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.