MotoWolff

Almost every year, in the Spring and Fall I do a motorcycle shuffle from north to south. This year, in June, I am bringing my BMW 900XR up from the San Diego area back to our home in Oregon. The most direct route would be straight up the I-5 through California and into Oregon, but that is perhaps the most boring route imagineable. With some creative planning a much more interesting (but less sensible) route is possible. Here is a brief account of this years 2000 mile moto shuffle.

Day 1

Fallbrook to Barstow, 250 miles

Leaving the North County area of San Diego, the best way to get out of town and avoiding city traffic is by going up over the San Jacinto Mtns on Hwy 74 to Palm Springs. The only problem with this plan is that at this time of year it can already be quite hot in this area. Even at 10 am when I dropped down into this great section of twisty roads the heat was on, reaching 110 degrees on the valley floor. I did get some relief from the heat by climbing back up to Big Bear but soon enough I had to descend into the heat again. I made a short day by stopping early in Barstow for the night.

Day 2

Barstow to Cedar City, 325 miles

After a dawn start, I jetted up I-15 just to get through the desert before it got hot again. There is not really that much to see out here in this stretch, just the odd sights you sometimes get in the desert south-west. I stopped for the night in Cedar City Utah to connect with some old friends.

Day 3

Cedar City to Coalville, 450 miles

Long time riding buddies Craig and Lasse joined me for this next leg which would take us through Cedar Breaks and Bryce Canyon before passing through Grand Staircase National Monument on the highly scenic Utah Hwy 12.

After lunch in Boulder we found some of the great lesser known roads in the Wasatch Back, including Indian Canyon on Hwy 191 and Hwy 35 through Tabiona. These are highly scenic routes but also low traffic! Together, these qualities along with good weather make for a great day on the moto. After a meal at the local diner the long day ended in Coalville Utah. This is where, on the following day I would part company with my Utah bretheren. They would head back south and I would continue on my way north and west.

Day 4

Coalville to Challis Idaho, 350 miles

Departed Coalville and headed north to Logan and Pocatello and then across the boring and flat eastern Idaho plains. After Arco Idaho the terrain began to get more interesting as I headed up the valley to Sweetwater Summit (7150 ft). Over the top and then down on into Challis ID for my overnight stop at the Village Inn Motel.

Day 5

Challis to John Day Oregon, 350 miles

With an early start, the morning ride was quite cool with temps in the upper 30’s! Even though it was late June, daybreak in the high country can be pretty brisk. Hwy 75 out of Challis follows the Salmon River through a narrow canyon, where the early sunlight does not reach the road. There was no warmth in the sun and by the time I had covered the 60 miles to Stanley I was ready for a hot cup of coffee.

While sitting outside drinking my coffee in Stanley, I kept seeing scooters riding by, with some fully loaded for touring! I turns out I had stumbled into an event called the Scooter Cannonball, an event held every two years. They were in day 3 of an 8 day scooter rally which started in Seaside OR and would finish in South Padre Island Texas! There were machines from 50cc up to 600cc super scooters and everything in between! You can read all about the event at, https://scootercannonball.com/

Leaving Stanley on Hwy 21 was like swimming upstream with all of the scooter traffic coming the other way. What I had estimated to be dozens of riders turned out to be hundreds registered for this years 3500 mile event.

Out of Stanley and over the unimpressive Banner Summit (7037 ft) I followed the Payette River pretty much to it’s confluence with the Snake River. Then, I swerved over to Hwy 26 and ended my day in John Day Oregon. Our local BMW club held it’s annual rally here last weekend but all was quiet when I rolled through.

Day 6

John Day to home, 260 miles

This is the home stretch now for me and I know this section of Hwy 26 quite well. It is a great low traffic road through some very scenic country so I am able to ride it at a sporting pace! It’s only about a 6 hour ride with gas, lunch and rest stops and I am home by early afternoon.