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Bighorn Loop - 11/4/2020 A great Ride on a Beautiful Day!

bigjohnsd

'21 R1250 GS Adv
Started the season with a big loop over the Bighorns and planned on finishing the season the same way.

My plan on 11/3/2020 - I'll go in the reverse direction this time, Spearfish slab to Gillette, Ucross via 14/16, Buffalo, Ten Sleep, Greybull, Shell Canyon, Sheridan, Buffalo, Spearfish (finishing via 90 from Sheridan as it will be late and the critters will likely be out) 10 Hrs - 600 miles - an early start:

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Spotwalla Link https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=24db35fa20279d514e&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes

What a ride, what a great day.
Relive Video Added after timely help from Relive Support Desk

Click anywhere on the Image above and the Video will run.

It was 48F when I departed Spearfish at 0630 just before sunrise. Between Spearfish and my first stop for Breakfast in Buffalo, WY I saw a low temp of 28F. The temperature variability was quite interesting, as altitude increased from 3850 to 4500 ft the temperature swung between 28F and 51F, and when I arrived in Buffalo, WY at 0945 for Gasoline and Breakfast it was 61F.

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First view of the Bighorns about 40 miles away.

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Stopped in Buffalo, WY at "The Fix" at 0930 for a Great Breve and Basque Ham Sandwich (Toasted Croissant/Spanish Ham/Sharp Cheese) was excellent.

As I rode up into the Bighorns on US-16 the temp started to drop until I got to the top of the pass.

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Those that have made this trip with me before have likely heard my "**** Stripe Warning". The "**** Stripe" is the result of effluent spilling out of cattle trucks moving the herds. Most common in spring and fall, when it dries it is like riding on Talcum Powder. The worst is when there is a left/right or right/left set of bends and the "**** Stripe" crosses the lane at just about the point you are making the transition from one turn to the other. Seat puckers are likely. Today was both a bad **** Stripe and just a little sand here-and-there day at the higher elevations, not confidence-inspiring but we persevered. My picture above tries to reflect the "**** Stripe" but it didn't come out very well.

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At the top of Cloud Peak Skyway, it was windy as hell and the temp was 43F.

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As I dropped down into Ten Sleep the temperature continued to rise back up to 61F.

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After Ten Sleep I turned towards Mandeville WY
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The temperature varied a little as I headed North to Greybull.

At Greybull, WY the temp was 59F and it continued to rise as I headed East on US-14 into Shell Canyon.
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Shell Canyon is the Dark Notch at the top center of the picture just above the three bushes.
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As I entered the canyon an idiot on some kind of a loud V-twin Bobber with Tall Apes pulled out directly in front of me, I swerved left around him as he poured on the coal to try and stay ahead. That lasted about 200 yards until the 25 mph corner. Lots of rocks on the road in the lower Shell Canyon made for an interesting trip.

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At the Top, it was beautiful and still in the '50s despite the snow on the ground.

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A 1300 stop for gas and a Maverick Bahama Dog in Sheridan, WY at about mile 400.

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My actual route varied just a bit from my plan. I much prefer US 14/16 from Gillette, WY to Ucross then to either Buffalo or Sheridan depending upon where I'm going. Today I had planned to ride I-90 from Sheridan back to Spearfish to avoid four-legged creatures in the dark. I was early enough that I decided to take the two-lane road and enjoyed it going both directions though I did have to brake hard to avoid a group of four antelope that bolted across in front of me on the way home (Antelope don't usually run across the road and you seldom see dead antelope alongside the road) these four apparently didn't get the message.

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Home right at Sunset

I had trouble with my old Olympus handheld camera all day. At first, the cold caused the battery to show depleted and my sunrise pictures never made it. Then the damn thing would start and immediately stop whenever I turned it on. It worked periodically if I kept it in my jacket pocket where it could feel the heat. The buttons are too close together to operate easily with gloves on. I'm in the market for a replacement.

Electric Gear - today would not have been possible without my Gerbing Electric Jacket and Gloves. When the temperature got down into the '20s the jacket and gloves were on High as were Freya's Heated Grips. The Heated Jacket and Gloves came off in Sheridan and I enjoyed the '70's and high '60s all the way home.
 
That's a nice route that I have done myself, thanks for posting it. I love the Bighorns.

I purchased a lot in Spearfish and plan on eventually retiring to that community, my daughter and her family just moved there a couple of months ago from the Denver area. :thumb
 
Yes, John, great ride and nice pix and commentary. Like some others, I have interesting memories of Ten Sleep and the Bighorns. And i also have followed cattle drives in the area and, yes, the cattle leavings can be tricky.
 
I have great memories of travelling in that area with my late wife. Spent the night at Burgess Junction.

Thanks for posting; a nice season's end ride.
 
The Big Horns are one of my favorite rides. We ride 14, 14A or 16 every year, once or twice on our way to and from Red Lodge.

Today at lunch I was telling my wife about your ride and she told me, "Well, it is Friday noon, certainly you can make it back here by Sunday afternoon!? It was tempting, but the weather is going to change this weekend and I don't want to get stuck out there! That run from Fargo is roughly 1,500 miles, and half of it is across ND or SD. Not a very interesting ride.
 
The Big Horns are one of my favorite rides. We ride 14, 14A or 16 every year, once or twice on our way to and from Red Lodge.

Today at lunch I was telling my wife about your ride and she told me, "Well, it is Friday noon, certainly you can make it back here by Sunday afternoon!? It was tempting, but the weather is going to change this weekend and I don't want to get stuck out there! That run from Fargo is roughly 1,500 miles, and half of it is across ND or SD. Not a very interesting ride.

One must ask, given the unrelenting efforts by some (or one) to put forth Fargo as a rally site, why you would even consider riding in any other place other than what has been portrayed as heaven on earth. :dunno
 
One must ask, given the unrelenting efforts by some (or one) to put forth Fargo as a rally site, why you would even consider riding in any other place other than what has been portrayed as heaven on earth. :dunno

You would have to ask them! I sure don't know why, although there is some nice riding in Minnesota lakes country, just east of Fargo. As for riding in ND, it is fairly limited as to its quality.
 
You would have to ask them! I sure don't know why, although there is some nice riding in Minnesota lakes country, just east of Fargo. As for riding in ND, it is fairly limited as to its quality.

There aren't many states where a fellow could ride 400 miles with his hands off the bars.
 
There aren't many states where a fellow could ride 400 miles with his hands off the bars.


A friend on mine got pulled over for riding with no hands. The ticket said something about not maintaining control of the vehicle, or something on that line. He went to court with it and questioned the HP that pulled him over.

How far did you follow me?
10-15 miles.

Was I wandering all over the road?
No.

Was there any curves in the road?
Yes, 2 or 3.

He looked at the judge and made the comment that it seems to him he was in control of the motorcycle at all times or else how would one explain how he was not wandering all over and was able to negotiate curves in the road if he was not maintaining control?

The judge threw it out.
 
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