Day 2 of my trip started at 7:00 AM with a shower, a quick breakfast and lots of sorting and repacking. I expect that over the next few weeks I will continue to experiment with the packing and distribution of all my gear. I finally hit the road at 8:30 and assumed an easy pace of around 60 MPH with plenty of stops to drink water, stretch and take pictures!
A thing that strikes me about this style of riding is that in some ways it is very contrary to my nature. The KLR is a highway-capable bike with a top speed of somewhere around 105 MPH, but it’s really not happy at speeds above 70 MPH. The bike feels the most comfortable at around an easy 55-60. When I drive a car or ride my Ducati, I’m always doing at least 5-10 MPH over the speed limit, and people rarely pass me. On the KLR, I could go 80 MPH, but the bike certainly doesn’t like it, so I don’t push it. I consciously choose to be less concerned with how fast other drivers are going, and as a result I feel much more relaxed. This is a Good Thing ™.
Stopped at a scenic overlook on I-84 outside of Pendleton
Self portrait at a rest stop in Oregon.
Letting go of competitive driving and relaxing into the travel mindset is a liberating experience.
I rode down I-84 towards Boise, Idaho. Oregon and Idaho have a lot of very straight, flat, boring highways. At one point I stopped on the side of the highway for some water, and as I stood on the shoulder, a truck pulled over and backed up to me. A man got out and came over to ask me if everything was OK, which I told him it was. He then told me that he was a sales rep for Happy Trails (happy-trails.com), which is the company that I bought most of the gear for my KLR from! Apparently Happy Trails is based out of Boise and I was a mere 10 miles out from the retail store. Since I’m trusting my person and property with their gear, I figured that I would take a little detour and visit the store!
The Happy Trails store is staffed by some really great people! I spoke with Kurt at length about my KLR and all the modifications I’ve done to it. Kurt suggested a few additional important modifications which I will try to tackle before I cross the Mexican border. He also gifted me a rear master cylinder guard. Thanks, Kurt!
The owner of Happy Trails, Tim, was kind enough to pose for a picture:
In front of the Happy Trails store with owner Tim
Right after taking this picture, Tim asked me if it would be alright to pray for me. Even though we had talked at length about a mission he plans to do to Nicaragua, it took me by surprise, but I agreed and he proceeded to bless me, my motorcycle and my trip. I don’t have a picture of it, but it was really special.
I had a tasty sandwich at a shop recommended to me by Tim. Jaime, the girl who made my sandwich, is a transplant from Snohomish, WA, and we chatted for a while about local activities (of which there are few) and my trip. She offered to show me around later that evening, but unfortunately I was feeling the time crunch from my multi-hour stop at Happy Trails and declined. Another time, Jamie!
Posing for a picture with Jessie from the sandwich shop
I’m now in Twin Falls, Idaho. Not much going on here, and I look forward to moving on tomorrow.
By the way – it is COLD. It’s very important to do all my riding during the day because as soon as the sun sets, the temperature drops precipitously and riding is no fun.
