Dutch Treat! is a go.

It's official; the decision has been made. In May or June I'll be conducting another fundraiser for Shelly's House of Salem Oregon (www.shellyshouse.org). In 2009 I rode to every prison is Oregon and raised over $4,000 for the house. This year I,ll be riding to every Dutch Bros Coffee location in the nation. Dutch Treat! will have me riding about 5,000 miles in 7 days and visiting 156 stores plus the corporate HQ in Merlin, Oregon. 156 locations in 156 hours. Once again the ride will be internet interactive. I'll be mobile blogging during the ride and my location will be posted in real time on the 'net. Periodic updates to follow.

Awards

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Low speed fun

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SPANK Scoring.

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Right room, wrong hotel.

A pre-rally night isn't too exciting...unless you're into maps. The night before a rally usually entales some last minute checks or repairs to bike and equipment, a good meal and sufficient hydration and then a fitful couple of hours as you try to get to bed early. It usually doesn't involve a visit from an attractive woman.

Ten minutes ago there was a knock on my door. I answer to see an attractive women holding a bottle of wine with a surprised, startled look on her face. I obviously wasn't who she was excepting.

"Oh, I'm sorry", the woman says.

"That's alright. Wrong room?"

She glances at the number on my door and without missing a beat says "Right room, wrong hotel". And off she went.

The Jackass is in the Pen

It was after 11 AM when I finally departed the good folks at Stephan Wade Motorsports and got on the road for a very indirect ride to Bluff. Thanks to Brian, Joey and Neil for taking care of me. The Pirelli Angel Street has a nice feel and easy turn in. A few miles down the road it occurred to me I had read a review of this tire in a magazine a couple of months back. The tester liked it but mention the center of the tire is solid with no tread pattern to disperse water. Something to remember in the rain.

I enjoyed a nice, uneventful ride today that took me in and out of Utah and Arizona twice. My route took me Page, AZ and then (eventually) north to Bluff. Monument Valley is beautiful: I'm sad Esther missed that during our SW trip several years ago. I have to bring her back someday.

No sign of the rally master in Bluff, so I pushed on to the nights lodging in Monticello about 40 miles north. My stinky LD Comforts are washed, I'm fed and now its time to get into rally mode.

Rally HQ

Glen canyon dam

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New shoe!

Maybe not...

George Z put not one, but two bonus locations in Kansas City, MO. On the assumption that they're be mega points there, I've plotted a little route that goes from Bluff to Austin, TX and then on to KC. There seems to be quite a bit of weather in the mid-west right now though. Hmmm....the points would have to be good.

SPANK Gerlach bonus

Gerlach is a location near and dear to the Long Distance motorcycle community. Situated in the Black Rock desert of Northern Nevada, Gerlach is home for the Iron Butt Association's Guru Lane and Bruno's Country Club. It's also a bonus location for SPANK. Check out Reno John's report of who made it to Bruno's for a little old world ravioli. http://www.goraiders.org/bike/100807SPANK_Gerlach/1.html

Luck caught up with me.

For the first time in a decade of LD Riding and rallies, I managed to pick up a nail in one of my tires. Riding through the mountains just outside of Rachel I noticed that the bike wasn't handling the way it should. In the small town of Caliente I found out why: the rear had a nail and 12.5 pounds of air pressure. The edges were seriously cupped and the center of the tire bulging slightly. I filled the tire with air and limped into Cedar City. The tire seemed to be holding air pretty well, indicating that I picked up the nail early in the day but just didn't notice o n the long Nevada straights that don't require a lot of cornering.

I'm now in St. George, Utah, at one of the nicer Motel 6s and waiting for Stephan Wade Powersports to open tomorrow morning. I'm sure they'll have a tire that fits althought judging by the number of sport bikes on the showroom floor it might something with a life span measured in hours when on a ladened FJR in rally mode.

Bad tire! bad, bad tire!

Rachal, NV

Stokes castle, austin

Austin

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Battle mountain

The Big Empty

I'm not being critical, but the Big Empty is what I call the Great Basin. And it is great, extending north to Burns Oregon. My ride took me through a small portion of it today as I rode to Sisters, Burns, Winnemucca before stopping for the night a the Big Chief Inn in Battle Mountain. A/C, HBO, wireless internet and a comfortable bed for $45.98. I'll take it.

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