Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Utah, I'm Back...
9/21/07 - 9/24/07
Well I didn't bring my own bike back to Utah, like I said I would last year, and take a leisurely tour of the state. But I did come back a year later and spend three days seeing the sites rather than trying to do everything in one day like the previous mad dash. That being said, you can't do Utah justice in three days or three weeks.
This time I rode with my newly converted brother. I think the turning point in his conversion was when I took him to the Galveston, Texas bike rally in November of last year and he saw all the cool looking chops. After months of sending him subliminal messages he finally buckled and bought himself a Softtail. He tells me he rides almost every day. I still don't have a picture of his ride so I can't show it to you but he tells me that it's got bling. I'll have to get one of his kids to send me a picture since he is technology challenged...
Terry and his wife Gina met me at the Eagle Rider rental shop near the SLC airport at a little after noon on 9/21/07. Gina was a little nervous about our heading out for three days but I assured her that we would both be fine... good thing she doesn't watch the bike show on the Speed channel.
I rented a RK since that's it's the best bike on the road (don't tell my BMW I said that), and Terry rented a Softail... go figure. He didn't ride his own bike because he didn't want to get bugs on the windshield. It probably was a good thing since we road through some nasty weather the last day.
It would be an understatement to say that Bryce Canyon is a popular international tourist stop. There were so many buses I thought I was on the Houston HOV. Terry thought it would be fun to show his younger brother who was still boss, so he suggested that we hike part way down one of the canyon trails. The rock formations were surreal. Going down was a piece of cake, but when we started back up I quickly found that there was a shortage of air in 
the canyons. Terry had obviously developed gills as a result of living at altitude for 20+ years, but this flat lander hadn't evolved. I had to stop every 5o feet to catch my breath. The only thing that kept me going was the realization that there was no other option, and the little old ladies who kept passing me by on their way up. Maybe I should substitute a little walking for some of my riding time... nah.
From Bryce Canyon we headed west to Dixie National Forest. Here is where we saw giant lava flows that cut 50 yard wide swaths through the dense forest, running for miles in both directions. In Dixie National Forest is another series of canyons which can be seen best at Cedar Breaks National Monument. We didn't hike these canyons. I'm a fast learner. 
Turning north we ran past lakes and through forests to our last nights stopover in Richfield, Utah.
Well I didn't bring my own bike back to Utah, like I said I would last year, and take a leisurely tour of the state. But I did come back a year later and spend three days seeing the sites rather than trying to do everything in one day like the previous mad dash. That being said, you can't do Utah justice in three days or three weeks.
This time I rode with my newly converted brother. I think the turning point in his conversion was when I took him to the Galveston, Texas bike rally in November of last year and he saw all the cool looking chops. After months of sending him subliminal messages he finally buckled and bought himself a Softtail. He tells me he rides almost every day. I still don't have a picture of his ride so I can't show it to you but he tells me that it's got bling. I'll have to get one of his kids to send me a picture since he is technology challenged... Terry and I haven't spent this much time together since the day he left home for college, some forty years ago... so needless to say we had a lot of catching up to do. As usual, I planned an aggressive riding schedule that started at sunup and ended at sunset and covered half of the state of Utah. In the end we covered about half of the trek and both of us were glad that we took a more leisurely trip. Can't say I'm not flexible.
Terry and his wife Gina met me at the Eagle Rider rental shop near the SLC airport at a little after noon on 9/21/07. Gina was a little nervous about our heading out for three days but I assured her that we would both be fine... good thing she doesn't watch the bike show on the Speed channel.I rented a RK since that's it's the best bike on the road (don't tell my BMW I said that), and Terry rented a Softail... go figure. He didn't ride his own bike because he didn't want to get bugs on the windshield. It probably was a good thing since we road through some nasty weather the last day.
The first day was a short one since we didn't get away from the rental shop until 2PM. We made a short run down highway 15 and then jogged east on 92 to ride along the Upper Alpine Loop in Uinta National Fores. The weather was perfect and the leaves were just beginning to change 
colors. I was on cloud nine. We left the park and headed for Price, Utah taking 189 to 40, then south on 191 to 10. There's not much to say about Price, but the bed at the motel was well received after flying all morning and riding all afternoon.
colors. I was on cloud nine. We left the park and headed for Price, Utah taking 189 to 40, then south on 191 to 10. There's not much to say about Price, but the bed at the motel was well received after flying all morning and riding all afternoon.The next morning we embarked on our journey to our second night's stopover - Escalante, Utah. It was a little brisk in the morning but by mid day we were doing well. We took 10 south to Hwy 70 and then West to Salina. After a brief stretch break (yeah 
I know I'm a slave driver) we turned south on 24. We caught Scenic Highway 12 a little past the town of Torrey, which took us into Escalante. There's a reason they call it "Scenic" Hwy 12. You ride through the bottom of a canyon and then climb to the top of the canyon to run along a ridge they call "the Hogback". The ridge is two lanes and two shoulders wide, with a canyon on both sides. It was a spectacular view. We stopped on the ridge to look 
at the view and you could hear the wind howling through the canyons. It was about this time that Terry explained about his fear of heights and suggested that we should move on so we wouldn't be riding in the dark... I'm not too fond of heights either, but in this case I was too impressed with the sights and sounds to think about it. We had fair weather most of the day but as we approached the town of Escalante we ran into a brief shower. Not enough to stop us but enough to force us to put on our rain gear.
I know I'm a slave driver) we turned south on 24. We caught Scenic Highway 12 a little past the town of Torrey, which took us into Escalante. There's a reason they call it "Scenic" Hwy 12. You ride through the bottom of a canyon and then climb to the top of the canyon to run along a ridge they call "the Hogback". The ridge is two lanes and two shoulders wide, with a canyon on both sides. It was a spectacular view. We stopped on the ridge to look 
at the view and you could hear the wind howling through the canyons. It was about this time that Terry explained about his fear of heights and suggested that we should move on so we wouldn't be riding in the dark... I'm not too fond of heights either, but in this case I was too impressed with the sights and sounds to think about it. We had fair weather most of the day but as we approached the town of Escalante we ran into a brief shower. Not enough to stop us but enough to force us to put on our rain gear.
Escanlante is a small town but it has a great B&B and at least one great restaurant. The 
restaurant we ate at is owned by a lady biker who had to sell her motorcycle to pay bills. She keeps a jar on the checkout counter that's for contributions for a replacement bike. I had to throw in a few bills... She was quite a character and made the meal entertaining with her stories.
restaurant we ate at is owned by a lady biker who had to sell her motorcycle to pay bills. She keeps a jar on the checkout counter that's for contributions for a replacement bike. I had to throw in a few bills... She was quite a character and made the meal entertaining with her stories.At breakfast we met a local couple (local to Utah) staying at the B&B. They were spending the weekend collecting rocks. Charley (the bearded one in the photo) has a Ultra Classic with every option known to 
man. He says that when he and his wife ride together and he has the bike fully loaded for cross country tripping, they weigh in at 1400 lbs. Imagine trying to hold that up at the traffic light. Charley said he had been to Texas once in his life and he would not return. Claims that every small town sheriff along his route stopped him and searched his car. After he showed me a photo of himself in his former life I understood. He looked like a drug runner for the Mexican mafia. By the way, I can highly recommend the B&B. The owner is very friendly and a fantastic cook.
man. He says that when he and his wife ride together and he has the bike fully loaded for cross country tripping, they weigh in at 1400 lbs. Imagine trying to hold that up at the traffic light. Charley said he had been to Texas once in his life and he would not return. Claims that every small town sheriff along his route stopped him and searched his car. After he showed me a photo of himself in his former life I understood. He looked like a drug runner for the Mexican mafia. By the way, I can highly recommend the B&B. The owner is very friendly and a fantastic cook. The third day was cold - in Houston terms. I put on as many garments as I had with me and then put my rain gear over that. I was OK, but found it hard to move. Our first stop was Bryce Canyon National Park. 
Along the way passed "The Grand Staircase" monument. The staircase is comprised of three distinct plateaus, each level rising several hundred feet above the other. It really looks like a giant staircase to heaven.
Along the way passed "The Grand Staircase" monument. The staircase is comprised of three distinct plateaus, each level rising several hundred feet above the other. It really looks like a giant staircase to heaven. 
It would be an understatement to say that Bryce Canyon is a popular international tourist stop. There were so many buses I thought I was on the Houston HOV. Terry thought it would be fun to show his younger brother who was still boss, so he suggested that we hike part way down one of the canyon trails. The rock formations were surreal. Going down was a piece of cake, but when we started back up I quickly found that there was a shortage of air in 
the canyons. Terry had obviously developed gills as a result of living at altitude for 20+ years, but this flat lander hadn't evolved. I had to stop every 5o feet to catch my breath. The only thing that kept me going was the realization that there was no other option, and the little old ladies who kept passing me by on their way up. Maybe I should substitute a little walking for some of my riding time... nah.
From Bryce Canyon we headed west to Dixie National Forest. Here is where we saw giant lava flows that cut 50 yard wide swaths through the dense forest, running for miles in both directions. In Dixie National Forest is another series of canyons which can be seen best at Cedar Breaks National Monument. We didn't hike these canyons. I'm a fast learner. 
Turning north we ran past lakes and through forests to our last nights stopover in Richfield, Utah.The morning of the fourth day was really cold, even for Utah standards. I couldn't find enough cloths to put on. During the night the clouds dumped a load of snow on the mountains we had ridden through the day before. We took off for SLC running up Hwy 70 to Hwy 50 and then cutting over to Hwy 15. We ran into a little sleet on Hwy 50 but the worst was the cold. Terry didn't have heavy gloves with him and his fingers were loosing their feeling. We tried to find a store with some gloves, but we were in the middle of nowhere. It got so bad that he finally wrapped his fingers with Duct tape and then put his summer riding gloves back on. This made it tolerable. All the way back to SLC we keep skirting the rain storms. When we got to Provo the rain clouds were stalled right across our path. We camped out in a Starbucks hoping the storm would pass. We couldn't afford to wait too long because I had a plane to catch so after about 45 minutes we put our heads down and bore through the pouring rains. As soon as we got past Provo the rains stopped... go figure. By the time we reached the Eagle Rider shop we were pretty well dried out. At least I didn't have to fly back to Houston wearing wet cloths.
All in all this trip is at the top of the list of trips I've been on. Terry and I had a great time visiting with each other and he got to see parts of Utah that he had never seen before. Should we do Yellowstone in 2008???
