I spent about a week or so recently in the very beautiful state of Idaho. Wanting to get a feel for a few of the different areas to potentially buy a 2-3 acre patch of land in the future(1-2 years) The plan is for a 700 ish square foot, south facing shed roof cabin that’s set in a hill. Ideally not too far off the Idaho BDR that can be used as a travelers stopover and camp spot. What other way is there then on two wheels?
After the Dragons last dirty ride with Chris and the gang, I spent a couple days in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area which was a great warm up before crossing the Snake River into Idaho. Fabulous riding on and off-road out there. It’s highly recommended.🙌
I went back to hang out with Rob Bayless from T700.net and his family in the Boise valley. He was gracious enough to let me park the van at his place while I went exploring on the T-700. Thanks Rob! 
Day 1 was a figure 8 loop through Horseshoe bend, Placerville, Idaho city, Robbie Creek then back up through Idaho City, Lowman, Garden Valley, Horseshoe bend and back down into Boise valley. The only property I saw worth anything was a 1,100 acre parcel in Placerville but at $5.8 million😳 it was a bit outside of my budget😔 darn!🙄
Day 2 was in the van out to Mountain Home then up to and around the Anderson Ranch Reservoir for lunch in Pine. A completely different scenery and landscape from the previous days ride!
Day 3 was a ride with an old Air Force coworker Brandon Whallon, it had been almost 30 years since we had seen each other but that didn’t matter much, it was great catching up! Turns out Brandon is a very accomplished desert motocross racer having run the Baja (Mexico)1000, Desert 100 in Odessa Wa.and a few podium finishes in the Starvation Ridge 24 hour relay. We set out for a 250+ mile day starting at the Boise city limits on the actual Oregon wagon trail then out to Prairie, Pine, lunch in Featherville, up and over a mountain to Atlanta and out along the North fork of the Boise River back into town. Hitting the city limits 13 miles into my reserve was as close as I’d like to call it. It was a great day with a few challenges riding off-road on the 700. A few of those spots we went through I’d have dropped the 1200 Super Tenere for sure, but the 700 stayed up and made it through. Thanks Brandon, hope I didn’t slow you down too much from your normal pace of riding😏
Day 4 was a slow day as the heat kept Rob and I in the A/C most of the day only going out for an early evening ride at dusk on one of his favorite loops to Emmett, Horseshoe bend and back. We pulled in just after dark and was able to show him just how powerful the cyclops lights really are. He really was impressed!
Day 5 was back in the van for what ended up a long 14 hour day on the road. I said good bye to my hosts the night before and got on the road before sunrise. Heading east on US 20 all the way to Idaho falls and being that close to Rigby, the home of Klim, I couldn’t be that close and not go shopping.😏
After dropping off my suspenders for repair and ordering a new Carlsbad jacket, I was hanging out in the parking lot when a couple started inspecting the T-700 up close. They also noticed the “Ragin Cajuns” sticker on my back window and it turns out the wife played college volleyball in my hometown.. 😳
Come to also find out that Kelsey is the Senior designer of motorcycle gear for KLIM! 😳😳 Let’s just say we had a nice conversation about the consequences of using mesh in The seat area for their jeans and Dakar pants. 😏 She was very receptive to my inputs! We traded Instagram #’s and I was back on the road heading up through Salmon to camp in the National Forest not far from the Montana side of Lolo Pass
Day 6 had me heading down from Lolo pass on US 12 early in the morning. Just had to stop at the 99 miles of curves sign😏 I know it’s not as impressive with the bike on the #joehauler 🙄
Pulling into the campground in Worley just off Lake Couer D’Alene I was greeted by a bit cooler weather then down in the Boise area. Sun Meadow RV park served me as a jumping off point to explore for a few days. It’s also a place you can really relax and get a great tan😏
Wow, day 7 already, I headed out for a loop on the west side of the lake and through St Maries. I really like St Maries😍. It’s just the right size town and about an hour from the Spokane/Post Falls/ Coure D’Alene area.
Day 8 had me back out on the bike for another loop south of St Maries. I even found what started out as a great dirt road but as it climbed up and over the mountain, the rocky climbs and then sandy switchbacks were challenging for me. The T-700 stayed up as I motored through the rough spots🙌 I’m learning to trust the bike more and with it weighing 100lbs less then the 1200 Super Tenere, it’s so much easier to handle in difficult terrain.🙌
On my way back to Washington, I saw a request from Kurt Forget of Blackdog Cycleworks looking for T-700 footpegs so he can design his own awesome footpegs. Since I was only about 75 miles away, it was a no brainer to let him use my factory pegs that I had already swapped out with a set from IMS. A quick trip up to Sandpoint to join him for breakfast and chat about his plans.Can’t wait to see what he comes up with!
Before I go, I need to give a big thank you to real estate agent Tracy Nelson of
She was (and will be)a big help when it comes time to get a piece of land. Thanks Tracy!
Tenere Across the USA 