As of today, 7/10/08, the Magruder Road is open from the east to Salmon Mountain and from the west to Dry Saddle. This leaves 15 miles still closed due to snow. It's still a little cool and we'd estimate that the road will open sometime between 7/15 and 7/20.

Oxford Ridge still has a snowpatch that needs to be crossed but is passable.

The entire Tour is completely open. We did day one today and are taking off Sunday morning for the rest.

m

Misc Tour Advice:

Make room reservations in Elk City and at the Locsha Lodge for sure. You'll probably be fine in Pocatello, Arco, Challis and most likely Wallace (though it books out during the summer as well if there is anything going on nearby). You will also want to book rooms in either Priest River, Coolin or Sandpoint for the night after the last day of riding unless you are planning on starting immediately back. Because of the proximity to Canada and the weakness of the dollar Canadian tourists generally fill up all of the rooms close to the border for every weekend or any special event. We ended up driving all the way to Spokane before we found a room and it sucked.

Make sure that you have a WiFi enabled cell phone - if so you'll be able to call out even from Elk City. I also recommend an emergency beacon.

We got by on 2 liter bladders for water in our OGIO vests the whole way and it was really hot. It's a lot of weight savings compared to a 3 liter.

You can get 4 stroke motorcycle oil in Pocatello (Honda/KTM dealer), Arco (Honda dealer), Challis (P-66 station), sometimes in Elk City (gas station at the bottom of the hill).

If you don't have bark busters you'll need a sturdy pair. I cannot possibly recommend a high-output stator and a big-assed headlight enough - just in case. Also you should have a good took kit and a set of spare tubes.

You will probably not be hassled if your bikes are not street legal but we always slap plates on ours just to ward off any bad ju-ju. As long as John Q Law sees a headlight, taillight and a left side mirror they generally do not pay attention to anything else. Acerbis makes cheap mirrors that do the trick just fine.

We'll see you in December on the Mojave!

The Pete King Trail may be closed to motorcycles for a few weeks. It's not a big detour to go back to Lowell and Syringa if it is indeed closed but if time is short it is the same time from Lowell to the Lolo Motorway via Syringa or the Pete King.

I used to live just north of Naples - back in the 60's.

The best bet for your shuttle is to simply hire someone to drive your rig from Utah to Coolin. That is what we always do. If you can get someone to come out with you who is interested in seeing Idaho but not interested in 1300 miles or riding - that is ideal.

If that fails I know a bunch of dependable college students who would jump at an opportunity to earn some easy money. It's generally not too difficult to set up.

Cheers

m

The Tour of Idaho is closed for the rest of the 2008 season. We'll see everyone in 2009.