Archive for the ‘Motorcycle Roads’ Category
Day 4: August 25th, 2011.
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| Sipapu Bridge – Natural Bridges National Monument |
I woke up early in the morning, feeling rested and refreshed after finally being able to take a good shower. I packed up all the gear, hopped on the bike and headed out for the Natural Bridges National Monument. Natural Bridges is a somewhat secluded area in the south central part of Utah, directly south of Canyonlands National Park and about 40 miles west of Blanding, UT. The monument contains three naturally formed bridges in which water from the winding streams slowly cut through the canyon walls. The monument includes a 9 mile loop which provides scenic views of each of the three natural bridges, “Kachina,” “Owachomo” and “Sipapu”. The bridges were named in honor of the Native Americans that inhabited the area.
I arrived at the park and made a quick stop at the visitor center to collect my pin and passport stamp to prove that I had been there. I filled as many water bottles as I could find and head out on the loop. There were several scenic pullouts that provided good views of the bridges, but it was clear that if I wanted to get a truly spectacular view, I would have to hike down into the canyons. I was not prepared to do much hiking, even though the weather was a lot cooler than the previous day, so I snapped as many photos as I could and headed back out.
As I was heading down the freshly chip-sealed road back towards Utah Highway 95, my Garmin GPS unit decided that it was going to try to commit suicide. I had been using the suction cup mount attached to my windshield, and although I had been having a few problems with it popping loose, the power cord, which securely fastens to the unit, had always acted as a tether. This time the stars aligned just right and when the bracket hit the frame, it released the GPS unit from the mount, causing it to tumble down onto the road and get run over by my bike. I swung around, rode back and picked up the unit, fearing the worst. Fortunately it still worked, although the case was severely chipped, scuffed and beat up. The two halves of the case were separating, exposing the circuit boards inside. A couple of quick snaps, however, and it was all back together. The power switch did not go together quite right, and it was difficult to turn on, but I was very grateful when it powered back up and began barking directions at me! Read the rest of this entry »
Day 3: August 24th, 2011.
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| Arches National Park |
The third day of this trip through the canyons of Utah started out just like the others. The weather was perfect, although a little bit warm. I got up early and packed up my campsite so that I could hit Arches National Park early, before the weather got too hot. Since there were really no trees in the campground I stayed at, I had to break out the tent. Packing up a dome tent and mattress takes a little bit more work than taking down the hammock, but as I get farther south I am finding that there are fewer and fewer trees to hang from. I had gassed the bike up the night before and wasn’t really hungry, so once I got things packed up and hit the road, I headed straight north out of Moab and to the park entrance.
Once I entered the park, I made a quick stop at the visitor center to get my stamp, collector pin and some water before heading into the park. I started up the winding pass and over the scenic route and was almost immediately greeted with some of the most incredible geologic formations I had ever seen. I pulled off at the first turnout and broke out the camera so that I could get as many pictures of this amazing place as possible. I stopped at several turnouts before finally reaching Balancing Rock, one of the most famous attractions in Arches National Park. Read the rest of this entry »
Day 2: August 23rd, 2011.
Day 2 started off beautiful. Who could ask for better weather! I got up early and cleaned up my campsite. As it turns out I was the only camper in the campground that night, so getting ready to go was quick and easy.
After packing up my hammock and loading up the bike, I set out for Price, UT, my previous day’s intended destination. The ride was nice, but I did run into a small bit of road construction. Once the pilot car arrived to shuttle us across the construction zone, things went pretty quickly and I was in Price before I knew it.
I pushed on past Price towards Moab and Canyonlands. One stop on my destination was a gas station at the intersection of I-70 and US 191 (the road to Moab). I figured I should stop and get gas as I was getting low, so I pulled in. It was the only business in the area which should have tipped me off that something wasn’t right about the place. First off there was painted replica of the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, except it was blue instead of green. The place looked like an old rundown junkyard with gas pumps out front. I could swear I had seen this gas station in at least 1 horror flick in my time. Read the rest of this entry »
Day 1: August 22nd, 2011.
I had intended to get up bright and early and hit the road, but of course there’s always something that gets in the way of that plan (namely my snooze button). I did however still manage to get up pretty early and finish up my packing. Toothbrush: Check. Deodorant: Check, Spare batteries and chargers: Che… err… crap, I left them sitting in the garage… Oh well, I guess I will just have to pay the touristy price for my AA batteries.
I finally got on the road about 8:30. The bike felt a little weird as this is the first time I have ridden it this year with all of the gear loaded up. The new tires I put on 2 days ago probably didn’t help things either. The bike was actually responsive now! Imagine that. After getting used to the scrunched forward position and much smoother ride courtesy of the new Dunlops, things were feeling pretty good. Read the rest of this entry »
In this month’s edition of American Motorcyclist magazine, The American Motorcycle Association has finally released it’s list of the top 15 motorcycle roads in the United States, based on votes from AMA members. Within the past year and a half, I have had the pleasure of riding on four of those roads, so I can personally attest that they are all extremely fun rides with amazing scenery! If you ever get the chance to ride any of the roads in the list, I would not hesitate.
First off, let me present you the list:
- Beartooth Highway (Between MT and WY)
- Blue Ridge Parkway (NC)
- U.S. Route 129 – The Tail of the Dragon (NC/TN Border)
- U.S. Route 550 (Ouray to Durango, CO)
- California Route 1 – Pacific Coast Highway (CA)
- Going to the Sun Road, Glacier National Park (MT)
- Cherohala Skyway (NC and TN)
- California Route 36 (CA)
- U.S. Route 12 – Lolo Pass (MT and ID)
- Angeles Crest Highway – California Route 2 (CA)
- Natchez Trace (Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN)
- U.S. Route 33 (Harrisonburg, VA to Seneca Rocks, WV)
- California Route 58 (McKittrick to Santa Margarita CA)
- Ohio Route 170 (Calcutta to Poland, OH)
- Washington Route 129 and Oregon Route 3 (Clarkston, WA to Enterprise, OR)
Read the rest of this entry »
