It's 5am and a Bleep, bleep bleep,bleep bleep, that now familiar apple alarm, announces to a bunch of sleepy heads, that it's time for Josh and Mike's excellent adventure. Only problem is - it's dark outside and it shouldn't be - something is not right so I roll over and catch a few more winks at the insistence of my sore muscles. Last night, at late dinner, we agreed that, at first daylight, Dave was going to run the million dollar highway (alone) and Josh and I were going into the mountains - off roading. In my case, the GS was calling - my BMW is called a GS, which is short form for the German phrase "Gelende und Strasse". Gelende translates into Lands or terrain (und Strasse translates into streets - of course). Josh just wanted to see how his new (to him) Versys handles off road, since Versys is short for Versatile System and Kawasaki advertized (when the bike was first released) that it could go off road. It's light enough, but the street tires on the loose gravel, in a steep serpentine … could be interesting.
A touch of grey peeks through the crack in the curtains, which says there is definitely light out there, but the colour is wrong. A quick peek provides the explanation - the clouds are low, it's rained 'cuase the bikes are wet (Tom will be pissed off because last night was the one night he didn't cover his bike - it is polished to perfection before each ride). If I crink my head to the one side, there is a hint of blue which means the it's going to be a sunny day, once the clouds burn off. I look back and Josh already has his gear on - he's raring to go, which eliminates all excuses for one more wink of sleep.
By the time we get the bikes started, the clouds have dropped a bit more, but Josh is raring to go so after Jeff takes our "clean bikes" photo, off we go. The dirt road services a mining operation, some mountain "suburbs" and a hand full of campgrounds. The road is gravel and the rain has made the fine dust into an oil like mud that is definitely slippery. We are greeted with a bridge over a deep valley that is experiencing a raging torrent due to last night's rain - the first of many photo opps. The first hill has a steep switchback, so Josh's will and bike are put to their first test. The Beemer goes first and of course has no problem. Josh takes off, builds momentum (needed or else the rear tire will spin like mad in it's effort beat gravity), and with his arse end weaving a bit, makes it up his first dirt challenge. The road simply twists and climbs for a few miles as it follows the river into the mountain gap. The homes along the way are well built with huge stacks of firewood, but what do they do in the winter???
We reach an interesting part in the road, where the valley ends, and there is just mountain. Like the million dollar highway, the solution is to carve a notch along the cliff, put a bit of gravel on it to smooth out the rocks, and call it a road. This one is fun because it's real narrow and slick from the rain, and, we have been passed by several four wheel drive vehicles, so we wonder - what do you do on a road that is one and a half vehicles wide and there is one vehicle going up and one vehicle going down? After all, Newton's law of gravity says that what goes up - must come down, and since these roads go to nowhere, all that traffic needs to return. The first turn gives us a clue. The outside of the turn has a little space that could hold a vehicle in an emergency and there is a notch just before the curve, where one could tuck in, but boy is it tight for a second vehicle to pass. We are OK since the bikes are very narrow, but two of those dual real wheel pickups - that could be interesting. A steel cross surrounded by plastic flowers, tell the other half of the story. Make a mistake and you become someone's fond memory.
At the next bend the clouds part a bit and we notice that the mountain is white - that rain that soaked the bikes at town level, created snow at the top levels, and we were heading into a winter wonderland - a new dimension to our adventure. The temp gauge on my console is flashing to warn of freezing conditions. The beemer is built for this, but a Versys with street tires??? Josh is beaming and hollering in exhilaration, so his vote is to go ahead. The next section has a tunnel carved out of the side on a drop off so steep, that both of us hug the right side water rut beside the wall because you don't want to slip here. We notice a cut on the other side of the mountain that heads to even higher elevation and wonder how far this goes. The trees are now snow covered and it's below freezing - there's ice on the puddles, but we press on regardless. There is a mining operation here which explains where all vehicles are going. The mine has a great tailings field at the top of the valley - I guess the stream flowing into the valley is mineral laced from any run off in the tailings field. Further up, the mine sports a huge hole in the granite that is obviously where vehicles go in and ore comes out. It looks like a very new operation so the impact on the surrounding is minimal. We reach a small plateau where the road jumps over a wooden, snow covered bridge, where the animal tracks tell us who really owns this area. The road gets really steep and looses the gravel - which means it is now a 4 wheel drive only road. The sign advertises that Imogene pass is the destination on this path. I think that the beemer can take it but I am worried that it crosses the Vesys line. A quick consult with Josh and he is game - ahh the optimism of youth. I go first and am doing OK but near the top, the road twists rapidly and gets uglier and more snow covered. I am responsible for Josh so it's time to make the call - that's it, we've reached our limit. Later, the hotel owner confirms this is a good decision. Apparently Imogene wont be passable until mid to late June.
On the way down, we pass a Suburban, covered in snow - someone is camping up here. The trip down is as fun as the trip up, but on the way down, one gets a better sense of how steep the road is. The cloud cover keep changing so we get pictures of sun lighting up the fresh mountain snow. We stop at a few ledges and take pictures of the valley and each other, hanging out in space. Once the roads go back to sensible, I hand the Beemer over to Josh so he can see why I was able go some much faster over the slick and rough stuff. The bike really shows that it was meant for this in-between riding. I would not want to take it on a real off road - on needs a 450 cc dedicated enduro bike to do that safely, but the beemer LOVES these conditions. It hangs it's back end out in a very predictable manner when throttle is applied going in, and exiting out of dirt corners. Too much fun of a 50+ year old sporting bones that break easier, and take longer to heal than the teen ager who learned to ride like that on motocross bikes.
For me, the Versys is functional, but the suspension quickly reaches it's limits. The tires do slip, but it's predictable. We find our way back to the hotel and the guys are up for breakfast. It's Dave's birthday, so he has gifted himself a rip snort up the million dollar highway. We later learned that he uses this to practice his technique for cornering and braking and he has managed to break 100mph in the long twisties, that shoulder the drop to oblivion. If he slipped, he would have more seconds than usual to enjoy the various terrain between the road and river below.
At breakfast, the decision is made to change the adventure. We are going to Arizona so we'll make a detour to Grand Canyon. On the ride back to Durango, it starts to snow on the top of the million dollar highway, and it's cold. Soon after Durango, we make a right and the terrain starts changing immediately into desert configuration. The mountains turn into hills, the shrubs start to shrivel and grass turns to sand. The temps start to rise and soon it's close to 30C. From snow covered mountain, above the tree line, to desert sand in one day. The roads in the desert are straight lines and in long sections, perfect condition. The boys with the fast bikes are now in their element and take off to test their machines and will on high speed runs. This blog may be read by law enforcement officers so I won't publish top speeds, but one machine (rider to remain anonymous to protect the guilty) got the bike airborne on one little bump.
Lunch is in Cortez Nevada and a small place called Mr Happy's Bakery. Who couldn't resist a joint with such a name, while adventure biking. The proprietor greets us and we talk motorcycles. He has a custom build Triumph powered desert scrambler handing from the wall of his bar as evidence that he is serious about biking in this region. Our server is exceptionally attractive with a pager that is wedged in her ample cleavage (gender hint) that buzzes (and draws attention) when the food is ready. We split our orders in to many small extras so we can see her again and again.
The bar has an elderly patron who is yelling out his life story to anyone and no one. He isn't drinking booze so it either huffing or lack of meds, but his stories are humorous and his delivery is mad. The girls do an excellent job of managing him - it seems this is not an uncommon event at Mr Happy's. We briefly contemplate lifting the owner's Smart car sideways on the sidewalk but wisely decide that we do not have sufficient working relationship with the local constabulary to get away with it if the owner decides our brand of humour doesn't make him laugh.
We stop at the four corners - a place where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah connect. The Natives have a monument there and booths to purchase souvenirs. It's getting well into the afternoon and we need to get lodging so we blast down the highway to get as close to Grand Canyon as possible. In this type of riding, one follows a straight road to the horizon, so one breaks the ride up into sections, horizon to horizon. The straight lines are broken by dry river valleys that provide the occasional hill and every once in a while, a small bend in the road changes the direction a tiny bit.
The wind is incredible and constant. It pushes the bike around on the road which helps keep the rider awake. Nothing like being push half way across your lane by a gust to keep the adrenaline flowing. On my tall bike, I spend a lot of time pushing the handlebars over to set right lean angle into the wind. The duck bill on my visor puts a lot of pressure on my neck so I know there will be sore muscles at the end of this ride. The wind also pushes a lot of sand across the desert. It's like a Collingwood snow squall but the sky is coloured red. The sand swirls across the roadway and it's pattern is abruptly altered when the bike slices through it's path. The sand gets into every nook and cranny, both on the bike and rider. We find our way to Tuba City, on a Hopi reserve and end up at the Legacy Inn, a 3 year old facility with a pool. We secure the bikes and spend an hour in the pool to refresh and and get cleanse our bodies of the sand that has somehow found a hiding place in every nook and cranny. We were in this for half a day. Imaging what the original settlers felt like when they found a river after days or weeks in the same conditions.
It was a long day, with lots of miles. Tomorrow, we do Grand Canyon via the long route - through Falstaff and Route 66.
A touch of grey peeks through the crack in the curtains, which says there is definitely light out there, but the colour is wrong. A quick peek provides the explanation - the clouds are low, it's rained 'cuase the bikes are wet (Tom will be pissed off because last night was the one night he didn't cover his bike - it is polished to perfection before each ride). If I crink my head to the one side, there is a hint of blue which means the it's going to be a sunny day, once the clouds burn off. I look back and Josh already has his gear on - he's raring to go, which eliminates all excuses for one more wink of sleep.
By the time we get the bikes started, the clouds have dropped a bit more, but Josh is raring to go so after Jeff takes our "clean bikes" photo, off we go. The dirt road services a mining operation, some mountain "suburbs" and a hand full of campgrounds. The road is gravel and the rain has made the fine dust into an oil like mud that is definitely slippery. We are greeted with a bridge over a deep valley that is experiencing a raging torrent due to last night's rain - the first of many photo opps. The first hill has a steep switchback, so Josh's will and bike are put to their first test. The Beemer goes first and of course has no problem. Josh takes off, builds momentum (needed or else the rear tire will spin like mad in it's effort beat gravity), and with his arse end weaving a bit, makes it up his first dirt challenge. The road simply twists and climbs for a few miles as it follows the river into the mountain gap. The homes along the way are well built with huge stacks of firewood, but what do they do in the winter???
We reach an interesting part in the road, where the valley ends, and there is just mountain. Like the million dollar highway, the solution is to carve a notch along the cliff, put a bit of gravel on it to smooth out the rocks, and call it a road. This one is fun because it's real narrow and slick from the rain, and, we have been passed by several four wheel drive vehicles, so we wonder - what do you do on a road that is one and a half vehicles wide and there is one vehicle going up and one vehicle going down? After all, Newton's law of gravity says that what goes up - must come down, and since these roads go to nowhere, all that traffic needs to return. The first turn gives us a clue. The outside of the turn has a little space that could hold a vehicle in an emergency and there is a notch just before the curve, where one could tuck in, but boy is it tight for a second vehicle to pass. We are OK since the bikes are very narrow, but two of those dual real wheel pickups - that could be interesting. A steel cross surrounded by plastic flowers, tell the other half of the story. Make a mistake and you become someone's fond memory.
At the next bend the clouds part a bit and we notice that the mountain is white - that rain that soaked the bikes at town level, created snow at the top levels, and we were heading into a winter wonderland - a new dimension to our adventure. The temp gauge on my console is flashing to warn of freezing conditions. The beemer is built for this, but a Versys with street tires??? Josh is beaming and hollering in exhilaration, so his vote is to go ahead. The next section has a tunnel carved out of the side on a drop off so steep, that both of us hug the right side water rut beside the wall because you don't want to slip here. We notice a cut on the other side of the mountain that heads to even higher elevation and wonder how far this goes. The trees are now snow covered and it's below freezing - there's ice on the puddles, but we press on regardless. There is a mining operation here which explains where all vehicles are going. The mine has a great tailings field at the top of the valley - I guess the stream flowing into the valley is mineral laced from any run off in the tailings field. Further up, the mine sports a huge hole in the granite that is obviously where vehicles go in and ore comes out. It looks like a very new operation so the impact on the surrounding is minimal. We reach a small plateau where the road jumps over a wooden, snow covered bridge, where the animal tracks tell us who really owns this area. The road gets really steep and looses the gravel - which means it is now a 4 wheel drive only road. The sign advertises that Imogene pass is the destination on this path. I think that the beemer can take it but I am worried that it crosses the Vesys line. A quick consult with Josh and he is game - ahh the optimism of youth. I go first and am doing OK but near the top, the road twists rapidly and gets uglier and more snow covered. I am responsible for Josh so it's time to make the call - that's it, we've reached our limit. Later, the hotel owner confirms this is a good decision. Apparently Imogene wont be passable until mid to late June.
On the way down, we pass a Suburban, covered in snow - someone is camping up here. The trip down is as fun as the trip up, but on the way down, one gets a better sense of how steep the road is. The cloud cover keep changing so we get pictures of sun lighting up the fresh mountain snow. We stop at a few ledges and take pictures of the valley and each other, hanging out in space. Once the roads go back to sensible, I hand the Beemer over to Josh so he can see why I was able go some much faster over the slick and rough stuff. The bike really shows that it was meant for this in-between riding. I would not want to take it on a real off road - on needs a 450 cc dedicated enduro bike to do that safely, but the beemer LOVES these conditions. It hangs it's back end out in a very predictable manner when throttle is applied going in, and exiting out of dirt corners. Too much fun of a 50+ year old sporting bones that break easier, and take longer to heal than the teen ager who learned to ride like that on motocross bikes.
For me, the Versys is functional, but the suspension quickly reaches it's limits. The tires do slip, but it's predictable. We find our way back to the hotel and the guys are up for breakfast. It's Dave's birthday, so he has gifted himself a rip snort up the million dollar highway. We later learned that he uses this to practice his technique for cornering and braking and he has managed to break 100mph in the long twisties, that shoulder the drop to oblivion. If he slipped, he would have more seconds than usual to enjoy the various terrain between the road and river below.
At breakfast, the decision is made to change the adventure. We are going to Arizona so we'll make a detour to Grand Canyon. On the ride back to Durango, it starts to snow on the top of the million dollar highway, and it's cold. Soon after Durango, we make a right and the terrain starts changing immediately into desert configuration. The mountains turn into hills, the shrubs start to shrivel and grass turns to sand. The temps start to rise and soon it's close to 30C. From snow covered mountain, above the tree line, to desert sand in one day. The roads in the desert are straight lines and in long sections, perfect condition. The boys with the fast bikes are now in their element and take off to test their machines and will on high speed runs. This blog may be read by law enforcement officers so I won't publish top speeds, but one machine (rider to remain anonymous to protect the guilty) got the bike airborne on one little bump.
Lunch is in Cortez Nevada and a small place called Mr Happy's Bakery. Who couldn't resist a joint with such a name, while adventure biking. The proprietor greets us and we talk motorcycles. He has a custom build Triumph powered desert scrambler handing from the wall of his bar as evidence that he is serious about biking in this region. Our server is exceptionally attractive with a pager that is wedged in her ample cleavage (gender hint) that buzzes (and draws attention) when the food is ready. We split our orders in to many small extras so we can see her again and again.
The bar has an elderly patron who is yelling out his life story to anyone and no one. He isn't drinking booze so it either huffing or lack of meds, but his stories are humorous and his delivery is mad. The girls do an excellent job of managing him - it seems this is not an uncommon event at Mr Happy's. We briefly contemplate lifting the owner's Smart car sideways on the sidewalk but wisely decide that we do not have sufficient working relationship with the local constabulary to get away with it if the owner decides our brand of humour doesn't make him laugh.
We stop at the four corners - a place where Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah connect. The Natives have a monument there and booths to purchase souvenirs. It's getting well into the afternoon and we need to get lodging so we blast down the highway to get as close to Grand Canyon as possible. In this type of riding, one follows a straight road to the horizon, so one breaks the ride up into sections, horizon to horizon. The straight lines are broken by dry river valleys that provide the occasional hill and every once in a while, a small bend in the road changes the direction a tiny bit.
The wind is incredible and constant. It pushes the bike around on the road which helps keep the rider awake. Nothing like being push half way across your lane by a gust to keep the adrenaline flowing. On my tall bike, I spend a lot of time pushing the handlebars over to set right lean angle into the wind. The duck bill on my visor puts a lot of pressure on my neck so I know there will be sore muscles at the end of this ride. The wind also pushes a lot of sand across the desert. It's like a Collingwood snow squall but the sky is coloured red. The sand swirls across the roadway and it's pattern is abruptly altered when the bike slices through it's path. The sand gets into every nook and cranny, both on the bike and rider. We find our way to Tuba City, on a Hopi reserve and end up at the Legacy Inn, a 3 year old facility with a pool. We secure the bikes and spend an hour in the pool to refresh and and get cleanse our bodies of the sand that has somehow found a hiding place in every nook and cranny. We were in this for half a day. Imaging what the original settlers felt like when they found a river after days or weeks in the same conditions.
It was a long day, with lots of miles. Tomorrow, we do Grand Canyon via the long route - through Falstaff and Route 66.
No comments:
Post a Comment