I was woken up by Nige and Mike who were both keen to get going on what would turn out to be 560 miles of epic riding. The 3 of us were on the road not long after sun up and heading north out of Cody for Belfry, Red Lodge, The Beartooth Highway, The Chief Joseph Scenic Highway, back to Cody. Then to Rawlins via Meeteetse, Thermopolis, Shoshoni and Riverton. Then, after dinner and a fruitless hunt for hotel rooms, on to Laramie.
The first leg of the journey to Belfry was a little on the rough side as about 15 miles of it was torn up for reconstruction. I was just thankful it wasn't wet as it would have been impassable. Thankfully the road from Belfry to Red Lodge was OK and a very nice ride through some stunning open country and gentle rolling hills with more than enough twists and turns to make it interesting. After a quick coffee break it was then time to turn our attention to the Beartooth.
I had spent a lot of time on Google Earth looking at this road and watched a lot of clips taken by other bikers on YouTube but nothing prepared me for this awe inspiring ride. As if the twists, turns and uncountable hairpins are not enough the scenery is breathtaking, so incidentally is the elevation! West summit is almost 11,000 ft above sea level.
The ride down the other side of the Beartooth is just as good as the run up and the views just as spectacular. We saw just 2 other bikes on the Beartooth but considering the time of year and the temperature this was not really a surprise.
Had we been going to Yellowstone we would have entered the park via the north entrance but as I said, time was short so we were going back to Cody. This basically means a left turn onto another very famous road. The chief Joseph Scenic byway is another classic ride and if we needed compensation for missing Yellowstone this was it. Yet more beautiful vistas and the kind of roads that motorcycles were invented for. Plenty of straights to give the bikes the beans and plenty of twisties to test the cornering skills and give the gearbox a work out. And once again, all in wonderful sunshine and with the lovely colours of autumn for a backdrop.
We could not resist the temptation to call in again at Meeteetse and the Cowboy bar and Cafe. Im glad we did because I had the best burger I have ever had in my life. Freshly ground beef and freshly cooked. We made a vow there and then to return to that place sometime just to have another. The weather was holding well and after another glorious ride through the Wind River Canyon we rolled once more into Shoshoni turning right this time to Riverton.
For anyone that has taken the road from Riverton to Rawlins they will know that the 135 Sand Draw Road offers wide open spaces and the kind of opportunity that bikers like for high speed cruising. Although averaging 90 to 100 miles an hour most of the way this was quite safe as there were no other vehicles (Except for lone pedal cyclists for some strange reason) and these roads were all as straight as an arrow. When you can do that then you get a feeling of what for me America is all about.... The Freedom of the open road.
The 135 joins the 287 and about halfway along that is a very famous town called Jeffrey City it famous for being a boom town that went bust very quickly. As you drive through it looks like a bomb hit it, nothing there but a solitary bar for the cowboys and oil workers. Look it up on Wikipedia.
We rolled into Rawlins at sundown feeling pretty smug about the days trip, however it wasn't over yet. Rawlins was full! Not a hotel bed anywhere. Our friends managed to get one but we were forced after dinner to press on in the dark to Laramie another 100 miles making the days mileage 560. Its not a pleasant feeling along the I80 at night being ever mindful of the possibility of animals running onto the road or that one of those big rigs that blast past are going to throw a tire. We made it though.
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