Alright folks, this got some interest in another thread so instead of hijacking that I thought I'd give it a semi official thread of it's own. This would be the place for any one to express thoughts, ideas, yeahs or neahs, and if you'd really be showing up or not. And while I think this would be a great idea for a certain # of people, if there's any single riders out there that want to pass through at any given time of year that's fine too. I don't want a "rally" so to speak, just an informal gathering in an absolutely wonderful part of the country to ride.
If this gets the interest I'll post something more official with tons more info on the area, roads / rides to get here, dealers along your route, places to see, eat, etc etc.
One caveat before I get started. This is really hard to do without some thinking it's shameless self promotion so before anybody goes down those lines, please, all I'm trying to do is make a good offer to those fellow riders of similar interest.
So here's what I'm thinking. This is great riding country in every direction. You could spend a lot of time and not get sick of it. We're sort of centralized. We're also off the beaten path but easy to get to. Still the "undiscovered" part of Montana. Incredible scenery. Glacier NP is 2 1/2 hours away, BC and the Canadian Rockies 1 1/2 hours (passport needed now), Idaho is next door, lots of mountain roads with lakes and rivers, 70 - 90 mph sweepers, twisties, straight 100+ shots, vistas, or just sit back and cruise and lots more. And very few LEO's! :teeth
This is what I do: http://www.kroutfitters.com There's tons of info about the area and maps on the site so take a look.
Most of you will be interested in the lodging part, though if any one wanted to fish while they were here we can talk about that separately. We are also very spouse friendly gentlemen, so if you need to talk a SO into this, just direct them to the pics of where they would stay on our site. Trust me, if your looking for an excuse to get your wife out or the only way she'll go is if she has a nice place to stay, she'll love it. I get this all the time with fly fisherman.
So here's what I'm offering to the members of this board: (Any bike welcome, not just GT's) Realizing that not every one's time table can fit together I would also make this offer available to you folks if you're just passing through this way and need a place to stay. Though in our busiest season, 7/1 - 9/30 I'd have to impose a 2 night minimum. Off season though if you just wanted a night or two that would be fine.
OK, here's the deal for the meet up: My thoughts are 2 or 3 nights @ 30% off our regular rates which are $200 a night. So that's $140 a night for the guest house. We have 3 and they will each sleep 2 to 5 depending on configuration and how well you know each other. My thinking is that if a couple or more of you guys know each other well enough you could split the lodging fee. So that would only be $70 or less a night each. Dates TBD. We do some riding, gathering for burgers and such at the local watering hole's, day trips here and there etc etc. As informal as possible. Every body does what they want. Ride together, or not. A few this way and a few that. Maybe meet at a different suggested spot, maybe back at the ranch for a BBQ. That kind of thing. This could be a destination or just a stop along the way if you're already thinking of a road trip out this way. (Personally I think it's just a stop as I could spend a lifetime riding in the northern Rockies and BC.)
I also have a couple of other cabins and rooms elsewhere off the ranch too, they're a little more rustic, but they have H/C water, showers, electric, etc. If we get enough folks interested I'd open those up. There's also a couple of hotels in the town 30 minutes away that could be utilized. Actually there's a few but only 1 or 2 that I would recommend any one sleep in.
And, if any one is a camper and just wants to pitch a tent, we have a couple of stellar campsites on the ranch that are creekside with shelters, fire rings and picnic tables. There's also a shower and laundry to use. We charge $20 night for those and you could put 1 or 2 bikes / small tents at either. Though 1 site is more suited to a GS, it's possible on the GT and the views are stunning.
A couple of other things before I forget. The ranch is 1 mile off the pavement on a WELL maintained dirt road. Quite ridable on any machine, but worth mentioning none the less. Also, there's a big shop for those of you that like to or would want to work or do any maintenance on your bike. IE... oil change, cleaning, yada yada.
If we can do this in our off season, that would be great as I'd like to ride with some of you folks too, though any time is a great time to ride, middle to end of June is prime riding season up here. So is mid Sept thru mid Oct. The tourists and RV's have all but disappeared. Also the weather is nicer. You're out of the heat of summer, and it does get hot here in July and August especially. 100's +. Cool nights though. However I'm open to discussion to any time. But if we were to do this during our prime season it would have to be something to get booked and reserved soon.
Anyway, I'm rambling and the purpose of this was to see if any one would want to do this in the first place. So:
Who's up for this? Seriously? Thought's, ideas, suggestions? Dates? Consenscious? Let me know.
Robert
If this gets the interest I'll post something more official with tons more info on the area, roads / rides to get here, dealers along your route, places to see, eat, etc etc.
One caveat before I get started. This is really hard to do without some thinking it's shameless self promotion so before anybody goes down those lines, please, all I'm trying to do is make a good offer to those fellow riders of similar interest.
So here's what I'm thinking. This is great riding country in every direction. You could spend a lot of time and not get sick of it. We're sort of centralized. We're also off the beaten path but easy to get to. Still the "undiscovered" part of Montana. Incredible scenery. Glacier NP is 2 1/2 hours away, BC and the Canadian Rockies 1 1/2 hours (passport needed now), Idaho is next door, lots of mountain roads with lakes and rivers, 70 - 90 mph sweepers, twisties, straight 100+ shots, vistas, or just sit back and cruise and lots more. And very few LEO's! :teeth
This is what I do: http://www.kroutfitters.com There's tons of info about the area and maps on the site so take a look.
Most of you will be interested in the lodging part, though if any one wanted to fish while they were here we can talk about that separately. We are also very spouse friendly gentlemen, so if you need to talk a SO into this, just direct them to the pics of where they would stay on our site. Trust me, if your looking for an excuse to get your wife out or the only way she'll go is if she has a nice place to stay, she'll love it. I get this all the time with fly fisherman.
So here's what I'm offering to the members of this board: (Any bike welcome, not just GT's) Realizing that not every one's time table can fit together I would also make this offer available to you folks if you're just passing through this way and need a place to stay. Though in our busiest season, 7/1 - 9/30 I'd have to impose a 2 night minimum. Off season though if you just wanted a night or two that would be fine.
OK, here's the deal for the meet up: My thoughts are 2 or 3 nights @ 30% off our regular rates which are $200 a night. So that's $140 a night for the guest house. We have 3 and they will each sleep 2 to 5 depending on configuration and how well you know each other. My thinking is that if a couple or more of you guys know each other well enough you could split the lodging fee. So that would only be $70 or less a night each. Dates TBD. We do some riding, gathering for burgers and such at the local watering hole's, day trips here and there etc etc. As informal as possible. Every body does what they want. Ride together, or not. A few this way and a few that. Maybe meet at a different suggested spot, maybe back at the ranch for a BBQ. That kind of thing. This could be a destination or just a stop along the way if you're already thinking of a road trip out this way. (Personally I think it's just a stop as I could spend a lifetime riding in the northern Rockies and BC.)
I also have a couple of other cabins and rooms elsewhere off the ranch too, they're a little more rustic, but they have H/C water, showers, electric, etc. If we get enough folks interested I'd open those up. There's also a couple of hotels in the town 30 minutes away that could be utilized. Actually there's a few but only 1 or 2 that I would recommend any one sleep in.
And, if any one is a camper and just wants to pitch a tent, we have a couple of stellar campsites on the ranch that are creekside with shelters, fire rings and picnic tables. There's also a shower and laundry to use. We charge $20 night for those and you could put 1 or 2 bikes / small tents at either. Though 1 site is more suited to a GS, it's possible on the GT and the views are stunning.
A couple of other things before I forget. The ranch is 1 mile off the pavement on a WELL maintained dirt road. Quite ridable on any machine, but worth mentioning none the less. Also, there's a big shop for those of you that like to or would want to work or do any maintenance on your bike. IE... oil change, cleaning, yada yada.
If we can do this in our off season, that would be great as I'd like to ride with some of you folks too, though any time is a great time to ride, middle to end of June is prime riding season up here. So is mid Sept thru mid Oct. The tourists and RV's have all but disappeared. Also the weather is nicer. You're out of the heat of summer, and it does get hot here in July and August especially. 100's +. Cool nights though. However I'm open to discussion to any time. But if we were to do this during our prime season it would have to be something to get booked and reserved soon.
Anyway, I'm rambling and the purpose of this was to see if any one would want to do this in the first place. So:
Who's up for this? Seriously? Thought's, ideas, suggestions? Dates? Consenscious? Let me know.
Robert