Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1547331
22 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com 2026 KTM Adventure Rally 2026 KTM Adventure Rally Kellogg, Idaho Kellogg, Idaho By Jim Bird By Jim Bird Photos By Simon Cudby Photos By Simon Cudby While contempla ng a return to the East Coast from the extreme comfort of my brother's couch in Salt Lake City, I no ced a rally forum on a popular adven- ture website. One forum topic was the KTM Adven- ture Rally star ng September 17 in Kellogg, Idaho, at The Silver Mountain Resort. It was only one state north of my then-current loca on in Utah, and the 2021 KTM 890 was reasonably func onal. Hey… This could happen. A er checking cket availability, the trailer got load- ed, and on Wednesday morning the 665-mile drive to Kellogg commenced. The route was as beau ful as it was long. I lost track of how many "con nental divide" signs I passed while cruising up I-15 and then west on I-90. The trusty F150 rolled into Kellogg a bit a er dusk, and I checked into my last-minute has ly booked motel. A er consuming a u lity dinner at Mickey D's (since it was the only eatery open on the north side of the highway) it was me to put head to pillow. Thurs- day morning was clear and cool, and I went across the highway to the Silver Mountain Ski Resort, venue for the rally. The KTM trailer and vendors were set up in the ample parking lot with all kinds of shiny new bikes in the infield. Check-in went smoothly enough, but it was interes ng and a mite distract- ing to see so many of our off-road heroes milling about the tent during check-in. Aren't these guys supposed to be on a podium somewhere? Part of check-in included downloading 9 GPX tracks, color-coded according to difficulty. My phone is my primary nav device, and it was gagging for a bit, but eventually all the tracks showed up in Gaia. Nice to have that cri cal piece of housekeeping completed. GPX Tracks loaded; it was me for the mandatory vendor tent wander. A few dozen vendors were present, showcasing tours, luggage, riding gear, wheel sets, fuel systems, and protec on com- ponents for both body and bike. And most were offering some deal for rally par cipants, which is cool. The best tent, IMHO, was the tech support tent staffed by two KTM factory mechanics who really know their stuff. A er taking a quick look at my somewhat ba ered 890, they found and fixed a poten ally game-stopping front brake issue. Big thanks to Sco and Peter for that support!