"Ride While You Can" Dualsport Adventure 2009

by Jeremy
I knew it was high time to escape from the city and get my riding on when the seasons started changing and I had hardly ridden or enjoyed Seattle’s summer this last year. Really, I used to be proud of my riding and face. Lately, I started to feel like one of the fat guys that acts like he is still in shape because in high school (30 years ago) he was a football star. I’ve been consumed with getting AltRider off the ground for the last six months, rarely leaving the office and working around the clock, which has left little time for riding or anything else.

And it’s been a while since I have been a part of a proper enduro ride with the guys. The woods were calling me, my bike has collected enough dust over the last months and was in serious need of a workout, and so was I. The time was right, and I was definitely ready to get out of the office and join 10 other guys on a 6-day ride that Jim Thompson had put together for us. The planned route would take us from North Bend to the desert of Eastern Washington, north to Chelan and back.

So let me start by introducing the players of this epic event:

• Jim Thomson, the mastermind and the organizer of the ride, riding a Honda XR650R.
• Tim Hollenbeck, Jim’s childhood friend, riding a KTM 525.
• Collin Graham, the rider I’ve known the longest, riding a KTM 525EXC.
• James Dean Anderson of JD Jetting riding KTM 530 EXC.
• Rob “The Terror” McLeod, who won the Tim Hollenbeck “Terror on 2 Wheels” Award for Heart and Determination, riding a KTM 400XC.
• Jim Stouffer aka “Captain,” our chase truck driver, “rock star and all around good guy,” who also rode a KTM 530EXC on parts of the ride.
• Jim Connor, the multiple International 6 Day Enduro finisher was on a KTM 400XC.
• Ed Thierret who came on at day three in Cashmere, riding a Honda CR 230F.
• Bob Morrell riding KTM 690 who left after day two.
• Ken Shepard, local photographer, who joined us for one day on his KTM 200XC.

This was definitely not an event for the tame-hearted and not your typical dual sport ride (hell, I wouldn’t be going on it if it were!). We covered 805 miles in six days, riding hundreds of miles of single-track, on some of the most amazing mountain trails the Washington wilderness area has to offer. Some trails were very technical and others I would describe as “cliffs” (properly named “Goat Peak”, “Mt Clifty”, “Blowout Mountain” and such) with little room for error. The days were long and hard and the trails demanding.

Quoting from Jim Thompson, “This trip was about Ride Time and utilizing the limited off-road riding opportunities we have left in Western/Central Washington,” thus the ride’s name that seems to have stuck after this trip - “Ride while you can!”

Not everyone reached the finish line, some suffered minor injuries, nasty falls, and/or mechanical problems, but it was indeed an epic trip, and a special time with the guys. The pictures of the beautiful mountain surroundings, the memories of sitting around the campfire exchanging stories from the day’s ride, and our ability to still be able to enjoy the trails and places that are open to us for riding, – no doubt about that, we need to ride while we can!

Event Log
Friday, Sept. 11
Dinner at Jim’s house, riders’ meeting and loading up of the chase truck, which I missed. I came up with the most amazing, awe-inspiring new dual sport accessory while working late at AltRider because that is ALL we do (um, okay, fine… I just caught up on emails and prepped my busted bike).

Day 1 - Saturday, Sept. 12
North Bend to Cliffdel, to Vantage
I arrived to Jim’s house 6 A.M. in the morning for the start of the ride.

Day 2 - Sunday, Sept. 13
Vantage to Mattawa, to Table Mountain. Camping at Table Mountain. Incredible night at 6,800 ft; haven’t seen stars like this ever before. And that was also my first time seeing the space station at night.

Day 3- Monday, Sept. 14
Table Mountain to Mission Ridge, to Chelan 25 Mile Creek. Time to reflect and write.

Day 4 - Tuesday, Sept. 15
Chelan 25 Mile Creek to Devil’s Backbone, to Peshastin.
Staying at the Timberline Lodge. Owner Lizzy was extremely helpful and cheerful.


Day 5 - Wednesday, Sept. 16
Peshastin to Tronson Ridge. Lunch at Mineral Springs. Miller Peak to Taneum Creek. Camping at Taneum Creek.

Day 6 – Thursday, Sept. 17
Taneum Creek, Mt. Cliffy. Three surviving riders return to North Bend.


Jim Anderson put together a great photo album of the trip http://www.pbase.com/jdjetting1/ride_while_you_can

Thank you for sharing "One Crazy Ride" with us

What an amazing evening! Over 130 Seattle motorcycle enthusiasts and adventure lovers filled the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, and joined AltRider along with the Indian filmmaker Gaurav Jani and his travel companion and “crazy” rider Sobby, for the screening of Gaurav’s second movie, “One Crazy Ride.”

It’s always fascinating to hear and read about other riders’ world travels - the roadblocks they encounter, the exotic places they visit, the interesting people they meet, and what they learn about themselves and the world along the way. In Guarav’s case, the commitment and challenges of self documenting the journey and making a full length film, takes motorcycle travel and movie making to the next level. His films inspire thousands of people around the globe. An impressive accomplishment for someone who refers to himself as an “unemployed film maker.”

“One Crazy Ride” was inspirational, culturally educational, funny, and unbelievable at times. To begin with, I couldn’t get over the fact that Gaurav was riding a Royal Enfield, a bike that doesn’t have off-road suspension or dual-sport tires, through some of the most un-traversable terrain in the world. I didn’t say “roads” because for the most part there were no roads, just tracks, if they were lucky. (Hence the name for his film company - “Dirt Track Productions.”) So much for the absolute “necessities” that we in the West associate with off-road motorcycle travel. These guys didn’t even have a GPS while traveling in places that are hardly marked on the map.

Then, there was the crazy sequence of Gaurav riding across a long suspended bridge that would have been scary to walk across, much less ride on. You couldn’t help but ask yourself what was going through his mind as he was approaching this “road block.” In the post-movie Q&A, one of the guests did ask about that, and from what I gathered, the answer was “you just do it.” Having been in similar situations (not that extreme of course) on my moto trip from Seattle to South America, Gaurav’s answer rung true. Most of the time on the road, there is no other option but to put your fear aside and just do it. The truth is that’s one of the most rewarding and invigorating parts of adventure motorcycle travel - overcoming your fears and personal limitations.

Gaurav’s film had all the components of a great adventure motorcycle movie. The gorgeous photography, the shots of the heavenly clouds above clouds, the twisty mountain switchbacks and the compelling cultural details were indeed impressive. But apart from all that, what really touched me was the message of this film – in order to truly experience life, one has to do something crazy once in a while, because that’s what it means to be human and to be alive.

Thanks again to everyone who joined us and thank you to Gaurav for letting AltRider organize the Seattle screening of this movie. A truly wonderful evening!

First V-Strom Crashbars Prototype Completed

Today we completed our first product prototype - crashbars for the Suzuki V-Strom. The crashbars are designed and fabricated to transfer the sheer load to the frame instead of the hardware. They are constructed from 304 stainless steel 7/8” tube and are hand tig welded. A few minor changes and tweaks were identified during the fitting, but overall we were very happy with the end product. Next on the list is the Suzuki skid plate that attaches to the crashbars. Stay tuned!

Thanks for a great party!

We would like to thank everyone who joined us for the AltRider Sneak Preview party at Smarty Pants on September 9th. We’re glad you were there to meet the AltRider team and celebrate the start of AltRider with us.

We had a great turn out, completely filling up the outside patio, and even spilling into the main bar, mixing up with Smarty Pants “Bike Night” crowd. Our coffee table book with designs, sketches and prototypes of future AltRider products made the rounds, as guests enjoyed spirited conversations with new and old friends. The spreads of Smarty Pants’ famous sandwich sliders were a big hit, on par only with the complimentary drink tickets and attentive smiles from our resident umbrella girls. Congratulations to the three raffle winners who took home the very first limited edition AltRider t-shirts!

We have a lot of work ahead of us, as we prepare to launch the AltRider line of products and our website. Stay tuned for more news and updates, and join us at upcoming AltRider events.

Welcome Jacob!

We are excited to welcome Jacob Ellul-Blake, Lead Product Engineer, to the AltRider team. Jacob will spearhead efforts in product design and development, supplier relationships, product documentation and testing, and inventory management.

In Jacob’s resume of accomplishments are things like award winning prototypes for espresso machines, hand-made furniture pieces, wildcard wins at soap box races, and most unexpected of all, several years of playing with the Portland Opera, Seattle Opera and Honolulu Symphony as a classically-trained musician.

All that, in addition to his problem-solving skills, love of building machines, and passion for adventure riding, couldn’t make the boys in the AltRider garage happier, ‘cause someone has to make sure the AltRider branded parts hit the market by the winter deadline. Jacob will!

Suiting up for the first Alt Ride

By Brianna

This weekend will be the first AltRider group ride. Being selfish and thinking just of me, I am not so sure how it will go down. I am no doubt, a newbie in every sense. I do officially have my motorcycle endorsement, but that doesn’t mean I have been as diligent about riding since June as I had wanted to be. In fact, I still have been on the freeway only twice. And I haven’t ridden poor Blanca in probably a month.



So come Sunday I will be with a group of men who ride nearly every day, and a girl who did a 23,000 mile motorcycle trip to South America. At least they are no dirt experts, except of course for Jeremy, who never misses an opportunity to do a wheelie in the dirtiest of tracks.

So I am hoping my riding companions will be considerate, and not leave me in the dust, or rather dirt. I have high hopes that they will feel compassionate when I drop the bike for the 82nd time that day and yell some bad words, most likely at the trees and the machine and maybe even them. Okay, possibly they’ll just laugh, and then I’ll be able to laugh through my embarrassment and frustration… Good times to come!

BRAP. Here we go...
Stay tuned for the ride report and pictures next week.

Venture On

Over the years in my career I had tremendous opportunities to learn about the adventure touring market and watch it grow dramatically, as small, household companies were coming into the market and successfully finding their niche among a handful of large competitors. This led me to envision a business opportunity that would provide solutions for many of the motorcycles that aren't supported by current market offerings.

The decision to start AltRider was an organic evolution of my personal passions, professional experiences and the desire to fulfill the demands of the growing adventure touring market. We have an amazing team of dedicated professionals in place to help me turn my dream into reality. I feel that through creating innovative products and working with US manufacturers we can offer solid, original solutions to the riders.

We’re just getting started and have a long way to go. I invite you to all to join theAltRider community and share in the exhilarating avocation that is adventure riding!