Link to the spotwalla site

We used a Spot tracker to follow us along the trip and document our every move. A risky exercise if one is concerned about improper activities along the route, but wise if one considers the positive impact of our spouses knowing we were OK. 

Link to Spotwalla

Click on the link and you can get an idea of where we travelled.

Final riding day

Today is the last full day of riding on the trip. We are planning to explore some roads in the mountain foothills from Boulder to Colorado springs. We are tired so the goal is to take it easy, get the trailer, pack the bikes and hit the road. One small concern - Jeff's back tire is wearing fast and the cords are showing. Some think we should leave the bike and bring the trailer, others think the tire will hold for one more day.

The ride starts up well, with Canyon Road providing a suburban version of the wilderness, only with paved bikes paths, volvos and traffic. I'm lucky - starting out in the lead lets me pass the half asleep drivers who are more interested in sipping latte and chatting that so important conversation with their cell phones, that they can't appreciate the what the mountains bring to their lives. Tom catches up, passes me and we eventually stop at the top of the hill waiting by the Netherland reservoir chatting with Dave. He had a later opportunity to pass and just as he got into the clear and accelerated to top speed,  he passed a cop going the other way. The cop lit up the christmas tree lights putting the fear of god in Dave, but in the end, he realized he couldn't stop his vehicle and mount an safe chase.  Josh arrives saying that Jeff's rear tire blew out. I guess that answers the debate on the condition of the tire. We are, of course, concerned for Jeff's well being. He is always cool as a cucumber under stress and we don't know if his message to Josh was designed to prevent worry, or if indeed everything was OK. 

It takes some time to get down the hill, being mindful of the cop who might still be on the prowl for the bike that got away. We find Jeff at the side of the road, bike and Jeff are OK, but he can't get off the bike because the hill is so steep, he can't get his kick stand down and the bad tire prevent him from manoeuvring to a safer location. There are ball bearing like river stones all around him waiting to trip man and machine - he's starting to get tired and is glad for the hand, pushing the bike to a safer location.   The cell phones don't work in the canyon so Josh, Dave and I head to the top to call CAA for help while Tom helps Jeff secure the bike. If you have any doubts about the value of CAA - it was priceless for us.

climbers in the mountains

Water is chilly

Location of flat tire bike

Rescue vehicle

Storms on the ride home

Dinner location

The bike is inside a dangerous curve and we need to manage traffic so that someone doesn't run into the truck, which can't get fully off the road. Tom sets up the recovery (he's an expert after all).  I head down the road to direct the truck to Jeff's bike away from Josh and Dave's bikes which are parked in that safer location. While waiting, I get to watch 3 crazy rock climbing parties conquer insane climbs, hanging upside down, using fists to ram into cracks in the rocks in order to reach their objectives. Good thing they are tied down, because one falls several times. While I am baking in the sun, Josh is tempting fate with ropes and cooling down in the rushing mountain stream. 

Jeff is on his way back to Colorado Springs and and we continue on one last ride. We get a bit wet in a thunderstorm but then enjoy one more set of great roads. Tom and I switch bikes so that I can see how a sport touring bike behaves. His bike is a rocket ship that turns just by thinking about the turn. It accelerates in ways that my tame dirt bike could never contemplate. At first, I spend too much effort over compensating steering input, but eventually get into the flow and am able to make some speed. Tom is impressed with how well the BMW dirt bike handles the big road. 

We eventually meet up with Jeff, have dinner and plan the trip home. Jeff and Tom get the trailer while Josh, Dave and I prepare the bikes for the trailer. This time, it only takes 90 minutes to pack the bikes and we are on our way back to TO.

The ride home is all about keeping the driver alert, getting sleep so that you can take your driving shift and safely operate the vehicle, making sufficient fuel, food and nature call stops to get home in one piece. In true character for this trip, the decision is made for a Polish dinner in Chicago, so the research is done on the fly, GPS reprogrammed, and we are off to Staropolska Restaurant in the old Polish area. Our trip is interrupted by a church bus accident caused by inconsiderate other drivers but 14 people are injured so the highway is closed to so that the many emergency vehicles can provide care for the victims. The second interruption comes from the tenth annual World Naked Bike Ride. We get by the parade route just in time to avoid seeing things that married men should not see (Josh was disappointed). After a great meal, we are back on the road, cross the border at 6:30 and get back to Toronto by 10:30.

What a successful trip.

I will be processing the photos and videos and posting them up to better describe the trip. (just need the time)

Glenwood Springs to Boulder

The days are starting to blur - there are so many events in such a short time. The goal was to get up early so we could run more miles, but even though Josh set his alarm for 6 am, the rest of the gang took a lot longer to wake up and get active. The Mexican food from last night, while plentiful and tasty, provided lots of humorous man entertainment for the morning and in fact, was the primary contributor to a late departure. Good thing we were riding on bikes and not in an enclosed vehicle (nudge, nudge, wink, wink)

First stop is Aspen. The road in is different from other mountain towns - someone spent a lot of money to widen the highway to 4 lanes and built elevated road sections to smooth out the sharp turns. The road is in excellent shape from the airport to town. 

The town itself shows lots of money. Downtown is filled with expensive cars and all the Vegas, New York, London, Paris etc. designer stores. We grab a coffee in Peaches, a swanky coffee/tea bodega where one patron orders her beverage to be brewed at exactly 140 degrees (that sounds low - must be a tea). Dave meets two guys (nudge, nudge) when one of them blurts out that he is waiting to start riding his new Ducati Monster. The conversation deteriorates into, "She's Italian so she's high maintenance" and "She makes strange noises when you stroke the throttle". His partner breaks out laughing and we get a few stares because we disturbed the pristine "sophisticated atmosphere" of the superb meet and be seen establishment.

Outside, on the sidewalk tables, one woman seductively removes her top to reveal a designer yoga thingy that leaves no doubt about her femininity. Jeff's eyes almost pop out, but we ask ourselves - why do that in such a public place? We later find out this same lady gets mad at Tom as he installs his GoPro on his helmet in preparation for Independence pass. Not sure if "me thinks she protests too much" and her garb is all a ruse to gather attention to her yoga hardened body. Her behaviour becomes too much for Dave and he has words with her before we depart. What a start to the day. 

Aspen is definitely home to the beautiful people and we feel out of place - a bunch of weary (married) men clothed in ripening motorcycle garb. Josh points out a Paris Hilton clone but one can't look anywhere without viewing a marvellously dressed, fit person of both genders and gender preferences. Interestingly, Spanish is heard very frequently. 

We snake our way through heavy traffic to the other side of town where the road leads to Independance  Pass. This is more like it, unlike the grand facade of the town entrance, the back yard looks just like any other mountain down with a twisty two lane road in need of some repair. I suspect that few of the beautiful people want to travel into the wilderness because the mountains don't care about the model of car, or designer of cloth. But we like it. The road is very narrow and is carved from cliff, so the edge is close and drop off steep. Her we find rock climbers and hikers who gladly venture out to enjoy the true beauty of the Aspen area. 

Snowball fight

Deep Snow at the top

Soaking in the view

King of the Hill

Spectacular vistas

Independence Pass climbs above the tree line and offers significant quantities of snow. We pull over at the top and enjoy a snowball fight, make snow angels and photograph the vistas. On one rocky outcropping, covered in lichens, one couple enjoys a scenic lunch - he is wearing sandals, no socks. Along the path rolls a tattooed individual with a leg in cast, pushing a  four wheeled scooter with a raised platform that he kneels upon to support his broken leg and it's cast. He is being chased by a tea cup (tiny) pomeranian dog that is scooped up by his equally tattooed girlfriend, silently hiding behind mirrored aviator glasses, when the dog starts hyperventilating from the altitude. He offers the advice that someone in Aspen has an antique 250cc Triumph trail bike for sale if we are interested (Umm, how would we transport that???).  This is an interesting location that attracts interesting people. 

The Boys on Independence Pass

Independence Pass Panorama

Dave does the now familiar angel manoeuvre on the ride down, triggered by the spectacular views. We find our way to Leadville, the highest (altitude, not pot) city in the USA at 10,152 ft. This is just under the snow line and it's cold, even at this time of year. The Golden Burro restaurant, is one of the oldest in the USA, operating continuously since 1938. Food is great and we recover from the altitude at the pass.

Next stop is another pass (Tom, help me with the name), but as we approach the area, signs warning of rock problems, combined with general tiredness, changes the plans. We'll head over to Mount Evan instead - this mountain sports the highest paved road in the North America. 

Mount Evans has the usual danger warnings to motorcyclists, advising of steep roads, drops offs, sharp turns. This one adds water from melting snow, mixed with sand and rocks. We are getting tired but press on regardless, knowing that this is the highest paved road in North America and we aren't going to miss it. 

The first section of road provides very high quality curves and switchbacks on a good quality road - there are some dangerous curves. The section section is on a gated section - but it's early in the season, so the gate is not inhabited. This road is now narrower, steeper and when rounding the curves after mile 2, very steep drop offs. The asphalt heaves here with the frosty and there are numerous sections when the asphalt is broken at the edge, because the edge has collapsed. Want to make sure that oncoming drivers play nice, or someone is going to have a bad day. We wind along rock faces and look over several mountain lakes way down the slope. The sun and cloud combination emphasize the blue tone of the lake. It's starting to get colder now and the trees and shrubs struggle to survive in the low oxygen and high wind. The trees tilt to the lee with no branches facing the constant wind. In some cases, the bark is missing on the windward side. This is a photographer's dream since each survivor offers shapes, colours and textures that simply are not available in more commonly inhabited locals. 

The road in the distance

Storm coming in - time to go

At the end of this section is a high altitude plateau that includes a campground. It's probably only viable 2-3 months per year and today, it's flooded and has a foot of snow. Later, Dave would photograph the only herd of mountain goats that would reveal themselves on the entire trip. The water and frost have chewed the road to shreds and between potholes, big bumps and streams flowing over the road, the road bikes are challenged to find a suitable path. The Beemer loves these conditions and we are screaming through, splashing up a storm, but the road manages to throw a few surprises to us as well. 

Dave captures the only Mountain goats on the trip

The Boss mountain goat

Now we are over the tree line and in places, the remnants of drifts are over 15 feet tall. The temp sensor on the bikes starts flashing to warn us that the 1.5C can deliver freezing conditions. As long as the water is flowing, we don't need to worry but one slip could get interesting. As we snake up the final steep section, we see the observatory that keeps this road open, plus the abandoned resort that burned down decades ago. The mountain parking lot is at 14,410 feet - a bit higher than pikes peak.  This time we are better acclimatized so everyone is able to spend full time at the top. I take it easy, mindful of my Piles Peak experience but this time, Jeff and Dave are bothered by the altitude. Off in the distance, dark clouds, with bottoms well below our current altitude, remind us that our time up here may be limited. Sure enough, the storm starts dumping snow and sleet on us - it's time to go down. Dave has already departed and will be rewarded with mountain goat photos. We stop briefly to set up the theme photo for the trip, although the image is not complete without Dave. 

Just Touring - 2013

It's starting to get dark and we stop in the lodge to get a few souvenirs, a coffee and snack. The decision is made to head to Boulder, but we'll be riding in the dark so our route will follow the main highways. The Beemer has no headlights, other than high beam but I have the GPS, so this ride will be in the #2 spot. The team is tired and the intercom conversations have the edge of guys who want to get off the road. In Boulder, we find ourselves in the University part of town and it's a happening place - the bars and patios are a-hopping. We chuckle at the goodness of this choice when a gaggle of all dressed up U-girls give Josh a lot of attention in the parking lot, but first, we need to find a place to stay. Not so easy as we discover that there is a Shakespeare festival in town and some form of a mass blue bike ride. All of the local beds are full. Construction and poor condition roads have us wandering around until we finally take 2 rooms at the University Inn. 

Dinner was supposed to be a celebration of the end of the ride, but it's 10:30 before we eat. We are tired by the long day and barely finish dinner, never mind whooping it up with the local talent. The old guys, Jeff and I head back right after dinner and crash. Tom follows us close behind.  Even Josh and Dave, who insisted that they were going out (Dave to look out for Josh) crash before hitting a new bar. 

Another spectacular day.

Pangosa Springs to Glenwood Springs

Today is going to be an excellent day. The forecast calls for scattered rain, but we start off with blue skies and a bit of cloud. Today, all the roads are excellent and we start the day off with fresh baked breakfast in the Pangosa Springs Bakery. From there, we retrace a prior route to South Fork so that we can ride 149 the other way. This also gives me an opportunity to retrieve my Kriega backpack. Tom films some great chase videos on the way as we scream through now familiar mountain curves. 

On Wolfe mountain, near the top, I am pushing the bike to the limit, uphill, full throttle in 4th gear, it's so steep, that the bike is going as fast as it can, but when I enter the apex of the turn, there are cop lights flashing over the crest. The bike is at it's limit and I can't come off the gas or brake, or it will get hairy, so I'm committed to fully enter the apex before changing speed and direction. Turns out that the cop is there to warn traffic of a salvage operation ahead. We see a huge salvage tow truck with a cable attached to a mangled transport truck with a trailer that is covered in mud and just shredded. Tom and Jeff think that the driver would have survived based on the condition of the cab, but I know that the ride over the edge would have been terrifying. A single dark skid mark goes from the start of the curve, in a straight line right over the edge. Tom says the truck was jack knifed when it went over, so we speculate on what might have caused it. On the back side of the mountain we see a vehicle that looks like the Ghost Busters ambulance, complete with bull horns on the grill. Later at South Fork, we would learn that this vehicle belongs to the local coroner. We still hope for the best for the driver. 

A quick stop in South Fork for Kriega and gas, and meet a group of riders from Arizona, but the leader grew up in Ontario. He is in his late 70's and all his family is gone so he spends his time touring all the great spots in America. We bump into him several times during the ride. Soon, we are back on our favourite road. It looks completely different going the opposite direction, in full morning/noon sun, but the ride is just as spectacular. One of the locals recommends a turnoff to a spectacular waterfalls and Dave is lucky enough to find the road during an high speed run. The falls are nice (but not spectacular) but we cross two riders on V-Stroms who are obviously packed for a serious tour. We first saw them at the base of Wolfe mountain. 

 We stop in XXXX for a break and sure enough, several riders take a break as well. One is a BIG guy who dwarfs his ancient Gold Wing. He is from the area and loves to ride, but can't find anyone who will ride with him, so he goes solo. His bike is first generation Gold Wing, four cylinder, 1100 cc. That is like driving a 57 Chev. The V-Stroms show up and it turns out to be a couple from Czechoslovakia. He is an architect and she is XX. They sold everything in order to take the trip of a lifetime, that started in US, followed to Mexico, is now travelling North and then, when the time is right, back down through Central America, cross to South America, all the way to Ushuaia (near the south pole) in Argentina. We share stories and a laugh or two and then get back on the road. 

More great riding and the a stop at the north shore of XXX reservoir. There we see a park ranger vehicle that we manage to inspect. This truck has a small arsenal including an AR15 automatic rifle in the cab. Shortly, two young park rangers, armed to the teeth and huffing from an obvious run, ask us to move away from the vehicle. Jeff and Tom, the perpetual ambassadors spring into action and quickly disarm the nervous rangers. These guys have tazers and aren't afraid to use them. One guy is a Boston fan and as soon as he learns we are from Toronto, chooses to use a much harsher form of torture and mocks the leafs. Dave engages in friendly hockey banter when the couple from CZ rides up. Tom asks them to take a photo of us with the Rangers and later XX quietly asks us if we are in trouble with the police. I guess relations with police are less cordial in Europe. We add a photo of the Czechs with the police, say good bye for the last time, and then head off to a short cut recommended by one of the rangers. He had to call dispatch to confirm that the MXXX pass was open. Last time he travelled through, it was closed due to rock scaling. 

This road is spectacular - I know this word is repeated so many times in the blog, but we are forced to stop many times to take pictures and soak up the views. Hopefully the pictures will convey some of what we saw. The Crystal river flows down the mountain, right up against the mountain rock wall. The drop is spectacular and we see rapids after rapids. Occasionally, a waterfall rushes off the mountain side and forces us to slow down to fully absorb the view.

The road flattens out a bit and we end up in Carbone. There we learn that another 12 miles down the road is Glenwood Springs, a resort town that has more hotels. It's getting dark and the headlight has burned out on my BMW (second time on a trip - I guess it vibrates a lot). The beemer can run on high beam but that will annoy other drivers. 

Glennwood Springs is obviously part of a rich area. The lawns are green and we see sprinklers everywhere. This is a huge contrast from most of the other areas we have visited, where water is scarce. We find a room at the local Best Western, and break out the beers. It's been a long day of hard riding and everyone is really energized but tired. It's gonna take some time to wind down. The desk clerk recommended the local Mexican restaurant and a batch of Margaritas, does more to help us sleep than any other commercial product. 

Tomorrow is out last full long day of riding and it promises to be more spectacular than today. Tom wants the ride to end with a bang. In one way, we don't want the ride to end, but in another way, we are ready for the ride to end. It's a combination of sensory overload, hard riding, but we have also been away from family. Tom misses Effie, Ryan (Tom's son) misses his dad. I notice a lot more time is spent talking about family over the head sets. At dinner, the discussion spends time wishing we could share the trip experience with our loved ones, so I guess we weren't truly made to wander alone. Josh of course,  remains very interested in variety, but he does not wear a golden band. 

Night Night.

Note: the guys need to help me fill in some details.

Telluride to Pangosa Springs

We start the day late due to recovery efforts after an evening of exploring nightlife in the town. Jeff, Josh and I decide to ride the Gondola to the top of the hill, which is run at no cost as a green project to reduce car use. The hills are very steep here so we quickly gain altitude. The view of course is 5 star. This looks like a European Alp city, only a lot smaller than what one would expect. Off in the distance is an airport on top of a mesa and we can clearly see that the runway ends at the edge of the drop off. That would be an interesting flight if a plane was slightly overloaded, something like taking off from an aircraft carrier, where the plane can drop below the runway surface before gaining sufficient speed to transition into full climb. I will ask our corporate pilot what he thinks of this airport. We take some photos at the top but Jeff and I are slightly winded by the altitude so we decide to take the gondola to mountain city on the other side. There are a set of lifts to a huge bowl above the treelike, where the incline better serves intermediate skiers. The section to Telluride is for experts only and there are only a few blue square runs back to the village.

Back at the hotel we start packing slowly enjoying the last minutes in the hotel. It starts to sprinkle rain but the clouds are localized. By the time we leave Telluride, the rain stops. We look back and all agree that this is a place to spend a week to explore. There are so many sights and activities to enjoy here.

Our target is Durango and we are riding on nice roads, but we have been here before and once we get out of Telluride, the roads are in the transition zone between mountain and desert. The short cut roads keep us away from heavy traffic, but everyone is off a bit. We make it to Durango and the heat starts to get to us as well so we stop, take for ever to find an excellent brew pub to eat (we are tired and have more miles to go so we don't sample the beer). After lunch, the we explore town a bit, almost as if to delay getting back on the bikes but eventually, we get back on and agree to stop at Pangosa Springs. The plan is to get a swim, have a meal and get to bed early. We get a decent rate on a Quality Inn but soon learn that this is a tired facility in transition so the pool is turbid and the sauna barely heats. At least the hot tub water is clean so we grab some heat there, gab a bit and then start looking for dinner. Bummer, restaurants close at 9 and we are too tired to drive into town to find food, so we grab a snack or chocolate bar and agree to get up early. 

Telluride

I am writing this in the breakfast lounge of the Camel's Garden Hotel in Telluride, enjoying the view of the gondola lift that starts right outside of the hotel. From our room, the river that flows from the mountain provides those babbling moving water sounds that help you fall asleep, which city people can only experience as a weak facsimile from a machine on their headboard. There is still snow at the top of the lifts. 

In true adventure form, we ended up here by accident. 

We left Moab a bit late in the morning. One rest day off the bikes and every one was bumbling, as if they never did this before. It took forever to pack. In fairness, we washed the jeans, which were mud and horse poop splattered from yesterday's trail ride in the desert. Tom took the time to wash his baby and Dave returned to the fossil store to buy this incredible piece of petrified wood. He is a stone collector so this is the stone to end all stones. Actually the store had so many unique fossils, dinosaur bones and minerals, that one could get lost for hours. The proprietor had so much knowledge, that it was like a museum tour. Jeff and Josh went off to the motor vehicle licensing authority to see if the could get a temporary plate to replace the original that fell off Josh's bike during one of the ride days. Bad news - plates can't be replaced, so a facsimile is created using fibre board. Hopefully we don't get pulled over.


The original plan was to make it to Durango, to set the stage for a push into northern Colorado. The scenic route is the long way and this was going to take full daylight hours to make it. A navigation error increases our riding pleasure but throws a spanner into the plan. We end up in Telluride.

Moab to Telluride via the direct route is only 133 miles or 3 hours, but we decide to take a the scenic route end up repeating one of the nicest roads every, three times, by accident. Since one doesn't want to be in the mountains at night, we roll into Telluride as the sun is setting.

We take the road that follows the Colorado river as a "short cut" to Highway 70 and pass by the riding stables from the night before. It's hot 35C and our evaporative water cooling disappears rapidly. The heat also makes the tar snakes excessively slippery. Tom is already nervous and one section is so bad both of us are forced into the oncoming lane - and we couldn't really have been driving any slower. My handlebars were shaking as the front tire slipped from snake, grabbed a bit of asphalt, next snake, asphalt, until we were in the oncoming lane. There should be standards for how much tar can be placed on a road. Perhaps the qualifications for those who make road standards should include owning and riding a motorcycle.  

We are wearing full armour and the mostly Harley driving Utans, sans helmets wave, likely thinking "silly hans and franz drivers" When it's this hot, it's really tempting to strip down, but rules are rules. Besides the heat is fatiguing and one wants to be wearing a full suit - just in case. 

Highway 141 winds through river valley and mountain top. The road is isolated and provides long curving sweepers that make riding a ton of fun. As always, the vistas are spectacular, but I am affected by the heat and can't concentrate. The ride to Gateway is a blur - somewhat dangerous but I don't want to hold back the guys so early in a ride where every minute counts if we want to make the proposed destination. We stop in gateway for fuel and I open up 5 hour vitamin energy beverage and douse myself with water. It's lunch time and I fear that eating will make the drowsies worse. Fortunately, there is no where to eat on this entire stretch of road. I'm not kidding - nothing until we get to Telluride. Any restaurants we pass on the road are closed, and the only option would be snack food from one of the few open gas stations. Obviously, tourism and mining are not big in this area. Too bad. 

This is one of the most beautiful stretches of roads we have been on. The San Miguel and Dolores rivers provides plenty of water and the scenery is green where plants and trees can grow and the steep mountain sides (we are in a canyon) show fascinating red designs that force us to slow down so we can appreciate the scene. We are hauling ass through this road because it consists of well planned long sweepers that can be run in 4th to 6th gear. That means high speed fun. Mindful of the fact that the valley is also an active grazing field for cattle, we rip through the section, later agreeing that this was one of the most fun riding roads on the trip. Highly recommended for anyone who plans a motorcycle trip. 

We see several ruins and half way through - the remnants of sluiceway that is designated a historic site. This structure is installed in the vertical side of a 1,000 foot cliff and was designed to deliver water to a gold panning operation that failed because the gold was too fine to be recovered by the sluice method. On our first stop here, we water up, grab a snack of beef jerky (i had a big bag from a prior day) and explore a bit. A competition emerges to see who can throw the biggest rock into the river way below. It' interesting how long the rocks fly before the splash down into the river. Josh and Tom win the contest. Across the river, a vehicle stops and it's inhabitants practice yodelling - we yodel back - LOL, 50 years cannot take the boy out of a grown man. 

For some reason, we mistake our position on the map, thinking we missed the turn off to highway 145, we turn around to return to gateway, were we think the 145 cut off exists. No need to twist our arms to re-ride one of the best roads ever. I program Naturita into the GPS to verify the path and funny, it says turn around as soon as possible - ha, must be taking some other route - the map never lies and GPS is just a navigation aid. Tom and Dave lead the ride an we are just pounding the road. I keep up with them most of the route. The 49 return miles fly by in no time at all. In the mean time, the estimated time of arrival on my GPS just keeps getting longer and longer. Back at Gateway we study the map one more time, consult the GPS and realize our mistake. We need to go back - darn, ride one of the best roads a third time. We certainly get our quota of great riding, but there is no way we can make Durango. We'll try to get a room in one of the towns on the way. 

I lead the third leg since Tom is tired. Dave follows because he can't get enough of these roads. I fear that my riding will hold him back but my bike is hot and we pull out way in front of the pack. I'm practicing getting over the bike in turns so my body is more vertical, which allows the bike to lean over harder. This supports better cornering and higher speeds. I am reving the snot out of the bike so it's on max power coming out of turns. This time we pass cattle on the road - slam the binders and slow down - these things are a dumb as deer and bigger. We want beef but not this raw. Dave waits for Josh to warn him to slow down.

At the historical site, where we first stopped, Dave takes over the lead. I'm bushed and Josh takes over as #2. The road starts to rise up to a plateau and with altitude comes cooler temperatures. The plateau is flat as a prairie and lush green, like Ontario in the spring. We need an early gas stop since the high revs forces a fill up after 225 km. Dave chuckles that jerky is Mike's spinach - at first he thought he might be pushing me and then he realized that I was coming out of the corners faster than he, so he had to step on it to keep up. I know he was riding well below his level, but his kind words make my ride feel even better. I learned a bit on that stretch and am a better rider because of it. 

We see just how high the plateau is when we descend into the valley that eventually leads us to Telluride. There is not place to eat, so we decide to wait 'til we find a room. Another spectacular road with a completely different terrain. Telluride looks like Ouray, only a bit bigger. It's another little switzerland, complete with ski hill. As we enter the town, I see the Blackthorn trail in the distance. EndertheX documented his ride down that trail on his F800GS and the switchbacks were so tight he came 6 inches from dropping his bike over an edge that would have resulted in disaster. He did his ride at the end of June, but we can see that today, the trail still has snow on it. There is a huge waterfall at the top, with a power generating station and a private residence that crosses the river. I've only seen pictures. 

We end up with a great room at the Camel Gardens. The rate is $139 but during the film festival it's $750. The guys are happy with this stroke of luck. At dinner, we get our meat and Josh is discovered by a blonde flight attendant who seems to prefer him to her date. The bar is offering $2 draft Schlitz and they boys are thirsty. I am tired and hit bed at 10:30. Josh heads out to the bars, with Dave and Tom as chaperones - need to protect him from the local female predators. The door opens at 2:30 and Josh spills in. He will be hurting today. 


Today's ride takes to south fork to pick up my hydro pack and then we head north. 

pictures to follow.

Rest Day

We have ridden hard and the bodies are sore and we need to sleep in, so today is rest day. I get up at the usual time and try to catch up on the blog. The guys get up closer to 9 and promptly miss breakfast, which ends at 9.

Today is skydiving day. Jeff, Josh and Dave decide to skydive while Tom and I are going horseback riding. We make the calls to book the appointments and then the discussion starts. Dave has a fear of horses, but feeding them apples in Escalante piques his interest. If he an overcome his fear to feed them, could he take the next step to ride one? A deal is struck. If Tom joins in the jump, Dave will join in the horseback ride. Wait, if you guys are riding, so are we, so now Jeff and Josh are in. I chicken out of the jump - there are reasons but let's keep the chicken story as the official excuse. 

You need to see the poster for the jump to understand Dave's joke about offering to pay extra to get the back position - guy joke.

We get to the airport and the guys go for the legal briefing and "drop training". We establish a rapport with the jump teachers (Jeff and Tom are masters) and the scene in the hangar becomes "cool". Turns out, the jump planes, Cessna 172s can only take 2 jumpers plus the trainers. That's two trips to get the four jumpers their opportunity to fly. There was not enough time to take a fifth jumper and the cost would be too high. Costs the same in fuel to take 2 as just 1.

I use the time to update the blog and prepare for pictures when the guys exit the plane until landing.

The plane provides a scenic ride for the jumpers as it travels through the area to gain altitude. The pilot informs me that they use a ridge in the distance to catch a lift on the ridge waves (created when the wind is forced upward when hits the ridge). The passengers end up with a spectacular view of the area. The field is 4,000 feet above sea level and the planes will fly to 10,000 feet above the airfield. 14,000 feet is the maximum that the plane can fly efficiently. With the heat (it's 34C), the air gets thin and the piston engine struggles to function with almost no manifold pressure. So, the guys jump at 14,000, where the air is thinner than the top of Pike's peak - don't want to spend too much time there before the head gets wobbly.

From the videos, the jump is intense. The tandem team falls head first, assumes the position - hands and legs up, belly down, and the drogue chute is deployed to ensure they fly belly down. Each diver enjoys a brief period of free fall (from the ground, the drop is fast - they are travelling at over 120 mph - ironic that Tom and Dave ride their bikes faster than that). The big chute is deployed and they circle the area for a while. Landing comes surprisingly fast. I can barely keep up with the speed, filming the landing. The chute whistling as it lands only emphasizes the speed, but the trainers are experts - they flare the chutes before touchdown and, in spite of the brisk surface winds (or perhaps because of the winds), each jumper touches down softly. 

Later, while the GoPro videos are being edited, the trainers (who barely weigh 145 soaking wet) proclaim that they would rather have a 225lb student than a 95lb because the 225 lb weight guarantees a proper flight. The training uses the analogy of a badminton bird with the weight in front, and feathers in back and with a 225 lb student, the trainers are the perfect feather. They tell a story of a 95 lb girl who, last week, decided to touch her toes during fee fall, which caused the tandem pair to go into a spin - right into a cloud. The instructor winced at his buddies as he recalls that they spun through the cloud for 3,000 feet, not knowing where up or down were so he couldn't fly the drogue - they could get tangled if it was improperly released. When they emerged from the cloud it took a few seconds to get the tandem into the right position and the rest of the landing was text book. I asked how bad was it and the trainer said that after he landed, told the girl she did a great job, went back to the hangar, barfed, cleaned up and got ready for the next dive. 

The sky divers are a motley crew. Each one has a story about their journey to this hangar, working to feed their jumping passion. There many tats and piercings and their faces look 20 years older than actual age. Some of the difference can, no doubt, be explained by the sun and wind exposure from diving, but the rest likely comes from substance abuse, partying hard and a hard life style. There is not a lot of money to be made skydiving so one does it for the love of the lifestyle and the trill of the jump. 

By the time the last video was edited, we no longer had time to get to town to change into riding gear, so it was off to the ranch, regardless of readiness. All of us had jeans but most were in sneakers (except Tom, who knew this was a possibility and was prepared). The road to the ranch followed the Colorado river and was on the Butler map as a must ride. One could spend a lot of time in Moab in order to explore all of the sights. 

Jeff landing:
Josh landing:

The ranch is run by a husband and wife team, John and Sena Hauer, and they are tired from a buys week at the rodeo that finished a few days earlier. This is not a tourist dude ranch and the horses are high spirited and competitive. We told them we are intermediate riders so we get the 2 1/2 hour ride into the desert. Sena matches us up to our horses. I pull Champ, Sena's personal horse. Apparently Champ did well at the rodeo and still hasn't calmed down. 

Josh gets Gem, a blonde
Tom gets Nino - black quarter horse mix,
Jeff gets Cash - 
Dave's gets Snip, who is renamed Snooky (Sam says she's a ornery slut - horse that is)

Sam(antha) is our outrider - a role that quickly catches up to an out of control, galloping horse and snatches the out of control rider off the horse before the rider fall off and breaks their neck. Apparently horseback riding in the desert is more dangerous that jumping out of a plane. We see a bit of that later, when our good riding skills encourages Sena to take us on the "better" trails, along ridges, up steep hills and beside drop offs that would cause severe pain if one departed the horse at the wrong time.

We head off to the Colorado river through a dry stream bed and then follow the onion river to the hills. Through out this ride, we learn about the local history - a number of movies, including City Slicker were shot here. 

The setting sun brings out the best of the desert. It's spring so every bush that has a flower is showing off it's colours. Evening primrose and other night flowers are opening up and releasing their scent. The colours of the mesa's are accentuated by the evening light. On the bikes, we see the the high level views of the region. On the horses, we get to sample the beauty up close. 

The horses each have a strong personality which affects how it behaves on the ride. Champ doesn't want me on his back, he wants Sena. Then, he wants to be up front so he is pushing his way through the pack to get there. At the start of the ride, Sena is testing our control of the horses. We are not allowed to get in front of her or Sam 'cause then if a horse bolts, they can't snatch us off. If a horse bolts, it's because the rider can't control it. It takes a while, but we prove we are in control and the reward is a gallop down a sandy (no rocks) section. My stirrups are done up as short as possible, but my 32 inch legs are 2 inches too short, and Champ gallops, so I need to post when he goes fast. Problem is, with the stirrups so short, all I accomplish is an ass slapping that is so loud that Dave is pissing his pants laughing when he hears the sound from the saddle. I just feel like a bad boy, who has been punished repeatedly, but we have a lot of fun. Tom has Nino, a high spirited stallion who takes no shit from no one. Tom rides him like a cowboy, separate from the group which is good because it keeps Nino away from the other horses. It also lets Tom take videos of the group. Josh and Dave's Jeff's horses gait so they can go fast without beating up the rider. The spend several little runs competing for first place. The guys love it, the horses love it. Seems that the other horses like to show up Champ when ever they can. Champ responds by pinning his ears back and taking off in a gallop, but then, under Jenn's instructions, pull him back. He shakes his head at me but Jenn says - show him who's the boss. Champ responds by biting the other horses whenever he can. 

Sam is a rodeo rider and horse expert. She is also a fire cracker. The guys establish a good relationship with Sam, a cow girl who lives out of a bunk in the livery section of her horse trailer and earns her living in rodeos and guiding. She's not too tall, looks a bit like Sarah Jessica Parker and strong. When Josh makes a wise crack, she threatens to take him into the barn and bench press him. I think that she decided that she likes us because she is bantering with the boys as if they belonged to her. Her boss is worried we will not respond favourably. On a prior trip, a Mormon family was offended when Sam used swear words to describe the beautiful colours of a lizard they had discovered. We tell Jenn that Sam's description of the ride makes this cowboy adventure even better. 

Can't say enough how great the ride was. By the time we get back to the stables, it's dark. We chat a bit and then prepare for the ride back to Moab. Night has set and we are worried about animals on the road back. The beemer goes first so that the bright LEDs can seek out any animals lurking at the side of the road. Turns out the biggest danger comes from a 20 something girly jeep driver, who thinks it's OK to tail gate motorcycles and pass on curves and rapidly cut in on the bikes when she runs out of road. By the time we get to a construction stop, Dave is ready to kill the driver for the risk they are taking. He gets his chance to have words with her and she just acts stupid. Hopefully she has a life changing moment before she kills someone (including her self).

We are dead tired when we get back to the hotel so it's a quick dinner and then flop into bed. Tomorrow, we get back on the road to Colorado. We only have 5 more days on the road. We need to win the lottery. 

Escalante to Moab

Another clear sky day for the trip. 

We say good bye to the couple in the unit beside ours. They are taking a similar route to Moab in their white rented convertible. What a coincidence when we bumped into each other at dinner the night before and then several other points on the trip until lunch, when we took off across the desert, and they took the highway to Moab. 

We are anticipating the ridgeback which runs up the spine of the mountain with drops offs on both sides. The road is an excellent mountain road and the air gets cooler as we gain altitude. Like the other rides, it's exciting as hell to see the various mountain and valley configurations. The ridgeback is good but short so it's a positive experience but not mind blowing. Tom (the B&B proprietor) advised us to cut of the highway and ride the Burr Trail road for an experience that will "blow your mind". He rides a KLR650 and knows these roads well.

Now that looks exciting! The road narrows and a sign warns motorcyclists of tight corners and steep sections - that's our calling card. This is a dirt road that has received a thin tar top and it snakes through all sorts of terrain, but it gets spectacular as it winds down the red rock wall to the dry river bed. We are in a slot canyon that towers on each side and again - the view is awesome. Our Roomies bump into us on the road and wave. 

Tom finds a huge boulder that he, Dave and Josh climb up on and we get some great portraits. The rest of the game is carving up the roadway that is in excellent condition. We follow the road for 20 miles but then need to turn around if we want to keep our schedule. My BMW is a bit disappointed because it wants to sample the dirt road that follows the paved section for a long time, but it knows it's road specific travel companions get uncomfortable slipping and sliding in soft dirt, so I fight hard but am able to turn it around to return back to the main road. 

Dave takes off and I do my best to follow. I fall into a groove and am able to keep up with Dave (he is taking it easy). When we finish the day, Dave checks out the Beemer's tires and notices that the tires are scrubbed right to the outer edge of the chicken strip. I guess it was pushed almost to the limit. 

We hit the mountains and the roads include cattle grates. These are slippery steel pipes that cross the highway and create a six foot barrier that corrals the cows and provides a great opportunity to slip a motorcycle tire. The road also provides way too many tar snakes that create a little slip every time the tire crosses one with any sideways force. Snakes in corners keep you awake. We meet our Roomies at a scenic outlook and they ask how did you get here before us and we smile. They leave the scenic look out before us and within a few minutes, we are able to demonstrate how we can beat them. The bikes quickly pile up in tight formation behind their convertible, they politely pull over and we speed up and a pass them in an instant, wave, and still in formation we reform in single file to navigate the next set of switch backs and power up to speeds that no convertible would enjoy. Later, we run into them at the burger joint in town. They enjoyed traveling with us for this short trip and we become part of their vacation story. 

The short trip to Moab follows a boring major highway so we're not doing that. We're taking the long way around, through the desert, past lake Powell. The drive is a combination of long straight stretches mixed with mountain twisties. Dave and Tom are in the mood to go so they take off. Josh and I have no chance in hell of keeping up when the bigger road bikes pile on the power so we follow as long as possible. Over that distance, one gets both in and out of the groove, so the driver who is on, takes the lead. For my dirt bike, the straights consist of 110mph runs with sweepers running at 90 mph. This is a thrill of a life time. Like on the Blue Ridge, one gets to practice technique and improve skills. I am certain that the few tourists that we passed had some comments about minding their own business enjoying the scenery when they suddenly get passed by bikes doing over a hundred (zooooommmmm).  

We anticipate a swim in Lake Powell but when we get there, the water level is so low that the water is almost gone and muddy. What a let down, so we power on to the next major intersection. It's a long run and our fuel is going bingo. We back off and start working on Plan B. Dave has been pushing his bike the hardest so he will run out first. Josh and I are next. Jeff has a large tank so we can siphon fuel from his Honda in an emergency. We limp into a gas station near Blanding, only to find they only serve diesel. The next station provides full fuel service. We made so much time on the high speed runs that we agree to run the last 70 mile to Moab. Originally, we thought we'd only make it to Monticello. That's the beauty of no planning. Staying in Moab will give us a more relaxed Sunday, which we plan to use as a rest day. 

It's at dinner that the next plan change starts to form and by breakfast we are skydiving (not me) and horse back riding. More on that tomorrow. 

Grand Canyon

Thursday Experience

I have no idea what time it is. The sun has just popped over the horizon, my computer tells me that it's 5:34 am, the cell phone tells me that it's 6:35 and the clock radio says it's 6:06. We are in Tuba City Arizona and apparently there is one timezone on our side of the street, and and another on the other side. The clocks in the lobby tell me that Arizona time is 5am and daylight savings time is 6am. Tuba City is like a rough frontier town. The court house and jail seem to be it's biggest industry. There are even armed guards in the McDonald's. Dave went out late last night to a nearby laundromat (so he walked - big mistake) and experienced more concern for his life than blasting 100 mph down a serpentine mountain road on the edge of a cliff. The cop sirens were wailing down the highway every few minutes, in all directions, voices from the darkness of desert commenting on a white boy, people on ATV's watching him as he walked on the sandy sidewalk, with his bag of stuff (laundry) in hand. He decides to put his wallet in a sock and take a few bills in his pocket as throw away money in case he gets mugged. Later we would laugh about it but at the time …

Today we are off to Grand Canyon. It's the first time for Dave and he has great expectations for the vistas. We will be travelling via Falstaff, which is the long way around. It's going to be hot, and the guys are thinking to reduce gear, but knowing the speeds, Dave and I want to go full gear. I suggest that we go to "evaporative" cooling - soak our clothing and then let the wind evaporate the water and cool us. That means long sleeve shirts. Dave thinks this is crazy but is willing to give it a try. We hit the road and at the first stop, Dave is giggling that his narples are sensitive because they are frozen. He grabs a bottle of water and soaks down, happy that he can have his full gear and keep cool.

It's another day with lots of wind and sand. They skys are clear and there's no rain in sight. We cover sufficient distance that the landscape changes several times during the trip. There is so much variety, that we will forget any specific scene, but all the scenes will blend into on happy memory of riding in the desert, with some dramatic feature either on the horizon, or following us as we travel.

We arrive at Flagstaff and visit the local bike dealer (as an excuse for the trip). They certainly offer a lot of guy toys in the middle of the desert including all wheel drive, 1,000 cc buggies that can truly go anywhere. Most of the bikes are dirt oriented and there are no sport cruisers. We have lunch in a run down looking Greek restaurant, but Tom promises us, this is the real Greek thing. We trust that Effie has trained him properly so we become Greek for 90 minutes. Good call - we eat very well with great salads, home made Tzatziki, moist chicken. Wish we had room for desert but the main meal was way too big. Dave and I head back to the washroom to soak our clothing, and get a few weird looks as we emerge from the bathroom, soaking wet - (wonder what weird religion these guys practice - hope they're not gay).

As we get closer to the Grand Canyon, we see more forest and green - water does that in the desert. We stop for photos and drag our bikes in front of the grand canyon sign, much to the chagrin of other tourists who only bring camera's and hot weather clothing. Tom and Jeff appease a few of them by offering to take their group photos (using the tourist's camera of course). Josh finds two very attractive sisters and offers to shoot photos and we need to drag him away (i'm sure he's thinking "strike a pose"), but they seem reluctant to let go of him as well - magnets - blonde boy on motorcycle, cute girls in car.

The visitor center is crawling with tourists and parking is impossible to find. We have a lot of gear so we're not parking in the back. We find a spot that has the painted no parking stripes - and park there. Those lines are for cars only. The guys are itching to get to the rim, so I volunteer to stay back and secure the bikes. It's hot so we leave as much gear locked up but still cross our fingers that a crafty thief doesn't home in on our expensive stash. The Canyon looks fine today - just as it has for the past millions of years before man arrived, and just as it will look fine long after we have smothered ourselves. There is a bit of haze in the air from wind blown dust and we only get a real perspective of the place, when Jeff points out a helicopter wafting way down by the river. It literally looks like a big fly and can only be seen by the sun flickering off it's rotating wings.

We're standing by the edge and Dave is getting strange looks for wearing his long sleeve, heavy duty fleece top, but one guy approaches him. He's a hiker that spend time treking to the bottom of the canyon and offers the advice that a wet long sleeved shirt was the best thing for "down there"

It's late afternoon and we want to try to make it to Page Arizona, by Lake Powell. We round up the cats and start to head back to the bikes. I run ahead to unlock everything that was previously secured and notice two BMW's have joined our crowd. One is a GSA1200 (the grand daddy of adventure touring - invented the category) and the other, a road bike (R1200), both from Washington state. Just as I start unlocking all the gear, the riders show up. R1200 ran from Seattle, down the pacific highway (we need to do that ride as well), and then from LA to Zion forest. His buddy (GSA1200), had business and could not depart, so he did a non stop iron butt from Seattle to Zion (Arizona). Wow, and we though we were tough. We had a great chat, trading ride stories when we learn that the highway that we need to take to make it to Page within a reasonable time, is closed because one section collapsed. The detour adds 2 plus hours to the trip. Man, are we disappointed. There aren't a lot of roads in this area so we consult the maps. Tuba City is the only real option. We could shoot for Page, and see what time it is when we get to the junction where we need to commit to one or the other.

The ride out of the part is another great road. Here we learn a great lesson about safe motorcycle operation. We are riding in tight formation and lead rider looks for a place to pull off the road (I keep forgetting to buckle up my helmet and wanted to secure it before we went high speed - this was probably the 5th time I forgot, and not the last). Lead rider stops, number 2 knows that #1 wants to stop, but #3 is checking something on the gauges and doesn't see the speed change. When his head finally pops up, it's Oh Shit, lock the brakes, smoke the tires and try to aim the bike between #1 and #2. The gap is too small for safe passage but in the last minute, #2, who had already seen this coming, moves to the side to leave enough room for number 3 to pass through safely in a fish tail.

I fasten my helmet, #3 gather's his nerves (thankfully he doesn't have to clean his shorts) and we have an extended discussion of bike safety over the intercoms. It's never one big mistake, but several small ones that combine to get us into trouble. We ride much better after that chat.

By the time we get to the Tube City Junction, it's getting dark. The decision to stay there is easy because no one wants to chance the wild life on the side of the road that emerges at dusk. one experience on Highway 124 was enough proof that it will happen. We return to our Hopi Hotel, have a quick swim, a very sleepy dinner and call it a (very long, but satisfying) day.