Based on the quantity of Kracken consumed the night before I set my alarm for every 2 hours and got up to drink a litre of water and have a pee. When the alarm went off for real at 0845 I was 95% successful in washing out all of the toxins applied the night before.

I was a little bit slower packing up the bike as I was still sorting things out a bit, but we were off by 10 after 0900. Bill had his helmet on for about 20 minutes before I was ready but I resisted saying anything, I wanted to test his resolve!

We stopped for gas for me and I was sure to stop at the Stop sign responsible for the traffic stop yesterday. We were on the Interstate within 5 minutes and quickly up to 110 kph. Bill stayed on my quarter and held the speed easily so I kicked it up a notch in 10 km/h increments and he stayed with me all the way.

Bill was my insurance agent (broker maybe) all of my driving life, he retired about 10 years ago. It was great having family as your insurer, not that we got deals, he couldn't do that, but he did provide exceptional service and helped me several times when I was about to make a stupid youthful mistake.

It was also a little tough cus he knew your dirty laundry too, but BIll was always a pro and while he might answer a question or give some advice at a family event he never once said "Hey Lou, you'd better watch those demerits!" He always kept that separate.

So, because of that, I sorta pictured him as the ultra careful old man driver (read slow). I was dead wrong, he was right there at every turn, followed me through passes and caught up quickly when there was only room for one bike on a pass. He also took quickly to formation riding, it was a real pleasure.

Also his bike, well OK it's not really a bike, but for the sake of this article we'll call it a bike, had, at times, caused a slight snicker or titter when discussed in the same sentence as 'real' motorcycles.



Well I would like to officially debunk the myth (mostly created by me!) that this is a scooter, it is not. It does have a continuously variable transmission, a computer that calculates an assortment of trip related data, integrated saddlebags and trunk and it goes like snot! Well, it goes like snot with the 'old man driver' twisting the grips!

At stops Bill would regale me with the time or outside temperature, or his mileage over the past 100 kms, or his current seat heater settings or tire pressures. This is amazing stuff compared to my bike that doesn't even have a gas gauge! The only thing slightly terrifying thing is the smallish wheels, they must be screaming at a buck forty! (140 kph).

We drove the entire height of Montana on the tremendous Hwy 89, the Lewis and Clarke trail that offers a wide variety of speed run straightaways and twisties through the wilderness. I recall at one stop I was startled to find out it was only 1145! Holy **** can you have a productive day starting at what I call "The Crack of Bill", perhaps not the most flattering time unit, but an accurate one.

We pulled into Gardiner in the late afternoon to find the Mo'tels swamped with Northbound Sturgis traffic. I popped my head into a unremarkable Best Western to inquire about rooms and was told $240.00 each/night. Personally I have a fundamental and ideological aversion to paying more than $100 a night for lodging in 'merica, and that is after exchange! Maybe not in major centers, but certainly in little towns in the back water.

We were faced with the prospect of pushing on, which was bad as we were right on the edge of Yellowstone Park but as we approached the last turn as I looked left for oncoming traffic I noticed a mo'tel off of the beaten path. The rooms were very nice, right at the $100 mark and they had a very nice little nature area overlooking the river.

It was a short walk, 2 mins, to a very nice saloon where I had the obligatory Ginormous Montana Rib Eye and few beers, while Bill sampled a selection of Bison, Deer and Llama? In the fields outside of Gardiner there were many herds of non standard beasts obviously providing meat to area restaurants.

We walked back to the mo'tel and grabbed my new awesome laminated map book and went to the scenic overview to plan our day. The awesome plan we came up with was to drive south and avoid Old Faithful. We knew the Sunday traffic would be a killer.



After that we just enjoyed the scenery and shot a little video, and turned in early.



Day 3
Shelby, MT to Gardiner, MT
500 kms