A 'Solitary' Life...

DDT (12)

Member

Posts: 4112

Sometimes ya just gotta go...

Winter Springs, FL - Occasionally...

A 'Solitary' Life...

« on: September 18, 2022, 06:29:07 AM »

A 'Solitary' Life…

With the ‘Stray Bullet Café’ fading rapidly in our mirrors, Dusty and his dust-averse companion rode on towards Missoula, where I proceeded to miss a turn. Not a serious problem, however, as I've ridden through that smallish city many times, and I sort of somewhat know my way around by now...

Having missed a couple of turns on previous rides through can actually have an advantage or two! Turns out I actually like the 'new route' better anyhow! Once safely through town, we continued south to Lolo, MT, and the turn with US 12 towards the Lolo Pass.

We'd been enjoying a genuinely nice ride that morning. Downright brisk temps at first (even used my new heated grips!), cloudless sky and moderate wind, almost no traffic, and... Yeah, the forest and mountains had been glorious, and the ride along that river was truly serene.

We experienced no critter encounters of any sort, though... We usually enjoy seeing members of different species, but we never enjoy running into them! Given our druthers, clearly, the way we found things was just about right and would do quite nicely...

We stopped at the Idaho Welcome Center/Rest Area on top of the Pass, and there we took a break and shed a layer or two. Lots of folks to chat with, and often tales of fellow travelers can be quite entertaining. Then it was down the west side to the Clearwater River that we would parallel all the way to my home away from home, Orofino.

Dusty knew of my special fondness for that small hamlet, but I think he was still a bit surprised when we went to check-in, and Tracy, the gal behind the counter, said to me, "Welcome back..." I've been stopping there for a night or three many times over the years, and I’ve found this place to be a sort of welcome respite from the 'regular world' and its frenetic pace, while it still retains all of its old charm and little of the ill-effects of the more usual tourist destinations.

It didn’t actually start right then, but that did appear to be the trigger to put the next phase of our joint ride venture into action mode. I took the room for four nights… We’d agreed from the very beginning that we’d part ways somewhere out yonder, and I believe the thought of being away from his beloved unpaved roads for four long days caused Dusty to make the call. He did depart following only one night there for Crater Lake in Oregon, as I continued my rest and temporary escape from the heat.

I contacted ICE, Yuri, and his life’s partner/riding companion Petra, as we’d also previously agreed. The long-standing invitation was still in play, so a rendezvous point about halfway between us was arranged. Following four wonderful days of relaxation and much needed respite from afternoon heat, we made our way south towards our newest riding companions-to-be, and things went absolutely great… at first…

Even during my first stop that morning for coffee where several other riders engaged us in conversation, I was feeling really great about this entire enterprise. The cool morning temps had been magical, and the whole experience was making me truly glad to be alive!

It wasn’t until later when I spotted the sign advising of the time zone change that I suddenly realized I just might be an hour or so off for the meeting with my friends! Yep, I would be late for sure!

It certainly helps to already have a well-established reputation for… not exactly being unreliable, but definitely one for whom tight schedules are never in-play. Anyway, they were patiently waiting right where they’d told me they would be when we found our way there… a bit late but not to the point they’d become worried yet.

A nice reunion of old friends was followed by a very nice (but doggone hot!) ride to Kuna, ID, a burb on the southwest side of Boise. WOW! A really nice home with all the comforts! They even had a well-appointed patio for daily afternoon therapy sessions (although morning coffee was also enjoyed daily out there), and for preparing some fabulous meat offerings on their impressive grill and smoker devices nearby.

Yuri is very handy with all of that, and I was the grateful beneficiary of several incredible meals, including ribs, steak, and hamburgers! Petra made her contributions with veggies, taters, and other companion dishes. Yes, much to make up for later I instantly realized! Even now, my belt is still a bit tight…

The terrific meals, most comfortable accommodations, and well-functioning A/C, not to mention the much-enjoyed patio therapy sessions, were not all the wonderful surprises that went with this visit by a long shot either! Yuri & Petra not only washed our girl to showroom standards, but they’d noticed my fork seals had begun weeping fluid again…

They’d called ‘Whoray’, Raymond, who lives nearby and also happens to be a yeoman wrench of solid repute, and he’d come by to do the slide/clean-up procedure under the seals. That generous effort held-up all the way to Trout Dude's Valk infirmary, too, where the seals were finally replaced!

What a wonderful ‘solo’ coddiewomple this outing had turned into! First, I’d unexpectedly made it to the Quad-State Ride, where I’d enjoyed an even better time by far than I’d expected. Then I’d hooked up with Dusty Roads for a week plus of riding… ummmm, various roads of varying surfaces… and having a genuine adventure. Then I’d had the visit with two very dear friends doing the things good friends do…

As I’d begun reflecting upon all the wonderful experiences that had happened, I soon discovered I was a bit premature with that reflecting thing, it turned out… There was still lots more to come that… you know, wasn’t scripted and simply could not have even been anticipated let alone planned in advance! Have I ever mentioned that I absolutely love my life? This ‘solitary’ life…?

DDT


	Logged

Don't just dream it... LIVE IT!

See ya down the road...

hubcapsc

Member

Posts: 16773

upstate

South Carolina