The Pilgrimage

Grease and Graphite

Grease and Graphite

I wrote an article for Women ADV Riders Magazine! 

I think it’s pretty safe to say that most motorcyclists have at least two passions. Motorcycles, and that other thing. 
For some people that other thing is welding, writing, mechanics, art, photography, medicine, the list goes on. When you make those two passions come together in some way, life seems richer, with an extra layer of devotion.

THE PILGRIMAGE: A SHORT SUMMARY

THE PILGRIMAGE: A SHORT SUMMARY

34 Days and 3,500 miles later I’m much tanner than I was when I left, Lazarus has a few new parts and a few parts that are still missing.I have met a crazy amount of amazing people who live in this beautiful state, and a few that I really didn’t want to say goodbye to.

There are adventures everywhere. 

Get out and explore your world. You don’t even have to go very far. Just within your own state, you’ll be surprised by the amount of opportunities that will present themselves if you just get out and meet them. 
Often times you’ll meet them when everything goes wrong. Adventure is what happens when your plan goes awry....

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 34 THE LAST DAY

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 34 THE LAST DAY

The Last Day of the Pilgrimage. 
After 34 days touring Montana, 3,500+ miles in state, I couldn’t imagine a better way to end this leg of my trip than riding the last 244 miles with my Father... 

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 33

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 33

When I got to Bannack and found a spot to set up camp, a fellow biker, with a Triumph Tiger, walked up and asked if I wanted to share a camp site with him so we could split the $18 camp fee ($28 for him since he had out of state plates.) I said sure, because a $9 campsite is much better than a $18 site. 
We traded moto adventure stories and then explored Bannack the next morning, before splitting off again...

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 31 & 32

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 31 & 32

I woke up early and did some of the boring house keeping stuff that piles up while you’re on the road. Laundry, emails, all the good stuff. 
By the time I finished that it was about one and I headed into town to have lunch at the Star Bakery in Nevada City, and hopefully ride the train....

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 26-29

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 26-29

With my boots finally dried out, I loaded up, stopped at the Forest Service office to get some more detailed maps of the area, and I headed to the “ghost town” of Rimini...

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 18&19

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 18&19

I spent the morning exploring the Little Bighorn Battlefield. (For the record, if you have an America the Beautiful Pass (National Parks Annual Pass), it also grants you entry to National Battlefields, Monuments, and Recreation Areas.)...

THE PILGRIMAGE: 11-15 The Break Down

THE PILGRIMAGE: 11-15 The Break Down

Spent all of Sunday working on Lazarus in front of my hotel room. 
Methodically removing the air box, checking the air filter, removing the spark plugs, checking that they spark, removing the carbs, checking that the little jets weren’t plugged and so on......

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 9 & 10

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 9 & 10

I moved a little slower than usual getting out of Zortman, went a little too hard with the locals. Woops.
Had a nice little lunch at a place called the Hitching Post in Malta, before making my way to Fort Peck trying to out run this storm. ....

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 7 & 8

THE PILGRIMAGE: DAY 7 & 8

We climbed the road to Judith Peak in a roll back tow truck at 8 am. Martin had a special appreciation for my struggle after working a big ass truck up that awful washboard crap. The wind had dissipated, and it was almost nice up on top of the mountain. .....