Bonneville 2013!

[Weldangrind]

This was a bucket list item for me, and Spud made it happen! I failed to realize that there was a spot on the lens of my camera, so every pic has a blemish. Sorry.

I spent a lot of time preparing the Lifan for Son of Weldangrind, and I was not able to complete my TW in time. True to his word, Spud offered his trusty Zong, and he rode the mighty XR650L. Since I was only transporting one bike, I carried it on a homemade bike hauler (made by forum member Atomic Wedgie) and Son of Weldangrind and I cannonballed it from Abbotsford to Spudland in about 17 hours. We met up with Bro-in-Law along the way, as he was travelling from Calgary. Bro-in-law drove his awesome Saab 9-3 Viggen, and he volunteered to be our mule. This was on Saturday, August 10.

We grabbed a motel that night and met Spud on Sunday, August 11. We spent the day getting to know each other, procuring supplies and further prepping the Lifan. Spud graciously changed the rear tire for me (in what seemed like seconds!) while I cleaned a clogged petcock (which waited until we arrived in Spudland to present itself). I had jetted the new 30mm Mikuni with a 105 main and a 22.5 slow jet, and it ran very well at around 5000 feet.

Son of Weldangrind, Bro-in-law and I camped at a former KOA in Spudland that night and arrived at Spud's at 9:30 on Monday morning. After fueling up, we headed South en masse towards Wendover, UT, which is very close to the Bonneville Salt Flats. The Lifan made it 30 miles before the China battery died. It wasn't really a big deal, since it would start on the first or second lazy kick, and everything worked. The rear signals made it another 100 miles before they both broke at the neck from vibrations. I intend to buy a set with flexible necks, like Spud's front Zong lights. Some electrical tape had 'em back in place temporarily.

We stopped very close to the Golden Spike on the Transcontinental Railroad, and Son of Weldangrind took that opportunity to ride on the original rail surface. He's a train freak. Here's the location, where we stopped for some water.



I also spotted this old Deuce four door in a field, and had to capture it. I have a real affection for Model A's and Deuces.



Several hours into our ride, we got our first glimpse of the salt.



Not long after that pic, Son of Weldangrind hit a nasty bump and broke five spokes! His front wheel looked like something from a clown car, but he was a
trooper. He rode the remaining 30 miles like that.

We arrived in Wendover that evening, and Bro-in-law had already scouted a campsite for us. Rather than camping at "the bend in the road" (like several racers and spectators), he found a free camp area in Wendover that had some wind protection. Here's the camp area.



See that little speck on top of the rocks? That's Son of Weldangrind.



On Tuesday morning, we headed to the salt. This is where the pavement ends.



We left the disabled Lifan at the campsite, and Bro-in-law wisely left his Saab on the pavement. Spud doubled Bro-in-law, and I doubled Son of Weldangrind for a few miles on the salt, until we reached the spectator area. This is my first (and favourite) pic.



Son of Weldangrind and I set up the canopy, while Spud and Bro-in-law retrieved the cooler.



We then headed to the pits and checked out the various cars and bikes.
























Being a lover of Deuces, Model A's (and old trucks), I snapped this pic. I then
walked around the shelter to get a better pic of the truck and Deuce. I was surprised by what I saw.





The Deuce was a tow vehicle for a bike!













The faithful Zong on the salt.



Brother Spud not practicing ATGATT.



Spud decided to go for a little ride on the salt with the Zong.





Spud doubling Bro-in-law.



Son of Weldangrind.



This amazed me. There is a brine plant nearby, where they collect salt for grooming the track. If you didn't know any better, you'd think this was a shot of a cold day on the Prairies.



Spud and I made the decision to ride back to Spudland on Wednesday, and then I hopped in my van and drove back to Wendover. I needed my van in order to recover the disabled Lifan. That little trip took about 15 hours. While I was away, Son of Weldangrind and Bro-in-law spent part of the day on the salt, and part of the day at the Wendover Airfield. http://www.wendoverairbase.com/museum They learned that Fat Man, Little Boy and the Enola Gay all came from that area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendover_Air_Force_Base

[Weldangrind]

Son of Weldangrind, Bro-in-law and I spent Thursday on the salt. Spud was back at home when these pics were taken, so these are for you, Spud.





I was intrigued by this early Model A (1928 or 29), because it has "unslplit bones". Early racers used to split the wishbones (which locate the axles) and fabricate mounts on the frame. I've never seen unsplit bones in person.







Not sure what this was, but it sounded like it was about 50cc, and it took off like it was about that size.







These kind gentlemen camped next to us, and they happily answered all of my silly questions. They even offered us a chance to climb into the cockpit.



Bro-in-law.



Son of Weldangrind.



Weldangrind.













That was the end of this leg of the journey. Spud, you're a fine gentleman. I'm very grateful for your excellent guide services, your fellowship and your faithful Zong.

[Weldangrind]

The Zong and the mighty Honda were flawless. The Lifan ran perfectly, but was disabled by broken spokes. I'll replace the spokes, turn signals and battery soon. It's too much fun to leave it parked.

[cheesy]

Great report, Weld.

Someday.

[Weldangrind]

We decided to leave Wendover on Friday, but we didn't want to drive the entire 14 hours in one stretch again. Instead, we drove to Docville and spent the night. Doc is a gracious host, and he's a gentleman.

Of all of doc's toys, Son of Weldangrind was most enamoured by Little Sweetie. Doc offered to let Son of Weldangrind take her for a spin.



Click the pic to see him ride.



We went out for pizza that night, and enjoyed some terrific fellowship.

From the left, Son of Weldangrind, Bro-in-law and Doc.



Doc took Son of Weldangrind for a rip in the Vette on Friday night after pizza. He said his eyeballs were flattened.

Saturday morning, Doc offered Son of Weldangrind a ride on the Kawasaki. It's a little more his size.



Click the pic.



We had a terrific breakfast at the Country Gentleman restaurant, and then headed home. Thanks for spending time with us, Doc!

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by cheesy

Great report, Weld.

Someday.

Totally worth it, Mr. Fromage. We now have salt fever, and we're trying to figure out how to get a 200cc China bike to do the ton.

[edtardo]

Thank you weld for sharing these pics with us. I am jealous lol. It is so awesome to see forum members hanging out.

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by edtardo

Thank you weld for sharing these pics with us. I am jealous lol. It is so awesome to see forum members hanging out.

You're welcome! I think I hold the record for the most face-to-face forum member meetings. I think I'm at 11.

[Weldangrind]

News flash! Son of Weldangrind told me that the car we sat in at Bonneville is in The World's Fastest Indian. He showed me; it's at 1:28.

[SpudRider]

It looks like you guys went to the starting line on Thursday!

Here are some photographs I took the day we rode down to Wendover. Tom and Sam are psyched for the trip as they pose with the beautiful Lifanda.



We stopped in Holbrook to stretch our legs. I photographed the XR650L in front of the local park, while Weldangrind took photos of the old Ford Deuce.



Riding across the desert, we came to an intersection. One road leads to Golden Spike National Historic Site, where the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869. Here's a photo of Weld and Sam with the road sign, and the Promontory Mountains in the background.



I switched places with Weld, and he took the following photograph.



Riding west of the ghost town of Kelton, we stopped to hydrate, stretch, take a photo.



Approaching Wendover from the north, I took a photograph of the salt flats east of Pilot Mountain while Weldangrind conferred with Sam regarding his wobbly front wheel.



This is perhaps my favorite photograph from the trip, showing the road winding to the south past Pilot Mountain.



Welangrind graciously snapped my photograph before we continued riding to Wendover.



After reaching Wendover, we went searching for Tom, who had arrived ahead of us, and secured an excellent campsite. Here's our home away from home, with the XR650L parked in the background.

[SpudRider]

The next morning we rode to the salt flats, and set up our observation point along the race tracks.



You need shade at Bonneville. You reserve your spot by staking a tarp to the salt. In the next photograph Tom is surveying the race tracks, Sam is seated on the cooler containing our water supply, and Weldangrind is opening one of my J.C. Whitney Travel Trunks.



We secured a nice spot near the pits, and watched the vehicles race down the salt. One car zipped by at 424 miles per hour.



Here's a representative photograph of our view from the shade.



We also visited the pits, viewed the vehicles, and chatted with the friendly pit crews.

Click on the photograph below to view a short video of the salt flats I recorded while experimenting with my camera near our shaded outpost.



After I confirmed my camera was recording properly, Weldangrind captured the following video of me riding the "World's Fastest Zong" on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Click on the photograph to view the video, which also features the relentless sun shining above the reflective salt.



After returning to the campsite, Sam went climbing the mountain west of the tents. I zoomed in and captured a photograph of him near the top of the mountain.



My Zong has visited Utah before on several occasions. I have also ridden my Zong in Wyoming and Montana, as well as Idaho. However, I wanted to log a few miles in Nevada, so I went for a short ride past the casinos to get a photograph of the Zong in front of Wendover Will, who welcomes drivers coming into West Wendover, Nevada from the west.



After enjoying a great, $2.99 breakfast (served all day) at the Peppermill Casino, we retired for the evening.

[SpudRider]

Since Lifanda's front wheel was disabled, we decided it was best for Weld and me to ride back to Idaho the next day, so Weld could retrieve his vehicle to trailer Lifanda back home to Abbotsford.

Riding back toward the ghost town of Kelton, I asked Weld to check the Zong's oil level. Preserving his privacy, I snapped a photograph of him balancing the bike as his checked the sight glass.



The oil level was a bit low, so we added some oil.

Later, we stopped to hydrate, and I snapped another photograph of the road winding eastward toward the horizon.



Returning to Kelton, we paused to visit the historic Wheeler Survey Marker, which was the beginning of the country's first geographic survey west of the 100th meridian.



Here are several photographs of the historic survey marker.





Continuing eastward and northward, the XR650L and the faithful Zong safely returned us to Idaho. I took Weld to the local ranch supply store, where he purchased some additional hardware for his bike carrier. After installing the hardware we said our goodbyes, and Weld drove back to Wendover to reunite with Tom and Sam.

I had a great time riding to Bonneville, and back, with Weld and Sam. I also had a great time visiting with Weld, Sam, and Tom as we explored Wendover and experienced Speed Week at the world famous, Bonneville Salt Flats.

[katoranger]

Another place I would like to see. Now I am going to have to watch "The Worlds Fastest Indian" again.

[MICRider]

Awesome pics! The bikes look right at home on the salt flats .
Good to see forum bro's meeting up and hanging out!

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by katoranger

Another place I would like to see. Now I am going to have to watch "The Worlds Fastest Indian" again.

I did just that last night.