| 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:
The Tour of Idaho is 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! If,
however, you seek our seal of approval the answer is
all of it,
on your bike, rolling down the road 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 1280 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 on day 3 and Pete
King Trail on day 5 (when open). That's the Tour of Idaho (T1). More
than minor variations from this route may constitute a wonderful ride
but not the Tour of Idaho.
If you insist on props from us the way to get them is not
by blowing smoke up our hineys. 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 Mark "BigDog" Sampson at bigdogadventures.com
has a very good independent perspective of the Tour (T1). We'd also
recommend "The War of Attrition" by Michael "Dread Pendragon" Hinds.
Both of these Tour participants provide honest, no ego trip,
chronicles of their adventures and misadventures.
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: Anything else? |
A:
Yep - 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 metal-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 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 good 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.
Do you want to rely on preparation or winning the lottery? |
