Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1345276
26 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com A dozen miles later, the route started descending long, lazy, loops down the sides of ridges. It was o en possible to see the next few miles of road layed out in front of us as it dropped toward The Middle Fork of The Clearwater River and Forest Road 468. FR 468 sits next to the Middle Fork in the bo om of a narrow canyon barely wide enough for the river and the grav- el road. And this canyon is just as steep walled as it is narrow and twisty. We happily flogged this beau ful, remote gravel ribbon eastbound and up for 25 miles to reach Nez Perce Pass. The pass is the boundary be- tween Idaho and Montana, and it wouldn't have been too challenging to get a U-Haul to the pass should the bearing failure compel us to do so. A er stopping for mandatory Nez Perce Pass pictures and an oil level check, we made a beeline for Darby, where we found a gas sta on, a half-dozen cafés, and a brew pub. We wanted a motorcycle shop, but the nearest shop was 20 miles north in Hamilton, so we dug in the spurs and hightailed it to Hamilton. There we found gear oil, a cheap motel, dinner and beverag- es. A few hours later, with the clarity of thought that comes a er a double bison burger and a few Saphire and Tonics, we decided to appreciate our success at ge ng out of the wilderness with a failed bearing, and in the morning we'd rent a U-Haul, load up the bikes, and head back to McCall. I had never torn into a BMW final drive before and had no idea how bad the problem(s) were. Back in McCall there was a full shop with tools, me, and no motel bills. Fur- thermore, in a few days, dirt bike heroes from both coasts were showing up to go ripping the McCall single track, and there were a number of prep ac- ons to be completed before their arrival. We had to be game-ready. Earlier, reaching out to various social media moto groups, explaining our predicament and reques ng sugges ons brought an overwhelming response. Everyone was sympathe c and offering good ideas. Bikers are awesome people. If I had posted four to five hours earlier, we may have ended up ge ng things repaired in Missoula and con nued our journey. The Lolo Motorway was scheduled to be Wednes- day's ride, but instead of being high on a ridge on two wheels, we'd be in the adjacent valley on asphalt on four. We rented a U-Haul Wednesday morning, loaded the bikes, and headed north to Lolo where we'd pick up Idaho Rte 12 west. I never got to drive it because Pete was quite impressed