Just a report on the 2014 Touratech rally (combined with the Overland Rally) that took place June 27 and 28th in the little town of Plain, WA this year. There was a sea of Beemers ( a bit of a Beemer love-fest) and KTM’s and some others, including a knobbied Harley. As far as I could tell there were 4 Super Tenere’s (including mine) that attended (out of about 300 bikes).
As you can see from the pictures: a field was cordoned off in aisles of closely packed tents on one side and bikes on the other. At night, a chorus of snoring made for the bucks shelled out for those expensive custom ear plugs worth every penny.
Extremely well organized and run with a couple of good food kiosks, so you didn’t always had to break into your freeze-dried meals. Lots of vendors showing and selling their wares. Plenty of free beer at night (if you knew where to look). Good talks in the Touratech tent, and fun raffles every night around the fire.
You could sign up for 1 to 13 trail rides (in order of difficulty) and go with a group with a lead and sweeper, or download the GPS tracks and do it on your own. I did both, and enjoyed both. Large groups are a challenge mainly because of having to ride behind others (the riding format dictated continual riding order change through the ride) and can’t always have good sight lines through the dust, or maintain the speed that you want to. Riding without the guide was fun as well, but GPS’s don’t always seem to tell the truth. Accidently, found a path that an ST should not have been on (let alone a 125 cc). Broke a mirror and lost 5 lbs. of sweat. The beer tasted extra good that night.
Also took a Puget Sound Safety Off-Road advanced adventure riding class on Saturday morning before hitting the trails. Going as slow as you can to “not mask bad riding habits” certainly tested both my limits and the crash bars. Highly recommended for all abilities. Great practice.
The two days ended with a slow race (who could be the last through a track in the field without putting your foot down. Ian, a Touratech employee, was amazing on a big GS.
Packing up Sunday morning and saying bye to new found riding friends, caused me to reflect on how lucky I was to live only 90 minutes away, just across Stevens Pass in the GMA of Seattle. Some attendees were from as far away as the L.A. area. I won’t be missing this one next year, and if you have the opportunity, it is highly recommended. I would easily travel from a much further distance if I had to. Be nice to get a whole row of ST’s showing up. ::022:: ::012::
As you can see from the pictures: a field was cordoned off in aisles of closely packed tents on one side and bikes on the other. At night, a chorus of snoring made for the bucks shelled out for those expensive custom ear plugs worth every penny.
Extremely well organized and run with a couple of good food kiosks, so you didn’t always had to break into your freeze-dried meals. Lots of vendors showing and selling their wares. Plenty of free beer at night (if you knew where to look). Good talks in the Touratech tent, and fun raffles every night around the fire.
You could sign up for 1 to 13 trail rides (in order of difficulty) and go with a group with a lead and sweeper, or download the GPS tracks and do it on your own. I did both, and enjoyed both. Large groups are a challenge mainly because of having to ride behind others (the riding format dictated continual riding order change through the ride) and can’t always have good sight lines through the dust, or maintain the speed that you want to. Riding without the guide was fun as well, but GPS’s don’t always seem to tell the truth. Accidently, found a path that an ST should not have been on (let alone a 125 cc). Broke a mirror and lost 5 lbs. of sweat. The beer tasted extra good that night.
Also took a Puget Sound Safety Off-Road advanced adventure riding class on Saturday morning before hitting the trails. Going as slow as you can to “not mask bad riding habits” certainly tested both my limits and the crash bars. Highly recommended for all abilities. Great practice.
The two days ended with a slow race (who could be the last through a track in the field without putting your foot down. Ian, a Touratech employee, was amazing on a big GS.
Packing up Sunday morning and saying bye to new found riding friends, caused me to reflect on how lucky I was to live only 90 minutes away, just across Stevens Pass in the GMA of Seattle. Some attendees were from as far away as the L.A. area. I won’t be missing this one next year, and if you have the opportunity, it is highly recommended. I would easily travel from a much further distance if I had to. Be nice to get a whole row of ST’s showing up. ::022:: ::012::
