will ever be. I eat nothing but nuts, berries and elk droppings AND I am faster than even that lame poser Johnny Campbell. I also have a thing about fat motorcycle guys in their forties. Did I mention that I was cool?

A: We think that narcissism is a wonderful form of self-expression but please, no confessionals here. If you are conflicted about your weight cut back on the elk burgers or try a wrap.

Trail conditions along the Tour can change radically within a matter of just a few hours. The Tour of Idaho is in the mountainous western USA and is subject to vicious cold, blistering heat, deluges of biblical proportions, snow/sleet/graupel dumps, extremely high winds and wildfires - sometimes all within the same few hours. We have described various sections of the Tour with respect to the average conditions we've encountered in a decade of riding them. Nonetheless we have seen many sections of TID deteriorate from completely casual to unrideable after a single summer storm. Fortunately the converse is also true. There is continuous maintenance of the trails all along the Tour and if your luck is good you might just hit something we describe as the edge of death right after the maintenance crew has smoothed out all of the wrinkles and buffed it to immaculateness.

As for the rest, well, may we suggest Lasik?

Q: There seem to be a lot of variations of the Tour. What parts do I have to ride in order for my trip to be considered "legit?"

A: Until you've experienced it The Tour of Idaho is just a series of lines on a map. As far as we are concerned you should just go ride and have fun and not worry about what anyone else thinks about it - especially the likes of us! The maps, descriptions and gps files we provide are free and you may do with them as you wish. If, however, you seek the seal of approval from the Tour community the answer is ride all of it, on your bike, rolling under its own power (as opposed to, say, riding on a trailer). We think we have been pretty clear in the route description about the variations that we consider essential to the Tour. Start in Jenkins Hollow and ride 1350+ miles to the north end of Upper Priest Lake. Do all the hard stuff on the first day, take the long way on day 2, do the Massacre Mountain Loop, Buster Lake and Chinese Wall on day 3, Darling Creek on day 4 and Pete King Trail on day 6. That's the Tour of Idaho. More than minor variations from this route may constitute a wonderful ride but not the Tour of Idaho. T2, otoh, has enough variations to make your head spin - there is something for everyone. Different rides, different vibes.

If you are still bound and determined to see how your Tour of Idaho adventure stacks up with the vision of its progenitors feel free to take the Tour of Idaho Challenge.

Although we respect everyone, at least in principle, decades of bitter experience have made us wary of having smoke blown up our bums. Over the last 10 or so years we have ridden every nook and cranny of the Tour many times in all kinds of weather on many different types of motorcycles and are pretty familiar with how it all works. When you claim to have "covered every inch of the Tour" and it turns out that you plumb forgot that you skipped problematic sections and trailered your bike a wee bit here and there - then no kudos for you, Mr. Poopie Head.

Q: I've read trip reports of the Tour elsewhere on the web. Are these good sources of information?

It depends on who wrote them. Our friend and T1 alumnus Wade Popham has an excellent independent perspective of the Tour that he wrote about on ADVrider. Wade's chronicle of his solo T1 adventure is well written and essential reading.

Almost everything else that we've read (apologies to anyone who's account we have not read - we don't mean to tar everyone with the same brush!) is somewhere between not so great and so completely misinformed as to be hazardous to your well-being.

Q: Why did you route the Tour the way you did?

Two words: maximum fun. We always chose the route that we felt provided the best riding. If there is a choice (as is the case several times) between a boulder-choked, cow poo infested single track and a scenic farm road, we take the farm road. Even in places like Oxford Basin or Massacre Mountain Loop, where the riding is pretty burly, you won't notice the difficulty as much as how cool it all is.

Q: Anything else?

A: My feelings about what the Tour represents are summed up in my Manifesto. Make sure that both you and your bike are capable of taking a good pounding for 1300 miles. The Tour of Idaho is probably the most difficult long ride you have ever attempted. If you are completely whipped at the end of the first day you will have come a long way for a short trip.

If you can't run a mile on flat ground in less than 8 minutes you are going to have your work cut out for you. Unless you live somewhere in the Western USA well above sea-level you'll need a few days to acclimatize to the rigors of hard work at altitude (9000' the first day). Your knees are going to take a pounding. We recommend fat bars and a steering damper to minimize arm and shoulder pump. Beefy pegs and real boots are essential. Full armor, tinted goggles and a good helmet are a must. Do not embark on the Tour without either a good roost guard or some form of stout, protective body armor (a back protector is a splendid idea). Stock up on ibuprofen because you are going to need plenty of it. Be ready for excessive heat and freezing cold in the same day. Be prepared to get rained on, snowed on and to dodge forest fires. Be prepared to work your fanny off.

Mental preparation is as important as physical fitness. Do not assume that GPS, sat phones and the like are a substitute for wilderness acumen. Study the maps we've provided and familiarize yourself with the route as much as possible. Each year we speak with a fair number of TID riders who got lost, got into trouble (or both) in spite of being in possession of enough high tech wizardry to make a HAL 9000 green with envy. The TID is as much a wilderness endurance event as it is a dirt bike ride. Among the small fraternity who've completed the entire Tour are medal-winning endurance athletes who would readily testify to the high level of mental and physical stamina required to succeed.

Make sure that your bike's brakes, tires, chains and sprockets are fresh (you will completely shag even a fresh hard compound rear tire over the course of the Tour). Also make sure that you are jetted for 5000+. Don't bring a bike that you are unable to either ride or drag over large rocks and logs because there is an excellent chance that you'll be doing just that more than a little. There are a few places along the Tour where you are literally riding along a razor's edge of catastrophe. It's best to have a bike you really trust and can handle with confidence under such circumstances. You might get away with riding a 600lb, poorly suspended motorcycle over a single log or rock step - but are you prepared to do this hundreds of times for 1300 miles? Are you prepared to rely on a beast you have to wrestle hard in remote mountainous terrain where the consequence of a mishap may be quite high?

In terms of effort, both mental and physical, and commitment, T1 is a lot like a mountaineering expedition. One must be prepared both mentally and physically and have the proper equipment in order to have a reasonable chance of success (and to ward off catastrophe). A fit, experienced, intelligent rider on a suitable motorcycle, traveling light, should have a reasonable chance of successfully completing the entire Tour. There is also an outside chance that a complete rube astride their rusty Honda Trail 90 could roll the entire distance from Jenkins Hollow to Upper Priest Lake if the alignment of the stars was just right - just as Denali is occasionally summited by lucky church groups equipped with WalMart boots and sleeping bags. The odds, however, favor the former more than the latter. What would you really rather rely on in the middle of nowhere - good preparation or getting extremely lucky?

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