KTM 500 XC-W

45 Adventures

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  • October 15, 2017
  • 28 photos
Owyhee Powder

Apparently making up for lost time now, my neighbor Tony sends out word of another autumn ride, this time to the south. I RSVP in the positive once I’ve secured permission from the boss.

  • August 30, 2017
  • 32 photos and a video
Brother Ride 2017 Part 3:North Fork

On the third and fourth days of our annual Brother Ride, we leave the beautiful campsite along the shore of high mountain Big Trinity Lake with plans to descend to historic Atlanta, Idaho, then venture on trails unknown to camp along the North Fork of the Boise River before returning home.

  • August 6, 2017
  • 28 photos
Boiling Over

Finally. I’ve been telling Kayla’s Polish boyfriend Nick that we’d ride for more than a year now. This may be his last summer in America for a while so it had to happen. We did the quick, sort of standard loop along the backside of the Boise Ridge, Humpty and Daggett. It was a nice workout.

  • November 13, 2016
  • 55 photos
Orange Owyhees

My neighbor and I take advantage of the year’s waning sun to find high desert adventure across the Snake River in the once heavily mined hills around Silver City.

  • October 30, 2016
  • 40 photos
Danskin Clouds

An oft expressed intention was finally made real as my neighbor and I got out for a ride together. For a solid five hours, I saw the world without made-up political memes. At first my eyes stung but slowly they adjusted to the lack of hyperbole.

  • November 8, 2015
  • 75 photos
Danskin November

With special dispensation from family, I hastily changed oil, cleaned the chain and otherwise prepared the bike for what may be the last ride of 2015. I rode hard until dark, meeting along the way fiddling friends, Mickey and Moose, for whom are named popular flats above the South Fork of the Boise River.

  • September 7, 2015
  • 32 photos and a video
Brother Ride 2015 Part 4:Huckleberry Lookout

The fourth of our five day ride begins with single track. We climb through trees from our meadow campsite to ridges that lead us to the historic Red Ives Ranger Station. Then we speed through showers on the little highway along the St. Joe River for much needed fuel in Avery before continuing back to forest climbs up to Huckleberry Lookout.

  • September 3, 2015
  • 51 photos and a video
Brother Ride 2015 Part 1:Up Big Creek

We meet for the eighth year in a row, my brothers and I, to ride and camp off our motorcycles for a few days in Idaho mountains. Fires and a funny forecast mean we aren’t sure what we’re getting into. For the first day of five, we ride from our mother’s house on forest roads to tiny Calder, Idaho, along the St. Joe then up the tributary Big Creek.

  • August 31, 2014
  • 44 photos and a video
Brother Ride 2014 Part 3:Washington Basin

From our wet campsite along Canyon Creek below Pinyon Peak, my three brothers and I ride over Loon Creek Summit to visit the Yankee Fork Dredge then, deviating from earlier plans, we take lunch in Stanley before finding our way to camp high in Washington Basin.

  • August 30, 2014
  • 53 photos and a video
Brother Ride 2014 Part 2:Pinyon Peak

Along Deadwood Reservoir, through Bear Valley to Pinyon Peak, our second day of riding treats us to vistas even more vast. We are held up by mechanical troubles but not deterred. Rocks in our path are an integral and expected part of the experience.

  • July 19, 2014
  • 56 photos and a video
Switchbacks to Goat Lake

Michael and I ride from Boise through Prairie and across the mountains to Pine and Featherville before turning north to camp around a high mountain lake. We cover highway, gravel, dirt roads, ATV and singletrack, a real dual sport adventure.

  • November 2, 2013
  • 43 photos
Across Swan Falls Dam

Hunter and I explore a homestead and ancient petroglyphs along the Snake River across Swan Falls Dam. Heavy clouds darken the sky as we’re close to completing our arid loop. (Before you get excited, note this route is currently closed to motor vehicles.)

  • October 5, 2013
  • 37 photos and a video
Atlanta Loop

Michael and I make a loop between Idaho City, Rocky Bar and Atlanta, Idaho, down forest roads, through a bit of snow, and finally ridge-top single track. It was a good thing he brought a saw or we might have missed “whoopty hell.”

  • August 10, 2013
  • 32 photos and a video
Brother Ride 2013 Part 3:Long Road to Yoosa

Plans for an easygoing day go the way such plans usually do. We take an unexpected run at Windy Ridge and make an unexpected visit to one of our 2010 campsites. “Unexpected” is the word of the day. We conclude the day laughing around a fire under tall cedars. All’s well that ends well.

  • August 8, 2013
  • 26 photos
Brother Ride 2013 Part 1:A Night in Pierce

I haul two motorcycles — one for me, one for Jeremy — to Pierce, Idaho, starting point for the year’s Abbott Brother ride. I am there an evening in advance to secure our spot so I use the extra time to visit historic sites around the town.

  • May 5, 2013
  • 13 photos and a video
Hunter at Hemingway Butte

Hunter and I trailer our motorcycles to the Hemingway Butte riding area where we spend the afternoon improving our hill skills. Hunter does great, especially considering it’s only his second motorcycle ride.

  • April 28, 2013
  • 9 photos and a video
Camping by Willow Creek

I ride over the hills to the Danskin area for my first overnight trip of the year and first time camping from the KTM. Luggage woes and difficult trails keep me from getting as far as planned but morning along Willow Creek makes it all worth it.

  • April 17, 2013
  • 18 photos
Danskin on the New KTM

After a couple months parked in pieces in the garage, I finally get the new KTM out for a first dirt ride on the Danskin trails under patches of blue and between sheets of rain. The whoops are more pleasant than on the GS and the singletrack more inviting.