Read this much or talk to me for very long and you’ll find me enraptured with my new love: Thumper, the KLR. Each ride is a boundary pusher/skill builder and it is just as fun as ice climbing minus the cold. Till winter, that is. Dammit, now I want to think about the awesomeness that is ice climbing.

My first real trail ride on the thing was up a canyon here in the Wood River Valley named Slaughterhouse. How comforting. I ate shit a couple times and had a very frustrating time of it. Falling over in a DEEP rut on the downhill side then having to muscle a 375# bike back on its feet up a 45°+ sidehill sucked donkey balls. Then not being able to get back on it and having to feather the clutch and gas while shoving the thing uphill to a flatish spot was no confidence builder.

Since that day 2000 miles of mostly dirt have been added to the odometer and today was the day to head back up and try her again.

At the top!

Ironically, I hit a rock about 5 feet from where I went down last time, but just laid it down on the uphill side, tipped it back up and rode it all the way out.

Somewhere in the ride I slammed a rock with my tool tube ripping the expanded metal it was attached to and almost tearing the thing off. Went from fan to “fuck that” in one ride. They are great on dirt roads and pavement, but I’m after some rougher stuff on occasion and don’t want to lose the thing, and all my tools, or wreck because the fucker came apart and back into the bike.

Tomorrow, big desert ride.

10 days and a wake-up till I’m back in the homeland. Gotta make the best of the remaining Ideeho time.

Check out the Moto Map link on the right side for a GIS map of this, and other, rides and if you ever want a GPX/KML of a ride to check out yerself, just let me know.