2026 Grand Tour General Discussion

[RedShift]

Hello, and thank you for creating yet another tour that encourages me (us) to go where we have no other reason to travel to.

I just signed up. I will once again ride my '06 Suzuki WeeStrom, as offered in my registration. But I looked at my reflection in the mirror and realized I am still not getting any younger.

I'm actively looking to add to my garage with a BMW R1250RT. If successful, is there any reason why I can't switch rides and use my placard for both bikes?

Apart from the interest factor of what my primary ride is, any issue with using whatever bike we have?

Ride safely everyone.

Roy...

[Lapchik]

There has only been a rule against bike switching in the 8/10/12 hour single day rallies. It's always been ok in Grand Tours. My record is 5 different bikes in one GT.

[Yzr]

There is nothing that precludes you from riding multiple bikes. We have even had riders that rent bikes on vacation to snag sites in Hawaii and in Europe. The idea here is the ride, not the bike you are riding. As long as you take your rally card on the trip, and capture qualifying pics, you will be just fine,

Safe travels,

Steven

[Lapchik]

Ok, lets try pictures again:



Millerville, MN

This was attempt #2 at getting this GT stop. First try this year had so much ice on the hilly roads that I couldn't get there. This time they were patchy; both hard packed and soft as applesauce. A few times I hit gravel so spongy that I nearly went over the handlebars. This is near Inspiration Peak, which was a favorite place of local author Sinclair Lewis. Wanted to hike it, but it's still closed until all the snow is gone because the state doesn't want to maintain it that often.

[Lapchik]

Had to get one today before the temperature drops 40 degrees again. Long Prairie, MN

[Lapchik]

If you are submitting new locations to Roadside America, it takes a while to post. These took 48 and 54 days to post
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/91814
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/91363

I got this one yesterday.

[LSGiant]

To hard to post pictures here but if you want to see how many you can get in a day click the link

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18H2YgwrKz/

[theemightyorbit]

I finally got out for a bit, visited Greendale, WI.

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/63004

[Lapchik]

When I post pictures at work, they show up on the forum. If I go home and look on that computer, the links don't work. So here I go again, trying to get something to work consistently. What I have so far:

Glenwood, MN


Long Beach, MN




Millerville, MN


Long Prairie, MN


Little Falls, MN



I'm starting this 6700+ mile ride on May 18th, if all things go to plan. Hoping my medical issues can be pushed off until after the trip. I use my SPOT on basically every ride I do, if you care to follow along. https://maps.findmespot.com/s/DS28#history/assets

Clockwise rotation, in hopes that Beartooth Pass is open when I get there on the 29th or 30th. If it's not, I have that bailout route through South Dakota. I've been out there so many times that I'm running out of things to see. In the last couple years I saw the center by Belle Fourche and rode through Slim Buttes (Sleddog suggested I do that). I also went through Pine Ridge and Wounded Knee (I would suggest not doing that to everyone else) so now the North American Pole of Inaccessibility, Friendship Tower, and Black Elk Peak are basically all I have left to see for "attractions".

I'm expecting to be very cold for the first few days when I leave, burn to a crisp in the desert since it's already been over 100 degrees several times this year in Arizona, and then get snowed on and frozen in the Bighorns. Something around 400 miles of dirt/gravel over the whole trip. I'm hiking 9 miles for Black Mesa in Oklahoma, and about 3 miles for White Butte in North Dakota. Should be fun.

[Lapchik]

(04-05-2026 09:22 PM)LSGiant Wrote:  To hard to post pictures here but if you want to see how many you can get in a day click the link

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18H2YgwrKz/

Gotta set these to public audience or they can't be viewed.

[Lapchik]

Can we use "gone but not forgotten" places on Roadside America if obvious and unique parts of the attraction still exist?

Example: the International Banana Museum in Mecca, CA. The museum is closed, but the building and statue out front is still there. Although it's at the bottom of the page in the "gone but not forgotten" section, it is still featured on the website.
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/5717
33.528370, -115.943152

In an attempt to justify allowing the above example as a qualifying location, I present the following example below:
Chokio, MN, Ruins of Frank Schott's Stone Barn
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/51602
45.495779, -96.240989

Equally "gone" as far as functional buildings or attractions go, yet this location is in the active list on Roadside America.

[Lapchik]

(04-09-2026 06:40 PM)theemightyorbit Wrote:  I finally got out for a bit, visited Greendale, WI.

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/63004

Feeling jealous of the weather you've got. Everything is still brown and dead up here, and it snowed 4" again this week.

[DownUnder]

(04-11-2026 05:00 PM)Lapchik Wrote:  << snip >>
I'm starting this 6700+ mile ride on May 18th, if all things go to plan. Hoping my medical issues can be pushed off until after the trip. I use my SPOT on basically every ride I do, if you care to follow along. https://maps.findmespot.com/s/DS28#history/assets.
<< snip >>

Looks like a great "Grand Tour", regardless of whether you bag some bonuses or not. Enjoy, stay safe and take lots of photos.

[LSGiant]

Three more today only two to go to be a finisher.
   
   
   

[theemightyorbit]

(04-11-2026 05:16 PM)Lapchik Wrote:  Feeling jealous of the weather you've got. Everything is still brown and dead up here, and it snowed 4" again this week.

We've gotten like five inches of rain so far this month so, overall, it's been pretty raw and miserable here.

We got eight inches of rain in March, we had like two maybe kinda sorta rideable days all month, and I had other stuff to do on those days.

Thursday was the first day I had the bike out since early last November.

A year ago I had visited enough GLMC bonii to qualify as a finisher.

This year I have visited one.

[Lapchik]

I feel that. Here it's 30 one day, 50 the next, rain turning to snow and freezing but then 65, oops just kidding back down to 25 degrees. There were 3 boats out today on Le Homme Dieu lake, and in Lake Carlos on the other side of the road the wind was pushing the many acres of remaining ice up against the shore. Forecast calls for either frogs or meatballs to rain down tomorrow.

I got my son (9) out on the bike twice today with the nearly 80 degrees we had (40 degrees warmer than yesterday), but we didn't want to go far enough to get a GT. I did teach him how to change tires and brake pads, though. He wanted to know why I make caveman noises when I use the bearing puller, and thankfully he didn't learn any new swear words throughout that process. Hopefully I won't have to do bearings again on that bike, since it didn't really need them this time. Just precautionary. It's got 41k on it (in 3 seasons) and I'm hoping to tip just over 100k miles before I get a new bike. I'm very particular about maintenance, and I'm hoping this is still a usable bike when little buddy is ready to start riding. He's also able to MIG weld and braze if I set up the machines for him, and he is helping with the non-structural welds for that black rolling trunk which is being made into a single wheel trailer. .

[theemightyorbit]

Man, it's cool that you're teaching your son how to work on stuff.

I was a parts cleaner and tool chaser for my mechanic Dad when I was your son's age. He taught me by having me observe first, soon enough I was doing a little wrenching.

[Yzr]

Thanks for this and the email. If the structure/building is still there, and it is listed on this webpage, it is all good. Technically, it isn't "gone". It would appear to me to be "closed and not forgotten".

Steven

[Lapchik]

(04-11-2026 05:11 PM)Lapchik Wrote:  Can we use "gone but not forgotten" places on Roadside America if obvious and unique parts of the attraction still exist?

Example: the International Banana Museum in Mecca, CA. The museum is closed, but the building and statue out front is still there. Although it's at the bottom of the page in the "gone but not forgotten" section, it is still featured on the website.
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/5717
33.528370, -115.943152

In an attempt to justify allowing the above example as a qualifying location, I present the following example below:
Chokio, MN, Ruins of Frank Schott's Stone Barn
https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/51602
45.495779, -96.240989

Equally "gone" as far as functional buildings or attractions go, yet this location is in the active list on Roadside America.

(04-15-2026 07:14 PM)Yzr Wrote:  Thanks for this and the email. If the structure/building is still there, and it is listed on this webpage, it is all good. Technically, it isn't "gone". It would appear to me to be "closed and not forgotten".

Steven

Ok, thanks for the update. Salton Sea is a long way from home in Minnesota, but I will be driving right by it regardless of points value. It's 1381 miles in a straight line, and 1813 miles by shortest road route. I think that might be a record for farthest GT from an entrant's home. Only 32 days left before I start on that ride. Just got tires and a new chain thrown on this week.

[Lapchik]

This is the only one I got yesterday that currently counts.



These three are all locations I submitted to Roadside America. The last few I sent in took about 50 days to post, so if you have local oddities that aren't on their site you might want to submit those sooner than later.