BIKES: Live Full Throttle With Tamela Rich: Summer 2012 Preview

Motorcycling Destinations

BIKES: Live Full Throttle With Tamela Rich: Summer 2012 Preview

I will be writing a series from my 2012 cross-continent motorcycle trip, covering some 10,000 miles, 20+ states and 4 Canadian provinces. I’ll be on the road from June to August. Here’s a taste of what’s in store.

Tamela Rich | Posted June 04, 2012 Charlotte, NC

I check in regularly with recommendations on Roadside America for the next place I can stop and get my photo taken. (Photo: Tamela Rich)

Two years ago I was an aspiring motorcyclist, and now I’ve covered 32 states and 3 Canadian provinces--some 28,000 miles--on my BMW G650 GS.

Speed’s motorcycle editor, Neale Bayly, asked me to write a series from my 2012 cross-continent motorcycle trip, covering some 10,000 miles, 20+ states and 4 Canadian provinces. I’ll be on the road from June to August. Here’s a taste of what’s in store.

Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive
June 17 I’ll leave my home in Charlotte, NC and head for the southernmost point on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Cherokee, NC.

The rhododendrons will be in full bloom when I stop at Craggy Gardens (milepost 364) and I hope to catch some live mountain music when I stop at the Blue Ridge Music Center (milepost 213). I look forward to taking in every leisurely mile of the Parkway and Skyline Drive (where speed limits range from 35 to 45 mph) before picking up speed as I head north and then west.

Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta
June 23 I’ll meet Jill, a fellow GS rider, in Niagara Falls, NY and we’ll cross into the Canadian province of Ontario. We’ll skirt the edge of the Great Lakes from the Canadian side as we make our way to Sault Ste. Marie. While there we’ll tour the Soo Locks and the cross over to Michigan to tour the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum (remember Gordon Lightfoot’s song about the Edmund Fitzgerald?)

Jill and I will part in Michigan and I’ll take on Thunder Bay and International Falls by myself, as I head over to see friends in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Music fans may have heard of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, the largest in the world, which starts July 4 (and which I’ll regretfully miss).

I’ll probably celebrate Canada Day (July 1) somewhere in Saskatchewan or maybe Alberta (which are provinces, not cities, my fellow Americans!). Someone once described Canada Day this way: “It’s like July 4th, on a Canadian scale.”

Montana Idaho and Wyoming
I’m still pouring over maps and routes, but life would be complete if I could include the Lolo Pass again, which connects Idaho to Montana with 67 miles of continuous sweeping curves and no stoplights. I took the Lolo Pass last year and got one of my favorite snaps of a GS rider and his tiny terrier at the summit.

At some point in July I’ll visit Jackson Hole, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks with my spouse (who’s flying out to meet me) and eventually make my way to Idaho. Most of July I’ll be in the Twin Falls area, where I’ll be house-sitting for a friend for a couple of weeks, and catching up on some of my client work. Everyone of “a certain age” remembers Evel Knieval’s attempt to jump the Snake River there in 1974, but far too few of us have seen the beauty of this area, including Shoshone Falls. I traveled throughout Idaho during my first cross-country trip in 2010 and can’t wait to return.

This is likely my last Conga ride, a group of (mostly) women motorcyclists from the states and Canada, who decorate our bikes to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer. We’ll rally in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming July 12-14. Besides catching up with friends and doing some dual sporting there with the locals, I’ll visit a dinosaur dig near Shell. Wyoming does a fantastic job with roadside labeling of the diverse geological formations that you pass through on Rt. 14.

If you’ve never traveled Montana and Wyoming, I’ll show you why it’s called “Big Sky Country.” Entering a blind curve near St. Mary’s (near Glacier National Park) at 9:00 pm three free-range horses crossed my path. I had my wits about me, fumbled for my camera, and captured the moment. The photo is included in the gallery for your enjoyment -- look at that evening sky!

Big Rallies in Nevada, Oregon and Washington
From Idaho I’ll head over to the AMA Women’s Rally in Carson City, Nevada where I’ll sign books and chum around with other female motorcycle enthusiasts. The AMA has done a wonderful job lining up workshops and seminars.

From Carson City I’ll sign books and have an opportunity to share a microphone at author’s night with David Hough, who wrote Proficient Motorcycling, now the #1 best-selling motorsports book ever at the Rally in the Gorge August 1-5/12.

While there, I’m especially looking forward to expert cornering instruction on the Maryhill Loops Road by Puget Sound Safety with special guest Nick Ienatsch of Yamaha Champions Riding School. Other highlights include The Dalles Riverfront Trails, and the Five Peaks West Tour of five volcanoes.

West to East without Interstate 70
Yes, it can be done and I’ve done it before. If you’ve ever complained about traveling through Kansas, you just didn’t have the right itinerary. The key is to travel routes that expose you to history and highway kitsch.

Did I say kitsch? You bet. I check in regularly with recommendations on Roadside America for the next place I can stop and get my photo taken with a Muffler Man. If you’ve got travel tips for me, please leave them below.

Between articles here on Speed, you can search for snapshots and 140-character updates on Twitter with the hashtag #TAMXC.

ABOUT (Photo: Christina Shook)

Tamela Rich wrote Live Full Throttle: Life Lessons From Women Who Faced Cancer based on her first two years of cross-country motorcycling for cancer causes. She hails from Charlotte, NC where she is a ghost writer of books, articles and presentations for business professionals. She’s almost finished with a book of 365 meditations called Leaning Into Life: Lessons from the Road. For more about Tamela, visit her website: www.tamelarich.com

Links:
Women Riders Now review of Tamela’s book, Live Full Throttle: Life Lessons From Women Who Faced Cancer

Blue Ridge Parkway

Skyline Drive

Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

AMA International Women’s Rally

Rally in the Gorge

Roadside America’s Muffler Man home page