Continue Sect 1 after Bridger Peak to Centennial.
After lunch we continued East toward Centennial. The gravel was still fast and easy. We made good time with a few quick breaks.
It’s not hard to find good places to drink in the scenery.
A well placed log for Curtis, KC, and Matt
This was about the only water crossing we had for the trip.
Someone easily made it across and then promptly dumbed their bike. But I won’t say who.
Not far out of Centennial we could see some civilization below.
While all the guys “tolerated” me as the “Stray”. Curtis and I rode together the most.
Down in Centenial, Matt had to get supplies for the evening. Mind you, a couple Canadians they had been in contact with were planning on meeting us at the campsite. Thus, the extra provisions. I will introduce the Jean and Eric a little later.
Meanwhile, Scott whom I have ridden with before on the BH BDRX was in town and we planned on meeting up in Centennial to ride the next section together. He was already there in his hotel and came down to coordinate plans in the morning.
With the plan set for the morning, we headed up to Libby Lake to camp.
You just gotta find a spot and throw your tent up in any flat spot you can find.
You should notice two more German Machines. Eric is on a F900 and Jean on the bigger GS. These 5 have done multiple BDRs and long rides together. They were also excellent riders.
We did our best to be Bear Aware.
As the night sky took over it was time for some repairs. I worked on patching my damaged tube.
Matt reached into his bag of parts and repaired his flip flop with a washer and zip tie.
It was time for a fire and the typical campfire shenanigans.
We all liked having the warmth while sitting around as the elevation kept things chilly.
The next morning we appreciated the toilet being close by. We all dried our tents in the sun and packed up slow. The boys hit the suds pretty hard.
Curtis is a solid 2nd amendment supporter. He had a small bear deterrent at the ready
Back in town, the 3 Seattle Boys and 2 Canadians got gas and supplies before heading out to the next section.
Centennial to Elk Mountain
The highlights on this section include some alpine lakes, a deep creek section, Kennaday Peak before it drops out of the mountains into some high desert.
I bundled up because at almost 10k, the air was still cold.
Today I was riding with Scott. He is from Rapid City as was leapfrogging in his truck to stay in hotels. Scott does not camp and thus was riding a svelt 701 Husky.
Right away we experienced some snow and mountain peaks.
Over 10k is not something we often get to experience around home.
Here is Scott on his 701. He also is an excellent rider and at 68yrs young, I hope to be riding near his level in 17 years. The dude is a soft spoken stud of a rider.
Yeah, the mountain lakes provide some decent background for pics.
It’s not an FJR, but if it was, I might have a calendar entry.
We skipped the optional Hard section of the deep creek as we assumed theirs would be too much water flowing with all the snow still present. Turned out to NOT be the case and some of the other guys rode it with no problem.
We decided to take the optional side trip up to Kennaday Peak. 7 miles each way and it was decently difficult.
At 10,810 feet, not much can be higher in these areas.
The fire tower is open to walk up.
Expansive views with snow still hanging on the faces
The road was a challenge coming up and since it’s an out and back, we get to ride it twice. Scott says he could have ridden it on his GS, but preferred his 701.
From the observation tower.
It was windy here and sometimes the birds would just take a break on the rocks.
Peeking inside the window of the tower, you can see it doesn’t get much use.
Maybe during fire season, it has a more important role.
From the observation deck looking north it’s along way to Elk Mountain
My 450 loaded down with almost 50 lbs in extra gear, fuel, tools, and food/water handled the whole trip exceptionally. Small enough to go almost anywhere but also big enough to run some lo n er highway sections.
I am glad we took the side trip up here.
Looking closely you can see Scott on his way down.
Zoomed just a bit.
Plenty of switchbacks on the way down, just leave it in 3rd gear and use the clutch to give some engine braking.
It didn’t take long to get back down and snap a pic from the main route
About 25 min elapsed between these two pics.
Back on trial we found some much needed easier roads.
As we got closer to the town of Elk Mountain, we came up behind a couple of ranchers moving about 10 bulls. He tried convincing us to ride around out in the brush, but we waited until they got off the road.
After a quick gas up in Elk Mountain up on I-80, we headed into section 3 to Alcova.
Coming into Medicine Bowl was one of the best parts of the ride. Some great 2 track with gates and no one around.
This seemed like a completely different ride than what we have been doing in the previous sections.
Carbon County Cemetery- hard to believe there ever was enough population here to have a significant cemetery.
Wide open spaces here.
Wyoming utilizes Coal, Oil, Gas, and Wind power.
Something very rare out here. Still didn’t stop at the sign though.
This was some of the best easy riding of the whole trip.
It was hot, but as long as you kept moving, it was tolerable.
More in a bit. We find the boys at the Historic Virginian Hotel.
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The ride along the time was easy and scenic. Here is where I had my only tip over. 
it was here that I was the most confused. The GPX line indicated to just drop off this ledge into the basin below. 
As soon as he cleared the sheep, the dogs backed off. They knew their job well. 
About 25 min elapsed between these two pics. 
