First Ride on the DR650 2026

 On Friday May 1st I rode the DR650 for the first time this year. It fired right up. Gotta love non ethanol fuel. My friend Doyle joined me and for the first time we rode together on dirt roads. He bought a Triumph 400 scrambler. We have been riding rode riding quite often and went skiing a few times earlier this year. The goal was to get to Magee Historical Ranger Cabin in the Couer D'Alene (it is misspelled on the map - a Garmin thing) or find snowline which ever happens first.

The route.



It was a glorious spring day with bluebird skies and perfect weather. We follow the route until we get to the Crooked Ridge Road and it doesn't go through. This happens often with Garmin City Navigator North America, Open Street Maps and Open Map Chest Maps I have on Basecamp. It is part of the adventure.

So we route back to the nearest rode sign to Magee that wasn't shot to hell and using a waypoint on the GPS I tell it go to Magee. So we did until we hit snow. There was a side x side at this point and he tried to head down the snow covered road. It wasn't long before we seen him again and had a fun conversation. In the photos some might say I am a wuss for not continuing, on the other-hand I have experience.



Remove the POS DR. Clearly I have jinxed myself and it will breakdown next time out.



Here is Doyle with his Triumph.



I whipped out my Idaho State Recreation Atlas from 2008 and was able to locate our position on the map. A small victory. We decide to see if the GPS would take us to the Wolf Creek Lodge and make our way out. It didn't and creating a route on a 4" screen is damn foolish so I live with it. Hell if Itchy Boots can ride in Mongolia with rotten gas and all sorts of obstacles I am happy riding around in the forest without reaching the intended destinations. The GPS routes us back the way we came and that's not bad.

Here is Doyle on the Fernan Lake Road.









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Doyle suggested we have a late lunch at the Vantage Point Brewing Company where I had a brat and a Helles Lager a German style beer in anticipating of riding in Germany in August.